The Game blames friend for troubling tweet: Rapper says friend took his phone while he was in a photo shoot

Jemal Countess  /  Getty Images

Rapper The Game now says he wasn't the one who sent the tweet that has him facing charges.

Hollywood Reporter

The Game says he isn't to blame for the tweet that caused a Compton sheriff's office emergency phone line to jam.

The rapper is facing charges following a tweet that was sent from his account Friday to his more than 580,000 followers.
 

Story: Rapper's tweet jams emergency phone system
The phone lines were jammed for about two hours after a tweet from the Game’s account said that if anyone wanted an internship, they should call that number...

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The Sheriff's Department told the Los Angeles Times that the problems began after 5 p.m. on Friday.

Nate Dogg honored by The Game in tribute song

"This was beyond irresponsible," sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker told the Times. "The deputies' ability to answer the phones and dispatch personnel to help these people in danger was significantly impeded."

But the rapper told TMZ he never wrote the tweet. He said he was at a photo shoot when a friend of his -- who goes by the Twitter handle @wackstar -- got ahold of the Game's phone and begin typing messages and numbers.

Lawsuit seeks to stop release of The Game album

The Game insisted he had no idea one of the numbers was to the Sheriff's Department. He said he shouldn't be charged with a crime.

"Casey Anthony can get away with murder, and the Game goes to jail for tweeting. God bless America," he said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department are considering misdemeanor charges against the rapper because the prank calls caused the office to delay response to real emergency calls including a missing person, a spousal assault, two robberies and a stolen car, according to reports.

Game, whose real name is Jayceon Taylor and who uses the name Charles Louboutin on Twitter, responded after the Sheriff’s office asked him to remove the phone number from his tweet, claiming it was an accident.

“Yall can track a tweet down but cant solve murders ! Dat was an accident but maybe now yall can actually do yall job !!!!” he wrote.

The Game rose to fame as a member of the group G-Unit and received two Grammy nomination for his solo album The Documentary.

TODAY News 
Copyright 2011 The Hollywood Reporter

Rapper (@TheGAME) incited phone flash mob on #Twitter???

• 
  FILE - Rapper The Game appears on stage during MTV's "Total Request Live" show.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County sheriff's department says The Game incited a telephone flash mob that overwhelmed the emergency phone system.

Capt. Mike Parker tells the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/oGFHO1) that the rapper tweeted the number of the Compton station Friday and told his 580,000 followers that if they wanted an internship with him, they should call the number.

Sheriff's Lt. Suzan Young says "the phones started ringing like crazy" around 5:20 p.m. Parker says phone lines were jammed for more than two hours.

The rapper later posted that his account was hacked but also tweeted that it was "an accident."

The Game could face criminal charges. Parker says investigators are planning to forward a criminal complaint to the district attorney's office.

___

Information from: The Los Angeles Times, http://latimes.com
 

Red Album in-stores August 23rd !!!

@JayZ & @KanyeWest 'OTIS' #Video Premiere #TONIGHT 8:56 p.m. ET/PT on @MTV, @MTV2, mtvU, MTV.com, @BET

Now that fans have fully digested Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne, they can look forward to the duo's video for "Otis," which premieres Thursday at 8:56 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV.com and BET.

On Wednesday's "RapFix Live," Sway Calloway sat down with New York's Power 105.1 radio host Angela Yee and MTV News' Rob Markman to discuss the just-released teaser for the Spike Jonze-directed video.
"You can see Jay-Z looks excited, doing things I never seen him do before in that one second — and Kanye as well," Yee said of the brief clip. "Well, Kanye is always a little excited, but I think it's good to see the two of them together too."

Don't miss the premiere of Kanye West and Jay-Z's "Otis" video Thursday at 8:56 p.m. ET/PT on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV.com and BET!

The 15-second clip shows Jay-Z and Kanye West on set with pyrotechnics and not much else. Viewers see Jay gripping his red snapback cap low and then Kanye screaming with excitement while grabbing the camera with a huge American flag draped in the background. The flag is similar to the "Otis" single art by Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci.

On Wednesday morning, fans were already tweeting about looking forward to the "Otis" premiere. "Just read that Spike Jonze is directing the video for Kanye West and Jay Z's new single 'Otis.' That should be something special," tweeted fan @ChrisBevan89. "The teaser to @kanyewest and Hov 'Otis' video looks crazy," added @Above_Par.

"They got Riccardo Tisci from Givenchy to do the [album] cover art, you have the American flag on the 'Otis' cover art, and you see a little bit of that in the video," Markman said. "They're giving you clues along the way, but we're seeing 1/20th of the picture that we're probably going to get tomorrow."

Read how Jay-Z and Kanye West's "Otis" defied radio rules.

