April 14, 2005

Law & Disorder...

Lil' Kim and her assistant were both convicted of lying to a federal grand jury about the 2001 shootout at Hot 97. The two were acquitted on an obstruction of justice charge. They each face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on Jun. 24th. • A Louisiana appeals court overturning a decision to give C-Murder a new murder trial after his 2003 conviction for killing a 16-year-old boy. • A Santa Monica judge issued a three-year restraining order against Janet Jackson's accused stalker, Robert Gardner, preventing him from coming within 100 yards of Jackson . • Ja Rule was hit with a $4 million civil suit, just weeks after pleading guilty to assault in Canada . A Manhattan judge dismissed charges of disorderly conduct against Rosario Dawson and two others rounded up by NYPD while filming scenes for a movie near protestors of last year's Republican National Convention. 

Oh Really...

The Post reports that no matter what people say, Russell Simmons doesn't think he came off badly in this month's Vanity Fair story about his wife, Kimora Lee Simmons. Some insiders had claimed Simmons felt "sidelined" and "slighted" in the profile, in which Kimora threatened to "beat a biat*h's as*" if another woman so much as flirted with her husband. But Simmons told Page 6, "I thought the article was gangsta! Thirteen pages on a black woman in Vanity Fair? That's never been done before it was dope." Simmons will be profiled in the annual November music issue. Meanwhile, he wanted to praise his spouse. "Kimora hosted an Art for Life benefit at Mar-a-Lago honoring Puffy and raised a lot of money," Simmons said. "One guy bid $210,000 on her Bentley but said he didn't want it when he realized it was for a two-year lease, not to buy the car. So Kimora paid the money. 

The Post reports that Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith is on the run. Smith, works for Jay-Z at Def Jam, was due to be arraigned in Dec. on criminal charges but went on the run, we're told. "To go on the run from a misdemeanor assault seems like he's trying to avoid being a witness in the civil case," says Kelly's lawyer, Ed Hayes. Kelly's suit claims the assault was part of a campaign by Jay-Z, who was unhappy that Kelly was getting paid more. "Jay-Z was enraged that R. Kelly, who sells out all of his concerts, was receiving the 60/40 split on all revenues," says an insider. When Kelly left the stage after the MSG attack, Puffy, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Ja Rule and Foxy staged a supposedly impromptu appearance in his place. 

50 Cent spoke with Blender about the affects from his nine bullet wounds. 50 said the wound in his hip hurts the most. "That's your major bone!" 50 explained. "Going to the bathroom becomes a major chore, absolutely." As for the bullet shard in his tongue, which is responsible for his trademark mush-mouthed delivery, 50 revealed, "Sometimes it tastes like I've got a lemon in my mouth. My taste buds be buggin' out!"

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'. She also denied rumors that she's dating Bow-Wow. 

World Entertainment News Network reports that Alicia Keys has decided to try and patch things up with her father Craig Cook, who wasn't part of much of the singer's life. "The healing process between a father and a daughter is delicate and takes time," Keys said. "For me it is a process that is still underway, but it began because I was tired of always being upset when I thought about my father. I was tired of holding onto this big cloud of pain and unanswered questions inside. I was tired of holding a grudge that was only causing me to be bitter and sarcastic. I came to the realization that people can't and will not always be how you want them to be, or how you expect them to be. I had to come to a place where I could begin to let go. That do esn't mean that you forget it. It just means you begin to let it go.

Music World/Bizz Updates/Ventures...The Bizz:

Jay-Z had added some new acts to the Def Jam roster. Tierra Marie, a 17-year-old Detroit native, will release her debut on Roc-A-Fella/ Def Jam in the spring. Another new teen signed is 16-year-old Barbados-based Rihanna. • Puffy has officially sold half of Bad Boy Entertainment to Warner Music Group for $30 million. The Ventures: Jay-Z is in talks with Vivendi Universal Games to create the music for the Scarface video game. The game will debut in the fall. 

Upcoming Projects/TV Shows/Movies Etc

The Wire has been renewed for a fourth season. The fourth season will begin shooting in late 2005, with debut set for 2006. • The Boondocks is coming to The Cartoon Network this fall. The network has committedto15half-hourepisodes. • Eve is set to star and produce the Showtime movie, Getting Unstuck. The flick is a biopic on the life of the HIV-positive lesbian talk-show producer Conscious. Etc: Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Destiny's Child and Aretha Franklin are just some of the big names set to perform at the 2005 Essence Music Festival kicking off Jul. 1st in New Orleans . 

Albums...

Stevie Wonder will release A Time to Love, on May 3rd. • Capone will drop his solo-debut "Pain, Time & Glory," on May 24th. •B.G. will drop The Heart of Tha Streetz, on May 24th. •Guru will drop Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures, on May 31st. Talib Kweli, Doo Wop, and Jaguar Wright will make guest appearances on the album. • The soundtrack for "The Longest Yard" will be released on May 17th. The soundtrack features Eminem, Lil' Wayne, D12 and Akon.

Quickies...

B.B. King will headline the first-ever gala event for the Eye Birth Defects Research Foundation, being held in tribute to Ray Charles, who was a board member. The dinner will be held on May 12th at the Beverly Hills Hotel. • Wyclef and his wife Claudinette plan to adopt a baby girl. • Halle Berry has left the William Morris Agency as a result of a New Yorker profile of the agency's new president, David Wirtschafter, in which he made comments about Berry and her career. • American Idol dropout Mario Vazquez has reportedly hired lawyer Jesse L. Rosen--the same lawyer that helped Clay Aiken get out of his Idol contract. There are major rumors circulating about this dude. More details next week! • The FBI ended its investigation into the 1997 murder of Notorious B.I.G., discarding the theory that a rogue police officer may have been involved in the killing. • TheNY Times reports that on Mar. 10th, in Bed-Stuy, a 20-foot-high depiction of Mos Def was ceremoniously unfurled outside the Restoration Plaza shopping center. "People here know and love and respect Mos - he's very pro-Bed-Stuy, and Bed-Stuy is very pro-Mos Def," said Brian Tate, a marketing consultant who devised the idea of celebrating noted Bed-Stuy figures. Congrats!