Johnny Nunez/WireImage Rapper Craig Mack Has Passed Away Craig Mack, the rapper who hailed from Long Island and started the foundation of Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment, has died at age 46. The news was confirmers by his producer to Daily News . Mack’s major claim to hip-hop fame was his smash hit remix of “Flava in Ya Ear” in 1994. The rapper died of heart failure at a hospital near his home in Walterboro, South Carolina on Monday. Alvin Toney, who produced Mack’s debut album “Project: Funk Da World” said he saw his dear friend one last time last week while trying to film a documentary. He said that is when Mack told him that he had been ill for quite some time and that, “he was prepared for whatever comes, to go home to the Lord.” Mack is survived by a wife and two children, who are now both adults, according to Toney.
Getty Images Black Ink Crew’s Phor Arrested In Indiana Phor , one of the stars of VH1’s Black Ink Crew: Chicago , got cuffed right along with his whole crew last week. The incident happened after a police officer pulled them over because clouds of smoke were visibly billowing out of the group’s limo van. According to reports from TMZ , the tattoo artist was arrested in Gary, Indiana along with 6 friends, and is now facing criminal weed charges. According to the police report, an officer pulled over Phor’s Mercedes limo after he both heard loud music and smelled pot. Apparently, the driver told the cop they were heading to a club in Gary–which is only about 25 miles from Chicago–and tried to get the officer’s sympathy by saying, “Look bro, I have a celebrity in the back.” Um, tread lightly there, Mr. driver… Unfortunately for Phor and his crew, the cop didn’t care about his reality celebrity-dom. On top of that, the driver allegedly didn’t have ID or registration for the vehicle, and because it stunk like weed, they were all taken into custody for weed-related offenses.
Pap Nation / Splash News Saint West Photographed With Nanny Outside Hair Appointment How cute is Sainty? Pap Nation / Splash News ‘ KimYe’s middle kiddo was photographed hanging with his nanny outside of a kid’s salon in LA. He’s growing up so quickly riiiiight?
A Philly School Is Paying Students To Not Fight A school in Philadelphia, is trying an unorthodox method to stop its students from fighting. Mitchell Elementary principal Stephanie Andrewlevich has decided that she will give her students a crisp $100 bill at graduation if they go the whole year without getting into any physical fights. The principal says the incentive is working and has overseen “significant gains” at the school during her tenure. So far this year, only 8 percent of the eighth-graders have been suspended. That’s down from 17 percent at the same point last year, and down 21 percent from 2016.
Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images ABC Pulled A Black-ish Episode 5 Days Before Air ABC’s series Black-ish is known for never backing down from controversial social and political issues, but that wasn’t the case when it came to airing a recent episode. The network has indefinitely postponed what seems to be a pretty sensitive episode over certain “creative differences” with the showrunner Kenya Barris, according to Variety . At the moment, ABC doesn’t have any plans to air the episode or make it available at all. The episode is titled “Please, Baby, Please” and was initially scheduled to air on February 27. But five days before the airdate, it was announced that the episode wouldn’t air and would instead be replaced with a rerun. ABC didn’t reveal why the adjustment had been made or when the shelved episode would actually air. An ABC spokesperson told Variety, “One of the things that has always made ‘Black-ish’ so special is how it deftly examines delicate social issues in a way that simultaneously entertains and educates. However, on this episode there were creative differences we were unable to resolve.” The episode titled, “Please, Baby, Please” shows father Dre (played by Anthony Anderson) with his baby boy while a thunderstorm keeps the whole family awake. Dre improvises a bedtime story that eventually reveals his anxieties about some of the issues facing the country. The episode also discusses the rights of football players to kneel during performances of the national anthem. “Given our creative differences, neither ABC nor I were happy with the direction of the episode and mutually agreed not to air it,” Barris told Variety . “‘Black-ish’ is a show that has spoken to all different types of people and brought them closer as a community and I’m so proud of the series.”
Splash News Man Gift’s Kimmy Cake Stan With Life Size Birthday Cake British artist and cake design Debbie Wingham says s he received a commission from the boyfriend of a “Kim Kardashian lookalike” for a lavish birthday party, and he requested she replicate the reality star’s world “famous” cakes. Wingham kept the identity of the couple secret, but says the boyfriend added a REAL diamond necklace to the baked up figure, adding a whopping $1.7 million to their bill. Do you think she did a good job on it??? Splash news The cake itself, used 85 boxes of Rice Krispies, 33 pounds of fondant icing, 30,000 baby marshmallows and 13 pounds of chocolate according to Splash News. Debbie says the Kim K West cake-alike took ten days to make. The couple who ordered the item says they were “blown away with the result” and she quoted the boyfriend to say: “It’s unreal, such a likeness to my beautiful partner and the curves too, the tiny waist curvy hips and derriere. We even measured them both side by side and it was more or less exact.” Splash News Ummm, okkkkayyy. Would you do this for your significant other’s birthday?
