Troubling times for Max B. Being found guilty of murder is never to be taken lightly. Let's not get too deep into the case but the former Dip Set/Jim Jones associate was found guilty on 9 of 11 counts of felony murder and conspiracy charges relating to the untimely death of one David Taylor. Who knows what's really real and who is really to blame for the situation? But one thing's for sure, Max B and his seemingly go extra hard lawyer are gonna appeal the decision. If none of that works, Max and his co-defendant and step-brother are due to stand before a judge at the end of next month to deal with the matters. If you read the statement he released, he seems to be taking it all very much in his stride and not sweating it too tough. Most people, including me, would be petrified at the thought of life in prison. It could well be that turbulent times lay ahead. The plot is sure to thicken at least a little bit while sentencing looms.

Slightly less troubling times for veteran Willie D of The Geto Boys, but still quite troubling. Indicted for wire fraud, he faces 20 years in prison if convicted. A $250,000 fine is also gonna hurt. Apparently, William James Dennis set up a scam selling iPhones to people that, if the police are right, never arrived. On the one hand, it is not a nice crime for anyone to be a victim of. On the other, you have to be pretty dumb to buy stuff over the net from halfway around the world and expect it to arrive with no hassles. This has nothing to do with Willie D's innocence or guilt. I'm just saying.

The WTF award of the week goes out to Kansas City and their new Power & Light District telling legendary hip hop DJ Jazzy Jeff not to play hip hop. I mean, what can anyone say to that, do I even need to go there?!  Okay, so they claim he was booked to play Top 40 music, but as everyone knows, that chart is full of hip hop these days.  After all the initial accusations flying around he's gone on record with the Associated Press saying this was "censorship not racism," but either way this sure had jaws dropping this week.

So what was that stuff with Charles Hamilton and J Dilla being executive producer of his new album This Perfect Life all about? I guess it depends whether or not you think that Charles genuinely wanted to help the Yancey family, or whether he was just begging friends in the worst way. Maybe you think it's a bit of both. Perhaps the key to all of this is Ma Dukes aka Mrs Yancey's opinion. Illa J's opinion will also hold a lot of weight.  Ditto Slum Village. DJ Houseshoes is definitely in a position to talk some stuff about the situation. Houseshoes is crazy by the way. Early last year I peeped him doing a show with Percee P and Guilty Simpson and he was ridiculous. Whatever the deal is with this Dilla stuff, props are also due to Charles for all that stuff with his girl on the net a few weeks ago. Not only did he take the punch well, step back slightly and just brush that off his shoulder, he resisted the temptation to strike back with the ultimate no-no. No Chris Brown. Judge for yourself whether or not This Perfect Life is worthy of a Dilla co-sign when it becomes available for free download on Tuesday. Free download? Isn't it on Interscope. And they're letting people download it for free? What?

After all the long talk about where the music is gonna be released (it's officially Atlantic Records via a hook up with his ex-Def Jam pal Lyor Cohen) we've finally got some music from the new Jay-Z album Blueprint 3. D.O.A (Death of Autotune) has its lovers and haters, but at least the people are talking right - and that's not to mention the Summer Jam video where T-Pain awkwardly joins him onstage? If anything, it shows that Jay is going back to the gutter on the new album and is not gonna jump on any trends that have arisen in the time he's been away. He likes to set trends, not follow them. Who else got you wearing them white Nikes? And is it really that big a surprise? Go back and check the first few lines of Jigga's verse from Swagger Like Us then come back and read the rest of this. Done it? See, he can't rock skinny jeans 'cos his knot too thick. Yeah, he might have T-Pained a bit before his verse on the remix to Put On, but as soon as he began spitting that ish was gone. September 11th is sure to be a big day.

While we're talking about new ish, go get that new Mos Def when it drops. It's insane and will placate all the fans of Black On Both Sides who were ever so slightly underwhelmed with The New Danger and failed to hunt down True Magic. The latter album is likely to become a highly sought after collector's item and the former would be a classic if mixtape cut Beef was on the set. That's easily the realest stuff he ever wrote. That on the same album as Rape Over? Forget it. Close Edge was hot too. But the new album contains that extra special Mighty Mos Def vibe we've grown to love. Joints like Auditorium featuring Slick Rick The Ruler, Life In Marvellous Times, and Roses featuring Georgia Anne Muldrow will all stand the test of time. Kweli pops up on History and that's nice too. Mos also went on the radio to clarify his comments about all the rappers he'd like to battle. Especially seeing as Mos ain't just some dude who has spit a few bars on a mixtape and is now looking to get a rep easily. He's right, it's a big statement to say you're better than Slick Rick or Rakim. Add Kane, Chuck D, KRS-One and G Rap to that list too. Let's see how and if any of the rappers mentioned respond. If they battle lyrically, that can only be good for hip hop. Bring your skills to the battle.

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