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J. Cole has unveiled the lineup for his 2025 Dreamville Festival. On Monday, the rapper unveiled that he’ll headline the annual North Carolina fest alongside Lil Wayne, 21 Savage, J. Cole, Erykah Badu, and Tems. The two-day festival is scheduled for April 5 and 6 at Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park.

Lil Wayne leads the Saturday lineup, hitting the stage with Hot Boys (Juvenile, Turk, and B.G.) and Big Tymers (Mannie Fresh and Birdman) during his set. 21 Savage, Partynextdoor, Ludacris, Ari Lennox, and Chief Keef will also perform. Keyshia Cole will take...

As promised, Hot Boys — the rap supergroup of Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. — reunited in full for the first time in over 15 years at Wayne’s Lil WeezyAna Festival Saturday in New Orleans.

According to the New Orleans Times-Pecayune, the reunion set lasted about 22 minutes, and featured the group’s turn-of-the-millennium hits like “Get Your Roll On,” “I Need a Hot Girl,” and “Neighborhood Superstar,” where the Hot Boys were joined by Big Tymers’ Mannie Fresh and Birdman. Each member also delved into their own catalogs, with Juvenile performing...

Lil Wayne is reuniting with the Hot Boys! On Tuesday, the Cash Money rapper announced that he’ll link up once again with Juvenile, B.G, and Turk during his Lil’ Weezyana Fest scheduled for Nov. 2 in New Orleans.

Along with the rap group’s reunion, the Live Nation Urban-produced show will also feature a DJ set from producer Mannie Fresh, a performance from rapper Rob49, along with appearances from unannounced special guests.

Presale tickets are available now using the code Weezy, and will go on sale to the general public on Sept.

Lil Wayne and fellow Hot Boys members Juvenile, B.G., and Turk will officially reunite at Lil’ WeezyAna Fest 2024 this November.

The New Orleans event goes down at Smoothie King Center on November 2nd and will also feature sets from Mannie Fresh and rising Louisiana rapper Rob49, with more artists to be announced in the coming weeks.

Get Lil Wayne Tickets Here

An artist pre-sale (use access code Weezy) begins today, September 3rd at 12:00 p.m. Ct. It will be followed by a Live Nation pre-sale (use access code Create) on Wednesday, September 4th, with the general on-sale taking place on Friday, September 6th via Ticketmaster.

Once tickets go on sale, you can also find deals and sold-out tickets at StubHub, where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

“Fans say they want 2015 Vince,” Vince Staples says on “Etouffée,” a track from his sixth studio album, Dark Times. While the SoCal rapper’s career is an undeniable success story, far removed from his experiences as a teenage Crip that’s inspired much of his work, he’s still haunted by the possibility that violence might lie around every corner.

The album’s cover depicts a barely visible noose against a black background, and paranoia abounds on tracks like “Government Cheese.” The song’s refrain, “Don’t forget to smile,” starts to feel like sarcasm when a dejected Staples takes a phone call from an imprisoned friend: “Told him I was good, wonder if he believed it/Couldn’t tell him the truth.” He raps in a numb monotone throughout the track, like he’s pulling the words from his mouth.

Staples’s trust issues extend to romantic relationships as well.

Welcome to Mardi Gras Unmasked, a multi-part series exploring the cultures beneath the culture of New Orleans and Mardi Gras, celebrating the artistic, musical, and culinary heritage of The Big Easy and – most importantly – the people that keep the culture alive. Presented by Rolling Stone in partnership with Kool, each story showcases facets of the New Orleans community that, together, weave the tapestry of Mardi Gras.

As part of this year’s Mardi Gras week, Rolling Stone and Kool partnered with New Orleans local and hip-hop icon, Mannie Fresh, to...

Welcome to Mardi Gras Unmasked, a multi-part series exploring the cultures beneath the culture of New Orleans and Mardi Gras, curating wine celebrates the artistic, musical, and culinary heritage of The Big Easy and – most importantly – the people that keep the culture alive. Presented by Rolling Stone in partnership with Kool, each story showcases facets of the New Orleans community that, together, weave the tapestry of Mardi Gras.

In this edition, we’re taking a look at the ways in which the New Orleans food and wine scene has not...

