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Davey D's FNV Newsletter
In Today's Issue:
February 15 2001
*Eminem Pleads Guilty
*Puff and J-Lo Officially Over
*Puff Attacked By Animal Lovers
*Puff Sues Back
*Lauryn Hill Under Fire
*Remember Diallo

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First things first...They say when it rains it pours, and that's what it seems to be doing amongst some of Hip Hop's biggest stars. Here's a quick run down. Eminem stands a good chance of spending some time behind bars.. and the call for him to turn himself in could happen as soon as April 10th. For those who don't know, Mr. Mathers has been fighting some felony charges which include assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed weapon. If convicted on both counts he could've found himself locked away for 9 years. Macomb, Michigan prosecutor, Carl Malinga seemed determined to score a conviction that would put Em in jail at all costs. Hence he made an offer that was hard to refuse. He told Em if you plead guilty to one of the felonies he'll drop the other.. But still its going to require some jail time.

For the past three months Eminem has had to decide whether or not he should roll the dice and take his chances in court or plea bargain and see if he can find a judge who will show some mercy and let him get off on probation. Yesterday Eminem celebrated his Valentines Day by pleading guilty.. Marlinga is going to recommend that Eminem spend at least 6-8 months in jail. Em's lawyers are saying this is his first offense..and he should walk.. mmm that's interesting when I first interviewed Eminem he specifically said he spent some time in jail.. Oh well..we'll have to wait and see how things turn out...

Its Official..Big Time Drama For Puff..

Its been a bad week for Sean Puffy Combs. As everyone on planet earth now knows.. its official him and J-Lo are no longer a couple. When the stories officially surfaced, both camps denied any such thing. In fact some journalist were taken to task for reporting the stories. The most biting accounts suggested that Puff and J-Lo had split 6 months ago and Puffy was paying her to keep up a public facade. Other insidious reports suggested that J-Lo was too scared to leave..However, she spent much of the past couple of weeks going on talk show after talk show to promote her new album-which is pretty cool, her new movie which is so-so and while doing so, she kept insisting that her and Puffy were still very much together. Several of the newspapers, in a move that suggested retraction, ran stories stating they may have jumped the gun..and there was no break up.. Here we are three days later and Puffy issues an official statement. that the couple have now moved onto splitsville. Break ups are always sad..and one can only imagine how it is when you're in the public eye.. Hopefully all those involved come through this in a way that leaves them stronger and better..

When Animal Lovers Attack...

Unfortunately Puffy woes don't end there.. He has come under attack by PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]. Last week Puffy went all out and spent a cool one million dollars for a fashion show that showcased his fall 2001 Sean Jean clothing line... Many of the pieces utilized real fur which upset the folks from PETA who habitually make it a point to go out and publicly check celebrities who wear fur. They took a bit more offense with Puffy because he apparently, had pledged not to anymore fur in his designs. The folks from PETA felt like he reneged on his promise. One of the spokesperson was quoted by MTV as saying that Puff was an important role model and they hoped that he had 'evolved' and 'matured'... They also referred to him as a 'Neanderthal'. Folks from Puffy camp shot back and stated that he does not design clothes to satisfy PETA. This years clothing line does not use as much fur as last year's line.. They also accused PETA of acting like terrorists..

So while Puff is dealing with PETA and his court trial which could land him behind bars for a number of years if convicted, he has some other legal madness to contend with. First he's on the offense and suing a Rollingstone writer named Mikal Gilmore. He's seeking 350 thousand dollars in damages claiming that the writer was supposed to help pen Puff's autobiography. In fact the writer had already sold the book proposal. However, he decided to backout and act as a consultant on this project-Puff wasn't having it so he's suing.. Hopefully a win on this matter will help Puff pay for two other lawsuits that have been launched against him. One states that a talent agency discovered Puff's girl band Dream and that he basically stole the group from them. The other is from a woman who lives in Puff's Beverly Hills home. She accuses Puff of basically being a slum landlord and that the place is infested with roaches and rodents. There's also reports that notes and death threats have been coming to the house. Puff says both lawsuits are frivolous.

Puff Turns to God..

With all this madness going on Puff has only one clear choice to help him gain strength and come through all the drama. He's gonna have to turn to God. A firm spiritual foundation will no doubt see him through. If his timing couldn't have been more perfect, after two years of working, Puff is set to release his gospel album in the beginning of March. Its called 'Thank You' and features Faith Evans, Brandy and Kelly Price. The album is co-produced by Hezekiah Walker who is a pastor, Puff's spiritual advisor and past Grammy Award winner.... Hezekiah sings while Puff raps and most of the album's tracks. We wish them much success with the project..

Lauryn Hill Under Fire..

Another big Hip Hop star dealing with these storms of controversy is the one and only Ms Lauryn Hill. After a two year contentious battle, she has finally settles a lawsuit with 4 producers who are collectively known as New Ark Entertainment. For those who don't know, these 4 cats accused Ms Hill of not giving them proper credit or their royalties for the work they did on her landmark album, 'The Miseducation' of Lauryn Hill'. Apparently Ms Hill signed a publishing deal with them back in '97 and they helped write many of the songs on her album. However, when the lp dropped their names were no where to be seen. Hence they filed a lawsuit back in '98. Things have finally gotten settled, but the terms of the legal agreement have not been disclosed.. In the meantime just as Ms Hill has completed handling that along comes another lawsuit. According to Rollingstone, a bassist named Vere Isaac has stepped forth to lay claim on the melody that was used in the hit song 'A Rose Is Still A Rose' which features Lauryn and Aretha Franklin.. Damn! here we go again-ya gotta love this music biz..

Vere Isaac, who worked on the "A Rose Is a Rose" sessions with Hill and Aretha Franklin, filed suit against Hill last year in the Seventh District Court in New York. Isaac states in his complaint that he wrote the melody for the hit single. Isaac has retained Peter Harvey -- who represented Nobles, Pugh and the Newtons -- as counsel.

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The FNV Newsletter
written by Davey D
http://www.daveyd.com
http://www.rapstation.com
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