LOS ANGELES — Rapper and hip-hop producer Dr. Dre's 20-year-old son has died, a spokesperson for Dr. Dre said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Dr. Dre is mourning the loss of his son Andre Young Jr. Please respect his family's grief and privacy at this time," the spokesperson said.

Young Jr., who was named after his father, was found dead Saturday by his mother at their home in suburban Woodland Hills, county coroner's Lt. John Kades said.

An autopsy was performed Monday, but the cause of death wasn't likely to be determined for eight weeks while toxicology tests are done, Kades said.

Young was discovered in his bed at around 10:30 a.m. Saturday by his mother, who attempted to rouse him, the coroner's spokesperson told MTV News. Young was unresponsive, so she called paramedics, who responded to the scene. After their efforts to revive him failed, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the coroner's spokesperson, Young had spent the previous evening with friends. His mother told police that he'd returned home Saturday at around 5:30 a.m., and that she'd heard him in his bedroom. Police said they did not suspect foul play.

Tupac proteges The Outlawz have written, produced and have been featured on over 60 million albums sold worldwide, yet have never released an album on a major label or enjoyed mainstream radio and video support. Although the group has worked with major artists from T.I., Eminem, Young Buck and Keisha Cole to E-40, The Game, Biggie and of course Pac, the 'Lawz are rarely invited to award shows or contacted by producers of TV specials dedicated to their mentor.

We Want In is the Outlawz declaration to music moguls, program directors, industry gatekeepers and hip-hop bosses that with all due respect, they want in the game. Dubbed the street LP, 1 Nation Entertainment and Gold Dust Media will launch We Want In throughout North America, the UK, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa on August 5th.

Battling barriers is the status quo when Operating Under Thug Laws As Warriors. The Outlawz; EDI, Young Noble and Kastro have toured all over the world, galvanized countless devotees, and although they get the utmost respect from their musical peers, they have theoretically been on the outside looking in for over a decade.

"We've been knocking for a long time now," says Outlaw EDI "Now we're kicking in doors. We Want In is just another way of saying it's our turn." He continues. "A lot of these cats out here took pages from our books and were inspired by our rhymes...we don't want any of their money, we just want to do business."

The Outlawz have labored tirelessly to be recognized as one of hip-hop's most prominent groups. As independent artists they are constantly on the grind and in the lab. They have been featured in top music publications from XXL and Source to Murder Dog and Scratch, earning honors as underground legends and boasting a discography that includes some of the most successful rap albums including: All Eyez On Me, Still I Rise, Better Dayz and Makaveli.

According to Young Noble, "We not begging to be accepted -- come on, we're Outlawz…We've worked with all of these dudes, kept it real with our fans and have held our own, but our money definitely ain't matched our fame." He goes on to say, "Label heads and artists are always speaking on how they ride for Pac, but respect ain't being shown for what we helped create. We on over 100 songs with Pac and 60 mill sold, how much work we gotta put in to get the credit we deserve?"

Even In the absence of a major label deal, the Outawz still consider themselves "successful" and remain driven by their passion for making music, taking care of their families, building on the legacy of fallen Outlawz; Kadafi and Makaveli and staying true to ghetto gospel that they personify. The We Want In street LP speaks to the struggle for all the underground, independent hustlers forging their imprint in the game.

The Outlawz are launching the video for the album's first single; "We Want In" in the month of June. The street LP will be in stores August 5th.

Afeni Shakur's Amaru Entertainment, responsible for all of Tupac's posthumous albums, and Universal Music Group have been hit with a lawsuit by R&B/Jazz singer Esther Williams claiming that both Tupac Shakur and Ghostface Killah separately sampled her music without permission.

Williams is claiming that her single "Last Night Changed It All" was used on Tupac's "Late Night" from his Better Dayz album without her permission. The lawsuit also claims Ghostface Killa used the same sample on his "Last Night Skit" on The Pretty Toney Album, also without her permission.

Williams is seaking $10 million in her lawsuit. She is a former Miss Black D.C., has worked with artists such as Davey Yarborough, Sir Roland Hanna, Bobby Felder and has opened for the likes of The Temptations, Peaches and Herb.

In 1998, Williams and her husband Davey Yarborough created the Washington Jazz Arts Institute, a Washington D.C. based nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and mentoring young and aspiring musicians.

Source: Streethop.com

KOCH Records have announced the release of Return of the Mac, a new album from Mobb Deep's Prodigy and produced by Eminem’s DJ, The Alchemist. This release will be followed in late 2007 by "H.N.I.C. 2," the follow up to Prodigy's Gold solo album, H.N.I.C., which spawned the hit, "Keep It Thoro." "Stuck On You" will be the first national radio single and a video will also be lensed for it shortly. Two underground videos for Return of the Mac have already been shot, "Mac 10 Handles" and "New York Shit," check them out below. Interestingly "New York Shit" samples the voice of Tupac Shakur, who had beef with Prodigy and Mobb Deep around the time of his death. "Mac 10 Handles" "New York Shit" Source: StreetHop

Some people are haunted by the moment John F Kennedy was shot in Dallas in 1963. Others remember the shock of John Lennon's 1980 killing in New York. For the hip-hop generation, though, there is only one iconic figure, Tupac Shakur, and one iconic moment, when he was gunned down in Las Vegas at the height of his notoriety and commercial success 10 years ago today. Tupac was our Kennedy, our Lennon; our Elvis. If you were a Tupac fan in 1996 then you will remember with vivid clarity where you were and what you were doing when you first heard he was shot. Like me, you were probably also certain he’d pull through and unleash a verbal music assisted onslaught on those that had shot him. And for six days it appeared events were going according to plan. Until three minutes past 4 PM on Friday September 13th that is. That was the moment Tupac was pronounced dead by Dr James Lovett at the University Medical Center. It came as shock to his fans and many just couldn’t let go. Tupac had been shot before; he had survived five shots including two to the head. Tupac was bullet proof. We came to the only logical conclusion; Tupac had faked his own death. While subsequent events have silenced even the most hardened alive theorists the memory of Tupac still lives just as vividly as it did those 10 years ago. So today, on the 10th anniversary of his passing we spend the day mourning his death and celebrating his life. Other dead celebrities are celebrated as nostalgia acts for what they once represented; Shakur remains a vital presence in today's rap world. Perhaps that's due to the volume of material he left behind. With yet another release coming our direction in November. I finish this dedication with a quote from the immortal Tupac Shakur - “A coward dies a thousand deaths; A soldier dies but once.” Props to Streethop.com for this amazing article.