The Inqisitr Reports
An Italian man currently under house arrest has requested to spend the rest of his sentence in jail, to get away from his nagging wife.
30 year old Santo Gambino, who was charged and convicted for dumping hazardous waste, spend part of his sentence in prison, but was transferred to his home near Palermo, Sicily to serve the rest of his sentence. Gambino, a construction worker who spent much of time working, was not accustomed to spending so much of his time at home with his wife. The couple had argued often and his wife constantly blamed him since his inability to work due to the house arrest caused financial problems for the family.
So against the conditions of his house arrest, Gambino left the house and went straight to the police station, demanding to be arrested and put back in jail.
Police did charge him for violating the conditions of his house arrest sentence, but instead of jailing him, they sent him back home to make peace with his wife.
Read more…
AllHipHop Reports
A group of prominent artists are moving forward with a lawsuit against the U.S. government for using music as a means for torture at Cuba’s controversial Guantanamo Bay facility.
Last December, news hit media outlets about how military personnel were using music to humiliate and demoralize detainees.
Rage Against the Machine member Tom Morello is participating in the suit, and revealed that reports have shown the music was played just low enough to prevent detainees from suffering shattered eardrums.
“Guantanamo is known around the world as one of the places where human beings have been tortured,” Morello explained. “From waterboarding to stripping, hooding and forcing detainees into humiliating sexual acts, playing music for 72 hours in a row at volumes just below that to shatter the eardrums. Guantanamo may be d**k Cheney's idea of America, but it's not mine. The fact that music I helped create was used in crimes against humanity sickens me.”
Hip-Hop music was a staple of the torture tactic, with selections from Dr. Dre, Lil Kim, Eminem (“Kim,” “Slim Shady,” “White America”), and Tupac (“All Eyez On Me”) being used.
Even though songs like Eminem’s “White America” are ironically critical of American politics, the Bush Administration approved the track as a part of the “futility technique,” which seeks to show torture victims the hopelessness of their situations.
The goal of the musicians’ lawsuit, dubbed the “National Campaign to Close Guantanamo,” is to have all government documents declassified on music torture and have the base shut down.
In addition to artists such as the Roots, REM, Pearl Jam, and Nine Inch Nails, several former U.S. generals and lawmakers have joined the suit.
Previously, President Barack Obama had promised to close the facility by January 22, 2009.
However, the economic crisis and resistance from Congress have delayed that goal. At press time, a court date has not been announced.
Read more…
London Times Online Reports
A model who featured in a fashion photograph for Polo Ralph Lauren, which was doctored to make her look abnormally thin, has been dropped by the clothing label, she says, for being too fat.
In the latest row over distorted body images in the fashion industry, Filippa Hamilton said yesterday that her contract with the luxury brand had been terminated after six years because she was too heavy.
“They fired me because they said I was overweight and couldn’t fit in their clothes any more,” she said. The company disputes her claim.
The 5ft 10in (1.79m) and 8½st (54kg) model who is a US size 4 (a UK size 8), found herself at the centre of a controversy after a digitally altered photograph of her appeared in a Ralph Lauren advertisement in Japan. In the image, which spread quickly via the internet last week, her waist had been reduced to almost the width of her head.
Critics said that the retouched image could be seen as realistic and so influence consumers, particularly the young, and encourage eating disorders or the kind of Tic-Tac-and-cigarette diet favoured by some models.
Hamilton, 23, was incensed that her image had been digitally retouched. “I was shocked to see that super-skinny girl with my face. It’s very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that,” she said.
Filippa Hamilton
Polo Ralph Lauren attempted to limit the damage, agreeing that the image should never have been used. “The image in question was mistakenly released and used in a department store in Japan and was not the approved image which ran in the US,” it said.
“We take full responsibility for allowing this image to run as this is completely inconsistent with our creative standards and brand values. This error has absolutely no connection to our relationship with Filippa Hamilton.”
But the company also confirmed that it had ended its relationship with Hamilton “as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract”. A spokesman said: “Filippa Hamilton is a beautiful and healthy woman that we have worked closely with for over six years and we consider her an important part of our imaging and branding. We regret that our relationship has ended.”
He denied that she had been dropped for being overweight, but Geoffrey Menin, Hamilton’s lawyer, said she had been let go because the company said that she did not fit into the sample sizes that it needed her to wear for photoshoots.
“That photoshopped image pushed all this into the open. That image was a gross distortion of what she really looks like and was professionally and emotionally harmful to her.
