Kid Rock Blames Stapp for Sex Tape Leak

ArtistDirectStaff (special)- Will they never romp together again? Kid Rock doesn't seem too keen on keeping company with Scott Stapp anymore, despite the recent surfacing of a sex tape that shows the former tourmates laughing it up as they enjoy the fruits of rock-and-roll decadence.

Stapp has claimed that the now-notorious tape was stolen from his possession by someone -- a nefarious "someone" who sought to derail Stapp's budding solo career. The plot may be working; the Orlando Sentinel recently reported that Stapp had difficulty selling tickets at a modestly sized venue there, resulting in an upstairs seating area that went entirely unused.

Stapp has been victimized, but he's still learned a valuable lesson. "You think it's part of your rock-and-roll memories," he said wistfully of the tape, but acknowledged that, if he had it to do all over again, he would have burned the tape.

But a least one person isn't buying Stapp's persecution complex: sex tape co-star Kid Rock.

"He's the idiot because it's out," Rock said. "I'm holding him responsible." More damningly, Rock implies that Stapp only appeared in the video in the first place because he crashed the party, asking if he could "get in" on all the fun.

Rock has tried to maintain a good-natured front, saying that he doesn't "even care" about the release, that it shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone familiar with his bawdy music, and that his only regret is being lumped into infamy alongside Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson -- whom he also called "idiots."

In the meantime, however, the carefree rocker's legal team has begun battle with the tape's intended distributors, seeking to permanently block the release.

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S.F. rapper arrested for two Las Vegas murders

Posted at 3/04/2006 06:14:00 PM

Bay City News Service - A local rapper was arrested Thursday night by San Francisco police and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on suspicion of committing two murders in Las Vegas last year, according to the FBI.

Andre Dow, 35, also known as rapper ``Mac Minister'' was taken into custody at a residence on Townsend Street on a federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, FBI officials said.

Dow will be charged with the murders of Kansas City rapper Anthony ``Fat Tone'' Watkins, 24, and Jermaine ``Cowboy'' Atkins, 21, according to the FBI.

FBI officials say Atkins and Watkins were killed in Las Vegas on May 23, 2005. Dow was featured on the television true-crime show ``America's Most Wanted.'' on Feb. 6.

San Francisco police Sgt. Neville Gittens said it was about 6:30 p.m. when a police department tactical unit and FBI agents launched the operation on Townsend Street.

``It's part of an apartment complex,'' Gittens said of the home. ``I don't know if (Dow) lives there, but that's where he was.''

He estimated that Dow was taken into custody at about 7:30 p.m.

FBI officials said the operation went smoothly except for a brief ``verbal standoff'' with a female occupant of the home.

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Bad Boy Rapper Black Rob Detained On Fugitive Warrant

Posted at 3/04/2006 06:12:00 PM

MTVnews - Bad Boy Records rapper Black Rob is in police custody after being picked up on a fugitive warrant February 24 in New Jersey.

The troubled MC (born Robert Ross) was due to turn himself in January 24 to serve time for a burglary charge from 2004 but never showed up. He was MIA until members of a federal task force caught him at an undisclosed location last week, according to a spokesperson for the rapper.Rob was originally arrested at New York's On the Ave Hotel in November 2004 after a hotel security camera tape showed him leaving a female guest's room with her pocketbook . He was booked for burglary and criminal possession of stolen property.

According to the spokesperson, Rob pleaded guilty on November 15 to criminal possession of stolen property, a felony, and was sentenced to two to six years in prison. He remained free on bail but did not show up as arranged on January 24, at which time a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. The rapper was not heard from until he was picked up by authorities.

A spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney's office said there is no information on where Rob was found but confirmed that he was picked up by federal marshals. Spokesperson Edison Alban said at this point the DA's office isn't even sure where Rob is. "He's under the custody of the federal task force, and it seems as if he's in New Jersey, but we can't confirm what happened to him after the 24th," Alban said. "We're still trying to get more information."

Rob has to return to New York to be jailed on the original charge and could face an indeterminate amount of additional time and charges for jumping bail, according to Alban.

It wasn't Rob's first tangle with the law. In May 2000 he was arrested on gun-possession and drug charges when he pulled over his car to sign autographs for fans and was seen passing a 22-caliber handgun to his passenger. In September 2004 he completed a six-month prison term for failure to pay child support. He has also been sidelined in recent years by a kidney ailment.

