Author: JD
Ludacris Wins Full Custody of 13-Month-Old Daughter
Ludacris has been granted full custody of his 13-month-old daughter, Cai Bridges. Cai Bridges is daughter to Ludacris — born Cris Bridges — and Tamika Fuller. They’ve been involved in an ongoing custody battle, which Ludacris won on Monday. “After review of all the evidence, the testimony of the witnesses, the report of the guardian ad litem, and the claims made throughout this entire case, I am gratified that the judge found me to be the most fit and proper parent to have primary physical custody of our beautiful daughter,” the rapper/actor told People in an exclusive statement. Ludacris Is Married At one point in the trial, Fuller claimed that Ludacris “offered her $10,000 and a house if she lost the baby” and an increase in child support. Ludacris claimed that Fuller’s allegations have “publicly humiliated” him. The court’s decision comes a month after Ludacris married Eudoxie Mbouguiengue, on the same day he proposed. He also has a 13-year-old daughter, Karma Bridges, from a previous relationship.
DAME DASH ON CURRENT RIFT BETWEEN FUNKMASTER FLEX AND JAY Z
Dame Dash recently sat down with Kenyatta of Hip Hop Motivation and shared his thoughts on Funkmaster Flex calling out Jay Z last week for allegedly stealing an app idea and banning The Dipset’s music from his 40/40 clubs, with Dash acknowledging it’s impossible for him to be unbiased due to affiliations with both Jay and Dipset. He did however say that this was the “coolest” he’s ever seen Funkmaster Flex and admires the DJ’s honesty. The Hip Hop mogul also feels that Jay won’t be able to respond directly to Flex because of his corporate status, and that the press will have to confront Jay about the allegations, namely that he doesn’t allow Dipset music to be played in his clubs, otherwise these so-called journalists would be “fake” for ignoring the obvious.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” -Albert Pike
Rewinding the Charts: 20 Years Ago, TLC’s ‘Creep’ Crowned the Hot 100
‘Creep’ became the first of four top five Hot 100 hits that helped make the trio’s ‘CrazySexyCool’ the biggest-selling album by a female pop group in history, but bankruptcy – and worse – were looming. IN 1995, THE FUTURE LOOKED BRIGHT for TLC. After a string of five Billboard Hot 100 hits that began with its debut 1992 single, “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” the Atlanta-based trio – rapper Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, 23, and singers Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, 24, and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, 24 – topped the chart for the first time on Jan. 28, 1995 with the slinky cheating anthem “Creep.” The track, one of four top five hits from TLC’s second album, CrazySexyCool, helped make it the biggest-selling album by a female pop group in history, moving 7.6 million copies, according to Nielsen Music. The record’s success didn’t translate to a financial windfall for the group, however. In July 1995, while TLC was at No. 1 with the third single from CrazySexyCool, “Waterfalls,” the group filed for bankruptcy, declaring liabilities of more than $3.5 million. When a settlement was reached in 1996, Billboard called the bankruptcy “eye-opening” and reported that “the numbers reflected the byzantine accounting practices of labels.” TLC released its third album, FanMail, in February 1999, earning a Grammy Award nomination for album of the year and producing two more Hot 100 No. 1s: “No Scrubs” and “Unpretty.” It would mark the last album released during Lopes’ lifetime. On April 25, 2002, she died at age 30 in a car crash in Honduras. In the wake of the tragedy, Thomas and Watkins released a statement saying they had “truly lost our sister.” They have continued to perform as TLC and are working on new music. A version of this article first appeared in the Jan. 24 issue of Billboard magazine.
