Travis Barker, DJ AM, Injured After Plane Crash September 22, 2008

Four other passengers are killed, AM and Barker placed in a burn center

Travis Barker, the former drummer for rock group Blink-182, and Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein have both been critically injured and placed in a burn center after a jet crash that killed four other passengers, authorities said.

The four others killed were two crew members and two passengers, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.

The Learjet 60 took off shortly before midnight Friday, when air traffic controllers started seeing sparks. Shortly after leaving the runway, the Learjet crashed on a nearby road in Columbia, South Carolina. The NTSB has sent a Go Team to Columbia to investigate the crash. Barker and DJ AM have been taken to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia.

Travis Barker and DJ AM just released their brand new mixtape, Fix Your Facein early September. The project features well known tracks from acts such as The Beastie boys to Jay-Z, with Barker backing on the drums and DJ AM mixing the set. To download Fix Your Face, visit, http://trvsdjam.com/.

Correspondent Scary Spice; Jackson’s ‘Lakeview’ No. 1; Miss USA stumbles again September 22, 2008

Melanie “Mel B.” Brown will return as a “Dancing With the Stars” guest correspondent for “Access Hollywood” when the ABC reality show premieres tonight. Brown, who was a finalist in season five of the competition, will deliver reports from the set, interview the cast after the live shows on Monday and Tuesday nights and will document backstage moments. “I’m ecstatic to continue working with my Access Hollywood family,” Brown said in a statement. “I am looking forward to the new season of Dancing with the Stars.”

 

      *Samuel L. Jackson’s movie “Lakeview Terrace” sold $15.6 million to earn the top spot at the box office, according to estimates issued on Sunday. It barely surpassed the $14 million opening for Jackson’s 2006 bomb “Snakes on a Plane.” In the Neil LaBute-directed “Lakeview Terrace,” Jackson plays a vindictive cop who makes life hell for his new neighbors.

 

      *The New York Post is reporting that Miss USA, Crystle Stewart – the woman who famously tripped and fell during the Miss Universe competition in Thailand over the summer – nearly hit the deck again at the recent party for NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle” in New York. The beauty showed up to Studio 450 in “incredibly high heels,” a witness told Page Six. Stewart made her way to the outside balcony and proceeded to “lose her balance on the rubber floor and started to fall.” A public relations man came to her rescue and escorted her to solid ground. Later, Stewart declined a shot of 1942 Don Julio tequila, saying, “I’m not allowed to drink, or I will get yelled at.”

EMINEM BACK IN THE STUDIO September 22, 2008

Eminem says he’s currently recording material for a new album that could be released by year’s end.

      “I’m concentrating on my own stuff right now — just banging out tracks,” Eminem told listeners of his Sirius XM satellite radio station, Shade 45. “The more I keep producing, the better it seems I get. I start knowing stuff, learning the boards like the back of my hands.”

 The Detroit rapper said he was producing tracks for both himself as well as artists signed to his Shady Records label.

 A rep for Interscope said there is no official release date for the project, nor a first single, but confirmed that an album may arrive before year’s end, reports Billboard.

      Rapper 50 Cent, with whom Eminem has collaborated in the past, spoke to BBC Radio 1 this week and said fans will be “seeing (Eminem) shortly. “He’s working. I spent the weekend at his house,” said 50. “Even though he tries to relax and stay home, it’s impossible for him to stay in.”

BYNUM’S EX LOOKING FOR LOVE September 22, 2008

Bishop Thomas Weeks, who pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-wife Juanita Bynum in a hotel parking lot, has launched a new online search for love titled “Who Will Be the Next Mrs. Weeks?”

 

      “What kind of advice would you give me about the next Mrs. Weeks?” the Bishop asks in a video posted on his website (http://www.bishopweeks.com/). “I’m sure there are some of you that would like to just share your personal heartfelt [thoughts] of what you would say to either Mrs. Weeks in the future, or to myself about Mrs. Weeks.”

 

      According to TMZ.com, “a bunch of women” have already responded to his call for wife number three. He says he’s looking for someone who can bear children, a woman who is sensual and she can’t be ugly.

 

      Bishop Weeks, 40, was sentenced to three years probation, 200 hours of community service and anger management classes after pleading guilty to aggravated assault. He admitted to attacking Bynum in the parking lot of the Renaissance Concourse Hotel in Atlanta on Aug. 21.

 

NATE DOGG CONDITION WORSE THAN REPORTED September 22, 2008

E! News is reporting that singer Nate Dogg was in worse condition than initially reported after suffering a stroke nearly two weeks ago, his second in less than a year.

 

       The artist’s cousin, former rap artist Lil Half Dead, said Nate was on life support at a Los Angeles-area hospital and was hooked up to a feeding tube as of Wednesday. He has since been taken off of life support, but the feeding tube is still inserted, according to TMZ.

 

      “He has suffered another stroke from his bad eating habits and unhealthy lifestyle,” said Lil Half Dead, born Donald Smith. “All we can do now is pray for him.”     

      Nate Dogg, born Nathanial Hale, suffered his first stroke on Dec. 19. It left him partially paralyzed.

 

      “He was making excellent progress with his recovery from the first stroke,” said his manager Rod McGrew. “This is an unfortunate setback. We welcome all prayers in support of Nate’s recovery but we would appreciate privacy.”     

