Author: hhns

A black teenager is shopping for justice — claiming snooty Barneys staffers and New York City cops racially profiled him for credit card fraud after he bought a $349 belt.

Trayon Christian, 19, told the Daily News he filed a lawsuit after he was targeted by staffers at Barneys’ Madison Ave. flagship store and detained by police because they didn’t believe a young black man could possibly afford to buy such an expensive belt.

The fashion-forward teen, who lives with his mom in Corona, Queens, is studying engineering at the New York City College of Technology, where he had a work-study job.

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

Christian said his paycheck had just been direct deposited into his Chase bank account, so he went straight to Barneys on the afternoon of April 29 to buy the pricey Ferragamo belt with a silver buckle and a reversible black and white strap.

“I knew exactly what I wanted,” Christian said. He’d seen the belt on a lot of his favorite celebrities, including rapper Juelz Santana.

He said he’d browsed the ritzy rags at Barneys before but had never bought anything at the store.

“It was a quick trip. I gave them my debit card, I signed my name,” he said.

According to his lawsuit, the clerk asked Christian to show his ID, which he did.

“I showed my state ID,” he told The News.

The clerk didn’t react as he signed for his purchase and left, he said.

But he got no more than a block from the store when two undercover NYPD detectives stopped him near E. 60th St., the lawsuit said.

“They said my card wasn’t real, it was fake. They said someone at Barneys called to report it,” said Christian.

The male detectives — whose names he never learned — asked to see ID and look in his bag, he said.

They also asked him if he worked, and where.

“I showed them my school ID and my driver’s license,” said Christian, who was 18 when the incident allegedly occurred.

“I kept thinking, ‘Why is this happening to me?’” he said.

“The detectives were asking me, ‘How could you afford a belt like this? Where did you get this money from?’” he said.

He was handcuffed and taken to the 19th Precinct stationhouse, he said.

According to his lawsuit, he was detained in a holding cell for about two hours.

He was then released with his debit card, his belt and an apology from the police, Christian said.

A spokeswoman for the NYPD denied Christian was detained for two hours, saying he was brought into the precinct at 7:04 p.m. and was allowed to leave at 7:45 p.m.

“Mr. Christian was held in police custody for approximately 42 minutes and as soon as we determined that the card was authentic, he was immediately released,” said Inspector Kim Royster.

He was never charged, according to his attorney.

“I was nervous the whole time, but not really scared because I knew I had done nothing wrong,” said the teen.

After he got home, he got angry.

“I brought the belt back to Barneys a few days later and returned it. I got my money back, I’m not shopping there again,” he said. “It’s cruel. It’s racist.”

Calls to Barneys, which is led by CEO Mark Lee, were not returned.

The city Law Department said it hadn’t seen the court papers yet.

“We are awaiting a formal copy of the lawsuit and will review the claims upon receipt,” said Elizabeth Thomas, a Law Department spokeswoman.

The NYPD said it has gotten 53 grand larceny complaints this year for credit card fraud at Barneys’ Madison Ave. store and has made more than 47 arrests. But it’s unclear how many of those arrested were actually charged with a crime and how many were, like Christian, released.

Plainclothes officers visit Barneys periodically because of problems with fraudulent use of cards, the NYPD said.

Christian’s attorney Michael Palillo said the teen, who now works at Target, has a clean record.

RELATED: COPS SUE CITY COUNCIL OVER ‘VAGUE’ PROFILING LAW

“He’s never been arrested. His only crime was being a young black guy buying a $300 belt,” the lawyer said.

The student’s Facebook page shows pictures of a fashion-loving teen. In some, Christian is sporting various belts with buckles encrusted with glittering “F’s” — but it’s not clear if they are also Ferragamo items.

He’s also seen posing for selfies in a series of baseball caps that have been color-coded to match his clothes, with a gold chain and an earring peeking out.

Christian’s mother, Selena Christian, said she was outraged at the upscale store’s treatment of her son.

“Barneys said his card was stolen, they said he shouldn’t have that much money in his account,” said the 40-year-old school bus driver. “I am shocked. He’s a good kid.”

The hardworking mother could find only one reason for her son to be singled out after he’d shown ID to the Barneys staffer.

“It’s because he’s an African-American,” she said. “It’s wrong. They shouldn’t have done this.”

Being publicly questioned, searched and handcuffed and then detained in a police precinct cell caused Christian “great physical and mental distress and humiliation,” the lawsuit said.

