New Orleans rapper B.G. has been indicted by a federal grand jury on gun and conspiracy charges. U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said the former Hot Boy faces two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. If convicted, B.G., real name Christopher Dorsey, could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the gun charges and up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. The charges stem from a 2009 traffic stop, where officers recovered three guns. Two of the guns were reported stolen. Read the full story at Hip Hop Wired . RELATED: B.G. Out Of Jail, Optimistic About Gun Charge RELATED: B.G. Arrested In New Orleans On Felony Gun Charge RELATED: Juvenile Talks Hot Boy$ Reunion With DJ Smalls
Nicki Minaj hit MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew” stage where she came face-to-face with her former enemy Lil’ Mama. If you don’t remember, back in 2009, Lil’ Mama launched an attack on the then-up-&-coming Young Money rapper: Lil’ Mama Disses Nicki Minaj For What She “Represents” . If there’s anyone that can challenge Nicki in the “interesting outfit” category, it’s Lil’ Mama. In fact, standing next to each other, Nicki looks every bit a lady, as Mama, in her patent leather lace-up platform boots, looks kinda crazy. This week, the final four remaining dance crews will put their own spin on Nicki Minaj’s hits, by choreographing dances to “Check It Out,” “Massive Attack,” “Moment 4 Life,” “Did It On’em,” and “My Chick Bad.” The episode airs tomorrow, Thursday, May 19 at 10 p.m. Nicki Minaj Drops Diddy For Drake’s Manager Lil’ Mama Debuts Short & Sleek New Hair ‘Do Over The Holidays [PHOTOS]
Soulja Boy is facing a $1 million lawsuit over a canceled Harrisburg, PA concert back in 2010. Joseph Sheldon Brewster filed the lawsuit on behalf of his company TrinCity Entertainment stating that the “Pretty Boy Swag” rapper canceled a show at the last minute and kept their $16,250 deposit. According to the suit TrinCity booked Soulja for a December 10, 2010 show, paying the ATL rapper a down payment of $16,250 plus paying out an additional $11,500 for bus transportation and advertising costs. The lawsuit goes on to claim the reps for Soulja Boy’s record label, Interscope reached out to TrinCity and requested to postpone Soulja’s performance so the rapper could catch a show in Hawaii the following week. Read the full story at Hip Hop Wired. RELATED: Soulja Boy Says That He Is Collaborating With Drake RELATED: Soulja Boy Says He Will “Hoe That N*igga Ice-T On Everything” RELATED: Soulja Boy & Diamond Call The Durtty Boyz To Confirm Relationship [EXCLUSIVE]
Lala Vazquez hit the red carpet for VH1′s Save the Music on Monday night. Wearing a purple dress, red shoes and turquoise jewelry, Lala showcased fashion’s new colorblocking trend. We’re not sure what Lala was doing at the Foundation’s Songwriter Music Series, but then again, she’s invited to everything: See? Lala, Carmelo & Kerry Celebrate At The TIME 100 Gala [PHOTOS] Lala Vazquez Attends Grand Opening Of Guess Flagship Store In NYC [PHOTOS] Lala Delivers Pampers “Little Miracle” Care Packages To Babies In Need [PHOTOS]
Naomi Campbell hosted the Fashion For Relief runway show last night to benefit Japan after its devastating earthquake and tsunami. The veteran supermodel STUNNED the crowd, showing off her toned and muscular 40-year-old body, while schooling up-and-coming models Sessilee Lopez, Kinee Diouf, Georgie Badiel and Sigail Currie. Placed in France during the Cannes Film Festival, actress Rosario Dawson also worked the catwalk. Beyonce & Naomi Cover Mags In Same Gucci Dress: Who Looked Hotter? Vogue Italia Debuts All-Black Model Fashion Spread! A Must-See! [PHOTOS]
A federal arrest warrant has been issued for hip hop mogul Jimmy “Henchman” Rosemond, who manages The Game, Brandy, Sean Kingston and Akon, among other artists. According to the NY Post , the warrant was issued last week for the Czar Entertainment chief after he was indicted for alleged involvement in cocaine distribution, and he has yet to be located. A law enforcement official confirmed that a fugitive warrant is out for Rosemond. In addition to managing the careers of several prominent artists, Jimmy Henchman has not shied away from speaking about his criminal past. Tupac Shakur also referenced the music mogul on his Makaveli album. It has been rumored that Tupac suspected Henchman of playing a role in the rapper’s 1994 shooting in New York, a charge Henchman has vehemently denied for years. “And did I mention / Promise to pay back Jimmy Henchmen / In due time / I know you bitch n*ggas is listenin’ / The world is mine!” — 2Pac aka Makaveli from “Against All Odds” Read the full story at NY Post . RELATED: Game & Lil Wayne’s “Red Nation” Video Banned By BET & MTV For Gang Imagery RELATED: Lil Boosie Interviewed From Prison: “I’ve Been On 23-Hour Lockdown” RELATED: DA Who Prosecuted Bruno Mars In Coke Case Arrested For Coke Possession
