Believe it or not, prison is becoming Hip-hop’s number one hot spot. Last year, T.I. went in and most recently the p*ssy monster Lil Wayne is currently doing a bid as well. Now I don’t want to predict another rapper getting locked up, but you can probably expect Ja Rule to call a 6×8 cell his home if he doesn’t get his case dropped. Back in 2007, the Queen’s rapper was pulled over by the Hip-hop police while cruising the streets of NYC on suspicion of speeding, having a suspended registration and driving without insurance. While, Ja Rule probably thought he was going to walk away with just a ticket, the feds got lucky and found a gun hidden in his whip. Earlier today, the rapper’s lawyer Stacey Richman returned to court to request another hearing to discuss the problems surrounding the prosecution’s DNA evidence, but her motion was denied and a trial was set for August 18^th instead. Although, Ja Rule has pleaded not guilty to the gun charge, if convicted he faces up to four years in the pen.

Ja Rule has been fighting this gun charge for three years and with the way the Hip-hop police have been on their grind…I see jail time in his future. #Imjustsayin

Q: How surprised were you when you beat out Irv Gotti in VIBE’s Greatest Hip Hop Producers of All-Time?

Jermaine Dupri: In the beginning, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I go into all this stuff thinking that niggas don’t fuck with me [laughs]. So I went into the contest like, “Ain’t nobody paying no attention to me.” You have some people who say that I helped contribute to Jay-Z’s national success when I produced “Money Ain’t A Thing.” But I have been fortunate enough to make [history-making] records such as the Da Brat being the first solo female rapper to go platinum as well being the first person Jay-Z actually made a record with from the South. People in the South say it was the beginning of them actually knowing who Jay-Z was. It’s not like I just make beats. I make movements. I can even go back to Kriss Kross as being the first kid hip-hop group that we will remember. And 10 years later, I did it again with Bow Wow. Then I ushered in the snap music era with the Dem Franchise Boyz. Things changed when you heard these records.

Q:There was some talk that you were going to executive produce Usher’s latest album Raymond v. Raymond. Why didn’t it happen?
Jermaine Dupri: Well, I didn’t really want to be executive producer of Usher’s projects after Confession. Me as a producer, it’s kind of hard for me to go back into people’s projects when I gave you your biggest album ever…you sold more records than any other artist in this decade based on that album and now I have to ask you am I the executive producer of your next album? That seems disrespectful to me. Obviously, I’m looking at something different than everyone is looking at it whether it’s the label, the artist, management… whoever it is. I’ve had this same conversation with L.A. Reid, because I’m doing Mariah Carey’s album right now. And on her last album, I didn’t have one song on there. But I did Emancipation of Mimi and she sold more records than she sold in the last five years. What part of the game makes y’all not call me? But I’m not going to keep sticking my neck out. But I don’t feel like I’m supposed to ask to produce anymore. People are supposed to come to me and tell me that I’m the executive producer. That’s why I get more kicks working with younger artists.

Maybe Irv Gotti had a point when he told MTV that Ashanti’s rise to success was the result of a lot of energy. He explains, “When you seen her, it was 30 n—as around her, and she’s the princess so nice and pretty walking through. The music was great, but it was the energy that was created. It wasn’t just her standing there and singing a song”.

While Irv believes Ashanti’s last album, The Declaration didn’t go platinum because he wasn’t involved in the project, the former princess of Hip-Hop and R&B begs to differ and blames the crumbling economy for why it didn’t sell. She tells the Village Voice,

“Obviously, the industry has changed in the past five years. My last album came out in ‘04 and things changed internally, label-wise, and it’s very political in this industry. And sometimes you have to just do what you have to do. I love the album. I think the reviews have been the best reviews on any album that I ever put out so it goes to show you it is what it is and it happens. Obviously, it’s not as successful as we all wanted it to be, but I gained a lot of respect from a lot people who’ve said “Wow, the album is hot, and you did it by yourself.” I mean the biggest artists and biggest acts haven’t been selling nearly as much as they used to, too, so everyone is suffering from this recession–it’s hitting everyone.”

I’m so sick and tired of artists blaming the recession for why people ain’t coppin’ their sh*t! Ashanti, it’s not the economy’s fault that people aren’t into you!