The former director
of a New Jersey SPCA admitted in court yesterday that he stole more than $6,000
from a fund created by DMX. Robert Nesoff admitted that he wrote checks against
the fund for his personal use. The $15,000 fund was originally created as a
condition for DMX’s parole for animal cruelty, after officials found over
12 pitbulls in deplorable conditions at his Teaneck, New Jersey residence in
1999. Nesoff must serve probation and pay restitution to the fund.
A man has hit Outkast
with a lawsuit, claiming he owns copyrights to songs on their multi-platinum
smash album, Speakerboxx/Love Below. Algenard Herring, also known as King Stephen,
filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Federal Court. Herring seeks an undisclosed
amount. Representatives for Outkast were not available for comment on the lawsuit
as of press time.
Europe’s first gay Hip-Hop festival has been planned for
this summer. PeaceOUT UK is being organized by gayhiphop.com and others and
aims to tap the market that attends gay clubs hosting hip-hop nights in the
UK. PeaceOUT UK will kick off on August 4 in various Brighton and London clubs
and will feature upcoming acts from the gay Hip-Hop community. The festival
also aims to encourage more diversity within the gay and lesbian communities.
Artists include Mz Fontaine, Wayne Latham, QBoy, Off The Hook and others. The
festival has already taken place in California and New York. For more information,
visit www.peaceoutuk.com
The works of Robert “Iceberg Slim” Beck are the
subject of a lawsuit, as daughters of the influential artist have sued Holloway
House Publishing. Beck’s daughters allege the publishing company duped
them out of royalties derived from books written by their father. Holloway has
published such titles by Slim as Death Wish, Long White Con, Mma Black Widow,
Pimp, Trick Baby and others. Beck’s works have had an enormous impact
on Hip-Hop, influencing such rappers as Nas, Ice-T, Kool G. Rap and countless
others.
