October

From now on most articles will be taken from some where else because i don't have the time. If someone would like to write aritcles for me then i'd be happy to give a link to their site.

Police Say Fall, Not Car Accident, Injured Erick Sermon

June

Troubled hip hop star Ol' Dirty Bastard's sentencing hearing for cocaine possession was postponed on Wednesday until July 17 to allow the New York State Department of Probation to revise its pre-sentence report, according to a spokesperson for the Queens County district attorney's office. The rapper, whose real name is Russell Jones, faced two to four years in state prison on drug charges when he appeared before Judge Joseph A. Grasso. The judge allowed defense attorney Peter Frankel's motion to postpone the hearing until a more complete pre-sentencing report is resubmitted, despite objections from prosecutor Ken Holder. The Department of Probation is required to file a comprehensive evaluation of the defendant's criminal, social, physical and mental history if a sentence involves state jail time. Frankel said ODB's report did not have sufficient information about the rapper's mental health. Ol' Dirty Bastard remains in custody as he awaits sentencing.

According to The Associated Press, rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday in a New York court for shooting and wounding two people during a dispute between rap impresario Sean "Puffy" Combs and another man in a Times Square nightclub. Barrow admitted at trial that he pulled out a gun and fired during the fracas at Club New York on Dec. 27, 1999. Before handing down the sentence, state Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon called Barrow smart, talented, and charitable but said he couldn't lose sight of the fact that Barrow had fired a gun in a nightclub that was ''as crowded as a subway in rush hour.'' While holding the hand of one of his lawyers, Barrow, 22, recited the Lord's Prayer and then apologized to the court and his victims. He told Solomon that he was not a threat to society and asked for leniency. Barrow was charged with first-degree assault, gun possession, and reckless endangerment. His co-defendants -- Combs and his bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones -- were acquitted of bribery and gun possession. According to a statement released by Combs, an appeal is likely. "Shyne's sentence is unfair and extreme as I know he had no intention of hurting anyone," Combs said. "My prayers are with him and his family. I'm shocked by today's outcome. I will continue to support Shyne throughout his appeal."

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, football star Andre Rison made an impromptu visit to hip-hop radio station Hot-97.5 in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday morning and announced that he and TLC singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes plan to get married on July 5 at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Rison, who played last season for the Oakland Raiders, didn't let loose with any other details, except to say - somewhat incoherently; he'd been partying all night -- that after the nuptials, he and Lopes would go on a "hot tour and speak in schools across America."

Charismatic hip hop star Busta Rhymes has been tearing up the airwaves with his latest hit single "What It Is." The contagious dance track was produced by the Neptunes and features the vocals of Kelis. It will be featured on the Violator The Album: V2 compilation. Missy Elliott and Ja Rule also come together on a track as the pay homage to the sex drug "Ex" while Noreaga tells us why the streets are so "Grimey." Goodie Mob and Dungeon Family member Cee-lo has also joined the Violator family as he delivers a stellar solo performance on " Sexual Chocolate. Violator The Album: V2 also contains production by Swizz Beatz while LL Cool J, The Lox, Mobb Deep, and Fat Joe also spit fire on the project.

Detroit rap collective Slum Village will kick off their 24-city Family Tree tour at the Cubby Bear club in Chicago, Illinois on June 28th. The tour will include stops in Florida, California, and Texas and will wrap up on August 3rd at Harry O's in Park City, Utah. Slum Village, comprised Jay-Dee, T3, and Baatin', will also hit the stage with a live band. In addition to performing cuts from their critically acclaimed debut Fantastic Vol.2, they will also perform tracks from their forthcoming album Trinity, which will hit stores this fall. Phife Dawg and Jarobi, former members of A Tribe Called Quest, will also perform on the tour as well as DJ Rasta Root, Dwele, Phat Kat, and Mystic. For information on ticket prices and show times, call (407) 382-3951.

According to Reuters, hip hop phenomenon Nelly has filed a complaint with TWA, saying he received poor treatment during a flight because he's black. The 23-year-old rapper said a flight attendant refused to give him a pillow as he sat in first class from St. Louis to Denver on Saturday. He said when he got up later to find one, the pilot ordered him back to his seat and threatened him with arrest if he failed to do so. Minutes later, the attendants gave Nelly two pillows, but he said police officers were waiting at the gate when the plane landed in Denver. He said he tried to get the pilot's name to file a complaint, but police told him to leave the gate or he'd be arrested. "The way it escalated was a result of me being a black man,'' said the rapper, who complained to the airline on Monday.

The Third Annual Source Hip Hop Music Awards will be held on August 20th in Miami, Florida with a venue to be announced later. Eminem and Outkast lead the list of nominees with five a piece as both will compete for the "Album of the Year Award" for their respective works The Real Slim Shady and Stankonia. Snoop Dogg, Nelly, and Jay-Z received three nominations while Mystikal, Ja Rule, Ludacris and M.O.P. are up for two. Due to last year's melee, this year's awards will be invitation only. The Third Annual Source Awards will also be televised again on August 28th on the UPN Network. LL Cool J will also receive the prestigious "Lifetime Achievement Award" which was awarded to Ice-Cube and Dr. Dre last year.

