HHC Digital’s rap round-up…
By Richard Watson

“Any title for a girl you can believe I own it”, rapped Roxanne Shante back in the day, but this week she fessed up to fibbing about having a phD. Call us cynics, but we’re beginning to wonder if she’s really a fully accredited Supreme Highness Almighty Noble Topics Exponent.

In cheerier news, cinephiles rejoiced as Redman insisted that, despite setbacks, the hugely anticipated How High sequel is still going ahead. Reggie let slip, too, that – SPOILER ALERT! – “It will still be marijuana-related”, and dropped a new ditty to hold us down in the interim. Also teasing us about forthcoming returns were ’90s throwbacks The Madd Rapper and Shyheim. Props to the latter for rhyming, “Everyday I wake up/Get a coffee and a paper” – great to hear that in 2009 The Rugged Child still engages with traditional print-based media.

Rappers were lightening themselves of trinkets this week as T-Pain held a funeral for his Big-Ass Chain and Diddy lost his 20K diamond ring while making it rain on 106 And Park. He then had the audience frisked, which would have undermined his big ballin’ stunt had the flung money not been $1 bills and Monopoly loot, the skinflint. Searching for a different type of ring, however, was Fat Boy Prince Markie Dee, who challenged professional grappler Iron Sheikh to a wrestling match. Crushin’ may, in a very real sense, ensue.

Continuing to run amuck in good ol’ Great Britain, the Young/Cash Money click broadcast from “right in the background of Tony Blair crib”, while Young Money man Drake stressed that his feather-ruffling lyric “I never cried when ‘Pac died/But I probably will when Hov does” wasn’t dissing Mr Shakur. Fair enough, but spare a thought for Hov – rappers aren’t just calling him old now, they’re actively preparing themselves for his death.