It’s been over for years since Erykah Badu released her most recent album, New Amerykah Part Two (Return Of The Ankh), and apparently the big checks aren’t rolling in as frequently as she’d like them to.

Her solution to make a little extra cash? Busking on the streets of New York City — or as she calls it, the “Street Hustler Experiment.”

“We in Manhattan right now on the corner of West 42nd and New America and I just wanted to see what it would be like to sing for money on the streets,” Badu said to her fans via her iPhone video camera.

According to the time stamp, the eclectic chanteuse chose to hit the streets outside Bryant Park — not Times Square, people — on Friday (October 10) at around 8 p.m.

Draped in the kind of gold jewelry that would make King Tut jealous, Badu put on a pair of grandma’s reading glasses — you know, with the chain attached — and took off her hat and placed it on the ground to collect donations.

“I haven’t sold a record in a long time, b—h, need some money,” she sang, as New Yorkers breezed past her without dropping any money into the collection hat. “I needs money.”

After four minutes of crooning her ad-libbed “I needs money” ode, one lady finally put some change in the “Tyrone” singer’s chapeau. Frustrated with her minimal returns, Badu began to get more aggressive and her singing for money experiment dissolved into full-on panhandling.

Less ...

Looks like the upcoming biography about Pimp C, “$weet Jones$: Pimp C’s Trill Life Story,” ain’t exactly as “trill” as advertised. The rapper’s widow has spoken out against the work.

“As the matriarch of my family, and voice of Chad Butler’s estate, I feel that it’s imperative that I make it publicly known that we do not endorse, nor have any ties to Julia Beverly’s pending unauthorized biography of Pimp C’s life,” Chinara Butler said in a statement.

“While I did meet with Julia regarding the book, I never committed our support to the project. We are working tirelessly to protect and manage the legacy my late husband built, and this book is counterproductive to our goals.”

Mrs. Butler felt compelled to release an official statement after Bun B’s wife, Queenie Freeman, took to Instagram to blast Beverly for releasing the book without the family’s consent.

Freeman also took issue with the idea that the writer would profit off of the UGK legend’s legacy without making arrangements for any of the proceeds to go to his estate.

Beverly, the founder of Ozone magazine, countered that she had an agreement in place with Pimp C’s mother, Weslyn “Mama Wes” Monroe, before she passed away. She added that she planned to honor that agreement and “do the right thing” by his children.

The exchange has since been deleted, but Instagram user @BallerAlert posted a screenshot of the back and forth between the two ladies.

Naturally, commenters were merciless with their ...

Label beef won’t stop the Tyga show from T-Raww-ing ahead.

On Tuesday (October 14), less than a week after airing out his frustrations with Young Money on Twitter, the California native has released the highly anticipated Kanye West-produced banger, “40 Mill.”

Last Kings Music

Longtime ‘Ye collaborator Mike Dean shares the production billing on the sinister, bass-heavy track.

Not surprisingly, the beat is multilayered and complex in its simplicity — oh, and it knocks!

The “Real Deal” MC holds up his end of the bargain, too, with a succinct flow and dexterous lyrics.

“Take your b–ch, we ain’t even swingers/ N—a try your luck, think it’s all entertainment/ You all in arraignment, snitches to the plaintiff/ Who, what, where, my n—-s stay nameless,” he raps.

Hopefully, now that the single has dropped, this means that Tyga’s new LP, The Gold Album, will get back on track for its scheduled November 18 release date.

“40 Mill” is ready for download on iTunes now.

Maurice Bobb @ReeseReport

U2 get digitally psychedelic for their new music video, “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone).”

The streaming clip premiered Tuesday (October 14) on — yep, you guessed it — iTunes, the very same platform that automatically placed the band’s new album, Songs Of Innocence, on every Apple user’s Cloud at latest product launch.

Users weren’t exactly onboard with all that unwarranted free music, but this new clip might just change their minds.

Related: Bono’s Response To That Whole Free Album Thing? “Oops”

If fans think that the video looks eerily familiar to Apple’s “Echoes” commercial that debuted last month, don’t worry — you’re not crazy. The performance footage was spliced with classic video of the late Joey Ramone, the influential punk rocker who fronted The Ramones.

Back in September, Joey’s brother, musician Mickey Leigh, spoke with MTV News about his reaction to the song. “I’ve been working on a letter to express… I’m not sure grateful is the right word, but awestruck is a better description.”

He said that worked with Apple for weeks to gain approval for the use of Joey’s image without knowing exactly what it was being used for. “It made me feel so good… [When I] finally found out what it was all about, my jaw dropped right away.”

Maurice Bobb @ReeseReport

Iron Man and Captain America back together again? Marvel fans should start getting their hopes up immediately.

According to Variety, Robert Downey, Jr., the man who brought billionaire playboy Tony Stark to life on the big screen, is nearing a deal to join the cast of “Captain America 3.”

Should the deal go through, it’s likely that he and Chris Evans’ first Avenger will bring the fabled Civil War storyline to the silver screen, opening up a new phase of Marvel Studios’ blockbusters to the already extremely profitable lineup.

Getty Images

The plot will reportedly center on the Stark Industries genius feuding with Steve Rogers over the controversial Superhero Registration Act, which forces anyone with superhuman abilities to report their identity to the United States government in order to police the public for federal authorities.

Stark is onboard, but the kid from Brooklyn is not, citing fears that the Act criminalizes people like him if they don’t sign up. The storyline would therefore make Stark the de facto villain of the film.

In addition to Iron Man turning heel, Frank Grillo will likely return as Crossbones.

“I can’t divulge who is going to be in the film, but I think fans are going to freak out when they hear about it,” Anthony Russo, who directed “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” with brother, Joe, told Movies.com last month.

Marvel

Surprisingly, Downey, who is already locked in to bring his beloved character to “The ...

Longtime musical collaborators Fat Joe and Jennifer Lopez reunite in a luxe New York City nightclub in a new teaser for their upcoming music video for “Stressin”.

The clip, which the Don Cartagena posted to Instagram on Monday (October 13) barely plays past the opening credits, giving you just enough of a taste to get excited for the full Eif Rivera-directed video’s arrival.

In the caption, Joe writes that the “Stressin” video will premiere this coming Friday. The full version of the Rico Love-produced banger will appear on Joey’s upcoming eleventh studio album.

The two artists have collaborated in the past, notably on J.Lo’s “Hold You Down” from 2005 and 2000′s “Feelin’ So Good,” which also featured the late Big Pun.

Maurice Bobb @ReeseReport