Jun 4 - Joe Budden:"Bleek just came out, they rushed him, and look what happened,"

— by Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes, Andrew Millard and Bridget Bland

DJ : J. Period

Representing: The fans

CD: The Best of Lauryn Hill

411: When Lauryn was consistently putting out records, it seemed like everything she dropped was the best. On this double CD, there are a bunch of obscure records, live performances and songs the mixtape DJ puts his own production spin on.

Joints To Check For :

"Change Is Gonna Come," live from the U.K. with Wyclef (disc two). It really doesn't matter what Lauryn Hill sings — she can make time stand still with her voice. It doesn't hurt, though, that she chose to cover this timeless Sam Cooke record. You'll have to look far and wide to find a singer who can match the purity of L Boogie's vocals.

"ki1ling a Soundboy" remix, featuring Buju Banton and Steele from Smif N Wessun (disc one). Buju and Steele actually recorded new vocals and Period added them to Hill's freestyle.

"Water" remix, featuring Common and Black Thought (disc two). Lauryn only sings the hook, but Com and Thought more than carry the lyrical weight, giving advice to women who are led astray by men. "Find heaven in yourself and God, girl," Common advises. J. Period produced this track.

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

Stimuli's Switch Sides
DJ Vlad's "Hot in Here: The DVD"
Cutmaster C's Welcome to the South
Big Mike's The Contender (hosted by Sheek Louch)
DJ Wreck's Greed, I Want It All

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

"Fire and Pain" by Styles P featuring Sizzla
"Santana's Town Part 2" by Juelz Santana
"Keep It in the Closet Part 4" by R. Kelly
"You Can't Hide" by Royce Da 5'9" featuring Ras Ka$s
"The Industry" by DMX featuring Styles P and Jadakiss
"I Know You Don't Love Me" by Tony Yayo featuring 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Young Buck
"Friends" by N.O.R.E. featuring Big Pun and Mariah Carey

Celebrity Faves

When you have multiple statues of your likeness erected in several different countries just so the natives can pay homage, it's clear that you are more than just a soccer superstar. David Beckham, the sport's most renowned player, says that whether he's traveling the world or getting ready for a game, he's listening to hip-hop and R&B.

"In my iPod right now is Snoop, of course — I'm a big fan of his," Beckham said. "John Legend, Bobby Valentino. There are a few others, like Jay-Z, so it's all good."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Joe Budden just put out his mixtape I'm Back and says his next official album, The Growth, is on the way, but not as soon as his record label, Def Jam, would like.

"N---as at Def Jam is pushing n---as off the diving board," Budden said on Wednesday about his initial release date of July 18. He wants to push it back to August 23.

"[Memphis] Bleek just came out, they rushed him, and look what happened," Joey Jumpoff continued. "Young Gunz just came out, they rushed them, and look what happened. You are not rushing my sh--. I got all the time in the world. I ain't gonna spend all this time making classic records for y'all to rush out to make a quick buck. F--- y'all n---as! Make sure everything is right and that's when I'll come out. They're gonna beef with me about saying all this sh--, but I don't give a f---. August 23, The Growth. F--- July 18 and f--- what they gotta say about it up there."

Joe also isn't all that ecstatic about the choice for the album's first single, the laid-back Scott Storch-produced "Gangsta Party" featuring Nate Dogg, or the treatment for the video, which he calls "nothing spectacular."

"I did my Swizz [Beatz] record," Budden said about the song "Ain't Nothin," which can be found on mixtapes. "The Swizz record was nuts, everybody at the label loves the record. Then Scott Storch gave me a record, 'cause me and him have a great relationship. Then I did my Timbaland record ['What Y'all Doing Tonight'], that came out nuts. The label loved all three, but they were like, 'F--- coming back with that same energy and intensity everybody was expecting.' They wanted to introduce Joe Budden to new people, and that's what they felt the Scott Storch record could do. The record is out and it's doing great. But the Timbaland record is easily better than both of those records, by far. The Timbaland record is a problem. It's a club record, party record. I swore up and down that it would come first."

Besides the three aforementioned superproducers, Joe also collaborated with Metallica, Marques Houston and Rell for the LP. ...

Cassidy's label CEO and producer, Swizz Beatz, has confirmed that Ca$s will indeed be taking shots at 50 Cent in his new video, "B-Boy Stance." Swizz says 50 made fun of his friend on mixtapes and lightly called him out on the radio, so why not let the animalistic MC get some retribution?

"Everybody keeps talking about the thing with Ca$s and 50 — we just having fun with that," Swizz said last week. "Everybody else is doing what they want to do, why can't we do what we want to do? He's an artist just like 50 is an artist. But everybody is like 'Ca$s and 50?' like a helicopter is gonna come crashing. A couple of years ago, 50 was at the same place as Cassidy [is now]. So anything can change. Cassidy has been known for being a lyrical problem and he's gonna handle his business. The game is about taking risks and having fun and making history."

Swizz also hinted that Ca$s may be taking a few shots at 50 on wax, but insisted that he's not "promoting a violent beef."

"I think both artists should be creative," he said. "We not sitting up there like, 'Yeah, I want to see y'all and all that.' It's not even that serious. Everybody is so serious doing all this fronting, for what?"

Besides a parody of Curtis Jackson, Swizz said that the "B-Boy Stance" video also features a cameo from Kurtis Blow.

For more on the role of mixtapes in the music industry, check out the feature "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."

↪ http://www.mtv.com/bands/ .. monday/060605/