Black Entertainment News

Rappers and dancers from all corners of the world are expected to converge on Atlanta this summer for the opportunity to be judged by some of hip hop's pioneers.

*Ne-Yo says he was a little taken aback when first approached by Lindsay Lohan's camp to write and produce a song for her upcoming third album. "I mean, I've written for Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Celine Dion and ... Lindsay Lohan?" Ne-Yo told Billboard.com. "But I will say this; we gave her a quality record and she did a ridiculously fabulous job"

*NEW YORK -- There are reunions and then there are reunions ... Embodying one of music's most enduring one-word brand names, and boasting a genre-defying legacy that has successfully spanned three generations, our era's most influential female powerhouse is about to show a stifled music industry how to really turn it out. Labelle is back!

Over the years, many people have compared singer, songwriter Gina Green's silky, smooth & rich sounding voice to the 1980's R&B / POP diva Stephanie Mills; however, she has a unique and fresh sound for today's generation. Going a step further as far as her voice is concerned, EURweb/RadioScope's Lee Bailey is excited about Gina's voice too.

Wesley Snipes will be allowed to remain free on bail as he appeals three federal tax convictions.

*DMX caught a break in a recent lawsuit against him. A judge vacated the $1.5 million award to a woman who filed a defamation suit against the rapper after he alleged that she raped him – though on a technicality.

*A childhood friend of the alleged victim in R. Kelly's child pornography case identified her longtime friend as the one in the explicit video at the center of the trial, according to reports.

*Fresh off a successful tour of Europe, jazz songbird Dianne Reeves is hardly resting on the laurels of her latest disc, “When You Know.” And though she’s gearing up to take a cruise, she’s hardly taking a vacation.

*Akon has chosen to answer questions raised by the Smoking Gun about his so-called criminal past by raising his own question about the Web site's intentions in reporting such a story.

*Allhiphop.com is reporting that Foxy Brown has fired her manager Chaz Williams over his handling of her newly-released album "Brooklyn's Don Diva." Brown said the project was "compiled without her approval" while she was on lockdown in Rikers Island for violating her probation.

“The book is simple and spiritual, and the screenplay will reflect that”

For 15 years, Hollywood has tried and failed to transform the best-selling novel 'The Alchemist' into silver screen material. Now Harvey Weinstein says he has the magic formula.

Weinstein said Sunday that he will produce Paulo Coelho's inspirational fable about a Spanish shepherd on a quixotic quest. Actor Laurence Fishburne ('The Matrix'), already attached to the project, will direct and star as the title character, who guides the shepherd along his way. Shooting will start about a year from now. Read more

DMX has pleaded not guilty to felony drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. via Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

*T-Pain received five BET Award nominations Thursday to lead the entire pack this year, but none were for his own songs. The singer's electronic-enhanced voice earned best collaboration nods for his work with Chris Brown ("Kiss Kiss"), Kanye West ("Good Life") and Flo Rida ("Low"). He was also nominated twice in the video of the year category.

*Remy Ma didn't let a fresh eight-year prison sentence keep her from squaring off against the woman she was convicted of shooting in the stomach. According to the local New York newspapers, both the rapper and Makeda Barnes-Joseph, 24, argued about the case Wednesday morning on New York's Hot 97 radio station.

*The proverbial book was thrown at Remy Ma yesterday when she was sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting an acquaintance over missing money. And adding insult to injury, she began her bid as a single woman. The rapper attempted to marry her rapper/fiancé Papoose before beginning her sentence, but Monday's jailhouse ceremony was cancelled after he was discovered holding a handcuff key and thrown in a cell.

*The man who claims to be behind Suge Knight's knockout punch has emerged. According to TMZ.com, dude is a barbershop owner in Los Angeles who is friends with the man Knight was trying to defend in the now infamous altercation outside of Hollywood's Shag nightclub. Meanwhile, the author of a new book about Knight's former Death Row partner, Dr. Dre and West Coast hip hop, fears a war may have been started by the knockout punch.

“You have to wait until the instrument gets its muscle back. It's riding a bicycle. You get back on it, the handlebars wiggle just a little bit and pretty soon you're back to where you were.”

Morgan Freeman has returned to Broadway with one goal in mind: to try to kill the Morgan Freeman you know and love. via Fredericksburg.com

“Everybody keeps talking about this wedding that supposedly happened. That's a question that you'd have to ask her!”

Caption: Kelly Rowland, . leaving Amika nightclub. after hosting a party. London, England - 10.05.08 R+B singer KELLY ROWLAND has laughed off reports her close pal BEYONCE KNOWLES is pregnant, insisting her ... via ContactMusic.com

“Nick has been besotted since he first met Mariah on a US TV show three years ago. Just before they got married, he got down on one knee again and gave her the pink diamond ring he'd had custom made. She was stunned and thrilled.”

Sunday, 11 May , 2008, 21:40 Last Updated: Sunday, 11 May , 2008, 22:03 Singer Mariah Carey, who married rapper Nick Cannon earlier this month, received a 14-carat, pink diamond ring worth 8 million pounds from ... via Sify

“And if you don't know, God love you. You're probably the only person on earth that doesn't.”

Attorneys in R. Kelly's child pornography trial are expected to begin questioning 150 potential jurors Monday, and it's unlikely any of his fans will be chosen to hear the allegations against one of urban music's biggest stars.

The 41-year-old hitmaker, known for sexually charged hits like 'Bump N' Grind,' has pleaded not guilty to charges that he videotaped himself having sex with a girl as young as 13.

The selection of the 16 jurors, four of them alternates, will be key for both prosecutors and defense attorneys, said Steve Cron, a defense lawyer from Santa Monica, Calif., who has practiced for 35 years. Read more