Beverly Johnson in back; Jerry Rice in ‘Fantasy’ land; E-Shy’s ‘Obama Diss’; Jeezy’s back-to-school event; Baisden talks sex August 8, 2008

The New York Post’s Page Six is reporting that the career of model Beverly Johnson has received a bounce since she appeared in Italian Vogue’s all-black-model issue. “Johnson is going on Tyra Banks’ talk show [today] to discuss the modeling industry, race, age and weight. Speaking of which, Johnson, an avid golfer who’s modeling again, will reveal her new figure. She claims to have lost an astonishing 20 pounds by taking Nikki Haskell’s Star Caps diet pills,” the column reported.

 

       *Former NFL receiver Jerry Rice has been named the commissioner of the inaugural Fantasy Football Open Championship (FFOC), which will award the first-ever $1 Million Grand Prize in Fantasy Football. At a ceremony in Las Vegas at the end of Week 16 of the NFL season, Rice will award the Millionaire Jacket to history’s first-ever fantasy football millionaire. The winner will be determined by the sum of three combined scores: average points from Week 1 through Week 10; average points from Week 11 through Week 15; and points from Week 16. Visit http://www.FFOC.com for more details.

 

      *White rapper E-Shy, an Irish Jew from Harlem, has released a song called “Obama Diss” in which he blasts presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in response to Ludacris’ mixtape track “Politics As Usual,” which supported the candidate. E-Shy raps: “Mr. Obama, you got no heart / You dis-owned your church because you figure it’s politically smart … He was shocked that his pastor hated whites / Obama’s been in that church 20 years, yea right / Ludacris says Obama should paint the White House black to scare them / I wonder who is them? my friend.” (Watch video here.)

 

       *Young Jeezy kicked off back-to-school this past weekend with a daytime bowling event for some special kids in his hometown of Atlanta. The multi-platinum star rented out Metro Lanes and Games for the afternoon, where he gave away free backpacks, clothing, sneakers and school supplies to about 350 youngsters in need — all courtesy of the rapper himself, in addition to generous donations from 8732 clothing, Brand Jordan, Nike, Akademiks, Pastry and others.

 

       *The topic is sex on an all-new episode of the TV One late-night variety series “Baisden After Dark” airing Saturday (Aug. 9) at 11 p.m. The celebrity panel for “Sex 101: Do Men Know What They are Doing in the Bedroom?” includes actor Hosea Chanchez (“The Game”), adult film star Heather Hunter and relationship expert Michelle McKinney Hammond. In addition, Ledisi and comedienne Tiffany Haddish will perform.

ARE RIHANNA AND CHRIS BROWN ENGAGED?: Plus, Barbados singer tops UK’s “sexy stomach” poll August 8, 2008

A diamond ring on the wedding finger of pop star Rihanna has triggered rumors that she and her boyfriend, fellow pop singer Chris Brown, are headed to the altar.      

       Although both artists claim only to be good friends, numerous photos of the two kissing and frolicking together on vacations have surfaced for months, the latest coming last weekend from a joint trip to Ocean City, Maryland.       

        New paparazzi photos on the Web Thursday show a diamond ring on Rihanna’s left hand.       

       In other Rihanna news, the singer has just topped a poll in the UK that ranks the world’s “sexiest stomach.”      

       The 20-year-old beat out second place finisher Kiera Knightly, Helen Mirren at No. 3, Liz Hurley and Sienna Miller in a tie for fourth and Jemima Khan at No. 5.

MORGAN FREEMAN DISCHARGED FROM HOSPITAL: Divorcing actor says he’s ‘doing very well.’ Rumors still follow Demaris Meyer August 8, 2008

Morgan Freeman was discharged Thursday from a Memphis hospital where he was treated for broken bones and other injures sustained during a car accident Sunday in Mississippi.

 

      “I left the hospital today just after 12 noon, Memphis time,” Freeman said in a statement to E! News. “I’m doing very well. I feel really good. I just really, I thank the staff at Elvis Presley [Hospital] and many, many thanks to my many well-wishers. It’s great to know people care about you.”

 

       The 71-year-old actor underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair damage to his left arm and hand. He suffered a broken arm, broken elbow and shoulder damage in the accident that took place off of the rural highway in Tallahatchie County, Miss.       

