Celebrity News

RIP ..BIZ MARKIE DEAD AT 57

Rapper Biz Markie — most famous for his iconic hit “Just a Friend” — has died after a series of complications from diabetes that he’s been fighting for more than a year

A family source tells us Biz passed away in a Baltimore hospital at 6:25 PM Friday night. We’re told his wife, Tara Hall, held his hand as he took his last breath … and the nursing staff was there to support his family, telling them how strong he was through his fight.

A rep for Biz tells days “We are grateful for the many calls and prayers of support that we have received during this difficult time. Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years. He leaves behind a wife, many family members and close friends who will miss his vibrant personality, constant jokes and frequent banter.”

Lil Baby Surprises George Floyd’s Daughter With Amazing Birthday Party

helped throw a surprise birthday party for George Floyd’s daughter, Gianna.

On Wednesday (December 16), the 26-year-old rapper put together a b-day bash for the 7-year-old in Atlanta. “RIP George Floyd. Happy B Day Gianna from ‘The Bigger Picture,’” the musician captioned one of several videos from the event, which was festooned with colorful balloons, decorations, and a buffet of food and sweets. Former NBA stars Shaquille O’Neal and Stephen Jackson, who was a close friend of George, also attended the party.

The party was hosted at a house in Lil Baby’s hometown where salon stations, balloon displays, and a massive birthday poster were all arranged in honor of Gianna, who wore the sweetest smile on her face in a photo alongside the “Emotionally Scarred” artist.

“L.o.l Surprise Birthday Party ? Thank you so much @lilbaby_1 for coming and help me celebrate my 7th Birthday ????” the birthday girl captioned a photo of her posing with the rapper and her mother, Roxie Washington.

Herpes Aint Stopping Shit…Usher & GF Jenn Goicoechea Welcome Baby Girl Sovereign Bo

Usher and his girlfriend, Jenn Goicoechea, have welcomed a baby girl; they’ve chosen to name Sovereign Bo.

“We are feeling blessed and full of love with the arrival of our beautiful baby girl, Sovereign Bo Raymond,” the singer wrote on Instagram. ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ by Stevie Wonder on repeat.”

Usher is already father to Naviyd Ely, 11, and Usher V (a.k.a. Cinco), 12, who he shares with ex-wife Tameka Foster.

“Usher and Jenn are overjoyed, and so is the whole family, including Sovereign’s big brothers. Everyone is so happy and excited,” a source told PEOPLE.

During an appearance on The Late Late Show, Usher said that he was a bit stumped for girls names.

If it’s a girl, I don’t think that Usher would flow well,” he said. “To be perfectly honest, I’m trying to figure out which way to go. I got a few names in line, but maybe you can help me — give me some suggestions.”

I’ve had a few [ideas]. Just been trying to get down to maybe a middle name. My second son has a middle name; Usher does not have a middle name. … I’ve been motivated by where we are in life. Something maybe relevant to this time?”

WORD ON THE CURB…TYLER PERRY IS OFFICIALLY A BILLIONAIRE

Tyler Perry‘s got something else to take ownership of … he’s now a billionaire!!!

Tyler’s net worth just jumped and made him the newest official member of the 3-comma club, according to a new Forbes report detailing his rise from being “poor as hell” to rich and powerful.

The numbers are in … here’s a breakdown of how Forbes is calculating Tyler’s milestone net worth:

— $320 million for his entire library of movies, TV shows, plays, etc., as he owns 100% of the content he’s created

— $300 million in cash and investments

— $280 million for Tyler Perry Studios, which sits on 330 acres in Georgia

— $60 million for his equity stake in BET+, the streaming service that debuted last year.

— $40 million in homes and toys

Add it all up … and that’s a cool $1 billion. Not bad for a guy who once slept in his car.

Harvey Levin interviewed Tyler back in 2017 for the show, “OBJECTified,” and Perry explained how he believed in betting on himself and why he relishes commercial success in addition to artistic success

CIARA & RUSSELL WILSON. NEW BABY BOY FOR THE WIN!!!

Ciara and Russell Wilson just made sure they will NOT raise a loser … ’cause their new baby boy’s name is literally Win!!!

That’s right … the singer and superstar NFL quarterback hubby announced Friday they welcomed their new baby boy and revealed his name is Win Harrison Wilson. The singer posted a touching video on Instagram as she sang the baby boy happy birthday while cradling him in her arms moments after giving birth. Win, born Thursday, weighed in at 8 lbs., 1 oz.

