Lil' Wayne is being sued over a 1999 Bentley Arnage that he still owes payments on, according to a suit filed in California Superior Court. The suit alleges that Wayne still owes over $91,000 on the burgandy vehicle with tan interior. The suit was filed on behalf of owner LeMark deAndre by his lawyer. This comes on the heels of several lawsuits filed against Carter, including two last year stemming from a money-throwing incident at a Morgan State University concert. Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Carter, just released the "leak" of his upcoming CD, THe Carter III online. Due to rampant bootlegging the original version of the CD was changed.

Rapper/actor Ice Cube and his partner producer/screenwriter DJ Pooh launched a new online TV-style network. UVNTV.com (U View Network Television), so far features a dozen channels including Snoop Dogg's “Snoopadelic,” and ones run by The Source and Vibe magazines. “We figured we needed to think about how could we still be part of entertainment in this future that’s coming out at full speed," Cube told USA Today. The videos can be viewed at specific times or on demand and are shown in a new format called Silverlight (developed by Microsoft) that streams in a definition high enough to translate to the big screen. Channel producers – they’re hoping to attract everyone from the majors to upcoming artists – can post shorts or full-length videos and either share ad revenue with the site or sell their own. The site includes a social networking area.

Ever since the single “Still Tippin’” dropped in 2004 and Swishahouse signed a major label distribution deal, Houston’s hip-hop scene has officially been on the mainstream rap map. The attention, however, makes it all the more sobering that recently several notable rappers from the area have died. Last Thursday (Jan. 3) Eric “O.G. Style” Woods, a pioneer of Houston rap, died after suffering from a brain hemorrhage. The following day, rapper and Fam Tide Records owner and operator Michael Francis died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. According to The Houston Chronicle, the death was accidental. Just last year, an original member of the legendary Screwed Up Click Kenneth “Big Moe” Moore died from heart failure and Chad “Pimp C” Butler of UGK was found dead in a LA hotel room in December.

Unofficial announcements have been made to continue the legacy of Woods and Francis. Rapper Smurk, a frequent collaborator with Woods and one of Woods’ sons (also a rapper named Eric) plans to complete an album on which Smurk and his father were working. Francis’s family hopes to develop an art studio in his memory. Apparently Francis also expressed himself through painting and wanted to create a gallery to display the work of incarcerated people.

One aspiring artist (or group) will have the opportunity to perform on stage with the Brooklyn hip-hop collective Boot Camp Clik during a guaranteed-to-be sold out concert Jan. 18. Their label Duck Down Records and website www.HipHopGame.com are co-sponsoring the all-ages NYC Knitting Factory event also featuring Kidz In The Hall and Slaine of La Coka Nostra & Special Teamz. For details on how to be the special selection of the night, visit www.duckdown.com/contests.