Rapper Earl "DMX" Simmons has reportedly dodged jail time today (June 8) after appearing in a court for felony attempted assault earlier this year while in an Arizona prison.Roc-A-Fella associate Twista recently updated fans on his relationship with the label's co-founder Damon Dash and his admiration for Jay-Z.Former G-Unit member Young Buck recently spoke on his aim to cut business ties with 50 Cent and promised there was no bad blood with his ex-labelmates.Footage of Lil Wayne reuniting on stage with former Cash Money Records group Hot Boys has begun to circulate online and shows Weezy promising a collaboration album. CHECK OUT MORE ON THESE STORIES..The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down a challenge to the Pentagon policy forbidding gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, granting a request by the Obama administration. The court said it will not hear an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The federal appeals court in Boston earlier threw out a lawsuit filed by Pietrangelo and 11 other veterans. He was the only member of that group who asked the high court to rule that the Clinton-era policy is unconstitutional.In court papers, the administration said the appeals court ruled correctly in this case when it foun ...CONTINUE READING... The Associated Press reported that lawyer Mark Geragos (who is also representing Chris Brown in his assault case) said that his client, Keith Carradine, David Carradine's half brother, met with the FBI on Friday and filed reports that could lead to a separate inquiry by the bureau into Carradine's death.Whitney Houston’s new album “The Wait is Over” will be released worldwide September 1, 2009 on Arista Records. This is Whitney’s 7th studio album. Since her 1985 self-titled debut, she has built an illustrious career that has generated over 170 million combined worldwide sales of albums, singles and videos. Cited by the Guinness Book [...] BROADWAY'S BIG NIGHT: Sunday night's Tony Awards ceremony from Radio City Music Hall was high on performance, if a bit low on surprises. Elton John's Billy Elliot was the big winner, bringing home ten statuettes, while thirteen other shows, Angela Lansbury and Liza Minelli also received trophies. Koko Taylor, a Chicago musical icon who became one of the most revered female blues vocalists of her time with signature hits such as "Wang Dang Doodle," "I'm a Woman" and "Hey Bartender," died Wednesday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago of complications from gastrointestinal surgery. She was 80. Although she's flown under the radar of the mainstream music world in recent years, Teena Marie has still managed to cultivate a career that most singers would envy. Over a...CONTINUE READING..Despite being a huge music lover - and of course, a music critic - yours truly has never really bought into the concept of Black Music Month. It just seems like a marketing ploy to hype up certain acts or labels. And although this two-minute video from Atlantic Records doesn't exactly change my perspective, it's kinda cool to see some of today's young R&B/Soul singers - including Janelle Monae, Trey Songz, Laura Izibor and more - pay tribute to some of the legends of the music industry, such as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Roberta Flack. You can stream the video by clicking the link. Black Music Month webisode (via Atlantic Records)Did you have the sing-songy chorus of Estelle and Kanye West’s Grammy-winning “American Boy” stuck in your head for a good amount of 2008? Well, so did Estelle. That’s why she’s happy to reveal that she’s working on new material as we speak.“I’m sick of singing ‘American Boy,’ so we need something else,” the West London native confessed at a recent party for the fashion line Chloé.Recently, Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio — who has produced work for Scarlett Johansson and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — helped her record a track. “He’s amazing,” Estelle gushed, “I’m really excited. We just finished a song together. I listened to it all the way here. I’m having a moment. He’s really, really cool.”And when all the songs have been completed, what will the body of work be titled? “Right now, I’m calling the whole project New London,” she said, ” ’cause it’s kind of [about] when I moved from London to New York and when my worlds collided and everything came together.”Although she’s made a name for herself with hip-hop and soul music, listeners could be in a for a change in sound; Estelle foresees her next release sounding “somewhere between Marvin Gaye and Coldplay.”