Who better to salute a hip-hop icon than other rap legends?

Rakim, EPMD, MC Lyte, Whodini, Big Daddy Kane and Da Brat will be amongst those on hand Saturday night (Feb. 18) for a special Legends of Hip Hop: Tribute to Heavy D concert at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago.

Heavy D died shortly after collapsing in his Beverly Hills, California home on Nov. 8. Last December, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office confirmed that the beloved MC died of pulmonary embolism, via a fatal blood clot in his lung, caused by deep leg thrombosis that he had.

“When I was called about participating on the tour, I immediately said, “Hell yeah!” Da Brat told Gapers Block, a Chicago-based web publication. “I love all the artists on this tour and really, it’s a wonderful thing to be called a legend.

“I am very excited about it,” added Da Brat, who was the first female to ever achieve platinum certification with, Funkdafied in 1994. “I’m coming home to perform at the Arie Crown Theater for the first time since 1992, which is when and where it all first started for me.”

It’s been more than three months since Heavy D, real name Dwight Arrington Myers, died. Last September, he released his Love Opus LP on iTunes and he dazzled the crowd at the BET Hip Hop Awards last October with his rhymes and light-on-his-feet dancing

Young Money’s Lil Twist is warming fans up for the release of his March 20th debut album,Don’t Get It Twisted, by jumping back into the mixtape circuit. On Wednesday (Feb. 15), he released a free joint project with newcomer Khalil entitled, Three Weeks In Miami, and he plans on dropping at least two more mixtapes before unleashing his LP next month.

“Actually it took longer than three weeks in Miami to record the tape,” Twist told XXLMag.com about Three Weeks in Miami, while laughing on the way to taping BET’s 106 & Park in New York on Wednesday. “But we felt like we should just go with it and keep the name.”

Twist and Khalil’s mixtape contains all original music—eight tracks in all and was produced by upcoming producers that Twist is shepherding through the industry.

“I got record titles like, ‘The Thrill,’ which I use, for the opening record on my mixtape,” Twist explained. “I got records like ‘Pop It Off’ and ‘Let It Go.’ We went in on this tape. Khalil, I’m bringing him out more, as far as the YMCMB brand. It’s just me and him, as far as the tape goes.

“We have eight songs,” he added. “Then, I have a part two with another eight songs that we’re gonna put out in about two or three weeks.”

And that’s not all on the mixtape front from the Young Money artist. Right before his official album drops in March, Twist plans on putting out yet another free compilation; that one being called, Defeat Ain’t A Option and featuring the likes of Wiz Khalifa and Waka Flocka Flame.

“It’s amazing to me,” Twist said of his underground following. “I’ve been doing mixtapes since I came out. I’m growing on each mixtape. My fan [base is] growing with each mixtape and I’m seeing more and more downloads with each mixtape.

When people think about Oprah Winfrey and her best friend, Gayle King, undoubtedly a few things come to mind – road trips, shopping, incessant talking and giggling. Some might even remember the fact that Oprah, now a billionaire, grew up very poor but has often talked about the fact that her BFF, Gayle, had a very privileged childhood.

Never has either discussed body art and, truly, the idea that either of them would consider a tattoo would probably surprise their fans. Imagine the shock, therefore, when Gayle posted a picture of herself sporting the image of rapper, 50 Cent, on her left bicep.

She revealed the artwork to the erstwhile, Curtis Jackson, when he appeared on her OWN network talk show. Fortunately, the tattoo was temporary but she definitely had fun with it, tweeting the following along with a picture: "@50Cent: From the original G-Unit, I now feel so close to you....Thanks for being such a good sport!

pic.twitter.com/miyXHdZM." Apparently the affection goes both ways. 50 Cent has a cat named Gayle and a dog named Oprah. While 50 Cent blushed during the interview, Gayle joked: "If 50 Cent and Gayle got together, do you know the scandal that would cause?" Will her other crush, opera singer Josh Groban, be jealous when he hears about this

 Justin Bieber says he may be bringing some hip-hop flavor to his upcoming album. During a recent radio interview, the Bieb revealed that he's already been working with Drake and Kanye West on the new studio set.Bieber will release his new album Believe sometime next year and says he plans to connect with a deep well of collaborators. "I'm working with a lot of cool people," he said. "I'm working with Kanye.

Drake is gonna work on the album with me, and a lot of different artists." Drake and Kanye may not be the only hip-hop stars to record with Bieber, as Odd Future's Tyler the Creator says he'd love to work with Justin and the pair met up last year.