‘It would mess up the legend,’ he tells MTV News. By Kara Warner Johnny Depp Photo: MTV News It seems like just yesterday that the devilish and charming Captain Jack Sparrow and his merry band of misfits were wreaking havoc upon the open seas in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” Lucky for fans of the hugely successful franchise, Johnny Depp is back in Sparrow’s pirate garb this weekend in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” When MTV News caught up with Depp recently, we got to talking about one element missing from Captain Jack’s unique existence: long-term relationships with any of the bevy of beautiful women that seem to constantly surround him, like “Stranger Tides” leading lady Pen
‘The ones that believe we manipulate everything, it drives me crazy sometimes,’ he says of vocal fans. By Sabrina Rojas Weiss Nigel Lythgoe Photo: MTV News As executive producer of “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” as well as a judge on the latter — and maybe even back in the day as the choreographer of “The Apple” — Nigel Lythgoe is well versed at taking jabs from angry fans. But that doesn’t mean he’s not tempted to strike back now and again at the viewers who are convinced the producers of the shows arrange things so that their favorites will win. “Thanks for all the personal abuse from the usual morons out there in Twitterland,” he tweeted after last Wednesday night’s “Idol.” “I personally feel Haley is the most improved contestant.” MTV News “Idol” expert Jim Cantiello was sure Nigel was partly responding to his joking tweet , “@dizzyfeet Whew! Looks like you have a lot of Haley votes to delete tonight! ;)” So, when Lythgoe stopped by the newsroom on Monday with “So You Think You Can Dance” judge Mary Murphy, we had to ask about his online interactions with fans. “The ones that believe we manipulate everything, it drives me crazy sometimes,” he said of the Twitter comments he receives. ” ‘How dare you let James go from “Idol”!’ ‘We know that you hate Haley!’ This is just crazy. I always end up having to go, ‘You morons out there …’ or something like that, and realize that I’m arguing with 7- or 8-year-olds from Wisconsin. “It’s annoying, because ‘Idol’ of all shows, really goes with what the public demands, whether we like it or not,” he insisted. “And of course we didn’t like to see Casey going. We didn’t like to see Pia going. We didn’t like to see James going. But someone has to go, by the very nature of it being a competition.” That said, the producers do control certain aspects of the show, such as performance order. But while some fans (Cantiello included) complained about the way the top four were shuffled around for their second performances last week, Lythgoe explained that there was a very logical reason behind having James Durbin sing both first and last. “James opened the week before,” he said. “He opened it again [last] week, which is not the great spot to be in, and then we changed him to the last [for the second song], so it was fairer. So when Standards and Practices said to us, ‘Why is he opening twice?’ Well he’s opening twice because there are four songs in that first genre, he’s the uptempo one. You don’t want to open the show with a ballad, so you start with an uptempo song. And he’s last because he’s due to be last, because he’s opened the show for two weeks now. “That was all it was,” he continued. “God forbid logic comes into a megalomaniac fan that just wants their #1 to win and everything else is: The world’s against them!” Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
MTV News gets the lowdown on the partnership between the star and ‘FarmVille’ makers Zynga. By Jocelyn Vena Lady Gaga Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage For her Little Monster gamers, Lady Gaga has hooked up with the makers of “FarmVille” to create “GagaVille,” a campy, cotton-candy-colored, Gaga-fied version of the popular online game. Fans can make their way through “GagaVille” starting on Tuesday (May 17), where they can unlock and stream a new unreleased Born This Way track every day through Thursday. Then, beginning this Friday through the album release day (May 23), players can start to unlock portions of tracks and remixes of songs off the album. “Everything we’ve created has been in collaboration,” Gaga said in a statement about the game. “From giving players a listen to unreleased songs as a reward for game play within ‘FarmVille’ to creating daily experiences in ‘Words With Friends’ that embody the album’s messages and songs. We’ve had a lot of fun developing this program as a unique celebration of the album.” The first new song Gaga is sharing in “GagaVille” is “Marry the Night,” a dance track about the revelry that happens when the sun goes down. ” ‘FarmVille’ players visiting ‘GagaVille’ will see a farm like none other,” Raquel DiSabatino, director of entertainment and media at Zynga, told MTV News. “From planting crystals, to sheep riding motorcycles and special Lady Gaga unicorns, this farm has definitely been ‘Gagafied.’
