Keith Brown, the father of a former classic piano-playing group titled the 5 Browns, was sentenced in court today. In February, the 55-year old pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three of his kids many years ago, a crime for which he’ll spend at least a decade in prison. He’ll spend 10 years to life in Utah state prison, a clerk court confirms. Brown’s crimes took place between November 1990 and October 1992; and March 1997 and March 1998. Daughters Desirae, 32, Deondra, 30, and Melody, 26, have issued a statement saying they came forward about the incidents once rumors that their father would be managing a new band – comprised of teenagers – began to circulate.
One is a politician, the other a humanitarian. And now Arnold Schwarzenegger and Angelina Jolie can both add a new title to their resumes: comic book hero. The former Governor of California will soon be transformed by none other than legendary writer Stan Lee, who has created The Governator and tells Entertainment Weekly of the character: “[He] is going to be a great superhero, but he’ll also be Arnold Schwarzenegger. We’re using all the personal elements of Arnold’s life… Only after he leaves the governor’s office, Arnold decides to become a crime fighter and builds a secret high-tech crime-fighting center under his house in Brentwood.” Jolie, meanwhile, is the latest in a long line to be honored by Bluewater Productions. That company has also published comic books for Lady Gaga, Justin Biber, Robert Pattinson and many others. “I learned a great deal about her struggles and triumphs as an award-winning actress, mother and humanitarian,” writer Brent Sprecher said of working on the fictional adventure. He also gave her a giant rack. Check it out above!
One is a politician, the other a humanitarian. And now Arnold Schwarzenegger and Angelina Jolie can both add a new title to their resumes: comic book hero. The former Governor of California will soon be transformed by none other than legendary writer Stan Lee, who has created The Governator and tells Entertainment Weekly of the character: “[He] is going to be a great superhero, but he’ll also be Arnold Schwarzenegger. We’re using all the personal elements of Arnold’s life… Only after he leaves the governor’s office, Arnold decides to become a crime fighter and builds a secret high-tech crime-fighting center under his house in Brentwood.” Jolie, meanwhile, is the latest in a long line to be honored by Bluewater Productions. That company has also published comic books for Lady Gaga, Justin Biber, Robert Pattinson and many others. “I learned a great deal about her struggles and triumphs as an award-winning actress, mother and humanitarian,” writer Brent Sprecher said of working on the fictional adventure. He also gave her a giant rack. Check it out above!
Band faces a tough Elite 8 challenge against defending champs Coheed and Cambria. By James Montgomery Disturbed’s David Draiman Photo: C Brandon/ Redferns When MTV tipped off our Musical March Madness tournament three weeks ago, 64 bands stood on the precipice of greatness … though, to be honest, one of them seemed to face a tougher challenge than all the rest. Chicago shredders Disturbed, who were stuck with a #9 seed, were pitted against the heavily favored Dave Matthews Band in the opening round and basically left for dead. But Disturbed refused to die. They knocked off DMB in convincing fashion, then, in one of the tournament’s most eye-opening victories, ripped #1 seed Foo Fighters to reach the Sweet 16 . That win served notice to the rest of the MMM bands that Disturbed were a force to be reckoned with, and they backed up that newfound clout with a thorough throttling of Patrick Stump to reach the Elite 8 .
