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December 28, 2000

A Great Christmas For Snoop Dogg

From MTV.com. It appears that a lot of good boys and girls got a new Dogg for Christmas this year. Fueled by the imaginatively titled hit single "Snoop Dogg (What's My Name Part 2)," Snoop Dogg's new album, Tha Last Meal, will have the highest debut on next week's Billboard 200 albums chart. While that album will land at #9 after selling almost 400,000 copies, the chart will still be ruled by the unlikely boy-band duo of the Beatles and Backstreet Boys, who once again land at #1 and #2, respectively. In the week before Christmas, the Beatles sold a staggering 1,258,667 copies of their greatest-hits disc The Beatles 1, while the Backstreet Boys sold 724,067 copies of Black & Blue, according to SoundScan figures released Wednesday (December 27). Following close behind BSB is the compilation Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 5. The compilation, which includes such recent hits as ''NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" and Britney Spears' "Lucky," filled 688,339 stockings last week. Creed's Human Clay will remain in the #4 slot, while Shaggy's Hotshot moves from #7 to #5. The rest of the top 10 will include Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water at #6, Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits at #7, Britney Spears' Oops! ... I Did It Again at #8 and 'NSync's No Strings Attached at #10. Rapper Lil' Wayne will have the week's second-highest highest debut, landing at #24 with his new album, Lights Out. Another hip-hop release, the compilation Q-B's Finest,, which includes new music from Nas, Capone and Havoc of Mobb Deep, will debut at #90. Teenage rapper Lil' Bow Wow's Beware of Dog, meanwhile, will continue to climb the chart, moving from #23 to #17, while U2 move from #20 to #18 with All That You Can't Leave Behind.

Wu-Tang Dropping An Album In 2001

From MTV.com. Wu-Tang Clan fans have become accustomed to waiting several years between the hip-hop collective's albums, but the group plans to break with that tradition by releasing an uncharacteristically upbeat new album way ahead of schedule, according to Wu-Tang mastermind RZA. The group, which just released its third album, The W, in November, hopes to drop a fourth which RZA said could be called WW2 by summer. The album would be assembled mostly from tracks already recorded by the group during its sessions for The W. "We recorded 20 songs in L.A. and then maybe 10 more in New York. But out of the ones we recorded in L.A., it was kind of sunshine out there and everything, so we had a very uplifting summer feel to the music," RZA said recently. "But due to certain delays ... we had changed a lot of the songs to a winter-feeling album. That's why this LP is not so danceable — it had a few dance tracks on it, but it feels more like drivin' through the snow with that New York frown on your face." The L.A. tracks slated for inclusion on the group's next album include "about five hit songs [with] more of a summer feel," according to RZA. No release date has been scheduled for a new Wu-Tang Clan album, according to a spokesperson for their label, Loud Records. However, if the group delivers a new album in 2001, the label will certainly release it, the spokesperson said. The W, which includes the singles "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)" and "Gravel Pit" features guest appearances by Isaac Hayes, Redman, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and reggae singer Junior Reid. The album was preceded by 1993's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), 1997's Wu-Tang Forever, and numerous solo albums by the group's members.

December 22, 2000

Bizzy Bone Takes It To The Courts

From SOHH.com. It seems as though Bizzy Bone (of Bone Thugs N Harmony) isn't a very happy camper. This week the rapper filed a lawsuit naming Sony and Loud Records as defendants as well as Compton Records, Ruthless Records, Epic Music Video, and Tomica Wright (president and C.E.O. of Ruthless Records). Bizzy claims that the defendants, mainly Loud and Sony, failed to pay him the $1 million advance that was agreed upon to produce his second solo album as well as his portrayal in the video The Collection: Volume II. Apparently, when Bizzy began to work on his second album, Loud refused to grant him the $1 million advance, which forced him to fund the project himself. Once the album was finished, Bizzy claims that the label rejected the album altogether. Instead, Loud, in association with Epic Music Video, released The Collection: Volume II where the rapper claims that he is seen as a "user and endorser of illegal drugs." Bizzy cause for suing is breach of contract, violation of right of publicity, false designation of origin, unfair competition, interference with prospective economic advantage, conspiracy, demand for accounting, constructive trust, and permanent injunction.

