American comedian Dave Chappelle makes his long-awaited return to the comedy circuit this year. The Funny or Die Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival Tour will feature the renowned funnyman along with fellow comedic peers Flight of the Concords, Al Madrigal, Brody Stevens, Chris D’Elia, Demetri Martin, Hannibal Buress, Jim Jefferies, John Mulaney, and Kristen Schaal. The tour kicks off this fall and will make stops all over the United States including Austin, Pittsburgh, Camden, Denver, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, and more. Tickets go on sale this Friday. Welcome back Dave!

Words by: F. Garcia

One of Hip-Hop’s most recognizable names came under fire recently for his lyrics on a song that he was featured on. Miami rapper Rick Ross was criticized for his reference to date rape on Rocko’s "U.O.E.N.O." Rick Ross attempted to apologize more than once for the lyric ("I’d die over these reeboks you ain’t even know it/ Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain't even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it.”) but it was seen as disingenuous because they failed to acknowledge the seriousness of the issue. Rape is no joke (or art) when nearly 1 in 5 U.S. women surveyed in the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey said they had been sexually assaulted.

Protests and petitions against Rick Ross included women’s rights group, UltraViolet, who asked Reebok to end their relationship with the rapper. After several weeks of protest and pressure Reebok finally issued a statement that culminated in saying “At this time, it is in everyone's best interest for Reebok to end its partnership with Mr. Ross."

Hip-Hop artists have long enjoyed the freedom to express themselves but they can find that freedom restricted when they become paid endorsers of multinational corporations. After dealing with the embarrassment of losing his deal Ross issued another apology: “And most recently, my choice of words was not only offensive, it does not reflect my true heart. And for this, I apologize. To every woman that has felt the sting of abuse, I apologize. I recognize that as an artist I have a voice and with that, the power of influence.” Hopefully a few lessons were learned from all of this. One, that rape culture will not be tolerated, two, that Hip-Hop artists should really check their moral values before embodying an offensive stage "persona" and three, everyone read fine print before they sign up to be pitchmen--so that they know what they're risking!

No stranger to drama and controversy, it seems like Miami-based rapper, Rick Ross, is in the middle of the crosshairs yet again. This time the incident was literal as the megastar's vehicle was shot at after a birthday celebration at a local club. Hip-Hop journalist, Elliot Wilson, chimes in to try and separate the facts from the fiction. Personally, we think that he does a terrible job of defending Ross' "street credibility" and the allegations that the incident was staged. It's too cloudy to know or say what really happened, but we do know that Ross and Wilson do share enormous Hip-Hop comradery via past press conferences and publicity. Not sure we're getting an unbiased opinion here. It's also interesting to consider that the average Rick Ross lyrics are laced with drugs, guns, death-threats and bravado talk. Life imitating art again?

MTV2 presents the second season of the newly revamped Dub Magazine Project. This time the keys get handed over to hosts MGK and Tyga for an adrenaline-filled glimpse into the celebrity world of customized rides and lifestyles. The upcoming season is set to feature the likes of Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Mac Miller, Big Boi, Travis Pastrana, Kreayshawn and Gucci Mane, and more! 

Tune in on Sunday, October 28^th at 1pm ET/PT to catch the premiere episode.

Get More: The DUB Magazine Project, MTV2

Rapper Sean Price has been known for keeping it realer than most. The following is a spoof rap clinic where the New York City-based MC coaches a bunch of mediocre wanna-bes and shows them the lyrical ropes. Really it's just a bunch of clowning and verbal abuse. Funny stuff!

Gone are the days when DJ's could complain about their low-ball wages and super-wack club gigs, sort of. Apparently the art (one of Hip-Hop's core elements) is receiving major pay according to a recent Forbes list of the world's top-paid spinners. Spearheading the list are acts like Tiesto, Pauly D (MTV's Jersey Shore) and Steve Aoki. Check out the break down. Big money!

1. Tiesto – $22 million

2. Skrillex – $15 million

3. Swedish House Mafia – $14 million

4. David Guetta – $13.5 million

5. Steve Aoki – $12 million

6. Deadmau5 – $11.5 million

7. DJ Pauly D – $11 million

8. Kaskade – $10 million

9. Afrojack – $9 million

10. Avicii – $7 million

OG Hip-Hop artist and world-renowned celebrity, Snoop Dogg, has publically shed the "dog" and embraced the lion. A recent hajj to the Caribbean motherland of Jamaica has inspired a new outlook for the veteran MC as he embraced the indigenous culture and changed his named to Snoop Lion. He's teamed up with Vice to tell his story of cultural evolution in the upcoming film Reincarnated. Gimmick? Hardly. Peep the trailer for the now Toronto Film Festival official selection and bless up! Rastafari! Jah!

By Edwin Santos

So at exactly midnight, my preordered deluxe copy of NAS’s new album “Life is good” began downloading 19 tracks plus the videos for “Daughters” & “Don.” When it finished, I got my earphones out, plugged them in and in the dark, lying in bed I listened... and then I listened again.

