The American accused of murdering British student Meredith Kercher took the witness stand for the first time today and told an Italian court how she smoked marijuana and had sex with her boyfriend on the night of the killing.
But Amanda Knox insisted she spent the whole night at boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito's flat and claimed the last time she saw Meredith alive was hours before she was found with her throat slit.
Prosecutors contend that Knox, an exchange student from Seattle who called herself 'Foxy Knoxy' on her MySpace page, and Sollecito killed 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia
Kercher's body was found there on November 2, 2007, and legal experts said she was killed the night before.
'On November 1, I told Raffaele that I wanted to watch a movie so we went to his place,' Knox said.
'After dinner, they went upstairs to his room. I sat on the bed, he sat at his desk, he prepared the joint and then we smoked it together,' the 21-year-old woman continued.
'First we made love, then we fell asleep.'
During her testimony, Knox alternated between English and Italian, occasionally pausing to take a breath, her voice shaky at times.
Knox said she last saw Kercher on the afternoon of November 1. They talked about what they had done the night before - a Halloween night out - and Knox said Kercher still had a bit of her vampire makeup on.
Sollecito then arrived at the house. He and Knox had something to eat while Kercher was in her room, Knox told the court.
'She left her room, said "bye" and walked out the door,' Knox said, at this point speaking Italian. 'That was the last time I saw her.'
Sollecito, 25, has said he was at his own apartment the night of November 1, working at his computer.
He said he does not remember if Knox spent the whole night with him or just part of it. The two have said they could not remember events clearly because they had taken drugs.
Knox also repeated her accusations that she was beaten by police and confused when she was questioned in the days after the killing. Police have denied any misconduct.
After the killing, Knox accused Diya 'Patrick' Lumumba, a Congolese man who owns a pub in Perugia, of being the culprit. Lumumba was jailed briefly in the case, but he is no longer a suspect and is seeking defamation damages from Knox.
Knox was called to testify both in her own defence and in a civil case brought by Lumumba.
'The declarations were taken against my will, so everything that I said was said in confusion and under pressure,' Knox said under questioning by Lumumba's lawyer.
'They called me a stupid liar; said I was trying to protect someone. I was not trying to protect anyone,' she said.
'I didn't know what to respond. They said I left Raffaele's home, which I denied, but they continued to call me "stupid liar".'
Knox smiled as she walked into the court before her testimony. She was dressed in a white shirt and white trousers and had her hair pulled into a ponytail.
Earlier Knox waved at her father Curt as she arrived into the courtroom, who was present along with his new partner Cassandra and Knox's aunt Christine Hagge.
As he walked into court this morning, Mr Knox said: 'Today we are going to see a new Amanda - she is not the dark angel that she has been described.'
He had flown to Perugia from his home in Seattle, Washington, and last night defended his daughter, saying: 'Amanda has nothing to hide. She is nervous but she is also at the same time comfortable with what is about to happen.
Kurt Knox defended his daughter before the trial: 'She has nothing to hide'
'For the first time the judge and jury will be able to hear her version of events and they will be able to see her come across as 100 per cent innocent. She will field all the questions no matter who they are from.
'She has nothing to hide.'
Knox and Sollecito have been jailed since shortly after the slaying. They are both charged with murder and sexual violence.
They could face Italy's stiffest punishment, life imprisonment, if convicted of murder. The trial began in January and a verdict is expected after a summer break.
A third suspect in the case, Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede, was found guilty of murder and sexual violence and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
He was given a fast-track trial at his request, and his appeal is set to start in November. He, too, denies wrongdoing.
The trial has been closed to cameras but the presiding judge, exceptionally, allowed them in to film for Knox's testimony - only to ask them to leave in a few minutes for causing too much disruption.
The cameras were then crammed in the press room, where proceedings were being shown on a screen.
Source:DailyMail.co.uk
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The highly anticipated album by Hip-Hop collective Slaughterhouse has been pushed back to August 11, over a month from its original date.
The group, comprised of Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Royce Da 5’ 9” and Crooked I, had a release date in early July, but that is no more.
Royce said that the group wanted more time to put into set up and marketing with its label E1.
