Storytime with Mike Tyson should be its own podcast. The legendary champion boxer uses his Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson show to not only chat with his famous guests but to share crazy stories his life. If there’s someone who has seen ups, downs, and everything in between, it’s Tyson, so while speaking with rapper and producer Havoc from Mob Deep on a recent episode of his popular series, Tyson told a story of a police officer bending all of the rules after pulling the boxer over. 

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Before he was living a more sober, calm life, Tyson was a playboy who fed any and all of his addictions. “I remember one day I got pulled over, I’m drunk, I’m high,” Tyson said. “So they pulled me over and they said, ‘Pull up on the curb.’ So I pull up, I go on the curb. Boom boom! Oh sh*t! The cop turns and looks and he goes, ‘Oh sh*t Mike Tyson! F*cking hell!”

Police were so enamored with the celebrity that they didn’t bother to check if he was sober. “I said, ‘Sir, can you help me get to this address?’ Then he took me to the f*ckin’ address where the drug spot was and I said, ‘Thank you sir’ and I was free!” Check out the conversation with Tyson and Havoc in its entirety below.

Mobb Deep dropped their iconic sophomore album, The Infamous, 25 years ago today (April 25th), and to commemorate its legacy, surviving member Havoc and Sony Music have put out a digital expanded edition of the album. This special anniversary edition of the groundbreaking hip hop duo’s 1995 album includes bonus tracks such as “Shook Ones, Part I (Original Version)”, as well as Infamous Sessions Mixes of “The Money (Version 2)” and “Lifestyles Of The Infamous,” available online now for the first time ever. In addition to its digital release, a deluxe 12″ vinyl 25th-anniversary edition of The Infamous will be available for purchase later this year, and will include “a variety of rare mixes, alternate takes and unreleased tracks” recorded during the creation of the album in 1994.

A live stream celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Infamous will also be taking place on Caffeine, a recently established broadcast company, on Saturday (April 25th) at 7:00pm EST/4:00pm PST. The event will be hosted by Havoc and will be streamed from his apartment in New York City. According to The Source, “the stream will feature surprise appearances, a preview of the upcoming Mobb Deep documentary, a performance by Mobb Deep on tour, and a tribute to the late Prodigy.” Fans will also have the opportunity to ask Havoc questions in the chat and participate in tri about Mobb Deep. Collaborators and producers on The Infamous will be invited to speak about the creation of the legendary rap masterpiece, as well.

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“When Prodigy and I started on The Infamous album, all we wanted to do is to make good music—give the world a glimpse of our lives—put out an audible image of Queensbridge so that people could hear what we see every day,” Havoc said. “I guess we were successful because 25 years later, many believe that this record is one of the greatest hip-hop records of all times.” Stream The Infamous: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition below and catch the celebratory live stream tonight on Caffeine.

Havoc has plenty of faith in his catalogue of hits, as he told Swizz Beatz he wouldn't be afraid of whichever producer they put him up against since nobody would be able to "destroy" him in a battle. The Mobb Deep rapper and producer reached out to Swizz in order to get involved with his and Timbaland's insanely popular Verzuz series, which has been keeping tons of people entertained during quarantine. The series, which has seen tons of legendary producers, songwriters, and rappers face off in a battle of their greatest hits, has been a source of joy for many hip hop and R&B fans during these dark times, and Havoc wants to get in on the action.

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“I just hit up Swizz, I sent him my list,” he revealed. “Now I said, ‘Swizz, I’ll battle anybody you put me against.’ He said, ‘I bet.’ I said, ‘I’ll be waiting,’ and he said, ‘I’m going to do it ASAP.’ So look for that.” He went on to explain why he's not afraid to take on any producer that's thrown his way, whether it be his longtime collaborator, Alchemist, previous Verzuz champion, RZA, or a newcomer like Metro Boomin.

“You could put me up against anybody and I’m not going to get destroyed," he explained. "I believe that in my heart. I could definitely hang in there with the best of them. And yeah, I was going to say [RZA] but I didn’t want to get beside myself, but I would take him on. I’m willing to lose just because.” Swizz seemingly implied that Havoc was already on the roster for a future battle with one of the aforementioned beatmakers during an Instagram live session on Saturday (April 18th) with Timbo. Swizz responded to Alchemist's lighthearted jab about Swizz in the comments by telling him, "you just focus on Havoc."

The Instagram Live beat battles have provided endless amounts of entertainment over the past few weeks. We've seen revered pairs of producers like RZA and DJ Premier and Scott Storch and Mannie Fresh go head-to-head to see who's catalog contains the better records. But it hasn't only been producers -- songwriters, too, have jumped on the trend. 

