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Yesssssss!!!
Barry Bonds is the new Home Run king!!!
SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds raised both
arms over his head like a prize fighter in victory, fists clenched
-- and then he took off. It was over at long last.
Barry Bonds is baseball's new home run king. Bonds hit No. 756 to
the deepest part of the ballpark Tuesday night, and hammered home
that very point. He broke Hank Aaron's storied record with one out
in the fifth inning, hitting a full-count, 84 mph pitch from Washington's
Mike Bacsik.
"I knew I hit it," Bonds said.
"I knew I got it. I was like, phew, finally." Bonds sent
the ball arcing high into the night, 435 feet into the right-center
field seats.
"Thank you very much. I got to thank
all of you, all the fans here in San Francisco. It's been fantastic,"
he said shortly after crossing home plate, his godfather, Willie
Mays, at his side. "I've got to thank my teammates for their
support," Bonds said. "Through all of this, you guys have
been strong, and you've given me all of the support in the world
and I'll never forget it, as long as I live."
After thanking his children, he said:
"I'm glad I did it before you guys went to school." To
the Nationals, he said: "Thank you for understanding this night.
It means a lot to me." Conspicuous by their absence were the
obviously bigoted commissioner and sellout Hammerin' Hank himself.
(Hank Aaron did read a prepared statement ) Though he was on hand
for the tying homer three days ago, deciding to put baseball history
ahead of the steroid allegations that have plagued the Giants slugger,
Bud Selig wasn't there for the record-breaker.
As for Aaron, he said all along he had
no interest in being there whenever and wherever his 33-year-old
mark was broken. He was true to his word, but he did offer a taped
message of congratulations that played on the stadium's video board
during a 10-minute tribute, although he never actually spoke directly
to Barry Bonds). "It is a great accomplishment which required
skill, longevity and determination," he said. "Throughout
the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball
and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years.
I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family
on this historic achievement. "My hope today, as it was on
that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record
will inspire others to chase their own dreams," he said.
"My dad," he said, looking to
the sky and choking back tears. "Thank you."
"This is the greatest record in all of sports," Giants
manager Bruce Bochy said. "We are all fortunate to witness
it. It's awesome. This road to history has been a lot of fun."
Former commissioner Bowie Kuhn
watched Aaron tie the record but was not present for the record-breaker,
a slight that bothered many fans of Aaron. Selig is a close friend
of Aaron's and offered Bonds tepid congratulations when he tied
the record. "I think Hank is his own man," Mays said.
"I think if he wanted to be here he would be here." Selig
was in San Diego on Saturday night when Bonds hit his 755th home
run to tie Hank Aaron's record, but he left California the following
day and was not in San Francisco for the Giants' series against
the Nationals.
Supreme
Court limits schools considering race, setting the way for "legal"
segregation - MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press (edited
by Shock)
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Thursday
rejected integration plans in two major public school districts
but left the door open for the limited use of race to achieve diversity
in schools. The decision in cases affecting how students are assigned
to schools in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle could imperil similar
plans in hundreds of districts nationwide, and it further restricted
how public school systems may attain racial diversity. The court
split, 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts announcing the court's
judgment. The court's four liberal justices dissented. "The
way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating
on the basis of race," Roberts said.
Yet Justice Anthony Kennedy would not
go as far as the other four conservative justices, saying in a concurring
opinion that race may be a component of school plans designed to
achieve diversity. To the extent that Roberts' opinion could be
interpreted to foreclose the use of race in any circumstance, Kennedy
said, "I disagree with that reasoning." "A district
may consider it a compelling interest to achieve a diverse student
population," Kennedy said. "Race may be one component
of that diversity." He agreed with Roberts that the plans in
Louisville and Seattle violated constitutional guarantees of equal
protection. Justice Stephen Breyer, in a dissent joined by the other
liberals on the court, said Roberts' opinion undermined the promise
of integrated schools that the court laid out 53 years ago in its
landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education. "To invalidate
the plans under review is to threaten the promise of Brown,"
Breyer said. While Roberts said the court was being faithful to
the Brown decision, Justice John Paul Stevens in a separate dissent
called the chief justice's reliance on Brown to rule against integration
"a cruel irony."
Of course uncle
tom Justice Clarence Thomas, the court's only black member, wrote
a separate opinion endorsing the ruling and taking issue with the
dissenters' view of the Brown case. "What was wrong in 1954
cannot be right today," Thomas said. "The plans before
us base school assignment decisions on students' race. Because 'our
Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes
among citizens,' such race-based decision making is unconstitutional."
The two school systems in Thursday's decisions
employ slightly different methods of taking students' race into
account when determining which schools they will attend. Federal
appeals courts had upheld both plans after some parents sued. The
Bush administration took the parents' side, arguing that racial
diversity is a noble goal but can be sought only through race-neutral
means. The Louisville case grew out of complaints from several parents
whose children were not allowed to attend the schools of their choice.
Crystal Meredith, a white, single mother, sued after the school
system turned down a request to transfer her 5-year-old son, to
a school closer to home.
Louisville's schools spent 25 years under
a court order to eliminate the effects of state-sponsored segregation.
After a federal judge freed the Jefferson County, Ky., school board,
which encompasses Louisville, from his supervision, the board decided
to keep much of the court-ordered plan in place to prevent schools
from re-segregating. The lawyer for the Louisville system called
the plan a success story that enjoys broad community support, including
among parents of white and black students. Attorney Teddy Gordon,
who argued that the Louisville system's plan was discriminatory,
said Thursday, "Clearly, we need better race-neutral alternatives.
Instead of spending zillions of dollars around the country to place
a black child next to a white child, let's reduce class size. All
the schools are equal. We will no longer accept that an African-American
majority within a school is unacceptable." Louisville Mayor
Jerry Abramson said he was disappointed with the ruling because
Louisville's system had provided "a quality education for all
students and broken down racial barriers" for 30 years. He
said he was confident school leaders would come up with effective
new guidelines.
Timbaland
Arrested In Germany After Brawl
By Mike Winslow
Super producer Timbaland was arrested
on Sunday (June 10) in Cologne, Germany, after he and and other
men allegedly attacked a bar patron. According to German media,
the incident occurred in front of the Hotel Intercontinental, shortly
after Justin Timberlake concert at the Cologne Arena. A man became
visibly irate when he noticed Timbaland, born Timothy Mosely, speaking
to his girlfriend. According to reports, the man was noticeably
drunk and aggressive and allegedly called Timbaland the "n"
word a heated exchange of words.
Timbaland was signing autographs in front
of the hotel when the fight continued outside, resulting in the
man being sent to a local emergency room with injuries to his back
and thorax. Police arrested Timbaland and his bodyguards at the
hotel and eventually hit the rapper with charges of causing bodily
injury to the man who was allegedly assaulted. Timbaland was released
on $750 euro. (about 1000 US dollars)
Rihanna
Lands 'Celebrity Legs of a Goddess' Award
Venus Breeze, the newest razor from the
world's leading female shaving brand, presented chart-topping singer
Rihanna with the 2007 Venus Breeze "Celebrity Legs of a Goddess"
award during a ceremony in New York City The talented singer, who
recently released her highly anticipated third album, Good Girl
Gone Bad, will also work with Venus Breeze to help judge the 2007
"Legs of a Goddess" contest. This nationwide competition
is a search for a woman with gorgeous legs who also exudes confidence
and charisma. The 2007 contest celebrates the launch of Venus Breeze,
the first 2-in-1 razor with built-in shave gel bars, making shaving
easier and more convenient than ever before. "I'm thrilled
that Venus Breeze thinks my legs are award-worthy and I'm excited
to kick off the search for the woman with the best legs in America,"
said Rihanna. "This contest is a fun way for women to showcase
confidence, charisma and gorgeous legs on the runway."
The contest will visit five cities throughout the summer beginning
in July. Contestants will be invited to strut their stuff on a catwalk
and "strike a pose" for a panel of judges to determine
if they have what it takes to be awarded the Venus Breeze "Legs
of a Goddess" title. The judges will be looking for a woman
with toned, shapely legs who exudes poise and confidence.
After
embarassment from National outrage, LA judge sends a screaming Paris
Hilton back to jail
Paris Hilton was taken from a courtroom
screaming and crying Friday seconds after a judge ordered her returned
to jail to serve out her entire 45-day sentence for a parole violation
in a reckless driving case."It's not right!" shouted the
weeping Hilton. "Mom!" she called out to her mother in
the audience. Hilton, who was brought to court in handcuffs in a
sheriff's car, came into the courtroom disheveled and weeping. Her
hair was askew and she wore a gray fuzzy sweatshirt over slacks.
She wore no makeup and she cried throughout the hearing. Her body
also shook constantly as she dabbed at her eyes. Several times she
turned to her parents, seated behind her in the courtroom, and mouthed,
"I love you." She
had been brought to court in sheriff's custody today for a court
hearing on her early release from jail after back-and-forth decisions
on whether she could participate by telephone from her home. Hilton,
appearing to be in handcuffs, cried after she was placed into a
black-and-white patrol car, which sped away from her home with lights
flashing as news helicopters pursued, broadcasting live TV coverage.The
car carrying her disappeared into the courthouse's underground parking
lot, avoiding a swarm of news media, and her parents then arrived.
In the hearing, which began at late morning, a judge was to listen
to the city attorney's complaint that the county sheriff did not
have the right to reassign her to electronically monitored home
detention after only three days in jail for violating probation
in a reckless driving case.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Michael
T. Sauer ordered that Hilton be brought to Friday's hearing. But
early Friday
a court spokesman announced that she would be allowed to participate
by telephone, which is common in misdemeanor cases. Then, in a reversal,
the spokesman said the judge had ordered the Sheriff's Department
to pick her up and bring her to court.
"What transpired here is outrageous,"
county Supervisor Don Knabe told The Associated Press, adding he
received more than 400 angry e-mails and hundreds more phone calls
from around the country. Hilton's return home "gives the impression
of ... celebrity justice being handed out," he said.
Bail
set for Power 99 DJ on alleged gun incident
Uncle O, whose real name is Tracy Jackson,
is wanted by police for participating in an aggravated assault at
Philadelphia's Samba Nite Club. Uncle O and his on-air partner Mikey
Dredd make up the top rated Hot Boyz on Philadelphia's Power 99.
According to reports, Uncle O is said to have participated is the
beating of the Philadelphia night club owner. One witnesses told
MediaTakeOut.com, "Uncle O was being taunted for being a fake
personality and having no real talent ... [then the victim] was
smashed with right hook and a Heineken bottle." Uncle O also
reportedly pulled a gun during the incident. Last night, authorities
confirmed that they have issued a warrant for his arrest.
Bail was set at $25,000 yesterday for
Tracy Jackson, better known as Power 99's "Uncle O," on
charges of pointing a gun at a club owner last weekend. Jackson,
36, surrendered Wednesday on a warrant charging him with aggravated
assault, terroristic threats, simple assault and other offenses
stemming from the incident early Sunday at Club Samba, Seventh Street
and Girard Avenue. The station declined comment but an internal
memo said Jackson was suspended pending an investigation. The station,
owned by Clear Channel Communications, said it was "long committed
to peace on the streets" and added that " 'Uncle O' has
been at the forefront" of that movement. Jackson was released
after the bail hearing. His next court date is set for Wednesday.
Paris
Hilton's money gets her released From Jail after serving only 3
days, for undisclosed "illness"
Sheriff's Department Says Heiress Will
Be Under "House Arrest" For 40 Days
LOS ANGELES, June 7, 2007 Paris Hilton
checked into the facility Sunday night to begin serving her sentence
for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.
She was released on June 7, and will serve 40 days at home while
wearing a monitoring bracelet. (CBS/AP) Paris Hilton was released
from and L.A. County jail early Thursday due to an unspecified medical
condition after serving only three days of an already reduced 23-day
sentence. She was sent home with an electronic monitoring ankle
bracelet and must remain there for 40 days, according to sheriff's
spokesman Steve Whitmore. Whitmore says Hilton left the Century
Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood just after midnight. She
checked into the facility just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday to serve
23 days, down from the 45 days she was originally sentenced to.Whitmore
says Hilton's sentence will return to a 45-day term, with five days'
credit for time served.
Hilton was housed in the "special
needs" unit of the 13-year-old jail, separate from most of
its 2,200 inmates. The unit contains 12 two-person cells reserved
for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile
inmates. She didn't have a cellmate. After her first night in jail,
Hilton's lawyer, Richard A. Hutton, said she was doing well under
the circumstances. "She's using this time to reflect on her
life, to see what she can do to make the world better and hopefully,
in my opinion, to change the attitudes that exist about her among
many people," Hutton said after visiting Hilton.
There's your proof........Money can
buy justice/injustice
MARLEY
MARL Suffers Heart Attack
Hip-hop legend MARLEY MARL is recovering
in a New York hospital after suffering a heart attack yesterday
(05Jun07). The iconic producer - real name Marlon Williams - played
a vital part in establishing the rap industry in the early 1980s
and 1990s, and has produced tracks for artists including Rakim,
Big Daddy Kane and LL Cool J.
While full details of the 44-year-old's health scare are as yet
unknown, he is understood to be in a stable condition and representatives
have asked fans to pray for his speedy recovery.
The
Game Hit With Felony Charges After L.A. Melee
The Game was charged in Los
Angeles with making a criminal threat and possessing a firearm in
a school zone. The felony charges against the 27-year-old rapper,
whose real name is Jayceon Terrell Taylor, stemmed from a fight
during a Feb. 24 pickup basketball game in South Los Angeles, the
district attorney's office said. Taylor pulled a gun from his red
Cadillac Escalade after punching a player on the opposing team and
threatened to shoot him, police said.
The hip-hop star was arrested May 11 at
his Glendale home by police executing a search warrant and was released
on $50,000 bail. He also is charged with exhibiting a firearm in
the presence of an officer.Taylor was scheduled to be arraigned
in Los Angeles. He faces more than five years in state prison if
convicted. His attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, did not immediately
return a message seeking comment.
Hi-Five's
Tony Thompson dead at 31
Former Bad Boy artist and member of the
group Hi-Five, Tony Thompson, was found dead on Friday in Waco Texas.
He was 31 years old. Thompson's friends told the Waco Tribune-Herald
that he died of a drug overdose. Thompson signed with Jive Records
in 1990 as part of Hi-Five. Thompson released his solo debut, "Sexsational,"
in 1995 after Hi-Five split.
Tony Thompson
(born September 2, 1975 died June 1, 2007) was the lead vocalist
of the R&B group Hi-Five. Thompson, who was raised in Oklahoma
City, started singing solos in the local church choir at the age
of eight. He was noticed by a producer and made a cut of a demo
with Roderick Clark, Russell Neal, Marcus Sanders, and Toriano Easley,
acquaintances from his days in Waco. Hi-Five signed with Jive Records
in 1990. The quintet's self-titled debut album went multi-platinum
and created several hits, including "I Like the Way (The Kissing
Game)," "I Can't Wait Another Minute," and "Just
Another Girlfriend". Thompson
had his own record label, N'Depth, and had re-incarnated Hi-Five
with four new members, one of whom was his younger brother. The
group's new album, The Return, was released in 2006.
HBO
Chief Takes Leave After Assault Arrest - JACQUES
STEINBERG
The chairman and chief executive of HBO,
Chris Albrecht, announced this afternoon that he was taking a leave
of absence after being charged with assaulting a girlfriend in a
Las Vegas parking lot early Sunday. In
an e-mail message today to all HBO employees, Mr. Albrecht said
he was "deeply sorry for what occurred in Las Vegas this weekend"
and that it represented "a wake-up call to me of a weakness
I thought I had overcome long ago."
The chief operating officer of HBO, Bill
Nelson, will assume Mr. Albrecht's duties temporarily. "We
take these matters very seriously and will monitor the situation
closely," said Richard D. Parsons, the chairman and chief executive
of Time Warner, which owns HBO.
Mr. Albrecht's leave comes at an inopportune
time for HBO. Hours after the Las Vegas police released Mr. Albrecht
on Sunday, the cable channel broadcast the latest episode of its
marquee series, "The Sopranos," which will ends its six-season
run on June 10. In Sunday's episode, one character, Christopher
Moltisanti, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, was depicted
as committing an act of violence after getting drunk. As
the channel's chief executive, Mr. Albrecht had been involved in
assembling HBO's next act, including the debut of what it hopes
will be its next signature series, "John From Cincinnati."
That show fuses elements of surfing culture, quantum physics and
troubled family life, and it is to have its premiere immediately
after the final scene of "The Sopranos." Las Vegas Metropolitan
Police said the incident took place at about 3 a.m. on Sunday in
the valet parking area of the MGM Grand Hotel, the site of a championship
bout between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. The officer
described the altercation as "a battery" and then defined
such an offense as involving "hitting, choking or shoving."
The victim was said by the police to have been Mr. Albrecht's girlfriend,
but they have not released her name.
50
Cent, T.I. Speak On Lyric Censorship - Gail Mitchell
Top rappers 50 Cent and T.I.
spoke their minds about the recent controversy over inappropriate
language in hip-hop yesterday (May 16) during a press conference
to announce the 2007 BET Awards nominees. As previously reported,
a group of urban leaders has urged the music industry to censor
the words "b*tch," "ho" and the "N-word"
from future hip-hop albums. "It's
not really a tragedy to me that that's happening," 50 Cent
said. "I think for a moment a lot of people forgot that our
country's at war. They'll point to usage of content in music like
hip-hop and say it maybe influences violence on some levels and
not point to actual films that are released and have similar content.
I personally believe on every level that it's easier to attack an
individual than it is to go after a corporation. They'll go after
a specific hip-hop artist as opposed to a Paramount or a Columbia
Pictures."
A journalist pressed that 50, who repeatedly
promoted his upcoming album, "Curtis," during the Q&A,
hadn't truly answered the question, adding, "Do you feel compelled
at all to get with the program and not use certain words?"
"Music is a mirror and hip-hop is
a reflection of the environment we grew up in, the harsh realities,"
50 Cent said. "If I ask you to paint a picture of the American
flag and not use the color red, you'd have a difficult time. So
to capture what we're trying to in this art form, I'm sure some
conservative Americans can't actually ID with it because of their
lifestyle and the way they've been brought up. They haven't been
exposed to these realities. I understand it. I'm actually angry
at some points when I'm confused or I don't have information. Again,
I understand why I'm constantly being attacked on some levels. It's
difficult to find hip-hop that has had any success that hasn't had
content on some level that was a little racy." Adding
his perspective, an impassioned T.I. remarked, "What 50 was
trying to put into words without losing his temper is it all starts
at home. I'm a father of five. And my kids watch BET. They watch
all kinds of videos, they watch movies, they listen to music, they
like 50 and Lil' Wayne, whomever you can mention. But when my children
look at these videos or listen to this music, I don't care how impressionable
it is. They know they aren't going to have to deal with 50. They're
going to have to deal with daddy. And that's the way it starts."
Against loud applause, T.I. continued,
"We look to rappers, athletes and stars to raise our children
instead of ourselves.
To blame hip-hop when they should be looking in the mirror and blaming
themselves ... you know, how much more time could I have been there
for my child? I'm on CD. He [the child] listens to me but I can't
listen back. I don't know what he's getting from it. You do. You
know when you wake up and see him dressed in a shirt you've never
seen him in before, and you figure this could be the beginning of
something, why don't you stop and talk to him about it. Ask where
he got the shirt from. If you don't do that, it will grow into something
bigger and bigger."
"The things I say come from the life
that I used to live," he said. "And this is a harsh reality.
Now, maybe most of you were fortunate enough to not have ever dealt
with that. Most of you all don't know what it's like to have to
sell some dope or you aren't going to have nothing to eat for the
next three days. Most of you all don't know what that life is like.
I know the B-word, the H-word and the N-word are the words under
attack right now. And I don't know if you know it or not, people,
but there are b*tches, n*ggas and hos who live in America. And as
long as that fact exists, I think rappers deserve the right to talk
about it."
Broadcasting
Company Takes Stand -
JIM SALTER
ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis company
that operates four TV stations and a hip-hop radio station said
Wednesday it is banning programming and music lyrics that it deems
violent, sexist and racist. The decision by black-owned Roberts
Broadcasting Cos. LLC comes less than a week after Don Imus was
fired by CBS Radio for calling members of the Rutgers women's basketball
team "nappy-headed hos."
Fallout from the incident renewed
debate about lyrics of many rap and hip-hop songs that are racially
charged and derogatory toward women. The Rev. Al Sharpton has called
entertainment the next battleground after Imus. St. Louis brothers
Michael and Steven Roberts operate a multifaceted business that
includes an aviation company, shopping centers, hotels, construction
firms and residential developments. The broadcasting unit includes
four television stations _ WRBU in St. Louis, WZRB in Columbia,
S.C., WAZE in Evansville, Ind., and WRBJ in Jackson, Miss. The company
also operates WRBJ-FM, a hip-hop station in Jackson.
"We take tremendous pride
in being African-American and refuse to let anyone, white or black,
strip us of that pride," said Steven Roberts, president and
chief operating officer of the company. The decision will have an
immediate impact on WRBJ-FM. Rather than censoring offensive words,
Roberts spokeswoman Keesha Dhaene said, "We're going to ban
them altogether, which is a hard move for a hip-hop station. If
it's offensive in any way toward women, or African-Americans, it's
not going to be played on Hot 97.7."
Will
Downing Diagnosed With Debilitating Muscle Disorder
Vocalist Will Downing has cancelled
touring for the immediate future after being diagnosed with a disorder
called polymyositis, a debilitating chronic inflammatory disease
of the muscles that can possibly lead to the point where those afflicted
are no longer walk or move their bodies. Its cause is unknown. Downing,
46, has been hospitalized since January.
Although polymyositis can occur
at any age, it mostly affects adults in their 40s and 50s. It is
more common in blacks than in whites, and women are diagnosed more
often than men. According to the Mayo Clinic, periods of remission,
during which signs and symptoms improve spontaneously, rarely occur
in polymyositis. However, treatment can improve muscle strength
and function.
Downing says that he first came
down with symptoms over the holidays when he felt extremely tired
and sick. He adds that his fear of doctors kept him from discovering
what his affliction was. However, the singer says he is now in rehabilitation
and working to get himself back in shape. He's moving slowly, but
he's moving nonetheless and is thankful for that and for the fact
that his voice so far has not been affected. Downing says he still
plans to release a new CD this September on Peak Records, which
was co-founded by Russ Freeman of the Rippingtons. Our prayers go
out to Will and his family as he learns to live with the disease.
BLACK
FAMILY CHANNEL TO SHUT DOWN:
Atlanta-based cable company unable to secure significant distribution.
Multichannel.com is reporting
that the Black Family Channel will air its last broadcast on April
30 before shutting down permanently. The 16 million-subscriber network
-- co-owned by lawyer Willie Gary, former baseball star Cecil Fielder,
entertainer Marlon Jackson, cable veteran Alvin James and former
heavyweight boxing champ Evander Holyfield - had trouble securing
significant cable and satellite distribution to remain in business,
sources tell the Web site.
The Atlanta-based network began broadcasting eight years ago offering
African-American-targeted, family-friendly programming, overseen
by actor/producer Robert Townsend. According to multichannel.com,
the Gospel Music Channel is angling to take over BFC's carriage
deals with cable operators. BFC executives confirmed negotiations
with Gospel and said, "It is not closing its doors," but
would not elaborate further, the Web site reported.
U.S.
album sales tumble, digital sales surge, fewer big names issue releases
- ALEX VEIGA
LOS ANGELES (AP) - U.S. album sales are down by 17 per cent so far
this year, a downward spiral caused in part by a surge in online
music purchases and fewer big-name albums being released in the
first quarter.
A total of 135.8 million albums were sold in the United States through
the end of last week, compared with 163.3 million in the year-ago
period, Nielsen SoundScan said.
The number of digital tracks sold, meanwhile,
jumped by 53 per cent to 250.8 million compared with 164.2 million
in the same period last year, the firm said. The
shortfall in album sales drops to 10.5 per cent when sales of digital
singles are counted as 10-track equivalent albums. "It's
not making up totally for the decline but at least it's able to
account for some of the decline in sales," said Chris Muratore,
vice- president of retail relations for Nielsen Entertainment. Still,
overall music sales are up by more than 17 per cent but that figure
includes all albums, singles, music videos and digital downloads.
The recording industry has seen CD album
sales decline for years, in part due to the rise of online file-sharing
but also as consumers have spent more of their leisure dollars on
other entertainment purchases, such as DVDs and video games. The
industry has benefitted from sources of revenue that weren't around
just a few years ago, such as mobile music sales. So
far this year, more than 72 million ringtones have been purchased
by mobile phone-users, said Nielsen RingScan, which began tracking
the sector last fall. One factor
in the decline of album sales is that record labels have cut back
on the number of new album releases by major artists early in the
calendar year.
"If you look at the last couple of
years, fewer and fewer of those acts have been released in the first
half of the year and this year has been horrible," Muratore
said. "It's proven that
if you put something out, an established name, a big name, people
are going to go buy the music." Crooner
Norah Jones and country singer Tim McGraw are the biggest acts to
release new albums this year, he said. Jones'
album, "Not Too Late," has sold about 1.2 million copies
so far this year, while McGraw's "Let It Go," has sold
570,000, SoundScan said. Fall
Out Boy's album "Infinity On High," has sold around 760,000
copies, the firm said. The other
top sellers this year have been albums released last year by the
likes of Justin Timberlake, Daughtry, and Akon. Last
year's biggest-selling album, the soundtrack inspired by the Disney
Channel movie "High School Musical," was released in January.
It sold more than 3.7 million copies. "Six
out of the past seven years, the No. 1 album was released no later
than May," Muratore said.

New York's powerful
Hip-Hop/R&B Station, WWPR vows to stop playing songs with degrading
images
WWPR (105.1 FM), one of two city radio
stations that feature hip-hop music, said yesterday morning it's
going to stop playing songs with degrading images.
"The station won't sound that different,
because we weren't playing a lot of that anyway," said program
director Helen Little. "What we're doing is holding labels
and artists accountable for what they say and how they say it.
"We want our listeners to know that
whatever they hear here, we thought about it." Little went
on the air yesterday morning with Ed Lover, Egypt and Donnell Rawlins,
music director Nadine Santos and guests who included activists Kevin
Powell and the Rev. Al Sharpton. This "town meeting" was
designed to involve listeners in a discussion of content issues
surrounding hip hop and radio. The discussion came as some critics,
including Sharpton, who pushed for last week's firing of WFAN's
Imus, vowed to turn their attention to negative images and lyrics
in hip-hop music. Lover and Little said, however, that Power had
been having this discussion for some time, and Santos, among others,
cautioned against linking Imus' comment about the Rutgers women's
basketball team with hip hop. "Let's not get it twisted,"
she said. "This isn't what hip hop is about. What Imus said
has nothing to do with hip hop." There was also discussion
over whether some listeners want more graphic lyrics. Little said
they may, and that's fine. "We're not saying you can't make
this music," she said. "Just we won't play it. "Our
intention is to encourage people not to talk this way anymore."
We did
it! - CBS fires Don Imus
It's over. CBS has canned Don
Imus, effective immediately, abruptly ending what for him was probably
the longest week in a long and often controverisal career. In
a statement released just minutes ago, the network announced that
the radio program, "Imus in the Morning," will "cease
broadcasting...on a permanent basis."
CBS chief, Leslie Moonves, said in, in
part, "From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply
upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about
the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women's
Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent."
He added, "Those who have
spoken with us the last few days represent people of goodwill from
all segments of our society all races, economic groups, men
and women alike. In our meetings with concerned groups, there has
been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our
young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their
way in this society. "That consideration has weighed most heavily
on our minds as we made our decision, as have the many emails, phone
calls and personal discussions we have had with our colleagues across
the CBS Corporation and our many other constituencies."
Gladys
Knight To Receive ELLA Award
Gladys Knight will receive the 16th annual
ELLA Award from the Society of Singers. The honor, named after its
first recipient, jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald, salutes entertainers
for their musical successes and dedication to charitable and humanitarian
causes."It is a truly awesome feeling to be receiving this
honor. Ella was the sweetest and most beautiful person as a talent
and as a human being," Knight said Tuesday.Knight will receive
the award Sept. 10. Past winners include Elton John, Frank Sinatra
and Celine Dion.
"Gladys Knight has one of the greatest
and most distinctive voices of our time," said Jerry F. Sharell,
the Society of Singers' president and chief executive officer. (The
Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization offers services to meet
the emergency financial needs of professional singers worldwide.)Knight,
62, has won seven Grammys in her career, with hits including "Midnight
Train to Georgia" and "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be
the First to Say Goodbye)."
Suspect
Named In Jam Master Jay Murder
Federal prosecutors have alleged that a low-level career bandit
may hold the key to one of the more high-profile mysteries of the
hip-hop world: Who killed rap pioneer Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C.?
In court papers, the prosecutors
identify Ronald "Tenad" Washington as the armed accomplice
of a second unidentified gunman who shot Jay, whose real name was
Jason Mizell, inside his New York recording studio in 2002. They
say Washington also is a suspect in the 1995 fatal shooting of Randy
Walker, a close associate of the late rapper Tupac Shakur. The papers
were filed earlier this month in the federal trial of Washington,
who was convicted in a string of armed robberies that occurred just
after Jay was killed. Prosecutors declined to discuss the unsolved
slayings. A Mizell family spokesperson welcomed news that authorities
had for the first time publicly identified a suspect, saying "We're
relieved there's some information coming out, although we understand
that it's not the full story." Washington, 45, has denied any
connection to either the Mizell or Walker cases. In a sworn statement,
he claimed hostile detectives had hounded him about the slaying
of his "childhood friend" Mizell and other crimes. Washington's
criminal record dates to 1982, and includes convictions for assault,
drugs and grand larceny, authorities said. Mizell was gunned down
Oct. 30, 2002, at his 24/7 recording studio in Queens. According
to a performer there, a man wearing a black sweat suit appeared,
embraced Mizell, pulled out a .40-caliber pistol and opened fire.
Gerald
Levert died of an accidental overdose
Gerald Levert's
death was an accident, caused by a fatal combination of prescription
narcotics and over-the-counter drugs. The drugs in his bloodstream
included the narcotic pain relievers Vicodin, Percocet and Darvocet,
along with anxiety medication Xanax and two over-the-counter antihistamines,
Geauga County Coroner Kevin Chartrand said. The official cause of
death was acute intoxication, and the death was ruled accidental.
Chartrand said his
office received a report Thursday from the Cuyahoga County coroner's
office, which conducted the autopsy. Levert, 40, son of O'Jays singer
Eddie Levert, died Nov. 10 in his suburban Cleveland home. He was
taking the pain medication
because of chronic pain from a lingering shoulder problem and surgery
in 2005 to repair a severed Achilles tendon. The autopsy revealed
that Levert had pneumonia. Levert also took Xanax for anxiety attacks,
Gibson said.
Atlanta
officers to face murder indictment
Fulton DA seeks charges in shooting of elderly woman in her home
By BILL TORPY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fulton
County District Attorney Paul Howard will seek criminal charges,
including felony murder, against three Atlanta narcotics officers
involved in a botched drug raid that resulted in the shooting death
of an elderly woman, according to a proposed indictment. The proposed
indictment drawn up by the prosecutor's office names officers Gregg
Junnier, Jason R. Smith and Arthur Tesler. Howard accuses them of
felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, burglary,
making false statements and violation of oath. Defense attorney
Rand Csehy, who is representing Junnier, said he received an e-mail
from Howard's office Wednesday including the proposed indictment
and saying the prosecutor would go before a grand jury Feb. 26 to
seek charges against his client. Those three officers were involved
in securing a search warrant on Nov. 21 for the home of Kathryn
Johnston. Shortly before the raid, Smith told a magistrate he and
Tesler had a confidential informant buy $50 worth of crack at 933
Neal Street from a man named "Sam."
But, according to the proposed
indictment, no informant went to the house. Smith's attorney had
no comment on the matter, and Tesler's could not be reached. Eight
officers were put on administrative leave after the shooting. The
incident prompted an investigation that has included state and federal
authorities. Csehy responded angrily to the threat of an indictment
against his client, saying, "It's an overbroad indictment."
He complained Howard's office acted prematurely without consulting
with the FBI, which is still investigating.
"Paul Howard is no
longer part of a joint investigation," Csehy said. Patrick
Crosby, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said Howard had
not informed his office about plans to seek indictments. FBI spokesman
Stephen Emmett said, "We did not know this was taking place
prior. The FBI has been charged with leading this investigation.
And to date, this investigation has not been completed."Csehy
conceded his client may have made mistakes, but he said Junnier
didn't commit murder. "There was no malfeasance here. It was
sloppy police work," Csehy said. "It was cutting corners."
Anna
Nichole Smith Dead at 39
Anna
Nichole Smith has died according to her attorney Ronald Rale. She
was taken to hospital after collapsing in a Hollywood, Florida motel
and was later pronounced dead. Unconfirmed reports indicate that
Smith was discovered unconscious and unresponsive in her hotel room
earlier Thursday.
Smith gained
notoriety when she married the then 89 year-old billionaire J. Howard
Marshall in 1994. The two met at a Houston strip club where Anna
Nichole was performing. Marshall died 14 months later and Smith
found herself mired in a lengthy and bitter legal battle with her
late husband's family to claim one half of the billionaire's estate.
The litigation remains ongoing.
Smith was
spokesperson for weight-loss conglomerate TrimSpa and subsequently
dropped almost 70 pounds. By this time however Smith exhibited bizarre
public behaviour and many speculated that she was heavily self medicated.
Days after the birth of Smith's second child last year in Florida,
her 20 year-old son died suddenly. Autopsy reports indicated that
he had lethal doses of methadone and antidepressants in his system
at the time of his death. Smith, born Vickie Lynn Hogan in Houston
Texas was 39 years old.
Gillie the kid
arrested as drug house busted in Oxford Circle
By DAVID G
Gillie
Da Kid, aka Nasir Fard, 30, once a member of the local rap group
"Major Figgas." The group ruled the streets with their
CD a few years ago and then split up. Since then, police say, Fard
has become a major figure in his own right - with his mix CDs ...and
allegedly,the local drug trade. Fard and five of his associates
were locked up in Oxford Circle Tuesday night, after authorities
discovered that Fard was running two drug stash houses on Passmore
Street near Algon Avenue. Narcotics Capt. Chris Werner said investigators
combed through the properties and confiscated 89 pounds of marijuana
worth $404,000. Cops also got four pounds of marijuana from a Lexis
driven by one of Fard's friends. "They were supplying numerous
drug dealers all over the city, not just in the Northeast,"
said Sgt. Robert Friel of Narcotics Field Unit 2. Werner said FBI
agents were in Oxford Circle Tuesday interviewing residents about
another stash house, on Levick Street near Trotter, where cops confiscated
$6 million in cocaine in November.
The agents were tipped to check
out Fard's properties on Passmore and soon observed him receiving
a delivery of marijuana, Werner said. The FBI and city narcotics
officers set up surveillance for several hours and took down the
alleged dealers when they tried to leave Tuesday night in an array
of luxury cars, including a Jaguar and a Lexis. Also arrested were
Mark Jeffries, 41; Rhashima Brown, 34; Regina Little, 27; Garnell
Brown, 25, and Izeem Ruffings, 25 - all of Philadelphia. Each was
charged with conspiracy and possessing narcotics with intent to
deliver.
Warner
Music Quarterly Profit Drops
February 08, 2007
Warner Music Group Corp.
on Thursday (Feb. 8) posted a 74% drop in its quarterly profit and
fell short of Wall Street expectations on a weaker album release
schedule than a year before. A generally tough environment for music
sales also contributed to the shortfall, as a growing number of
consumers are downloading more music over the Internet, with such
services as Apple Inc.'s iTunes, rather than buying physical albums.
Music companies have raced to boost digital sales as a percentage
of overall revenue, but digital remains a relatively small piece
of the pie. The world's fourth-largest music company said profit
for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31 fell to $18 million,
or 12 cents per share, down from $69 million, or 46 cents per share
the year before. Revenue fell 11% to $928 million. Results missed
the average of Wall Street analysts' forecasts for earnings per
share of 24 cents and revenue of $943.9 million, according to Reuters
Estimates.
