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Members of the Texas State Board of Education gave preliminary approval Friday to remove significant areas of curriculum from civil rights and global politics and replace them with conservative historic figures and beliefs. Courses that would be affected by these changes include social studies, history and economics.

One of the subjects debated amongst the lawyers, dentists and publishers, who make up the board, was whether or not Hip Hop should be taught as a cultural movement. According to the Huffington Post, right wing members voted that Hip Hop should be deleted as a requirement and that students should not be taught about its cultural impact across not only the United States, but the world.

Conservatives also approved to have a sociological focus on institutional racism and its presence in American society banned from the books, as well as removing important references of Latino and Hispanic figures throughout history.

The Texas State Board of Education approved of the new expectations with a 10-5 vote, and a final decision is expected to be made in May, but not before holding an open forum where the public can produce additional arguments and even possibly, different amendments to stop some of the changes from being implemented.

If the amendments are approved, the changes to the content will affect learning nationwide because most school textbooks are published in Texas and would be taught to millions of students for the next 10 years.

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Lil Wayne, who has been incarcerated now for five days, is not expected to receive any special treatment. According to celebrity gossip site TMZ, Weezy has been banned from signing autographs while serving his one year sentence at Rikers Island.

One representative for the Correction Officer's Benevolent Association commented, "Lil Wayne is not a celebrity here." There have been no reports made that Wayne has requested anything out of the ordinary, or try to extend his freedoms.

If Lil Wayne shows good behavior he could be released after eight months at the facility.

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Diplomats rapper Jim Jones announced that he will be trading in the mic for the textbooks, taking over as a music instructor. Jones, who is expected teach at a New York City high school, told Rap Radar he is excited about the opportunity. "It's definitely going to be fun. I [will] have to go home the weekend before and write out my lessons," he continued, "This will be the funnest class you can go to and shit but you gonna learn a lot."

The Dipset member is expected to teach for just eight weeks and is currently waiting for the green light. "Right now they're actually going back and forth with the Board of Education to see what goes on and shit. I fully don't know the whole logistics of everything."

Although Jones has never taught a music course before, he feels as though he has a lot to offer. "I've done music business since I was a teenager. I had major executive positions. I've been successful as an artist and successful as a label. We've been successful as a movement."

Although a location and date have not yet been set, Jones plans to begin his role as a high school music instructor later in the year.

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New York emcee/singer Outasight is one of the first, from a class of talented Big Apple peers, to sign a major label deal. Last month, he signed with Warner Brothers/Asylum, joining Cam'ron and Talib Kweli as the traditionally southern Rap label's New York artists.

It could be safe to assume that part of the reason he attracted the label's attention was his December mixtape, Further, sponsored by L-R-G Clothing. The free download EP boasts a booming single, "Catch Me If You Can," a coming out party for Outasight and longtime New York collaborator 6th Sense. "It started off when 6th [Sense] sent me that beat. It wasn't exactly [mixed in] that format [you hear on the record today], but I heard that. That bass. That vibe. I knew, oh my God, this is gonna be a monster. It just clicked from the first time I heard. [6th Sense] was like, 'This is cool.' He just sent it along; he wasn't even that hyped about it," Outasight told HipHopDX. "For me, the vibe I felt [had] this Classic Rock undertone to it. I grew up listening to The Doors and Led Zeppelin, and I kinda just felt like gettin' my [Doors' vocalist] Jim Morrison on, in a sense. Then, all of a sudden, I just wanted to kick a couple bars." Outasight says that despite the song's polish, it was not tasking to make. "I'll tell ya, I wrote that song in like a half hour. And I recorded that song in an hour. It was such a natural process. It just came out so quickly, and really was just dope."

With a trailer alluding to a video and a strong Internet response, Outasight was asked if "Catch Me If You Can" will make his album. "Definitely," he affirmed. "What we're doing right now is, we're taking that record and a couple other records from Further and we're putting two new records on a digital release on iTunes for March: the Further EP. We have the video [releasing March 23], and are definitely going to try to debut it on TV and stuff, and try and run with the record. I think it's a great introduction for people who might not have heard my music yet to see what it's all about, 'cause it's such a mixture of things." The Further EP will release next week, as Outasight takes his show to Austin, Texas' South By Southwest. The free-turned-retail release is the latest on a trend that includes Drake's So Far Gone and U-N-I's A Love Supreme.

At this juncture in his career, Outasight prides himself on his grassroots trajectory. "What I'm really proud of is just the organic process of which I've came up to the game. I definitely have a long way to go, but I'm proud that I haven't really had any big name cosigns or collabs and have been able to get where I'm at. Cosigns is a lot these days, so if you don't have that, it's just a reliance on good music." Looking at his New York peers, ever-eager to get on as well, Outasight said, "I wish success to every person, and I think there's enough room for everybody out there."

Although Further may have begun as free download, the project is very telling of Outasight's musical gifts and image, right down to the art layout. Asked about the mixtape's front and back cover art, the emcee said it was all symbolic. "That's a good question. Really, my photo inspiration was Bob Dylan. I'll always love some of the photography that was taken of Bob Dylan during the '60s. It had this raw edge to it, it was very natural though. I hollered at my friend [Faz] who was a photographer and said, 'No digital, all film. We're gonna use black-and-white. And we're gonna hop in a cab, and we're gonna go down FDR, along the bridges, and we're gonna take some shots. Then we're gonna go on the [Staten Island] Ferry, and the New York Public Library.' And we just took all these candids, and I thought it really reflected 'Further'. [The title] is about taking the listener, taking myself further. There you have it: me in the backseat of a car, with the bridges and it was pretty symbolic."

Although Outasight might be label-mates with Shawty Lo and OJ Da Juiceman, he feels he's a great fit for the historic imprint. "That's what caught my ear when we started talking and having an open dialogue about maybe creating a situation. They're definitely known for southern Rap, puttin' ATL and Houston on, no doubt. That's a remarkable thing, but they have a very rich history. What's really dope is they came to me and really enjoyed what I was doing. It's something maybe a little different for them, but they get it. And that's an important thing."

Purchase Further EP by Outasight

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Yesterday, MTV reported that singer Lloyd has inked a deal with Interscope Records. Formerly an artist signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc., Lloyd spent most of his career at Universal Motown, where of recent, he began a strong association with Lil Wayne's Young Money label.

Most notably, Lloyd had a heavy hand in 2009 hit "Bedrock" with the members of Young Money. "I love the way Interscope gets down. I love the way Jimmy [Iovine, label head] gets down. I've always had a good working relationship with Polow [da Don, producer]. Having that creative partner is something I wanted to have, since the very beginning, to have that one creative partner," Lloyd told MTV.

The singer said he expects to release his first Interscope album this year, and said that his decision not to sign with Young Money had a lot to do with the fact that he would remain at Universal Motown.

Visit MTV's story to hear Lloyd's first post-Universal single, featuring newly-released Mystikal.

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