LUNCH FEAT. GAMBIT DA BUM "LIT UP"
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Barranquilla, Colombia (CNN) -- She pouts her collagen-filled lips and totters on golden stilettos as she parades down the catwalk. Camera flashes pop in the shaky video recording of the photo shoot. Colombian model Angie Sanclemente is an object of desire.
But that was 10 years ago. Now Sanclemente is one of South America's "most wanted." The fallen beauty is on the run; Interpol has issued an international arrest warrant for her.
The woman whose ambition took her from poverty to a life of glamour is thought to be in Argentina. Authorities there suspect she may be the "queen pin" of an international operation that uses models as drug mules to move suitcases loaded with cocaine out of Buenos Aires airport.
"I am convinced Sanclemente is heavily involved in drug trafficking but I still cannot determine exactly what role she plays," one Argentine source close to the investigation tells CNN.
Six people, four men and two women, have so far been detained. Among them a 21-year-old named only as "Maria", who was arrested at Buenos Aires airport in December as she tried to board a flight bound for Cancun, Mexico with 55 kg (120 pounds) of cocaine. That could be worth more than $3.3 million once sold on the streets of the United States or Europe, according to estimates from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Sources say some of those arrested have named Sanclemente and her Argentine male model boyfriend, now in custody, as the ringleaders of the trafficking ring.
Despite an international manhunt Sanclemente, now 30, has continued to update her Facebook page.
In a Facebook message to CNN this week Sanclemente denied any involvement in the case, writing:
"I'm very sad and hurt by the bad information. I don't know how the press can destroy an innocent person."
Later she wrote: "I don't want to go to jail I don't deserve it. I am innocent." She said she had hired a Buenos Aires-based attorney and hoped to clarify her legal situation soon.
The lawyer, Guillermo Tiscornia, said he was hired by Sanclemente's mother and that he has not yet had any contact with Sanclemente, who he believes is in Argentina.
Tiscornia told CNN he has filed an appeal with the Argentine Appeals Court asking that Sanclemente be allowed to testify without the risk of going to prison if she appears in court.
He said: "Angela is afraid to go to prison in Argentina. She is a beautiful woman and she is afraid that she will be raped in prison. She could suffer serious physical and psychological damage."
Former boyfriend, DJ Ludwing Hernandez says he has also had word from Sanclemente since the scandal broke. He lives in Barranquilla, the Colombian port city famous for its carnival and as hometown of pop star Shakira. Sanclemente spent her teenage years there.
"I heard from Angie through another friend," he said. "Right now she's shocked and scared she will get arrested. She's also afraid for her life because this is a big drug problem and the bad guys could harm her."
A Colombian drug trafficker consulted by CNN, who requested not to be named because he continues smuggling, said Sanclemente may be lying low in Argentina. But he said if she had the right connections she could make it back to Colombia.
Sanclemente's mother, Yaneth Valencia, rents a $75-a-month apartment on the outskirts of Barranquilla. Neighbors said she left about two weeks ago -- shortly after the international arrest warrant was issued for her daughter -- and Tiscornia said she was now in Argentina.
"She didn't have a bed only a mattress on the floor. That's hardly the lifestyle of a drug trafficker's mother," said one neighbor, who gave her name only as Dolly.
Sanclemente first hit the headlines in 2000 when she was 20. She won Colombia's prestigious Queen of Coffee beauty pageant. Victory was short-lived. Judges dethroned after just two days when they found out she had been married, contrary to competition rules.
That marriage lasted just three months back in 1998 to a Barranquilla businessman. He paid for her to study journalism at Barranquilla's university.
A university friend, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said Sanclemente dropped out of college after three semesters and spent tuition fees on silicone breast implants instead.
That friend said Sanclemente idolized Colombia's then top model Natalia Paris. She even dyed her hair blonde and imitated Paris' distinctive accent to appear more like her. Paris married a drug trafficker turned DEA informant, known as Julio Correa. He was killed in 2001 by his former associates when he returned to Colombia from Miami. Drug underworld sources say he was cut up in a meat grinder.
While some who have known her doubt she is capable of run a drug smuggling ring, others describe Sanclemente as ambitious and determined from an early age.
"Angie was very analytical. She calculated and weighed things up. She took firm steps so she didn't make mistakes," said Luis Alfonso Posso, one of her teenage friends.
Sanclemente was an only child. Her mother -- a single mom - scraped a living selling shoes and clothes. But she saved enough to enroll Sanclemente in Barranquilla's top modeling school, "La Pasarella."