Albums by artists including
My Chemical Romance and Josh Groban sold worse than hit albums a
year earlier by such artists as Madonna, James Blunt, Enya and Green
Day. Recorded music sales fell 13% to $800 million, dragged by the
United States and Europe and dampening stronger sales in Asia Pacific.
Warner said digital music sales continued to increase their share
of total revenue to 11%, or $100 million. In Warner's U.S. recorded
music business, digital music sales amounted to $61 million, or
17% of its domestic business. The company said iTunes remains the
major outlet for U.S. consumers while mobile phone partnerships
delivered more digital sales internationally. The company said it
expects a better second half of the year based on its release schedule
and remains "confident" of its fiscal 2007.
Serena
Williams wallops Sharapova for eighth Grand Slam
MELBOURNE,
Australia -- Serena Williams answered her critics with an overpowering
victory in the Australian Open final.
Williams poses with the trophy
after winning her women's final match against Maria Sharapova. Unseeded
and ranked 81st, Williams won for her eighth and most improbable
Grand Slam title Saturday, beating Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2. "It
was an awesome win, because I had so many critics. So many people
... saying negative things," Williams said. "Saying I
wasn't fit, when I felt that I was really fit, and I could last
three sets.
"It's always like, tell
me no and I'll show you that I can do it. I get the greatest satisfaction
just holding up the Grand Slam trophy and proving everyone wrong."
Only the second unseeded woman to win the Australian title in the
Open era, Williams came to Melbourne Park with only three matches
at a low-key warmup tournament after missing most of last season
because of a knee injury. She will jump to No. 14 in the world next
week after capturing her first title in 15 tournaments since her
second Australian Open victory in 2005.
NIA
LONG IN STREET BRAWL: Actress' new guy and former one duke
it out.
*This is one of those stories that kinda
makes you wish you were there to witness it go down. It seems actress
Nia Long was kickin' it at the Grove shopping center in LA last
Friday with her new boo. But little did she and he know things were
about to get ugly.
According to the report from TMZ.com,
Massai Z. Dorsey, Long's baby daddy and her now ex, ran into the
pair. We're not sure what exactly happened, but apparently there's
bad blood between the dudes because a street brawl broke out between
Dorsey and Long's new guy, right in the middle of the shopping center!
When the dust cleared sources say Long's
new guy friend put a serious whipping on Long's ex leaving him lying
on the street as he and Long took off running. The source also says
that as Long was running she lost her shoe but didn't seem to care.
She left the shoe behind and kept running!
Commodores Member
Milan Williams Dies -Gail Mitchell,
L.A.
Milan
Williams, a founding member of the Commodores, died July 9 at MD
Anderson Hospital in Houston following a bout with cancer. He was
58. Williams played keyboards for the R&B/funk outfit, whose
members initially met as students at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee,
Alabama. Originally comprised of seven members, the Commodores'
lineup eventually included Thomas McClary (guitar), Lionel Richie
(saxophone), Walter "Clyde" Orange (drums), William King
(trumpet) and Ronald LaPread (bass). After touring as the warm-up
band for the Jackson Five, the Commodores signed to Motown subsidiary
MoWest in 1972.
The Commodores' first hit was the 1974
synthesizer-pumped instrumental "Machine Gun." Written
by Williams, the song climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard R&B
chart. The group went on to score seven No. 1 R&B hits, including
"Slippery When Wet," "Just To Be Close to You,"
"Easy," "Nightshift," "Three Times a Lady"
and "Still," the latter two of which also notched No.
1 on the pop chart. Richie left the group for a solo career in 1982,
and the Commodores later recorded for Polydor in the late '80s.
Williams was born in Okolona, Mississippi
on March 28, 1948. Before joining the Commodores, Williams played
keyboards for another Tuskegee band, the Jays. He is survived by
a host of family members, including his wife, Melanie Bruno-Williams,
two sons from previous unions, Jason and Ricci, two brothers and
a sister. Services will be held July 14 in Okolona. A memorial service
is slated for August in Los Angeles.
Noted fellow Commodore Orange, "
He gave all that he could give to the Commodores. He'll always be
remembered."
Singer-songwriter
Billy Preston dies at 59
- Thor Christensen
Billy Preston, the child prodigy and R&B
star who became an unofficial "fifth Beatle," died Tuesday
at age 59. The singer-keyboardist died at a hospital in Scottsdale,
Arizona, after a long battle with kidney failure. He'd received
a kidney transplant in 2002, but the kidney failed and he'd been
in a coma since November. With
his super-size Afro and gospel-fired funk, Preston became a top
soul star of the 70s and went to No. 1 on the pop charts with Will
It Go Round in Circles (1973) and Nothing From Nothing (1974). But
he'll be forever remembered for helping keep the Beatles intact
during their tumultuous Let It Be sessions. He was the only guest
artist ever credited on a Beatles single, Get Back, which was billed
as "The Beatles with Billy Preston."
He was born in Houston in 1946 but moved
at age 2 to Los Angeles, where his mother, Robbie Lee Williams,
played piano in nightclubs and churches. He mastered the keyboard
as a child, and by 10 was playing churches and had been hired by
Mahalia Jackson. In 1958, at age 12, he landed a cameo role playing
W.C. Handy in St. Louis Blues. Four years later, he joined Little
Richard's band and toured Europe, where he met a fledgling club
act called the Beatles.
In the mid-60s, Preston went from the
Shindig! house band to Ray Charles' group. An appearance with Brother
Ray on BBC-TV caught the attention of George Harrison, and in early
1969, at the peak of the Beatles' squabbling, he invited Preston
to play keyboards on the band's next LP. "I pulled in Billy
Preston on Let It Be because the others would have to control themselves
a bit more - John and Paul, mainly, because they had to, you know,
act more handsomely," Harrison told the music magazine Crawdaddy
in 1977. The partnership worked
brilliantly. Preston's majestic organ set up the perfect finale
to Let It Be, while his jazz-funk solos helped drive Dig It and
Get Back. His fiery remake of Get Back in 1978 was a high point
in the otherwise dismal film version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band. The Beatles signed him to their record label, Apple,
where he recorded two albums produced by Harrison. But he didn't
strike gold until a few years later when he moved to A&M with
Will It Go Round in Circles and the manic organ jam Space Race.
In 1975, he was the musical guest on the first episode of Saturday
Night Live. But even as he was riding high as a solo act, he worked
constantly behind the scenes, writing Joe Cocker's smash hit You
Are So Beautiful and serving as a sideman to the Rolling Stones.
Syndicated
untalented radio jock, Star, arrested for making on-air threats
against rival's daughter
The lawyer for fired New York radio jock
Troi "Star" Torain asked a court Tuesday to dismiss the
charges against his client in connection with on-air threats made
to the daughter of a rival disc jockey. Star, former co-host of
the syndicated "Star & Buc Wild Morning Show" on Power
105.1 FM, was arrested on charges of criminal possession of a weapon
and endangering the welfare of a child after he hurled a barrage
of racist and sexual insults about the wife and 4-year-old daughter
of Raashaun Casey, known as DJ Envy on New York's Hot 97.
Star's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said
Torain's remarks were indeed offensive, but were uttered in a moment
of frustration." Brafman also reminded the court that Torain
had apologized for his actions. "This case either does not
belong in criminal court at all, or if it does, the Hot 97 DJs should
both be arrested as well, if you apply the same legal theory used
to authorize the arrest of Mr. Torain," said Brafman, adding
that his client committed no crime with his handgun, for which he
had a license until police rescinded it following the on-air rant.
Brafman's court papers said nothing that his client did was "likely
to be injurious to the physical, mental and moral welfare of a child
under 17" and therefore the case should be dismissed. Star,
who was fired from his radio gig on May 10, is currently free on
$2,000 bail.
LARK
VOORHIES SUES NATIONAL ENQUIRER: Actress upset over story claiming
she had a cocaine problem.
Lark Voorhies, best known for her role
as Lisa Turtle on TV's "Saved by the Bell," has filed
a lawsuit against the National Enquirer for publishing a story that
suggested she was battling a cocaine addiction. In
Tuesday's filing obtained by TMZ.com, the actress is seeking unspecified
punitive damages as a result of the June 2005 article, which quoted
a "friend" of Voorhies' as saying she was strung out.
"Poor Lark-she's really in bad shape," the Enquirer quoted
the "friend" as saying. "She has a terrible drug
problem and is bipolar as well. It's very tough." Voorhies,
who refutes the claims, says she has "suffered humiliation,
mental anguish, emotional and physical distress, and has been injured
in mind and body" due to the allegations in the article.
Rapper
Beanie Sigel Shot During Robbery Attempt
PHILADELPHIA Beanie Sigel, the popular
rapper, was shot during an attempted robbery Thursday (May 24th),
but was able to drive himself to the hospital, police said.Sigel
was shot one or two times in the upper right arm shortly after 8
a.m. and was in good condition at the Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania, police said.
Authorities said the holdup was attempted
by five males traveling in two cars, and there was some confusion
about where the shooting took place. Beanie's watch and jewelry
was taken. He left the hospital in a chauffeured car and went directly
to the studio to work on his upcoming project.
Halle
Berry Clashes With Disc Jockey
LONDON - What was meant to be a friendly
chat to promote the new "X-Men" movie turned into a frosty
discussion about race on a popular morning radio program, but the
British Broadcasting Corp. defended its disc jockey. Oscar-winning
actress Halle Berry appeared on Chris Moyles' Radio One breakfast
show Thursday and clashed with her host after he impersonated what
he described as a "big, fat, black guy." "Are
we having a racist moment here?" Berry, the first black actress
to win an Academy Award for a lead role, asked Moyles after she
took exception to his impersonation. Moyles, who is white, said
he just couldn't do American accents.
Moyles made it clear on air that there
was nothing racist in what he said, a BBC spokesman said Friday
on condition of anonymity, in line with the corporation's policy.
The exchange began when Hugh Jackman,
Berry's "X-Men: The Last Stand" co-star, jokingly suggested
that Moyles might take the role of his body double if he ever landed
the part of James Bond. "I could definitely do that,"
Moyles said before adding, "Put your hands in the air!"
A somewhat puzzled Jackman replied, "Are you some kind of Brooklyn
Bond?" Moyles replied: "I'm a black American guy. A big,
fat, black guy. Put your hands up in the air." The interview
continued, though the DJ later said Berry was "ratty"
- British slang for grouchy. Berry won an Oscar in 2002 for her
role in "Monster's Ball."
Heatwave
Frontman Johnnie Wilder Jr. Dies
Johnnie Wilder Jr., frontman and co-founder
of the 1970s R&B group Heatwave, died May 13 at his home in
Clayton, Ohio. He was 56. No cause of death has been made public.
In 1979, Wilder became paralyzed from the neck down after a car
accident and subsequently stopped touring with Heatwave, though
he continued to serve as lead vocalist. The band's hit singles include
"Boogie Nights," "Always and Forever" and "The
Groove Line."
Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, Johnnie's
principal alliance with music was his involvement with his high
school glee club. After graduating, he served three years in the
military in Germany and formed a five man vocal group that performed
primarily in military and civilian clubs in the surrounding area.
After their tour of duty ended, the original group started to disband,
but a small nucleus migrated to West Germany where they restructured
under various names, then Heat Wave to Johnnie Wilder Jr. and the
Chicago Heatwave. With the addition of a talented performer, Rod
Temperton (whose credits include having written "Thriller"
and "Off The Wall" for Michael Jackson), their band performed
throughout Europe, acquiring an enviable reputation and loyal following
at every stop. Eventually, the
band relocated to England, shortened its name back to Heatwave and
began to attract attention with the release of an original single
entitled, "Boogie Nights". By the time the song had reached
#1 in London, CBS records were already negotiating a lucrative international
distribution deal with GTO records, the group's London label. The
rest was history.
The next single, "Always and Forever"
propelled Too Hot To Handle to sales over three million units. With
the singles "Grooveline" and "Mind Blowing Decisions"
blazing the path, Central Heating also achieved multi-platinum status
in 1978. As Heatwave began producing its third album, Hot Property,
in recording studios located in various parts of the world, the
future could not have looked brighter to Johnnie Wilder.
That was before he decided to take advantage
of a break in the hectic recording schedule to visit family and
friends in his hometown of Dayton. As quickly as the plane could
land, a car could be rented, and he could drive downtown, Johnnie's
future, as he perceived it at the time, was over. The very moment
that an out of control van totaled Johnnie's car, he was paralyzed
with no body movement below the neck. It was a year before he was
released from the hospital. Yet immediately, he demonstrated his
amazing resilience. Though confided to a wheelchair, he traveled
on Heatwave's European tour, and even recorded lead and background
vocals on its fourth and fifth albums. Heatwave released seven albums,
beginning its 1977 debut "Too Hot To Handle" (Epic) and
including a 1997 reunion set, "Live at the Greek Theater"
(Century Vista). The group disbanded in 1983 after enduring a series
of member arrivals and departures (Temperton quit in 1978). The
Wilder brothers released "Sound of Soul" (Blatent) in
1989, and Johnnie recorded two gospel albums, "My Goal"
(Light) and "One More Day."
Finally.....untalented,
unfunny, sellout, Star Fired Over Sexual Statements About Rival's
Child
Troi Torain, known as Star of the Star and Bucwild Morning Show,
has been fired by Clear Channel the shock jock made sexually charged
statements directed to the 4-year-old daughter of a rival DJ. On
Monday May 8, Torain, an employee of New Yorks Power 105.1,
made several on-air sexual and threatening comments about the daughter
of Hot 97s DJ Envy.
"Yes, I disrespected your seed. If
you didn't hear me, I said, I would like to do an R. Kelly on your
seed, on your little baby girl. I would like to tinkle on her,"
the DJ said referring to an alleged videotape of the Chicago-bred
pop singer urinating on an underage girl. Star of the Star and Bucwild
Morning Show on New York's Power 105.1 radio station has been fired
for some very sexually charged statements made on the air. Clear
Channel gave Star (real name: Troi Torain) the axe after on-air
sexual and threatening comments were made on Monday (May 8) about
rival DJ Envy's wife and 4-year-old daughter. "Somebody holla
at me and tell me about his whore wife and his kid," Star said,
while on the air, offering $500 to any listener who could provide
information about the location of Envy's kid's school. "866-678-8270...Somebody
get at me about his whore. His whore wife and his kid, this little
ugly ass kid, I hear." "I'm disrespectin' your seed. I
would like to skeet on the face of your seed," continued Star.
Star's employer, Clear Channel, denounced the DJ's comments and
say they do not stand for that type of talk by their on-air talent.
"We will simply not allow racist
pedophiles to use the airways to harass children and families, and
create an atmosphere of hate, violence and bigotry in our community,"
said Council Member John C. Liu during a press conference held Wednesday
in New York. Both DJ's (Envy and Star) have been embroiled in an
on-air verbal war for weeks now, and this seemed to be the last
straw for Star. According to reports, a listener complained to a
New York City Councilman, who then called Clear Channel Radio President/CEO
John Hogan and demanded Star's dismissal.
Premier Radio Networks, a subsidiary of
Clear Channel, airs the Star and Bucwild Morning Show in cities
such as Philadelphia, Miami and Richmond, VA. Premiere Radio Networks
has suspended the show indefinitely and the rest of the Star and
Bucwild Morning team are on suspension pending further investigation.DJ
Envy said he found the comments deplorable and disgusting. "Any
man that says he would like to do an R. Kelly on a 4-year-old, who
claims he wants to tinkle on her and skeet on her face might be
a pedophile," DJ Envy told AllHipHop.com. "Instead of
keeping his hatred focused solely on me, he threatened to molest
my daughter. He's a coward who hides behind his microphone, who
will stop at nothing to generate ratings."
Latin
Singer Soraya Dead At 37
Singer/songwriter
Soraya, one of the first artists to write and record in both English
and Spanish, has died, Billboard has learned. She was 37.
The Latin Grammy winner died this morning
(May 10) in Florida. The singer had been battling breast cancer
for several years and was a spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen
Foundation. Sources say she relapsed at the beginning of the year.
Soraya, whose mother, aunt and grandmother died of breast cancer,
was diagnosed with stage three of the disease in June 2000, just
as she was finalizing a new album with Universal Music Latino. She
successfully underwent treatment and returned to a new record deal
with EMI. Her 2003 album, the self-produced "Soraya,"
won her the first ever Latin Grammy for best singer/songwriter album.
Soraya's illness, compounded with her
family history of the disease, led her to become a tireless advocate
in the fight against cancer. In 2004, Billboard honored her with
its Spirit of Hope Award for her tireless work to raise awareness
on the prevention and cure of breast cancer in the Hispanic community.
"Basically my life is split in three," Soraya told Billboard
at the time. "My music career. My life. And my third part is
this [the fight against breast cancer]. It's a full time job."
Soraya released her last album in 2005. This
week, prior to her death, she posted a goodbye letter to fans on
her Web site. "I know there are many questions without answers,
and that hope doesn't leave with me, and above all, that my mission
does not end with my physical story," she wrote.
Federal
Judge Rules in Favor of Graffiti Artists in NYC Lawsuit
A federal judge has ruled in favor of
seven graffiti artists who filed a first amendment lawsuit against
the City of New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Councilman Peter
Vallone, Jr. Judge George B. Daniels granted the group's request
for a preliminary injunction against recent amendments to anti-graffiti
legislation that went into effect on January 1.Effective Thursday,
the New York Police Department and all city agencies will be largely
prohibited from enforcing the amendments pending final outcome of
the case.
An underlying lawsuit will now be litigated
with the injunction in place. "Today's decision is a victory
for the plaintiffs and everyone else whose First Amendment rights
were being trampled upon with these laws," said fashion designer
Marc Ecko, who has actively supported the graffiti artists and was
present when the decision was made. "I am very pleased that
the courts have recognized the hypocrisy of this anti-graffiti legislation
and its effect on the right to free expression for legitimate artists
under the age of 21," he continued. The
decision marks the end of days of litigation concerning the lawsuit,
titled Vincenty v. Bloomberg, 06 CV 3158 (GBD). The suit, brought
by seven graffiti artists, was filed April 25 in the United States
District Court, Southern District of New York."As someone whose
career has been shaped by graffiti art and street design, I've increasingly
felt a responsibility to lend my support to these and other aspiring
artists whose rights to express themselves through the medium of
legal graffiti-inspired art were being suppressed in New York and
cities across the country," Ecko said. "The motif of graffiti
is one that has the right to exist credibly, and it is great to
see the courts make a distinction between illegal vandalism and
the motif of legal graffiti as a legitimate art form that cannot
be pushed aside by legislators."
Source
Founder Dave Mays Files For Bankruptcy Protection, Majority Stake
In Mag To Hit Auction Block - Fawn
Renee
The Source Magazine's founder and former
CEO Dave Mays has filed for bankruptcy protection, temporarily halting
an auction sale of his stock in the Hip-Hop publication. he auction
of his share was halted for a second time in light of Mays' declaration
of bankruptcy yesterday morning (May 4). Mays lost control of the
magazine after defaulting on an $18 million loan from Textron Financial.
In March, a judge ruled that Mays willingly signed contracts giving
Black Enterprise/Greenwich Street Partners the right to take control
if he defaulted on debt obligations. By
not fulfilling these obligations, Mays lost control of the company,
along with full ownership. Mays' 82 % stake is being sought after
by at least three suitors, including Marc Ecko, Earl "Butch"
Graves in conjunction with Black Enterprise, and Partnership Equity.
"We found out about the bankruptcy claim at the same time everyone
else did," Clint Cantwell, communications director for Ecko
Unlimited told AllHipHop.com. "But overall, The Source is a
great brand and certainly worth pursuing. I think it would be a
great blend with us having Complex Magazine under our belt. So,
we'll see how things work out at the auction, whenever the auction
actually takes place."
Mays' attorney David Finkler declined
to comment.
After Mays and his partner Ray "Benzino"
Scott were ousted, Black Enterprise appointed former editor Jeremy
Miller to the position of CEO of The Source. Miller said he and
his staff were anxious to see the court proceedings end. "I
hope the person who purchases [ The Source will keep the magazine
as is, because we're on the right track to progress and get the
magazine back to where it used to be," Miller told AllHipHop.com.
"I would hope we don't have to start over. Right now, guys
from Black Enterprise wouldn't have a problem if they owned the
full share of the company."
Chaka
Khan's son acquitted in murder trial
LOS
ANGELES (AP) -- Chaka Khan's son was acquitted of murder Friday
in the shooting death of a teenager during a party at her home two
years ago. A Superior Court jury deliberated two and a half days
before finding Damien Patrick Holland not guilty of murder, voluntary
manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.
Holland, 27, was charged with killing
Christopher Bailey, a 17-year-old aspiring rapper who was staying
at the home Holland shares with his mother, girlfriend and 5-year-old
daughter. Holland testified that he never intended to kill Bailey
when he poked at him with an M-16 assault rifle. The two were discussing
an affair the younger man claimed to have had with Holland's girlfriend
when Holland pointed the gun at his friend.Khan
testified last week that she believed her son accidentally killed
his friend. The singer said Bailey could have survived the shooting
had police permitted emergency medical workers to enter her home
sooner.
EMBER
OF T.I.'S CREW KILLED IN CINCINNATI: Gunfire erupts on the highway
following fight at afterparty.
*A
scuffle during an afterparty for T.I. led to gunfire on a Cincinnati
highway and a member of the rapper's crew being killed early Wednesday
morning in yet another shooting-related incident linked to a hip
hop artist.The incident occurred during an after-hours party at
Club Ritz, which is located near Bogart's nightclub, where T.I.
and rapper Yung Joc performed earlier in the evening. A dispute
with some local residents prompted T.I. and his group to exit the
party, but they were followed by two sport utility vehicles, police
said. The opposing parties fired upon each other while traveling
down the highway. Officers responding to the scene found four people
with gunshot wounds. T.I.'s personal assistant, 26-year-old Philant
Johnson, was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Three other members of the entourage
were injured: a Minnesota woman was hospitalized in stable condition,
a bodyguard and a driver were treated and released. Following the
incident, police were forced to close down the southbound lanes
of Interstate 75 - one of two main highways providing access to
downtown Cincinnati - during the morning rush hour.
TIGER
WOODS' FATHER DIES OF CANCER: Earl Woods, 74, has battled the disease
since 1998.
*Earl Woods, the father of golf legend
Tiger Woods, died early Wednesday at his home in Cypress, California.
He was 74. "I'm very saddened to share the news of my father's
passing at home early this morning," his son, 30, said on his
official Web site. "My dad was my best friend and greatest
role model, and I will miss him deeply.
I'm overwhelmed when
I think of all of the great things he accomplished in his life.
He was an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband and friend.
I wouldn't be where I am today without him, and I'm honored to continue
his legacy of sharing and caring." Tiger spent the last week
with his father after returning from a trip to New Zealand, where
he attended the wedding of his caddie Steve Williams. In March,
he skipped the final practice day for the Players Championship at
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida to spend time with him. A
former Green Beret, Earl Woods was diagnosed with prostate cancer
in 1998. Radiation therapy had eradicated the disease until 2004,
when it returned and caused lesions on his back and a tumor behind
his left eye. After more radiation, he went into remission last
year before his condition again deteriorated.
Michelle
Rodriguez Chooses Jail Over Service
Honolulu, HI (AHN) - Lost star Michelle
Rodriguez surrendered to authorities Tuesday to begin a five-day
jail sentence for drunk driving. Rodriguez, who portrays police
officer Ana Lucia, opted for jail time and a $500 fine rather than
240 hours of community service. The 27-year-old Rodriguez and cast
member Cynthia Watros were both charged with drunk driving after
they were pulled over Dec. 1 in separate cars within 15 minutes
of each other, reports The Associated Press. On Tuesday, the judge
gave Rodriguez the option of jail time or community service. Choosing
jail over community service was a "personal choice," said
her attorney, Steve Barta. Watros, who plays Libby on the ABC castaway
drama, pleaded guilty to drunken driving in January and was fined
$312, ordered to undergo an alcohol assessment and 14 hours of counseling.
She also had her license suspended for 90 days. Both Rodriguez and
Watros were spotted weaving on a road in Kailua, on the island of
Oahu, where "Lost" is filmed. Both failed field sobriety
tests.
Babyface' Files
Suit Against Anita Baker
LOS
ANGELES -- Grammy-winning singer-producer Kenneth "Babyface"
Edmonds has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against singer Anita
Baker, claiming she owes him more than $250,000. According
to the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Superior Court, Baker broke two
oral agreements with Edmonds, who co-wrote, produced and performed
on the song "Like You Used to Do" on Baker's 2004 album
"My Everything." The lawsuit claims Baker refused to pay
Edmonds producer's royalties equaling at least $100,000 from an
estimated more than 500,000 albums sold. Edmonds, 47, also alleges
that he and Baker had an agreement to play four concerts together,
but that Baker canceled two shows and refused to pay $150,000 for
those dates. Spokesman Cem Kurosman from Baker's label, Blue Note,
declined to comment Friday, saying the label had no knowledge of
the lawsuit.
June
Pointer dies of Cancer-- youngest sister of famed Pointer Sisters
June Pointer, the youngest original member
of the Grammy-winning group the Pointer Sisters, who started as
a gospel singers in Oakland and reached pop music stardom in the
1970s, died Tuesday. She was 52.
Ms. Pointer died at UCLA Medical Center
in Santa Monica from cancer that spread to her pancreas, liver and
lungs, said her brother Fritz Pointer. She had been admitted to
the hospital in February after suffering a stroke. She is the first
member of the musical group to die. With her sisters, Ruth, Anita
and Bonnie, the quartet topped pop and R&B charts through the
1970s with hits including "Yes We Can, Can" and "How
Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)." The group formed a
trio when Bonnie Pointer left to begin a solo career in 1977. In
school, she played basketball and ran track, displaying a natural
athleticism that transferred into energetic dance performances with
the Pointer Sisters.
At 15 years of age, June dropped out of
Castlemont High School in Oakland to form the duo "Pointers-A
Pair" with her sister Bonnie, performing in Bay Area clubs.
At about that time, she was raped in an East Oakland neighborhood,
became pregnant, and had an abortion, according to Fritz Pointer,
sparking what would become a lifelong struggle with drug addiction
for Ms. Pointer. With their first album, "The Pointer Sisters,"
released in 1973, the four sisters won fans with an upbeat style,
flashy costumes and eclectic sounds, drawing on soul, rock 'n' roll
and jazz roots.
In 1974, they won their first of three
Grammy awards, for the song "Fairytale," which was named
best country vocal performance by a group. "June started performing
at 16, and she brought a lot of energy to the group," Fritz
Pointer said. "She had an incredible sense of humor and an
ability to make people laugh. She loved life."
Proof of D12 murdered
Proof,
a member of the rap group D12 and a close friend of Eminem, was
killed in a shooting at a nightclub along Eight Mile Road early
Tuesday. He was shot after shooting
another patron, who later died also. The death of Proof - whose
real name is Deshaun Holton - was confirmed by Dennis Dennehy, the
publicist for D12's label, Interscope Records.Proof was the best
man at Eminem's wedding in January and often appeared alongside
the superstar rapper at concerts and public appearances. Proof also
appeared in the film "8 Mile."
uge
Knight Filing For Bankruptcy Protection
- Roman Wolfe
The
saga of Death Row Records continues as the label's founder Marion
"Suge" Knight is seeking bankruptcy protection for himself
and the pioneering record label. Knight's lawyer Laurence Strick
told the Associated Press that the mogul was filing bankruptcy protection
in an attempt to reorganize his financial affairs.
Death Row is also at the center of a legal
battle involving Knight, incarcerated drug dealer Michael "Harry-O"
Harris and his estranged wife Lydia Harris. Harry-O, who is serving
a 28-year sentence in San Quentin prison, claims he invested $1.5
million in the label through Knight's attorney David Kenner. In
March 2005, Knight was ordered to pay Mrs. Harris $107 million because
Knight failed to show up to numerous court proceedings to disclose
his assets. Knight recently missed another date this past Saturday
(April 1). "Mr. Knight doesn't have 107 million dollars,"
Strick said. "It remains to be seen what becomes of Death Row."
The label owns a catalog of multiplatinum
albums from Dr. Dre, Tha Dogg Pound, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur,
the best selling rapper of all time. A judge warned Knight that
if he missed Saturday's hearing to disclose his assets, the label
would be placed into receivership. According to Knight's attorney,
filing for bankruptcy protection temporarily prevents Knight from
losing ownership of the label. Harry-O filed for divorce from his
wife Lydia shortly after the judgment was issued and is seeking
half of the $107 million that was awarded his wife in March.
Black
Rob Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison - Nolan Strong
Rapper Black Rob was sentenced to seven
years in prison Thursday (March 30) after being convicted of grand
larceny for robbing a hotel room in 2004. The rapper pleaded guilty
to criminal possession of stolen property in November 2005, after
hotel security cameras caught him leaving a New York hotel with
a woman's pocketbook in November 2004. He was charged with stealing
over $6,000 in jewelry and $300 cash from the woman's room.
Black Rob, born Robert Ross, was charged
with burglary and criminal possession of stolen property and was
subsequently sentenced to serve two to six years in jail. He was
free on bail, but a fugitive warrant was issued for his arrest when
he failed to show up to serve his time as arranged. A fugitive warrant
was issued and the rapper was arrested in February 2006 in New Jersey.
Prosecutors gave Black Rob the maximum sentence because he failed
to turn himself in.
DRE
OF COOL & DRE RESPONDS TO MILIAN DEBACLE:
Dre of the production team Cool &
Dre has something to say about all those rumors surrounding his
relationship with Christina Milian, and reports that it damaged
her dealings with Def Jam so much that they dropped her from the
label. He addresses the drama in a verse on his remix to new song
"Chevy Ridin' High" with The Game, Fat Joe, DJ Khaled,
Pusha T from the Clipse, Rick Ross and Dirtbag.
"The New York Post wants to print
lies about Christina Milian getting dropped from a record company
and I had something to do with it," he told MTV.com. "I
had to address it. In a few days, there's gonna be a press release
that's gonna shock everyone. She's got some really good sh** going
on the music side and movie side." Dre continues: "This
guy from the Post knew Cool & Dre executive-produced the project
and produced most of the album. Then he found out that Christina
was dating me. He found his angle for the story. He printed some
sh** that said I had something to do with her getting dropped, which
is a complete lie."
RACE
AT THE ROOT OF STAR-ROSIE FEUD: During 2004 'View' visit,
O'Donnell said blacks backed O.J. because they have 'so few role
models.'
The bitterness between Star Jones Reynolds
and Rosie O'Donnell started way before their back-and-forth shenanigans
leading up to Star's recent dismissal from "The View."
According to New York Daily News contributor
Jawn Murray, their beef started cooking on May 12, 2004, when Rosie
appeared as a guest on "The View" and began making sweeping
generalizations about African Americans. As Murray notes in the
Daily News's Lowdown column, the segment started out fine, with
Rosie - who would later criticize Star for refusing to come clean
about her weight loss - telling the former co-host: "You look
fabulous! It's like 'Twinkle Twinkle Shrinking Star.'"
The first bump in the road came when
the conversation swung toward the felony conviction of Martha Stewart.
Rosie suggested that women everywhere should "stand up and
scream" about Stewart's treatment by the federal government.
Jones, a former prosecutor, vehemently objected.
Rosie: "Here's what I love. The black
community said you cannot have O.J. Simpson, you cannot have Jayson
"
Star: "No, excuse me!
And if the black people had a
vote, they did not tell me.
Rosie: "Honey! Honey, listen to what I'm saying.
The
black community said you can't have the basketball player Jayson
Williams, you can't have him.
Star: "There were two black people on the jury!"
Rosie: "Wait! Wait! Wait! I'm saying that as a culture, and
I agree with it, black people have so few role models that they
said, 'You know what? I don't care, you're not taking them!'"
Star: "What???!
When did the black vote have a meeting
and vote?
Rosie: "I didn't say you had a meeting, Star!"
The next day, Star was still upset over
Rosie's comments and said so on the air.
"Although the mainstream media may
not collectively report on black role models, trust and believe
there are plenty out there, and you don't need to rally behind O.J.
Simpson," Star said. "I mean, that was inappropriate."
According to Lowdown, Rosie was reportedly not happy with Star's
morning-after remarks, but Barbara Walters tried and failed to get
Star to apologize. Meanwhile, the search for Star's replacement
will officially start when the 10th season begins on Sept. 5. In
the meantime, a revolving door of guest hosts - including Shannen
Doherty (July 31 and Aug. 1), Kelly Monaco and "American Idol"
runner-up Katharine McPhee - will continue to fill the slot until
the season wraps on Aug. 4. ABC execs tell Variety that the rest
of the summer will focus solely on promoting O'Donnell's arrival
in the fall; trying out a bunch of folks to replace Star, execs
say, would rain on Rosie's parade. "It's about getting Rosie
in place and making her comfortable," an insider says.
Rapper
Gillie Da Kid Shot Three Times In Philadelphia - Nolan Strong
Philadelphia rapper Gillie Da Kid of Major
Figgas was shot in Philadelphia last week and is currently recouperating
from his wounds. Gillie was shot last Wednesday (June 14) as he
was attempting to enter his vehicle in a section of North Philadelphia.
The rapper was struck three times, twice in the arm and once in
the leg. The rapper was rushed to a local hospital where he was
treated for his wounds and released.
According to Philadelphia police, Gillie
Da Kid has been uncooperative with their investigations, and they
have no clue as to who was responsible for the attack. Gillie Da
Kid is a member of the Philadelphia based rap group Major Figgas,
who hit big with their single, "Yeah That's Us" which
rose to #3 on Billboard's Rap/Hip-Hop charts in 2000.
Koch
adding three new labels - David Greenwald,
L.A.
Port Washington, N.Y.-based Koch Entertainment
Distribution has announced exclusive, North American agreements
with three independent record labels. Koch will handle releases
from HBD Label Group, Worldwide Music, Inc. and Taxi Records.
The reggae-focused Taxi Records is owned
by Grammy-winners Sly & Robbie. The 30 year-old company has
previously issued albums through Island /Universal, and upcoming
Koch-distributed releases include Sly & Robbie's "Rhythm
Doubles" featuring Wyclef Jean, Bounty Killer and Beres Hammond,
as well as the tribute album "Greetings to Led Zeppelin + Queen."
The HBD Label Group, which boasts
its own overseas distribution network, encompasses urban and electronic
labels. Koch is the company's first distributor. Worldwide Music,
Inc. is a gospel label founded alongside Gospel Truth Magazine by
Kerry Douglas. The company's releases were previously handled by
Navarre.
 
Nelly
and the St. Lunatics Open New Restaurant in August
By Chris Richburg
St. Louis rapper Nelly and his St. Lunatics
crew will open a new bar and grill in August in Hazelwood. The new
restaurant, called Mack's Bar and Grill, was originally slated for
an April opening but was pushed back because the rappers were waiting
for Mack's manager, Tony Powell, to finish his work as a chef and
manager at Azio, an Italian restaurant in Atlanta. As a result of
the delay, the Hazelwood City Council is expected to extend a special
land-use permit for Mack's next month, according to city officials.
The restaurant, which takes its name from the first letters of the
owners' names - Murphy Lee, Ali, Slodown, Kyjuan and Cornell, Nelly's
first name, is now scheduled to open August 10 at 6827 Howdershell
Road. Powell is confident Macks's will become a staple in Hazelwood's
food community.
MySpace
Restricting Adults' Access To Teen Users
MySpace.com's tagline is "A place
for friends." But in the shadow of a string of recent high-profile
incidents involving teens and older users, the popular social networking
site is planning to roll out a series of new rules that will restrict
how some of those friends can interact. Specifically, it will limit
the amount of contact adults can have with younger users. According
to The Associated Press, the new rules, announced on June 21st,
will bar MySpace users who are 18 or over from requesting to be
on a 14- or 15-year-old's friends' list unless they already know
either the youth's e-mail address or full name.
Any user will still be able to get a partial
profile of younger users by searching for other attributes, such
as display name. That is different from the current options, which
allow adults to be added to a youth's list to view the full profile.
Under the new rules, that option will disappear for adults registered
as 18 and over, according to the AP. (Partial profiles only show
gender, age and city, while full profiles have information on schools,
hobbies and any personal details the user posts.)
