Month: April 2013

UPDATE #2: Gucci Mane hopes to post bond this week, but he will have to be transferred due to an unrelated probation in a nearby county.

Reports yesterday (March 27) confirmed that rapper Gucci Mane was in police custody after evading an arrest warrant for several days. The Warner Bros. Records star was charged with two counts of assault, after allegedly attacking an autograph-seeker with a bottle. That man happened to be a United States Army soldier, and showed authorities the wounds he claims were inflicted by the rapper with a troubled legal history.

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In a hearing later yesterday, Gucci Mane was denied bond, meaning that the 1017 Brick Squad rapper will remain in what is believed to be Fulton County Jail.

“Mr. Davis has a history, we’re not going to skirt that issue,” Gucci’s lawyer Drew Findling told press outside of the courthouse, as reported by AllHipHop.com. “That history made it difficult for him to get bond today.” Gucci’s attorney did however note that there aren’t confirmed witnesses of the alleged attack, which happened in a Atlanta club less than a week ago.

At present, Gucci Mane will remain incarcerated until his April 10 court date.

(March 28)

UPDATE: Yesterday (April 10), Gucci Mane was indicted one one count of aggravated assault in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. The Atlanta Constitution-Journal photographed the indictment, which includes the photo below:

(April 10)

UPDATE #2: Following being denied bond last month upon his initial hearing, Gucci Mane’s bond was set at $75,000 earlier this week. Fox Atlanta adds that Gucci’s attorney Drew Findling told reporters that the longtime Warner Bros. Records rapper plans to post bond in Fulton County, before he will be transferred to nearby DeKalb County. There, Gucci Mane has probation for an unrelated misdemeanor charge.

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Ice Cube’s production company, Cube Vision, is the subject of a new lawsuit that alleges the company turned a book into a movie without permission.

Author Franklin White , has filed suit against Cube Vision, Warner Bros. Pictures, Alcon Film Fund and Alcon Entertainment in federal court in Atlanta for creating the 2008 movie “Lottery Ticket” without authorization.

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According to the hardcover description, “First Round Lottery Pick,” White’s 2005 book, is gritty dramatic book about a young basketball star instantly becomes wealthy and the surrounding problems that arise. “Lottery Ticket” is a comedy about a young man, played by Bow Wow, who wins the lottery and has subsequent issues that follow.

White claims he sent a copy of “First Round Lottery Pick” to Cube Vision president Matt Alvarez in hopes that he could become a writer for the company on a sitcom starring basketball star Lebron James. In August of 2009, Cube Vision started filming “Lottery Ticket,” according to the complaint, and it was released in theaters by Warner Brothers in 2010. The movie made $24 million at the box office.

White charges that a film expert found 44 duplicate incidents between “First Round Lottery Pick” and “Lottery Ticket,” causing him to initiate legal action.

White wants to cease sales of the movie, a portion of the profits, damages and his attorney fees paid.

Incidentally, Ice Cube is not mentioned in the suit as an individual in the complaint even though his company is included in the law suit.

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Reebok has officially ended it’s partnership with Maybach Music mogul Rick Ross. The sneaker company first felt the heat calling for them to cut off Ross after the release of his latest song U.O.N.E.O depicted the rapper performing date rape on a woman: “Put Molly [Ecstasy] all in the champagne.  She ain’t even know it.  I took her home and I enjoy that.  She ain’t even know it.”

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Since the song dropped the rapper has attempted to backtrack on his lyrics, Meek Mill has spoken up in his defense and a recent concert Ross was set to perform at was cancelled in response to protestors.

UltraViolet co-founder Nita Chaudhary released a statement through the women’s organization applauding Reebok for the decision.

She said, “We are thrilled to hear that Reebok is joining the fight against rape culture and dropping Rick Ross. This is a huge victory for women, for the 526 survivors of rape who were brave enough to publicly confront rape culture, and for the nearly 100,000 UltraViolet members who have poured their hearts and time into this campaign. This sends a strong message that rapping about drugging and raping an unconscious woman is not only morally wrong, but has real consequences. After Steubenville, Americans expect and demand better. Thank you Reebok for taking a stand.”

After strong grassroots protest, UltraViolet members banned together in mass and seemingly pushed Reebok to take action.

No word from Ross’ camp on how he is taking the news.

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A security guard at Universal Music Publishing Group’s Santa Monica office calls out the drug use of several artists in her lawsuit.

A woman who works as a security guard at Universal Music Publishing Group’s Santa Monica headquarters has become so fed up with the marijuana-smoking ways of various artists that she’s decided to sue the Universal Music Group-owned UMPG, Universal Protection Services, the management of the building she works in, and more.

