You can't keep a thuggish, bankruptcy-prone, Harvard-educated hip-hop mogul down. Six months after being forced out of The Source, Dave Mays is set to return to magazine publishing with a new title that's being described as an urban version of In Touch. Joining him in the effort are failed 38-year-old MC Ray "Benzino" Scott, his partner at The Source; surgically-enhanced radio yapper Wendy Williams; and Mimi Valdes, the former Vibe editor in chief who was canned, along with most of her staff, after BlackBook owner Ari Horowitz bought that title in July.

Valdes will edit the mag, which is tentatively called The Truth. The plan is to launch later this fall, according to a source familiar with Mays's plans. While none of the parties involved returned messages seeking comment, another individual close to Mays says it's a done deal. "I can tell you that it's not a hundred percent, it's a zillion percent true," says the friend. "It's confirmed."

The launch will be a reunion of sorts. Though Benzino was a lightning rod of ridicule while at The Source—the first issue after his ouster bore the cover line "100% Benzino Free," celebrating an end to puff pieces trumpeting his MC "skills"—Mays never thought of starting over without him, says a former co-worker. "Dave has always said that whatever he does, Benzino is going to be part of it because he's his quote-unquote brother and best friend," he adds. Valdes is also a Source veteran and emerged relatively unscathed after a hatchet piece on "disloyal" former Source staffers ran in the November 2004 issue of ... The Source. A confidante of hers says there's "no bad blood" between her and Mays, but that it was still "not an easy decision" to get involved with the notoriously volatile and vindictive publisher.

Since his expulsion from The Source at the top of the year and fire sale of his plush Saddle River, New Jersey manse, Mays has been crashing with long-time girlfriend Hillary Weston. Since Weston manages Lil' Kim, expect plenty of positive spin on the diminutive jailbird.