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New York rapper Foxy Brown reportedly escaped a massive brawl last night that took place in a Manhattan apartment building.

Growing up, my brother had a poster of Hakeem Olajuwon up against his bedroom wall during the years of the Rockets’ championship run during the early ‘90s. Before McGrady landed in Houston and before Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Lil’ Flip, and Z-Ro gained regional and national exposure, there were two guys from Port Arthur that were making a little bit of noise. Bernard Freeman and Chad Butler, jointly known as UGK, became the godfathers of H-Town hip-hop, and nearly two decades later Bun B is still making noise. Preparing to release his third solo album, Bun drops off Chuuch!!, a song reminiscent of the earlier years of UGK. Produced by Houston legend Steve Below, who laced many of UGK’s songs over the years, Bun B educates us on his struggle and the love he has for Screwston while the hi-hat rides and the organ grinds in typical Texas style. Comparing himself to Hakeem as a member of “Phi Slama Jama,” there is no doubt that Bun loves his city and will rep it hard when his upcoming album, Trill O.G., drops August 3.

What do you get when you combine Robot Chicken and some real chill gangsta music?  Although it may be hard to actually fathom an answer to that strange question, Freddie Gibbs shows us some possibilities on his latest leak On One. Off the Adult Swim Singles Program (Presented by Kia and available now), Gibbs brings us a sound far different from anything that would find its way onto the radio dial. Produced by Josh The Goon & Speakerbomb, the instrumental may remind you of that West Coast bump that you would hear someone like Xzibit rapping over. With heavy bass and that trademarked high pitch synthesizer, this freestyle series alum and Michael Jackson hometown sharer (Gary, Indiana) might surprise some with a distinctly left coast flow that fits perfectly with the riding beat. With a new mixtape, Str8 Killa No Filla, out today, a controversial interview with Complex on the way and his Str8 Killa EP dropping on August 3, Freddie Gibbs is a name you’ll be hearing a lot in the coming week. Even if you’re watching cartoons.

Wouldn’t it be crazy if we all woke up tomorrow to find that we’re still living in Nelly‘s early-2000s glory days, and everything we thought had happened since then was, in reality, Just a Dream? Hey, anything’s possible! Well, OK, maybe not. Assuming we aren’t all trapped in the Matrix, the St. Louis native’s gonna need a hit or two to catapult him back to superstardom in the here and now. To that end, Nelly’s returned to our frontpage with another official single. In contrast to Tippin’ in the Club‘s hard-partying vibe, Dream has a poppier, but still dancefloor-ready sound; Jim Jonsin mans the boards, layering sugary synths and lite-rock guitar as Nelly shows off his softer side, lamenting his failure to patch things up with the girl he loved before it was too late. The pop appeal is most definitely there, but will this be track that returns the artist to his rightful place in the spotlight? That, my friends, is for you to decide. Either way, though, fans are gonna have to wait a little longer than previously expected for more new tunes – Nelly 5.0 has been delayed to a yet unspecified fall release.

In many ways, artists can be compared to gemstones – most are multifaceted, come in various sizes, cuts, colors, and weights, and shine brilliantly the closer you hold them to the (lime)light. Mike Posner is one such treasure, and from Cooler Than Me to his most recent Booth feature Please Don’t Go, we’ve seen the electro-pop prince from quite a few angles. However, his newest offering, Bow Chicka Wow Wow, as the title might suggest, shows Mikey Mike in a completely different light – the red light. Bruno Mars and The Smeezingtons deliver some mellow guitar chords and playfully seductive piano to set the mood, but in spite of the production’s closeness to perfection, Mike’s attempt at establishing himself as a contender for reigning pop sex symbol comes off as an almost cartoonish three minute long pick-up line. Above-par, breathlessly raspy vocals are typical Mike, but there’s something about his image that makes this song incompatible with true bedroom burner status. Or is it just me? Regardless, Posner’s debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, takes flight August 10.

