Friday Hip Hop Report: (#JayZ, #Plies, #Beanie, #TonyYayo, #Drake, #Dipset)

Its Friday, 2morrows my birthday...and I ain't got sh_t to do. Just playing the day with the Mrs., it don't get no better. Alright, back to business. Wow, what a busy week in this Rap world thing of ours, eh? Lets dive right in...
  
Jigga aint dead yet... 

Rap mogul Jay-Z has explained why retirement talk is nothing more than gossip and how he is still competing at the same pace as artists like Lil Wayne in the new Rolling Stone issue.

Despite being 40 years-old, Young Hov says his competitive nature has not slowed down.

"One of the reasons I wanted to make Blueprint 3 was because of the challenge," Jay told the magazine in a cover story out this week. "We've seen people like LL [Cool J] have longevity, and we respect the heritage of what he's done, but it's not like, right now, he's competing on the same level as Lil Wayne. So for me to still be able to compete at that level at my age, that's rarefied air. It's never been done. I think the problem with people, as they start to mature, they say, 'Rap is a young man's game,' and they keep trying to make young songs. But you don't know the slang -- it changes every day. You can visit the topic, but these young kids live it every day, and you're just visiting. So you're trying to be something you're not, and the audience doesn't buy into that. And people wonder why. 'I made a great Southern bounce song!' You're from New York, and you're 70! Why are you bouncing?" (MTV)

Plies lookin @ 65K in 1st week...

Southern rapper Plies' Goon Affiliated is expected to sell up to 65,000 copies in its first-week on store shelves.

Based on one-day reports, Plies will also out-sell Gym Class Heros Travie McCoy's Lazarus.

Atlantic rappers Plies could do as much as 55-65k, while Capitol Nashville/EMI veteran Dierks Bentley's new bluegrass album, Up on the Ridge, should sell in the 40-45k range. Also eyeing Top 50 debuts on next Tuesday's chart are Curb's Clay Walker (17-20k), Fueled by Ramen's Travie McCoy, moonlighting front man for Gym Class Heroes (15-18k). (Hits Daily Double)

Plies' new record features guest appearances by Young Jeezy and Keri Hilson.

1. "Go Live" 2. "Rob Myself" 3. "Awesome" feat. Fella 4. "Bruh Bruh" 5. "Get My Ni**as Out" 6. "Flaw" 7. "Becky" 8. "Kitty Kitty" featuring Trey Songz 9. "Whatever I Say" 10. "Goonette" 11. "Good D*ck" 12. "Model" 13. "Look Like" feat. Fabolous and Jeezy 14. "All I Know" 15. "She Got It Made" 16. "LEGGO" 17. "Chirpin'" feat. Fella 18. "Bricks on Me" 19. "Medicine" feat. Keri Hilson 20. "Letter" (Goon Affiliated)

Beanie Check$ 50 Cent...

Former Roc-A-Fella artist Beanie Sigel claims a possible G-Unit deal may still be on the table after hinting at plans to do business with 50 Cent.

Speaking in a recent interview, Sigel showed signs his relationship with Fif is still in tact.

"And I ain't get no check from 50 yet," Sigel said referring to his recent connection to 50 Cent. "So don't think, 'Oh, 50 must have gave him that money.' He's overseas. I mean, right now they on tour, I mean they overseas on tour right now doing their thing so I'm just waiting for them to come over and we can finalize the business situation that we doing." (Hip Hop Beef)

Tony Yayo: "Ross aint Biggie"

G-Unit member Tony Yayo recently shared his reaction to Diddy comparing Rick Ross to the late Notorious B.I.G. and said the Bad Boy artist could never be replaced.

Yayo said no one could ever be called the new Biggie Smalls.

"I feel like when a n*gga gets to Forbes, a lot of sh*t he says is not wrong," Yayo said about Diddy. "50, Jay, Diddy, I got respect for all three of them because once you make it to Forbes, you're solidified. They were comparing 50 to Tupac during the time Get Rich or Die Tryin' came out and he said 'It's an honor -- but I could never walk in that man's shoes.' Rick Ross could never, never walk in Biggie Smalls' shoes and it's no disrespect to Diddy. Biggie is my favorite rapper, hands down. When I heard that, I got kinda appalled." (Forbez DVD)

 Broken Heart Drizzy...

Young Money's Drake has opened up about his short-lived relationship with R&B singer Rihanna and claimed he was used as a pawn.

Drake believes Rihanna used him during their short affair last year.

And on "Fireworks" there's a verse about Rihanna, who asked him last year to write a song for her new album; the two soon began seeing each other regularly, though they never publicly confirmed their brief relationship. "I was a pawn," Drake said. The song he wrote for her never got released. "You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I've done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear," he said. "I was like, wow, this feels terrible." (New York Times)

Dipset, Dipnot...

Dipset's Jim Jones was reportedly denied entry into last night's Hot 97 Summer Jam concert in New Jersey.

According to Dipset's Freekey Zekey, Jones was banned from the event at Giants stadium.

A full-fledged Diplomats reunion was in the cards at Hot 97's Summer Jam concert last night (June 6) at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey, but forces beyond the Harlem crew's control denied them the opportunity, according to Dipset's own Freekey Zeekey. "There's no such thing as a half reunion," Freekey told XXLMag.com backstage, with Cam'ron just a couple of feet away. "What happened is they didn't let Jim in. I told Jim and Juelz we'll meet up at the after party. [Jim's] banned from, like, 90% of the venues in the tri-state area." Early in the evening, Juelz Santana performed with both Lloyd Banks and Fabolous, but he was noticeably absent a couple of hours later when Cam'ron and Vado hit the stage for a surprise cameo with DJ Khaled. (XXL Mag)