“His reputation and character were injured and he was embarrassed,” the court papers said.

The incident was due to the “negligence, careless[ness] and recklessness of Barneys” and the undercover detectives, the lawsuit alleges.

Christian is suing the NYPD and Barneys for unspecified damages.

[/expand]

In a recent interview with San Francisco’s 106 KMEL, Kanye West revealed one of his motivations for partnering up with fellow emcee Jay Z for the 2011 collaborative album Watch The Throne. According to ‘Ye, while recording the album, he says he hoped he would learn a thing or two from the rapper he felt was the person with “the best social skills” at that particular time.

In addition to crafting his social skills with help from Jay, Kanye revealed that he also received help in that area from fiancée, Kim Kardashian.

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

“One of the reasons that I did Watch The Throne with Jay wasn’t just to do a dope album, which we did, it was because Jay Z has the best social skills of anyone that I know,” the Windy City wordsmith said. “Of anyone that I knew at that time. And I wanted to learn from him…Just to knock the edge off and learn from Jay. And then God has now given me another master of the social skills, my girl. She’s like the number one socialite in the world.”

Kanye further commented on his relationship with Kardashian and credited the paparazzi, who he’s had a number of run-ins with, for the couple’s influential status.

“I have never loved any girl other than my mother as much as I love my girlfriend,” said ‘Ye. “And I’m so happy to be with her, for us to live this life together. And with our relationship with God to be able to live forever in heaven together, too. And also to raise a family, a strong family…She’s been spending her whole check on clothes since she was 16, just like me. And that’s the reason why both of us are the most influential…I think me and my girl are extremely influential greatly due to the paparazzi.”

Following a Twitter feud with late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Kanye appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at the top of the month to discuss his rift with Kimmel, among other topics.

When asked if there was anything he didn’t have the opportunity to address while on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Kanye revealed that he would have liked to have spoken further on his “creative genius” comments.

“One thing that I said that I don’t think I hit all the way out of the park on ‘Jimmy Kimmel,’ I said ‘I’m a creative genius [or] whatever,’” the Chicago rapper said. “And what I was kinda trying to say is like, ‘Don’t just look at me as a celebrity or a musician or this and that.’ Which there are creative geniuses that are celebrities and musicians. But I understand that I’ve got something more to give. But one thing I really wanted to help explain was the thing—my creative genius is creating around geniuses. Using creative geniuses to express. Getting out of their way. If someone’s more talented than me at stage design, at art direction, at playing the guitar, at production, at rapping, at anything that it is, I will step out of their way.”

During his October 9 interview with Kimmel, West referenced his interview with BBC Radio 1 prior to labeling himself a “creative genius.”

“I’m not running for office,” the rapper said. “I’m just here to make good music and make people feel good when they hear my music. When I did that interview [with BBC Radio 1], I was really vocal about a lot of the things I’ve been dealing with over the past 10 years, in classification of just a celebrity, because for me, I’m a creative genius. There’s no other way to word it.”

[/expand]

Lil Wayne is partnering with The Motivational Edge, a Miami-based program meant to assist at-risk students.

Wayne and The Motivational Edge are seeking $200,000 for the education-centered program, which the rapper says he believes in.

“I’m here to tell you that I stand by the mission of The Motivational Edge,” Lil Wayne says in a video for The Motivational Edge on Indiegogo. “Not just because I support these kids, but because I was one. I grew up in New Orleans, in a neighborhood called Hollygrove, where I didn’t have a lot. A lot of other people didn’t have a lot. But what I did have was education and music. I figured that if one wouldn’t get me out, the other one would, but then I finally learned I wouldn’t get out of anything without education. I personally donated to this cause and now we need your help.”

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

Ian Welsch, the CEO and founder of The Motivational Edge, explained the program’s outlook in the same clip.

“I saw an extensive need and a dire need for more creative, more artistic, more expression-based programs for these inner city youth that they weren’t getting in the school system,” Welsch says. “At the same time as I was feeling this passion, the school system was cutting these classes out.”

Supporters of this cause can donate to the cause via Indiegogo. The Motivational Edge and Lil Wayne aspire to raise $200,000. They have raised more than $31,000 as of today (October 23). The goal is to reach $200,000 by December 1.

More on The Motivational Edge can be found below.

[/expand]

Kanye West canceled his concert in Vancouver, Canada tonight (October 20), making it the second major rap show in the past 24 hours, to be scrapped, leaving thousands of fans disappointed.

