Lil Wayne was heavily criticized by the Hip-Hop community when crossing over genres for the release of his Rock inspired album Rebirth but despite the critics, the album went on to sell over 500,000 copies.

However, Weezy isn't hanging up his rock star title just yet.

Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst revealed on twitter,

"Oh, excuse me, sixteenth song mixed is Ready To Go featuring Lil Wayne! …I love it."

The band had collaborated with Hip-Hop acts in the past, including Method Man, Redman, DJ Premier and Swizz Beatz. This collaboration will hold special value since this album will be the band's first album in eight years.

Raekwon is also rumored to appear on the album as well.

There is no release date yet speculated, but the album is allegedly titled Gold Cobra.

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“Winnie the Pooh is like super not hip-hop,” Drake shares. “That's my influence, man, Winnie the Pooh on this next album."

In an interview with DJ Semtex, the Young money protege reveals,

“I bought the first-ever Winnie the Pooh books, like all four Winnie the Pooh books. It cost me a lot of pounds, man. I probably could have bought a small car for that.”

The rapper said he also dropped some cash on the first edition of Charlote's Web, claiming they remind him of his childhood days.

While we now the album, titled Take Care, will be dropping sometime this year, no solid date has been given.

But Drizzy is in no rush to give himself a deadline and admits that he felt quite rushed on his debut.

“Thank Me Later was a rushed album. I didn't get to take the time that I wanted to on that record. I rushed a lot of the songs and sonically I didn't get to sit with the record and say, ‘OK, well maybe I should change this verse.' Once it was done, it was done. That's why my new album is called Take Care 'cause I get to take my time this go-round.”

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According to the former Murder Inc. headliner, he will drop a new works titled, The Renaissance Project before he begins his prison sentence. Rule will put out the new music on his own label, MPire Music Group.

The platinum rapper tweeted today (January 3)

"Damn, some of u act like 18 months is forever. It aint Hard to tell who the snitches are!!!…Renaissance Project will be dropping before I go in."

As recently reported, Rule, real name Jeffery Adkins, was sentenced to two years in prison by a federal judge last month for gun charges stemming from a 2007 incident where police found a .40 caliber handgun in a vehicle Rule was driving.

Ja is due back in court on February 9, to schedule a surrender date.

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First Raekwon, then Capone-N-Noreaga and now rapper AZ looks to be revisiting his own classic debut with the upcoming release Do Or Die 2.

Already starting to put in heavy work, it has been reported that the rapper has reached out to producers such as L.E.S., Buckwild, Pete Rock and D.R. Period, who were all the original team for the original album.

Looking to infuse sounds of the new age, he is also looking to get help from Kanye West, Dr. Dre, DJ Toomp, GZA and even wants to refuel the magic in rapping with Nas.

Those checking for an update on the tape can visit AZ's newly launched Web site, HeyAz.com, which will promote his new releases along with other projects he is working on.

Along with providing updates, AZ stated that artists will have the opportunity to distribute their own music through his new site.

"There are two types of people in the world, trend-setters & trend-sweaters,” AZ stated.

Check out for Do Or Die 2, which is slated to hit shelves over the summer.

With “Empire State Of Mind” becoming the New York anthem and scoring his 11^th number one album, Jay has some momentum on him.

He has now become an international superstar.

It must be for that exact reason why the rapper is already in the process of creating his next album, although things are just in the beginning stages.  Don't sleep on Hov though with when he will drop it.

Speaking with MTV, the rapper stated that he already has one crazy record that he has been working on for his next project.

“To be honest with you, it's crazy. I got one and we'll build from there. Whether it comes out this year or next year, it depends on the music and how it's coming out. I don't really have any dates.”

As was the case with The Blueprint III, Jigga stated that his next project would be more experimental and even assured the fact that it would most likely not be a number one charter.

Well, Reasonable Doubt didn't have that affect initially either, but look at it now.

Jay must have thought that the best way to close the mouths of people knocking his age is just to bring yet another album and let his numbers speak for him.

He shut down Auto-Tune last year, wonder what else will meet its death in Hip Hop.