December 21, 2000

Sundance Film Festival To Feature Hip Hop Films

From SOHH.com. According to Platform.Net, two DJ based films were recently accepted in next month's Sundance Film Festival. The two films to be featured are DJ Q-Bert's film, Wave Twisters which was premiered at last summer Skratchcon 2000 event, and Scratch, which was directed by Doug Gray. Q's Wave Twisters is an animated feature that coincides with his LP of the same name, while the score of the film features the album's music. Gray's Scratch follows the emergence and rise of the DJ and features segments with Q-Bert, DJ Premier, Jazzy Jay, DJ Shadow, DJ Swamp among others. Both films are seeking distributors for a nationwide release.

French Emcee Fined

From SOHH.com. Even if you hate America, you have to be happy that you have the right to free speech, because in France that's not the case. French emcee, Stomy Bugsy was fined 1,000 francs ($136) for calling far-right French leader Jean-Marie Le Pen an "ass" during an argument on board a flight from Paris to Strasburg. Two of Bugsy's boys that were with him were also fined 1000 francs each. The trio were also fined an additional 2,500 francs ($342) in damages and interest to Le Pen, who is leader of French political party, National Front which has a negative stance towards Jews, Blacks and immigrants. The rappers' attorney commented "Mr. Le Pen should not be surprised to see one of his victims hold his head up high when he meets him. There is no insult when there is provocation." Le Pen is most famous for dismissing the WWII Nazi gas chambers as a detail of history and calling for all immigrants to be expelled from France during his run for presidency in 1995.

DMX Is For The Children

From SOHH.com. While the industry and artists get ready to break for the holidays, DMX lets his holiday spirit rule. Yesterday, the rapper and his family went up to Harlem Hospital's AIDS Ward to pass out gifts to all the sick children. The Ruff Ryders camp also helped distribute turkeys last month to help needy families during the Thanksgiving holiday. In related news, video director Joseph Kahn has just been signed on to direct DMX in the upcoming film, The Crow: Lazarus. Shooting for the film will begin in spring 2001 and will be co-produced by FUBU Films. For those that don't know, Kahn directed Sisqo's "Thong Song" and various videos for Mobb Deep, Ice Cube, Geto Boys to Willie Nelson, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera.

December 20, 2000

Eminem Denied Plea Bargain

From sonicnet.com. Eminem will not be allowed to plead down the criminal charges he faces for allegedly threatening an employee of rival rappers the Insane Clown Posse, prosecutors say. The rapper is charged with carrying a concealed weapon, which is a felony, as well as misdemeanor charges of brandishing a firearm in public. A judge on Monday set a pretrial hearing date of April 9 and an April 23 trial date for the case. "There will be no plea bargain. I've already let them know he's got two choices: go to trial or plead guilty to the original charges," Oakland County, Michigan, prosecutor Mark Bilkovic said Tuesday. The charges stem from a June argument that allegedly occurred in the parking lot of a car audio shop when Eminem ran into Douglas Dail, an employee of the Insane Clown Posse's record label. Eminem is accused of brandishing a gun while threatening Dail, who had insulted him. Hours later, Eminem allegedly assaulted a man he saw kissing his wife, sparking separate criminal charges in Macomb County. Prosecutors in that case have offered a plea bargain that would include jail time. Eminem (born Marshall Mathers) is ready to go trial in the ICP case, according to his lawyer, Walter Piszczatowski. "He's handled the situation extremely well," Piszczatowski said. "He's really gotten his life back together his marriage is back together, and that's really good news for him." The rapper recently reconciled with his wife, Kim Mathers, after filing for divorce earlier this year. Eminem is likely to be sentenced to probation, or at worst a few months in jail, if found guilty in the ICP case, Bilkovic said.

Jerry Heller Wins Appeal

From SOHH.com. A couple of years ago, writer Ronin Ro released a book entitled Have Gun Will Travel: The Rise and Fall of Death Row Records, which described the ins and outs of the industry's most dangerous record label. The book caused a stir within the industry, and spawned many a slander suit. One of those folks was former NWA manager, Jerry Heller. Heller won an appeal at the Second District Court of Appeal in his libel action against publishing company Doubleday, and Ronin Ro aka Mark Flores, allowing him to pursue his suit against the company and author. The Court of Appeal found that the book, "contained a false statement about Heller that was 'libelous per se' because it exposed Heller to contempt and had the tendency to injure him in his occupation." Heller's suit was initially filed in 1998.

