ANOTHER RAPPER GUNNED DOWN-M-BONE OF CALI SWAG DISTRICT WAS JUST IN T.O.

The Hip-Hop community suffered another blow with the untimely passing of Cali Swag District group member M-Bone who was shot and killed late last night in his Inglewood stomping grounds. This group was just in Toronto on Rap City on MuchMTV Canada about 2 weeks ago. It is such a shame that in these days when much rappers cannot cross the border into Canada, Cali Swag is on the right side of the law with no drug or gun charges hindering their Canadian entry and appearances. Once again, gunfire has silenced a member of the hip-hop community.

According to local police, no suspects have been apprehended as they continue to piece together clues in the senseless killing. A rep for Cali Swag released a statement to MTV News expressing the loss of the beloved group."Cali Swag District member Mante 'M-Bone' Talbert was the victim of a random act of violence last night, Sunday, May 15th in his hometown of Inglewood, CA. Word on his Facebook Memorial page talks about the whole thing about a "twitter beef" involving a young woman.

As police are still investigating the shooting and untimely death we ask that anyone with information contact the Inglewood Police Department. Mante, aged 22, was the comedic entertainer of Cali Swag District (who helped launch 'The Dougie' to mainstream audiences) and was an inspiration to his family, friends and fans. He was a hardworking, passionate artist and dancer that will be deeply missed."Cali Swag District made a major impact on the hip-hop market last year thanks to their catchy single "Teach Me How to Dougie." The track set off a rap sensation with the tune instructing fans how to perform the dance craze that sparked millions of followers. M-Bone was infamously known as one of the group's prime dancers along with members DJ C-Smoove, Yung and JayAre.

Last year we caught up with Cali Swag at the height of their dance movement where the collective elaborated on the track."A friend of ours went to Texas Southern [University]. He picked up on the [Dougie] dance [and] he learned how to do it [the way] they do it in Texas," C-Smoove recently told MTV News. "He came back like, 'Y'all should make a song about this dance.' So we made it happen. We went in the booth and we tore it downThe Inglewood Police Department is asking anyone with information to come forward and call its homicide division at (310) 412-5246 or its 24-hour anonymous hotline number, (888) 41 CRIME, or (888) 412-7463. Below is their hit song "Teach Me How to Dougie."

With files from MTV News

STEVIE WONDER GETS HONORARY DEGREE AND GIVES STUDENTS IMPROMPTU PERFORMANCE.

STEVIE WONDER surprised students at a university in New Orleans, Louisiana with an impromptu performance on Thursday (12May11) as he was handed an honorary degree at the facility. The Superstition hitmaker, who turns 61 on Friday (13May11), was handed the certificate at Tulane University, with Nobel Laureate Walter Gilbert and journalist Cokie Roberts also receiving degrees.

Wonder stunned the crowd at the ceremony when he started singing along to Michael White's Original Liberty Jazz Band and singer Topsy Chapman, before breaking into a rendition of his hit You Are The Sunshine of My Life. The superstar also recited the words to his new track, Ten Billion Hearts, reports the Associated Press. Spokesperson for the university, Michael Strecker, says the students were given an "unexpected treat".

NICK CANNON NOT PLANNING TO DISS EMINEM IN COMEDY SKIT.

Entertainer NICK CANNON is playing down press reports about his renewed war of words with EMINEM, insisting he's not poking fun at the rapper in his upcoming TV comedy special - but the fuss over their feud. New dad Cannon took aim at his rap rival in 2009 when he accused the superstar of disrespecting his wife Mariah Carey in the lyrics of Relapse album track Bagpipes From Baghdad. In the tune, Eminem opens up about an alleged romance with Carey, rapping, "Mariah whatever happened to us/Why did we ever have to break-up?" But when he turned on Cannon in the song, urging him to "back the f**k up," adding, "I'm not playing, I want her back, you punk...." and "I wish you luck with that whore", the entertainer decided it was time to fight back.