The one battle that has been mentioned but will definitely not come into fruition is Ja Rule vs. 50 Cent. This all began yesterday when Ja Rule proposed to go song-for-song with50 Cent. Though it would be unlikely that they would bury the hatchet afterward, Ja Rule thought this was the only fair way to see who the true winner of their decade-plus war is. Fif simply brushed him off, claiming Ja was simply chasing attention.

Well, it looks like Ja Rule is looking at the situation differently. Taking to Instagram, he shared a photo of 50 Cent with "Shook Ones Pt. II" by Mobb Deep playing along with the caption "COWARD." He later shared a screenshot of a separate article about 50 Cent's reaction with the song's hook playing.

"I just wanna say that it’s all love from my side never scared to compete I was asked would I do a verzuz with 50 and I said of course I don’t back down lol... I stand by my catalog and the records I’ve written for others I LOVE HIP HOP... #fortheculture," he wrote on Twitter afterward.

Despite this, he did share a meme while showing love for his fans for standing by his side. 

The New Orleans rapper, Jay Electronica, who dizzied fans with his storytelling abilities and feats of lyrical sorcery holds a unique distinction. In the same breath, Jay— real name Timothy Elpadaro Thedford— is both a storied veteran and an unproven rookie. Crash-landing into hip-hop’s wider consciousness 13 years ago with the Jon Brion inspired Act I: Eternal Sunshine: The Pledge, the former drifter turned five-percenter philosopher became the toast of the underground as his MySpace racked up hits in the millions.

Over time, Jay Elec would gradually transition from next-up to something more hypothetical. Granted the dubious title of “the best to never do it,” Electronica is finally preparing his long-awaited debut album. Over a decade in the making, Elec wiped the slate clean on his Twitter earlier this month and proclaimed “album done.” “Recorded over 40 days and 40 nights, starting from Dec 26,” the clock may be ticking down towards Written Testimony’s purported release date, but fans remain cautiously optimistic. All told, this is a man that’s had a tendency to promise the world, only to routinely underdeliver.

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2010

“Me and Mos [Def] have a project that we’re doing,” he told MTV back in 2010, at a time where the hype was at record levels. “I would like to do a project with Lupe, we’re going to do a project at some point. Me and Nas have a project that we’re doing.” A decade later, each one of these collaborations have went unrealized. Yet when charting the agonizing road to his debut album, it’s important to remember that constructing the enigma that is Jay Electronica has been crucial in obtaining the audience’s undying interest.

“[He’s] a weird-looking cat,” said the soon-to-be mother of his child Erykah Badu on a voicemail from The Pledge. “He looks like he’s an alien, but in a very beautiful way. Like some kind of mythical creature who would have a bow and arrow on his back and wings.”

Humble in interviews but no stranger to on-wax profundities, Jay echoed these sentiments on “Exhibit C,” detailing how a voice of an angel that’d told him he’d “be a great man.” Amid the divine intervention that accented his timeless, Just Blaze-produced hit, Jay went so far as to preface this culture of anticipation that’s become a defining characteristic of his career, spitting: “Nas hit me up on the phone, said “What you waitin’ on?” Tip hit me up with a tweet, said, “What you waitin’ on?” Diddy send a text every hour on the dot saying When you gon drop that verse? N****, you taking long.”

Packing a mystique that few could emulate, Jay has been accustomed to playing things his way since his unsigned days. “Labels know that they have to deal with my terms,” he informed Spin in 2010. “I recognize that it’s a blessing. I’m not saying it in an arrogant way. It’s just, the rules do not apply.” In November of that same history-making year, Electronica showed the first signs of conformity to the music business machine when he signed a deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. During a signing party, Hov gave the sort of ringing endorsements that most MCs fantasize about.

Two days later, Jay-E and Jay-Z would team up for the first time on “Shiny Suit Theory.” Just as he’d done beforehand, Electronica’s verse alluded to a tenuous balancing act between keeping his integrity and wading into the industry’s tangled web. “Me and Puff, we was chilling in Miami. He said: N**a fuck the underground you need to win a Grammy for your mama and your family. They need to see you shined up. You built a mighty high ladder. Let me see you climb up. N***a what you scared of? Terrorize these artificial rap n****s and spread love.”

Marked out as an anomaly in the game, what we didn’t know was that his Roc Nation debut would become an elusive project of Detox proportions. Less than a year on from inking his deal, the NOLA expat made his first of many proclamations to the world about a release date. “Album soon come,” he tweeted. “Ask Bun B, he heard the album in its entirety… I am grateful for your patience. I will not let any of you down. I promise.” Yet as the year trickled away, we were left with only a thrilling team-up with Mobb Deep on “Call Of Duty” and a rough demo that typified his interstellar wordplay.

