Los Angeles, CA-Hip-Hop recording artist  The Game issued a statement earlier today regarding the tragic Friday night plane crash that critically injured former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.

“I am deeply hurt by this tragedy. Travis Barker has always been there for me when I needed him creatively. We’ve done many songs together. Just recently he appeared in my video (Dope Boyz) that he featured on. I respect and love him, my prayers are with him and his family in this difficult time for his speedy & complete recovery.”

Barker has a long history of working with Hip-Hop artists, and has worked on Hip-Hop related projects himself, acting as drummer for a Hip-Hop inspired punk band, Transplant, whose second release Haunted Cities was screwed and chopped by Paul Wall. He later formed a band called Expensive Taste with Paul Wall.

Barker recently remixed the monster hit “Crank That” by artist Soulja Boy to critical acclaim, and another recent smash with Flo Rida’s “Low,” which was featured on hit video game Guitar Hero.

Barker is currently in critical condition in an Augusta, GA burn unit with fellow crash survivor Adam Goldstein (DJ AM).

Four people died in the crash. They have been identified as pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim Hills, CA co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, CA, Chris Baker, 29, of Studio City, CA, and Charles Still, 25 of Los Angeles, CA.

cred: AHH

If you don’t believe every vote counts check this

Fourteen maggots. That’s all Slipknot needed to score the first chart-topping debut of their impressive, decades-plus career. If the band’s All Hope Is Gone had been picked up by 14 more fans — affectionately dubbed “maggots” — it would have opened #1 on next week’s albums sales chart.

But Los Angeles rapper the Game has his own allegiant fanbase, and in one of the closest races in recent memory, his L.A.X. managed to outsell Slipknot’s latest by a mere 13 copies. First-week sales for the Game were clocked at 238,285, while those generated by the masked Iowa metallers were reported at 238,272, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That means on next week’s chart, Game will notch his third consecutive #1 debut. His 2005 LP The Documentary entered the chart on top with 587,000 scans, and his 2006 follow-up, Doctor’s Advocate, sold more than 358,000 units and also opened at #1.

cred: mtv

Well if the rumors are true it looks as if The Game will come up and replace Mack 10 to become to 3rd member of the Westside Connection which as we all know features Ice Cube and WC.

Ice Cube has plans to begin working on the new album almost immediately. The in-fighting between Mack 10 and Ice Cube became public knowledge once Cube started replacing verses in his songs that once featured Mack 10 in them such as Bow Down at recent concert appearances.

Cube also left Mack 10 out of his new album telling MTV that he would always have a spot for WC.

Mack 10 reportedly is/was mad at Ice Cube for not doing any tour dates for Westside Connections last album, which can I say that album was HOT, and instead just going on to doing more movies rather than worry about his kinfolk in the Connection.

No official word from either camp regarding The Game joining but according to illseed it looks promising.