Last week Nicki Minaj dropped out of Rihanna’s tour and fired her manager, Debbie Antney. According to sources Minaj‘s career will now be managed by P. Diddy and co-manager James Cruz. It has been reported that the rapper initially reached out to Troy Carter, but Lady Gaga wasn’t having it! After the Lady threatened to find new management, Carter quickly stepped away from any deals with Minaj.
Sources: Billboard.com
Marion “Suge” Knight and Kanye West will go head-to-toe in federal court. The December 6th trial, which will be held in Miami, is the result of a 2005 shooting at a Miami Beach party. As many as six shots were fired at the celebrity event which was hosted by Kanye West. Suge Knight was shot in the right leg, but there were few witnesses to come forward, and no arrests were made. Knight‘s attorney, Marc Brumer, has stated that Knight had $200,000 in medical bills from the gunshot wound which shattered his femur. He is seeking total damages of well over $1 million. In his lawsuit, Knight is claiming that Kanye and the Club’s owners failed to provide the security necessary to keep people with weapons from entering the event.
Sources: Billboard.com; The Associated Press
The last thing Rihanna needs is to end up with another abusive man and reports of a restraining order against her new beau Matt Kemp by an ex-girlfriend, had people worried she was heading into the wrong direction.
According to Pop On The Pop we don’t need to worry about her new relationship, Matt’s agent Dave Stewart says he was never abusive to Felisha Terrell.
“Matt dated Felisha about two years ago and decided to end their relationship. She chose to file a complaint and shortly thereafter, on her own accord, decided to drop it based on the fact that the statements made within were false. She has very recently said that she has no issue whatsoever with Matt and that she and Matt consider this to be a non-issue.”
A representative for Felisha also cleared the air by saying during the relationship “there was a restraining order filed by Felisha but it had nothing to do with domestic violence and to be clear Matt was NEVER physically abusive to Felisha, nor did she fear for her life. The restraining order was subsequently vacated.”
Source: poponthepop.com
“I’m a huge fan of Rihanna, but I’m not going to lie when I heard about her new man “Matt Kemp” possibly being abusive, I was a bit worried for her. She really doesn’t need another one of these episodes in her life. She’s young and deserves to be happy. She’s back and ready to blow us all away with her beautiful music. Keep up the good work and I wish her the best in everything she does.”
Rihanna May Be Dating Another Violent Abuser…
Rihanna has been dating LA Dodgers player Matt Kemp for around one month. The couple have been playing grab-ass on rented yatchs, and playing coy with the media. According to new reports, Kemp may have just as nasty a temper as Chris Brown.
From Yahoo News (via Celeb Slam): Rihanna, 21, is currently dating LA Dodgers star Matt Kemp, and an ex-girlfriend of his, actress Felisha Terrell, 30, has revealed his violent past and claims that she took a restraining order out against him in June 2008.
“He is violent and I am afraid. He repeatedly made me scared and gets in my face. He is threatening to take all the items I purchased and try to destroy my property,” the Mirror quoted her as saying. “He brings his friends driving up and down the street to try and intimidate me. I am very fearful. He has other people calling me and stalking me.”
Source: amygrindhouse.com
“What are your thoughts on what is being said about Matt Kemp? I think it’s a BS, but you never know. I’ll keep you posted.”
Rihanna plugged her “Rated R” album with a (fake) tattoo of the album title down her throat at the American Music Awards Sunday night.
She came out a gurney and performed a combo of “Wait Your Turn” and “Hard,” both from the new album wearing a white bondage jumpsuit made of strips, skin, and a collar of bullets.
Check out some more photos of Rihanna below.
Check out the video of her performance below…
Source: Huffingtonpost
Chris Brown sentenced in Rihanna assault case…
A judge on Tuesday sentenced Chris Brown to five years’ probation and six months’ community labor for the beating of Rihanna and ordered to stay within 100 yards away from Rihanna unless they’re attending music industry events.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg told Brown that he could be sent to state prison if he violated any terms of his sentence. Brown will serve his sentence in his home state — Virginia — and his community labor will be overseen by the police chief in Richmond.