“From a professional point of view, nobody would want to hire somebody looking like that. She was angry too. She had felt that Ralph Lauren was like a family to her as she had worked with them since she was 15,” Mr Menin said.
The debate over the responsibility of the fashion industry for disseminating images of unrealistically thin women has raged for years.
Earlier this year Alexandra Shulman, Editor of British Vogue, wrote to the world’s main designers expressing her concern that they were, in effect, making magazines hire models with “jutting bones and no breasts or hips” by supplying them with “minuscule” garments for their photoshoots.
Vogue was frequently “retouching” photographs of models to make them look larger, she said.
Read more…
XXL Reports
Former Cash Money rapper B.G. is back in business. The one-time Hot Boy is ready to deliver 'Too Hood 2 Be Hollywood' next month, his first solo album in over three years.
And it seems like the B. Gizzle is feeling nostalgic. The New Orleans rapper has reunited with his ex-group mates Lil Wayne, Juvenile and producer Mannie Fresh for the LP. T.I., Young Jeezy, Lil Boosie, Trey Songz and Yo Gotti are also among the artists B.G. has drafted for the disc. J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Scott Storch and Cool and Dre all put in work behind the boards.
'Too Hood 2 Be Hollywood' will be released on November 24 through E1, Chopper City and Atlantic Records. His first single “Back to the Money” will hit the airwaves shortly.
Read more…
Posted by Mr.I Get It on October 1, 2009 at 12:00pm
Be sure to look out for the Limited Editon Deluxe Package as well...Regular and Deluxe Copies of "Before I Self Destruct" will be available for pre-order on I-Tunes in October with Some Exclusive Bonus Tracks
Read more…
London Telegraph Reports
The three-hour event will feature a mix of global superstars such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Peas as well as popular African artists.
Singer Diana Ross memorably fluffed her lines at the 1994 World Cup when she failed to convert a penalty and the concert is seen as a shift away from the flag-waving era towards a more youthful market. The Fifa-sanctioned event will take place at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
Fifa has contracted Kevin Wall, who has been responsible for live collaborations with Madonna and Michael Jackson, to produce the events, which have been billed as the "greatest entertainment event to date on the African continent".
Wall said: "We believe sports and music transcend cultural, language and geographic barriers, and through this international event, Control Room will present the sights and sounds of unity and celebration for an unforgettable experience of which all will want to be a part."
Meanwhile, Beyoncé and Aerosmith are set to headline concerts at the first ever Formula One race in Abu Dhabi. The performers will open and close the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend next month.
Read more…
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 19, 2009 at 5:52am
A lethal-injection team tried for about two hours to find a usable vein, then gave up. Romell Broom, a convicted rapist-murderer, says another try would be unconstitutional.
LA Times Reports
As executioners poked his limbs with an IV needle, Romell Broom initially tried to speed along his own demise, flexing his arm and tugging on a rubber tourniquet to better expose a vein on the inside of his elbow.
But as prison workers repeatedly failed to find a vein strong enough to take the lethal injections, the convicted rapist-murderer began to despair over his protracted end. Witnesses and the execution-team log from Tuesday describe how the 53-year-old winced and cried as a shunt inserted in his leg also failed to open a pathway for the fatal drugs.
Two hours and 23 minutes after it started, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland halted the execution and scheduled a second attempt for a week later.
The aborted execution has renewed concerns about lethal injection, and raises the question of whether a second execution attempt would violate the 8th Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
Bessye Middleton holds a painting of her daughter, Tryna, who was raped and fatally stabbed by Romell Broom on Sept. 21, 1984. The 14-year-old was walking home after a football game.
On Friday, one of Broom's attorneys filed lawsuits in state and federal court alleging that another execution attempt would violate Broom's civil rights. U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost issued a temporary restraining order putting off the attempt for at least 10 days. The attorney, Tim Sweeney, also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
Only once before has a state's execution failed, legal scholars say. In 1946, 17-year-old Willie Francis walked away from Louisiana's "Gruesome Gertie" electric chair after a 2,500-volt current coursed through his body.
"The issue with Willie Francis was, can you re-execute him, or would that be cruel and unusual punishment or double jeopardy?" said Deborah Denno, a Fordham University law professor and death penalty expert.
A divided high court decided in 1947 that Louisiana could lawfully subject Francis to execution again. A second electrocution killed him a year and three days after the first attempt.
