In R. Kelly's first court appearance since his arraignment in June, the R&B singer attended a five-minute status hearing in his upcoming child pornography trial in Chicago on Wednesday (August 7). As part of the beginning process of discovery, the defense received a videotape of the "Judge Mathis Show" which had been subpoenaed from Warner Bros. by the prosecution, though the tape's relevance was not revealed. R. Kelly's next court date was set for September 20. ... In lighter R. Kelly news, the singer, along with Irv Gotti, Ja Rule, Jay-Z, Mario Winans and the Neptunes' Pharrell Williams, tied for Songwriter of the Year at BMI's 2002 Urban Awards on Tuesday night, because each artist had two songs that were played most often on American radio and television this year. Williams also took home the Producer of the Year Award, while Janet Jackson nabbed Song of the Year for "All for You." ...
Nonpoint, Blackalicious, Talib Kweli, Borialis and Camp Lo will perform on the second stage of the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour, which kicks off August 20 at the Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York. They join a previously announced mainstage lineup of Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella Family, 311, Nappy Roots, Hoobastank and N.E.R.D. ... Taproot will work with directing team the Brothers Strause (Linkin Park, Godsmack) on the video for their new single, "Poem," according to their publicist. The shoot will take place on Thursday (August 8) and Friday (August 9) in Los Angeles. ... Texas alt-rock darlings ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead spent their weekend shooting a video for their single "Relative Ways" in the Mayan ruins of Uxmal, Mexico. Singer/guitarist Conrad Keely directed the clip, which is inspired by Graham Hancock's book "Fingerprint of the Gods," according to the band's Web site. ...
The DVD of the Wilco documentary "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" will feature an additional 72-minute movie, band photos and liner notes as well as 21 previously unreleased Wilco songs. The band has already recorded 26 new tracks for the follow-up to this year's Yankee Foxtrot Hotel. ... Raphael Saadiq will release "Still Ray" as the second single from his debut solo album, Instant Vintage. Saadiq will promote the album with a fall tour, which is expected to start in September. ... Boy George continues his career as a club DJ with the release of the mix album A Night Out with Boy George on August 13. Tracks from Christian Smith & John Selway, Jon Carter and the Gay and Lesbian Disco Association are featured on the record. ... A remix of Sacario, Angie Martinez and Fat Joe's "Live Big" will be included on the soundtrack for "The Transporter," due September 17. Previously released songs from Missy Elliott, Tweet, Knoc-Turn'Al, Nate Dogg and Keith Sweat are among the album's other tracks. ...
08.06.02
The odd trio of 'NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick,, Tenacious D's Kyle Gass and alternative rock icon Mike Watt appear in the video for Good Charlotte's "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." The track is the first single from The Young and the Hopeless, due October 1. ... Beyoncé Knowles and her sister Solange, Master P and his son Lil' Romeo, 3LW, Westlife, Isyss, Play and Lil' J will perform at Blockbuster Teenfest '02 on August 31 at 8 p.m. at San Diego's Coors Amphitheatre. The festivities will also include a teen job fair as well as celebrity Olympics featuring a go-kart race, basketball shooting contest and freestyle hip-hop lyricist battle. ...
The Best of Heavy D & the Boyz is slated for release on August 13. The compilation album brings together 11 digitally remastered hits from the group, four of which made it into the top 10 on the R&B charts. ... Badly Drawn Boy has set an October 22 release date for his third album, Have You Fed the Fish? His second release, the soundtrack to "About a Boy," was released in the spring. ... Sleater-Kinney have posted their entire upcoming album, One Beat, on the Web site of their label, Kill Rock Stars. The limited-edition live stream also features full lyrics to the album, which is available through mail order on the Web site now and in stores on August 20. ...
Jewel and her mom/manager have purchased their first script, "Wave," by David Rothmiller, for their production company Magic Lantern Entertainment. The mother/daughter duo will serve as executive producers of the project and Jewel will appear in the film, which chronicles the upheaval surrounding the reunion of a mother and her estranged son in Canada. ... The White Stripes will release a CD/DVD of their next single, "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," on September 2 only in the United Kingdom. The single will feature the song and new video as well as the video for "Fell in Love With a Girl" and live versions of "Suzy Lee" and "Stop Breaking Down." ... Icelandic electronic music ensemble Gus Gus will kick off their first North American tour in three years on September 9 in Los Angeles. Balligomingo are opening on the trek, which will promote Gus Gus' Attention, due August 27. ...