Tupac's song makes Vatican playlist

(CNN) -- Music from late rapper Tupac Shakur has been included as part of the Vatican's official MySpace Music playlist.

The seat of the Catholic Church released a list of 12 songs onto the social networking Web site's streaming music service this week when the site launched in the United Kingdom.

Among selections from Mozart, Muse and Dame Shirley Bassey is the slain rapper's song "Changes," which was released two years after his shooting death on a greatest hits album in 1998.

"The genres are very different from each other, but all these artists share the aim to reach the heart of good minded people," the Vatican wrote on its official MySpace Music page.

As of Thursday night, "Changes" had been played more than 4.6 million times on the Web site.

The list was compiled by Father Giulio Neroni, artistic director of church publisher St Paul's Multimedia. He was also responsible for compiling the Vatican's recent Alma Mater album, which combined Gregorian chants and prayers with classical music and the voice of Pope Benedict XVI speaking in five languages.

Shakur, who spent time in prison for sexual assault, was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Nevada in 1996.

The lyrics of "Changes" describe Shakur's desire to change a grim life of drugs, crime and violence on the streets.

Lyrics of the song, which is labeled as "explicit," include 'Is life worth living, should I blast myself?" "Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares, one less hungry mouth on the welfare," and "My stomach hurts, so I'm looking for a purse to snatch."

At another point, Tupac sings: "Cause both black and white are smokin' crack tonight."

In contrast, the playlist also contains selections from the album "Music of the Vatican" such as "Advocata Nostra" and "Causa Nostrae Laetitiae."

Other contemporary tracks on the mix include Muse's "Uprising" from their new album "The Resistance" and "He Doesn't Know Why" by the folk group Fleet Foxes.

World Aids Day

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)

World AIDS Day on 1 December draws together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. The Day is one of the most visible opportunities for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in high prevalence countries and around the world.

There are now 33.4 million people living with HIV, according to 2008 figures released by WHO. An estimated 2.7 million were newly infected with the virus and 2 million died of AIDS the same year. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region most heavily affected by HIV. In 2008, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 67% of HIV infections worldwide, 68% of new HIV infections among adults and 91% of new HIV infections among children. The region also accounted for 72% of the world’s AIDS-related deaths in 2008. 

World Series Swag

Obama wins Noble Peace Prize!

OSLO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for giving the world "hope for a better future" and striving for nuclear disarmament, in a surprise award that drew both warm praise and sharp criticism.

The decision to bestow one of the world's top accolades on a president less than nine months into his first term, who has yet to score a major foreign policy success, was greeted with gasps of astonishment from journalists at the announcement in Oslo.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." But critics -- especially in parts of the Arab and Muslim world -- called its decision premature.

Obama's press secretary woke him with the news before dawn and the president felt "humbled" by the award, a senior administration official said.

When told in an email from Reuters that many people around the world were stunned by the announcement, Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, responded: "As are we."

The first African-American to hold his country's highest office, Obama, 48, has called for disarmament and worked to restart the stalled Middle East peace process since taking office in January.

Def Jam 25 years

Although Def Jam is not the label it once was a Hip Hop forced to be reckoned with its still a viable entity.
Remember when Def Jam was hot?  LLCool J should have been the king of Def Jam. He practically built that label on talent alone. How about Public Enemy the most progressive group in the history of Hip Hop. Slick Rick, Method Man, JaRule, DMX, Cam'ron, and to name a mere few. 

How can we not acknowledge and give praise to the entire of all the Rocafella Records and its  movement created by visionary Dame Dash and the most successful rapper in history of Hip Hop  Jay Z. 

We can not conclude this blog with out mentioning Def Jam South's most underrated emcee Ludacrise, who helped put the South on the map. 

Lastly the R&B take over with  Rhianna Neyo, Amerie, Chrisette Michele, Electrik Red , Jeremih, and the biggest selling singles artist in music  history Mariah Carey is now the new era of  Def Jam. 

We hope  Rick Ross  Fab,Jada, & Ghostface & Ludacris can bring back the lackluster imprint that one ruled supreme.