“Even though this [group] is a new way of doing business, we still gotta stick to the old school script when it comes time to market this, to have the proper time to set up a record,” Royce told AllHipHop.com.
“We’re not idiots. We understand the concept of labels throwing something against the wall and seeing if it sticks. That’s not what we are in business to do. We’re still in the business of selling records, because we feel we have a great product to present to the public.”
The Detroit rapper also stated that the lyrics and the music came together in a way that made them want to generate maximum interest in the self-titled debut.
“All the push back has to do [with] is the set up. It’s great music,” Royce continued. “My biggest concern with making the project is us picking the best beats possible. Rhyming is there. The best music possible is what I was always concerned with, that’s why a lot of songs came out so good.”
Joell Ortiz, a Brooklyn-bred artist, said that the process of creating the album was arduous, yet fun.
“It was definitely the busiest session I had ever seen in my life,” Ortiz said. “To come out with the product that we do have, was ridiculous.”
The group may ad another song to round off the album, but noted that it was close to completion and the delay had nothing to do with the music. The bulk of the album was finished in six days.
Source: Allhiphop
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After 5 years as a mainstay on Irv Gotti’s The Inc., R&B singer Lloyd has declared his time with the former powerhouse label has “run its course.”
Although he released his third LP in August 2008, the young crooner feels his career has become stagnant in the wake of The Inc’s separation from parent label Universal Records.
“I’m ready for a change,” Lloyd said. “There’s no bad blood. I just feel I need to take more control over my career and get a fresh start. Hopefully Irv can understand my position.”
Lloyd’s announcement comes just one month following the departure of Inc first lady Ashanti, who was granted a contract release after years of distancing herself from the beleaguered label’s legal and professional conflicts.
While his own situation plays out, Lloyd is moving forward with a new mixtape to build anticipation for his fourth studio album.
“We have plans to get in the studio with Jim Jonsin, The Runners, Cool & Dre, Rodney Jerkins, and others,” Lloyd detailed. “In the future, I still hope to work with Irv as a producer as well.”
Lloyd’s manager Henry “Noonie” Lee framed his client’s decision as an essential business necessity to prevent any further career monotony.
“We find ourselves in limbo for the second time in three years,” Lee said in a statement. It’s frustrating to know that opportunities to advance Lloyd’s career are out there but we can’t exploit them due to our current situation. Even though Lloyd is appreciative of the opportunity that has been afforded him by The Inc, he feels it’s time for him to move on and seek opportunities that will allow him to build and enhance his brand.”
At press time, Inc CEO Irv Gotti could not be reached for comment.
Lloyd is best known for his hit single’s “You” and “Get It Shawty.”
He released three albums on The Inc: Southside (2004) Street Love (2007) and his most recent, Lessons In Love (2008).
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DJ Drama leaked a track he did with Cam’ron yesterday (June 10) on his Twitter Account, announcing the Dipset Don’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape. XXLMag.com hit up Mr. Thanksgiving to find out more about the collaboration.
According to Drama, who’s a big fan of the veteran Harlem MC, the tape has been in the works for a while. “Me and Cam been knowing each other for a while,” he told XXL. “When I was in NY I was doing my album runs and he was in the Atlantic building at the time and he was working on his album and we ran into each other. It’s been a minute since we seen each other and I said let’s do a tape. It’s long overdue. We talked about it years ago and he was like of course.”
The disc, titled Boss Of All Bosses – the same name as Cam’s tour with fellow NY rapper Jadakiss - will feature Killa’s latest protégé Vado. When asked if Cam will be spitting on a lot of Southern beats, Drama said, “[There’s] a lot of originals, it’s gonna be a mini album.” As far as features, the Aphiliates DJ said, “Don’t want to give a way too many details but there’s definitely some features people need to look for.”
In related news, Drama’s highly anticipated mixtape with Soulja Boy will be dropping today. Drama plans on putting a link for it on his Twitter account. “Me and Soulja Boy are gonna put it on Twitter first, the tape is called Follow Me: The Twitter Edition. “
Look for Drama to leak more exclusives from his Cam tape soon.
Source :XXLMag.com
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The dating scene has really changed over the last few years. Of course the preferred method is still meeting fact to face at a party,bar,club etc. But more and people are deciding that meeting someone online isn't a bad way to go.Ok,so you meet someone online and things start to click.