Instructor Nury Rodriguez remembers the young Sanclemente as skinny and lacking self-confidence. But aside from her exotic looks, Rodriguez said she had one outstanding trait -- she hated to lose.
"Angie always wanted to win and draw attention to herself one way or another. She wanted to stand out," Rodriguez said. "She once confronted the judges in a beauty contest because she thought she should have been among the finalists."
Her brief reign as Miss Coffee Queen also brought her to the attention of admiring drug capos, according to a fashion industry insider who knew Sanclemente in Bogota.
"Narcotraffickers go to beauty pageants to buy the women they like. In other cases they sponsor candidates, paying for their outfits, their plastic surgery and even bribing the judges so their girl wins," the woman explained.
The woman, who still organizes beauty pageants, did not wish to be named saying she feared a backlash from within the industry.
Sanclemente left Colombia around 2005 and headed to Mexico where she continued to pick up modeling assignments and bit-part roles as a TV actress, according to friends.
If the Argentine allegations are true, it's unclear how Sanclemente made the leap from drug trafficker's moll to becoming a cocaine queen in her own right.
"There are some very determined and very strong women who have got more balls than the men. But usually I would say a girl like that would be running the network of mules not the whole cartel," the drug trafficking source told CNN.
The drug trafficker said he was almost certain, if the allegations are true, that Sanclemente was not operating alone. He said she would have needed connections to a Mexican cartel.
"Cancun is a very good spot to export drugs to Europe. A lot of tourists arrive on charter flights and the Mexican cartels have done an excellent job infiltrating the police," he said.
In the past Sanclemente has dyed her hair blonde then black and was last seen with copper highlights. She used to use blue contact lenses though her eyes are naturally brown.
But even if she goes unrecognized, friends say Sanclemente is unlikely to pass completely unnoticed. Her silicone-enhanced curves, tight-fitting outfits and catwalk strut make her hard to ignore.
"Angie kicked up dust wherever she went. Men and women would stop and stare whenever she passed," a female friend said.
Gilbert Arenas won't have to serve jail time, a judge ruled Friday.
The Washington Wizards three-time All-Star point guard was sentenced Friday in D.C. Superior Court by Judge Robert E. Morin on one felony count of violating the District of Columbia's strict gun laws
.
Arenas must serve 30 days in a halfway house and register as a gun offender.
He was sentenced to two years probation and must donate $5,000 to victims of violent crimes fund and do 400 hours community service.
The prosecution and defense teams stated their cases earlier this week in voluminous filings. It was all far beyond anything Arenas imagined on that December morning when he says he brought four guns to the locker room to play a prank on a teammate.
Prosecutors wanted Arenas to go to jail for at least three months. They pointed out he lied repeatedly about why the guns were in the locker room, that he tried to cover up what happened, that he displayed a cavalier attitude about the whole affair, that he knew bringing guns into D.C. was illegal, and that he has a prior gun conviction.
Arenas' lawyers asked for probation and community service, arguing that he was playing a misguided joke with no intention to harm anybody. They pointed out that the guns were unloaded, that Arenas' lighthearted comments about the incident were misinterpreted, and that he's a good role model who goes beyond the call of duty when it comes to community service. They added he was confused about D.C.'s gun laws, and that he'd already been severely punished through humiliation and the loss of tens of millions of dollars from canceled endorsements and his suspension without pay for the rest of the NBA season.
The maximum term for Arenas' crime was five years. The sentencing guidelines for someone with his record called for 6-24 months, although those guidelines also allow for probation.
A general survey of similar cases over the last two years in the city indicate that about half of the defendants convicted of Arenas' crime receive some jail time, but the mitigating circumstances vary widely. Arenas' prior conviction -- a no contest plea to carrying a concealed weapon in California in 2003 -- was already a major strike against him, and the evidence revealed this week that he appeared to instigate a cover-up -- as shown in a text message produced by prosecutors -- has further damaged his case.
There was little dispute about the basic facts of the case. Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton got into an argument over a card game and exchanged threats while the team was flying home from a road game on Dec. 19. Two days later, Arenas brought his guns to the locker room and put them in a chair by Crittenton's locker with a sign saying, "Pick 1." Crittenton then retrieved his own gun and showed it to Arenas.
Crittenton pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor gun charge and received a year of unsupervised probation. Arenas entered his guilty plea on Jan. 15.
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Seems as if Ice Cube has been keeping an ear to the streets. He's hearing the whispers that he doesn't want the up and coming rappers from the west to shine.
He also must have heard about Watts rapper Jay Rock taking the baton for the "New West" with his recent comments. Jay took offense to Cube saying it wasn't his job to make any new rappers famous calling a few unnamed West Coast MC's clowns.