According to The Associated Press, members of Congress urged the hip-hop industry yesterday to better regulate the content of their records before Washington beats them to it. "We do not know the hip-hop generation. We do not know the hip-hop industry," said Rep. Earl Hilliard (D-Ala.) during the first day of the Russell Simmons-organized Hip-Hop Summit in New York. "We feel that those who know themselves and those that know the industry can regulate it better." While parental advisory stickers already appear on CDs deemed inappropriate for children, Hilliard added, "We need to go to the next level and go beyond that." He suggested a voluntary ratings system similar to that of the movie industry. Meanwhile, Congress is considering ways of imposing standards on the business. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) recently introduced legislation that would give the Federal Trade Commission the authority under its false and deceptive advertising laws to act against entertainment companies that market "unsuitable" material to children. The congressmen warned they could place more stringent restrictions on the industry. "Washington can regulate you out of business if you do not have your act together," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss). Luther "Luke" Campbell, whose raunchy lyrics during his 2 Live Crew days in the late '80s and early '90s challenged free speech laws, said he was disappointed by Lieberman's criticism of rap. "We've got somebody, Lieberman, that we supported seriously in the election, as black people, and he's the one that's mainly attacking us. To me, that's really a slap in the face," Campbell said. "To now try and take food off our table and try and deaden our industry and try and put a whole lot of black people out of work, that's serious to me." A spokesman for the former vice presidential candidate declined to comment. Jay-Z and Eminem are among members of the hip hop community that will participate in panels today. A keynote address from Minister Louis Farrakhan will also be part of the agenda today.

Actor Whitman Mayo, who was best known as the character "Grady" from the hit television series "Sanford and Son," died on Tuesday at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Mayo lived near Atlanta for the past seven years and taught drama at Clark Atlanta University. Most recently he hosted cable station Turner South's weekly series "Liars & Legends." The 70-year-old Mayo was in the television and film industry for more than 30 years. He also starred in the HBO movie "Boycott" which centered on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Right Movement and also starred Jeffrey Wright and Terrence Dashon Howard. Mayo also appeared in such film as Boyz N The Hood and D.C. Cab.

Mathew Knowles, manager and executive producer of Destiny's Child, has just landed an 18-month record label deal with Columbia Records with distribution through Sony. First on the list of highly anticipated releases will be the Carmen Hip Hopera soundtrack, which will be in stores June 12th. The album will feature Destiny's Child's "Survivor" remix with Da Brat and their "Bootylicious" remix featuring Missy Elliott, as well as new songs from Beyoncé, Wyclef, Mos Def, Mekhi Phifer and Rah Digga. The second release to come off of the Music World Music label will be Destiny's Child's Christmas 2001. Also featured on the Destiny's Child Christmas album will be new Music World Music artist Solange Knowles.

The fifth annual Online Hip Hop Awards (OHHA) has been cancelled after several problems and a rescheduled date. Felicia R. Palmer, co founder of the awards, said, "Throughout the last eight months, the awards committee has worked diligently to produce an event that would give the highest honor to the best in hip-hop ... It was our vision to take The Online Hip-Hop Awards to higher heights ... We were successful in securing a television deal, a great venue, top artists and a group of talented and committed producers to bring this vision into reality. Unfortunately, this vision was not realized. Over the last four weeks, as we've examined the possibilities of re-organizing, it became evident that a summer show would also not be possible. Inevitably, it was a combination of timing and current market conditions that contributed to our final decision to cancel." The awards were originally scheduled to be held on May 3rd at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom. Angie Martinez and Redman had signed on to host the presentation. Despite the setback, here is the complete list of Online Hip Hop Award winners: Website of the Year: Okayplayer.com Best Artist Website: LilBowWow.Com Favorite Web Magazine/E-Zine: thesource.com Best New Website: cashmoneyrecords.com Outstanding Graphic Design: Ludacris.net Best Elements Website: Hip-hop.com Best Indie Website : Hiphopsite.com Online Hip-Hop Award of the Year: Russell Simmons (for 360hiphop.com) Artist of the Year (Solo, Duo or Group): Nelly Album of the Year : Nelly - "Country Grammar" Song of the Year: Ja Rule - "Put it On Me" Favorite New Artist (Solo, Duo or Group): Lil Bow Wow Producer of the Year: The Neptunes Favorite Music Video: Mystikal - "Shake Ya Ass" Favorite R&B/Hip-Hop Collaboration: Ja Rule, Lil' Mo & Vita for "Put it On Me" Favorite Record Label: Def Jam Records Favorite Fashion Designer/Label : FUBU