Kanye was supposed to hit the stage in Vancouver, after his “Yeezus” tour debuted last night in Seattle, Washington, to positive reviews.

But the Vancouver show was unexpectedly canceled, due to “unforeseen circumstances,” according to representatives for Rogers Arena.

Fans who were expecting to see the show are being asked to hold on to their original tickets, which will be honored on Halloween, when Kanye West will return to the city for a make up date.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Rogers Arena has been advised that the October 20th Kanye West show with Kendrick Lamar at Rogers Arena will be postponed,” Rogers Arena said in a statement released today “The concert has been rescheduled for October 31st. Fans are asked to retain their tickets from the initially scheduled show, as they will be honoured for the rescheduled date of October 31st.”

In 2007, Ja Rule was arrested for weapons possession, and a conviction sent him to prison for two years. The New York rapper was finally released this past May.

In a recent interview with TMZ, Ja revealed that of all the complaints he might’ve had while in the pen, the food wasn’t necessarily one of them.

“It’s not too good,” said Ja, before adding, “You get packages and stuff like that. You can eat decent enough. I ate everything. In jail we was pretty crafty. We made lasagna, we made cheesecakes.”

Ja continued, explaining that he left most of the cooking to himself. “I didn’t really eat prison food. I didn’t go to the chow hall too much. We usually just cooked in our dorm. That’s when we made it, it was pretty decent,” he said.

Watch the interview below:

Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar kicked off their “Yeezus” tour run in Seattle Washington yesterday (October 19).

Kendrick Lamar performed various selections from his arsenal, including “Don’t Kill My Vibe,” “Money Trees” and “Compton,” as per MTV News.

Kanye West performed selections from his discography opening with “On Sight” and concluding with “Bound 2.” While those songs come from his most recently released collection Yeezus, West also performed songs from his past projects, including “Cold,” “Mercy,” “Hey Mama” and “Jesus Walks,” a selection that was introduced with an actor dressed as Jesus Christ on the stage.

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

“White Jesus, is that you?” Kanye West reportedly said when the actor appeared on the stage.

For much of the night, West performed in different masks until finally taking the mask off.

A clip of West’s “Jesus Walks” performance can be found below via ddotomen.com

The “Yeezus” tour run itinerary can be found below.

[/expand]

“This is America,” he said. “We love to see people bounce back. We love that comeback story. I don’t think it’s far off for X to come back and do something significant, and people to love him again. I think he just needs to maybe seek God. It has to be something drastic that changes the way he lives and the way he goes about his everyday lifestyle. Hopefully he’ll realize that what he’s doing is destructive.”

Ja Rule and DMX have seen legal troubles affect both of their music careers. In July 2011, Ja received a 28-month prison sentence for tax evasion. In July 2007, he was arrested for gun and drug possession charges. DMX has faced everything from animal cruelty to drug possession charges. As recently as August, X was arrested in South Carolina during a traffic stop after making an improper u-turn and was arrested due to an outstanding warrant for driving under suspension.

The two have also produced a lot of music together. DMX was featured on Ja’s song “It’s Murda” from his debut album Venni Vetti Vecci in 1999. The two also beefed for a period of time, a feud which was squashed back in 2009.

Mentioning God in the interview, Ja Rule has recently been been promoting his new film I’m in Love with a Church Girl.

 

As an artist who has both rapped and crooned his way through numerous records, Canadian artist Drake has at times garnered a handful of labels due to his more emotionally-charged records. But in a recent interview, the Young Money emcee stated that he wasn’t terribly pleased with the labels he feels aren’t fully accurate.

“’I’m so sick of people saying that I’m lonely and emotional, and associating me with this longing for a woman,” said Drizzy, according to HotNewHipHop.com. “I hate that. It bothers me so much…cause I do make music that makes you feel something but I’m actually not that guy in real life. I’m a happy person.”

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

Although the Toronto-based rapper refers to himself as “a happy person” during his interview with Jian Ghomeshi of CBC Radio, he does later reveal that he’s not at a point in his life where he’s content.

“I’m not content by any means, I wanna keep working but I’m a happy person,” said Drake. “I’m very excited, my life is constantly exciting. It’s not some sad, depressing story. As far as the soundscapes go, that’s just the music that I chose to make, I make music strictly for the purpose of driving at nighttime.”

