Congratulations go out to Timbaland as he's reportedly the father of a newborn baby girl named Reign. People.com says that he and fiancee/publicist Monique Idlett are "really happy together" and plan to be married next year. Timbaland proposed at the couple's baby shower in October.

Is rapper Saigon retiring - before his first CD is even released? It appears so, as he's asked his fans support him by donating to his non-profit efforts instead of buying his long-delayed CD. “The game is wack. It’s not owned by us. It’s not controlled by us,” he told HipHopGame.com. "I think I should be putting more time into my non-profit organization In Arms Reach and Abandoned Nation. We help the kids of New York City whose parents are incarcerated. Everybody who wanted to support me in this rap s--t can support me by going to www.InArmsReach.org. You don’t have to only send money. You can send books or anything the kids can use. Anything that can help a kid in need, send that. Support me like that.” The news of his retirement sent shockwaves through the blogosphere as he’s yet to release his anticipated major-label debut The Greatest Story Never Told. “I guess you could say it was prophecy,” he said about his album.

Palestinian-Canadian rapper Belly has gone gold, the first artist from Canada to do so. The first three star-studded singles from his double album debut, The Revolution, all appeared on the Canadian Top 100. “Pressure” featuring Ginuwine reached number 8, “Don’t Be Shy” featuring Nina Sky reached number 12, and his latest, “Ridin’” featuring Mario Winans is currently at number 31.

Singer Beyonce Knowles and producer Timbaland were voted two of the “25 Most Influential African-Americans of 2007” according to a poll taken by Essence magazine. Topping the list is presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama. “Making their voices heard on Essence.com, the overwhelmingly positive response from our 8 million readers for Senator Obama as ‘African-American of the Year’ is noteworthy as African-American women are predicted to be the tipping point for the Black vote in the 2008 election,” Essence editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray told Eurweb.com.

Kanye West appeared on one of three covers for GQ magazine’s 12th annual “Men of the Year,” issue on newsstands Nov. 27. Former President Bill Clinton and the latest James Bond, actor Daniel Craig, appear on the others. Inside, rapper Lil’ Wayne was honored as “Workaholic” of the year and singers Robin Thicke and Rihanna hold down the “Smooth Operator” slot.

The true-life stories of the pioneering Queens, N.Y. hip-hop collective The Juice Crew inspired the upcoming film "The Vapors," starring actors Keke Palmer as Roxanne Shante and Clifton Powell as DJ Mr. Magic. Scheduled to begin filming in January, "The Vapors" will be directed by Furqaan Clover, who recently shot the story of radio personality Wendy Williams in the film "Queen of Media," according to AllHipHop.com.