The reclusive No I.D., born Dion Wilson, granted a rare interview to Complex in which he shared how he came to finally gain success after producing for over 20 years. No I.D. exuded both extreme confidence and humility nearly all at once during the interview.

“When I started working with G.O.O.D. Music, I was the president for a while. That led me to meet Big Sean, and I developed a relationship with [Island Def Jam head of A&R] Karen Kwak and [Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Island Def Jam Music Group] L.A. Reid at the time. They got to know me and that led to them offering me a job,” said No I.D. “I come from an era where you just build something. Me and Common built what we built from Chicago from scratch. Then helping Kanye get to where he's gotten.”

No I.D. was candid about his behind-the-scenes involvement on Kanye West and Jay-Z's collaborative Watch The Throne release. “For example, I came in when Watch The Throne was happening,” shared No I.D. “It wasn't like I was actively working on the project, but I came in with some insight that helped bring records like 'Otis,' 'Made In America,' and 'No Church In The Wild.'”

Referring to the glowing accolades Kanye West has showered upon him, No I.D. takes quiet credit. “I never wanted to even say that I was his mentor. I never once even said that,” said No I.D. “When you think about it, I never said, like, ‘Yeah I taught Kanye West' This is what he says. I always thought of myself as the male figure that he didn't have growing up because his father wasn't around.”

Snoop Dogg's Youth Football League in Chicago is facing financial issues.

According to reports My Fox Chicago, the league's bills are thousands of dollars behind, forcing the league's Pilsen Jets team to end their season early.

The Pilsen Jets were scheduled to play in a playoff game on Saturday.

From My Fox Chicago:

They made it to the league's playoffs but, can't play in the game. They've all been sidelined by their coaches and parents because the bill for their equipment hasn't been paid.

Costs for football pads, helmets and jerseys totals at $22,000.

They said they were told by their sponsor that if they come to the playoff game, they'll be asked to strip.

“I don't think it's fair,” concerned parent Betty Arias said, “but I think it's more humiliating for them to show up there and asked to take off the equipment, asked to take off your uniform right after the game.”

Reports also state that Snoop made commits to sponsor the league that were not kept.

Parents asked pay $165 per player and were told that the rest of the expenses would be covered.

The Snoop Youth Football League has not issued a statement on the matter at this time.

Diggy Simmons showed support for Snoop Dogg's, Snoop Youth Football League last week, stopping through Chicago to make an appearance at the SYFL benefit party.

Diggy along with Jacob Lattimore made an unannounced visit to the Chi-town shindig, and along with speaking to hundreds of student athletes, the pair promised to support the Leauge and perform a benefit concert.

This is this league's first year in Chicago. Snoop started the league eight years ago in South Central, Los Angeles and is now up to three, with the other being in Las Vegas.

Along with sports, the league provides cheerleading and child development skills to the youth who participate.

The track titled "Rush Hour" is off the Chicago emcees' Now Or Neva mixtape that drops tomorrow and features Meek Mill of Maybach Music Group.

Listen to the latest from the Bogus Boys below.

10 Cities Leading The Occupy Wall Street Movement

What began in New York City as a result of protesters taking inspiration from the Arab Spring movement and Cairo's Tahrir Square protests, Occupy Wall Street has spread from a protest started in NYC's Zuccotti Park on Wall Street on September 17th, 2011 to over 100 cities across the nation and global.

Protesters have been camping out and gathering for weeks and in some case months, in demonstrations against banks, financial institutions and corporate greed all across the world in demand of economic and social justice

All in all, Occupy Wall Street has grown into the largest protest in America since the 60's and 70's.

Just in case you haven't been paying attention, here are 10 of the larger cities in America that started and are leading the Occupy movement.

The Lupe Fiasco Foundation is launching a Coat Drive in up to twenty different locations, with a goal of collecting and distributing 1,000 gently used or new coats to CPS students and homeless shelters throughout Chicago.

The kick off date for the drive was October 11, 2011 and will go for about a month.

Community partners and collection sites are as follows: New Birth Christian Center, Swank Public Relations, Brown Sugar Bakery, Quench-All locations, Soul Vegetarian, Iman Foundation and Northeastern Illlinois University Center for Inner City Studies.