On his newly-released third album, Nothing Was The Same, Drake occasionally touches on love, women, and other emotions throughout the project. On the Jake One-produced “Furthest Thing,” Drake croons about balancing his career and being with the woman in his life as he sings, “And I hate that you don’t think I belong to ya/Just too busy runnin’ shit to run home to ya.”

In addition to expressing his distaste at being labeled “lonely and emotional,” Drake also commented on his writing process and the challenges he faced while working on Nothing Was The Same, during his hour-long interview with Ghomeshi.

According to the Young Money rapper, he was given a set amount of tracks to record for his album, which was released on September 24.

“My right-hand partner in music creation, challenged me on this album to trim that fat,” said Drake. “To make a very concise project and asked me to—actually gave me a song cap. Asked me to keep it at 13 or 14 songs on the original. And so that was an interesting challenge for me. And now that it’s out and the world appreciates it, it’s a great feeling.”

[/expand]

Nicki Minaj is slated to be a guest on the episode of “The Queen Latifah Show” that is scheduled to air Tuesday (October 22). In a clip from that show, Nicki Minaj praises Queen Latifah’s contributions to entertainment.

“You’ve opened so many doors for me and so many other women and it’s insane because I always reference you when I talk about female rappers who’ve, like, kinda paved the way in terms of a business woman and mogul and just all-around entertainer,” Nicki Minaj says in the clip, which is on Queen Latifah’s YouTube page. “To be sitting her doing your show, it’s just a great moment for Hip Hop. So, thank you for having me.”

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

In the clip, Queen Latifah also seems proud of having Nicki Minaj as a guest on her program. “I’m sitting here with a female rapper on a talk show started by a female rapper,” Queen Latifah says. “This is a moment for me. It really is a full-circle moment for me. I probably never envisioned this.”

During a 2012 interview with Funkmaster Flex, Nicki Minaj said that she loved Lauryn Hill and that Queen Latifah was among the female rappers she sometimes forgot to mention when naming her favorite female rappers.

“I always forget to name so many people,” Nicki Minaj said at the time. “I always forget to name [MC] Lyte,[Queen] Latifah, Left Eye, [Da] Brat and Missy.”

Queen Latifah released her debut album, All Hail The Queen, in 1989. She launched her film career two years later with supporting roles in Jungle Fever and House Party 2. Her “Living Single” television show aired from 1993-98.

The success of Latifah’s recording career and “Living Single,” among other things, led to Queen Latifah’s first talk show, the “Queen Latifah Show,” which debuted in 1999. Her new talk show, “The Queen Latifah Show” launched earlier this year.

[/expand]

Ice-T has been exposed to gang life since a teen, put the nation in a veritable conniption with his 1992 single “Cop Killer” and now is an actor on a television show centered around the most perverse crimes. That can lead one man to a bit of paranoia, which Ice T says has manifested in nightly dreams of him being murdered.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the 30 year rap legend spoke on how his nefarious past has led to the 55 year old actor to have a heightened level of paranoia:

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

If that door opened and I ask you, “Who’s coming through that door?,” somebody could say “My mother” or maybe “somebody from my past,” but I’d say, “Some dudes in ski masks.” I’ve been in heavy situations. When you lived it, you’re paranoid. I carried guns so much that I had a bruise on my leg for a year after I stopped.

Ice-T admitted that he believes his fame has intensified his paranoia and that “the most successful are the most paranoid.”

When the conversation moved to his feelings towards the current landscape of Hip Hop, Ice-T said he was “disillusioned with the hip-hop sound” and pointed out its hypocrisy but also championed a few of its shining stars:

If you track my movement, you’ll never see a picture of me with any girl that wasn’t mine, or my own car. My jewelry, my clothes. What kind of gangsta rapper has a stylist? A stylist?! So now that game? I gracefully bow out, but then you got beasts. You got Lupe Fiasco, Kendrick [Lamar], all these cats that can really spit.

Ice T is currently working on a new album with his band Body Count which is entitled Manslaughter.

[/expand]

Master P’s wife, Sonya Miller, has filed for divorce, according to tmz.com.

The divorce is set to end the couple’s 24-year marriage. Sonya Miller says the two have irreconcilable differences, as per tmz.com.

Master P and Sonya Miller have four minor children. Sonya Miller is seeking full custody of the children.

The couple also has a son, perhaps the most famous of the five, Romeo Miller.

Sonya Miller is also seeking spousal support.