In her ‘Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale’ special, the star shares that she’d thinks the ‘OMG’ singer ‘is really hot right now.’ By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Sway Calloway Sway Calloway and Britney Spears Photo: MTV News & Docs What do Britney Spears and Usher have in common? Well, they are both global superstars with a back catalogue of tunes that have kept fans dancing for a really long time and they both recently hooked up with will.i.am for tracks on their latest releases (the Black Eyed Peas mastermind worked on the pop vixen’s Femme Fatale tune “Big Fat Bass”). And, if Spears has her way, she and the ” OMG ” singer could be hitting the road together. When Spears sat down to talk with Sway Calloway for her “Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale” special — airing Sunday (April 3) at 9 p.m. ET on MTV — the singer revealed that Usher is first on her list of artists she’d like to join her on tour. “Oh, I’m so excited. I’m really excited about going on tour, very,” she explained about her forthcoming summer trek, which happens to have a spot open on the bill now that Enrique Iglesias has pulled out of the gig . “I think Usher’s really great right now. I think he’s really hot right now. That would be cool [to tour with him].” The North American road trip is expected to kick off June 17 in Sacramento, California, and will run for 26 dates, winding up on August 13 in Toronto. More details will be announced soon. The “Britney Spears: I Am the Femme Fatale” special is a mixture of behind-the-scenes footage of the singer as she wraps up production on her album, which dropped this week, as well as an inside look at her life and fans. In addition, those who couldn’t make Spears’ recent nightclub show in Las Vegas will get to see her as she takes the stage in her latest pop incarnation. Don’t miss which airs this Sunday, April 3, at 9 p.m. ET on MTV. Related Photos Britney Spears Brings Down The House In Las Vegas Related Artists Britney Spears Usher
When penetrating the various orifices of multiple people in a single afternoon, please remember, safety first. LOS ANGELES – California workplace safety officials have fined Larry Flynt’s Hustler Video and another porn producer for not using condoms on set to protect sex performers from exposure to disease. Hustler faces $14,175 in fines for three violations, including failure to provide condoms or other protective equipment, according to a Division of Occupational Safety and Health citation provided to The Associated Press Wednesday. Hustler “failed to ensure the use of appropriate personal protective equipment, such as condoms” to protect its employees from semen, vaginal excretions and blood in the course of producing adult videos, according to the citation. The current fines are based on the same section of state law that also requires hospitals to provide nurses with protective gear to spare them exposure to blood-borne and fluid-borne illnesses. Flynt has said in the past that audiences don’t want to watch porn in which actors use condoms. Hustler was also fined for failing to maintain a written injury and illness policies and for failing to provide workers with vaccines for hepatitis C. Hustler’s citation stems from a Sept. 14 inspection of a jobs site in response to a complaint from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that advocates for safe sex in pornography. Not the we watch a lot of porn, but we’re seen far more films WITHOUT condoms than WITH. Why aren’t these other companies being fined?? In any event, wear one. It will probably save your life, or at least you bank account. Source
‘I am now part of a new family,’ Thomas tells MTV News of reconnecting with the world through the social-networking site. By Eric Ditzian Thomas Ohlson at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, California Photo: MTV News & Docs These days, Thomas types with just two fingers. By the time summer rolls around, there is a possibility he will only be typing with one finger or maybe not at all. Thomas suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a disease that causes motor neurons to die, leading muscles to waste away while cognitive abilities remain unaffected; the life expectancy of an ALS patient is two to five years. But here’s the thing about Thomas, who first started to feel the effects in 2005: ALS might have robbed him of his body, but it hasn’t changed the type of person he truly is. That’s the big takeaway from his appearance on MTV’s “Diary of Facebook,” in which Thomas shines a spotlight on his affliction and the way the social-networking site has allowed him to interact with the world around him despite his limitations. Flown out to the company’s headquarters as part of its Stories.Facebook.com event, an effort to highlight how the site has effected profound change in users’ lives, Thomas spoke to employees via a speech device, saying, “These days, I am confined to a wheelchair and require a mechanical ventilator to breathe. My inability to interact only serves to frustrate and depress me. One year ago, I joined Facebook. Although physically I was isolated, virtually I was around people, submitting opinions and making jokes. My life again has purpose.” Indeed it does, and in an email interview with MTV News — during which, yes, he responded to questions using only those two fingers — Thomas expounded on how Facebook has allowed him not only to become a social creature again, but also an activist. “Aside from reconnecting with old