Rapper

Corey “C. Miller” Miller, formerly known as C-Murder, was placed on

house arrest by a Louisiana state judge after attending a Hurricane Katrina documentary

premiere in New Orleans. Miller

was ordered to remain on full home containment until his second trial on a second-degree

murder charge.Miller,

35, is awaiting a retrial in the 2002 shooting of a teenager, 16, outside a Harvey-area

nightclub in New Orleans. His original conviction was overturned after a judge

ruled that prosecutors had withheld the criminal backgrounds of key state witnesses

from the defense.She

ordered him back on full house after seeing his interview at the Aug. 16 premiere

of Spike Lee’s HBO documentary, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts

on New Orlean’s based WDSU-TV, claiming he violated the terms of his probation

by attending the premiere after his 10 PM curfew.During

a recent hearing, no evidence was presented suggesting Miller had violated the

order. Miller testified he was at the premiere to meet with Spike Lee about a

project, but had returned home before 10 p.m. Miller

also said he gave more than one interview and did not violate any terms of the

gag order in the case. Sassone

said prosecutors could investigate the matter as long as Miller’s lawyers were

contacted in advance. Sassone apparently planned to give Miller only partial house

arrest, but later changed her mind."You’re

on home incarceration to prepare for a defense, not to have a social life,"

Sassone told Miller. The

judge allowed Miller to attend Sunday church services, but rejected a request

to let him exercise in a park.

Clothing

and magazine mogul Marc Ecko has teamed with Nissan of North America to modify

the design of the car giant’s two popular SUV’s, the Nissan Pathfinder and the

Nissan Armada. The

new partnership, dubbed "SHIFT_unltd," was forged to allow both brands

to expand their audience, yet retain their individuality. The

ecko unltd. Nissan Pathfinder will contain a modified grill, a custom black and

grey camouflage paint job, black leather 1960’s style seats, accent molding, a

wood grain steering wheel and other accessories.Ecko’s

Cut & Sew Nissan Armada comes with a cream Landau roof, whitewall tires, custom

hubs, an extra roomy glove box, metal gas and brake pedals, a wireless communication

system, roadster-style gauges and other custom features. “Side

by side, these two vehicles share a design heritage, yet each has its own distinct

character,” Ecko said. “My goal is to take that character to the next

level and to express the vehicles’ individuality through bold, original design

and superior execution.”Ecko

will also create limited co-branded jackets, T-shirts, leather key chains, woven

button-downs and other accessories that will be give away at events and sold online

at www.nissan.eckounltd.com. Proceeds

of the accessory sales will benefit Sweat Equity Enterprises, a nonprofit that

teaches youth professional design and technology skills, while working for leading

design companies. “Both

the Nissan Pathfinder and Nissan Armada are known for their power, style and energy,

which is also characteristic of Marc Ecko’s creative artistry and compelling

vision,” added Jan Thompson, vice president of marketing, NNA. “His

design will bring together two great brands that already have an established relationship

with street culture, making it a natural and ideal fit.”The

two Nissan SUV’s designed by Ecko will be unveiled at a special invite-only event

taking place in New York this Oct.

Rapper

Common has been tapped to participate in a new ad campaign from the retailing

chain the Gap.The

Chicago artist will join fellow celebrities Jeremy Piven, Mia Farrow, Aaron Eckhart

and Natasha Bedingfield for the store’s ‘T-Shirt Shop’ ad campaign. The

recently launched venture will focus on the Gap’s new line of T-shirt’s as the

company celebrates its heritage in self-expression and individuality.Black

and white print ads, shot by acclaimed photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh

Matadin, will feature celebrities wearing their favorite Gap T-shirt in a way

that expresses their individual style, personality and energy.A

message reading ‘long live individuality’ will be included with the campaign,

which also features images with corresponding taglines – such as your expression,

your spirit, your attitude – that capture the emotion of the shot."T-shirts

have become the ultimate vehicle for self-expression," acknowledged Gap marketing

vice president Kyle Andrew. "And while Gap has always been famous for great

Ts, our collection of T-shirts this fall is better than ever before."Other

stars participating in the campaign include Fall Out Boy member Pete Wentz, Eva

Herzigova, Lou Doillon, Paula Patton, Kristen Stewart, Brice Marden and Yvonne

Force. In

addition to the print ads, the campaign also includes portraits from renowned

artists that feature celebrities in their favorite Gap T-shirt. The

"T-shirt Shop" print campaign will run in the September issues of magazines,

including Vanity Fair, Elle, InStyle, Vogue and GQ.Gap

customers recently helped the company celebrate the launch of the new campaign

through special T-shirt customization events in select Gap stores in Los Angeles

and New York. Common

and Piven were on hand for the events, which were held at the Gap’s Hollywood

and Highland store in Los Angeles and the Lexington Street store in New York City.

Bay

area rapper E-40 is celebrating the success of his latest album My Ghetto Report

Card, which was certified gold by the RIAA this week.Fueled

by the Keak Da Sneak-featured "Tell Me When 2 Go," and the current single

"U And Dat," featuring T-Pain and Kandi Girl, the album’s good fortune

will lead to bigger things, according to the lyricist."It

feels good," E-40 told AllHipHop.com. "I got my second wind [and] it’s

the beginning of a new beginning."Executive

produced by Lil’ Jon, My Ghetto Report Card debuted at number one on Billboard’s

R&B/Hip-Hop charts and number three on the Billboard Top 200 chart.

In addition to Lil’ Jon, the Reprise/BME/Sick Wid It Records release features

production by Rick Rock, E-40’s son Droop-e of the Pharmasuticles, Bosko, and

Studio Tone, as well as guest appearances from Mike Jones, T. Pain, Keak Da Sneak,

Turf Talk, Juelz Santana, B-Legit, The Federation, 8Ball, and UGK.The

video for "U And Dat," is currently in heavy rotation at BET, MTV and

Fuse.Fans

can look for more of E-40 with the release of his new DVD, E-40 & The Hype

of Hyphy. The

disc, which hit stores Tuesday (Aug. 29) includes the videos "U And Dat"

and "Tell Me When To Go" as well as a behind the scenes look at the

making of the videos. Viewers

can also learn about the Hyphy movement through a "Hyphy movement" special

on the DVD, which features special appearances by Federation and B-Legit, among

others.

Legendary comedian

and actor Rudy Ray Moore will released a compilation of his works on the new album

The Best Of Rudy Ray Moore And Friends via RNB Entertainment Group’s imprint,

The Pen.The

new disc set will feature a collection of Moore’s works including classic skits,

along with first-time-ever-on-CD comedians like Billie McAllister, Lady Reed,

and Jerry Walker."We

are ecstatic about this release, which is destined to become an instant collectors

item, and which will help bring Rudy a few more well-deserved props," stated

Tom Cartwright and Warren Foster of RNB Entertainment Group.Billed

as the "Godfather of Rap" and "The King of Party Records,"

Moore has served as an inspiration to a slew of Hip Hop artists, including the

late Eazy-E, Ice-T and Snoop Dogg, who enlisted Moore as guest in his 1994 music

video for "Doggy Dogg World."In

the mid-1960’s, Moore starred as Dolemite, a smooth talking mythical black hero

with super strength who could kill women with the power of his lovemaking.He

released several albums under the moniker Dolemite, but the albums were so raunchy

that they were regularly banned from record stores.The

79-old comedian also made history as the first black artist to have two releases

on the Billboard charts simultaneously.The

Best Of Rudy Ray Moore And Friends#### stores yesterday (Aug. 29.)

Foxy Brown pleaded

guilty Monday (Aug. 28) to assaulting two nail salon workers in a dispute over

the cost of a manicure and later attempted to changed her plea to not guilty,

but was rejected.The

rapper, born Inga Marchand, 26, originally pleaded guilty to assaulting the women

in August 2005 after being charged $20 for a manicure she claimed she never received.

Brown allegedly began hitting and kicking the women as a result.Shortly

after the case was heard, Brown returned to the Manhattan Criminal Court and requested

to change her plea with Judge Melissa Jackson, stating "I’m innocent in this

case," Brown said. Jackson

rejected her plea, leaving the guilty plea standing.

