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March 16 , 2006
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 NBC
is so excited about Silverman’s pitch of “ Showdown
,” that the network agreed to fast-track the
program over five night beginning Monday, April 17.
Silverman approached P. Diddy to join
the project due to his successful track record at producing reality
shows like “ The Bad Boys of Comedy ,”
“ Making the Band ,” and “
Run’s House .” Not sure
what washed up, has been, once was celebrity will be a part of the
show, but I am sure it will be a group of individuals that are not
exactly hot at the moment. Not something that I am looking
forward to recording on my DVR since I am never home to watch television
anyway. Sean Combs has more to talk about than his new television show. The mogul came very close to going to court over the copyright of his new fragrance Unforgivable. According to reports the United States Patent and Trademark Office denied Diddy’s use of the Unforgivable trademark because the name was too similar to Unforgiven, a women’s fragrance launched by French perfumer Jacques Evard. However, the spokesperson for Unforgivable stated the reps for both fragrances made a deal to peacefully co-exist. Christian Casey LLC owns rights to the trademark Unforgivable for use with the Sean John fragrance. A deal was negotiated with the higher ups at Paris Bleu, who owns the trademark rights to Unforgiven and assigned its right to the trademark Unforgivable to Christian Casy and the parties have agreed to co-exist in the market using respective marks, Unforgivable and Unforgiven. Well, I had to consult my sister, the attorney to help me make sense of all the legal details. Basically P. Diddy and his people over at Christian Casey LLC most likely paid a hunk and a chunk to the Jacques Evard for them to extend the rights of their trademark. Diddy is a success at everything other than being a good rapper and producer. Bad Boy has not managed to really produce a major star other than Diddy and the struggling label did not have a distribution deal for so long it faded into insignificancy. |
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  Continuing
on the subject of rappers that are even better businessmen brings
to mind Jay-Z , born Shawn Carter .
Def Jam’s president has been rumored to being in the
final stages of a deal to purchase a building in Harlem. Allegedly
he was having dinner with Ervin “Magic” Johnson
and discussing the purchase with the former NBA star.
However, Carter’s people denied he
is working on a real estate deal, but did confirm he had dinner
with Johnson . Well, he might have been trying
to get some pointers from Magic on how to deal
with a NBA team that is in turmoil. Shawn is
one of the owners of the Knicks that seem to be
spiraling more and more out of control, which is something that
Magic knows all about since he has lived trough
some dark days as one of the owners of the Lakers .
Jay-Z has been telling everyone that his
focus is to promote Def Jam’s newest artist, Rick
Ross , and his single, “ Hustlin .”
Currently they are shooting the video right now in the Miami
rappers hometown. Ross , a longtime presence
in Miami’s underground circle, was signed to Island Def Jam
following an intense bidding war. Carter
stated he was proud to close the deal due to his following his career
for a number of years. We might have to now call him Sir
Shawn Carter since his buddy Paul McCartney knighted
him with a real sword ceremony. The former Beatle
was knighted by the Queen of England some years ago. Another
example of how Hip Hop has gone mainstream. |
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 Kanye
West another catch me if
you can rapper that career has taken off will now prove himself
on the silver screen. Seems West is taking
on a major project with New Line Cinema that will show the Grammy
Award Winning Rapper/Producer staring in a feature film inspired
by his music. The Hollywood Reporter states the untitled movie
will feature about six writers and 10 to 12 directors creating short
stories that support their own perspective of America. Each
story will be linked by a central narrative and buttressed by new
and old songs from West’s discography. George
C. Wolfe , who directed HBO’s Emmy Award winning
“ Lackawanna Blues ,” will
oversee the entire process as an executive producer. Kanye
has displayed great vision in his interpretation of his
music through his videos and live performances. Former Gangster
Rapper Ice Cube is going to make another movie
that he can be proud of and will not mind his children watching.
Recently during the NBA All Star weekend in Houston, Texas
we talked about how his music and choice of movies changed.