       Demaris Meyer, 48, of Memphis, a female passenger in the car driven by Freeman, was also injured in the crash. The National Enquirer reported Thursday that although Meyer was referred to by Freeman as a “close family friend,” she was not the woman who reportedly led Freeman’s wife Myrna Colley-Lee to consult a divorce attorney.        

       Freeman’s lawyer, Bill Luckett, announced Wednesday that Freeman and Colley-Lee, his wife of 24 years, had been separated since December and are getting a divorce.       

       The Associated Press reported Thursday that no divorce papers have been filed in Tallahatchie County where Freeman owns a home with Colley-Lee, according to Tallahatchie County Chancery Clerk Anita Mullen Greenwood.      

       Meanwhile, gossip maven Janet Charlton blogged Thursday: “Myrna, who was working out of town, offered to come to the hospital after the accident but Morgan told her not to.”

JAY-Z CONFIRMS RECORDING OF 11TH ALBUM: Rapper performs track from ‘The Blueprint 3′ during Kanye West concert in NY August 8, 2008

Jay-Z has finally admitted that he’s been quietly recording a new album, “The Blueprint 3,” which he says will be his last for Def Jam.        

       The rap mogul appeared as a guest during Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden Wednesday night and performed a West-produced song likely to appear on the new CD.      

       While performing, West asked the audience if he could play a few beats that he recorded while in Hawaii recently, including a song tentatively called “Jockin’ Jay-Z.” As the track played, Jay-Z himself crossed the stage and began rapping: “That bloke from Oasis said I couldn’t play guitar // somebody shoulda told him I’m a f*cking rock star / today is gonna be the day that I’m gonna throw it back to you.”       

       Jigga was referencing his cover of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” at the recent Glastonbury Festival, which drew a mixed response and intended to mock Oasis front man Noel Gallagher, who had protested the rap star’s invitation to headline the annual rock event.      

       According to longtime Jay-Z friend and Roc-A-Fella artist Memphis Bleek, West has more tracks that will be featured on “The Blueprint 3,” which will be the rap star’s 11th studio album.      

       “Kanye just brought him a new beat called ‘Brooklyn,’” Bleek told Billboard.com. “You know Jay though, he’s always changing his mind. It’s going to be a masterpiece though. Kanye gave him some beats where I told Jay that I’m hating on him for having them. The beats are like new rhythms with old drums. Just picture Jay-Z having four records like ‘Encore.’”      

       No date has been set for the album’s release, reports Billboard.com. Afterward, Jay-Z will begin recording for Live Nation as part of a deal he signed with the company this spring.

BULLETS FLY AT RICK ROSS BACK-TO-SCHOOL EVENT: Second annual ‘Be Out’ day disrupted by gunfire August 8, 2008

Shots rang out at the second annual Rick Ross Be Out Day in Miami Gardens, Fla. Wednesday, sending hundreds of parents and kids scattering and running for cover.

 

      According to local news station CBS4, bullets were fired into the crowd after Rick Ross took the stage. Police said no one was injured.

 

      One person is in custody for the incident and another was “on the run” as of press time. A gun has also been recovered by authorities.

 

       The event at Carol City Park is an annual gathering to help parents prepare their kids for the upcoming school year. Free backpacks and school supplies were distributed.

MARY J. BLIGE LAWSUIT IS A BIG ‘PAIN’: Singer sued for $2 million over music from her current album August 8, 2008

A $2 million federal lawsuit against Mary J. Blige claims a song on her current album, “Growing Pains,” used a track without permission. 

 

      The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan Federal Court says producer Theron (NEEF-U) Feemster wrote the music for Blige’s song “Work That,” but the track is owned by Dream Family Entertainment Inc. 

 

      The court filing claims the New York-based firm never gave Blige, Feemster or Geffen Records, the distributor, rights to use the song, which was also used in a nationwide commercial for Apple’s iPod.

 

       “Mr. Feemster created the music while he was under contract with Dream Family. Dream Family then owned the music, yet the music was used without permission in a Mary J. Blige release recording,” said Dream lawyer Brian Caplan, according to the New York Daily News. “It was released as an album, a single and in a commercial.”       