Brown was spared jail time for pleading guilty. On Oct. 23 the Brooklyn rapper

will be sentenced to three years probation. She must also undergo regular drug

testing and attend anger management classes.Jackson

said if Brown wished to withdraw her guilty plea, she was was required to submit

a motion to the court before the Oct. 23 court date.

A recent prank

has resulted in Eminem apologizing to one of Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends after the

pair had a nonviolent altercation on a video shoot.The

rapper allegedly doused Kendra Wilkinson with water during a recent video shoot

in Los Angeles for Akon’s song "Smack That A**."According

to published reports, Eminem came out of his trailer during the video shoot and

threw water on Wilkinson, one of the Playboy mogul’s trio of girlfriends

who are featured on the E! Television reality series The Girls Next Door,

which Hefner also executive produces.Wilkinson’s

agent told The New York Post’s Page Six column that Eminem came

out of his trailer, "threw water on her and was really disrespectful.""He

flipped out on her," Wilkinson’s agent Jonathan Baram told Page Six. "She’s

a tough girl. She didn’t take it, and they went at it, not physically but verbally."Wilkinson

claimed in the Page Six report that the incident was a joke and that she didn’t

want any controversy between her and the platinum-selling rapper.A

post on Wilkinson’s official Myspace.com site (myspace.com/kendrawilkinson)

shortly after the incident but later removed, was widely circulated on the Internet

and revealed more details on the incident."The

reason for me doing the video wasn’t for the money, it was to make all my fans

happy that I finally did a rap video," the 21-year-old Wilkinson wrote. "We

all know how much I talk about how much I wanna be in one…right?"Wilkinson

said she was accompanied by a friend to the video shoot, where she was greeted

by R&B singer Akon. After

being greeted by the singer, Wilkinson wrote that she waited in a cafeteria for

a number of hours (10) and was finally called in to do her shoot."We

start by doing some warm-ups and I was dancing my a** off (literally) [because]

it was my time to shine in front of David Banner, Lil Zane, and a couple other

rappers and 100s [hundreds] of people," Wilkinson continued. "Everyone

was loving my dancing and makin me feel good. Then Eminem walks in the room."According

to Wilkinson’s account, Eminem entered the room and was cordial. He allegedly

said he was a fan of the The Girls Next Door, and had even purchased a

copy of the Sept. issue of Playboy which, he sought to have autographed."Then

we start doing our scene and everything is going good until we go on a break.

I went over to sit on the couch to rest a lil bit," she wrote. Wilkinson

said she was talking to a "really nice guy" sitting next to her when

Eminem walked in her direction."I

smile and say ‘what’s up?’ He takes out a bottle of water and pours it all over

me!" Wilkinson alleged. "There goes my makeup, there goes my hair, there

goes my tears, and there goes my first rap video!"Despite

the incident, both Wilkinson and Eminem have agreed to leave the incident behind

them. The

rapper sent a blooming bouquet to the Playboy mansion where Wilkinson currently

resides, to make amends.And

while she may not hate Eminem, Wilkinson wrote that her 80-year-old-flame isn’t

too fond of the rapper."Hef

[Hugh Hefner] hates him now! So I lived and I learned right?," Wilkinson

said. "I will never do a rap video again unless its Three 6 Mafia, Too $hort,

Bow Wow or Nelly!"

Congresswoman

Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) will host a Hip-Hop forum at this year’s Congressional

Black Caucus Legislative Conference.The

Hip-Hop Powershop, scheduled for Sept. 7, will feature a panel that will discuss

gang summits and industry manipulation of the true message and meaning of Hip-Hop

artists. Panelists

include DC Hip-Hop artists Asheru and Head-Roc as well as Rev. Yearwood

(Hip-Hop Caucus), Jared Ball (University of Maryland, Hip-Hop historian, Blackademics

on WPFW), Lisa Frager (Industry Ears, Hip-Hop media expert) and former Crips and

Gangster Disciple gangmembers. The

event is one of a series "braintrust forums" McKinney will host that

will examine critical current issues facing African-Americans and the entire country.