"But so many aspects of that case are so outdated or so specific to Willie Francis and that time that even though it is entrenched precedent with the U.S. Supreme Court and frequently cited, one would look at the Broom case very differently," said Denno, whose writings on execution methods were cited by the U.S. Supreme Court majority in last year's decision upholding the constitutionality of lethal injection in Kentucky.
"I think we're in a new day in our treatment of human beings," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.
"To subject someone to being at the brink of death, then yank them back because the state couldn't carry out its own procedures . . . suggests the whole lethal injection process is in need of further review," said Dieter, who has expressed views against capital punishment.
The Supreme Court took what some analysts saw as a narrow look at lethal injection in the Kentucky case, Baze vs. Rees. The state had carried out only one other execution in recent years and, as in the Francis decision, the court found no pattern of flaws with methods.
Other states held off on executions until the justices in April 2008 ruled lethal injection a humane means of execution if carried out correctly.
All 35 states that allow the death penalty use a similar -- though not identical -- three-drug process. It is often administered by corrections officers rather than doctors because the American Medical Assn. advises against physician participation in executions.
Death penalty opponents say the Broom incident should at least compel Ohio to impose a moratorium on executions and review the procedures.
"Ohio has a history here. It's not just him. He's the third guy in three years where we've had essentially variations on the same problem," said Jeff Gamso, volunteer attorney and former legal director for the ACLU of Ohio. He was referring to the executions of Joseph Clark in 2006 and Christopher Newton in 2007 in which prison workers took more than an hour and two hours, respectively, to kill the inmates because of trouble locating veins.
Some legal scholars said they expected little legal consequence from the Ohio incident.
"This certainly put someone through anxiety and stress, but whether that rises to cruel and unusual punishment -- I doubt the Supreme Court at the end of the day would agree with that," said John Eastman, dean of the Chapman University School of Law in Orange
Robert Weisberg, a Stanford University law professor and director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, said public opinion has been little affected by previous cases where executions were botched.
What is likely to happen, he said, is an incremental backing off from capital punishment because of the costs, delays and mounting concerns about executing the innocent.
Last year, 37 people were executed nationwide, the lowest number in 14 years, partly because of states' review of execution procedures. And 111 death sentences were issued, compared with more than 300 a year in the mid-1990s.
Since 1973, 135 people have been exonerated and freed from death rows, five of them this year.
Weisberg said California is a prime example of a state that retains a death penalty in theory yet rarely conducts executions despite having the nation's biggest death row, with 685 condemned prisoners.
In California, executions have been on hold since early 2006: Lethal injections have failed to fully anesthetize inmates in six of the 13 executions conducted in the state since capital punishment resumed in 1976.
Read more…
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 30, 2009 at 12:45pm
AllHipHop Reports
Rapper Bump J was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday (Sept. 29) after admitting to guilt in a 2007 local bank robbery in August.
The artist, real name Terrence Boykin, received the minimum sentence for both charges, according to Chicago Hip-Hop blog Fake Shore Drive. The Chicago native will serve seven years for an illegal gun and 37 months for the bank robbery.
The jail terms will be served consecutively, and the rapper will also get credit for the time he has already served in jail.
In November 2008, the former Atlantic Recordsartist was arrested during a routine traffic stop in Carbondale, Illinois, about two hours east of St. Louis, Missouri.
He was charged as one of two gunmen suspected of robbing a Chicago Chase Bank on January 4, 2007.
The robbery, during which no one was injured, was captured on a surveillance camera.
At the end of his sentence Bump J will be eligible for placement in a halfway house.
Read more…
HipHopWired Reports
Fresh off the release of his new book, 50th Law, 50 Cent is creating even more buzz around his name. The G-Unit founder is announcing more additions to his highly anticipated “50 Fest” concert. Leaders of the new school, Wale, Mike Posner and Kid Cudi were already confirmed for the show and now the lineup has been bumped up even more. Along with the previously announced lineup, 50 added Maino, Jim Jones, Uncle Murder, Ron Browz, D-Block, and Corey Gunz. The concert is set to take place October 3 at Governor's Island in New York. Tickets are $45.
Two of the headliners for the “50 Fest” concert, Wale and Kid Cudi, will both shine this weekend during MTV's VMAs weekend. As previously reported, Wale and his native D.C. go-go band, UCB will perform as the “house band” for the festivities Sunday. While not participating at the actual awards show, Kid Cudi, will take the stage Saturday as part of Pepsi and MTV's “A Refreshing Night Of Music.”