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Lil' Kim Reportedly Having Implant Trouble

Posted at 3/04/2006 06:08:00 PM

UPI Wire - Lil' Kim's "boobs are leaking" in the Philadelphia federal prison where she's serving her sentence for perjury, a source told Thursday's New York Daily News.

"She needs to have them serviced," the source said.

The rapper -- whose real name is Kimberly Jones -- reported to the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia in September to serve her year-and-a-day sentence for lying to a grand jury investigating a shooting outside a New York radio station.
Although her rep told the Daily News Kim is "perfectly healthy," the newspaper said the rap star told relatives she is experiencing problems with her massive breast implants.

Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Steve Fallek noted "she's very small and she has very large implants."

Implant infections are rare, he said, but "if you're having physical symptoms like that, the best alternative is to put a smaller implant in," he said. "If she's actually leaking, then, yes, the implant should come out."

A Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman said "an inmate's medical history is not public" but noted there is a doctor on staff at the prison.

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Pair freed after Kanye gig shooting

Posted at 3/04/2006 06:06:00 PM

Yahoo.com - Two people arrested following a shooting during a concert by US rapper Kanye West have been released without charge, police have said.

A 21-year-old man and a woman, aged 20, both from Oldbury, West Midlands, were arrested following the incident at the NEC Arena, near Solihull, on Wednesday evening when two security guards were shot.

The gunman was being ejected from the venue for not having a ticket to the performance when he fired at the pair outside the front entrance.

One of the victims was released from hospital the next day following treatment for a graze.

His colleague, a 45-year-old man from the Solihull area, was shot in the face, stomach and foot.

West Midlands Police said that his condition had improved and that he was now talking.

Investigating officers are not treating the incident as gang related and are continuing to appeal for help to trace the gunman.

He is described as a black man, aged 18 to 22, 5ft 10ins, and of slim build. He had a thin moustache and plaits in his hair down to the middle of his neck.

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Friday, March 03, 2006   MUSIC |  VIDEOS |  INTERVIEWS  | NEW ARTIST  | HOME

Roll Up! T.I., Atlanta Hip-Hop Luminaries Star In Coming-Of-Age Flick 'ATL'

Posted at 3/03/2006 06:44:00 AM

MTVnews - When it comes to music, T.I. is so confident that he calls himself the King of the South. When it comes to making films, he realizes it's a whole different ballgame. He still has to prove himself and admits he doesn't know how good he is just
yet.

In a few weeks Tip makes his feature-film debut in the Chris Robinson-directed "ATL," which is poised to be a sleeper hit for the spring. The cast alone — which includes Hotlanta hip-hop luminaries like Big Boi, Killer Mike, Bone Crusher, Jazze Pha, DJ Drama and T Mo Goodie — should put plenty of people in seats, and the engaging story revolves around a group of friends struggling to break out of the ghetto.

The film hits theaters on March 31, three days after T.I.'s new LP, King, lands in stores (see "New T.I. Songs Leak — Swizz Beatz Calls Track With Tip 'A Whole 'Nuther Level' ").

The coming-of-age flick revolves around five friends who frequent a roller rink called Cascades. That place is based on Atlanta's legendary Jellybeans rink, where Outkast, Goodie Mob, TLC's T-Boz, hitmakers Dallas Austin and Jermaine Dupri and others hung out back in the '80s. The film was produced by Austin, T-Boz and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment.

On Tuesday night in New York, T.I. previewed "ATL" for a small crowd. Suffice it to say the film is much more than another variation on Bow Wow's "Roll Bounce." The picture, which is based in part on Austin's life, captures the essence of Atlanta's culture, from the authenticity of the language to the clothes.

One aspect of the city's culture, anyway. "My coming-of-age would have been a whole 'nother movie," T.I. said last summer on the set of the film (during a day that found him and fellow cast members like singer/actor Jason Weaver learning how to maneuver gracefully on skates). "My coming-of-age would have been on some 'Boyz N the Hood' sh--. I went to the skating rink just to pick up girls and kick it — it was an early club scene to me. It wasn't as symbolic for me as it was for some other people."

In the movie, T.I. plays a Mechanicsville, Georgia, high school senior named Rashad, who is so focused on trying to raise his younger brother, Jellybean (played by Evan Ross Naess, son of singer Diana Ross), that he pushes his own dreams of becoming a cartoonist to the back burner in the hope of getting his sibling out of the 'hood. He finds escape in going to Cascades every Sunday and stunting on the skates with his crew, the Ones.

