R. Kelly sues Jay Z's camp 75 million for 'pepper spray' incident
Well after last week's fiasco, R. Kelly has hit back hard to the tune of seeking damages with dollars. With the well publicized exit of the singer being dropped from 'The Best of Both Worlds' tour, the R&B singer has come back swinging with 'getting paid' being the motto.
Last Monday, November 1st, the singer hit Jay-Z and the rapper's Marcy Projects production company with a lawsuit to the tune of $75 million alleging that Jay-Z deliberately sabotaged the tour.
The lawsuit accuses Jay-Z and his company of intentionally causing a series of production missteps and of physically assaulting R. Kelly and members of his entourage with pepper spray on Friday night (October 29th) during a tour date at Madison Square Garden . An associate of Jay-Z' s
Tyran (Ty Ty) Smith was named in the lawsuit.
Kelly is seeking $15 million in monetary damages because of the cancellation of the tour, plus $60 million in punitive damages. On the same day as Kelly filed suit, just hours before the last Best Of Both Worlds tour date at Madison Square Garden , Jay-Z issued a statement pertaining to the reason why the singer was dropped from the tour blaming the tour's cancellation squarely on R. Kelly. The statement read, "R. Kelly'slack of professionalism and unpredictable behavior has prevented the Best Of Both Worlds tour from continuing." Jay-Z was scheduled to complete the last New York-area date by himself with the help of some of his friends, after the rapper and tour promoter banded together and booted R. Kelly from the tour on Saturday. That decision followed an incident the night before, when Kelly left the stage suddenly during his performance. No court date has been set for the suit.
source: spotlightonR&B.com
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Ms.Spears to take time off to start a family
Now that it is official, the newlywed Ms. Spears (now Mrs Federline although I doubt she'll ever be addressed as that) said that she now wants to take time off to start a family with her husband.
On a letter she wrote on her website, she states that 'This is the happiest I've ever been in my life' and she wants to focus not really thinking about her career at the moment because she has her new home life to consider — she and husband Kevin Federline are just settling in to their new house, which she's excited about decorating for the holidays said the blushing bride "I can't wait to have my own Christmas tree in my very own house" as well as redecorating to prepare for when they add new members of their household: "Because when we decide to start a family, everything in it needs to be perfecto!" she wrote. "I love decorating; it's very therapeutic for me. I believe your house is a reflection of yourself, so I want anything in mine to be exquisite."With the recent events that's happened in her life, Spears said that she's going to focus on three main areas of her life for the immediate future: "Myself, my husband, Kevin, and starting a family." She said she realizes it may disappoint fans, but she'd rather sit back and watch others succeed and be in the spotlight for a change.
"I don't think I'll do another tour for a couple of years," Spears wrote. "At this point and time, what I want is not my face on every cover, but someone else's instead. I really want to help other people achieve their dreams and possibly even develop new artists. Everything is in the very beginning stages and it feels great to just think about different opportunities that I'm interested in pursuing."
One of those new interests, she said, is art, which has "always been a passion" for her. "My new hobby is experimenting with all different types of art lessons," she wrote. "Maybe I'll even do my sister's makeup next year for big events."
Spears stressed that she's not quitting her music career for good ("that is kind of harsh"), and that she will come back, eventually, but when she does, "things will be totally different." And while she didn't specify how they would be different, she did say that in retrospect, "less is more" should have been the operating principle for her fourth album, In The Zone, and she regretted that "some things were done for me [that] were not always in my best interests."
- Source: mtv.com
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Tribute to the late Phyllis Hyman shines for AIDS benefit
Her voice was larger than life, recognizable whenever or wherever you heard a note or a song of hers and while she was with us, she never really got the props she so richly deserved. Well all that changed this past Sunday (Nov 7th) as the music divas of the modern day era paid homeage one of the music industry's true songstresses - the late Phyllis Hyman.
The MAP (Minority Aids Project) benefit, hosted by Radioscope’s own Lee Bailey was the event where divas from near and far descended upon the Catalina Bar and Grill in Los Angeles to help raise funds for MAP.David Nathan owner of the Soul Music Store website as well as author, recording artist, and friend of Ms. Hyman, also known as the “British Ambassador of Soul,” organized the auspicious event.
Lending their talents to the cause was Lalah Hathaway and Frank McComb, Alyson Williams, Eloise Laws, Ledisi, Thelma Jones, N’Dambi, Kim Yarbrough, Everette Harp and the Ray Fuller Band, all performing songs from the classy diva’s extensive catalogue.
The evening was a huge success as all in attendance thoroughly enjoyed themselves, so much so in fact that there is talk of taking the benefit to other cities. David Nathan told eurweb.com that talks are already underway so fingers cross that the show come our way in the very near future.
The Minority AIDS Project was started in 1984 and was the first agency dedicated to working in the African-American and Latino communities with AIDS and the HIV virus. For more information, please visit www.map-usa.org.
- Source: eurweb.com
Left Eye Lopes's studio is saved from liquidation__________________________________________________________________
The family of the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes has successfully saved the former TLC member’s U.N.I. Studios in Atlanta. The studio was slated to be liquidated along with other artifacts of Left Eye’s other belongingsin teh beginning of next year if the family didn’t raise the $160,000 needed to hold on to it. Left Eye’s sister, Raina Lopes, an aspiring rapper/rock singer known professionally as Reigndrop Lopes, posted a message on her Web site—reigndropmusic.com—requesting the aid of friends, family and fans.
The letter read: “All of Left Eye’s assets have to be liquidated and her studio is one of them. Her studio will be put on the market at the beginning of 2005 if we are unable to raise the funds to cover the purchasing price of around $160,000. I know it sounds like a lot and it is. But if everyone gives as little as $1.00, it will add up to a lot.”The family was interested in keeping Left Eye’s U.N.I. Studios in the family because the singer/rapper had built the studio nearly five years ago and recorded most of her never-released solo album, Supernova, there. “The need to keep her studio in the family goes beyond mere possession. It was the place my sister recorded her last song and the place I recorded my first song. Her energy is still there. The studio has allowed me to pick up where she left off. On behalf of the Lopes family, I am confident that together we can preserve the legacy.”
After only being posted for five days, the money was raised by a family member. According to a rep for the The Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Foundation, the relative had been in Honduras and didn’t realize what was going on. They had been pre-approved for a home loan, and so they purchased the studio.
Volunteers from various businesses and organizations will join celebrities, friends and family of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and donate their time to wrap gifts to help raise money and awareness for The Lisa Lopes Foundation and its programs in the United States and Honduras, Central America. For more information on the foundation, visit www.lisalopesfoundation.org and for news on U.N.I. Studios, go to www.unistudios.eyenetics.net
- Source: eurweb.com