Bow Wow talks Rappers in Movies

By The Film Critic
JR Staff Writer

At the age of 24, Bow Wow is a veteran in the entertainment industry. His career began in 2000, when he was signed to Jermaine Dupri's record label, So So Def Recordings. But, over the years, Bow Wow has expanded into other ventures.

Bow Wow was the head of his own label in 2005, but his primary role outside of rapping is acting. Early in his career, Bow Wow landed several movie roles. Following each role, Bow Wow looks for a new challenge.

When film studios first began casting rappers, they had them playing the typical rapper roles. Ice Cube was among the first rappers to ever successfully transition into serious acting. LL Cool J has also had a very successful acting career.

In a discussion about the movies, Bow Wow said he hates the rapper roles. He said each time he accepts a movie role, he is accepting a challenge. Bow Wow does not want to play the typical rapper in movies, instead he wants to play the role of a serious character. During the discussion, Bow Wow admitted he was asked about playing in Big Momma's House 3, but he turned it down.

Read more...

Jermaine Dupri sued for Unpaid Child Support

By Mr. Hollywood
JR Staff Writer

As he works to put So So Def Recordings back on top of the hip hop world, Jermaine Dupri will be facing a minor set back. The popular producer will be spending some time in court. Recently, he was sued by the mother of one of his children over unpaid child support.

Jermaine Dupri had a recent affair with a woman named Sarai Jones, which resulted in a child. Following a recent paternity test, it was revealed that Dupri was the father. Dupri has been ordered, by court, to pay a total of $2,500 a month.

In March of this year, Jermaine Dupri was forced by the court to pay an additional $7,500 a month to Jones. Apparently, Dupri has yet to make a payment, of any kind, to Jones. Recently, she took the father of her child to court for her money.

Jones' attorney, Randy Kessler, said Jones hopes she and Dupri "can work together to co-parent their beautiful baby girl." The girl is seven months old. Last week, Jermaine Dupri was in headlines after almost losing his Atlanta home to foreclosure.

Read more...

The-Dream makes retirement Plans

Late in 2007, The-Dream found his way in the game with his hit single, "Shawty Is a 10." The song captured the heart of urban radio and the people could not get enough of The-Dream. It turned out, he had been around for years. Some of the more memorable R&B tracks of the 2007-2008 period were written by The-Dream.

Quickly, The-Dream became one of the more popular men in the R&B game. Soon, he found himself as the top option for rappers wanting someone to sing their hooks. Initially, Dream had hoped to release his sophomore album in 2008. But, label politics led to his album being pushed back to 2009. Upon its release, the album was extremely successful.

After Def Jam decided to remove Jermaine Dupri from the head of their Island division, they moved The-Dream into the position. To focus on the new promotion, The-Dream has decided to retire. He will continue his Love albums. His final album will be Love King and following the release of the album, he will focus solely on his new job. Currently, Dream is rising the charts, but this is his final outing.

Read more...

Janet Jackson finds a New Love

Last summer, Janet Jackson dealt with one of the lowest points of her life. Her slide went into high speed when Michael Jackson, her older brother, died. At the time, she was developing a bond with filmmaker Tyler Perry as she was filming Why Did I Get Married, Too? She had to leave immediately to be with her family while they represented Michael.

For months, her relationship with record executive, Jermaine Dupri, had been falling to pieces. Because of his job, Dupri was often on the road, working. Jackson did not have much of an income as she had been dropped from Def Jam. Jermaine remained at the label, which caused strain. But, when he, too, was fired, the strain increased.

Finally back at home, Janet Jackson found herself busy when she received the news that Michael had died. With their relationship on the rocks and the distance killing them, Janet Jackson decided to break up with her longtime boyfriend, Jermaine Dupri. Both Jackson and Dupri insist that they have remained friends. However, following her time with Dupri, Janet Jackson began making appearances with Tyler Perry. A few months ago, JR posed the question if Janet Jackson had moved on with Perry.

Janet Jackson frequently mentioned that Tyler Perry was there for her with all that she had gone through last summer and Tyler Perry began speaking of a new woman in his life. He said that he would not reveal who the woman was, but he hinted at Janet Jackson. Despite all of the hints, no official announcement was made and the rumors eventually blew over. Still, Janet Jackson has remained great friends with the wealthy Tyler Perry and when her new boyfriend was revealed to be rich, many thought she was ready to open up about her relationship with Perry. Instead, she is with an Arabian man.

It is said that Janet Jackson has been dating an international businessman from Saudi Arabia for the past few months. While Perry may have been there for Janet Jackson when she needed someone the most, he was only there as a friend. The question of Tyler Perry and his relationship status still often comes up, but he no longer makes any hints of who his "special woman" is. There is a possibility that he picked up the wrong vibe from Janet Jackson during their time together during the filming, the death of Michael, and when she broke things off with Jermaine Dupri.

Read more...

Jermaine Dupri is upset with Usher

Had it not been for Jermaine Dupri, Usher may not have ended up being the artist that he is today. Early in his career, Usher turned to Jermaine Dupri for his first hits. After working with Dupri, Usher worked with many other producers. While he continued to make hits, longtime Usher fans knew it was not the same.

In 2004, for his Confessions album, Usher reunited with Dupri and ended up with the highest-selling album of the year. Not only did the album end up going diamond, but it also was hailed as one of the best albums of all-time. When speaking on the success of that album, Usher never hesitated to credit Jermaine Dupri.

However, on his last two albums, Usher has not worked with his longtime collaborators. Currently, Usher is on a run with his new music and Jermaine Dupri was not speaking to congradulate him. Instead, he has some choice words for him. In the past, he was used to receiving props from Usher regardless.

Now, it seems that Usher has not mentioned Jermaine Dupri when speaking of the current success of his latest album, Raymond v. Raymond. Because of this, Dupri has referred to Usher as being both disrespectful and ungrateful. He has disrespected Jermaine Dupri because he has yet to mention all that he has done for him over the years. Due to this same reason, he feels that Usher does not appreciate all that Jermaine Dupri has gone through. A lot of the things that he did he did because he wanted to as opposed to having to.

Read more...

Janet Jackson reunites with Jermanie Dupri for New Song

Last summer, while she was dealing with the death of her older brother, Michael, Janet Jackson revealed that she was no longer with Jermaine Dupri. They had been together for nearly ten years, but they were hardly seeing each other. Not wanting to deal with the long distance relationship, Janet decided to end the relationship.

Because she was needed by her family, there was already a major strain on the relationship. They both decided that it would be best to move on. Despite no longer being in a romantic relationship, Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri remained good friends. For her next album, she still recruited him for production.

Not being in a relationship with Janet Jackson has not stopped Jermaine Dupri from being a great producer. As previously reported, Janet Jackson is going to sing on the soundtrack of her new film, Why Did I Get Married, Too? Her song, "Nothin'," was produced by her ex-lover, Dupri. The production of the song required that they spend a little time together.

Read more...