Not Guilty, Cops Walk In Sean Bell Killing

The three New York City police officers, who fatally shot 23 year-old Sean Bell on his wedding day with 50 bullets, were cleared of all charges today (April 25) in Queens Supreme Court.

According to the New York Daily News, detectives Michael Olivier and Gescard Isnora were acquitted of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges, felony assault and reckless endangerment and Marc Cooper was cleared of reckless endangerment charges today by Judge Arthur Cooperman. The decision sparked tears in the courtroom and rage on the streets.

“The defendants are not guilty of all charges,” declared Justice Cooperman. “The burden was on the people to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each defendant was assumed to be innocent.”

Sean Bell’s widow, Nicole Paultre-Bell in tears stood up and ran out of the courtroom as Cooperman read his verdict.

New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, assembled hundreds of extra cops in Jamaica, Queens, just in case there was trouble after the verdict.

Jordin Sparks Suffers From Throat Injury, Cancels Alicia Keys Tour Dates

While touring with mega star Alicia Keys, burgeoning songstress Jordin Sparks suffered an ailment that rendered her vocal chords useless.

According to Billboard, “American Idol” star Jordin Sparks is battling an acute vocal chord hemorrhage and has cancelled her remaining appearances on the Keys tour.

“Right now it’s a month away so I’m not really worrying about it yet, but once the day comes, yes I will be very nervous,” she said.

Unfortunately, the day has yet to come for Sparks. The singer was forced to cancel three shows this past weekend including the opening night of the tour in Hampton, Va.

Nas’s N*gger Album Pushed Back, releases first single

With new material from the project recently leaking, Nas is reportedly preparing to release his highly anticipated N*gger album this July.

While previous reports anticipated the album would be released in April, N*gger is now expected to drop on July 1^st, according to his rep. As his album title continues to draw controversy Nas shows no indication of any plans to change the album’s highly controversial title. A new song from the project, “Be A N*gger Too” recently surfaced online.

Continuing to reflect his flair for social awareness, the song makes references to Islam, the NAACP, Eminem’s N-word slip up and the recent murder of South African reggae artist Lucky Dube. Among Nas’ choice lyrics for “Be A N*gger Too” include the following chorus:

“I’m a n*gga/ he’s a n*gga / she’s a n*gga / we some n*ggas / wouldn’t you like to be a n*gga too?

Gnarls Barkley Release Backward Album

While it’s certainly well known that Gnarls Barkley bring an eclectic sound to the table, their newest project is sure to be the oddest yet.

Dubbed elpuoC ddO ehT, the duo have released a backwards version of their new album, The Odd Couple.

Available for free download at www.fronttobackbacktofront.com, elpuoC ddO ehT is one 38:44 track that contains the entirety of The Odd Couple in reverse, starting with the last song.

This isn’t producer Dangermouse’s first foray into working with music in reverse. On his acclaimed Grey Album, a mash-up between Jay-Z’s The Black Album and The Beatles’ The White Album, Dangermouse had a track titled “Lucifer 9.”

The track, if played in reverse, revealed Jay-Z’s lyrics from “Lucifer” sampled so that they said “Murder, murder Jesus.” The song drew much criticism from Christian churches, which chastised Jay-Z who, in fact, had nothing to do with the project.

Dipset Rapper Freekey Zekey Involved In Near Fatal Car Crash

Dipset representative Freekey Zekey escaped death last night (April 15) after he walked away from a car crash while returning home from a recording session.

The Harlem-bred rapper’s 2007 white S550 Benz was totaled in a three car pile-up at 115^th Street and 1^st Ave in Manhattan, according to a press release from his publicist, as Zeke (born Ezekial Jiles) was struck from behind while sitting at a red light.

The impact sent Zeke and a passenger hurling into the air and falling into a parked Hummer.

He spent the night at St. Luke’s Hospital but was released with only minimal bruising.

“I’m just happy to know that Zeke was not severely injured,” said fellow Dipset member Juelz Santana.

Frank Lucas’ Son Plans $25 Mil Suit Against NYC For Harassment

The son of real life “American Gangster,” Frank Lucas is set to sue the city of New York for $25 million, alleging he was victim of a bogus arrest, harassment by cops on Staten Island and use of excessive force.

According to the New York Daily News, the alleged abuse was said to have taken place on March 28^th when Frank Lucas, Jr. was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana in the fifth degree.