Cudi will perform at Terminal 5 club in New York alongside, indie-rock group, Phoenix and DJ Clinton Sparks. Their performances will be part of a benefit for LIFEbeat, the music industry's HIV/AIDS prevention charity.
Tickets for Kid Cudi's Terminal 5 performance can be purchased at LIFEbeat.org.
Read more…
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 16, 2009 at 8:30pm
London Times Online Reports
‘The greatest fear people have is that of being themselves. They want to be 50 Cent or someone else. They do what everyone else does even if it doesn’t fit where and who they are. But you get nowhere that way; your energy is weak and no one pays attention to you. You’re running away from the one thing that you own—what makes you different. I lost that fear. And once I felt the power that I had by showing the world I didn’t care about being like other people, I could never go back.’ 50 Cent
1. See Things for What They Are - Intense Realism
Reality can be rather harsh. Your days are numbered. It takes constant effort to carve a place for yourself in this ruthlessly competitive world and hold on to it. People can be treacherous. They bring endless battles into your life. Your task is to resist the temptation to wish it were all different; instead you must fearlessly accept these circumstances, even embrace them. By focusing your attention on what is going on around you, you will gain a sharp appreciation for what makes some people advance and others fall behind. By seeing through people’s manipulations, you can turn them around. The firmer your grasp on reality, the more power you will have to alter it for your purposes.
2. Make Everything Your Own - Self-Reliance
When you work for others, you are at their mercy. They own your work; they own you. Your creative spirit is squashed. What keeps you in such positions is a fear of having to sink or swim on your own. Instead you should have a greater fear of what will happen to you if you remain dependent on others for power. Your goal in every manoeuvre in life must be ownership, working the corner for yourself. When it is yours, it is yours to lose - you are more motivated, more creative, more alive. The ultimate power in life is to be completely self-reliant, completely yourself.
3. Turn Shit into Sugar - Opportunism
Every negative situation contains the possibility for something positive, an opportunity. It is how you look at it that matters. Your lack of resources can be an advantage, forcing you to be more inventive with the little that you have. Losing a battle can allow you to frame yourself as the sympathetic underdog. Do not let fears make you wait for a better moment or become conservative. If there are circumstances you cannot control, make the best of them. It is the ultimate alchemy to transform all such negatives into advantages and power.
4. Keep Moving - Calculated Momentum
In the present there is constant change and so much we cannot control. If you try to micromanage it all, you lose even greater control in the long run. The answer is to let go and move with the chaos that presents itself to you - from within it, you will find endless opportunities that elude most people. don’t give others the chance to pin you down; keep moving and changing your appearances to fit the environment. if you encounter walls or boundaries, slip around them. do not let anything disrupt your flow.
5. Know When to Be Bad - Aggression
You will always find yourself among the aggressive and the passive aggressive who seek to harm you in some way. You must get over any general fears you have of confronting people or you will find it extremely difficult to assert yourself in the face of those who are more cunning and ruthless. Before it is too late you must master the art of knowing when and how to be bad - using deception, manipulation, and outright force at the appropriate moments. Everyone operates with a flexible morality when it comes to their self-interest—you are simply making this more conscious and effective.
6. Lead from the Front - Authority
In any group, the person on top consciously or unconsciously sets the tone. If leaders are fearful, hesitant to take any risks, or overly concerned for their ego and reputation, then this invariably filters its way through the entire group and makes effective action impossible. Complaining and haranguing people to work harder has a counterproductive effect. You must adopt the opposite style: imbue your troops with the proper spirit through your actions, not words. They see you working harder than anyone, holding yourself to the highest standards, taking risks with confidence, and making tough decisions. This inspires and binds the group together. In these democratic times, you must practice what you preach.
7. Know Your Environment from the Inside Out - Connection
Most people think first of what they want to express or make, then find the audience for their idea. You must work the opposite angle, thinking first of the public. You need to keep your focus on their changing needs, the trends that are washing through them. Beginning with their demand, you create the appropriate supply. Do not be afraid of people’s criticisms - without such feedback your work will be too personal and delusional. You must maintain as close a relationship to your environment as possible, getting an inside “feel” for what is happening around you. Never lose touch with your base.
8. Respect the Process - Mastery
The fools in life want things fast and easy — money, success, attention. Boredom is their great enemy and fear. Whatever they manage to get slips through their hands as fast as it comes in. You, on the other hand, want to outlast your rivals. You are building the foundation for something that can continue to expand. To make this happen, you will have to serve an apprenticeship. You must learn early on to endure the hours of practice and drudgery, knowing that in the end all of that time will translate into a higher pleasure—mastery of a craft and of yourself. Your goal is to reach the ultimate skill level—an intuitive feel for what must come next.