In a post on his blog, Cannon wrote, "(Eminem is) still obsessed with my wife, the same female that wouldn't let him get to second base from eight years ago." Cannon called Eminem "Slim Lamey" and offered him a challenge, writing, "Man to man, let's meet up and deal with this like adults... This is my invitation to you, whenever and wherever you like, sir. So when you come out of your introverted hiding place and ask your bodyguards if you can go out and play by yourself, I'm here Pimp!" And he further teased Eminem by stating, "Your legacy has now been tainted from this day forth! You will now be known as the rapper who lost to corny-a** Nick Cannon!"

The angry post was later removed, but sources at U.S. cable network Showtime recently revealed the comedian would take aim at Eminem again in his special, which debuts in America on Saturday (14May11). He insists that's not the case, stating, "I'm not taking him on. When you watch it (the special), you see what it is. It's really me talking about how silly the entire thing was. "I kinda come from... the character of my grandfather... and how he felt about me 'beefing' in hip-hop... It wasn't really a real beef. "He's (grandfather) kind of an old-school gangster, so (he'd) talk about how he would have handled it."

The drama with Slim Shady never stops! Sigh!

FLEETWOOD MAC PLAN TO REUNITE IN 2012...YAY!

Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks has confirmed the band will reunite next year (12).
The group last toured in 2009 and their most recent album, Say You Will, was released in 2003.
The singer and her bandmate Lindsey Buckingham are both busy working on solo material, but they plan to resurrect the band in 2012 once they wrap up their side-projects - and Nicks reveals they are considering recording a new album. She tells Perez Hilton, "When (my new) album and Lindsey's album come to a stop then Fleetwood Mac will gather again and we'll either make another record or we won't and we’ll just go on tour."

BEYONCE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT FIRING HER DAD AS MANAGER.

Beyonce insists there's no bad blood between her and her father Mathew Knowles after she dispensed with his services as her manager.The music boss has been behind his daughter ever since she broke through with Destiny's Child, but the pair parted ways earlier this year (11).
Speaking out about the split, Beyonce tells Billboard magazine there was no big falling out between father and daughter.

She says, "It's not that anything bad happened between us. My family has my support always, and they support me, but when you've been working with the same people for 15 years, it's natural to eventually have your own ideas. "I believe that parents prepare their kids for the moment that they're on their own (and), at this point, I'm taking everything my dad and my mother have taught me, and I'm able to do things my way. "We were at a point where we'd learned so much from each other, and now it's exciting for me to do this on my own and hire my own team. I've started managing myself."
O well, lets hope it's not like the Usherama we saw 2 years ago.

BRITNEY SPEARS CHARITY EVENT NETS A SUCCESSFUL $200,000.

BRITNEY SPEARS has thanked her celebrity pals for helping her raise over $200,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts at her California charity event on Wednesday (11May11). The Toxic hitmaker hosted An Evening of Southern Style at a private residence in Beverly Hills to benefit the St. Bernard Project, an organisation which helps those made homeless by the devastating storm which ripped through her home state of Louisiana in 2005. During the evening, Spears served her own "homemade sweet tea", while her father Jamie catered a traditional southern menu for celebrity guests including Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez, Kelly Osbourne, Kellan Lutz and Kim Kardashian.

The pop superstar has now thanked the stars for showing their support and revealed the evening was a big success. In a post on Twitter.com, she writes, "Thank you everyone who came out to support my charity event last night with St Bernard Project. With your help we raised over 200k! - Britney." Spears then named and thanked her celebrity guests for their attendance.

GAGA DRAMA: GAGA EXHAUSTION, LOVE LIFE DEAD AND PENIS SHOES ON IDOL.

LADY GAGA is constantly struggling to overcome a "fog" of exhaustion which "hovers over" her during her gruelling touring schedule. The Poker Face hit maker has been touring non-stop over the last 18 months with her Monster Ball shows and in early 2010, she sparked fears for her health by cancelling a number of concerts due to fatigue. Gaga admits her constant tiredness is a serious concern, but she is determined to continue her punishing work routine for the sake of her fans.

