Rap Sheet: Uncle Murda Dodges Death

Murda: Erstwhile Brooklyn mixtape rapper and Jay-Z protégé Uncle Murda nearly caught a bullet to the head on Tuesday night, but escaped only with a minor graze. Mere hours later, he told radio host Wendy Williams that, with the help of “Hennessey and Newports,” he was doing fine.

The Rock: Heltah Skeltah/Boot Camp Clik member Rock is off Rikers Island after posting bail relating to charges alleging Rock is both a pimp and the shooter in an incident that left another Brooklyn man paralyzed. The rapper’s lawyer released a statement saying: “Rock vehemently denies all charges and patiently awaits his day in court.”

Pump It Up: Long-shelved Jersey mixtape hero Joe Budden may have finally found someone to put out the follow-up to 2003’s Joe Budden. The record is to be called Padded Room and is forthcoming from some label called Amalgam Digital.

Hot Boys: Just in case Lil Wayne really goes down on those drug charges, we may have found a replacement: the indie-rock crooner Cat Power. Her “I Feel” Hot Boys cover hits the Internet just in time for those wondering how Wayne might be able to record at his usual pace of 15 songs a night while serving a maximum sentence.