March 15, 2005
Law & Disorder...
LL Cool J filed
a lawsuit against Fubu. LL
claims that the owners failed to adequately compensate him for
endorsing the clothing line and helping sell hundreds of millions of
dollars worth of clothes. In 1993, the owners convinced LL
to promote the gear and by 1999 company revenues reached over $200
million per-year and grossed an estimated $380 million dollars last
year. Tyran "Ta Ta" Moore, who
refused to cooperate with the federal investigation of Murder
Inc. and its connection to Kenneth
"Supreme" McGriff, was sentenced to 6 years,
with an additional 3 years of supervised release, a probation-like
condition which requires him to continue treatment for substance
abuse. Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff
has been put in solitary confinement. According to his lawyer,
prosecutors requested that McGriff be taken
out of the general population because he is a "problem"
inmate. The defense has since complained about the move, causing the
judge in the case to look into the matter. McGriff
will return to court Mar. 18th alongside
Irv & Chris Gotti. Hillary
Weston, a long time business adviser for Lil
Kim pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, stemming from
the infamous shooting outside Hot 97. Her
lawyer, Michael Bachner, stated 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 said. A
Pennsylvania prosecutor decided not to bring sexual harassment charges
against Bill Cosby. Authorities reportedly
found insufficient evidence to support the woman's claims and a
personally autographed photo from Cosby.
Oh
Really...
The
Daily News reports
that L.A. Reid is being taken to court by Victoria
Robinson, the mother of his son Chase Anthony
Reid, 5, for additional child support. "I really
hoped he would step up to the plate," Robinson
said. "But I decided if he's going to be like this, he's not
going to have my son's best interests at heart. I want my son to have
the same opportunities as his other children." Robinson
was an account exec with an ad agency in Philly when she met Reid,
then living in Atlanta. "We communicated via E-mail innocently
for eight months. He went to Harvard for an accelerated business
course and invited me to visit him." Robinson
and Reid dated for a year, until she became
pregnant. "I had a rough pregnancy. I dropped out of touch,"
she said. "He did come to the hospital the day after the baby was
born. He told me he would be part of the baby's life." In 2000, Robinson
took Reid to court in Georgia, where a judge
ordered Reid to pay $4,200 a month to support Chase,
as well as medical and education bills. Within weeks, Robinson's
lawyer Suzann e Bracker claimed, he sold LaFace
for an estimated $100 million and got married. "He wasn't
forthcoming," Bracker told us. "She
didn't have a full picture. She settled on inequitable terms." Robinson
concludes: "It's not enough. He has music, a line of clothing,
video games. He has a lot of money. And he sent his kid a Bible for
Christmas. Chase asks about him. He asks, 'Why
doesn't he come to see me?'"
The
Post reports that a down and dirty fight is brewing over Johnny
Carson's $450 million estate. While surviving sons
Cory and Chris stand in line to
inherit a bundle and Carson's widow,
Alexis Maas, is expected to receive at least $200
million, nothing was left to his illegitimate granddaughter,
Christal Love Carson. Christal is
the teenage daughter of Chris Carson and his
former paramour, Tanena Love -- and she wants
a piece of the substantial pie for her daughter. Love,
who sued Chris Carson for paternity and child
support in 1987, told the Globe: "She is
a Carson by birth and she got cheated all
these years. It's about time she got what she deserves. With all the
millions Johnny had, you'd think he'd have
given his only granddaughter something." However, proving she
even knew the late-night comic king will be a challenge. The reclusive
Carson never met Christal ,
and the cards and letters she mailed to his Malibu home were all
returned unopened.
Music World/Bizz
Updates/Ventures...The Bizz:
The
Bizz: Puffy is really looking to do business with Lyor
Cohen at Warner. Universal is willing to let Puff
out of his contract if he is able to find a new home for Bad
Boy. The story is that when Puff
decided to shop around, the only offer he got was from Cohen,
who was willing to pay up $30 million for 50% of the company. Puff
was against the idea of selling equity and walked. When no one bit the
second time, he reportedly went back to Cohen
with increased interest in his offer. The Buzz: The Post
reports that Puffy fired the head of Sean
John in a continuing shakeup of Bad Boy.
Jeff Tweedy, who ran the line from its
inception six years ago, was canned Friday. While official word says
the split was amicable, an insider said: "Puff
has had his beady little eyes out after he moved all his offices into
one building, and he has seen a lot of things he doesn't like. One of
them was Jeff Tweedy." This comes
on after Puff had a fall out with Bad
Boy Chief Management Officer Jameel Spencer,
who recently left the company. The Ventures: Rick Rubin
inked a deal with Warner Bros. to house American
Recordings, according to a story in The Post.
This brings American back to its former home
and it also reconnects Rubin with Lyor Cohen,
who inked American to IDJ.
Upcoming
Projects/TV Shows/Movies Etc...Flicks:
Prince
will be honored with the Vanguard Award at NAACP
Image Awards ceremony in LA, on Mar.19th.
Usher has five nominations. The show will air
on Mar. 25th on FOX.
Kwame Jackson (TheApprentice) is
about to close a deal with CNN to host a
weekend business show. Jackson will interview
a different company chief at length weekly. The news network is said
to have committed to 13 weeks.
Spottings...
Serena
Williams and Kelly Rowland were
spotted shopping in Beverly Hills. Beyoncι and
Jay-Z were spotted at the Magic,
the sportswear show in Vegas, with her business partner
Jason Rabin. Roy Williams, Dominique
Wilkins, Lebron James, Kevin
Liles, Luda, 3LW,
Jadakiss, and Nelly
were spotted at Carmelo Anthony and Lil
Jon's NBA All-Star Weekend Party at
the Paladium in Denver. Joe
Torry, Champ Bailey, Terrell
Owens, Marcus Camby, Paul
Pierce, Julius Irving , Dwayne
Wade, Vivica A. Fox, La
La Vasquez, Cedric the Entertainer,
Luda, Jermaine Dupri,
and Fabolous were spotted at The
8-BallChallenge Celebrity Pool Tournament Hosted by Alonzo
Mourning and Carmelo Anthony at Wynkoop
Brewing Company in Denver.
Quickies...
Jay-Z
announced he will open an education center focusing on music, sports
and fashion. The S. Carter Academy in NY will
open in the spring, with enrollment starting in March.
Jennifer Lopez finally confirmed to People that
she and Marc Anthony are husband and wife.
"Yes, we're married," Lopez said,
adding, "come on, everyone knows. It's not a secret."
Suede Magazine has been put on hiatus by the Essence
Communications Partners division of Time Inc.
Its April issue will be its last.
Snoop was
reportedly hit in the head with a glass bottle while on tour in
England. Snoop required medical attention but
did not require stitches.
