Rapper Snoop Dogg did a remake – singing and all -- of funk group The Time’s 1981 single, “Cool” for his forthcoming Ego Trippin’. “It sounds amazing,” he told MTV.com. “Everybody who hears it don’t believe I sang. …It’s a fun record. It’s one of those records that if you never heard it before, it’s gonna be dynamic to your ears. If you have heard it before, it’s gonna take it back to a time where it felt good, where music was all about feeling good and partying. No killing. No dying. Everybody just lives happily ever after and parties all the time.” Ego Trippin’ is slated for a Mar. 11 release.

The Hip Hop Congress (HHC) is hosting a forum today and supplying a video analysis of the mini-riot that took place during a dead prez concert last Friday (Feb. 15). At the concert, held at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington,  someone was arrested for misdemeanor assault and a crowd – purportedly incited by dead prez – gathered around police vehicles and demanded his release. The standoff between police and concertgoers eventually led to batons, pepper spray, and the turning over of a police car. “I’m hoping it's more of a dialogue,” Shamako Noble, president of HHC, told The Olympian. “I’d be interested to know some direction we can take as a community.” One direction the HHC is offering is to create a CD featuring dead prez and offer proceeds to pay for the damages. The video analysis can be viewed at www.TheOlympian.com.

Another hip-hop duo, Gnarls Barkley,  is the subject of a more traditional video analysis. Vocalist Cee-Lo and producer Danger Mouse just completed the visual version of “Run,” the lead single off their upcoming The Odd Couple, but not without some controversy. “Initially, there were fears the video was going to fail the Harding Test [a check for epilepsy-triggers],” a spokesperson told HHNLive.com. “But, for the moment, indications lead us to believe the video passed.” The Odd Couple is expected Apr. 8.

Gnarls Barkley is among Atlanta-based artists to be honored at a private dinner hosted by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. The celebratory meal at the Governor’s Mansion in Atlanta is to recognize the state’s many Grammy-winning and nominated residents including Outkast, Keyshia Cole, Akon, Ne-Yo, T-Pain, Angie Stone, India.Arie, and DJ Toomp. “It’s a great honor to be noticed by the Governor for all of the hard work we put in everyday as artists and musicians,” DJ Toomp, said in a statement released to AllHipHop.com. Toomp won this year in the Best Rap Song category for Kanye West’s “Good Life” featuring T-Pain.