Most recently, Grand Hustle front man T.I. made a rather eye-raising comment regarding female rap newcomer Iggy Azalea when he stated "Iggy is a free agent."

It was unsure of what he meant by that statement, but XXL was able to catch up with the Australian native so she could clear up any confusion regarding what label and company she was signed with.

"I wasn't dropped by Interscope. I'm still managed by [Interscope], but when T.I. came on board and it became a Grand Hustle thing. We were working on restructuring and we worked down to the final deal. There's things that change when other people get involved. For me, I choose my involvement with Tip because that's my family over other things, so I'm thankful that I have him and he can kinda get me out of that situation; now it's just strictly Grand Hustle."

She then spoke on her relationship with Interscope Records.

"This has been this way for about two months now. Me or Interscope didn't really feel it was necessary to speak on it because we have a great relationship still. Everyone in that building is my friend and there's a mutual respect there and nobody wants to do anything that makes anyone feel uncomfortable about anything else. There's no bad blood between me and Interscope of course, they still manage me. So they play a big part in my career; but I can't sign something that I don't feel, you know, is 100% right. So I did what was best for me and they did what was best for them business-wise."

T.I. also made headlines when he said that he wanted "out" of hip hop.

Source: m.complex.com

Kanye West and Jay-Z have begun the overseas leg of their Watch the Throne tour. They took the stage Friday night for the first of five shows at the same venue, which is London's O2 Arena.

The two performed several hit tracks from the highly popular Watch the Throne album including "N*ggas in Paris".

Check out some early photos from the festivities, including Kanye and girlfriend Kim Kardashian as they strolled together to join Jay-Z and Beyonce to grab a bite to eat.

Source: hiphop-n-more.com

Greg Oden has had an injury-filled NBA career, but despite his mishaps he's still looking to make a return to the league to have a normal career. It has been reported that the former Portland Trailblazer underwent the same German knee procedure as Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez.

Oden had the surgery, known as Orthokine, done on his left knee a couple off weeks ago in New York City. It has been said to be controversial because Kobe and A-Rod came back strong as ever after having the procedure done, despite participating in their respective professions well into their 30s.

According to sources, this particular type of surgery was something Oden wanted done for a while.

"Greg had long planned to have this procedure done. He thought he'd wait until his knee was completely healed, but the doctor said Greg would get the greatest benefit by doing it now because it would help his recovery."

During the procedure, blood is taken from the patient and entered into a centrifuge which creates a new serum, and is then injected into the affected area(s). According to doctors, the blood stops all type of pain and any inflammation.

Oden does not plan to retire and has been rehabilitating at Indianapolis's St. Vincent's Hospital.

Source: inflexwetrust.com

Rihanna, with her pretty smile and all, comes off as a rather kind and warmhearted person. But the singer has shown in the past that she can become the total opposite when she needs to, and recently she made that transformation when a blog site criticized her for an outfit that she wore.

After asking their audience "Yay or Nay" in regards to a particular outfit that Ri Ri was strutting around in, they sent a Tweet saying "Dear Rihanna, you've gone a little too far with this outfit. May be time to class it up a bit."

The songwriter took exception to the implication and responded back with a tweet that really sums up how incredibly aggressive she can be when rubbed the wrong way.

She tweeted "Your p***y is way too dry to be riding my d**k like this."

Was this the type of reaction you could have expected from Rihanna?

Source: theurbandaily.com

MTV just released behind the scenes photos of Nicki Minaj's "Right By My Side" video shoot featuring Chris Brown.  For the video, Minaj brought along fellow Queens rapper Nas to help play out the romantic tale. Based off of the song, it sounds like the video will depict some sort of love triangle between Nicki, Nas, and Chris Brown.  

Everyone will just have to wait and see for themselves once the video is released to the public eye. 

Source: hiphop-n-more.com

Founded in 1993 by Sean "Diddy" Combs, Bad Boy Records has been home to some of the most influential artists hip hop has ever seen.

Rap vets like Mase, The Notorious B.I.G. and Diddy himself have laid down some seminal classics on the imprint, while Bad Boy rookies like MGK and French Montana will no doubt continue to hold down the label's tradition of excellence.

Let's take a look at the 100 best records to come off of Bad Boy.

This year's Billboard Awards already has a star-studded list of performers taking the stage, drawing a lot of excitement and anticipation.

One performance will certainly capture a great deal of attention, as Alicia Keys will join none other than Stevie Wonder on stage for a duet. 

She will also present Mr. Wonder with the "Icon Award" at the show as well.

Other performers for the night include the likes of Usher, Justin Bieber, Nelly Furtado, and Chris Brown, just to name a few.

The Billboard Awards are set to go down this Sunday night, May 20th, at 8pm on ABC.

Source: theurbandaily.com

Mystikal will be confined to a cell for 81 days for violating his probation earlier this year.  He hit up Twitter to say his final (well not really final, more like "I'll see you later" type of) goodbyes to his fans before entering through those prison gates again.  

He kept fans hopeful by announcing that he may very well drop his first single off of his new mixtape tomorrow when he goes in for lock up.  He also stated that he will be dropping music videos and the mixtape once he is released again.  

Check out his tweets here. 