Cube told me it was a simple choice for him to
make due to his being a father. After the celebrity basket
ball game at he George R. Brown Convection Center he stated he wanted
to produce work that he would be proud of his children seeing.
Cube Vision Productions inked a deal with Dimension
Films to bring “ Welcome Back Kotter ”
to the movies with Cube in the title role. “There
was no bigger fan of the original show than me, and I’m very
excited to be able to put a new twist on it,” said Cube
, who will be the high school teacher Gabe Kotter, who
returns to his inner-city alma mater to light a fire under the school’s
apathetic students. The film will go into production this
fall after the completion of Cube’s current
project, “ Are We Done Yet ,”
a sequel to the hit “ Are We There Yet .”
Don Cheadle is in negotiations to star
in a new biographical film about jazz legend Miles Davis
. Antoine Fuqua is in discussions
to direct the project. However, there is still no script so
we are not sure if it will be a true account of the troubled musician.
It is rumored that he slapped his famous wife, actress Cicely
Tyson with his trumpet forever leaving a scar above her
lip. A Miles Davis movie is one we can look
forward to seeing. |
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 R.
Kelly cannot live down these child pornography charges.
His concert at the University of Texas was met with protest
from a student organization Feminists of Color United rallied outside
of Bass Concert Hall to raise awareness of sexual violence against
women of color. “We’re students on this campus
and we feel that we would like the university to more carefully
scrutinize the people that they bring to campus,” Jacqueline
Smith of Feminists of Color United said. It seems that it
has been taking forever for him to go to trial on 14 counts relating
to child pornography. Robert might not get
out of this without doing a little time in prison. |
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 Drug
Dealers and Killers Strike Again …Atlanta rapper
Young Jeezy was recently arrested in Miami.
Young Jezzy , born Jay Jenkins
is currently free on $7,500 bond on two charges of carrying a concealed
weapon without a permit. Scotty Leemon says his client is
innocent. “ Jeezy adamantly denies
that any of the weapons belonged to him and I am confident that
Jeezy will be vindicated,” he said. According
to reports all hell broke loose in the wee hours of the morning
on last Friday during an altercation involving Jeezy
and a crew of his friends. Marco Raez allegedly began filming
the whole incident when Tramiel De Juan Golden, a member of Jeezy’s
crew of thug friends, spotted Raez and demanded the camera.
When Raez refused Raheem Karriem, another one of Jeezy
gangster friends begin shooting. Once they snatched
Raez’s camera, Jeezy and about nine of his
hoodlum friends took off in two sport utility vehicles. During
the police pursuit, Karrien reportedly hit three parked cars. Authorities
eventually stopped both SUVs and found a semi-automatic firearm
under Jeezy’s seat. Jay Jenkins
is due to be arraigned on March 31 in Miami-Dade Circuit
Court. Golden was charged with strong armed robbery and Steven
Lesly Savain, one of the nine criminals that Jeezy
calls friends was arrested for trespassing based on a previous warrant.
Wonder what type of criminal activity did Marco Raez caught
Jeezy and his buddies engaged in that they would
steal his camera. Well, the world will know now.  C-Murder
is finally out of prison. Seems he did a great job
living up to his name with all the murders he has been accused of
prior to his release from prison. Born Corey Miller
, he was released from Concordia Parish Jail in Ferriday,
Louisiana early Thursday morning after State District judge Martha
Sassone set his bail at $500,000 dollars. He is not totally
out of the woods; the Louisiana Supreme Court overturned his murder
conviction and ordered a new trial. Prosecutors must determine if
they want to retry Miller for the shooting death
of 16-year-old Steven Thomas, who was a student at Southern University
in Louisiana. Thomas was shot in the chest after an argument
inside of the Platinum Club n Jefferson Parish, Louisiana in January
2002. C-Murder was convicted of second-degree
murder in September 2003 and sentenced to a mandatory life sentence.
