Author: JD
CHRIS BROWN TO RESUME TOUR AFTER COMPLETING COMMUNITY SERVICE
Chris Brown has finished his community service and will resume his “Between the Sheets Tour.” The singer took to Twitter on Friday (Feb. 6) to reveal that he was ready to hit the road after completing his 100 hours of remaining community service in the Rihanna case. A day before the tour was set to kick off on Jan. 27, he announced that it would be postponed. A judge revoked Chris’ probation due to unapproved travel and failure to complete his 1000 hours of community service on time. But he vowed to his fans that he would get the job done ASAP. “Everything happens for a reason so I wanted to personally inform my fans. The show must go on,” he said. “Out of 1000 hours I only have 100 left. I will work my ass off to complete it and I will be on that stage. We will let yall know the dates that are changed. It’s not cancelled. Just moved around a couple weeks.” It’s unclear when his tour with Trey Songz and Tyga will resume. At least eight dates have already been postponed including Brooklyn, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Dallas. Chris faced more drama on Friday night. While attending T.I.’s pre-Grammy party in Hollywood, his Lamborghini was searched after an anonymous tip that the passenger had a gun. The cops were called and his friend was detained, but nothing was found. Chris was already inside the club. UPDATE: The tour will now kick off on Feb. 12 in Sunrise, Fla., according to Live Nation. Nine dates have been rescheduled. “I’m excited to tour North America with my brothers Trey and Tyga,” said Chris Brown in a statement. “To the fans who have been with me since day one…The BTS Tour is dedicated to your loyalty!” Due to the postponement, Trey Songz will not be able to perform in Charlotte (March 14), Houston (March 16), Greensboro (March 18), and Hampton (March 19). These dates will only feature Chris and Tyga. See a revised itinerary below. BETWEEN THE SHEETS TOUR REVISED DATES Feb. 12 – Sunrise, FL – BB&T Center Feb. 14 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena Feb. 15 – Detroit, MI – Joe Louis Arena Feb. 16 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center (RESCHEDULED DATE) Feb. 17 – Baltimore, MD – Royal Farms Arena (RESCHEDULED DATE) Feb. 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center Feb. 19 – Worcester, MA – DCU Center Feb. 21 – East Rutherford, NJ – IZOD Center Feb. 22 – Washington, D.C. – Verizon Center Feb. 24 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre Feb. 25 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre Feb. 27 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena Feb. 28 – Cincinnati, OH – U.S. Bank Arena March 1 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena March 2 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena (RESCHEDULED DATE) March 6 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center March 7 – Las Vegas, NV – Mandalay Bay Events Center March 8 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum March 11 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center (RESCHEDULED DATE) March 12 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Arena (RESCHEDULED DATE) March 14 – Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena (RESCHEDULED DATE)** March 16 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center (RESCHEDULED DATE)** March 18 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum (RESCHEDULED DATE)** March 19 – Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum (RESCHEDULED DATE)**
Police said the shooter went to the home of his ex-wife, LaToya Andrews, 33, and opened fire.
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — Residents who witnessed a man open fire on a Douglas County home, killing four people and then himself, said they are haunted by the events that unfolded Saturday afternoon in their quiet neighborhood on Willow Tree Circle. Investigators have identified the shooter as Cedric Prather, 33. They said he went to his the home of his ex-wife, LaToya Andrews, 33, and opened fire. Police said after he killed Andrews, he fatally shot several of his own children and Andrew’s current boyfriend. Prather then turned the gun on himself. Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes talked to Andrews’ father Sunday, who gave her pictures of the family. She also spoke with neighbors who said they are still trying to make sense of everything that happened Saturday. “The girl said, ‘Daddy no,’ or,’Daddy don’t’ and then he shot her,” said neighbor Teresa Carter. Neighbors say they saw the boyfriend, Joseph Brown, still moving after he was shot. They say he was trying to help Andrews. “He kicked the gun away from the shooter’s hand because he was still kinda moving, kicked it away from him and then went to help her,” Carter told Fernandes. Neighbors told Fernandes they don’t really know the shooter, but do know the children. Killed were London, 7, and her brother Jeremiah, 9. Their big sister Misha, 15, remains in critical condition at a nearby hospital. Another child, 8, was also shot. “I could not imagine shooting your own children, just in plain … it has to be a mental illness,” neighbor Julie Futral said. “These innocent little children, and innocent family trying to live a new family life and to get disturbed like this is very sad,” neighbor Andrews Ansah said. Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes contributed to this story
Fox’s ‘Empire’ just broke a 23-year ratings record (at least!)