9. Push Beyond Your Limits - Self-Belief
Your sense of who you are will determine your actions and what you end up getting in life. If you see your reach as limited, that you are mostly helpless in the face of so many difficulties, that it is best to keep your ambitions low, then you will receive the little that you expect. Knowing this dynamic, you must train yourself for the opposite—ask for more, aim high, and believe that you are destined for something great. Your sense of self-worth comes from you alone—never the opinion of others. With a rising confidence in your abilities, you will take risks that will increase your chances of success. People follow those who know where they are going, so cultivate an air of certainty and boldness.
10. Confront Your Mortality - The Sublime
In the face of our inevitable mortality we can do one of two things. We can attempt to avoid the thought at all costs, clinging to the illusion that we have all the time in the world. Or we can confront this reality, accept and even embrace it, converting our consciousness of death into something positive and active. In adopting such a fearless philosophy, we gain a sense of proportion, become able to separate what is petty from what is truly important. Knowing our days to be numbered, we have a sense of urgency and mission. We can appreciate life all the more for its impermanence. If we can overcome the fear of death, then there is nothing left to fear.
Extracted from Robert Greene and 50 Cent’s new book The 50th Law, published by Profile Books
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 12, 2009 at 2:30am
Concert Video And Pics After The JumpNewsday Reports
Jay-Z's ambitious plan to remix America's feelings about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks began with a star-studded benefit Friday night at Madison Square Garden that balanced reverence with revelry.
"They believed would weaken us," Jay-Z said, introducing "Run This Town," which featured Kanye West and Rihanna in one of her first public appearances since her troubles with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown. "They were sorely mistaken . . . We stand here tonight even stronger."
For Jay-Z - whose first "Blueprint" album was released on Sept. 11, 2001, and who wanted the release of "The Blueprint 3," which he says is the last in the series, to come out on Sept. 11 as well - crafting the "Answer the Call" benefit was a way to take control of a tragedy that made so many, including himself, feel powerless.
The concert was designed to celebrate the extraordinary acts of heroism and the spirit of unity that sprung up because of the attacks. Jay-Z wanted to connect to the positive aspects of 9/11 rather than dwelling on the negative. "We're celebrating life tonight," Jay-Z said.
All proceeds from the concert will go to the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, which also hopes to use the publicity from the show to let more people know about the charity.
Jay-Z got some high-profile help from wife Beyoncé, who performed "Diva," West, Santigold and Kid Cudi, as well as John Mayer, who supplied guitar riffs on "D.O.A."
But it was Jay-Z that fired the crowd up, with a mix of new and old, dedicating "99 Problems" to the terrorists and "Heart of the City," which became a massive sing-along.
"There's a lot of love in here tonight," Jay-Z said.
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 16, 2009 at 11:03am
Source
Clearly, for Kanye, styling is not about practicality. Amber's favored spandex jumpsuits are practical in the sense that she only needs to select one item of clothing to wear (although how she manages in the ladies' room could be an entirely different story). But who wears cutoffs with furry boots outside of raves?
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 9, 2009 at 10:39am
NY Daily News Reports
Hip-hop superstar Jay-Z slammed scalpers on Tuesday who snapped up low-priced tickets for his 9/11 charity show at Madison Square Garden and began reselling them for a huge profit.
"We are truly disheartened that certain individuals would choose to benefit from what is meant to be a 100% charitable event," he said in a statement.
"We do not support any profits made from reselling any ticket that was meant to be purchased by honest fans."
Tickets to Friday's show were purposely set low at $54.50 to make it accessible to fans struggling in tough economic times.
The proceeds were to benefit the widows and orphans of New York City cops and firefighters who died in the line of duty.
The approximately 20,000 tickets sold out in moments on Tuesday and started showing up on resale sites for $200 to $3,000 - inflated profits that will go into the scalpers' pockets.
One site was offering tickets for $45,000 each.
"I don't think that's what Jay-Z's intentions were," said Maureen Brown, 48, of Harlem, one of several fans.
"I couldn't even get seats in the nosebleeds," she said, after spending 2-1/2 hours clicking her way through Ticketmaster's Web site.
A presale for Citibank cardholders was supposed to last from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., but Brown said she kept getting a message that said no tickets were available.
"I've never had any problems any other time. So who is getting these tickets?" she asked.
