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TAMYRA GRAY WEDS COLOR ME BADD SINGER:  ‘American Idol’ vet and Sam Watters exchange vows in Capri, Italy.

      *Tamyra Gray, a finalist on the first season of “American Idol,” tied the knot last weekend to former Color Me Badd member Sam Watters during a ceremony in Capri, Italy.

      According to People magazine, the couple dated for two years before Watters popped the question last Valentine's Day with an antique diamond engagement ring in a platinum setting.

      About 45 guests attended the wedding, which took place on a cliff
overlooking the ocean.  After the ceremony, "They walked through the city
and townspeople were opening their windows and cheering for them," Gray's
manager, Lisa Braudé, tells People.

       After a successful 1990s run with Color Me Badd, which scored hits
with “I Wanna Sex You Up” and “"I Adore Mi Amor,” Watters, 36, is now a
songwriter and producer with partner Louis Biancaniello. He co-wrote Jessica
Simpson’s current single “A Public Affair” and has also worked with Celine
Dion and Kelly Clarkson.
      
       Since Gray’s 2002 run on “American Idol,” the 27-year-old has segued
into acting with a recurring role on Boston Public in 2003, a starring role
in the 2005 indie film “The Gospel” and a guest role as a waitress on NBC's
Las Vegas in March. In 2004 she released the album, “The Dreamer,” which
features several songs co-written, produced and arranged by Watters.

       The newlyweds are currently honeymooning in Italy.

ANOTHER ‘LOST’ STAR ARRESTED FOR TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS: Akinnuoye-Agbaje taken in for disobeying cop and driving without a license.

      *“Lost” star Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who was first introduced to
audiences as inmate Simon Adebisi in the HBO series “Oz,”  was back in
familiar territory Saturday after being arrested and briefly detained in
Waikiki on traffic violations.

      The actor, 39, was taken into custody early Saturday for disobeying
a police officer and driving without a license on the Hawaiian island, where
he is currently filming the upcoming season of “Lost.”

      The London-born actor of Nigerian parentage, who plays Mr. Eko on
the ABC drama, posted $500 bail and was released after spending a little
more than six hours in jail, police said. He is scheduled to appear in
district court Sept. 26.

       In December, his “Lost” co-stars Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia
Watros were also arrested on the island for traffic violations. Both were
arrested for drunken driving in separate incidents that occurred within 15
minutes of each other. Both pleaded guilty. 

50 CENT FINDS A NEW TARGET: Rapper takes lyrical aim at Diddy, Jada, Nas and Ja Rule on new mixtape.

      *Looks like 50 Cent has grown tired of his beef with the Game and
has turned his entire G-Unit arsenal toward Sean “Diddy” Combs.

      In the leaked track “Hip-Hop,” which uses the beat for Dead Prez’s
song of the same name, the half dollar suggests that Diddy has always known
who shot the Notorious B.I.G., but is too afraid to come forward.

       "Who shot Biggie Smalls?/ [If] we don't get them, they gonna kill us
all," 50 raps, according to MTV.com. "Man, Puffy know who hit that n***a
man, that n***a's soft/ He's scared them boys from the west side gonna break
him off."

       The rapper concludes: "I guess this means I won't be invited to
[Diddy's] White Parties in the Hamptons/ I don't give a f***, I don't wanna
hang out with your punk a**, no way."

 The song is featured on a new mixtape released Tuesday from 50 and
DJ Whoo Kid called “Hip-Hop Is Dead: G-Unit Radio Part 22.” The title takes
a swipe at Nas, whose upcoming album is also titled “Hip-Hop Is Dead.”

        Fifty’s 17-track mixtape also includes "Get Down," which features
Tony Yayo and Hot Rod and makes fun of Diddy’s endorsement of the skin-care
product Proactiv. 50 suggests it has gotten in the way of releasing former
Bad Boy artist Mase so that he can sign with G-Unit: “You probably heard
Mase tried to join the team/ 'Cause Puff was too busy trying to sell pimple
cream ... Next he'll sell Maybelline/ Or dance next to [Yung] Joc, trying to
get hot."
      

