Daily Archives: December 1, 2009
IT’S ‘RIDE’ OR DIE FOR ICE CUBE
Ice Cube is set to star in the
action-comedy feature “Ride Along,”
which has the rapper as a rogue cop
who tries to break off his sister’s
engagement to an upper-crust white
psychiatrist by inviting his future
brother-in-law on a ride-along.
Jay-Z ‘Thanks’ Dame Dash For Rocawear
“We really should have done some Rihanna Rocawear umbrellas when that song became a hit. We could have made a load of money on those. I’m still kicking myself.”
For all of the chaos that was left in the wake of the Roc-A-Fella break up, there is still some positivity that can be found if a person searches through the rubble of the Dynasty.
Aside from being business partners in their musical venture, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Damon Dash also decided to take a crack at the fashion industry. A true hustler knows that various paychecks becomes much more beneficial than a single check so the two needed to find a means to use their exposure to broaden their brand.
Officially launched in 1999, the line has developed clothing for adults and children and has expanded by creating handbags, jewelry and even sunglasses.
Unfortunately the break up found Dash selling his stake in the enterprise to Jay for $20 million. Jigga would later sell his own rights in March 2007 to Iconix Brand Group for $204 million. Jay, however, was still given the ability to oversee the marketing, licensing and product development.
As Jay caught up with Women’s Wear Daily, Mr. Carter actually gave his former business partner his due for his work with the clothing line. He also added how their different mentalities in business were a reason behind the rift.
“Dame did a great job when he was here. I just feel that I have a different way of running things, which I think is working out well. I let people make mistakes, and push them to be creative. I let a design team design. When they feel good about something they have created, it makes them want to do more. It makes them want to do their best. People are happy here. I’m not a controlling manager and I have a great team that makes me confident that things can run well when I’m on the road, and I’m proud of that.”
Jay also expressed how the brand has been absorbed by the community and established itself within the marketplace.
“Rocawear has always been a part of the whole overall culture. It’s connected to everything that I do. So, coming in full time was important to me. It’s something I really believe in and something I want to protect.”
Always known to be a trendsetter, Hov explained how the actual idea of the brand was sparked back in 1997 while the rapper was on stage.
“I would be onstage performing, and I noticed that all the kids were wearing iceberg jeans. The same jeans that I would wear. So, we thought, ‘Why should we let Iceberg get all this business when we can do it ourselves?”
Acting as a catalyst to having young African-American males ditching sports jerseys and throwing on button ups, Rocawear was able to hit the fashion industry by storm. As FUBU was, the new brand from Jay and Dame was fully embraced by the urban community.
Estimates show that Rocawear has annual sales of $800 million. In March 2009, reports stated that the brand launched its first social networking site which offers things such as style news, music and fashion.
Bow Wow – “All I Know”
Washington, D.C. Is Expected To Legalize Gay Marriage
In a historic vote, the city council for the District of Columbia has voted to pass a bill that would make same sex-marriages legal by a count of 11 to 2.
One more vote is required to make the move legal but that is expected to be a mere formality as 10 of the 13 city council members co-sponsored the bill in its introduction. That vote will take place later this month with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty promising to sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches his desk.
Everything is not in the proverbial clear for gay marriage supporters as Congress has to review the law before it can go into effect.
Even so, a D.C. victory will be a huge victory for gay marriage advocates after suffering several highly publicized losses in major public arenas.
Currently Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont are the only states that allow same sex-unions.
50 CENT PLANS TO STOP MAKING MIXTAPE MATERIAL
Can Nicole Richie Make It As A TV Star & Producer?
Nicole Richie, who first became famous on The Simple Life with then-best friend Paris Hilton, has signed a deal with ABC to star in a half-hour comedy.
Yes, we’re serious.
It’s not easy to transition to scripted shows from reality TV (or The Hills, for that matter, as Kristin Cavallari can attest), but Nicole is ready to try to.
The pilot for the as-yet-untitled show is based on Richie’s original idea and will be written by 30 Rock scribe Daisy Gardner.
“I am so excited to announce that I am officially working on a television project,” the mother of two wrote on her official blog. “I am creating a half hour scripted comedy developed for ABC in which I will be starring in, as well as producing.”
