Remy Ma Gets Good News On Second Appeal

Incarcerated female rapper Remy Ma recently won a second appeal in an attempt to gain her freedom, after being sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting a friend in 2007.

Remy Ma was convicted of shooting her friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph in the stomach after $3,000 went missing from the rapper’s purse after a night of partying in Manhattan in July of 2007.

The rapper was sentenced to eight years in prison for her role in the shooting in March of 2008.

According to reports, one appeal has already been denied, but Remy recently received good news, when she was given good news about her second appeal.

Her husband, rapper Papoose, told Vibe.com that he was confident Remy Ma would be sprung from Rikers Island early.

"I can't speak about it in detail due to legal reasons, but we recently got some great news concerning her second appeal,” Papoose said. “Let's just say that she's blessed. I highly doubt that she will have to serve the full time. If justice is served, then she will come home now. My plan is to see her walk out of that hellhole and get a breath of fresh air, so we can enjoy life."

Drake Hired A Vocal Coach For 'Away From Home' Tour, Says Producer

Two weeks ago, the Internet lit up at the sight of a leaked track from Drake’s anticipated debut, Thank Me Later. “Shut It Down,” a So Far Gone-lite record featuring The-Dream, was reported in September as Drake’s official lead single before any word of “Over” had surfaced.

While the overall response to “Shut It Down” was more than favorable, Stadiumred producer Omen, who worked on the track with Drake’s right-hand 40, told VIBE that version heard on the Net had a few elements absent.

“['Shut It Down'] is still missing some ingredients. It’s missing a full Dream verse and a full rap verse from Drake,” he says. “The leaked version wasn’t the way it was supposed to be presented. It was just something that caught on so quickly… I don’t know how the hell radio got it. Drake’s [rap verse is] basically playing around with the song’s concept more, not really telling a story, but just talking to the ladies.”

Omen also revealed that “Shut It Down” was the first song Drake recorded for Thank Me Later in the early fall. Though he’s still unsure whether other tracks he co-produced with 40 made the final cut, from what Omen’s heard of the album, he says fans can expect more hip-hop than heard on the mixtape that made Drake famous.

“It’s more rapping than So Far Gone… a lot more rapping. Even if he is singing it’s just the chorus. 'Shut It Down' has probably the most singing on the album and then he has another one with a Sade vibe that’s dope,” he says. “He’s definitely improving his singing too. He just hired a vocal coach that he’s working with during The Away From Home Tour. This is going to be one of the top hip-hop/R&B albums out this year. I can feel it.”

The 33-year-old Harlem producer added that he spoke too soon about “Shut It Down” being Drake’s first single.

“I jumped the gun [Laughs]. What happened is everyone was real excited and saying this is the single, but you know how the industry works, when an album’s being recorded there’s always going to be other producers that bring something different,” he continues. “It still was a very good song to be in the single contention. It could be second, could be third. I’m not sure which, but I’m sure it’s going to be a single."

Omen first worked with Drake in 2008 on the track, “Overdose On Life,” off Drake’s second mixtape, Comeback Season. Drake’s major label debut, Thank Me Later is scheduled for release on June 15. —Tracy Garraud

Oprah Taps Jay-Z, Lady Gaga To Help Launch OWN

Oprah Winfrey is attracting big name talent that will be featured in various shows on her new TV network, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network).

According to The Wall Street Journal, Jay-Z and Condoleezza Rice will be featured on the premiere episode of a new series titled Master Class, that features celebrities and politicians relaying real life stories into the camera.

Jay-Z told The Wall Street Journal he immediately accepted Winfrey’s offer to be included on a show on OWN, which will launch on January 1st as a joint venture between Winfrey’s Harpo Inc. and The Discovery Network.

"I didn't even think about it," Jay-Z said. "I just said 'yes.'"

Master Class is part of a new slate of programming being produced by OWN for the upcoming launch of the network.

Other shows include Life Is Not a Straight Line, Note to Self, Swell and Visionaries: Inside the Creative Mind, which will spotlight Lady Gaga and Avatar director James Cameron.


Winfrey announced she will host a new evening hour-long show on OWN titled Oprah’s Next Chapter, which will air two to three times a week and will feature Winfrey taking celebrities and politicians around the world, as she interviews them.

50 Cent's Associate Ordered To Pay For Beating Woman At Mansion

A woman who was beaten by an associate of 50 Cent’s at his Connecticut mansion won a judgment yesterday (April 8) in court.

Shana Chin, 24, claimed that Dwayne McKenzie, a member of 50 Cent’s entourage who lives in the mansion, beat her during a Memorial Day party in 2008.

McKenzie and Chin had been dating since 2007, but the relationship went sour when she found out McKenzie was allegedly cheating on her.

A fight between the two took place in McKenzie’s bedroom in on Memorial Day in May of 2008 and McKenzie allegedly chocked and slapped Chin.

A Waterbury Superior Court ruled in favor of Chin after the judge presiding over the case ruled that there was enough evidence to support Chin’s claims of assault.

McKenzie has been ordered to pay $30,000 and has already taken a violence education program.

McKenzie is a member of 50 Cent’s entourage who has had several encounters with police in Connecticut.

In August of 2007, he was arrested for firing a gun at a man who attempted to steal his chain outside of a Hartford nightclub.

McKenzie was rearrested in October of 2007, after he allegedly pistol-whipped a promoter, after the man failed to announce an after party taking place at 50 Cent’s mansion.

In August of 2009, he was arrested again for allegedly brawling with a woman who refused to give him oral sex at the mansion.