 “Life is Good” feels like a movie and I don’t mean it in “that” corny way that a lot of rappers and DJs like to use the word “movie,” but literally like in the way that you talk about the “Godfather” being a great movie.

This album feels like a score with vocals not to be confused with a soundtrack. What’s the difference you ask? A “soundtrack” is a marketing tool and a “score” is like a character in the movie. Many of the beats just have that grand cinematic sound to them like they are part of an epic period production by Martin Scorsese.  From the piano and strings in "No Introduction" to the opening horns of "A Queens Story" 

This film-like experience is a celebration of surviving success, learning from your mistakes and acknowledging your flaws. This is an album for grown folks.

Life is Good is Hip Hop 3.0. It’s not a cheap update to patch up some holes and fix some glitches on Hip Hop’s aging operating system of money, guns and hoe’s. This is a new version grounded in lyricism. It's trying to reset the game and get it back on track.

Life is Good is not perfect, it also has it’s kinks like the track “Summer On Smash” with Swizz beats. I just don’t think NAS and Swizzy are a good match or maybe I just find Swizz’s hook/voice annoying. The beat itself is not bad. I would love to hear this track without the hook or maybe a different one, “Accident Murderers” might have been my favorite track if Rick Ross wasn’t on it. I like Ross but hearing him on the same track as the Godson puts things in perspective. I’m glad there aren’t any other rappers featured on the album. “The Black Bond” is a little 2minute 20 second gem that I wish was at least a minute longer. With a beat that sounds like something the RZA would have made for Wu back in the 90s, I contradict my previous statement by saying that Raekwon would have been crazy on this track! “Loco-Motive” Sounds like a rediscovered lost track from Illmatic, was this intentional? is it a coincidence that one of the original Illmatic producers Large Professor created the track? I think not but I’m definitely not complaining. "Reach Out" is a feel good throw back jam featuring Mary J Blige. This is probably the only song that might get you out on the dance floor gripping a bottle and singing the hook along with Mary. "Bye Baby" addresses his relationship and the unfortunate and very public divorce from Kelis in a very honest and revealing manner that is a bit unexpected in this era and "Cherry Wine" is a wonderful soulful prize featuring the late Amy Winehouse that is so smooth that you won't get enough of. 

I’m not going to go through every track on the album as I’m still listening and absorbing it all. Like a great you movie, sometimes you have to watch it a few times in order to get a better understanding of the details.

Like any Nas Album, this is for heads that place a premium on lyricism. Very few of these tracks will make you want to bop your head on the dance floor. This album is better suited for a night time drive in your luxury car with the premium sound system bumping and streets lights flashing by at 80 mph. It can also be enjoyed at home in your Eames lounge chair, aged drink in hand, with the lights dimmed. It’s what an album from an (almost) 40 year old MC with 20 years of rapping under his belt should sound like… mature, wise and grand.

New York City summer basketball hits new heights as Nike NYC unveils its Rivington Court down in the Lower East Side--an outdoor hardwood court and venue. Fans that are in the city this week should stop by on Wednesday, June 27th to check out one of the Battle Of The Boroughs games, a dunk contest and a Team Nike game with some special guests.

By Rainey Cruz

After reading yesterday's valid editorial by Señor Burroughs on the ethics of Jay-Z owning an NBA team, I couldn't help but to think about the flip side to that coin and about many more instances where the underworld and the modern-day mechanics of our American society countlessly rendezvous.

I mean, first of all, we're talking about a nation whose very inception was built upon one of the most demeaning institutions of all--Slavery. Fact, our nation's forefathers were baron's of flesh.

Washington, Jefferson, you name them, even Lying-ass Abe (because we all know the real story doesn't merit the "Honest" nickname). Then came the Industrial Revolution and all the environmental and labor swindles. Fast forward even further to the Prohibition Era and you'll find beer and alcohol barons.

Trace down the immoral line of our history and you'll find nothing but "dope" dealers and hustlers of the enterprising kind--families with inherited fortunes--quintessential "old money" based on anything but ethics. They are our Rothschilds, Morgans, Fords, Rockefellers, Carnegies and Kennedys, among others.

And what now? We're offended because a former drug-dealing Carter (Jay-Z's legal surname) wants to play on the crooked Monopoly board and own an NBA team? C'mon son! Nobody questions a white David Stern's inheritance of a predominantly black National Basketball Association, or at least not enough of us do! And why exactly aren't we? Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Jay, or rooting one-sidedly for black ownership, I'm simply requesting that all spades get called out if that's the game we're going to play.

Let's point out every person of financial power with an unclean background, not just crucify one. Besides, the drug dealer talk got old already and unless we're going to really get into Reaganomics and the CIA-specific plot that introduced a profitable "War On Drugs" to America in the first place, we're only bringing knives to the gunfight. Real talk.

We live in a society based on thieves, hustlers and "dope" dealers, a place where "he who is without sin" rarely gets a fair financial shot at owning his very own sports franchise.

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Rainey Cruz is a freelance creative, media producer and free thinker, living in Inwood, Manhattan who moonlights (and sunlights) as The República Update's Editor In Chief and is currently working on establishing his own action sports-based non-profit called The Rat Collective @raineyskates