      Nate Dogg’s condition will undoubtedly force a Compton judge to postpone a Sept. 24 hearing in which he faces felony charges for threatening and stalking his estranged wife.

 

CHRISTINA MILIAN JOINS MYSPACE RECORDS September 22, 2008

After leaving Def Jam in 2006, Christina Milian has finally found a new label home at MySpace Records, according to Billboard.com.

      The singer-songwriter’s debut album for the company is due next spring, but the first single – a “cinematic power ballad” titled “Us Against the World” – will be available via the social networking site on Oct. 6.

      “I’ve been out of the game for one and a half years, and I think I’m long overdue for a comeback, so I’m treating this album like it’s my last chance to make an impression. I’m competing with myself and being very detailed,” the 26-year-old Cuban-American told Billboard. “Before, I had a label telling me what direction to go in. Now, it’s my choice, so I’m being very particular about it and I’m really excited.”

 So far, Kanye West is the lone guest artist on the as-yet-untitled set, which she considers to be a fresh look after the poor sales of her 2006 album “So Amazin’” led to her dismissal from Def Jam.

      “I have a lot of support from my peers. I have lots of people that love me and want the best for me,” she said. “Sometimes things don’t work out the right way, but I know I work my butt off on my end. As long as you know you worked hard, you feel accomplished. Thankfully, I took the time off to check out what’s going on and now I’m back, and MySpace is allowing me to do tons of different things creatively.”

      Milian will appear on the big screen in the romantic comedy “The Ghosts of Girlfriends,” starring Matthew McConaughey and scheduled to hit theaters in February. She is featured as the lead in a live-action film made for the EA videogame “Need for Speed,” due Nov. 28.

SEAL, SERENA CELEBRATE ISRAEL’S B’DAY September 22, 2008

Tennis star Serena Williams and pop singer Seal were among the celebrities on hand at Hollywood’s Paramount Studios Thursday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel, as well as to honor Israeli-born producer Arnon Milchan. 

      Milchan met Williams in 1998 when he controlled the television rights to the Women’s Tennis Association and brokered Williams’ endorsement deal with Puma, reports the Associated Press.

      “He was one of the people who always believed in me,” Williams told the crowd while appearing on stage with Milchan during the event.

      Milchan, a one-time fertilizer merchant, also helped produce such films as “Pretty Woman” and “L.A. Confidential.” News Corp. President Peter Chernin presented him with a lifetime achievement award from the Citizens’ Empowerment Center in Israel, a nonprofit that promotes democracy and civic involvement.

P. MILLER LAUNCHES FEMALE CLOTHING LINE September 22, 2008

Hip hop mogul Percy “P.” Miller has announced the launch of a new clothing line for women and girls called Miller Peaches.

      The enterprise, expected to be sold in Wal-Mart, specializes in stretch denim and will retail between $10 and $20, according to P. Miller. The line will also include plus-sizes.

      “P. Miller truly is a complete lifestyle brand, which now includes P.Miller Designs for young men, Miller Peaches for young women, Kids, Shoes and Accessories lines,” Miller said in a statement. “This brand seeks to clothe the entire family from head to toe and target the African American and Hispanic minority customers and make history by being a quality, affordable, urban lifestyle brand for the community.”
     
      A nationwide search for a Miller Peaches spokeswoman is underway at his media venture Better Black TV Network.
     
      “We are looking for The Miller Peaches Great American Girl… is it you?” asked Miller. “Tell us what makes you The Miller Peaches Great American Girl for a chance at an opportunity with our national advertising campaign for Miller Peaches clothing.”

LIL WAYNE TO POP BOTTLES IN BAHAMAS September 22, 2008

Rapper Lil Wayne will spend his 26th birthday in the Bahamas headlining “Poppin’ Bottles,” a landmark concert to feature the best in hip hop, dancehall and reggae talent across U.S. and the Caribbean, reports Allhiphop.com.

      The Sept. 26 event, to include Bahamian talent Daddy Whites, Golden Child, and Bobo Ken, will begin at 10 p.m. at the Bristol Wines and Spirits Grounds and is billed as an all-night celebration, according to creator Lisa “Red” Tootle of Red City Entertainment.

 ”This concert is quite a fusion. You have one of the leading phenomena of reggae in Buju Banton, who is a legend in his own right, and then you’re taking the number one Hip-Hop artist in the world right now and you’re putting them on the same stage,” Tootle told the Nassau Guardian. “I think that in itself puts our concert above all others, and I say that with authority because I’ve been in and out of the Bahamas for the past 8 to 10 years and I’ve been to many, many concerts.”

      “Wayne is expected to be on stage by 1 or 2 a.m. and from what I understand Buju is just so excited about being a part of this show that he is expected to come out with a crazy performance,” Tootle explained. “So it will be quite a night.”

NATALIE COLE HOSPITALIZED FOR HEPATITIS C September 22, 2008

Natalie Cole has been hospitalized in New York due to complications from her battle against Hepatitis C, her rep said Friday.

      “She has had a setback and is in the hospital in New York. We expect her to make a full recovery. She will be in the hospital a few more days and then will be sent home for bed rest,” her spokeswoman, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
     
      The Grammy winner, 58, has cancelled or postponed her tour dates and other appearances that were scheduled for October.
     
      In July, Cole disclosed that she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C likely contracted decades ago during her admitted drug use. Her doctors said she was responding well to treatment, including chemotherapy, but was suffering “significant side effects,” including fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration.