Andre Harrell to Receive Cultural Excellence Award By: Ismael AbduSalaam Music mogul Andre Harrell will be honored April 1st at Reverend Al Sharpton’s annual National Action Network Keepers of the Dream Awards Dinner.

Harrell is scheduled to be the fourth recipient of the Cultural Excellence Award, which recognizes those who epitomize the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King in their respective fields.

The previous three winners were the late James Brown, Bad Boy CEO Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington.

“Throughout Andre’s life and career, he has become exemplary of Dr. King’s dream,” Rev. Sharpton told AllHipHop.com in a prepared statement. “Not only has he changed the world of music and entertainment, but he has inspired countless artists, becoming a true legend ahead of his time. Most recently Andre Harrell persevered through a life-threatening ailment and his resilience through this ailment is as worthy of recognition as is his resilience in the music and entertainment industry.”

In the 80s, Harrell entered the music industry as a part of the Hip-Hop group Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde.

Later, he flourished as vice-president and general manager of Russell Simmons’ Rush Communications, where he helped guide the careers of LL Cool J, Run DMC, and Whodini.

By 1988 he founded Uptown Records, which was notable for the giving a young Sean Combs his start, and debuting Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Christopher Williams, Soul 4 Real, and Heavy D, before moving on to run Motown.

Last month, the 48-year old Harrell was in danger of succumbing to coronary heart disease, and successfully completed emergency quadruple heart bypass surgery.

The awards dinner will commence at 7:00 PM at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers.

A rapper associated with Harlem, New York rap group The Diplomats shot and killed himself during a dramatic stand-off with police in upstate New York yesterday (March 17).

Hackensack, New Jersey police had been searching for 23-year-old Darnell “King Tut” Brittingham, for allegedly stabbing and assaulting a female companion, just 48 hours after he was released from jail on drug charges.

According to Hackensack‘s Courier Post, detectives from the Hackensack police department traced Brittingham to a La Quinta Inn in White Plains.

When a S.W.A.T. Team witnessed Brittingham emerge from the hotel with a female friend and enter a cab, police surrounded the vehicle and ordered the occupants out.

As police approached the car, they saw Brittingham duck behind the driver’s seat and shoot himself.

Brittingham was first arrested on February 11, when he was stopped during a routine traffic stop.

He was arrested after police found 14 grams of cocaine stuffed inside of a teddy bear.

Shortly after he made bail on the drug charges, police accused Brittingham of stabbing a female companion seven times before fleeing.

“I guess he just decided he wasn’t going to go to jail,” Police Chief John Kapica told the Courier Post. “We had him, so he couldn’t get away, which is probably why he did what he did.”

King Tut was a member of the 730 Dipset.

Multi-talented emcee Mos Def will return from a 3 year hiatus with his 4th studio album, The Ecstatic.

Mos debuted two new tracks courtesy of his Myspace page (www.myspace.com/mosdef): the Mr. Flash produced “Life In Marvelous Times,” and “Quiet Dog Bite Hard,” produced by Preservation.”

Both songs are available for download via iTunes and RCRD LBL (http://rcrdlbl.com/).

The new LP will also mark the 10 year anniversary of the Brooklynite’s celebrated debut album, Black On Both Sides.

That project spawned the popular singles “Ms. Fat Booty” and “Umi Says.”

Mos’ last album, 2006’s True Magic, was released with no promotion or CD cover per the rapper’s request.

Currently, Mos Def is diligently formalizing an official U.S. tour, along with a finalized tracklisting for the new LP.

The Ecstatic is rumored to feature additional production from Madlib, Oh No, Chad Hugo, J Dilla, and Kanye West.

At recent shows, Mos Def has also performed tracks slated to feature Slick Rick (“Auditorium”) and Talib Kweli (“History”).

At press time, The Ecstatic is scheduled for release on June 30.

Veteran rapper Grand Puba is returning to rap with a clean slate with his fourth solo album, Retroactive.

The forthcoming release is under a new deal with New York City based independent record label Babygrande Records.

Best known as a member of the rap collective Brand Nubian, Grand Puba has carved his own niche as a solo artist since his 1992 debut album Reel 2 Reel and follow-up 2000.