Welcome to Mardi Gras Unmasked, a multi-part series exploring the cultures beneath the culture of New Orleans and Mardi Gras, celebrating the artistic, musical, and culinary heritage of The Big Easy and – most importantly – the people that keep the culture alive. Presented by Rolling Stone in partnership with Kool, each story showcases facets of the New Orleans community that, together, weave the tapestry of Mardi Gras.

Watch below to see the story and flow of Mardi Gras week through the eyes of Mannie Fresh.

In this installment, Rolling Stone sat...

It’s been almost 20 years since Mariah Carey last won a Grammy, so when she received the Global Impact Award from the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective, she offered a dose of her signature comical shade.

“Is this a real Grammy? I haven’t seen one in soooooo long,” she said Thursday night as she held the award.

“It’s weird. I don’t know,” Carey continued while laughing as the audience at the Fairmont Century Plaza cheered her on. “We’ll figure out what this is later.”

Carey is easily one of the best-selling acts of all-time and holds the record for most No. 1 hits — 20 — by a solo artist. She’s been nominated for 34 Grammys, winning five: best new artist and best female pop vocal performance (“Vision of Love”) in 1991, as well as three R&b honors at the 2006 ceremony for “We Belong Together” and The Emancipation of Mimi.

The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Chris Stapleton, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, the Killers, and Bonnie Raitt highlight the 2024 Jazz Fest lineup as the venerated festival returns to New Orleans from April 25 to May 5.

Vampire Weekend, Queen Latifah, Heart, Bomba Estéreo, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Earth, Wind & Fire, Widespread Panic, and the Beach Boys are also among the hundreds of acts that will perform at the Fair Grounds Race Course over the course of two long weekends this spring. Additionally, Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band will perform in celebration of the late singer-songwriter.

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has revealed its 2024 lineup featuring The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Killers, Chris Stapleton, Jon Batiste, and Queen Latifah as among the headliners.

Other notable acts set to play include Vampire Weekend, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Hozier, Heart, Greta Van Fleet, Widespread Panic, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Bonnie Raitt, Earth Wind & Fire, The Beach Boys, Fantasia, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Wallflowers, Joe Bonamassa, Big Freedia, Rhiannon Giddens, Nickel Creek, Juvenile with Mannie Fresh, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, The Allman Betts Band, Bomba Estéreo, Stephen Marley, Steel Pulse, Tower of Power, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Charles Lloyd, Pj Morton, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Béla Fleck, Samara Joy, The Soul Rebels, and more. Additionally, Jazz Fest will honor the legacy of Jimmy Buffett with a special tribute set.

New Orleans Jazz Fest 2024 takes place over eight...

Juvenile worked that, bounced that, served that and everything else during his NPR Music’s Tiny Desk concert. The rapper appeared on the popular live performance series to run through a 23-minute long set that featured amped up renditions of 10 songs in the top tier of his catalog, from “Set It Off” and “Slow Motion” to “Back That Azz Up” and “Rodeo.”

The New Orleans native brought a fully charged party to the Tiny Desk space with the help of a full backing band and Mannie Fresh, the Cash Money Records...

It’s been a long time since Cash Money Records took over for the ’99 and the 2000, but Juvenile was sharp as ever during his highly anticipated NPR Tiny Desk Concert. During his nearly 30-minute set, the rapper was joined by his longtime producer Mannie Fresh and fellow Louisiana native Jon Batiste.

Fresh encouraged the crowd to cheer on Juvenile as the latter soaked in the enthusiastic response before effortlessly cruising through early classics like “400 Degreez,” “Bling Bling,” and “Ha.” With the backing of a full band and brass section, he continued with later hits like “Set It Off” and “Slow Motion.”

To close out the set, Juvenile was joined by a string section for his signature hit, “Back That Azz Up,” delivering a lively performance that saw the audience shouting along to the chorus. Watch Juvenile’s full Tiny Desk Concert below.

Juvenile’s road to the NPR headquarters started back in April,...

Mass Appeal is teaming up with Live Nation and Yankee Stadium to celebrate hip-hop’s birthday. Billed as “on the day it began in the Bronx, where it all started,” the triumvirate will host Hip Hop 50 Live on Aug. 11. The star-studded lineup will feature sets from a slew of artists, including a headlining, guest-filled set from Run-d.M.C., whose performance is being billed as “Bottom of the 9th … the Walk-Off.”

“I am honored to hit the stage in the Bronx, the birthplace of hip-hop and celebrate all of my heroes,...