The move to beef up security comes just
two days after a 14-year-old girl filed a $30 million lawsuit in
Texas against MySpace and News Corp. claiming she was sexually assaulted
by a 19-year-old man she met on MySpace. The suit alleges that the
site has "absolutely no meaningful protections or security
measures to protect underage users." And earlier this month,
a 16-year-old girl tricked her parents into getting her a passport
so she could fly to the Mideast and marry a 20-year-old man she
met through MySpace. U.S. officials in Jordan persuaded the teen
to turn around and go home before the arranged marriage took place.
MySpace hired former federal prosecutor Hemanshu Nigam to be the
site's first chief security officer earlier this year and rolled
out a series of public service announcements about online safety.
MySpace officials told the AP that the new restrictions have been
long planned and are unrelated to recent events.
 Russell
and Kimora Lee file for divorce
I'm so (ho, hum) surprised. Hip-hop impresario
Russell Simmons announced that his 7 year marriage to model-turned-golddigger-turned-entrepreneur
wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, is over. The news -- came amid tabloid
reports hinting at trouble in paradise. "We have been together
for 14 years. Kimora and I will remain committed parents and caring
friends with great love and admiration for each other," said
Simmons, 48.
The announcement also confirmed that while
Simmons and Lee Simmons were separated for some time, they have
continued living under the same roof. They are the parents of two
young daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee, who are prominently featured
in advertisements for Lee's Baby Phat merchandise, and on the recently
aired VH1 reality show '(Inside) Out.'
In the current edition of 'Vibe Vixen,'
Lee Simmons --who is featured on the cover-- brushed off rumors
of an impending breakup and denied that her marriage was one of
convenience. "One thing my marriage is not, is convenient.
I am inconvenienced," she told the magazine's former senior
editor Margeaux Watson. "Russell and I have been together 14
years. That's a long time - almost half my life. The things that
we go through are very regular things that regular people in Middle
America go through. But because of my lifestyle or the logistics
of it all, it's probably magnified those things. But they are the
same problems and the same situations." Over the years, Simmons
--who helms the multi-faceted Rush Communications-- has been one
of his wife's staunchest supporters and defender to tabloid media
who have reported about her over-the-top, extravagant lifestyle.
Whitney
Houston broke, addicted to crack?
A
revealing article set to appear in next week's issue of The National
Enquirer claims that pop diva Whitney Houston spends much of her
time abusing drugs in her bedroom and pleasuring herself with sex
toys. Although the Enquirer is known for it's outlandish sensationalism,
rumours and fictitious reports, the story apparently comes from
Houston's sister-in-law Tina Brown who also supplied photos to the
Enquirer of Houston's bathroom. The photos supposedly show scattered
empty beer bottles, pipes, rolling papers and powder-covered spoons
and lighters.
Brown, who is the sister of Houston's
hubby Bobby Brown, reports that Houston regularly locks herself
in her bedroom, doesn't wash, and beats herself, believing that
she's being attacked by the devil. Brown also states that the singer
uses crack daily and that the two were drug buddies in the past.
Houston's drug problems are apparently not only taking a physical
toll but a financial one as well. Fox news is reporting that Houston
is broke from years of drug abuse and lavish spending.
Apparently it isn't Bobby that is dragging
Whitney down. The king of R&B has his fair share of problems,
but it's 80's pop star Cherelle that seems to Whitney's crack compadre
in crime. Remember Cherelle she sang hits like "I Didn't Mean
to Turn You On". Everyone should remember one of her famous
choruses with Alexander O'Neil.... "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday love".... Whitney's life
is such a dismal mess that, according to sources, her daughter,
Bobbi Kristina, is living with Whitney's brother Gary and sister-in-law,
Pat, close to Houston's home in Atlanta. Regardless if the Enquirer
story is true or not, expect lawsuits to be filed on behalf of Houston
against the tabloid publication within the coming weeks.
Brother
of R. Kelly claims singer is a wife-beater, molester and bisexual.
R. Kelly's brother Kerry is putting out
a new tell-all DVD that promises to shock the world with revelations
about the R&B crooner. According to the DVD, features Kerry
announcing that R. Kelly is indeed the man having sex with an underage
girl in the infamous videotape. Kerry also claims that his brother
bragged about the tape and showed it to his friends - even going
so far as to hold an screening on his tour bus.
Kerry further claims that Kelly offered
him $50,000 in cash and a record deal if he would tell police that
it was Kerry on the tape, and not Kelly. Kerry also says that Kelly
has had sex with a number of underage women, and confirmed that
he had a sexual relationship with the late Aaliyah. Kerry also claims
on the DVD that Kelly has molested his own niece. Additionally,
Kerry says that Kelly regularly beats his wife and the couple has
a wild sex life that includes frequent ménage-a-trois encounters.
In closing, Kerry claims that R. Kelly is bisexual and has had numerous
gay relationships that have been alluded to in his recent "Trapped
in the Closet" saga.
Judge
Rules In Favor Of Black Enterprise, The Source Gets New Owners -
Christine S. Kim
A final decision has been made by the
Supreme Court of the State of New York in favor of the takeover
of The Source magazine by Black Enterprise/Greenwich
Street Corporate Growth Partners. As of March 23, Textron Financial,
the company's senior leader, is free to sell the portion of the
company that Dave Mays owns. In his ruling, Judge Richard B. Lowe
III stated that "the contracts and agreements are clear, unequivocal
and unambiguous and should be enforced." According to the ruling,
Mays willingly signed contracts giving BE/Greenwich Street Partners
the right to take control if he defaulted on debt obligations. By
not fulfilling these obligations Mays lost control of the company
and along with full ownership.
"Mays and Raymond 'Benzino' Scott
have consistently made false statements over the last two months
about their continuing control of The Source," said Jeremy
Miller, President and CEO of The Source magazine. "These rumors
and lies have been and continue to be false. We are looking forward
to finally being able to move forward without distractions."
In the April issue that will hit newsstands next week, The Source
will exclusively explain exactly why Mays and Benzino were ousted.
Mays has the right take the ruling to trial, but his remaining shares
would still be auctioned off.
Lumumba
Carson, 49; aka 'Professor X' of X-Clan dies - Jocelyn
Y. Stewart
Lumumba Carson, the hip-hop artist known
to fans as Professor X who used music to impart a vision of black
nationalism and instill pride in the culture through his work with
the group X-Clan, died March 17. He was 49. Professor X died at
a hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., of spinal meningitis, a spokeswoman
for the group said.
The son of New York activist Sonny Carson,
Professor X took elements of his father's message - a call for African
Americans to stand up for themselves in the face of injustice -
and used it as the philosophical underpinnings of X-Clan's music.
Professor X came of age musically in the days before hip-hop had
become associated - at least in the minds of some - with violence
and gangster life. The late 1980s and the 1990s produced hip-hop
artists who infused the music with a serious dose of hard-edged
political content and social commentary.
"Professor X had a foot in the black
power movement and hip-hop, so when their album came out it was
a very, very important record," said Jeff Chang, author of
"Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation."
X-Clan recorded only two albums: "To the East, Blackwards"
in 1990, followed by "Xodus" in 1992.
Terrence
Howard disappointed with Three 6 Mafia's performance - Jawn
Murray
Oscar
nominee Terrence Howard was honored last week at the National Association
of Black Owned Broadcasters' 22nd Annual Communications Awards Dinner
at the Marriott Wardman Park in D.C., where he was presented an
Entertainer of the Year Award. Backstage he said that the look of
shock on his face when rap collective Three 6 Mafia won the Academy
Award for Best Original Song was definitely authentic. I was extremely
surprised! I thought 'In the Deep' would win from 'Crash.'"
Howard confessed, however, that he wasn't happy about Three 6 Mafia's
overall performance during the Oscar broadcast. "Just seeing
the way they performed, it kind of broke my heart though. Not the
way Three 6 Mafia did it, but everything I tried to escape in my
portrayal of that role, it seems that they went right to the stereotype
that I wanted to assassinate. The people who had choreographed it
apparently hadn't seen the film," he said.
Why didn't Howard perform the song himself
on the award show, since he is who actually performs the track in
the film? "Because the people who choreographed it hadn't seen
the film," he answered. The 'Hustle & Flow' star also cleared
up the report that he had decided once again to attempt to win his
wife Lori back following this year's Oscars. "No, no, no. I'm
divorced and me and her are friends," said Howard, who wouldn't
elaborate on whether he was still seeing Marc Anthony's ex, Dayanna
Torres.
Steve
Harvey comments on his recent divorce
Steve Harvey was making light of his recent
divorce from wife Mary Lee while hosting NABOB's recent Communications
Awards Dinner. The 'King of Comedy,' and host of the nationally
syndicated 'Steve Harvey Morning Show' on radio, said he was extremely
impressed with his ex-wife's divorce attorney. "I was sitting
in court looking at him like, 'Jesus, where did she get him from?'
His portrayal of me was outstanding," Harvey said. "He
got up and said, 'He's never home! He's not there! She feels abandoned!
The children don't know him!' How did he know all of this? Was he
there? I just started giving away stuff in the courtroom
Isaac
Hayes quits "South Park"
Veteran
soul singer Isaac Hayes, voice of the libidinous character "Chef"
on the satiric cable TV cartoon "South Park," said on
Monday he was quitting the show, citing its "inappropriate
ridicule" of religion. "There is a place in this world
for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance
and bigotry toward religious beliefs ... begins," Hayes said
in a statement.
Hayes, 63, a devoted follower of the Church
of Scientology, did not mention a "South Park" episode
that aired last fall poking fun at Scientology and some of its celebrity
adherents, including actor Tom Cruise.Rather, Hayes said the show's
parody of religion is part of what he saw as a "growing insensitivity
toward personal spiritual beliefs" in the media generally,
including the recent controversy over cartoons depicting the Prophet
Mohammad.
The singer, who became the first black
composer to win an Oscar for best song with his theme to the film
"Shaft," said he formally asked to be released from his
contract with "South Park," on the Comedy Central cable
channel. A spokesman for the Viacom Inc.-owned network said producers
of the show and its creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, had agreed
not to "enforce" Hayes' contract. "Obviously, Matt
and Trey are disappointed that he's not going to be part of the
show, but they're not going to make him do something he doesn't
want to do," the spokesman, Tony Fox, told Reuters. However,
he said Stone and Parker "feel that it's a bit disingenuous
(for Hayes) to cite religious intolerance as a reason for him pulling
out of the show" because the series has lampooned religion
since its start, taking shots at Catholics, Jews, Muslims and Mormons,
among others.
Temple
basketball coach, John Chaney, Retires
PHILADELPHIA -- Temple
Universitys Hall of Fame Basketball Coach, John Chaney, announced
his retirement today after 24 years at the helm of one of the most
successful college basketball programs in the nation.
I
have said all along that I would know when it would be time to step
down, and now is that time, said Chaney. I want to thank
Temple University, its fans and community for allowing me to do
what I love for so long. It has never been a job for me, but a passion.
When I look back, it will not be the wins and losses but
the people who influenced me and touched me greatly, and especially
the mens and womens coaches and players who have made
this University and my time here so special.
Said Temple President David Adamany: Coach
John Chaneys basketball achievements are legendary. In two-dozen
years at Temple, Coach Chaney did not always have the strongest
recruiting classes, but he always got the most out of his players,
on and off the court. Johns most exemplary accomplishment
might be in the lives he transformed by providing opportunity to,
and demanding excellence from, the student-athletes he recruited
to Temple. His very presence restored Temples basketball program
to one of national importance.On behalf of his players, the
entire University community and college basketball fans everywhere,
I thank and congratulate Coach Chaney for his remarkable perseverance
and success, Adamany added.A search for a successor will begin
immediately, said Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw.
Gordon Parks:
Pioneering Director, Photographer, Gentleman, Gone at 93
The
youngest of fifteen children raised in segregation and poverty,
Parks' life was one of firsts. He was the first African American
photographer to work at Life and Vogue magazines, the first African
American to work for the Office of War Information and the Farm
Security Administration, the first African American to write, direct,
and produce a film, 'The Learning Tree,' for a major Hollywood studio.
The film was among the first 25 American movies to be placed in
the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
"He's the godfather of Black cinema,
he made Spike Lee possible, but he's also the godfather of modern
Black photography," says culture critic Greg Tate. "He
married artistic expression and commercial success in the same way
Miles did, and you need that to make a way for future generations."
Though he excelled in every medium, it is in photography. that Parks'
work is widely recognized as genius. Seemingly incongruously he
began his career shooting fashion for Vogue while freelancing at
Life magazine as a photojournalist whose ease and grace among the
poor earned him access from crowded tenements in Harlem to the favellas
of Brazil. His series of photographs of poor Americans published
in Life magazine during the Great Depression, helped shape this
country's social welfare programs. In 1961, with the publication
in Life of his series of striking photographs of a terminally ill
12 year old boy in Brazil, Parks' pictures inspired thousands of
the magazine's readers to send in donations for Flavio da Silva,
making it possible for him to travel to the U.S. for surgery, and
literally saving his life.
Parks' photographs of Harlem's Street
Gangs from the World War II era render the gangsters elegant, and
his photographs of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X are iconographic.
Parks was for a long time the lone black photographer at Life; where
over 300 of his photographs were published in the three decades
he worked for the magazine. His 1971 book of photos, 'Born Black,'
documents the resistance movement from Martin Luther King Jr. to
Stokley Carmichael, but it also includes essays that are some of
the most insightful on the transition from Civil Rights to Black
Power. His access, be it to street gangs or to jazz greats was predicated
on his long-standing dedication to community. While producing 'Half
Past Autumn,' an HBO documentary about Gordon Parks, filmmaker St.
Clair Bourne was moved by the upright way Parks' moved through life.
In 1978 Parks buried his oldest son and namesake, a filmmaker in
his own right ('Superfly' and 'Three The Hard Way'), who died in
a plane crash. Married and divorced three times, Parks is survived
by three children, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Rapper
Cool C Granted Temporary Stay Of Execution - Nolan Strong
Condemned rapper Christopher "Cool
C" Roney was granted a stay of execution by a Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania judge on Feb. 1. he rapper was scheduled to die on
Mar. 9 for the 1996 murder of police officer Lauretha Vaird.
When Vaird, 43, responded to a silent
alarm at a PNC Bank branch in Philadelphia, she was shot in the
chest as she entered the bank, according to reports. She was not
wearing a bulletproof vest that day. ool C, 36, along with rapper
Warren "Steady B." McGlone and Mark Canty were convicted
of first-degree murder for their role in killing Vaird, a nine-year
veteran who was Philadelphia's first female officer ever killed
in the line of duty.
In Oct. 1996, McGlone and Mark Canty were
sentenced to life in prison, while Cool C was sentenced to die by
lethal injection. ast month, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell signed
the rapper's execution warrant. But Judge Gary Glazer has issued
an order to put Cool C's execution on hold until his post-conviction
litigation is resolved. n early pioneer in Hip-Hop, Cool C was a
member of the Philadelphia-based rap collective The Hilltop Hustlers
in the late 1980s. He hit it big with "Juice Crew Dis"
and the 1989 hit single, "Glamorous Life."
Payola
Probe Shifts To Radio - Chuck Taylor, N.Y.
ABC News will air an in-depth "Primetime"
report Thursday evening (Feb. 9) on New York State attorney general
Eliot Spitzer's investigation into the alleged participation in
payola by nine of the nation's radio groups. The segment will be
anchored by ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross, who's hard-hitting
reports on the music business date back to 1986, when he uncovered
alleged organized crime ties to record promotion.
According to a teaser report on abc.com,
Spitzer says evidence clearly shows some of the radio conglomerates
have accepted payments from record companies and middlemen for guaranteed
airplay. "The behavior has been unethical, improper, illegal
and a sanction of some severity clearly should be imposed,"
Spitzer told Ross. The nine radio companies receiving subpoenas
from the attorney general are Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Entercom,
Emmis, Citadel, Cumulus, Cox, Pamal and ABC. Spitzer
says that much of the money went directly to corporate bottom lines,
instead of PDs or disc jockeys, and that documents obtained from
Sony BMG and Warner Music Group outline details of millions of dollars
in payments, gifts and trips in exchange for airplay.
WMG became the second major label to settle
with Spitzer's office in November, agreeing to stop providing radio
stations and their employees with financial incentives and promotional
items in exchange for airplay of its recordings. The company also
agreed to provide $5 million for distribution to New York State
not-for-profits that fund programs aimed at music education and
appreciation. Sony BMG earlier had entered into a similar $10 million
settlement In statements to ABC News, five of the radio companies
say they are cooperating with the attorney general's investigation
and take the matter seriously. The other companies have not responded
to requests for comment.
XM
Signs Oprah To 55 Million dollar Deal
Oprah Winfrey has signed a three-year,
$55 million deal with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. to launch
a new radio channel. The new
channel, "Oprah & Friends," will air programming on
fitness, health and self-improvement topics with personalities that
appear on Winfrey's TV program, "The Oprah Winfrey Show,"
as well as in O, The Oprah Magazine. It will also feature a weekly
radio show with Winfrey and Gayle King. The
$55 million deal is a far cry from the $600 million, five-year deal
that rival satellite radio broadcaster Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.
has with morning shock jock Howard Stern. XM also has signed other
big programming contracts, including an 11-year, $650 million deal
for Major League Baseball.
Winfrey's new channel on XM will feature
personalities that appear on her show and in her magazine including
Bob Greene, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Nate Berkus. XM and Sirius are locked
in a fierce competition to sign up programming and new subscribers
as they both strive to reach profitability. Each service costs about
$13 a month and offers dozens of channels of commercial-free music
as well as other channels of talk and news.
Slip-N-Slide
Inks Multi-Million Dollar Deal With Def Jam
- Mike Winslow and Kye Stephenson
Miami-based record label Slip-N-Slide
Records has inked a multi-million dollar deal with Def Jam, headed
by rapper/mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. While
Trina, Trick Daddy and Ft. Meyers rapper Plies will remain signed
as Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic artists, newcomers Rick Ross, of Miami,
and Citty, of Atlanta, will record under the new Slip-N-Slide/Def
Jam imprint, where a new roster of talent will be developed. "We
met with every major label head across the country, but the level
of respect that Def Jam showed for Slip-N-Slide was priceless,"
said Slip-N-Slide President Ted "Touche" Lucas. "Jay-Z
saw Slip-N-Slide's vision and was willing to do everything in his
power to make that vision a reality."
Rhymes'
Bodyguard Killed Outside Video Shoot
NEW
YORK - A star-studded music video shoot was interrupted by gunfire
that killed a bodyguard for rapper Busta Rhymes, police said. Missy
Elliot, Busta Rhymes and G-Unit members including Lloyd Banks were
scheduled to be filming on a ninth-floor soundstage when violence
erupted outside the Brooklyn building early Sunday, said police
Sgt. Kevin Farrell. Israel Ramirez, 29, was killed with a single
shot to the chest, Farrell said.
Some 500 people were gathered for the
video, and it was unclear how many had been outside when shots were
fired. Investigators took possession of a nearby parked car that
was hit by the gunfire. They were still trying to determine early
Monday what led to the violence, Farrell said.
"Grandpa"
Al Lewis 1923-2006: Actor, Dead at 82
Actor and activist Al Lewis died at the
age of 82. In the acting world, he was best known for playing Grandpa
on the Munsters. He was also a lifelong activist. At the age of
82 he ran for New York Governor on the Green Party ticket and was
a longtime radio host on Pacifica station WBAI. [includes rush transcript
- partial] Today we remember actor, radio host, and political activist
"Grandpa" Al Lewis. He died Friday after years of failing
health. There are conflicting reports over his age at the time of
his death. He was thought to be 95 years old, but according to the
Associated Press, his family now says he was in fact 82. Lewis was
best known for his roles on two 1960s comedy series - as "Grandpa"
on the "The Munsters" and Officer Leo Schauzer on "Car
54, Where Are You." He was also a life-long political activist,
and an outspoken critic of US policy at home and abroad. In 1998,
he ran for Governor of New York, as the Green Party candidate against
Governor George Pataki. He also took turns as a basketball scout;
a restaurant owner in Greenwich Village; and a radio host on WBAI
in New York.
Coretta Scott
King Dies at 78 - ERRIN
HAINES
ATLANTA
- Coretta Scott King, who worked to keep her husband's dream alive
with a chin-held-high grace and serenity that made her a powerful
symbol of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s creed of brotherhood
and nonviolence, died Tuesday. She was 78.
The "first lady of the civil rights
movement" died in her sleep during the night at an alternative
medicine clinic in Mexico, her family said. Arrangements were being
made to fly the body to Atlanta. She had been recovering from a
serious stroke and heart attack suffered last August. Just two weeks
ago, she made her first public appearance in a year on the eve of
her late husband's birthday. Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young,
one of Martin Luther King's top aides, said Coretta Scott King's
fortitude rivaled that of her husband. "She was strong if not
stronger than he was," Young said. Coretta Scott King was a
supportive lieutenant to her husband during the most dangerous and
tumultuous days of the civil rights movement, and after his assassination
in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968, she carried on his work while
also raising their four children. "I'm more determined than
ever that my husband's dream will become a reality," the young
widow said soon after his slaying.
She pushed and goaded politicians for
more than a decade to have her husband's birthday observed as a
national holiday, achieving success in 1986. In 1969 she founded
the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in
Atlanta and used it to confront hunger, unemployment, voting rights
and racism. "The center enables us to go out and struggle against
the evils in our society," she often said. She also accused
movie and TV companies, video arcades, gun manufacturers and toy
makers of promoting violence.
King became a symbol in her own right
of her husband's struggle for peace and brotherhood, presiding with
a quiet, stoic dignity over seminars and conferences. The Rev. Jesse
Jackson, who was with her husband when he was assassinated, said
Tuesday that she understood that every time her husband left home,
there was the chance he might not come back. Jackson pronounced
her a "freedom fighter." "Like
all great champions she learned to function with pain and keep serving,"
he said, adding: "She kept marching. She did not flinch."
In Washington, President Bush hailed her as "a remarkable and
courageous woman and a great civil rights leader." After her
stroke, King missed the annual King celebration in Atlanta two weeks
ago but appeared with her children at an awards dinner a few days
earlier, smiling from her wheelchair but not speaking. The crowd
gave her a standing ovation. King died at Santa Monica Health Institute
in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, south of San Diego, said her sister,
Edythe Scott Bagley of Cheyney, Pa. She had gone to California to
rest and be with family, according to Young.
Coretta Scott was studying voice at the
New England Conservatory of Music and planning on a singing career
when a friend introduced her to King, a young Baptist minister studying
at Boston University. "She
said she wanted me to meet a very promising young minister from
Atlanta," King once said, adding with a laugh: "I wasn't
interested in meeting a young minister at that time." She recalled
that on their first date he told her: "You know, you have everything
I ever wanted in a woman. We ought to get married someday."
Eighteen months later, in 1953, they did. The
couple moved to Montgomery, Ala., where he became pastor of the
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and helped lead the 1955 Montgomery
bus boycott that Rosa Parks set in motion when she refused to give
up her seat on a segregated bus. With that campaign, King began
enactig his philosophy of nonviolent, direct social action.
Over the years, King was with her husband
in his finest hours. She was at his side as he received the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1964. She marched beside him from Selma, Ala., into
Montgomery in 1965 on the triumphant drive for a voting rights law.
Only days after his death, she flew to Memphis with three of her
children to lead thousands marching in honor of her slain husband
and to plead for his cause. "I think you rise to the occasion
in a crisis," she once said. "I think the Lord gives you
strength when you need it. God was using us _ and now he's using
me, too."
The King family, especially Coretta Scott
King and her father-in-law, Martin Luther King Sr., were highly
visible in 1976 when former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter ran for president.
When an integration dispute at Carter's Plains church created a
furor, Coretta Scott King campaigned at Carter's side the next day.
She later was named by Carter to serve as part of the U.S. delegation
to the United Nations, where Young was the ambassador. In 1997,
she spoke out in favor of a push to grant a trial for James Earl
Ray, who pleaded guilty to killing her husband and then recanted.
"Even if no new light is shed on the facts concerning my husband's
assassination, at least we and the nation can have the satisfaction
of knowing that justice has run its course in this tragedy,"
she told a judge. The trial never took place; Ray died in 1998.
King was born April 27, 1927, in Perry
County, Ala. Her father ran a country store. To help her family
during the Depression, young Coretta picked cotton. Later, she worked
as a waitress to earn her way through Antioch College in Yellow
Springs, Ohio. In 1994, she
stepped down as head of the King Center, passing the job to son
Dexter, who in turn passed the job on to her other son, Martin III,
in 2004. Dexter continued to serve as the center's chief operating
officer. Martin III also has served on the Fulton County (Ga.) commission
and as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,
co-founded by his father in 1957. Daughter Yolanda became an actress
and the youngest child, Bernice, became a Baptist minister.
In 1993, on the 25th anniversary of her
husband's death, King said the war in Vietnam that her husband opposed
"has been replaced by an undeclared war on our central cities,
a war being fought by gangs with guns for drugs." "The
value of life in our cities has become as cheap as the price of
a gun," she said. In London, she stood in 1969 in the same
carved pulpit in St. Paul's Cathedral where her husband preached
five years earlier. "Many
despair at all the evil and unrest and disorder in the world today,"
she preached, "but I see a new social order and I see the dawn
of a new day."
Game's
Manager Jimmy Henchmen Convicted Of Assault
- Nolan Strong
James
"Jimmy Henchmen" Rosemond was recently found guilty of
beating a Washington D.C. disc jockey during an appearance with
The Game, who Henchmen manages. A
jury found Henchmen guilty of assaulting on-air personality Xzulu
"The Big Lipped Bandit" at 93.9 WKYS-FM in Lanham, Maryland.
The Game and an entourage of
20-plus people appeared on Xzulu's radio show on Jan. 21, 2005,
weeks before the rapper's G-Unit/Aftermath debut, The Documentary,
topped Billboard's Top 200 album chart. During
an interview, Xzulu allegedly made an off-color remark about Henchmen's
cell-phone headset. Police said
a group of men, including The Game, confronted the DJ shortly afterwards
and kicked and beat him, sending him to an area hospital with serious
internal injuries. On Feb. 14,
2005, The Game was formally charged with assault and battery.
Prince George's County Police started
an investigation immediately after the incident was reported and
issued an arrest warrant for Henchmen on misdemeanor assault charges.
"The story that's leaking out there is pretty much true,"
Xzulu told AllHipHop.com shortly after the incident. "I was
hospitalized with multiple injuries. The person that did it was
very recognizable, along with his people. It definitely happened,
and it happened over some nonsense. Nonsense. I'm 35, not 25, and
we're all brothers in this game. But we learn some things as we
go along. I think it's a shame that we are acting so primitive,
on both sides. Here you have a brother that is so talented. I think
he has one of the dopest albums to come out in a long time, and
I think people make bad decisions. I think that night he made a
bad decision." Radio One, which owns WKYS, reportedly stopped
playing Game's singles on their various stations nationwide, in
protest of the assault. Charges against The Game were dropped.
Janet
Jackson blows up - MICHELLE CARUSO
LOS ANGELES - It's
not the first time the 39-year-old songbird has blown up like a
balloon only to slim down with a drastic diet and exercise regimen,
a family source says. "She has battled this problem since she
was a kid. She'll go months eating whatever she can get her hands
on, and then she'll go months eating just salads and fruits and
drinking Evian water," said a family source. The singer has
so far has dropped 15 to 20 pounds from her peak weight of about
160, the source said.
Then, with Michael Jackson facing serious
financial woes, he has stopped supplying money to his family, leaving
Janet as the go-to girl for less wealthy members of the once-thriving
musical clan. She recently told [one of her brothers] she would
only pay his apartment rent for one more year. Janet said she's
tired of supporting people and in the future she would only support
her mother," said the source.
Queen
Latifah Gets Hollywood Star
LOS ANGELES - Queen Latifah has become
the first hip-hop artist crowned with a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame.
"I think the reason I am here is
to inspire African-American women who are rappers, full-figured
women to know that they can do it, too," Latifah, 35, said
Wednesday at the unveiling of the sidewalk's 2,298th star. Family
and friends, including actor Terrence Howard, cheered for Latifah,
also an actress, singer, spokeswoman and producer. "Who would
have known that in the '70s, when a pink 8-pound baby girl was born,
this is where she would be today. She came out screaming, 'Look
out world, here I come,'" her mother, Rita Owens, said.
Born Dana Owens, Queen Latifah made her
debut in 1989 with the seminal hip-hop album "All Hail the
Queen." Her third album, "Black Reign," earned her
a Grammy award in 1994. Her leap to television in 1993 with the
sitcom "Living Single" widened her appeal. She went on
to star in such films as "Set It Off," "Bringing
Down the House" and 2005's "Beauty Shop," which she
also produced. But it was the
New Jersey native's stint as soulful prison matron Mama Morton in
2002's "Chicago" that earned her a supporting actress
Oscar nomination and brought her singing acclaim. Her latest release,
"The Dana Owens Album," a jazzy collection of blues, pop
and soul classics, earned her a Grammy nomination last year. She
is also a spokeswoman for CoverGirl and its record label, CG Vibes,
among other companies. She is
co-chairwoman of the Lancelot H. Owens Scholarship Foundation, named
for her older brother who was killed while riding a motorcycle she
had bought for him. She will play a woman with a terminal illness
in the upcoming film "Last Holiday."
Ron
Isley Convicted Of Tax Evasion
R&B singer Ronald Isley was convicted
of multiple counts of tax evasion Monday and could face up to 26
years in prison when he is sentenced. A
federal jury convicted Isley, 64, of five counts of tax evasion
and one count of willful failure to file a tax return, Assistant
U.S. Attorney Thomas D. Coker said in a statement. Isley's sentencing
was set for January. Prosecutors
said Isley evaded the IRS by demanding case payments for millions
of dollars in performance fees he earned between 1997 and 2002.He
also put homes and a yacht in the names of his then-wife or corporations,
and cashed royalty checks belonging to his late brother, O'Kelly
Isley, according to the government.
Janet
Jackson: 'I do not have a child...
R&B newsIn response to days of gossip
following an R&B singer's interview claims, Janet Jackson has
publicly denied rumors that she is the mother of an 18 year old.
"I do not have a child and all allegations saying so are false,"
the 39-year-old entertainment icon said in a statement released
to "Access Hollywood." The terse statement, released Wednesday,
was in response to former brother-in-law Young Debarge who claims
the brief marriage of Jackson and his brother James DeBarge produced
a daughter named Renee currently living with Rebbie Jackson, Janet's
eldest sister. "James and the Jackson family kept everything
real close, real tight," Young said in an on-air interview
with New York radio station Hot 97 (WQHT).
Young, 28, is currently promoting his
debut album. Jackson and James DeBarge, from the family R&B
group DeBarge, were married for three months in 1984, when Jackson
herself was 18.
Ms.
Dynamite Charged With Assaulting Police Officer
- Mike Winslow
UK rapper Ms. Dynamite was charged with
assaulting a female police officer outside a London nightclub on
Jan. 6. The 25-year-old rapper was celebrating her birthday with
her brother and another female acquaintance. Police allegedly witnessed
her kicking the front door of the Paragon Lounge nightclub in West
London. When police questioned her, they claim she became abusive.
She was arrested in the resulting fracas, but while in custody,
police claim Ms. Dynamite punched a female officer in the face,
bruising the officers nose. Police charged the award winning
rapper with assaulting a female police officer and with disorderly
conduct. Her brother, 22-year-old Kingsley Daley, was charged with
obstruction and another woman with the siblings was charged with
public disorder.
Nervous
Records President Talks Comeback, Duck Down Reunion -
Chris Richburg
A fixture in the New York rap scene during
the 90s, Nervous emerged as a force in the underground rap
scene with releases such as Black Moons Enta Da Stage, Smif-N-Wessuns
Dah Shinin and Mad Lions Real Ting. Despite its success, the
label endured its share of trials and tribulations with the departure
of rapper Buck Shot and Duck Down Records. Weiss is quick to set
the record straight on the fall-out.
"Buck Shot never had any equity in
Nervous
our breakup was simply a case of too much happening
too soon," the New York-based attorney said. "Both parties
would have probably been better off had we stayed together, but
it wasnt meant to be. "Despite all of the animosity and
hostility that existed between Nervous and Duck Down during our
break up, currently both entities have a solid working relationship,"
Overall, Weiss is confident Nervous will regain its place in hip-hop
circles."We will continue to allow people to hear music as
the artist wants it to be heard, the A-Alikes and their strong messages
deserve that voice," Weiss said.
Lou
Rawls dead at 72
Soul singer known for stunning voice,
charitable endeavors
Lou Rawls, whose mellifluous baritone
was featured on hits ranging from his own "You'll Never Find
Another Love Like Mine" to Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home
to Me," has died. He was 72. Rawls
died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.
He was hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and brain cancer,
said his publicist, Paul Shefrin. His wife, Nina, was at his bedside
when he died. The singer was
as well known for his charitable activities as he was for his smooth
four-octave range. He founded the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars Telethon,
which raised millions of dollars for the United Negro College Fund.
"What I really loved about Lou was
how his voice was so unique," Kenny Gamble, who with his partner
Leon Huff wrote "You'll Never Find," told The Associated
Press. "The other thing
was that he had a sense of community. Thousands and thousands of
young kids benefited from his celebrity." "Lou Rawls was
one of the music world's most versatile vocalists," said Recording
Academy President Neil Portnow in a statement from the organization,
which awards the annual Grammys. "His deep, smooth, soulful
style exemplified his classy elegance and made him one of the most
recognizable voices anywhere. And his philanthropic efforts on behalf
of many charitable causes further displayed his passion and commitment
to helping others through music. We have lost a true musical pioneer,
but his legacy will continue to inspire us all."He
is survived by his wife Nina, as well as his three adult children,
Louanna Rawls, Lou Rawls Jr. and Kendra Smith, and his infant son,
Aiden.
Music
retailers suffered their steepest sales decline in three years during
2005.
Compared with 2004 -- which, in a tic
of the calendar, had a 53-week retail year -- the market for CDs
plunged more than 10 percent. Based on a 52-week year, sales were
down nearly 8 percent. This crash -- the worst since 2002, which
witnessed a plummet of 10.7 percent -- was all the more dizzying
for retailers because the business appeared to be rebounding in
2004, when sales rose a modest but encouraging 3.8 percent.
Sadly, the writing was on the wall throughout
the fourth quarter this year. In what is traditionally the critical
period for stores, a parade of new titles experienced immediate
and sharp sales spikes. Album sales were buoyed at year's end by
some long-running titles, greatest-hits compilations and a new entry
in the perennially best-selling "Now" series. In the entire
fourth quarter of 2005, only one album enjoyed two consecutive weeks
at No. 1 on the Billboard 200: Eminem's hits collection "Curtain
Call." Country singer Gretchen
Wilson's sophomore release "All Jacked Up," the sequel
to her multiplatinum 2004 debut "Here for the Party,"
entered at No. 1 in early October with a 263,000-unit week, according
to Nielsen SoundScan data. In its second week, sales fell by 54
percent; its third week saw a 52 percent drop. R&B luminary
Alicia Keys' "Unplugged" bowed at the apex of the chart
in October with 196,000 units sold. It plunged 57 percent its second
week, and slid another 40 percent in its third frame.
Pop starlet Ashlee Simpson's second album
"I Am Me" arrived at No. 1 in late October with 220,000
units sold. The CD saw drops of 66 percent and 25 percent in succeeding
weeks.Top country performer
Kenny Chesney's "The Road and the Radio" climbed to No.
1 in mid-November with a 469,000-unit debut. The title then slid
59 percent its second week, only regaining ground with a 58 percent
increase in the post-Thanksgiving sales surge.
"Confessions on a Dance Floor,"
Madonna's much-trumpeted return to dance music, hit No. 1 in November
behind a 350,000-unit debut stanza. But immediate freefall ensued:
The album fell 39 percent in its second week and 49 percent in its
third. The softness of the year-end
titles might be reflected in the concurrent strength of a number
of compilations. The farewell
hits collection from disbanding R&B trio Destiny's Child, "#1's,"
debuted at No. 1 in late October with a modest 113,000-unit week.