Other

forums will address past victims of COINTELPRO abuses, and their renewal in many

forms since 9/11 as well as discuss the award-winning films American Blackout

and Sir! No Sir!American

Blackout documents Black voter disenfranchisement and voter fraud in national

and local elections, while Sir! No Sir! Looks at the hidden history of

GI and veteran resistance that ended the war in Vietnam.An

outspoken critic of the Bush Administration, McKinney spearheaded a national investigation

into the 2000 election voting irregularities. Last

year, she introduced House Resolution 4210, a new bill that calls for the United

States government to release all documents it has collected on slain rapper Tupac

Shakur.HR

4210 calls for "the creation of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Records Collection

at the National Archives; and a second repository at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center

for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia."The

Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference will be Sept. 6 through 9 at

the Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt Vernon Pl., NW.The

following is a schedule of events and list of participating panelists:The

New COINTELPROSept. 7, 1 p.m. – 2:50 p.m., Room 143 CPanelists: Lillie

Coney, Electronic Privacy Information Center, EddieConway, COINTELPRO victim,

Bill Goodman, Center for ConstitutionalRights, Dick Gregory, COINTELPRO victim,

activist, author of Callus onMy Soul, Tom Devine, Government Accountability

Office, Kate Martin,Center on National Security Studies, J.E. McNeil, Center

on Conscienceand War, Chuck Michaels, ACLU Baltimore, MD, author of No

GreaterThreat, Patrick Radden Keefe, author of ChatterHip-Hop

PowershopSept. 7, 4:00 p.m. – 5:50 p.m., Room 144 BCPanelists: Rev. Yearwood,

Hip Hop Caucus, Jared Ball, University ofMaryland, Hip Hop historian, Blackademics

on WPFW, Crown, a Y.G. fromHarlem Crips, Lisa Frager, Industry Ears, Hip Hop

media expert, Asheru,DC, Hip Hop artist, educator, G$, formerly Gangster Disciple

Nation,Head-Roc, Mayor of DC Hip Hop – performingAmerican

BlackoutSeptember 9, 11 a.m. – 12:50 p.m., Room 144 AModerator: Cedric

Muhammad, BlackElectorate.comPanelists: Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Ian Inaba,

director, Steven Freemanand Joel Bleifuss, co-authors of Was the 2004 Presidential

ElectionStolen?Sir!

No Sir!Sept. 9, 2006, 2 p.m. – 3:50 p.m., 144 AModerator: Cedric Muhammad,

BlackElectorate.comPanelists: Sgt. Kevin Benderman, Gulf War veteran, Iraq

war objector,Monica Benderman, military family member, David Cline, Vietnam

VeteransAgainst the War, in the film, Greg Payton, Vietnam Veteran, in the

film,Demond Mullins, Iraq veteran, The Ground Truth film and GarrettReppenhagen,

Iraq Veterans Against the War.

50 Cent has been

hit with a lawsuit stemming from an incident in Springfield, Massachusetts, after

the rapper had been sprayed with water during a performance in May of 2004.The

lawsuit, which was filed in Hampden County Court, alleges that 50 Cent injured

two females when he hopped off the stage and into the crowd, seeking an unknown

individual who dosed him with water while he was performing at the Hippodrome

in Springfield.The

rapper was pushed back on stage by security and two police officers, where he

continued his performance. Two people were later arrested and charged with disturbing

the peace. The

women claimed the rapper assaulted them during the incident and the rapper was

hit with assault and battery charges filed by Donna DeJesus, 25, and Taneka Nesbitt,

27.DeJesus

said that 50 Cent punched her in the face during the melee, while Nesbitt claimed

the rapper pushed her down, causing her to undergo knee surgery. In

May of 2005, 50 Cent entered into an agreement to avoid jail time stemming from

the incident. The rapper was sentenced to probation, random drug testing for two

years and a mandatory anger management program. Additionally,

the rapper was sentenced to make an anti-violence public service announcement.

The

women are seeking an undisclosed amount.

Survivors of Hurricane Katrina, community activists and elected officials still reflect, organize and plan action in the aftermath of

the tragedy.

In recognition of the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophe that devastated New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf

region, writer/community activist Kevin Powell and other community forces will convene for an insightful meeting of the minds called Hurricane Katrina: One Year Later.

“We are doing Katrina: One Year Later as a way to remember the tragedy of late August 2005, and to stress to folks that all is not well, still, with Hurricane Katrina survivors,” Powell told AllHipHop.com. “Families are scattered all over the country, hotels [and] places like New York City have moved to sue survivors for back rent, and New Orleans remains a city still devastated by debris and death.”

