I'm not always in the loop and I can admit that. So when I find out new information I want to share it with others who may not be as hip or as up on things like the rest of the world logged on to Twitter and the blogosphere all day.

With that said, I learned a lot in the past seven days. Here's a list of some of the new knowledge that I hath obtained.

1. Freestyling to the "Otis" beat can help your career. Really. Everyone's going to love your version the most. Oh and do a video too. That'll get mad love.

2. Game knows how to rap really long.  He can rap for like for 500 bars in one take. And some of it was off the top of the head he explained. Can't wait for that album. I hope he has a song with 600 bars right in the middle of the album.

3. If Drake is dealing with Serena Williams that is the strangest combo of hard chick, soft dude I've seen since Jon and Kate Plus Eight. Please procreate for experimental purposes.

4. Affion Crockett is a great impersonator but maybe having his own show isn't the best idea.

5. Silkk the Shocker stopped rapping? I mean he recently returned but I thought he was still making music all this time or he was in jail or something.
6. J. Cole's video leaked? My man's single has been mushed by The Throne and Hov labeled him competition. Can we say inside job?

Speaking of the Throne, here are some facts about the Jay and Ye CD that I wasn't aware of.

-Jay-Z has a lot of cool watches. Hublots, Audemars, Rolexes.  Doesn't beat my Fossil but it works for him.

-Fans roll up on Kanye all the time saying, "Damn Yeezy!" Didnt know that was such a popular phrase.

-Jay depends on the "ugh" adlib quite frequently these days. It's in every other bar, in fact it's a part of the rhymes now. Hope that doesn't catch on.

-They are rich. I mean wealthy enough to dismember a Maybach in a video, call themselves "Niggas In Paris," record in Australia and threaten people's lives if they leak the songs. This album made me want to destroy myself for not being in their tax bracket.

-Frank Ocean, Beyonce, Swizz and Will Ferrell are the only people cool enough to speak on this joint besides the two emcees. I like that. They stole the Sweet Baby Jesus so it makes sense that Will got shine.

-"Murder to Excellence" was two songs that became one, "H.A.M" wasn't that terrible, and Jay rapped on a song with autotunes (No Church In The Wild).

Who says you can't learn from hip-hop?

For those that still aren't in the know concerning Jay-Z and Kanye West's new single "Otis," the song is named after and samples legendary soul singer Otis Redding.

In a recent interview with Billboard, Karla Redding-Andrews, the daughter of the late great singer, talked about the background story surrounding "Otis."

"We first heard about the song in early July, end of June," Redding-Andrews said.

"Concord Music Group has the masters and Bill Belmont and Michele Smith from Concord brought it to us.

"There was a back and forth about whether the name of the song would be "Otis" or "Otis Redding."

And we just wanted to make sure lyrics and references in the song worked with the legacy of my father.

"To have two current, legendary" artists use the legendary music of Otis Redding-we were quite honored."

Karla Redding-Andrews also talked about clearing the Otis Redding sample produced by Kanye, who also sampled Redding for "Gone" from Late Registration album.

"It always amounts to respect to Otis," she said.

"It always depends on how it's used and what the artist has going on at the time. All of that goes into play.

"It all went through the record companies," Karla said when asked if she met personal with Jay-Z and Kanye about the sample.

"That's the nature of the business and it's probably better that way.

"[If we met with them], we would probably bring more personal considerations into it.

"But this is a wonderful opportunity.

"We really like the song and the swagger elements that are in the song. It speaks to the star that Otis was in his day."

Jay-Z and Kanye's Watch The Throne album is scheduled to be released digitally on August 8th, and in stores on August 12th.

Listen to "Otis" here.

Artists such as Anthony Hamilton, Estelle, and Grammy-winning rapper, Atlanta's Ludacris, were on hand to give respect to soul music titan Otis Redding.

Estelle sang Redding's classic, “Satisfaction,” a Rolling Stones original that became one of Redding's trademark songs.

Children Dexter and Otis III were on hand to perform with Anthony Hamilton.

Ludacris was honored by the Big “O” Youth Educational Foundation, a charitable foundation founded in remembrance of Redding's legacy, for his numerous charitable works.

“I'm just a fan of Otis Redding,” said the rapper. “His legacy will live forever and he has been one of the major influences in who I am. It's as simple as that.”