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The rapper Shyne, who was convicted of a club shooting in 1999, was reportedly released from a New York correctional facility Oct. 6 and then transferred into custody by immigration officials. Though the former Bad Boy Records star has a green card, news reports hint that he may be deported to his native Belize because of the felony conviction. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Mike Gilhooly would only tell media outlets that Shyne was in custody for being in violation of U.S. immigration law.
Born Jamal Barrow, Shyne was on the verge of superstardom when he was arrested in 1999 for a shooting at the Club New York nightclub. His mentor and record label chief Diddy, and then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, was also charged but acquitted at trial.
While in prison, Shyne (now 30) changed his name to Moses Leviy in recognition of his Jewish mother. His father, Dean Oliver Barrow, is currently the prime minister of Belize.
Attorney Oscar Michelen, told the ‘New York Daily News’ his client “is anxious to get released and is looking forward to seeing his family and being able to be free to do what he wants to do.”
Shyne
Despite what seems to be a smear campaign from a few mainstream gossip columns, Mo’Nique and her new late night talk show is a hit. Numbers do not lie. The comedienne -who is making headlines for not promoting the new Tyler Perry/Oprah Winfrey-produced film ‘Precious’ – has made history for BET with ‘The Mo’Nique Show,’ which netted 1.5 million viewers for its debut Oct. 5.
The premiere episode featured appearances from Steve Harvey, R&B artist Monica, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin as well as a performance by R&B recording artist Jeremih. A rep for BET said the show ranked as the network’s highest-rated show for the season and was the number two entertainment program on cable during its time slot. “The inaugural episode also outperformed the competition, coming in as the number one entertainment talk show on cable overall and the number one talk show among adults 18-49 (850,000),” said BET spokeswoman Tricia Newell. The show, a loud and colorful spectacle, tapes from Atlanta’s Turner Studios and airs on BET at 11 p.m. weeknights.
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Jennifer Hudson is getting back to work. As the Academy Award and Grammy Award winner celebrates the recent birth of her baby, she’s also getting into the holiday spirit. The TV special ‘Jennifer Hudson: I’ll be Home for Christmas’ has been announced to air on ABC in December. According to reports, the show will feature the singer-actress reliving her childhood holidays with musical performances filmed at various locations around her hometown of Chicago. The chosen venues will be specific to her youth; they include her church and the music academy she attended. Hudson’s record label has no plans to release a holiday album to coincide with the TV special.
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Anna Deavere Smith is something like a phenomenon. Her new show ‘Let Me Down Easy’ opened Oct. 7 at New York City’s tightly packed Second Stage Theater and a flurry of notable well wishers – including Gayle King, opera diva Jessye Norman, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage, actresses Dawn Lewis and Judith Light – came out to celebrate.
For the Tony Award nominee’s latest one-woman, multi-character show, Smith explores the power of the body, the price of health, and the resilience of the spirit. The Anthony Foglia-directed tour-de-force where the McArthur Genius Grant winning wunderkind transforms herself into a dramatic range of characters, all of whom she’s interviewed and impersonates masterfully for the 95-minute play. But this is far from satire; ‘Let Me Down Easy’ is a thought provoking marvel about mortality channeled through journalistic accounts from a wide variety of sources, including fashion icon Lauren Hutton, super-athlete Lance Armstrong, playwright Eve Ensler, former boxing champ Michael Bent, late movie critic Joel Siegel and former Texas Governor Ann Richards.
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Controversial reggae artist Buju Banton’s concert at the Voodoo Lounge in San Jose, California on Oct. 13 has been canceled. “After reviewing Buju Banton’s lyrics, I was appalled by their sheer hatred and encouragement of violence towards the gay, lesbian and transgender community,” stated David Powell, co-owner of Voodoo Lounge. “There is no place for these types of incendiary remarks at Voodoo Lounge or in San Jose.” Banton – who recorded the song ‘Boom, Bye Bye,’ in 1988, which incited the torture and murder of gay men – has been the subject of protest for his concert bookings.
A website has been erected to boycott any promoter doing business with him. An open letter to his manager Tracii Mcgregor, a former editor at the Source magazine, has been published there also, calling her to task for saying that Banton was “only 15 years old when he recorded that song.” Powell maintained that the club’s ownership team “did not know the content of Banton’s lyrics. If we had known, we would not have scheduled this performance.”
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So is ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ star Kim Zolciak really engaged to Big Poppa? Only God knows for sure. On last week’s episode of the televised guilty pleasure, the bleached-blond urban socialite showed off the new rocks that she got, and boasted of her engagement to her mysterious millionaire paramour (who has been identified as Lee Najjar). Hmmmm. Her TV show co-star Sheree Whitfield, who recently underwent a downsizing divorce from former football player Bob Whitfiled, wondered aloud (and on camera) about the validity of the engagement since the man is still married.
A Bravo network spokeswoman couldn’t be reached for comment about the possible nuptials. But until that stone is uncovered, folks can see really how large the ‘Tardy for the Party’ singer is living — the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper got an exclusive look at her luxurious digs.
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