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May 31, 2001

Shyne Sentenced To 10 Years

From MTV.com. Jamal "Shyne" Barrow apologized to the victims of the Club New York shootings Friday afternoon just before a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison for his role in the melee. "I never meant to hurt nobody I was afraid for my life," Shyne told Judge Charles Solomon in a choked voice. "I'm [asking] for mercy [and for you] not to waste my life." Shyne was convicted in March on two counts of assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession for the December 27, 1999, shootings. The rapper admitted to firing a gun at Club New York, but maintained that he was acting in self-defense and that another gunman's bullets injured the two victims. He faced up to 25 years in prison. Solomon told the packed courtroom that the sentencing decision was one of the most difficult he had ever faced. "It's a tragedy all around," he said. "This is a young man who had a promising future." The judge said that while he saw "a lot of good" in the 22-year-old rapper, he could not overlook the seriousness of his crime. Solomon then sentenced Shyne to 10 years in state prison on the most serious charge, first-degree assault, for shooting Natania Reuben in the face. Shyne was given four other sentences on his other charges, ranging from two-and-a-third to seven years, but the sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will only have to serve 10 years total. He will not be eligible for parole until he serves eight years and seven months including the two months he's already served at Rikers Island according to his lawyers and a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Corrections. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs who signed Shyne to his Bad Boy Entertainment label was acquitted on all charges in the same trial (see "Puffy Combs Acquitted; Shyne Guilty Of Assault, Gun Possession"). Combs issued a statement Friday afternoon (June 1) calling Shyne's sentence "unfair and extreme." "I know he had no intention of hurting anyone," Combs said in the statement. "My prayers are with him and his family. I'm shocked by today's outcome. I will continue to support Shyne throughout his appeal." A newly hired defense lawyer, Diarmuid White, will handle Shyne's appeal. Shooting victim Reuben described the impact of her injuries on her life in court Friday; fellow victim Julius Jones was in the courtroom but did not speak. "I know you're close to your grandmother and mother I am too," Reuben said to Shyne. "Can you imagine receiving a call saying that your mother was shot in the face?" Friends and family wept as Solomon read Shyne's sentence, but Reuben cried out, "Thank you, Jesus." As court officers took Shyne away, his mother yelled, "I love you, Shyne." "I love you, Ma," he replied, on the verge of tears. Shyne will stay at Rikers Island while awaiting assignment to one of New York's 16 maximum security state prisons, according to a Department of Corrections spokesperson.

Eminem Vs. Fred Durst

From SOHH.com. Just when fans thought everything was calm on the Eminem verses everyone waterfront, Slim Shady has attacked again with yet another dis track and this time Em's main focus is on labelmates and one-time allies Limp Bizkit. As reported earlier this year in SOHH's Ya Heard! column, the relationship between Limp and Em has soured. Em's track entitled "Girls" spits his beef with Durst and company and can be found at Trickology.Com. It details the whole messy situation involving Everlast, Dilated Peoples and now Limp Bizkit. According to the song, the beef with Limp Bizkit stems from when the band was supposed to appear on the track "Quitter," which puts Everlast on blast, but the band never participated. Then Limp went on MTV discussing the Em/Everlast beef. DJ Lethal said that Everlast was a big guy and could probably beat Eminem up. Em also takes small pot shots at Dilated and Everlast, but keeps the focus on Limp Bizkit. Some of the lyrics Em spits: "Now I'm in the position that I don't want to be in/ sh*t I never had beef with you corny son of a b*tches/but now the sh*t is broken and you can't do nothing to fix it/So I'm telling you right now, muthaf*ck a Limp Bizkit... And Fred you said you was dissing him (Everlast) too/I should of knew better than to listen to you/You f*ckin sissy, up on stage screaming how people hate you/They don't hate you, they just think you're corny cuz Christina played you!"

May 24, 2001

Kurupt DVD Being Produced

From Fortress Ent. Kurupt's upcoming DVD production began in Los Angeles this week. Producers say that the biggest challenge is working into his hectic schedule. With the upcoming release of his album Space Boogie, and his current starring roles in three movies, including one with Kurt Russell, he has little time to do anything else. However the camera crew has spent their days following him around and getting good coverage of his life and special moments for the DVD.