LL Cool J To Host AMA's

From SOHH.com. Now that he's announced that he may be leaving Def Jam, LL Cool J is broadening his horizons. On January 8, the rapper will co-host the American Music Awards alongside pop star, Britney Spears. The show will air live at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Also, tonight you can log on to AOL to catch an exclusive chat with the self-proclaimed 'Greatest of All Time.' He will be discussing his decision to leave Def Jam, his plans for the future, and what's going on with his label, Rock The Bells Records. The chat begins ta 8 p.m. ET.

ODB Back To New York

From SOHH.com. After spending a couple of weeks in a Philadelphia jail, ODB will be relocating to New York later this week. He waived extradition hearings Tuesday morning so that NY Police could transfer him more expeditiously to the Big Apple. Once he arrives there he'll have to face crack-cocaine charges in Queens. He also must answer to drug charges in Brooklyn and charges of making terrorist threats, failing to pay child support and driving without a license. Whew! Hold your head up ODB! While the rapper was on the run, he apparently stopped by the Wu mansion to bang out four or five new songs. He hooked up with RZA and Wu beatmaker John The Baptist to record the new songs, but no word on when they'll be released.

December 19, 2000

Jail Time For Selling "Marshall Mathers LP" To Minors?

From SOHH.com. It's official, in New Zealand you can now get jail time for selling Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP to kids under 18. New Zealand Chief Censor, Bill Hastings, has given the album an R18 Rating, restricting the sale of the album to only those 18 and over. Under the Film Video and Publications Act in the country, shops found guilty of selling the album to an underage customer can face up to three months in prison and a $10,000 fine, while the customer would face a maximum $25,000 fine. "The danger exists that vulnerable and impressionable young people will take on board the misogyny and homophobia, the casual attitude to drug use and aggressively violent stance of the album along with the admiration for the artist," Hastings said. In related news, Eminem is not TIME's Person of The Year. George W. Bush was given that award, while Em was on the list of "Persons Who Mattered." Others on that list include Elian Gonzalez, Marion Jones, Yasser Arafat and others.

Lil' Wayne, Snoop Dogg, and QB's Finest Albums

Today Lil' Wayne releases "Lights Out", Snoop Dogg drops "Tha Last Meal", and Nas and Ill Will Records release "QB's Finest".

December 14, 2000

Eminem And Kim Reconcile

From MTV.com. Eminem and his wife, Kim Mathers, are getting back together. The couple whose tumultuous relationship is a constant theme in the Detroit rapper's music have abandoned their plans to divorce, Kim Mathers' lawyers said Thursday (December 14). Eminem (born Marshall Mathers) and his wife signed an agreement to dismiss their divorce claims on Wednesday, and plan to live together in their Michigan home with their daughter, according to a statement from lawyers. "Mrs. Mathers is pleased that she and her husband have been able to set their differences aside, particularly for the sake of their daughter, Hailie Jade," the lawyers wrote in their statement. "Kim strongly believes that it is best for Hailie to be raised in a two-parent home." Eminem's spokesperson and his lawyers did not immediately return calls for comment at press time. The rapper filed for divorce in August, and his wife responded a week later by filing suit against Eminem for a share of the couple's joint marital estate. She also demanded an additional $10 million in damages, claiming that Eminem's lyrics about their personal life constituted intentional infliction of emotional distress. The couple settled that lawsuit later that month, agreeing at the time to give Kim Mathers custody of their daughter. In June, Eminem allegedly argued with his wife outside a bar in Warren, Michigan, after he saw her kiss another man. That incident, in which Eminem is alleged to have struck the man with a gun, led to weapons and assault charges against the rapper. Eminem has frequently addressed the couple's on-again, off-again relationship, and the anger it apparently sparks, in his lyrics. The rapper's "'97 Bonnie & Clyde," from his The Slim Shady LP, fantasized about disposing of Kim's body after slitting her throat, and his song "Kim," from The Marshall Mathers LP, imagines an argument between the two that leads to her murder. Most recently, Eminem addressed this year's events including a July suicide attempt by Kim Mathers in his guest rap on "Don't Approach Me," a track from Xzibit's just-released new album, Restless. "Every day I wake up, another drama/ It's a wonder I'm alive surviving this karma/ If I can hold onto my private life for five minutes longer I might get my wife to let go with this knife," he raps. "Just got in a feud in some parking lot with a dude over Kim and she just slit both of her wrists over this sh--."