Winners of White House’s 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge got surprise of their lives at graduation ceremony. By James Montgomery President Obama meets with Booker T. Washington students Cassandra and Christopher Photo: Andrew Huang / MTV News & Docs Four years ago, Cassandra Henderson didn’t want to attend Booker T. Washington High School because, as she put it, “I thought the same as everyone else: that it was a bad school with nothing but bad people in it.” Now? Well, let’s just say she’s changed her opinion. That’s because, thanks to the commitment of Principal Alisha Kiner, the faculty and the students, not only has Booker T. Washington changed public opinion (posting math scores that are 20 percent higher and a 30 percent increase in graduation tends to do that), it has earned the attention of the nation, too, as the winner of the 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge , a competition sponsored by Viacom, the Get Schooled Foundation and, oh yeah, the White House. Booker T. Washington students created a video that showed not only school pride, but the resiliency its students possess in the face of overwhelming odds. Booker T. Washington HS is not only located in Memphis, one of the nation’s poorest cities, but South Memphis has the 14th-highest crime rate in the country. And earlier this year, 20 percent of the school’s students’ homes were demolished in a citywide renewal plan. Still, in spite of all that, the school’s successes speak for themselves … which not only won them the nationwide competition, but meant that President Barack Obama would be coming to town to deliver the commencement speech at Booker T. Washington’s graduation ceremony on Monday (May 16). And understandably, students like Henderson were glad they stuck it out, not to mention proud of their school’s accomplishments. “It felt great,” she beamed. “For him to come to Booker T. Washington, this school people thought was terrible; for him to come to our graduation was a great honor and it brings hope to the school, it brings more students to the school, it changes the way people think about the school. Now they know what we’re all about here at BTW.” And as was the case last year, when Michigan’s Kalamazoo Central High School won the Race to the Top Challenge, Obama arrived in Memphis and was greeted by a select group of students — a group that included Henderson — who met him as he landed in Air Force One and rode in a 30-plus vehicle motorcade to the school’s graduation ceremony … a ride they’ll never forget. “We got to the airport and we got checked, then we waited for the airplane to land, and we watched Air Force One land, and the ladder came down, and Obama came out. Oh my gosh, I didn’t even cry — most people cry when they see him — I was just like, ‘Oh, wow!’ ” Henderson laughed. “And then we rode in his motorcade, and it was like we were the bosses. We were running the streets, nobody was getting past us. We were all saying, ‘We’re rolling with Obama!’ ” Also along for the ride was graduating senior Christopher Dean, who starred in Booker T. Washington’s winning video (“I tried to introduce myself, and he said ‘Stop, I know who you are! You’re Christopher Dean, I love your video!” Dean laughed). And once they arrived at graduation, Obama spoke to both students privately — and helped Dean straighten his tie — before surprising the rest of the student body before the ceremony took place. And he had Dean help him out in the surprise. “Our principal was giving [the graduating students] this speech, ‘This is how everyone needs to be,’ like she was going to be hard on them,” Dean explained. “Then I walked in and the president was behind me, and they went wild. When I brought him into the room, there were tears.” Dean then introduced Obama at the ceremony — but not before Obama gave him a little help. “Before I gave my speech, he could tell I was nervous, so he looked at me and was like, ‘You know what? You got it. Do it for me,’ Dean said. “And I knew I couldn’t mess up. These words were going to flow like water in the Mississippi River!” And for the students at Booker T. Washington, Obama’s surprise appearance was not only an added bonus to an already thrilling day, but it served as inspiration for a city that’s been down on its luck for a while now. And, hopefully, using Booker T. Washington High as an example, it can strive to be just a little bit better from now on. “I’m proud of my school and happy for my city. It was easy to play a role [in the winning video] once you’ve got peers like I have, and friends like I have … these are great people, and they deserve to have the President come here,” Dean said. “This city needed the help that he brings. What better place to come than Memphis? I love my school, I love my friends; we deserve it.” Related Photos President Obama Delivers Graduation Speech At Memphis High School