Jay responded by saying he wanted Cube to name names and didn't need his co-sign. Further adding "all I need is my mic, my fans, my hood and this big ass gun"
In his latest blog, Don Mega addresses those issues.
"I understand my last few blogs have been talked about in the streets and all over the internet. I want to make myself clear to all my fans who think I turned my back on the young rappers out here. No. I wish every young MC nothing but success, especially the ones from the New West. BUT, I have a major problem with any mothaf**ka from ANY COAST dissing the Old West...especially me. I'M SERVING YOU!"
Cube doesn't feel the need to name specific rappers just yet. Although It's starting to become clear who he's talking about.
"Now, alot of people want me to name names. Buy the record. In stores July 13th. I ain't naming names at this time, but I'm adding names. You let me know if you wanna be on the list"
In his latest blog, Don Mega addresses those issues.
"I understand my last few blogs have been talked about in the streets and all over the internet. I want to make myself clear to all my fans who think I turned my back on the young rappers out here. No. I wish every young MC nothing but success, especially the ones from the New West. BUT, I have a major problem with any mothaf**ka from ANY COAST dissing the Old West...especially me. I'M SERVING YOU!"
Cube doesn't feel the need to name specific rappers just yet. Although It's starting to become clear who he's talking about.
"Now, alot of people want me to name names. Buy the record. In stores July 13th. I ain't naming names at this time, but I'm adding names. You let me know if you wanna be on the list"
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The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive
First things first: A huge R.I.P. to Eric "Eazy-E" Wright who died 15 years ago Friday (March 26) at the age of 31. Eazy meant so much to the rap game — not just a godfather of gangsta rap, his business acumen was unparallelled and he helped revolutionize the independent record hustle. Your genius was amazing, O.G.
Keyshia Cole was ripped apart by a judge in New Jersey yesterday -- a judge who called the singer's testimony "nonsensical" and then questioned her literacy.
Cole -- a platinum-selling artist -- was being sued by an event promoter who claims she blew off an appearance in 2006 after he paid her $15,000 up front.
The judge not only ruled against Cole, but she blasted the singer in her written opinion, saying Cole's testimony was "confused and at times nonsensical."
But the judge's biggest shot: Cole appeared so reluctant to read certain documents while testifying, "that it appears at times that she was not literate."
Eventually, the judge realized Cole was literate -- when Cole managed to read documents that she thought helped her case.
Ultimately, Cole was ordered to fork over nearly $160k in damages.
Although Rev Run’s middle son Daniel “Diggy” Simmons is only 15-years-old, the Run-D.M.C. legend is not discouraging the aspiring rapper’s dreams on the mic.
XXLMag.com recently spoke to Run about the buzz surrounding Dig—who signed to Atlantic Records earlier this week—and if he’s worried about his offspring being too young for a career in hip-hop.
“Never, I don’t discourage nobody in my house,” he said. “This is an entertainment house. My daughter Angela was in college, she was like, ‘Daddy, I don’t know what to do, I’m getting straight A’s in college, but Pastries is taking off.’ I’m like, ‘Peace college, go take your butt down to the sneaker office and go get that paper…that’s your college… We’ll get back to [school], Pastries is doing millions.’”
“This is a household that follows dad,” he continued. “I was in college when Run-D.M.C. started to hit, but I had to take a leave of absence. I’ve been absent ever since.”
Diggy has been making a name for himself since dropping his First Flight mixtape last December. Earlier this month he released a video where he rhymed over Nas’s “Made You Look” instrumental [watch below].
Source: XXL
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AP – Joan Griffith-Lee, left, and her husband Don Lee share a moment as they pose for a photograph Thursday.
NEW YORK – For Kenny and Lynette Seymour, last weekend's black marriage gala was about celebrating their seven-year marriage. They got to meet other black couples while spending a romantic evening together.
"Every time you meet another couple, you learn something new about yourself and relationships in general," said Kenny Seymour, a 39-year-old Broadway music director who lives in Queens. "It was beautiful to be around a bunch of married people in love."
Other black couples will be marking the eighth annual Black Marriage Day this weekend, by attending workshops, black-tie dinners and other activities. Some groups have held events throughout the month, although Black Marriage Day, which celebrates matrimony in the black community, falls on the fourth Sunday in March.
The founder estimates more than 300 celebrations are being held this weekend. The aim is to try to stabilize, if not reverse, the trend of non-commitment within the black community. Studies show blacks are less likely to marry than other ethnic groups and more likely to divorce and bear children out of wedlock.
Experts blame the disparities in part on high black male unemployment, high black male imprisonment and the moderate performance of black men in college compared with black women.
They also note the lack of positive images of black marriage in the media and several misperceptions about matrimony — that it's for white people, that it's a ball and chain, that fatherhood and marriage are not linked.
"They have either seen really bad examples of what marriage looks like or no examples at all," said Yolanda "Yanni" Brown, 42, a divorced mother of two in Chicago, who is hosting black marriage events. "They are saying, 'Why bother? This works for us,' not knowing there are so many other benefits of being married."
Brown says she wishes she had fought for her marriage.
Joseph Arrington II, a 38-year-old black entertainment attorney in Atlanta, said there was a time when he wanted to get married, but his interest has waned. He hasn't had a girlfriend in 15 years. His parents celebrated their 50th anniversary last year. He said he focuses on his work.
"It's a combination of two things," he said. "I haven't found anyone, and I'm not actively seeking someone."
Gerard Abdul, 45, a who lives in East Orange, N.J., and runs an entertainment company, has never seen himself as the marrying type. He has nine children by five women. He said he cared about them all, and each wanted to marry him. But he wasn't interested.
"Because I'm so independent and on my own, I really didn't see the science of marrying them when I really didn't have to," Abdul said.
"I'm a great father," he added. "But I probably would have been a lousy husband."
Despite those attitudes toward marriage, there are a handful of campaigns to get blacks to walk down the aisle, from the federal government's African American Healthy Marriage Initiative to Marry Your Baby Daddy Day, with 10 unwed couples with children tying the knot later this year in New York.
"You Saved Me," a documentary that explores the marriages of eight black couples, will be screened in more than 20 cities this weekend as part of a Black Marriage Day premiere.
"We want people to take away that successful positive (black) marriages do exist," said Lamar Tyler of Waldorf, Md., who produced "You Saved Me" with his wife, Ronnie. The Tylers started their blog "Black and Married With Kids" in 2007 and released "Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage" last year.
Don Lee and his wife, Joan Griffith-Lee, of New York's Staten Island, who have three children, will be watching "Happily Ever After" Friday night and participating in a discussion at a coffeehouse. The couple have been married almost 20 years.
Several of their friends are divorced, and Griffith-Lee, 45, who works at Columbia University, said she and her husband often talk about why.
"We hope to leave there with a new awareness and maybe some tools that can help as we get older," she said.
Black Marriage Day founder Nisa Islam Muhammad is encouraging couples to renew their vows in front of friends and family in honor of Tyler Perry's movie "Why Did I Get Married Too?" which opens April 2.
Muhammad points out that many black children come from single-parent households and contends that the media are not helping. There's never been a black "Bachelor" on the popular TV show, and the star of the 2008 movie "27 Dresses," about a 27-time bridesmaid, was white.
"We're going to focus on the positives," said Muhammad, executive director of Wedded Bliss Foundation, which helps people develop healthy relationships and marriages. "We're going to show ourselves and our community that marriage does matter and we have some fabulous marriages in our community worth celebrating."
Those include the marriage of President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, said Roland Warren, president of the National Fatherhood Initiative in Germantown, Md. He credits the couple with setting a positive example and creating more discussion about the issue. In a way, their marriage is evidence of the importance of marriage in the African-American community, he said.
Most blacks already think that marriage is a good thing, said Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. But many can't find anyone they think would make a good spouse.
But at least Black Marriage Day will get people thinking about marriage, says Tammy Greer Brown, 43, executive director of Celebrating Real Family Life and organizer of the Staten Island event, who said she hopes to spark a discussion about marriage. She said she grew up in a single-parent home and didn't want that for her kids. She has been married for more than 10 years.
"My daughter is already talking about getting married," she said. "She wants to be like my husband and I."
Source: Yahoo
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DUBLIN – A Dublin judge has ordered Prince to pay $2.95 million to Ireland's major concert promoters for canceling a 2008 concert at the last minute.
High Court Justice Peter Kelly made public the damages total Friday because the singer has yet to pay the amount to Dublin promoters MCD Productions in a confidential settlement reached last month.
Kelly last month ruled that Prince had committed to perform in Dublin's 82,300-seat Croke Park in June 2008, but withdrew without explanation 10 days beforehand after 55,000 tickets were sold.
The 51-year-old Prince did not testify at the hearing.
Kelly confirmed Friday that the order was specifically against Prince, not his agents from the William Morris agency, who were absolved of liability.