Eminem Times' Man Of The Year

From SOHH.com. According to the website HoboMusic.Com, TIME Magazine has voted Eminem as their Man of The Year. Apparently, TIME made the choice because, "Eminem's impact has been so profound and his detractors so vitriolic that the potty mouth from Detroit has challenged our ideas of what's acceptable". Time.Com says that it will announce the Man of The Year on Sunday, December 17. Previous winners of TIME's prestigious award have gone to such history-making people as Charles Lindbergh (first to fly across the Atlantic), Walter P. Chrysler (founded Chrysler Motors), and Dr. Ho (AIDS researcher).

December 13, 2000

Xzibit To Release A DVD

With the release of his third album this week, Xzibit plans to release an accompanying DVD. On the insert of his album, Restless, there's an ad for the DVD, Restless Xposed, stating that it will be released in 2001. Word is that the footage will contain behind the scenes takes at video shoots, studio sessions and shows with the Anger Management Tour. Eminem, Dr. Dre, Limp Bizkit, DJ Quik, Snoop Dogg, and Kid Rock are said to be in it. In related news, AvireX to the Z will be heading out to Germany in February. Here are the dates for you Germans: 2/15/01 Leipzig, GER Haus Auensee, 2/16/01 Offenbach, GER Offenbacher Stadthalle, 2/17/01 Stuttgart, GER Congresscentrum, 2/19/01 Cologne, GER Palladium, 2/20/01 Hamburg, GER Grosse Freiheit 36, 2/21/01 Berlin, GER Columbia-halle, 2/25/01 Munich, GER Elserhalle

Layzie Bones' LP All About Respect

From MTV.com. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Layzie Bone took a cue from the gangsta-favorite flick "Scarface" for his upcoming solo album. "The theme of the whole album is respect," the MC said last week. "First you get respect, then you get the money, then you get the power. But it all starts with respect." He said Thug By Nature: a.k.a. Layzie Bone, a.k.a. Ill Burner will hit stores March 6. The album features guest appearances by his fellow members of the Mo Thugs Family as well as Doggy's Angels and several underground rappers. The first single will be "Make My Day." The Layzie Bone-produced Mo Thugs III: The Mothership ruled the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart for a few weeks over the summer. The solo album is one of a series of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony spinoffs that includes 1997's Mo Thugs: Family Scriptures and 1998's Mo Thugs Chapter II: Family Reunion.

December 12, 2000

Busta Rhymes On J Records Music Label

Busta Rhymes will be the latest artist to sign with Clive Davis' new J Records label, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The high-profile Rhymes (real name: Trevor Smith) has been signed to Elektra since the early '90s and has released four solo albums, including this year's "Anarchy," which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart and at No. 4 on The Billboard 200. A J Records spokesperson did not immediately return calls for comment. Rhymes will join a J roster that also includes Luther Vandross, Deborah Cox, LFO, O-Town, Shannon Curfman, Jimmy Cozier, and Alicia Keye. On the heels of his appearance opposite Samuel L. Jackson in this summer's remake of the classic Blaxploitation film "Shaft," the flamboyant rapper will be seen in "Finding Forrester," starring Sean Connery and Anna Paquin, due out this month. In October, Rhymes was sentenced to five years probation on a gun possession charge to which he pleaded guilty last year. The case stemmed from a 1998 incident in which police, who pulled Rhymes over in Huntington, N.Y., found a loaded, unregistered pistol in his car.

