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Soul Train is officially a show of the past.  I do not recall the last time I got up to watch Soul Train on a Saturday Morning.  Who is even the host now?  Apparently that is the feeling of most people these days and the reason the Soul Train Music Awards was a flop this year.  No pre-show hype and very few award recipients in attendance.  Jennifer Hudson did manage to make it to receive her Entertainer of the Year award and I will tell you about how she came close to backing out a little later, but eight of the 10 winners in major categories were no-shows-including Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, and Gnarls Barkley.  Back in the day people broke their necks to make it to the big night in Black Music, but seems that BET might have stole the thunder from Soul Train.  Now it was said that very little sponsorship dollars made it difficult for the executives at Soul Train to get the celebrities to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium for the not so big night.  Friends told me the press room was a virtual ghost town, with very few of the celebrities that did show up coming back stage to do interviews.  Jennifer Hudson, Jermaine Dupri, and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds got their award and hit it.  Ronald Isley also avoided the press room following his performance in tribute to James Brown, who was finally laid to rest after two months of court battles over his estate.  Back to Ron, he might not have wanted to discuss his 37 months sentence in federal prison for tax evasion.  Soul Train might have been his last television performance for the next three years; he also won an award that night for Best Album for “Baby Makin’ Music.”  Ron knows a lot about that with his having recently made two infant boys with his new wife.  He also suffered a stroke, but seems to have recovered nicely. 

Beyonce, won best single by a female for her song “Irreplaceable,” but was not able to make it due to handling her business in New York shooting a commercial for Samsung cell phones.  Some say that LeToya Luckett being the co-host added reason for her absence.  The former member of Destiny’s Child held her own with Omarion hosting along side her.  Actress/Comedienne Kym Whitley did stop by the press room with two male contest winners, but she got a little choked up when a reporter asked her about her late friend, Gerald Levert.  Kym paused and then gave a very moving tribute to the late singer and shared that it was Gerald who brought her to LA for the first time and to of all places the Soul Train Awards. 

Well, there was a great deal of talk about Jennifer Hudson trying to back out of the Soul Train Awards and that was one no-show that Don Cornelius could not take.  It was said that Jennifer called and said she could not make the show and it got leaked to the New York Post.  The poor Cornelius was dealing with eight of his major awardees declining and losing Jennifer Hudson was not an option.  Purportedly Don Cornelius called Clive Davis, the head of J Records, who is recording Jennifer’s debut album.  A source said Clive called Jennifer and let her have it and to get her ass on the next plane to L.A.  It was said that Hudson made it to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to accept her Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year.  Not sure how she did it, but on the very same night as the Soul Train Awards Jennifer Hudson performed at least four songs in Atlanta at Dallas Austin’s “Don’t Stop the Music” Foundation dinner at the Ocean Ballroom of the Georgia Aquarium.  Jennifer was said to have been booked to perform at the event prior to her becoming an Academy Award Winner and kept her word and rocked the house.  Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, T-Boz and boyfriend Tikeo Spikes, Jazzy Phae, Gabrielle Union, who had to leave early, Shannon Anderson, Diana Dagarmo, of “American Idol”, Big Gip, of Goodie Mob, who has let go his gold teeth for some beautiful porcelain verniers, were among Atlanta A-List individuals that came out to support Austin, who came so close to going away forever in Dubai.  It was surprising to see the level of support by blacks and whites for a Hip Hop artist that had been busted for drug less than a year prior to his event.  However, Jennifer did leave rushing and must have taken a private plane to LA and by picking up three hours on the west coast she was right on time to get her award. 

Suge Knight might really have gotten saved, sanctified, and filled or is he full of crap?  It remains to be seen if Knight has really given his life to the Lord or if he is going to have the Mase salvation until I need to make some money.  Miracles do happen and one might have happened to Suge.  It was a miracle to find out that he even went to church.  The founder of Death Row Records, who has done time for attempted murder and is in bankruptcy, says he is ready to let go of the troubled label after hearing the same message from two different preachers within the span of two weeks.  Knight told a reporter that he attend Bishop Noel Jones church and he preached a message about letting go of the past and then Bishop Jakes preached a message with a similar theme that touched him.  “They talked about the same thing and it was like they were talking straight to me.  I do not want to be tied up with this for years.  I want to move on with my life in a more positive direction.” 

