Fat Joe Says Papoose, 50 Cent Pushed Him To 'That Boiling Point …

When Fat Joe promises to keep his mouth shut, he’s not just referring to his hit single “I Won’t Tell.” He’s also talking about his business in the streets. Joe told MTV News he has gotten into fights with plenty of rappers of before, but he has never mentioned names, in accordance with his code. Joe also had no plans to go public about last week’s altercation with Papoose — until an e-mail blast was sent out detailing what he insists is a false version of events on 50 Cent’s ThisIs50.com. (50’s anti-Joe campaign continued Tuesday [March 11], when he released the G-Unit mixtape The Elephant in the Sand.)

“He’s a Pho-to-shop-aaaaaah,” Joe said Monday in New York, smiling and obviously mimicking 50’s song “Window Shopper.” Joe was referring to the doctored pictures of him beat up black-and-blue that surfaced on the Net. He blames 50 and company for the defamation.

“I don’t have nothing to gain from putting out stories that I beat up Papoose,” said Joe, who claimed victory in the squabble with the Brooklyn MC. “Papoose, this is an approach he chose. He felt he was taking a negative and turning it into a positive, but in the long run, time tells the truth. Time will tell.”

Joe said after the fight, he and Papoose made peace and actually hugged.

“As a man, I kept it moving,” he said. “That was it. It was squashed. Four hours later, I heard I got beat up. [There were] too many people there for him to get away with those lies. If we were in a little room alone, maybe he could pull off [the lie], I guess. I don’t think no one would believe a 60-pound guy could beat up Fat Joe.”

Joe’s recollection of the fight goes like this: He and Papoose were on a bill to perform at a North Carolina concert along with several other rappers. All the acts were staying at one hotel. A member of Joe’s entourage found out that Papoose was staying on the first floor. Joey Crack said he started acting like Javier Bardem looking for Josh Brolin in “No Country for Old Men.”

“I knocked on every door,” Joe said. ” ‘No Country for Old Men’! You better believe it.”

Finally, Joe found the room where Pap, Cassidy, Yo Gotti and Gucci Mane were chilling with their crews. He approached Pap and asked if they had a problem.

“I was hoping he would say he didn’t have a problem,” Joe said. Neither man would back down, and the altercation ensued.

Joe’s disdain for Pap came on the heels of 50 Cent’s takeover of New York radio station Power 105.1 several days ago. While on-air, 50 threw shots at Joe and his family. Papoose and Remy Ma were guests at the time, and Remy even took a few jabs.

“Unfortunately, I felt I had to make somebody pay,” Joe explained. “[Papoose] was up there laughing.

“It’s hard,” he added. “Sometimes you reach that boiling point. Sometimes they try to pull you back in. ‘Prove it to us again. Show us you’re a tough guy.’ “

(Head here for Joe’s comments on being a news junkie, whether he’d ever run for office himself and the recent events surrounding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.)

Ironically, Joe said his latest big record, “I Won’t Tell,” was fueled by learning that 50 Cent and Remy Ma had made an alliance.

“They make me deliver hits,” he said. “They say success is the best revenge.’

“I Won’t Tell” features J. Holiday, though Joe admits that he originally had someone else in mind to sing the hook.

“This guy here, he’s very talented, he’s special,” Joe said of Holiday. “He’s real talented. The girls at my label were like, ‘You gotta work with him.’ ‘Cause originally I was gonna use R. Kelly. But J. did it, and he killed it.

“It was so much fun,” the Terror Squad Don added of the song’s clip. “It was like a real party. You know how you do a video, and it’s work, and people are trying to make it look like a party? Nah, this was a real party. Miami, everybody is there. … They almost threw Junior Reid out 10 times. He was like, ‘Because I’m Jamaican, they think it’s me [smoking].’ “

Diddy, LL Cool J, Sheek Louch, Bow Wow and DJ Khaled are among those making cameos in the video. Joe’s new album, The Elephant in the Room, was released Tuesday.

50 Cent gives Clinton public 'respec'

US rapper 50 Cent has endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democrats’ presidential candidate, saying her rival Barack Obama would probably be killed because Americans were not ready for a black president.

In a brief in-car interview aired on Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor, 50 Cent was asked by a British reporter who he would back in the primaries.

He gave his backing to New York Senator Clinton.

"I just think she could do a job. There’s nothing bad with Obama in my eyes either, I just think Hillary …

50 Cent's fame claim

Rapper 50 Cent is sure to win the non-existent prize of celebrity idiot of the year after yet more self-obsessed warbling about his own fame.

This time he is quoted as saying socialising with Hollywood A-listers doesn’t faze him because spending time with the rich and famous makes him feel ‘normal’.

Right Fiddy, we hear you. Yes, you too are rich and famous and we haven’t forgotten.

