He's a semi-pro basketball player now, but Master P is making a play to be a rap artist again. He's readying the release of a new album, Good Side Bad Side, which will include a DVD movie of the same name, a practice he promises with all future No Limit releases. In the meantime, he's finishing two other flicks, "Uncle P," in which he co-stars with his son Lil' Romeo, and "Still Bout It," the sequel to his 1997 movie, "I'm Bout It." ...

In collaboration with MTV's Choose or Lose, Rock the Vote will host their annual Rock the Vote Awards on February 7 at the Hollywood Palladium. The pre-Grammy bash/fund-raiser will feature performances by the Black Eyed Peas and N.E.R.D. ... Tracks from nominees for the 46th annual Grammy Awards are packaged on the compilation 2004 Grammy Nominees CD, due January 20. The 21-track album includes Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love," Coldplay's "Clocks" and Eminem's "Lose Yourself," among others. ... The Rooney concert may be sold out in the OC, but you can rock out with Marissa, Ryan and the rest of the gang from the TV series "The OC" right from your living room. The band will appear as special guests on the FOX show on Wednesday (January 7). ...

A solo song by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and a previously unreleased 1971 performance of "All the Madmen" by David Bowie will be included on the soundtrack for the movie "Mayor of the Sunset Strip." The flick tells the story of Los Angeles DJ Rodney "On the Roq" Bingenheimer, who helped break numerous bands over the years. The album comes out March 18 and  the film hits screens March 26. ... The estate of late Beatles guitarist George Harrison has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the doctor who treated Harrison in his final days. The suit, which was filed on Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court, claims Dr. Gilbert Lederman coerced the rock legend to autograph a guitar for the doctor's teen son, and further asserts that the doc had to help Harrison hold the pen and guide it across the instrument. ...

The overweight lover will be in the house this spring. After producing records for everyone from Cash Money to Ludacris to P. Diddy, Jazze Pha has finally decided to release his debut, Big Love, in the next few months. Helping the rotund performing producer on his LP are Snoop Dogg, Nelly, T.I. and Big Boi. ... Ghostface, who's dropped the "Killah" from his moniker, will drop his next album, The Pretty Tony Album, on March 2. This will be Ghost's first album for his new label, Def Jam. The video for the leadoff single, "Run," which features Jadakiss, is being shot in New York this weekend. ...

The Black Crowes are no more, but the Robinson boys seem to be flying high. Guitarist Rich Robinson plans to debut new material at a handful of tour dates beginning January 15 in Trenton, New Jersey. He'll be backed by a trio that includes drummer Bill Dobrow of his first post-Crowes project, Hookah Brown. Brother Chris, meanwhile, is readying a band of his own. The unnamed project features Stone Temple Pilots' Eric Kretz and brothers Robert and Dean DeLeo. And on Wednesday, Chris' wife, actress Kate Hudson, gave birth to Ryder Russell Robinson (8 lbs., 11 oz.) in Los Angeles. ... For those about to face off in the squared circle -- as well as those who just like to watch -- the WWE has got just the thing to fire you up. WWE Originals, due January 13, features original songs by top pro wrestlers, including Chris Jericho, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Booker T and Kurt Angle. The set also features a DVD on the making of the album. ...

Frank Black, in the process of getting his old band the Pixies back together, is set to deliver the keynote address at the fourth annual DIY Convention: Do It Yourself In Film, Music & Books, taking place February 5-7 in Hollywood. Black will speak about his career, the state of the entertainment industry and his plans for 2004. ... '80s hard rockers Tesla will release the new studio album Into the Now on March 9. The band has been working with producer Michael Rosen for the past two years and has concocted 12 songs, including the tracks "Look @ Me," "Heaven Nine Eleven" and "Mighty Mouse." ...

Thin Lizzy will return to the road at the end of January. The first date is January 30 in Salt Lake City, and the band will headline through February 7 in Spokane, Washington. The group will be joined the next day by Deep Purple, and the rock legends will continue to tour together through March 1 in New York. ... Now that he's joined Ozzy Osbourne's band, former Rob Zombie bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson has parted ways with Page Hamilton's newest incarnation of Helmet. Guitarist Chris Traynor will be handling bass duties in the studio for the time being. ...

Sense Field have decided to call it quits. "Each of us is ready to go off on our own and try different paths in life. There are no hidden reasons for the split," reads a statement on their Web site. The California band, which featured singer Jonathan Bunch and guitarist Chris Evenson from the seminal hardcore band Reason to Believe, released two full-length albums through Revelation, a record through Warner Bros. and two through Nettwerk, including last year's Living Outside. ... Dope bassist Sloane "Mosey" Jentry has quit the band to settle down with his girlfriend, according to a post on the band's Web site. He has been replaced by Powerman 5000's Adrian for Dope's tour, which starts January 9 in Columbus, Ohio. Dates run through February 21. Following the tour, the band will seek a full-time replacement. ...