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Billboard.com reports that the security guard was a first-hand witness to drug use (primarily marijuana) from MC Ren, singer Adam Levine, and the entourage of Atlanta rapper T.I.

In the complaint, the woman states that “artists and high-profile celebrities began visiting the premises with drugs in hand and oftentimes offering drugs to Plaintiff, which she refused.”

On top of various instances of drug use from visiting artists, the security guard also claimed that she had issues with T.I.’s security team when she asked that they move their vehicles. When she informed one of the rapper’s bodyguards of her request he responded, “I gotta be able to get this boy outta here if a shootout or something goes down.”

The woman is seeking an unspecified amount in her lawsuit. When asked about the lawsuit they’ve been hit with, a spokesperson for Universal Music referred to it as being “absurd.”

“While we cannot comment on the allegations between the plaintiff and her employer, we can say that the allegations as they relate to Universal Music Group are absurd,” said a company spokesperson.

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Patrick ‘Big Pat’ Strickland was a bodyguard for Chris Brown when a brawl with Drake’s entourage broke out in SoHo hotspot W.i.P. last June. Chris Brown‘s beefy bodyguard is suing Drake and the SoHo nightclub where the hip-hop stars brawled last June, and used filing as an opportunity to take a swipe at the Canadian rapper.

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Hired muscle Patrick Strickland snidely refers to Drake as “a popular and successful, albeit critically derided, entertainer,” in his lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

via Twitter

Brown’s bodyguard ‘Big Pat’ on a gurney after the altercation at W.I.P.

PHOTOS: CHRIS BROWN AND DRAKE’S BAR BRAWL

Strickland, 43, who hails from Queens Village, claims the hot spot, W.i.P., is responsible for the ugly head cut he suffered during the melee because it sat Brown’s entourage and Drake’s crew near each other, even though staffers knew the celebrities were beefing over sultry R&B songstress Rihanna.

via Instagram

Aftermath of fight between Brown and Drake at Club W.i.P. in June 2012.

The seating arrangement created “a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a mass altercation would occur between the two camps,” the suit for an unspecified amount of damages states.

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Singer Rihanna performs with Drake onstage during the Grammy Awards Shows — the two briefly dated.

Moreover, the club over-served Drake and his posse, and had an employee hand Brown a note from Drake that read: “I’m f–king the love of your life,” according to the Strickland suit.

The note allegedly led to a “verbal altercation” and that caused a “massive bar brawl that involved bottle throwing, possible gunshots and a general state of riot and disorder,” the suit charges.

Mark Wills

Brown and his entourage at W.i.P. moments before his brawl with Drake.

Strickland was hit in the head and required stitches, reports said at the time. The suit says he endured “severe and disfiguring injuries to his face, head and eyes.”

@chrisbrown/via Twitter

Twitter photo of Brown showing a cut on his chin after an alleged fight with Drake.

The suit, which also names W.i.P.’s sister club, Greenhouse, and various parties associated with the party spots, is the latest in a string of legal actions stemming from the sensational brouhaha.

McCrayKennet/via YouTube

Brown following the altercation with Drake’s entourage.

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LL Cool J and Brad Paisley have defended their new track ‘Accidental Racist’.

The hip-hop and country performers have joined forces on the racially-inspired duet for Paisley’s album Wheelhouse, which has been met with criticism by some quarters of the media.

© WENN

LL Cool J

© WENN

Brad Paisley

 

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The track has been described as a “horrible accident” and “possibly racist” by The Guardian, while it has also drawn negative reviews from many users on Twitter.

Lyrics of the song include Paisley singing: “I’m just a white man comin’ to you from the southland, tryin’ to understand what it’s like not to be, I’m proud of where I’m from but not everything we’ve done. And it ain’t like you and me can re-write history, our generation didn’t start this nation.”

LL Cool J replies: “Dear Mr White Man, I wish you understood. What the world is really like when you’re livin’ in the hood. Just because my pants are saggin’ doesn’t mean I’m up to no good.

“You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would… If you don’t judge my do-rag, I won’t judge your red flag. If you don’t judge my gold chains… I’ll forget the iron chains.”

Other lines include LL Cool J saying “let bygones be bygones”, while Paisley sings that white Americans are “still paying for mistakes that a bunch of folks made before we came”.

The duo explained to Good Morning America that they were hoping the song would create a national debate.

“I’m not really sure we’re going to find any answers but it was the idea that we were asking the question,” Paisley said.

“Martin Luther King says that darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can,” LL Cool J added.

“Hate can’t drive out hate, only love can. So what we’re talking about is compassion.”