In an interview with Sir Elton John for V magazine, she says, "At a certain point exhaustion becomes a state of being, and mentally I have to be strong and overcome it. It's like a cloud, a fog really that hovers over me. But in a way I will never ever escape it. Art is my whole life.
"The monsters (fans) are my medicine. They heal me, physically and emotionally, every night at the show. I feel God through their love. I worship little monsters. They're my religion." Those little monsters are the FANS and Gaga sure worships them. We at HipHossip are going to run a big party here to launch her album on the 23rd of May.

So later on during the week, GAGA has blamed her hectic work schedule for her "miserably pathetic" love life because she doesn't have time to date. The Poker Face pop star is single again after splitting from her longtime boyfriend, heavy metal drummer Luc Carl, and admits she is struggling to move on following the break-up. Gaga has taped a interview for Britain's The Graham Norton Show and she appeared on the set wearing an elaborate wedding dress, complete with veil and a tiara, as she opened up about her disappointing love life. She tells the host, "I'm miserably pathetic in my wedding dress. I haven't been on any dates recently because I have been working so hard and I get very bored very quickly with men..." She subsequently lightened the mood by joking, "I guess they would get freaked out by this wedding dress." The full interview with Lady Gaga aired in the U.K. on Friday (13May11).

So while the penis is missing in her life now, it's turned up elsewhere on her body. American Idol got heated up as Gaga wore this somewhat offending stiffy stilettos that were censored on the show. The heels were shaped like a penis! I hear these shoes retail for $4625!! Poor Gaga, Judas video too expensive, blaspheming a section of the bible by turning it into a music video etc. Let Gaga rest up for the MMVA's. We need her here with all the strenght. Next Saturday she will be on Saturday Night Live with Justin Timberlake. That should be fun.

MUCH MUSIC PERFORMERS: BRUNO MARS ADDED TO LIST AS WELL AS AVRIL, THE BLACK KEYS AND CITY AND COLOR.

Yay! Just as I wanted to see that "Easy Come, Easy Go" piano dragging guy who also plays around with his lazy monkey pals. BRUNO MARS is in the house for the MMVA's!!!

Fans will go Gaga for the 2011 MUCHMUSIC VIDEO AWARDS as MuchMusic announced today more blockbuster performers. Set to rock the block at MuchMusic HQ in Toronto are Bruno Mars, The Black Keys, Avril Lavigne, and City and Colour. Co-hosted by screen and music superstar Selena Gomez, these A-List performers join previously announced Queen of Pop, Lady Gaga, on the MMVAs stage. The fan-tastic event goes down live on Sunday, June 19 at 9 p.m. ET on MuchMusic and Fuse in the U.S. , with the MMVAs RED CARPET SPECIAL at 8 p.m. ET. Additional performer and presenter announcements to come.

"I'm really looking forward to performing on the MMVAs,” said Bruno Mars. “It’s my first time doing all this stuff and I find it all very exciting, I hope all my fans in Canada enjoy my performance."

Bruno Mars

There’s no denying that Grammy®-winning and 2011 MMVA UR Fave nominee Bruno Mars is out of this world! Not only has Mars lent his other-word-ly abilities as co-writer on dozens of chart-toppers including “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy, and “F*** You!” by Cee Lo Green, his 2010 solo album Doo-wops and Hooligans kicked ass in the charts and got rave reviews. Mars was the most nominated artist at this year’s Grammys® Awards with an outstanding seven nods, including Album of The Year, and two nominations for his producing talents (Record of the Year and Song of The Year for “F*** You” produced by his team The Smeezingtons). Mars capped off Grammy night with a win for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Just the Way You Are” and brought the house down with his performance alongside B.o.B and Janelle Monáe. Fans can expect a similar high energy, crowd pleasing performance at the MMVAs.

The Black Keys

For years now The Black Keys have been building a rabid following of fans through a succession of critically acclaimed albums, and in 2010 they blew it wide open with the release of the albumBrothers. Aside from debuting at #3 on the Billboard Album Chart, Brothers ranked #2 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s Best Albums of 2010 chart, while Spin Magazine named The Black Keys Artist of the Year. Not to mention taking home 2011 Grammy® Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals for their hit single, “Tighten Up.” Not too shabby for two guys from Akron , Ohio , right?

Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne first connected with MuchMusic fans when she stepped out onto the hood of car as a pop-punk tomboy at the 2002 MMVAs red carpet show, after releasing her now six-time platinum debut album Let Go. Since then she’s earned seven MuchMusic Video Awards, eight Grammy® nominations, won seven JUNO Awards, sold more than 30 million albums, and graced more than 100 magazine covers worldwide. All this from a small-town girl from Napanee, Ontario ! Lavigne is now all grown up and returning to MuchMusic’s HQ to perform the hit single from her latest album Goodbye Lullaby.

City and Colour

Diversity and originality is something MuchMusic fans have loads of so it’s no wonder critically-acclaimed City and Colour’s Dallas Green is an MMVAs favourite. Green’s stripped-down, heartfelt performances as City and Colour instantly connected with Canadians, and fans around the world. Exceeding expectations, his debut album Sometimes achieved platinum certification in 2006, the same year he gave a memorable performance at the MMVAs, landing Green a UR Fave Award for Favourite Canadian Artist. City and Colour’s sophomore release Bring Me Your Love (2008) debuted at #2 on the Top 200 Soundscan chart in Canada and is also certified platinum. On the heels from a sold-out Australian tour, Green has been garnering praise and recognition the world over and more recently sold out London 's legendary Royal Albert Hall. Now back on home turf, City and Colour returns to perform his newest single “Fragile Bird” taken from his much-anticipated upcoming release Little Hell, out on June 7.

BEYONCE PLANS TO NAME NEW ALBUM "4" LIKE HER FAVE NUMBER. CLAIMS SHE WAS INSPIRED BY NIGERIA'S FELA RANSOME KUTI.

Beyonce's upcoming fourth solo albumwill be called "4," a title she says was inspired by her fans."Everywhere I look, I see them calling it '4,' she told Billboard. "I had a whole other name and concept, but I keep seeing that the fans love the name '4,' and I think it would be a really nice thing to let them name the record."The number four also holds personal significance for Beyonce."We all have special numbers in our lives, and 4 is that for me," she says.

It's the day I was born. My mother's birthday, and a lot of my friends' birthdays, are on the fourth; April 4 is my wedding date."Beyonce said her early inspiration for the album came from Afrobeat music pioneer Fela Kuti: "I recorded more than 60 songs: everything I ever wanted to try, I just did it. I started off being inspired by Fela Kuti.

I actually worked with the band from "Fela!" (the hit Broadway musical based on his life) for a couple of days...what I learned most from Fela was artistic freedom: he just felt the spirit.""4," due out in June, marks the follow-up to 2008's "I Am ... Sasha Fierce."

Now I wanna see Fela's sons Femi and Seun and Beyonce together on stage. Ironically one of Fela's iconic musical son was on stage with Beyonce at the ThisDay Music festival in Nigeria in 2006. Above is Seun Kuti.

With files from Billboard.com

RAPPER TURN ACTOR WILL SMITH'S TRAILER SENT PACKING.

Will Smith's tricked-out trailer was sent packing Wednesday after complaints from residents in the neighbourhood where his new film is being shot.The location shoot for "Men in Black III" has clogged the narrow streets of Manhattan's Soho district for several days. But among the two dozen trucks and trailers deployed there, the most prominent was the luxury apartment-on-wheels occupied by Smith.

The double-decker digs were larger than many Manhattan residences and had locals up in arms about its size, noise and fumes."I love Will Smith, but this is about survival," said Anessa Rahman, co-owner of an antiques store located a few steps from the curbside spot where the actor's trailer had been parked.The trailer, along with the rest of the crowded Hollywood convoy, was putting a dent in her business, she said.Wednesday afternoon, the megatrailer was removed by Columbia Pictures. Hear what Columbia Pictures Spokesman had to say?

So much drama when the residents don't approve.