Freedom may not be long lived for Corey Miller ,
who lives up this his name C-Murder well and faces
two counts of attempted second-degree murder in Baton Rouge in a
separate case that will start trial May 30. The charges stem
from an incident shortly before Miller was charged
with killing Thomas, in which he fired a gun at a nightclub owner
and security guard, after he was told he would be searched entering
New Orleans nightclub. Seems Corey was going
to just shoot his way into the club and not give a damn about anyone’s
life other than his own. |
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 Leroy
Wells , a former “ American
Idol ” contestant recently pleaded guilty to
second-degree assault in a 2005 shooting at a convenience store.
The 24-year-old from Grand Bay, Alabama was accused of shooting
22-year-old Daniel Cutts, also of Grand Bay on June 7, 2005. Cutts
suffered minor injuries when he was struck three times with bullets
fired from a .22-caliber pistol. Wells was ordered to serve
a 10-year suspended sentence, one year in jail, as part of a plea
bargain that reduced an attempted murder charge to second-degree
assault.  Wells
has a rap sheet a mile long and only God knows how he managed to
make it on national television in a horrible audition for “
American Idol ,” he was actually
in jail on January 15, 2005 when his taped performance aired.
Kevin Powell is going to make a run for the United States Congress. Powell , who is vying for a seat in the 10th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, he says it is the logical next step for someone that has been a public servant for over 20 years. The Rutgers University Graduate is a writer who is the product of a single parent home, extreme poverty and the type of circumstances that contribute to a cycle of despair. Powell was a part of the very first cast of MTV’s “ Real World ” and a former editor of Vibe Magazine . |
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Another
Reality show is the last thing we need on TV. Everyone in
America except me likes “ Dancing With The Stars
,” “ American Idol ,”
and whatever else they can dream up to be on the air. Sean
Combs is teaming up with Reville’s Ben
Silverman to bring to NBC “ Celebrity
Cooking Showdown ,” a five-night reality miniseries
described as a cross between Food Network’s “ Iron
Chef American ”
and ABC’s “ Dancing With the Stars .”
Celebrities will be paired with famous chefs like Wolfgang
Puck , Cat Cora (Food Network’s
“Kitchen Accomplished”), and Govind cq Armstrong
(executive chef at Table 8 in L.A.) to create a dish
for competition. “The sexiest trend going on right
now is young men learning how to cook,” said Diddy
.
According
To My “Street Committee” …
Ray J , you know Brandy’s
brother who is said to be someplace between legitimate artist
and obscurity. Well, Ray was on the beautiful
Island of St. Lucia for and appearance, but it did not go well.
Purportedly while Ray-J was staying at
the Coco Palm Resort in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia was trying to impress
some of the native beauties when he upset one of the native men
when the guy B*tch slapped Ray and draped him
up by his shirt. I am not sure how true it is, but I will
share the photos when I get them. Mariah Carey
and Pharrell met in Paris to shoot
a video for the song “ Say Something ,”
off the “ Emancipation Of Mimi .”
They say she has gained weight and it is evident in the
video. Ray J was not the only one slapped
recently, word has it that a morning show personality in New York
got slapped by Ne-Yo’s manager. I heard it was a powerful
back hand slap too. Seems the outspoken on-air personality
got into an argument with the manager when he shoved the guys
head into a window in the studio and then slapped him. Things
got pretty serious and this may get played out in court. You
can take the thug out the street, but seem you cannot get the
street out the thug. 
Terrence
Howard was honored last week at the National Association
of Black Owned Broadcasters’ 22nd Annual Communications
Awards Dinner at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C.
where he was presented an Entertainer of the Year Award.
Howard admitted to being shocked that “
It’s Hard Out Here
For A Pimp ,” won the Oscar for best song.
However, he did confess that he was more than disappointed
in Three 6 Mafia’s overall performance.
He said it broke his heart to see how they performed the
song due to it building up everything he tried to dispel in the
movie. Howard said they went right to
the stereotype that he wanted to kill. According to him
the people that choreographed it did not see the movie. He
was not asked to perform the song on Oscar night as he did in
the movie due differences of opinion in how the number should
have been choreographed.