In his first radio interview since the incident involving his ex-girlfriend, R&B songstress Rihanna, Chris Brown touched up on his feelings toward Oprah after she didn’t show any support during his trial. “We did so many things together as far as me working for her schools in Africa, that I feel at the time I needed a helping hand, not for my career but as a person, instead of her pointing the finger,” Brown said.

He also spoke about a certain BET Awards rumor that involved Jay-Z, many saying that the rapper was the reason he wasn’t asked to perform in the show. “I have no issues with dude,” he said. “I don’t know and I don’t think it was him.” As soon as his album drops, that’s when it’ll be clear how big of an impact his actions have had on his career.

Yesterday, Russell Simmons, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Valeisha Butterfield, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) and Walmart announced the convening of a national Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment entitled "Get Your Money Right." The event will offer valuable and timely financial information from financial experts, celebrities and community leaders. Open to the public, the summit will take place on Sept. 12, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum, 1921 West Lee Street Greensboro, N.C. 27403 and in Houston, Texas on Oct. 17. A special in-store promotion of the summit will be held on Friday, Sept. 11 at the Walmart Superstore at 4:30 p.m. located at 4424 W. Wendover Ave.

Financial literacy is critical as multicultural communities are disproportionately impacted by the economic downturn. The African-American job loss exceeds one million as a result of the recession, representing more than 60 percent of the total increase in the number of those unemployed. The national unemployment rate for African-Americans reached 15 percent in April, its highest rate since June of 1986. According to North Carolina State University economist Michael Walden, North Carolina's unemployment rate was already one of the lowest in the United States at 11.1 percent, the rate will peak at an unprecedented 13 percent in the first quarter of 2010 before beginning to improve. Russell Simmons, chairman and co-founder of HSAN, pointed out, "Hip-Hop is about empowerment and transformation. Financial literacy is a fundamental key to financial empowerment. The 'Get Your Money Right' Hip-Hop Summit in Greensboro will be an excellent opportunity to receive invaluable information."

Confirmed artists and celebrities scheduled to participate in the Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment in Greensboro include; Russell Simmons, Rocsi of BET's 106 & Park, Lil Mo and Dr. Benjamin Chavis. 102 Jamz FM is the exclusive radio-partner for the Hip-Hop Summit in Greensboro.

When it comes to the combination of business and issues regarding music artists, the catalyst is more than likely the deal that they sign. That’s exactly what’s happenning to Canada’s young hip hop star Drake. When he first came out onto the scene, many already thought that he would ink a deal with Universal Motown, however, he signed directly with Aspire, a company that runs its distribution through another Universal label, Universal Republic.

This hasn’t gone down well with Motown, and now they’re asking that all Drake Billboard chart entries be credited to them and not Republic. Drake has been vocal about his dislike of Motown, recently telling Fader magazine that he, “went through Universal Republic because I don’t fuck with Motown, at all.” It should be interesting to see how this all maps out.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Gangs of New York co-star Cameron Diaz were spotted at hip London club, Maddox, this past Saturday night. The two had a friendly dinner with a few comrades earlier in the evening at Shoreditch House member’s club. Cameron pulled on a baseball cap, as she left the restaurant to hide her identity. From there, the group headed to Maddox at 12.30. At 3 AM, Leo rounded up his friends, including Cameron, to go back to his pad to continue drinking.

Leo recently split with his girlfriend, Israeli model Bar Rafaeli, after two years and Cameron just ended a year-long relationship with Essex model, Paul Sculfor.

Leo, who is in the middle of his latest movie, Inception, sat next to Cameron at Maddox nightclub. She planted kisses on his cheek and he whispered into her ear. While Leo’s pals hit the dance floor, he and Cameron sat together in a private corner of the club, deep in conversation.

Cameron partied again on Sunday, while Leonardo was MIA. She clubbed at Royal hangout Boujis, where she bumped into Jude Law – her co-star from The Holiday. They chatted before leaving from separate exits. Insiders report that she got on with Leo quite well, even more so than Mr. Law.

Montreal's Mutek Festival, one of the best electronic dance music events in North America, is just around the corner and their recent announcement and addition to their roster will be driving minimal fans crazy. Ricardo Villalobos is set to make a very rare appearance in North American shores for the event, and he'll be delivering a seven-hour set with Perlon label mate Zip. It's no secret that Villalobos, along with many other DJs, isn't a fan of playing in the US. He's actually never played here at all! However, although this isn't a certainty, many can hope that this will change in the near future. But don't hold your breath just yet, the final announcement of the lineup will be made next month.