Big Freedia, the New Orleans bounce icon, is back with a new song, “Bigfoot,” which will appear on her first proper album in nine years, Central City, out June 23 via Queen Diva Music.

“Bigfoot” makes for a booming announcement as Freedia stomps all over the competition and delirious, speaker-rattling beat. “Call me Bigfoot stepping on these bitches necks,” Freedia declares on the hook, “I got a big foot but I’m getting bigger checks/They don’t see what’s coming next/You already know the rest/I got a...

Ten years ago, Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz made it big with mainstream trap production, luxurious rhymes about champagne on airplanes, and non-sequitur punchlines. Chainz was a rapper who could out-rap legends, but his music wasn’t necessarily expansive: There wasn’t the flurry of topics, motifs, sequences, or tics you’d get from someone like Lil Wayne or Kendrick Lamar. But Chainz was good at combining humor with grandiose confidence, delivering his lines in a pinched yet expressive voice that made his music a source of constant jubilation.

Dope Don’t...

Things in life tend to come full circle, which is the best way to understand the pairing of Tyler, the Creator and Maxo Kream on the latter’s new single, “Big Persona.” Both rappers, now in their early thirties, set off distinct movements in the cities in which they reside. Tyler’s band of Odd Future hooligans forged a path for a wholly reimagined rap industry from their home of L.A., and Maxo gave rise to a resurgent scene in Houston driven by youth culture. Their career trajectories, however,...

Juvenile has reworked his 1999 classic “Back That Thang Up” as “Vax That Thang Up” as part of a new campaign by the dating app Blk to encourage people to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The pro-vaccine reboot finds Juvenile linking up with fellow Cash Money great Mannie Fresh, who also appeared on the original track, as well as another New Orleans legend, No Limit’s Mia X. The song marks the first time Cash Money and No Limit have officially collaborated on a project.

“Vax That Thang Up” is as delightful...

Singer-songwriter and radio host Estelle may have been born in the UK, but she has a special affinity for one distinctly American holiday: Juneteenth. "I just think it's a beautiful celebration of Blackness, and it's in the middle of Black Music Month, too," she told Popsugar. That's why she's marking the occasion with Estelle's Juneteenth Special at 1 p.m. on Apple Music Hits on June 19. And the day before, she'll be joined by DJ Mannie Fresh for a special Black Music Month mix on The Estelle Show. "I think of Stevie Wonder, I think of Lauryn Hill, I think of Jay-Z, I think of Nina Simone. These artists, through the ages, have spoken about freedom in all its facets," Estelle said. "And I'm looking forward to our show with one of the most prolific producers and DJs, Mannie Fresh, giving us all we need to get into the vibes."

Estelle...

“Up From the Streets,” a history and celebration of the music of New Orleans hosted by Grammy-winning artist Terence Blanchard, will have a “virtual cinema release” starting May 15 with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting struggling Louisiana musicians.

The film, subtitled “New Orleans: The City of Music,” debuted in October at the New Orleans Film Festival, where it was nominated as best feature Louisiana documentary. It was also nominated as best feature documentary at the Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival and at the DC Independent Film Festival, received an Award of Excellence at the IndieFest Film Festival, and was Gold Award winner for best feature documentary at the Houston WorldFest Film Festival.

Viewers can purchase tickets from participating local cinemas and watch the film at home, “supporting their favorite independent movie theaters as they practice social distancing and self-quarantine,” said a spokesman for London-based distributor Eagle Rock Entertainment.

A portion...

Lush yet still head-rattling, simple but deceptively complex, horny and consensual: There are few songs in existence better than “Back That Azz Up.” Juvenile’s 1999 song has it all — the New Orleans rapper kindly requesting his paramour “back that ass up” instead of demanding it, a blistering Lil Wayne feature, and, just as importantly, a galaxy-rich Mannie Fresh beat. Nevertheless, deep in the comment sections of Instagram Live, a cavalcade of adults (many of them celebrities) acted like a cheerleading section as they demanded Scott Storch play “Still D.R.

Mannie Fresh and Scott Storch went head to head on Wednesday in the latest Instagram Live virtual beat battle commissioned by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. The battle was initially billed as Storch vs. T-Pain, but the latter got cold feet and pulled out shortly after the announcement. “His boy @scottstorchofficial bout to curb stomp me,” he wrote on a since-deleted...