May 23, 2001

Shyne Starts Counseling Group

From SOHH.com. Since it looks like Shyne may be spending some time behind bars, he try to live it out as positive as he can make it. The rapper has started a counseling group while he's been incarcerated at Rikers Island awaiting his June 1 sentencing. In a released statement published in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, Shyne said: "I'm trying to show and introduce my fellow inmates, most of whom are young men, to different attributes all humans need to succeed, including discipline, self-confidence, determination, faith and a belief in God ad yourself." Shyne has been locked up since March 16 and is facing up to 25 years on weapons and assault charges. His defense team in the meantime is drawing up appeals.

May 22, 2001

Eminem Facing Child Support Issues

From SOHH.com. In the ongoing case of the divorce between Eminem and his wife Kim, the couple has now come upon the issue of child support for their daughter, Haile Jade. The Macomb County Friend of the Court suggested that Em pay $2,740 a week which would amount to $142,480 a year. They also suggested that the rapper pay $156 a week for health insurance and 90% of any childcare costs. Em has already been ordered to give Kim $475,000 to buy a new home since he already gets to keep the house. In other Em news, the rapper will return to court on June 5 for sentencing on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and brandishing a firearm to which he plead no contest.

May 21, 2001

Fabolous Prepares Debut Album

From MTV.com. Brooklyn rhyme slinger Fabolous only wants to show and prove. Take the audition that put him in the rap game. While many hungry amateurs get noticed by spitting their rawest lyrics to a cornered music-biz power broker, Fab received an invite to spit for mixtape king DJ Clue in early 1998. Cool except not only did Fab have to win over Clue, he also had to appease the thousands of New York radio listeners tuned in to Clue's Monday-night Hot 97 show, where Fab was involved in a cipher (or rhyme exchange) with Noreaga. Fab's sarcastic one-liners and laid-back conversational flow got Clue's attention. "I let so many hot rappers skip me by, I wasn't gonna let that happen again," said Clue, who helped introduce such hip-hop notables as DMX, The LOX, Notorious B.I.G. and Foxy Brown by putting their music on his street-coveted mixtapes. Fab who signed to Clue and his production partner Duro's Desert Storm label that summer has been gaining exposure from Clue's street offerings and releases on Roc-A-Fella Records. He's also bubbling with his guest role on Lil' Mo's chart-topping "Superwoman Pt. 2." Now that Desert Storm has a distribution deal with Elektra Records, Fab is ready to show and prove again with his debut, Ghetto Fabolous. "The streets heard of me from the Clue tapes and stuff," Fab said. "I been holding it down on the freestyle tip. Now that Lil' Mo's video is out they got the visual. Ni---- is waiting for me to drop." Ghetto Fabolous is a mostly up-tempo party album laced with Fab's hood lingo. "It's straight fire," Duro said. "We're trying to create a good vibe where people can have fun." Producer Rockwilder brings his sonic funk to "Gettin It Right," where Fab plays off of Junior Mafia's "Players Anthem," exhorting listeners to "Grab your d--- if you're gettin' it right." The Neptunes produced "Youngin," a call-and-response club anthem, while "Ma Be Easy," produced by Just Blaze, finds Fab telling chickenheads to keep their hands out his pocket. On "Take You Home" Lil' Mo sings the chorus Lisa Lisa made famous 16 years ago with "I Wonder If I take You Home," and Nate Dogg lends his subdued serenade to Ghetto Fabolous's first single, producer Rick Rock's rough-riding "You Can't Deny It." But Fab warns against expecting too many cameos on his debut. "On the first album you should try to get people to feel you," the 21-year-old rationalized. "I don't want to have it like when people put out an album and have mad people on it. People check their album because of the guests. I want ni---- to check my album for me." Fabolous' peers are indeed checking him. He rhymes on Mariah Carey's remake of "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" ("she's cooler than you would think a superstar is," he said nonchalantly), which will appear on her upcoming album, and he'll also pop up on new albums by Jimmy Cozier and Macy Gray. "Lil' Mo's joint made everything easier," said Fab. "Now everybody wants to holla." Fab's young and pretty thug persona, his rhyme style and ability to keep the party going with appearances on R&B and pop records have been winning him comparisons to retired Bad Boy rapper, Mase. Fab admitted there were similarities but added, "I'm a little bit different from Mase." Fab said he's only a week away from finishing Ghetto Fabolous. Then he'll begin work on a Desert Storm compilation featuring his labelmates the Teamstas and Paul Cain. Duro is confident he'll get enough help to push Fabolous over the top. "We wanted to be somewhere where they are as excited about the project as we are," Duro said about the venture with Elektra. "We ain't want to jump on the bandwagon, we wanted to start from scratch. A lot of people was like, 'We're the hottest camp, we're gonna make you hot.' Elektra was like, 'We can do this together, we're really feeling Fabolous."