But the album's sales eroded rapidly, and it had fallen out of the
top 10 by its fourth week.
It somehow seems
appropriate that in a year of short-legged chart sprinters, the
sales champ proved to be a distance runner.
Mariah Carey capped a triumphant year
last week when her Island comeback album "The Emancipation
of Mimi" topped rapper 50 Cent's "The Massacre" in
total sales. The title, which has sold more than 4.8 million units,
has been a fixture near the top of the Billboard 200 since its debut
in April.
"The Massacre," which trailed
Carey's title by a mere 32,000 units after last week's tally, had
the biggest debut week (1.1 million units in March) and the longest
run at No. 1 (five weeks). But, true to rap form, Fitty's release
burned brightly yet quickly; the collection sold nearly 3 million
units of its 4.8 million-unit total in those first five weeks at
the top. The rapper's fourth-quarter
release, the soundtrack for his starring film vehicle "Get
Rich or Die Tryin'," is viewed in most quarters as a comparative
disappointment. After a fast start at No. 2 in November, the album,
like the film, faded quickly and has sold 1 million units to date.
In an interesting measure of consumer
fickleness, both "The Emancipation of Mimi" and "The
Massacre" received big chart bumps when -- taking a page from
Usher's long-running hit "Confessions" -- they were re-released
in enhanced editions containing fresh music and video content. Besides
Carey's release, strong year-end performances by the Black Eyed
Peas' six-month-old "Monkey Business" and Kelly Clarkson's
year-old "Breakaway" and a resilient showing by Canadian
rock act Nickelback's "All the Right Reasons" provided
some solace to battle-weary retailers.
Popular
WDAS-fm DJ, E. C. LaRock passes away
After not reporting for work, WDAS-FM
PD Joe "Butterball" Tamburro sent a co-worker to the home
of the DJ and he was found in a diabetic coma. He was rushed to
the hospital but passed away from complications of Diabetes. Erich
Coston just celebrated his 47th birthday this past September and
was one of Philadelphia's favorite Saturday night fixes. He was
known for playing the best of Funk and R&B on his Saturday night
stint. Listeners have lost a talented and thoughtful DJ and now
Philly is missing an angel.
E. C. LaRock was the type of guy that
would drive all the way across town to give a friend some shoes
or help a young person pay his school tuition. -Lady B.
Jay-Z
and Nas Declare Rap Truce at Concert
- Marcus W. Vanderberg, Special to AOL Black Voices
East Rutherford, N.J. - Rap history was
made Thursday night at the Continental Airlines Arena when former
foes rappers Jay-Z and Nas shared the stage in front of a sold out
crowd at Power 105.1's Powerhouse event. "You're witnessing
hip-hop history tonight," Jay-Z yelled as he brought his once
rival to the stage. The two rappers embraced on the center of the
stage and performed "Dead Presidents" together in front
of 15,000 stunned fans.
A night that was billed as Jay's "I
Declare War" concert actually turned out to be an evening of
hip-hop peace. However Nas made an indirect quip, when he stated
"I don't understand rappers making all this money and being
mad at the world. We're bringing New York back." The other
artists sharing the stage with Jay-Z on this evening were kept under
tight wraps which included a who's who in hip-hop and R&B.From
Sean "Diddy" Combs who came out and reunited with The
L.O.X. to perform 'All About the Benjamins,' to Kanye West who brought
out a special guest of his own in Paul Wall, performing 'Drive Slow.'
Other artists included T.I., Memphis Bleek, Ne-Yo, Tierra Marie,
Young Jeezy, Akon and even a cameo appearance by Cleveland Cavaliers
guard LeBron James.
Throughout the evening, Jay-Z performed
countless songs from his albums ranging from 'Reasonable Doubt'
to the 'Black Album.' But the highlight of the show by far was the
appearance of Nas who performed such classics as 'It Ain't Hard
to Tell' and 'Hate me Now,' during a 20 minute set. The evening
ended with Jay-Z performing 'Encore' with Nas rapping the chorus
while sharing the stage with Kanye West and Diddy. "That beef
s@*# is wack," Jay-Z said. "We did that, we had fun. Now
let's get this money."
Rosa
Parks, Civil Rights Icon Dies at 92 - BREE FOWLER , AP
DETROIT
(Oct. 24) - Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat
to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday
evening. She was 92.
Mrs. Parks died at her home during the
evening of natural causes, with close friends by her side, said
Gregory Reed, an attorney who represented her for the past 15 years.
Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955
that was to change the course of American history and earn her the
title "mother of the civil rights movement."
At that time, Jim Crow laws in place since
the post-Civil War Reconstruction required separation of the races
in buses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South,
while legally sanctioned racial discrimination kept blacks out of
many jobs and neighborhoods in the North. The Montgomery, Ala.,
seamstress, an active member of the local chapter of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was riding on
a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat.
Timeline:
· 1913: Born in Alabama
· 1955: Arrested for refusing to yield seat
· 1996: Received Presidential Medal of Freedom
· 1999: Received Congressional Gold Medal
Mrs. Parks refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their
seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier
that year on the same charge, but Mrs. Parks was jailed. She also
was fined $14.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said he
felt a personal tie to the civil rights icon: "She stood up
by sitting down. I'm only standing here because of her." The
Rev. Al Sharpton called Mrs. Parks "a gentle woman whose single
act changed the most powerful nation in the world. ... One of the
highlights of my life was meeting and getting to know her."
Speaking in 1992, Mrs. Parks said history
too often maintains "that my feet were hurting and I didn't
know why I refused to stand up when they told me. But the real reason
of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated
as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for
too long."
Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott
of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister,
the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who later earned the Nobel Peace
Prize for his work. "At the time I was arrested I had no idea
it would turn into this," Mrs. Parks said 30 years later. "It
was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant
was that the masses of the people joined in."
The Montgomery bus boycott, which came
one year after the Supreme Court's landmark declaration that separate
schools for blacks and whites were "inherently unequal,"
marked the start of the modern civil rights movement. The movement
culminated in the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act, which banned racial
discrimination in public accommodations.
Mrs. Parks said upon retiring from her
job with Conyers that she wanted to devote more time to the Rosa
and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. The institute,
incorporated in 1987, is devoted to developing leadership among
Detroit's young people and initiating them into the struggle for
civil rights.
"Rosa Parks: My Story" was published
in February 1992. In 1994 she brought out "Quiet Strength:
The Faith, the Hope and the Heart of a Woman Who Changed a Nation,"
and in 1996 a collection of letters called "Dear Mrs. Parks:
A Dialogue With Today's Youth." She was among the civil rights
leaders who addressed the Million Man March in October 1995.
In 1996, she received the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, awarded to civilians making outstanding contributions
to American life. In 1999, she was awarded the Congressional Gold
Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor. Mrs. Parks received
dozens of other awards, ranging from induction into the Alabama
Academy of Honor to an NAACP Image Award for her 1999 appearance
on CBS' "Touched by an Angel."
The Rosa Parks Library and Museum opened
in November 2000 in Montgomery. The museum features a 1955-era bus
and a video that recreates the conversation that preceded Parks'
arrest.
"Are you going to stand up?"
the bus driver asked.
"No," Parks answered.
"Well, by God, I'm going to have
you arrested," the driver said.
"You may do that," Parks responded.
Looking back in 1988, Mrs. Parks said
she worried that black young people took legal equality for granted.
Older blacks, she said "have tried to shield young people from
what we have suffered. And in so doing, we seem to have a more complacent
attitude.
"We must double and redouble our
efforts to try to say to our youth, to try to give them an inspiration,
an incentive and the will to study our heritage and to know what
it means to be black in America today."
At a celebration in her honor that same
year, she said: "I am leaving this legacy to all of you ...
to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what
our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and
without courage and inspiration, dreams will die - the dream of
freedom and peace."
Cam'ron
Giles Shot in DC - Michael Ivey
CamronEarly Sunday morning CEO of Diplomat
Records Camron Giles aka Camron, was shot outside a club in
Washington, DC. According to online reports Giles was leaving club
H2O on his way to Love (formerly Dream night club, where Hey
Ma was taped) when three gunman advanced.
The suspects were reportedly after Giles
blue Lamborghini when he tried to drive away and was hit three times.
He is currently being treated at Howard University hospital and
his injuries are reportedly not life threatening. Jim
Jones and Juelz Santana, who came to town for performances, are
with their friend and fellow Harlemite. Rapeer camron has
returned to his New Jersey home to recuperate after he was shot
in both arms, "I got shot three times and my album comes out
Nov. 22," Camron told press as he left Howard University
Hospital. . "I bought the
Lamborghini especially for New York, because we figure that we can
only see stuff like this in Miami, but I am bringing it to the streets
of New York." Camron told a 106 & Park. Cam'ron (real name
Cameron Giles) is the head of the "The Diplomats" and
CEO of Diplomat Records.
Farrakhan
Addresses Hip-Hop Community At Millions More Movement
- Candace R. Jones
The Nation of Islam's Millions More Movement
took place Saturday (Oct. 15, attracting leaders from Cornel West
to Jim Jones.
Buses, trains, and car loads of people
from across the country descended on the National Mall in Washington,
D.C., to celebrate the 10-year commemoration of The Million Man
March. Speakers like Elijah Cummings, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson
Sr., Kweisi Mfume and the Reverend Tony Lee, to name a few, gave
words of empowerment to the masses. The event did not exclude the
feminist movement, as Dr. Dorothy Height of the National Council
of Negro Women and Susan Taylor, editorial director of Essence Magazine
both graced the stage before the Minister Donna Farrakhan Muhammed
introduced her father, who many in the crowd had waited to hear
for almost 12 hours.
"This is more than a moment in time.
If there is a million or less or more, the meaning of this day will
be determined by what we do tomorrow to create a movement,"
Farrakhan said as one of his opening statements to the crowd as
he stood at the bottom of the stairs of the U.S. Capitol Building.
Deeply expressing gratitude for all in
attendance and even acknowledging the non-black population, he urged
the crowd to take action against the government for failure to adhere
to promises made to the community that they have reneged on.
"Look into a class action lawsuit
against FEMA and National Security on behalf of citizens of New
Orleans and those who have suffered," Farrakhan urged.Farrakhan
also denounced the Bush Administration and called for the government
to respond to the needs of the poor. He also urge the people to
give back not just monetarily, but to form ministries in every city
and town, including a ministry of health and human services, defense,
art and culture, trade and commerce, justice, science and technology
and others.
In a special address to the Hip-hop community,
he praised and acknowledged the impact the culture has had on people
of all ethnic backgrounds around the world. Farrakhan did add, "There's
a bigger purpose [in Hip-hop] than popping our fingers and shaking
our you-know-what," as he made a small request for the community
to be more productive through the art of Hip-hop culture. Hip-hop
also had an enormous presence this year as members of Generation
X showed up in large numbers. Jim Jones of The Diplomats and Wyclef
Jean both entertained the audience with performances. Jadakiss and
Styles P also made their presence known as they greeted the crowds
and took pictures with fans. Reverend Ben Chavis introduced "the
godfather of Hip-Hop," Russell Simmons, who was accompanied
by Doug E. Fresh.
Chuck D of Public Enemy and Jeff Johnson
of BET's The Cousin Jeff Chronicles were also in attendance to take
a stand with the movement. Erykah Badu and India.Arie also showed
their appreciation for Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam's efforts
with performances. Other attendees included Bell Biv Devoe (BBD),
Conrad Worwill, Dick Gregory, Dr. Ben Chavis, The New Black Panther
Party, Minister Jamel Muhammed, Dorothy Height, Essence's Susan
Taylor, Ed Gordon, Tavis Smiley, and others.
Kirk
Franklin admits porn addiction -
Jawn Murray, AOL Black Voices columnist
Kirk Franklin may be a minister of the
gospel, but the happily married father of four recently overcame
an addiction to pornography. Franklin is frank in his talk about
his deliverance from pornography, an obsession he'd indulge in while
he traveled city to city ministering the word of God and at home
when his wife Tammy was asleep.
"Because sexuality is so spiritual,
you have to go back to that source to recognize that it's that connection
to Christ that will give you victory over addictions. You learn
what that is and when you're willing to go through the process of
understanding that truth. Not necessarily the acrobats of religion,
but just the simplicity of the truth of the gospel and your new
identity in Christ. When you become born again and you're able to
understand that and to apply that to practical living, then you
are able and a candidate for victory," explained Franklin,
in his gruff preacher-like voice.
In
their ongoing attempt to curb black culture's influence, the NBA
introduces new dress code
You can call it the "Allen Iverson
rule", As younger black players become more and more popular
among teenaged white fans, the NBA has been on a mission to try
and control their actions, language, dress and style of play. After
years of watching players such as Bill Walton (tye-dyed shirts,
sandals) and front office folks like Pat Croce (T-Shirts, leather
jackets) wear pretty much what they wanted, the NBA has decided
that hip-hop styled clothing is not "white" enough for
it's players. They now want to place controls on them that corporate
America doesnt even follow.
The league announced in a memo to teams
on Monday that a minimum dress code will go into effect at the start
of the regular season on Nov. 1.
Players will be expected to wear business
casual attire whenever they participate in team or league activities,
including arriving at games, leaving games and making promotional
or other appearances. ``If they're
trying to change the image of league, that's cool,'' Suns forward
Shawn Marion said.
While the league may be trying to present
a better image to its corporate partners, some of its players fear
that they may lose out on the core fan base. ``We
don't really sell to big business,'' Suns guard Raja Bell said.
``We sell to kids and people who are into the NBA hip-hop world.
They may be marketing to the wrong people with this.'' Some
teams already have their own dress code in place. Portland's
brainwashed sellout coach Nate McMillian is known for his strict
rules, including bans on headbands and on cell phones on the team
bus. ``It's important that the
players understand they have to respect the game,'' McMillian said
in August. ``They have to respect the league. And they have to respect
the fans. You must be a professional at all times.''
Players will no
longer be able to wear:
-- Sleveless shirts
-- Shorts
-- T-shirts
-- Chains, pendants, or medallions worn
over the player's clothes.
-- Sunglasses while indoors
-- Headphones (other than on the team
bus or plane, or in the team locker room).
Also jerseys and baseball caps will no
longer be acceptable attire for postgame press conference.
``I think there needs to be some style
improvement but at the same time it has to be within reasons,''
Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett said. Players
will also now be required to wear a sport coat on the bench when
they are not in uniform. The NBA already requires its coaches to
wear sport coats, dress shirts, slacks and shoes on the bench. ``I
think it is appropriate, definitely, on the bench,'' Marion said.
``I think you should be in a nice shirt and slacks.''However,
the new dress code may not be practical for every NBA player, especially
Garnett and his teammates who live in the cold Midwest. ``Not
everyone lives in Minneapolis going out in 20 below,'' he said.
``Not everyone wants to be in a suit and jacket. Hopefully they
can go 50-50.''
Jaguar
Wright Blasts Sexually Explicit Female Singers
R&B NewsR&B singer Jaguar Wright
recently blasted women in the music industry for allowing their
sexuality to take precedence over their talent. The outspoken vocalist
who dropped her critically acclaimed debut Denials Delusions and
Decisions in 2002 is now speaking out against many of her contemporaries
who rely on scanty outfits to sell themselves onstage and in videos.
"We have moved backward, with women in music allowing themselves
to be presented as sexual objects again, and in more graphic and
demeaning ways than ever." In
the wake of Destiny Child's farewell tour which has included racy
onstage numbers and a recent BET Awards appearance which saw them
perform lap dances for several celebrity audience members, Wright
cited role models such as "Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Tina
Turner, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone."
"These were the women I was drawn
to," she continued. "Women who possessed power, poise,
uncommon beauty and brash attitudes. I'm not saying their sexuality
wasn't part of their appeal -- because it obviously was. However,
it was their talent that was paramount." In
light of the many music videos which feature artists such as industry
vet Mariah Carey wearing little more than lingerie, she says class
is becoming a thing of the past. "If they cannot see your beauty
with your clothes on, what makes you think they will see it with
your clothes off? Whatever happened to leaving something to the
imagination?" Wright's latest, Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul,
dropped in July and features the single "Free."
Mariah
Carey 'Shielded' From Prostitute Sister's Scandal
R&B newsMariah Carey's management
has reportedly rebuffed pleas for assistance from the singer's HIV-positive
prostitute sister, Alison.
According to UK's Sunday Times, the 44
year-old is asking her famous sibling to ante up the lawyer costs
in anticipation of her August court date. Carey's management, however,
has cut off contact with the singer for fear the scandal will hurt
her much lauded comeback. Alison is currently facing jail time in
connection with her arrest in a Long Island bust. The long-term
drug addict could face a three-month prison sentence after New York
police hired a yacht for a sting operation where she was charged
with a penal violation after boarding. She arrived on the boat after
being contacted through a website. Once there, she accepted $252
to have sex on the Long Island marina. She agreed to the sex, but
it is unclear what was performed before she was accosted.
According to the report, friends have
tried to bridge the gap between the sisters but have been prevented
from succeeding by Carey's managers and aides, one of whom said
Carey had to be "shielded" from Alison. In the past, Alison
has taken credit for her younger sister's career, claiming she used
to have sex for "tips" in order to dress a young aspiring
Carey to impress. Alison shares custody of her son with her mother
and in the past has also threatened to write an expose. This is
not the first time the troubled sibling has been busted for hooking.
In April she pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, and was fined
$200.
Congrats
to our own Bobbi Booker!
25 Classical Music
and Opera Critics Chosen for NEA Arts Journalism Institute at Columbia
University
Columbia University's Graduate School
of Journalism has announced that 25 critics, editors and reporters
have been chosen to participate as fellows in the second annual
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute
in Classical Music and Opera. Through the generous support of the
NEA, the Institute will take place at Columbia University in New
York City from October 16-27, 2005. This year, journalists from
Hawaii and Alaska will participate in the Classical Music and Opera
Institute for the first time.The groundbreaking program is part
of a $1 million NEA initiative to offer intensive training for arts
journalists and editors who work outside the country's major media
markets.
This year the list includes *Bobbi
Booker, freelancer, various, including WRTI-FM, Philadelphia, PA
Bobbi Booker is a Philadelphia-based journalist,
radio personality and blogger. Her work has appeared in a variety
of publications and websites, including Smooth magazine, Philadelphia
Weekly, UBO.net, The Philadelphia Tribune and online at The Book
Report. She is also a special projects consultant for music, media
and literary events. Ms. Booker currently co-hosts "Ovations"
on NPR affiliate, WRTI-Fm 90.1 Philadelphia.
Bobbi I Booker
: On The Web - The Book Report
http://thebookreporter.blogspot.com/
: On the Radio - "Ovations"
WRTI-Fm 90.1 Sundays 6-9 a.m.
The Book Report // 768 S. Harshaw Street//
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Crash
critically hurts singer D'Angelo
R&B crooner D'Angelo, who hit fame
with his '90s soul ballads only to fade after bouts with the law
and drugs, was critically injured in a car wreck outside his hometown
of Richmond, Va. D'Angelo, 31, born Michael Eugene Archer, was in
a 2003 Hummer sport utility vehicle on Sept. 19 when it crossed
the roadway and struck a fence, ejecting the singer, Virginia State
Police Sgt. Kevin Barrick said Monday. Archer wasn't wearing a seat
restraint, Barrick said. Another person was in the car and police
couldn't say which of the two had been driving.Barrick said Archer
was initially listed in critical condition, but that no further
information is available. Since then, the family has asked that
his condition not be released.
Known for hits such as "Brown Sugar"
and a cover of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'," Archer rode
a wave of popularity that culminated with a Grammy in 2001 for best
male R&B vocal performance for "Untitled (How Does It Feel)"
from the album "Voodoo," which won a Grammy for best R&B
album. -- Associated Press
Man
Arrested For Beanie Sigel Step-Father Murder -by Alice
Clarke
Police have arrested a man
in connection with the murder of Beanie Sigel's step-father, according
to published reports. Kevin Green, 22, was charged Monday (Oct.
10) with shooting Sigel's stepfather, Samuel Derry, Jr., then setting
him on fire, police said.
Derry's body was discovered
last Tuesday (Oct. 4) in Cedarbrook, Philadelphia. Green is currently
incarcerated in Montgomery County on an unrelated charge. According
to Philadelphia's Action News, police said Derry's murder was drug
related and had no connection to Sigel, who was subpoenaed by a
federal grand jury last week for a reportedly unrelated cause.
BABYFACE
AND TRACEY EDMONDS ANNOUNCE SEPARATION: Couple vows to
continue business relationship.
It's the end of the road
for Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and his wife, Tracey. The
couple released a statement Wednesday afternoon announcing their
permanent separation following 11 years of marriage. "After
being unofficially separated for quite some time, it is with deep
regret that we announce our permanent separation," read the
statement, sent by publicist, Raymone Bain. "We remain best
friends, and will continue to work together in our companies and
our various business ventures.The couple, who just marked their
11th anniversary last Sept. 5, said they will continue "to
provide a loving, caring and stable environment" for their
two sons, Brandon and Dylan Michael."It is for this reason,
that we are requesting that you respect our privacy, and the privacy
of our children," the statement said.
Eddie
Murphy and his wife, Nicole, are divorcing.
Nicole filed the papers on Friday, citing
"irreconcilable differences." The couple has been married
for 12 years, after tying the knot on March 18, 1993. Nicole and
Eddie have five children -- Bella Zahra, Bria, Shayne Audra, Zola
Ivy and Miles Mitchell. Eddie also has another son, Christian, from
a previous relationship. According to a statement released to Access
Hollywood, Eddie said: "The welfare of our children is our
main concern and their best interests are our first priority."
Eddie Murphy has had enough of his soon
to be ex-wifes antics. He wants Nicole Murphy to honor their
prenuptial agreement. Eddie feels it is valid and fair. There is
no need for her to get half his fortune and squander it on her new
man. He has also ordered her to keep their five kids away from her
boyfriend. The boyfriend in question, Alan Daniels, has a shady
past, and Eddie is worried about his fortune. He does not want his
hard earned money in the hands of this man. Nicole wants her fair
share. After 12 years of marriage and five kids, she feels she deserves
half of his fortune. Eddie is not playing with Nicole, and the divorce
has taken another nasty turn. Nicoles parents have been living
in a house Eddie brought in Sacramento. Eddie is now in the process
of selling the house and Nicoles parents, who have been living
there for years, have to get out. They are devastated, and now they
have to find a new place to live. The Murphy divorce will probably
be one of the nastiest in Hollywood history.
Comedian
Nipsey Russell, known as "the poet laureate of television,"
passes away Oct, 4th
NEW YORK (AP) -- As the
"poet laureate of television," actor and comedian Nipsey
Russell delivered his signature four-line verse during frequent
guest appearances on TV game shows and talk shows. His impromptu
lines and witty quips quickly secured his place as one of the first
blacks to be a regular panelist on the shows. Russell died Oct,
4th. at Lenox Hill Hospital at age 80, said his longtime manager
Joseph Rapp. He had been suffering from cancer.
Although widely known for his tv career
-- including appearances on "The Dean Martin Show," "Hollywood
Squares," "The $50,000 Pyramid," and "Match
Game" -- Russell also received critical acclaim for his role
as the Tin Man in the 1978 film version of "The Wiz."
He also appeared in "Nemo" in 1984, "Wildcats"
in 1986 and "Posse" in 1993. Born
in Atlanta, he settled in New York after graduating from the University
of Cincinnati and serving as an Army captain in Europe during World
War II, Rapp said. Russell launched his television career in 1961
as Officer Anderson in the television series "Car 54, Where
are You?" He also appeared in the 1994 film version. But his
gift for gab and timely poetry made him a national television personality.
The
Roots Officially Sign With Def Jam Left
- Stephenson and Eben Gregory
The Roots signing to Def
Jam was made it official this past Friday (Sept. 30) when they inked
their names to a contract with Jay-Z's Def Jam Left imprint. Def
Jam Left is a new venture headed by Jigga, who described it as "an
artist-driven label with very low deals so people are not pressured
by first-week SoundScan [sales], so we can build artists."
The Roots have become a staple in the Hip-Hop community because
of their philosophy to use live instrumentation in their records
and concerts. In the last couple
of months, the group has been putting the finishing touches on their
next release titled Game Theory, which will feature guest spots
from Saigon, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Blackstar. It is also rumored
that President Carter may make a special guest appearance on the
new album, but it hasn't been officially confirmed. Jay-Z made it
public a few weeks ago that he had been quietly courting the group
for his new imprint.
Lil' Kim's Manager Pleads
Guilty To Misdemeanor Charge -
Shawn Lawrence James
Hillary
Weston, long time business adviser for Queen Bee/Atlantic recording
artist Lil' Kim pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, stemming
from a federal investigation involving the infamous shooting outside
Hot 97. Her lawyer, Michael Bachner, stated yesterday that Weston
agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of passport fraud
as part of a plea to avoid more serious charges, which included
an alleged destruction of records that were sought by federal authorities.
"She admitted that she made a reservation for Damion Butler
to travel outside the country knowing that he had an illegal passport,"
Bachner stated to Newsday. "She understood what she did was
wrong." The recent plea will narrow Lil Kim's co-defendants
to only her personal assistant, Monique Dopwell who are both expected
to begin the trial on February 28.
Two other members of the rapper's entourage,
Suif Jackson and Damion Butler were arrested and indicted on criminal
charges in relation to a broad daylight shootout. Prosecutors claimed
that Jackson and Butler were armed with guns and were involved in
a confrontation with "rival group" Capone-N-Noreaga, igniting
the shoot-out that left one man seriously wounded. Jackson has since
pleaded guilty to the shooting and was sentenced to 12 years in
prison. In fashion, Butler pleaded guilty in January and awaits
sentencing.
Will
Smith's 'Hitch' Tops Box Office, Sets Record For Sony
- Clover Hope
Continuing his successful run at the box
office in the last few years, actor/rapper Will Smith's latest movie
"Hitch" brought in an estimated $45.3 million, debuting
at No. 1 this weekend. In his first romantic comedy, Smith diverged
from his typical action hero role, playing a New York City "date
doctor" who helps men with relationship dilemmas win over women.
Smith's character has troubles of his own when he falls in love
with a woman played by Eva Mendes.
Additionally, "Hitch" broke
Sony's record for biggest opening for a romantic comedy, topping
the $39.9 million that "50 First Dates" brought in last
year. "He's one of those rare stars that just appeals to everyone,
men, women and children," Sony's head of distribution, Rory
Bruer, told the Associated Press. "There's no doubt he's somewhat
of a king of action, but he is every bit as good in comedy."
"Hitch," which may
have also benefited from opening during Valentine's Day weekend,
is Smith's fifth-straight No. 1 debut, after his animated movie
"Shark Tale," and action films "I, Robot," "Bad
Boys II" and "Men in Black II," all of which had
stellar opening numbers between $46 million and $52 million
Kid
Rock Arrested On Assault Charge
Kid Rock was arrested Feb. 16th by Nashville
police on charges that he punched a disc jockey at a strip club.
The 34-year-old artist was released after posting a $3,000 bond
on a charge of simple assault, a misdemeanor punishable by up to
a year in jail. "Everything is wonderful. It was a beautiful
night," Rock said as he left the Criminal Justice Center. He
had appeared a few hours earlier before Night Court Commissioner
Howard Taradash. Kid Rock was charged after a 3 a.m. altercation
at Christie's Cabaret near downtown Nashville.
"Inside the establishment there was
a squabble concerning, I guess, the selection of music," Nashville
police Sgt. James Smith told reporters. "Again there are no
major injuries but an assault did take place." Television footage
from outside the club showed the DJ, identified as Jay Campos, with
a red mark on his face and holding his broken eyeglasses. Arresting
officer Lt. Calvin Hullett said Rock surrendered at an apartment
where he had been staying. He was in town to perform at a memorial
service for songwriter Merle Kilgore yesterday at Ryman Auditorium.
Hullett described Rock as "very cooperative," despite
giving officers the slip earlier. Hullett said the artist left through
a back door of another strip club when authorities showed up to
arrest him.
When police caught up with him, Rock said he had dodged them because
he wanted to sober up before being booked, Hullett said.
Organ
Legend Jimmy Smith Dies
Legendary Hammond B-3 organ player Jimmy
Smith died Feb. 8 at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., apparently of
natural causes. He was 79. Smith began playing his trademark Hammond
B3 organ in the early '50s. By the '60s, he was both a workhorse
and a frequent name on the Billboard album chart, thanks to such
titles as "Organ Grinder Swing" and "Hobo Flats."
Smith became forever linked to a new generation of listeners after
the Beastie Boys sampled his "Root Down" for their track
of the same name on the 1994 album "Ill Communication."
The artist continued to record and tour
in recent years, and recently completed an album with longtime friend
Joey DeFrancesco, "Legacy," due next Tuesday via Concord.
The pair were planning to begin a tour in support of the set Feb.
16 at Yoshi's in Oakland, Calif. "Jimmy was one of the greatest
and most innovative musicians of our time," DeFrancesco said
in a statement. "I love the man and I love the music. He was
my idol, my mentor and my friend."
Tyrone
Davis Dead at 66
Singer Tyrone Davis passed away on February
9th in Chicago following complications from a stroke. The soul great
was 66.
Born in Greenville, Mississippi, Davis
made his musical mark in Chicago. While holding down a day job (which
at one point included serving as guitarist Freddy King's valet),
Tyrone sang in West Side clubs at night. He was spotted by R&B
performer Harold Burrage, who landed Davis a record deal. Though
the handful of singles released by "Tyrone (The Wonder Boy)"
went nowhere sales-wise, they did help Davis find a spot on the
more prestigious Dakar Records label, then recording such stars
as Jackie Wilson and Gene Chandler. Tyrone's first single for the
label, 1968's "Can I Change My Mind," was an immediate
hit, soaring to #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the Pop chart
on the strength of his pleading bluesy vocal. It was merely the
first in a long line of hits, its success eclipsed two years later
by "Turn Back The Hands Of Time." The #1 R&B/#3 Pop
smash earned Davis an appearance on American Bandstand and would
become Tyrone's signature song, selling more than a million copies.
Rape
Case Against Anderson Dropped
LOS
ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Comedian Anthony Anderson's good name will
remain intact. After a judge dismissed rape charges against the
actor and another man in October 2004, the prosecution reviewed
its case and announced that it would not pursue a grand jury criminal
indictment, reports the AP. In
July 2004, a 25-year-old woman who was working as an extra on Anderson's
latest movie "Hustle & Flow" claimed she was lured
into a film trailer by the film's assistant director Wayne Witherspoon,
who then exposed himself to her. He and Anderson then allegedly
removed the victim's clothes, "assaulted her with their hands
and took pictures of her while she was nude." In
her testimony, the woman added that she had previous, forced sexual
relations with the two men, but never reported them. Anderson has
maintained his innocence from the beginning.
The accuser -- whose ex-boyfriend testified
that she told him her plans to get money from the defendants on
false rape claims -- was notified by letter of the prosecution's
decision. Anderson recently
appeared in "My Baby's Daddy," "Agent Cody Banks
2: Destination London" and "Harold & Kumar Go to White
Castle." His other film credits include "Barbershop,"
"Kangaroo Jack," "Malibu's Most Wanted" and
"Scary Movie 3." He next stars in the comedy "King's
Ransom," which is scheduled for release in the spring.
Suge
Knight Arrested In California - Clover Hope
Marion "Suge" Knight was arrested
Saturday (Feb. 5) evening for suspicion of violating his parole
after police found marijuana in his Ford pickup truck during a traffic
stop, according to reports. Knight,
39, was arrested in Barstow, about 100 miles northeast of downtown
Los Angeles. The rap mogul is currently awaiting transfer to state
prison next week, said sheriff's Cpl. Lorraine Riser. State officials
will assess Knight's case to decide whether he should be held or
released, Riser said. After pulling Knight over for making a dangerous
U-turn, police said they searched his truck and discovered marijuana.
The Death Row Records co-founder
was also cited for not having insurance. A
woman in the vehicle allegedly had a fake ID and was arrested for
giving police false information.
Actor
Ossie Davis Found Dead in Hotel
Police Say the 87-Year-Old Apparently Died of Natural Causes - HILLEL
ITALIE
NEW YORK (Feb. 4) - Ossie Davis, whose rich baritone and elegant,
unshakable bearing made him a giant of the stage, screen and the
civil rights movement - often in tandem with his wife, Ruby Dee
- has died. He was 87. Davis was found dead Friday in his hotel
room in Miami Beach, Fla., according to officials there. He was
making a film, ''Retirement,'' said Arminda Thomas, who works in
his New Rochelle office and confirmed the death.Miami Beach police
spokesman Bobby Hernandez said Davis' grandson called shortly before
7 a.m. when Davis would not open the door to his room at the Shore
Club Hotel. Davis was found dead, apparently of natural causes,
Hernandez said.
Kelly
Rowland calls off engagement
Kelly
Rowland has been hit by reports she's called off her engagement
to Roy Williams. Rowland had been planning to walk down the
aisle with the Dallas Cowboys star in March. And while invitations
had already gone out, guests reportedly are being called and notified
that the wedding has been canceled. A source tells Us Weekly, "[Kelly]
said yes when he proposed and, after she thought about it, changed
her mind." A rep for Rowland insists the wedding is still on,
but the date has just been changed. An alternate date has yet to
be announced but no reason has been given for the change. "God
created me the way I am. Any issues you have with me, take them
up with him."YAAAY!
R&B
singer Houston Gouges Out Eye After Suicide Attempt
Following a suicide attempt, Capitol Records
artist Houston gouged out his eye while on an overseas performance
junket. A brief statement was released today by a Capitol spokesperson,
saying only, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Houston during
this tragic time." According
to sources, the singer first attempted to jump out of a London hotel
window last Thursday (Jan. 27). Prevented from doing so by his security
staff, Houston was locked in his room, at which time the injury
occurred.
"Houston is going through spiritual
warfare right now," Houston's bodyguard Marco Powell said.
"It's like good versus evil. He grew up in a Christian family,
and since he's signed his record deal he's been subjected to, in
his own words, 'sins and devils in the business' like drugs, alcohol
and all this stuff that he's not used to. He didn't want to be around
that. He just wasn't happy with management he just wasn't
happy. He didn't know which way to turn." Powell was in London
with the 21-year-old singer the night Houston gouged his eye out
and insists it was not a suicide attempt. "The
night of the incident, we had dinner at the hotel," Powell
recalled. "After dinner, he went to his room to read the Bible.
He is an avid reader of the Bible. After I finished eating, I went
upstairs to check on him and I noticed blood on the floor. Houston
usually has really bad nose bleeds. So I asked him, 'Are you OK?
Is your nose bleeding?' He said, 'Yeah, my nose is bleeding but
I'm cool. I will see you in the morning. I can't wait to get back
to L.A. with my family.' He was lying on the bed with a towel over
his face, so something told me it was more than [just a nose bleed].
So I walked into the room to talk to him, I pulled the towel off
of his face, and that's when I saw that he had gouged his eye out.
"He showed no pain and he had no remorse," Powell added.
"He said he had to do it. He said that that had freed him from
everything. He was happy after that. He said he was changed and
was ready to go. That symbolic statement basically freed him from
all the pain he was in. He feels like he is closer to God now."
Actor
Lamont Bentley killed in car crash
Lamont
Bentley, who was a regular in the 1990s sitcom Moesha and appeared
frequently in television and movies, was killed in a car crash,
his manager said Wednesday.
Bentley died Tuesday night when his vehicle
plunged off the San Diego Freeway, manager Susan Ferris said. He
was the only person in the vehicle.Bentley, 31, played Hakeem Campbell,
the longtime friend of pop singer Brandy's character, Moesha Mitchell,
in the UPN sitcom Moesha.Bentley had appeared in a number of films,
including The Wash and Tales From the Hood. He also played Tupac
Shakur in the TV movie, Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story, and had
appeared in guest roles on The Parkers, NYPD Blue and Clueless.
The Milwaukee native and father of two
daughters began his career after moving to Los Angeles with his
mother, an aspiring singer."This is a big year for him,"
Ferris said. "We were very excited because he was coming into
his own. It's like a candle being snuffed right out." A rising
star, Bentley frequently visited his hometown of Milwaukee, where
the mayor named a day in his honor. He was commissioned as an Ambassador
of Good Will by the Governor of Arkansas, was awarded the Watts
Community Image award for being a role model in Los Angeles and
was named among the Top Twenty Sexiest Black Men by Sisters in Style
magazine.
