So there's a homeless singer and beatboxer named Red who was hanging out outside the HVW8 Art + Design Studio in L.A. a couple years ago, trying to get his music to rap producer Warren G. The HVW8 guys videotaped him doing his thing and youtubed it. (It sounds much like the beat Timbaland made for Ginuwine's "Pony.") A year and a half later, his performance has been watched 625,000 times-and now, rap stars Cam'ron and Snoop Dogg have made a song out of it. And everybody's looking for Red, so he can get paid.

Jim Jones is not a virtuoso rapper. He'll never be able to rhyme with the likes of Jay-Z or Lil' Wayne or his old friend and Diplomats partner-with whom he's recently gotten back together-Cam'ron. Rather, Jones gets by on charisma-inflection, tone, and giving the general impression that he's the coolest dude at the party. Without a great beat, that's not usually enough. But with one, sometimes, it really works.

Man, it really seems like everyone has had a pretty crappy summer, doesn't it? Everyone's just in a foul mood. The thing about Atlanta's Cee-Lo, though, is that even when he's in a foul mood, he can make music that sounds as joyous and terrific as this most recent single from his forthcoming Lady Killer album. Enjoy! And here are five other songs from this summer that similarly express very similar feelings: A full handful of musical middle-fingers!

So the talk in the rap world this week is that Cam'ron and Jim Jones called radio personality/blogger Minya "Miss Info" Oh to say that they were sitting in the same car. Former best friends who led the Harlem rap crew the Diplomats to stardom in the early '00s, Cam and Jim had not been together and chummy since falling out four years ago. While fans wait for the official Dipset reunion, though, Cam has a good new song with his new protege Vado and Cleveland's favorite rapper/singer/HBO star, Kid Cudi. Interestingly, Vado disses tight blue jeans in his verse ("Wear a 34/but those skinny legs ain't fittin' [...]

"Catchy red signs reading 'Pajamas don't go out of the door; be a civilized resident for the Expo' are posted throughout the city. Volunteer 'pajama policemen' patrol the neighborhoods, telling pajama wearers to go home and change. Celebrities and socialites appear on TV to promote the idea that sleepwear in public is 'backward' and 'uncivilized.'" -Shanghai native Gao Yubing writes an op-ed in protest of governmental efforts to stop the local custom of wearing pajamas outside during the World Expo 2010, currently taking place in the city. You know Harlem rapper Cam'ron is with him.

Pusha T and Cam'ron dress up as John Fogerty and Eddie Vedder in the grimy, but colorful, Rik Cordero-directed video to the Clipse's new "Back By Popular Demand," a.k.a. "Popeyes." As previously evidenced by another recent song, "Doorman," the Clipse are onto something good with a mariachi horns sound-and their upcoming album, Til The Casket Drops, is shaping up nicely. Unfortunately, the above video is only for the heavily bleeped clean version of "Popular Demand." So what you should do is open up another window on your computer machine, and sync up this one to listen to while you watch. You don't want to miss any [...]