May 16, 2001

Keith Murray Free!

From SOHH.com. After spending three years behind bars, Keith Murray has been released from a Connecticut halfway house. This week, Murray left the Maple Street House Facility and went to New York to be with his family according to MTV News. Murray was convicted in 1996 for hitting a man in the head with a bar stool during a bar brawl in 1995. In 1998, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. While he was awaiting appeal he was released on bail and fled from authorities for 30 days. Murray has always maintained his innocence and filed a lawsuit for anew trial earlier this year but dropped the suit after a deal was made to have 3 months dropped from his sentence. Keith Murray is now signed to Def Jam and is eager to get back in the studio.

May 13, 2001

Sporty Thievz Member Killed

R.I.P.

From Mtv.com. Sporty Thievz member Marlon Brando, who rapped on the group's hit TLC parody "No Pigeons," died in a car accident in the Bronx early Friday morning. Brando, whose real name was Marlon Bryant, was walking out of a deli around 3 a.m. when a minivan ran a red light, jumped a curb and slammed into him, according to Sporty Thievz DJ Gehai. The accident crushed both of his legs and sent his blood pressure plummeting he died shortly after an ambulance arrived on the scene, Gehai said. The rapper was 22 years old and the father of a newborn baby, according to Gehai. Sylvia Reyes, a spokesperson for Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the South Bronx, confirmed that Bryant was pronounced dead early Friday morning. A police spokesperson was unable to provide details on the car accident or information on whether the driver will face charges. Sporty Thievz had just released a new indie-label album, In Stores Now (F--- Sporty Thievz), and were going to celebrate at an album-release party this weekend. Gehai described Brando as "the conscience" of Sporty Thievz and a driving, creative force. "He basically came up with the idea for all the hooks, the concepts for the song," Gehai said. "Bran was the comedian of the group. He'd been through a lot of sh--, like everybody else, but you'd always see Bran smiling and cracking a joke." Sporty Thievz released their debut album, Street Cinema, in 1998, garnering radio play with the single "Cheapskate (You Ain't Getting' Nada)." But the group's career moved into higher gear the following year when they released the single "No Pigeons," an answer to TLC's "No Scrubs" that used the original song's backing track but reversed its message. The single was a major hit and was added to Street Cinema as a bonus track. In April 2000, the group released the single "La La," which became a hip-hop radio hit in its own right. The Yonkers-based group, whose other members are King Kirk and Big Dubez, plan to stay together, according to Gehai. "We got to," he said. "We owe that to Bran."

May 11, 2001

Hi-Tek Responds To Cincinnati Riots

From Rawkus.com. Hi-Tek, a Cincinnati native and producer widely respected in the hip-hop community, shared his personal encounters with police brutality in his home town:"The police seem to be killing a lot of young Black youth who are innocent. Last summer, my best friend was shot 19 times. I feel they murdered him and got away with it. Enough is enough!" A part-time partner of lyricist Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek expressed why he believes the city has finally released its pent-up anger: "It¹s long overdue. I am not promoting the violence, but young Black people are ready to explode. The people in Cincinnati have taken actionSpolice will think twice about shooting another brother." Hi-Tek is considered to be at the forefront of establishing Cincinnati as a major force on the hip-hop scene and is signed to Rawkus Records. Well known for promoting social and political awareness through music, Rawkus Records released the ¹99 maxi-single, "Hip-Hop for Respect", in response to the brutal shooting death of Amadou Diallo. Taking an active role in his community, Hi-Tek has collaborated with and produced many of the talented hip-hop artists from the Cincinnati area, as well as with hip-hop notables such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Common.