A probation report prepared for Tuesday’s sentencing describes two previous violent incidents. It said the first happened about three months before the February beating while the couple was traveling in Europe; Rihanna slapped Brown during an argument, and he shoved her into a wall. In the second instance, Brown allegedly broke the front and passenger side windows on a Range Rover they were driving while visiting Barbados, Rihanna‘s home country. Neither attack was reported, the probation report states.
The judge said she wanted to ensure that Brown, 20, performs physical labor instead of community service, such as mentoring young people. He will also undergo a year of domestic violence counseling. Rihanna did not attend Tuesday’s sentencing.
At one point, Brown, who was accompanied by his mother, agreed to the terms of the sentence before Schnegg had finished going through them all.
The hearing had been planned for Thursday afternoon, but Brown‘s lawyer,
Mark Geragos, asked to move up the singer’s sentencing to Tuesday. A previous attempt to sentence Brown was postponed when Schnegg said she hadn’t received adequate assurances that Brown would perform physical labor if allowed to serve probation in Virginia.
The judge said she was satisfied with a letter presented by Geragos that
Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood will directly oversee Brown‘s labor program. After Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in June, Schnegg ordered the pair to stay away from each other and to not contact one another. Her order Tuesday essentially extended that until Brown completes his sentence.
Donald Etra, Rihanna‘s attorney, has said he didn’t think the strict rules were necessary, but that he and Rihanna favored a less-stringent ruling that simply ordered Brown not to annoy, harass or molest the 21-year-old pop singer. He said after Tuesday’s hearing that Rihanna did not object to the stay-away order, which allows the former couple to be within 10 yards of each other if they are attending music industry events.
Schnegg said she was aware of reports that Brown had been spotted on several occasions in the same places as Rihanna.
“I am not amused with the chatter that has been on the airwaves and any violation of your probation in this case comes with the potential for state prison,” Schnegg told Brown.
A felony charge of making criminal threats was dropped during Tuesday’s sentencing.
“We feel that the sentence for Mr. Brown is an equitable one,” said Sandi Gibbons, a district attorney’s spokeswoman. “He has his future in his hands. He has control of his fate.”
Gibbons said Brown‘s charge could eventually be reduced to a misdemeanor if he completes his sentence.
Spotted….
After the sentencing Chris Brown was spotted that night clubbing at a popular L.A. lounge named, Guys & Dolls with friends and bodyguards. Sources say Brown stood up on a booth and got the crowd excited as he danced along to Michael Jackson’s ‘Dirty Diana’.
“He didn’t seem to care at all that everyone was watching him,” says the source. “He was in a totally good mood, just hanging out with his buddies. Then all of a sudden he decided to put on a little show. Everyone went wild.”
Let it be told, he was not alone out and about, sources say that, Rihanna was also out doing some clubbing of her own on Tuesday night after Chris Brown‘s hearing.
Rihanna and her gal pals flocked to downtown club Greenhouse, where they met Serena Williams, Queen Latifah and Paula Patton.
“Rihanna was dancing all night,” says a spy. “Chris looked like the furthest thing from her mind.”
“Your thoughts?”
Rihanna and Chris Brown have fuelled reunion rumours after dining across the street from each other….
The couple – who were banned from meeting by a court order after Chris pleaded guilty to assaulting her last month – ate on opposite sides of New York’s famous Broadway, in the city’s theatre district, on Tuesday (28.07.09).
Gossip website Radar reports: “Rihanna was seen at the Cipriani Downtown Restaurant while Chris looked glum while waiting in his car after dinner, across the street at Via Dei Mille Restaurant.”
Chris reached a plea bargain for attacking the Barbados-born beauty before his case went to trial.
Under the terms of the agreement, Chris is the subject of a restraining order which sees him banned from coming within 50 yards of the ‘Umbrella’ singer.
If he is found to have violated the terms, he might lose the plea bargain – which saw him receive five years probation and 180 days of community labour rather than any jail time – and be charged with a misdemeanour.
It has been reported that Chris will only be found to have breached the order if Rihanna complains to police.
Earlier this week, it was claimed Rihanna and Chris had stayed at Manhattan’s Trump International Hotel and Tower.