Man
Who Assaulted Dr. Dre Claims Suge Knight Paid For Punch -
Nolan Strong
Jimmy
James Johnson, the man accused of punching Aftermath CEO and producer
Dr. Dre at the Vibe Awards, told police that Marion Suge
Knight paid him $5,000 to assault the producer as he accepted his
Lifetime Achievement Award. Johnson
allegedly told the Santa Monica, California police that Knight hired
and paid him to carry out the attack in an attempt to embarrass
Dr. Dre, born Andre Young. Johnson, 26, is facing a life sentence
due to previous felonies. Knight also allegedly agreed to forgive
Johnsons brothers debt if he carried out the assault.
"We will have that explanation
[for the punch] in court," Johnsons attorney told the
New York Post. Johnson allegedly told police that he attended the
awards with Knights entourage. Authorities were seeking to
see if Knight violated his probation due to his proximity to Dr.
Dre, who has a restraining order against his former partner. Knight
vehemently denied any involvement immediately after the awards.
One thing about me, if I do something wrong, I claim it,
Knight said. Im not no snitch, Im not no rat,
Im not the kind of guy who just wants to start stuff.
 Eminem
goes out like a true beeyach At Detroit Radio Station
Eminem and the Source magazine have had
an ongoing feud since the magazine went public last year with racist
lyrics which were allegedly recorded by Eminem years ago. But on
Tuesday (January 11), the situation almost took a violent turn at
a Detroit radio station.
Source magazine co-owner Dave Mays was
doing an interview at Detroit's WDTJ-FM discussing the upcoming
copyright infringement lawsuit that Eminem filed against the publication
for releasing the lyrics, when Eminem and a group of approximately
10 men came to the station. MTV.com reports that there was a heated
exchange of words between Mays and Eminem, but the confrontation
did not escalate. Mays told MTV.com, "I wasn't expecting for
him to show up; he doesn't go anywhere in public. Nobody ever sees
this guy. People were like, 'Is it really him? I don't understand
what his purpose was. I'm up there by myself, he had all his people."
(Eminem officially is a pu#sy. I have no more respect for the
coward. 10 guys for Dave Mays? He's a b#tch! - Docta Shock)
Mays added that he would still like to
sit down with the rapper in attempt to work out their differences.
He said, "My attorneys are sending correspondence to his attorneys
relating to this thing as well as the ongoing lawsuit. The point
of it is that we need to have a real discussion. People in business,
men, human beings, resolve differences. These people can't come
to the table and discuss issues."
Camron
gives up tapes on actor Lorenz Tate & Halle Berry
I'm gonna tell you such a
funny story about Halle Berry, this is some crazy shit. This was
back before my first album came out, I don't think I even had a
video out or anything. I was in L.A. on a promo tour, I just had
a CD of snippets from Who's Camron. I was wolfin', I hadn't
had a haircut for like two months. I had just got finished playing
basketball, so I ain't have no shirt on and I was sweaty. I'm getting
out of a fifteen-passenger van to go to the ATM and there's a lady
there, but I ain't payin' her no mind. I stick my ATM card in the
shit, and Jimmy and all these cats in the van just start bangin'
on the window so I turn around, like, "What?" They like,
"Yo, that's Halle Berry!" So I look up like, "Yo,
Halle, let me talk to you for a minute," and she's backin'
away like, "No, no, no, I've gotta go." I'm like, chasing
her over to the Range Rover. There's a dude in the car leaning back
in the seat. I'm like, "Yo, Halle, I rap! I"m about to
come out! Just take the CD!" She rolled down the window like,
about this much (Cam holds his fingers an inch apart to demonstrate)
and took the snippets. She rolled out and we sittin' there buggin'
out. That was probably in early 1998. Then last year, 2003, I'm
at this party in Vegas after a fight. Some boxer had a party, and
there's mad cats in there, the crazy retarded girl from Scary Movie,
everybody from
mainstream America was like, "Camron, we love you, man!"
So we chillin' with Tyrese and Larenz Tate and they like, "Ah,
Cam, we love you, B," and Larenz pulls me off to the side.
He's like, "Yo, I f#cks with you, dawg." So I'm like,
"Good lookin', it's all good." He was like, "Remember
that day when you slid that CD in Halle's car? That was me, when
I was f#ckin' her, and ain't nobody know. We was on the low. Yo,
Cam, that was me in that passenger seat. That's how long I been
f#ckin' with you, dawg." I popped bottles with him after that,
cause he was keepin' it too funky! There's only a few cats who know
that whole story, fam. The first thing I was thinkin' was, whoever
in that passenger seat is pimpin', yo! He got Halle goin' to the
ATM!
See the rest of the Camron
interview on www.Allhiphop.com
Witness
Says Jackson Molested Him in 1990
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - In a halting,
emotion-choked voice, the son of Michael Jackson's former housekeeper
testified Monday that the pop star molested him during a tickling
game in 1990. The witness
said that over a span of several years, Jackson twice touched
his groin over his clothes during tickling games at Jackson's
Los Angeles-area condominium, which he and his mother referred
to as "the hideaway," and in a third incident reached
under his clothes at Jackson's Neverland ranch.
"We were tickling. He was tickling
and I was laughing and the it was, he was he was
tickling me in the...," the witness said before asking the
judge for a break. He wiped his eyes and drank some water. "He
was tickling me. I was wearing shorts again. ... He reached on
my leg and I'm still laughing and he reached up to my privates,"
the witness said. As he began
to describe the alleged molestation he apologized to prosecutor
Ron Zonen for his halting testimony and said: "This took
a lot of counseling to get over, just to let you know." The
witness said that Jackson touched him in that incident for two
or three minutes and that he remembered thinking, "I should
probably go." Asked whom he first told of the incident, the
witness said, "Probably God."
The witness also described two earlier
alleged incidents that involved Jackson touching him over his
clothes. "We were watching
cartoons and he just started tickling me which was cool,"
he said of the first incident, which he described as beginning
while they were seated in a chair. "And then we went to the
floor ... tickling still ... I'm tickling and he's tickling and
I'm tickling and he's tickling. "It
eventually moved down to my little private region, I guess ...
around my crotch area. You know, you're 7, you didn't think it
was wrong. ... I probably did think it was weird but not super
weird because you were tickling," he said. In
another incident, he said, Jackson began tickling him as they
were cuddling on top of a sleeping bag while watching cartoons.
He described the tickling proceeding in the same way. The
witness said he never talked about the incidents with anyone until
1993, when investigators came to him after another boy made allegations
against Jackson in a civil case. The other boy also would later
receive a settlement, reportedly in the multimillion-dollar range.
No criminal charges were filed in either case.
Suge
Ordered To Pay $107 Million To Ex-Death Row Partner
Marion "Suge" Knight has been
ordered by a California judge to pay $107 million to a woman who
says she has a 50 percent stake in Death Row Records. Los
Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald Sohigian awarded the
damages on March 9 to
Lydia Harris, who filed a civil lawsuit in 2002 against the Death
Row Records head, claiming he owed her millions in unpaid profits
and royalties, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
The suit claims Knight signed a partnership
deal with Harris' husband, Michael, during the rap label's infancy;
Harris' husband was incarcerated at the time in Los Angeles' Metropolitan
Detention Center on attempted-murder and drug-trafficking convictions.
The investments the couple made in Death Row in 1989 helped the
infamous music executive get his company off the ground, the suit
alleges. But once Death Row started turning a profit and Knight
realized Death Row's commercial potential, he pushed Lydia
the label's vice president at its inception out. The suit
also charges that Knight ignored his agreement with Harris' husband
after inking a marketing and distribution deal with Interscope
Records in 1992.
Knight later pressured Michael Harris
into signing a $300,000 settlement deal with Interscope, the suit
further alleges, where Harris agreed to release any legal claim
to Death Row. Knight has denied all of the allegations set forth
in Lydia's suit, and, during an initial deposition, claimed he'd
never even met the woman before. But
Sohigian's ruling wasn't based on any evidence either side presented
during trial. The case, in fact, never actually made it that far.
The judge passed down his ruling after finding Knight and his
attorneys violated court mandates requiring that they answer questions
and provide documentation to the opposing counsel during the discovery
process, the Times reports.
Johnny
Cochran Dead at 67
Brain tumor cited as cause of death
Johnny Cochran, famous for defending
O.J. Simpson in what was touted as the trial of the century in
1995, died of an inoperable brain tumor on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Adored by fans for legal catch phrases like "If it doesn't
fit, you must acquit," Cochran made a national name for himself
as the head of Simpson's legal team. Although most widely known
for the Simpson trial, Cochran also won many important civil rights
cases throughout his lengthy career and often represented immigrants
and the poor and was lauded by the legal community for his strong
support of underrepresented communities and attention to detail.
Since the Simpson case, Cochran defended
other celebrities including rappers Sean "P. Diddy"
Combs, Tupac Shakur, and Snoop Dogg, actor Todd Bridges and football
legend Jim Brown.
Jamie
Foxx answers Larry Elder
While accepting an NAACP Image Award
for his portrayal as the late Ray Charles, Jamie Foxx received
a standing ovation led by Oprah Winfrey when he addressed feedback
that conservative daytime talk show host Larry Elder made about
him on Elder's syndicated radio program.
Here's a portion of what Elder said:
"First of all, I'd like to extend my sincerest congratulations
to Jamie Foxx on his spectacular performance and his Oscar win
-- he deserved it. He deserved it not because he's black, but
because he's talented and worked hard."
According to Foxx, Elder, a self-professed "firebrand libertarian,"
voiced concern about Foxx labeling the film 'Ray' a "black"
movie. Foxx began, "Larry Elder said something very interesting.
(Imitating Elder's voice) 'Why must Jamie Foxx say black? Black
movies, black films, black, black, black, black. Why does he have
to say that?'"
Foxx continued: "The reason you
have to say "black," it's not because of the race value
of it; it's because of the franchise value of it. They say it's
only just really an American story; Ray Charles was really in
the middle of the road. No, Ray Charles was a black man. He was
an African-American man. So that when we go to sell the next movie,
we say we have a "black film" Miles Davis, a "black
film" Marvin Gaye and a "black film" Diana Ross
because the "black film" Ray Charles was successful.
That's why I say "black" Larry Elder, that's why I say
that. It has nothing to do with the race!"
Funds
From Shyne's Record Deal Frozen
Jailed rapper Shyne, who signed a $3
million record deal with Island Def Jam in prison, won't see any
money until a lawsuit against him is resolved. Justice Michael
Garson of Brooklyn has frozen the funds, citing the "Son
of Sam" law barring convicts from profiting from their crimes.
The money, including a $500,000 advance, will be held in escrow
pending the outcome of the civil lawsuit brought by two bystanders
wounded in a 1999 shooting at a Manhattan nightclub.
The ruling, issued March 16, found that
the funds should "be preserved for payment of any judgment
received by the plaintiffs." Shyne's Gangland/Def Jam debut,
"Godfather Buried Alive," debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard
200 in August 2004 and has sold 433,000 copies in the United States,
according to Nielsen SoundScan. Shyne, a former protege of Sean
"P. Diddy" Combs, has been behind bars since 2001 for
the shooting that involved his former mentor and Combs' then-girlfriend
Jennifer Lopez. Combs was also charged in the case but was acquitted.
Three bystanders were wounded. The rapper, whose real name is
Jamal Barrow, is being held at a correctional facility in a remote
area near the New York-Canada border.
Micky
D's to pay rappers for song mentions
McDonald's wants hip-hop artists to
rap about the burger - and is willing to pay them if they write
it into their songs. It's the latest twist on paid product placement
as marketers look for new ways to reach teenagers who are turning
away from television and spending more time with video games,
the Internet and music.
"It's an extension of a long movement.
People have paid for their brand names to be in movies and in
television and in books . . . so why not in songs? It's the next
logical move," said Alan Middleton, marketing professor at
York University's Schulich School of Business. Maven Strategies,
the company McDonald's hired to negotiate its hip-hop deals, says
the program will be similar to one it ran for Seagram's Gin. That
program saw hip-hop artists paid $1 to $5 (U.S.) every time a
branded song was played on any radio station in the United States.
The fee depended on how prominently the brand was used in the
song. One of those songs, Freek-a-leek by Petey Pablo became a
top hip-hop song last year. That song includes the lyrics: "Now
I got to give a shout out to Seagram's Gin, cause I'm drinkin'
it and they payin' me for it." McDonald's
spokesman Walt Rider said the company wants to connect with young
customers in "relevant, culturally significant ways."
He said McDonald's will have final approval over any lyrics incorporating
the Big Mac brand to ensure that it is done in an "appropriate
setting."
Jadakiss
Gets Three Months Probation
Rapper Jadakiss will have charges of
marijuana and gun possession dropped if he stays out of trouble
for the next three months under a plea agreement reached in Cumberland
County (N.C.) court.
The artist, whose real name is Jason
T. Phillips, was given a deferred prosecution on the misdemeanor
charges at a hearing yesterday (March 23) in Fayetteville, N.C.,
before District Court Judge Ed Donaldson. Phillips,
29, of Yonkers, N.Y., was charged last July when he was in Fayetteville
for a club performance. An off-duty officer stopped the rapper's
recreational vehicle after he spotted someone throwing firecrackers
from the window, and during a search found less than an ounce
of marijuana and a pair of loaded .45-caliber Ruger pistols.
Under the plea agreement, Phillips paid
$900 to cover a fine, restitution and court costs. If Phillips
doesn't violate his probation, the charges will be dropped --
a common arrangement for first-time offenders. Under the unsupervised
probation, Phillips must destroy the guns, submit to searches
and drug testing at the request of a probation officer, not use
or possess illegal drugs and not break any North Carolina laws.
A drug assessment of Phillips
by the director of a Fayetteville alcohol and drug counseling
clinic concluded his marijuana use was isolated; Phillips also
passed a drug test. The artist is due back in court June 14.
Nelly's
Sister Loses Her Battle With Leukemia
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Nelly
and his family. Nelly's sister Jacqueline Donahue, 31, lost her
three-year battle with leukemia Thursday morning. In 2003, Donahue
co-founded the Jes Us 4 Jackie Foundation, dedicated to educating
black people about bone-marrow and stem-cell transplants. After
Jacqueline Donahue's diagnosis, rapper had encouraged minorities
to become bone-marrow donors.
Nelly also worked to raise awareness
of his sister's disease, and has appeared at numerous events to
enroll minority participants in the National Bone Marrow Registry
(see "Nelly Encourages Minorities To Become Bone-Marrow Donors").
Bone-marrow transplants can often offer a better chance of survival
for those suffering from leukemia.
A statement from Nelly's family and
the Jes Us 4 Jackie Foundation said, "We want to thank everyone
for their love and support of Jackie. In particular, we want to
thank those who participated in the Jes Us 4 Jackie bone-marrow
drives. We are very proud of her efforts to educate and raise
awareness about the disease and the need for African-Americans
to join the National Donor Registry. She will always be remembered
for her loving spirit, energy, courage, and unshakeable faith."
After performing at the Star of Texas
Rodeo in Austin, Texas, Wednesday night, Nelly canceled Thursday
night's (March 24) performance in Beaumont, Texas, as well as
shows he had planned for Friday, Saturday and Monday. It has not
yet been determined when he'll resume his tour, which also features
Fat Joe and T.I. His label said, "We are saddened by the
loss of Nelly's sister, Jackie Donahue, and extend our deepest
sympathies and condolences to Nelly and Jackie's family during
this difficult time."
R&B
sensation Ciara just wants everyone to know: She's all woman
We have heard all the rumors: She came into the world as a male,
but somewhere along the way either she or her parents decided
she should become a girl, or She was born male, but a botched
circumcision did irreparable harm to her manly parts, so her parents
opted to have what was left of her made into a girl. She started
life as an intersexual, a person of mixed genders. Once again,
a surgical solution was sought on her behalf, but in this version
of the whisper, it was to correct her body to being wholly one
gender rather than a mixture of the two.
The assertion that Ciara was on The
Oprah Winfrey Show is false; we can find no record of her having
been a guest on that show. Many urban legends which feature a
shocking revelation being made on a TV show name Oprah's as the
one where it was voiced We haven't figured out why this is, other
than Oprah Winfrey seeming like the kind of person one could tell
anything to.
Ciara just wants everyone to know: She's
all woman. "You know what's funny? The rumor that I used
to be a man," she told us at the launch party for Vibe Vixen
magazine at Frederick's. "They said I said it on the Oprah
show," she laughed. "I've never been on Oprah in my
life - we all know I have years before I go on Oprah, so come
on!" Ciara was on '106 & Park' to finally put an end
to the gullible people who continue to spread the false rumor
that she is a transvestite or hermaphrodite...or a lesbian for
that matter. Ciara offered viewers $100,000 if they could produce
a tape of her on 'Oprah', as the rumor suggests, that she outed
herself as a man. A safe offer as she's never appeared on 'Oprah'.
If Ciara had $100K she wouldnt be walking around like hi-end
Rave model! She also denied rumors that she's dating Bow-Wow.
Bow-Wow? Thats height abuse and illegal!
Whitney
Houston Enters Rehab Again
NEW YORK (March 23) - A year after her first reported stay in
rehab, Whitney Houston has again checked into a rehabilitation
facility. Houston, who has
waged a lengthy and public battle with drug addiction, entered
the undisclosed facility at her own request, according to a brief
statement from Nancy Seltzer Associates. "Whitney
Houston has re-entered a rehabilitation facility today,"
her publicist, Nancy Seltzer, said Wednesday. She declined to
provide details.
Houston, 41, has been working with producer
Clive Davis on a comeback album. Last month she was rushed to
a hospital in Paris after becoming ill from food poisoning on
a flight bound for France.She was cited by police in January after
rear-ending a city bus with her sports car near her Atlanta-area
home. In March 2004, Houston checked herself into an undisclosed
rehabilitation center.
After years of denying drug use, the
pop diva said she had used cocaine, marijuana and pills in an
interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's "Primetime" in
2002. She has said she was using the power of prayer to help her
get over drugs. In January 2000, Houston left behind a bag at
an airport in Hawaii that allegedly held less than half an ounce
of marijuana and three partially smoked marijuana cigarettes;
a petty misdemeanor drug charge was dismissed when a counselor
said Houston didn't need treatment for substance abuse.
Chuck
D apologizes for Flava Flav's TV Exploits -
Houston Williams
Chuck D, lead rapper of Public Enemy,
has issued a statement regarding group member Flavor Flav and
his actions on Strange Love, a show televised on VH1.
We'd like to offer an apology
for some of the actions that many considered offensive to Black
people, and especially Black women and children, by our brother
Flavor Flav as portrayed on the VH1 television show "Strange
Love," Chuck said in a statement to AllHipHop.com. Like
I said, Flav is our brother but we cannot begin to agree with
what the rest of us consider inappropriate behavior and unfair
actions towards his family and to himself.
The show is built on the premise that
Flavor Flav woos Brigitte Nielsen, who is engaged to be married.
In the process, there are a number of cultural conflicts that
arise. In some episodes, Flavor Flav reacted angrily towards the
group and members of his own family over a number of instances.
What is offensive is that his character and private issues
are being trashed in front of millions for mere sake of profit
and ratings. To showcase the troubling conflict between his kids
and ex was uncalled for and we can't stand by it.
Public Enemy remains one of the most
popular and powerful groups with its unique mixture of message
oriented music and hard beats. Chuck stated that the recent televised
developments havent necessarily added to the legacy. [The
shows imagery] has been harmful to Flav's standing and legacy
of being our brother, regardless of what he got paid, fame, infamy,
ratings... but at what price? the rapper queried. It
is this Flavploitation by the "Strange Love" executive
producers Mark Cronin and Cris Abrego, production companies Mindless
Entertainment and 51 Minds, VH1 and yes, even Flav and his manager.
According to Chuck D, the entire series was taped over three weeks
in Oct. 2004. Let's keep in mind that television - no matter
how much 'reality' they put in front of the word - is not real,
he stated.
State
Property Members Stress speak out about "Breakup"
Since Dame Dash and Beanie Sigel's mother,
Michelle Brown-Derry, announced Beanie Sigel's prison mandate
to put State Property on hold until he is released, members of
the Philadelphia collective have questioned if there was really
anything to pause. "What
do they mean, 'We on hold?' I'm supposed to tell my son or daughter,
'We can't eat because Beans is locked up?' " Sparks
"Can't no one man put nobody on
hold," Sparks of Oschino and Sparks said about the order
sent down by Sigel 'State Property' was a movie, then they branded
us. They got a clothing line and sneakers, but it wasn't no contract
where we was a group [named State Property]. We were all in individual
groups. The Young Gunz was a group, me and O was a group, [Peedi]
Crakk was a solo artist, Beans was a solo artist, Freeway was
a solo artist. Jay-Z signed me and O. People saying Beans got
everybody signed. That ain't true."
"It wasn't really no State Property,
because [Roc-A-Fella] put everybody together," explained
Neef of the Young Gunz, who also said he and his partner were
signed to Roc-A-Fella before they even met Beanie. "Nobody
really knew each other. Everybody was rapping and trying to get
on. They made it hard for n---as. In so many words they said,
'You gotta come out with Mack [Beanie Sigel].' "
Freeway, who seemed the closest to Sigel,
has the most optimistic outlook about the breakup. He says don't
believe anything until you hear it out of Sigel's mouth. "I've
been hearing a bunch of different things, but when I talk to him
about State Property, it's all love," Free said, downplaying
the conflict. "Y'all gonna wait till he comes home and interview
him. State Property, we see each other all the time. I see O,
Sparks, Crakk, the Young Gunz. It ain't been dismantled. That's
bullsh--. We here. The streets love us. We love the streets. We
love our fans. We gonna make music. Forget all the rumors you've
been hearing."
All the members of State Property say
they were signed directly to Roc-A-Fella/ Def Jam and never were
contractually bound as one supergroup. A few of them did know
each other from Philly beforehand, but the crew's bond was fostered
and tightened once they were put together. When Dash and Kareem
"Biggs" Burke parted ways with Jay, it was left up to
State Property which faction they wanted to sign with. As it stands
now, O and Sparks, Peedi Crakk, Freeway and the Gunz are all signed
to Jay-Z's new Roc-A-Fella, with Sigel planning to start his own
imprint under the Dame Dash Music Group umbrella.
Sigel's mom says that the members were
supposed to join Beanie once he set up his situation with the
DDMG. However, if you ask some of the State Property members,
there was never any question who they were going to align themselves
with. "I don't f--- with Dame Dash at all," Peedi Crakk
fumed. "I f--- with Beans and Biggs. I can't be around [Dash].
I can't be on that side of the fence. I hollered at Jay; Jay said
he got my contract, and I can go with him. I left it at that.
I was happy being with Jay. "He don't listen," Crakk
continued, explaining why he doesn't associate with Dash's group.
"He's so smart, he's dumb. He's got so much money, he thinks
he's the sh--. A cloud just hovers over his head so much, it f---s
with his common sense. That's why he's losing. He don't know how
to pick music, what song to do a video for, how to shoot a video.
If you tell him this, he feels disrespected because he's got so
many people kissing his ass. When you talk to him on a man-to-man
level, on a regular level, he feels disrespected. He's got three,
four, five assistants holding his two-way, holding his money,
holding his phone. All this super Hollywood sh--.
Neef insists that he and Young Chris
were always planning to stay with Jay and the Roc. "We met
Jay, Dame and Biggs together, but Jay was that n---a comforting
us. We ain't really talk to Dame until the sh-- start fading away.
When they was together, we was kicking it with Jay more. We were
still going on every tour with him, but still doing everything
Dame wanted us to do. When the [split] happened, we had to let
them know you can't play both sides of the fence. I even had my
problems with Dame, too. We used to argue about all types of sh--
little stuff like directing videos but [Dame's]
a good n---a."
Dash says he doesn't feel that he and
Jay-Z cutting business ties should mean that artists under his
Music Group label can't still be cool with Roc-A-Fella artists.
"Regretfully, it looks like you have to choose a side, and
that's never the way I wanted it to be," Dash said. "I
think that's corny. I would look at other situations and be like,
'That could never happen over here.' It appears that it did. That's
embarrassing to me. It wasn't anything that me, Beanie or anybody
under this umbrella bought into. The Roc is about friendship
or at least it was. It wasn't about the money. We do whatever
we do to help each other. ... When we signed people, they were
signing into a certain kind of unity where this could never have
happened. We were snobby, like 'We're the thorough dudes. We would
never do no clown stuff like that.'
"I guess the choice that had to
be made was, 'Do we want to go through a system and be corporate,
or do we have an independent spirit?' " Dash explained. "Beans
was like, 'I'm gonna roll with the independent thing.' Even though
we still get distributed through Universal and I deal with L.A.
Reid, we're still independent." Business issues aside, Brown-Derry
said her son had fostered close personal relationships with the
fellas from Philly, and he's hurt that he hasn't heard from the
State Property guys while he's been in jail the last several months.
"I can't really speak on why nobody has really been seeing
him," Neef said. "Me and Mack, we never had a crazy
relationship like everybody else had with him. We was cool, but
we never saw eye to eye. It ain't no beef or drama. ... I ain't
on his album. You gonna hear Chris on his album, not me. I was
never mad at him; we just never clicked. He's a real n---a
I can't take that away from him. He's nice as sh-- with the rappin',
but we just didn't click."
"When I was in jail, didn't nobody
write me," Crakk said. "I didn't want nobody to write
me. Only person who came to see me was Freeway. Oschino tried
to come see me, but he couldn't. I talked to Mack on the phone.
"But that's not how we
roll when a person is locked up. N---as don't wanna see n---as
when you in jail. All you worried about is your girl, your mom,
your grandmother, your kids. You not worried about no n---as in
jail writing you back and forth. When I was in jail, I didn't
get mad about nobody writing me. Didn't nobody go see my mom,
nobody took money to mom. Beans called my mom, I call his mom.
Beans is my man. Me and Beans got a connection. I start calling
him 'Uncle Mitty.' "
"What are we supposed to do, be
stagnated?" Sparks asked. "I got kids. I gotta make
moves. I probably ain't take the time out to write him
my fault but he could have reached out to me. I got the
same number. You got money on the books; you can call. My home
address never changed. I'm still in the same neighborhood. But
I got real busy. It's time to focus on me, 'cause Beans ain't
around to handle business. What do they mean, 'We on hold?' I'm
supposed to tell my son or daughter, 'We can't eat because Beans
is locked up?' "State
Property, as we knew them, all have individual efforts coming
down the pike shortly. Beanie Sigel's The B. Coming is slated
for March 29, while the Gunz's Brothers From Another is out May
24 and Freeway's Free at Last is due July 5. Peedi Crakk's solo
album and an Oschino and Sparks LP have no release dates yet,
but Crakk's is well into production and Oschino and Sparks say
that they are done. Sparks has even moved on to his own solo project.
Even if we have seen the last of State
Property making music as one group, the members of the crew still
seem to be pretty tight. Young Gunz, Peedi Crakk and O and Sparks
still stay in constant communication. All agree that there is
no beef among them, and they still have love for Sigel.
Lil'
Kim, Convicted Of Perjury, Preps for jail
Tupac did it. Beanie Sigel did it.
Shyne did it. And, LilKim is doing it. Despite
a conviction on perjury charges, Lil Kim has starting to
record songs, apparently bracing for a stay in prison. "She
is actively in the studio recording," publicist Ronn Torossian
told the New York Post.
Torossian said that Kim would also continue
to market her clothing line and her jewelry/watch line. Last Thursday,
the Brooklyn-bred rapper was convicted on three counts of perjury
and one of conspiracy, which amounts to a possible 20 year in
jail. Legal experts have speculated that Kim will receive anywhere
from 3-7 years as a first time felony offender. The Grammy Award
winner will be sentenced on June 24. (I'm
sure she's happy she got those implants now!)
Lil' Kim and her assistant Monique
Dopwel were both convicted of perjury and conspiracy but acquitted
of obstruction of justice. They each face up to 20 years in prison;
sentencing was set for June 24. Both defendants shook their heads
as the verdicts were delivered. Lil' Kim's supporters broke out
in sobs. The 29-year-old former sidekick of the late Notorious
B.I.G., known for her revealing outfits and raunchy rapping, testified
that she did not notice two close friends at the scene of the
2001 shootout -- her manager, Damion Butler, and Suif "Gutta"
Jackson. Both men have since pleaded guilty to gun charges. Witnesses
at the trial included Antoine "Banger" Spain and James
"Lil' Cease" Lloyd, who once teamed with Lil' Kim in
the group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Regarding the shootout, Cease told jurors
that Kim, along with members of her entourage, were outside of
the station when they noticed rapper Capone of the rival group
Capone-N-Noreaga. "Somebody approached him, they was conversating,"
said Cease. "I heard a shot after and everybody got down
on the floor. Some ran...I got down on the floor. Kimberly Jones,
she was on the floor next to me." Cease said he jumped into
a limo with Lil' Kim, Dopwell and Antoine Spain, another member
of the entourage, and returned to Kim's home in Englewood, N.J.,
where Butler returned later. Cease said he did not see who fired
the shots. "Everybody was talking about how crazy it was
that it just went down," said Cease, who said he severed
ties with Kim shortly after the shooting. The
jury also saw security photos taken at the station showing Butler
opening a door for Lil' Kim. Defense lawyer Mel Sachs argued that
Lil' Kim had no reason to protect Butler and Jackson because she
had already eliminated them from her life. The
shootout occurred when Lil' Kim's entourage crossed paths with
a rival rap group, Capone-N-Noreaga. One man was injured as more
than two dozen rounds were fired on the sidewalk.
Essence
Magazine Sells Out To Time Warner
In response to the recent discovery that
Essence Communications Partners has sold its magazine, "Essence",
to media giant Time Warner, many black people are wondering, "What
next?" Earlier this week, Africana.COM announced its intentions
to merge with AOL's BlackVoices, a decision which already had the
black community scratching its head.
The purchase of Essence magazine by Time
Warner is just one of a number of buyouts, or mergers that have
caused a rift between the companies owners and blacks across the
country. However, the owners of these companies are confident that
the right business decisions were made, and the future success of
their products hinged on those decisions. Five
years ago, BET founder Bob Johnson, sold his Black Entertainment
Television network empire to Viacom. Just two years ago, Vanguarde
Media halted the production of Savoy Magazine, Heart & Soul
Magazine, and Honey Magazine. These business decisions have angered
many blacks and labeled the company owners, "sell-outs".
While many of these business buyouts have
been coordinated in the efforts to maintain corporate and financial
stability, many blacks still believe that black-owned business ventures,
and the future of black businesses in America, will eventually suffer
as a result. Time Warner, the largest publishing company in the
world, had previously purchased 49 percent ownership in Essence
Communications. Time Inc. currently publishes Time magazine, Entertainment
Weekly, People, Sports Illustrated, Real Simple, InStyle, Fortune,
and other magazines. One of
the key social and economic impacts for this dissatisfaction by
blacks, stems from the belief that African-Americans own so little,
we cannot afford to sell our biggest, most profitable businesses
to the highest bidder. That highest bidder is usually a white-owned
business, which makes the concept sting that much more.
I
guess the O.J. Simpson Jokes can finally stop, actor Robert Blake
also gets away with murder
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Four
years of a real-life crime story ended Wednesday for actor Robert
Blake, the star of "In Cold Blood" and "Baretta,"
when a California jury acquitted him of murder in the 2001 slaying
of his wife.
Blake, 71, met the verdicts with sobs
and embraced his lawyer after the announcement, which followed
more than a week of deliberations. "I never lost hope,"
Blake told reporters after the verdict. "If
you live to be a million, you will never ever in your life meet
anyone more blessed than me," he said. Blake
was charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance
of lying in wait and two counts of solicitation of murder in the
shooting death of Bonny Lee Bakley, 44.
In the moments before the verdict, Blake
sat at the defense table, almost with a scowl on his face. When
the not guilty verdict was read, he smiled, leaned over and hugged
his attorney. He then placed his head on the table and sobbed.
At one point, he nearly collapsed; hands shaking, he fumbled with
a bottle of water his lawyer gave him. Blake emerged from the
courthouse more than an hour after the verdict, smiling and smoking
a cigarette. He praised "this small band of dedicated lawyers"
who "saved my life," but complained that the proceedings
had left him "broke."
"If you want to know how to go
through $10 million in five years, ask me," he said. In lengthy
and sometimes profane comments, he said relatives and associates
were "hoping to make a buck off my hopefully dead ass."
"Well, guess what: They're all liars, and some of them are
commode scum," he said. CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin
said he was "pretty surprised" by the verdict. "It
sure seemed like he was the only person with the opportunity,
the motive and the means to kill [Bakley]," Toobin said.
"But there was no eyewitness. There was no murder weapon
established," he said. "The jury didn't buy it, and
the jury didn't buy the whole prosecution's case." Later,
juror Lorie Moore said the prosecution did not prove its case.
"We just didn't have enough evidence to say whether he did
or if he didn't" commit the crimes, she said. Blake
attorney Gerald Schwartzbach said his client handled the trial
with "tremendous grace." "He
handled the deliberations with more composure than I was able
to muster," Schwartzbach said.
Jury foreman Thomas Nicholson said prosecutors
"couldn't put the gun in his hand" with evidence of
gunshot residue or blood on Blake's clothing. Jurors considered
the circumstantial evidence against Blake "flimsy" and
discounted the testimony of two key prosecution witnesses, he
said. "They could never
connect all the links in the chain," Nicholson said. Sandi
Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney,
said prosecutors and police believed they had a "solid circumstantial
case" against Blake. "We
believe the evidence was compelling," she said. "We
presented the evidence to the jury fully, honestly and professionally.
Unfortunately, these jurors disagreed with our view of the evidence."
Billy
Joel back in rehab
NEW YORK (AP) -- Singer and
songwriter Billy Joel has checked into an undisclosed rehabilitation
center "for treatment of alcohol abuse," his spokeswoman
said. Joel, 55, entered the
clinic after suffering "a recent bout of severe gastrointestinal
distress," spokeswoman Claire Mercuri told the New York Post
for Wednesday editions.
In June 2002, the singer-songwriter
checked into a Connecticut, substance abuse and psychiatric center.
He later said he entered the hospital because he had been abusing
alcohol. Joel has been involved in several car accidents in the
past three years, though none has been linked to alcohol or drug
use. The Grammy-winning artist, whose hits include his signature
song, "Piano Man," married 23-year-old Kate Lee last
year. It was his third marriage.
Soul
Singer Lyn Collins Passes Away
Hip-Hop heads may not be familiar with
Lyn Collins by name, but they know her work as her voice anchored
the 80s runaway hit It Takes Two. Rob
Base and DJ E-Z Rock sampled Collins commanding voice on
the 1988 song and it alone catapulted them into legend status.
Sadly, Collins died on Sunday from heart
complications related to cardiac arrhythmia. She was only 56.
Lyn Collins - "Mama Feelgood, The Female Preacher" -
was the principal voice of the James Brown Revue. Lyn was born
in Abilene, Texas on June 12th 1948. During her late teens she
sang proffessionally locally but didn't get an outside break until,
after seeing the James Brown show a time or three, she decided
to home in on the Godfather sending a demo to him c/o King records.
At first he didn't react but there must have been something memorable
about the demo, for when Marva Whitney left his show in January
1970 he contacted Lyn and instructed "Be ready". When
Vicki left again, Lyn Collins stepped into the spotlight to become
soul sister No. 1. The most commercially succesful of all of James
Brown's funky femme fatales, Lyn's JB-produced hits included Think
(About It) and, in duet with James What My Baby Needs Now (both
1972); Mama Feelgood, How Long Can I Keep It Up, Take Me Just
As I Am and We Want to Parrty, Parrty, Parrty, (1973).She
is survived by her two sons and their four children.
Mic
In testimony that was hushed and sometimes
mumbled, Michael Jackson's accuser described a night at the Neverland
ranch that he said started off in the arcade and ended in the
entertainer's bed. The 15-year-old boy told jurors in Santa Maria,
Calif., that Jackson on that particular night asked him if he
ever masturbated and offered to "do it for me."
