New Development in R. Kelly Child Pornography Case

Chicago, IL – If you might recall, R&B vocalist, R. Kelly, has been awaiting a long-delayed trial that began with a sex tape that surfaced in 2002. He was charged with 14 counts of child pornography involving an underage girl. The original charges were 21 counts towards the beginning, 7 of which were later dropped. This case is now finally being set to go to trial and apparently, new developments have been reported.

The Chicago Sun Times has reported that prosecutors assigned to the case have actually identified the underage girl that was involved in the sex tape. The girl, in question, is now well into her 20s and is reported to testify against Kelly, however, his defense attorneys are going to argue that she isn’t the same girl depicted on the tape. At same time, another woman has come forth to testify as well stating that she was asked to join a threesome with both the girl and Kelly.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, that new witness might weaken the defense of the case being that she will identify the girl in the videotape and include a statement stating that she was in fact underage at the time of recording. Along with her testimony, she is also expected to testify her story on her involvement. Defense attorneys for Kelly were contacted for additional reports, however due to a gag order, they were not allowed to comment or speak about any further developments in the case.

At press time, Kelly is still holding his plea as not guilty, however if convicted he faces up to 15 years in the state penitentiary. Jury selection begins this Friday.

Keep posted to 24hourhiphop.com for updated reports as this case goes into trial.

Now as ya’ll already know, this is an update to what I reported on the On the Clock Report sometime in August of last year. This long awaited case is finally set to go to trial sometime this month; however the judge in the case is trying to keep any reports or rumors away from the media. Either way, we are still going to receive those reports whether he tries to conceal it or not, there are too many media outlets. Anyways, as I stated in my last report, my verdict remains the same.

Busta Rhymes, Linkin Park, Cool & Dre Link Up for ‘We Made It’

10Los Angeles, CA – Ever since the launch of the video and the single of the three collaborators sometime last week, the record, ‘We Made It,’ has been having a huge success all over ITunes, YouTube, Yahoo! Music, and 24hourhiphop.The record is practically a masterpiece with the creative minds of well-rounded talented individuals. Cool & Dre provided the production and the hook as Linkin Park and Busta Rhymes laid down the vocals. Lead singer of Linkin Park, Chester Bennington vocalizes the hook as Mike Shinoda, lead Emcee, features his own lyrical verses following the same subject pattern as addressed in the song. It is a notable guarantee that with the huge buzz going around about this record, that it eventually go down in the books as a definite historic musical moment. ‘We Made It’ will be features on Busta Rhymes upcoming album, ‘Blessed’ and will be released under Aftermath/Interscope.

MTV was recently on the set of the ‘We Made It,’ and had a chance to speak with both Busta and the Members of LP about how this project went down.

Busta broke down the whole scenario of how this classic record all started:

“The beat for the Linkin Park record was given to me by Cool & Dre about seven months ago. I’m on a bus ride from New York to L.A., about 38 hours. Every time I’m on the bus, I listen to the collective of beats I get for my album, just to vibe. We was listening to that song one day when I heard the beat. Cool & Dre had the chorus on there. I was like, ‘This record is one of the biggest anthems,’ because it felt like it was speaking to the common man. It wasn’t exploiting what we usually exploit in hip-hop: the ass, throwing money, rims on the car. At this time in my career, it felt like something was needed, something inspirational. It speaks to the man in the struggle from the ‘hood to the upper echelon.”

Apparently, the connection between Linkin Park and Busta Rhymes run a long line. Busta first met LP while they were in the process of recording their debut, Hybrid Theory, in 2000.

He definitely liked their music and hoped one day it would come full circle that they would eventually collaborate on a track together. So in essence, together they made it, as the song abruptly states in the hook. The veteran director chosen for the video, Chris Robinson, chose the exact same location in L.A. where Linkin Park photographed their artwork for ‘Meteora’ that was released in 2003. Mike, being a avid Hip-Hop fan and artist himself, added his own comments about the classic project:

“Normally, I’m a little skeptical going into hip-hop tracks. This is the very first time Linkin Park has been featured on anybody else’s song. We did the mash-up project with Jay-Z, but that was featuring his music and our music. It’s an entirely different thing. What that all comes down to is the strength of the track. That’s due in part to Cool & Dre and in part to Busta. When we came in, we did our thing to it and added that next level of something new and different. Each party had a mutual appreciation.”

