The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland, has typically held its induction ceremony each year in New York City. Beginning this November, though, it will have a more permanent presence here, when it opens an annex in SoHo. The space will have an “immersive theatre,” where film clips of triumphant moments in rock will be screened, and will feature displays of artifacts from the local music scene (such as the bathroom stalls from the recently closed C.B.G.B. and David Byrne’s giant suit). Visitors will be given headphones so that they can listen to everything from 50 Cent and the Notorious B.I.G. to the Velvet Underground and Billy Joel as they move through the space. (76 Mercer St. www.rockannex.com.)

Cincinnati Bengals four-time Pro Bowl Offensive Tackle, Willie Anderson, takes his prowess from the field to the entertainment industry by starting Think Big Entertainment, a full fledged Entertainment Company that focuses on both music and film. Think Big's first release will be an album for 19-year-old rapper, G-Fiive, out of Anderson's hometown, Mobile, Al.

"While football is my first love, music and film are a close 2nd," states the consummate businessman. "But the first businesses I started were the twenty (20) Fat Burger franchise licenses I've acquired throughout Atlanta and Cincinnati. Now that I've gotten a number of them up and running I can concentrate on making my dream come true by building a successful entertainment company."

Anderson's love of hip-hop music and in particular the iconic rapper, Biggie Smalls, is what led to the naming of his company in 1997. "The night that Biggie was killed the networks kept showing the scene of the crime and I noticed that 'Think Big' posters were plastered all over the SUV. To commemorate him I thought it would be a great idea to name my new company that. The thing is, the company wouldn't start for another 4 years but the name stuck." Think Big was incorporated in 2001.

A state prison inmate who once implicated a Los Angeles police officer in the slaying of rap star Biggie Smalls testified Thursday that he recanted the allegation because of threats he received from a rival rap producer that were passed to him by a former Los Angeles Times reporter.

Waymond "Suave" Anderson, a former R&B singer, said reporter Chuck Philips passed him several written messages wrapped in plastic at Corcoran State Prison on behalf of rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight. He said the threats led him to give false testimony at a deposition last year in a civil lawsuit brought by the family of the slain rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace. ...

"That never happened," said Philips, who has written several stories about Anderson's murder conviction suggesting that Anderson may be innocent. "I'm flabbergasted by this whole thing. This is the ultimate betrayal."

Somehow it’s no surprise that fast-talking Phillips, de Pury & Co. chairman Simon de Pury, a master of the auctioneer’s speedy spiel, also knows his hip-hop music. In the August 2008 Interview magazine, de Pury deftly reels off the names of his favorite songs: Genius Rap by Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, White Lines by Grandmaster Flash, Slow Jamz by Kanye West (with Twista and Jamie Fox), and This Is My Life by Slim Thug. The occasion for the interview is the forthcoming "Hip Hop’s Crown Jewels" auction at Phillips, de Pury & Co. in New York, a sale that brings examples of the high-key jewelry worn by rap stars to the auction block.

Among the lots is a jeweled Rolex watch worn by Notorious B.I.G., Lil’ Wayne’s jeweled Money Bag pendant and Biz Markie’s Headphone Necklace. Selected lots from the sale benefit the National Museum of American History’s new "Hip-Hop Won’t Stop" collection. The sale takes place Oct. 1, 2008, with viewing scheduled for Sept. 23-30, 2008. "I’d love to be a rapper," de Pury says at the end of the interview. "My name would be MC de Pury and I would represent Basel, Switzerland, the city of my birth."

Faith Evans, R&B singer and estrange wife of Notorious B.I.G. prior to his death, is set to release a “tell all” book in August. From her alleged “relationship” with Tupac to her tumultuous relationship with B.I.G., the red headed R&B songstress’ memoir will shed light some of the most intimate details of her life.”My journey has been complicated on many levels,” Faith said about the upcoming novel. “And since I am always linked to B.I.G., there are a lot of misconceptions about who I really am.”

B.I.G.’s sexual relationship with Lil Kim, Faith’s alleged drug use, and many other rumors have wound up on Faith’s doorstep throughout the years. She plans to put the chitchat to rest with her book, “Keeping The Faith,” and let her readers know what really went down behind closed doors.

“B.I.G. never got a chance to tell his story,” Faith said. “It’s been left to others to tell it for him. In making the decision to tell my own story, it means that I’ve become one of those who can give insight to who B.I.G. really was. But I can only speak of what he meant to me.”

The 368 page memoir will be his book stores on August 29th.