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!”

As Jay-Z’s musical palette expands, so does his target audience for his clothing brand Rocawear. Hov has launched a new online marketing campaign consisting of 37 short videos featuring a bevy of musicians, poets and artists from all walks of life.

The videos symbolize Rocawear’s transition to a mainstream, all-encompassing clothing brand.

“We are a great American brand. We don’t envision ourselves as an urban brand or streetwear brand,” said Jay-Z. “We wanted to show people how we’ve evolved and repositioned ourselves, without abandoning our original DNA.”

“It’s all walks of life,” continued Jay. “When I played the Glastonbury music festival people said a Hip Hop artist couldn’t play a rock festival. But culture isn’t segmented like that any more. There’s so much [sic] cross-pollinization and the same thing is true for clothes.”

Additionally, Rocawear is opening a pop-up shop at 201 Mulberry Street in Manhattan’s NoLIta neighborhood. The space will serve as, rather than a store, a brand showcase for people to come and give their impressions of the brand.

Organizers of the 2010 Rock The Bells Festival will hold a press conference this month to unveil dates, times and performers for this year’s event. Reps for Guerilla Union, the company behind The third annual Rock The Bells Festival, said select artists from the upcoming festival will also perform during the press conference. MySpace Music is this year’s official media partner according to Guerilla Union’s founder, Chang Weisberg.

The press conference will take place Monday May 24th at the Key Club. Rock The Bells was launched by Guerilla Union in 2003. A number of popular rap artists have taken part in Rock The Bells Festival since its launch.

Rappers like Nas, Blackstar, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Lauryn Hill, Hieroglyphics, De La Soul and Wu-Tang Clan are among the artists who have participated in the annual festival.

In 2008, Rock The Bells went international, with shows in Prague, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Helsinki, Paris and London.

Hip-Hop group Cypress Hill has announced a partnership with Guerilla Union to re-launch the annual Cypress Hill Smokeout. The two-day festival and “cannabis expo,” which launched in 1998, will return after a six-year hiatus this October, at the San Manuel Amphitheatre and festival grounds in San Bernardino, California.

Headliners on the Cypress Hill Smokeout include Slipknot, Sublime!, Deftones, Redman and Method Man, Cheech and Chong, all original members of the Goodie Mob and a reunion-set featuring the original Geto Boys, consisting of Willie D., Scarface and Bushwick Bill. “It’s a stoner’s dream come true,” B-Real told of the festival. “Our fans deserve an event that celebrates our love of music and marijuana culture. It’s gonna take two days to take it all in. I can’t wait to play some new music and hang with all our friends and fans.” Cypress Hill’s Smoke Out takes place October 23-24.

Rapper 50 Cent made a surprise appearance during the Lil Wayne – headlined America’s Most Wanted Music Festival last night (August 14) in Anaheim, California. 50 Cent took to the stage as a guest performer during a performance with Atlanta rapper Soulja Boy during the stop at the Honda Center.

The appearance is notable because the two rappers have traded disses on various mixtape and album tracks over the past several years, including a recent track titled “Play This On the Radio.”

Other artists that performed or made appearances during the evening included Young Jeezy, Teyana Taylor and Rihanna. 50 and Soulja Boy’s cozy relationship was revealed earlier this week, when MTV.com reported that the Queens-bred rapper bought the young emcee a studio tour bus for his 19th birthday.

“50 gave me a bus to record my album since I was on tour,” Soulja Boy told MTV.com during a stop on the America’s Most Wanted Music Festival.

Title : Hip Hop Theater Festival: DC

Location : NYC
Link out : Click here

Description: On July 7th the DC Festival lands with an intoxicating mix of flavors, sights and sounds for all to enjoy. We’ve got four venues, 12 events, and over 20 artists coming through!

From family-friendly Zomo the Rabbit to the visionary struggles of the Voices Remix to the bold dance party vision of Amsterdam-based choreographer Nita Liem, this year’s Festival caters to all tastes and palates, and even throws in desert!

The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and Hip-Hop Theater Festival is proud to present all eventsfree of charge.

Make your online reservations NOW!

Be sure to check out the entire 2009 line-up below!

