AllHipHop reports that Ruff Ryder co-CEO DARRIN "DEE" DEAN was hit with various drugs and weapons charges after police found over a kilo of cocaine in a customized SUV in New Jersey on Thursday (May 31).

Palisades Interstate Parkway police stopped a customized Chevrolet van for having a broken taillight, as it traveled southbound on the Palisades Interstate Parkway near Englewood Cliffs.

When police approached the vehicle, they noticed the smell of marijuana. Police said the driver, Jerry Gilbert, was leaving the Suffern, New York home of Darrin Dean, who was a passenger in the van.

Police brought in a K-9 unit and a dog detected marijuana and cocaine. A detective uncovered a trap door built into the rear wall of the van. When the floor of the compartment was lowered, 1 1/2 kilos of cocaine and a loaded .45 were recovered.

Gilbert and Dean were charged with with possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun while conducting narcotics violations.

Both men were released from the Bergen County Jail on Friday (June 1) after posting $342,500 bail.

Darrin Dean founded Ruff Ryders with his brother Joaquin "Waah" Dean and sister Chivon Dean in 1988.

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DO U FEAR REAL HIP HOP?

 
KOCH Records is set to release the highly-anticipated new album by acclaimed hip hop artist KEITH MURRAY. Following his successful career as both a solo artist and a member of famed hip hop group Def Squad, Murray returns to put New York back on the map with Rap-Murr-Phobia (Fear of Real Hip Hop). The album will be released on July 31st, 2007.

Rapp-Murr-Phobia (Fear of Real Hip Hop) features multi-platinum R&B recording artist Tyrese, Method Man and Murray's Def Squad bandmates, Redman and Erick Sermon. Sermon also executive produced the album. The first single off of the album, the summer anthem "Nobody Do It Better," featuring Tyrese and Junior, is already impacting major radio markets and will go for adds shortly. The video for the single will be shot in Los Angeles in early June.

SIGN THE DOTTED LINE...

Jermaine Dupri has signed Harlem sensation JASON FOX , responsible for the street hit "Aunt Jackie," a tune that complements the flamboyant New York City dance of the same name to Island Urban Music.

 "I think we're seeing the life of hip-hop coming back with songs like 'Aunt Jackie,' " Dupri said in a statement. "It's the kids acting like kids used to act when I was growing up, and I love it because, to me, hip-hop has been too-cool-for-school lately. It's time for a change."

To watch the street video  for "Aunt Jackie" , CLICK HERE.

R.I.P.

The lead singer of the R&B group Hi-Five, TONY THOMPSON , was found dead outside an apartment complex in Waco, Texas, possibly the victim of a drug overdose.

Initial reports said it appeared the singer had died of a drug overdose Friday, but the official cause and time death had yet to be released.

Thompson lead Hi-Five to a No. 1 hit in the 1990s with "I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)," which was produced by Teddy Riley and appeared on the group's self-titled debut album.

They broke up in 1994 but in 2006 they released The Return on Thompson's record label, N'Depth.