Corny brand-name drops aside, Joc does display vast potential, as evidenced by his Nitti-produced single �It�s Goin Down� and the rapid-fire �I�m Him.� But it�s the poignant �Picture Perfect� that reveals that there�s more to this young trapper than meets the ear. Backed by producer Lvis� faint organ bed, Joc exposes the often-unseen ills of fame with succinct clarity (�N***** in these videos with these multiplatinum projects/Can�t even get a credit card and their mama still in the projects�). To raise New Joc City�s population, this Yungster needs to expand on such wisdom in the future.

This one hurts. I am going to keep it real. An NYPD insider hit me up and gave me some sad information, which we will regard as flat-out rumors. The police-person said that they had a call about a delusional man in a NYC park. Word has is that man was none other than G-Dep, a rapper that was once down with Bad Boy. The word is, this man might have been on something that had him inebriated or high. The man did not know where he was or where he was going and he was basically out of it. He was arrested for something and thrown in a cell. Kind of sad, if it�s true. Kind of sad, if its false.

Diddy is going to be hitting the stage for the first time in a very long time at the Essence festival in Houston. I�m going to be there.

The often malcontented DMX still sounds a little bitter about how his relationship with Def Jam ended. During his recent trip to the U.K., he barked that today's Def Jam reminds him of yesterday's Bad Boy.

"Puffy � P. Diddy, whatever � when he signed the LOX, Dee from Ruff Ryders bought me to Puffy too and was like 'Yo, you got to listen to X,' " DMX recalled. "And [Diddy] was like, 'I don't know, his voice is kind of rough and he's not marketable enough.' A couple of months later, I got the Def Jam deal and [Puff] was like, 'Listen, whatever they gave you, I'll double it.' I was like, 'No, because if you didn't know what to do with me then, you ain't going to know what to do with me now.' And that's pretty much like [me recently leaving Def Jam]. I'm glad I was able to get out of that situation because it's clear they didn't know what they were doing."