Reports that rapper Curtis Jackson assaulted a co-star on the set of his new film “Righteous Kill” are untrue, he told MTV News — and for proof all anybody needs to do is check out his bottom line.

Look, he didn’t rename himself 50 Cent for nothing.

“You know how much that would cost?” he joked, dismissing reports that he came to blows with actor Frank John Hughes after being called out for not knowing his lines. “It was actually a fight scene in the film — so expand it, get a little bit of controversy going so people [will be] be interested.”
It’s an unusually self-aware answer for a controversial figure some may view as a loose cannon. But it’s precisely that hyper-awareness of his own public persona that helps him fit in so well on the set of “Righteous Kill,” he said. Consider that among the cast, co-stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro have won three Oscars, while 50 has been in three movies. Ever.

But if his august co-stars had any initial bias toward his acting abilities, they don’t anymore, he grinned.

“I think they got a perception of hip-hop artists based on the things in the past — previous artists, they came through and had a different attitude. I’m not sure if those artists even had the opportunity to meet Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, but just [from] being on movie sets [they influence perception],” 50 said. “After interacting with me, they see something different.”

50 plays Spider, a nightclub owner who finds himself tangled up in the chase between two old detectives (De Niro and Pacino) and a serial killer who leaves poems about his crimes near his victims. And he has great scenes with both, Fif teased.

“I’ve worked with them,” he enthused. “It’s exciting. The whole thing is a great experience.”

But, more importantly perhaps, it’s been a learning experience as well. How could it not be with two acting legends hanging around on set?

“It was definitely cool just being around them, away from actually performing on camera,” 50 gushed. “De Niro, I’ve been to his house, met his wife. We’ve been to the firing range a couple times together.”

And Pacino? Turns out even the most self-aware of people can learn something about how to interact with their own image.

“For me, I just wanted to make sure that I was 100 percent comfortable with the actual scene — I’d look at myself,” 50 said of his acting process. “[But] he won’t look at himself after he does the scenes, Al Pacino won’t. He’s like, ‘I know how I look.’ ”

For news on how 50 looks, though, you’ll have to wait until the movie hits theaters next year, he said, a coy smile on his face.

“I feel good about my performance,” he said. “I want everybody to go see it and be excited.”

As SOHH previously reported, American Gangster is inspired by the upcoming flick of the same name, which stars Oscar Award winner Denzel Washington.

“My name is Jigga right now,” Hov explained. “I just stripped it back down and took it all the way back to the basics, four sounds, you know, the running man and all that…. It’s a conceptually themed album.”

When asked how many songs will be on the album, Jigga replied, “I’m at 12 [songs] now but I’m in such a zone I might go 14. I wanna keep it short and sweet and try to keep the story line.” [Watch the interview here]

American Gangster, the film, is based on the true story of 1970’s drug kingpin Frank Lucas (played by Washington) who brought heroin into Harlem by sneaking it into the coffins of American soldiers coming home from Vietnam.

Hov revealed to The New York Times last week that the movie mirrored his drug dealing past and that the songs he crafted for the album were inspired by specific scenes from the flick.

Giving fans a sample of the street oriented rhymes on the new project, Jay rapped a few lines from a track called “No Hook,” to The Times writer.

“Please don’t compare me to other rappers / Compare me to trappers,”Jay spit. “I’m more Frank Lucas than Ludacris. And Lude is my dude, I ain’t trying to dis / Just like Frank Lucas is cool, but I ain’t tryin’ to snitch / I’m-a follow the rules, no matter how much time I’m-a get / I’m-a live and die with the decisions that I’m-a pick.”

American Gangster, the movie, will open in theatres on November 2 while Jigga’s project of the same name drops on November 6.

In related news, Jay-Z’s clothing line Rocawear is one of three suitors vying for naming rights for The Continental Arena an in New Jersey. Hov is facing stiff competion from South Pole and Izod.

The arena, which is home to the NBA’s New Jersey Nets, where Jay-Z owns a minor share, could have a new name by October 4.