CONDI RICE COMPARES IRAQ WAR TO CIVIL WAR: Sec of State says U.S. invasion is like North battling South to end slavery.

       *Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tells Essence magazine that the
current war in Iraq is comparable to the American Civil War, and slavery may
have lasted longer in the country if the North had never opted to take up
arms against the South.
      
        "I'm sure there are people who thought it was a mistake to fight the
Civil War to its end and to insist that the emancipation of slaves would
hold," Rice said in the new issue of Essence. "I know there were people who
said, 'Why don't we get out of this now, take a peace with the South, but
leave the South with slaves?'"
      
       Elsewhere in the article, Rice addressed criticism leveled against
the Bush administration for its slow response to victims of Hurricane
Katrina.
      
       "I resented the notion that the President of the United States, this
President of the United States, would somehow decide to let people suffer
because they were black," Rice told the magazine. "I found that to be the
most corrosive and outrageous claim that anybody could have made, and it was
wholly and totally irresponsible."

       Asked if she felt personally accountable, Rice said: "The government
did its best. People aren't perfect, and this response was not perfect. You
know, I do foreign policy, I don't run Homeland Security. I don't run FEMA.
I do foreign policy." She added, "I did what I could to coordinate the
international response.”

VILLAGE PEOPLE COP GETS REHAB INSTAD OF JAIL: Victor Willis to dry up at Betty Ford.

      *Victor Edward Willis, the former lead singer of 70s disco
phenomenon the Village People, was sentenced Tuesday to a rehab facility in
lieu of prison after being convicted on a series of drug and traffic
charges.

      According to the San Jose Mercury News, San Mateo County judge Mark
Forcum decided to suspend his three-year prison term in exchange for
treatment and three years' probation. The 55-year-old will first spend 30
days at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, and then head to New Found
Life Residential Treatment Center in Long Beach, Calif. for an additional
six months.

       “Well, we're obviously very pleased,” said Willis' attorney, Mark
Geragos. “Victor obviously understands that he's got a lot of work to do in
terms of getting his addiction problems under control.”
      
       Prosecutor Elaine Tipton called the suspended prison sentence a “last
chance,'” considering over the past 18 years, he's been convicted of eight
different crimes, four of which were felonies.
      
       “If he does not immediately address his substance-abuse problems,
he's going to state prison, no matter who he is, no matter what his degree
of celebrity is,” Tipton said, according to the Mercury News. “If there's
anybody who's had the opportunity to be rehabilitated by now, it's Mr.
Willis.”
      
       Willis was arrested on March 26 during a traffic stop near the 700
block of Airport Boulevard in South San Francisco. He and a passenger were
found with cocaine and drug paraphernalia, according to police reports.
      
       Before that arrest, the Village People cop had been missing since
Oct. 20 after he failed to appear at his sentencing on charges stemming from
a July 11, 2005, arrest in Daly City. During a traffic stop, Willis was
found in possession of 3.23 grams of cocaine and a loaded .45-caliber,
semi-automatic handgun, according to the district attorney's office.

WYCLEF JEAN SAYS PRES. BUSH NEEDS TO SMOKE WEED: Former Fugee goes on reported “drunken tirade” in Vegas.
      
       *Wyclef Jean shared his personal feelings about our President during
a lively set at Mixx in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Las Vegas.
      
       According to New York Post spies, the artist went on a “drunken
tirade,” during which he proclaimed: “President Bush needs to smoke
marijuana . . . [Bleep] Bush!"
      
       With a mike in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other, he
reportedly jumped into the crowd of about 500 people, shouting: “I'm not
Diddy, I don't need no security."
      
       (TMZ.com caught some of this on camera. View it here.

http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=1&pmmsid=1703824

O.J. SIMPSON SUED FOR HIS NAME: Father of Ron Goldman still trying to get
money won in wrongful death suit.

       *The father of murder victim Ron Goldman wants a court to hand over
publicity rights to the name, image and likeness of O.J. Simpson, who has
yet to pay a $33.5 million judgment in a 1997 wrongful death lawsuit.