Dre Talks About Net Bootlegging of "The Last MeaL"

From MTV.com. Death Row Records is guilty of "hatin' to the highest power" for posting an upcoming album by ex-Death Row artist Snoop Dogg on its Web site, the label's former top executive Dr. Dre says. Snoop Dogg's current label, Priority Records, said Monday it is taking legal steps in response to the posting of Tha Last Meal, due December 19 on No Limit/Priority. But imprisoned Death Row Records chief Marion "Suge" Knight questioned the suggestion that his label was trying to hurt Snoop Dogg by leaking the album. He said Death Row, which Snoop Dogg left nearly three years ago, still has a vested financial interest in the LP. "Why would Death Row attempt to sabotage Tha Last Meal when we are partners with No Limit/Priority Records on this album?" Knight said in a statement issued from jail Friday. "The same was applied to the last two No Limit/Priority Snoop Doggy Dogg releases. We are also partners with Priority Records on Snoop Doggy Dogg's next three albums." Snoop shortened his name from Snoop Doggy Dogg to Snoop Dogg after leaving Death Row. The 19 songs on Tha Last Meal appeared and disappeared from deathrowrecords2000.com during the week of Nov. 27. The songs reappeared on the site last week, but were gone again at press time Monday (December 11). Visitors to the site were asked to "take the Snoop Dogg challenge" and compare Tha Last Meal to Dead Man Walkin', a Snoop collection Death Row released in October. Knight, who is serving a nine-year prison term for violating probation on an assault charge, issued the statement in response to comments Dr. Dre made Thursday night about the downloads. Dre co-founded Death Row with Knight in 1992 but left in 1996. "Why don't those people do what we are doing [and] move on?" Dre said. "You live your life; let us live our life. I don't f--- with you, you don't f--- with me, and then everybody can just move on with their lives, be happy and chill with their families, and go on." "The way of thinking is so minimal right there. Like, 'Yo, my record isn't selling, so I'm gonna try to f--- up what you tryna' do.' It seems really wack to me. Do your thing, make your records, and I'm more than happy to go and pick up your record when it comes out, and I'll feel it when it's hot. But don't try to f--- up what the next guy is trying to do." Snoop Dogg left Death Row and signed to No Limit/Priority in 1998. The labels came to an agreement in April of that year in which Death Row received a "lump sum and will participate financially in all of Snoop's future releases," according to a joint press release No Limit and Priority issued at the time. Despite the agreement, Priority said in a statement Monday that the posting of Tha Last Meal is unauthorized and "appropriate legal steps are being taken to remedy the situation." "The fact that Death Row has a financial interest would not give them the right to post the album online," Whitney Broussard, a digital music attorney, said. "But if they were co-owners, they would have the right." Broussard said that the album's premature posting was more likely intended as co-promotion than sabotage. "It could be just show," Broussard said. "I would think if one wanted to attack, they could find a better way to do it." Dre, who earlier this year filed suit against Napster, said the appearance of Snoop's record on the Death Row site "almost makes me afraid to go into the studio and spend a lot of time working on a record. "Usually it takes between nine and 10 months to produce and make a record that's gonna be hot enough to present to the people," the rapper/producer continued. "If I go in there and spend that kind of time on a record, and then somebody grabs it because of some kind of animosity or stuff like that and puts it up on the Internet for people to get free, it's kind of crazy to me. It's like hatin' to the highest power." Snoop's departure from Death Row followed a series of blows for what was once a dominant force in hip-hop. Following Dre's departure, Death Row's other major star, Tupac Shakur, was killed in a 1996 drive-by shooting. Soon after, Knight was sentenced to prison for his involvement in a beating outside a Las Vegas hotel just hours before Shakur was killed, an incident that violated Knight's probation on an earlier assault charge.

Prodigy Robbed For Jewelry

From MTV.com. Mobb Deep's Prodigy lost more than $300,000 in jewelry to muggers in New York early Friday morning, according to a report in the New York Daily News. The 26-year-old Prodigy (born Albert Johnson) was taking a break from a video shoot when two men robbed him at gunpoint, police spokesperson Joe Cavitolo told the newspaper. The mugging happened outside a store in Long Island City, not far from the Queensbridge Housing Projects, where Prodigy and his Mobb Deep partner, Havoc, grew up. Some of the jewelry was Prodigy's, but most of the $343,000 in gold chains and diamonds was rented for the video shoot, police told the Daily News, adding that most of it was insured.

