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News >> 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 Shyne feels betrayed by Puffy In an exclusive interview with The Village Voice, Shyne lashed out at Puff Daddy for not being more supportive during the duo's trial, which ended with Puff walking and Shyne facing up to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon. Although it had been rumored that Bad Boy was footing the bill for his lawyers, Shyne claims that he paid for his own defense. "Honestly, he never really did anything to help me after the shooting," Shyne said. "As soon as we were indicted, he wanted to keep me away from him. He didn't even want to put my album out. Throughout the trial, it's like, 'You get out of this however you can and I'm gonna get outta this however I can.' It was never, 'This is the young man that used to live with me, be with me all the time, under my guidance. This is the young man who was with me that night, and we are all going to get out of this together.'" Shyne also suggested that some of the defense witnesses lied for Puffy, including Club New York security guard Cherise Myers. "You don't have to prove that I did it in order to prove that you didn't do it," Shyne said in the interview. "She lied for him. Fine. But don't let her testify against me. That's when I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't believe it. That was it. There was no way I could continue. I couldn't even look at him anymore." Shyne will be sentenced April 16 pending an appeal. Awesome 2 bring the noise BringTheNoise.com, the online hip-hop radio station founded by Public Enemy's Chuck D and producer Gary G-Wiz, have announced a new Friday night radio show, "The Ghetto," that will be hosted by legendary New York DJs Special K and Teddy Tedd, collectively known as The Awesome 2. Special K and Teddy Tedd serve as hosts of the longest running hip-hop radio show, the "The Awesome 2 Radio Show," which originally aired on 105.9 in New York, but recently switched to 930 AM due to an acquisition. "The Awesome 2 Radio Show" is on every Saturday night at midnight. BringTheNoise.com was named Best Internet Radio Station of 2000 by Yahoo. Lil' Cease is arrested Lil' Cease was arrested just after 8 p.m. Sunday night after narcotics officers on a stakeout watched him get out of a red Porsche to buy marijuana from a dealer on 151st Street in New York. When cops approached the car, Antoine "Banger" Spain got out and dropped a .22-caliber pistol on the ground. Cease was charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and Spain was charged with gun possession. After running the plates, police found that the car belonged to Lil' Kim, and immediately called detectives from the sixth precinct that were investigating the Feb. 25 shooting outside the offices of Hot 97 that left one man in the hospital. Spain later admitted that he was on the scene, but said he knew nothing about the shootout. Police, who now have placed eight people at the scene, also believe Cease was with Kim during the incident, but he refused to answer any questions. Eminem reaches divorce settlement Eminem has reached a divorce agreement with his wife that gives them joint legal and physical custody of their 5-year-old daughter, Hailie. The temporary agreement, which the couple signed last week, also gives Eminem their $450,000 home and gives his wife, Kim Mathers, $475,000 in cash to purchase a house. Eminem's lawyer, Harvey Hauer, told The Detroit News that the proceedings were "not contentious at all... because each person was concerned with the family and concerned with the well-being of their daughter." Eminem and Kim got married in June 1999. Eminem filed for divorce in August after a June altercation with a man seen kissing his wife outside of a Warren, Mich., nightclub and a July suicide attempt by Kim. On Dec. 13, the couple signed an agreement to dismiss their divorce claims and announced their reconciliation the next day. Kim Mathers filed for divorce again on March 1. DMX's "Exit Wounds" is No. 1 DMX helped give Steven Seagal his best opening ever as the duo's new crime thriller topped the weekend box office with a $19 million debut. Seagal's previous high was $14 million in 1992 with "Under Seige." Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released "Exit Wounds," credited the movie's success to the pairing of Seagal and DMX. Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, agreed in an interview with the Associated Press. "It's a stroke of genius putting them together," Dergarabedian said. "It makes Seagal more relevant today by putting him with somebody who's extremely relevant today." Being at No. 1 is nothing new for DMX. All three of his albums, including his most recent, 1999's And Then There Was X, debuted in the top spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Nate Dogg will stand trial Although most of the charges against him were dismissed, Nate Dogg will stand trial on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon. Nate was accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend from her mother's house on June 17, holding her against her will at a Lakewood, Calif., home, assaulting her and setting a car on fire. The charges of kidnapping, terrorist threats, arson and battery were dismissed Wednesday because Nate's ex-girlfriend refused to be served with a subpoena, saying she did not want to be responsible for sending her son's father to prison. However, there was enough evidence to require Nate to stand trial on the weapons charge since the gun was found by the officers who came to his house to arrest him after the incident with his ex-girlfriend. It was illegal for him to have a weapon after his 1996 conviction in a Los Angeles County drug case. Puffy is acquitted on all charges Puff Daddy and his bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, were acquitted Friday of all charges in connection with a December 1999 shooting at a New York nightclub. Both had been charged with weapons possession and bribery. Shyne, who had been charged with attempted murder as the alleged trigger man, instead was convicted of two counts of assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon. He still faces up to 25 years in prison. The decision by a jury of seven men and five women ended three days of deliberations and a nearly seven-week trial that featured 59 witnesses and more than 130 pieces of evidence. The key was Puffy's ability to convince the jurors of his innocence during a full day of testimony in his own defense. Third day of deliberations begins The jurors in the weapons possession and bribery trial of Puff Daddy began their third day of deliberations shortly after 10 a.m. ET on Friday. On Thursday, the jurors spent some of their time reviewing the testimony of Detective William Wallace, a ballistics expert who re-created the trajectories of the bullets fired inside Club New York. After eight hours of deliberations, the jurors sent a note to the judge asking to be dismissed for the day, claiming that "any further deliberations would be counterproductive." Jurors began deliberations on Wednesday after six weeks of testimony and two hours of legal instructions from the judge. Jurors deliberated for about 6½ hours Wednesday before breaking for the night. The charges are in connection with a Dec. 27, 1999, incident at a New York nightclub in which gunfire erupted and three people were injured. Puffy's protege and co-defendant, Shyne, was charged with attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment, while Puff and his bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, were charged with weapons possession and bribery charges. Puffy faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Report: Juvenile leaving Cash Money According to a report on Launch, Juvenile is planning to leave Cash Money Records to sign a multimillion dollar deal with Sony to start his own label, U.T.P. Records. Juvenile's next album, Project English, was scheduled to come out on Cash Money in February and had been hyped as far back as the Source Awards last August, but that project has been pushed back indefinitely. Juvenile introduced the world to New Orleans' Cash Money Millionaires in 1998 with the single, "Ha," off his quadruple-platinum album, 400 Degreez. Juve followed that up with a platinum album, Tha G Code, in 1999. DMX talks about life, new movie DMX discussed his childhood, laughed about his family and even sang a song during a Tuesday appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Leno had X, who no longer was on the crutches he used to leave jail on Friday, cracking up on more than one occasion during the interview. He reminisced about his love of dogs, cars and insects as a child, and shared a story about how he used to chase his sisters with the bugs he caught. Leno even convinced X to do a brief rendition of a song he used to sing as a kid called "Meatballs and Spaghetti." Other topics included his first paid live performance at 19 with Busta Rhymes and Leaders of the New School and his collection of 30 dogs, most of whom he revealed are named "Dog." But X's main objective was to promote his upcoming movie, "Exit Wounds," which opens in theaters Friday. When Leno asked if he could take co-star Steven Seagal in a fight, X replied, "Nah. Maybe in 10 years." Eminem nears movie deal A film producer told "Access Hollywood" that Eminem has been added to the cast of his upcoming movie. Brian Grazer, whose credits include "The Nutty Professor" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," told the show that "it's a 'Purple Rain' kind of