There’s always an excitement factor to awards shows, but many leave of us feeling unfulfilled in the end. Thankfully, the Internet is making this less of an issue. Why waste three hours in front of the TV when you can just watch all the good parts online later? For last night’s BET Hip-Hop Awards, the freestyle cyphers were the highlight and here they are for those of you who were too busy watching NBA season openers, ripping bongs, or whatever else you do on weeknights. This clip featuring rhymes from Mos Def, Black Thought, and Eminem was actually the last to air, but probably the best overall. You’ll find two more cyphers, with appearances from Joe Budden (he KILLS it), Nicki Minaj, Wale, and more after the jump…

Cypher #1 (Nicki Minaj, Joe Budden, Buckshot, Crown Royal)

Cypher #2 (KRS-One, Wale, Nipsey Hussle, Gsan)

Tune in to Complex.com every morning at 8 AM for your daily “Wake N’ Watch” video.

1985: Madonna Brings The Beasties On Tour
• In a move that puzzled many at the time, Madonna pegged The Beastie Boys as the opening act on her Like A Virgin Tour. Fans didn’t respond well and booed the pre-Licensed To Ill rappers off stage at multiple stops.

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1986: The Queen Of Pop Goes Dutch
• Rap had barely been around for a decade, but Dutch group MC Miker G & DJ Sven tried their hand at the craft and scored big with “Holiday Rap,” which sampled Madonna’s 1983 hit of the same name (sans Rap). The song didn’t do well in the US but reached #1 in 34 countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland, and of course, The Netherlands.

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1990: Madonna Samples Public Enemy
• “Justify My Love,” a #1 single from The Immaculate Collection, known for its controversial music video, prominently samples Public Enemy’s “Security Of The First World” instrumental. PE didn’t seek legal action against Madge or producer Lenny Kravitz because of their own sampling tendencies. Instead, they had Young Black Teenagers record a response record called “To My Donna” over the same beat. DJ Quik continued the trend, giving the song another stamp in the hip-hop world when he sampled it for Jay-Z’s “Justify My Thug” years later.

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1992: Rappers Get Close In The Sex Book
• Released alongside her Erotica album, the Queen’s wildly successful Sex book showed love to a couple of rappers. Literally. Big Daddy Kane was seen in the midst of a ménage à trois with Madonna and Naomi Campbell. Vanilla Ice was pictured copping a feel too.

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1995: Madge Draws From Main Source
• Despite the wishes of her record label, Madonna released the hip-hop tinged “Human Nature” as a single from her Bedtime Stories album instead of a more pop-friendly track. The record sampled Main Source’s “What You Need” (from the group’s obscure, post-Large Professor album Fuck What You Think) and peaked at #46 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

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1995: Madonna And Tupac Link Up
• One year before Shakur’s death, the couple briefly dated. In the 2007 book, Madonna: Like An Icon, friend Alison Clarkson revealed that Madonna “desperately wanted children and had various relationships with unlikely men.” Rumor is, Tupac eventually dumped her after getting flack from his homies for dating a white girl.

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2003: Madge Spits A Hot 16
• Not only did buzz surround Madonna’s American Life album due to its controversial anti-war message, but also because of her decision to rap on the project’s single of the same name. Most people hated, but the woman has paid her dues. Let her drop a verse if she wants.

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2003: The Material Girl And Missy Fall Into The Gap
• By the early Aughts, collaborations between pop and hip-hop artists weren’t as surprising but Madonna kept up her ties with the genre. Her Gap commercial with Missy Elliott was critically panned but popular nonetheless.

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2005: Madonna Supports The Krumping Movement
• Back when krumping seemed like something more than an epic fail, Madonna was one of the dance movements’ first mainstream supporters. The hip-hop influenced style of dancing was heavily featured in her music video for “Hung Up” (which was directed by Rize’s David LaChappelle) and reports circulated that she was learning how to do the dance herself for an upcoming tour.

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2008: Madonna Goes Hard
• Hard Candy, Madonna’s last album with Warner Bros. (before signing a $150 million deal with Live Nation), was her most direct foray into hip-hop, as it was almost entirely written and produced by Timbaland and The Neptunes. Kanye even hopped on a track. It was released to mostly positive reviews and earned Madge her seventh #1 album.

• CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE COMPLEX RAP POSTS!

BIGGAVELI TV EPISODE 3
Key Takeaway: At least Max learned how to pronounce “Amalgam” between the first episode and now.
Quotable: “You like French tips and custom weaves, bitch? Come get with a real pimp!”

FADER MAG GOES TO MAX’S CRIB
Key Takeaway: The man has a restroom sign on the bathroom door in his own crib. How many people you keep up in there, homie?
Quotable: “This is all Siegel’s shit, I got him right. You know he a big boy, he like the schnacks.”

MAX x IT’S THE REAL
Key Takeaway: The Rosenthal boys’ guest stars can be hit or miss, but Max is always straight comedy. Especially when Scrabble is involved.
Quotable: “You guys are in troublllllle! [Patented Max B. Laugh]“

WRITING HIT RECORDS WITH JIM JONES
Key Takeaway: Comsider that “C. Wingate” receives a writing credit on seven tracks from Capo’s best album, 2006’s Hustler’s P.O.M.E.—not including the 2007 smash single “We Fly High,” which he also allegedly wrote the hook for—and you start to realize what Byrd Gang could have done had all the fuckery not happened.
Quotable: “Oh, we goin’ to the hospital tonight!”

COMPLEX CATCHES THE WAVE
We first got up with Max right when he got home from an eight-year bid, then kept the relationship going with him as our in-house advice columnist, The Thug Ethicist (Part 1 Above…Click Here To See Part 2).
Key Takeaway: He might have a way with a hook, but THIS is what the Silver Surfer Don was born to do.
Quotable: “Just dick ‘em and don’t love ‘em! And look good and make hit music!”

RELATED: The Complex Soundboard (Featuring Max B’s Laugh)

Hard to believe that A-Trak is 27 years old, since we’ve followed his career since he was a teen prodigy winning DMC DJ battles. He’s undoubtedly a man of few words, but who knows? Perhaps it’s a sign of musical genius? Read on for A-Trak’s thoughts on salsa, breakups and crazy sunglasses in our latest Complex 7, along with a special contest where we’re giving away a 500 GB Hard Drive filled with A-Trak’s music…

Interview by Andrew Rivera

#1: WHATS THE NUMBER ONE DEAL-BREAKER WHEN YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A POTENTIAL GIRLFRIEND?

A-Trak says: Number one deal-breaker is drugs, yeah, if she does coke or gets high a lot.

#2: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SNEAKERS OF ALL TIME?

A-Trak says: Jordan 3’s.

#3: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

A-Trak says: Uhhhh, probably the last big argument I had with my girl.

#4: IF YOU HAD A WEEK-LONG VACATION, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A-Trak says: Go somewhere, where my Blackberry doesn’t work…and don’t bring my laptop.

#5: WHAT HAS TO BE IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR AT ALL TIMES?

A-Trak says: [Laughs.] Salsa…Yeah, salsa. I’m a snacker man.

#6: WHATS THE WORSE WAY YOU’VE BROKEN UP WITH SOMEONE?

A-Trak says: I don’t know man, I haven’t been in that many official, real relationships in my lifetime. There’s never been like the really fucked-up sour, asshole breakup [laughs]… and by that, when I said asshole breakup, I mean by out-of-the-ordinary standard breakup, which would be an asshole breakup. [Laughs.]

#7: WHAT WAS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING FASHION MOMENT?

A-Trak says: [Laughs.] I remember going to Singapore, maybe like five years ago, and I had a layover in Hong Kong. And I bought these sunglasses at the airport during the layover in all of my delirium. So, I did an interview for TV sporting these new sunglasses, and afterwards I was like, “God those are hideous! Like what the—why was I wearing that?!”

***BONUS CONTEST

We’re giving you a shot to win a 500 GB LaCie HDD External Hard Drive, preloaded with the INFINITY +1 album and tracks from A-Trak’s personal collection, along with clothing from Parish Nation’s new line.

TO WIN THE PRIZE PACK, CORRECTLY ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

“What model did A-Trak use for his first sneaker collaboration?”

