Saturdays Rap Up

Lil' Waynes toothache, Jay-Z on his next collaberation and his advice for record labels

Lil' Wayne's Tooth Agony

Lil Wayne spent a marathon session in the dentist's chair on Tuesday (16Feb10) - reportedly undergoing eight root canal procedures in one sitting.

The rapper was due to face sentencing on a charge of weapons possession on 9 February (10) after pleading guilty, but the hearing was postponed to allow him to undergo oral surgery.

Dentists completed work on Wayne's teeth this week (beg15Feb10) after an eight-hour session which saw the star undergo several procedures to repair and add implants and fix his remaining real teeth, according to TMZ.com.

The Lollipop hitmaker also reportedly underwent eight root canal procedures, which involves drilling into the tooth to remove the nerve and fill the cavity.

The hip-hop star will be back in court in New York City on 2 March (10) when he is expected to be handed a one-year prison sentence.

Jay-Z Wants Allen Collaboration

Rap mogul Jay-Z is hoping Lily Allen cancels her plan to retire from music in March (10) - he wants to team up with the British pop star on stage this summer (10).

The hip-hop star is set to perform at the Wireless music festival in London in July (10), and he has approached the Smile singer about joining him at the gig.

But he will have to work hard to convince her - Allen has already announced she is taking a two-year hiatus after her shows with rapper Dizzee Rascal next month (Mar10).

He tells BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat, "I spoke to Lily Allen. I'm trying to get her for Wireless. Hopefully that goes through. I bum-rushed them in the corner where they can't say no. I know her for a minute (sic). I think she's a great artist. I respect her. We just haven't (collaborated) yet.

"I've collaborated with so many artists. It's pressure because on the days when they don't come out I have to over perform. It's like, 'You better make me happy that Beyonce's not here tonight'."

Jay-Z will also perform a string of arena shows in the U.K. in June (10).

Jay-Z Warns Record Labels 'Be Smarter'

Jay-Z is warning record label executives of an impending crisis in the industry, insisting music bosses need to be "smarter" in order to survive.

The rapper, who is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings, helped found Roc-A-Fella Records and recently launched new music management/publishing venture Roc Nation.

But the Big Pimpin' hitmaker is convinced the music industry is changing, with increased digital sales and falling number of CD purchases, and he's urging record label chiefs to rethink their business plans.

He tells BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat, "Records are not selling as many as they were before and you've still got to go out and pay the Bentley bill, people have to be smarter about how they A and R (artist and repertoire), and what they put out, record companies need to catch up to that, someone needs to send them the memo.

"I remember the first year I was at Def Jam we put out 56 artists. There's not 56 great artists in the world, and this is one company. One company operating for like, 80 artists in a year. That's just too many."