The rapper continued: “I’m not advising anyone to truly forget slavery, but what I’m saying is forget the slavery mentality. Forget the bitterness. Don’t get bitter, get better.

“Some people take exception to some of the lyrics [and] I respect that. I’m sensitive to that.”

Videos and audio of the song appears to have been removed from YouTube since its release.

LL Cool J and Brad Paisley will team up together for the rapper’s next album, to be released later this month.

Entertainment mogul and rapper Jay-Z has started the process of divesting his small share of ownership with the Brooklyn Nets to extend his Roc Nation Sports representation business into basketball, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

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Jay-Z will have to divest his share of the Nets to become certified as an NBA agent. (USA Today Sports)Jay-Z – whose real name is Shawn Carter – owns less than 1 percent of the Nets, but has been a central public figure in the franchise’s marketing and move from New Jersey to Brooklyn.

Selling his share of the Nets is a necessary prelude for Jay-Z to obtain his National Basketball Players Association certification as an agent.

NBA rules mandate that no one individual affiliated with a player representation company can have an ownership stake with an NBA team.

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company has partnered with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to launch a sports representation business that recently secured New York Yankees star Robinson Cano.

The process is expected to be completed in time for Roc Nation to compete for players entering the June NBA draft, but there’s no guarantee of the timing, sources said. Those within Roc Nation and the CAA alliance aren’t “chasing a clock on this,” one source said. “This isn’t about one draft, but taking the long view of the business.”

Rival agents are anxious over the possibilities of Jay-Z on the recruiting trail, believing the lure of his iconic business and cultural standing will have a major impact on attracting top prospects and current league stars

CAA and Jay-Z are taking time to carefully formalize the arrangement on the basketball end, sources told Y! Sports, and are sensitive to making sure he exits the Nets partnership in a way that is respectful to the organization.

Among NBA, NBPA and Nets constituencies, there are several hurdles to overcome before a formal announcement will be made. Nevertheless, none are significant and Jay-Z’s certification as a player agent is a mere formality.

Much like the arrangement with CAA’s baseball side, Jay-Z will let the firm’s basketball agents handle contract negotiations and day-to-day business with athletes. The potential impact will come with athletes linking to Jay-Z’s global reach in marketing, entertainment and business

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Ray J says Kanye West shouldn’t be upset about “I Hit It First,” comments on the record being about his life.

R&B songster Ray J is continuing to address his much talked about, new record “I Hit It First.” The singer has yet to reveal who the record is about, but many feel that “I Hit It First” alludes to Ray J’s former girlfriend Kim Kardashian.

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While chopping it up earlier this week with Shade 45’s “The All Out Show,” Ray J again refused to speak on who exactly the song touches on and instead revealed that “I Hit It First” is more so about him.

“I mean a lot of people saying a lot of different things about the record. For me, the record is self-explanatory,” Ray J revealed. “Like I tell everybody, I’m not trying to put fuel on the fire. You know what I’m saying? We just want people to enjoy the record. It’s more so about me than anybody else.”

The topic of Kanye West, Kardashian’s current boyfriend, was even brought up during Ray J’s interview. When asked if West has a right to be angry, the crooner explained that no one has the right to be upset over something that happened in the past.

“I don’t think nobody should be upset about something that really happened,” said Ray J. “I think when people do music everybody talks about they life and what they go through. This just my chapter and I think people need to look at it like that and don’t look at it for nothing more than that.”

“I Hit It First” was released at the top of the week and also features an appearance from rapper Bobby

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Gucci Mane has been indicted on an aggravated assault charge for allegedly attacking a fan at an Atlanta nightclub last month.

The rapper, whose real name is Radric Davis, allegedly hit US soldier James Lettley in the head with a champagne bottle after Lettley asked to take a photo with him. Lettley said, “I was speaking to the security guard, and Gucci Mane hit me in the head with a bottle. And as I looked at him in the shock of why, one of his friends hit me in the side of my face.”

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Lettley added, “That is dangerous because if there was to be any other fan trying to approach him, ain’t no telling what else he might do to them.” Lettley received 10 stitches for the injury.

Gucci Mane surrendered himself to police about a week and a half after the incident, which occurred on March 16 at the Harlem Nights Club. He was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon. He was also accused of hitting another fan at a club in Philadelphia just days after the Atlanta incident.

The fan, identified as TJ, said he approached the rapper to shake his hand when he was suddenly punched in the face. TJ said he was punched on the left side of his face and sustained a chipped tooth and swelling on the left side of his face. It is unclear whether charges have been filed in the Philadelphia incident.