Enter your answer and contact info below for a chance to win!

But before you judge Mos, perhaps it’s time for a little history lesson. At times, even the most thoughtful MCs lose their cool, black the fuck out and get ignorant. Check out some classic examples below…

ARTIST: Q-Tip
IGNORANT BEHAVIOR: Punching Aspiring Rappers

In 2000, the Tribe Called Quest frontman was confronted in a Virgin Megastore by Kenrick Miranda, an aspiring rapper in a group called Slanid. Apparently, the previous summer, Tip had called security guards on Miranda while he was trying to hand out demo tapes in front of the Hit Factory studio. But when Miranda stepped to Tip and asked him about why he called the security guards, the Abstract Poet allegedly punched him so hard in the face that he required extensive surgery to correct his busted jaw.

ARTIST: Brand Nubian
IGNORANT BEHAVIOR: Endorsing Gun Violence

Many artists have flipped from positive to negative throughout their career (2Pac, anyone), but no transition was as glaring as the change Brand Nubian showed on their sophomore album. After urging young black men not to resort to violence on tracks with tracks like “Concerto In X Minor” from their 1991 debut, they apparently had a change of heart. By 1993, a Puba-less crew had strapped up for war on tracks like “Pass The Gat,” where they flipped their 5 Percenter philosophy on its head: “You don’t want be the learner that my burner makes toast/Cause today’s mathematics is Uzi Does It”

ARTIST: Common
IGNORANT BEHAVIOR: Homophobia

By he year 2000, Common Sense had fully evolved into a sensitive, crochet hat-wearing, incense-burning bohemian who couldn’t have been further from hip-hop’s hyper-masculine machismo. That is, except for one lingering fear: homos! Even after years of expanding his mind while hanging around coffee shop chicks and white dudes, Com still couldn’t swallow the gays. On Like Water For Chocolate, he continued spewing the “f” word: “Niggas hate you, they ain’t paying you no attention/In a circle of faggots, your name is mentioned.” It wasn’t until 2007 that Com finally saw the error in his ways and promised to stop.

ARTIST: De La Soul
IGNORANT BEHAVIOR: Violent Hippie Self-Defense

After ushering in the “Daisy Age” with their debut 3 Feet High And Rising, the press labeled this Long Island trio “hippies.” And of course, when they started touring nightclubs and stadiums across the country, every tough guy from Brooklyn to the Bay wanted to test them to see how soft they really were. Soon, they got a new rep for brawling'it’s even rumored that they got kicked off of LL Cool J’s tour for violent behavior. They chronicled this trend in their 1991 joint “Pease Porridge,” where Trugoy reminded everyone, “We bring the peace of course/But pack a nine inside, inside my De La drawers.”

ARTIST: Flavor Flav
IGNORANT BEHAVIOR: Smoking Crack

On one hand, Flav was Chuck D’s right hand man in Public Enemy, the original conscious rap group who put out such cautionary anti-drug tales like “Night Of The Living Baseheads.” But after P.E.’s “comeback” attempt Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age flopped, Flav was back on the block. In 1995, while riding through the Bronx in a cab, he was arrested with three vials of crack and a .380 handgun. For further crack-related Flav ignorance, see every VH1 reality show involving black people looking for love.

ARTIST: Kanye West
IGNORANT BEHAVIOR: Robbing Paparazzi

He’s always quick to complain, but until this incident, 'Ye had never let things turn physical. In September, when a photographer started snapping pics of him in an LAX terminal, Mr. West snapped and smashed the camera (watch the incident here) before his bodyguard also smashed the equipment of the TMZ cameraman who was taping the whole thing. We’re expecting a sensitive auto-tune ballad called “Smashed (My Heart Is A Camera)” any day now.

ARTIST: KRS-One
IGNORANT BEHAVIOR: Starting The Violence

Even KRS couldn’t “Stop The Violence” in 1992, after PM Dawn member Prince Be questioned his “teacher” status in an interview with Details. The day after the article’s release, Kris showed up at a PM Dawn show at the Sound Factory and proceeded to physically throw Prince Be off stage, grabbing his mic and performing his own BDP concert. Criminal minded, indeed.

DEFinition: The Art and Design of Hip-Hop by Adams (with Bill Adler) looks back at more than 30 years of hip-hop-influenced art. Organized into seven chapters (graffiti, album covers, advertising, film, cars, kicks and fashion), “DEFinition” is the first book to put together all the various media of hip-hop art. Complex recently spoke with Adams and Adler for an exclusive interview, and got them to tell stories behind a few specific images from the book…

Complex: What was the inspiration for the book?

Cey Adams: We kind of watched hip-hop progress over the years, and watched it go from say clothing manufacturers not caring what we thought'or more importantly, dictating what we should be paying attention to and what we should buy'to giving us the opportunity to actually make those decisions for ourselves. And that’s happened over and over and over again in every field.

Bill Adler: As students of hip-hop scholarship, we haven’t done anything quite like this. There are magazines devoted to sneakers, there have been books about graffiti, but nobody before Cey saw all these disparate expressions as expressions of the same so-called hip-hop sensibility.

Complex: What was your definition of hip-hop for the book? What kind of things did you want to include?

Cey Adams: The definition is endless. There are a couple things we could have included that we didn’t, jewelry for example, but first and foremost for me it’s art and design. I wanted to focus on painting and graffiti and things like that, so that was the base, and everything was an offshoot of that. But there could be so many things that we could have tapped into.

Complex: What makes a piece of art or artist “hip-hop”?

Bill Adler: It’s kind of loose. One of the things the book demonstrates over and over again is that there is no stereotypical hip-hop art. The artists in the book don’t fit comfortably into very many categories. It’s the air you breathe, it’s the food you eat, it’s the clothes you wear…

Cey Adams: It’s the company you keep.
__________________________________

CEY ADAMS BREAKS DOWN THE STORIES BEHIND A FEW OF THE BOOK’S DIVERSE IMAGES:

“Ali vs. Confidence” Cey Adams, 2006

“Adidas commissioned seven artists to create a collection of paintings in honor of Muhammad Ali. Ali is one of my lifelong heroes, so this job was definitely a highlight of my career. Leroy Neiman, Shepard Fairey, and Eric Bailey were among the other artists. They assigned each of us one of the seven different “values” that Ali chose to define himself, as well as a photo of Ali. I was assigned Confidence. After we made the paintings, Adidas used each image on limited-edition tracksuits and sneakers.”

“Nemesis” B.E. Johnson, 1990

“In 1990, Public Enemy was recording Fear of a Black Planet when Chuck D came to us with a sketch on a napkin that showed a black planet eclipsing Planet Earth. We took Chuck’s sketch to B.E. Johnson, a famous NASA artist. Although Johnson was sure that Chuck’s vision was astrophysically impossible, he painted it anyway. Not only is it one of the greatest album covers of all time, it turned out to be one of most popular pieces Johnson’s ever done.”

Def Jam comic book by Michael Bair and Buzz Parker, 1997

“This was a promo item for a bunch of our artists who had albums coming out at the same time. All of them seemed larger than life, so it was natural to portray them as superheroes. I think Michael Bair worked for DC Comics at the time.”

Still from the making of Blondie’s “Rapture” video, by Charlie Ahearn, 1981.

“Charlie’s a filmmaker and he was already in production on Wild Style when he shot this photo in 1981. But the key figure in the making of the video and of the song itself was Fab 5 Freddy. It was Fred who turned Debbie Harry and Chris Stein onto the hip-hop scene, and Fred who recruited his artist friends Jean-Michel Basquiat and Lee Quinones to join him in the video. ‘Rapture’ was one of the first rock-rap hybrids and a huge pop hit, too.”

Ice-T and Coco with his 2004 Mercedes SL55, by Gregory Bojorquez, 2005

“I love the car chapter in our book and that whole ‘Pimp My Ride’ style, and nobody captures it on film as well as Greg B. In Ice-T’s case, we see not only the great man’s magnificent Mercedes, but his dear wife Coco. You might say she’s also a marvel of design, a kind of real-world Jessica Rabbit.”

