INDUSTRY INSIDER-
The Inside Scoop on this week in Hip Hop.
Week of: 8/13-8/17
Written By: Natalie Hinds

What’s poppin people? This ya girl Miss Hinds back with another edition of the Inside Scoop on What’s What in the wonderful world of Hip-Hop. Rather than bore you with corny intro’s let’s get straight into it,
shall we??

KIA SHINE LAUNCHING A SNEAKER LINE?! Aside from celebrating the release of his debut album Due Season, the Memphis bred rapper is already expanding his business into fashion. The sneaker line, named Traffic Jams, is only the beginning of his “other” business initiatives. “I want to do the acting thing, but right now I am going to concentrate on breaking in my team,” states Shine. “Eventually I want to cross market with the shoes and the movies. I don’t want to let everything out, but it is going to be a lot of surprises.” Whoa! Sounds like the making of yet another entrepreneur, can’t knock his hustle though! Get ya shine on!

UPDATE!!! Remy Ma made a court appearance on Tuesday, August 14, to find out if she would be indicted by a grand jury on various charges, including attempted murder. Luckily for Remy, her case has not been heard by a grand jury which means she can remain free on bail until her next court date; that date will be November 29. These charges stem from an incident outside of the club where an associate of the Bronx rapper was shot and rushed to the hospital. “I suspect that the district attorney’s getting conflicting views of the events from various witnesses and doesn’t wish to go before a grand jury until he’s sure of what happened,” Ivan Fisher, Remy’s attorney, told the New York Daily News. It is still unclear how Remy’s friend was shot.

The Incredible Foxy Brown strikes again! LITERALLY!!! The Brooklyn bred rapper turned herself in to the authorities on Tuesday, August 14 on charges of felony assault for allegedly smacking her longtime neighbor with her Blackberry last month. Apparently, Foxy hit the woman so hard she was taken to Brooklyn Hospital and treated for a swollen right eye, lip and is said to have some loose teeth as a result of the incident. The anonymous victim filed a complaint with the police and Foxy agreed to turn herself in on Tuesday. Wow! Sounds like that neighbor took a real beating with that “Blackberry.” Should promoters think twice about letting them in the club??

Where in the world has Ashanti been? She is rocking a new look in the September issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine where she talks about working on a new album due out in the fall and also a new film project; the third installment of “Resident Evil: Extinction.” Ashanti plays “Nurse Betty” who assisted a team of hunters in looking for a virus that has infected humans around Las Vegas. Looking forward to the new album….hopefully it’s better than the last.

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Angie Stone airs it out in Essence Magazine! She talks about her past relationship with the then sexy R&B Soul singer, D’Angelo. She talks about how she dated him before he was a sex symbol. “When I was dating him he wore glasses, had short hair and his pants were hanging down to his butt. He was just a 19-year old kid with big shorts and nobody cared and no one saw his beauty but me,” says the Stone. She states that it wasn’t until Brown Sugar came out that the rest of the world realized how truly sexy he is…..well was. The ex couple have a 10-year old son together. Pick up the latest issue of Essence to get all the juice!

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CLIP OF THE WEEK: Talib Kweli "Hot Thing / In The Mood" featuring will.i.am

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That about sums up this week’s rundown of the Inside Scoop of what’s what in Hip-Hop. Until next week my humble readers, this is ya girl Miss Hinds and I’m out!