friends from my past, I am now part of a new family — the ALS community, who, like me, have also found their voices,” he wrote. “Every 90 minutes, someone is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes someone dies from ALS. It has been over 140 years since the disease was first diagnosed and we still have no cure, no viable treatment, and no known cause.” Thomas never planned to become an activist or a public face of his disease. He joined Facebook only after hearing his wife and children’s stories of connecting with friends. But when he did sign up and began sharing a journal he was keeping for his kids, the effect was remarkable. “The support my journal has received has been incredible,” he wrote. “I am most proud of how many heretofore uninformed people are now aware of ALS and offer their support.” His hope is that his story — as told both on MTV and Facebook — spurs action and understanding about the disease. Yet Thomas doesn’t possess a botThomasless well of hope. He suffers. He rages. In a recent Facebook update, he hinted at a time when he’ll no longer be able to silently suffer the effects of ALS. Cruel and unfair though his disease may be, though, Thomas is adamant that his torment ultimately have meaning. He urged people to visit ALS Therapy Development Institute for further information about the disease and ways to get involved with the community. And he made clear that while ALS has taken away so much from him, it has also given him a searing insight into what it means to be happy and human. “ALS has taught me one invaluable lesson: Stop always looking to the future for happiness and appreciate what you have right now,” he wrote. “My memories are now my treasure, and every day is another gift to be enjoyed and then added to that treasure. You can never be too rich or too healthy!” Related Videos The Diary Of Facebook
‘I’m so honored, so happy that you gave me the opportunity, God, to know Nate Dogg,’ Snoop eulogized at funeral. By Rahman Dukes Snoop Dogg arrives at Nate Dogg’s funeral on Saturday Photo: MTV News LONG BEACH, California — On a dark and damp Saturday morning (March 26), thousands of family, friends and fans turned out for one last show from their hero, rap legend Nate Dogg , who was laid to rest in his hometown of Long Beach. Inside the Long Beach Cruise Terminal, lights shined down on the wooden coffin adorned with red and white flowers. Two jumbo screens on opposite sides of his casket flashed six different photos of the singer from a childhood boy, when he was known to family as “Buddy,” to the platinum singer known to the world as Nate Dogg. West Coast rap artists including Dr. Dre, Game, DJ Quik, Mack-10 and WC, DJ Pooh, Battlecat and others were on hand to pay their respects to the singer with platinum vocal chords. “1986, Poly High School, that’s where we connected for the first time,” an emotionally distraught Snoop reflected on his friend. “We didn’t know each other, but the music connected us. We built a brotherhood, a friendship.” Snoop first met Nate along with his best friend Warren G at the school where they would go on to form the rap trio 213. Warren G spoke briefly, reminding mourners in attendance what a great man the music world has lost. “It hurts me so much to see this,” Warren G said somberly while looking down at the casket. “We been through a whole lot and that was my dog. He stayed down with me from the bottom to the top. I didn’t ever think I would have to sit at a funeral for one of my dogs. All I can say is that was my friend, me him and Snoop was 213 from the balls to the walls. The music industry lost an incredible artist.” Several of Nate’s closest friends, relatives and colleagues including Xzibit, Daz and Kurupt, Butch Cassidy, Los Angeles radio station personality Big Boy from Power 106, and producer FredWreck all shared memorable stories of their friend, who they said made an important impact on their lives. Xzibit recalled a time during the Up in Smoke Tour when Nate was arrested, but hours later somehow magically appeared at the show’s next date. A teary-eyed Kurupt said Nate was the father figure who raised him. Manager Rod McGrew acted as Nate’s manager throughout his professional music career and was with him up until his last days. “He fought a hard fight,” McGrew said. He also thanked Dr. Dre and Eminem, in addition to Snoop, Warren G and Xzibit, for assisting the family in getting through the past several days. “The last three years were unbelievable. He didn’t give up. He just had a talk with God and gave up. Two hours before that he was fine.” McGrew said that with Nate’s passing, the singer’s three wishes will now be granted. “He wanted to go to heaven and hang with his boys,” McGrew said. “He loved Tupac. He recorded with him. He wanted to hang with Biggie. But the most important thing is that he can walk around heaven with his favorite artist of all time, Michael Jackson.” With his deep, melodic voice and smooth soul rumble, Dogg was one of the key elements in the rise of the West Coast G-Funk sound pioneered by Death Row Records in the early 1990s. Along with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Warren G, Nate was a critical participant in a number of major left-coast gangsta hits, including G’s “Regulate” and Dre’s iconic solo debut, 1992’s The Chronic. The hip-hop singer passed away earlier this month after suffering multiple health setbacks in the past several years stemming from separate strokes. The choir that sang during Nate’s home-going was handpicked by the singer himself. One of its members, Jacob Lusk , is currently a contestant on “American Idol.” “He was a loving caring individual,” said Snoop. “If you listen to his music, he took church melodies and flipped it with hip-hop. I’m so honored, so happy that you gave me the opportunity, God, to know Nate Dogg. I want to stand here and cry, but I have to have the strength for you Nate Dogg. It’s 213, DPG for life.” Related Videos Remembering Nate Dogg Related Photos Nate Dogg Laid To Rest, 03.26.2011 Related Artists Nate Dogg Snoop Dogg Warren G Dr. Dre DPG
