–CNN

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died, Steinbrenner’s spokesman said.

“It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing,” a statement from his family said. ““He was an incredible and charitable man. First and foremost he was devoted to his entire family – his beloved wife, Joan; his sisters, Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, his children, Hank, Jennifer, Jessica and Hal; and all of his grandchildren.

“He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again.”

The team has seven World Series trophies – 1977, ’78, ’96, ’98, ’99, 2000 and ’09 earned under Steinbrenner’s ownership since 1973.

“Owning the Yankees,” Steinbrenner once said, “is like owning the Mona Lisa.”

For more on George Steinbrenner. Click Here

AP/LOS ANGELES — “Despicable Me” wasn’t such a bad guy after all, it seems, opening at the top of the box office with an estimated $60.1 million.

The first 3-D animated movie from Universal Pictures stars Steve Carell as the voice of Gru, a bumbling villain with plans to steal the moon — until three adorable orphan girls enter his life. Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Julie Andrews are among the star-studded voice cast.

Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, said Sunday that “Despicable Me” far exceeded the studio’s expectations for opening weekend.

“Thirty (million) would have been a win for the studio — because it’s a new creative idea, we really didn’t know what we had, so we backed in saying $30 (million),” said Rocco. “I would never have said $50 million-plus.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com.

1. “Despicable Me,” $60.1 million.

2. “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” $33.35 million.

3. “Predators,” $25.3 million.

4. “Toy Story 3,” $22 million.

5. “The Last Airbender,” $17.15 million.

6. “Grown Ups,” $16.4 million.

7. “Knight and Day,” $7.85 million.

8. “The Karate Kid,” $5.7 million.

9. “The A-Team,” $1.8 million.

10. “Cyrus,” $1.4 million.

More on this story Click HERE

via  OzoneMag: It’s been over two and a half years since the death of the late rapper, but new music from Chad“Pimp C” Butler will soon be available to his fans.

With UGK partner & rhyme Bun B’s Trill O.G. slated for an August 3rd release date, it’s only right for the Pimp’s album to follow soon after. Preliminary artwork for The Naked Soul of Sweet James Jones leaked online over a year ago, leaving people to speculate and anticipate the album’s release. Now the speculation is over as the album is currently set for release on September 21, 2010. The record will be Pimp C’s third and probably final solo release under famed Southern label Rap-A-Lot Records, which will be distributed through their new venture with Fontana/Universal Records.

While this may be a posthumous album from Pimp C, longtime friend and UGK partner Bun B assured their many supporters that the album will be of quality.

“We had enough vocals [for the album], but it wasn’t just about taking whatever vocals I had available,” Bun B said in an interview with XXL Magazine last year. “It was about constructing songs. It wasn’t about just throwing all the Pimp C I had out there. I had to really try to make an album.”

The star and co-producer of the “Stop Snitching” videos a man who came to symbolize Baltimore’s violent street scene and a culture that threatens witnesses who cooperate with police — was sentenced Friday to nearly 20 years in federal prison.

Removing Ronnie Thomas, better known as “Skinny Suge,” from city streets ends a years-long drama in which his popular underground DVDs flouted authority with obscene anti-police rants showing “corner boys” taunting police and waving guns — practically daring officers to confront them.

More on this story Click HERE

This morning, Lil Boosie appeared in front of a Baton Rouge judge and plead not guilty for his first degree murder charge. Boosie was indicted two weeks ago for allegedly shooting Terry Boyd last October. The rapper also faces drug charges.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

“He’s not guilty. I think he’s absolutely not guilty. I think he meant what he said. He’s absolutely not guilty. We’re just going to prepare for his defense and get ready to address the charges.”

With the murder case pending as well as drug charges, District Attorney Hillar Moore stated,

“I’d rather wait for the evidence to speak as to what happened. He’s got several different cases, so it depends on which one you’re talking about. He also has the introduction of the drugs into the prison and obviously, he’s presumed innocent at this point.”

via HipHopDX

* Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandth.

Top 200 Album Sales (Top 10 Hip Hop/R&B)

Rank	Artist	Album	This Week	Est. Total
32	Nas & Damian Marley	Distant Relatives	13,000	113,000
41	Ludacris	Battle of the Sexes	11,000	452,000
48	Lil Jon	Crunk Rock	8,900	8,900
66	Ratatat	LP4	6,600	6,700
145	Kutt Calhoun	Raw and Un-Kut	3,500	3,500

Microsoft has unveiled the next XBox at the world’s biggest gaming expo, E3.

The XBox Kinect looks like an entirely new system on the outside, sporting a new black glossy finish, a reduced size, and new angles and cuts. However, on the inside the XBox is largely the same in processing power, with the major difference being the addition of Kinect, Microsoft’s response to the Nintendo Wii’s motion controls. Additionally now the Xbox supports wifi internet.

The major difference between the old Xbox and the Kinect is that with the Kinect no controllers are necessary, just you. This works through the Kinect’s new motion capture camera that captures every move you make and translates it to your in game character.

The XBox Kinect will retail at $299.99. Video after the jump.

Weekend Box Office

1. “The Karate Kid,” $56 million.
2. “The A-Team,” $26 million.
3. “Shrek Forever After,” $15.8 million.
4. “Get Him to the Greek,” $10.1 million.
5. “Killers,” $8.2 million.
6. “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” $6.6 million.
7. “Marmaduke,” $6 million.
8. “Sex and the City 2,” $5.5 million.
9. “Iron Man 2,” $4.6 million.
10. “Splice,” $2.9 million.

via AP/LOS ANGELES — “The Karate Kid” has won a 1980s showdown at the box office against “The A-Team.”

Sony’s remake of 1984’s “The Karate Kid” debuted at No. 1 for the weekend with a whopping $56 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The big-screen adaptation of the 1980s TV series “The A-Team” came in at less than half that, the 20th Century Fox release opening in second place with $26 million.

Officer Ricky goes in on new mixtape Albert Anastasia.

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