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MUSIC BITS: Jay-Z party busted; Fiasco in GQ; Keys overhauls Web site; another baby Seal; bluesman Lockwood dies; Ciara in ‘Jet.’
*A Manhattan nightclub had to be shut down Wednesday night hours before it was to host a launch party for Jay-Z’s new album, “Kingdom Come.” Tensions grew among angry patrons lined up outside as cops forced everyone to leave the Avalon nightclub in the city’s Chelsea neighborhood. Ongoing problems with the venue’s certificate of occupancy were at the root of the shutdown. Jay-Z was not expected to attend the event.
*Lupe Fiasco has been named one of GQ Magazine's "Men of the Year 2006," receiving the "Breakout" honors on the annual ranking. The Chicago rapper, whose debut album, "Food & Liquor” recently entered Billboard's "Top Rap Albums" chart at No. 1, joins past Men of the Year honorees Leonardo DiCaprio, Jay-Z, Will Ferrell, Al Gore, and the cast of "Jackass."
*The Alicia Keys fan club Web site (www.ALICIAKEYS.com) has received an extreme makeover and now includes a variety of new amenities, including a personal audio blog, the Alicia Keys’ Book Club, all released audio, bonus tracks, videos, behind-the-scenes photos, interviews and unreleased mobile ringtones, voicetones and ringbacks. “I am thrilled to create another avenue to communicate with my unbelievable fans” says Keys. “I encourage fans to participate in the interactive component of this site, as I truly believe that we can grow together and help shape a musical legacy for generations to come”
*Singer Seal and his wife Heidi Klum welcomed a new baby boy to the family. Klum gave birth to 8 lb, 11 oz Johan Riley Fyodor Taiwo Samuel on Wednesday. "To our children, a brother. To our parents, a grandson. To my wife and I, a son. To our family, a blessing," Seal wrote on his Web site (www.seal.com). "He is healthy, beautiful and looks just like his mother." Klum, 33, and Seal, 43, were married in May 2005. They have a 1-year-old son, Henry. Klum's daughter, Leni, 2, is from a previous relationship with Formula One race car manager Flavio Briatore.
*Blues guitarist and singer Robert Lockwood Jr., who took guitar lessons with legendary bluesman Robert Johnson, died Nov. 21 of respiratory failure at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. He was 91. Born in 1915 in Turkey Scratch, Ark., Lockwood moved to Chicago in the 1950s and was a session player on records by such artists as Little Walter, Sunnyland Slim, and Roosevelt Sykes. He branched out from the Delta-style blues to jump blues, jazz and funk. As a solo performer, Lockwood earned Grammy nominations for two albums: 1998's "I Got To Find Me a Woman" and 2000's "Delta Crossroads."
*Ciara is interviewed in the new Dec. 4 issue of Jet magazine, on newsstands today. The singer talks about her new CD “Ciara: The Evolution,” which is due on Dec. 5. “I worked very hard on this,” says the triple-platinum artist. “I can’t wait for the world to hear it.”
