Eminem and Kim Mathers agreed not to criticize each other in public on Monday (March 26), The Associated Press reports. The couple agreed that fighting publicly could be harmful to their 11-year-old daughter, Hailie. Eminem, who had previously filed a motion seeking to stop his ex-wife from making "derogatory" comments about him in public, was not at the closed-door court hearing but spoke by telephone. ...

Ciara, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke, Steve Harvey and the O'Jays -- with Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill -- have been added to the Essence Music Festival lineup. They join previously announced participants including Beyoncé, Chris Brown and Mary J. Blige. The fest takes place July 5-7 in New Orleans. ... Slayer are planning to hit the road yet again in support of last year's Christ Illusion, this time with Marilyn Manson as the co-headliner. The full schedule hasn't been announced, but expect the metal madness to hit 25 cities, starting July 25 on the East Coast and ending in early September on the West Coast. Two support acts will be added. ...

Nas, Public Enemy, the Roots, Mos Def, EPMD, Cypress Hill and Pharoahe Monch are among the artists joining the Rock the Bells lineup, which features previously announced headliners Rage Against the Machine and Wu-Tang Clan. Tickets go on sale Saturday for shows at New York's Randall's Island (July 28); San Bernardino, California's NOS Events Center (August 11); and San Francisco's McCovey's Parking Lot (August 18). Organizers also announced Monday that the tour will be extended with 15 more shows, featuring co-headliners Nas and Wu-Tang Clan -- but not Rage. Details on the added dates will be revealed in the coming weeks. ...

Mary Weiland, wife of Scott, was arrested Monday for allegedly setting fire to the Velvet Revolver singer's clothes outside their home in Toluca Lake, California, AP reports. She was later booked for investigation of felony arson vandalism, and their children, ages 4 and 6, were placed in custody of family friends. That wasn't the only weekend incident involving the couple, though -- on Saturday, police were called to the Graciela Hotel in Burbank after the Weilands were found brawling there. ... Rapper DG Yola was shot in a failed robbery attempt while his vehicle was stopped at a red light in Atlanta on Saturday night; the bullet went through one cheek and out the other. Yola is currently recovering at an Atlanta hospital, where doctors are optimistic that he will make a full recovery. "He is already up and about and writing. Yola ain't gonna let up," his family said in a statement. "We respectfully request privacy and appreciate the well-wishes and prayers of Yola's fans during this time." Yola's debut album, Gutta World, is scheduled to be released on Power Hittas/ Atlantic in June. ...

Kal Penn, UPenn prof? The actor, who stars most recently in "The Namesake" but is better known as Kumar from "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," will teach two undergraduate courses at the University of Pennsylvania during the school's spring 2008 semester, AP reports. Penn will guest-instruct "Images of Asian Americans in the Media" and "Contemporary American Teen Films." ... Sean Lennon is taking to the road for a monthlong tour in support of his recent release Friendly Fire. The string of dates spans a Friday gig in Dallas through an April 29 show in San Francisco. ...

Arcade Fire have been forced to cancel the last eight dates of their European tour after lead singer Win Butler succumbed to a nagging sinus/bronchial infection while in Norway. In a post titled "Heavy Heart" that went up on the band's Web site Saturday, the singer explained, "I am backstage at the venue in Oslo and I just had to make the very sad decision to cancel the rest of the European tour. I have been suffering from a sinus and bronchial infection for the last three months, and last night in Stockholm I finally pushed my voice and body farther than they are able to go. Last night I kept yelling at the monitor guy because I didn't recognize the sound that was coming out of the monitor as my own voice, and it took me until the second song to realize that the sound was coming from me. Today I can barely speak or make any sound, so finishing the shows is no longer possible." Butler said several doctors advised him to cancel the tour weeks ago and he tried to press on but must now have sinus surgery to begin healing. It's not known if Butler will recover in time for the planned April 26 kickoff of the group's U.S. tour. ...

Elton John celebrated his 60th birthday Sunday night by extending a Madison Square Garden record with his 60th concert at the New York arena. John was introduced by former President Bill Clinton, who noted the efforts of the singer's foundation to fight HIV/AIDS. The show also featured a round of "Happy Birthday" sung onstage by John's longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin along with comedians Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. John also paid tribute to late Beatles singer John Lennon, recalling that Lennon joined him onstage at MSG in November 1974 for what would be Lennon's last concert appearance. ... Estradasphere, an eclectic and adventurous outfit from Santa Cruz, California, has posted a live video for "A Corporate Merger" at TheEndRecords.com. The group begins a North American tour Monday in Petaluma, California, with dates scheduled through April 23 in its hometown.