Xzibit Drops "Restless"

The long awaited album from Xzibit is finally here. This album Xzibit drops gems featuring Defari, Erick Sermon, Tash, KRS One, Eminem, and Snoop with tracks produced by Erick Sermon, Dr. Dre & Mel-Man, Dj Quik, Soopa Fly, and Rockwilder. The album is sixteen tracks strong with nothing but bangin' beats. I picked this up myself this morning and I suggest you all get it 2. Maybe this time around people won't sleep on X.

December 11, 2000

TVT Records Call's Doggy's Angels Cover A Parody

From SOHH.com. After being slapped with a copyright lawsuit last week, TVT Records has shot back at Columbia Pictures. The film company filed a lawsuit claiming that TVT Records, Snoop Dogg's Doggy Style Records and rap group Doggy's Angels were infringing on their copyrighted trademark of Charlie's Angels after the rap group released a single with a cover similar to the trademark. The response read:

"We feel the name and imagery of Doggy's Angels clearly pokes fun at a classic of American pop culture, but does not confuse the public with the real thing. The girls in the group are as far away from Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith as can be. In the end Doggy's Angels will succeed based on their music and their music alone. The new single, 'Baby If You're Ready,' has been the No. 1 selling hip-hop single three weeks running because hip-hop fans love the song -- end of story."

Columbia Pictures filed the 12-count lawsuit last week with complaints of federal trademark infringement, unfair competition, trademark dilution, trade dress infringement, and false and misleading advertising, and others.

LL Cool J To Leave Def Jam

From SOHH.com. During a live webcast with Y2G.Com, LL Cool J announced that he may be leaving his long time label, Def Jam Records, for good. "Right now Def Jam and I are figuring out where we're at. My contract is basically up. And we plan on just seeing what's going on. It looks like I'm going to be moving on. Where I'm going to go I don't know. How it's going to work out I don't know. It's not any bad blood. It's not negative. It's not like I hate them or they hate me, " LL said. "It's time for us to change the sheets on the bed. Nothing like crisp sheets to make you feel fresh again. That's part of it. You gotta grow. As long as people know that it's nothing negative. It's positive. They've agreed to let me go and I've agreed that I would like to leave. I've expressed that wholeheartedly." LL Cool J has been with Def Jam for 15 years and has released nine albums for them. Look for LL to star in the new film, Kingdom Come, with Whoopi Goldberg to be released in March 2001.

December 8, 2000

Lil' Wayne Readies New Album

From SOHH.com. To follow the platinum success of his debut album, The Block Is Hot, Lil Wayne is ready to drop his next effort. The new album, Lights Out, is set to be released on December 19 and is again produced entirely by Mannie Fresh. Guests on the album include the usual suspects, Juvenile, B.G., Turk, and Baby. The new single is "Get Off The Corner", which was sent to radio last week. The young emcee is currently on tour with the Jingle Ballers Jam that also feature Nelly, Lil Kim, Junior Mafia, Philly's Most Wanted among others.

Lil' Kim Going Bankrupt?

From SOHH.com. According to a story printed by the World Entertainment New Network, Lil Kim is in need of some cash. Apparently, the rapper is near bankruptcy after spending large amounts of money on hair and makeup, using the top stylists. Sources close to Kim say that the amount of money spent on her hair and makeup could "float a third world country." Kim is currently selling her New Jersey home and doing some lucrative PR stunts across the US to bring in some cash. She is currently on tour with the Jingle Ballers Jam which also features the Cash Money Millionaires, Nelly, Philly's Most Wanted and others.

Eminems' House For Sale

From SOHH.com. All you 'Stans' out there, the ultimate Eminem collectible is now up for sale- his house. The rapper selling his house in Sterling Heights, Michigan for $650,000, where he would garner a $200,000 profit. He paid $450,00 in cash for the house two years ago which includes a sauna, a Jacuzzi, a built-in pool and a basketball net in the driveway. Em became irritated living at the house since fans found out where he lived. His mailbox was stolen; fans would sneak in the backyard and swim in his pool and some fans even left M&M rappers on his lawn to annoy him. Interested buyers, visit RalphRoberts.Com. Em, his soon to be ex-wife, Kim, and their daughter Haile have moved to the Clinton Township, a gated community in Michigan. They purchased a luxury condo with eight rooms and 6,500 square feet at $1.48 million. They will continue to live together until their divorce is final.

