Mos Def headlines "Lyricist Lounge" tour
Mos Def will headline the "Lyricist Lounge" tour, which begins Sept. 10 in Chicago, travels the country and ends up just 90 miles north in Milwaukee on Oct. 7. Talib Kweli, Slum Village, 50 Cent, Bahamadia and Nature will be among the rotating lineup at various stops along the tour. Mos Def and Kweli also will appear at the third annual Black August benefit concert, set for Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the New Age Cabaret in New York. The event was created to gather support for political exile Assata Shakur and bring about policy change regarding the U.S. Navy's use of the Puerto Rican island Vieques as a bombing range.
Here are the dates for the Lyricist Lounge tour: Sept. 10: Chicago (House Of Blues); Sept. 12: Denver (Fox Theatre); Sept. 14: Portland, Ore. (Roseland); Sept. 15: San Francisco (Maritime Hall); Sept. 17: Los Angeles (House Of Blues); Sept. 18: Phoenix (Celebrity Theatre); Sept. 20: New Orleans (House Of Blues); Sept. 21: Atlanta (Variety Playhouse); Sept. 23: Orlando, Fla. (House Of Blues); Sept. 26: Pittsburgh (Club Laga); Sept. 27: Boston (Avalon); Sept. 28: Burlington, Vt. (Higher Ground); Oct. 1: Washington, D.C. (Nation); Oct. 2: Philadelphia (Electric Factory); Oct. 4: Lawrence, Kan. (Liberty Hall); Oct. 5: St. Louis (Firehouse); Oct. 6: Detroit (St. Andrews); Oct. 7: Milwaukee (Rave).
Nelly stays at No. 1
It took Nelly a while to reach the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart, but now that he's there, he apparently is in no hurry to leave. Country Grammar, which debuted at No. 3 in June and reached No. 1 seven weeks later, sold 235,000 additional copies to claim the crown for the second straight week. The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards 2000 compilation boasts the biggest debut of the week. The disc, which includes tracks from Jay-Z, DMX, Dr. Dre, Mobb Deep, Lil' Kim, Eminem and Juvenile, sold more than 53,000 copies to hit No. 19 on the chart.
Eminem sued by his wife
Eminem's wife, Kim Mathers, filed suit against her husband for $10 million, citing intentional infliction of emotional distress in connection with his stage show during the "Up In Smoke" tour. She also is seeking sole custody of their daughter. Mathers claimed in court documents that Eminem, who filed for divorce earlier this month, is unfit to care for their child. However, Proof, of Eminem's group D-12, revealed to SOHH that the couple is trying to "work things out." He even said that Slim Shady plans to retire after the D-12 project and a third solo album to focus on his family.
Mack 10, T-Boz get married
Mack 10 and TLC's T-Boz were married in a private ceremony Saturday, Aug. 19, outside of Los Angeles. More than 250 guests attended the ceremony, including 10 groomsmen, 10 bridesmaids, Ice Cube, TLCs Chilli, and Gerald Levert, who sang as T-Boz walked down the aisle. Mack 10s son was the ring bearer and his daughter served as the flower girl. The couple, which is expecting a child, met last year on the set of TLCs "Unpretty" video shoot and Mack proposed to her on New Years Eve. Mack 10s next album, Paper Route, is due to be released on Sept. 12.