Lil Wayne’s 13th album, Funeral, debuted at Number One on the Rolling Stone Top 200 Albums chart for the week of January 31st through February 6th. The album racked up 138,000 album-equivalent units and 118.2 million streams, outpacing the debut from Compton rapper Roddy Richh, which fell to Number Two.

Eight songs from Funeral made the latest Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs chart, led by “I Do It,” a single featuring Big Sean and Lil Baby, which hit at Number Six thanks to 14.2 million streams. “Mahogany,” produced by Lil Wayne’s longtime collaborator Mannie Fresh,...

Lil Wayne launched eight songs from his new album Funeral onto the latest Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs chart. The leader was “I Do It,” a booming single featuring verses from Big Sean and Lil Baby, which arrived at Number Six thanks to 14.2 million streams. “Mahogany,” a sinuous track co-produced by Lil Wayne’s longtime collaborator Mannie Fresh, also clocked in at Number 29 with 9.1 million streams.

As Lil Wayne peppered the chart with new tracks, Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” held strong at Number One for a sixth week with 44.6 million streams,...

For 403 seconds near the start of his new album, Lil Wayne makes Funeral feel like a transmission from the past. As long as “Mahogany” and “Mama Mia” are playing, it’s still 2006, the music industry is crumbling, and within the cinders of Cash Money is a young man who’s ready to prove he’s the very best at the singular thing he does for a living. Wayne was at his peak back then, regularly offering some of the most captivating run-on sentences in the English language. His jokes, metaphors,...

A creative slump, a year-long stint in jail, the seizures, the bitter, prolonged label battle—the ‘10s were a tough decade for Lil Wayne. These trials have little bearing on the direction of his 13th studio album Funeral, in which he eschews introspection and sets out on a mission to bury other rappers across a digressive 24-song tracklist. This album is the work of latter-day Mixtape Weezy, who is eager to treat songs as exercises, to prioritize spectacle over substance, to showcase his technical daring and singular lyrical imagination.

Wayne...

Birdman and Juvenile reunite with Lil Wayne for their smooth new song “Ride Dat.” The track, produced by Cash Money Records’ in-house producer DRoc, finds the trio exchanging verses over pillowy jazz piano, DJ scratches and a laid-back, sub-bass-heavy beat.

Lil Wayne pops up in the final section, firing off pop culture references through thick auto-tune. “Ride this dick — don’t fall, baby/ Sippin’ lean like Paul Wall, baby,” he rhymes.

“Ride Dat” marks the first time the three rappers have recorded together following Cash Money producer Mannie Fresh’s 2016 cut “Hate.

Birdman doesn’t like lettuce wraps. He’s appalled by the watery leaves and aromatic meats sitting on the table in front of him. He keeps repeating the same phrase: “We Southern.” According to Birdman, people below the Mason-Dixon line won’t find joy in such a delicacy. He’s sitting in a private dining room at Philippe Chow’s, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, surrounded by ceramic panda bears cradling chopsticks and an entourage of men that adore Mezcal Mules.

A few moments later, one of the most...

The best thing about Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter V is that it exists. It finds the man who once called himself “the best rapper alive” – and who, for a few years in the late 2000s, indisputably lived up to that boast – finally emerging from five years of personal and professional chaos. A 2014 “Drake vs. Lil Wayne” co-headlining tour unexpectedly evolved into a poignant torch-passing affair. There were reports of health problems and emergency hospital visits that led some to wonder if his death was imminent. Most tragically, there was...

Lil Wayne released his much-delayed and highly anticipated Tha Carter V album on Thursday at midnight.

Tha Carter V features rapping from Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Snoop Dogg, singing from Nicki Minaj, Ashanti and Nivea, and vocals from XXXTentacion, who was shot and killed earlier this year. The final song includes a prominent sample of the English singer Sampha. Production on the album comes courtesy of longtime collaborator Mannie Fresh, Swizz Beatz, Metro Boomin, Ben Billions and many others.

This album has been a long time coming: Lil Wayne...

Lil Wayne and Birdman will both be in New Orleans, just minutes away from each other as they both toast Cash Money Records -- but there's almost Zero chance they'll cross paths. Weezy and Birdman will be in Nola -- where it's also NBA All-Star Weekend -- to celebrate Cash Money's 20th anniversary. Lil Wayne will be at Masquerade Nightclub, while Birdman's hitting up several venues that are mere blocks away ... including the House of Blues.

