Everyone was wondering what’s going on with Eminem since he suffered a recent heath scare and hasn’t been photographed in over a year. He was hospitalized over the holidays in his native Detroit with pneumonia and heart problems. Sources say the 5′7″ rapper/actor weighs over 200 pounds, which is borderline obese for his height. His friend 50 Cent says he’s doing ok, and that reports of his poor health are exaggerated. 50 was interviewed at Sundance, where he announced that he will be starting a production company with the support of Vitaminwater, in which he owned a stake before it was sold to Coca Cola. He was said to have earned $100 million from the sale of the company.

50 Cent is trying his hand behind the camers. “I’m starting a production company right now,” the mogul, who was celebrating his first trip to the Sundance Film Festival, tells In Touch. “I decided to come out here to announce my film career, and Vitaminwater is behind me all the way.” The rapper also spoke out in support of his mentor and friend Eminem… “I got a chance to see him a few weeks ago and people think he is in a worse state than he actually is.”

[From In Touch, print edition, February 4, 2008]

We published what we thought was one of the first pictures of Eminem looking heavy. The National Enquirer labeled the photo “Now” and included no disclaimer that it was a photo reproduction. It was actually a picture from a series taken in March, 2006 and was Photoshopped by the Enquirer to make Eminem’s face look fat. We were not aware that the image was altered until commentors pointed it out to us. Eminem’s grandmother dished to the press the Enquirer that he’s stressed from his two failed marriages to ex-wife Kim and wanted to create a stable home life for his daughter, Hailie, 12. Eminen is said to be binging on take out food and overeating at chain restaurants.

Hopefully Eminem will get his heath back on track soon. He has a new album coming out sometime this year. Get well soon, Em, people want to see you perform again and a few extra pounds don’t matter.

50 Cent is shown in the header image on 9/13/07 on the 5 Borough Tour, thanks to PRPhotos. Eminem and 50 Cent are shown below in an image that’s a few years old, thanks to 50CentOnline.com.

Professional and non-professional sports have been rocked by steroid scandals in the last few years. On Friday we told you about Marion Jones getting six months in prison for lying to a federal grand jury about her steroid use. It’s now becoming clear that the use of steroids and human growth hormones spreads much further than the sports world. In an ongoing inquiry, the Albany County district attorney has found thousands of people that have illegally obtained prescriptions for steroids or HGH, including rappers 50 Cent, Timbaland, and Wyclef Jean, along with singer Mary J. Blige and writer/producer/actor/morality comedian Tyler Perry.

It’s obviously pretty unlikely that any of these celebrities were taking steroids to increase their home runs. The more likely motivation is bulking up and anti-aging.

A spokeswoman for Ms. Blige, Karynne Tencer, said: “Mary J. Blige has never taken any performance-enhancing illegal steroids.” Ms. Tencer added that Ms. Blige had not taken any antiaging steroids either.

Representatives for the others were not immediately available for comment.

None of the celebrities was accused of violating the law. Instead, the investigation has focused on stopping the flow of the drugs by cracking down on doctors who illegally prescribe them without seeing patients, and on the so-called anti-aging clinics, pharmacies and other distributors that supply the drugs.

[From the New York Times]

I was looking at pictures of the above mentioned celebrities, speculating about what they might have taken steroids or HGH for. With Mary J. Blige, I’d assume it’s about anti-aging, as it’s pretty rare (though obviously not unheard of) for a woman to try to bulk up. Tyler Perry is also very youthful looking – when I first saw him perform a few years ago, I assumed he was in his late twenties, but he’s actually 38. Wyclef Jean is 35, and looking pretty good in recent photos on Splash’s website. 50 Cent, 32, has always had a bit of a baby face, and Timbaland, 36, I would say looks about his age. It’s really hard to guess what people might have been using steroids or HGH for. Lighting, makeup, and genetics all play a big part in how celebrities look in photographs. Unless someone’s quickly gotten huge, it’s pretty hard to speculate about steroids. But something tells me at least half of the people mentioned were probably worried more about anti-aging than they are about looking beefy.

It’s important to note that none of these celebs have been accused of breaking the law, but rather of patronizing doctors, clinics, and pharmacies that are prescribing the drugs illegally.