Kevin Lee, 39, of Harlem, said he was told at 9:01 a.m. there were no tickets available. Five other family members and friends were also trying - and failing - to buy tickets.
"I think something fishy was going on," Lee said. "I think the general public was really cut out. I guess you have to have deep pockets to get into this show."
John Neary, treasurer of the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund, called the situation "a shame."
"But I don't think we can do anything about it," he said. "This happens with an awful lot of shows."
Jay-Z said he had taken steps to head off the ticket brokers.
"Tickets were consciously made available for sale as close to the concert date as possible to avoid traditional scalping," his statement said.
For those who can't be at the show - Jay-Z's only New York concert this year - it will be broadcast live on the Fuse network.
Brown, who took off work Friday because she anticipated getting tickets for the show, said she might just go down to Madison Square Garden anyway.
"I want to go down there Friday and see who is getting these tickets," she said.
Read more…
LA Times Reports
San Diego Chargers star linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of battery and false imprisonment after a female acquaintance told sheriff's deputies he had choked and restrained her.
Deputies responded to a call at 3:45 a.m. from Tila Nguyen, also known as Tila Tequila. The 27-year-old model and reality TV actress said Merriman had assaulted her when she tried to leave his home in Poway, a suburb north of San Diego. Nguyen was taken to a hospital, where she was treated and released.
Merriman was arrested after Nguyen said she would sign a complaint, and he was later released on bail. Nguyen, a Singapore-born American, has appeared in magazines and as the star of her own show, "A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila," which ran for two seasons.
The 25-year-old Merriman, 6 feet 4 and 270 pounds, was suspended by the NFL for four games in 2006 after he tested positive for a banned substance. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, he sat out most of the 2008 season because of a knee injury.
Merriman and Nguyen had been at a downtown San Diego nightclub until after 1 a.m., authorities said, adding that alcohol was a factor in the incident.
Merriman was cooperative with deputies and did not resist arrest, officials said. Several people were at the home when deputies arrived and have been interviewed.
Jan Caldwell, spokeswoman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, said that deputies did not see any physical injuries on Nguyen: "That's not to stay they weren't there, the deputies just didn't see any," Caldwell said.
By procedure, deputies are required to make an arrest when someone signs a citizen's arrest form, as Nguyen did.
UPDATE***
NFL star Shawne Merriman has finally spoken out about the alleged choke out that he had with girlfriend Tila Tequila and in response Tila tweeted back.
Shawne talked to FoxSports.com about the alleged domestic incident with Tila and states that her actions were due to her being drunk:
On September 6, 2009 the San Diego Sheriff’s Department responded to a citizen’s complaint that was initiated by Tila Nguyen (aka TilaTequila). I was taken into custody based upon that complaint. At the time, I was concerned about her welfare given the intoxicated state she appeared to be in and I encouraged her to stay until safe transportation could be provided.
“We would all do our best to help a friend if we considered their actions to be detrimental to their personal safety. I in no way caused any harm to Ms. Nguyen, however, paramedics were called and she was examined but no injuries were reported. She was released and has since returned to Los Angeles, California.
“There have been no charges filed against me. I want to thank the San Diego Sheriff’s Department for their professionalism. I will continue to cooperate fully with the Department, and I look forward to clearing my name regarding these false allegations. I want to put this behind me so I can continue to focus on a successful season for the San Diego Chargers.”
Tila responded on her Twitter stating:
“I am allergic to alcohol. It has been publicly known for years. That is how I got the name Tila “Tequila” cuz the irony. I can’t drink”
Shawne can’t be that stupid to accuse someone of drinking who can’t really drink? And Tila can’t be stupid enough to believe that she is really allergic to alcohol… Something ain’t right
SOURCERead more…
NY Daily News Reports
Roxanne's revenge was sweet indeed.
Twenty-five years after the first queen of hip-hop was stiffed on her royalty checks, Dr. Roxanne Shante boasts an Ivy League Ph.D. - financed by a forgotten clause in her first record deal.
"This is a story that needs to be told," Shante said. "I'm an example that you can be a teenage mom, come from the projects, and be raised by a single parent, and you can still come out of it a doctor."
Her prognosis wasn't as bright in the years after the '80s icon scored a smash hit at age 14: "Roxanne's Revenge," a razor-tongued response to rap group UTFO's mega-hit "Roxanne, Roxanne."
The 1984 single sold 250,000 copies in New York City alone, making Shante (born Lolita Gooden) hip hop's first female celebrity.
