Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 10-27-15 Edition

Entertainment
Harry Belafonte And
Key Person In N.W.A.’s Success Releases Prequel Memoir Of
Jas Prince Getting $11 Million In Drake Royalties
Drake and Jas Prince on pri- vate jet.
After battling in court with Cash Money Records for months, producer Jas Prince has reached a $11 million set- tlement with the famed record label over royalties for their signed artist, Drake.
According to the Jasmine Brand, Prince claimed that he originally discovered and signed Drake to Aspire Music Group in 2007 long before Cash Money. However, CMB signed the OVO singer and agreed to pay Prince and As- pire 22% of Drake’s royalties.
Like many others deals with Cash Money, the confidential deal with Prince and Aspire went sour, and Jas filed a suit last year for four million in damages. Birdman’s label claimed that the confidential deal was not signed with Jas Prince, but Aspire instead.
In the midst of all of this, Lil Wayne’s manager, Cortez Bryant, also plays a role in the financial conflict. According to the report, Bryant was an ex- ecutive for Aspire at the time and was soon sued by Jas Prince for allegedly bringing Drake to Cash Money with the estranged deal. Bryant was eventually fired for auditing Cash Money’s records to see how much the record company owed Aspire in royalties.
On October 6th, Prince ap- peared in court and called for immediate action due to the in- creased amount of money owed to the producer, an estimate of $11 million. Prince believed that Aspire did not sue Cash Money nor did the company collect the amount of money due to the close relationships between Cortez Bryant and Lil Wayne and Cash Money/Young Money. Eventu- ally, two shareholders of Aspire reached a settlement with Prince to pay him $11 million in damages, which is expected to be finalized in a few days.
Usher Unite For
‘Straight Outta Compton’
Discussion On Activism
As a club owner and finan- cier, Alonzo “Lonzo” Williams played a significant role in the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. Williams is now telling his side of the story with the new memoir N.ot W.ithout A.lonzo (N.W.A).
The founder of Kru Cut Records – which featured eventual N.W.A members Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and DJ Yella – tells the sto- ries of how Dre and Cube be- came Hip Hop legends. N.ot W.ithout A.lonzo also presents portions of the group’s biogra- phy that Straight Outta Compton did not include. The book is described as the pre- quel to F. Gary Gray’s block- buster film.
Williams’ career in the en-
Cover of Lonzo Williams’ memoir about the group.
tertainment industry has in- cluded turns as a DJ, club owner, record company owner, songwriter, publisher, speaker, and author. He is also a contributor to the Schom- burg Research Center.
N.W.A.
Two generations of singers. One common topic.
That was the thread uniting Usher and Harry Bela- fonte during an hour-long discussion on activism over the weekend at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan.
Moderated by Soledad O’Brien, the conversation be- tween the 37-year-old Usher and the 88-year-old music vet- eran/activist included mutual respect expressed as Usher called Belafonte a hero, men- tor and father figure and Be- lafonte gave props to black celebrities like Usher, Jay Z (who was in the audience) and Common for “renewing a commitment to change after a ‘very me’ generation immedi- ately following the civil rights era,” according to the Associ- ated Press.
“I’m glad I lived long enough to see this emergence,” said Belafonte.
Usher’s appearance with
Harry Belafonte and Usher
Belafonte comes amid the release of his latest single, “Chains,” a tune that blasts racism and police violence with assists from Nas and Bibi Bourelly.
Belafonte’s activism with Usher marks the latest chap- ter in a longstanding history of work he’s done to address troubling issues. During his appearance, the vocalist edu- cated the multigenerational crowed on the history of black resilience that goes back to slavery, in addition to labeling power of art as a way to slow “the rush to the bank.”
Boxing Champ Storms Off LHHATL Set After Staged Scene Upset Him
Boxing champ Adrien Broner and Karlie Redd.
Boxing champ Adrien Broner pulled the plug on his “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” ap- pearance after producers wanted him to whore it up for the cameras.
Broner was slated to film a scene with his longtime friend Karlie Redd at the Playboy Radio building – where Redd just got her own radio hosting gig, but when producers wanted him to act like there was sexual tension between the two – he stormed off the set.
Broner felt betrayed and manipulated by the producers who lured him on the show
under the guise that he’d be Karlie’s supportive friend (as they are in real life). As the re- port notes, Broner’s in a committed relationship with another woman and doesn’t want to be portrayed as a cheater.
“They tried to get me to ba- sically belittle my wife and I can’t do that,” Broner said. “I will never... disrespect my woman.”
He also confirmed that his LHHATL cameo is dead and that he wants nothing to do with the show, especially since it’s essentially a cast of rejects anxious to revive their careers.
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