Ten-year-olds armed to the teeth and trained to kill in the name of Islam: Boko Haram release images of their child soldiers being trained in Nigeria
WOW!! Nigerian terror group Boko Haram is training child soldiers how to use semi-automatic weapons. The group has released pictures showing more than a dozen children posing with, and learning how to aim, AK-47’s. The images appear to have been taken in northern Nigeria where Boko Haram has committed most of its attacks. They were published online by Al Urwa al Wuthaqa, a media group that has been associated with the insurgents, and come months after Human Rights Watch warned that boys and girls kidnapped by the terrorist group were being used during their attacks. Just days ago Boko Haram were suspected of kidnapping at least 30 children, including girls as young as 11, in a village north of the country. A week earlier the terrorists snatched around 40 women in Adamawa State
Sly Stone Awarded $5 Million in Breach-Of-Contract Lawsuit
Funk legend Sly Stone was awarded $5 million on Tuesday in a breach-of-contract suit that claimed his business partners and his own company cheated him out of royalties. A Los Angeles Superior Court jury ruled for the 71-year-old performer in his action against his ex-manager Gerald Goldstein, attorney Glenn Stone and Even St. Productions Ltd. “It’s a good day for Sly, it’s a good day for entertainers in general,” said one of his attorneys, Nicholas Hornberger. “This was an important verdict for people that are artists, entertainers, music composers, etc.” Sly Stone’s Dodgy Deals & Money Problems Explored in Court Case Stone, whose real name is Sylvester Stewart, led the group Sly and the Family Stone to a string of hits in the 1960s and early ’70s including “Everyday People,” “Dance To The Music” and “Family Affair.” But heavy drug use began to take a toll. His lawyers say Stone’s career was long eclipsed and he was destitute when Goldstein and Glenn Stone convinced him to become an employee of and co-owner of Even St. Productions with them in 1989. Stone assigned royalty rights to the company and was supposed to receive some of the money it collected for him but Goldstein and Glenn Stone arranged to get it through shady accounting, Hornberger argued. “They met him, they signed him up…but what they really wanted was his royalties,” Hornberger said. Gregory Bodell, the attorney for Goldstein and Glenn Stone, said the performer approached his clients to revitalize his career and promised to make comeback records that he never recorded. His clients weren’t seeking the performer’s royalties because he didn’t have any, in part because he owed millions to the Internal Revenue Service, Bodell said. Sly Stone testified that he had not received any royalty payments between 1989 and 2000. But Bodell said his clients helped to pay off the IRS, renegotiated royalty issues with record companies and over 20 years obtained millions of dollars in royalties for the performer – perhaps as much as $9 million. Sly Stone’s Money Troubles Detailed in Court Documents Jurors assessed $2.5 million in damages against Even St. Productions, $2.45 million against Goldstein and $50,000 against Glenn Stone. Bodell said the award will be challenged. Even St. Productions filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2013. A message left for a lawyer representing the company was not immediately returned.
KID INK AND DEJ LOAF TO HEADLINE ‘SCREAM TOUR’
The “Scream Tour” is coming back with an all-new lineup. Kid Ink and DeJ Loaf will headline “Scream Nation: The Reintroduction Tour,” with more artists to be announced. “I’m excited to be a part of the reintroduction of such a prestigious touring brand as Scream,” Kid Ink told Billboard. “It’s a brand I grew up respecting and admiring. I can’t wait to hit the road and get this started.” The 26-city trek, a joint venture between Live Nation and Scream Nation, kicks off March 12 at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis and wraps its six-week run at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on April 26. Throughout its 15 years, the “Scream Tour” has featured many chart-topping acts including Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Bow Wow, T.I., and Ciara. Tickets go on sale starting Jan. 31. SCREAM NATION: THE REINTRODUCTION TOUR DATES March 12 – St. Louis, MO – Peabody Opera House March 13 – Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom March 14 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre March 17 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium March 19 – Phoenix, AZ – Comerica Theatre March 20 – Las Vegas, NV – The AXIS at Planet Hollywood March 21 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium March 22 – San Jose, CA – City National Civic March 26 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom March 27 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center March 29 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium April 2 – Southaven, MS – Lander’s Center April 3 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre April 4 – New Orleans, LA – UNO Lakefront Arena April 7 – Miami, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater April 9 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall April 11 – Jacksonville, FL – Moran Theater at the Times-Union Center April 12 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Special Events Center April 16 – Norfolk, VA – Ted Constant Convocation Center April 17 – Washington, DC – DAR Constitution Hall April 18 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center April 19 – New York, NY – Kings Theatre April 23 – Cleveland, OH – Playhouse Square Center April 24 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace April 25 – Kansas City, MO – Independence Events Center April 26 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theatre
