R&B star Usher has re-hired his mother as his manager after his latest album failed to live up to expectations.

The singer ended his 15-year professional relationship with Jonnetta Patton and her JPat Record Label just days before Mother's Day. The 29-year-old replaced Patton with managing mogul Benny Medina - responsible for the careers of heavyweights such as Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez. Click Here For More...
However, he is now allegedly blaming Medina for disappointing sales of his new album Here I Stand. The CD debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard charts in May, but sold just 433,000 copies in its first week - compared to his 2004 album Confessions, which came in at a staggering 1.1 million. And now the star has officially announced that his mother will be resuming her role in charge of his career.

A statement from the pair reads: "Usher has dissolved his management arrangement with Benny Medina and has re-engaged Jonnetta Patton as his manager." But Usher's former manager Medina insists the decision was made on good terms.

He tells People.com, "I had a great time and we parted ways amicably."

R&B singer Joe has accused R. Kelly of trying to derail his career by pressuring radio DJs not to play his records. The singer released six albums with Jive Records over an 11 year period, but left the label earlier this year after the company pushed back the release of his 2007 LP, Ain’t Nothin Like Me, several times.

The Grammy winner believes fellow Jive artist R. Kelly was to blame, claiming the singer would call Jive bosses and radio stations and urge them not to promote the singer too heavily, according to reports. Click Here For More...
"R. Kelly was very instrumental in making a lot of decisions when it came to my records being played on the radio," Joe said.

"He would make a call to the radio station or to the label and say, ‘Hey, this Joe record is too hot right now. Y’all (sic) need to pull that back.’ And they would oblige. It’s incredible that now I get the opportunity to, I don’t know, maybe pay (R. Kelly) back in some sort of side bar kind of thing."

And Joe, who left Jive to release his forthcoming LP New Man through Kedar Entertainment Group, insists that despite R. Kelly’s alleged intervention, he's still got plenty of stake in the industry.

He says, "I’m still very relevant in the game. But yeah, he did try to make some decisions when it came down to my records being on fire, and climbing up the charts and on the radio stations."

Source: Livesteez.com

A 24 year old woman was found dead in a utility closet on the roof of spotlight Live that hosted a birthday party for Lil Kim Monday.

Police were questioning a club employee in the death of Ingrid Rivera. She was last seen arguing with one of the club's bouncers, police said. The investigation is focused on a club employee, they said. That's who was being questioned on Thursday afternoon. Click Here For More...
The woman, Ingrid Rivera, was reported missing by her family after she didn't show up at her Queens home after attending a party at the club.

A police source told Eyewitness News that Rivera attended a birthday party at the club for rapper Lil' Kim on Sunday into Monday.

She was found by workers doing work on the roof on Wednesday afternoon.

A police source said it appeared the woman had been bludgeoned to death. An autopsy will be conducted to determine what caused Rivera's death.

Investigators will also be checking to see if the victim was raped, a source said. They said signs suggest a struggle and a sexual assault.

Detectives spent the evening reviewing surveillance video at the club and trying to track down people who were at the party.

A spokesperson for Lil' Kim said in an e-mailed statement that Wednesday night was "the first Lil' Kim has heard of this matter."

"When I was there, everything was cool," actress LisaRaye McCoy-Misick, a friend of Lil' Kim and the wife of the premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, told The New York Times. The artist's spokesman, Ronn Torossian, said in an e-mailed statement that Wednesday night was "the first Lil' Kim has heard of this matter."

In July 2006, Lil' Kim got out of a federal detention center in Philadelphia after nearly 10 months behind bars for lying about a shootout outside a Manhattan hip-hop radio station. She was released early for good behavior.

The Second Annual Rick Ross Be Out Day was interrupted by gunfire today (August 6), AllHipHop.com has learned.

The annual event took place in Carol City Park and offered the local community a day of food, and fun sponsored by Rick Ross himself. Click Here For More...

The event went off without a hitch, until Ross took the stage and that’s when the gunfire erupted.

“He was giving back to the community when this happened,” a source on the scene told AllHipHop.com in an exclusive statement. “Rick and the whole Poe Boy team got on stage and that’s when someone in the crowd started shooting.”

