The Humane Society of the United States, the nation’s largest animal protection organization - backed by 10.5 million Americans, is holding the first “Hip Hop for Hounds” contest for the best rap song that stands up for dogs, and against dogfighting.

The contest will be judged by rap legend DMC, of Run DMC, and the winner will receive a $1,000 prize. Due to a large number of requests, contest submissions will be accepted until March 31, 2008. The winner will be announced shortly after. (more…)

Karmaloop, the largest online retailer for the streetwear community, has teamed up with Lupe Fiasco to bring you “THE COOL” TSHIRT DESIGN CONTEST.

Inspired by Lupe Fiasco’s current album “The Cool,” applicants are to submit a design that best conveys what’s “cool” to them. The winner will receive $500 Cash and a $500 Karmaloop Gift Certificate for a total value of $1000 in prizes. (more…)

The Redbull Big Tune Beat Battle National Championships came to Seattle’s Neumo’s, pitting the top two producers from each Big Tune city against each other.

Twelve individuals from 6 different cities (Houston, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago), went head to head, showcasing their hottest beats for the title of the country’s best beatmaker. (more…)

Brooklyn-based indie-hop innovator Domer is back with a brand new kind of musical project - one that has never been attempted before in hip-hop. Domer’s My Favorite EP is an interactive album that allows producers and fans to create their own versions of his music.

Domer has recorded vocals for five songs with no beat underneath, just lyrics rapped to a metronome and posted online for producers all over the world to run with. Now he is inviting music producers to create the backdrops for these lyrics. (more…)

A message from NYOIL:

Peace. Many people have heard my music and my stance on things as it relates to people and social conditions and come away feeling that this is a message that needs to hit the streets. That the message needs to touch more than just the people online. For me the only way to achieve this is by being heard through a medium that the people that really need to hear me can access me. (more…)

Now y’all know how we feel about BET, so don’t take this as an approval of a station that primarily plays music serving to embarrass, degrade and misrepresent the hip-hop community. But I decided to post this because it could provide an avenue for somebody to get up in their awards show and represent real hip-hop culture.

Yahoo! and BET have launched a competition to promote BET’s Hip-Hop Awards 2007. The winner of the Hot 16 Challenge will receive four VIP passes to this year’s awards show. (more…)

Determined by user votes on VH1.com, Antonio Gonzalez AKA “DJ Satisfaction” of Camden, NJ has been crowned the winner of “The Score.” DJ Sat will work with Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson from The Roots to turn his work into the official score of this year’s “VH1 Hip Hop Honors.”

VH1.com’s online contest “The Score,” which is part of MTV Networks’ larger digital strategy to launch targeted vertical sites across their brands, challenged music producers from across the country to show off their best beats for the opportunity to make hip hop history. Close to 8,000 60-second-beat tracks were submitted for consideration.

Source:
CNN Money

Mookie Jones has had quite an eventful beginning to his hip-hop career. Son of Oran “Juice” Jones, the first R&B artist ever signed to Def Jam Records and owner of the label’s first #1 album, Mookie grew up under the tutelage of hip-hop legends including his godfather Big Daddy Kane. Mookie won Roc-A-Fella’s “Roc The Mic” competition at age 15, and was crowned Houston’s freestyle champ after winning The Source Battle in 2004.

Last week, Mookie’s career took another leap when he was named winner of Scion’s “The Prospect” competition. As winner, he was handpicked to create an original track alongside super producer Hi-Tek, and a video produced by Scion. Luckily, we were able to catch up with Mookie just days before beginning work with Hi-Tek for this interview. (more…)

VH1 announced today the selection of Redginald “Redgee” Thompson, Ryan Barouch (Trackslammers), and Antonio “DJ Satisfaction” Gonzalez as the three finalists in VH1’s “The Score” hip-hop production contest. “The Score” challenged over 7000 contestants to produce the sound track for VH1’s Hip Hop Honors 2007 award show. 
 
The three finalists must compete for a chance to produce the sound track for VH1’s Hip Hop Honors 2007 award show with Philadelphia ’s own national recording artist Quest Love from The Roots. (more…)

SEATTLE, WA - When Red Bull’s first Big Tune competition was in Seattle in 2004, its format was the same as it is now: 12 hip-hop producers let a crowd decide whose beats are best. It’s a simple idea. Designed and run by local rap luminaries, it’s now a national competition.

Friday, Capitol Hill’s War Room hosts a 21-and-older qualifying round. Twelve producers will compete — some established, some unknown — but only two will advance to the Big Tune finals at Neumos in October, an all-ages event where they will meet qualified battlers from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago and New York. One winner will receive production gear and studio time. (more…)