HRS News

Considered by many to be a shoe-in for a Best Picture nomination, Dreamgirls easily led the recent Academy Awards nominations with an impressive eight nods.

However many in the industry are surprised that none of those noms are for the coveted Best Picture.

Although the popular flick garnered nominations for supporting players Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson (who both recently won Golden Globes for supporting actor and actress), it also ranks as the first film in decades to have the most nominations and not be in the best-picture category.

Dreamgirls won a total of three Golden Globes last week, including Best Picture, Comedy or Musical

The awards ceremony will be hosted by comedienne Ellen DeGeneres, and air  February 25.

In many minds as the reigning queen of comebacks, Sunshine Anderson‘s getting ready to drop her sophomore set, Sunshine At Midnight, tomorrow.

But despite its importance to the folks over at XXL, is it really a thumbs up… or a thumbs down?

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Originally slated for global release tomorrow (it’s already a hit in his native Canada), the latest from K-Os, Atlantis: Hymns For Disco, is, in our humble opinion, another mind-expanding masterpiece. Not too much more to say besides get the album when it drops February 20. In the meantime check what folks are saying about the set. Our review.
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And in case you missed it during the holiday rush, ok we admit we did, the latest from Incognito, Bees + Things + Flowers, is a must for chilled out, grown up get togethers or just relaxing with an apple martini. Some folks are even giving it away. Review.

www.myspace.com/sunshineanderson

http://www.k-osmusic.com/

http://incognito.org.uk/

New Orleans rapper Lil’ Wayne is being sued by Florida promoters for allegedly canceling a show date and never rescheduling.

Citing $45,000 in damages, and more than $200,000 in lost profits, Tampa-based Nunoise Entertainment and Jahfari Promotions filed the suit Friday in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court.

According to San Jose Mercury News, the promoters claim the artist also known as Lil Weezy signed a contract September 18 to perform at a Tampa nightclub on October 29, but the show never happened.

“He did miss a date, he admitted he missed a date, and he was supposed to make it up,” said the promoters’ attorney Marlowe Blake. “It’s a simple breach of contract type of matter.”

Mariah Carey ranked in a listing of of entertainment’s richest women, compiled by Forbes.

The list, led by Oprah Winfrey with a net worth of $1.5 billion, included Carey ($225 million), Janet Jackson ($150 million) and Jennifer Lopez ($110 million).

One surprising entry included Judge Judy who came in at No. with

Get the full list

Prodigy’s upcoming solo set Return of the Mac is scheduled for a March 27 release through Koch Records. The album promises the Mobb Deep member’s signature brand of hardcore New York hip-hop music and teams him up with producer The Alchemist.
“Alchemist and I put this CD together to get people ready for my new solo album H.N.I.C.2,” said Prodigy. “I’m ‘bout to turn it up hot with H.N.I.C.2. I decided to ride with KOCH Records cause I got a lot of sh*t to do and say, and I know KOCH won’t hold me back or censor my sh*t plus the entire company will push the CDs to the maximum because they truly love and respect my music. We’re all very excited about the whole thing.”

Read more…

VIDEO: “Mac 10 Handles” “New York Sh*t”

www.Myspace.com/Prodigyreturnofthemac

British soul singer Joss Stone is preparing to release her third album, Introducing Joss Stone, on March 10. The set from the 19 year-old phenom comes about as a result of Stone’s growing self-awareness.

“This is the first album I’ve made that is truly me,” she says. “That’s why I’m calling it Introducing Joss Stone. These are my words, and this is who I am as an artist.”

Written primarily in the former British colony of Barbados, the set features production from Stone’s main collaborator Raphael Saadiq who then helped record the set in the Bahamas.

“Musically, I feel like he [Saadiq] reads my mind,” Stone continued. “I’ll give him a look and he’ll know exactly what I want.”

