Ludacris provides 30,000 New Orleans students with Books

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Known for his philanthropic work, Ludacris recently teamed up with Better World Books and Dosomething.org to start his new cause, the Epic Book Drive. Ludacris is helping students in the Recovery School District of New Orleans.

Over 100,000 people have teamed up with Ludacris to help the drive be a success. Over 30,000 New Orleans students will have new books this coming semester. A number of 250,000 books were donated to the students.

The participants have also helped 69 New Orleans libraries re-stock their shelves. The 69 libraries were destroyed in 2005 by the epic Hurricane Katrina. Ludacris filmed a number of PSAs supporting his drive.

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Birdman loses $2 million on the Miami Heat

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

In terms of popularity, Miami is easily one of the top five cities in the United States. People from all over the world dream of going down there and some never leave. A native of New Orleans, Birdman got rich and moved to Miami. While New Orleans is in him forever, he has adapted to the Miami lifestyle.

The Miami lifestyle is one of the reasons Dwyane Wade chose to stay with the Miami Heat. Wade was able to sell this lifestyle to his NBA buddies, Chris Bosh and LeBron James. Last summer, the two All-Stars joined Wade in Miami. Following four tough seasons, the franchise held a celebration after the signing.

LeBron James was a two-time MVP and Dwyane Wade had won in the NBA Finals before. Because of this, everyone suddenly became fans of the Miami Heat. However, it took the team a long time to get things together on the court. Following a slow start, the Heat quickly became contenders, but they could not defeat the other contenders.

However, by the time the playoffs rolled around, the Miami Heat were ready. After being tormented all season long by the Boston Celtics and the league-leading Chicago Bulls, the Heat put together a solid run and eliminated both teams in five games. It was before the 2011 NBA Finals when even the doubters became sure the Heat would win the championship. After game one, it was clear Dwyane Wade was still the leader, but things fell apart after their 2-1 start.

Confident fans still held on to the belief Miami would do a repeat of 2006 and overcome their 3-2 deficit and defeat Dallas. For most of the night, it seemed as if this would happen, but Dirk Nowitzki would not allow this. After years of losing in Dallas, he wanted to right the wrong of 2006 and win his first NBA title on the homecourt of the Miami Heat. Last night, Nowtizki did just that, in the process, costing Birdman the $2 million he had bet in favor of the Heat.

All the money Birdman made off other sports championships was lost in his bet for the Miami Heat. Good thing for him his Cash Money empire shows no signs of slowing down anytime this decade.

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Drake says Toronto is the Greatest Place on Earth

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

There are not too many people who think Toronto, Canada is very fabulous. Not even a year ago, NBA star, Chris Bosh, bolted from the city in chase of Miami. Drake, the biggest star in recent history from Toronto, has also been spending tons of time in Miami. Being a native of the city, many would assume he loves being away.

On his Thank Me Later debut, Drake shouts out Toronto, saying he is hardly ever in town. For most of his career, Drake has been traveling all over the world. Usually, Drake is spending time in many major cities. Because of his Cash Money roots, he is often found down South in New Orleans.

Drake also has several sponsorships, so he is often spending plenty of time in New York City and Miami. Even after spending so much time in all of these places, Drake still feels there is no place like home. The young star recently revealed the greatest place on Earth, to him, was his hometown of Toronto.

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Dos Diligence back in "Rare Form"

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

For those who really want to make it, it will not come easy. Dos Diligence is a living testimony to that. Having been in the game since 1999, he has more than paid his dues. Still, he has remained humble as he tries to push his career to the next level. Last year, Dos Diligence had an incredible year, even landing an endorsement deal.

Even though he did well in 2010, Dos Diligence sees himself doing even better in 2011. The first thing on his agenda is releasing his new album. It will come as a release off Stay Grounded Ent. The album will feature appearances from people on the team. Titled Rare Form, the album is unlike any other before.

Dos Diligence is unlike most rappers as he is college educated and handles most of his business himself. Unlike most rappers, his career began as a producer. His Rare Form album features beats primarily produced by himself as he is hoping to begin producing for other artists. The main reason he raps is so he can have someone to use his beats and he hopes after the album comes out that he can expand himself a bit.

The album will be released early in March before the Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans.

http://listn.to/DosDiligence

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