Image via NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Lisa Bonet Speaks About Bill Cosby’s Energy The dozens of sexual assault/rape accusations against Bill Cosby has put those who knew him professionally in the spotlight as many want to know if there were signs of his criminal proclivities back in the day. During an interview with Net-A-Porter , Lisa Bonet , who played his daughter Denise Huxtable, made it pretty clear that she always felt that there was something off with “Americas’s Favorite Dad” Have the revelations about Bill Cosby’s alleged sexual misconduct tainted her memory of those years? She looks evenly at me. “No, it’s exactly as I remember it,” she says. But did you have a sense that anything was happening? “There was no knowledge on my part about his specific actions, but… There was just energy. And that type of sinister, shadow energy cannot be concealed.” You sensed a darkness? “Always. And if I had anything more to reveal then it would have happened a long time ago. That’s my nature. The truth will set you free.” But that wasn’t all… At the time, Bonet was branded a rebel who tested the patience of the most popular sitcom dad in the country. She showed up late on set and posed topless in Interview magazine, contrary to his wishes. Cosby famously opposed her role in Angel Heart, in which she performed a nude sex scene with Mickey Rourke. “I don’t need to say, ‘I told you so’,” she says about Cosby’s current situation. “I just leave all that to karma and justice and what will be.” The folks at Merriam-Webster have to put Lisa Bonet’s face next to the definition of “dry snitchin’”
Leon Bennett/Getty Images for BET Friday Will Be Michael Smith’s Last Day On SportsCenter Michael Smith is set to leave his role as ESPN’s SportsCenter 6 p.m. ET host, and his last day will be on Friday, March 9. Smith’s departure comes a little over a month after his former co-host, Jemele Hill , left the program to join ESPN’s website, The Undefeated . Smith has not yet announced where he will be going after leaving SportsCenter , but Sports Illustrated reports that he–just like Hill–still has multiple years left on his ESPN contract, so it’s assume that he will stay within the brand in one capacity or another. According to New York Post reporter Andrew Marchand, the most likely replacements for Hill and Smith will be Sage Steele and John Anderson, who are the currentl hosts of SportsCenter at night. As @sportsrapport tweeted, I was told last week that Sage Steele and John Anderson were favorites to be new 6 pm SportsCenter team. As @richarddeitsch reported, Michael Smith will no longer do SC. This was a when, not if, situation. — Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 9, 2018 In September of last year, ESPN Executive Vice President Norby Williamson took control of the SportsCenter franchise, and immediately instituted changes to the show that greatly affected how Hill and Smith did their jobs. He himself admitted that there was “probably an element of truth” to claims that Hill left the show at least in part because of the changes he implemented–and the same could probably go for Michael, as well. As for next moves, Smith himself hasn’t commented on anything in particular, but Williamson said in a statement , “Michael is a talented commentator, and we greatly appreciate and value his contributions and creativity. We are in the process of discussing with him potential next ESPN assignments.” Good luck to Smith on his next endeavor!
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Roc Nation Dapper Dan Is Finally Getting His Own Biopic Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day , has been hip hop’s reigning courtier for the past couple of decades, and the legendary designer has dressed some of music’s most famous faces since he opened his first boutique on 125th street in Harlem in 1982. Dan has had many problems in the past with high-end brands imitating his work, and though many others get upset over the copying, Mr. Day is much more nonchalant about seeing, “echoes” of his work–especially now that he’s actually working with Gucci. The internet and social media has played a huge role in the push to make sure Dapper Dan receives proper recognition as one of America’s most legendary designers. That push has not only resulted in his recent Gucci partnership, but furthermore in an upcoming memoir and biopic. Writer and comedian Jerrod Carmichael is working on a Sony-produced project that will bring Dapper Dan’s incredible story to the big screen. Described as a “ high-stakes coming-of-age story,” the film is said to be based on Dan’s forthcoming book. And according to the Dapper king himself, he’s ready to dish all about his life. He said in an Instagram post, “It’s time to tell all. From growing up with holes in my shoes and swimming in The Harlem River, to crossing The River Nile in Africa in search of my identity. I came from nothing, and God has blessed me with a partnership with Gucci, a book deal with Random House, and now a movie deal with Sony Pictures. Harlem and Africa, through the grace of God, have shaped my life.” Congrats to Dapper Dan and Jerrod Carmichael on the big move. This movie is going to be something special. Continue reading →
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic Get your life together… Tommie Lee Turns Herself In For Battery A robust rap-sheet having #LHHATL star recently turned herself in to authorities. As previously reported Tommie Lee allegedly slapped and punched an Atlanta jewelry store employee who questioned her piss poor attitude. The jewelry store associate also claimed that Tommie and her associate, an unnamed man, had previously tried to steal items from the business before. Now TMZ reports that Tommie turned herself in for a misdemeanor battery charge related to the case and was later released. Tommie turned herself in late Tuesday night and spent a single night behind bars. She later posted a $3k bond and told TMZ she was innocent. There’s a new mugshot out of Tommie, this would reportedly make number 33. James Pray for TV One Sheesh, Tommie. We’re sure this will be shown on the upcoming new season of #LHHATL.