Not so long ago he reportedly proclaimed he couldn’t date normal girls any more because, well, he was just too darn famous.

Shares fall despite positive US lead

THE share market closed in negative territory today, defying firmer commodity prices and a positive lead from the US overnight.

Wall Street chalked up gains due to widespread expectations that interest rates will be cut for the second time in a two weeks when the board of the US Federal Reserve meets tomorrow night (Australian time).

Locally, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished down 143.8 points, or 2.45 per cent, to 5716.5 and the All Ordinaries had fallen 131.8 points, or 2.24 per cent, to 5754.5.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange at 4.19PM (AEDT), the March share price index contract was down 121 points to 5692 on 34,063 contracts.

MF Global senior trader Anthony Anderson said trading volumes were thin as fears for the US economy continued.

"The futures were indicating the local market would have a good opening, up 50 points or so, and within half an hour it was down 50 points,” Mr Anderson said.

"It’s hard to say what the cause of the weakness is other than nervousness about the US.

"Asia was very weak yesterday but it’s better today.

"The banks were particularly weak, as were resources despite stronger commodity prices overnight.

"Things should be looking better than they are, but it emphasises the nervousness around and strong selling pressure.

"It does seem a little bit overdone.”

He said an expected 50-basis points interest rate cut in the US on Wednesday had already been factored into the market.

Excluding aluminium, base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange improved.

Regardless, the big diversified miners closed down. BHP Billiton had dipped $1.10, or 2.99 per cent, to $35.70 and takeover target Rio Tinto had shed $4.93, or 4.16 per cent, to $113.57.

The big banks were weaker. ANZ Bank was down $1.04 to $26.45, Commonwealth Bank was $2.00 softer at $51.71, National Australia Bank was $1.06 lower at $35.43 and Westpac had dropped 34 cents at $26.25.

The nation’s fifth largest bank, St George, dropped $1.02 to $29.98.

Despite oil prices rising to $US91.04 a barrel, energy stocks fell. Woodside Petroleum lost $1.34 to $45.85 and Santos dipped 63 cents to $12.18.

Papua New Guinea’s largest oil and gas producer Oil Search reported a 3 per cent fall in fourth quarter production, due to natural field decline in PNG and a lower contribution from its interests in Egypt.  Oil Search shares finished down 35 cents to $4.35.

Chinese Iron and Steel Group took a 3.9 per cent stake in Apollo Minerals and is looking to increase its interest to 19.9 per cent. Apollo’s shares finished four cents higher at 33 cents.

Resource investment house Mineral Securities (MinSec) gave the thumbs up to a merger proposal with copper producer CopperCo to create an diversified base and precious metals company with a market value of $530 million.

Shares in MinSec were steady at $1.40 while CopperCo’s shares were down two cents to 63 cents.

50 Cent's fame claim

Rapper 50 Cent is sure to win the non-existent prize of celebrity idiot of the year after yet more self-obsessed warbling about his own fame.

This time he is quoted as saying socialising with Hollywood A-listers doesn’t faze him because spending time with the rich and famous makes him feel ‘normal’.

Right Fiddy, we hear you. Yes, you too are rich and famous and we haven’t forgotten.

Not so long ago he reportedly proclaimed he couldn’t date normal girls any more because, well, he was just too darn famous.

His taste isn't worth 50 Cent!

Saturday’s ChefDance invitation-only dinner, held below Harry O’s on Park City’s Main Street, was a feast for rapper 50 Cent, who was performing that night. And as usual, 50 did his own thing. First, he couldn’t move around the dining room unless he was surrounded by an entourage of about 20 cohorts, according to our source.     Then, when celebrity chef Todd Mark Miller of New York’s SDK (and formerly of Utah) offered a menu of bay scallops, winter vegetables with goat cheese, lobster risotto and pot roast with red wine, the rapper and his crew instead demanded macaroni & cheese and hamburgers.     Uh, McDonalds is just up the street, Fiddy.    – Vince Horiuchi      Lisa: You’ve always been my best friend        Lisa Harrine should be getting plenty of calls this week from long-lost friends. The Park City resident was the highest bidder at a fundraiser hosted by Grammy-winning R&B vocalist John Legend earlier this week.     Harrine’s winning $80,000 bid gets her – and 100 of her closest friends – a concert with Legend later this year. Legend, in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival, decided to take advantage of the Hollywood star power to benefit his favorite cause: “The Show Me Campaign,” which helps fight poverty in some of the poorest communities in Africa.The event raised $250,000.