       Rights to the lyrics of the song are not in question. Caplan said it was unclear if Blige knew the music belonged to someone other than Feemster, and said the producer “had no rights to the music he used.”

USHER HANDS CAREER BACK TO MOMMY: Singer drops Benny Media and rehires mother August 8, 2008

Fifteen months after Usher fired his mother as his manager, the singer has dumped her replacement, Benny Medina, and brought his mom back into the fold to steer his career.

 

       In a short statement issued by his LaFace/Zomba label Wednesday, it was announced that the artist “has dissolved his management arrangement with Benny Medina and has re-engaged Jonnetta Patton as his manager.”

 

       Last month, the New York Daily News quoted sources who said Usher was unhappy with Medina’s handling of his current album, “Here I Stand,” which sold 433,000 copies in its first week compared to the 1.1 million copies of his last album, “Confessions,” during its opening week in 2004.       

      “People have been telling Usher to listen to his mother,” a source told the Daily News at the time. “Nobody knows how to sell him better than she does.”

 

       Disputing that he “fired” his mom, Usher said he “retired” her near Mother’s Day last year to hire longtime industry vet Medina, who worked the “Here I Stand” project that has so far sold 948,000 units in the U.S. in its 10 weeks out.      

       Meanwhile, the singer has also cut ties with W&W Public Relations, a publicity firm that also serves as the official reps for Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys and Ludacris.

 

BERNIE MAC ‘RESPONDING WELL TO TREATMENT’: Rep says comedian hopes to leave hospital in the next few weeks August 8, 2008

Bernie Mac, hospitalized recently for pneumonia, is reportedly on the mend and looking to be discharged in the next few weeks, his rep said Thursday.

 

      A statement from his publicist, Danica Smith, said the 50-year-old comic is “responding well to treatment” and remained in “stable condition” in a Chicago-area hospital.

 

      She said last week that Mac’s bout with pneumonia was unrelated to his previous diagnosis of a chronic tissue inflammation, called sarcoidosis, which has been in remission since 2005.

L’OREAL DENIES LIGHTENING BEYONCE’S SKIN IN AD: Photo for Feria hair color has singer’s skin looking white August 8, 2008

L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics maker, has come under fire for a new ad that appears to feature Beyonce with skin way lighter than her natural tone.       

       After the issue was raised earlier this week by the New York Post, the cosmetics giant released a statement Thursday denying that the singer’s skin was digitally lightened in an ad appearing in the September issue of Elle magazine.      

       “We highly value our relationship with Ms. Knowles. It is categorically untrue that L’Oréal Paris altered Ms. Knowles’ features or skin tone in the campaign for Feria hair color,” the Paris-based company said in a statement sent to the Associated Press through the singer’s representative.      

Beyonce – Did they or didn’t they lighten her?

       Beyonce’s rep said the singer would have no further comment beyond L’Oreal’s statement.

 

MAN ADMITS KILLING WOMAN AT LIL KIM’S PARTY: Club worker arrested after confessing to murder of 24-year-old woman August 8, 2008

A 24-year-old man has confessed to the beating death of a woman whose body was found on the roof of a Manhattan nightclub that was hosting a birthday party for Lil’ Kim.      

        Rahman Syed was arrested at his home Thursday after the body of Ingrid Rivera, also 24, was found stuffed in an electrical room on the roof of the Spotlight Live karaoke club, where Missy Elliot, Busta Rhymes, Lamar Odom and Wyclef Jean were among the celebs on hand for Lil Kim’s 34th birthday bash.       

       Syed, a bartender’s assistant at the Times Square club, told police he hit Rivera with a metal pipe in the building’s elevator after she refused his advances.       

       Rivera, an airline ticket agent from Queens, was kicked out of the club by bouncers Sunday night because she was drunk. Her family said they filed a missing persons report when she failed to show up at home. Police searched the Times Square club but did not come across the woman.      

       A maintenance worker found her body Wednesday in the rooftop utility room. She had a head wound and other injuries, according to TMZ.com.       

       A rep for Lil’ Kim said the entertainer did not know Rivera and hadn’t heard about the case until being told about it Wednesday night. The Grammy Award-winning rapper will not be interviewed in connection with the crime, authorities said.