Suge has been in bankruptcy court since Lydia Harris won a $106 million judgment against Death Row by claiming that her husband, Michael Harris, now doing 28 years in prison, co-founded the label and was entitled to 50 percent of the proceeds.  Knight was able to only pay Lydia 1 million dollars and once the money ran out she took him back to court.  Now instead of hanging on to Death Row under Chapter 11 reorganization as he was advised, the now saved Suge says he wants to liquidate his publishing rights, pay off the creditors, and put the label behind him for good.  “I want to take care of the creditors.  I’m saying I don’t want to keep living in the past, with the negativity,” Knight said.  He added that he no longer uses the N-word as well.  “My approach to music now is different, I’m not Delores Tucker, but you do have to be careful what you say.  We shouldn’t be constantly feeding negative energy to these kids.  You can get rich with the devil’s money, but you can only be happy with God’s money.”  Suge might really be a changed man and only time will tell if his life lives up to his new testimony or if he will soon turn to his old sinful ways.

Drug Dealers and Killers…Well, I have a lot of stories about stars kicking ass and taking names this week.  For starters Sean Combs has been accused of assaulting a man outside of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.  The gentleman has filed a lawsuit against P. Diddy, seeking unspecified damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.  TMZ.com posted a copy of the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.  According to the documents, 27-year-old Gerard Rechnitzer says the February 25 incident went down at about 2:00 a.m., shortly after he left the hotel restroom to join his girlfriend in the valet area.  The couple had just come from Teddy’s, a nightclub inside of the hotel.  Rechnitzer claims that when he got to the valet area he saw Diddy and his bodyguards talking to his girlfriend.  When he called out to her, Diddy allegedly said, “What the f**k you looking at, dude?  I’ll smack flames out your ass.”  At that point he says Combs attacked, assaulted and battered Rechnitzer, causing him to fly backwards several feet into a vehicle behind him.  According to the police report he was punched on the right side of the face by a man talking to his girlfriend.  The report did not identify the other man, and the police said he could not confirm that Combs, 37-years-old, was the subject of the investigation.  Diddy’s attorney said the lawsuit is baseless and he did not hit anyone.  Now we know that Sean will kick your ass and has been know to slap the shit out of people with bottles of champagne, but this does not sound like him and Rechnitzer quote does not sound like anything Diddy would say.  Sean P. Diddy” Combs would be closer to the following:  “What the f**K, I am going to kick your ass,” or “Ain’t this a b*tch, I am talking to this chick.” Not I am going to slap flames from you.  Plus Rechnitzer’s girlfriend must have not given a damn about him after Diddy had stepped to her since she did not inform him she was spoken for and waiting on her man. 

Danny Glover pulled out some of his old “Lethal Weapon” kick ass ways on the paparazzi.  Glover is accused of having punched a New York Daily News photographer in the jaw.  According to the newspaper the 60-year-old actor was leaving the Brooklyn Federal Court in New York when he became irritated and threw a punch at news photographer, Gary He, striking him in the jaw.  “What gives you the right to come out here and photograph me and have your camera up in my face?” He quoted Glover’s remark to him prior to the punch landing in his face.  Glover’s attorney, Martin Singer, told the paper that He started the whole thing by trying to prevent the actor form leaving the courthouse.  However, the photographer decided not to press charges.  Singer said Glover was supposed to meet entrepreneurs Lester and Lennox Parris, of Old Westbury, L.I., who are being tried on charges of manipulating the price of stock in their bottled water company, Queench, by issuing press releases containing false claims, then pocketing money from the alleged pump-and-bump scheme as reported in the New York Daily News.  Danny Glover has some relationship with the owners and got pissed when confronted by a photographer.  His actions were totally out of charter for the seasoned actor and embarrassing for the otherwise grounded actor that supports so many great causes. 