Brand Nubian’s music and lyrical content is noted for its political and religious vibe.

The group is also credited with paving the way for a variety of entertainers and groups, including Dead Prez, Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and GZA, Black Star and Brother Ali.

Although he reunited with Brand Nubian in 1998 to release two albums for Babygrande, (Foundation and 2004’s Fire In The Hole), the new signing marks the first time Puba has dealt with the label as a solo act.

According to Babygrande CEO Chuck Wilson, the label’s newest addition comes as a natural extension of his label’s relationship with Brand Nubian.

“Grand Puba is the father to so many styles in Hip-Hop. Its good to have him back–the game needs him,” Wilson told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “We have a great relationship with Brand Nubian and we had so much success with Lord Jamar’s solo release in 2006 that it only makes sense to keep it in the family.”

Grand Puba’s Retroactive is slated to hit stores on June 23.

Hip-Hop soul pioneer Mary J. Blige was recently cleared of copyright infringement accusations stemming from her 2001 hit “Family Affair.”

The suit was filed in January by Leonard Jones and James White.

White, who previously managed a rapper named Benevolence, claims to have submitted the artist’s copyright-protected demo to Universal Records in May 2001.

Blige completed “Family Affair” in August 2001, and according to the lawsuit the single bore a striking lyrical resemblance to Benevolence’s demo track “Party Ain’t Crunk.”

The plaintiff’s argued that since producer Dr. Dre normally utilizes a team of musicians, the copyright infringement could be traced to Blige’s team of writers.

Dr. Dre was originally named in the lawsuit, but was dismissed after the courts ruled there was a “lack of personal jurisdiction.”

Blige and Universal Records challenged the plaintiffs to provide tangible proof of the records bearing any similar lyrical content, and reasonable cause that “Family Affair” was not created independently

The plaintiffs failed to respond with substantial evidence, resulting in the case being dismissed.

“Family Affair” was one of Mary J. Blige’s biggest hits, remaining atop Billboard’s Hot 100 for six weeks and selling over 4 million copies worldwide.

Blige’s last album was 2007’s platinum Growing Pains.

Dr. Dre is finalizing his third studio album Detox, tentatively planned for release this year.

Accusations of deception and sabotage are at the heart of a new lawsuit filed by the mother of deceased rap legend Tupac Shakur against Morgan Creek.

Afeni Shakur’s Amaru Entertainment has filed a $10 million cross complaint that claims Morgan Creek head James Robinson and other tried to strong-arm a deal for the movie rights for a biopic on Tupac Shakur.

The complaint later alleges that Morgan Creek sabotaged the venture when Amaru attempted to set up the movie elsewhere.

“The Morgan Creek lawsuit is heavy-handed interference with the Tupac movie,” a rep for Amaru stated. “It has no merit whatsoever.  Our cross-complaint is going to result in Morgan Creek having to pay millions in compensatory and punitive damages for harming our business.”

The cross complaint is the latest development to occur regarding the creation of the biopic.

Morgan Creek was the first to sound off on the issue by filing a lawsuit last month in Los Angeles Superior Count.

According to that lawsuit, the company claimed Amaru backed out of a done deal to sell life rights for a biopic about Tupac.

Amaru is noted for controlling the estate of the late entertainer.

Morgan Creek said it received a final term sheet in December that detailed everything required to reach an agreement.

Although the proposal was accepted by Morgan Creek executives in late January, Amaru’s complaint alleges that it was a proposal, not a deal.

Due to the success of Notorious, a film centering on Tupac Shakur’s musical rival the Notorious B.I.G., Morgan Creek executives allegedly arranged a conference call with an attorney from Amaru to “accept” the counteroffer.

Executives then allegedly began telling other studios and producers that Morgan Creek owned rights to the Tupac project in an attempt to keep other companies from possibly competing for the rights to the film.

The alleged actions by Morgan Creek were not well received by Amaru as the cross complaint labeled it as “a sleazy and illegal ploy to coerce (Amaru) into a deal.”

In addition to seeking a court declaration that there never was a deal, Amaru is demanding that at least $10 million dollars in damages be awarded by Morgan Creek for derailing Amaru’s efforts to talk with potential studios and producers.