movie. It's a hip movie, loosely based on Eminem's life growing up in Detroit... an edgy story of his life." However, Eminem's publicist, Dennis Dennehy, told The Associated Press on Monday he could not confirm the deal, but said Eminem has been talking with Grazer about starring in such a film. Chi-Ali captured in the Bronx Former Black Sheep collaborator Chi-Ali Griffith was arrested on March 4 in the Bronx, just a week after his story appeared for a second time on "America's Most Wanted." As The 411 Online first reported in February 2000, Chi-Ali was being sought by New York police in connection with the Jan. 14, 2000, shooting and murder of his girlfriend's brother. Police allege that Chi-Ali shot Sean Raymond five times over a $300 debt and a rare collection of about 60 CDs. Police tracked him down in Atlanta in May, but missed him by about ten minutes, so they turned to "America's Most Wanted" for help. The show first aired Chi-Ali's story in November, but no solid leads were generated by the broadcast. But when "America's Most Wanted" profiled him again on Feb. 24, several viewers called in to report that Chi-Ali was in the South Bronx. One tipster called in an exact address -- 1575 Odell Street -- and a short time later a team of detectives from New York's 45th precinct arrested him. Chi-Ali, who was armed at the time of his arrest, became the 657th capture of the long-running FOX television series. Chi-Ali made his first appearance on Black Sheep's 1991 album, A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing, on the posse cut "Pass the 40." His only album, The Fabulous Chi-Ali, was released in 1992. Chi-Ali also made an appearance on former Black Sheep Dres' comeback album in 1999. Lawyer admits Shyne had gun One of Shyne's attorneys admitted to jurors during closing arguments Monday that his client fired a gun inside a New York City nightclub in December 1999. Ian Niles told the jury that Shyne, whose real name is Jamal Barrow, acted in self-defense after someone started "yelling that he was going to kill Shyne" and fired his weapon at the ceiling. "I'm going to make your job a little bit easier," Niles said in his closing argument. "I'm going to tell you Jamal had a gun. He had that gun because he had been shot at just a few weeks earlier." Niles went on to say that the three victims of the shooting at Club New York on Dec. 27, 1999, were not injured by the shots fired by Shyne, but by someone else's gunfire. Ballistics tests revealed that the gun found in Shyne's possession the night of the shooting had been fired twice, but witnesses have testified hearing three to six shots. Shyne is charged with attempted murder and assault, while Sean "Puffy" Combs and bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones have been charged with gun possession and bribery. DMX released on crutches DMX was released from the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y. on Friday, but the scars of his tumultuous 11-day prison term for driving without a license were obvious as he emerged from the jail limping on crutches. According to prison representatives, DMX received medical attention Wednesday night after a routine cell search escalated into an altercation over a book. A corrections officer allegedly threw DMX to the ground and handcuffed him after X took exception to the officer throwing a book that he thought was his Bible. The incident left DMX with an injured knee and back and forced him to use crutches for the remainder of his sentence. While his jail sentence finally ended, DMX's troubles are far from over in upsate New York. He is expected to return on Wednesday to face a contempt charge stemming from his failure to show up on time to begin his jail term, and he also faces a felony assault charge with a maximum sentence of seven years for allegedly throwing a food tray at two guards during his stay. 'Best' list sprinkled with hip-hop At 162, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang is the first hip-hop song mentioned on a 365-song list of the best 20th century American songs. Only five other songs by hip-hop artists made the list: Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right To Party" at 191; M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" at 201; Public Enemy's "Fight The Power" at 288; Will Smith's "Men In Black" at 337 and Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" at 359. The list was created by the Recording Industry of America Association (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Scholastic Inc. and AOL@School for young people to "help further an appreciation for the music development process, including songwriting, musicianship, recording, performing, producing, distributing and the development of distribution and cultural values." Incidentally, Judy Garland's rendition