During her testimony, Chin made the shocking allegations that McKenzie was the culprit who firebombed 50 Cent’s mansion Dix Hills, Long Island mansion in May of 2008.

No one was been arrested for the fire, which police have already deemed suspicious.

Nicki Minaj Tapped For Rihanna's 'Last Girl On Earth' Tour

Rapper Nicki Minaj will head out on the road as an opening act for Rihanna’s 2010 Last Girl On Earth tour of North America.

The 25-date tour begins July 2nd at the White River Amphitheater in Seattle, Washington and ends August 25th at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

The tour will be a “visual spectacle on a scale unlike anything she has accomplished in her already legendary career,” a representative for Rihanna said in a press release today (April 5th).

At press time, Rihanna, who was discovered by Jay-Z, is the only female artist in the past decade to have six #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

"We've never done a tour to this capacity. The production is unbelievable and the costumes, we just took it to a whole new level,” Rihanna said in a recent interview. “Visually and sonically it's going to be a big step up from the last time. We just keep growing and this time it is a massive production that I cannot wait for."

The news comes as Rihanna begins her sold out tour of Europe, which starts on April 16th in Antwerp, Belgium, to promote her album Rated R.

Rihanna’s tour dates are listed below:

Jul 02
Seattle
White River Amphitheatre

Jul 04
Vancouver
General Motors Place

Jul 06
Calgary
Pengrowth Saddeldome

Jul 09
Sacramento
ARCO Arena

Jul 10
Mountain View
Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View

Jul 14
Albuquerque
Hard Rock Casino Albuquerque presents The Pavilion

Jul 15
Denver
Comfort Dental Amphitheatre

Jul 17
Las Vegas
Mandalay Bay Events Center

Jul 21

Los Angeles
Staples Center
Jul 22

Phoenix
Cricket Wireless Pavilion

Jul 28
Atlanta
Philips Arena

Jul 30
Tampa
Ford Amphitheatre

Jul 31
Miami
American Airlines Center

Aug 03
Indianapolis
Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis

Aug 05
Toronto
Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

Aug 07
Montreal
Bell Centre

Aug 08
Boston
Comcast Center

Aug 11
Uncasville
Mohegan Sun Arena

Aug 12
New York
Madison Square Garden

Aug 15
Wantagh
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater

Aug 18
Camden
Susquehanna Bank Center

Aug 20
Bristow
Jiffy Lube Live

Aug 21
Hershey
Hersheypark Stadium

Aug 22
Detroit
DTE Energy Music Theatre

Aug 25
Chicago
United Center

Styles P. Announces New Release 'Ghost Dub Dime'

Yonkers, New York rapper and Lox member Styles P. has announced he is releasing a new mixtape with E1 Music this May.

The mixtape, titled The Ghost Dub-Dime, is the latest project from the rapper, who also recently inked a book deal with Random House to release a fictional novel titled Invincible.

In addition to the book, Styles P. will drop a soundtrack for the novel, which is due in stores and on StylesP.net on June 1st.


“I am staying in tune with the streets and providing bars that most rappers won’t,” Styles said of The Ghost Dub-Dime.

The first single from the mixtape is titled “That Street Life,” which features Raleigh, North Carolina singer Tyler Woods.

Styles P. is also in the recording studio working on a new solo album, in addition to a new album from his group The Lox.

“I’m proud to be operating as an independent where I have total control of my project,” Styles P. said of his independence.

Wyclef Raises Almost $10 Mil For Haiti; Ambassador Defends Rapper

Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti non-profit organization has raised almost $10 million dollars in donations since an earthquake struck the nation in January.

According to recent filings, Yele has taken in a total of $9,139,324 in donations since a 7.0 earthquake leveled Port-Au-Prince, leaving over #,000,000 dead and millions wounded and displaced.

The organization has been under scrutiny since it began soliciting donations on behalf of Haiti and has been accused mismanaging funds in the past.

Last month, TheSmokingGun.com posted Yele’s 2008 tax returns, revealing a $105,000 payment to the rapper’s personal assistant Zakiya Khatou-Chevassus, who he was rumored to be having an affair with.

Those allegations come in the midst of rumors that Jean was also sleeping with his former manager, Lisa Ellis, former VP of Urban at Sony Music.

According to The New York Post, Ellis has contacted the FBI over a nude photograph from an upcoming art book that leaked on the Internet.

Both women have denied being romantically involved with Wyclef Jean, as did Wyclef Jean via his Twitter page.

“If you Ride with me you are on the Right side or you can follow your slave master and believe what he tells you. Yele Haiti 4 life. Since some of you like to believe everything you read with out having Facts pass this around! Wyclef is A Alien from out of space.I have been spending money n my country since I was a Fugees! why is it now after the Quake I am being Excuse! They fear I’m gaining ground.”

A number of organizations are also under scrutiny, as over $2 billion in relief effort has been collected, although the Haitian government has only seen around $10 million of the money.

During a visit to Nashville's Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville Tennessee, Haitian Ambassador Raymond Alcide Joseph addressed the allegations against Jean, who is also his nephew.

He claimed the rumors were being started by rival non-profits, who were angry at the amount of money being directed towards Jean’s Yele Haiti.

"I'm not a financial accountant, I haven't seen everything, but I think they had people go through the books and they did find some irregularities that were repaired, but as far as wholesale corruption--I say 'no,'“ Joseph stated. “It's not because Wyclef Jean is my nephew and I'm defending him but I know his heart is good and he's been doing good work in Haiti long, long before these people who have appeared on the scene. "