Steroids are regulated as controlled substances, but growth hormone is not. Proposed legislation would reclassify growth hormone and more tightly restrict its use… drugs were shipped to celebrities, sometimes under pseudonyms, at their homes, studios and hotels and through the Clay Fitness Club and Spa on West 14th Street in Manhattan and the director of its antiaging and longevity program, Dr. Michael Diamond, a chiropractor from Long Island. He declined to comment because of patient confidentiality, the newspaper said.

According to The Times Union, records showed that prescriptions for Ms. Blige and other performers were signed by Dr. Gary Brandwein, an osteopath from Florida. He has been charged with felony drug violations in the Albany investigation and has pleaded not guilty.

[From the New York Times]

The point of the investigation (supposedly) is not to catch/arrest people for using steroids or human growth hormone, but rather to curb the flow of illegal prescriptions of steroids and soon regulate HGH. But this information is obviously a little embarrassing to Wyclef Jean, Timbaland, 50 Cent, and Mary J Blige. I think it probably has the biggest chance of hurting Tyler Perry. He’s certainly one of the least famous of the bunch, but his reputation is built on writing/producing/acting in modern day morality plays. He holds himself up as a pretty straight-laced, upstanding citizen. It’s clear he’s not accused of breaking the law, but being associated with any type of steroid “scandal” is definitely bad for business.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Tyler Perry at the premiere of “The Great Debaters” in Los Angeles on December 11th. Header image of Mary J. Blige at the 40/40 Club Grand Opening in Las Vegas on December 30th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

A Croatian video has just hit the internet which appears to show rapper 50 Cent snorting cocaine. In the video, a Croatian reporter is ushered into 50’s dressing room by what appears to be some of the rapper’s entourage. As soon as he steps foot into the room and says “Good evening,” we see a group of men sitting around a table bending their heads forward. One man is standing over them, and he turns and uses his hand to indicate that the reporter should leave the room. The reporter quickly turns around and exits, though the camera aims into the room for a few seconds longer. The man who told the reporter to leave returns to the table and crouches down. Within about ten seconds, 50 Cent comes to the door and greets the reporter. Here’s the video – the pivotal moment is about 1:30 into it.

I will be the first to admit that I don’t know the difference between what you snort, smoke, inject, or insert into your ear. I have no idea what a person who’s just snorted cocaine should sound, look, or act like. But other people seem to think something fishy was afoot. Central Station noted:

Speculation is rife that rapper 50 Cent is on the chizarles after a European video surfaces on YouTube. While the video doesn’t clearly identify 50 Cent hitting the stuff on the table, the entourage quickly ushered the TV crew out of the green room before any incriminating evidence could be filmed. The video shows, however, someone bending over a table and doing something with something. That’s the best we can allege right now.

[From Central Station]

Prayer circle? I’m going with a prayer circle. You know how performers are always thanking God and/or Jesus whenever they win an award? Don’t tell me they do that only when they win a Grammy. I’m sure they’re meditating on Leviticus as we speak. Though I just want to point out – 50, if you’re reading this - you’re a spokesman for Vitamin Water. You have your own drink with them - Formula 50. You even went on “The View” promoting its health benefits. And you’re making $100 million for the endorsement. I know Coca-Cola supposedly originally had cocaine in it. And they do own Vitamin Water. But I think it’s a stretch to assume that they’re going to want you promoting their drinks if people are afraid that you’re possibly putting something illicit into that oddly-yellow Energy Water. No one’s going to believe you got all that energy just from the b vitamins and guarana. Just a thought.

Referring to Lance Bass and music together in the same sentence seems kind of weird, but there it is. The guy was the bass (ironically enough) in ‘Nsync, after all. Not exactly known for their Grammy-winning musical prowess. Remember the scary East Coast/West Coast rap feuds of the nineties? You know, the ones where rappers (and their assorted posses) were shooting other rappers (and their assorted posses) for being from the wrong side of the ocean? Well those flames are heating up again.