of "Over the Rainbow" tops the list... a song appreciated by so many of today's "young people." Jailed DMX accused of assault DMX was accused of assaulting two corrections officers Tuesday after learning that bad behavior had cost him a chance to be released early. According to a report by the Associated Press, DMX had been written up for disciplinary problems four times since entering the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y., last week. DMX, who was expecting to be released on Tuesday after serving 10 days of a 15-day sentence for driving without a license, had a stretch limousine waiting for him outside, but a prison discipline committee decided to push back his release date to Friday. When he found out about the delay, DMX allegedly threw a food tray while being escorted back to his cell, hitting two officers and reportedly causing bruises on one of them. DMX was arraigned on a charge of felony assault of a corrections officer and ordered to return to Alden for a court date on March 27. He already faces a March 14 court date in Cheektowaga to face the charge of contempt he was slapped with when he showed up more than two weeks late to serve his sentence. On the bright side, DMX's new film with Steven Seagal, "Exit Wounds," hits theaters on March 16. Foxy Brown issues statement Foxy Brown has released a statement denying any involvement in the shooting outside of New York radio station Hot 97 on Sunday, Feb. 25. "I would like to set the record straight with regards to the recent unfortunate incident outside Hot 97," Foxy said. "I was not involved in any way. In fact, I was at home when this happened, nowhere near the radio station, and I have absolutely no knowledge or understanding as to why such a senseless and violent act took place. My prayers go out to the gentleman who was hurt for a speedy recovery, and of course, to his family during this difficult time." The shooting took place after Lil' Kim and Capone were interviewed on Hot 97 and a dispute broke out between their entourages. In an interview with the New York Daily News last week, police speculated that the shooting was related to the ongoing feud between Kim and Foxy, since Capone-N-Noreaga's latest album, The Reunion, provided a stage for Brown to diss Kim. Meanwhile, police say a video camera mounted on a building near the scene captured images of Kim's limo stopping to pick up two men believed to be involved in the shooting. An eyewitness also reported seeing two men jump into a green van to escape. JD serves 3-day jail sentence So So Def Recordings CEO Jermaine Dupri surrendered to police in Fayetteville, Ga., on Thursday night and currently is serving a three-day jail sentence for missing jury duty in March 1999. As The 411 Online first reported two years ago, Dupri was sentenced to three days in jail for failing to appear for the final day of jury duty on March 3, 1999. After appearing for jury duty March 1, Dupri was excused on March 2 so he could leave town for a concert. JD assumed he was excused for March 3 as well, but the judge didn't see it that way and charged him with contempt of court. In February 2000, Georgia's Court of Appeals upheld the decision, even though Dupri had offered to perform a benefit concert as community service. Dupri will be released from the Fayette County Jail on Sunday. Eminem's wife files for divorce Eminem and his wife are getting divorced after all. Kim Mathers filed for divorce Thursday in Macomb County Circuit Court, nearly three months after the couple announced that they were staying together because it was best that their 5-year-old daughter, Hailie, "be raised in a two-parent home." However, Kim's attorney, "This is a marriage that apparently just isn't going to work," said her attorney, Robert Z. Feldstein. "Luckily, the parties seem to be communicating well with respect to their daughter and hopefully that communication and cooperation is going to be ongoing for the best interest of the child." Kim and Eminem married in June 1999 in St. Joseph, Mo. Eminem filed for divorce in August after a June altercation with a man seen kissing his wife outside of a Warren, Mich., nightclub and a July suicide attempt by Kim. On Dec. 13, the couple signed an agreement to dismiss their divorce claims and announced their reconciliation the next day. Kim, who has been the target of many of Eminem's violent lyrics, plans to file a restraining order and is seeking joint custody of Hailie. Puff Daddy takes the stand Puff Daddy took the witness stand Thursday and denied that he had a gun or offered a $50,000 bribe the night that three people were injured after a shooting at Club New York. In fact, Puffy said that he thought the shots that he and Shyne have been accused of firing on Dec. 27, 1999, actually were intended for him. "I thought I was being shot