No doubt the couple was ecstatic about welcoming their second child together — Ciara’s third overall — but it was an even special moment Russell soaked up considering he feared not being present for his son’s birth.

The Seattle Seahawks QB had feared COVID-19 restrictions would keep him out of the delivery room. But, that apparently wasn’t the case … ’cause dude was in there with camera phone in hand enjoying the hell out of a memorable experience.

Goes without saying … the kid’s gonna have a lot of pressure living up to his name. But, with superstar genes in his bloodline, winning at life should come easy for Win.

DR. DRE WIFE FILES FOR DIVORCE

Dr. Dre and his wife of 24 years are ending their marriage … she’s filed for divorce.

Nicole Young filed the paperwork Monday, citing the usual irreconcilable differences as the reason for her split from the hip-hop mogul.

Dre married Nicole on May 25, 1996, and they have 2 adult children together — a son named Truice and a daughter named Truly — so they won’t have to deal with child support.

Sources connected to Nicole say there is no prenup. Dre’s net worth, according to Forbes, is estimated at $800 million.

Nicole is also seeking spousal support.

She was formerly married to NBA player, Sedale Threatt. Young works as a lawyer and is represented in the divorce by a high-powered celeb attorney, Samantha Spector.

RECEIPTS! Saucy No Sauce’ Santana And His “Former Manager” Allegedly Scammed TS Artist

Chileeee ‘Saucy No Sauce’ “former” manager Terik Jackson allegedly out here scamming the girls for their coins hunni.

Terik Jackson

Saucy No Sauce

Before I drop these receipts and these tea’s, let me just give y’all a backdrop of what’s going on and I’ll add the teas as I go.

A TS by the name of Aaliyah Fontaine had made a remix to the don’t rush song originally made by Young T & Bugsey featuring Headie One. Well, Aaliyah tagged different labels, artists, and managers as an aspiring artist would do. One of those managers she tagged was Terik Jackson, who is known to be the manager of ‘Saucy No Sauce’ ass Santana…Well, Terik Jackson responded to Aaliyah and told her that she should grab a feature with ‘Saucy No Sauce’ ass… (look at the receipts below:)

Aaliyah Fontaine

After Terik responded to Aaliyah, she said he gave her his number, and they started talking about a contract and the feature with ‘Saucy No Sauce’ would be $1,500 with a $500 deposit. Aaliyah said she agreed and hustled up $500 and sent it to Terik via cash app after her people verified and looked over the contract.

Aaliyah said Terik wanted her to come to Atlanta and help promote the song, because ‘Saucy No Sauce’ had a music video coming out with celebrity hairstylist Cliff Vmir and he was also going to be in a video with the City Girls. She said Terik wanted to rush the project, so he could put her in front of the clout and help get the song views up…Chileeee!

Aaliyah said she and Terik talked for a few days and then he went missing. She said she sent Terik a text and called him about the beat he said he would send her so she could start writing her part of the song. (Read the messages below):

Aaliyah said after all of the back and forth with Terik and not hearing anything back from him, she said her cousin sent her a screenshot of ‘Saucy No Sauce’ Santana IG story saying that if anybody wanted to do any features with him, they needed to come directly to him. So, Aaliyah said she reached out to him and asked him if he had any knowledge of what was going on between her and Terik. ‘Saucy No Sauce’ responded that he had no knowledge of the contract, any deposits, or anything.

‘Saucy No Sauce’ told Aaliyah that he had fired Terik, and apologized about everything. He also told her that he doesn’t ask for features…so Aaliyah felt like he was coming for her because she didn’t ask for a feature either. And to keep it a band, she asked for a manager…let’s be clear.

After Aaliyah sent ‘Saucy No Sauce’ a copy of the contract he told her that it would be $1,500 for a feature with half of the deposit upfront. The remaining would be paid once he does his part of the song, send it back, and it’s agreed upon. ‘Saucy No Sauce’ told Aaliyah that there was no need for a contract and that she could just pay through a cash app.

Aaliyah said she called Terik, he answers the phone while arguing with ‘Saucy No Santana’ mother and claims that she now has a little bit of money, and want to be his manager. Terik explained to Aaliyah that ‘Saucy No Sauce’ had signed a 3-year deal with him, and that he couldn’t just be fired and was not able to release any music without his consent. Chilllleeeeeee

Terik told Aaliyah that he was allowed to make deals and make business moves on ‘Saucy No Sauce’ behalf because he was his manager. Soo, Aaliyah said she felt like she was being played by ‘Saucy No Sauce’ because even if she did send the money to him, he wouldn’t have been able to release the song unless Terik gave him the okay to do so. (Look at the receipts below)

Still, till this day, Aaliyah hasn’t heard from Terik Jackson about her coinsss neither has she and ‘Saucy No Santana’ been on a song together.

Aaliyah said at this point, all she wants is her money back.

Russell Simmons Denies Sexual Assault Claims Made In HBO Documentary

Russell Simmons sat down for an interview with The Breakfast Club, where he once again denied allegations that he raped and sexually assaulted more than two dozen women.

The allegations resurfaced following the recent release of the HBO Max documentary, On The Record.

Several of his alleged victims detailed their eerily similar experiences with the former music mogul — but Simmons says he is only guilty of being a player.

I have not watched it, but I’m aware,” Simmons told Charlamagne Tha God. “I know what I’m guilty of. And I’ve been unconscious, as a playboy, and today the title is appropriate of womanizer. So I’m guilty of that.”

Simmons also added that he was disappointed to hear that Oprah Winfrey walked away from the doc.

“Enter Queen Oprah, who herself is an investigative journalist,” Simmons added. “And I said, ‘It’s absolutely no way she’s gonna go forward when I present her with 30 witnesses, or so, who came forward after they saw their friends and children and parishioners on television.’ And so I felt very confident she’d walk away. She walked away, and she did say that the stories had inconsistencies.”

Russell Simmons’ Accusers Speak Out: ‘That Night Completely Shattered Me’

On the Record, the documentary premiering May 27 on HBO Max, shares the stories of women who say music mogul Russell Simmons preyed on them during his reign overseeing Def Jam Recordings. Three of those women opened up to PEOPLE in the June 1 issue

Young and Ambitious

As a young executive at Def Jam, Russell Simmons’ era-defining urban-music label, Drew Dixon spent two years working with the mogul to create some of the biggest hip-hop songs of the ’90s. She hoped to blaze a trail for the fledgling genre as well as for women executives in music. But she says she endured relentless harassment from Simmons, which she claims ultimately led to a violent sexual assault in his apartment in 1995. “This was my dream job,” says Dixon. “I was reporting to literally the king of hip-hop. I didn’t want to blow it.” But, she adds, “I didn’t want to be a rape victim.”

Breaking Their Silence

In 2017 Dixon and several other women—including former Def Jam executive assistant Sil Lai Abrams and early hip-hop artist Sheri Sher—spoke out to say Simmons sexually assaulted them. Now they’re detailing their painful claims in the new documentary On the Record on HBO Max on May 27. In all, at least 18 women have accused Simmons, who has vehemently denied the allegations, of assault and harassment. There have been no criminal charges against the executive, 62, who stepped down from Def Jam and his other companies in November 2017, though he is fighting a civil lawsuit from an anonymous accuser in California. He did not respond to People’s request for comment for this story.

Dixon left Def Jam the year of her alleged assault, but for decades, hearing the hits she helped develop there, like Method Man and Mary J. Blige’s 1995 duet “You’re All I Need,” filled her with fear. Inspired by Harvey Weinstein’s accusers and the #MeToo movement, she decided to finally come forward. Now she, Abrams and Hines hope to empower other black women who have survived sexual assault by telling their stories.

Drew Dixon, 49, Former Director of A&R at Def Jam Records, 1994-1995

“In college I made a vision board. I had pictures cut out from The Source of some of the artists I loved and a picture of Russell Simmons as the embodiment of the kind of career I envisioned for myself. I met him when I was an intern at Warner Bros. Records. He would see me around and ask me my opinion about music. I was so grateful to him giving me the opportunity when a job opened up. When I worked at Def Jam there wasn’t even a Grammy category for rap music. I loved him for creating that space for us. 

He wasn’t just a womanizer, he called himself a “modelizer.” I wasn’t a model. It was very clear from the day I met him that my ambition was to be a rap record executive. Which is why it was so confusing to me when he started to cross that line. It started out just verbal. Then it escalated. He pulled me into a closet and tried to kiss me. There was no human resources department so I tried to manage it. I was trying to buy time to do my job. I just didn’t understand the degree of danger.”

The night it happened Russell knew exactly what to say: ‘I want you to hear this demo. You’re going to love it.’ He had an office in the same building where he lives. When we got into the apartment, he went a different direction and he’s telling me where to get the demo. I found myself in his bedroom. I was looking for the CD but there was nothing in the CD player. Then he grabbed me. He showed up from nowhere. He was naked and he was fighting me. I resisted in every way that a person can resist. I was like ‘Please, I’m begging you.’ He didn’t care. It’s almost like the room went black. I called my OB-GYN the next day. I told a few friends. We talked about calling the police but that I would just become known as the woman who was raped by Russell Simmons. I had come so far. I didn’t want this to be my legacy. I have done a lot of work in therapy. Now that I’m free of having to accommodate this secret, my vitality is back.

Sheri Sher, 59, Former Member of Early ’80s Hip-Hop Group Mercedes Ladies

“My friend Simone worked for the radio station KTU 92. One night she called and said she was going to do an interview with rapper Kurtis Blow. When we got there it was Kurtis and Russell there. I hadn’t seen Russell in almost a year. He played an integral part at one point in my life. He used to be up at the club Disco Fever and I’d told him I had a group, Mercedes Ladies, and he was like ‘Yeah, I heard of you.’ I was like, ‘Would you manage us?’ I looked up to Russell. We recorded a song, but he decided to pull us off of it. We were so hurt. “

Sheri Sher

“That night when I saw him again he said to me, ‘I know I owe you girls an apology about the record deal.’ Then he was like, ‘While she interviews him, come.’ He took me around the corner to his new office. He was showing me around and we were talking. He said, ‘You should have a seat there on the couch.’ Next thing I know he was on me. I was in total shock. Afterwards I ran straight back to my friend. She was begging me to call my mom and the police. In the Bronx, Russell was known as God to the hood. And I never heard of nobody else he did this to. No one would believe me. I just tried to block it out of my head. I made the choice not to come out with it until 2017. I feel that coming forward was healing. Russell victimized me, but I’m a victor.”

Sil Lai Abrams, 49, Former Model and Def Jam Executive Assistant, 1992

“When we first connected and went on a date it was probably 1990. It was a late lunch at a sushi restaurant, the first time I had sushi, which is why I remember it. He was very charming, very funny. definitely self-assured. We spent time together, but it was nothing serious. More than anything it was based on friendship. 

When the assault occurred, our physical relationship had ended. We met up again in 1994 and he made a pass at me and I told him I had a boyfriend. I think my exact words were, “It’s not that kind of party.” He held my hand, looked me direct in the eye and said, ‘I would never take anything from you. I will respect you and we will be friends forever.’ So I believed him.”

Sil Lai Abrams

“That same day we were hanging out, I was drinking, he was not. Later that night I asked if he’d take me to my girlfriend’s home that I was staying at. He took me back to his place. When it happened, I tried to fight him off. It didn’t work. I was too drunk. I weighed 112 lbs. The next morning, I called and confronted him and he downplayed it, said nothing happened, and that ‘it’s just the post-alcohol blues.’ I told him, ‘When I’m dead, I hope you know you killed me.’ [Abrams, then a young mom, says she attempted suicide that morning by swallowing pills and later went to the hospital.] I had $30 to my name, he had $30 million. I didn’t have a chance in hell to go up against him. I got sober, left the industry and spent a lot of time in recovery.”

HBO Max Documentary On the Record Premieres May 27

“It was a labor of love and I want the world to fall in love with these women,” says On The Record executive producer Amy Ziering. “It’s just staggering, their intellectual firepower, their compassion and their grace under duress.” Adds executive producer Kirby Dick. “We were filming for more than two years. The hope is for audiences to hear these stories, hear these insights and walk away with a different understanding around this issue.”

LITTLE RICHARD ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LEGEND LAID TO REST

Little Richard‘s family, friends and former band members gathered for the icon’s graveside funeral — a surprisingly low-key and private service for the legendary showman.

Little Richard, or Richard Wayne Penniman to those close to him, was buried Wednesday at the Oakwood University Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama.

The trailblazing rock ‘n’ roll star’s niece, opera singer Brandie Sutton, sang during his service. Dr. Carlton P. Byrd delivered a eulogy, and Richard’s family spokesman David Person gave some closing remarks before he was laid to rest.

As we reported … Little Richard died earlier this monthat his Tennessee home, surrounded by his brother, sister and son. His bass guitarist, Charles Glenn, told us Richard had been sick for a couple months before he passed.

The singer, of course, is known for his enormous influence over the rock ‘n’ roll genre, with insanely popular hits like “Tutti-Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally.” The Beatles have credited him as an inspiration, and Richard paved the way for acts like James Brown, The Rolling Stones and even Michael Jackson further down the road.

As for his connection to Huntsville, he attended Oakwood University and studied theology on campus after he’d already become a rising music star. He also recorded many of his hits in Alabama.

Little Richard was 87.

RIP