Stomped

After becoming one of three finalists in MySpace's "Stomp the Yard" music contest, local rapper Kevin "Juice" Orange has been disqualified.

"The contest rules stated, 'The song must be composed, written, and performed solely by the artist,' " says Orange. "We were skeptical as to whether 'the artist' meant a single individual or a group as a whole but, with only a few hours remaining before the submission deadline, I submitted my 'Stomp the Yard' song, which also features Legend [Jordan Powell]."

Orange was contacted by MySpace about the disqualification on November 2, two days after voting ended. The website may have found out about Legend's participation from his own MySpace bulletin, posted October 30, which read in part, "Vot [sic] for your boys! Legend and Juice...vote under the name Kevin Orange, that's us, Legend on the first verse and Kevin AKA Juice on the second verse, and the beat was produced by Legend."

The contest reportedly received over 600 entries. The winning entry will be on the soundtrack to the upcoming Stomp the Yard film.

"We were hoping this contest could lead to our big break to get a record deal," says Orange, a pizza-delivery driver who also performs at parties as a Michael Jackson impersonator.

Kevin "Juice" Orange appears November 24 at the Static Lounge.