Pharcyde Producer Suing Jive Records

From SOHH.com. With the success and major radio play of the "Stutter Remix" by Joe featuring Mystikal, you'd think The Pharcyde, whose hit "Passin Me By" is sampled in the song, would be getting a paid crazy dollars. Well, apparently that isn't the case. Pharcyde producer, J-Swift, who produced, arranged and co-wrote "Passin Me By", claims that no one at Jive ever contacted him to get permission to use the track. "People were coming up to me congratulating me, asking how much I was getting paid. I went into the store to see if I had been credited, and saw everyone's name listed but mine," J-Swift said in a statement. "They used my actual music. They even stole the lyrics and melody that I wrote. 'My dear, my dear, my dear, you do not know me ...' "I own more of that song than anybody. Someone is always trying to sue rap producers because we sample older records, and now it's ironic that they're sampling a hip-hop record and not clearing it." J-Swift is suing Jive Records, Zomba Recording Corp. and Touchstone Pictures for copyright infringement among other things for an estimated amount of $11 million in damages and royalties.

Shyne Facing Lawsuit

From SOHH.com. While Shyne sits in his cell awaiting his sentencing in June, a lawsuit has been filed against him. Mark Mackenzie, who was injured in a car accident with Shyne, has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the rapper, claiming that Shyne ran a red light causing the accident. The incident occurred on January 21, which delayed the start of Shyne and Puffy's criminal trial. Shyne was ticketed for driving with a suspended license but was not charged for the fault of the accident. Shyne's lawyer, Murray Richman said that the allegations are all false and that the accident was Mackenzie's fault. Mackenzie's Mercedes Benz was damaged and he suffered a head injury from the accident.

May 10, 2001

Hip Hop Archive Project

From SOHH.com. In an effort to preserve and provide information for Hip-Hop fans and music fans worldwide, The Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture in New York has launched the "Hip-Hop Archive Project." The project collects and preserves Hip-Hop manuscripts (contracts, lyric books, flyers), photography, art, and audio/visual materials (audio and videotapes). These research materials are essential for documenting the Hip-Hop movement, and the project will receive assistance from Hip-Hop pioneers and culture keepers. Organizers are hoping that this project will encourage Hip-Hop heads worldwide to take a proactive role to help identify materials toward the preservation of this culture. For more information contact Octavia Inman at octavia_4@yahoo.com.

"Murder Was The Case" On DVD

From SOHH.com. After being out of print close to four years, Snoop Dogg's first movie, Murder Was The Case is about to be re-released May 15 on DVD. The new DVD version will have the original video movie plus added bonuses including behind-the-scenes footage, videos for "Midnight Love" and "Head Doctor" from Snoop's Dead Man Walkin' LP and performances from Soul Train, The American Music Awards and Saturday Night Live. The DVD also includes enhanced sound and image, as well as the director's cut to the Dr. Dre and Ice Cube duet "Natural Born Killaz." "This was Snoop's first movie and it was also the first piece of directing done by Dr. Dre," Suge Knight said in a statement. "Both of them were on Death Row and on top of their game at the time. This is a real piece of rap history that is still important, saying something real, today."

May 8, 2001

Big Pun Street May Not Happen

From SOHH.com. According to Launch.Com, chances are slim for a street in the Bronx to be named after emcee, Big Pun. Apparently, some city officials are opposed to the idea including Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, due to the nature of his music. Chief of staff to City Council speaker PeterVallone, John Banks said that some members of the city council complained about some Pun's lyrics being obscene and misogynistic. After Pun died of heart failure in February 2000; Big Pun fans launch a campaign to get 163rd Street and Rogers Place in Bronx to be renamed to Big Pun Place. City Councilman Pedro G. Espada backed the idea and was able to collect 7,000 signatures. Although the bill looks like it might be vetoed, Espada still want to have it voted on since the change has the support of the community.