4 ENTERTAINMENT
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Rapper is burning up the charts
Who Is 50 CENT?
R. Kelly Children’s Book
Being Re-released
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R. Kelly’s critics might
be surprised to hear about
the re-release of a children’s
book about the embattled
R&B singer. Can Fly! The
R. Kelly Story’, which is
based on the Grammy
winner’s rags-to-riches tale,
first came out in 1998, and
is now being re-released on
March 1.
The decision to reissue
the biography after a brief
suspension of the title was
based on public demand.
According to Kim
Delaney, the book’s author
and founder of the
publishing company putting
the biography back into
print Delaney said, “We
were concerned about the
controversy surrounding
Mr. Kelly.”
However, she added,
“We want to be certain that
continued publication of
this book would serve to
further motivate and
cultivate a positive effect.”
By Richard Prince
Black Entertainment
Television is canceling two
of its three regular news
shows.
“Lead Story” and “BET
Tonight With Ed Gordon” -
were cancelled at the end of
last year.
As it prepares for the
acquisition of new
programming, spokesman
Michael Lewellen said
recently.
The shakeup also means
the future of the network’s
most well-known news
personality, Ed Gordon, “is
still to be determined,”
Lewellen said.
Effective immediately,
approximately 40 positions
across a range of company
departments will be
eliminated or about 12
Jermaine Dupri & Janet
Jackson An Item?
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Jermaine Dupri recently
confirmed that he is dating
Janet Jackson. Reports
circulated several months
ago saying that the pair was
dating, but then Jackson
had also been linked to
Justin Timberlake. In the
latest issue of Honey
magazine, Dupri shares that
he and Jackson are a
couple, and he explains
exactly how special Jackson
makes him feel, saying, “I
love being around her!
When I’m with her I don’t
think about anything else.
She’s a very beautiful
person.”
Dupri, who was recently
named president of black
music at Arista Records,
has also moved his So So
Def Recordings over from
Columbia Records to
Arista. Following the
changeover, So So Def
artists Jagged Edge and
Bow Wow will remain with
Columbia.
percent of the company s
total workforce of 350
people nationwide,
according to the network.
Of BET’s three regular
news shows, only “BET
Nightly News” will remain,
Lewellen said. News and
public affairs programming
will now focus on special
shows such as single-topic
specials and town hall
meetings.
The network had to
“adjust its programming
schedule and the staff that
supports them” to make
way for recent
programming acquisitions
that include movies and
other entertainment shows,
he said.
“When we announce our
new direction, all of our
programming genres are
DMX Arrested on
Christmas Eve
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Rapper and actor DMX
was arrested on Christmas
Eve (December 24) in
Harrison, New York, when
police officers observed the
rapper allegedly making an
unsafe lane change in his
black Chevrolet Suburban
on the Hutchinson River
Parkway.
After police officers
pulled the rapper over at
2:30 p.m. ET, he provided
the officers with incorrect
information when he was
asked for his license and
registration. DMX was then
arrested, and charged with
failure to signal a lane
change and possession of a
forged instrument.
DMX was later released.
The rapper’s publicist was
unavailable for comment.
DMX’s Christmas Eve
arrest was the latest in a
string of arrests. The rapper
served 11 days in the Eric
County Correctional
Facility in March.
going to be affected,”
Lewellen said.
“Our new focus will
strike a better balance
between original
programming and an
increase in acquired
shows,” added BET
President and Chief
Operating Officer Debra
Lee in a statement.
Owner Robert Johnson
sold BET to Viacom — the
giant media conglomerate
that owns CBS, UPN,
MTV, VH1 and more — in
2000 for $1.5 billion.
With Viacom ownership,
it was said, BET could take
advantage of greater news
resources and could shake
its image as primarily a
purveyor of music videos
and little original
programming.
You’ll Be
By Jim Farber
New York Daily News
He is a fonner crack
dealer and jailbird who has
admitted to shooting
people.
But rapper 50 Cent still
listens to his grandmother.
“She always said,
‘Whatever you do, be the
best at it,’ ” the emcee says.
“Right now, what I want to
be is the best bad guy
you’ve ever seen.”
He’s well on his way.
Even before the release
of a single major-label
album, 50 Cent has become
hip-hop’s most notorious
figure.
His violent past includes
an attempt on his life two
years ago, which left his
body with nine bullet holes.
His controversial
presence has earned him
recent mentions in nearly
every sensational hip-hop
news story, from the
October murder of Jam
Master Jay - who
discovered him - to the
ongoing FBI investigation
into an alleged financial
connection between Irv
Gotti’s label Murder Inc.
and the drug gangs of south
Queens.
Among reasons; He used
to sell crack in that area,
and has a feud going with
Murder Inc. artist Ja Rule.
Somehow, 50 Cent has
found time to make music.
In fact, the 27-year-old,
bom Curtis Jackson, has the
most hotly anticipated
album of 2003, “Get Rich
or Die Trying,” which hits
Surprised
stores Feb. 11.
Key parts of the set were
produced by none other
than Eminem, who put a
pair of 50 Cent cuts on his
smash “8 Mile” soundtrack,
including the current hit
“Wanksta.” Other cuts on
the CD were produced by
hip-hop’s most important
groove-master. Dr. Dre.
But there's no denying
that all the hype has as
much to do with the danger
surrounding him as the
catchiness of his raps.
“I’m the biggest target
out there,” he announces.
But does he worry?
In conversation, 50 Cent
exudes a disconcertingly
easy charm, coupled with a
bizarre tendency to giggle
when you bring up things
like the attempt on his life.
“It’s no big deal,” he
says. “After you recuperate,
you get past it.”
He had to get past plenty.
Bom in south Queens,
he never knew his father.
His mother, a dmg dealer,
was murdered when he was
8. “I was so young,” he
says. “All I really know is
my grandparents, who
raised me.”
By his early teens, 50
Cent was selling crack.
“I was stuck in that
zone,” he says. “When
you’re there, you think it’s
your only option.”
In August 1994, 50 was
convicted of criminal
possession of a controlled
substance. He served three
years in prison.
See 50 Page 5
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BET Cancels Two Programs