Miles Copeland grew up around spies and diplomats -- his dad worked for the C.I.A. and the family lived in the Middle East for much of his childhood. Still, he was surprised to get a call from then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's office a few years ago. He thought it was a friend pulling a joke.

Instead, it was the start of a chain of events that took him to Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan to recruit Arabic stars for collaborations in Los Angeles with Western musicians. In Cairo, he found boisterous shaabi-style pop star Saad El Soghayar. In Damascus, he signed up devout Muslim composer/keyboard player Tareq Al Nasser. Beirut, at the time reeling from military conflict with Israel and the bombing assassination of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, yielded both young singer-activist Tania Saleh and pioneering hip-hop artist Wael Kodeih (a.k.a. Rayess Bek). Also brought into the project was Iraqi guitarist-composer Ilham Al Madfai, whose groundbreaking blends of Western and traditional music in the '60s and '70s led to him living in exile since the 1979 revolution.

• Red Hot Chili Peppers, Carlos Santana, Sly Stone and RZA are among the guests appearing on George Clinton's forthcoming new album, titled 'George Clinton and Some Gangsters of Love.' That effort hits shelves on September 16.

• In other RHCP news, French duo Justice are not producing the Peppers' new album as previously rumored.

• Former Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst appeared on Tom Green's Internet show.

• The Flaming Lips will release their long-awaited film 'Christmas on Mars' on DVD later this year.

The RZA, Bobby Steels, the Abbot, Prince Rakeem are all names that the Staten Island bred Wu-Tang beat maker Robert Diggs might present himself as. Most recently coming at you as Bobby Digital, on the heals of his newly-released 'Digi Snacks' album, Digi spat a fresh verse off the cuff to remind everyone that Wu-Tang is still for the children.


16 Bars on the Boombox

Artist: RZA as Bobby Digital
Song: 'Straight Up The Block' feat. David Banner
Album: 'Digi Snax' [Amazon]

Sounds Like: Mobb Deep, GZA

Download: 'Straight Up The Block' feat. David Banner (MP3)

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When pressed, many musicians will admit that what they really want to do is act, and many actors will admit that what they really want to do is direct. But what Wu-Tang Clan mastermind, established solo artist, actor, soundtrack composer and author RZA really wants to do is become a one-man U.S. government think tank. "They'd have to pay me millions of dollars for it 'cause I got a millionaire life, know what I mean? Maybe that's the reason it don't happen," he says, laughing. But he seems to be pretty serious about the concept. "All these f---ing ideas I got in the scientific world, they just not being heard because I'm a musician. That's kind of weird. I was talking to my wife about this recently. I was like, 'Yo, don't you think [the government] should just hire me and put me in a research lab for ten years so I can just research something?'"

Until that day when he puts on his government-issued lab coat, RZA has got a new release from his alter ego Bobby Digital set for release this month. 'Digi Snacks' is the third concept album dealing with the exploits of his character, this time augmented by the contributions of members of System of a Down, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante and rapper David Banner. RZA has found inspiration in some of cinema's greatest for his Bobby Digital persona. "When I made the first Bobby Digital album, I was inspired by Robert De Niro. I was high, of course," he admits. "I have many voices in my head, many styles of rhyming. I said, 'I'm gonna become a character when I do my styles.' For me, it's all part of expressing artistic creativity, whether I'm doing it musically, acting on the silver screen or whether I'm sitting there playing chess."

Artist: RZA as Bobby Digital
Video: 'U Cant Stop Me Now' feat. Inspectah Deck
Highlight: The Abbott's latest tune set to a futuristic Tarantino-influenced setting.

• Tina Turner will launch her first U.S. tour in seven years this summer, beginning October 1 in Kansas City. Tickets go on sale May 12.

• RZA has unveiled the tracklist and album art to 'Digi Snacks,' the new album by his alter ego Bobby Digital.

• Tiesto will launch a club tour in support of his 'In Search of Sunrise' mix series, beginning May 23 in San Francisco. The jaunt is set to wrap on June 30 in Toronto.
  

• Mariah Carey is reportedly engaged to MTV personality Nick Cannon.