An aspiring hip-hop artist, Frank Lucas, Jr. said yesterday, “I have no desire to be ‘American Gangster, Jr. As far as I’m concerned, I’m definitely not proud of a lot of things [my father] did to rise out of his circumstances.”

50 Cent going to jail

If all goes as expected 50 Cent will be behind bars soon, not for any crimes, but instead to portray a death row inmate for an upcoming film role.

According to Variety, 50 is currently in negotiations to play a death row inmate whose impending execution excites widespread interest in the forthcoming indie flick Spectacular Regret.

Spectacular Regret will call on Blair Witch Project actor Joshua Leonard to make his debut as a dramatic feature director. Danny Huston, John Ortiz and Kelli Garner are already attached to the project, which focuses on the interconnected lives of four Los Angeles residents who are each fighting to overcome their past.

Leonard, who previously co-directed the documentary Beautiful Losers also wrote Spectacular Regret.

Young Buck Drops DVD This June

On the heels of his departure from G-Unit, Young Buck has announced plans to release his documentary DVD A Billion Bucks This June.

A Billion Bucks follows Buck through his everyday life over the course of a year as he travels from the South Side Projects in Tennessee to Cuba for a getaway, across the U.S. on tour and on a backwoods fishing trip, revealing himself to his audience by slowly opening up to the camera as a form of therapy.

Throughout this journey of self-discovery, Buck unveils his many different sides – father, felon, fisherman, poet, and hood hero among them. A Billion Bucks is a double disc DVD which also includes three exclusive unreleased music videos, six new tracks featuring Young Buck, C-Bo, Tha Outlawz and 615, as well as a complete photo gallery. The release also features new performance and behind-the-scenes footage which has never been seen before.

A Billion Bucks was shot and edited by Decon’s Jason Goldwatch who has previously worked on Ludacris’ The Red Light District, Young Jeezy’s Thug Motivation 101, and most recently directed Damian Marley’s “One Loaf Of Bread” video which was shot in Haiti.

Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott on Tour

The tour, which pairs established artist with up-and-coming musicians within hip-hop, R&B, pop, rock, Latin and country, kicked off on April 3 at the historic Vic Theatre in Chicago, featuring the five-time Grammy award winner Legend and singer/songwriters Cat Power and Caillat.

Artists scheduled to perform on the bill -that will continue throughout the month of April with stops in New York, Miami, Dallas and Los Angeles- include nine-time Grammy nominee Busta Rhymes, four-time Grammy winner Missy Elliott, three-time Grammy nominee Kid Rock, Pitbull and newcomers Sean Kingston and Kat Deluna, among others.

Busta and Missy will headline the next stop of the tour, when the concert series invades New York City’s Webster Hall on April 9.

“With this fantastic program, not only does The Recording Academy provide music fans an opportunity to help celebrate our 50th Anniversary, it also pays tribute to some of the artists that have played an important role in the GRAMMY Awards’ meaningful history and gives rising stars a chance to be a part of that legacy,” said the Chief Marketing Officer of The Recording Academy Evan Greene, in a statement.

FITTY EVICTS HIS EX

50 Cent wants his baby mama and son out da house – and a Long Island judge is obliging.

“I’m a winner. What can I say?” Fitty, who’s real name is Curtis Jackson, said after a hearing in Suffolk County Housing Court, where Judge Stephen Hackeling OK’d his bid to boot Shaniqua Tompkins and his son Marquise from his Dix Hills mansion.

Tompkins, 32, said, “Any man who would evict his son out of his house is evil. He’s an evil, disgruntled man.”

Fitty’s lawyer, Brett Kimmel, said his client is paying Tompkins $6,700 a month, and that includes cash for her to find a new place to live for her and Marquise.

Tompkins maintains that the “In da Club” rapper bought the house for her, but he testified that it’s his. He also made it clear that he wasn’t happy that her new boyfriend was living in the $1.5 million home, one of the largest in Dix Hills.

“To have her living there with her boyfriend and several other people is inappropriate,” said the rap star. “She’s in the house with people I’m not responsible to pay housing for.”

Fitty, 32, was the only witness to take the stand. Asked his net worth, he said, “I feel like I’m worth a billion dollars.”

“She doesn’t want to work. She doesn’t want to do anything,” he went on. “She had a sense of entitlement over me because she was around before I had success.”

Tompkins said she helped nurse the rapper back to health after he was shot nine times in May 2000, which has added to his musical hype.

The judge gave Tompkins until the end of the school year to clear out.