I never got into it for the music. I got into it for the business,� 50 Cent is reported to have told Forbes.
Rappers are still branding themselves with corporations. A recent article in Forbes magazine claims that 50 Cent and his manager Chris Lighty of Violator management are negotiating the branding deal with Apple Computer, reports AllHipHop.com. 

XM is not sitting quietly as the RIAA filed a lawsuit against the company in May. In fact, XM has enlisted it’s 6.5 million listeners and subscribers asking them to voice their opposition to both the Senate and the record industry’s lawsuit. Read the full article here

Sprint and Interscope Records will launch a mobile music series June 23 with Vagrant/Interscope artist Dashboard Confessional. The promotion will run every Friday for nine weeks. Other artists to be featured include Busta Rhymes, Mobb Deep and Wolfmother.

Although mixtapes have always been important to hip-hop culture it seems they are getting bigger especially among unknown artists. It seems hip hop artists are losing faith in the labels who are profiting at the expense of the artist. You can make a record and get it out on the streets in days while making a healthy profit.

“Jadakiss is a perfect example. He has never gone platinum, but he has sold almost 500,000 on the street alone. So the argument becomes if I can sell 300- or 400,000 copies of my album on the street, then what can I do exclusively (on a mixtape),” Hill says. There’s been a recent evolution on the Internet, with sites like http://www.mixtapekings.com/ providing international exposure for mixtape DJs and their work. Read the full article here.