Rick Ross Graces the Cover of XXL: Louis Vuitton Puts Him on Blast

New York, NY – As of late, it seems as though the Boss, Ricky Ross, has been getting a majority of grief from the media since his public feud with 50 Cent occurred some time ago. And even after the situation with the CO allegations died down, Ross still can’t seem get a break. Within the recent media exposé, Ross was featured on the cover of the May issue of XXL Magazine, in light of his chart topper ‘Deeper Than Rap.’ Apparently, that honor fell short of an applaud as attention arose over the cover of the issue due to a certain wardrobe item.

That wardrobe item in question is apparently the shades that Ross just so happens to be wearing in plain view. The cover exhibits a zoomed in high quality photo of Ross’ face showcasing the emblem and the style of the Louis Vuitton shades. According to the prestigious company, the sunglasses are in fact counterfeits and they were blatant in pointing them out to the editors as well as the fans.

Here is the actual letter sent to the editors of XXL concerning the May 2009 cover:

Dear Editor:

We were dismayed to see the cover of the May 2009 issue of XXL Magazine, which features a photo of Rick Ross wearing a pair of sunglasses prominently featuring counterfeit Louis Vuitton trademarks. Because the photo has generated considerable confusion among your readers and Louis Vuitton customers among others, we feel it is important to clarify several points.

The first is that the sunglasses Mr. Ross is wearing were not made by Louis Vuitton, and in fact, are counterfeit. Louis Vuitton did not grant permission to Mr. Ross or to whoever did make the sunglasses to use our trademarks. The second is that no affiliation, sponsorship or association exists between Rick Ross or XXL and Louis Vuitton. The third is that counterfeiting is illegal.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to correct the confusion.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Pantalony, Esq.
Louis Vuitton Malletier

The company has in fact been in a strenuous battle over Louis Vuitton merchandise counterfeiting for numerous amounts of years all over the world. This is not the first time they’ve been clashed with Hip-Hop over their unlicensed merchandise, and it probably won’t be the last.

Eminem Describes Deep Emotions in Third Single

The anticipation into Slim Shady’s new album seems to be never-ending as he continues to unveil new material weeks before the release. His third single was officially released on Tuesday (May 12) on iTunes. The unique and diverse track is entitled ‘Beautiful’ and according to the lyrics of the record, it is deep and personal detailing what he’s been through during his five year hiatus.

According to his interview with Vibe Magazine, Em describes the track as a journey through his life after everything that occurred. He states that it is the only song on the album that is produced by him as the intro verse was written during his time in rehab and upon his release, he completed it. The first couple of bars of the record is quite intense, he goes in sounding miserable personifying his lyrics further. The pivotal track begins with hook samples from Rock Therapy’s ‘Reaching Out’ track as Em flows in during the next set:

I’m just so fuckin’ depressed
I just can seem to get out this slump
If I could just get over this hump
But I need something to pull me out this dump
I took my bruises, took my lumps
Fell down and I got right back up
But I need that spark to get psyched back up
In order for me to pick that mic back up

During his interview on the June issue of Vibe Magazine, he explained the personal aspects of the track that concerns deep emotions. These were his comments:

“There’s only one song on the record that I produced. It’s a track called ‘Beautiful’ and one of the only reasons that I put that track on there is that I feel like it’s the best song out of that batch that I did when I wasn’t sober. At the time I felt like, ‘This is it for me.’ I wrote the first verse and a half in rehab, and when I came out, I finished it. It was the only song that marks that period without bringing me back to that place. Every other track not only didn’t fit with the album, but when I listened to it, it would bring up bad memories.”

‘Relapse’ officially drops next Tuesday May 19. Keep posted to 24hourhiphop.com for the official review of the album.