“The story revolves around a young, modern and professional woman who must balance her business and family relationships. She must deal with, and navigate the many ideas of what a woman’s role is: modern vs. traditional.”
“Lately, I have been surrounded by many different women of all ages and walks of life. It amazes me to watch and observe how many different ideas there are about what a woman’s role should be in this changing era.”
“I’ve taken these fascinating ideas, and compiled them into something that I think will be very special (and funny!),” Nicole Richie added. “We’re still in the very early stages and I can’t wait to share more with you soon!”
Richie’s show will likely shoot a pilot this spring. If ABC likes it, the series would presumably be picked up to premiere as part of its Fall 2010 lineup.
She was kinda cute in that Chuck episode she did last year, but can Nicole really shoulder her own show? Does it even sound any good? Thoughts?
Baltimore Mayor Found Guilty
Mayor Sheila Dixon is facing major jail time after being found guilty of stealing gift cards that were meant for poor citizens of her city and using them for her own personal use.
A jury found her guilty on one count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary while acquitting her on one count of misconduct while in office and two felony counts of theft.
The total amount of the cards used or kept by Dixon totaled $630. The prosecution in the trial alleged that she used the cards to purchase clothes from Old Navy, as well as, purchase a Playstation 2, video camera, X-Box, and a DVD action thriller “Four Brothers,” starring Andre’ “3000” Benjamin, among various other trinkets and knickknacks.
Dixon, 55, is facing suspension from her mayoral duties after receiving sentencing that will be made final if she loses all of her appeals.
Still Baltimore’s mayor is not out of the legal woods just yet.
A perjury trial stemming from allegations that Dixon accepted, but did not report, gifts from a man named Ronald Lipscomb will more than likely take more years onto what is expected to be a hard senior life for the hated and celebrated mayor behind bars.
Young Money – Bedrock [Behind The Scenes]
10 Bouncers @ The 40/40 Club Beating Up 1 Dude!!!!
The Clipse In DC @ Howard Homecoming ’09
Gucci Mane & Nicki Minaj’s Management Accused Of Federal Fraud
Ozone Magazine published an article on Monday citing several club promoters who claim that Gucci Mane’s management cheated them out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The management team, which consists of booking agents Johnnie Cabbell and Debra Antney, is being accused of signing bad contracts.
“Johnnie [Cabbell] is the grand vampire,” claimed Chicago promoter Godfather, who has been promoting concerts for over two decades and estimates that he lost almost $100,000 working with Gucci’s managers. “I don’t work with Johnnie anymore,” he said. “He sucks the blood out of you.”
In July 2009, Gucci Mane headlined the ‘So Icey’ tour along with OJ da Juiceman and Nicki Minaj. However, all three of the artists failed to show up for the first scheduled shows in Florida, according to Ozone, leaving promoters to suffer losses of over $140,000. Out of the twelve shows that were scheduled, Ozone claims that six or more shows never happened, enraging promoters who clamored for refunds but were denied.
In mid-July, Gucci Man violated his probation and went to jail during the ‘So Icey’ tour. Promoters claim that Gucci’s managers signed contracts for shows (through booking agency Ujaama Entertainment), knowing the rapper wouldn’t be able to show up and perform. However, because of convoluted contractual language involving more than one party (promoters, managers, artists, and record labels), promoters are finding it hard to get their money back.
“I’m not sure if it’s on purpose,” said attorney Paul W. Gardner who will be representing one promoter, “but [the way the contracts are written up] are very nasty and sinister. It’s multi-layered. From a legal standpoint, when someone does something wrong to you, you can sue that person. Person A sues Person B; laymen understand that [concept]. But the problem arises when a middleman is included and the person on the backend does the harm. Person A has to sue Person B to get to Person C, but in this situation, Person B’s contract says ‘You can’t sue me.’ With the [So Icey Tour] contracts, Person A is the promoter. Person B is Ujaama, Person C is Johnnie, Person D is [Debra], and E is the artist…Because of the difficulty of the third-party situation, I have to prove which party has the money…Or maybe it’s all of them.”
