50 Cent has hit back at Alicia for criticizing gangsta rap - insisting her comments were “not really bright”.

Keys courted controversy by voicing her opinions on the hip-hop subgenre, telling U.S. magazine Blender, “Gangsta rap was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other.”

And her comments have enraged rapper 50 Cent - real name Curtis Jackson - whose music is said to fall into the gangsta rap category.
He tells TMZ.com, “I don’t like people who don’t like me … that statement changes my perception of Alicia Keys totally. It’s just not really a bright comment …”
Keys has since retracted the statement, insisting her words were taken out of context.

Entertainment Weekly called Alicia, on the set of her new music video “Teenage Love Affair,” to talk about the U.S. leg of her tour, which kicks off tonight in Hampton, Va. Click here to read the interview.

Despite Blender magazine publishing quotes from Alicia making her sound like a conspiracy theorist, Alicia says she absolutely is not one and called up 2 radio shows to clear things up. Alicia called up Ryan Seacrest on KISSFM (click here for audio clip) and wants people to know that:

- She’s a very positive person.
- Her only aim is to uplift people and spread love.
- She’s not a conspiracy theorist.
- The government didn’t create gangsta rap, just the term. And, she thinks they could have done more at the time to do something about the problems the rappers were talking about.
- She doesn’t know who killed Biggie and 2pac, but she thinks the media sensationalized their deaths and their rivalry.

Alicia also called a second radio station and she spoke to them for quite a while and made it very clear how she feels. Click here to listen to the interview.

Alicia Keys, 28, tells Blender magazine that she’s hit the studio and has recorded her “most sexual song yet.

“I’m discovering my sexual side,” she says. “I recorded this song … it’s so sensual, it moves you.”

So sensual, her manager even told her, “We do not record songs like this!”

Dubbing herself “the best wall builder that ever lived,” Keys also opened up about a breakdown she had following her fast rise to fame.

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Alicia graces the new issue of Blender magazine, and in the magazine she reveals her conspiracy theories regarding ‘Gangsta rap,’ and the Black Panthers.

“‘Gangsta rap’ was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other,” Alicia says. “‘Gangsta rap’ didn’t exist.”

The 27-year old, who wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck to “symbolize strength, power and killing ‘em dead,” also has a few theories about the bi-coastal feud between slain rap legends Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., saying she believes it was fueled by “the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing.”

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MediaTakeOut.com has just caught wind that Alicia Keys and her people are looking to book a venue in Long Island for July 4th Weekend.

And not just any venue - a castle. The multi-platinum selling artist is looking to rent the ultra-luxurious Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. According to one of MediaTakeOut.com’s trusted sources, Alicia is looking to hold a “private event” at the extravagant 443 acre castle. Oheka Castle is a popular wedding venue for the rich and famous.

SpiralFrog, Inc. (www.spiralfrog.com), the free and legal, ad-supported web-based music service, is the only place to download “Alicia in Africa: Journey to the Motherland”, the documentary of Grammy Award-winning musician and Keep a Child Alive (KCA) Co-Founder, Alicia Keys’, month-long trip to Africa to visit communities affected by HIV and AIDS.

Alicia’s commitment to the fight against AIDS is contagious and she is leading the effort to spread the message of KCA, “Start a Virus to Stop a Virus,” virally, so they have selected SpiralFrog to help get the message out.

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Alicia has slammed journalists for choosing to focus on celebrities rather than more serious world issues.

Alicia joined Bono, Brad Pitt and Mariah Carey on Wednesday night (09Apr08) as part of charity telethon special Idol Gives Back. The two-hour programme aimed to raise $100 million for a number of charities.

In a clip filmed during a recent trip to Africa, Alicia said, “If AIDS got half of the attention that the media gives to celebrity dramas, this issue would be well on its way to being solved.”

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Alicia Keys made no secret on Friday to extend her warmest wishes to Beyonce and Jay-Z, who tied the knot on the same day.

Of the couple’s nuptials, Alicia told OK! Magazine, “All the best wishes possible, and I think that love is beautiful and when you love somebody, just let it shine and shine bright.”

Alicia is starring in “Fresh Takes,” a new micro-series created by Dove go fresh, aimed at giving women a fresh take on life in their twenties. Check out the trailer below: