CINCINNATI LIVE

Da Brat arrested after altercation

Da Brat was arrested on felony aggravated assault charges early this morning after allegedly hitting a woman in the face with a bottle at Jermaine Dupri’s Studio 72 club in Atlanta.

The altercation started out as a verbal disagreement but soon escalated to a shoving match. Witnesses say that Da Brat then grabbed a bottle of rum and hit the waitress in the face with it.

The unidentified woman was hospitalized with cuts on her face and above her eye. Da Brat was taken to the Dekalb County Jail and will remain in custody until a hearing.

Knuck If You Buck

A series of brawls broke out during a party on the Harvard University campus on Saturday night after a DJ threw on the Crime Mob song “Knuck If You Buck.”

The altercations occurred at an after party for the annual Harvard Society of Black Scientists and Engineers step show. The event, which took place in the University’s Lowell House dining hall, attracted over 400 students from Harvard as well as Boston University, Boston College, MIT and other schools.

At around 1:00 a.m., when the DJ played “Knuck If You Buck,” Crime Mob’s crunk anthem that has been blamed for inciting violence in the past, a fight broke out on the dance floor.

“That’s a song where everybody goes wild,” said Jarred Watson, a Northeastern University student and party attendee. “The crowd started touching each other and bumping into each other. Then I saw a whole bunch of people screaming, and I saw people fighting.”

The fighting soon spiller out into the Lowell House courtyard while Harvard University Police Department officers tried to quell the situation. Eventually, the HUPD was joined by six state trooper cruisers and several Cambridge police vehicles.

Two men were taken into custody in connection with the brawl, but were later released without charges.

“Knuck if you Buck” caused controversy in January of 2006 when 16 year-old Baron “Deuce” Braswell II was stabbed to death while the song was playing during a party in Fredericksburg, VA.

Jacob cops a plea

Jacob “The Jeweler” Arabov entered a guilty plea on charges of making false statements to investigators in Detroit Federal Court. Jacob was arrested in June of 2006 by federal authorities on charges that he allegedly conspired to launder as much as $270 million in drug profits for the Detroit based Black Mafia Family organization.

Jacob accepted the plea agreement offered by prosecutors, who in turn agreed to drop the more serious charges of money laundering. He is expected to face between 37 and 52 months in federal prison.

Jacob is well known in the hip-hop community as a purveyor of fine jewelry to some of the biggest names in rap. He has been immortalized in lyrics from a slew of top artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Nas and Kanye West.

Project Pat - Don't Call Me No Mo

T.I. released on $3 million dollar bail

T.I. was released on a $3 million dollars bond but must stay in home confinement until his federal trial for possession of machine guns and silencers begin.

Judge Alan Baverman said that T.I. will be restricted to a house in Henry County, Georgia and will be monitored 24 hours a day by a private monitoring service that he must also pay for.

The judge said that T.I. was to have no contact with witnesses or informants associated with the case.

T.I. faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

T.I. couldn't return to his residence since the address was made public by news organizations.

The monitor will search visitors who are on a list pre-approved by the judge.

He is restricted to the home except under limited circumstances, including medical appointments and court appearances. He cannot own any firearms and cannot have contact with any witnesses or informants in the case.

40/40 Club sued

Jay-Z's 40/40 Club has been hit with a lawsuit by a woman who claims she was fired because she was pregnant. The lawsuit was filed in New York County Court claiming that she was fired by managers who said her pregnancy didn't fit the club's "sexy image." The woman seeks an unknown amount in damages.

In May, Jay-Z and the 40/40 Club were hit with a class action lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court. In that lawsuit, a woman accused the club of not paying minimum wage and making waiters and waitresses work for tips only.

Free At Last

Free At Last will arrive in stores next month. The album was executive produced by Jay-Z and 50 Cent and features guest appearances from Paul Wall, Rick Ross, Scarface, Lil' Wayne, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes and others.

Memphis Bleek - Get Ya Money Up

Weezy being sued by Jeweler

Lil Wayne procured a $138,000 diamond ring and a $32,000 necklace from a Miami jeweler, but failed to pay for the items. Consequently, the jeweler Jack Sutton has filed a lawsuit against the New Orleans rapper. According to the suit, Wayne owes $146,000 on the $170,000 purchase he made on October 6th.

Sutton claims that Wayne had agreed to pay monthly installments. He received a check for $24,000 on October 12. The second $24,000 check was postdated for January 18, and according to Sutton a stop payment was issued on that check when he attempted to deposit it.

Sutton was bewildered by the irresponsible behavior on the part of “one of his best customers.”

“He spent a lot of money with me,” he said. “I thought we have a really good relationship. I don't know what happened, unless it's a misunderstanding.'”

Diddy moves in on Ciroc

Diddy has entered into an alliance with the Diageo liquor company and will take over brand management of the liquor brand Ciroc.

Diddy and Sean Combs Enterprises will play the leading role in the brand management of Diageo's premium vodka Ciroc, as part of a multi-year U.S. collaboration.

Diddy will be responsible for the marketing, advertising, public relations, product placement and events promoting the Ciroc brand.

All profits will be split 50/50 in the deal, which could be worth over $100 million for Sean Combs Enterprises.

Diddy revealed that his focus will be on growing the established Ciroc brand first and then he may consider developing his own signature brand.

"The first part is to focus on Ciroc and create a fine spirits empire," Diddy said.

"Once that happens, we will see. What really makes this historical is that I am an African-American and I have teamed up with the world's largest spirits company, Diageo, to reshape how a luxury brand is marketed."

Diddy noted that the vodka trade is worth $3 billion dollars and that the "ultra premium" category featuring spirits like Ciroc is growing faster than any other in the spirits industry.

Diddy praised the distinct manufacturing process of Ciroc, which is made from French grapes as opposed to the normal process of using potatoes.

"Now I don't know about you, but if I had the choice to drink potato grains or French grapes, I would go with the grapes," Diddy quipped.

Jay speaks on Lil Wayne

"It's the new generation of fans and rappers who are gonna judge you the harshest. Do you think it"s fair that you"re compared to every new sensation, like Lil Wayne? I don"t think it"s fair to me, and I don"t think it"s fair to them, with the amount of work that I put in. But it"s human nature. So I gotta do what I"ve been doing. I gotta compete with my work. Not to take anything away from him. I think Lil Wayne is extremely talented. I think he"s one of the most talented ones out there. I mean, even more so how his delivery is than what he says. I don"t think some of the things he says sometimes are the greatest things, but the way he delivers it, that"s part of it. People got to look at that, too. That"s a big, important part of the puzzle. But do I think me and Lil Wayne should be in the same sentence? Me? No. I mean, hopefully one day. He has to accumulate work. Put some classics under his belt."