Monday, December 3, 2007

AKON TO FACE SERIOUS CHARGES AFTER TOSSING LIL WHITE BOY INTO CROWD

I swear. Niggers gon learn sooner or later that you can't go throwing White kids into a crowd all willy-nilly and whatnot and not expect to catch a charge--or in Akon's case--charges for it. Especially when the thrown kid lands on top of another White kid. Yeah, he gon learn.

Akon is facing criminal charges after a fan said she suffered a concussion when the hip-hop star tossed a teenager off the stage and onto her in the concert crowd. Akon, 34, is scheduled to appear in Fishkill Town Court on Monday morning for arraignment on a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a minor, and second-degree harassment, a violation, according to a news release Thursday from Police Chief Donald Williams. Audience members said that a spectator lobbed something at Akon and that the singer asked the crowd to point out the culprit. A security guard picked out a 15-year-old and sent him up to the stage, where Akon hoisted him onto his shoulders and flung him into the crowd. The boy landed on Abby Rosa, who told the Poughkeepsie Journal she was later found to have a concussion. She said she has hired a lawyer and spoken to Fishkill police.

The singer’s Manhattan lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, released a statement a few days after the June 3 concert at Dutchess Stadium saying there was no basis for criminal charges. A call to his office Thursday evening wasn’t immediately returned.

In April, Akon drew criticism for having on-stage simulated sex with a 14-year-old girl at a concert in Trinidad. He later apologized, saying he didn’t realize the girl was underage. The incident led Verizon to withdraw its sponsorship of Akon’s tour with Gwen Stefani, with whom he performs on the hit song The Sweet Escape.

Akon’s latest album, Konvicted, has sold more than 1 million copies in the United States. His hits include Don’t Matter, I Wanna Love You with Snoop Dogg and Smack That with Eminem. He won favorite male soul/rhythm & blues artist at the recent American Music Awards.

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LUTHER VANDROSS PERSONAL BELONGINGS--FROM THERMOSES TO MINK-LINED CHAIR--TO BE AUCTIONED OFF THIS WEEK.

If my money wasn't funny and my change wasn't strange, I'd be on the first thing smoking out of Tallahassee to see what goodies I could cop from Luther's auction. That is real talk, too! I ain't lying. Damn, I miss him...

From the Picasso charcoal drawing to the diamond watches, mink coats and gold records, Luther Vandross lived large. Now, fans of the legendary singer who died in 2005 will have a chance to own more than 1,000 items that reveal a glimpse into his super star existence. On Dec. 5 and 6, his estate will auction off just about everything: his handwritten lyrics to Love Forgot; the army green thermoses from which he sipped hot tea during his concerts across the globe; loafers and boots made by Gucci, Prada and Dolce & Gabanna; Lalique crystal vases, glasses and door knobs.
The items come from his former homes in Beverly Hills, Greenwich, Conn., and New York City, and from his tours.

Fans have an expectation of how stars live, and Vandross' items won't disappoint, said Max Szadek, his a personal assistant for 13 years. "This mink-lined chair symbolized the lap of luxury that Luther lived in and just how a star, a world-class entertainer, kind of lived it out in his private life too," Szadek said as he walked through 13,000 square feet of items, displayed at an auction house in a suburban office park. Szadek said fans will see many items that Vandross brought with him on tours, from the banal to the bling--like a silver Piaget diamond-encrusted watch, a silver diamond-encrusted tennis bracelet and a 4-carat diamond ring.

The touring and music memorabilia on sale span his career, with a record from Bowie's Young American on which Vandross sang background to a Grammy nomination in 1981 for best new artist (he did not win) to a double platinum certification of Dance with My Father in 2006, Szadek said. The collection is valued at between $600,000 and $800,000, said John Nye, whose Morris Plains, N.J.-based auction house, Dawson and Nye, is handling the sale.

The public can tour the showroom beginning Sunday. The first 500 lots will be auctioned on Wednesday and the rest on Thursday.

Vandross' deep, lush voice _ on hits such as Here and Now and Any Love _ provided the romantic backdrop for millions of couples. He sold more than 30 million albums during his award-winning career.Since a stroke in his Manhattan home in 2003, the R&B crooner stopped making public appearances. In 2004, he captured four Grammys for the album Dance with My Father, which he recorded before the stroke. He won eight during his career, which started in the musical background.

Vandross' mother, Ida Vandross, said fans meant so much to her son. She hoped the auction would give them something personal to remember him by. "There was a love thing going on from the stage to the audience and from the audience to the stage," Ida Vandross, 84, said by phone. "To be remembered is the greatest gift on earth. I don't think he'll be forgotten quickly."

In October, his record label released Love, Luther, a four CD box set that covers his recording career beginning in 1973.

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MONTEL WILLIAMS OFFERS APOLOGY TO REPORTER HE BLASTED IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

Talk show host Montel Williams has apologized for an angry confrontation with reporters who said he threatened them. Williams -- in Savannah to promote a program giving free prescriptions to low-income people -- became upset with a reporter's question Friday and terminated an interview. When the Savannah Morning-News reporters later returned to the hotel for an unrelated assignment, he approached one of them -- high school student Courtney Scott, an intern at the newspaper.

"As we were preparing to film, Montel walked up with his bodyguard and got in Courtney Scott's face pointing his finger telling her 'Don't look at me like that. Do you know who I am? I'm a big star, and I can look you up, find where you live and blow you up,"' said Joseph Cosey, a web content producer for the newspaper. At this time he was randomly pointing at all of us." Scott said she wasn't sure how to interpret Williams' comment. "I'm not sure if he meant 'blow me up' and ruin my career or really blow us up, but it was threatening," Scott said.

Williams, a patient advocate since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, later issued a statement apologizing for the outburst. "I mistakenly thought the reporter and photographer in question were at the hotel to confront me about some earlier comments," Williams said. "I was wrong, and I apologize for my overreaction."

The earlier interview ended after Scott asked Williams: "Do you think pharmaceutical companies would be discouraged from research and development if their profits were restricted?"

According to the reporters, Williams reacted angrily, saying: "I'm trying to figure out exactly why you are here and what the interview is about. I'm here as a patient advocate talking about the fact that medications available today are saving people's lives, that's what's saving mine and after that, this interview is done."

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