2012

From there, Jay kept his head low until March of 2012. Delivered like a sermon on the mount, Elec declared, “dear Believers and Patient Supporters. Thank you for your patience and support. The Album will be turned in Tomorrow evening. The wait ends.” With no further news, one of Hov’s closest confidants in Young Guru satiated fears and reiterated that this gestating project would be “everything that you want. it will be that, and more.” In July of that year, Electronica provided us with, to this day, one of the clearest indications of where his head was at in the form of a star-studded tracklist, dubbed Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn), Electronica claimed that it actually formed the second part of a proposed trilogy.

“Every magic trick consists of three parts. The Pledge: where the magician shows you something ordinary; a bird, a deck of cards or a man. The Turn: Where the magician takes the ordinary something and does something #Extraordinary. The Third part is The Prestige.” In a case of history repeating itself, these bold statements of intent equated to very little. In the wake of Magna Carta Holy Grail dropping in 2013— not to mention an album from another little-known Roc protégé by the name of J. Cole—July saw Jay take to social media to play the role of unreliable narrator once again, tweeting, “Ok. now it’s my turn. Let’s Go.”

2013

A somewhat inconspicuous time-period that peaked with his Mac Miller collab on “Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes,” 2013 was defined by the infamous “Control” debacle on which Kendrick Lamar upstaged both Big Sean and Jay Elec in dramatic fashion by taking hip-hop to task. As it turns out, the addition of K Dot’s incendiary verse caused a disruption as Electronica had planned to include a version with him and Sean on his album.

2014

Three years on from its initial ‘completion’, 2014 became one of the more revelatory periods of Jay’s entire career. Harbouring a sense of otherworldliness, it was jarring to see Jay Electronica turn up on the Kanyetothe forum. In response to a fan that’d asked about the cryptic meaning of “July 12th” and whether it’d be his album release date, Jay Electronica clarified the situation. “No sir,” he said in April, “but i promise you it’s coming this year and I’m about to heat the game up and charge the particles so high…”

Rewarding the faithful with news that he and Kanye had “spent about a week together in london during the WTT days,” everything seemed rosy within the house of Electronica. That was until he appeared at Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival that July and let it be known that he’d been tackling demons. “I backslid for a while,” he informed REVOLT. “Got into druggin’ and drinkin’ and smokin’, but now I’m back, reformed… I just wanted to come out today, clean, sober, and with my family, taking control of my life, taking control of the game.”

Launched Nas’ Mass Appeal label, a trailer emerged that featured footage of Jay in far-flung locations and used the life of inventor Nikola Tesla to further depict him as a spectral being, stating: “This story is about a man whose powerful ideas live on, as much of his work is still classified and used in the most esoteric projects imaginable today. This mysterious, tall, dark mystic, who wrote and recited poetry and could speak six languages, yet he couldn’t help his idiosyncrasies…”

Despite this, and an interview with Hip-Hop Wired in which he claimed that he’d planned to “have impact with my presence alone,” a body of work remained elusive. Although he’s now stated plainly that his album will emerge in 40 days, this isn’t even the first time that he’s used that timeframe to tease a release. After he’d implored fans to #gettidal in July 2016, a sardonic fan responded by saying, “I have 40 days left on my Tidal trial.” In his retort Jay simply told him “well you’re safe.”

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2017

Adamant that he doesn’t need to play by the rulebook, Roc Nation’s top brass have taken a non-interventionist approach to Jay Electronica’s delays. However, at an NBA All-Star Weekend event in Elec’s native NOLA, a video shows Hov slyly cajole his signee, pleading “Let’s go put the album out, let’s go.” Naturally, this sent the internet abuzz and in response, Electronica spoke to Complex and clarified where he was at. “It’s humbling that after all these years, anybody still has interest in what I’m doing. You can’t name another person that people have waited this long. As far as an album, I would like to put out an album myself. Nobody in the world wants a Jay Electronica album out more than I do,” he declared.

But if we know anything about this bewildering MC, it’s that both deadlines and headlines are subject to change. Two days after this interview, Jay told Billboard that the very idea of being shackled to the industry’s traditional rollout process was insignificant to artistry. “An album is a false concept anyway. An album is something that was created by corporations as a product to make money. People have been making music, doing plays and telling stories around fires for trillions of years. I like albums but I’m not too really handcuffed to the concept of that.”

Languishing in the musical equivalent of development hell, the past two years have seen him hint towards new music alongside Swizz Beats and The Alchemist, as well as alluding to a “possibly, likely” collab project with Hov.  And if early reports are to be believed, what’s slated to arrive in March will heavily feature the Jigga Man. That said, if his previous comments about the interchangeable nature of creative focus are anything to go by, we may not be out of the woods yet.

“Things evolve,” Jay asserted in 2017. “Over the trajectory of your life, say you start working on a design or working on something in January. By the time next January comes around, you be in another place. You may have to strike this. ‘Oh, I don’t like those patches on that thing…’ You can’t put a stopwatch on that.”