"He said if men don't masturbate
they can get to a level where they might rape a girl or they can
be kind of unstable," the boy said of Jackson, who was in
the courtroom. Jackson, in pajama bottoms, slippers and a suit
coat, arrived in court more than an hour late because of a trip
to an emergency room for what his lawyers described as a serious
back problem caused by a fall. The judge threatened to have him
arrested and revoke his $3 million bail if he didn't come to court,
but vacated the arrest warrant after Jackson arrived.
Under questioning by District Attorney
Tom Sneddon, the boy began his second day on the stand by describing
how he and Jackson drank alcohol and looked at sex magazines together.
The boy said Jackson molested him twice, both times in the singer's
bedroom. He said they both were dressed in pairs of Jackson's
pajamas. The second incident occurred "about a day after"
the first encounter. In the second instance, he said, he resisted
an attempt by Jackson to place the boy's hand on Jackson's genitals.
The accuser's testimony differed
from his 14-year-old brother's description of witnessing two molestations,
and it was unclear if they were talking about the same alleged
incidents. The brother said Jackson and the boy were in underwear
and that the boy was asleep. The brother also said the boy was
on top of the bedcovers. The
session ended with Mesereau questioning him about his part in
a lawsuit that his family brought against J.C. Penney stores on
a claim that they had been abused by security guards. Mesereau
said that in a deposition in the suit, the boy said he was told
what to say by lawyers. The boy denied that. "They didn't
tell us what to say," he said. "I don't know. I was
8 years old and I don't know what was going on." "You
were 10 years old," said Mesereau. "When the deposition
was taken," the boy acknowledged. The court planned to handle
pending motions today and resume testimony on Monday.
FBI
Closes Notorious B.I.G Investigation
The FBI has closed its investigation into the 1997 murder of rap
star Notorious B.I.G., abandoning the theory that a rogue police
officer may have been involved in the slaying. The
case was closed after federal prosecutors reviewed the evidence
and concluded there was no basis for prosecution, Louis J. Caprino
Jr., acting head of the criminal division of the FBI's Los Angeles
office, told the Los Angeles Times.
Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was
Christopher Wallace, was shot to death in March 1997 in front
of hundreds of witnesses as he left a music industry party in
L.A. Investigators have pursued various theories, including one
that the killing, and that of rap star Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas
the year before, was the result of a feud between hip-hop figures
from the East and West coasts. The FBI had also spent 18 months
investigating the possibility that a rogue Los Angeles cop working
with rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight had orchestrated
Notorious B.I.G.'s killing. Knight, whose Death Row Records was
home to Shakur, has denied any involvement.
Investigators had said the officer,
David Mack, owned a car matching the description of one seen speeding
from the murder scene. A witness had also placed him at the scene
hours before the murder. However, other information gathered by
investigators did not support the theory and detectives turned
their attention elsewhere. Mack, who has since been imprisoned
for robbing a bank, has denied any involvement in the killing.
FBI officials abandoned the probe in January after learning the
lead agent on the case had talked with lawyers for Notorious B.I.G.'s
mother, who is suing the Los Angeles Police Department for allegedly
covering up police involvement in her son's slaying. Voletta Wallace's
suit, which seeks unspecified damages, is scheduled to go to trial
April 12 in federal court in Los Angeles. FBI officials said the
lawsuit had nothing to do with the decision to end the investigation.
The
Game And 50 Hold Press Conference To End Dispute -
Remmie Fresh
50 Cent, The Game and their respective
camps have decided to lay their beef to rest and made a formal
announcement at a press conference. "Its
going to be a positive thing for both sides," said Game.
I think its so much bigger being that the date is
March 9 [Biggie Smalls death date]. Im def doing to
do what I got to do...[to be] on a positive note. The
two will hold the press conference today, coincidentally on the
same day Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace was
gunned down. The dispute will
be resolved at the Schomburg Center For Research in Black Culture
in Harlem, New York.
50 Cent will also announce the launch
a new foundation, the G-Unity Foundation, which 50 claims will
"help people overcome obstacles and make a change for the
better in their lives." I
realized that if Im going to be effective at that, I have
to overcome some of my own," 50 Cent said in a statement
today (March 9). Game and I need to set an example in the community.
Both artists will make charitable
donations to the Boys Choir of Harlem and the Compton Unified
School District Music Program.
The combined donations are aimed at
helping the The Harlem Boys Choir Academy reach their fundraising
goal to receive a matching grant. Slightly over a week ago, 50
Cent booted Game from his G-Unit camp and the ensuing friction
resulted in a man affiliated with Game's Black Wall Street label
getting shot outside of Hot 97's. Since,
50 has relaxed his views and extended an olive branch to his former
protégée. Game
said that the press conference was such a pressing matter than
he was ushered to New York in a private jet. I
see this as a real opportunity to show the power of our community,"
Game added. "50 and I are proving that real situations and
real problems can be solved with real talk. This can also be seen
as a big step for my organization, Black Wall Street, in terms
of making a difference. Maybe we can help save some lives
the
way rap music saved mine. In
related news, 50 Cents album The Massacre is expected to
take the #1 slot on Billboard's Top 200 album charts. The
album moved most 1,000,000 copies in the first four days of being
released, thanks in part to the publicity the Queen's, New York
rapper's album received due to the shooting.
Kobe
Bryant holds up his end, Settles Civil Lawsuit Filed by Accuser
after she dropped case - JON SARCHE, AP Sports
DENVER (March 2) - Kobe Bryant and the 20-year-old woman who accused
him of rape nearly two years ago settled her civil lawsuit against
him, ending a sordid case that tarnished one of the NBA's brightest
young stars. Terms were not released but are rumored to be in
the seven figure range. A statement faxed to The Associated Press
by Bryant's attorneys said Wednesday only that the matter had
been resolved "to the satisfaction of both parties."
"The parties and their
attorneys have agreed that no further comments about the matter
can or will be made," the statement said. A motion for dismissal
stipulating that the case can never be refiled was filed simultaneously
in Denver federal court. A Los
Angeles Lakers spokeswoman said Bryant had declined comment on the
settlement. Bryant was in Boston for a game against the Celtics
and was unavailable before the game began. The agreement probably
spells out financial penalties for revealing any details, said Steve
Cron, a Los Angeles attorney familiar with celebrity cases.
"It's in both parties'
interests to have this remain confidential," he said. "That's
one of the incentives for them to settle: He didn't have to do a
deposition, the lurid details wouldn't be posted on some Web site.
She didn't have to face the rigors of having a deposition by his
lawyers and she'll gain some privacy as well." The lawsuit,
filed three weeks before the criminal case against the NBA star
collapsed last summer, sought unspecified damages for mental injuries,
public scorn and humiliation the woman said she has suffered since
their June 2003 encounter at the Vail-area hotel where she worked.
The woman, now pregnant and married, has not commented publicly
on the case. Bryant, a 27-year-old married father of one, has apologized
for his "behavior that night and for the consequences she has
suffered," while insisting the sex was consensual. He has never
been questioned under oath about what happened in his hotel room
the night before he had knee surgery at a Vail clinic. Shortly after
jury selection began in the criminal case, prosecutors in Eagle
County dropped the single felony sexual assault count after the
woman told them she could not take part in a trial. Prosecutors
said they were confident they could win a conviction, but only with
her cooperation.
Essence
'Takes Back Rap; Nelly Replies - Houston Williams and
Clover Hope
Essence
magazine has continued its campaign against the misogyny and sexism
in rap music with a recent town hall meeting at Spelman College,
a historically black school for women. The crusade also began at
Spelman when rapper Nelly went to the school for a benefit related
to registration and awareness of bone marrow donation. The St. Louis
rapper and his sister Jackie Donohue started Jes Us 4 Jackie out
of their search for a suitable bone marrow donor after she was diagnosed
with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in 2003.But, the campus of the school
rebelled against the rapper's appearance and his charity, because
of the imagery in an "uncut" video "Tip Drill."
The video is full of strippers and ends with Nelly swiping a credit
card between a woman's buttocks.
Nelly defended his position and stated
that the woman have to be held accountable for their actions as
well."These are grown women
that's their choice. We're
not dealing with kids. There was nobody [in "Tip Drill"
that was] 16, 17, 18, 19 [years old]. "All of these girls were
21 and older, as far as I know," Nelly told AllHipHop.com.
"This video had been out months before we even got to Spelman.
And then to come to find out you've had certain artists perform
at your school who've also had videos on that channel, it's like,
wait a minute, you didn't boycott these people, you didn't say anything
to these people, how am I supposed to feel. I'm supposed to feel
like this is personal because it felt like it."
Whether personal or not, the discussion
at Spelman will continue with MC Lyte, Essence editor Michaela Angela
Davis, Michael Lewellen from BET's public relations office, Brian
Leach of TVT Records and activist/author Kevin Powell. Nelly said
that his efforts at the college were genuine and one that affects
others in the African American community. "They waited for
a real, real, real serious issue, with what I was trying to do,
to finally come out and say something about something they could
have said something about before we even came down there,"
he continued. Eventually, Nelly was forced to abort his mission
at Spelman, but has continued to his philanthropic efforts with
tsunami relief, scholarships and activities in his St. Louis community.
Man
Shot During 50 Cent NYC Radio Appearance
A man was shot in the leg last night (Feb.
28) in the lobby of a New York radio station while 50 Cent was making
an on-air appearance, police said. The rapper, who was at the station
promoting the upcoming release of his Shady/Aftermath/Interscope
album "The Massacre," was not harmed in the incident.
Authorities have refuted early reports
that a shooting victim at Hot 97 was affiliated with 50 Cents
G-Unit. Now authorities have stated that the victim is a native
of Compton, the hometown of The Game.
At the time of the shooting, 50 Cent was
interviewing on Hot 97 and The Game was reportedly trying to gain
entrance to Hot 97. A confrontation ensued outside after the Compton-bred
rapper and his camp were prevented from getting inside of the facility.
According to sources, the wounded man was a 20-something African
American male, but have not positively identified him as a member
in The Games crew. 50 Cent, G-Unit and Olivia were immediately
ushered out of a side exit to the building. Additionally,
the offices of Violator Management were also shot up. Violator is
the management home of 50 Cent, Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes, among
others. The victim was shot in his leg and taken to a Manhattan
hospital for examination. Police are currently investigating both
shootings and no suspects were available at press time. Yesterday
50 booted Game from his powerhouse rap outfit after the younger
rap star appeared on Hot 97 with Funkmaster Flex this past Saturday
and Angie Martinez this afternoon and refuted 50s claim that
he had a major hand in assisting Game with his debut, The Documentary.
The Game appeared on Hot 97 at the same
time as 50 Cent was on Power 105 and was unaware of the announcement.
It wasnt until a caller phoned in and asked Game his thoughts
on 50 Cent dissing him that the California rapper learned the news.
Game carefully avoided answering the question and responded by saying
he would continue to make good music. In a recent interview with
VIBE magazine, 50 stated he was brought in by Interscope Records
to resurrect Games album, which according to 50 was on the
verge of being shelved and Game being dropped from the label. On
Saturday, however, The Game told Funkmaster Flex that his status
was never uncertain nor was He ever close to being let go by Dr.
Dre or Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine. It was the truth,
an animated 50 Cent told Funkmaster Flex on Hot 97 this evening
after his appearance on Power 105. He was getting dropped.
Why else would they let me be a partner on a project that [Interscope]
had for two years? Im
so disappointed, 50 continued. This is crazy.
Officials said the man was taken to St.
Vincent's Hospital and was listed in stable condition early today.
The shooting occurred shortly about 10 p.m. at WQHT-FM (Hot 97),
according to police spokesperson Sgt. Kevin Farrell. No arrests
had been made. Police were investigating the incident.
Jamie
Foxx Wins Best Actor For 'Ray' Portrayal, Freeman also a winner!
Jamie
Foxx was crowned best actor at the 77th Academy Awards last night
(Feb. 27) in Los Angeles for his portrayal of late music legend
Ray Charles in the hit film "Ray." Also veteran actor
Morgan Freeman received a long overdue Academy Award for his work
in "Million Dollar Baby." "Give
it up for Ray Charles and his beautiful legacy. And thank you Ray
Charles for living," Foxx said during his acceptance speech,
which found him choking back tears and paying tribute to his late
grandmother. Jamie Foxx says his daughter told him just before the
best actor Oscar was announced that she thought he was good -- even
if he lost. But in the end, she and the Academy Award voters were
in agreement. Foxx captured the best actor honors for his portrayal
of Ray Charles in the movie "Ray." Foxx has been considered
a favorite for the award since the movie came out and he has been
receiving a series of awards for the role. But he still had enough
to put together an acceptance speech that was both funny and touching.
Among those he thanked was his late grandmother, who used to tell
him to act right. He tearfully told the audience now that his grandma's
gone, the only time he hears her voice is in his dreams. He then
added that he couldn't wait to go to sleep because they now had
a lot to talk about.
It was another record night for the Academy
Awards -- and it came just three years after the most recent landmark
night for the Oscars. In addition to Jamie Foxx's win for best actor,
Morgan Freeman captured the best supporting actor Oscar for his
work in "Million Dollar Baby." The achievement didn't
go unnoticed by Freeman. He says his win, coupled with Foxx's triumph,
"means that Hollywood is continuing to make history" and
the film industry is "evolving with the rest of the world."
Last night is only the 2nd time
in the 77-year history of the Oscars that blacks earned two of the
four top acting awards. In 2002, Denzel Washington won for lead
actor for "Training Day," while Halle Berry won for her
work in "Monster's Ball." All told this year, there were
five blacks nominated in the 20 major acting categories -- most
of any year. In addition to his best-actor nomination, Foxx was
also up for best supporting actor for his work in "Collateral."
He's the first black actor to compete in two categories in the same
year. In addition, Don Cheadle was nominated as best actor and Sophe
Okonedo as best supporting actress for their work in "Hotel
Rwanda."
Former
Philly Air Personality Xzulu, speaks out on beatdown, Child Molestation
And Im raps MVP, dont
make me remind yall what happened in DC, Game boasts
on the remix to the 50 Cent remix of Hate It Or Love It.
Those that monitor the Hip-Hop newswire can allude to what the Compton
rapper is referring to. Even though the line isnt specific,
he could be threatening to jar peoples collective memory about
an alleged confrontation that involved DJ Zxulu, formerly of 93.9
WKYS-FM in Washington D.C.
Zxulu, a veteran to commercial radio,
isnt naming names in the matter and The Game has denied any
wrongdoing through prepared statements. But on Jan. 21, Prince County
police reported that Zxulu and another person were beaten badly
from and the violent incident may have involved The Game. Zxulu
was hospitalized and is still recovering from his wounds. No criminal
charges were ever filed. To make matters worse for the DJ, he says
he has departed his post at WKYS and old wounds have been opened
up. Zxulu speaks for the first time about his beatdown and an old
case that reeks of career assassination. (Read the entire interview
at -
http://www.allhiphop.com/features/
)
Usher
Part-Owner Of Cleveland Cavaliers - Carolyn E. Davis
They
don't call him Mr. Entertainment for nothing. After dominating the
music world in '04, Usher's recently been stepping up his acting
game, and now he's about to move into pro sports. The R&B crooner
is part of an ownership group on the verge of purchasing the NBA's
Cleveland Cavaliers, his reps confirmed, but specifics of the deal
won't be revealed until next week. ESPN has said that the group,
of which Usher is a minor part, will seal the deal for $375 million.
Goodbye,
Y100; hello, The Beat -
Michael Klein
Signs
are pointing to the imminent death of radio station Y100 after nearly
12 years. The modern-rock station, WPLY-FM (100.3), stopped using
live disc jockeys at noon today when midday host Bret Hamilton signed
off. Y100's Web site, www.y100.com, was changed to read "under
construction." Sister station
WPHI-FM (The Beat) will move from 103.9 to use the stronger signal
of 100.3, according to station insiders who spoke on condition of
anonymity. The changeover is scheduled for midnight.
The 103.9 spot eventually will become
a black-gospel station, the insiders said. A loop tape will be broadcast
on 103.9 to steer listeners west on their dial, to 100.3. Indications
of the change began on the Preston & Steve morning show. Preston
Elliot and Steve Morrison, who are bound for WMMR-FM (93.3) in the
summer, were to air their Y100 finale tomorrow. But before their
10 a.m. signoff, the show turned into a sort of wake. The station's
program director, Jim McGuinn, mused on the air about his own future.
Y100 executives would not return messages. Meanwhile,
a Web site, www.y100rocks.com, has been set up. It contains an online
radio station with a Y100-style playlist as well as an online petition
to save Y100. The site's source was unclear.
Christina
Milian Single At Center Of Law Suit

A group of copyright owners on Tuesday (Feb. 22) filed an infringement
lawsuit over Christina Milian's "Dip It Low." The Island
Def Jam track peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August
2004 and was nominated for best rap/sung collaboration at this year's
Grammys. The suit -- filed in
U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by Thomas Turino, Larry Crook
and Dan Dickey -- claims that a sample of a "central identifying
melodic, harmonic and rhythmic component" of the 1983 song
"La Sirena" was looped throughout "Dip It Low"
without permission.
Named as defendants are the Island Def
Jam Music Group, Universal Music & Video Distribution and producers/writers/publishers
Teedra Moses d.b.a. Ras N Taj Music, Paul Poli and Paul Poli Music.
The trio is seeking damages
of at least $150,000 per infringement, a declaration of rights,
an accounting for all profits and attorneys' fees. Island Def Jam
and Universal were not available for comment.
Official
Statement from Industry Tuesdays after Shooting at Club Flow
INDUSTRY
MUSIC GROUP PUBLIC STATEMENT:
On behalf of Larry Larr and the Industry Tuesdays staff we deeply regret the unfortunate
events that unfolded outside of Club Flow on Tuesday night. We reject the cowardly
actions of the gunman. Although
the shooting incident is not directly associated with the Industry Tuesdays event
our staff was directly affected when two members of our security team were injured
when a first-time attendee of Industry
Tuesdays became angry because club security informed him that he would not be
permitted to smoke marijuana inside the club. He became belligerent and was overheard
yelling outside the club with our security
team. Minutes later gun shots where heard and the gunman was quickly apprehended.
After the gunman's arrest,
We witnessed people who became outraged that someone would come out to Industry
Tuesdays and try to destroy it. It quickly dawned on me just how much some people
really DO care. We are grateful for all of our supporters near and far.
We are honored and humbled by the way in which our corporate partners and sponsors
enthusiastically embrace Industry Tuesdays. Though the intentions of the gunman
were unclear there is something he did not anticipate: his actions served to strengthen
our team. We are happy to report that both security officers that where injured
in this incident are now home with their families. Our staff has plenty to be
thankful for this holiday season. We've had a stellar year with respect to the
growth of Industry Tuesdays as an event but we are much more thankful to God for
sparing both security guards' lives.
On February 1, 2005 Industry Tuesdays
will be having our first PHILLY STOP THE VIOLENCE SHOWCASE.
We look forward to bridging the gap between all flavors of Hip Hop
- Alternative/Grassroots/Revolutionary rappers, Gospel rappers,
Hardcore Street rappers and more. On behalf of Larry Larr, Sonya
and the Industry Tuesdays staff we want to let all of our supporters
know that we will not be stopped! We will not lose! A special thanks
goes out to everyone who ever supported, continues to support and
intends to support Industry Tuesdays in the future. From all of
us to all of you, we wish you all a safe, healthy, prosperous and
happy new year. See y'all in the '05!
Shirley
Chisholm, first black woman elected to U.S. Congress and who sought presidency
in 1972, dies at 80
MIAMI (AP) - Shirley Chisholm, an advocate
for minority rights who became the first black woman elected to Congress and later
the first black person to seek a major party's nomination for the U.S. presidency,
has died. She was 80.Chisholm, who took her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
in 1969, was a riveting speaker who often criticized Congress as being too clubby
and unresponsive. An outspoken champion of women and minorities during seven terms
in the House, she also was a staunch critic of the Vietnam War. Details
of her death on Saturday were not immediately available. Chisholm ran for the
Democratic presidential nomination in 1972, a campaign that was viewed as more
symbolic than practical. She won 152 delegates before withdrawing from the race."I
ran for the Presidency, despite hopeless odds, to demonstrate the sheer will and
refusal to accept the status quo," Chisholm said in her book "The Good
Fight." "The next time a woman runs, or a black, a Jew or anyone from
a group that the country is 'not ready' to elect to its highest office, I believe
that he or she will be taken seriously from the start."The Rev. Jesse Jackson
called her a "woman of great courage." "She was an activist and
she never stopped fighting," Jackson told The Associated Press from Ohio.
"She refused to accept the ordinary, and she had high expectations for herself
and all people around her." Newly
elected, she was assigned to the House Agriculture Committee, which she felt was
irrelevant to her urban constituency. In an unheard of move, she demanded reassignment
and got switched to the Veterans Affairs Committee.Not long afterward she voted
for Hale Boggs, who was white, over John Conyers, who was black, for majority
leader. Boggs rewarded her with a place on the prized Education and Labor Committee
and she was its third ranking member when she left. "My greatest political
asset, which professional politicians fear, is my mouth, out of which come all
kinds of things one shouldn't always discuss for reasons of political expediency,"
she told voters. During her failed presidential bid, Chisholm went to the hospital
to visit George Wallace, her rival candidate and ideological opposite, after he
had been shot - an act that appalled her followers. "He said, 'What are your
people going to say?' I said: 'I know what they're going to say. But I wouldn't
want what happened to you to happen to anyone.' He cried and cried," she
recalled. In her book, "Unbought
and Unbossed," she recounted the campaign that brought her to Congress and
wrote of her concerns about that body:. "Our representative democracy is
not working because the Congress that is supposed to represent the voters does
not respond to their needs. I believe the chief reason for this is that it is
ruled by a small group of old men." Born Shirley St. Hill in New York City,
on Nov. 30, 1924, she was the eldest of four daughters of Caribbean immigrants.
She began her professional career as a nursery school teacher, eventually becoming
director of a day care center, and later serving as an educational consultant
with the city's child care department. She became active in local Democratic politics
and ran successfully for the state Assembly in 1964. After leaving Congress, Chisholm
was named to the Purington Chair at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts,
where she taught for four years. In later years she was a sought-after speaker
on the lecture circuit. Chisholm was married
twice. Her 1949 marriage to Conrad Chisholm ended in divorce in February, 1977.
Later that year she wed Arthur Hardwick, Jr., who died in 1986. She had no children.
Once discussing what her legacy might be, Shirley Chisholm commented, "I'd
like them to say that Shirley Chisholm had guts. That's how I'd like to be remembered." African-American
Cookie company celebrates 50th anniversary of Montgomery Bus Boycott
December
1, 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We at the Rosa
Parks Museum are excited that Alizas Cookies, Inc. manufacturer and distributors
of ALIZAS snack cookies has created a very imaginative way to help all of
us remember this seminal event in Civil Rights history with Cookies of Courage,
a Montgomery Bus Cookie Box. Cookies of Courage
feature a flavorful 2 oz bag of Alizas delicious cookies with four flavors
from which to choose. But this is much more than just a box of cookies; it is
an exciting educational tool - offering a bite of history with your cookies. The
bus, symbolizing the beginning of the Modern Civil Rights Movement, tells the
story of the Boycott with a timeline on its top, and a comprehensive
timeline of the struggle of African Americans for Civil Rights inside. Cookies
of Courage make a great fundraiser, and are available to schools, school systems,
museums, organizations, etc. through Alizas Cookies, Inc. The Montgomery
Bus Box Of Cookies will be available by February 1, 2005 (Start Of Black History
Month). Go to www.AlizasCookies.attglobal.net
for more information.
Police
Looking Into Supreme Link In Ja Rule Party Shooting -
by Gil Kaufmanne
One of the men shot
Monday is the brother of drug lord's associate. An ex-con shot outside a party
hosted by Ja Rule at the LQ club early Monday morning in New York is the brother
of a man implicated in the ongoing drug and murder probe involving the Inc. record
label. According to reports, Troy Moore, 37, in stable
condition at a New York hospital, is the older brother of Tyran "Tata"
Moore, a longtime associate of notorious drug lord Kenneth "Supreme"
McGriff. McGriff is the target of an investigation into rap-related murders and
allegations that he used drug money to help boyhood pal Irv Gotti fund Murder
Inc., label home to Ja and singer Ashanti. Moore
and William Clark, 39, were shot by an unknown person in a yellow jacket around
3:30 a.m. outside the Latin-themed club. Though wounded in the chest and buttocks,
Clark drove himself to a local police station and was later admitted to an area
hospital, where he died Monday afternoon. Both men had served time in prison,
according to reports Moore for assault and Clark for a gun charge. Neither
NYPD nor FBI spokespeople would elaborate on any ties between Moore and Clark
to McGriff, citing the ongoing investigation. "Tata"
Moore is currently in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York,
awaiting sentencing on a federal gun charge. According to The Associated Press,
law-enforcement sources said investigators are looking into any possible link
between the shooting, the Inc. and McGriff. Monday's
shooting occurred one week after a fan was shot outside a Ja Rule afterparty in
Peoria, Illinois
Philly
Ladies of Hip-Hop Showcase- Industry Tuesdays @Club Flow - Nov. 9th (Tuesday) I'm
sure u heard about it by now. If not, let me tell u how it really went down. First
props to Larry Larr for trying to squash the beef. A young female MC by the name
of Pretty Viscious has a mix CD out where she disses Ms Jade. As Larry was on
stage with Pretty Viscious, Ms Jade, standing on the side of the stage came running
out and gave the upstart MC a Philly beatdown, swinging on her like a buzzsaw
and pulling out her weave and tossing it (along with her shoes) into the crowd.
After leaving the venue for a minute, Ms Jade came back and apologized to the
crowd. (Big ups to Ms Jade!)
I
gotta let yall know, i don't condone violence but this is Hip-Hop. If you
wanna be "real" then you gotta be prepared for the results. Hip-Hop
is life for many cats. If you diss someone and they are in the house, be prepared
for an azzwhuppin. If you can't hold your own, then don't diss! Not that Ms Jade
was right but you reap what you sow. In case you don't know anything about hip-hop,
folks take it seriously...and personal. Get your weight up if you wanna go the
diss route. I heard that Pretty Viscious is a really good MC, cool! Then let your
talent speak for itself and do you sister. All in all, this was a history
making event. if you missed it, then you need to stay tuned for the next one.
Philadelphia is truly the home of the female MC. The ladies did the damn thing
last night! The club was packed and Hip-Hop reigned supreem. Fellas, let me tell
you. these ladies were fine, talented and totally took over the stage. So many
hot MC's were in the house that it felt like an award show! Lady Merk, Nina Ross,
Miss Jade, Lena Price, Tifa, Kimo, ....whew! Props to Larry Larr and Industry
Tuesdays! I'm gonna get to the next one earrrrly. We really do have the best female
MC's in the world. These ladies know how to put on a show! John
Forte Fights Drug Laws- Remmie Fresh
ABCs investigative news show
Prime Time reported the present status of John Forte, a rapper serving
14 mandatory years in jail on drug charges. A first-time offender, Forte is trying
to ease his lengthy sentence, a weighty endeavor under the current legal system.
However, the rapper stated that his optimism of getting out keeps him motivated
to be proactive. Id probably
be dead without hope. Everyday I wake up and I say, 'you know what? Today is the
day that something good is going to happen, Forte said. According
to prosecutors, drug couriers were hired to haul drugs from Texas to New York.
Prosecutors say they had taped conversations of Forte referring to cocaine as
"ice cream," arranging to pick up almost 31 pounds at the Newark, New
Jersey International Airport. Federal agents arrested him after he was handed
a suitcase by two women. Forte maintains that
he was attempting to deliver money, not drugs, but doesnt admit to being
completely innocent. Much of the awareness
surrounding the Former Fugees case is related to his surrogate mother, singer
Carly Simon. When he turned 13, Forte won a full scholarship to the prestigious
Exeter academy, where he befriended Simons son Ben Taylor. From there, the
Brooklyn native became a part of the family. As
family, Simon defends Forte passionately and now fights for a repeal of the mandatory
minimum drug laws that remove a judges discretion in a case. "I'm
prepared to fight this until the last possibility is exercised," Simon said.
Now 29, John Forte is slated to get out of
jail when he is 38. Forte began his
once-illustrious career off doing A&R for Rawkus before hooking up with The
Fugess. Forte released an album, Poly Sci as well as singing backup during family
friend Carly Simon's last tour. Forte also helped in the production of The Fugee's
17 million seller The Score. Moreover, hes worked with the likes of Michael
Jackson, Wyclef, the Black Eyed Peas and Public Enemy.
Johnny
Carson - Late-Night Legend Dies at 79
LOS ANGELES (Jan.
23) - Johnny Carson, the quick-witted "Tonight Show" host who became
a national institution putting his viewers to bed for 30 years with a smooth nightcap
of celebrity banter and heartland charm, died Sunday. He was 79. Carson
died early Sunday morning, according to his nephew, Jeff Sotzing. "He was
surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable," Sotzing told
The Associated Press. He did not provide further details, but NBC said Carson
died of emphysema at his Malibu home. The boyish-looking Nebraska native with
the disarming grin, who survived every attempt to topple him from his late-night
talk show throne, was a star who managed never to distance himself from his audience. His
wealth, the adoration of his guests - particularly the many young comics whose
careers he launched - the wry tales of multiple divorces: Carson's air of modesty
made it all serve to enhance his bedtime intimacy with viewers. "Heeeeere's
Johnny!" was the booming announcement from sidekick Ed McMahon that ushered
Carson out to the stage. Then the formula: the topical monologue, the guests,
the broadly played skits such as "Carnac the Magnificent." But America
never tired of him; Carson went out on top when he retired in May 1992. McMahon
said Sunday that Carson was "like a brother to me."
Singer
D'Angelo Arrested On Charges Of Drunk Driving, Drug Possession
- Alyssa Rashbaum
R&B singer D'Angelo was arrested on charges of drunk driving and drug possession
near his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, on Sunday. D'Angelo, born Michael Eugene
Archer, was stopped in a Richmond suburb for a traffic violation, but after searching
his vehicle, police found substances they believed to be cocaine and marijuana,
Chesterfield police Captain Karl Leonard told The Associated Press. Both substances
were reportedly sent to laboratories to be analyzed.
D'Angelo,
who won two Grammy Awards in 2000, has run into trouble on the road before. In
November 2002, a woman alleged the singer cut her off in a lane leading to a shopping
mall and then repeatedly and recklessly switched lanes. When police came to his
home to serve him with misdemeanor charges of aggressive driving, the singer refuted
the allegations and was further charged with resisting arrest. D'Angelo is due
in court on Tuesday to be arraigned on charges of drunken driving, marijuana possession
and possession of a controlled substance. Once
again untalented Ashlee Simpson embarrasses herself in public
Apparently,
for the 70,000-plus fans at Miami's Orange Bowl on Tuesday night, a lip-synching
Ashlee Simpson would've been preferable to the real non-singing, live thing. The
dark-haired fraud was sacked with a tsunami of boos when her voice devolved into
a quaky howl while singing her latest single ''La La'' during the game's halftime
show, which was watched by some 22 million viewers on ABC. The vocal snag occurred
as she delivered the line: ''You make me want to scream.'' Last October, Simpson
was busted for using a vocal track during a Saturday Night Live appearance - a
performance she cut short by performing an awkward jig, bounced around like a
crackhead, then fleeing the stage. She first blamed the debacle on her band, then
later on acid reflux disease. The second season of Simpson's MTV reality show
premieres Jan. 26, and she kicks off a tour in support of her CD Autobiography
on February 18 in Los Angeles. Let's hope she packs the Prilosec. "There
was some booing that went on after the halftime show was finished," she said.
"If they didn't like the performance, and that's what it was about, then
sorry to them." Some
have said Simpson was booed at Miami's Pro Player Stadium because the rowdy crowd
of 72,000 wasn't the same age bracket as Simpson's teen audience (oh yeah, these
were mostly college age students) . Others have said it was payback for "SNL,"
for her being a bad sport, walking off the stage and later blaming her band for.
Still others have complained that she just sounded bad. But Simpson has a few
theories herself about why boos were heard following the closing line of her song
"La La," "I want to hear you scream!" "Maybe they were
booing at me, maybe they were booing at the halftime show 'cause the whole thing
sucked," she said. "I was facing [the Oklahoma Sooners], and I was rooting
for USC, and they played a clip of it, so maybe it was that those people didn't
like me. You never know. But I can't make everybody happy."
's new LP, projects on the horizon under
the Def Jam umbrella include records from 112, Mariah Carey and
Memphis Bleek.
Aaliyah's
Label Can't Sue Video Producer Who Booked Ill-Fated Flight
A New York court has ruled
that Aaliyah's record company cannot sue the video producer who booked the private
jet that crashed in the Bahamas in 2001, killing the singer.The Manhattan appeals
court reversed its June 2004 decision, which had allowed the company to file suit,
saying on Thursday that only Aaliyah's parents had a right to sue for wrongful
death, which they had already done in 2003 and received compensation for, according
to The Associated Press. The
June ruling allowed Blackground Records to file suit because Aaliyah was considered
the prime "asset" of the company and not just an employee. According
to the AP, Frank Penski, Blackground's appellate lawyer, said as of Thursday he
had not seen the decision and did not know if his client would further pursue
a lawsuit against the producer. Reportedly
Leaked Documents Provide Lurid Details Of Michael Jackson Case-
Gil Kaufman
Although evidence
in the Michael Jackson child-molestation case has been kept closely guarded, a
story posted Thursday on the Web site The Smoking Gun, which the site claims is
based on leaked affidavits, paints a lurid picture of alleged details of the case. The
details include: that Jackson allegedly plied his then-13-year-old accuser with
"wine, tequila and Skyy vodka" several times; that police allegedly
found a stash of pornography in Jackson's bedroom, as well as whiskey and wine
in the singer's bathroom; and that the boy allegedly told police that he was "kinda
drunk" the first time the singer touched him during a "lesson"
in masturbation. The story states that the
case is built largely on the memories of the accuser, his mother, sister and younger
brother, who is now 14. Their descriptions of details in Jackson's house
from the combination on the lock of the singer's bedroom door to the location
of his multiple pornography caches and largely consistent stories of the
alleged abuses spurred the November 2003 raid on Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The
allegations in the documents reportedly range from tales of the 46-year-old pop
star making obscene prank calls from his private plane to more serious accusations:
that Jackson licked the head of the accuser as he slept, and that the singer allegedly
told the accuser and his brother that "boys have to masturbate or they go
crazy." Jackson has pleaded not guilty
to the charges of child molestation and supplying an intoxicating agent. Jury
selection in the case is slated for late January. The
boys are said to have told investigators that, as his 3-year-old son Prince Michael
II (a.k.a. "Blanket") lay sleeping nearby, Jackson allegedly taught
the teens how to surf pornographic Web sites on his laptop computer, saying that
his son was "missing out" on the images. If asked what they had seen,
Jackson reportedly told the teens to say they had been watching "The Simpsons"
and that the activities were their "little secret," not to be disclosed
to anyone, even if a gun was put to their heads. According
to The Smoking Gun, prosecutors claim in the documents that it wasn't until after
the February 3, 2003, airing of Martin Bashir's "Living With Michael Jackson"
documentary which drew immediate fire due to Jackson's statements about
sharing his bed with unrelated children that Jackson began molesting his
accuser, providing him with alcohol and allegedly imprisoning the boy and his
family at Neverland. At the time, Jackson
is said to have told the family he was concerned for their safety and flew them
to a luxury resort in Miami on comedian Chris Tucker's jet, according to the statements.