Monday, July 06, 2009
6 Day Event
12:00 PM – 11:30 PM
All Ages
cover: FREE | FREE sponsored by DCCAH
music: Hip Hop & Old School

Cont@ct : brothertone@gmail.com

Start Date : 2009-07-09
End Date : 2009-07-10

Title : All For One Official After Party
Location : N.Y.C
Link out : Click here

Description : The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival Starts Tonight! Come out to the BHF Photo Exhibit and Fundraiser at Galpagos Art Space (16 Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn)

The Photo Exhibit & Fundraiser will take place from 7pm-9pm. The After Party with DJ Qool Marv from 9pm-12am

The Exhibit will consist of various prints from the first four years of the Festival. There will also be a multimedia slide show which will showcase a greater swath of images from the three photographers. For the official after party of our 5th Annual Festival we want to highlight the sense of cooperation and comraderie that we have fostered since 2005.

Last year we brought Detroit to Brooklyn with PPP, House Shoes and Invincible.

This year’s theme is “All For One”

Live Jam Session and throwdown

Hosted by and featuring the Legendary Buckshot (Black Moon, Duck Down)

Inspired by the classic Brand Nubian song and album and in particular these lines from Sadat X’s verse:

“Now come one, come all, we about to get hectic
If my crew don’t get in, then the X makes an exit
to the rear, I’m outta here, don’t front on my brothers
I take care of them before I take care of others
Read my book, it contains many pieces of verses
I took the time to delete all the curses
So moms reach deep in your purses
And buy me take me home and try me and do me well…”

On June 20th at Southpaw we will host a jam session with a whole crowd of up and coming MC’s from Brooklyn and beyond.

Buckshot will play the role as elder statesman to the new class of rookies who will be taking the stage.

We chose Buckshot as he was once in the position that many rappers like Torae, Skyzoo, Pac Div, Mickey Factz and more find themselves in now. A hot rapper with a buzz, a great album, and a deal. He turned that into a legendary career and business. Now over 15 years later Buckshot leads the most relevant independent Hip-Hop label, Duck Down and is mentoring the next generation and ushering in a second Golden Era of Hip-Hop.

June 20th, 2009

SouthPaw 125 5th Ave Brooklyn, N.Y.

9pm-2am
Entrance: $10, reduced with BHF ’09 ticket stub

Featuring: Buckshot, DJ JS-1, 8thw1, and more
Entire BHF ’09 artist lineup invited

JUST ADDED: Tanya Morgan and Mr. Cheeks of The Lost Boyz. Bringing this full circle y’all!

Produced by Brooklyn Bodega, Savannah Boogie Music and Song, and Uncle Ralph McDaniels
Date : 2009-06-20

On April 1-4, Newark, NJ’s NJPAC Center will host Alternate Routes, a 4 day festival featuring over 30 Hip-Hop artists. The event aims to showcase the many multi-faceted artists in the Tri-State area, along with musicians from Canada.

In addition to performances, the festival’s lineup includes spoken word artists, exclusive film screenings, emcee battles, panel workshops, and a late night open mic.

Set to perform on Alternate Route’s second day, dubbed “Fresh Status,” are former Def Jam rapper and Jay-Z signee Sam Scarfo, and Newark native Tame One, formerly of 90’s duo The Artifacts and now the Weathermen.

On April 4, a panel discussion will be conducted with Hip-Hop pioneer Kangol Kid, and trailblazing female emcee Lin Que of X-Clan. Rob Swift, a founding member of the acclaimed X-ecutioners, will close the event with Hip-Hop Fundamentals 101.

Through exhibitions, Swift is scheduled to detail the various elements of the culture in DJing, beatboxing, and breaking.

Tickets are available through NJPAC at 1-888-GO-NJPAC, www.njpac.org, or the NJPAC box office at One Center Street in Newark, NJ.

Rapper/actor 50 Cent is planning to make an entry into the business side of the film world with his own new production company.

50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson, made the announcement during a conference at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The unnamed company was formed with movie producer Randell Emmett and Chris Lighty. Emmett is known for producing a variety of movies, including “Shottas,” “The Amityville Horror (2005)” and “Home of the Brave,” while Lighty manages a list of superstar clients like Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, Sean “Diddy” Combs and 50 Cent.