01.06.04

Beyoncé Knowles will do her hometown proud when she returns to Houston to sing the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1. Janet Jackson has already been announced as part of the game's halftime show. ...

Russell Simmons is calling on the big guns to help kick off his first Hip-Hop Summit of 2004, to be held in Houston. P. Diddy; Master P and Lil' Romeo; Beyoncé and her father, Mathew Knowles; Erykah Badu; Run and DMC; and the king of H-Town, Scarface, will all be participating at the January 31 event at Texas Southern University. ... Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, M.O.P., Freeway and the Young Gunz will play in a celebrity basketball game as part of the 2004 Freedom Classic national, a weekend celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday in Richmond, Virginia. Co-sponsored by Roc-A-Fella Records, the January 17 and 18 events will also include a Roc-A-Wear fashion show, entertainment industry seminars and a voter-registration drive. ...

The autopsy report for Bobby Hatfield, the Righteous Brothers singer who died hours before a November 5 concert, was released Tuesday and names heart failure triggered by acute cocaine intoxication as the cause of death. Groupmate Bill Medley said Tuesday he knew "absolutely nothing" about Hatfield's drug use. "I would have said something to him," he told The Orange County Register. ... Seal, 311, Wyclef Jean and Eve are just some of the artists reliving their youth by covering songs from the 1980s for the soundtrack to "50 First Dates," the new Adam Sandler/ Drew Barrymore comedy set to hit theaters February 13. Seal's version of Echo and the Bunnymen's "Lips Like Sugar," the Black Eyed Peas' cover of Spandau Ballet's "True," 311's take on the Cure's "Love Song," and Wyclef and Eve's performance of the Outfield's "Your Love" are among the highlights of the soundtrack, due February 3. ...

A Canadian man is suing a former Nirvana guitar tech for fraud after learning that the left-handed Fender Stratocaster he received with the promise it belonged to Kurt Cobain was, in fact, never touched by the late rock star. Phil Gross of North Vancouver traded his S.G. Gibson electric for the instrument and hoped to market the guitar at several auction houses, but a British collectibles agency discovered the guitar was a fake. Gross filed his claim in B.C. Supreme Court. ... Nearly seven years after breaking up, Chicago's Urge Overkill are reforming for a brief series of shows beginning January 15 in San Diego. The band, best known for their cover of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," for the 1994 film "Pulp Fiction," are scheduled to play the Troubadour in Hollywood the following day, with shows in Hoboken, New Jersey, and New York slated for February 5 and 6. UO released five albums since 1989, and lead singer Nash Kato dropped a solo album, Debutante, in 2000. ...

Liz Phair continues to support last year's self-titled album with a five-week North American tour beginning February 26 in West Hollywood, California. Opening acts have yet to be chosen for Phair's latest trek, which winds down April 4 in Washington, D.C. ... Since the market's not clamoring for a Gene Simmons doll with wrinkles and a receding hairline, McFarlane Toys will issue a Simmons "Destroyer" action figure in April. The doll will be modeled after the cartoon rendering of Simmons on the cover of Kiss' 1976 album, Destroyer. ...

(Hed) p.e.'s guitarists Sonny Mayo and Wes Greer and drummer Ben "BC" Vaught have left the band, which recently lost its label. But the band hasn't lost its, errr, head. "Hed is very much alive," singer Jahred wrote on the band's Web site. "Myself, Deejay Product and [bassist] Mark [Young] have hooked up with some other fools." No word yet on who those fools are. ... Ben Nightingale, the guitarist for Australia's Sleepy Jackson, has left the band. A spokesperson for the group's U.S. label, Astralwerks, said it was always understood that Nightingale would leave the band due to family obligations and called the split amicable. ...

A couple of Motor City music acts are joining forces to set the year off. Slum Village and up-and-coming singer Dwele are gearing up to embark on a two-week tour starting Wednesday night in New York and ending January 20 in Orlando, Florida. ... Prince's classic flick "Purple Rain" will be released on DVD this summer and will include a special making-of documentary. Both of the Purple One's subsequent films, "Under the Cherry Moon" and "Graffiti Bridge," will also be released at the same time. ... It doesn't get more precious than a book of poetry, featuring contributions by bands such as A Static Lullaby, Finch,, Something Corporate, Taking Back Sunday and the Rx Bandits, being released on Valentine's Day. "Revolution on Canvas" will be sold exclusively at Hot Topic stores and on tour by the participating bands, before hitting book and music stores nationwide. ...