A source said at the time: “The two spent the weekend at the same luxury Midtown hotel under a cloak of secrecy.
“They spent the next two days coming and going in separate chauffeured vehicles. The two appear to have taken great measures to avoid public exposure.”
Source: My Park Mag.
“Your thoughts?”
Ghostface Killah said hello to the world with the very first verse on the very first Wu-Tang album, became a god to rap nerds with Supreme Clientele, and reached an all-time critical peak with the dope-dealing sagas on 2006’s Fishscale. Next up is a bit of a curveball — September’s “The Wizard of Poetry” will be an R&B-heavy affair, featuring collaborations with the likes of Raheem DeVaughn, Estelle, and John Legend. Ahead of his show at the Nokia Theatre on 7/30/2009, Ghost chatted with Vulture about mellowing out, rapping at 70, and the appropriate way to sing about crack-slinging on an R&B album.
What does the title The Wizard of Poetry mean to you?
It was a title I had since I did the Pretty Toney album, and I just wanted to do something that had meaning with it. I wanted to base it around The Wizard of Oz. I was passing the chuckle patches and all that stuff like that, doing everything till I got to the Emerald City, and meeting the person that was like God, you know what I mean? That’s what I was gonna do: fall asleep where the chuckle patches was at, under a tree or something, and here go these skits, and they laughing and all this shit. I could have been dreaming, or whatever the case may be. But things had to change, ’cause I couldn’t take the same likeness of that movie and put it on my album ’cause then it’s gonna cause a problem. But I still kept the Wizard of Poetry and Emerald City.
Did you know that The Wizard of Poetry would be an R&B album when you first thought up the title?
No, no, no. When I first thought Wizard of Poetry, I just thought, I’m just gonna write a bunch of ill stories however I wrote it. But it would just be poetry — you know, ill, ill shit. But I always wanted to do an R&B album, and that’s how it came in.
Was anyone in your camp trying to dissuade you from doing that?
No, not really. I was gonna do it anyway. But there wasn’t nobody, like, saying, nah. My manager was like, “Do half and half”; this and that; “You’ll lose your fan base.” I’m not into it for my fan base right now. I did that for my fan base for like a bunch of my albums. I gotta do what I want to do for myself right now. What’s gonna make me happy.
You’ve also said part of doing an R&B album is that, as you get older, you can’t rap about the same type of stuff you used to.
Yeah, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still will do that on other tracks, but this album right here is an R&B album. You can’t talk about slinging crack on an R&B album. Unless you get caught — it depends on how you say it — and your girl is gonna leave you, and she never came back, cause you were doing whatever you were doing.
But in general, is getting old in hip-hop something that worries you?
I’ma definitely be old in hip-hop. I’m not gonna be on the road. But this is a mental thing. You can write music till you 70. This is a hobby. B., muthafuckas always act like they retiring and don’t go nowhere. You know what it is, man. You can’t get away from it, B. You don’t think Michael Jordan wants to pick up the ball sometimes? But that’s what it is. That’s why a boxer always keep coming back, like Muhammad Ali, until he just kept getting his ass beat. Until you realize, I just ain’t got it no more.
Do you worry about that happening to you?
I mean, yeah, you always worry about it. But that’s what makes you great. It keeps you on your toes. The muthafucka that thinks that he’s not falling off, his darts start coming more weaker. Once you worry about it, and hope that this don’t happen, then you’re guaranteed to be around for a long time. ‘Cause you’re always trying to be on point.
You also mentioned that the album was partially motivated by the fact that you haven’t shot anyone since the nineties. No need to get into too much detail, but can you talk about that particular incident?
Oh, nah, I ain’t talking about that, B. This nigga wanna talk about a shooting I said in the early nineties. What’s wrong with this nigga? [Laughs] Nah, nigga. You wilin’ and shit. Nah, nah.
Okay, moving on. This is your last album on Def Jam — are you already looking toward the next step in your career?
I don’t know. The way the game is right now, even going independent is still fucking everything up. Everything is just fucked up in the game. So I don’t know what to really do. I just know to do my work, and that’s it.
Is the joint album with DOOM next?