Foxy Brown cannot win for loosing.  The rapper not only gets mad and will fight, but it seems that she also will get out of control behind the wheel as well.  Foxy, born Inga Marchand has been detained for 16 traffic violation in New York in less than three years, state DMV officials told reporters.  Among the offenses are running red lights and weaving across lanes of traffic without signaling.  Foxy Brown was also cited for operating a vehicle without a license, insurance or an inspection.  It was revealed that Foxy only has a learner’s permit in New York State.  But her right to a license was revoked because she kept ignoring her traffic tickets according to DMV.  “She has to answer all these different summonses before she’s allowed to drive,” DMV spokesman Ken Brown said.  Inga aka Foxy Brown had a license to drive in New Jersey, but it was suspended last March after she failed to appear on an earlier summons in that state.  Well, Foxy must have big plans for putting out a hot album so she can afford to be chauffeured around since it looks like it will be a while before she is able to get behind the wheel again. 

Soon we will know the truth.  Melanie Brown, the former Spice Girl, known as Scary Spice says she is carrying ex-boyfriend Eddie Murphy’s child.  A group of about 30 of her friends gave her a baby shower at a private bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel.  The 31-year-old singer celebrated the baby arrival with a cake in the shape of a woman’s pregnant belly, and plenty of Dom Perignon champagne to go around.  As you well know Murphy has denied that he is the father and plans to have the child take a blood test to prove the paternity.  The winner of the Golden Globe for his role in “Dreamgirls,” first questioned his paternity in December during an interview with a Dutch TV reporter.  “We’re not together anymore,” Murphy told the reporter when asked about his relationship with Brown.  “And I don’t know whose child that is, until it comes out and has a blood test.  You shouldn’t jump to conclusion, sir.”  He was seen later that same evening with his current girlfriend Tracey Edmonds, the ex-wife of Babyface.  Time will soon tell if he is the father of Scary Spice’s bastard. 

According to my “Street Committee”…Wynonna Judd has consistently had troubles and another has just mounted her shoulders.  The latest devastating blow was of her husband being thrown in jail for allegedly sexually abusing a child.  Daniel Roach, Wynonna’s second husband, was arrested at the Shades of Hope rehab center in Buffalo Gap, Texas, the same place where Wynonna battled a food addiction a year ago.  Roach, was being treated for and undisclosed addiction until he was hauled off to the Taylor County Jail in Abilene, Texas, on a $750,000 bond.  He was charged by a grand jury on three counts of aggravated assault on a child.  Daniel Roach had been Wynonna’s bodyguard for 10 years before the two of them hooked up in 2001 and later married in 2003.  Seems Wynonna, 42-years-old is too old for Daniel’s taste.  Wynonna has had her share of struggles, horrible relationship with her mother Naomi and the famous 2003 DUI arrest.  The arrest is sure to cause the five year marriage to come to a screeching halt. 

Olivia’s MySpace page does have a recent blog from the artist or someone claming to be the artist that she is in fact leaving G-Unit and that there is no place at the label for an R&B singer.  The direct quote taken from Olivia’s page is as follows:
“Hey whats up everybody!Its ya girl olivia.i jus want you to know i am doing great.

I am crackin up at all the bs rumors that have surfaced,but that just means i'm important. lol. sorry but the rumors are all false, except for me not being with gunit anymore. things just didnt work out because thr is no sense of r&b at the label.

I thank fifty for everything he has done for me and i wish him the best.

Please continue to support your girl. i will b touring overseas for 3weeks in may and will b dropping some new music very soon!
Again i love you guys for supporting me.

you can reach me and my people at musicamericaunderground.com or check out one of my fan sites at olivia_fanz.com.” (Note this quote was taken directly from Olivia’s MySpace with grammatical errors and all.)

Well, there you have it she is leaving, but the allegations that she was sexually harassed are not so according to her blog.  Olivia thanked 50-Cent for his contribution to her career however she will be moving on.  It will be interesting to find out 50-Cent’s take on this situation and if it is more to it than what Olivia is willing to tell on her MySpace page. 

Jennifer Hudson is said to be a little more like her character Effie in “Dreamgirls” than she is willing to admit.  Starbuck’s told her people that the Academy Award Winner did not have to show up to perform at the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Seattle.  Seems that it was all done in Hudson’s name by an agent without her even being aware there was a problem.  Starbuck’s people say five town cars were demanded, hair and makeup artist, security personnel, and her assistant.  The big one was humidifiers to be used backstage and baked chicken wings at 10 a.m.  The Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz had enough and pulled the plug because he did not like the way the agent was dealing with his people.  Jennifer Hudson was in the dark about all the demands that made her appear to be an out of control diva.