LIL JON - DJS DRAMA AND CANNON PREPARE TO DEFEND 'FALSE' CLAIMS

LATEST: Mixtape king DJ DRAMA and his business partner DJ DON CANNON have rubbished charges of racketeering brought against them after authorities raided their offices in Atlanta, Georgia, last week (16JAN07). The pair spent Tuesday (16JAN07) night in Fulton County Jail, Georgia, before being released on $100,000 (GBP51,300) bail the following afternoon (17JAN07). Drama - real name TYREE SIMMONS - has hired the services of prominent defence attorney ED GARLAND to clear his name in the "false" charges brought by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA), in which Simmons and Cannon stand accused of selling pirated CDs from their Aphilliate Music Group premises. In a statement to AllHipHop.com, Simmons says, "This is an attempt by the government to paint an image of those involved in hip-hop as criminals. "Don Cannon and I are being negatively depicted despite the fact we are legitimate businessmen, highly involved in the community, and college graduates that have never been arrested. "We are being accused of damaging the music industry, when in fact, we are hired by record labels to help develop and elevate the careers of their artists by previewing unreleased material to the masses." Cops reportedly seized 50,000 CDs in the raid last week (16JAN07) during which they also hauled 17 employees into custody. The DJs - who have worked with the likes of T.I., YOUNG JEEZY, LIL JON, BUSTA RHYMES and NELLY - are due in court on Wednesday (24JAN07).