       The petition, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, asks that
Simpson's "right of publicity" be transferred to help pay off the Goldman
family's portion of the award, estimated at about $20 million, plus
interest, reports the Associated Press.  
      
       "He personally has never paid a dime on the judgment to anyone," Fred
Goldman said. "He has made it very clear over the years that he has no
intention of doing so."
      
       Following Simpson’s acquittal of murder charges in the 1994 slayings
of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, the
families of the deceased won a civil judgment in 1997. Goldman said it would
be "poetic justice" to take away the fame Goldman believes helped O.J.
prevail in the criminal case.  
      
       A hearing on Fred Goldman’s petition was scheduled for Oct. 17. 

BEYONCE BANTER: Jay-Z gives her $1 million Rolls; Paramount fears Beyonce
overkill?; Diana Ross shrine; no more ‘Panther’; what’s really goin’ on with
Daddy?

       *For her 25th birthday, Beyonce reportedly received a $1 million gift
from her boyfriend Jay-Z. According to the New York Post, the Def Jam
president drover her to the Time Warner garage early Tuesday morning and
surprised her with a 1959 Rolls-Royce convertible. A source said Beyonce was
rendered “speechless.”
      
       *The former Destiny Child’s member is far from speechless when it
comes to promoting her new album, “B’Day,” which finally arrived in stores
on Tuesday. She made a whirlwind spin in Japan on the day of the release and
has been a nonstop media presence in the weeks leading up to the big
occasion. The new buzz is that producers behind her upcoming film
“Dreamgirls” are worried that the incessant “B’Day” publicity will cause
audiences to be sick of her by the time the film hits theaters in December.
"Beyonce's oversaturation in the marketplace has thrown a major monkey
wrench in the ‘Dreamgirls’ rollout campaign,” a source told the New York
Daily News. "It will take away from the anticipation of the ‘Dreamgirls’
soundtrack. She has left Paramount with not a lot of options for rolling out
this film."

       However, Paramount released a statement Tuesday refuting the reported
overkill factor. "The buzz created by the album's release has only raised
awareness of the film," a studio spokesman said, noting that Beyoncé's
"Dreamgirls" original tune, "Listen," is also on her new CD. "Paramount and
DreamWorks are nothing but thrilled with Beyoncé," the PR rep said.
Beyonce’s spokesman Alan Nierob added: "I guarantee you that the publicity
campaign for the film is in place, and nothing relating to the publicity for
her solo album has affected that campaign." Beyonce was originally scheduled
to drop her album after the release of “Dreamgirls,” but the date was pushed
forward to tie in the release with her Sept. 4th birthday.
      
       *In “Dreamgirls,” Beyonce plays Deena Jones, the Diana Ross-like lead
singer of a group loosely patterned after the Supremes. The budding actress
said she used the famous Motown diva as inspiration during filming of the
big screen adaptation. “I had my whole trailer filled with pictures of her,”
she said, according to Contact Music. "It was like a shrine. It's something
I thought a lot about. I couldn't help think about the connection. She was
the inspiration as far as the look and her mannerisms. Now I'm loving her
and playing her. And hopefully one day the same thing will happen for me. It
kind of gives you chills to think about it."

      *Beyonce has said that “Dreamgirls” is her best film role so far on
a resume that includes “The Fighting Temptations” and most recently “Pink
Panther” opposite Steve Martin. But Martin will have to shoot the upcoming
sequel without his famous co-star. She told Sky News: "I loved making the
movie but with the new album I am way too busy to fit the second movie in.”
Possible replacements for Bey include former ‘Spice Girl’  Emma Bunton (Baby
Spice).

      *And finally, folks are looking for hidden clues in Beyonce’s
decision to record “B’Day” in complete secrecy, most notably, from her own
father/manager Mathew. The move rekindled earlier rumors that the singer had
given her father the boot as her manager. She tells UK’s Belfast Telegraph
that Daddy is still on the payroll despite rumors to the contrary. "My dad
was never fired. But it took him a while to realize I was getting older,”
she said. “It was when I turned 19, and started saying 'no' to things. It
took him a second to adjust but if we hadn't gone through that phase, then
something would be wrong. …Because I'm so passionate and he's so passionate
... people think that he tells me and I do it but I'm a grown woman and he
respects that. He has his own opinions and when we disagree we disagree and
we go at it. But we always agree eventually. It just took time to figure out
how to get the balance between father and daughter, manager and artist."

PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL SEEKS SUBMISSIONS: Next event to take tlace Feb. 8-19, 2007 in Los Angeles.

       *The Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF), America's largest and
most prestigious black film and arts festival, continues to accept
submissions for their 15th annual signature event taking place February
8-19, 2007 in Los Angeles.
      
       The PAFF is currently accepting submissions of independent features,
shorts, narratives and documentary films and videos made by and/or about
people of African descent. (Filmmaker needn't be of African descent.)
      
       Films should preferably depict positive and realistic images and can
be of any genre ---- drama, comedy, horror, adventure, animation, romance,
science fiction, experimental, etc. PAFF will accept submissions of works in
progress; however, films and videos must be completed no later than December
31, 2006.
      
       Applications in English and French are available via the PAFF website
at www.paff.org or by calling (323) 295-1706.

MUSIC BITS: R. Kelly trial; Vasquez LP; Snoop’s marriage; Detroit legends
honored; Richie LP preview; Yankee’s ‘fraud watch’; Armstrong museum.

       *R. Kelly’s child pornography trial will finally begin opening
arguments on Oct. 13, reports Kendra G. of Chicago’s Power 92. The co-host
on "Trey the Chocolate Jock Morning Jump-off" cites source Metro Networks in
announcing the court date, which had been postponed numerous times in order
to give lawyers more time for discovery. The thug crooner faces multiple
charges for allegedly performing sex acts on an underage girl on videotape.

      *Mario Vasquez, last seen quitting the fourth season of “American
Idol,” will release his self-titled debut album on Sept. 26 via Arista
Records. The set features guest collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Scott
Storch and Ne-Yo, who co-wrote the album’s first single “Gallery.”
Describing the album as "a great collage of music," Vasquez tells
Billboard.com. "It's everything I love -- a bit of R&B, hip-hop, reggaeton
and pop ballads. I feel like people know me as kind of a crooner [or] a soft
singer so I wanted to just remind them [of that]. Ne-Yo wrote a beautiful
song -- [he] gave me a golden ticket."

       *Snoop Dogg tells World Entertainment News Network that he hopes to
live a long, happy life alongside his wife and high school sweetheart,
Shante. After briefly separating in 2004, the Long Beach MC realized just
what he was about to lose and couldn’t go through with his intended divorce.
"I just thought about what I had established with my wife. You gotta really
work at it for it to work. It ain't easy, but I think we're gonna grow old
together."

       *Detroit music artists who helped put the city on the map will be
honored with streets named after them in a star-studded event at Woodbridge
Estates, billed as the largest residential development in Detroit's history.
On Friday, Sept. 8 at 11 a.m., the Four Tops, the Temptations, Martha Reeves
and the Vandellas, the Supremes, the Miracles, the Dramatics and many more
will be honored at a naming ceremony on the grounds of the Estate. Detroit
real estate businessman Herbert J. Strather organized the event, which will
also include remarks from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, city council
members and HUD officials.

       *Lionel Richie fans can sneak a listen to his upcoming album “Coming
Home” in its entirety via Clear Channel Radio’s Online unit
www.clearchannelmusic.com through Friday (Sept. 8). Over 150 Clear Channel
Radio station Web sites will offer the listening preview in advance of the
album release on Tuesday (Sept. 12).
      
       Reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee has set up a “fraud watch”
initiative on his official website in a bid to stop ticket scams, which have
affected a number of his fans in recent months. In South Carolina last
month, a woman claiming to be Daddy Yankee's tour manager took hundreds of
dollars from fans who turned up for a concert that didn’t exist. The artist,
whose real name is Raymond Ayala, has called in officials to investigate
that scam and is now offering fans an email address where they can report
suspected fraud.