It is not clear how much Gucci Man receives from these deals, although promoters revealed that artists receive little to nothing of advanced deposits. The money, they claim, goes straight into the pockets of managers. Cabbell and Antney could face charges of federal fraud if taken to court.
Ed Lover – C’mon Son Ep. 7
9 Slain In Bloody Holiday Weekend
It was a violent and deadly holiday weekend in the Chicago area, with nine people
reported slain between Wednesday and Sunday nights.
The violence began around 5 p.m. Thanksgiving eve, when Shannon Moore, 18, was found lying on the ground with gunshot wounds in the hallway of a building at 537 E. 44th St.
A witness who saw Moore involved in an argument went to call police, and as he was going to make the call he heard multiple gunshots, Perez said.
Moore was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
In the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day, a shooting at an Englewood gas station left one man dead.
Ricky Coleman, 21, was shot at the gas station at 810 W. 59th St., and was pronounced dead at 1:35 a.m. at Saint Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. The man was in the street when an unidentified gunman approached on foot and fired several shots at him about 12:30 a.m., police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro said.
On Friday, two separate incidents of murder-suicide were reported, including a newlywed couple on the city’s West Side and a Markham man who shot himself after shooting his ex-girlfriend and another man in south suburban Sauk Village.
At about 9:10 p.m., Sauk Village police responded to a call at 22454 Jeffrey Avenue on Friday night and found a woman who had been shot. In a nearby driveway, police also found 43-year-old Robert Allen of Carthage, Miss., fatally shot.
The suspect, Paul Gunn, was later stopped by police in the area of 162nd and Dixie Highway in Markham. Gunn, who was armed, turned the weapon on himself and died of a gunshot wound to the chest. He was taken to Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, where he was pronounced dead at 10:44 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.
The woman who was shot was reportedly Gunn’s girlfriend or ex-girlfriend, according to a source.
Earlier that day, a woman was found murdered in an East Garfield Park neighborhood apartment, possibly shot to death by her husband—who then took his own life.
Claudette Coleman, 30, was found fatally shot in her home at 3429 W. Madison St. Police responded to the apartment building where she lived just before 2 a.m. — three hours after Coleman’s husband was found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on the street at 3311 W. Monroe St., police said.
Antwone Coleman, 28, also of the Madison Street address, reportedly shot himself and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:20 a.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.
At least two others lost their lives to gunshots in the Chicago area on Friday, both on the West Side.
During an armed robbery on the West Side, Anthony Bryant, 40, was fatally shot at about 11 a.m. Friday, News Affairs Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti said.
Bryant was at a home in at 2741 W. Wilcox St., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. A second man, in his 30s, was with the victim, although he was not harmed, Ursitti said. News Affairs Officer Ron Gaines said the robber got away with a cell phone and cash.
Nearby, an Austin man was also fatally shot in his home on the West Side.
Robert Barber, 36, was shot at 435 S. Central Ave. and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. He had a gunshot wound to his chest, authorities said.
The violence on the West Side continued on Saturday.
On Saturday, 29-year-old Roy Williams died after being shot multiple times by two men in the North Lawndale neighborhood. The shooting occurred shortly after midnight on the 1300 block of South Central Park Avenue, Perez said.
After he was initially shot while sitting in his car, he tried to drive away from his assailants but he crashed into a parked car and was shot again, before collapsing in the street and dying about 40 minutes after he was found by emergency personnel, Perez said.
In the same night, at about 2:30 a.m., police found a Dolton man fatally shot in the South Side’s Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.
Corday Keys, 29, of Dolton, was fatally shot at 1858 W. 80th St., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. He was dead on the scene.
Police responded to a call of shots fired at the 80th Street address at 2:30 a.m. and found Keys in the street with multiple gunshot wounds to the head, back and arms, Perez said. He also said Keys is believed to have had gang affiliations.
In south suburban Summit, a man also died early Sunday after he was fatally shot less than one mile from his home.
Treondes Spriggs, 28, of 7651 W. 62nd St., was shot at 7543 W. 61st Pl., a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said.
Spriggs was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood where he was pronounced dead at 5:05 a.m., the spokesman said.