The release of WTT has been very exciting for the hip-hop world, and Yee recalled where she was Sunday evening in the hours leading up to the album's drop. "I was in my bed at, like, 11 o'clock on Twitter, and I think at 11:30 it was available on iTunes on Sunday night, and everybody just went crazy," Yee said. "Like the whole entire night, people were just staying up downloading the whole entire album."

Markman said Thursday night's "Otis" premiere will cause similar excitement. "It's going to be an event," he said. "The way everybody gathered around iTunes to get the album, everybody is going to gather around their TV or MTV.com and sit in for this event and watch the video."

Yee has already made her plans: "I will be in front of the TV to watch the premiere of 'Otis' on MTV."
What are you expecting from the "Otis" video? Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #MTVOtis.
MTV News 

Kanye West and Jay-Z in their "Otis" video

Photo: Roc-A-Fella

Jailed rapper Ja Rule gets 28 more months: Hip-hop star/actor failed to pay more than $1 million in taxes

Andrew Kelly  /  Reuters file

Ja Rule, right, accompanied by his wife Aisha Atkins, arrives at the Manhattan Supreme Court to begin a two-year prison sentence for gun possession in New York on June 8.

NEW YORK — Jailed rapper Ja Rule was sentenced in federal court in New Jersey Monday to 28 months in prison for failing to pay more than $1 million in taxes.

The 35 year-old hip-hop singer and actor, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, is already serving a two-year jail sentence on a weapons conviction in New York. The two terms will run concurrently, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey.

Ja Rule previously pleaded guilty in March to three counts of failing to file tax returns. According to prosecutors, Atkins did not pay taxes from 2004 to 2008, costing the U.S. government more than $1.1 million.

"Taxpayers do not have the luxury of deciding whether to comply with laws," U.S. Judge Patty Shwartz said Monday in delivering the sentence.

Ja Rule pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon last year and began his New York prison sentence in June. The charge stemmed from a July 2007 incident, when police pulled over the singer's car after a concert and discovered a semi-automatic handgun hidden away, according to authorities.

Fellow rapper Lil Wayne also was arrested after the same concert at New York's Beacon Theater when police found him smoking marijuana near a tour bus.

Ja Rule received a Grammy nomination in 2002 for the album "Pain is Love." He is expected to release "Pain is Love 2" later this summer.
TODAY Celebrities


Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.

Lil Wayne Says He'd Retire To Be A Better Dad: 'I'm not gonna Brett Favre y'all,' Lil Wayne tells MTV News about his retirement from rap.

 Lil Wayne

Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

By Rob Markman, with reporting by Rahman Dukes 

Too $hort tried calling it quits but is now working on his 19th album. Jay-Z's 2003 retirement lasted about three years before he returned to rap in 2006. And now Lil Wayne is talking about hanging up the mic. Will he actually do it?

During a radio interview with Hot 97's Angie Martinez in March, the 28-year-old said he's walking away at 35. Then Weezy switched up, telling XXL that he would be "gone by 31." Now, Lil Tunechi, who dropped his Sorry 4 the Wait mixtape on Wednesday, tells MTV News that he isn't sure when exactly he will walk away from rap.

"I'm not sure; I'm not gonna Brett Favre y'all," Wayne said referring to the former Green Bay Packers quarterback who finally handed the NFL his walking papers in January after years of talking about it. "I'm not gonna draw it all the way out the whole year: 'We wondering, is Wayne gonna do this?' But the honest answer is I don't know."

Wayne — who has already recorded eight solo albums, sold more than 10 million records and won four Grammy Awards — said he wants to focus less on making hits and more on his kids. His oldest daughter, Reginae, is a budding performer herself at age 12, and Weezy wants his little girl to eventually stunt like her daddy.

"I'm so settled in my life right now," he told us. "I have my kids; they're wonderful. My daughter has her career ahead of her now. I have to focus on that, and I have to put the same focus that I put in my career. ... I want to become a better father, I want to become a better man to my woman, and those things take time. and time takes away from this. So the honest answer to that [retirement] question is, I don't know. Maybe so."

Weezy's ninth solo album, Tha Carter IV is one of the year's most-anticipated LPs and is set to be released on August 29. Will it be his last? Fans have to wait and see.