"It's got a lot of grown-man situations," T.I. said of his role. "We get to watch how he handles them and how he finds sense in all the madness."

T.I. has a natural onscreen presence, delivering the same kind of ruminating-yet-cool swagger that he does in song, and his unpolished, genuine delivery recalls Ice Cube in "Boyz N the Hood." And being a native of ATL definitely didn't hurt. "There's a world of difference" between making records and films, he said. "You make the record when you feel like it: Whenever the inspiration hits you, you go into the studio and record. Making a movie is on their time, when they say it's time to do this or that."

"He's so cool," Tip's love interest in the movie, Lauren London (probably best known for Pharrell's "Frontin' " video), said of her co-star. "He's so genuine and real. It's been such a pleasure working with him."

"ATL" also deals with social class in the black community, and takes a decidedly dark turn when Big Boi's character, drug dealer Marcus, is introduced into the mix. Big, whose real name — Antwan Andre Patton — appears in the credits (T.I. is credited as Tip Harris), is a visually gravitating scene-stealer who can be hilarious one minute, dauntingly callous the next. And during one scene in particular, he had some members of Tuesday night's audience covering their eyes.

"I can't really judge [my performance]," Tip said in January during a photo shoot for his forthcoming album. "It's my first time acting so I don't have nothing to judge it on. I'm just waiting for the response."

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Mary J. Blige's 'Gangsta' Alter Ego Spits On Busta Remix, Video

Posted at 3/03/2006 06:37:00 AM

MTVnews - Mary J. Blige created an alter ego for her album The Breakthrough, so the "Brook" alias would give her the freedom to spit cocky rhymes."

I had to separate the two because Mary is, nice, you know, intelligent," she explained. "Brook is crazy ignorant and she don't care"
Now, like a shadow, Brook is following Blige around. Brook went along when Busta Rhymes asked Mary to be one of six people he did remixes with for his hit "Touch It" (DMX, Lloyd Banks, Papoose, Missy Elliott and Rah Digga appear on other versions).

"Brook cut loose on the Bus record, she did her thing," Mary laughed. "Busta didn't just want Mary on it, he wanted Mary and Brook. So the calm one [rapping] is Mary, but the [wild] one [rapping] is Brook. You gotta think about Busta when you get on a Busta record. He's like all the way over there at the top [going crazy], so you gotta get either over him and right below him."

The clip, of course, has been marred by the tragic murder of Israel Ramirez, one of Busta's bodyguards, which took place outside the video's set. The investigation is ongoing and police say Busta has declined all requests to talk with them. A spokesperson for Blige said the singer had left the video set before the shooting, and Mary herself said the day had been a pleasurable experience.

"That was so much fun, because Mary is all calm with the braids wrapped around [her head], and Brook is all 'Ahh!' " she explained of her part in the clip. "Y'all gotta see Brook, she's so gangsta. She's got a big old afro and big old earrings. She's just showing off everything — not everything — but you know, she's gonna show a little abs and her arms. Digga is on the record, Missy was on it too. We could only do the first eight bars of our rhymes because he had DMX [on the song]. Everybody was there shooting the video, so he had to get everybody in."

According to Mary's label, she's scheduled to shoot a video of her own, for "Enough Cryin," this week. Brook raps on that song as well.

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CHRISTINA MILIAN SO AMAZIN' IN STORES APRIL 25: First single is 'Say I' Featuring Young Jeezy.

Posted at 3/03/2006 06:32:00 AM

(New York, NY) - Island Def Jam recording artist and actress Christina Milian makes her long-awaited return to the front line with the upcoming April 25th release of her third album, SO AMAZIN’, produced in Miami by Cool and Dre.

In advance of the album release, the first single “Say I” featuring platinum rapper Young Jeezy impacted Urban radio on February 20th, and at Rhythm and Pop formats on March 13th. The video shoot for “Say I” took place in Los Angeles on February 11 & 12, directed by Ray Kay (whose credits include Christina’s “Whatever U Want” and “Soldier” by Destiny's Child).

BET has announced their support of Christina and “Say I” with an ‘Access Granted’ special, airing March 1st. ‘Access Granted’ is a ½ hour program, offering behind-the-scenes glimpses from the “Say I” set.

SO AMAZIN’ is the follow-up to It’s About Time (June 2004), a breakthrough for Christina with more than half the songs co-written by Christina, and produc­tion by some of the heaviest hitters in R&B including Warryn Campbell, Corey Rooney, and Bryan Cox. It’s About Time debuted at #14-bullet on the Billboard 200 on the strength of its first hit single, “Dip It Low” featuring Fabolous, produced and co-written by Poli Paul.