Clearing up The Source's mess
The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards 2000 will air as scheduled Tuesday on UPN, despite the fact that the show was cut short when fights broke out during the taping Wednesday night at the Pasadena Civic Center. David Mays, founder and publisher of The Source, announced that UPN will tape several performance and award segments to complete the two-hour special. Meanwhile, some of the rumors are beginning to get cleared up. First of all, DJ Quik was not arrested. Police did take him into custody before the show after he tried to break up a fight outside, but he was released shortly afterward. Another beef between the Outlawz and the crew representing Bad Boy was broken up by Don King. Davey D, one of the few credible hip-hop journalists who actually had a seat in the auditorium (most of the media, including The 411 Online, was horded in press rooms in the convention center next door), reported on his web site, DaveyD.com, that a confrontation between E-40 and Mack Minister, who appeared on 40's 1996 album, Tha Hall of Game, escalated from verbal to physical after Mack Minister pushed 40 and snatched his chain. E-40 had been talking to the Cash Money Millionaires before the scuffle, so many believed that the beef was between those two camps. Juvenile, Lil' Wayne and the rest of the crew were highly visible in their white t-shirts, especially to those watching the live television feed on the press-room monitors. Treach, who was speaking in the press room as Doug E. Fresh attempted to calm the crowd, called the incidents minor. "They were just slap-boxing," he said. "Don't take it somewhere it wasn't. Don't blow it up no more than what it is. When there's trouble, you see 15 on one side and 20 on the other. You'll know it's trouble, 'cause all of y'all will be running out of here. C'mon, it ain't nothing big." Well, shortly afterward 15-20 men allegedly affiliated with Death Row and dressed in red shirts with pictures of Snoop Dogg and the words "Dead Man Walking" rushed the stage, bottles started to be thrown, the show was called off, and, as Treach predicted, most of the press rushed out of the room. The 411 Online attempted to speak to several artists outside the civic center as police surrounded the building and helicopters flew overhead, but no one would comment on the incidents that took place. There were reports that Krayzie Bone had been injured during one of the other fights that broke out, but a representative from Ruthless Records said he was not involved in any of the altercations. Lost in all of the mayhem was the fact that Dr. Dre won or shared five awards, including the lifetime achievement award. The 411 Online has plenty of pictures and interviews from the event, so be sure to check back during the weekend.
Source Awards canceled
The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards 2000 were canceled when fighting broke out in the audience after a performance by Mobb Deep and Lil' Kim. Doug E. Fresh attempted to calm the crowd down, but the show, which took place Tuesday at the Pasadena Civic Center in Pasadena, Calif., abruptly was called to a halt by police and security. "We obviously regret what went on tonight, and are very embarrassed by it," The Source's management said in a statement. "The actions of a few have ruined an evening of music for the many who came here tonight. There is no decision yet as to when and if this event will be rescheduled." The awards show had been scheduled to air on UPN next Tuesday at 7 p.m. No word on what will take that time slot now. However, rumors ran rampant through the halls of the nearby building that served as the media center. There was talk of gunshots outside, and one eyewitness swore that he saw Xzibit being fired upon by four gunmen as he ran from the building. There also were unconfirmed reports that DJ Quik was arrested before the show after he tried to break up a fight involving his nephew. There were a few awards handed out before all hell broke loose. Eve won best new solo artist, Eminem won video of the year for "Guilty Conscience," Method Man and Redman were voted the top live performers and Dr. Dre and Ice Cube received the lifetime achievement award. The 411 Online staff also snapped hundreds of photos and snagged interviews with Eve, Allen Iverson, Lil' Bow Wow, Jermaine Dupri, John Singleton and Treach. Of course, they all will be posted as soon as possible, so check back often. We'll also do our best to sort out all of these rumors.
"Backstage," the film that goes behind the scenes of hip-hop's most successful tour, opens in theaters nationwide on Wednesday. The documentary, directed by Chris Fiore, takes an in-depth look at the 1999 "Hard Knock Life" tour. One of the highlights is a freestyle battle between co-headliners 
The first installment of Nightline's three-part series on hip-hop music premieres Wednesday night at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC. Correspondent Robert Krulwich takes a look at the origins of the culture and spends a day with Russell Simmons in part one. "You hear the noise of it," Krulwich told the New York Times. "You smell the violence of it and that's pretty much all you notice other than the fact that kids are spending long, long periods of time in their rooms listening to it." Thursday's part two takes viewers behind the scenes at a Jay-Z concert in Virginia Beach. The show almost gets shut down by fire marshals because too many people show up, but the conflict is resolved when the two sides compromise. On Friday, Nightline profiles Kevin Leong, who went from high school dropout to Phat Farm's head designer, and Grandmaster Flash provides the mainstream with a hip-hop history lesson.
The Wu-Tang Clan is preparing to launch an all-out assault on radio, television and several major cities before the end of the year. The group currently is in the studio putting the finishing touches on its third album, The W. Videos for the first and second singles will be shot during a three-day shoot later this month. "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)," which echoes the title of the track that put Shaolin on the map, should arrive before the end of September, while "Gravel Pit" should surface closer to the album's release date. Plans also are in the works for the Wu to hit the road on a major tour. The W is scheduled to hit stores Nov. 21. The Wu-Tang Clan's 1993 debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), was certified platinum, while their 1997 double-disc follow-up, Wu-Tang Forever, went quadruple-platinum.
There's nothing like a little controversy to pique a television viewer's interest. Such is the case with