50 Cent says Nas is too book smart

50 Cent's uncanny ability to keep himself in the news never seems to take a day off. With a recently delayed album on the way and another slated for February 2008, Fiddy sat down with XXL magazine for an interview in which he addressed his longstanding feud with Cam'ron and the Game, his relationship with Dr. Dre and Eminem, and his thoughts about the lack of record sales for the NYC rap group M.O.P.

But the most revealing aspect of the interview focused on Nas, long regarded as one of the best MCs in hip-hop and the purveyor of the much-discussed album Hip Hop Is Dead in late 2006. In 50's eye, the Queensbridge rapper is too book smart for his own good.

"Nas is a really smart guy," Fiddy told the magazine. "He reads books constantly. We were around him on the Nastradamus tour. He was almost weirder than me 'cause we would go to breakfast, and he'd be there reading a book. Conceptually, I think that's what made him drift away from what his initial audience enjoys from him, and why he's not hot right now."

"He's feeding you too much information in the music, and they don't actually want it," he continued. "He's like a teacher."

Kanye to host benefit show

As his new single "Stronger" makes its rounds online (listen to it here), Kanye West is planning to return home to Chicago to perform at the House of Blues on August 24 as part of a benefit for his own Kanye West Foundation, a nonprofit that provides music production and creative arts education for students in underserved communities.

The show, which promises a few special guests, will be the foundation's first benefit concert and will help establish the Loop Dreams Teacher Training Institute in Chicago next spring. The goal of the institute is to train Chicago Public Schools teachers in using hip-hop to bring excitement to the curricula and inspire students to stay in school.

West has promised to bring a few special guests to the show, which will also feature plenty of new material from his forthcoming album, Graduation, which hits stores August 21.

James Blunt in songwriting royalty row

James Blunt hasn't been receiving royalties from his smash hit 2005 debut album Back to Bedlam because of a longstanding claim by a Los Angeles producer that he wasn't properly credited as a cowriter of six songs on the album, according to UK newspaper The Independent. Lukas Burton, a Los Angeles producer, claims he cowrote six tracks with Blunt, and the pending claim has forced Blunt's label to halt royalty payments since last year until the issue is resolved.

Blunt insists he wrote the songs for the huge-selling album either while serving as an officer with the British Army in Kosovo in 1999, at his flat in Bristol, or at his parents' home in Hampshire in early 1989. The matter is expected to be heard in London's High Court later this year.

Kravitz preps two albums

It's been a minute since the world has heard from musician-turned-model Lenny Kravitz, but the singer has apparently been hard at work and has two new albums on the way.

The forthcoming albums, neither of which has a specific release date, are entitled It Is Time For a Love Revolution and Funk. Revolution is tentatively slated for a February 2008 release, while Funk "will follow sometime thereafter," according to his publicist.

Everlast pens theme song for TNT show

As she hunted for a theme song for the new TNT drama Saving Grace, creator and executive producer Nancy Miller tracked down Everlast. Not House of Pain, "Jump Around" Everlast, but post-heart attack, Whitey Ford Sings the Blues Everlast. The rapper-turned-troubadour wrote and recorded the theme song for the show, which stars Academy Award-winning actress Holly Hunter.

The song, also called "Saving Grace," will play during the show's main title sequence and end credits. It will release as a full-length track and video, available at such major online music retailers as iTunes and Rhapsody. Everlast--real name Erik Schrody--said in a statement that he is currently working on a new album as well.