Lance Bass and 50 Cent (real name: Curtis James Jackson III) are releasing books at the same time, and even held their launch parties on the same night. At 50’s party in New York’s Philippe Tuesday, he told the New York Daily News that Bass better watch his back. “He doesn’t stand a chance,” the rapper said as he promoted his coffee-table book, 50 x 50. Later that night, at Bass’s own NYC launch party at hotspot Azza for his new tell-all book, Out of Sync: A Memoir, the former ‘N Sync member – who came out in 2006 to PEOPLE – hit back at the rapper.

“50’s going down, that’s all I have to say,” he joked. “50, I don’t want to playa-hate, but there’s a lot that my book has [that yours doesn’t]. Including, Bass says, two things in particular: “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any relationships with guys in that book. And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any space training, either.”

50 added, he’s been in this situation before. “With me, everything’s a competition, so I bet you the end of next week, I’ll be moving more copies than him,” 50 said. “This is the same competition – this is Kanye West and 50 Cent all over again!”

[From People]

Yeah I’m guessing there are no allusions to gay sex in 50’s coffee table book. Though that would make for one of the better coffee table books I’ve seen in a while. I’m really worried that one of these guys is going to knock the other one out (I’m guessing the weapon of choice will be a bottle of Vitamin Water or a tin of spike-inducing hair gel). There will be a big hullabaloo (because you know a lot of music feuds involve hullabaloos) and then their moms will meet at one of the MTV awards shows and embrace on stage, and everything will be more or less okay after that. This is pretty much Biggie and Tupac all over again.

Say what you want about whinging sore-loser Kanye West, his new album, “Graduation,” is said to be musically superior and more of a move forward for the ego-challenged artist than 50 Cent’s “Curtis.”

Both artists released new albums yesterday, with 50 famously saying that if Kanye outsold him, he’d retire. The reviews and the projected sales are in, and the more obnoxious of the two may prevail.

Former producer Kanye is all too aware of how full of himself he is, and includes countless references in his lyrics to his battles with self-importance and wealth. “Graduation” is said to be a musical step forward for Kanye with a mix of multiple genres, and catchy and unique tracks. Collaborations with Daft Punk and Coldplay’s Chris Martin help make the album diverse and appealing to a wide audience, which cannot be said of 50’s album.

Here’s a review from the NY Times of West’s new album. The main criticism the reviewer seems to have is that Kanye is tripping over his own ego. They’re lauding the music and lyrics:

Mr. West is smart, forthright, thoroughly musical and nobody’s fool. On his previous albums, songs like “Jesus Walks” and “Crack Music” connected his own story to wider perspectives: community pride, thoughts of family, questions of purpose and accountability. But now that he’s “major” (as he exulted on his 2005 album “Late Registration”), with a worldwide audience awaiting his album, Mr. West’s horizons are shrinking. This time it’s all about him. He knows it; as the album begins, he calls himself “Mr. Fresh, Mr. … by his self he’s so impressed…”

As his own producer, Mr. West maintains quality control to rival any of the luxury brands he name-drops. Somehow his productions build momentum even when they revolve around a handful of repeated samples. Nearly every song on “Graduation” is memorable for both its hooks and its overall sound.

Mr. West can get Chris Martin of Coldplay to sing the hook on “Homecoming.” He can afford a Steely Dan sample on “Champion.” He has guest appearances from T-Pain, providing a filtered-voice hook on “Good Life,” and from Lil Wayne, free-associating on “Barry Bonds.”

While Mr. West is inordinately fond of soft rock — which helps him reach an audience that shies away from the brittle, freeze-dried productions of hard-core hip-hop — he is also savvy enough to latch on to a hard-nosed electronic hook from Daft Punk in “Stronger,” where he tells a girl, “I’ve been on ya/Since Prince was on Apollonia /Since O. J. had Isotoners.”

“Graduation” has some clever rhymes and some honesty. There are plenty of Mr. West’s latest career reflections, from a half-apology for his tacky outfit on the Grammys to an entire song, “Big Brother,” about his respect for and rivalry with Jay-Z.

But two things are missing from “Graduation.” One is the sense of humor that crackled through songs like Mr. West’s 2005 hit “Gold Digger.” (This album’s tale of a pickup, “Drunk and Hot Girls,” has a pulsating sample from the German rock minimalists Can, but little flair in its lyrics.)