at," Puff said. "My hands were up... Everybody started falling all over each other." He went on to say that he immediately dropped to the floor and was covered by bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones, who like Puffy has been charged with two counts of weapons possession. During cross-examination, prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos grilled Puff about the events of the night in question and then accused him of rehearsing his testimony as if it were a studio rehearsal, but Puffy stuck to his story and remained calm throughout. As expected, the defense did not call Puffy's former girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, to the stand before resting its case. Shyne's lawyer, Murray Richman, will begin his defense Friday. Two more 2Pac double albums planned Until The End Of Time, a double CD of songs written and performed by 2Pac during the last year of his life, will be released by Amaru/Death Row/Interscope Records on March 27. The double album consists of more than 20 previously unreleased tracks that were recorded after his release from prison in late 1995 up until his death on Sept. 13, 1996. Until The End Of Time is the first of two double CDs scheduled to be released this year. All of 2Pac's posthumous albums have reached at least platinum status. Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was released under the name Makaveli just weeks after his death and went quadruple platinum. A double album of tracks 2Pac recorded between 1991 and 1994, R U Still Down? (Remember Me), dropped in 1997 and went quadruple platinum. His Greatest Hits double album hit stores in 1998 and went platinum nine times over, and the 2Pac & Outlawz collaboration, Still I Rise, was released in 1999 and certified platinum. Dr. Dre wins Album of the Year Dr. Dre's winning streak continued Wednesday night at the 15th Annual Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles. His 1999 album, 2001, beat out Jay-Z's The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP and R. Kelly's TP-2.com for Album of the Year honors. Last week, Dre was named Producer of the Year at the Grammy Awards. Jay-Z, who performed "I Just Wanna Love U" during the show, didn't go home empty-handed. He was awarded the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year. Mystikal, who performed "Danger" at the ceremony, won Best Video for "Shake Ya Ass," and Nelly won Best New Artist. C-N-N, Lil' Kim deny involvement in shooting Capone-N-Noreaga and Lil' Kim have denied any involvement in a shooting that occurred Sunday outside New York radio station Hot 97. "Capone-N-Noreaga had nothing to do with the shooting," the duo said in a statement released Wednesday by Violator Management. "It's unfortunate that the normally healthy competitive spirit in the music industry has been compromised by people who have nothing to do with the making of records. We are cooperating fully with the police, and hope that whoever is responsible for this will be brought to justice." Kim's management released a similar statement on Tuesday: "Lil' Kim and her security had nothing to do whatsoever with the incident at Hot 97." Capone and Kim were at the radio station discussing their guest appearances on DJ Clue's album, The Professional Part 2. A man was shot in the back after the interview in an altercation between the two entourages. The New York Post reported that 21 shots were fired by five different guns. Police detectives have not interviewed either party, but told the New York Daily News that they believed the incident was related to the dispute between Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown, who dissed Kim on Capone-N-Noreaga's The Reunion. DMX charged with contempt When DMX finally turned himself in, he learned that he had been charged with contempt of court for showing up more than two weeks late. DMX began serving a 15-day jail sentence Monday at Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y., for driving without a license. His attorney, Mark Mahoney, expects DMX to be released in about a week, but because of the contempt charge, X now faces the possibilty of an additional year in prison, which is the maximum penalty for the misdemeanor. The jail sentence stems from a March 29 traffic stop in Cheektowaga, N.Y., that led to DMX's fifth arrest for driving without a license since September 1998. A judge signed a warrant for DMX's arrest after he missed a court-ordered Feb. 9 deadline to begin serving the sentence. The district attorney's office filed the contempt charge the same day. More news on the Kool Mo Dee, Xzibit and DMX... www.the411online.com All contents ©1994-2001 The 411 Online News | Reviews | Interviews | Discussion | Coming Up | Flashbacks In the Trunk | Radio | Best of 2000 | Source Awards | Exhibit | Links | E-mail