50 CENT BANS CIARA COLLABORATIONS

Rap superstar 50 CENT has banned CIARA from collaborating with BIRDMAN and LIL’ WAYNE following a dispute with their record label.The In Da Club hitmaker has asked R&B star Ciara not to record with artists at Cash Money Records following a feud between the label and G-Unit – 50 Cent’s hip-hop group.According to MediaTakeOut.com, the rapper – real name Curtis Jackson – is fuming after G-Unit star Young Buck signed for Cash Money Records.

New York Doesn't Need 50 Cent… 50 Cent Needs Green Lantern

So DJ Green Lantern is back in business with Curtis… after that incident that popped off a few years ago, prompting Green to step down as Shady Record’s official DJ.

What was that incident? For those who don’t know or who have forgotten– which I’ve almost forgotten myself– I’ll refresh, in short: During the 50 vs. Jadakiss/Fat Joe “beef,” Jadakiss had Green Lantern on speakerphone in front of a video camera as Green proceeded to candidly co-sign him. This was unbeknownst to Green Lantern himself, of course, who later found out after the tape was released and decided to step down as Shady Records DJ. Jadakiss was definitely wrong for that, and on Green Lantern’s 2006 hit comeback mixtape Alive on Arrival, Kiss can be heard apologizing: “For the record, look at this man… Green Lantern, I’m sorry.”

Sorry hasn’t cut it, as I have yet to see a Jadakiss appearance on a Green Lantern tape.

Now, the wounds have healed and 50 Cent and Green have reconciled or whatever you wanna call it. Some say that’s good money, but I think it’s bullsh*t. After a diminishing recording career, and a loss of interest from his own hood– and collectively, his entire hometown– 50 Cent needs all the New York support he can get. First came Kim, now comes Green. Others may not see it. But I see it. Fif needs help. What other way to win back a significant amount of your New York fans by joining forces with other respected artists? Who’s next? Jadakiss himself? But after riding high on his arrogance and pulling the cards of just about every New York City rapper, 50’s amends with Green and Lil Kim might be the only beef he can squash.

Tattle: MJ Blige, 50 Cent named in NY steroid story

ENTERTAINERS using performance-enhancing drugs?

Happens all the time. In this case, however, we're not talking botox, cocaine or diet pills.

But steroids.

The Albany, N.Y., Times Union cited unidentified law-enforcement officials in reporting Sunday that(don't worry, Madea's not going to jail) may have received or used performance-enhancing drugs.

Law-enforcement officials have said evidence does not indicate that the celebs broke the law – investigators are focusing on doctors, pharmacists and clinics that provide the drugs.

A spokeswoman for Blige denied she had taken illegal steroids.

She will, however, be the opening-day starting pitcher for the Yankees.

child custody hearing yesterday, which one attorney described as "the most significant hearing in the case so far," Britney did what she's done for almost all the other hearings.

Skipped it.

But she did almost make it. Arriving late at the courthouse in a black SUV, TMZ.com reports the pop train wreck left her vehicle and screamed at the molten mass of paparazzi: "Move back. I'm scared. Stop it. Stop it. I want to get back in the car. Just stop it. Let me get in the car, please."

And that's what she did, before driving off with motorcycle policemen trailing behind her.

K-Fed and his lawyer were on hand as Superior Court Commissionerbegan the hearing, which was scheduled after Gordon earlier this month suspended Spears' right to visit her two young sons.

Gordon allowed reporters into the courtroom for about one minute before he announced that the hearing was being closed.

A group of people, possibly witnesses who were to include police and EMTs summoned to Britney's home the night of her Jan. 3 breakdown, were later allowed into the courtroom.

Neither Britney nor K-Fed was under order to appear yesterday. But Federline's attorney,, suggested in an Associated Press interview that it would be important for her to be there.

"You can't phone this one in," he said. He was right.

According to TMZ.com, Gordon ruled against Britney.

No visitation, at least until the next hearing Feb. 19.

will be returning to Philadelphia for another meet-and-greet with fans.

50 Cent Likes a Little Human Growth Hormone with His VitaminWater

Traitorous Hall of Fame–bound pitchers aren’t the only ones facing accusations of steroid use. Yesterday, the Albany Times Union reported that four R&B/rap stars—Mary J. Blige, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Wyclef Jean, and Timothy “Timbaland” Mozley—and one actor, House of Payne star Tyler Perry (seriously?!)—joined New York Yankee Roger Clemens and the other 87 baseball players fingered in the Mitchell Report as alleged users of performance-enhancing drugs.

Law enforcement agents claim that they have no evidence that Blige and the other entertainers broke any laws, but the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” seemingly knew that she wasn’t exactly buying flaxseed oil: She had shipments of HGH and anabolic steroids mailed to her under the name “Marlo Stanfield,” the character name of drug kingpin on HBO’s The Wire. 50 Cent was less obvious but equally evasive, using the name “Michael Jordan” when signing for packages.