The bigger problem is that on “Graduation,” for the first time, Mr. West can’t see beyond his own fame. “Homecoming” takes lyrics from “Home,” a song Mr. West released on a mixtape. In “Home,” John Legend sang about soldiers who weren’t coming home, while “Homecoming” chides Chicago, his hometown, for not being quite proud enough of his Mr. West’s success.

[From the NY Times]

“Curtis” is being dismissed as more of the same from 50. It’s said to be the same solid rap we’ve come to expect from him, along with predictable lyrics about his former hard knock life.

Neither self-deprecation nor humility is part of Fiddy’s equation. He’s more concerned about squashing rivals, real and imagined (”My Gun Go Off,” “I Still Kill”), highlighting his street pedigree and reminding us of his bottomless wealth.

The disc is mostly standard-issue gangsta talk that only in moments recalls vintage Fiddy such as “Wanksta” or “P.I.M.P.” For example, on the menacing funk of “Fully Loaded Clip,” Fiddy takes aim at rap/R&B elite who’ve gone soft, snickering: “When Jay and Beyonce was um-um kissing/ I was cooking 1,000 grams in my kitchen/ When Nas was telling Kelis, “I love you, boo”/ I was shining my nine, you know how I do.” And over the deep bass thuds of “I Get Money,” which features a classic Audio Two sample, Fiddy gloats: “They callin’ me cocky/ I come up out the jeweler, they callin’ me Rocky/ It’s the ice on my neck man, the wrist and my left hand/ bling like BA-LOW, you like my style.”

As much as Fiddy banks on ruthless rhymes and nouveau riche bragging, he also fancies himself a rugged sex symbol. Hence the obligatory cuts that reveal his sensitive thug side, notably, “Amusement Park” and “Peep Show,” the latter featuring a lewd verse from Eminem. However, the tracks capture little of the magic of past winners such as the touching “21 Questions” or the seductive “Candy Shop.”

[From Yahoo! Music]

What’s more is that the advance sales are in and West’s album, with its mix of songs that are more radio-friendly, is expected to be more of a commercial success.

Judging these guys on their personalities, I would root for 50 any day. In the interviews I’ve seen with him, he comes off as genuinely kind and humble. He just seems like a nice guy to me. Kanye, however, is the biggest crybaby sore loser in the music business, and publicly bitches over every minor perceived wrong.

A lot of people feel the same, and Yahoo! Buzz reports that searches for 50 Cent have consistently outnumbered Kanye West, with searches the music section at two to one. What’s more is that 50 Cent’s first video off of “Curtis,” “I Get Money” is outranking Kanye’s first video, “Stronger” by about 1,500 user votes.

Personality and commercial success are two different things. They’re both incredibly successful musicians, with 50 excelling in business ventures too. At least 50 has a lot to fall back on if he does end up retiring, but considering how popular he is, that doesn’t seem likely.

Here’s 50 Cent’s “I Get Money” (lyrics NSFW)

Kanye West’s “Stronger” featuring Daft Punk

Kanye West likes to name-drop. Apparently he and Justin Timberlake are like the Michael Jackson and Prince of the new millennium. I’m not sure which one is Michael Jackson and which one is Prince.

“My biggest inspiration and biggest competition is Justin Timberlake,” West told hip-hop magazine XXL.

“He is the only other person that gets an across-the-board response and respect both on black radio and white radio.”

West says he and Timberlake are on a different level to everyone else and has compared their healthy rivalry to Prince and Michael Jackson’s chart battle in the 80s.

He added: “If Justin hadn’t come out and killed the game, I can’t say that my album, singles and videos would be on the same level that they’re on. We push each other. I look at me and Justin like Prince and Michael Jackson in their day.”

New Zealand Herald

Likening yourself to Michael Jackson? Or, come to think of it, Prince? This is not a good career move. I believe he is a little crazy, the way he leapt on stage and told the MTV Europe Awards that his video cost $1million and if he lost in the best video category, they’d lost credibility. Of course, he had already lost and the winner was already up on stage accepting his award. Maybe Kanye should have just thanked his mum and walked away. Anyway, being a little crazy makes you like Michael Jackson, doesn’t it?