Unlike the debut, Hunger For More, fans felt that the rapper went too mainstream and dumbed down his lyrical ability to garner sales.

Returning to the scene in 2009 dropping 5 mixtapes, Banks is looking to jump back on the bike and start pedaling again with his upcoming album.

Recently, the rapper dropped the joint “Beamer, Benz or Bentley” featuring Juelz Santana.

“Beamer, Benz Or Bentley” http://usershare.net/31hygmd65mff

With 50 Cent busy in all of his other business ventures, Banks finds the door open for him now to take their brand up a notch and provide somewhat of a reintroduction to the future of G Unit.

During an interview with KG Radio Show, the rapper spoke on the creating opportunity for other artists and how everything was chopped back down to the original three members.

“The founding members are always gonna be there. We built this up, gave opportunities to other artists that were signed including Buck and Game and so on. But as long as that structure is there, we're good. We're solid. You can look forward to me, I'm the future. This summer [for my album]. It's a tight schedule...hopefully we can push for late summer."

Separating himself from Interscope to reportedly become a free agent, alongside Tony Yayo, Banks has been embracing all artists outside of his team as of late such as Nipsey Hussle and Jay Rock, showing that he intends to no longer give off the aura that he is down to create war.

With no title or concrete release date set for the album, his run in 2009 is an indication that Banks is coming back with something to prove on his third go around.

Maino's cousin, his close friend, recently committed suicide and last spring the rapper's best friend was shot by police.

Through all of the turmoil, Maino continues to maintain his composure, but has come to realize that the road isn't what he initially imagined it to be.

The Brooklyn native gave more insight on his relationship with his cousin, trying to deal with his personal problems and balancing his life in and outside the music industry while speaking to MTV.

“Even right now, my closest cousin committed suicide. He's been on the road with me. You probably seen me with him. His funeral is tomorrow. This is what I'm saying. You get in the game, you think you escape all this. This is not a distant relative of mine. This is my closest cousin. We grew up together. My mother and his mother are sisters. Just thinking about that and going through that while I'm trying to attain fame and this lifestyle, it's two worlds.

One side, everything is all good. On my personal, it's really not. My cousin was just here; now he's not. The circumstances behind him doing whatever he felt he needed to do, I can't really understand. [Entertainers] take the bumps and bruises and keep moving. We grieve, we pick up, and we try to keep it moving.”

Maino also reflected on a moment in time where his music was able to create a positive environment for someone else.

“I had a conversation with a dude that told me I stopped him from committing suicide.  I said, ‘Wow'. I'm glad I was able to help him.  This was just through music.  That's what music is for.  It's the soundtrack to your life.”

Even through the hardships, the rapper keeps going.  With the EP Unstoppable on the way and his second album, The Day After Tomorrow, expected to drop this summer, Maino knows that he can dwell on the past, but must always look forward.

Check the rest of Maino's interview below.

Not allowing the politics to set him back mentally, Bleek continues his grind until the drop with the release of the track “Still Ill”

“Still Ill”

HipHopWired was able to catch up with Bleek and speak with the rapper on the upcoming release and what to expect as well as dispelling certain misconceptions.

“I'm gonna make it happen, trust me with this album I'm gonna come strong and let people know, everything that you've been hearing over the years, it's all been Bleek. I didn't have a deal when Coming of Age and “It's Alright” came out, none of that. It's just crazy the way people think. Rumors get started now, somebody think of it in their house and they just put in on the blog and it goes everywhere and everybody believes it.”

He also added creating his own brand and the details behind the delay on the album.

“Oh man, just basically showing people the growth and the process of building my own establishment right now Get low Records. That's what's been the long delay, I felt like I didn't want to put out another release under Def Jam if they going to look at me selling 400,000 copies as a loss. I'd rather lose on my own label like that, you know what I mean. So it was the process of getting out the deal, the process of getting a distribution deal and one that's suitable for me, one that generates the right amount of attention as well as the assets, I didn't want to just jump on any deal if that's the case I'd be doing what every other rapper [is doing].”

Scheduled for a release on March 23, Bleek will step to the plate to show that he's capable of standing on his own without Roc A Fella behind him.