If you're a guy and don't wanna sound crude how do you let a woman know you're packing that "Lexington Steele"?.Well,A good way might be joining the online dating service 7orbetter.com. This way the ladies know exactly what they are getting without any awkward moments.
Since this is the internet,you know some people might not keep it one hundred when filling out their profile,so buyer beware.
Note : This website is not affiliated nor endorsed by PaperChaserDotCom. We just thought this story was funny as hell,lol.
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Lauryn Hill has canceled all of her European tour dates this summer, citing health reasons as the cause.
According to news.yahoo.com, the Stockhom Jazz Festival spokeswoman Lisa Tolonen explained that Hill's agent informed festival organizers that the rapper/singer was canceling all European performances this summer. This included stops in Sweden, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France and Austria.
Tolonen said that while the agent did cite health reasons, they declined to provide further details.
This further adds speculation to rumors of strange behavior by Hill, who has reportedly performed inconsistent sets, somtimes consisting only of poetry and no music.
Source: HipHopDX
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If you believe British tabloid reports, there are any number of alleged reasons why Michael Jackson's 50-date run at London's O2 Arena may or may not happen — he's too sick, too weak, he doesn't want to do that many shows. But on Wednesday, a legitimate, legal reason emerged that may force Jackson to rethink his intricately planned comeback.
As threatened last month, promoter AllGood Entertainment Inc. filed a $20 million lawsuit against Jackson claiming breach of contract and fraud in an attempt to stop Jackson from performing in London. The New Jersey-based company filed the suit in federal court in New York stating that it signed a deal with Jackson's manager, Frank DiLeo, in November 2008 that commits the King of Pop to appear at a Jackson family reunion concert in the U.S. this summer.
AllGood CEO Patrick Allocco told MTV News on Thursday morning that the contract was for a concert that was originally scheduled to take place this July. "The date we now have on hold is July 3 in Cowboy Stadium in 2010," Allocco said, adding that the contract stipulates that Jackson cannot perform individually before the AllGood show or for three months after the July event.
"The contract was signed by DiLeo on behalf of Jackson, the Jackson 5, [sisters] Latoya and Rebbie, the whole gang," he said. The show is slated to feature Jackson's reunion with siblings Marlon, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Randy, as well as an appearance by younger sister Janet Jackson.
Jackson is slated to kick off his O2 engagement next month, and Allocco said the suit makes clear that the agreement signed by DiLeo predates Jackson's deal with promoter AEG Live for the London shows. "The first I heard of the AEG deal was when an associate told me about it in December," Allocco said.
Jackson, who has been rehearsing for the London shows in Los Angeles, has claimed he never personally signed the papers for the family-reunion show, and AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips has called the AllGood claims "meritless." But Allocco said, "Frank DiLeo is clearly the manager of [Michael] Jackson now, and he signed the deal on his behalf."
TMZ reported earlier this month that Jackson said he would perform at both shows.
The suit seeks $20 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages. A spokesperson for AEG Live could not be reached for comment at press time.
Source: MTVNEWS
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Kanye West appeared on ABC's "The View" Wednesday (June 10) and took the opportunity to announce his forthcoming co-headlining tour with disco queen Lady Gaga.
Although he kept the details of the tour light, he spoke excitedly about it. He has said he's a Gaga fan and recently reworked her hit "Poker Face" into "I Make Her Say," a collaboration with up-and-coming MC Kid Cudi.
"She's talented and so incredible that she's not an opening act," he said of the tour. "We're doing it together, with no opening act."
A rep for West had not provided further details to MTV News at press time, but more information is expected soon.
On the show, West also talked about Kris Allen's unexpected cover of Kanye's "Heartless" on "American Idol" earlier this year. West confessed that other artists sing the song better than he does.
"Everybody who sings the song, sings better than me," he joked to the hosts of "The View." "The Fray are one of my favorite rock bands, they covered it [too] and that song got played on 'American Idol' twice."
West credits his ability to write strong melodies is why artists like Allen and the Fray are able to make his songs work for them.
"I always felt like I made melodies that were [like] country or Broadway melodies."
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