Stone’s previous two albums have sold more than 7.5 million albums worldwide. The Grammy-nominated singer was recently nominated again in the category of Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group for her part in a cover Sly Stone’s “Family Affair” along with John Legend and Van Hunt. Introducing Joss Stone will be released via Virgin Records.

Ex Death Row Records rapper Nate Dogg has filed suit against Suge Knight for more than $10 million, claiming the label’s former CEO never paid him royalties.

Nate, real name Nathaniel Hale, claims that when he asked Knight for his money, he was “threatened with violence,” or lied to, according to The Smoking Gun.

Knight filed for bankruptcy last year in Los Angeles’ U.S. District Court. Nate was not listed as a creditor in the Chapter 11 petition and seeks to make it impossible for Knight to erase his debts to him.

Nate, famous for his singing approach to rap, is cousin to Snoop Dogg and a member of 213, the trio comprising the two Doggs along with childhood friend Warren G.

Everybody seems to think so since the two were spotted Sunday night eating and getting cozy in a Beverly Hills restaurant.

R&B singer Ray J, the barely 25 year-old brother of Brandy, allegedly drove her home in his car after sharing after-dinner drinks at Maestro’s Steakhouse.

Houston, filed for divorce from Bobby Brown last year after 14 years of marriage. hmmm… that would mean she married Brown when Ray J was 11 years old.

The somewhat successful singer is definitely all grown up now, though. According to the Post Chronicle, he is currently embroiled in a sex tape scandal with ex-squeeze Kim Kardashian, who is the daughter of late attorney Robert Kardashian who defended O.J. Simpson.

While Kardashian claims there is no sex tape, the Chronicle quotes Ray J telling the New York Daily News the following: “It’s your typical graphic sex tape.” They also quote him as saying: “there’s a golden shower at the end.”

Jay-Z‘s Rocawear line has recently been dogged by the Humane Society for allegedly using real fur in clothing items. Goods labeled as featuring “faux fur” have allegedly been found to contain fur from racoon dogs. “It is abhorrent that someone purchasing what they think is ‘faux fur’ is actually getting fur from a type of dog that may have been skinned alive,” said Wayne Pacelle, CEO and president of the animal rights organization. “False advertising and labeling of raccoon dog fur is rampant in the fashion industry, and the amount of potential consumer deception is staggering.”
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The music industry remains stunned at the arrest of DJ Drama and DJ Cannon which happened last night at their Atlanta office. The pair were apprehended by Morrow County Sheriff’s Joint Vice Task Force and the Clayton County Police in a mixtape raid. Drama, T.I.’s DJ and considered by many to be a mixtape king is known throughout the industry for his popular Gangsta Grillz series and sells mixtapes that many accepted as above the board and legal. Drama recently scored four awards at the Justo’s 10th Annual Mixtape Ceremony.
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Kanye West recently squashed a Hollywood Reporter news story that he was to star in an HBO reality series. Calling the idea of a reality show “cliche,” the rapper said he was  looking into doing a half-hour sitcom.
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Houston’s Mike Jones is getting ready to drop his sophomore set American Dream in April. Featuring lead single, “Mr. Jones,” the set will be accompanied by an semi-autobiographical movie of the same title.
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Rap celebrity jeweler, Jacob the Jeweler, put out an SOS call to his famous clientele to testify on his behalf in his upcoming trial. According to SOHH.com, witnesses may include Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey and soccer player David Beckham. Jacob alledgedly helped lauder over $270 million in funds gotten from Atlanta drug posse the Black Mafia Family.

Along with the controversial TV show he’s a part of, ex 3rd Bass member/retro rapper MC Serch returns to the mainstream consciousness with the release of a 12 year-old solo album.

As the title indicates, M.any Y.oung L.ives A.go: The 1994 Sessions was recorded in 1994 but ended up collecting dust on a Def Jam shelf… until now.

The set features 7 never-released MC Serch tracks and three unreleased 3rd Bass cuts recorded in 2000.

Serch, real name Michael Berrin, will release the digital version in March on his own Serchlite Records.

AUDIO: “Handle It”