I’m waiting for DOOM to get back at me so we can fix it up. I gave him all my parts. I’m just waiting for him to fix it all up.
How do you manage to stay consistent, when so many of your peers take so long between albums?
That’s just working. My shit is, at least try to drop an album once a year. Or, if not, within a year and a half. And that’s it. As far as putting music out, my shit is, once you’re gone for two and three years, then you seem to lose the people. It’s like you selling crack or weed on the block, and you fuck around. They used to copping from you, but then you leave. Even if you left for a fucking a day, they gonna go to somebody else. They still gonna be checking for you, but they gonna go to somebody else. And once they get used to going to somebody else to get their weed — and it might be better than yours or just as good — they not gonna need you no more. ‘Cause they gonna go see the other person they made a bond with.
Definitely. What’s your schedule like when you’re in the studio?
My hours is anytime, B. When you got rap music, you could work right now till six o’clock in the morning. You got your own hours. And a lot of hours is late-night hours. A little bit of daytime, then you go back at night, and you catch what you can catch — get up in the morning, listen to what you were writing. “Oh shit, I wrote that?” Then connect a couple of lines on that, and that’s how it goes. Just connect the lines, and before you know it, you got like, six, seven songs, son. And it’s like, oh shit. It makes you want to keep on going.
You still write with pen and paper?
Yeah, of course. Definitely. I wish I could do the other way, but I can’t do that shit. But that don’t mean nothing. Muthafuckas act like they don’t write, they ain’t making no real hits.
You’re one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary rappers. Do you read your reviews?
I don’t really read it a lot and stuff like that, dog. I go by what people tell me. I just take it how it is. But I didn’t really get a chance to really show to my best ability. I haven’t really went in in a long, long, long time; I think that my future is gonna tell where my hand is at, you understand what I’m saying? Within the next couple of years, it’s gonna tell where I really stand. Right now I made a name for myself, but the future is gonna be the good days.
Source: Vulture via NY Magazine
“Your thoughts?
Eminem Has More Beef Against Mariah Carey….
On Thursday, the rapper debuted a new song, “The Warning,” slamming his ex and going into full detail about a sexual encounter they once had.
“Only reason I dissed you in the first place is because you denied seeing me. Now I’m pissed off,” he says before he starts his rap.
“You wanna hear something wick wack?/ I got the same exact tattoo that’s on Nick’s back,” he says, referring to Carey’s husband Nick Cannon.
Eminem also blasts Carey for mocking him in her latest music video, “Obsessed.”
“Oh gee, is that supposed to be me in the video with the goatee?/ Wow Mariah, didn’t expect ya to go b—s out./ B—h, shut the f— up before I put all those phone calls out/ When you was wilding out/ Before Nick, when you was on my di–,” he raps.
He then threatens to reveal personal pictures he has of the Carey. “Mariah, it ever occur to you that I still have pictures?” he asks.
The feud between the two began earlier this year after Eminem namedropped Carey in the track “Bagpipes From Baghdad” from his latest album Relapse.
“Mariah whatever happened to us / Why did we ever have to break-up?” he rapped. “Nick Cannon, you better back the f— up. I’m not playing, I want her back, you punk.”
Cannon later shot back on his blog, calling the rapper (who goes by the name “Slim Shady”) “Slim Lamey.” He added that Eminem is “still obsessed with my wife, the same female that wouldn’t let him get to second base from 8 years ago.” A month or so later, Carey got the last laugh by mocking Eminem in “Obsessed.”
Source: Yahoo! News
Kanye West Angered Over False Reports He Was Claiming ‘King Of Pop’ Title Following Michael Jackson’s Death…
Kanye West may have made a lot of boasts in his career, but claiming to be the new King of Pop following the death of Michael Jackson is not one of them.
The superstar rapper hit his official Web site to shoot down rumors that he’s taking the title from the late Michael Jackson.
“I was just listening to [radio host] Wendy Williams and heard some quote about me saying I’m the new King of Pop,” he wrote. “Not only did I not say that, I haven’t said anything.”
Kanye also blogged that it upsets him that people would think he would make such a statement following Michael’s death.
