Lupe Fiasco x Nike. Every artist we know wants to lock in any type of deal with Nike in hopes of the high profile promotions and advertising…and the free shoes. Check Lupe Fiasco as the reindeer and KRS-One as Santa in Nike’s latest MVPuppet ad campaign. Lupe is also currently featured in Hewlett Packard’s Summit on Summit ad campaign.

Perfect for bicep curling and for knowing everything there possibly is to know about Michael Jackson comes the official Michael Jackson OPUS book. The book officially costs $250, weighs 26 lbs., is 400 pages long (at least that’s less than KRS-ONE’s book) and features never-before-seen photos that come to life with music and video using augmented reality.

All you have to do is hold the 26 lb. book up to your computer’s webcam while it is on michaeljacksonopus.com. I’ll be sure to buy one of these as I’ll need to work out from that Thanksgiving meal.

KRS-One x Gospel of Hip Hop. KRS-One will preach the word of his 800 page book “Gospel of Hip Hop” to the state of New York with a book tour. Yup that’s right….800 pages of hip-hop philosophy will be shared in New York and New Jersey. Book tour as scheduled:

11/09/2009 · Barnes & Noble · Tribeca, NYC · 97 Warren Street · 7 p.m. Reading/Signing
11/10/2009 · Barnes & Noble · Livingston, NJ · 112 Eisenhower Parkway · 7 p.m. Reading/Signing
11/11/2009 · Hue-Man Bookstore · Harlem, NYC · 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd · 6 p.m. Reading/Signing
11/12/2009 · Barnes & Noble · Clifton, NJ · 395 Route 3 East · 7:30 p.m. Reading/Signing

Lately, book deals have become an alternate source of income for artists as their philosophies (ahem RZA’s “Tao of Wu”) or life story like Trick Daddy’s upcoming “Magic City” book call for broader appeal than just the music. Any one who reads all 800 pages of “Gospel of Hip Hop” though get at me and I’ll make sure to give big props to you on the site. Via: HipHopDX

KRS ONE x Gospel of Hip Hop. The legendary KRS ONE plans to release a book of Biblical proportions with “Gospel of Hip Hop” the first volume from his anticipated I AM HIP HOP imprint. Book is set to release in November and is a whopping 800 pages of pure hip-hop religion…no joke. Official details as follows:

Set in the format of a self-help holy book, this 800-plus-page opus is a spiritual manual for citizens of Hip Hop Kulture that combines classic philosophy with faith and practical knowledge, for a fascinating, in-depth exploration of Hip Hop as a life path. Known as “the Teacha,” KRS ONE developed his unique outlook as a homeless teen in Brooklyn, New York, engaging his philosophy of self-creation to become one of the most respected emcees in Hip Hop history. As Hip Hop’s true steward, KRS ONE painstakingly details the development of the culture and the ways in which we, as “Hiphoppas,” can and should preserve its future.

Seems like a pretty serious book to us. 800 pages seems like a lot considering most of us are now used to reading in 140 letters or less.

Last year all the buzz was around the pre-production news of the movie The Vapors which told the story of the legendary Juice Crew. Movie was going to star Keke Palmer as Roxanne Shante and all types of rumors were going around about who would play Marley Marl, Biz Markie, Kool G Rap, MC Shan and the rest of the posse.

Since then, members of the crew have been contradicting each other as to the status of the movie. KRS-One confirmed last year:

“The movie kinda collapsed,” KRS confirmed. “I spoke to Talib Kweli who was supposed to be playing Scott La Rock and I was gonna coach him through that but then the movie collapsed on his end. I spoke to Biz Markie yesteday ’cause the movie was supposed to be called The Vapors and asked Biz ‘What’s up’. I guess they didn’t get the response they wanted. A press release was sent out that didn’t have anything [confirming the production], but it got people hyped and support-but no money came with it. That’s the last I heard.”

Since then Marley Marl and others have gone on record saying the movie still was a go as they were desparately trying to find the financing to begin production for the Summer of 2008. After a closer look into the production company records, WoooHa.com can confirm the project is now dead.

All financing has currently fallen through, the actors who were rumored to star have all moved on and even director Furquaan Clover’s own attempts at financing have fallen through as well. Clover attempted to raise money on his own through his production company website Indie Film Xchange where ordinary investors could put their money in the movie. Now the official Indie Film Xchange website is dead as well. Production Weekly, which follows the production of all TV and films also has no record of the film’s actual production date. With movie studios trimming the fat and releasing dozens of production companies from their deals, the money simply is not there in today’s economy.

Does this mean The Vapors will never see the big screen? The reality is, the script is still there, the director is still there, and the crew still wants the story to be told. All they need is….the money. Maybe Barack can direct some of that Economic Stimulus plan money over to this production because this is a story that needs to be told! But for now it’s official…we will not be seeing The Vapors anytime soon.