Lil' Kim appeared in a U.S. District Court in New York on Wednesday (July 28) and pleaded not guilty in a superceding indictment that included her manager Hillary Weston. Kim (real name Kimberly Jones) was indicted in April for perjury and obstruction of justice, stemming from her alleged involvement in a 2001 shooting outside the offices of New York radio station Hot 97. During her hearing, a new trial date was set for February 28, according to her attorney Mel Sachs. "Kim has been unfairly accused and unjustly charged," Sachs said. "She has been wrongfully targeted and singled out because of who she is in the music industry." ...

Disney will release Hilary Duff's first concert DVD, "Hilary Duff: The Girl Can Rock," on August 10. The disc features more than 50 minutes of Duff's Metamorphosis tour and will contain her music videos for "Come Clean" and "So Yesterday." Fans will also get a behind-the-scenes look at her tour, her first surfing lesson and exclusive footage of the pop star recording her new album. ... Maroon 5, Yellowcard, All-American Rejects, Vanessa Carlton and Fabolous are among the artists who have autographed tank tops to benefit MusicEdge and Ban's fight to keep music programs in schools. The shirts will be auctioned off on eBay on August 5. ... B2K's Raz-B has signed on as an ambassador for the Jacquie Youth Foundation in Houston. The singer will perform and appear in a celebrity basketball game on August 28 to raise funds for the foundation's new shelter for girls. ...

Black Eyed Peas have contributed the unreleased "For the People" to the soundtrack for "Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie," due August 10, three days before the movie opens. The theme song to the popular TV show appears as a hidden track. ... The Latin Recording Academy has named Carlos Santana 2004's Person of the Year. Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews, Rob Thomas, Ozomatli, Robi Rosa and others will honor the rocker at a Los Angeles ceremony scheduled for August 30, hosted by George Lopez and Cheech Marin and produced by Quincy Jones. ...

Big Hutch checked into jail on Wednesday. The rapper (real name Gregory Hutchinson) was indicted for conspiracy to traffic 1,000 pounds of marijuana in a case pursued by agents of the Drug Enforcement Association, according to his publicist. "I was driving, and federal marshals pulled me over and picked me up," Hutchinson said in a statement. "They told me I had been indicted for drug trafficking." Hutchinson also offered advice to others who might find themselves in a similar situation, saying, "If you are with one or more individuals, and you ever suspect something unusual is going on, just jump up and say, 'I don't know what is going on here, but I have an important appointment,' and leave immediately." Hutchinson's publicist said she expects the rapper to be out of jail within a year. ...

Lenny Kravitz is one of the stars slated for Gap's fall campaign, called "How Do You Wear it?" Also included in the campaign, which will break next week in print ads in September issues of fashion magazines, are actresses Sarah Jessica Parker, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jessica Alba and actors Michael Vartan, Josh Duhamel and Peter Krause, as well as New England Patriot Tom Brady. The television campaign featuring Kravitz and Parker will debut during the MTV Video Music Awards on August 29. ... R.E.M. will release "Leaving New York" as the first single from their as-yet-untitled new album, due October 5. The band has also announced it will tour in the fall, although dates have yet to be finalized. Meanwhile, guitarist Peter Buck will make a guest appearance on the Thrills' Let's Bottle Bohemia, due September 14. ...

An all-star lineup of Paul Oakenfold, BT, the Crystal Method and Junkie XL performed at a party Tuesday in Los Angeles celebrating the addition of the Best Electronic/Dance Album category at the Grammys. "This is a big step," DJ and host of the event Jason Bentley said at a reception before the show. "Now we just need to encourage artists to submit their albums." ... Jason Mraz has recorded a version of "Rainbow Connection" for For the Kids Too, a follow-up to 2002's For the Kids compilation that features children's music by Sarah McLachlan, Guster and others. The new album, due October 19, also features They Might Be Giants, Nada Surf, Butterfly Boucher, Ron Sexsmith and Lisa Loeb. ... Godsmack’s live DVD "Changes" will be released September 14. The disc will feature material shot early this year at a concert in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. ...