Of course, he could be calling himself the new Michael Jackson because he sells out stadiums and is African-American. In some countries he is just U2’s support act, which most ticketholders missed as they were at the bar, as is traditional in all beer loving cultures. In the U.K. he is still number one on the singles charts.

Well, the Fiddy Cent vs Kanye West fued seems to have ended in a bar. Obviously they are at home in beer loving cultures.

The two rappers formerly bitter rivals made peace over vodka shots at New York’s 40/40 Club recently.

Kanye and 50 were also joined by fellow hip-hop stars Jay-Z, Sean Combs and T.I. A clubber told the New York Post newspaper: They all strolled through the club like the rap Rat Pack. Everyone was going crazy around them. Kanye and Fiddy put their differences behind them and had a drink together at the bar.

The Times Of India

50 cent recently vowed to quit music if Kanye outsold him, when their albums were released on Spetember 11, he’d quit music. No word on whether the ‘vow’ is being downgraded to a ’stupid-thing-I-said-that-I-didn’t-mean’, but we’ll see in a month or so.

Picture note by Celebitchy: 50 Cent is shown below on 12/8/06 at Spike TV’s 2006 Video Game Awards. Kanye West is shown in the header on 6/28/07 after his show in London. Justin Timberlake is looking annoyed at the Shrek premiere in London on 6/11/07. Pictures from PRPhotos.

If you’re anything like me, you were probably sitting around, looking at your wall, and thinking, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the richest rap mogul of them all?” If your mirror said Jay-Z, you should give it some Windex. Jay-Z was just named the richest rapper by Forbes.com. I thought they were supposed to spend their time talking about financial markets, stocks, and making people panic over real estate. But it seems that lately, Forbes is spending the majority of their time coming out with “The richest…” lists. Last week they had “The richest bald man” and “The richest one legged farmer.” Okay not really, but I would read Forbes a lot more if they did. Okay not really.

“Jay-Z wins all around, says Forbes.com. He’s got Beyonce on his arm _ and more millions than 50 Cent and Diddy. The rap icon, aka Shawn Carter, is No. 1 on the site’s list of “Hip-Hop Cash Kings,” based solely on 2006 income. He banked an estimated $34 million, Forbes.com said Thursday.

“Jay-Z, president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, released his 11th studio album, ‘Kingdom Come,’ which sold around 2 million copies. Jay-Z, 37, is also part owner of the New Jersey Nets and has endorsement deals with Budweiser, Hewlett-Packard and General Motors.”

[From Forbes.com]

It might be good to be Jay-Z – yeah you have a lot of money, and Beyonce at your beck and call singing that “Cater 2U” song (blech) – but you’d also have to deal with that crazy mother of hers, Tina Knowles. You know, that lady that’s always trying to drape people in the fur of live puppies? Well her clothing line is one of the few out there that still uses fur, and to me it’s all the same thing. Who else makes a lot of money and doesn’t come wit the bizarre mother?

“Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson ranks second with an estimated $32 million. The 31-year-old rapper-businessman oversees his G-Unit record label, clothing line, ring tones and other enterprises, and has sold more than 11 million albums. His latest record, ‘Curtis,’ is due out Sept. 11.

“Diddy (real name: Sean Combs) placed third with an estimated $28 million. A fashion plate, he has a clothing line, Sean John, and heads Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment and its record label. Diddy, 37, is also host of MTV’s ‘Making the Band’ series.

“Rounding out the top five are Timbaland ($21 million) and Dr. Dre ($20 million). They’re followed by Eminem ($18 million); Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Scott Storch (all $17 million); Ludacris and T.I. (both $16 million); Outkast and Lil Jon (both $14 million); Ice Cube ($13 million); Jermaine Dupri and Swizz Beatz (both $12 million); Chamillionaire and The Game (both $11 million); and Young Joc ($10 million).”

