Jay-Z charged with felony assault
Add another chapter to the life and times of Shawn Carter.
Jay-Z was arrested and formally charged with two counts of felony assault by New York police Thursday night
for allegedly stabbing record executive Lance "Un" Rivera the night before during Q-Tip's album release
party at the Kit Kat Club.
Jay also
faces two additional charges in connection with an alleged assault at the Kit Kat
on Nov. 26 and an incident alleged to have occurred in April 1998 at another New York nightclub.
However, lawyer Harry Slovis maintained that his client was innocent of the
charges.
"To think that this guy, who is as gentle as can be, has anything to do
with this is crazy," Slovis told MTV, adding that the timing couldn't be worse.
"He has a new album coming out... of course he's upset."
Jigga was arrested after turning himself in for questioning.
He was released at approximately 2:15 a.m. EST Friday on $50,000 bail.
A court date has been set for January 31.
Police say Rivera was stabbed in the lower back and shoulder
inside the club around midnight. Rivera, who runs Untertainment and is responsible for the careers
of Cam'ron and Charli Baltimore as well as Undeas Records, which he founded
with the late Notorious B.I.G., was treated at New York's St. Vincent
Hospital and released early Thursday afternoon.
In addition to the stabbing, another victim was punched in the face in a separate scuffle.
Earlier in the evening
Jay-Z performed his new album, Vol. 3... The Life
and Times of S. Carter, in its entirety at a listening party in New York City's Urban Plaza.
MTV is reporting that the dispute could be related to the rampant bootlegging of his new album, which isn't due to hit stores until Dec. 28.
More news on N.W.A, Outkast and Eminem's marriage
www.the411online.com
All contents ©1994-2000 The 411 Online
News | Reviews | Interviews | Discussion | Coming Up | Flashbacks
In the Trunk | Radio | Best of '99 | Source Awards | Exhibit | Links | E-mail
The newest deejay at SonicNet.com is the Ruff Ryders' first lady. The next one could be you.
Eve is featured as one of the web site's "guest deejays." Any visitor to the site easily can set up
a station and dictate its programming, but guest deejays have stations fueled with
interviews that reveal the artists' influences and inspirations. Just for fun,
The 411 Online launched a station of its own, which you can
Jay-Z has been talking for quite some time about his next album becoming the first in hip-hop history
to sell more than 1 million copies in its first week. Now, Def Jam is predicting that label-mate DMX
will beat him to the punch. The recently retitled And Then There Was X is due out on Dec. 21, one
week earlier than Jay-Z's Vol. 3... The Life and Times of S. Carter, and will feature
Dru Hill's Sisqo, Regina Belle, The Lox, Drag-On and other members of the Ruff Ryders.
The first single will be "What's My Name?" 
Hip-hop continues to make its presence felt in movies.
After recently releasing his second album of 1999, Nas is showing
no signs of slowing down. He currently is hard at work on his next project,
a hip-hop-flavored remake of the classic opera, "Carmen," that
he is writing and starring in. The television movie, titled "Hip-Hopera,"
will be aired on MTV. Nas also will perform live on the Columbia Records web site
on Wednesday, Dec. 15, as part of their Online Holiday Concert Series.
Meanwhile, L.L. Cool J recently wrapped a video for his latest film, "Any Given Sunday."
L.L. shot the video for "Shut 'Em Down," which will appear on the movie's
soundtrack, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
L.L. stars along with Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx and Cameron
Diaz in "Sunday," which hits theaters Dec. 22. The soundtrack won't reach
stores until early next year.
GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, Black Thought and ?uestlove of The Roots,
Rah Digga from the Flipmode Squad and Talib Kweli will perform
at a special invitation-only benefit for Toys for Tots, scheduled for
Monday night at the Exit club in New York City.
Tyson Beckford will host the show, "Hip-Hop Holiday '99," and Q-Tip and other members of the Wu-Tang Clan
are expected to come out in support.
Toys For Tots was started in 1947 by the U.S. Marine Corps, which
works with local groups to help collect and distribute new toys to
needy children across the U.S. at Christmas time. Last year, the Marines
collected and distributed over 11 million toys.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a former L.A. police officer
already behind bars for bank robbery is one of the suspects in the 1997
shooting death of Notorious B.I.G. Biggie was gunned down March 9, 1997,
after leaving a music industry party at the Peterson Automotive Museum.
Former officer David Mack is under suspicion for allegedly hiring longtime friend Amir
Muhammad to attack B.I.G., the Times reported, citing confidential
police documents and sources that include a former detective assigned to
the case. A witness placed Mack at the scene of the slaying, and another man who
was in the same vehicle as Biggie picked Mack out of a photo lineup of
six men, according to police documents. Mack is serving a 14-year prison term for a 1997 bank robbery. Police
have been unable to locate Muhammad. Detectives who searched Mack's house in connection with the bank robbery
found what a police source called a "shrine" to 2Pac, the Death
Row star gunned down in Las Vegas six months before Biggie was killed.
Investigators reportedly are examining whether Mack
conspired with Death Row Records founder Suge Knight to arrange the
contract killing of Biggie, whose real name was
Christopher Wallace. Detectives previously have identified Knight as a
suspect in the
Notorious B.I.G. killing, alleging he may have ordered it while in jail
on a parole violation. He is serving nine years for a 1992 attack on two
rappers in a recording studio.
Mack's attorney, Donald M. Re, said any link between his client and
Wallace's killing "sounds absolutely ridiculous."
Knight's attorney, Robin Yanes, said Thursday that his client doesn’t
know Mack. "He’s not a friend, not a business associate, nothing.
A year ago it came up, and now they're recycling it to cover their
butts. They have nowhere to go. They are at a standstill," Yanes said.
"They went up to the prison and tried to get people to snitch out Suge,
and they got nothing." 