956,936 SOLD IS BIGGEST 1st WEEK SOUNDSCAN DEBUT BY ANY ALBUM SINCE KANYE’S OWN GRAMMY-WINNING LATE REGISTRATION IN 2005;
BIGGEST DEBUT IN ISLAND DEF JAM HISTORY

“Stronger” hits #1 on Hot 100 – bullets inside Top 10 on Hot 100 Airplay, Rhythmic, CHR/Top 40, and Mainstream Top 40 charts

“GOOD LIFE” (FEATURING T-PAIN) DEBUTS AS NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO

(Sept. 19, 2007 – New York, NY) Roc-A-Fella recording artist Kanye West makes chart history – again! – as his new third album GRADUATION (in-stores 9/11) knocked out the competition for a #1 Soundscan debut on the Billboard 200 and R&B/Hip Hop album charts, on first week sales of 956,936 units. This marks the biggest Soundscan debut by any album since Kanye’s #1 Late Registration two years ago. GRADUATION – which also entered the national charts at #1 in the U.K, Japan and Canada – also establishes a new one-week digital sales record, where it logged over 132,000 album downloads, eclipsing Maroon 5’s previous record of 102,000 earlier this year. The staggering Soundscan number also marks the biggest debut in Island Def Jam history.

“When we decided to go head-to-head with 50 Cent, we knew the rivalry was going to make a lot of noise,” said Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid, Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group. “But now we’ve made history. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have orchestrated such a monumental first week success. Kanye has made an incredible album and I’ve always maintained that great music will always win.”

“This is a great day for Kanye West and Roc-A-Fella Records and a fantastic day for hip hop and artistry,” said Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, President and CEO, Def Jam Recordings. “It’s a good sign that heartfelt, sincere and honest music can do these types of numbers.”

GRADUATION, Kanye’s second consecutive #1 pop album and third consecutive #1 R&B album, contains the hottest single of the summer, “Stronger,” which bullets to #1 on the Hot 100 this week, and stays the #1 song on iTunes for a 7th consecutive week.

“Stronger” follows-up the album’s first single pick, the Top 10 Rap track “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.” The newest single, “Good Life” (featuring T-Pain) debuted three weeks ago on the season’s next-to-last episode of Entourage (in which Kanye saved the day in a special guest appearance).

Kanye supported the September 11th release of GRADUATION with hugely attended in-store appearances in New York, Los Angeles, and his hometown Chicago; and television appearances later in the week on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live (Thursday), the syndicated Ellen (Friday), and the 59th annual Emmy Awards broadcast (Sunday). Kanye can also be seen across-the-board on the magazine covers of Rolling Stone (which gave the album a 4½ó review), XXL, Blender, and Flaunt.

GRADUATION is the long-awaited follow-up to Kanye West’s second album, Late Registration (released August 2005), which entered the chart at #1 with the biggest first-week sales debut in Def Jam Recordings’ history – over 860,000 copies. The album arrived to deafening critical acclaim and a coveted 5ó review in Rolling Stone, just one week after the Time magazine cover story dubbed him “the smartest man in pop music.” Rolling Stone went on to rank Late Registration the #1 Album Of the Year, and it later generated Grammy awards for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Solo Performance for “Gold Digger,” and Best Rap Song for “Diamonds From Sierra Leone.”

Kanye West emerged from behind the production boards in 2004 to release his stunning solo debut album The College Dropout, which sold over 2 million copies, was named #1 Album Of the Year by Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, and Spin magazine, and became an instant classic. It went on to win the Grammy Award as Best Rap Album, with “Jesus Walks,” voted Best Rap Song. Kanye stole the 2005 Grammy Awards broadcast with his impassioned performance of “Jesus Walks,” and a show-stopping acceptance speech that brought the Staples Center crowd in Los Angeles to its feet for an unforgettable ovation.

“J-Hood is still gonna be a star and is a hot rapper,” Sheek tells XXLMag.com exclusively. “He is just being 50’s puppet as we speak in a very childish attempt to hurt D-Block, which in no way he can. Lyrically, I would never go at it with Joshua. It’s way too many things that I’ve been there for him as a father figure that he would not like if I spoke on. Not to mention, he is nowhere on the level as me or my partners — The LOX. And not to mention, we were never beefing. [So] for him to be talking so tough, just because we are not doing business, doesn’t mean we have to end on a bad note. Especially if you or nobody you be with is built that way. So I really don’t get lil’ guy. You see [Funkmaster] Flex and every DJ saying they will never play another J-Hood song again. He is hanging himself and I hope he gets a grip and thinks for himself like I taught him to. But I still wish ‘Hood the best in life and music.”

According to Ecko, he will take the historical ball and allow the public to choose its fate.