       *New York officials are providing $5 million toward the construction
of a visitors' center for the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona. An
additional $4 million for the project will be raised by Queens College,
which runs the city-owned museum on behalf of the City University of New
York. An 8,500-square-foot center offering more space for exhibitions,
concerts and lectures will be erected on an empty lot across the street from
the residence where the jazz legend once lived.

FILM/TV BITS: Okonedo’s ‘World’; ‘Diff’rent Strokes,’ ‘Prison Break’
ratings; Ashanti’s ‘Extinction’; ‘Dry Season’ at Venice;

       *Sophie Okonedo will star opposite Matthew Broderick in “Wonderful
World,” a character drama about a cynical divorcee (Broderick) who starts a
relationship with an African woman (Okonedo). According to Production
Weekly, the movie from writer/director Joshua Goldin is currently in
pre-production.

       *Only 4 million viewers tuned in to see NBC's Labor Day telecast of
"Behind the Camera: the Unauthorized Story of Diff'rent Strokes," which
featured reflections from stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges mixed with a
fictional account of the drama behind the series. By contrast, Monday’s
airing of “Prison Break,” starring Wentworth Miller, finished first with an
average of 9.3 million viewers.

       *Ashanti says she’ll draw on her past demons – literally – for her
role in the upcoming slasher film, “Resident Evil: Extinction.”  She tells
MTV: “I had done a 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' [episode], which was somewhat
similar in the sense that I played a demon and I had to stab someone. There
was blood and everything!" In the third film of the franchise based on the
“Resident Evil” videogame, Milla Jovovich and Mike Epps return as Alice and
cabdriver L.J. respectively, who tour a post-apocalyptic United States in a
school bus. Seeking help where they can get it, the pair picks up Ashanti’s
character Nurse Betty. "Betty drives a really cool ambulance with these huge
spiked-out razorblades on the tires to keep all the undead monsters away,"
the singer/actress said. "Basically she tries to nurse up whoever gets bit."

      *The film "Dry Season," which tells the story of a teen sent by his
grandfather to avenge his father’s murder, became the first African film in
19 years to compete for the top Golden Lion award at the Venice Film
Festival. Director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun had to suspend filming in the civil
war-ravaged Chad when the village where they were working came under fire.
As soon as the rebels left, the director finished the shoot. "It was not
just about making the film," Haroun said. "It was a form of resistance
against barbarism."
      

SPORTS BITS: Gumbel stays put; Abdul-Jabbar sued; Kobe schools Tokyo kids;
Reebok’s new ads.

       *Bryant Gumbel managed to hang on to his new play-by-play gig at the
NFL Network despite saying on his HBO show that Paul Tagliabue should show
his successor as commissioner "where he keeps Gene Upshaw's leash." Incoming
commissioner Roger Goodell said he met with Gumbel last Friday to discuss
his remarks about Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association.
"We had a good discussion. I feel comfortable and he will stay on," said
Goodell, according to AP. Gumbel had addressed his closing remarks on HBO's
"Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" on Aug. 15 to Goodell.
      
       *Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, last seen at the Emmys on stage with the
accounting suits who tally the votes, has been sued by the mother of a
former employee who claims he influenced her “wrongful termination.”  Filed
Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Diana Broda claims the former Los
Angeles Lakers star fired her daughter in December 2005 from his company Ain
Jeem because she was pregnant, reports TMZ.com. Broda, who claims she worked
for a law firm that represented Abdul-Jabbar, says she threatened to file a
lawsuit against his company for firing her daughter. Broda said Kareem and
Ain Jeem retaliated by contacting the law firm where she worked. Broda said
she was fired shortly thereafter. In her lawsuit, Broda claims she was "an
able-bodied individual" before she was booted, but has since been "rendered
sick, sore, lame, disabled and disordered, both internally and externally."
The suit seeks unspecified damages.

      *While basketball’s Team USA was busy working their way toward a
bronze medal at the World Basketball Championship in Japan, Los Angeles
Lakers star Kobe Bryant – who backed out of playing for the squad because of
knee surgery – was also in the country coaching Tokyo school children at a
basketball clinic. Organized by sponsor Nike, the 28-year-old shooting guard
attended the 90-minute clinic with some 170 local children, which marked
the first stop of an eight-day Asian tour that will also take him to Hong
Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and China.