“It makes me feel bad that obviously I made people feel that I would be corny enough to say something so whack after the passing of an idol, a legend and more than that a human being with feelings and a family,” the star continued.
The “Stronger” performer said he is angered that the fake comments went viral on the Internet.
“It scares me to think what people will believe, without even a source,” he wrote. “Any random person can type something on the Internet and then the world believes it. I don’t talk to press or do TV or do promotions of any sort. I’ve stopped chasing and buying into fame. Fame is like cigarettes with no surgeon general warning. It destroys most people as it did to the true and only King of Pop. We exploit ourselves and eat our own egos ‘Till there is nothing left.”
And, Kanye — who has previously blogged about being satirized on “South Park” and spoken out on other issues — vowed to no longer address the rumors about him.
“I have a feeling that this won’t be the last false statement with my name on it, but this will be the last time I defend myself. I’m done,” he wrote.
This is what he is angry about, read it below….
With tributes continuing to pour in for Michael Jackson questions about his life, his death, and his legacy also continue to mount. It is unlikely that the first two topics will ever be covered to full satisfaction but the latter is a different story entirely. Though Jackson hadn’t produced much music in the last fifteen years, and his most influential for more than twenty, his influence and standing in the musical and cultural world are unmatched. With his death now sinking in as a reality fans and the music industry are looking for a successor to his throne, and one man feels he has found it.
Since he first burst onto the scene in 2004 Kanye West has been one of the most influential and best-selling music artists in the world. With such smashes as ‘Jesus Walks’, ‘Gold Digger’, and ‘Flashing Lights’, West’s impact on the music scene has been enormous. Though hugely popular, few would compare his success to the success Michael Jackson enjoyed in his early days. Amongst those few is West himself who has declared himself the successor to Jackson’s legacy and the new ‘King of Pop’.
“You know everyone loves and respects Michael but times change. It’s so sad to see Michael gone but it makes a path for a new King of Pop and I’m willing to take that on. There’s nobody who can match me in sales and in
respect so it only makes sense for me to take over Michael’s crown and become the new King,” said West. “First there was Elvis, then there was Michael, now in the 21st century its Kanye’s time to rule. I have nothing but respect for Michael but someone needs to pick up where he left off and there’s nobody better than me to do that. I am the new King of Pop.”
Jackson earned the nickname ‘King of Pop’ after a comment from Elizabeth Taylor. Officially there is no monarchy for music of any kind and hence no line of succession. 
“Monarchies can pass to non-blood relatives but only in very rare circumstances. In the case of musical monarchies it is really just a marketing title and has nothing to do with a ruling class or managing people or organizational structures. There really isn’t a need to declare anyone else the new King because it isn’t a real position but I guess if West wants to claim the title then all power to him,” said Scrape TV Entertainment analyst Tracey Temple. “It is a little soon to claim that title nd that may irritate a few people. It’s not like the people will revolt and the kingdom will collapse if someone isn’t right there to pick up the sceptre and continue the rule. I’m sure the Jackson family won’t be too happy with the news.”
West has reportedly tried to make contact with members of the Jackson clan to obtain official permission to use the title but has thus far received no response. It is believed the family is mourning the death of their loved one and have given little thought to the line of succession.
“We’ll have to wait and see what Jackson’s will shows about who he felt should take
over for him but that of course may not be legally binding. In traditional monarchies if someone other than the first born is to take over then the King or Queen has to make that clear and have it written out.
In the case of these kinds of informal ruling classes there aren’t any hard and fast rules and that may become one of the many legal issues that will have to be worked out,” continued Temple. “Of course the question then becomes whether or not Kanye West is deserving of the title and what kind of ruler he will be. It’s unlikely that he will follow Jackson’s type of career path but he is well on his way to his own form of eccentricity which accompanies many monarchs. In that respect he may follow Jackson, though musically that is a different question entirely.”
West made his declaration in an all caps statement issued to all major media outlets.
Source: Yahoo!/Scrape TV Entertainment
.¸¸.·`¯`·.¸¸.ஐ:
“Do you really think Kanye would say something like this, your thoughts?”
JNEL & J. Magazine 