Starting today, fans can go www.vote756.com and choose to “give the ball to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, permanently brand the ball with an asterisk before sending it to Cooperstown or put the ball on a rocket ship and launch it into space.”

“We all have opinions about this ball,” Ecko said of the unusual proposition. “Some feel it is a piece of history that belongs in the Hall of Fame. Others believe it is the embodiment of a cheating culture - not just in baseball, but in professional sports generally.”

Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s home record of 755 on August 7 in San Francisco.

The ball was caught by 21-year-old student Matt Murphy of New York, who paid $100 for a $12 ticket during a layover on a trip to Australia.

“I had hoped to keep the ball, but when I determined that was not the best strategy at this stage of my life, this definitely was the right decision,” Murphy said in a statement after the sale. “It is an honor to be a part of baseball history and I wish the new owner well with whatever they elect to do with the ball.”

Marc Ecko enterprises produces a number of popular fashionable lines, including the *ecko unltd and red brands, as well as, G-Unit Clothing, Zoo York and Avirex.

“I bought this baseball to democratize the debate over what to do with it and allow the public to decide,” Ecko explained.

Ecko also owns and publishes Complex magazine as well as a graffiti video game titled Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.

Online voting started today and concludes next week at 11:59 pm EST on Tuesday, September 25th.

The two rivals were battling it out for number one in the charts–with West’s Graduation beating 50 Cent’s Curtis.

West’s single “Stronger” has also beaten 50 Cent’s “Ayo Technology” in the U.K.–charting at #3 and #5, respectively.

Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” remains at number one in the U.K. singles chart for a third week running.

Curtis Jackson had declared that he would quit making solo albums if he was beaten by his rival in the ongoing feud, prior to the records’ releases last week.

Jackson now insists that West’s label Def Jam must have doctored the sales figures, saying: “He’s never had a fraction of the sales 50 Cent has. They could have one scan and have it count four times. West’s entire career hasn’t sold half what I sold on my first album.”

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) released a statement today (September 14) responding to recent comments made by Ja Rule about homosexuals.

As SOHH previously reported, while being queried by Complex magazine about the upcoming Congressional hearing set to discuss the content and imagery of black women in hip-hop, Ja responded by calling out unchecked homosexuality on television.

“Lets talk about all these f–king shows that they have on MTV that is promoting homosexuality, that my kids can’t watch this sh-t,” Ja said. “Dating shows that’s showing two guys or two girls in mid-afternoon. Let’s talk about s–t like that! If that’s not f–king up America, I don’t know what is.”

In a statement posted on their official site, GLAAD responded to Ja’s controversial comments with the following:

“No fair-minded person can look at Ja Rule’s interview with Complex magazine and believe for one second that his children could be more harmed by what they might see on television than by the vulgarity and prejudice that comes out of their father’s mouth. Now that media have seen Ja Rule’s intolerance unmasked by his own words, they have a responsibility not to provide in the future a platform for his ugly, vulgar displays of prejudice.”

Master P spoke to students at Monroe Middle School about the importance of education, good financial management and a vision for success. But he also expressed regret at some of the vulgar content of his earlier recordings.

“Y’all know I started off on the wrong track,” Miller said. “The most important thing I’ve done with my life is clean my act up. I’m sorry for making the music that I made without thinking about y’all.”

Math teacher Bonnie Mwanda heard that the rapper, whose real name is Percy Miller, would be in Charlotte to promote a book and sent an e-mail asking him to stop by the school.

In closing, Master P promised another reward for students if they had a good year.

“If the principal tells me y’all have a good year,” he said to screams and cheers, “I’m going to bring Romeo back to do a concert.”

The lawsuit was filed yesterday (September 11) in Manhattan State Supreme Court by Carols Evans, who claims he signed an agreement to produce and mix “Magic Stick,” featured on Lil Kim’s 2003 album La Bella Mafia.

Evans claims he was paid $7,500 for his production work on the single, which hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over two million copies.

He hasn’t seen any royalties since the album’s release in 2003.

“It was one of the hottest tracks on that album, and I didn’t collect my royalties,” Evans told the Associated Press.

According to 50 Cent’s lawyer Theodore Sedlmayr, the issue is an accounting issue, because Evans used a sample in “Magic Stick.”

“Atlantic is trying to get it straightened out,” Sedlmayr said. “If after the accounting Mr. Evans is entitled to anything, he’ll get it then.”