From Downtown

In three days, From Downtown will be arriving in Mountain View, California for the second stop of Rock the Bells ‘11. Follow us at @fromdwntwn for live updates, as well as look forward to a round-up of some performances for next week’s Gangsta Mondays.

Blake Griffin has signed up as an intern for Funny or Die. He will be treated like any other college intern and is expected to write, shoot, film, edit and act in several videos. Griffin says he is a big fan of Funny or Die, referring to popular hits such as Zach Galifianakis’ mock interview series “Between Two Ferns.” As an intern, he hopes to learn more about film production.

SOURCE: Sports Illustrated

PHOTO: Associated Press

Young Jeezy teams up with DJ Drama again for another strong follow-up in The Real Is Back 2. Another collage of all Jeezy’s releases much like his first one is missing the much-anticipated Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition, which is finally set to release on September 20. We’re sure the streets would prefer the album out already, but Da Snowman and Mr. Thanksgiving tend to cook up some potent bangers.

For J. Cole’s fourth installment of his Any Given Sunday music campaign, he decided to hold off on new music releases to reveal the album cover for Cole World: The Sideline Story, which fits the rising star theme seen in his previous releases. The art direction and design is by Alex Haldi and photography is by Leann Mueller.

It’s no surprise that talks of Watch the Throne is crossing over to Hip-hop’s oft-referred to sports relation – basketball. Sean Sweeney of Dime Magazine has succumbed to the hype, listing his dream collaborations that are appropriate for each of the track titles. Our personal favorite: Kevin Garnett and Carmelo Anthony as “Welcome to the Jungle,” or as Sweeney calls them, “The Mobb Deep of the NBA.”

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As our editor Joesph Manuel says, “Brandon Jennings bringing Hip-Hop 101 to the NBA.”