Birdman's got huge plans for a Cash Money tour that will put Diddy's Bad Boy Reunion tour to shame ... and he thinks he doesn't even need Lil Wayne to make it happen. Sources close to Birdman tell TMZ ... the Cash Money lineup will include Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, Turk, some up-and-coming acts and Baby himself, and will hopefully kick off in February. We're told there's an open invite for Weezy to join the tour ... but a...

There aren’t a great many artists big enough to help the top grossing nightclub in the world celebrate its seventh anniversary. Hip-hop and bass music icon Diplo fits the bill, though, and he’s uploaded his two-and-a-half-hour set from the March 21st celebration to his SoundCloud account for everyone who wasn’t able to attend.

Before going in, though, it’s worth noting that this was one of Diplo’s more mainstream-friendly performances. Las Vegas nightclubs go for a very specific sound – so where his recent Diplo and Friends set showcased his expert ear for hip-hop, his Xs performance predominantly consisted of big room house and ringtone rap edits.

That said, Diplo‘s DJ set at Xs Las Vegas’ 7th anniversary celebration certainly still had its gems. He was nice enough to scrawl out a tracklist as well, so if you hear something you like then find it by...

[[tmz:video id="0_v8ftngft"]] It's #Tbt for Birdman and Lil Wayne ... who got together to make music for the first time since their cold war broke out. The Cash Money/Young Money honchos both dropped verses for Mannie Fresh's new cut, "Hate" -- which also features Juvenile. We're told they were Not in studio together for the recording -- Wayne laid down his part more than a year ago, and Birdman did his a few days ago -- still,...

The prolific A-Trak has announced the 2015 edition of Day Off, a music tour featuring performances by himself and a handful of the signees of his label, Fools Gold Records. Day Off started out as a party in a Soho parking lot in 2010 before expanding to a full-fledged tour in 2013, and this year’s edition will see dates in Atlanta, New York City, Miami and Austin in addition to the flagship kickoff at the Shrine Expo Hall & Grounds in Los Angeles.

Each date features a different roster of entertainers, with only A-Trak and Fools Gold Records co-founder Nick Catchdubs remaining constant from lineup to lineup. In typical Fools Gold fashion, the artists are a veritable cross section of both the dance music and hip-hop worlds, with names like Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson and Mannie Fresh accompanying DJ/producers like What So Not, Madeaux and Alison Wonderland.

It wasn’t all that...

Game wasn't the only rapper impressed with LeBron James' rap skills -- ex--Big Tymers star Mannie Fresh tells TMZ Sports he thinks the guy is so talented, he wants to Team Up. Fresh tells us he heard 'Bron's verse on the new rap song we published on TMZSports.com this week -- and says, "LeBron is a lot nicer than a lot of the rappers out right now.""He got a nice little flow.

Birdman's on a mission to throw one of the most insane 45th birthday parties known to mankind -- a "Half a Milly" bash -- filled with endless champagne, naked models, the entire Young Money crew ... and his $7 Million car collection.The party's set to go down in New Orleans Saturday night -- in the middle of NBA All-Star Weekend. Birdman rented out a private venue ... which he's renamed  "Birdman's New Era Voodoo Lounge."In addition to 30 body-painted naked models,...

Jimmy Kimmel got the scoop that rapper Lil Wayne will retire after releasing Tha Carter 5. Take this news with a grain of salt, as it comes from a very unreliable source: Lil Wayne. Then throw in another pinch of salt because Tha Carter 5 is not Weezy's next album. That might be his upcoming planned collaborations with Juelz Santana, Drake, Big Tymers, T-Pain—or possibly several of those names at once. Or it might be Devol, an album of love songs written while the rapper was in prison. Or maybe it's Teeth, an album he'll probably ...

Hip-hop is a natural minefield for satire, a world in which oversize personalities talk large and create brands and fronts that rest on the fragile backs of 16-bar verses. Behind most clever or boastful lyrics is a grown man counting out syllables and scribbling down lines into a notebook. In recent years, though, few have spotlighted the comedy that unfolds between the seeds of a song and a rapper stepping on stage better than a gangly pair of brothers who live on the Upper West Side of New York.

Jeff and Eric Rosenthal are known as ItsTheReal, a comedy duo that documents hip-hop culture through self-directed videos in which they interview rappers or skewer their work in skits. (Jeff also writes about the genre; Rolling Stone sent him on the ill-fated Rihanna Plane, where he shared a row with this editor.)