It was in Miami that Jackson is said to have first provided the boy with wine
which he reportedly called "Jesus juice" concealed in
a Diet Coke can. The family told investigators
that upon returning to Neverland from Miami, they were not allowed to leave the
ranch until they filmed a rebuttal to Bashir's documentary, and that an unindicted
co-conspirator in the case allegedly told the mother that if she went to police
he would "make the kids disappear." However,
when the Department of Children and Family Services interviewed the family a week
after the documentary aired spurred by a call from an official with the
Los Angeles Unified School District the mother reportedly played the investigator
innocuous video of Jackson with the accuser strolling around Neverland and said
the singer was "like a father" to her children, a phrase the siblings
repeated to investigators. The Smoking Gun
story reports that law-enforcement documents reveal that the family denied any
allegations of abuse until the mother hired a lawyer in mid-2003. It also states
that Jackson's defense told authorities that the family's story is inconsistent,
as the family claimed the plot to silence them began two weeks before the first
incident of molestation is alleged to have occurred. The
Smoking Gun also posted a list of evidence allegedly seized during the Neverland
raid, including four "Barely Legal" porn DVDs; the documentary "Pimps
Up, Ho's Down"; a photo of the accuser on the nightstand near Jackson's bed;
and a copy of fashion photographer Bruce Weber's book "The Chop Suey Club,"
which features photos of naked and near-naked male models. Also reportedly seized
were a pair of white boys' Hanes underwear from the bathroom of Jackson's 6-year-old
daughter, Paris Jackson; the same brand of underwear worn by the accuser. And,
based on information supplied by the accuser's younger brother, police reportedly
found a black Samsonite suitcase with Playboy and Hustler magazines in a closet
below Jackson's two-story bedroom. According
to The Smoking Gun, the brothers were interviewed separately by police detectives
and gave similar accounts of what they saw or experienced in Jackson's home. The
younger brother is alleged to have told police that he saw Jackson molesting his
sleeping brother at least twice from a vantage point on the steps outside Jackson's
bedroom; investigators are reported to have verified that the location would have
offered a view into the bedroom. The
mother of the boys whom Jackson allegedly nicknamed "Doo Doo Head"
and "Blowhole" is said to have kept quiet about the singer licking
her son's head on the plane because, she told investigators, she "thought
at the moment she was seeing things." The story also said that the boys'
recounting of events is occasionally vague because they claim they cannot remember
dates or times when the alleged abuse and inappropriate behavior occurred, because
there were no calendars or clocks at Neverland. However, the entrance to Neverland
features a huge clock made from shrubs, and Jackson is reported to have given
the accuser a watch with a calendar function. The watch was one of several gifts
the singer gave to the child, which also included an Apple laptop computer, video-game
systems and a white Ford Bronco to shuttle him to his medical appointments. Representatives
for Michael Jackson had not returned calls for comment at press time. Phil
Spector Told Police He Shot Actress By 'Accident,' - Alyssa Rashbaum
Phil
Spector, who has testified that actress Lana Clarkson shot herself in his home
in 2003, initially told police that he shot her by "accident," according
to recently released grand-jury transcripts. In
the five volumes documenting secret
grand-jury proceedings recently obtained by The Los Angeles Times, Alhambra Police
Officer Beatrice Rodriguez testified that when police arrived at the music producer's
home after the shooting, Spector said "What's wrong with you guys? What are
you doing? I didn't mean to shoot her. It was an accident." Spector
has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Clarkson at his Alhambra, California,
home on February 3, 2003. In a 2003 interview with Esquire magazine, Spector suggested
that Clarkson may have committed suicide. The producer is free on $1 million bail;
if convicted of murder, he could face life in prison. According
to the Times which reported on the contents of the transcripts on Friday
after several media organizations, including the Times and The Associated Press,
won a legal battle to unseal the documents the transcripts show that Spector
allegedly implicated himself in the crime. Spector's
driver, Adriano Desouza, reportedly testified that he heard a shot while he waited
outside the house, and three minutes later saw Spector emerge holding a revolver.
Desouza said that Spector then told him, "I think I
killed somebody," but that when he pressed the producer for further
details, Spector shrugged his shoulders and remained silent. Spector himself did
not testify before the grand jury, but jurors did hear the testimonies of three
women who each said that Spector had separately threatened them with a gun in
the past. According to the transcripts, Deputy Los Angeles County District Attorney
Doug Sortino told the grand jury that the testimonies of those women showed that
Spector was guilty of implied malice and that he acted in an "inherently
dangerous" way, which proved he could be responsible for murder.
Two women who dated Spector in the 1990s
testified that Spector had threatened them, separately, with a gun
to keep them from leaving his home and a New York hotel room. Another
woman, Deborah Strand, testified that at a 1999 party she saw a
man she later found out was Spector flicking cigar ash on top of
her boyfriend's dog after it jumped on him. Strand said she told
Spector he could leave, and the producer turned, pointed a gun at
her right cheek and said, "What are you going to say now?"
Several of Clarkson's friends also testified in the trial, saying
she was looking forward to getting married and starting a family.
The order sealing the grand-jury transcripts was lifted on Wednesday.
Acs that my mother and I shared."
Update: Ashlee Simpson azz
out on 'SNL', Gaffe Blamed On Acid Reflux
If
Ashlee Simpson's stomach was upset Saturday night, imagine how she's
feeling now. Busted for a "Saturday Night Live" lip-synch
gone awry, her manager-father said today (Oct. 25) his 19-year-old
daughter used the extra help because acid reflux disease had made
her voice hoarse."Just like any artist in America, she has
a backing track that she pushes so you don't have to hear her croak
through a song on national television," Joe Simpson told Ryan
Seacrest on Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM. "No one wants
to hear that." (how would we know the diffewrence?)
"The whole situation was a bummer,"
Ashlee said in an interview on MTV's "Total Request Live."
Simpson had performed her hit single "Pieces of Me" without
incident earlier on "SNL." When she came back a second
time, her band started playing and the first lines of her singing
"Pieces of Me" could be heard again. She was holding her
microphone at her waist at the time. Simpson looked momentarily
confused as the band plowed ahead with the song and the vocal was
quickly silenced. A flustered Simpson made some exaggerated hopping
dance moves, then walked off the stage. She told "TRL"
that she and her band didn't know what to do. "I think all
of us went into a state of shock," she said.
The incident exposed what many consider
an obvious secret: that some singers who appear onstage aren't singing
live at all, or at least have their voices augmented by backing
tracks. "If she were a more seasoned performer then I think
that she would've taken charge and said, 'No, let's start this over
again.' The message board on Ashlee's official Web site has become
a battleground where her staunch fans are fighting to defend her
from an onslaught of thousands of negative, even vicious posts.
Amidst the often-vulgar posts in the site's "open forum"
is a quote lifted from a Lucky magazine interview where she was
asked about lip-synching. "I'm totally against it and offended
by it," she said. "I'm going out to let my real talent
show, not to just stand there and dance around. Personally, I'd
never lip-synch. It's just not me." (busted! - next time
your throat is "hurting" how about keeping your non-singin
azz home!)
KMART
APPOINTS AYLWIN LEWIS PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
TROY, MICHIGAN, Kmart Holding Corporation
(NASDAQ: KMRT) today announced the appointment of Aylwin Lewis as
President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr.
Lewis will also join the Kmart Board of Directors. Mr. Lewis joins
Kmart from YUM! Brands, Inc., where he was President, Chief Multi-Branding
and Operating Officer.
Aylwin Lewis is a 13-year veteran of YUM!
Brands, and has been in the restaurant industry for 26 years, beginning
his career as a Restaurant General Manager and rising through the
ranks to his most recent position at YUM!, the world's largest restaurant
company with over $8 billion in annual revenue. Mr. Lewis has been
responsible for executing YUM!'s global operating platform, multi-branding
expansion, and Restaurant Information Systems. He was also responsible
for the operation of 2600 multi-branded restaurants and the company's
1,250 Long John Silver's and 900 A&W All-American Food restaurants.
Edward S. Lampert, Chairman
of Kmart, said, "We are excited to have Aylwin Lewis join us
as our President and CEO. He brings a strong record of successful
operating performance. Under his leadership, we expect that Kmart
will build further on its financial strength to become a truly great
company."
Mr. Lampert added, "Aylwin Lewis
brings to Kmart a wealth of retail operating experience, a track
record of personal and corporate success, tremendous people skills
and a strong work ethic and commitment to excellence. He is the
ideal leader and agent of change for Kmart at this time, and we
are pleased that he has embraced this challenge with his characteristic
passion. Along with the other members of the Board, I welcome the
opportunity to work in partnership with Aylwin to lead Kmart in
the next exciting phase of our company's development." Mr.
Lewis said, "I am very enthusiastic about working with Eddie
Lampert and the Board of Directors to drive the operating excellence
and cultural change that are the hallmarks of great companies. Kmart
has made considerable strides under the leadership of Julian Day
and the Board. I am joining an organization with a strong executive
team, financial stability, and increasing profitability. I look
forward to working with the company's management team and all of
Kmart's associates to build on that success." - I noticed
that on the website there was no photo of him and no mention that
he was an African-American , hmmm - Shock
Ronald
Isley Indicted For Tax Evasion
Ronald Isley, lead singer of the legendary
R&B act the Isley Brothers, has been indicted on tax evasion
charges, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).The 63-year-old
artist, who suffered a minor stroke in August, was named in a six-count
indictment returned Wednesday (Oct. 13) by a federal grand jury
in Los Angeles. He is charged with five counts of tax evasion for
failing to report income from royalties and performances by the
band and one count of failing to file an income tax return.
No figure was given for the amount of
the alleged tax evasion but the charges carry a maximum penalty
of 26 years in prison. Isley could not immediately be reached for
comment. The Isley Brothers formed in the early 1950s and enjoyed
their biggest success in the 1960s and 1970s with hits like their
cover of "Twist and Shout," "This Old Heart of Mine"
and "Who's That Lady." Members came and went, but in 1990
Ronald and his younger brothers Ernie and Marvin reunited and produced
several new albums.
The indictment against Ronald Isley covers
1997-2002 and alleges that he evaded payment by depositing and using
for his own benefit royalty checks issued to other Isley Brothers-related
entities and members of the band, including his brother O'Kelly,
who died in 1986. While on tour, Isley required that half his fee
be paid in cash on each tour date and that he paid his musicians
and performances in cash, the IRS said. Isley is alleged to have
controlled several bank accounts, and to have told his booking agent
to send part of his tour performance fees directly to third parties
for his own benefit. The IRS
said Isley used some of the money from his various accounts to buy
a yacht, a $1.8-million house in St. Louis in 1997 and a 100-acre
estate in Missouri for approximately $1 million. An IRS spokesperson
said Isley had not filed an income tax return between 1997 and 2001,
which made it difficult for authorities to determine either his
income or how much tax may have been avoided. Isley is expected
to make his first court appearance regarding the charges early next
month.
Clueless
EX Ministry Website attacks Hip-Hop
Quote from the Truth Page
"Check the origin!
"Because of it's origin and what
Hip Hop originally represented in it's earlier stages, we cannot
embrace it as Christians. Their can be no Holy Hip Hoppers or no
Christian Hip Hop because the culture cannot lend itself to the
direction of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we do have very powerful Christian
rap groups that preach the word of God through rap, but we must
not get confused and call what they are doing Hip Hop. You have
to understand that God does not embrace anything that has a corrupt
origin. The very word "Hip Hop" was created by Afrikka
Bambatta, the pioneer of the culture and professed Zulu Nation god.
He created the term to describe the parties that he was hosting
in clubs across New York in the early 70's. Since then, he has developed
a religion that rested upon the Hip Hop culture. The term is not
from God, therefore, it should not be used to describe anything
from God!"
They go on to deliver even more clueless
dribble on http://www.exministries.com/truth.html
(they also cowardly claim that they won't read negative e-mails.
What a crock - Send then anyway!)
Docta
Shock's response - Before any black person speaks
out about any aspect of our culture, I suggest he think,
research and be informed first. I can go on all day destroying their
stand against Hip-Hop but I'll try to be brief. I'll attempt
to explain to this clueless "Christian" brother how much
he and so many of our people have been used and brainwashed like
house slaves by the mainstream to help us to divide and conquer
ourselves.
First of all Hip-Hop is not a religion.
Hip-Hop is a subculture of the African culture. The origin? hip-Hop
was created to stop the killing and gang warfare in New York
by replacing it with a safer and more creative outlet for youth.
This was done in the middle of oppression and deception from the
government disguised as 'economic recession". the Hip-Hop culture
gave rise to Rap music which has become the unofficial "voice"
of the culture. In his statements he contradicts himself by stating
that "rap music is not hip-hop" but goes on to use all
of the aspects of rap music to describe hip-hop. The founders of
hip-hop support free speech but do not condone the "prostituting"
of hip-hop for the "other man's" monetary gain. Mr. Lewis,
if you had even minimal knowledge of the culture, you would know
that what you see in the media has nothing to do with hip-hop. Like
I said with Bill Cosby,you cannot judge a culture of it's people
by the images and information you read or see in the racist and
prejudiced media of the United States. What you see and hear is
selected by old white men in offices that rise into the sky. They
have an agenda. Their agenda is to make as much money as they can
by attempting to destroy the African-American culture. They
promote the negative images, they promote the stereotypes,
they pick what is played on the radio, they choose
what is seen in the videos, they select what is written and
how it is written in the media, they are in control of what
groups get signed, they are the ones that you should be chastising.
It's easy to pick on Hip-Hop, don't you see that's part of the plan?
Use your brain and read between the lines! You mock the fashion
but each generation has its own fashion and most are based on "bad
guys". Think about it, pinstriped suits and baggy pants of
the forties(based on the Al Capone type gangsters), Leather jackets,
T-shirts and jeans of the fifties (based on the motorcycle gangs),
tie-dyed clothing of the sixties (based on the drug culture emulating
the colors seen during acid and LSD trips), bell bottom pants, big
hats with feathers, fur collars and platform shoes of the seventies,
(based on the pimps and drug pushers), this was changed with Hip-Hop.
Hip- Hop strived to declare its freedom from the constraints of
mindless fashions by creating its own style, air brushed shirts,
name belts, Kangol hats (paying tribute to the older generation),
etc.
This has changed and I agree that there
are some very negative images that are associated with and even
at times perpetuated in Hip-hop but let's put the blame where it
belongs. There's plenty of it to go around. Blame the politicians
who allow drugs to freely come into our country, allow guns to become
so accessible, take away our jobs, raise costs, decrease health
care and increase the inmate population through unfair justice.
Blame the men of our (and your) generation for not being there for
our families and not providing our young men with a positive role
model while guiding our young women to understand the virtue of
being a lady. Also its time to start blaming the churches for not
becoming involved with the younger generation and instead of embracing
and becoming involved in their lives.....attacking them. If Hip-Hop
can bring young people into the church, then use it as a tool and
teach them the positive virtues of it and the power of individuality.
Is the Hip-Hop culture blameless ? No, there's much more we can
do but to do it we need all of our people behind us. We need support
when we try to change things, we need help to get our word out and
we need to be able to sustain our culture by ourselves! What we
don't need and what we have much too much of, is our own misinformed
and media brainwashed people steadidly betraying us. Well
I tried to be brief.
Salt-N-Pepa
Working On Sitcom, Other Ventures
- Nolan Strong and Jigsaw
Female rap pioneers Salt-N-Pepa may not
have a hit record on the charts at the moment, but the two veterans
are busy with other ventures, including a new sitcom that they are
developing together. We
are developing the sitcom together, Pepa told AllHipHop.com.
Its going to be based on our lives. Both
Salt and Pepa will star in the untitled television show, which they
are taking their time to develop.
In 1994, they did a pilot for a show titled
On Our Own, which didnt pan out. We
are taking our time. The people involved have a lot of energy and
are ready to go, Salt said. Everything happens in time and
timing is everything.After
becoming a born-again Christian almost two years ago, Salt teamed
with former Kid-N-Play rapper Christopher Play Martin,
who also left secular music for gospel and created Rise,
a Hip-Hop gospel stage musical. Salt
will continue exploring her spiritual side and plans on dropping
an introspective album chronicling her life. Im
going to bring out [the album] under my own label with my husband,
Salt said. I dont even want to say that its a
gospel album. Its more of my testimony, it's what I
been through in life until now what god had has taught me.
Russell
Simmons Pulls Out Of Source Event, Mag Owners Comment - Nolan
Strong
The Source and Russell Simmons
continue to feud. The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network recently pulled out of an
event scheduled to take place over the weekend before The Source Awards. Simmons
and The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) pulled out of speaking duties at
Saturdays (October 9th) "Join the SIPHA: Hip-Hop Voter Education Rally." "Russell
Simmons has been exploiting Hip-Hop for years, The Sources Dave Mays
and Ray Benzino said in a statement. We invited, and expected him to participate
in the largest annual Hip-Hop weekend of the year, and he bailed from the event
because he is afraid of the authenticity and influence of The Source Magazine,
and our weekend. Russell is further
from Hip-Hop, the community and the struggle it represents than he has ever been.
Russell is a serious threat to the advancement of the black community, and Hip-Hop
culture because he exploits the perception in corporate America that he represents
the views of the Hip-Hop community when he does not."Mays
and Benzino said Simmons call for unity with Eminem after the magazine produced
a tape of the rapper using racial slurs against black women, downplayed the seriousness
of the issue. "The true cause of
disunity in Hip-Hop is the lack of open dialogue regarding the state of the Hip-Hop
music industry, and the role of corporate interests in the destruction of black
owned companies and black artists. We invite Russell, Jimmy Iovine, Eminem and
Paul Rosenberg to a debate to discuss the future of Hip-Hop and those things that
divide us. The Hip-Hop Summit, and Russell Simmons may represent the Hamptons
and his rich friends, but they don't represent the Hip-Hop Community. Thousands
are expected to attend the rally, which takes place at the Miami Arena on October
9th. Minister Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton, Ja Rule, Ludacris, Fat Joe and other
are expected to speak. Simmons reply
to The Sources comments and allegations were simple: God bless them,
the mogul told AllHipHop.com.
pecial
Thanks to all those who came out to the
4th Annual
Philly
Urban Legend Awards The
honorees -Lady B , Mimi Brown, DJ Miz, Three Times Dope, Crazy D Guests
included - Larry Larr, Malika Love, Yvette Money, Tiffany
Bacon, Disco C, DJ Ahli Love, Parry P, Supreem, Cosmic Kev, Colby Colb, Bruce
Webb, C-Knowlwdge (Digable Planets), Charlie Mack, Miss Jade, Big Bob, Keen, Legendary
WDAS-FM DJ-Carl Helm, E.C. LaRock, Tamlin Henry, Kid Destroy, Snook Chaos, Grand
Wizzard Rasheen, DJ X-Zotic-D, Ronnie Ron, DJ Cash Money (Absolutely tore the
turntables a new A#$!), Noel Ramos (IMX 2003), MC Breeze, Captain Boogie (The
man, the myth, the legend), Steve Green (Breakwater), Bobbie Booker (Tribune),
The Original Blue Notes, The Crown Rulers, filmmaker Mike Dennis, singer Tyra
Kirkland (You killed'em girl!), Dat Baw Dave ( U got Ballz) & MC Mechanizm....whew!
It was the best awards yet! (Check the Photos)
Backstage
at the Legends of Hip-Hop Concert (Dec. 20th-Electric Factory)
Wow! Sweet T looking good---Whodini & Mimi----------Pat Jackson,Mimi&Lady
B--Sugarhill Gang on stage-kickin it!-------Kurtis Blow accepts suprise award   


Mmmm.......
Mc Lyte--------Biz Markie spins 

Photos
courtesy of Docta Shock
Sylvia
Rhone Becomes Dual VP
Veteran music
executive Sylvia Rhone has been named president of Motown Records and Executive
VP of Universal Records. The appointment, announced late Thursday, had long been
expected. Rhone's arrival at the storied black music label had been rumored since
the July departure of former Motown president and CEO Kedar Massenburg.
Rhone will have direct responsibility
for the Motown label, whose roster includes Stevie Wonder, Erykah
Badu, Michael McDonald and India.Arie. In her role at Universal,
"she will be involved in a number of musical projects,"
according to the company. For a decade, Rhone was chairman and CEO
of Elektra Records and helped elevate the careers of icons like
Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes. She exited that post in March during
a wide-ranging reorganization at the Warner Music Group labels.Ms
Rhone guided the delicate merger of Elektra, EastWest, (of which
she was formerly CEO) and Sire Records into the Warner Music Group's
premiere boutique label. She was directly involved in the launch
of several new artists at EEG, including Better Than Ezra, Adina
Howard, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Kut Klose. Long known throughout the
industry as a keen developer of musical talent, she was also instrumental
in the continuing success of platinum plus artists like the Rembrandts
and the tremendous solo debut of Natalie Merchant.
The
Firm's - "Urban Nights"
Marty Gibbs, the F.I.R.M. (Family of Independent
Record Merchants) and Larry Larr sponsored a stellar event last
night (10/6/04). Their Urban Night Event, hosted
by UX's Keith frum up da Blok,brought
out some of Philly's music industry notables including Charlie Mack,
Bruce Webb, Big Bob, Docta Shock, Big Phil, Hilltop
Records, DJ Ran, PR expert Courtney Omega, Rampage (Flipmode Squad)
and the rapper they call the "female Twista", Lena Price.
Besides the bevy of beauties
and fine food and drink, the performers included Philly's own NAAM
Brigade, former Cash Money artist - TQ and
an impromptu appearance by Brooklyn Zoo featuring none other than
ODB a/k/a Dirt McGirt, Baby Jesus, Old Dirty Bastard himself, who
led the adoring yet initially stunned crowd through some of his
biggest hits. What a night!

CAUSE
OF RICK JAMES' DEATH REVEALED
RICK JAMES had nine drugs in his body
including cocaine, valium, vicodin and methamphetamine when he died
in his sleep on August, according to a coroners report. The
funk legend passed away in his Los Angeles home of a heart attack
aged 56, but the report released yesterday (September 16) said that
the drugs in his system most likely contributed to the organs
failure. A diabetes sufferer,
James had a pacemaker and had been in fragile health following a
stroke in 1998. According to Reuters, the coroner listed nine drugs,
including prescription medications for anxiety, pain relief and
heart failure, along with cocaine and methamphetamine that were
found in James body. An autopsy failed to establish the cause
of death, and toxicology tests were ordered after a Los Angeles
County coroner took over the case because James had not seen a doctor
in recent weeks.
The report said: "None of the drugs
or drug combinations were found to be at levels that were life-threatening
in and of themselves." The singers family attributed
his death to natural causes, and the coroner said the cause was
a heart attack and ruled the death as accidental. Before his death
James had finished recording an album and was in talks with studios
in Hollywood for a movie about his life.
Michael
Jackson Admits He Paid Off another Accuser
Responding to a "Dateline
NBC" report that claimed he paid $2 million to silence a would-be
accuser in 1990, Michael Jackson admitted Friday that "years
ago, I settled with certain individuals because I was concerned
about my family and the media scrutiny that would have ensued if
I fought the matter in court."
In the report, which aired Friday night,
a retired Santa Barbara County sheriff explained how his office
uncovered a 1990 payoff to the 12-year-old son of a Neverland Ranch
employee while investigating a 1993 molestation case in which the
singer paid between $15 and $20 million in an out-of-court settlement
Jackson, who currently faces child molestation
charges stemming from several alleged incidents in early 2003, called
the press' reporting on this latest twist "untruths and sensationalism."
"These people wanted to exploit my concern for children by
threatening to destroy what I believe in and what I do," he
explained in a statement on his official news site. "I have
been a vulnerable target for those who want money. "I have
spent my entire life helping millions of children across the world,"
the 46-year-old singer added. "I would never harm a child.
It is unfortunate that some individuals have seen fit to come forward
and make a complaint that is completely false. Quite frankly, I
question the timing and motive of this report." (Do you
still believe he's totally innocent? He's got serious problems.
Think people!)
LaToya
Jackson tries new careeer with Dance music success
LaToya Jackson has something she wants to tell her little brother
Michael. Unfortunately, she's not going to let the rest of us in
on what she's going to say. "It's
a subject I can't touch on at the moment, and I would love to,"
she said. "But he knows
my heart. I have always been with him in my heart. He knows it was
against my will, and my family knew I didn't want to do what I did,
but I couldn't say no."
What she "did" was publicly
speak out against her brother, back in 1993 when he was first facing
accusations of child molestation. She drove a wedge between herself
and the entire Jackson clan when she accused Michael of paying hush
money to the parents of his accusers, and charged that he would
stay in his room for days on end with young boys. Her then-husband
and manager, Jack Gordon, drove the wedge even deeper when he claimed
that Michael had threatened LaToya for speaking out against him,
going so far as to claim that Michael would pay to have LaToya killed
if she ever returned to California.
But slowly, she began writing new songs and going out to clubs,
watching people dance and creating an alter-ego for herself. "I
was at a club and I kind of disguised myself. I wore a suit and
a moustache and a goatee. And
the character development didn't end with dress-up. LaToya began
answering to the name "Toy," her childhood nickname. And
she kept the moniker when she sent her first new song, "Just
Wanna Dance," to club DJs.
Club DJs began playing the song. Jackson was so inspired by the
song's success (it reached as high as #13 on the Billboard Hot Dance/
Club Music chart) that she began recording an entire album, much
of it based on her divorce, the reuniting of her family and her
returning confidence.
JACKSON'S
Doctor blabs on surgery
A plastic surgeon who worked on Michael
Jackson says he had to slice off a piece of the singer's ear to
repair his disappearing nose. Professor Werner Mang, an expert in
nose reconstruction, said he got a distress call from Jackson's
regular plastic surgeon after it was discovered that the skin on
his face was stretched to the limit and the tip of his nose "became
unstable." Meanwhile, Jackson, 45, still maintains he's only
had two plastic surgery operations in his life - to help
him breathe easier and improve his singing.
Buju
Banton Banned From The U.S., Opposition Mounts Worldwide
As growing controversy mounts worldwide
around the lyrics of dancehall artist Buju Banton and from an incident
where he allegedly took part in assaulting a group of gay men, reps
for Banton said he was recently banned from the United States.
Buju Banton has been unjustly banned
from the United States because of an absurd conviction in April
for possession and cultivation of marijuana, a spokesperson
reported in a statement. According to reps, on December 3, 2003,
police raided Bantons Kingston, Jamaica recording studio and
claimed to have found a marijuana plant that belonged to Banton.
We can confirm that Amnesty
International has received information from reputable national and
international human rights organizations concerning reports that
Buju Banton was involved in a homophobic attack, the organization
said. These reports take the form of statements that allege
that on June 24 2004, six men were driven from their home and beaten
by a group of armed men, and that the alleged assailants included
Buju Banton.
The report said that the attack was motivated
by hatred of gay men. The victims said the assailants called them
battymen, a derogatory term for a homosexual. Banton
said the charges were completely untrue and wholly unfounded.
Bantons song Boom Bye Bye is well known for the
violence it calls for against homosexuals. Banton has said he recorded
the song in 1992 and has not made another song in that vein since.
Buju Banton has never repudiated the sentiments of the song
Boom Bye Bye, the organization countered. Furthermore,
it is reported that Buju Banton continues to perform the song.Opposition
against the singer is mounting. In Germany, Banton's September appearance
at the Reggae Jam Festival in Saarbruecken was cancelled. (So
let me get this straight, you can rap about killing men, beating
women, shooting kids and suckin d*ck but do a song about poppin
gays and they deport you? There must be a hell of a lot of undercover
Jim. McGreeveys in our government)
' Punk
Funk Maestro, singer Rick James dies
(CNN) -- Singer Rick James,
a musical icon of the 1980s who helped define the "punk funk"
style of that decade, was found dead in his home Friday morning
by his caretaker, a Los Angeles police Department spokesman said.
He was 56.James' personal physician signed his death certificate,
and said his death was the result of "existing medical conditions,"
police spokesman Jason Lee said. One of James' producers told CNN
that the singer died of a heart attack.
"Today the world mourns
a musician and performer of the funkiest kind," said Neil Portow,
president of the Recording Academy, which is responsible for the
Grammy Awards. "The 'Super Freak' will be missed."James
became an instant icon in 1981 with his album "Street Songs,"
a funk maste, he penned such hits as "Super Freak," "You
and I", "Give it To Me Baby," "Mary Jane"and
"Fire and Desire.""I'm trying to change the root
of funk, trying to make it more progressive, more melodic and more
lyrically structured," James once said."Street Songs"
went triple-platinum and catapulted James into the forefront of
the funk movement..
Born James Johnson Jr. in Buffalo, New
York, James was the third of eight children of an autoworker and
a former dancer.At age 15 he joined the Naval Reserve, but he began
missing weekend training when it interfered with his musical career.James
was reported AWOL, and he fled to Canada, where he continued his
musical career. The charges came back to haunt him when his success
brought him back to the United States, and eventually he served
time. After his release, James went to work with Motown Records,
first as a songwriter, then as a singer and producer. Despite his
meteoric rise and recording success, James won only a single Grammy,
for "co-writing" M.C. Hammer's monster hit "U Can't
Touch This," a song sampled from James' "Super Freak."
Goodbye Rick, you will sorely be missed
- Shock
R&B
Singer Ronald Isley Has Minor Stroke
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Soul
veteran Ronald Isley, the lead singer with the Isley Brothers, has
suffered a minor stroke, but hopes to resume performing as soon
as possible, a spokeswoman for his record label said on Thursday.
Isley, 63, felt unwell while walking along a street in London last
Friday, checked into a local hospital for a few days, and has since
returned to his home in St. Louis, Mo., said the spokeswoman at
Def Soul Classics. She said
his speech did not appear to be affected, and he had assured the
label that he would be fine and wanted to get back on the road quickly.
Russian
Skinheads Sentenced For Attacks After P.E. Concert -
Mike Winslow
A group of skinheads in Russia were handed
stiff jail sentences yesterday, after they attacked a group of people
and killed a police officer following a Public Enemy concert. The
Moscow City Court sentenced six defendants anywhere from four to
18 years in prison. One was banished to a mental institution.A brawl
broke out in a Moscow subway last summer when the men attacked a
group of people returning home from the Public Enemy concert that
took place in DK Gorbunova. Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta
reported that the men were not pleased with Public Enemy's black
nationalist attitude and waited for fans of the rap group
after the concert shouting "Russia is for Russian's!"When
two officers intervened to stop the ensuing fight, one of the officers
was struck on the head with a broken bottle and died a short time
later. A separate group of men were also arrested at another subway
station causing havoc, breaking glass and attacking people passing
by.
Brandy
and 'Ex-Husband' Never Really Married
- by Joe D'Angelo
They allegedly made up story about being wed after she got pregnant.
Three years after he allegedly
wed Brandy in secret, the father of the R&B singer's daughter
is claiming the two were never really married. In interviews earlier
this week with New York radio stations WBLS-FM and WQHT-FM, Robert
Smith insisted that he and the 24-year-old Brandy, who released
her fourth album, Afrodisiac, on June 29, never legally wed. Rather,
the couple just portrayed the notion of nuptials to preserve Brandy's
image.
And just as Brandy had claimed that she
wasn't in love with Smith when the couple split up last year, Smith
said he never loved Brandy in a romantic way, but that he continues
to love her as a friend. In early 2002, at the same time Brandy
announced she was pregnant, she broke the news that she and Smith
had gotten married in the summer of 2001. Before he began his relationship
with Brandy, Smith was involved with another woman, a film producer,
and initially had sustained relationships with both women. When
Brandy became pregnant, the decision was made to tell people they
were married.
Nelly
Joins The NBA As Charlotte Bobcats minority Owner
-by Alyssa Rashbaum
Earlier this year, Jay-Z became the first
rapper to hold interest in an NBA team when he took part-ownership
of the New Jersey Nets (see "Nets Accept Bid From Jay-Z Group;
Brooklyn Move Closer"). Now Nelly has joined the ownership
group of Bobcats Basketball Holdings, LLC, which owns and operates
NBA expansion team the Charlotte Bobcats.
Mos
Def Nominated For An Emmy Award - Remmie Fresh
Rap Renaissance man Mos Def has been nominated
for an Emmy Award, an honor which is bestowed to the finest actors
in the profession.The rapper stands poised to win the Actor, Miniseries
or a Movie category for his role in "Something the Lord Made,"
a series on HBO. Mos played Vivien Thomas, an African-American man
who was a pioneer in the field of heart surgery despite never attending
medical school. "This is the biggest role I've had in film
to date," Mos said in a recent interview. "But, you know,
I try not to think about that sort of thing...I just want to do
the best work I can, and hopefully that helps tell the story in
the best way and stays true to the spirit and the dignity of the
story and the people in it."
Pat
O'Brien blasts co-host Shaun Robinson as he exits Access Hollywood
Entertainment news mag host
Pat O'Brien has officially left NancyO'Dell's side on NBC Universal's
Access Hollywood in order to host the new Paramount series The
Insider. He has reportedly taken ten Accessstaffers with him.
That group does not include reporter Shaun Robinson (pictured below),
the topic of a scathing e-mail by O'Brien obtained late last month
by the New York Post's Page Six. Although O'Brien later apologized,
there is obviously no love lost here, as per these excerpted comments:
'Shaun
... Your behavior to me over the past few years has been a sickening
joke. From the day you called [former NBC Enterprises president]
Ed Wilson and said I was creating a hostile situation . . .to last
week when you went postal on my friend and accused me of an affair
. . . and talked to me like a five-year-old gang member . I have
never known anybody so disliked in a newsroom and it's well deserved.
You push people to the limits and you are so needy and demanding
... it is scary.' 'You have the worst reputation I've ever seen
in the business ... and your constant attempt to get me fired was
such a joke to everybody it was hard to contain the laughter. ..
But now I am gone ... and you made my departure so easy ... I've
never worked with anybody so conflicted and sad and insecure and
so needy. They all know it ... and it must be sad for you to realize
that you are literally hated by most ... People laugh at you. But
they are afraid of your always taking the race card ...' 'You cannot
believe how much you are disliked. Try and repair it ... or you'll
be back in local news before you know it ... with no wardrobe people
to yell at every day ... And have a great, miserable life. Pat.'......Damn!
Isabel
Sanford, 'Jeffersons' star, dies
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Actress Isabel Sanford, best known
as "Weezie," Louise Jefferson on the television sitcom
"The Jeffersons," died of natural causes, her publicist
said Monday. She was 86. Sanford died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center, where she had been hospitalized since July 4, said Brad
Lemack. Her daughter, Pamela Ruff, was at her side, he said. Her
health had waned after undergoing preventive surgery on a neck
artery 10 months ago, Lemack said. He did not give a specific
cause of death.. Sanford co-starred with Sherman Hemsley from
1975 to 1985 on CBS' "The Jeffersons," a spin-off of
the popular series "All in the Family," in which she
also appeared. In 1981, Sanford became the first black woman to
receive an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her work
on "The Jeffersons." Sanford,
a native New Yorker, was joined by "Jeffersons" creator
Norman Lear and others in January when she received a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
One
of Philly's Hip-Hop Pioneers, Grand Tone Passess Away
Anthony Dunham a/k/a Grand Tone, one of Philly's
greatest MC's and a true hip-hop pioneer passed away on July 3rd
and has been laid to rest. Grand Tone was one of hip-hop's pioneer
MC's. A member of the legendary Grand Masters of Funk (along
with Parry P, Gary-O and Cosmic Kev), he was known as one of the
first of the agressive pro-black MC's (before Chuck D, Paris &
KRS-One). Little
known fact- While battling
Run-DMC at Kim Graves' Club, he uttered the now famous line "Why
you wear those glassess, So I can see" (sound familiar?)
He also used the now famous "Big Beat" (Billy Squirer)
before UTFO, RUN-DMC and others. A true pioneer Grand Tone will
be sorely missed. For those that didn't know, he was also the
father of Philly female DJ Diamond Kutz. Our condolences go out
to his family and friends.
The
"Godfather" is gone, actor Marlon Brando passes away
LOS ANGELES (July 2) - Marlon
Brando, who revolutionized American acting with his Method performances
in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and ''On the Waterfront'' and went
on to create the iconic character of Don Vito Corleone in ''The
Godfather,'' has died. He was 80. Brando died of lung failure Thursday
evening at UCLA Medical Center, said Roxanne Moster, a spokeswoman
for the medical center. She didn't give details.
Jackson
Says $25M Settlement Is Not An Admission Of Guilt-by
Jennifer Vineyard
Michael
Jackson insisted Thursday that his 1993 out-of-court settlement
with Jordan Chandler, the boy who first accused him of molestation,
was not an admission of guilt. "I have always maintained my
innocence," Jackson said in a statement, "and vehemently
denied that these events ever took place. I reluctantly chose to
settle the false claims only to end the terrible publicity and to
continue with my life and career." Confidential documents were
leaked to the press earlier this week and revealed that the singer
paid Chandler, his family and their lawyer a total of $25 million.
