Freestyle Battles and Rap Battles at Hiphopmadness.com

DMX's legal woes in Arizona finally came to a close Tuesday morning (December 30), as the rapper entered into an agreement that will allow a number of charges to be dropped against him.

In return, the former Ruff Ryders star (known legally as Earl Simmons) formally pleaded guilty to four lesser counts on cases of animal cruelty, drug possession and theft. He's scheduled to be sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court on January 30.

Local up-and-coming rapper 29-E was fatally shot this morning (January 4) and two additional artists have suffered gun wounds after a concert shooting in Washington.

Accoridng to Seattlest, around 12:30 a.m. a dispute took place at Seattle's Chop Suey venue when someone opened the club's side door and began to unload gun shots at artists and show attenders inside a hallway.

A representative for Soulja Boy has confirmed reports the rapper was the victim of assault earlier this week. Unconfirmed reports alleged the star - real name DeAndre Ramone Way - and several of his friends were robbed at gunpoint after six men invaded his Georgia home on Tuesday.

Speculation heightened on Wednesday after two masked men posted a video, in which they took responsibility for the crime, online. They also boasted of stalking the star at a release party for his new album iSouljaBoyTellem before following him home.

DMX's Arizona home is reportedly under foreclosure and has been put up for sale by a local bank.  The realtor selling DMX's home, Andrew Wheeler, revealed to AZFamily today (January 2) that the home was left unprotected and in shambles after it was raided for the second time by authorities in May 2008.

Wheeler divulged that the house's doors and windows were blown during the raid and it made it easy for thieves to enter the house.

Dr. Dre's 20-year-old son died in August due to a drug overdose, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office confirmed to Usmagazine.com Friday.

"Andre Young Jr.'s death has been ruled as an accident due to morphine and heroin intoxication," media officer Ed Winter told Us.

Young was discovered in his bed at 10:30 a.m. August 23 by his mother, who attempted to wake him, the coroner's spokesperson told MTV News three days after his death.

Kanye West is well-known for two things: his awesome rapping and his arrogance. The guy's music is so intensely good it (almost) justifies his God complex. Every time the rapper gets onstage at some awards show and accepts one statue by claiming he should have won another one, we usually have to agree. West has encouraged us to expect such a superhuman level of perfection from him, it was inevitable he would one day not be able to meet it. 

Soulja Boy isn’t known for controversy and beef – unless you count the Ice-T fiasco awhile back - as much as he is known as being a fun rapper.  But now it appears that the rapper, who has cashed in on youtube fame and a dance craze, has become the target of up and coming NYC emcee Charles Hamilton.

When Lil Wayne found out he was named MTV News' 2008 Man of the Year, he responded in typical Weezy-ian fashion: He wished everyone happy holidays.

To be fair, that's not all he said, but it's how he signed off in the e-mail he sent to MTV News, in between stops on his I Am Music Tour. He also thanked his fans and his pals here in the newsroom, and he promised bigger things to come in 2009, if that's even possible. (Fans and detractors alike weighed in on his Man of the Year status here.) And while he was also plenty grateful for the honor, the way he chose to end his e-mail just struck us as being completely hilarious — something that could have only sprung from the wild mind of Wayne.

As the date nears when 50 Cent drops his long awaited Before I Self Destruct, another significant event will be coming to a head – whether or not 50 Cent will remain in the Shady/Aftermath/Interscope family. As many may already know, this is the final album Curtis is contractually obligated to release and it will be time to renegotiate.

The ongoing battle between superstars and the paparazzi is getting uglier by the moment. Chris Brown and Rihanna are being sued by paparazzi photographer who alleges that he was beaten up and robbed by the couple's bodyguards last May, according to the Associated Press.