Eminem is skipping the Oscars and now he's skipping out of your neighborhood video store as well. His "8 Mile" DVD, released Tuesday, has already sold 2 million copies, earning $40 million in first-day sales and setting a record for both a March DVD release and an R-rated movie. ...

Jermaine Dupri is wasting no time rebuilding his So So Def imprint. One of his longtime artists, Da Brat, has her new LP, Limelight, Love and Nightclubs, scheduled to drop on July 29. Meanwhile, his newest signees, ATL MC Bone Crusher and Anthony Hamilton, who sings on Tupac's "Thugz Mansion" and Nappy Roots' "Po' Folks," are scheduled to release their debuts on April 29 and July 8, respectively. ...

Although he's claimed to have given up the weed, Snoop Dogg can still get nice. The rapper made a wish come true for 17-year-old Branson Walker, an Ohio teen suffering from a terminal kidney disease. Meeting the Long Beach lyricist Tuesday was the first of three wishes the Special Wish Foundation granted for the boy, who, along with his family, was flown to Los Angeles for a taping of Snoop's TV show "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle." Afterward, Snoop gave the boy the diamond-encrusted platinum cross necklace he was wearing. ...

Call it the re-remix. With the permission of fellow Chicago native R. Kelly, Twista has added a verse on the "Ignition" remix. Although chances of the track popping up on an album are slim, it is getting play on Chi-town stations. ... After producing Johnny Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around, Rick Rubin isn't exactly resting on his laurels. The helmer of classic albums for the Beastie Boys (Licensed to Ill) and Slayer (Reign in Blood) is wrapping up work on the Mars Volta's debut LP and Palo Alto's second album, while beginning pre-production of Weezer's follow-up to last year's Maladroit. ...

Jude Law ("Artificial Intelligence: A.I.," "Road to Perdition") is slated to portray the late Beatles manager Brian Epstein in an upcoming flick, according to London's Sunday Times. To prepare for the role of the man who helped the Beatles achieve fame, Law recently purchased Epstein's letters and journals. ... Paul McCartney's "Back in the U.S.S.R." is a work of fiction, since he's never been to the country. That's about to change when Macca performs his first concert in Russia on May 24 before an audience of 100,000 in Moscow's Red Square. ...

03.19.03

Eminem, Kid Rock and the White Stripes are among the Motor City artists nominated for the 2003 Detroit Music Awards, taking place April 11 at the State Theatre. Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and "Without Me," Kid Rock's "Picture" and the White Stripes' "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" are up for Best National Single honors, while The Eminem Show and Slim Shady's "8 Mile" soundtrack are gunning for Best National Album. They all fall short of local pop rocker Liz Larin, who leads the pack with 10 nominations. ...

DJ Kay Slay is readying his first official in-store album, The Streetsweeper Vol. 1, for an April 29 release. Slay is shooting the first video, "Too Much for Me," with the track's guest performers Nas, Baby and Amerie on Monday in New York. Foxy Brown, who also raps on the song, is not currently slated to appear in the clip, the Drama King's spokesperson said. ...

Puddle of Mudd have pushed back the release of Life on Display, the follow-up to their multiplatinum debut, in order to record three additional tracks. "I think we're looking at mid-to-late August," guitarist Paul Phillips wrote on the band's Web site. "I'm real sorry, but we really want to give you guys the best record possible." ... System of a Down have posted the new video for "Boom!" on their official Web site. Michael Moore ("Bowling for Columbine") filmed the band at a recent Los Angeles anti-war march for the clip, which debuted on MTV2 on Tuesday. ...

Ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Heart members Ann and Nancy Wilson, and jazz drummer Clarence Acox have been chosen as the first recipients of the inaugural Northwest IMPACT Award presented by the Pacific Northwest branch of the Recording Academy. The celebration, which will honor musicians who have been deemed an asset to the local music scene, will take place April 2 at the Westin Grand Ballroom in Seattle. ... Paul Simon will perform his Oscar-nominated song "Father and Daughter" at Sunday's 75th annual Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. U2 are also slated to play, but fellow nominee Eminem has chosen to skip the event. ...

Some people can never have enough cake. About a month after releasing their latest album, One Bedroom, Chicago indie experimentalists the Sea and Cake will issue the seven-track mini album Glass, which features four new songs and three remixes by Stereolab, Broadcast and Carl Craig. The Sea and Cake begin a 15-date tour on Wednesday (March 19) in Austin, Texas, which runs through April 25 in Washington, D.C. ... Groove Armada will promote their recently released Lovebox with a North American tour beginning April 14 in Washington, D.C. The outing will wrap April 16 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. ...

Some details about the death of Finntroll and Impaled Nazarene guitarist Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta have emerged. The 25-year-old artist died March 16 from injuries sustained in an accidental fall he took while intoxicated. ... Kiss mouthpiece Gene Simmons is making plans for a new solo record. On the official Kiss Web site, the master of self-promotion wrote that the album would come out sometime next year, but offered no specific details. ...