Do you think Lil Wayne should call it quits? Tell us in the comments.
MTV News 

Jill Scott Back With New Album ‘The Light Of The Sun’ by CMeezy

After four years, Jill Scott finally has a new album in 2011, and she has more to say than ever before. The Grammy Award winning R&B singer drops the new album, titled The Light Of The Sun, Tuesday. The record features production from Terry Lewis, JR Hutson and Justice League, and guest appearances from Anthony Hamilton, Eve, Doug E. Fresh and Paul Wall. In a recent interview with NPR, Scott said that most of her lyrics, which are known for being very cryptic at times yet extremely personal, are usually not premeditated before the recording process begins. "Not everything is up for conversation; not everything is up for art. But do I really discern what is and what’s not? That’s the question," she says. "Particularly with this record, I’ve really just been standing in front of the microphone and blacking out musically. I come back a couple hours later and there’s six songs from beginning to end." Scott, a Philadelphia native who describes herself as a "motherf—— G" in a spoken-word track called Womanifesto, got her start when she was discovered by Amir "?uestlove" Thompson of The Roots, for which she sang and wrote music for. She built a solo career with the humble Roots beginning, but hit some hard times over the last few years after a divorce and a short relationship that left her a single parent. She looks like a new woman in 2011, however, showing off a big weight loss, and new dedication to her music. Her experiences speak loudly through her lyrics as well: "God, please hear my call / I am afraid for me," she sings in Hear My Call. "Love has burned me raw / I need your healing." The new album The Light Of The Sun by Jill Scott hits stores Tuesday. Carbonated.tv

'Ziggy Marley on Legend Bob Marley's Tough Love' - by Marlow Stern

For Father’s Day, Bob Marley's eldest son, Ziggy Marley—whose new album, 'Wild and Free,' was released June 14—reflects on their boxing matches, his father’s aggressive, tough-love approach, and his last words.

"Bob was a very active person and, as kids, whether it would be a pickup soccer game or on the beach to run, he would take us with him. But Bob also grew up tough, in the ghetto, so he was a fighter. He had to fight and was capable of defending himself.

Courtesy Everett Collection

"I remember me and him boxing, and he hit very hard when he boxed. He just loved sports. So one day, me and him went a round. There was no ring, it was outside on the concrete at Hope Road, Bob’s headquarters. He was just boxing with his friends and everybody was there. I don’t remember how I ended up having gloves on my hands. He gave me a few body blows. For me, it was bad, but I’m sure it could have been harder. It didn’t knock me down, but you feel it, and you get more scared at that point because you know you’ll get more. I didn’t get any hits on Bob because he was fast. He was known for speed and footwork.  Of course, he won. He didn’t cut you no slack. No headgear, just gloves. He toughened us up, you know? He always wanted us to be tough, so he gave us that tough treatment.

"You’d get a spanking or a good whipping with the belt if you didn’t listen carefully. I used to jump my fence and go check my friends across the street. I remember one time he told me, 'Don’t leave the yard.' As soon as he drove out, I left the yard and went over to my friend’s. On his way back down, he saw me in one of the yards, he caught me, and gave me a nice belt beating. It’s nothing to cry about, either. That’s how we do it in Jamaica. It’s no big deal. He taught us discipline, ruggedness, and survivability. We have that makeup. We have to protect ourselves and do what we have to do.

“The last time we spoke, he called me and he said, “What’s up Young Bob. I have a song for you.” And his song was, “On your way up / Take me up / On your way down / Don’t let me down.” ”

"During school days, I used to get in some fights. Because of that upbringing, my father’s style, I wouldn’t back down. I wouldn’t be disrespected. So that toughness wore off on me. The last fight I had was when I decided I didn’t want to fight no more, unless it was something I had to really fight for. It was in Kingston, and I was in my early 20s, around 23 or 24, and it was over a soccer game. It was getting a little rough. But then this guy was trying to deliberately hurt me. He was just kicking me over and over again on my foot—not for the ball, just trying to break my leg or something—so I had to take some action to stop that. It happened during a pickup game, and I knew of him from the community, but he wasn’t a friend of mine. And what I realized is that when I’m fighting, in those days, I would fight to stop fighting. But some people are fighting to really hurt you. During that fight I realized that I was thinking the same thing—I have to really hurt this person—and realized that not everyone thinks the same as you do during a fight, so if you’re going to get in a fight, make sure it’s for the right reasons.

"One time, we went to Zimbabwe, and it was guerrilla warfare at the time because they were still under colonial British rule. When Bob went over there to play for the independence concert, he took me and my brother Stephen with him. I was about 11. The guerrillas came to visit him because Bob was a revolutionary, and his music was used for revolution. So, the guerrillas came and they started talking, and then one of the guerrillas took out one of these old World War II grenades, and he was showing Bob how to use it. As a kid it was like, 'Wow! A grenade!' It didn’t scare me, but it tested me.

"I was 12 when my father passed, so I didn’t have a father during my teenage years. I grew up doing stuff on my own, learning from my mistakes. But Bob was a strong person even in the hospital when I saw him a few days before he passed away. I was staring at him through the window of the door at the ICU, and I don’t think he liked me seeing him that way. He told me, 'Move from the window. The last time we spoke, he called me and he said, 'What’s up Young Bob. I have a song for you.' And his song was, 'On your way up / Take me up / On your way down / Don’t let me down.' That’s all he said. And then I used that for a song called, 'Won’t Let You Down.' "

The Daily BEAST