Lauryn Hill and Pras hit the stage at the 2011 Rock the Bells festival in New York City, New York, but were one member short of a full Fugees reunion. Speaking with UsMagazine.com, Wyclef Jean explained that he was originally asked to appear during the show but a conflict kept him from participating.

“It wasn’t really a reunion,” he said. “I had a concert, but I got the offer to come. Pras was at the crib, so I said, ‘Pras, Lauryn wants me at Rock The Bells and I can’t make it.

So don’t you think you should just surprise her and pop up instead?’ So Pras shows up. And there’s two Fugees. Then they’re like, where’s the third? But that’s what happened.”
While he didn’t grace the stage with his former band members, ‘Clef didn’t entirely rule out joining forces with L Boogie and Praswell in the future.

“There’s an energy and a buzz about the Fugees that everyone likes,” he added. “I think that it would be exciting to see that happen again. I don’t know if it would be another album — but maybe a song!”

Days prior to the release of The Elmatic Instrumentals, producer DJ Premier spoke with Fat Beats Records about his production contributions to Nas’ iconic album Ilmatic as well as the reinterpretation of his songs featured on Detroit rapper Elzhi’s Elmatic album. One of the three Ilmatic songs DJ Premier produced was “Memory Lane” a song which Premier says he was hesitant to produce.

“Nas picked that sample. I didn’want to use it. I thought it was not what made me wanna do Ilmatic. I was already a fan. I had already heard ‘The World Is Yours.’ I was in the session,” DJ Premier explained. “I was watching every scratch on ‘The World Is Yours’…So Nas picked this sample and I was like, ‘Uhh.’ And he’s like ‘Yo, I need something that’s not like all the other stuff I got. I’ll kill that. Just put your rhythm to it.’ So I did it and he went in there and I liked what he did lyrically. The lyrics made me fall in love with it.”

DJ Premier later revealed that it was all about compromise when it came to creating “Memory Lane.”

“But it was my least favorite until he proved me wrong. And he did,” said DJ Premier. “If you could prove me wrong I’m cool cause I love a good fight in any situation you wanna put me in. Physical, mental, whatever…That’s a fight that I compromised once and he showed me that he was right that we did that song and used that sample. And shouts to Reuben Wilson for letting us clear it.”

Later in the interview Premier spoke on Will Sessions newer versions of both “Represent” and “Detroit State Of Mind.”

Though it’s been almost five months since the release of his mixtape, The S.O.U.L. Tape , Fabolous took over New York City, New York’s SOB’s to perform the freebie in its entirety. Taking the stage just past 10 p.m., Loso ran through the tap from front to back, giving live renditions of favorites like “Leaving You” with backing assistance from a live band that included guitarists, a DJ, two backup singers, a drummer and a keyboardist.

“If you fuck with that S.O.U.L. Tape, make some noise!” repeated Fab throughout the evening, standing almost entirely stationary throughout the set. A sea of cell phones captured guest stars like Vado and Lloyd Banks (“Mo Brooklyn, Mo Harlem, Mo Southside” ), Red Cafe (“Y’all Don’t Hear Me Tho” ), Freck Billionaire (“Pay Back Music”), Broadway and Paul Cain (“Drugs (Do This To Me)”) and Trey Songz (“Slow Down”).

“This has been a real nigga in the game a long time,” Trigga Trey told the crowd, motioning to Fab. “So what I wanna say right now is, you need to slow down.”

Watch clips of Fab, Vado and Lloyd Banks below, as well the performance with Trey Songz (via TheThoughtful1).

October 4th is the official release date for Styles P’s fourth album Master Of Ceremonies and during a chat with Smash Block TV, the Yonkers, New York rapper says that new music videos are coming up, plus that Wu-Block album. Styles has already confirmed that features on his album include Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross, Pharoahe Monch, Pharrell and The LOX, and now he says that the first visuals will arrive shortly. “We’re definitely doing a video for ‘Harsh,’” he says, of the Ross and Busta-featured track. “We’ll probably shoot that next week and I have a couple more videos I’m gonna shoot off of that album.

“We’re working on the In And Out Boyz [mixtape], we working on Wu-Block,” he continues, referencing his project with Ghostface, Raekwon and The Lox, “We working on the next group solo show, and the next Kiss solo show, we in the lab going. As far as The Lox projects, we’re just getting the paperwork ready.”

Returning to this own album, Style says that he keeps the focus on rhyming—“I represent lyrics”—which he explains further in his own words. “I put my foot into this,” he says. “I put my foot, back, everything into it and my ghost foot too.”

As Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV continues to dominate the Billboard Top 200, the album has also made a significant impact on Wayne’s standing in the Hot 100 singles chart.
Eight singles debuted this week from Wayne’s latest release, including “Mirror” featuring Bruno Mars at No. 16. Combined with the three previous singles on the chart, Wayne’s 11 total singles on the chart tie David Cook and Taylor Swift for most simultaneously-charting songs by a solo artist in history.

Only the Beatles, who have fellow Hip Hop artist Jay-Z’s number in the most No. 1 albums category, have had more with 14 songs on the April 11, 1964 Hot 100.

Jay-Z and Kanye West have revealed the cover art for “Why I Love You” featuring Mr. Hudson, the fourth single off their collaborative album Watch the Throne.

Against an artistic interpretation of the French flag, the image features stark white lettering showing the artists’ names and song title, similar to that of the cover art for “Niggas in Paris.”