The Lupe Fiasco Foundation will be soliciting donations for the Coat Drive from various corporations, companies, local stores and boutiques and will be distributing coats to homeless shelters and schools throughout the city of Chicago.

This past Ramadan The Lupe Fiasco Foundation held their Block by Block Initiative. Feeding over 100 people everyday for the entire month.

The Initiative was featured on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, Morning Riot on WGCI as well as AOL.com Boom Box, Hip Hop Wired and ABC News.

More information on The Lupe Fiasco Foundation visit www.lupefiascofoundation.org

At a time in Hip-Hop when it seems that the old school feel is obsolete on the mainstream, certain things happen to show you that although Hip-Hop is evolving somethings will always remain the same.

Since its conception, Hip-Hop has always been centered on the DJ.  Once it hit the mainstream in mid 80s and became accepted in 90s, Hip-Hop seemed to move  the DJ to the wayside and everybody wanted to be an MC.  Despite the major shift, one young man knew he was destined to put it down on the ones and twos and really worked at honing his craft. After gaining major pub for doing local mixes and parties, DJ Averi Minor branched out and started getting play in big clubs all around his hometown of Chicago.

Fast forward years later, after hooking up with his friend and now spin partner Tony Neal; DJ Averi Minor is practically a household name after becoming a part of the now infamous Core DJs.

Besides spinning on Shade 45, DJ Averi Minor mixes on radio stations across the country including New York, Chicago, Music Choice and even on his own premiere mix site, www.avecitydistrict.com; Averi Minor also working with up and coming artists to help them get started in the music business.

Hip-Hopwired.com got a chance to sit down with the busiest DJ in the game to get schooled on how it is working at Shade 45, what it's like being one of the top DJs and learn the truth on what will get you noticed by an official DJ.

Hip-Hop Wired:  First things first, how did you link up with Shade 45?

DJ Averi Minor:  Honestly it came across my lap. As a member o the Core DJs we have a show "Core DJ Radio: UNCUT" and I'm one of the DJs in rotation, so it was just being with the right team that gave me the ability to get noticed by the right people.

Hip-Hop Wired:  Working at Shade 45, do you run into Eminem a lot?

DJ Averi Minor:  No, not really. I mean he comes in the office every now and again; but we do our own thing so for me-it's not like there's an opportunity to interact with him like that on a daily basis, even if he was. I like how things are ran at Shade because it's kind of like everybody is doing their own thing and when you have a creative environment like that and the freedom to be creative, you know nothing but hot music  is coming out of the studio.

Hip-Hop Wired:  Why do you think that satellite radio hasn't truly caught on yet, because in all honesty satellite is way better than regular radio and they have a better rotation…

DJ Averi Minor:  I know, on our show we love to break a new artist because it's something people have never heard before. We still play a little mainstream artist; but our primary focus is breaking the next hot emcee-so you will always hear something new. I think that one of the reasons that satellite hasn't caught on yet is because it's like for that “specific” person. What I mean is, people who listen to satellite know what they want.

So there is no”let's cater to everyone” type of vibe, satellite is about targeting and catering to the specific listener who is tuning in just for you and what you bring. For example, a sports fanatic who listens to satellite for sports doesn't have to worry about a Hip-Hop or Pop show interrupting his broadcast, he gets what he wants when he wants all the time and it takes a lot for people to get used to-and it's not free.

Hip-Hop Wired:  You are a part of a lot of major mix shows, what is your tool of choice and how do you feel about DJs who only use Serato?

DJ Averi Minor:  Honestly, in my opinion; there's nothing wrong with Serato. Really it's about how you use it. There were plenty o DJs before Serato who couldn't spin and now that they have the ease of CDs, their skill still suffer. Now I'm going to sit here and front like I never had a problem with it. Because I used to have an issue with Turntable DJs & CDJ DJs but now its just about how you rock. I can't front on a DJ who can rock with CDs, because he's still giving the crowd something a turntablist could, just in a different way. On another note, I do have issues with DJs who play pre-recorded mixes in the club and simulate the mix as if it were live- Not cool. (Laughs)

Hip-Hop Wired:   As a veteran DJ in the game, what advice do you have for new artists trying to get on?