The shooting resulted in a number of people fleeing the area in fear of their lives, the witness added. Rick Ross Be Out Day provides local children with back-to-school necessities.

The annual Rick Ross Be Out Scholarship is normally presented at the event, which was also sponsored by The City of Miami Gardens and The Children’s Trust.

Police have confirmed the shooting with AllHipHop.com. There were no injuries and there are no suspects as of press time.

Source: Allhiphop.com

Is Plies taking a shot at Lil Wayne when he said "you can sell million records on hype in this game?"

NEW YORK (AP) - Lil Jon, who was in musical limbo after his longtime record label TVT Records went bankrupt earlier this year, has reached an agreement that frees him from his TVT obligations while entering into a new venture with digital entertainment company The Orchard, which is purchasing TVT's assets.

Lil Jon will work with the Orchard's Brand Entertainment Group to develop "lifestyle-oriented marketing and promotion programs," as well as serve as a consultant for some of Orchard's artists, labels, and branding opportunities, according to a joint statement from both parties. Click Here For More...
As part of the deal, Lil Jon withdrew his objections to TVT's sale to Orchard. In return, Orchard released Lil Jon from any contractual obligations left over from TVT and allowed him the rights to the master recordings of his upcoming album, "Crunk Rock." The Orchard also will digitally issue Lil Jon's back catalog, for which he will provide new material, according to the statement.

That means Lil Jon is still free to sign to another label as an artist.

"It's about time I get what's owed to me from the situation I was stuck in," Lil Jon said in a statement to The Associated Press. "It's unfortunate things have turned out the way they did, but artists deserve to be compensated fairly by their labels for the work they do, and that wasn't happenin'. In my case. I'm happy to finally be a free man and make a new start!"

According to Orchard, it has purchased most of TVT's assets, except for a few that are being challenged, for between $4.5 million and $6 million.

Lil Jon, together with his cohorts the East Side Boyz, has sold millions of records and helped fuel the crunk music wave a few years ago. His hits include "Get Low," and he's produced smashes like Usher's "Yeah!" and Ciara's "Goodies." The Atlanta-based musician also has his Crunk!!! Energy Drink and a wine line.

The Orchard, based in New York, distributes and markets millions and songs and videos through a variety of companies.

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
AP Music Writer

Jennifer Lopez will not be forced to testify in a lawsuit filed against her ex Sean 'Diddy' Combs over his involvement in a 1999 New York club shooting.

The singer/actress was dating the hip-hop mogul at the time of the incident, and was present at the now-defunct Club New York when shots were fired in the venue on December 27th 1999, injuring two people. Combs' rap protégé Shyne, real name Jamal Barrow, is currently serving a 10-year jail term after he was found guilty of assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession in the trial following the shooting. Click Here For More...
The rap heavyweight was arrested for various charges including weapons violations, but was acquitted of all counts. Combs and Shyne are currently fighting a $130 million civil suit filed by victim Natania Reuben, who was shot in the face during the incident.

Lopez - who was not called as a witness in the 2001 criminal trial - was subpoenaed by Reuben's attorneys in June, and was due to give her deposition on Tuesday.

However according to website TMZ.com, Lopez had "nothing to contribute" to the case, and her deposition was canceled indefinitely - news which has been confirmed by Reuben's lawyer.

The Latina split from Combs shortly after the shooting trial.

Rihanna is rapidly rivaling World's Sexiest Woman Megan Fox - polls have awarded the R&B beauty the sexiest celebrity legs, hair and tummy. The 22-year-old was handed the latest accolade after she bared her toned belly in a bikini while on holiday with beau Chris Brown.

Her tight abs earned her the top spot in a poll conducted by the makers of digestive aid supplement AntiBloat.

A party thrown by Mr. So So Def a.k.a. Jermaine Dupri was shut down. Gunshots rang out at Club Dream where J.D. was hosting a event that had in attendance Diddy, Usher, Gabrielle Union, Larenz Tate and others last Friday.

No one was arrested or been named. Police had no comment on the incident.