*In an interview with Blender magazine, Alicia Keys says she believes that "gangster rap" and the bicoastal feud that resulted in the deaths of Tupac and Biggie were created by The Man.

      "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. 'Gangsta rap' didn't exist," said Keys, 27, in the magazine's May issue, on newsstands tomorrow.

      The singer also says that the rivalry between slain artists Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing."

       The Grammy-winner, who wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck "to symbolize strength, power and killing 'em dead," says she wants to get more political with her material in future projects. 

       She said if black leaders such as the late Black Panther Huey Newton "had the outlets our musicians have today, it'd be global. I have to figure out a way to do it myself."