Yo La Tengo will headline a concert benefiting the Kerry campaign in New York on August 12. Titled "The End of an Error," the event will feature music, comedy and politics; is co-chaired by Sandra Bernhard and Kerry's stepson Chris Heinz; and will feature comics Demetri Martin, Eric Bogosian and Rachel Dratch, author Jonathan Lethem, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" 's Ted Allen and others. ... The Bangles will be handed an honorary degree on Friday from the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts by none other than Paul McCartney, who helped found the school in 1996. In March 2003, the Bangles took time out from their European tour to conduct a master class at the institute, which was reportedly the highest attended and most popular session the school has ever held. All four Bangles will be inducted as "Companions," an honor reserved for people who have not only achieved greatness within the performing arts, but who have also passed advice and help to LIPA students, and it will be the first time an entire band will receive this honor. ...

7.27.2004

Britney Spears will appear at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards, which are taping August 8 in Universal City, California, and will air August 11 on FOX. Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are hosting the show, which will also feature appearances by Jennifer Garner, Jimmy Fallon, Mischa Barton, Christina Applegate, Anne Hathaway, Wilmer Valderrama, Chad Michael Murray, Tyra Banks and Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Teens can vote for the awards at www.teenpeople.com/teenchoice. ... Britney's little sister, Jamie Lynn, is starring in a new live-action comedy series on Nickelodeon called "Zoey 101," in which she'll play a 13-year-old attending a newly coed beachside boarding school. In the premiere episode, Jamie Lynn's character, Zoey Brooks, aims to make the basketball team, much to the chagrin of the boys already on the team. The show, shot on location in Malibu, California, will air on Sundays starting in early 2005. ...

Filmmaker Michael Moore's controversial "Fahrenheit 9/11," whose box-office receipts total more than $100 million, will be screened in the overwhelmingly pro-Bush Crawford, Texas, home of the president's vacation ranch. Via his Web site, Moore extended an invitation for Bush to join the expected 1,000 people at the screening. "The premiere will give us a chance to serve up some chips, salsa and a whole lot of truth," Moore wrote. "And let's face it, you've got some of the funniest lines in the film." ... Rapper Loon will appear in court on September 8 for a preliminary hearing on his charge of one count of assault with a deadly weapon. The MC missed a June 3 preliminary hearing at Beverly Hills Superior Court and a bench warrant was issued for June 30. Loon and co-defendant William Reyes turned themselves in that day. ...

Katy Rose is using the Chicks With Attitude Tour with Liz Phair and the Cardigans to promote her new single, "I Like." "It's a very powerful song," Rose said. "We usually open the show with it. It's basically saying that maybe I could like myself one day and maybe I could like you one day, because anything can happen, really." ... Rooney are returning to the studio next month with Keith Forsey, who produced the band's self-titled debut, to record the follow-up. In the meantime, the band has released separate exclusive live tracks to Napster and Rhapsody! and is encouraging radio stations to play "Pop Stars," although it will not be an official single. "It's about the candy-coated glossy poppy music," singer Robert Carmine said. "It was written like three or four years ago at the peak of all that Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys [stuff]." ...

Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic's first book, "Of Grunge & Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy!," will hit bookshelves on September 15. One part memoir, one part political platform, Novoselic tells the story of his musical and political coming-of-age. ... OK Go are giving bands the OK to go political. Lead singer Damian Kulash has written a how-to guide for bands interested in becoming politically active. His "How Your Band Can Fire Bush," a manifesto/resource guide, can be found at www.okgo.net, and provides tools for bands to talk to their fans and the press about politics. For your Bush-bashing convenience, Kulash has also included a two-page fact sheet of what President Bush has and has not accomplished while in office. ...

The Polyphonic Spree's two-week tour to promote the release of their second album, Together We're Heavy, will begin August 13 in Chicago. Seven East Coast dates stand between the kickoff and the trek's finale, August 25 in New York. ... Sorry, ladies -- Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Barrett has married his girlfriend of more than two years, Molly Terrence. The couple were wed during an impromptu ceremony in Las Vegas on July 21, in a ceremony that included Barrett's fellow bandmates and some friends. Reel Big Fish had been in town for a show at the House of Blues, and finish up their tour this week before they head off to Hawaii for another wedding -- that of their bassist, Matt Wong. ... Following their departure from Geffen Records in March, Cold have inked a deal with Atlantic Records and have completed eight songs for their follow-up to 2003's Year of the Spider. Producer Dave Fortman is expected to join the band when Cold hit a Massachusetts studio to record the new material. ...