50 Cent has been nominated in six categories at the 2003 Billboard Awards, which will be held December 10 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The rapper is up for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year and Hot 100 Single of the Year. R. Kelly and Beyoncé are each nominees in five categories, and Sean Paul and the Dixie Chicks are up for awards in four categories. Justin Timberlake, Chingy and 3 Doors Down are each nominated for three, while Aaliyah, Linkin Park, Audioslave, Floetry, Norah Jones and Shania Twain are finalists in two categories. ... Meanwhile, 50 and G Unit were scheduled to shoot a video in Los Angeles on Tuesday (December 2) for "Poppin' Them Thangs," the next single from Beg for Mercy. Veteran hip-hop video director Little X is helming the clip. ...

A Swiss prosecutor in Zurich is considering filing charges against Marilyn Manson for breaching laws protecting religion and for inciting violence during a show there in 2001. A criminal investigation was launched after a religious organization there filed a complaint about his onstage shenanigans. Christian groups and politicians in Zurich attempted to block a recent Manson concert, claiming his views are offensive to the majority of the city's inhabitants, but the concert went on as scheduled. ... Playboy TV is launching a hip-hop show January 9 that will include uncensored videos, trips to strip clubs with rappers and segments such as Sex Tip of the Day. "Buckwild," named after host Ken "Buckwild" Francis, will feature Outkast, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Lil Jon and Loon, among others, in the first six episodes. ...

Grammy sweeper Norah Jones will appear on two songs from the upcoming Wax Poetic album Nublu Sessions, due February 10. Jones' two tracks were recorded between 1997 and 1998 when she was a member of the group. The record will also contain guest performances by N'Dea Davenport, Saul Williams and U-Roy. ... On Tuesday original shock rocker Alice Cooper was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Look for his star at the corner of Orange Drive and Hollywood Boulevard by the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel -- it's the one next to the dead birds. ... Big Tank, one of the primary producers behind the soundtrack to B2K's "You Got Served" movie, said the album, due December 23, will include guest spots from R. Kelly, Fabolous and Mario. "It's a dance movie, so all I had to do was try to make things that I would love to hear at a club and kind of go off that," Big Tank said. ...

Latin electronic musician Louie Vega of the duo Masters at Work will release a solo record, Elements of Life, in February. Vega will begin a DJ tour on December 11 in Chicago and will remain on the road through April. ... Metallica's revealing documentary "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" has been accepted by the Sundance Film Festival in the American Spectrum category. The movie, directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky ("Brother's Keeper," "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills"), is an unflinching fly-on-the-wall account of the creation of Metallica's St. Anger. Sundance begins January 15 in Park City, Utah. A theatrical release is planned for March. ... Pete Yorn, Phantom Planet, Lisa Loeb and Mellowdrone will headline the Gimme Shelter benefit concert December 11 at the Roxy in West Hollywood. Proceeds will go to the St. Joseph Center and New West School in Los Angeles. ...

Before opening for Linkin Park on a recent stint of U.K. dates, Welsh rap-rockers the Lostprophets shot a video in Los Angeles with director Brian Scott Weber (Trapt) for "Last Train Home." The song is the first single from Start Something, the follow-up to 2001's The Fake Sound of Progress, produced by Eric Valentine (Good Charlotte) and due February 3. ... Are you a onetime producer whose teen trio went from cash cow to broken mule once the pop market crashed? Maybe an aging rocker wondering why the check to the massage parlor bounced? Then EMI Music North America might be looking for you. The record company and publishing house has set up a Web site listing songwriters and producers they owe royalties to but can't seem to find. The AWOL artists include producer Salaam Remi (Fugees), QDIII (Quincy Jones' son) and the band Bigod20. ...

Margarine Eclipse, Stereolab's first album since the death of Mary Hansen last December, is due January 27. The follow-up to 2001's Sound Dust was recorded at the band's own Instant 0 studio in France with longtime producer Fulton Dingley. ... Yellowcard have been tapped to headline MTV2's Handpicked Tour, which kicks off December 4 in the band's hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, and wraps up December 20 in Los Angeles. Seattle rockers Acceptance are opening. ...