“Dip It Low,” which peaked at #1 on the Dance Club Singles chart, and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, was nominated for a 2004 Grammy Award as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, while It’s About Time was nominated as Best Contemporary R&B Album. With her album bulleting up the charts through the summer and fall of 2004, Christina hit the road to open the North American tour schedule for Usher and Kanye West.

With SO AMAZIN’ on the horizon, Christina is also gearing up for the release of her next movie project. Pulse, (Weinstein Company) a horror mystery thriller directed by Jim Sonzero (War Of the Angels), and based on Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Japanese film Kairo, is scheduled for release in July. Pulse marks Christina’s 8th major film role since 1990, the most recent of which were Elmore Leonard’s Be Cool (2005, with John Travolta and Uma Thurman), Man Of the House (2005, with Tommy Lee Jones), video director Joseph Kahn’s Torque (2004, with Ice Cube and Dane Cook), Troy Beyer’s Love Don’t Cost a Thing (2003, with Nick Cannon), and Ashton Root’s Durango Kids (1999, with Larry Drake). “Singing and acting are both my passions,” she has said of her twin career paths, “and they go hand in hand.”

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Littles Lands DVD Deal with Universal

Posted at 3/03/2006 06:27:00 AM

By Kenny Rodriguez-Queensbridge rapper Littles has repped the independent scene for years, and he has finally signed his first major deal. But surprisingly it’s not a rap contract, it’s for producing DVDs.

Universal Records has enlisted Littles’ production crew, Best Of The Block, to produce, direct and edit DVDs for their recording artists. Their first project centers on Houston-based rapper Chamillionaire.

“To me, he is the new Houston problem,” said Littles. “This is a kid who sold 500,000 albums with no East Coast support at all. He’s doing his grind.”

Littles recently drove a 35-foot mobile home equipped with editing machines and cameras down to Houston to film Chamillionaire during NBA All-Star weekend. "When this new DVD drops, everyone on the East Coast is going to know who Chamillionaire is,” Littles said. “It comes out at the end of March or end of April – that's really up to the label. I'm thinking about naming the DVD, ‘From the Bottom to the Top,' because he's from the bottom and he's about to get to the top."

Although Littles still considers himself a rapper first, the former Mobb Deep manager began directing and producing DVDs years ago. Aside from his upcoming work with Universal, Littles has released his own “Best Of The Block” DVD series where artists like Beanie Sigel and Jadakiss describe how to break into the industry.

He is currently putting the finishing touches on a documentary of the 2005 Paris riots titled “Reloaded 2: From Queensbridge to Paris,” to be released alongside his own mixtape “Reloaded 2.”

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Thursday, March 02, 2006   MUSIC |  VIDEOS |  INTERVIEWS  | NEW ARTIST  | HOME

Busta Rhymes Hit with Assault Charges

Posted at 3/02/2006 08:50:00 PM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. rapper Busta Rhymes has been sued by a disgruntled fan who says the artist assaulted him after he asked for an autograph.

Melvin Smith, 37, in a civil suit made public in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday, says the 33-year-old rapper and his bodyguard Troy Green beat him with their "hands and fists for no rhyme or reason," Smith's lawyer said.

The incident took place at a sandwich shop near New York's City Hall about six months ago, according to lawyer Bruce Regenstreich.

Smith has been unable to work at his job as handyman because of neck and back injuries he sustained, Regenstreich said, adding that Smith also suffered a cut near his eye that required four stitches.

"My client was not aggressive in seeking the autograph," the lawyer said. "Melvin went in to get an autograph and got a knuckle sandwich instead."

Smith is seeking unspecified damages against the bodyguard and the rapper, whose real name is Trevor Smith.

Regenstreich is not the only person interested in meeting with Rhymes. New York police want to interview the rapper about the shooting death last month of his 29-year-old security guard, Israel Ramirez.

Ramirez was killed outside a Brooklyn studio where Rhymes was recording a music video.

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Smithsonian Institution To Create Hip-Hop Exhibit

Posted at 3/02/2006 08:47:00 PM

Playfuls.com - It’s quite clear that, over the past decade, hip-hop has become more than a music genre. A lot more. Actually, it has become a cultural trend, one so colorful and diverse that a very serious organization as the Smithsonian Institution has decided to create an exhibit on the urban style best known for rap music, break