The Urban News ? Songs, Movies & Moments ? March 2013

A Look at Entertainment

by T.J. Moore

???? MJ?s Family?s Suit

Michael Jackson?s family?s lawsuit against concert promoter AEG got a huge boost recently when a Los Angeles judge ruled that the family?s lawyers have enough evidence for the wrongful death suit after the Jackson legal team presented an email showing that AEG has supervised Conrad Murray, the doctor who in November 2011 was found guilty of administering a fatal dose of the hospital anesthetic propofol and sedatives to the singer, which played a key role in his death.

The Jacksons are claiming that AEG put pressure on Murray to make sure the star was ready to perform for his ?This Is It? comeback tour in 2009, despite his fatigued condition. AEG said it should not be held responsible for Jackson?s death, arguing that Murray did not work for the company but was hired by Jackson himself, and that the promotion company could not have foreseen the doctor?s administering of propofol and other drugs.

The ?smoking gun? here is the email between Paul Gongaware, AEG Live?s co-CEO and This Is It concert director Kenny Ortega, which appeared to suggest that Murray could have lost his $150,000 a month job if he failed to make sure Jackson was ready for the tour and its rehearsals.

The email allegedly said: ?We want to remind [Murray] that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him.?

?The truth about what happened to Michael, which AEG has tried to keep hidden from the public since the day Michael died, is finally emerging,? Jackson attorney Kevin Boyle told CNN. ?We look forward to the trial where the rest of the story will come to light.?

The case will go to jury trial in April and if found liable, AEG Live could be ordered to pay more that the company is worth ? estimated at $8 billion.

Whitney Houston?s FBI Files

Newly released FBI Files on Whitney Houston revealed that the late pop icon once paid off extortionists who threatened to expose details about her relationships.

Officials released 128 pages worth of documents on March 4, including several fan letters and FBI paperwork regarding an extortion case that was closed without prosecution. The documents also indicated that Houston paid off the person who was demanding money.

In 1992, a letter marked ?extortion? by the Feds was sent to Houston?s Nippy Inc. offices in New Jersey in which a woman demanded that unless the R&B icon paid $100,000, ?certain details? of her private life would be revealed. A subsequent letter raised the price to $250,000 and claims to have ?intimate details? of Houston?s love life.

The FBI interviewed Houston, two lawyers, and her father, John Houston. The singer told the agents that she considered the woman as ?a friend? and did discuss her personal life with her.? According to the documents, Houston?s father sent the person a confidentiality agreement along with a sum of money, thus closing the case.
The Worm and the Little Un

Former NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman, just back from visiting Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was escorted out of? New York?s Time Hotel on March 3 after spending hours at the Midtown hotel?s restaurant loudly telling anyone within earshot how the North Korean dictator is such a great guy.

?He was at the bar at Serafina for three hours,? a source told the New York Post. ?He kept saying what a nice guy Kim is, and how Kim just wants to talk to President Obama about basketball. He was waving around a signed copy of the dictator?s huge manifesto, telling everyone they should read it.?

The witness also added, ?Dennis was making a total jerk of himself. He wouldn?t leave, and he wouldn?t let anyone talk to him about shutting up, or what an oppressive country North Korea is. Eventually he had to leave the bar because the bartender was getting p__ off.?

Rodman visited the North Korean leader with members of the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series produced by VICE television. Since retiring, ?The Worm? has appeared on Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew and Sober House. He?s currently on Celebrity Apprentice.

Marvin?s Movie

After years of gestation and red tape by the bails, a biopic of Motown legend Marvin Gaye will finally be made.? But former Law and Order star Jesse L. Martin has replaced Lenny Kravitz in the title role.

Martin will play Gaye in the Julien Temple-produced Sexual Healing.

According to deadline.com, the film focuses on the time Gaye spent in Europe in the early 1980s, when the singer attempted to get his addictions in check and his career back on track with the help of British promoter Freddy Cousaert (played by Brendan Gleeson). Gaye was shot and killed by his father in April 1984.

The decision to replace Kravitz was a legal move. Marvin Gaye III, the late singer?s son, threatened legal action against the filmmakers.

Hip-hop at the Kennedy Center

Hip Hop artist Nas will grace the Kennedy Center stage next year for the weeklong festival, ?One Mic: Hip Hop Culture Worldwide.? The center announced on March 5 that its 2014 hip hop fest will open with Nas rapping with musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra on music from his classic debut album, Illmatic. The festival will also feature Puerto Rican musicians Calle 13 and a graffiti exhibition.

A Kennedy Center spokesperson said, ?The mix of rap, DJ?ing and graffiti with more traditional arts at one of the nation?s busiest performing arts centers will make the year unique, Hip Hop is clearly something new and different for us. I think to do something very current is important. We?re trying to speak to many different audiences.?

The Kennedy Center is no stranger to creating music festivals. In the past, they have created festivals around gospel and country music.

After Leno?

If you believe the New York Post, NBC is grooming the legendary infamous shock jock to replace Jay Leno when his Tonight Show contract runs out next year.

Stern has been trying to show TV execs for years that he?s has what it takes to make it on TV. His gig on America?s Got Talent is huge in proving this ? especially when little kids know who he is, according to his wife, Beth.

?We were in a hotel and all these little kids recognize him now as the judge from America?s Got Talent. Usually, it?s their dads. Now, it?s screaming little kids. People are now seeing him for who he really is.?

Stern?s agent, Don Buchwald, said he won?t comment on clients and NBC?s new head of late night, Doug Vaughan, denies any validity to this rumor.

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Source: http://theurbannews.com/generation-now/2013/songs-movies-moments-march-2013/

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