Dance News

While, in recent weeks, my dance music column might have been lacking in content for fans of hip-hop, the amount of headlines the genre has generated this month makes it the overwhelmingly hot topic so let's run with it. Unfortunately, it's been in the news for all the wrong reasons!

Rap musicians Wyclef Jean, 50 Cent, Timbaland and R&B star Mary J. Blige are alleged to have obtained either steroids or human growth hormone within the last three years, according to 'The New York Times'. The newspaper cited medical records and testimony from numerous witnesses stating that Blige, Fiddy and others received shipments of prescribed human growth hormone, occasionally using fictitious names. The frequently shirtless 50 Cent reportedly had HGH delivered to his mansion in Connecticut under the name "Michael Jordan". Spokespeople for all but Blige either refused to comment or could not be contacted, while she alone denied all allegations. Fortunately for the musicians, according to law enforcement officials, no laws were breached by their possible involvement. Instead, the investigation centers on anti-aging clinics, doctors and pharmacists who prescribed the drugs.

Former Fugees front man Wyclef Jean was recently hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit. The Grammy award-winning MC, along with Sony/BMG, is being sued by New York rapper MC Blahz who claims that Wyclef unlawfully sampled the 1996 hit song Danger by his group Blahzay Blahzay.

Meanwhile, troubled rapper, DMX, has been ordered to shell out a massive $1.5million for defaming the mother of his child, Monique Wayne, after he claimed she raped him. The lawsuit stems from an interview published in Sister 2 Sister magazine, in which DMX asserted that Wayne sexually assaulted him in 2003 which resulted in her falling pregnant. "DNA says it is [my child]. I don't know. If I did [have sex with her] I would remember," the article quotes him as saying. He continued to say "it ain't like she's a pretty girl." Wayne gave birth and won a paternity suit in 2004. She stood up against the rapper's rude and false comments and filed a $6 million lawsuit in 2006.

If you believed Snoop Dogg was overdoing it when he launched a range of dog toys and apparel, that's nothing compared to his latest plans. In a recent interview with 'Pro Hip Hop', Snoop disclosed that in 2008 he wants to bring out a new clothing line called 'Rich and Infamous,' a brand of pet-care products and a chain of grocery stores named 'Snoopermarkets.' If that isn't commitment enough, he also told MTV News that he's bored with hip hop and wants to try his hand at rock music. In particular, Madonna, Bono and Mick Jagger are on his wishlist to collaborate with. Snoop, who acquired the nickname "Snoopy" from his mother when he was young and liked watching Peanuts cartoons, has been nominated for nine Grammy awards.

The mystery surrounding the fate of Fabriclive.37, might have been solved. A while back the label asked Justice to put together a mix compilation for their popular Fabric Live series. They would have been following in the footsteps of the first-class Cut Copy and Spank Rock mixes. The pair, known as Justice, recently revealed during an interview that the Fabric folks, who claimed the release "has unfortunately slipped from our schedule for the moment," actually rejected the mix. "We didn't want to do just another boring mix, so we put together a selection of tunes we absolutely love, mainly weird disco tracks and French novelty acts. But Fabric turned it down. They weren't ready for something like this. Maybe we'll put the mix out ourselves. People should really hear it, they'd be surprised." And that they did, in the form of a free holiday treat entitled Justice Xmas Mix which is all over cyberspace if you're curious to hear what it sounds like.

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Email Terry Goldfain at gold@chariot.net.au