This April Fools' Day, they're releasing "Urbane Outfitters vol.

It's not every day that your first episode of a show is named (sort of) for you. But that's what happened with Clark Duke on "The Office."

He and Jake Lacy are new regulars on the long-running NBC show, and Thursday's (Sept. 20) season premiere was called "New Guys." Duke is one of Zap2it's Ones to Watch for this season. The former "Greek" regular shares with us what fills his iPod, who made him feel starstruck and more.

What's the most embarrassing song is on your iPod?

It's not a particular song, but the sheer amount of material by the Big Tymers is possibly a cause for embarrassment. I just love Mannie Fresh's production.

Zombie apocalypse or alien invasion?

Werewolf bar mitzvah.

Do you have any current pop culture obsessions/addictions/guilty pleasures?

I don't feel remotely guilty about it, but: "Game of Thrones."

 

Who is your most recent text message from?...

MTV News gathers Yeezy's team to find out what makes them 'the greatest minds in the world.'

By Rob Markman, with additional reporting by MTV News staff

Big Sean, Kanye West and Pusha T in the video for "Mercy"

Photo: Roc-a-Fella Records

It's been years in the making, but Kanye West has assembled himself quite the team. No question G.O.O.D. Music's roster is composed of some very talented individuals; they're real confident, too.

"G.O.O.D. Music is the best team out there," CyHi the Prynce told MTV News. "Lyrically, bar-for-bar, song-for-song, concept-for-concept, we are the world, we can take it to a cipher, we can take it on the record, it don't matter 'cause we the best."

Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T, CyHi the Prynce, Common, Kid Cudi, Teyana Taylor, Mr Hudson and Q-Tip are all expected to appear on G.O.

Sources say Kanye is filming 'top-secret' project in Qatar.

By Jocelyn Vena

Kanye West

Photo: Getty Images

Kanye West and Kid Cudi seem to be up to something. The two are rumored to be shooting a video project in the Middle East, in Qatar.

Kanye and a film crew were spotted in the nation late last week, outside the capital of Doha in Education City. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the country's Doha Film Institute is helping back the project. And according to student sightings, Kanye, along with desert animals like camels, was spotted on set. Other sources say that locals were used as extras and that they were dressed in a "culturally sensitive" manner.

A source said that the project will be similar to Yeezy's 2010 short film, "Runaway," which was released in the lead-up to his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

"It's going to be approximately 30 minutes long,...

'It's an album that's all over the place, it's not just one thing,' producer Mannie Fresh tells MTV News.

By Rob Markman, with reporting by Nadeska Alexis

Kanye West

Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Good things come to those who wait, and according to Mannie Fresh, Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music compilation is "pretty close" to being finished. Still no word on an actual release date, but the former Cash Money hitmaker is excited about his sessions with Yeezy's crew.

"The cool thing about G.O.O.D. Music is it's a bunch of great ideas and I'm one of those ideas," he told MTV News on Thursday at the South by Southwest festival. "[Kanye's] trying to find the most talented producers, most talented artists, put 'em all in a room and say, 'Go for it. Y'all energy, like whatever is creative to y'all.' "

It all sounds pretty organic.

While working on Original for Cash Money, Mystikal tells 'RapFix Live,' 'What I do with Mannie is what I do with Mannie.'

By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Mystikal and Sway

Photo: Natasha Chandel/ MTV News

New Orleans has a rich hip-hop tradition, anchored mostly by Cash Money Records and Master P's No limit label, which saw its heyday in the late '90s and early '00s. Mystikal is one of the few MCs who can claim a connection to both crews, but now that he is signed with Birdman what will become of his relationship with former Cash Money producer Mannie Fresh?

It's no secret that the Cash Money CEO isn't keen on working with his former Big Tymers groupmate, as he told XXLMag.com, but after his release from prison, Mystikal hit the studio with Fresh. "I did some hot tracks with him,...

The two rappers will join host Sway Calloway on Wednesday in remembering the late Notorious B.I.G.

By Nadeska Alexis

Mystikal

Photo: Tommaso Boddi/ WireImage

Mystikal was one of the standout talents on No Limit Records in the mid- to late-'90s, and big hits like "Danger (Been So Long)" later helped the rapper to keep his hometown New Orleans on the map. And Wednesday at 4 p.m., the Tarantula will stop by "RapFix Live" to reveal details on his latest projects, include his upcoming sixth album, Original.