03.23.2007

Eminem wants his ex-wife to stop criticizing him in public, and he's taking the fight to court. The Associated Press reports that the rapper is scheduled to appear in front of a judge on Monday after filing a motion last week in Michigan's Macomb County Circuit Court calling for an end to "derogatory, disparaging, inflammatory and otherwise negative comments" about him from Kim Mathers. According to the filing, Eminem is concerned that his ex's recent interviews discussing the problems in their marriage could negatively impact their daughter, Hailie Jade. "Complicating the situation for the child is the fact that her father is an internationally known public figure," the motion reads. "It is simply impossible for her to be shielded from the kind of media campaign currently being waged by [Kim Mathers] against [Eminem]." ...

50 Cent's drag-racing film "Live Bet" is driving forward. Variety reports that Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Lozano will direct the movie, which will be set in New York, Las Vegas and Philadelphia and produced by G-Unit Films' Chris Lighty. Universal Pictures plans to start work on the action flick, which 50 Cent signed up for 10 months ago, this summer. ...

Gwen Stefani will work with the top 10 finalists on Tuesday's "American Idol." The theme will be pop songs, with contestants choosing their favorite tracks from the genre. Stefani will perform with Akon on Wednesday's results show. ... Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have signed on for the final two "Harry Potter" films, reprising their roles alongside previously announced returning star Daniel Radcliffe. The last two installments will be "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," with the fifth film -- "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" -- slated for a July 13 release. ...

There's no place like Home. Literally. The New York nightclub was off the hook Thursday night as producer Swizz Beatz took on the role of DJ for a while, spinning records such as his own "It's Me Bitches" remix and Ne-Yo's "Because of You." As people danced, a slideshow exhibition showed works by industry photographer Johnny Nunez on the walls -- among those spotted in the images were Jay-Z, Diddy, Fat Joe and MTV News' own Shaheem Reid and Rahman Dukes. ...

Vivica A. Fox was charged Friday (March 23) for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, AP reports. The actress, who was arrested late Tuesday in Los Angeles, faces a maximum six-month stay in jail and/or $1,000 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor charges. ...

Kid Rock has sued a woman who accused him of assault, the Detroit Free Press reports. The lawsuit, filed Monday in Michigan's Oakland County Circuit Court, states that the assault allegation that 28-year-old Kelly Kozlowski made earlier this month -- which Oakland County prosecutors did not pursue after deciding that evidence didn't support her claim that the singer grabbed her by the neck and shoved her into a snow bank -- harmed Rock's reputation. The suit seeks unspecified damages. ... Iconic '70s rock band Boston are reportedly in turmoil after losing lead singer Brad Delp to suicide two weeks ago. AP reports that current members of the band were not invited to Delp's funeral, while early members did attend. In a tearful phone call to the news service on Friday (March 23), founder Tom Scholz -- who opposed the band's early members in a legal battle that transpired in the 1980s -- said he had been told only immediate family members would be allowed to go to the funeral. Boston have canceled their summer plans, although Scholz expressed a desire for the band to be a part of a public memorial service that Delp's family has said is in the works. ...

Former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch will release his debut book, titled "Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Speed and Lived to Tell the Tale," July 1. ... Björk has booked several U.S. and Canadian gigs for May in support of her forthcoming album Volta. The Icelandic songstress hits New York for three shows (May 2, 5 and 8), followed by performances in Chicago (May 12); Morrison, Colorado (May 15); Mountain View, California (May 19); and Vancouver, British Columbia (May 23). ... Eric Clapton has corralled some of the world's greatest guitarists to play his second Crossroads Guitar Festival, which will take place July 28 at Toyota Park in Chicago. Among the artists scheduled to participate alongside Clapton are John Mayer, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin, Willie Nelson, Los Lobos, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Jimmie Vaughan and Steve Winwood. All the profits from the show will benefit the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a rehab facility founded by Clapton which was in the news recently when Britney Spears quickly checked in and out for treatment. ...

Six months after lead singer Justin Hawkins quit the group, the Darkness have confirmed that they are breaking and will re-form under a new name. In a note on the band's site, bassist Richie Edwards wrote, "I can absolutely confirm here and now that we will NOT be carrying on under the name 'The Darkness.' We are literally days away from announcing our new name, when this is done we will be launching our new Web site and we sincerely hope that you guys will be paying it a visit!" The reconfigured group is in the midst of finishing a new album. ... As part of its ongoing attempt to root out illegal file trading on college campuses, the Recording Industry Association of America recently sent out 36 letters targeting students at the University of Nebraska in which they give the alleged infringers a chance to pay up before being sued. Only this time, the RIAA can't figure out who the students are because the university's computer system was unintentionally designed to automatically change a computer's IP address each time the machine is turned off, according to the Omaha World-Herald. So far, the RIAA has only been able to track down nine of the students, and the trade organization representing the major record labels has slammed the university for not keeping records for more than a month. After receiving more than 1,000 cease-and-desist letters from the RIAA during the current school year -- more than all but two other U.S. universities -- the university is asking to be reimbursed $11 for each warning letter it processes. The RIAA has refused the request.