‘I’m just glad to know that my brother was able to do what he loved,’ sister Pamela Hale-Burns tells MTV News. By Tamara Palmer, with reporting by Rahman Dukes Nate Dogg Photo: Mark Sullivan/ WireImage LONG BEACH, California — One of the West Coast’s most iconic hip-hop voices filled the air on Friday (March 25) as family, friends and fans waved goodbye to Nate Dogg . Hundreds of people gathered outside the New Hope Baptist Church to pay tribute to the late singer, who died last week at age 41. The service, which was open to the public, included close friend and actor Ricky Harris and collaborators Daz Dillinger and producer Battlecat. Some mourners came from as far away as London, New York and San Francisco to pay their respects to the golden-voiced singer. Nate Dogg was an accomplished artist who not only helped define the sound of West Coast rap via his memorable collaborations with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and others, but also helped earn top 10 tracks for Eminem and 50 Cent in the past decade. He died on March 15 due to complications sustained in the years following two separate strokes. At the time of his death, he had been resting at the home of his mother Ruth Holmes, not far from the church. New Hope was more than a temple of worship for Nate Dogg; it is also where he got his start in music, honing what would later be an inimitable voice by singing gospel in the choir there with sister Pamela Hale-Burns, now a reporter for the Long Beach Press-Telegram. “Singing is something that we grew up doing, and I’m just glad to know that my brother was able to do what he loved,” Hale-Burns told MTV News. “I said earlier that he chose a career where he never worked a day in his life, because he loved doing what he did.” The church is also just a few blocks away from VIP Records, the legendary independent shop where Nate started his career along with Snoop. It’s immortalized in Snoop’s video for his debut single “Who Am I (What’s My Name?).” “What this means for me today is just to keep on striving, to keep on pushing the line that we set 20 years ago until now,” said Daz, who ended his tour to attend the service. “I’m just here to celebrate Nate Dogg’s life.” Nate’s older sibling Samuel Hale, a.k.a. Sam Dogg, asked that Nate’s fans never forget the man who left a legacy of countless hit records behind. “Remember his voice, his talent, and keep the family in prayer,” Sam said. “My brother is a legend, and we’re going to miss him a whole lot.” Nate Dogg’s funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal (formerly the Spruce Goose Dome), adjacent to the Queen Mary hotel. While access to the funeral will be limited, a service for the public will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Dome, the Press-Telegram reports. Share your memories of Nate Dogg in the comments below. Related Videos Remembering Nate Dogg Related Photos Nate Dogg’s Hometown Wake Nate Dogg: A Life In Photos Related Artists Nate Dogg
Bobby Ray’s track comes in response to Tyler’s ‘Yonkers.’ By Jayson Rodriguez B.o.B Photo: Frank Mullen Not everyone is amused by the antics of Odd Future’s Tyler the Creator. B.o.B took aim at the upstart on Friday (March 25) with a fiery dis track titled “No Future,” a response to a line the California rapper issued on his breakout “Yonkers.” “What you think of Hayley Williams?/ F— her, Wolf Haley robbing ’em,” Tyler raps on the song. “I’ll crash that f—ing airplane that that f—-t n—a B.o.B is in/ And stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus.” The line is characteristic of Tyler and his crew’s shocking rhymes; the collective are, in part, inspired by Eminem and works like his Relapse album with its slew of serial-killer references. The “Airplanes” star, however, isn’t a fan. “If I was you I would be a little more cautious,” Bobby Ray raps on “No Future.” “I’m way too high for you to look at/ The future ain’t looking promising for these rookies/ This is target practice but I don’t even pull the f—ing trigger anymore, ’cause it’s just a waste of bullets/ Come and get this pu—, wipe them off the floor/ I’m guessing they was hoping for some different results/ I’m guessing they was guessing ’cause they wasn’t really sure/ But f— it, I guess I’mma have to let these n—–s know. “Keep f—ing with me, you ain’t gon have no future,” he concludes. Tyler responded via Twitter. Perhaps taking the high road after driving too close to the edge, the 20-year-old wrote that he didn’t think “No Future” was a dis track. He even gave B.o.B props on the rhyme. “Whoa,” he wrote in his first message. “I don’t think the ‘No Future’ song is even a diss. But I’ve never heard him spit like that. Took me by surprise, cus it’s tight.” A second message took a swipe at producer Alex Da Kid over “Airplanes” and “Love the Way You Lie” sounding too similar. Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Tyler, The Creator Related Artists B.o.B Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All