Mo’ money may lead to mo’ problems but, as guest emcee Dice Raw observes on the latest leak off ¡MAYDAY!‘s forthcoming full-length, when you’ve got no money, everything’s a problem. On this newly-remixed version of the cut, the Floridian ensemble hook up with Raw and West Coast vet Ras Kass to take a look at the obstacles that stand in the way of anyone trying to Make a Living in today’s economy. Though ¡MAYDAY! aren’t known for coloring inside the lines production-wise, group member Plex Luthor outdoes himself here here, crafting a stark, reggae-tinged instrumental that mutates unpredictably as the record progresses. Bernbiz, Wrekonize and company lace the off-kilter groove with some fittingly out-the-box rhymes, offering an unapologetically cynical, but thought-provoking take on the American Dream. Is ¡MAYDAY!‘s latest experiment a success? Your call, readers. If you’re digging it, you’ll be able to hear more this fall, when their Stuck on an Island LP hits record store shelves and online retailers.

It doesn’t take much to keep 1stdown and 88 of FKi satisfied; as long as they’ve got a steady supply of Weed & Arizonas, the ATL natives are happy campers. And yes, as far as I’m aware that’s “Arizonas” as in iced tea – kush smoke has a tendency to dry out the throat, after all. This newly-released EP single finds Chase N. Cashe serving up up an appropriately stoner-friendly, flute-sampling instrumental as the Southern up-and-comers lovingly describe the effects of a good high: “When I roll it, hit it hit it hold it, I feel like I’m floatin’…My mind is where the clouds is, but my body’s where the couch is.” As if the twosome’s spaced out rhymes weren’t enough to send THC-lovers to nirvana, axe-slinger Ricky Fontaine tops it all off with a guitar solo that definitely won’t kill your buzz – in fact, it’s pretty damned dope. Whether you dig the herb as much as FKi or, like yours truly, you’re just “high on life,” you should keep it locked for the latest on the duo’s Zoolandish EP, set to drop “soon.” In the meantime, why not check out the official video?

Huey had the whole world Pop Lock & Drop-ping it way back in 2007, but since then new school St. Louis representer has largely faded into the background. Undaunted, and free from a restrictive deal with Hitz Committee, Huey’s back and determined to wipe the “one-hit wonder” tag from his name with the release of Do Them Bad, a booming, banging, shopping-obsessed new street single. Propelled by a large scale beat from producer Kritical, that, it must be said, lacks the addictive personality of previous singles like Pop, Lock and Aye, Huey’s lyrical work on Do Them Bad won’t have anyone making Illmatic comparisons. The rhymes are swag, swag and more swag, sentiments that fellow “where are they now?” rapper Murphy Lee (of St. Lunatics) echoes in a straightforward guest verse. Will Do Them Bad be the single that kills the one-hit-wonder talk? Will Huey find the Redemption he seeks? I’m frankly not sold, but we’ll find out soon in the comments below, and when his new album – the aforementioned Redemption – drops September 14.

While many in the Booth gave Nina Sky‘s most recent solo feature, ‘80s remake You Ain’t Got It (Funk That), a thumbs-up, there were others who found the retro retread a little ho-hum. If you’re still waiting on proof that Natalie and Nicole Albino have some fresh new ideas up their collective sleeve, look no further than new EP leak Only You (Take Me Away). One of the most original club-oriented cuts I’ve heard in a minute, this track finds producer Double O of Kidz in the Hall superimposing synths and upbeat percussion over an intricate, off-kilter keyboard riff as the Puerto Rican-bred duo pay tribute to a fella who’s like no other. On the back end, Kidz frontman Naledge takes center stage, directing some flirtatious game-spitting toward the twins as well as punnily name-dropping another Booth-approved twosome: “It’s you ‘n’ I, no Y-O, Thurzday.” Craving more? We’ve got you covered – Nina Sky’s DJBooth.net-sponsored The Other Side EP is scheduled to hit our mixtape page “soon.”