HIP HOP NEWS: Lil Wayne Briefly Speaks on $51 Million Dollar Lawsuit / Will Smith On The Late Show with David Letterman / Dr. Dre To Cover AARP Magazine

In talking to Rolling Stone, Lil Wayne still remained pretty much mum on his current legal battles, but

    Lil Wayne has been one of Cash Money’s flagship stars since he signed with the label at age 12, and for years he saw Williams as a father figure, frequently dubbing himself “Birdman Jr.” on record. But that relationship has broken down, perhaps irreparably. Wayne tells Rolling Stone that he and Birdman are no longer on speaking terms. “I have no words,” he says. “I’m super-numb to it, to tell you the truth.”

                 

While making his entrance to the house band’s live rendition of Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It, Will Smith grabbed a mic from Paul Shaffer and decided to hit the stage to preform his hit single.

Yesterday (Feb. 18), Dr. Dre turned 50 years old. The revered producer has been a fixture in hip-hop since the late 1980s, when he burst onto the scene as a member of N.W.A., terrorizing middle America and the FBI alike. But in the wake of his milestone, AARP–the American Association of Retired Persons, one of the largest interest groups in the country–has put him on the cover of their bi-monthly magazine. Described as “Fearless at 50-plus,” the Chronic producer and rapper graces the pages in a suit and tie, smiling broadly.
Dre’s presence in the American establishment hasn’t always been so welcome. The aforementioned early days of N.W.A. were marked by protests and concerned letters to editors; most famously, the FBI sent the rap group a coolly threatening letter after their hit single, “Fuck Tha Police,” began to reverberate through the country. Predating the Los Angeles riots, N.W.A.’s music was a focal point of social protest among people of color, especially on the left coast, where most of the commercially-recognized, politically-engaged rap was imported from Chuck D’s New York.
After leaving the group, Dre became renowned for his 1992 debut, The Chronic, and his work with Snoop Dogg and (later) Tupac. In 1996, he left Death Row Records to form Aftermath Entertainment, which has helped him grow into hip-hop’s must financially successful mogul. In conjunction with Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine, Dre launched his Beats line of headphones and audio hard- and software, which was recently acquired by Apple. The deal made Dre hip-hop’s first self-made billionaire.