Gucci Mane has been in and out of jail for almost a decade. He served a six-month sentence in 2005 and another six-month sentence in county jail in 2009 for violating his probation in relation to the 2005 incident. In 2010, he was arrested for driving on the wrong side of the road, running a red light or stop sign, and other charges. He has been arrested five more times since then, including the most recent arrest.

Nas is adding “Associate Publisher” to his job titles. Forbes reports that the rapper is officially investing in Mass Appeal magazine and will serve as the hip-hop publication’s Associate Publisher.

Nas invested a “six-figure” sum in the magazine, which was founded in 1996 as a graffiti magazine and has returned this year. “Mass Appeal has a legacy and respect,” Nas says. “It already has a foundation … I just feel like I can add on because I can lend my kind of cultural expertise and my professional acumen, and develop the business.”

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The Queens rapper sees this investment as a natural fit for this stage in his career. “I knew that this was down the road,” he says. “I didn’t care to interrupt me being a creative musical artist … I said I’ll be more of a businessman down the road. I’m down the road now.”

Nas graced the cover of Mass Appeal himself in 2002 but he wants to make sure to let fans know that he won’t get preferential treatment from the magazine now. When asked what would happen if the publication covers him, Nas says, “If that happens, I don’t want to see it until it’s out,” he says. “I won’t get involved with that at all … I won’t touch anything, they’re free to say whatever they want. They can say I’m a psychopath, they can say I’m a sweetheart … as long as it’s from their honest opinion, that’s all that matters to me.”

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Sen. Marco Rubio last night released a statement criticizing the Obama administration for reportedly licensing a trip for the president’s superstar campaign supporters Jay-Z and Beyonce.

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Reuters reported yesterday that the pair’s vacation was a “cultural trip” that was fully licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department.

“According to recent news reports, Jay-Z and Beyonce’s Cuba trip, which the regime seized on for propaganda purposes, was fully licensed by the Treasury Department,” Rubio said in a statement. “If true, the Obama Administration should explain exactly how trips like these comply with U.S. law and regulations governing travel to Cuba and it should disclose how many more of these trips they have licensed.”

Rubio explained that the Obama’s administrations “cultural exchange programs” were abused by American tourists who were rarely interested in anything but vacations.

“U.S. law clearly bans tourism to Cuba by American citizens because it provides money to a cruel, repressive and murderous regime,” Rubio stated.

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OTTAWA — The cancellation of his Ottawa show may be the least of Rick Ross’ problems now that a New York-based women’s group is pressuring footwear maker Reebok to drop the American rapper over controversial lyrics that glorify date rape.

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The 37-year-old Florida rapper was supposed to roll into the capital city on Tuesday for a concert at the Ernst & Young Centre, but “security concerns” prompted the show’s promoter, Urban Jamz Ent., to pull the plug on Friday.

Tickets had ranged in price from $20 for students to $500 for VIP access.

It remains unclear how much the rapper, who escaped unharmed from a drive-by shooting in January, stands to earn even though the show has been cancelled and full refunds are being issued.

Ross’ scheduled appearance created a storm of controversy on campus as many reacted strongly to what they saw as the promotion of rape culture.

Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

At issue are his lyrics in his cameo on the new Rocko track, U.O.E.N.O. (You Ain’t Even Know It).

“Put molly all in the champagne / you dont even know it /I took her home and I enjoy that / she aint even know it,” Ross raps in the song.

Molly is a form of MDMA and is known as a date-rape drug.

Ross has denied that his lyrics promote rape but he has not otherwise explained what he meant.

“I think they are definitely over their heads,” said Dillon Black, a Carleton social work student who resigned from the student union over the Ross affair.

“I imagine them hiding in their offices and not answering to anyone.”

Black never saw the contract, but says organizers were rumoured to be paying Ross between $100,000 to $250,000. Organizers were also apparently paying for sound and light equipment, technicians and promotion, Black said.

Black also disputes CUSA’s attempt to distance itself from the controversy late last month by suggesting its role was simply purchasing a block of tickets to sell to Carleton students at cost.

Since 2007, student associations at Carleton and the University of Ottawa have collaborated on an end-of-year concert dubbed Pandamonium.

But the Student Federation at the University of Ottawa pulled out this year once the decision was made to include Ross.

He wasn’t an artist the SFUO could support, said Ethan Plato, the federation’s president.

The SFUO objected to hiring an outside promoter to organize the event instead of co-producing it, as had happened in years past.

It also took issue with the promotion of what many dub “rape culture.”

The phrase is used to describe a culture in which rape and sexual violence are common and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, practices and media coverage normalize, trivialize or even condone rape by blaming victims or constantly objectifying women.