       *Reebok's new "When Did I Know?" global ad campaign features such NFL
athletes as Vince Young (Tennessee Titans) and Steve Smith (Carolina
Panthers) sharing their defining moments. Premiering Sept. 7, each ad
depicts the precise instant when Reebok's top players knew they were
destined for greatness. Other athletes in the campaign include Torry Holt
(St. Louis Rams), DeAngelo Hall (Atlanta Falcons) and Roy Williams (Dallas
Cowboys), who will join Young, Smith and others in the TV ads; and Donovan
McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles), Holt and Hall, among others, in print ads.

UNLIKELY COMBOS: Radiohead goes Crunk; Pat Boone taps R&B.

       *Several tracks from the alt. rock group Radiohead have received a
crunk reworking courtesy of an artist named DJ Gyngyvytus.  His new album
“Skeet Spirit: A Crunk Tribute To Radiohead” includes the hybrids "Fitter,
Hyphier," "The National Headbustaz Anthem," "No Sizzuruprises" and "Talk
Show Hoes," among others.

      *Pat Boone, who rose to fame in the 50s with covers of songs from
African American artists, is releasing a CD that features his spin on
classic R&B songs from Smokey Robinson, Earth Wind & Fire, Joni Sledge, Sam
Moore, KC & The Sunshine Band, The Four Tops, Kool & The Gang, Gerald
Albright, Kool Moe Dee and James Brown.  “This was a labor of love for music
that America has loved for 50 years and a love for the artists who created
it; and a love for the unadulterated fun that rocketed around the
world,” Boone said of his album “Pat Boone R&B Classics,” due in stores
Sept. 19.

EVENT CALENDAR: Kennedy Center to honor Smokey; Powell book signing; Keith David in Nat King Cole tribute; UNCF to honor Aretha.

      *Smokey Robinson is among the five international artists chosen for
recognition this year by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The December 3rd ceremony will also honor film director Stephen Spielberg,
singer Dolly Parton, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and conductor Zubin Mehta.
"This year we honor five extraordinary international artists whose abundant
contributions to their fields are remarkable," Stephen A. Schwarzman, the
Kennedy Center's chairman said Wednesday in announcing this year's honors
recipients. "They have transformed the culture of our country and of the
world." Kennedy Center honorees are recognized for performing arts
contributions to American culture.

      *Kevin Powell will be doing a talk and signing tonight in Los
Angeles for his seventh book, “Someday We’ll All Be Free.” The event will be
held at Book Soup (8818 W. Sunset at Larabee one block east of San Vicente,
across from Tower Records in West Hollywood). Admission is free and the
book, a paperback original, is $12.95. For more information about the event
please call 310-659-3110 or email info@booksoup.com. 

      *Actor Keith David, currently recording an album of jazz, poetry and
popular music, performs “The King and I, A Knight of True Romance” during a
week-long musical tribute to Nat King Cole in New York City.  Performances
began Wednesday and will continue Saturday, Sept. 9 at 8 p.m. and Sunday,
Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd St. – between 5th
and 6th Avenues). David will perform some of the legendary crooner’s
signature classics, including “Mona Lisa,” “Unforgettable,” “Caravan,” and
“Nature Boy.”  Tickets are $30 per person, plus a two-drink minimum.  For
reservations call (212) 206-0440 or for additional information go to
www.metropolitanroom.com. 

      *As previously reported, The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) will
present Aretha Franklin with its prestigious Award of Excellence during its
annual television special, An Evening of Stars. The undisputed “Queen of
Soul,” the first female artist to receive the award, is being recognized for
her longstanding support of the UNCF’s mission to provide deserving students
with access to higher education, as well as for her activism and
philanthropy on behalf of numerous other causes. Previous honorees have been
Lou Rawls (2004), Quincy Jones (2005) and Stevie Wonder (2006).   The
three-hour concert tribute will be taped at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood,
Calif. on Sept. 8 and 9, and will air nationwide in late January 2007.