She blazed a trail followed by Lil' Kim, Salt-N-Pepa and Queen Latifah - although Shante didn't share their success.
After two albums, Shante said, she was disillusioned by the sleazy music industry and swindled by her record company. The teen mother, living in the Queensbridge Houses, recalled how her life was shattered.
"Everybody was cheating with the contracts, stealing and telling lies," she said. "And to find out that I was just a commodity was heartbreaking."
But Shante, then 19, remembered a clause in her Warner Music recording contract: The company would fund her education for life.
She eventually cashed in, earning a Ph.D. in psychology from Cornell to the tune of $217,000 - all covered by the label. But getting Warner Music to cough up the dough was a battle.
"They kept stumbling over their words, and they didn't have an exact reason why they were telling me no," Shante said.
She figured Warner considered the clause a throwaway, never believing a teen mom in public housing would attend college. The company declined to comment for this story.
Shante found an arm-twisting ally in Marguerita Grecco, the dean at Marymount Manhattan College. Shante showed her the contract, and the dean let her attend classes for free while pursuing the money.
"I told Dean Grecco that either I'm going to go here or go to the streets, so I need your help," Shante recalls. "She said, 'We're going to make them pay for this.'"
Grecco submitted and resubmitted the bills to the label, which finally agreed to honor the contract when Shante threatened to go public with the story.
Shante earned her doctorate in 2001, and launched an unconventional therapy practice focusing on urban African-Americans - a group traditionally reluctant to seek mental health help.
"People put such a taboo on therapy, they feel it means they're going crazy," she explained. "No, it doesn't. It just means you need someone else to talk to."
Shante often incorporates hip-hop music into her sessions, encouraging her clients to unleash their inner MC and shout out exactly what's on their mind.
"They can't really let loose and enjoy life," she said. "So I just let them unlock those doors."
Shante, 38, is also active in the community. She offers $5,000 college scholarships each semester to female rappers through the nonprofit Hip Hop Association.
She also dispenses advice to young women in the music business via a MySpace page.
"I call it a warning service, so their dreams don't turn into nightmares," she said.
Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons said Shante is a shining role model for the rap community. "Dr. Shante's life is inspiring," Simmons said. "She was a go-getter who rose from the struggle and went from hustling to teaching. She is a prime example that you can do anything, and everything is possible."
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HipHopWired Reports
Raekwon The Chef has unveiled the track list and artwork for his highly anticipated fourth album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Part 2. Scheduled to drop September 8th, Rae spoke exclusively with Hip-Hop Wired about the project.
“This album right here my dude is more street. I just really took off the glamour and the glitter and basically just went back to being that MC from the projects. I didn't really drop too many jewels because I knew that everyone wanted what they wanted right now. Because if started getting too optimistic and too gem dropping, it may be too far over people's head to really understand. So I just really wanted to kind of keep this album on some street shit, talking about my days of bagging up. Bagging up crack. This is going on, that's going on, stories from the hood. Typical real shit that happen in the hood. I just wanted to make sure that I capitalize on that world because that's what this album is about. When I made the first one, we were fresh off the block . Straight drug dealing niggas trying to come up with a solution to get the fuck out the streets one way or another. And I kind of took that blueprint with me on this one. I never really tried to out do it but make sure I was on the same pattern as I was back then. You know what I mean?”
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt II will include collaborations with Ghostface, Method Man, Styles P, Beanie Sigel and Lyfe Jennings as well as production from Erick Sermon. Speaking more about the album, Rae also added that he was running his own lane and not trying to compete with the Auto-tune and dance crazes running Hip-Hop today.
“I'm not really sitting here trying to bust my brain to get into the new world or what it is today. All I can do is just create like I been creating and however it comes out, it's gonna come out. I feel like I paid a lot of dues. I am one of the dudes that a lot of people look at as being creative as it comes to his album or whatever. I'm just gonna keep it the way I keep it. I don't sit there and try to deal with the consequences of today's Hip-Hop. My thing is, I'm an artist so I'ma always go in there and give it my best shot. And that's what I always do. Overall, Chef don't come with nothing but whatever it's gonna be. Right now I know the capacity of where people want me to be at with this album, but like I said I'm just gonna put it on the table and its back to the hoodie action again. Just throwing on the good hoodie and the Timbs and just basically going in the studio gettin it in. My key thing that I love to do is to come in the studio and forget that I'm a big artist and go back to that grind factor and that's what I did. I'm one of them real Champion gear rappers so I'm coming in with the streets on my back.”