[From Forbes.com]

You could be at the bottom of that group and still be doing pretty well for yourself. I have no idea who Swizz Beatz (sounds like the name of a cheap watch) or any of the guys after him are, but I’m pretty sure I could learn to love them, given the chance.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Jay-Z and Beyonce at the Black and White Ball. Header image of Jay-Z at Giant Magazine’s celebration of Rihanna’s new album on June 3rd. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Take this for what it is, pure speculative gossip considering the source, which has been known to make up stories and/or completely misinterpret pictures, but there’s at least some circumstantial evidence behind it. MediaTakeOut reported that Jessica Alba joined 50 Cent in The Netherlands where he was on tour last month, and was seen having a romantic dinner with him. He even brought her onstage during his concert calling her ” the loveliest woman in Hollywood,” and there was video on YouTube (now removed) of the incident. They speculate that he was cheating on his maybe-girlfriend, Ciara, with Alba:

One of MediaTakeOut.com’s faithful readers in the Netherlands caught up with 50 and Jessica on what she claims was a romantic evening. Tells the tipster, “Last Friday I was at [a local restaurant named] Van Vlaanderen and you’ll never guess who I saw - 50 Cent and Jessica Alba. They tried to sit quietly in the back but I know it was them …. They were talking and laughing like a real couple and it looked very romantic. At one point it even looked like they were going to kiss, but they didn’t.”

And there’s more to the story. The very next night, at a concert in the Netherlands, 50 actually brought Jessica out on stage with him - introducing her as the “loveliest woman in Hollywood.”

[From Media Take Out]

This was reported on July 9, and I used to repeat Media Take Out’s gossip right away, as it’s usually pretty juicy. I found out that they report a lot of BS though, and after getting burned on the “Beyonce is really 32” story based on Photoshopped documents I stopped covering their stories.

Now that Alba has broken up with her longterm boyfriend, Cash Warren, having her assistant move his stuff out of her place, this story might deserve a second look.

Blogger Juju’s Jamba does some investigative journalism and notes that Alba was coincidentally in Paris at the same time that 50 Cent was on tour there, not that they were seen together. Was 50 the reason that Alba kicked Cash Warren to the curb? It seems too speculative at this point.

Commentors on Gossip Rocks where we found this story note that there’s a recent blind item from the Panache Report that says that “non-black/non-white actress currently on a TV series” and a “rapper/actor” had a secret relationship, and that the actress broke it off when her reps told her it wasn’t good for her career. She was said to have regretted it, and to only have realized how much she missed the rapper once he got involved with another woman.

Are Alba and 50 Cent together and did they have a secret relationship in the past? Time will tell, but if there is something going on they’ll be sure to try and hide it for as long as possible.

50 Cent had a hard day on Friday. In the morning he was arrested in NY City for driving an unregistered, uninsured Lamborghini with an expired license. It takes like half a day to get all that shit done at the DMV. You have to wait in one line to figure out what forms to fill out and then go to separate lines to take care of all those issues. In half a day 50 Cent probably makes what most people make in a year, so he figures that paying a fine and getting someone else to take care of it when it becomes absolutely necessary is probably the best strategy. The cops took him in because he was attracting a crowd of onlookers in the time it took to fill out all those tickets.

By the time night rolled around and 50 had to make an appearance at the Baby Phat fashion show, not a guy’s favorite place to be, he got a bit testy a punched a guy out for not giving up his seat to one of his friends. Who can blame him?

Poor 50 can’t explain his rage and has to resort to talking about his looks to make himself feel better. He sounds like such a girl.

Thanks to Crunk and Disorderly for the header picture of 50 looking guilty at the Baby Phat show. Thanks to Fark for linking this story.

Oprah has pissed off several hip hop stars including Ludacris, 50 Cent, and now Ice Cube. The rapper-actor has joined the chorus of male artists who claim that Oprah doesn’t give them equal air time. Ice Cube makes a good point when he notes that Oprah puts rapists and child molestors on the air, but doesn’t invite hip hop artists:

A few weeks ago Oprah gave a ridiculous excuse for her white middle-aged female-centric show, saying she loves hip hop and even has some black artists on her iPod:

That’s like Bill O’Reilly saying he has black and gay friends. (Ok, it’s not that bad, but it’s a pretty lame excuse.)

Maybe Oprah will realize that rap isn’t taboo and that her audience likes a good story from any background. Africa is cool enough for Oprah, but black culture in America is something she filters through her clueless, snotty viewpoint. She’s old and richer than everyone in the world. It’s about time she realized her show can’t remain relevant and retires.