A recent example of this phenomenon came when several CNN journalists were called out for their coverage of a high-profile rape case involving a 16-year-old Ohio girl after expressing on-air sympathy for the two men found guilty.

News of the concert’s cancellation came a day after activists gathered outside of Reebok’s flagship store in Manhattan to pressure the company to drop Ross.

“By holding him up as something to aspire to, Reebok is sending the message that raping a woman is cool — and that’s a dangerous message to send the boys and young men that Reebok markets to. Reebok needs to know that we won’t stand for this,” said the anti-sexism group Ultra Violet.

It organized Thursday’s protest and has gathered more than 70,000 signatures on an online petition.

The Billboard chart-topping artist isn’t helping his own cause, appearing tone deaf to the backlash.

According to The Guardian newspaper, Ross told a New Orleans radio station this week that there had been a “misunderstanding” and “misinterpretation.”

“The term ‘rape’ wasn’t used,” The Guardian quoted him as saying.

“You know I would never use the term rape in my records … I just wanted to reach out to all the … sexy ladies, all the beautiful ladies that had been reaching out to me with the misunderstanding: we don’t condone rape and I’m not with that.”

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Tyga weighs in on the “U.O.E.N.O.” controversy: hope you’re stoked.

Less an interview and more a series of leading questions, Justin Credible‘s softball discussion with Tyga on Ross’ controversial lyric (“Put Molly all in the champagne/She ain’t even know it/I took her home and I enjoy that/She ain’t even know it”) doesn’t really address any of the concerns raised by critics of either “U.O.E.N.O.” or sexism in Tyga’s own work.

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Said Tyga: “It’s freedom of speech. It wasn’t even his record…you just got those groups. They don’t even know what they’re petitioning for. Activists and all those righteous groups, that’s just what they do. They probably don’t even listen to Ross’ music.”

And later, when talking about the recent news that students at Harvard are protesting his upcoming appearance for promoting rape culture: “I think it’s getting out of hand…people looking into it too much.”

But freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences. Speech, just like actions, has real repercussions. If a rapper is going to say the line, he has to deal with the fallout.

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Snoop’s ‘MTV x Caliber’ bracelets will go on sale Monday, a day after the 2013 MTV Movie Awards, which airs Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.

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Snoop Lion is taking serious shots at gun violence. Snoop gathered his daughter Cori B. and Drake in a call for gun control on his brand-new single “No Guns Allowed,” and now the veteran rapper-turned-reggae singer is ready to take action.

No Guns Allowed (Behind The Scenes)

Snoop, MTV and Jewelry for a Cause will help to take illegal guns off the street with the release of the limited edition “MTV x Caliber” bracelets made in part from the steel of illegal guns acquired in police-sponsored buyback programs. The bracelets also feature serial numbers of firearms that were returned via buyback programs in Newark, New Jersey, and can be pre-ordered beginning Tuesday (April 9) for $40 on caliber.MTV.com. The proceeds from each sale will be donated to the Newark Police Department to help fund future gun buyback amnesty programs.

The Bracelet:

Celebs like Selena Gomez and Rebel Wilson will get the charitable jewelry in their gift bags at Sunday’s 2013 MTV Movie Movie Awards, which airs at 9 p.m. ET on MTV! The singers and actors attending the show will get a new way to support a good cause and MTV will donate to Jewelry for a Cause on their behalf.

“This is such an important message we’re sharing,” Snoop Lion said in a statement issued by MTV. “It’s a movement we want generations to recognize, embrace, and get behind. We’ve seen a lot of senseless acts of violence involving guns recently — too many have lost their lives, too many families have been destroyed. Like my friends at MTV, I want to be a part of the change that will help bring peace.”

The announcement comes on the same day that the “No Guns Allowed” music video made its on-air debut on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV Hits and MTV Jams, and went into rotation on each of the five channels.

In a special behind-the-scenes video package delivered to MTV’sBuzzworthy blog on April 5, both Snoop and Drake spoke on how gun violence has affected them. The Doggystyle MC reminded viewers of his not-so-glamorous gun-toting past, while Drake spoke on how gun violence affected his own community in July 2012, when 19 people were shot and two kids were killed during a neighborhood barbecue. “It hit close to home, I think not only for me, but for our entire city and I’m from Toronto so I just tried to paint a picture and I looked at this as an opportunity to sort of share something with my generation,” Drake said.

Snoop Lion – “No Guns Allowed ft. Drake and Cori B.”

“My take on gun control is that the appropriate people should have them,” Snoop added. “I’ve come to realize that these guns are harmful in the wrong hands and they need to be in the right hands and they need to be removed from those who don’t know how to handle them.”

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