“We were touring in Asia at the time. We cut a lot of our parts in a studio in Taipei. It kinda fit the theme of the song ‘We Made It.’ We’re recording vocals in China, halfway across the world. He’s in New York and L.A. doing his thing. On this track, I got to know Busta a little better. He’s very much that character, that personality that you see. But there is a side of him that’s very humble and down-to-earth that other people don’t get to see.”

At press time, Linkin Park is currently still on their Projekt Revolution tour, however, Busta Rhymes new album, ‘Blessed,’ has been set and confirmed to be released on July 1st.

I got to admit, this is definitely a long-overdue track. I’m a big fan of Linkin Park’s music as well as Busta Rhymes. As Cool & Dre fused their styles together, it became a true classic. Linkin Park has always been known for their Hip-Hop Rock themed elements, so with the lyrics and style of Busta, it’s a done deal. Hopefully this opens a gateway to more LP features on Hip-Hop tracks, I am definitely waiting for an Eminem featuring Linkin Park record, maybe I should pitch it to him as a concept for his next album, ‘King Mathers,’ I know it will be a certified hit. What do ya’ll think about that?

Usher Upset about Celebrities Exploited their Children

New York, NY – Recently, Atlanta-based R&B sensation, Usher, made his presence felt with the New York Post when he did an interview with them. He expressed how it upsets him when celebrities sell the rights to their children’s photos to the media. Baby photos are being requested at an all time high and these celebrities are putting them up for bid to the highest buyer, they have actually turned selling their infant photos into a business. Usher who recently became a father towards the end of 2007, posed for free with his wife, Tameka, and their newborn child, Usher Raymond V, on the front cover of Essence magazine.

These were his comments to the Post about his thoughts on the new entrepreneurship:

“In no way would I ever pimp out my child for money. I get livid that people talk about him [his child].What makes you a man more than being a father to your child? I recognize I gave anonymity away when I became an artist, but to have people try to paint a horrible picture of what’s so beautiful, it’s obvious someone is trying to stop something so beautiful.”

At press time, Usher has completed his fifth album entitled, ‘Here I Stand,’ and is waiting for its release slated to be May 27. As of right now, two official remixes of his first single ‘Love in this Club’ is spinning all over radio stations. The sequel of the song features Beyonce and Lil Wayne, it definitely has hit elements of his own. Both songs can be heard and downloaded from our On Demand section.

On the real, I agree with Usher, you shouldn’t be exploiting your children’s photos for money, but on the other hand I am a journalist, so retrieving the most interesting pictures to post on 24hourhiphop is my job. I’m just not sure about buying them though. Either way, he issued a good point.

Kanye West Complains about a Bad Concert Review

New York, NY – Entertainment Weekly, one of the biggest magazines of in the industry, recently wrote a B+ review on one of Kanye West’s concerts on the ‘Glow in the Dark’ tour. Apparently, Kanye wasn’t too happy about the review and his exclusive ‘bitch and moan’ nature came into effect. As a matter of fact he called the reviewer a ‘Miserable’ person.

These were Kanye’s comments on his blog to the reviewer from Entertainment Weekly:

“What do you know about passion and art? If you can’t have fun and lose yourself at this tour it’s a good chance you’re a very miserable person. I make art. You can’t rate this … Never come 2 one of my shows ever again, you’re not invited and if you see me…BOW!!”

West has been known for his rant and raves from past events that have gotten him into trouble, the first incident was about George Bush during a national telecast after Hurricane Katrina, next was when he bashed MTV for not allowing him to headline, and most recently not winning the awards he was nominated for.

So Kanye is back to be being a Diva again, what’s new? I have got to be honest, if I reviewed his shows, it’ll be a lot worse. I admit he’s talented, but when your actions bleed through your performance, then it just doesn’t cut it. I am a liberal journalist, I am honest about what I see and what I hear, that’s just the way it is. So in essence, if he banned me from his shows, I could care less, doesn’t mean a damn thing for me. ‘Just Know Dat!’