Source: hiphopblog.com

When Jay-Z appeared in Philadelphia recently to speak about the upcoming "Made in America" Music Festival, there was much talk that arose about a certain picture displaying rapper Freeway standing away from the rest of the group, appearing to be in a rather foul mood.

It led many to question why he seemed to be so unhappy. But others took it upon themselves to turn it into something comical.

Check out this set of pics of Freeway photo-bombing a number of famous pictures!

As it has been said many times before, every member of Slaughterhouse is a lyrical beast.  While making a stop at Tim Westwood's radio station, the heavy hitting rap group dropped bars over the beat to "I Don't Like", "Ima Boss", and "Stay Schemin".  A freestyle from these guys is guaranteed to be hot every single time.  

Their album must be crazy.

The Lakers suffered a devastating loss in Game 2 last night, May 16th, in Oklahoma.  Honestly, they blew that one.  The Lakers had the game in the bag as they were up by seven points with no more than three minutes left, and they just blew it.  They suffered from two costly back-to-back turnovers which lead to the Thunder winning the game 77-75.

After the game, Andrew Bynum was seen in the background of a Kobe Bryant shot from the TNT cameras walking off court with an ear-to-ear smile on his face.  Kobe, as you can see in the picture, looks absolutely devastated as you would expect any leader to feel after losing such a close game. Andrew Bynum has been criticized for his immaturity on the court in the past, and laughing or smiling right after your team loses such a close game isn't helping that image.  

Apparently, Bynum was laughing at Metta World Peace's final cross-court inbound pass to end the game, but still, there was nothing really funny about that.  Metta World Peace tried to give his team a winning chance, but the pass just didn't make it to where he wanted it to.  

During the post-game press conference, Bynum did show signs of disappointment and being upset, however his comments still had a hint of humor in them, like when he said, ""Man that was crazy. We're better than Santa Claus, we like giving out gifts. We give out games, contracts and rings.'

Hopefully Bynum will be able to leave the smiles at home for Game 3 on Sunday in L.A. and help deliver the Lakers a much needed win in the series.

Source: larrybrownsports.com

It's like Hollywood Squares, just more fun.

MTV2's new game show "Hip Hop Squares" is set to make it's network debut on Tuesday, May 22nd at 11 p.m., and will feature familiar faces like Fat Joe, Mac Miller, Childish Gambino, MGK, Ghostface, DJ Khaled, Tech N9ne, Donnell, Kat Graham, and host Peter Rosenberg of Hot 97.

Will Smith hits reporter for trying to kiss him in the mouth at the MIB 3 red carpet event.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers managed to keep their series with the OKC Thunder alive after LA edged Kevin Durant and company in a close game Friday night.

And with so much talk about the Lakers not being a dominant team in the Western Conference anymore, Kobe went off in a post-game interview, expressing how he really feels when he steps in between the lines.

"I don't give a f*ck what you say," Bryant told Yahoo! Sports late Friday. "If I go out there and miss game winners, and people say, 'Kobe choked, or Kobe is seven for whatever in pressure situations.' Well, f*ck you."

The Black Mamba then went on to say that he plays for himself and his team and doesn't worry about what anyone else says or thinks.

"Because I don't play for your f***ing approval. I play for my own love and enjoyment of the game. And to win. That's what I play for. Most of the time, when guys feel the pressure, they're worried about what people might say about them. I don't have that fear, and it enables me to forget bad plays and to take shots and play my game."

With so many pressure-packed moments during his extensive career, Kobe says he doesn't shy away from the clutch moments of a playoff game, but embraces it.

"In the pressure situations, you've always got to want to go to the line. You can try to avoid contact, because you don't want to go to the free-throw line in those pressure situations. Me, I enjoy it."

The Lakers/Thunder series continues Saturday night for Game 4 in Los Angeles.

Source: basketball.realgm.com

Iggy Azalea really knows how to put on a show.  She had the crowd at SOB's in New York City vibing with her every movement and every word.  She performed her hits like My World and Murda Bizness, and the crowd was loving every part of her performance.  

Iggy definitely held it down at SOB's.  Check out the video and see for yourself.

New York's very own Lil Kim made her way back to her native soil last night where she performed her "Return of The Queen" tour in the Paradise Theater in the Bronx.  Now even though the Bronx and Brooklyn are entirely different sections of the city, it's still NYC nonetheless.  

Kim was accompanied by fellow rappers Eve, Missy Elliot, Salt & Pepa, and Mob Wives Drita, who has begun her own journey in the rap realm recently.  Her friends Somaya Reece and Yandy Smith also came to support her and to enjoy the performance.   

Juelz Santana surprised the sold out crowd when he came on stage and took the mic next to The Queen.  It was an all around great, memorable night.  Maybe with this performance, Kim will really make a solid move towards reclaiming that top spot among the female artist of today.

Source: m.theybf.com

Former Crime Mob member Diamond was out celebrating her birthday earlier this year with friends at Club Goldroom in Atlanta.  She will turn 24 on May 20th, but couldn't resist the urge to go out and party hard.  Many pictures were taken of the night, and it really looked like she had a blast.  

She sure is young and beautiful.  Diamond sported a tight lime green dress that really accented her natural curves to the fullest.  She enjoyed a birthday cake in the shape of a giant milkshake, along with some drinks and dancing to bring in her birthday the right way.  

Check out the pics of the epic birthday bash here.