Keep it to yourself, but apparently Eminem has a new album dropping next week. It's called Relapse and... Oh, who am I trying to kid? The promotional blitz has been unmissable. HIPHOP.COM beat the comp to the punch with a review of the new album. We got it like that. Some seem to like it, some hate it. Regardless, plenty of people will buy it. But what about that Nick Cannon stuff? He went hard for his wifey after Bagpipes from Baghdad leaked. I doubt it will overshadow the release of the album, but it seems equally unlikely that it was part of the plan. The song, which made reference to Em trying to get busy with Mariah a few years ago, has obviously p---ed off the former teen sensation something terrible. I've seen the most mild-mannered, placid guys do an Incredible Hulk routine with a quickness when it comes to the ladies in their lives. Everybody knows that the vast majority of beefs involve wounded male pride, which is somehow related to a woman, regardless of who is in the wrong. I bet even Ghandi would have been on a "aww hell no!" flex if someone tried to dis his woman in any way. Cannon has even pre-empted all the easiest attacks by mentioning his days at Nickleodeon and all that jazz. Yeah, he may have been doing some corny stuff (can't knock the hustle), but Wild'n Out was cool, and he must have learned how to insult someone good and proper while doing that programme. Most controversial of all, he reminded us all of the 'black bitch' comments that Benzino dug up a few years ago. Some think Eminem's apology as a 30-year-old for something that happened when he was 16 was sufficient. However, there were some people, of whatever race, who didn't, and Cannon seems to fall into the latter category. He's promised to be relentless, so let's see. Of course, none of the above points mean he can out-rap Eminem for even half a second: calm down people. But he can spit a verse pretty adequately, so it will be interesting to see whether he's prepared to step into the booth.

When it rains it pours. Not only has he been kicked out of Grand Hustle, but Alfamega was recently arrested on gun charges and resisting arrest or something like that and had to spend ten days in jail as a result. But did he go quietly? He went as loudly as possible. After being pepper-sprayed by the po-po he went on the run, hopped some fences, jumped over benches and was only caught by the police when he jumped from a mighty high wall that resulted in his bones poking through his ankles. The moral of the story? Despite the revelations about him being an informer, he keeps on proving that he's the wrong one to try. So I wonder if any rappers, particularly any signed to Grand Hustle, will try him? The whole thing makes me think of that old Em line: "I strangled you to death then choked you again/then break your f---ing legs 'til your bones poke through your skin." I wonder if Nick Cannon will be on the receiving end of any of those kinda lyrics? There was some good jail-based news, though: DMX just got out of the big house. Let's hope we hear some new music real soon.

Is Ricky Ross wearing fake Louis Vuitton shades? Not according to his stylist. He just had them tricked out after buying them legitimately. It raises a strange question. If anyone up at Louis actually knew anything about their shades they should have noticed some aspects of their original design up in the mix. They could then have deduced that The Bawse had customized his shades 'cos money ain't a thing. It wouldn't be that hard to tell. So is this week's Officer Rawse story just a fairly clever way for the good folks over at Louis Vuitton to get heads talking about their brand? Probably. Unlike most upscale classic brands, they actually seem to try and embrace hip hop rather than doing one of those Cristal moves. But like most, they were way off the mark. The writing on those graffiti bags didn't look like any graf writing i've ever seen. Really, who approved them? Graf writers the world over should write to their head office for past wrongs against street art. Or maybe they should just get on with whatever they have to do during the day.

Another marginalised, but completely crucial aspect of hip hop is of course the DJ. Q*bert is certainly doing his bit for the art of DJ-ing by overseeing a groundbreaking online school, the Q*bert Skratch Academy. It sounds a bit like Skype, but when did you ever learn to cut and scratch on Skype? Never, that's when. Even better, there's two DJ-based equivalents of the console computer game Guitar Hero in the works. DJ Hero is going to feature Z-Trip and Shadow in the game, but other than that details are scarce. The rival Scratch: the Ultimate DJ, though, has confirmed eight tracks of the 60 it's going to launch with, and they include such HIPHOP.COM favourites as Eric B & Rakim's Don't Sweat the Technique and that cuttin' an' scratchin' practice/party piece, Peter Piper. Good to see they ain't forgot about Jay. This game also looks set to score extra cred points with the turntablist fraternity because their controller unit is being built by/licensed from Numark (no, not the Jurassic 5 DJ, the deck/mixer manufacturer). It all sounds kinda interesting, but don't look here for expert comments. I've never been one of those guys who sits in a room for 12 hours playing Grand Theft Auto. I used to do that back in the days, but it ain't a good idea once you reach a certain age. It's bad for your health, and your pockets. But with Guitar Hero bucking the trend and getting people out there paying for music again, maybe these games will put redirect some of your hard-earned towards the people that made the music you love.

Proof that hip hop's a truly global language, part # 4081: Sniper, the Cyprus-based emcee, is busy proving that you don't have to be based between NY and Cali to make major moves by teaming up with DJ Green Lantern to host his new mix CD, Scopes on You Vol 2. The mix includes guest appearances from Akon, Memphis Bleek, Copywrite, Freeway and Illestr8. We'll spare you all the jokes about how he shoulda got B-Real for a "Cyprus" Hill collabo if you promise to download the mix from www.snipermusic.com

Last but not least, I'm predicting 2009 is gonna be a wicked year for hip hop. Contrary to what a lot of people say, I don't think there's ever been a particularly bad year. Despite all the rubbish seen from major labels there's always good stuff to be found if you look hard enough. It's also worth remembering that Common made I Used To Love H.E.R. in '94, which was supposedly the golden age. That classic tune will always be relevant, but the demise of hip hop has always been predicted by many. Look at the names that are dropping this year. Apart from Eminem and Busta next week, there's promises of new albums from Jigga, Weezy, 'Ye, Raekwon, Dre, 50 and The Roots. Busta, officially the biggest hip-hop fan among artists, also spoke exclusively on how amazing Pharrell's album is during his interview with us. There's gonna be collabs from Keith Murray and Canibus, and Redman and Method Man. That Luda and Shawnna joint should be big and heavy too. Freeway and Beanie Sigel are reportedly in the studio. I'm sure there are a few that I've forgot.
Anyway, Jadakiss has already shown that years in the game spent spitting fire mixed with a strong fanbase can neutralise the downloading curse. Even more importantly for us true-school hip hoppers, with the way the industry is now, it's even more important than ever to bring your skills to the battle. As long as that's what we get, ain't much I can complain about.

If you missed last week's news, catch up HERE.