Mystikal dropped his debut Mind of Mystikal in 1995 and followed up with two albums on No Limit Records (1997's Unpredictable and 1998's Ghetto Fabulous), before releasing his double-platinum fourth LP Let's Get Ready via Jive in 2000. The album boasted the Neptunes-produced hit "Shake Ya Ass," in addition to "Danger." Mystikal also continued to clock in notable features on tracks like Ludacris' "Move Bitch.

Kanye West has confirmed the musicians who will appear on his forthcoming album. The rapper has enlisted the services of Frank Ocean, Pusha-t and Jay Electronica for a new record of G.O.O.D. Music artists compiled by West himself. Big Sean, Mannie Fresh, Marsha Ambrosius and West himself will also feature on the album, which is slated for a spring 2012 release, reports Billboard. Pusha-t was the first to reveal the names of collaborators linked to the project after he tweeted: "Learned in London: Nobu is always 500+ for dinner, @HitBoy_SC is the future, (more)...

'Wayne was a student in my dojo before,' Mystikal tells Mixtape Daily.

By Rob Markman, with reporting by James "Flx" Smith

Lil Wayne

Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

Celebrity Favorites: Mystikal

Since Mystikal's been gone, a lot has changed on hip-hop's playing field. In 2004, when Mystikal was locked up on sexual battery and extortion charges, Jay-z was fresh off his "retirement," Kanye West was just beginning his rookie year in rap and Lil Wayne was getting set to drop the first album in his now-famed Tha Carter series.

Now, Kanye and Jay are the Throne and both enjoy veteran rap status, and Lil Wayne is sitting on top of the world. Mystikal recalls his fellow New Orleans rapper's come-up and can't help but feel a bit responsible for the growth.

"Wayne was a student in my dojo before. I was a sensei before. I had big inspiration on him,...

Former No Limit Mc says, 'My star is still out there in the stratosphere.'

By Rob Markman, with reporting by James "Flx" Smith

Mystikal

Photo: Rick Diamond/ Getty Images

Mystikal has more to celebrate these days. Not only is the New Orleans rapper expecting the birth of a baby boy, the Tarantula has new music on the way and just turned 41 years old. It hasn't always been smooth sailing for Mystikal, who was released from prison in January 2010 after a six-year incarceration stemming from charges of sexual battery, extortion and failing to file tax returns. But Thursday, Mystikal was all smiles as he performed at his own birthday bash at the Sha-La club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"I'm in the process of rebranding everything," he told MTV News. "My star is still out there in the stratosphere; I just gotta get the spiderwebs off of it and shine it back up.

'Your fans miss you,' producer tells his 'Uh Oh' collaborator, in Mixtape Daily.

By Rob Markman, with reporting by Ade Mangum

Mannie Fresh

Photo: MTV News

Behind the Beats: Mannie Fresh

Fans haven't heard much from Mystikal since his release from prison in 2010 after serving six years on sexual battery and extortion charges. There was, of course, his feature on Lloyd's "Set Me Free," and a leaked song called "Uh Oh," featuring Jazelle and produced by Mannie Fresh. The slow, seductive "Uh Oh" was proved that despite being locked up, the New Orleans rapper hadn't lost his touch on the mic. And Fresh and Mystikal clearly have good chemistry. In fact, a 2010 viral clip of the former No Limit Mc freestyling while the former Cash Money producer plays beats has racked up over half a million hits on YouTube.

MTV News recently caught up with Fresh at the Bonnaroo...

'Anything that goes left, and is new and is creative, I love it,' Fresh tells MTV News at Bonnaroo.

By Rob Markman, with reporting by Ade Mangum

Mannie Fresh

Photo: MTV News

Back when Lil Wayne was a baby-faced teen, it was producer Mannie Fresh who was the driving force behind Cash Money's sound. It may be hard to imagine these days, but Fresh's booming 808s and bouncy bass lines laid the foundation for Cash Money's early catalog.

After meeting Cm CEO Bryan "Birdman" Williams in the mid-1990s, Mannie jumped onboard as the label's in-house producer. In 2005, Mannie split from the label, and Cash Money has marched on, dominating the rap charts with artists like Wayne, Drake and Nicki Minaj.

So what does Mannie Fresh think of the new Cash Money sound? MTV News caught up with Fresh at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, to find out.