Because of the settlement, the criminal
case wasn't able to proceed. In September 1994, the district attorneys
of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties announced that, in the
absence of victims willing to testify, they would not file criminal
charges against Jackson, despite finding what they said were other
allegations of sexual misconduct with two other boys. The case was
considered suspended, but information regarding the 1993 molestation
allegations continues to surface as the 2003 allegations get closer
to coming to trial, causing speculation over whether or not the
previous case will have any relevance. Jackson called the leaks
"attacks."(ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,....whew!)
T-Boz Files
For Divorce From Mack-10 - By Remmie
Fresh
In
the suprise move of the year, R&B singer T-Boz of TLC has filed
for divorce from West Coast rapper Mack 10 and, in the windfall,
made a series of sensational allegations including death threats.
According to the Associated
Press, T-Boz (Tionne Tenese Watkins Rolison) said that Mack 10 (Dedrick
D-Mon Rolison) cheated on her in addition to threatening her life.
Subsequently, she has received a restraining order from the rapper,
where he is unable to come within 100 yards of her. Moreover, she
wants full custody of the pairs 3-year-old daughter. In Atlanta
papers, Mack 10 denied the accusations and charged that T-Boz only
made such allegations in a strategic move to keep him from seeing
their daughter.
Jaheim
Pleads Not Guilty To Drug Charges
R&B singer Jaheim has pleaded not
guilty to drug charges in Somerville, N.J., after authorities say
a police officer stopped him on an outstanding traffic warrant and
found 25 plastic bags of marijuana in his car. The 27-year-old posted
bail and was released.While awaiting his arraignment, the singer
told his lawyer that he was the victim of police harassment, the
Star-Ledger of Newark reported. "I've got to file this lawsuit
today, I'm serious," Jaheim said. "I just want them to
leave me alone. They really violated me this time." (He
got cought with about 25 bags of weed, his friends are saying he
has a serious drug problem...come on, get it together brother)
50
Disses Headliner R. Kelly, Storms Off Summer Jam Stage
-by Shaheem Reid
Last year 50 put Ja Rule on blast, and
this year he had more in store for his longtime foe, introducing
the "Grannie Awards," a pre-taped mock awards show. After
announcing the nominees for Wackest Rapper Ja, Joe Budden
and Murder Inc.'s Black Child 50 said it was a three-way
tie. Other Grannies went to Lil' Kim for having the most plastic
surgery, The Source for being the worst hip-hop magazine, and Beyoncé
for being the sexiest. Tony Yayo, who was making his first public
appearance since being released from jail (see "Tony Yayo's
Back And Spending Like A Fiend"), came out with enough
energy to make Busta Rhymes look sedate, yelling, "I'm Tony
Yayo, the talk of New York!" The rest of the Unit (with the
exception of the absent Game) came out on four-wheel bikes.
With the drama coming from the speakers,
tensions started spewing from the crowd when members of the audience
began throwing chairs at the G-Unit. According to witnesses, the
chair tossers wore Silver Back Guerilla T-shirts, a crew whose members
have had a long-running feud with 50. Although it seemed like fans
were rocking with the G-Unit, the response apparently wasn't what
50 had hoped for. He told the people they shouldn't be frontin'
and standing still. "I want y'all to know I know you love me,"
he said sarcastically. 50 also
asked the audience if it was ready to see R. Kelly, and when the
crowd screamed, he mocked Kelly's step dance and his sex-tape scandal.
Later, after G-Unit DJ Whoo Kid said their time was up and they
had to leave, 50 dared the police to come get him. The grand finale
of "Stunt 101" wasn't so grand. After 50 performed his
verse, he cut Banks off as his friend began to spit. Still unhappy
with the crowd, 50 huffed, threw his mic down and left.
The
legendary Ray Charles passes away
Ray
Charles, the Grammy-winning crooner who blended gospel and blues
in such crowd-pleasers as "What'd I Say" and heartfelt
ballads like "Georgia on My Mind," died Thursday, a spokesman
said. He was 73. Charles died
at his Beverly Hills home surrounded by family and friends, said
spokesman Jerry Digney. Charles'
last public appearance was alongside Clint Eastwood on April 30,
when the city of Los Angeles designated the singer's studios, built
40 years ago in central Los Angeles, as a historic landmark.
Blind by age 7 and an orphan
at 15, Charles spent his life shattering any notion of musical boundaries
and defying easy definition. A gifted pianist and saxophonist, he
dabbled in country, jazz, big band and blues, and put his stamp
on it all with a deep, warm voice roughened by heartbreak from a
hardscrabble childhood in the segregated South.
"His sound was stunning
-- it was the blues, it was R&B, it was gospel, it was swing
-- it was all the stuff I was listening to before that but rolled
into one amazing, soulful thing," singer Van Morrison told
Rolling Stone magazine in April. Charles
won nine of his 12 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966, including
the best R&B recording three consecutive years ("Hit the
Road Jack," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Busted").
His versions of other songs
are also well known, including "Makin' Whoopee" and a
stirring "America the Beautiful." Hoagy Carmichael and
Stuart Gorrell wrote "Georgia on My Mind" in 1931 but
it didn't become Georgia's official state song until 1979, long
after Charles turned it into an American standard.
Poochman fired...fires
back
this just in...host of the
power 99 hot boyz night show (#1 with a 20+ share for 4 years straight)
POOCHMAN...has been fired...just goes to show if u ain't tossin
your boss's salad at clear channel, they WILL get rid of you and
replace you with somebody who will...(ooooh, sounds personal)
Jonesy fired
from 103.9
Miss
Jones was fired yesterday (June 2nd) from her morning post at Philly's
103.9fm. No reason was given but her ratings have been slipping
since her stirring deebut and rise from the bottom to one of the
top shows in her time slot 6am-10am. After being fired Miss Jones
drove home to New York and did an interview with Wendy Williams
which aired on rival station Power 99fm. In the interview Miss Jones
hinted that progran director Colby Colb had it in for her and that
was the reason she was fired. (Colby currently occupies her morning
slot). This morning Golden Girl also agreed that Colby hated on
her when he was at Power 99fm and said that it would be an even
bigger pleasure to"beat his ass" in the morning (arbitron
ratings). Miss Jones says she's fine and now has many opportunities.
She wished her fans well and wanted to let them all know that she
really appreciates their support and all their love. She wanted
her fans to also know that she was not given an opportunity
to say goodbye to her listeners by the station. Exclusive
to UBM - Colby Colb responds - "As a manager you just can't
comment on a firing of an employee. Usually when someone gets fired
they blame the company but 9 out of 10 times its them who is at
fault. There were several un truths in her statements on
99. It just wasn't working and we needed to make a change."
Billboard
Sours On Prince's Musicology Sales Experiment- by Joe
D'Angelo
Magazine changes policy on tallying albums sold with tickets. Prince's
recent Musicology has quickly become his best-selling album in years,
moving more than 632,000 copies in five weeks thanks to a combination
of traditional record sales and copies whose purchase price is included
with every ticket to his mostly sold-out arena shows.
Other artists looking to follow in the
Purple One's footsteps toward inflated album sales had better think
twice, however. Both SoundScan, the company that tracks record sales,
and music industry trade Billboard are putting their foot down and
revising their policy of allowing album sales to be piggybacked
with concert tickets.
Protected by a grandfather clause, Musicology
will be allowed to continue counting albums sold through concert
tickets toward its total, since Mayfield said it would be unfair
to "change horses in the middle of the stream," but other
artists who may have been eyeing Prince's strategy might be impeded."The
new policy states that customers 'must be given an option to either
add the CD to the ticket purchase or forgo the CD for a reduced
ticket-only price,' with the CD price 'comparable to reasonable
and customary retail pricing,' " wrote Billboard's Mayfied,
announcing the revised rule in the magazine's June 5 edition.
Prince was able to do it because he recorded Musicology with his
own money before he struck a major-label distribution deal, and
he owns the copyright. "This is his puppy," Mayfield said.
"It was already produced clean on his credit before he signed
with Sony.
R&B
legend John Whitehead shot dead in Philadelphia-"Not
intended target"- Police say
John Whitehead, a prominent R&B artist best known for the 1979
hit song "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," was shot dead Tuesday,
police said. Whitehead, 55, and another man were shot by two gunmen
while working on a vehicle, police said. The assailants fled. Whitehead
was shot in the neck and collapsed. Ohmed Johnson, who was shot
in the buttocks, was in good condition early Wednesday at Albert
Einstein Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. Police
said the gunmen fired a series of bullets; a young neighborhood
girl said she heard 12 shots. "Why
did they do this to my dad?" Dawn Whitehead, 33, asked at the
scene. "I just talked to him yesterday ... He was a fun person.
Who would want to kill him?"
Gene McFadden, who was Whitehead's partner
in the singing group McFadden & Whitehead, went to the scene
of the shooting in the city's West Oak Lane neighborhood and stood
there trembling, WPVI-TV reported. The two men formed a group called
the Epsilons in their youth and were discovered by Otis Redding.
The duo wrote several hit
songs performed by others in the 1970s, including "Back Stabbers,"
"For the Love of Money," "I'll Always Love My Mamma,"
"Bad Luck," "Wake Up Everybody," "Where
Are All My Friends," "The More I Want," and "Cold,
Cold World." "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" went to No.
1 on the R&B chart and reached No. 13 on the pop chart. The
song became an unofficial anthem for the Phillies as they charged
to a World Series championship in 1980 and the Eagles as they reached
the Super Bowl in 1981. Update
- Whitehead not target
of gunmen, police say, Music legend John Whitehead likely was not
the intended target of gunmen who shot and killed him and wounded
a close family friend behind Whitehead's West Oak Lane home, police
said yesterday. "At this time, we do believe that Mr. Whitehead
was not the intended target, and that he was just there," said
Police Capt. Richard Ross, commander of the Homicide Unit. "I
certainly don't want to say he was in the wrong place at the wrong
time, because he was outside his home." Investigators have
identified the other victim as Oemidd Johnson, 20, of the 5800 block
of Stockton Road in East Germantown, who they said might have been
a nephew of Whitehead's. Investigators
believe that Johnson, who was in stable condition yesterday at Albert
Einstein Medical Center with gunshot wounds to the buttocks, "may
have been the intended target," Ross said.
Judges'
favorite Fantasia
Barrino wins 'Idol'by
margin of just over 1 percent.
by Corey Moss
HOLLYWOOD
Simon Cowell called Fantasia Barrino's final performance
during Tuesday's "American Idol" competition her "acceptance
speech," but it was her actual acceptance speech Wednesday
that will forever be remembered. After
a long embrace with runner-up
Diana DeGarmo, and with tears rushing down her face, the raspy 19-year-old
singer looked at host Ryan Seacrest and declared, "I broke
my shoe!''
Knight Ordered To Pay for beatdown
Suge Knight's Death Row Records was ordered
to pay $162,000 to a man that claimed Knight and a crew of bodyguards
attacked him at a recording studio three years ago. The verdict
was issued last Tuesday by a Jury in Los Angeles that did not hold
Knight personally liable for the attack, but ruled that Death Row
was accountable for the actions of the security guards they employ.
Baudy said he became involved in an altercation
with Knight's head of security, Reggie Wright Jr. At the Con Am
studios in November of 2001. As a result of the altercation, Baudy
suffered a ruptured disc and now walks with a cane. Wright claimed
Baudy and a friend of his flashed guns after they were prevented
from entering a restricted area of the recording studio. Knight
testified he was not present at the studio during the altercation.
Death Row was ordered to pay almost $60,000 in hospital bills and
over $100,000 for Baudys pain and suffering and lost income.
Knight was freed from prison last month, after serving 10 months
in prison for violating his probation. Sources have stated that
Knight and Wright had a falling out since the altercation occurred.
Usher
says"I'm nobody's daddy"
Usher told MTV News he never
anticipated people would be talking this much about his new album.
But there is one thing that has been lost in the sauce of the chatter:
He's nobody's daddy. "The rumors started shortly after we did
a few listening parties [for my album]," Usher said. "The
word kinda got out that I had a baby. I did a song, 'Confessions
Part II', about a gentleman, a cat that has to confess to his girl
that he's got a baby and he hopes she gives him another chance.
But I don't have a child [in real life]."
Lil'
Kim Indicted For Lying About Hot 97 Shootout With Capone Crew-by
Joe D'Angelo
Lil' Kim was indicted for perjury and
obstruction of justice Wednesday by a grand jury in a New York federal
courtroom. The charge stems from the rapper's alleged involvement
in a three-year-old shootout that occurred outside the offices of
New York radio station Hot 97.
The 28-year-old MC, whose real name is
Kimberly Jones, is charged with conspiracy to commit perjury, make
false statements and obstruct justice; perjury before the grand
jury; the making of false statements; and obstruction of justice,
according to court documents.
William
Hung Makes Top-40 Debut - Joe
D'Angelo
Atrocious 'American Idol' singer moves
nearly 38,000 copies of his debut album. Fifty million Elvis fans
can't be wrong, as the King's 1959 greatest-hits album professes,
but most people probably wouldn't say the same about the nearly
38,000 folks who nabbed a copy of William Hung's debut album last
week. His inability to at least sing in the general direction of
the right key didn't stop the atrocious "American Idol"
contestant from bowing into next week's Billboard albums chart at
#34 with his album, Inspiration, according to SoundScan figures.
It's hard to believe that somewhere right now, thousands of people
could be crooning along to Hung-sung favorites like R. Kelly's "I
Believe I Can Fly," the Eagles' "Hotel California,"
Elton John's "Rocket Man" and the tune he premiered at
his infamous audition, Ricky Martin's "She Bangs".
Beans
Pleads Guilty To Drug Charges
As expected, rapper Beanie Sigel pled
guilty to federal drug and weapons charges. Under federal sentencing
guidelines, the Philadelphia-based rapper faces about three years
in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July 8.
The charges stemmed from a 2002 traffic
stop when authorities said Sigel (real name: Dwight Grant) ditched
his sport utility vehicle and a loaded handgun while fleeing from
police. Investigators said they found drugs in the vehicle, including
codeine, Oxycodone and marijuana. The
30-year-old artist pled guilty in federal court to a drug count,
and a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was
convicted on narcotics charges in 1995. In
a separate case involving the rapper, jury selection is scheduled
to begin Monday on a state charge of attempted murder. Prosecutors
say Sigel shot and seriously wounded a man outside a Philadelphia
bar last July. He is also awaiting trial on charges that he fractured
a 53-year-old man's eye socket.
Lil
Kim doing a MJ?
You have got to check out
www.AwfulPlasticSurgery.com
and take a look at the Before and After pictures of Lil' Kim. She's
looking a hot mess. She's been bleaching her skin to get lighter
and lighter. Come on baby, you were a tasty sweet caramel-chocolate
treat and now you're lookin like a sun drenched manikin. Please
girl, stop listening to whoever's in your ear. You a beautiful sister
already! Please stop destroying yourself. Black is beautiful!
'Idol'
reject Hung gets record deal
Who needs "American Idol"? William
Hung doesn't -- he already has a recording contract.The singer,
who became a fan favorite -- but not a judges' favorite -- during
open auditions for the Fox series with his spirited version of Ricky
Martin's "She Bangs," has signed a deal with Fuse Music
Network and Koch Records. His debut album, tentatively titled "The
True Idol," is scheduled for release April 6, it was announced
Monday. It will contain "She Bangs," along with another
Martin hit, "Shake Your Bon Bon," and a cover of Elton
John's "Rocket Man," which Hung sang recently on "The
Ellen DeGeneres Show."
"He may not be the next American Idol, but he is definitely
a star and inspiration to everyone who sings in the shower,"
said Marc Juris, president of Fuse, which will exclusively air his
"She Bangs" video. Koch Records general manager Alan Grunblatt
was even more effusive: "He is the new Elvis!"(you gotta
be kidding me!)
Nelly
Cancels Appearance Due To Protest Over His Videos
Don't look for the women of Spelman College
to toast Nelly with Pimp Juice anytime soon. Upset over the way
he portrays women in his videos, the historically black women's
college in Atlanta has pressured the rapper and his foundation,
4 Sho 4 Kids, to cancel a bone-marrow drive on campus.
When it was announced that Nelly's foundation
was sponsoring the drive and that Nelly himself would be showing
up on campus Friday, several students raised objections, according
to Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Zenobia Hikes."Spelman
is concerned about the negative images of women in popular culture,"
Hikes explained, "particularly the misogynistic lyrics and
images that constantly portray women in a sexual nature."Specifically,
many students objected to the unrated video for Nelly's song "Tip
Drill," which is being distributed on the Internet and broadcast
only on local rap video shows. Among the many sexually suggestive
scenes in the video is one showing the rapper swiping his credit
card down a woman's backside.
Two
more members of Ram Squad convicted
Rapper Chad "Ra-Tek" Johnson
and Jimmy Brown were convicted yesterday in Philadelphia in connection
with a failed drug grab which took place in April 2002. The two
attempted to carjack a pair of Mercedes-Benzes that held more than
$850,000 in drug profits which led to a shootout with FBI agents
posing as tow truck drivers. The
jurors deliberated about five hours before returning a verdict convicting
them of armed carjacking and conspiracy. Brown was also convicted
on firearms charges. No sentencing date was set.
DMX
refuses to record for Def Jam
DMX announced at a press conference that
he was refusing to deliver any more recordings to Def Jam, the label
he is signed to. DMX said that over the years, he has made the label
almost $50 million dollars, but received an amount in return that
he called "a loan."
"The highest paid artist gets paid
is 18 cents on the dollar, it's straight robbery," DMX said.
"They still own your music and they ask for maybe 27 songs
each album and they only use about 16 and give the rest away. I
recorded 25 songs each album. You know how many songs actually go
on the album? Sixteen. They keep the rest of those songs. Now they
got songs to put on the greatest-hits album and soundtracks. They've
given away some of my best songs for soundtracks and people don't
even hear soundtracks.It's straight robbery man, I can't be a part
of it anymore."DMX added that record labels also tie artists
up in unfair contracts that last too long. He also lashed out at
the radio industry."All the radio stations are bought and paid
for, it all comes from the heads of the record companies. It's not
about talent anymore."
"Yes, I'm done with the music because
I refuse to have something that I hold that dear to me be taken
so lightly," he barked. "I'm being paid like a slave.
All artists are. The record company advances you money. You
pay for every aspect: promotion, distribution, recording, everything,
everybody. Once your [album] comes out, they get their money back
the product should be mine! It's like getting a loan from
a bank to buy a house, and once you pay them back, they still own
your house. - AMEN!
Prosecutors
Refuse Charges Againts Man Accused Of Killing Soulja Slim
Charges against the man accused of murdering
New Orleans, Louisiana rapper James "Soulja Slim" Tapp
have been refused by prosecutors, who claim there was insufficient
evidence to prove the crime. Detectives
said Garelle Smith had been paid $10,000 to kill the rapper and
claimed that his murder had something to do with the record industry
and a rival record label. Prosecutors
claim they dropped the murder charges against Smith as they strengthen
their evidence. Smith is still behind bars, charged with another
murder, that took place in December. Detectives
also posthumously accused Tapp of the murder of Robert Lee Paige
Jr., 30, in September. Paige was shot and thrown into a lagoon,
with his body weighted down with cinder blocks.Third
District Police Capt. James Scott said his department was looking
into Tapp as a possible suspect in other shootings as well."We
had a known credible witness who came in and gave us circumstances
of the murder which substantiated information that, through our
investigation, only we had," Scott told the The Times-Picayune.
"There would be no other reason for a person to come in and
name Soulja Slim as a perpetrator after the fact. There would be
nothing for that person to gain."
Tyra
Banks vs Naomi Campbell
,Tyra Banks gripes that Campbell
has treated her so badly at times that she's almost given up the
runway. "She did so many hateful things, like getting me thrown
off shows because she was more famous. The feud was revealed last
year in the unauthorized biography about Campbell, "Naomi:
The Rise and Fall of the Girl From Nowhere." Tyra is so pissed
by Naomis fits that she can't even bring herself to utter
her name. "It got so bad that I called my mother and told her
I wanted to just give up." Campbell's catty conduct is no big
surprise in the world of jet-setting fashionistas. Naomi is known
for making demands like being the first and last to appear on the
runway at fashion shows. Meeting Tyra, a Catholic high school graduate
who has been the goody-goody of the fashion world, said she's not
about to let the likes of Naomi deter her from being the next Oprah
Winfrey. "I want to be successful across the board," said
Banks. "I want an empire like Oprah's," said Banks, who
also is trying to launch a singing career. "I may do it with
a little more cleavage, but I plan to get there."
JANET
LIKES IT ROUGH: Upscale has the story.
Do you wanna know what Janet Jackson thinks
about sex? Sure ya do. How about how she feels about being in love
and liking it rough? Well, if that type of thing tickles your fancy
then you should pick up the latest issue of Upscale Magazine. She
spoke candidly about her relationship with producer Jermaine Dupri
and the sexually charged new album, which includes a song describing
a female orgasm and introduces a "character" named Strawberry,
who likes it rough. "Beginning with the earlier albums, exploring
-- and liberating -- my sexuality has been an ongoing discovery
and theme. With 'Damita Jo' I push the envelope a little further
... A songwriter is like a novelist. You invent characters. Because
they're born out of your brain, they reflect you. But good characters
are independent of you and live lives of their own. I hope Strawberry
is a good character. Sexually she's on fire. She doesn't mince words.
She has to have it and doesn't care who knows it. 'RUFF' is her
song. Ruff is her style ... her sexual adventures are exciting..."
Oh, and "Ruff" isn't just the name of a song, Janet likes
it rough too ... well, sometimes. "It's not an everyday indulgence.
Not even every week. But every now and then I like playing around
in that mode ... I call it role-playing with a twist." Lo'
hamercy!
Charges
dsropped against R. Kelly in Florida
Prosecutors in Polk County,
Florida, have dropped their charges against R. Kelly after deciding
not to appeal a judge's decision to suppress evidence in the singer's
child pornography case there. Kelly had faced 12 counts of child
pornography in Florida.
Judge Dennis Maloney ruled
on Thursday that the prosecution could not introduce as evidence
photos found on a digital camera, which police say show the singer
having sex with an underage girl, due to a lack of probable cause
for the search warrants (see "Judge Rules R. Kelly Photos Seized
In Florida Can't Be Used To Try Him"). The camera was found
during a June 2002 raid of Kelly's rented Davenport, Florida, home.
Thulberry said he didn't anticipate
the Florida case or lack thereof would impact the
one facing Kelly in Chicago, where he remains charged with 14 counts
of child pornography "Even if we had gone forward with the
charges, I doubt our evidence would have been used in Chicago,"
Thulberry said. ( So the photos of child pornography that they
found in his camera can't be used in court- I guess it's
hooray for child molesters in Florida!)
Redman
meets Chucky
Redman has signed on to star
in "Seed of Chucky," the fifth installment of the "Chucky"
horror series. The movie started production on March 15th in Romania.
Redman will star as himself in the film, which centers around Glen,
the orphan doll offspring of Chucky and his bride Tiffany. The flick
is scheduled to open in theaters October 29.
Newspaper:
NYPD Training Other Cities How To Spy On Rappers
Report says tactics have been taught to
police in Los Angeles, Atlanta (by Joseph Patel) Despite denials
from New York Police Department officials that a "hip-hop division"
exists to maintain tabs on rap stars, a report in The Miami Herald
on Tuesday suggests that the department does indeed run such an
operation and is sharing its data with other police departments
around the country.
The Herald exposes the Miami Police Department's
tactics of spying on hip-hop celebrities and their entourages when
they descend onto South Beach to live, vacation or party. Officers
admitted in the report that they regularly photograph rappers as
they arrive at Miami International Airport, tap hotel and club workers
for information on the celebs' comings and goings, and stake out
hotspots and video shoots."A
lot [of], if not most, rappers belong to some sort of gang. We keep
track of their arrests and associates," Miami police Sergeant
Rafael Tapanes is quoted as saying.
The training session allegedly outlined
the information kept in the binder and trained officers on what
radio stations to monitor for information on new rivalries and what
to look for in rap lyrics. Artists profiled in the binder include
50 Cent, Eminem, P. Diddy, Jay-Z and Ja Rule. Some consider the
tactics used by Miami police to be a form of racial profiling, but
officials say they're concerned that since their city is a popular
destination for rap celebrities, their citizens might get caught
in the crossfire of emerging rap beefs. "We have to keep an
eye on these rivalries," Miami Beach Assistant Police Chief
Charles Press told the paper.
5 Ft of Black Moon convicted
of drug sale
Five FT of Black Moon was
convicted yesterday for the alleged sale of less than 5 ounces of
cocaine, stemming from a 2002 incident. The rapper faces 4-9 years
based on police testimony. "I would bet if a college kid was
convicted for the sale of a pound of weed, they wouldn't face 4-9
years," Duck Down CEO Dru Ha told AllHipHop.com. "They
were able to convict him as an alleged accomplice to the individual
who made the sale."
50
Cent blasts Grammys
50 Cent commented on being
shut out at the Grammy Awards, and his reaction after Evanescence
got the Best New Artist award. "I feel like I got jerked at
the Grammys because I'm aggressive," he told MuchMusic
in an interview in London. "I don't understand how [Evanescence]
get best new artist. I will never go back to the Grammy Awards ever
in my career." (We'll see,
I hope he doesn't. I'm sure that all of the rest of the spineless
fake azz so-called MC's will continue to go after this smack in
the face. This year's Grammy awards told hip-hop to kiss its azz
and I'll bet you next year most of the hip-hop nominees will still
be sittin in those souled out seats!-Shock)
Beyonce's
Band Members Thwart Car-Jacking
How 'bout a hip hip hooray
for Beyonce's band one time?! Yep, the boys in the band showed their
good samaritan side. Lead guitarist Shaun Carrington, bass guitarist
Kern Brantley and drummer Nisan Stewart, in town to rehearse for
a tour with Beyonce, came to the aid of a 91-year-old driver by
chasing and holding down a suspected carjacker.
Police said Reynold Caleen,
a great -grandfather of nine, tried to fight off a knife -wielding
suspect when he grabbed the elderly man's wallet in the parking
lot of a Walgreen's store Tuesday knocking the suspect's
knife out of his hands and kicking him several times as the pair
wrestled to the ground. The AP reports that the two band mates pulled
in front of the suspected carjacker as he tried to drive the elderly
man's car out of the parking lot and chased him on foot when
he got out and ran. The suspect was charged with armed carjacking
and battery of a person over 65, a felony in Florida.
That's what's up!L
Congrats
to Young Gunz, Debut hits #3
Young Gunz's Tough Luv sells
more than 127,000 copies its first week out! We still have to support
these Philly phenoms. Let's see if we can help push their debut
CD to #1 with Tough Luv, their first shot at the Billboard albums
chart. They came in at #3. Wow! Young Chris and Neef's marksmanship
is on point. The duo, whose hit "Can't Stop, Won't Stop"
was a highlight of last year's State Property LP, The Chain Gang
Vol. II, sold more than 127,000 copies of their debut album in its
first week, according to SoundScan. A remix of that song
featuring Chingy appears on Tough Luv, along with the single "No
Better Love."
Now
Turk's lawyer in some hot ish
A lawyer for rapper Turk
and a suspected gang leader were charged with numerous offenses
after authorities allege the men tried to influence the rapper's
attempted murder case. Attorney Scott Crawford and Jeffery Holliday,
alleged leader of the Gangster Disciples, were charged with weapons,
bribery and conspiracy charges. The FBI claims the pair attempted
to bribe Lt. Jeff Clark to ensure that Turk was not indicted on
attempted murder charges. (What
the hell is this, My cousin Vinny?)
Life
sentence for Merlin Santana murderer
Damien Andre Gates was convicted
of the first-degree murder of actor Merlin Santana. Gates was sentenced
to two 25-year-to- life terms, plus 20 years, plus another life
sentence. The sentences will run consecutively, which means its
unlikely hell be paroled. The jury found he used a rifle to
commit the crime. A second defendant, Brandon Douglas Byrnes, pleaded
guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.
Byrnes will be sentenced to a 23-year prison term on 3/11. Jury
selection is under way for the final defendant, 17-year-old Monique
King. Like Gates and Byrnes, she is charged with one count each
of murder and attempted murder. Because she was 15 at the time the
crime occurred, her case first went to juvenile court, where a judge
found her unfit to be tried as a juvenile. King turned 17 on 2/11.
I hope they all get lengthy sentences!
Warner
Music Group cutting jobs
Warner Music Group announcing
plans to cut cut 1,000 jobs over the next month, a day after the
company was bought by former Universal Music chief Edgar Bronfman
Jr.. Bronfman Jr.'s is attempting to save $250 million dollars annually.
The restructuring plan was a result in the departure of Val Azzoli,
co-CEO of Atlantic, Ron Shapiro, co-President of Atlantic and Sylvia
Rhone, chairman and CEO of Elektra. Sources stated that Rhone is
already in talks with Universal to head up her own record label.
Solange
gets married
From the IDGAF Dept -
The AP reports Solange Knowles, 17, wed Daniel Smith in a ceremony
in the Bahamas over the weekend, according to her record label,
Columbia. Beyonce and Kelly joined Mathew and Tina Knowles in attendance.
Either she is pregnant or not as young as she claims to be, or she
really needs some attention.
Tyra
Banks Models Debut Dance Track
Supermodel Tyra Banks probably doesn't
need a new gig, especially one as risky and unforgiving as pop star,
but she's never been one for resting on her lovely laurels. Last
week she debuted the video for her first single at the end of her
UPN reality TV show, "America's Next Top Model." "Shake
Ya Body" a dance track produced by Grammy winner Rodney
Jerkins features a hard-breathing, booty-shaking Tyra, the
show's six remaining contestants and a bevy of boys gyrating in
stylized club scenes.(I must say
she sure looks damn good in the video and the song isn't
bad, It's the normal bouncy dance track-Shock)
Seven
Of R. Kelly's 21 Counts Of Child-Pornography Tossed
Used wording of law that might have been
invalid at the time. R. Kelly
scored a minor victory in court Friday (February 27) when seven
of the 21 child-pornography counts against him were dismissed on
a technicality.Kelly's lawyers
filed a motion in December, asserting that the seven counts pertaining
to soliciting a minor to participate
in the sex tape should be dismissed on the grounds that they were
based on laws that weren't on the books when the alleged conduct
took place.(What kind of bullisht
is that!)
Disney
Dumps Janet Jackson-Linked Statue
The Walt Disney Co. has quietly mothballed
a life-size statue of Mickey Mouse inspired by singer Janet Jackson,
who was roundly criticized for a risque Super Bowl halftime performance.
The 6-foot, 700-pound statue
was one of 75 unveiled at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., last
fall to celebrate the 75th birthday of Mickey Mouse. "
It was replaced by a spare statue designed by Luis Fernandez, an
in-house Disney artist. "Considering all the controversy it
drew, we talked it over for a couple of days and decided it would
be best to replace hers with a new one," a Disney spokesperson
told the Orlando Sentinel.
B2K
News
Pop boy band B2K has signed former Bone
Thugs-n-Harmony member Bizzy Bone to their new label, Super Fam
Records. While there is no release date for the new Bizzy Bone album,
the untitled CD is expected in stores in 2005. The group has also
signed a rapper by the name of Sike, who was one of the first acts
on Michael Jackson's MJJ Records. J-Boog confirmed that singer Ray
J was signed to their label as an artist and not as a member
of B2K.
We
Did It!.......Justin
Timberlake Pulls Out Of Motown Special In Wake Of Protests
Claiming his movie commitment
creates scheduling conflict, . Justin Timberlake is no longer scheduled
to tell the story of Motown. Thanks to your many emails and phone
calls, the pop star has pulled out of ABC's upcoming special. The
network said that the change of hosts is not a reaction to the protests,
but rather the result of a scheduling conflict. (bulls#it,lol)
However, ABC said that the
protests weren't the cause of Timberlake's decision to pull out
of the show, but that he was unavailable as a result of signing
on to do a movie. (Here we go ...again)
Janet
dropped from Lena Horne project
After watching Janet Jackson
bare her breast on national television, 86 year old legendary crooner
Lena Horne herself, called ABC and requested that Janet not portray
her in an upcoming made for TV movie based on her life. A timeless
and talented beauty, Ms Horne did not want to be linked to Ms. Jackson
after her "display" at the Super Bowl. No replacement
has been cast at this time.
Def
Jam faking record sales?
Philly's own Theresa Rossi
a former music executive at Def Jam filed a $22 million dollar lawsuit,
claiming that Def Jam hired marketing company Giaco Entertainment
to help manipulate Soundscan results, in an attempt to distort music
charts. The lawsuit claims that Giaco, owned by Joe Giaco, forced
merchants to repeatedly swipe free CD's of DJ artists, in an attempt
to inflate the number of units scanned. Retailers were allegedly
threatened with album delays if they did not participate. Universal
allegedly severed their ties with Giaco in 2001 after a LA Times
article, focusing on the inflation of sales data by independent
retailers. The lawsuit also claims that Kevin Liles and Giaco created
a new company, Entertainment Mktg. Srvs with Rossi as principal,
in an attempt to allegedly conceal the relationship from other Universal
executives. The lawsuit was filed after Giaco refused to show the
company's earnings and withholding Rossi's share of the profits.
Universal, Def Jam, Joe Giaco and DJ execs Kevin Liles and Mignon
Espy are named in the lawsuit.
Master
P files for bankruptcy
Master P quietly filed for bankruptcy
on 12/17. Now suspicions abound about his move to Koch Distribution,
since Koch is known as the final resting spot for failing artists.
But, the documents show Master Ps army is suffering heavy
casualties.
Plea
entered in Merlin Santana murder case
One of three people accused
in the 2002 shooting death of Merlin Santana (pictured left) pleaded
guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.
Brandon Bynes entered the plea as jury selection was under way for
a co-defendant, a 21-year-old man. A third suspect, a 16 yr old
girl, is still awaiting trial as an adult. He faces 23 years. Santana
was shot in the head 11/9/02, while sitting in the passenger seat
of a car in Crenshaw.
New
movie to depict NYPD "Rap Patrol"
A major motion picture is being produced
by Radar Pictures, titled "Hip-Hop Cops." The movie is
based on the real-life division of the New York Police Department
that focuses on the Hip-Hop industry. The NYPD denies the existence
of the department.
Puffy
speaks out against President Bush
At the Rock The Vote Lippert
Awards when Sean 'P-Diddy Combs' Combs came to the stage to recieve
an award and gave a rousing 15 minute speech dissing President George
Bush. "What we have to do, is Get His
Ass out of Office", P-Diddy told the packed house who
cheered wildly at hiswords.
P-Diddy stopped midway and quieted the
crowd. He stated that he wanted to make sure that people in the
audience clearly understood that he was being serious. 'This is
no joke', he said. "We have to get George Bush's ass out of
Office..."He doesn't care about Black people. he doesn't care
about young people and he certainly doesn't care about all those
mothers who have lost their sons in this war in Iraq... Let's register
everyone to vote-Let's take the 20 million who register and 'Get
him out of office". He concluded by noting that he would be
doing everything in his power to unseat GW. - Hooray for Puffy!
Puffy cleared P.
Diddy was cleared of all wrongdoing by a Detroit jury late Monday
in a lawsuit brought by a television interviewer who alleges he
was assaulted by the rap mogul's bodyguards.
Janet
apologizes for halftime slippage
One day after
Janet's shocking Super Bowl halftime performance, she took responsibility
for the breast-baring incident saying "The decision
to have a costume reveal at the end of my halftime show performance
was made after final rehearsals," Jackson said in a statement
released Monday (February 2). "MTV was completely unaware of
it. It was not my intention that it go as far as it did. I apologize
to anyone offended including the audience, MTV, CBS and the
NFL."
Timberlake issued his own
apology. "I am sorry if anyone was offended by the wardrobe
malfunction during the halftime performance (ha,ha,ha,ha - wardrobe
malfunction, whew, yall killin me!),at the Super Bowl,"
he said. "It was not intentional and is |