R&B singer Monica has parted ways with her fiancé of two years Rocko, who is also a rapper and the father of her two young children. Through her Twitter account @MonicaMyLife today (March 11), the singer said the following:

“Thank you everyone for all the love your sending. @Rocko4Real is a great father and we will continue to love and parent our children . The rest is a private matter between @Rocko4Real and I. He is a good person. We all make mistakes. Even seperated we will always be family. I say thank you again to you all and as I live and learn I grow. Don’t feel sorry for me just pray for me. God’s got it. Have a great day…Again thank you for the love..Now I am totally finished with the subject. Have a beautiful day. Don’t let dissapointment stop you from striving.”

The singer didn’t specify exactly what drove the pair apart, but clearly stated the relationship is over and the duo will continue to collectively raise their children.

While we’re sad that Monica’s relationship is over, we’re a bit more confused by how we got the information. Twitter? Weird. (more…)

So WHERE WERE YOU when GaGa & Bey debuted the video for “Telephone?” Remember when Michael Jackson used to debut his videos on television? Are we going back to those days? We love it.

Here it is, it’s interesting to say the least—gritty glam girl prisons, female bodybuilders, chains and all. Leave it to GaGa. Am I the only one who cracks up when she hits the MJ move? Wait. Can this even be played on MTV/BET?  Watch it after the jump! (more…)

Here are a few more images from the forth-coming “Telephone” collaboration from Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, which is scheduled to drop Thursday (March 10).

Two things:

1) We remember waiting for “Video Phone” the duo duet on Beyonce’s “I Am…Sasha Fierce” LP and the debut was pushed back by about two days. Pretty anti-climatic.

2) We’ve seen those beer can rollers before…Maluca anyone? Just saying… (more…)

Thirteen years after the rapper BIG’s death, we’re celebrating his life with our first memories of the artist and pride of Brooklyn…After you read ours, share your first memories of Big!

I can’t remember where I was when I first heard B.I.G. but I do remember how I felt: mesmerized. He created these narratives that were so vivid, so textured that it didn’t matter where you were—you could be on another ride with B.I.G. by just closing your eyes. I was fourteen and hooked. Even my Mom liked him! – J. Baker aka Shannon Washington

My first introduction to Biggie was in high school. While I was never a hardcore hip-hop fan growing up, my boyfriend at the time was Biggie all day every day. I remember the first time he pulled out a Biggie cassette tape in my car and started to play Ready to Die. Little did I know the MC would be behind some of the biggest hits in the years to come. Fast forward to my freshman year in college at FAMU, when he was killed, I’ll never forget going to the local Tallahassee, Florida record spot at midnight to cop the new album, Life After Death. The entire parking lot was packed with cats eager to hear what the rapper had to say from the grave. – Mahogs aka Sherry Bitting

I was a hip-hop and R&B head in 1994 when Biggie’s image first hit BET’s “Rap City” — they weren’t playing the MC much on California radio yet — (more…)

Hip-Hop duo Kidz in the Hall, comprised of MC’s Double-0 and Naledge, are back at it with their third album “Land of Make Believe,” due out today (March 9). Remember we go way back with Double-O, so we had to give their new record a shout. Featuring production from super-producer Just Blaze , the Kidz also recruited MC Lyte, Marsha Ambrosius, Amanda Diva, Chip Tha Rapper, Donnis, and Colin Munroe. ” JukeBox,” their new video is currently spinning on MTV2 and the duo are in the midst of a 20 city tour, but Parlour caught up the guys to chat about more important things like unicorns, women-only clubs and Notorious B.I.G [RIP].

On their LP, “Land of Make Believe”…
Double-O: Land of Make Believe is the space between where you are and where you want to be. The space between your goal and where you stand  in your head, the dream is very real but its not realized yet. [The idea] applies to a lot of people.

Naledge: There are things that I envisioned would happen that actually have happened but not the way I dreamt. You want to be an overachiever but to what length would you go, and what sacrifice would you have to make before you look in the mirror and say ‘is this what I really want?’

On people’s misconceptions of their new  video for “Jukebox”…
Double-O: It’s  funny because when I saw a break down of the video — it was nowhere close to the treatment. Instead, it was like ‘really there’s a magical place with all girls?!’ The video is based on Naledge’s verses, which were about conversations between him and a female. (more…)

Today (March 8), Atlanta MC T.I. released his new single  “I’m Back” via his website TrapMuzik.com and announced that his forthcoming as-yet-untitled album will hit shelves on August 24.
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Check the song after the jump and tell us what you think…
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T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., is currently serving the remainder of his sentence for all those guns via house arrest in Atlanta, Ga. According to our boy and reporter Jayson Rodriguez, TIP will be finished on March 26.
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“That date is correct,” lawyer Steve Sadow said via e-mail. “T.I. is now serving the remainder of his sentence in home confinement under the supervision of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.”

The rapper is in a halfway house, where he was transferred in late December. Upon his release from Dismas Charities Atlanta West later this month, he’s still expected to complete anywhere from 20 to 60 additional days of home confinement, stemming from an arrangement he made with prosecutors before his prison stint began.”

Check out “I’m Back” after the jump… (more…)