So far, the duo has released “H.A.M.,” “Otis” and “Niggas in Paris” from their LP. “Why I Love You” impacts radio on September 13th.

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Although it’s been three years since Young Jeezy released his smash third album The Recession, that doesn’t mean the Snowman’s been slacking off with music. He’s been holding steady on the mixtape scene, producing critically acclaimed projects like Trap or Die 2 and this past May’s The Real is Back. Now, with an album on the horizon, the CTE Entertainment CEO is re-teaming with DJ Drama for a sequel to his hit tape from earlier this year.

In a recent interview with FreeOnSmash, Jeezy revealed that he is planning to drop his latest mixtape The Real is Back 2 before his next album Thug Motiviation 103: Hustlerz Ambition hits shelves this September 20. He also added that the tape, which is to be hosted by DJ Drama, will hit the Internet within a few days.

“The Real is Back 2 – what if I told you that?” he said. “That was [an] unoffcial [announcement], but I’m saying it. Take it how you want to take it; I said it, I might mean it. [As] a matter of fact, I know I mean ‘cus I said it. The Real is Back 2 – give me a week…three days, that’s all I need.”

So far this week, Hip Hop could finally exhale as Watch the Throne made its digital dropoff yesterday (August 8th). Today, Gucci Mane and his protege Waka Flocka Flame arrive with Ferrari Boyz, the cameo-heavy collaborative project with features including French Montana on “Feed Me” , Rocko on both “In My Business” and the Drumma Boy produced “What the Hell” . Royce Da 5’9 also comes through with Success Is Certain, which puts Royce in the driver’s seat of some hard-hitting cuts like “Where My Money” , the Nottz-produced “Merry Go Round” , and the Joe Budden-assisted “My Own Planet” .

The week after, La Coka Nostra’s own Slaine will drop A World With No Skies 2.0. Prior to 2.0 Slaine dropped the mixtape “State Of Grace” with producer Statik Selektah which included the punchy “Offensive Lines” with Action Bronson and Ill Bill. The third week of August offers Game’s long-awaited The R.E.D. Album on August 23rd. As of right now, Pusha T will be delivering Fear Of God Part 2: Let Us Pray that same day and a week later Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV is scheduled to be upon us.

September looks equally promising, with Swizz Beatz’s Haute Living on September 13th. Recently Swizzy dropped a mixtape of all of his “Monster Mondays” tracks. Young Jeezy brings Thug Motivation 103 on September 20th with the Queen of Hip Hop Soul Mary J. Blige bringing My Life II: The Journey Continues that date as well. One week later (on September 27th) finds J. Cole’s Cole World: The Sideline Story, Big K.R.I.T.’s Live From the Underground, and Yelawolf’s Radioactive all on that same day. ‘Wolf dropped the single “Hard White (Up In the Club)” with Lil Jon just last week.
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A whole lot of mixtapes were announced this past week, but very few include definitive drop times. In the real release world though, Game dropped his pre-RED Hoodmorning [No Typo]: Candy Coronas hosted by DJ Skee & Mars. The mix carried some heavy cuts, including the controversial “Uncle Otis” along with “Standin On a Corner” with Wiz Khalifa and B.o.B. In addition to Game, Chris Brown delivered his rapping mixtape “Boy In Detention”, which also featured Wiz Khalifa, alongside Big K.R.I.T. on the reworked K.R.I.T.-produced track “Yoko” .

This week, Meek Mill will finally deliver “Dream Chasers” on August 11th and Bow Wow jumps in the ring next Monday with “Greenlight 4″. Two of Hip Hop’s favorite rappers, Styles P and Young Jeezy will deliver mixtapes prior to their albums. Styles will drop “The World’s Most Hardest MC” due some time next week in anticipation of his album Master Of Ceremonies slated for September. Jeezy will drop “The Real Is Back 2″ as a teaser for Thug Motivation 103 coming September 20th.

Following in the steps of fellow R&B crooner Chris Brown (minus the rapping), singers/songwriters The-Dream and Ne-Yo will both deliver mixtapes of their own. The-Dream’s “Terius Nash Est.1977″, being called a “free album” arrives on the last day of August, while Ne-Yo works on “101″ hosted by comedian Kevin Hart.
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Fans of Game will have every opportunity to see the Compton rapper in the coming weeks, as he’s been making the rounds promoting his upcoming project The R.E.D. Album. This week, the promo run has included guest-hosting duties on BET’s “106 & Park.” In addition to performing and finding himself on the opposite end of interviews with audience members, Game took some time to tell co-host Rocsi Diaz about his hiatus as well his plans when his deal with Interscope is over.

“I gotta be a dad…I gotta be at home with the fam and hold it down,” Game explained of his time away between albums. “Then I gotta tour—pay my bills. But even when I’m away, I’m still working.”

After telling XXLMag.com during a July interview that he was considering either moving to Cash Money Records or merging his Black Wall Street imprint with the label, Game revealed that he talks to Cash Money co-founder Bryan “Birdman” Williams a few times each week. When asked about his plans when his deal with Interscope is up, Game played things closer to the vest.

“You know Interscope/Aftermath, that’s my label and I’ma hold it down for them forever,” Game said. “I’ve been there for four albums, and I’ve got one more album before I’m a free agent. We’re gonna try and turn that one around real quick, then I’ll make the executive decision on what I’ll do with the rest of my career. I might get into acting, I might go over to Cash Money. You never know.”