12.01.03

R. Kelly appeared in a Chicago court Monday (December 1) as his defense team filed several motions to dismiss the child-pornography charges against him as well as to suppress testimony and evidence. The center of the defense's argument is that the time frame of the allegations provided by the prosecution was too broad, preventing the singer from presenting an alibi for an exact date and time. Kelly's lawyers also asked to dismiss the case based on the unconstitutionality of Illinois child-porn statutes; to quash a grand-jury subpoena and suppress all evidence that was obtained during the grand-jury process; to preclude testimony from certain expert witnesses; and to suppress suggestive identification procedures. The prosecution said that it will address and answer the motions at the next hearing, set for February 6. ...

Animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is barking mad at Ashanti, who wore a $15,000 mink coat in a recent Christmas medley video to promote her new album. "It's so easy these days to have a look that kills without killing anything. Ashanti should know better," PETA said in a statement. The group plans to send Ashanti a video narrated by Pamela Anderson that depicts the barbaric practices of the fur industry in an effort to convince the R&B princess to change her ways. ...

For years, the tiny New York rock club CBGB served as a second home for Ramones frontman Joey Ramone, who helped pioneer the U.S. punk rock scene in the '70s. Now the city has recognized Ramone's accomplishments, and renamed a street across from the club Joey Ramone Place. The new street sign was unveiled at a celebration on Sunday attended by Ramone's mom, Charlotte Lesher, Marky Ramone and others. ... Queen have made their catalog available for download in Europe to mark World AIDS day. Band royalties for the first week of sale will be donated to the AIDS charity Mercury Phoenix Trust, and the band's U.K. label will match the donation. ...

No Limit rapper Soulja Slim was gunned down the night before Thanksgiving outside his mother's home in New Orleans. Slim, whose real name was James Tapp, was a childhood friend of Master P and his brother C-Murder; his most successful album, Give It 2 'Em Raw, came out in 1998 on P's No Limit Records. Slim's most recent album was Years Later ... A Few Months After, released in August. Police said they don't yet have a suspect or motive in the slaying. ... Memphis Bleek recently teamed with T.I. and Trick Daddy to shoot a video for "'Round Here," the second single from the Roc-A-Fella rapper's third album, M.A.D.E. Due December 16, the album also features Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel and Nate Dogg. ...

And you thought the only way to get a celebrity thumbprint was to hang out at the Los Angeles County Jail. London auction house Cooper Owen is auctioning off autographed thumbprints from Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Johnny Depp, Shakira and other music and film celebrities on December 9. The auction will take place online at cooperowen.com. ... Move over, Chingy, there's a new party rapper in town -- from the communist party, that is. The Chinese Communist Party will be repackaging revolutionary icon Mao Tse-tung as a rap artist, according to the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph, in an attempt to appeal to China's youth. The China Record Company is setting one of Chairman Mao's lessons, "The Two Musts," to hip-hop beats for release next month to mark the 110th anniversary of Mao's birth on December 26, 1893. Two other recitations, "The East Is Red" and "Serve the People," will be set to pop music and released by the company as well. ...

Kelly Osbourne has finished a track with the Matrix for her as-yet-untitled second record. "It's sort of heavier than most of my other stuff and what it's about is more me," she explained recently. ... Meanwhile, the man on Osbourne's arm of late is nearing completion of his first solo album. "It'll probably be a little more hip-hop but it'll be angry," Transplants singer Rob Aston said. Tim Armstrong is producing, along with Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs. "He's one of the easiest guys to work with and he's a legend, so I'm honored to be working with that guy," Aston added of Muggs. ...

John Frusciante's fourth solo album, Shadows Collide With People, is due February 25. Red Hot Chili Peppers bandmates Flea and Chad Smith guest on the record, along with Bicycle Thief's Josh Klinghoffer. ... Youngbloodz staged a biker rally in Los Angeles last week for the video for "Lean Low," which will be the first single from the "Torque" soundtrack. Joseph Kahn, who directed the movie, also handled the video, which features stars from the film. ...

Boomkat are about halfway done recording their second album. "It's eclectic," singer/actress Taryn Manning said recently. "I like hip-hop and rock and I like old music and I like dance music, so [the album is] just everything I like." ... Metal band Manowar have always taken pride in being fast and furious, and now those attributes have paid off outside the music kingdom for guitarist Karl Logan. Recently, the Western New York Off-Road Association motocross league awarded the axe-slinging barbarian first place in the amateur racing category for his performance for the year. …