Daily Update 4*30*07
Young Buck After Party Turns Violent, Nine Men Arrested In Connection With Hotel Shootout
An after party for G-Unit rapper Young Buck took a violent turn in Kennewick, Washington on Saturday (Apr. 28), when a shooting broke out in a hotel parking lot, resulting in the arrest of nine men.
According to police, Young Buck headlined a concert at a local venue named Club Paradise.
Young Buck allegedly announced that an after party was taking place at the Hilton Garden Inn and over 50 people followed the rapper back to the hotel.
According to the Tri-City Herald, police are investigating reports that a fight broke in the parking lot between members of Young Buck’s entourage and rival rappers, resulting in the shootout, which left other hotel guests terrified for their lives.
Witnesses said they heard shouting and people running down the hallway of the Hilton Garden Inn around 2:00 am Saturday morning.
Police were called to the hotel a short time later and while officers were on the phone, they reportedly heard gunshots in the background.
At least six shots were fired by two weapons.
Sgt. Scott Child said one bullet pierced a window and went through the hotel exercise room, before lodging above the numbers of a room, which was occupied by two guests who reported the shootings.
Two other bullets struck nearby vehicles, including a $100,000 Mercedes-Benz.
Police arrived and found a Las Vegas man injured with a single bullet wound to both legs. He was treated at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco and is expected to be released today.
According to police, people involved in the shooting fled the scene in a white limousine, followed by an SUV.
Both vehicles were stopped near Interstate 181 and police arrested 11 men.
One of the drivers was armed with a gun and police say they allegedly witnessed other occupants throwing weapons from the vehicles.
At one point, police said they had detained 28 men in connection with the shooting.
Nine Seattle area men were charged with with failing to report a crime and were booked into Benton County Jail, where police will charge those detained with various weapons violations.
Sgt. Child would not reveal if Young Buck had been arrested or detained in connection with the shooting as of today (Apr. 29).
Sgt. Child’s also said a number of witnesses involved refuse to cooperate with detectives.
BEYONCE’S PEOPLE CLARIFY ‘B’DAY DELUXE’ RECALL
Beyonce’s management has released a statement stressing the inaccuracy of recent media reports suggesting that her new “B’Day Deluxe Edition” album and video companion has been yanked from store shelves.
But when they weren’t satisfied with Team Des’ree’s proposed terms — which included not being able to change the title or film a music video – Team Bey allegedly ignored copyright law completely and moved forward with the song and video without permission under new title, “Still in Love (Kissing You)”
Unfortunately, there were some misunderstandings regarding whether Des’ree’s song ‘Kissing You’ was cleared for release in the United States.
Hank Fasthoff, one of Beyonce’s attorneys, said: “First and foremost we’d like to point out that as an artist, Beyonce is not in any way involved in the process of obtaining clearances to re-record and release songs. Obtaining clearances is customarily handled by management, the attorneys and/or the label.
“The international market is not affected in any way because the song is not included on albums shipped outside of the United States.”
DEA wants the Roots???
Roots drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson posted a blog on his MySpace page Monday detailing an incident with the Drug Enforcement Agency at a Buffalo, New York, airport after a recent DJ gig. ?uestlove said that because of a last-minute ticket purchase and the large amount of cash in his possession, security asked him to remove his pants and also requested that he point out the Roots in the rap magazines he was carrying.
The drummer was also questioned about carrying currency from various countries. “This was single-handedly the most embarrassing moment of my career,” Thompson wrote. “It was just so … degrading, man. That is all I can describe it as.”
A panel discussion called “Does Hip-Hop Hate Women?” took place in Chicago on Saturday (April 28) garnering more than 400 people showing that the outrage over Don Imus’ recent comments has yet to die down.
According to the Associated Press, panelists feel the music industry hasn’t really taken much action against violence and demeaning language in hip-hop today.
When Imus made his racist statements over his radio show, he blamed rappers, claiming that they routinely “defame and demean black women” and call them “worse names than I ever did,” so these panelists discussed the topic in length.
Some criticized music executives for failing to initiate any strong statement against their artists’ topic matter, while others even called out Russell Simmons for not doing enough.
Even though Simmons recently called for the ban of “extreme curse words” — including “bitch,” “ho” and “nigger” — from clean versions of hip-hop tracks critics say its not enough.
“How is no one saying to Russell, ‘Yo, we already bleep out those words’?” Joan Morgan, an author and commentator on hip-hop and feminism, said according to the AP.
During the discussion, some agreed that hip-hop contributed to the situation, while others disagreed, stating that the hip-hop culture shouldn’t be the scapegoat for what’s wrong in America.
“We allow this language to go on,” said Amina Norman-Hawkins, a Chicago hip-hop emcee and executive director of the Chicago Hip-Hop Initiative. “As a community, we aren’t responsible for our children. So we don’t teach our little boys how to grow up to be men and respect women. We allow them to learn from the street what’s acceptable.
“One panelist, David Ikard, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, said that Imus’ firing has created an opportunity to initiate public action on the issue.
“Sexism is too convenient within the black community for black men,” said Ikard, according to the AP. “This issue of Imus came up and I asked the black men in my hip-hop course what were their stakes in it. They were like, ‘Well, we don’t really have any stakes in it. It seems trivial.’ “
Ikard called on black men to do more in speaking up for black women.
Camp Lo Back to Release EP in August
Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede are back in business, and are teaming up with producer Ski Beatz to bring you Ski Beatz Presents: Camp Lo…Another Heist.
The EP, which has 7 tracks, is Camp Lo’s first big release since 2002’s Let’s Do It Again. It will be released through Ski’s label Redefinition Records and High Water Music.
“The cats who never heard Camp Lo’s music are gonna be surprised to hear something this new and refreshing, and the longtime fans will definitely not be disappointed,” said Ski. “I’m not in the business of making wack music or compromising my sound to fit into any categories, so check us out.”
Ski Beatz, who has produced such legendary tracks as “Dead Presidents” and “Feelin’ It,” as well as other tracks from Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt, first teamed up with Camp Lo in ’97 to release Uptown Saturday NIght.
N.O.R.E. Returns To Rap Roots On Upcoming Indie Release, Reunites With Pharrell
Queens rapper N.O.R.E. is working to complete his latest rap album, which he plans to release late this summer.
According to Billboard, NORE’s upcoming project Global Warming 11368 will be released independently. [At press time there is no word on what label]. For longtime fans, Global Warming will mark a return to more familiar territory and a departure from reggaeton, which the half black, half Puerto Rican rapper explored heavily on last year’s N.O.R.E. y la Familia… Ya Tú Sabe.
“With my last album, I wanted to let people know that I was Latino too, but with this album I really wanted people to know I haven’t lost a step,” NORE said. “I could still rhyme, I could still do great club music, I could still make street classics and I could still do what people love.”
Listeners can expect N.O.R.E. to hit some pretty sensitive subjects on Global Warming, with songs like “Questions” touching on his split from Def Jam and his relationship with former partner Capone, as well as “Talking in My Sleep” where he addresses his late father and deceased rap great Big Pun. NORE also displays some levity on tracks like “Drink Champ,” and club bangers like “Set It Off.”
The album is lead by first single “Throw Em Under the Bus” which features Jadakiss and Kurupt. The album features production from Scott Storch, Cool & Dre, Swizz Beatz and Pharrell Williams. Bun B, Tony Sunshine and T-Pain also make guest appearances on the CD.
While a release date has not yet be set, Global Warming 11368 is expected to be in stores by late summer.
UNCUTmagazine.net 