“Limited Edition Cans of Shit,” Jor One, 2005

“Jor is a former graf artist and a great designer of kicks. But he got sick of what he called the ‘wack hype’ that surrounds limited-edition sneakers, so he made the ‘Cans of Shit’ shoe. The funny thing is that they look great, like all of his shoes.”

In consultation with Minya Oh (a.k.a. Miss Info), the auction will be putting 70 pieces on the block in an effort to raise in $3 million. The event, dubbed “Hip Hop’s Crown Jewels” will benefit three non-profit organizations under Russell Simmons‘ charity Rush Community Affairs. It will be open to the public (you’ll need tickets) and everyone will get a chance to try the pieces on in person. The signature bling being auctioned off used to grace hip-hop icons like MC Lyte, Biz Markie, Slick Rick, and modern-day flossers like Pharrell, Diddy, and 50 Cent. See which pieces will be available below.


MISSY ELLIOT :Estimated at $6,500-$8,500

BIZ MARKIE:Estimated at $8,000-$12,000

PHARRELL: Estimated at $200,000-$250,000

TUPAC: Estimated at $10,000-$20,000

BIZ MARKIE CASSETTE:Estimated at $75,000-$95,000

SLICK RICK:Estimated at $20,000-$25,000

BIGGIE: Estimated at $15,000-$20,000

LIL JON: Estimated at $200,000-$250,000

All images courtesy of Phillips de Pury & Company

In any case, the latest incident of manhood snatching befell poor widdle Yung Berg while the diddy-bopper cruised the mean streets of Detroit (what he was doing wearing jewelry in the D, we don’t know either). Needless to say, Berg is probably somewhere licking his wounds. But cheer up, lil’ buddy! You just entered a club whose members include hip hop’s elite.

To boost Berg’s gloomy disposition, Complex combed the annals (ayo!) of hip hop history (along with rumors and allegations as well) to compile an authoritative list of the most notorious chain snatchings ever. To be fair to the victims and the vickers, we rated each incident by how emasculating it was to their careers, as well as the probability that the snatching actually happened (since almost none of the incidents can be verified by police reports) . If you don’t read this blog, you’re just robbing yourself.

Click here to start the snatchin’!

On a typically busy night in Atlanta last week, Greg Street and his Sneaker Friends '08 event at the Fabulous Fox Theatre found itself in direct competition with a Lil Wayne show only a few blocks away. Its safe to say that most ATLiens prefer Ice Creams over Lollipops.

The sneaker heads were definitely in the house as both local retailers like Laced Up and national brands like Puma put their best foot forward to bring attention to Atlanta's much slept-on sneaker culture. Check out a gang of photos from the event after the jump.

Hot spot Standard definitely set one this night

BELIEVE THE HYPE!

Luda Puma

Adidas' NBA collection was looking much better this time around

The Iceman Cometh

This guy is expecting $700 for this 1996 Allen Iverson G-town Hoyas jersey. You got it?

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

Jordan Love

Greg Street and the YO! MTV RAPS Pumas

Custom Made Grouch Dunks by Kojo of TheSnkrBox

Danniel of Y-3 and Ernel of Laced Up

Don Cannon and Greg Street

This guy makes these himself!

Bo Probably Don't Know Where To Find These Now

G-Roc of TheShoeGame.com

The 'Sole' Train Line

Flashdance’s breaking scene with the Rock Steady Crew:

A recent interview with Frosty Freeze:

[L.A. Times]

• Teacher’s pet: Weezy made a surprise stop at his former stomping grounds Eleanor McMain Secondary School in New Orleans. He thanked students for designing a party invite and then politely declined an invitation to go to the prom. Check the uneventful video here. Oh, and he also announced that Tha Carter III will finally be released in April.

• Lunar: Although we like to think Page Six does their best to get the story right, it’s very hard to believe this Damon Dash got scared of the Moon story.

• Roots: Check out this interview with ?uestlove. He talks about sampling, being hard on Puffy back in the day, and how good the new N.E.R.D record was that he previewed, “Like, I think Pharrell got something in his soul that’s just saying, “I can’t rely on just my good looks and fashion sense. Muhfuckas are tryna count me out, and I got to not just come back, but really kick their ass.” I mean, the four or five songs I heard, it’s like, this dude is coming back like he got a score to settle.

