"In an email roundtable, Atlantic correspondent and Vassar College assistant professor professor Hua Hsu, frequent Atlantic.com culture contributor Alyssa Rosenberg, and Government Executive staff correspondent Gautham Nagesh discuss rap's future in the age of Obama." [XXL The Atlantic]

Dolla, a 21 year-old Atlanta rapper signed to Akon's label, was shot and killed yesterday in the parking garage of an LA mall.

Complex.com named Kanye West the Best-Dressed Rapper ever. And, I mean...he just, it's like..WOW, what can you say? Let him catch his breath...okay he's ready to thank you, all of you!

De La Soul's new album: a workout mix for Nike. De La doesn't work out!

White-hot (hot-white?) rhythmic-rhymer of words Asher Roth released his album this week. I got Tom Breihan (Pitchfork), Touré (The Daily Beast), and Byron Crawford (XXL) to cut through the obligatory talking points.

Miami cocaine rapper Rick Ross is most famous, these days, for being repeatedly embarrassed, on the internet, by 50 Cent. But his new album gives us another reason to appreciate him: awesome self-mythologizing crimetalk doublespeak!

Animajapesters at South Park had a bit of fun at Kanye West's expense, but Kanye didn't get upset; he's taking this opportunity to examine himself. And he's decided to stop being a "HUGE DOUCHE"!

Last month it was widely reported that free-spending, once-cool designer Marc Ecko's empire was on the verge of bankruptcy. Today, we scored an internal memo from Ecko (kind of) reassuring his employees. And another rumor!

Whoa now, magazines are fighting dirty! Advertising is scarce. Magazines have that hungry look. The rules are gone. So one title (Update: or someone pretending to be) is telling advertisers a competitor's folding. HARDCORE!

Ecko, the hip hop clothing line that morphed over a decade from underground to JC Penney chic, is in danger of going bankrupt. Maybe that 280,000 square-foot fantasyland office was a bit much?

50 Cent is locked in a running feud with Miami rapper (and former corrections officer) Rick Ross. It's all anyone in hip hop is talking about! Naturally, 50 has donned a wig, for a sex tape.

Hip-hop head Michael Steele is the head of the Republican National Committee, so imagine how surprised everyone was to find out he supports abortion! Wait, no no no, takeback, takeback!

Rappers have been dropping brand names in their lyrics for cash for years; it's tasteless, but widespread. But why would you turn a memorial track for your dead friend into a Coogi ad?

Long-form trend alert: Lots of former print media people are launching websites. There was another one today! It's time for us to rate five of these—and their chances of survival—honestly. This is important:

Here you have our President, Barack Obama, complete with his crew of close friends: Puffy, Ludacris, Jay-Z, and Jeezy. This was drawn by either a Miami graffiti artist or the Republican National Committee. [via AnimalNY]

Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an "off the hook" public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to "urban-suburban hip-hop settings."

Earlier this month we told you about rumors of serious money troubles at Vibe , said to have endangered the March issue. The company denied that. But the "money troubles" part was obviously accurate:

This Canadian tween totally calls out 50 Cent for "whoring" himself with all his endorsement deals, and not keeping it real. His action figures and 'stache say: listen up, Fif.

Do not get it twisted, people: Kanye West's "personal barber and image consultant" Ibn Jasper will not hesitate to shoot you directly in the head with Glock 9. Now that he's back from Fashion Week.