We’re starting to run out of ways to praise the ratings for Fox’s Empire. Like with AMC’s The Walking Dead, there are only so many methods to describe a series with numbers that keep surprising and improving. The 18-49 demo rating is impressive. The hip-hop drama is the strongest hour-long show this season. The ratings defy gravity by growing when the usual trend is almost always for a show to decline as its freshman season progresses. But now there is this: Empire has broken a ratings record that stood for more than 23 years. According to Fox, Empire is the only primetime scripted series to grow in total viewers over each of its first five telecasts since at least 1991. This record has almost certainly stood for longer than that, but Nielsen revised its measuring system 23 years ago and so comparisons can only be properly calculated that far back. Also, Empire is technically the only series – not just scripted – to have accomplished this. ABC’s game show Who Wants to Be a Millionairegrew through each of its first five telecasts in 1999, but they were technically considered “specials” when the show first started instead of regular episodes. So you can basically throw in all broadcast reality shows too. So far this season for the first two weeks with total DVR data available, Empire is averaging 14 million viewers and a super-strong 5.6 rating among adults 18-19. That’s not as big as the zombie show, but there has been nothing in the adult demo since 2008 that has been.
Snoop Dogg Is Raising A Fund For Investing In Weed Startups
“Invest in what you know.” That’s a common piece of advice given to new investors that Calvin Broadus, Jr. (a.k.a. Snoop Dogg, a.k.a. Snoop Lion) seems to be taking to heart. Sources tell us the prolific rapper, youth football coach and marijuana aficionado is putting together a fund specifically to invest in cannabis startups. According to one source, he hopes to raise $25 million to fund the nascent, but fast-growing legal marijuana industry. Because his agency is still in the process of raising the fund, its ultimate size is uncertain. His representatives did not reply to requests for comment. Snoop is one of many celebrities who have begun dabbling in tech investing over the last few years. Ashton Kutcher paved the way with the launch of his A-Grade Investments fund, which has put money into companies like Airbnb, Flipboard, and StyleSeat. But lately he’s been joined by the likes of Nas, Jared Leto and Justin Bieber among others. As for Snoop, his tech investing career seems to have taken off recently. Over the last few months, the rapper invested in Reddit, the so-called homepage to the Internet, as well as zero-fee stock trading platform Robinhood. But having a fund specifically to invest in cannabis companies makes a lot of sense, since Snoop probably knows more about weed than anyone. It’s our understanding that the fund’s bets won’t have anything to do with cultivation and production. Instead, it will focus on tech affiliated with the growing legal cannabis industry. It also seems to be a good time to invest in the marijuana industry in general. Venture money is pouring into weed startups as states have begun legalizing the drug for both medical and recreational use. Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund is part of Privateer Holdings‘ big fundraising push, where the holding company is trying to raise $75 million. And, of course, we’re seeing all sorts of new startups pop up — like Eaze and Meadow — that are devoted to weed delivery, among other things. As new ways to produce, distribute and consume cannabis emerge, who better to evaluate them professionally than Snoop, who has already spent years evaluating all manner of cannabis products recreationally?
Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2015
Hoodies, suits, crewnecks and jackets make up the canvas on which Jacobs is able to display Sudbrack’s art. His colorful abstractions are conveyed in a boisterous and nonchalant manner, complementing Marc Jacobs’ whimsical nature to a T. The Marc by Marc Jacobs 2015 Fall/Winter collection will soon be available at select accounts worldwide.
W’s fall to Hawks in matchup of NBA’s best
The billing was big, massive and maybe even colossal. And though the aesthetics weren’t always pleasing, the competitive aspect of the game was even better. The Warriors rolled into Philips Arena in Atlanta atop the Western Conference, claiming the NBA’s best defense and best record. They walked out realizing none of those things mattered against the Hawks. The Warriors took a 124-116 loss partly because they committed a few too many turnovers (14) but mostly because their defense was shredded by an array of Hawks. What the Warriors (39-9) experienced in the most anticipated game of this NBA season was an Atlanta offense that was surgical in its precision and deadly in its accuracy – particularly in the second half. The Hawks (42-9) shot an astonishing 70.6 percent in the third quarter – including a crucial 7-0 burst – when they overtook the Warriors, who led for most of the first half, at one point up by eight. Atlanta, which entered the game with the best record in the Eastern Conference, shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) on 3-pointers. Four Warriors scored in double figures, led Klay Thompson’s game-high 29 points. Stephen Curry finished with 26, while Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes each added 12. Seven Hawks scored in double figures, with point guard Jeff Teague’s 23 points leading the way. The Atlanta bench was superb, as Mike Scott finished with 17 points (including 3-of-3 beyond the arc) and ex-Warriors Kent Bazemore had 11. STANDOUT PERFORMER: Thompson and Green did more than any of their teammates to keep the Warriors in this one. Thompson was hot from the start, scoring 7 points in the first 4:29. He finished with 11-of-20 shooting, along with five assists and four rebounds. Green was a beast on the glass, at times dealing with two or three Hawks in the paint and still pulling a game-high 20 rebounds. His shot was missing, but he was the reason the Warriors managed a 51-38 advantage on the glass. TURNING POINT: With the Warriors leading 50-47 inside the final minute of the second quarter, the Hawks went on a 14-4 run to end the first half and open the second, taking a 61-54 lead with 9:42 left in the third quarter. Though the Warriors came back to force several ties, they never again took a lead and were down by as much as 11.