DJ Averi Minor:  Utilize what's available to you and take your grind beyond your market. It may not be easy to blow up in your city, but it's easier for your city to respect you IF you blowing up in other cities. It's foreign policy and in most markets, the imports get all the love. I watched that happen here in Chicago with Lupe, Kanye & Jeremih.

Hip-Hop Wired:  When you listen to a new record, what attributes does it need to have to make it a "Mr. Mixshow Co-Sign"?

DJ Averi Minor:  It has to sound good. Quality is key and if nothing else It has to leave a mark. I've been lucky enough to have an ear that recognizes very good “Independent” music that honestly kills a lot of label-released joints.  I'm happy to say some of the indie artist out there “get it" and have been starting to avoid re-inventing the wheel like "the machine" tells them to.

Hip-Hop Wired:   How did you link up with the Core DJs?

DJ Averi Minor:   Tony Neal has always been the big homie. I've known him since the Core started. The crazy thing is that it I was actually rejected by Tony when I first tried to be a part of the crew, because back then you had to know people to really break in the game. Before we were the Core DJs, they were actually called "The Tecnitions", and the team disbanded-so Tony formed The Core DJs and had the "1st" retreat right here in Chi-Town. Over the years I had a lot of friends in the game that were Core DJs and after I was initially denied entry into the Core, I got my weight up and I got the call and I have been officially down with the crew for 4yrs now.

 Hip-Hop Wired:  Although you are mostly known now as primarily a mix show DJ, you also still release countless mixtapes for the fans free. What made you decide to start doing that?

DJ Averi Minor:  I know a lot of my fans out there love music and may not have access to satellite radio, so when I first started doing it-it was really for them. But then it developed into something that people really started checking for and so I decided that every week I would stream my show and one a month or so I would drop a mixtape just to show my appreciation for their love of my craft.

Hip-Hop Wired:   You drop mixes all the time both on air, on TV and even online; what's the next project you plan to release?

DJ Averi Minor:  I just completed my “Vault Mix” mixtapes which include a lot of mixes I did back in the day, so that is something people are really feeling right now and I also have the Five Mic series coming out soon as well-so everyone just be prepared to continue to hear great music.

Check out DJ Averi Minor every Sunday on Shade 45 and on Music Choice Channel 703 during the “Mix Show”. For the latest from DJ Averi Minor, log onto his website at www.AveCityDistrict.com and follow him on Twitter @DJAVERIMINOR

Senseless violence has taken the life of another innocent child.

According reports, 6-year-old Arianna Gibson was shot and killed while sleeping in her aunt's home following a block party in Chicago.

From ABC News Chicago:

Chicago police are still searching for the shooter who killed 6-year-old Arianna Gibson and wounded two others.

It happened about 6 a.m. Sunday in the 7400-block of South Sangamon.

Relatives say there was a block party Saturday night on South Sangamon.

Cousins, nieces and nephews all stayed over at Linda Chatman's house.

They were all asleep when there was a noise came from the small front porch.

Then a young man with a gun began close range firing into the house -- at least seven shots -- through a window, through the TV, into the wall. One bullet hit a 17-year-old Stacy Jones in the living room.

Another hit a 17-year-old boy.

Condolences go out to the family of Arianna Gibson, as screams to "stop the violence," sadly continue to go unheard.

Watch the news report here:

Cee-Lo Green hit the stage in Chicago for the two-day festival, Lollapalooza. Check out some photos and a few songs the Talking With Strangers host performed in the Chi.

Snoop Dogg inaugurated a new division of his Youth Football League in Chicago over the weekend.

Snoop was at the Chicago Indoor Sports Facility, Saturday (July 30) to meet with kids and parents who would be involved in the new division of the Snoop Youth Football League, in the Chi.

"I want to give them something to fight for," he said of the new league. "At the end of the day, they're our future."

 

Snoop started the league in 2004 in Los Angeles. The league in California has eight chapters with more than 3,000 youth involved.

"We're teaching life skills now," he added, iterating that the league is about more than football.

 

The Chicago league will have six chapters with an expectant turnout of more than 1,500 participants.

The league is open to youth ages 7 to 14.