Katrina survivors, community leaders, elected officials, and other organizations intend to pack Brooklyn’s Hanson Place Central United

Methodist Church to face the policies, politics and glaring disparities in the aftermath of Katrina.

“People can do something by helping survivors find jobs, housing, or by helping, in some way, to defeat the Bush administration’s agenda and the Republican control on Congress,” Powell continued.

Additionally, Powell charged that while the Hip-Hop community has done much in the past for Katrina victims, help work was needed for those

afflicted by the catastrophe.

“As far as us Hip-Hop heads go, we need to step up again. A number of the displaced Katrina survivors are teenagers, 20-somethings, and 30-somethings,” he said. “and we need to understand that a young

person like [displaced student] Brandi Kilbourne needs help. To me, Hip-Hop in its pure form is about looking out for each other. Will the real Hip-Hop heads stand up, then?”

But, the challenges are not limited to Hip-Hop as society on a whole must come to terms of what Katrina truly means.

“I say the challenge for us on this one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is to understand the difference between charity and justice.

Charity just means we feel something for a moment, give money or time, then change the channel in our minds. Justice means we are committed in our bones not just to money, material things, status, and all of that, but to helping people who are less fortunate,” he concluded.

The Hurricane Katrina: One Year Later memorial service takes place today (Aug. 28) at 7 p.m at the Hanson Place Central United Methodist in downtown Brooklyn.

Rapper Lil’ Kim has become embroiled in another lawsuit shortly after being released from prison.

In the suit, filed last week in Manhattan federal court, Tanya Stephens, a popular Jamaican reggae singer/songwriter, accuses the rapper (born

Kimberly Jones) of stealing her lyrics for use on Lil’ Kim’s 2005 album The Naked Truth.

The suit springs from a 1999 meeting between Stephens and Lil’ Kim, who flew the singer out to New York to sing on one of her albums.

Lil’ Kim, who admitted to owning several of Stephens’ albums, later sang the song

she’s accused of stealing lyrics from, “Mi and Mi God,” according to the suit, which stated the rapper belted the tune as a way of showing

Stephens what a big fan of hers she was.

The track was originally recorded in Jamaica and released in 1997, Stephens representatives said.

Although recorded the song with Lil’ Kim, her vocals never made the album.

Stephens and her representatives from the Royalty Network were surprised upon listening to the song “Durty” off The Naked Truth.

According to the lawsuit, the song’s lyrics match almost word for word with “Mi and Mi God,” said the representatives.

The suit further stated that Jones sang the tune with a West Indian accent.

Stephens believes the lyrics are so similar that she should own the song and receive all past and future royalties.

“The lawsuit against Atlantic Records and Lil’ Kim is the result of Royalty Networks Inc’s failed attempts to extract unreasonable sums and

percentages of Lil’ Kim’s new song for an interpolated use of a song which happens all the time in Hip-Hop,” said Lil’ Kim’s attorney L.

Londell McMillan, who vowed to fight the accusations.

“There are no damages to Tanya Stephens, they never objected until after their efforts failed, and Kim was and remains willing to be fair. This matter should have been resolved but it appears to be another money and media play at Lil’ Kim’s expense. This issue was no secret. Kim was advised licenses

were obtained by those who handle clearances at the time. We shall defend this action.”

Established in 1993, the Royalty Network works to help educate artists, songwriters and producers about music publishing, copyright ownership

and the inside operations of the business.

Its clientele includes Hip-Hop, R&B and reggae. songwriters, producers and artists.

Stephens is preparing her sixth album, Rebelution, Tuesday on VP Records.

Her current single, “These Streets” was number three in Jamaica last week.

The singer, whose style is a mixture of reggae, dance hall and R&B, is scheduled to take part in the West Indian Parade on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn over Labor Day weekend.

The lawsuit follows Lil’ Kim’s July 3 release from federal prison in Philadelphia.

The Brooklyn rapper, who completed house arrest on Aug. 3, served 10 months for lying to a grand jury about a shooting that erupted outside New York’s Hot 97 radio station.