December 7, 2000

Wyclef Singing More And Rapping Less On Next Album

From Sonicnet.com. NEW YORK-- Four months after the release of The Ecleftic 2 Sides II a Book, Wyclef Jean already has begun recording his next solo album, which he said will feature more singing and less rapping than his previous efforts. The album, which will be released sometime next year, will be called Masquerade, Wyclef said Tuesday (December 5) after a midtown Manhattan press conference. "It's like 12 songs even when I'm rhyming, I'm singing," Wyclef said. "So [there's] no really, like, monotone lyrics everything is singing." The Fugees co-founder, who will perform with Eric Clapton, Destiny's Child and Whitney Houston in his benefit concert next month at Carnegie Hall, said the new album's songs will tell stories about working-class life. "It's the call of the hard-working man the voice of the farmer," he said, somewhat cryptically. Masquerade will be Wyclef's third solo album. His first, Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival, was released in 1997. Wyclef didn't comment on the current status of the Fugees. The group, which also includes vocalist Lauryn Hill and rapper Pras, has not released an album since the breakthrough success of 1996's The Score. Wyclef previously had said that he hoped to release a new Fugees album before The Ecleftic, which has been certified gold. Pras said in September that he plans to release a solo album of his own, Eyes on the Pras, early next year. "We're still trying to work it out," Pras had said of the Fugees at that time. "I mean, right now, the Fugees are wounded, and we're trying to heal the wounds and see if we can get back up [on our feet] and drop an album, hopefully. ... It's real deep, but only God knows, man, only God knows." Hill, meanwhile, hasn't released an album since 1998's Grammy-winning smash The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Prosecutor Calls Rapper's Lyrics Criminal Evidence

From Sonicnet.com. A Portland, Oregon, hip-hop artist and former gang member found out last week that what you rap may be used against you in a court of law. Jonathan "Demitrius" Norman is accused of conspiracy to distribute narcotics in a trial in which prosecutors used the lyrics of his song "No Deal" as evidence that he's involved in illegal activity. Under the name "Smurf Luciano," Norman formed Gangsters on the Move, who released a locally popular, self-titled album on Norman's label, 2 Real Records, in early 1999. The album outsold new releases by such major-label acts as Bizzy Bone and Mack 10 in Portland during its first two months of release, according to the label's marketing VP, Dominic Hall. Norman is on trial with four other defendants, some of whom face additional charges. The 29-year-old rapper was driving in a car that was following a Dodge Intrepid in Vancouver, Washington, according to Ellen Rogers, an investigator for Norman's defense team. Police pulled over the Intrepid and allegedly found three kilos of cocaine. Norman ran to the Intrepid from the other car, in which no drugs were found, according to Rogers. He had previously driven the Intrepid, but not on drug runs, Rogers said. He got in a wreck with it once, and he filed an accident report using his driver's license and born name, she added. The Intrepid's insurance was paid for by LCH Auto Sales, a business owned by alleged drug kingpin Adolph Spears Sr., a friend of Norman's father. Norman claims he knew nothing of the drugs, and he claims he's been unfairly targeted by police informant and former Spears associate Daren McCoy, who shot to death Norman's friend and business partner, Anthony "Lil Smurf" Branch, outside a Portland strip club in 1997, according to Rogers. Rogers claimed that McCoy and another witness, both of whom are in prison for murder, have received cash and other deals in exchange for their testimony. Rogers believes that McCoy, a career violent criminal, is targeting Norman because of his association with Branch, and that the entire prosecution case is tainted by false testimony. She said investigators searched more than 20 homes and apartments and seized "boxes and boxes" of evidence, none of which linked Norman to selling drugs. Norman was arrested December 31, 1997, and he has been in jail since then, Rogers said. The U.S. attorney's office in Portland did not return repeated phone calls requesting comment. The jury in the trial, which began October 17, went out for deliberations Friday (December 1) and had not returned a verdict by press time. If convicted, Norman faces 20 years to life in prison. Prosecutors argued that the lyrics of Norman's "No Deal," which include a reference to "packing heat" and tell Portland D.A. Eric Bergstrom to "suck my dick," are proof of Norman's criminal activity, according to spoken-word artist Carl Hancock Rux, who testified as an expert witness for the defense. Rux recites his poetry in a rapid-fire sing-speak over funk-, rock- and jazz-inflected music. The 29-year-old South Bronx, New York, native's first album, Rux Revue, came out in 1999. Hip-hop lyrics come out of an African-American cultural tradition in which the renegade and outlaw are glorified, Rux said, pointing to "blaxploitation" films, such as "Superfly." "These songs, and those films, say, 'This is the ghetto that I live in, this is how it looks, there are my surroundings,' " Rux said. "So if there are Crips or Bloods or drugs are whatever, they're going to make their way into the music." Lawyers for the prosecution asked Rux if Norman saying on record that he's "packing heat," was enough for a listener to assume he was carrying a weapon. Rux said that it's racist and wrong to make that assumption, adding that just because Robert De Niro has played mobsters in movies doesn't mean he's a mobster in real life. "When Johnny Cash sang 'I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die,' I don't know whether he did that or not," Rux added. "I don't know if Lil' Kim is actually a whore in her real life. It's a character she created that's no different than what Mae West did." Rux and Hall said that prosecutors tried to argue that since Norman puts out records on his own small label, he doesn't have a real business. Rux answered that many new rappers start their own label, and that major labels look to independent outfits, such as Roc-A-Fella and Rap-A-Lot, to get a sense of what's cutting edge and popular. Hall said 2 Real has been struggling since Norman went to jail. 2 Real is under contract with City Hall Distributors to re-release the album, but Hall said he's not sure when that will happen. In the meantime, the label's contract prevents it from selling the disc. "We can't do anything with the record right now," Hall said. Hall, who is Norman's cousin, and testified in the trial, said that the charges against Norman are a case of inaccurate guilt-by-association. Hall said Norman was in the Crips gang in his teens and early 20s, but he had turned his life around and was trying to help his old friends do the same by bringing them into his business. "He is committed to his music, his friends and his community," Rogers said. "He didn't want anybody to go down." This isn't the first time that rappers' lyrics have gotten them in trouble with the law. In 1998, gangsta rapper C-Bo was briefly jailed for writing lyrics that violated a parole condition that forbade him from promoting a gang lifestyle. In another parallel to the Norman case, rapper Scarface alleged that a DEA agent was harassing him, and he rapped about it in two songs on his Last of a Dying Breed album, "Look Me in my Eyes" and "The Gangsta Sh*t."