Here is the track listing below for Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt II.
1. Return of the North Star (feat. Papu Wu)
2. House of Flying Daggers (feat. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah and Method Man)
3. Sonny's Missing (Produced by Pete Rock)
4. Pyrex Vision (Produced by Marley Marl)
5. Cold Outside (feat. Ghostface Killah and Sugar Bang)
6. Black Mozart (feat. Inspectah Deck)
7. New Wu (feat. Method Man and Ghostface Killah)
8. Penitentiary (feat. Ghostface Killah)
9. Surgical Gloves
10. Broken Safety (feat. Jadakiss and Styles P)
11. Canal Street
12. Ason Jones
13. Have Mercy (feat. Beanie Sigel and Blue Raspberry)
14. 10 Bricks (feat. Cappadonna and Ghostface Killah)
15. Fat Lady Sings
16. Catalina (feat. Lyfe Jennings)
17. We Will Rob You (feat. Slick Rick, GZA and Masta Killa)
18. About Me
19. Mean Streets (feat. Inspectah Deck and Ghostface Killah)
20. Kiss The Ring (feat. Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa)
21. South Star (feat. Papa Wu)
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AllHipHop Reports
The NAACP is now involved in Corey “C-Murder” Miller’s homicide case, requesting that the Supreme Court step in over evidence of jury tampering.
Miller was sentenced to life in prison on August 11 for the murder of 16 year old Steve Thomas, who was shot after a 2002 altercation with the rapper in a Harvey nightclub.
The jury reached the conviction through a vote of 10-2. The ruling was controversial, as juror Mary Jacob claimed that her guilty vote made under pressure from fellow jurors to end the drawn-out trial.
She stated in an interview that she was verbally abused, and became physically ill during the sessions.
Judge Hans Liljeberg ordered another deliberation, which resulted in a second 10-2 verdict that was upheld.
Louisiana NAACP President Ernest Johnson wrote a letter to Chief Justice Catherine Kimble, calling for her court to conduct “a full investigation of this entire case, the immediate removal of the trial judge, the appointment of a new judge from outside the 24th Judicial District to hear all post trial motions, and the immediate release of Mr. Miller from prison pending a review of this entire matter because justice delayed is justice denied.”
At press time, the Louisiana’s Supreme Court has not released a statement on whether Miller’s conviction will be reviewed.
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Terrance Wyatt
HipHopWired Reports
Desperate times have called for desperate measures and some people will go through extremes in order to accomplish a goal. In the case of Clark Atlanta University alumni, Terrance Wyatt, he has decided to place stock in himself as he places himself on eBay and selling himself for $10,000.
Such a drastic move seems to have come from a man that may have felt that his back was firmly pressed against the wall as he was eighteen credits shorts of graduating and was one that was not privileged to receive an abundant amount of financial aid along with the university not being the place to look for in terms of receiving the necessary funds. At this point it seems as though Wyatt, 23, has looked to all of his resources and this is the last option he feel has been presented with.
As far as the actual ad that he presented to potential buyers, which has since been pulled by eBay, Wyatt issued this:
“I am in the last year of my master's of business administration program here at Clark Atlanta University. As many of you, I have become a victim of the recession (a depression to some of us) in our wonderful country and I am in danger of losing everything I have worked for in the brief 23 years of my life. The root of my problem stems from not being able to cover all of the tuition in the final year of my pursuit of higher education. I am short about $10,000 of realizing a lifelong dream.
I am a first generation college student in my family. My mother did not finish high school but she did the best she could in raising me under the circumstances. I haven't seen my father since I was 7 years old. Although being raised in poverty, and around drugs and violence; by the grace of God, I overcame my surroundings and graduated in the top 10% of my high school class (2004).
So I am willing to offer you a piece of my future. I am an aspiring hedge fund manager, social activist, and entrepreneur. I am offering to give the person that is willing to help me now, a percentage of everything that is soon to come in my life. This investment in my future right now could potentially pay off to be millions for you if I have my way.
I can verify everything I have said. I am not trying to scam or lie to anyone. I just want to graduate this year and break the cycle of self-destruction and poverty in my family once and for all.
As far as being a benefactor of my future earnings, we can have the documents customized to your liking by the firm of your choosing (or mine if you would like) to insure you will be entitled to future compensation from any of my future earnings and business ventures. You will also receive a thank you card and a personal note of gratitude as an immediate item.”
Man, times are hard.
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