No love lost between Snoop Dogg, Suge

Death Row Records founder Suge Knight has long been one of the more intimidating figures in the music business, with his alleged ties to gangs and his notorious strong-arm tactics--like allegedly dangling Vanilla Ice upside down over a hotel balcony to get him to sign over royalties from his album, To the Extreme. But former Death Row rapper Snoop Dogg, who was arrested for the third time in two months this week, is not afraid of the hulking Knight. In an interview in the December 14 issue of Rolling Stone, Snoop said his only fear was that he was going to have to kill the 6-foot, 4-inch, 345-pound mogul. "I stepped to him [four years ago] at the BET Awards with my n*****, and he was more scared than a mother[bleep]er," Snoop told the mag. "That was the scenario when n***** knew the balance had shifted. That's when everybody felt like the floodgates was open on Suge. Snoop dissed him in public, and he didn't do nothing." When asked if he is afraid of reprisals, Snoop said, "[Bleep] nah...Never was afraid of him. I was afraid I was gonna have to kill him. That's what I was afraid of."

Contacted by the New York Post for a comment, Knight called Snoop a "rat" and "police informant" who has "never been in a real fight." "This is the only guy who never goes to jail no matter what," Knight told the paper. "I don't like rats. I don't have to go around and convince people I'm tough. The only being I fear is God. Snoop has never been in a real fight. When there's trouble, he runs to the police. He throws up and starts crying." Knight was forced to turn over the remaining assets of Death Row Records this year because of a court ruling. Snoop Dogg's Tha Blue Carpet Treatment debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 this week.

Billy Joel to sing anthem at Super Bowl

Billy Joel unveiled a string of early 2007 tour dates this week that will include a performance of the national anthem at the Super Bowl February 4 in Miami. The Long Island native will kick off the tour three days later at the Jacksonville Arena and is also set to play Orlando; Columbia, South Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; Nashville; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Birmingham, Alabama. In March, Joel will play Philips Arena in Atlanta; RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina; and the New Orleans Arena. Tickets for most dates go on sale Saturday. Joel recently concluded a sold-out tour of Australia and begins a six-city dome tour in Japan this week. The "Piano Man" returned to the road as a solo headliner in 2006 for the first time since 1998, grossing $50 million from 37 shows, including a record-setting run of 12 sellouts at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Ludacris, Barack Obama promote AIDS awareness

When Ludacris unveiled his new album Release Therapy in September, he showed off a new clean-cut look and vowed to show a more serious side. The Atlanta rapper did just that yesterday in an appearance in Chicago to promote AIDS awareness. Ludacris, who signed on as a spokesman for the international YouthAids organization's "Kick Me" youth awareness campaign, spoke about safe sex and condoms in a frank, one-hour Q&A with students at Northwestern University, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "I talk a lot about sex in my music, but you don't ever hear me talk about condoms," the rapper told about 125 Northwestern students. "I can't speak for other rappers, but I think it's important that I let you know to be safe when you're having sex. Young people need to know about HIV/AIDS before it is too late, so it's extremely important that we talk about it." Ludacris then met and appeared with US Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in downtown Chicago to discuss AIDS awareness and "youth empowerment."

Eagles of Death Metal frontman talks GNR, Axl

Knowing that his band's tongue-in-cheek statement about its dismissal from the Guns N' Roses tour likely left many unanswered questions, Eagles of Death Metal singer Jesse Hughes talked to NME about the dustup. As previously reported, Rose called the band the "pigeons of s*** metal" after their set in Cleveland earlier this week and kicked them off the tour. Hughes told NME that Rose "is f****** out of his mind" and "wasn't even there when we played. He got there about 30 minutes after we got done playing. After Rose told the crowd the Eagles wouldn't be invited back to continue what was supposed to be a three-week stint as opening act on the tour, Hughes said the move caused "total mutiny" among the rest of the members of GNR. "I could hear screaming in the dressing room, 'Those are our friends and you've insulted our friends'. Then at 4 a.m. in the morning, our tour manager gets a phone call which essentially amounted to: 'Axl's thought about it, he thought you guys were a band getting shoved on his tour from the label. He's really sorry and you're more than welcome to finish the tour.' When my manager told me that, I just said, 'You can tell that m*********** to go and f*** himself because I will never go through that again.'"

Young Jeezy creates scholarship contest

Young Jeezy and his label Corporate Thugz Entertainment have created an essay contest for Atlanta high school students, with the winner receiving a $1,000 scholarship. The Atlanta rapper announced the "What Inspires You" Essay contest, in conjunction with his forthcoming album, The Inspiration, which hits stores December 12. High school students in the metro Atlanta area are eligible to participate by submitting an essay of 300 words or less explaining their daily inspiration. One grand prize winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship, an autographed Young Jeezy album and poster, and a pizza party for the winner's entire senior class. Young Jeezy will personally deliver the grand prize to the winning student's school. Students can e-mail their submission to inspiration@corporatethugzent.com. All entries must be in by December 4. The winner will be picked and notified by December 8.