• Sour taste?: Here’s at least 8 reasons why Flavor Flav is starting to lose all respect.

• Barack track: He might not be able to beat King Solomon in a freestyle battle, but Jin still knows how to make relevant tracks like this “Open Letter to Barack Obama.”

• More Obamaness: CNBC interviews Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas about his Obama video that’s garnered more than 13-million page views.

• Ad hoc: Hov’s Rocawear is catching some heat over advertisements featuring the family of Sean Bell, the unarmed man who was shot to death by police in a hail of bullets back in 2006. Detectives are accusing the clothing brand of trying to influence the jury, the brand claims the ads are uplifting.

• Track record: VH1 launched a competition yesterday to find an upcoming producer to help Flavor Flav make a new single. An original audio composition must be submitted by March 13. Head over here for more info.

• Healthy: Prodigy maintains he’s not sick despite reports by his lawyer. And although the judge delayed his incarceration for a 2nd time due to so called medical conditions, the rapper claims he’s fine. Ouch, someone’s getting into trouble.

• Sound off: Common, KRS-One, and Q-Tip are remixing their classic tracks in a new campaign with Smirnoff with the help of some legendary producers, “Just Blaze is remixing Common's 2000 song “The Light,” DJ Premier will work on KRS-One's 1988 hit “I'm Still #1,” and Cool & Dre are remaking Q-Tip's 1999 party track “Vivrant Thing.” They will all then perform live at a launch party for the vodka maker on February 26, and the tracks will be available for download on Smirnoff’s website.

• Innocent: Marvin Bernard aka Tony Yayo has been found innocent of slapping the shit out of Jimmy “Henchman” Rosemond’s 16-year-old son.

• Flying colors: Swizzy got down with the Gap and their “Sound of Color” campaign. Basically each artist was assigned a color and they created an original song for it. The mega producer and Kidrobot partner did a song called “Candy Green.”

[Source]

• Shocker: An Arizona jury indicted Weezy on felony drug and weapon charges. As you may recall, the Cash Money mogul’s tour bus was stopped and search back in January of this year, yielding “four ounces of marijuana, just over an ounce of cocaine, 41 grams of Ecstasy and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia.” His tour will continue but he’s gotta be back in court on March 7.

• Vindication?: Remy Ma claims that prosecutors screwed up her case by failing to link her crime with DNA evidence. She’s accused of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, gang assault, and even witness intimidation.

• Delving: Dr. Dre began an investigation into the now defunct Death Row Records, hoping to find documents that will settle a dispute over unpaid royalties since the label filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2006. Dre is also trying to reclaim right to his 1992 solo hit album, The Chronic.

• Covered: Here’s the cover for rap duo Kidz in the Hall’s The In Crowd.

• Recognize: Hip Hop inspired art is all the rage. We already pointed you towards the Holy Hip Hop! exhibit in Detroit, now check out Recognize at The National Portrait Gallery.

You Can Never Go Home Again: The Compton Sheriff’s department has asked the city to ban Suge Knight due to his alleged gang ties. Knight fired back, saying: “This is crazy…I’m a 42-year-old businessman, not a gang member. I don’t even live in Compton anymore . . .”

Stars, They’re Not Like Us: Busta Rhymes walks out of a New York City court with a mere three years of probation after pleading guilty to all kinds of assaults and traffic violations. Said Busta: “I just want to say that I’m very grateful to the judge, I’m very grateful to the system. I believe in the system. It hasn’t failed me personally yet.”

#1: Alicia Keys’ As I Am ain’t exactly flying off the shelves, but she’s topped the pop charts for the second week in a row. What does it take to be #1? A mere 61,000 records sold.

[Source]

“Rich niggas, black bar mitzvahs
Mazel Tov, it’s a celebration bitches, L’Chaim”

This clip is loaded with all the good stuff'Jewish stereotypes, Roc-a-fella references, and even some good ol' fashioned Dame Dash, dice-dancing. Hopefully this doesn’t morph into the theme song for those street preaching Black Israelites.