Dipset A&R; DukeDaGod: Powerballin'
Updates on Jim Jones, Cam'ron, JR Writer, Freaky Zeeky, Juelz Santana

George "DukeDaGod" Moore has to be the most recognizable A&R man in hip-hop. The Dipset magnate's name and likeness has graced countless mixtapes and two official compilation albums (2005's More Than Music, Vol. 1 and this year's The Movement Moves On) and, in the grand tradition of Diddy and Dame Dash, he has a gift for rambunctious, revolutionary song intros.

On the phone with Pitchfork last week, he was a bit more reserved. Currently, Duke is enjoying the success of his crew's clownish troublemaker, Jim Jones. The rapper's single "We Fly High" (a.k.a. "Ballin'!!!") has been worked into an anthem for the New York Giants and it serves as the backdrop to the current Jay-Z/Jim Jones "beefmix".

Talking about the song's football tie-in, Duke said, "That's just a connection between hip hop and sports. It's a universal word and everybody can relate to it-- especially if you're playing pro sports. It's a beautiful thing." Speaking on the Jay beef, Duke was downright, er, diplomatic: "We listenin', it's like studying the film of the other football team," he said. "We'll let the streets decide."

Jones will keep things moving this holiday season with A Dipset Christmas, which will surely stand tall next to Bing and Frank on mom's three-disc stereo system come dinnertime. Track titles for the album include "If Everyday Was X-Mas," "Ballin' on X-Mas", and "It's X-Mas So We Ballin' Everyday Because It's X-Mas". (OK that last one was made up…but I wouldn't be surprised if it made it onto A Dipset Christmas 2).

Citing Run DMC's classic "Christmas in Hollis" as a reference, Duke actually kind of played down the epic release. "There are gonna be little Christmas melodies on the songs, you know," he said.

Fair enough...snow-ballin'!!!

Of course, there are many other things happening in DipWorld. The crew's marquee star, Cam'ron, is prepping a sequel to his much-maligned directorial debut, the no-budget gangsta epic Killa Season. ("It did real good despite all the bootlegging," said Duke of that film's commercial legacy). But don't think Cam has gone Hollywood-- as if that was ever, ever possible. "He's not reading no scripts or nothing for nobody else," clarified Duke. "He's just working on his own script and trying to perfect Killa Season 2." Fans of Cam's music can look forward to the upcoming movie's accompanying soundtrack, tentatively due out in March.

Elsewhere, cult hero Hell Rell is also looking to release his long-awaited, remarkably titled debut album For the Hell of It along with a new mixtape early next year. The LP should feature several guest shots from Cam, who's been working closely with Rell as of late. And if the rest of Duke's projected schedule holds (which it most definitely will not), 2007 should be another banner year for the Dips: "We got Juelz in the summertime. We got a JR Writer mixtape, Writer's Block Part 4 in the beginning of January. Freeky Zeeky's coming home [from prison] in a couple days-- we gettin' his project ready. [Update: He came home today!] I got another compilation, More Than Music, Vol. 2 out December 26. We got Diplomatic Immunity 3, coming out later 2007, with Cam, Jim and Juelz and Freeky Zeeky on that. I know Jim is shootin' a movie."

Wow. Anything else?

"We got t-shirts."

Stream: Various (Dipset): Tracks from the Dipset: The Movement Moves On LP