TMZ reports that Sonya Miller and Master P have been separated for “a long time,” though no official date was published. According to the site, Sonya Miller requested child support from Master P in 2011, though the couple was still legally married at the time.

Master P has released several albums under his No Limit Records imprint. For instance, 1991’s Get Away Clean was released under No Limit Records and In-a-Minute Records. 2000’s Ghetto Postage was released through No Limit Records and Priority Records. Master P has continued to release albums with variations to his label’s name. 2001’s Game Face, for example, was released under The New No Limit Records and Koch Records. 2013’s Al Capone was released under No Limit Forever. Master P has also extended his influence to other areas. Master P has founded No Limit Films, No Limit Sports Management and P. Miller Youth Centers.

Future is slated to feature Miley Cyrus in his upcoming video for “Real & True,” according to abc.com. Cyrus is set to appear nude, other than body paint, in the clip.

Images of their video shoot were released, as seen on abc.com. The images show Cyrus nude other than glittery silver body paint. Future appears in a black leather outfit.

Future has been in the headlines recently due to an alleged problem with Drake. The two were slated to go on tour together, though reports later surfaced that Future was dropped from the tour for criticizing Drake’s Nothing Was The Same album. Future has said he was misquoted and that he respects Drake.Reports surfaced yesterday (October 16) that Future is reportedly back on the Drake tour.

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz sold approximately 271,000 units in its first week, surpassing the one-week sales figures of Drake’s Nothing Was The Same and Pusha T’s My Name Is My Name on the October 16 charts. Cyrus appeared nude in her video for the Bangerz single “Wrecking Ball.”

Some of the images from Future’s “Real & True” video shoot can be viewed below, via Dan Steinberg, Epic Records and AP Photo, as per abc.com.

[/expand]

Just look aways right now if you’re cool on celebrity navel gazing, or thirst, involving Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. The latter posted a selfie of a backshot, and Yeezy responded pretty much like any hetero man with good sense would. It started with Kim’s Instagram of a full body selfie—showing off her plump derriere with the caption, #NoFilter. To this, the “Blood On The Leaves” rapper hopped on Twitter (how does Yeezy not have an official Instagram?) and responded in kind with “HEADING HOME NOW.” Smart man. Earlier this week, Kardashian shared a new image of the Nike Air Yeezy 2 in the “Red October” colorway. Check out pic

It seems Diddy will have to be more than dressed fresh as the feds are allegedly watching the Bad Boy Records founder’s. federal investigators questioned James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond on the possibility on Sean “Diddy” Combs engaging in sexual behavior with under aged boys.

According to court documents released by The Smoking Gun, music executive and alleged drug kingpin Jimmy Henchman claims that while during a pre-trail proffer session held in 2011, Drug Enforcement and IRS agents showed him nude photos of several women. The questioning turned even more awkward when Rosemond was allegedly asked about the sexual preferences of various entertainers.

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

During that line of questioning a prosecutor asked if the Czar Entertainment honcho had any knowledge about Combs having intimate relations with under aged boys. It is not known whether the shocking allegation about the Bad Boy mogul was confirmed or denied.

[/expand]

 

Timbaland’s wife, Monique Mosley, has filed for divorce from the acclaimed producer, according to tmz.com.

The couple has been together for 10 years, as pertmz.com. They’ve been married for 5 years, but they were romantically involved for 5 years prior their wedding date.

Reports state that Monique Mosley is asking Timbaland to pay for her two children. The couple has a 5-year-old daughter. Monique Mosley has a 10-year-old from another relationship.

[expand title=”More MBiz” tag=”h2″]

According to the documents filed by Monique Mosley, Timbaland is being asked to provide money for her child from a different relationship because he has “publicly and privately proclaimed this child as his own,” according to tmz.com.

Monique Mosley is also requesting money for alimony, life insurance, private school, vacation and other expenses, as per tmz.com.

Additionally, Monique Mosley is asking that Timbaland pay for her lawyer fees.

According to the documents filed, Monique Mosley is also requesting money while divorce proceedings are pending. She is also reportedly requesting a lump sum and permanent alimony, as well as “rehabilitative alimony.”

Timbaland has been integral as the producer behind two of the year’s most successful albums, The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience, 2 of 2, both by Justin Timberlake. Timbaland was also a producer on Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail album, which was released this year.

Throughout Timbaland’s acclaimed career, he has worked with several artists, including Pharrell, Nelly Furtado, Ginuwine and Aaliyah.

[/expand]