December 1, 2000

Omar Epps an Emcee?

From SOHH.com. It seems as though another actor wants to enter the rap world. While on the Steve Harvey Morning Show on The Beat in L.A., Omar Epps announced that he and his crew will be releasing an album next year. Epps' group, Society X, has been signed to Priority Records and has been on the hush-hush tip for a while. "I just wanted to wait until it was ready," Epps told Steve Harvey about the project. Most hip-hop heads will remember Epps from the film Juice, where he portrayed a DJ. His other films include Higher Learning, In Too Deep, and Love & Basketball.

Everlast Declares Himself Winner of Battle

From SOHH.com. The Eminem Vs Everlast saga continues. According to Rolling Stone, Everlast declared himself the winner of the battle with Eminem. During a performance Tuesday night at the Browery Ballroom in New York, Everlast said, "I heard on the radio that he was offended by some of the sh*t I said. I guess that means I win. How do you offend Eminem? I mean, sh*t!" He continued to bash Eminem and told the audience the battle was far from over and then performed "Whitey's Revenge" in which Ev takes Em to the stage. At the other end, Em and his crew, D-12 have made a response track to "Whitey's Revenge" and even dissed Evidence (of Dilated Peoples). The song, "Quitter" was originally never going to be released, but some how found its way onto Napster. Em goes off on Everlast once again with lyrics like, "So this is what we ask of our fans/ If you ever see Everlast whoop his ass/Hit him with sticks, bricks, rocks throw sh*t at him/kick him, spit on him, treat him like a hoe, b*tch slap him/Do it for me, Do it for Fred, Do it for Limp/Do it for rock, Do it for rap, Do it for Kid/ Do it for Ice-T, Do it just to do it, f*ck it/He's a b*tch, he ain't gon hit you back, he's nothing."