Source: Yahoo
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The Internet rumors have been buzzing about Beyonce being pregnant, but there's still no word of confirmation or denial as yet.
Urban gossip site MediaTakeOut.com reports that the singer and rapper Jay-Z are going to have a baby, but details are scant.
"According to our source Beyonce is doing fine and resting (for now), but she's expected to continue working throughout her pregnancy," MediaTakeout.com reports. "And we're also told that Jay Z is extremely happy to be having his first child with Bey."
The two were married in April 2008 in a small, private ceremony.
If the rumors turn out to be true, Beyonce and Jay-Z (born Shawn Corey Carter) can add this news to a great year in awards for both of them, including six Grammy Awards for Beyonce and four for Jay-Z.
Many of the bloggers spreading the story were inexplicably using a 2005 photo of Beyonce and Jay-Z at the Vanity Fair's post-Oscars party to accompany the article.
Source: NY Daily News
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T.I. will finally get to roam free today for the first time since he was locked up for weapons charges last year ... but he's still gonna have the curfew of a 16-year-old schoolboy.
T.I.'s attorney tells TMZ the rapper -- who's been serving the last 30 days of his sentence under house arrest -- will officially be done today.
T.I. will now be placed under 23 days of supervised release ... which means he'll have to be home by 11 PM unless he's performing, when he'll have to be in by 1 AM.
The rapper -- real name Clifford Harris -- will also have to complete 400 hours of community service and will be on probation for three years.
Source: TMZ
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All I have to say is ABOUT TIME!! Now this track has been around for too long for the video to just be dropping. I am def a fan of Red Cafe who seems to be very much slept on. I say its time for the hip hop community to wake up. Check out this video and give your feedback. I just wish Red never started doing business with Diddy. I wonder when people gone understand that dealing with Diddy is the biggest you ever going to get from the time to sign with him and then you disappear. Check out the big ass Ciroc ad before the video starts. We all know Diddy gotta get something!
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Ludacris has accomplished a lot over his 12 year career, but the 32 year old Atlanta MC still has a lot he wants to do before it's all said and done.
In this interview with YoungHollywood.com Luda talks about the creative process he uses when writing new material, his love for acting and his Tag body spray.
He revealed that he's been ghost writing for Dr Dre's 'Detox' album and his desire to work with Eminem in the future.
His latest album 'Battle Of The Sexes' is in stores now. But he already is in the process on working on his next cd titled 'Ludaversal'.
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Lloyd Banks may be joining the recent ranks of Jay-Z (The Blueprint 3) Raekwon The Chef (Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ... Pt. 2) and Capone-N-Noreaga (The War Report 2) by making his album a sequel — The Hunger For More 2. Banks posted the title on his Twitter page, although the tweet has since been deleted and the G-Unit said the title is not official. Still, fans are encouraged that Banks is thinking about taking it back to his best effort.
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Kid Cudi continues to put out singles in support of his debut album 'Man On The Moon: End Of The Day'.
He just dropped visuals for "Soundtrack To My Life". The video directed by Jason Goldwatch shows Cudi at various concert venues doing his thing. Kanye West make a cameo appearance.
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The beautiful and talented actress Gabrielle Union was a guest last night (March 24) on Late Night With Jimmy Kimmel.
They talked about her television show "Flash Forward", her relationship with boyfriend Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat and her family life.
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Lady Gaga is having quite a week. After the announcement that she's about to start work on her next music video for her "Alejandro" track comes news that she's broken two records, one for video views and one for music sales.
First off, the singer is now the only digital-era artist to top the 5 million sales mark with her first two hits, according to Yahoo Music. Gaga broke the record when her single "Poker Face" reached 5 million in sales after her debut single, "Just Dance," accomplished that feat last year. The only other act with two songs at or above 5 million is the Black Eyed Peas, according to Yahoo.
And if selling millions of records weren't enough, Gaga also reached the 1 billion mark in video views. According to Mashable, with numbers and analytics compiled by Visible Measures, Gaga is the first artist to have her videos reach 1 billion views. Three of her music videos hold spots in the 100 Million Club, including "Poker Face" (374,606,128), "Just Dance" (272,941,674) and "Bad Romance" (360,020,327). Most of the streams are through Vevo and YouTube. Following close behind Gaga's record are "Twilight" (980 million) and Soulja Boy Tell'em (860 million).
Last weekend, Gaga celebrated her 24th birthday and showed off one of her gifts online. In a photo posted on Twitter, she held up a red teacup and wrote, "Nothing like a communist-red teacup to make for the perfect Birthday gift. Last words are for fools who haven't said enough."
Source: MTV
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