Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Lil Kim Writes About Prison Life

Lil Kim writes about prison life

Behind the Scenes

By Antracia Merrill-Moorings

Her Story: Lil Kim will reflect upon her 10-month federal prison stint in a new tell-all book to be titled “The Price of Loyalty.” According to the Post Chronicle, the rapper and recent “Dancing With the Stars” standout will write about her experience behind bars at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia. She was accused of lying about her former Junior M.A.F.I.A. group member and co-manager’s involvement in a 2001 shooting in Manhattan, N.Y., and was found guilty of perjury. The Brooklyn native was sentenced to a prison term of a year and one day in 2005, but was released in Sept. 2006 after serving only 10 months. The book, according to Kim, is meant to provide inspiration to others, specifically those who are serving time in prison. “It’s about the things I learned and went through,” she said. “You don’t think about things until it happens to you. The book is going to give people who have been in those situations a bright outlook on life.”

Free Festival: Stevie Wonder is scheduled to give a free outdoor concert on the opening night of this year’s Montreal Jazz Festival, to be held from June 30 through July 12. The gig will double as the inaugural performance at the Place des Festival, a new plaza that a press release describes as part of a stillunder- construction public space that “will likewise ensure the future of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal.” Wonder’s se—which will also be viewable on giant screens that will be deployed on other stages throughout the festival site—is one of more than 650 free outdoor concerts set to take place during the multi-day festival. Details for additional free outdoor concerts and activities will be announced June 8, according to organizers.

Behind Bars: It’s official: rapper T.I. will serve his federal prison sentence on weapons charges in Arkansas, according to the Associated Press, and he’ll get credit for 305 days of home detention that he already served—which means his actual time behind bars will likely last only two months. The artist, born Clifford J. Harris Jr., must report to Forrest City’s low-security federal prison by noon on May 26, according to court filings. There, he will join 1,500 other inmates as he serves a year-and-one-day prison sentence after pleading guilty in March to federal weapons charges in Atlanta. Upon his release, T.I. will be on probation for three years. He must also pay a $100,000 fine as part of his sentence. R.D. Weeks, a spokesman for the prison, said T.I. likely would be treated like any other prisoner coming into the facility. “Unless there are custody or security concerns, all incoming inmates are placed in general population,” Weeks told The Associated Press.

Briefly, Variety is reporting that Danny Glover has been cast in the Swedish independent film “Dear Alice.” The story is about four people whose fates intertwine on one day when the decisions they make will have life-changing results. The budget is 21 million Swedish kroner ($2.7 million) and is set to begin shooting next week in the south of Sweden. Other cast members include Swedish actors Stefan Sauk, Tova Novotny, Peter Gardiner and Ulf Brunnberg.… Rapper DMX is a free man again. The trouble- prone rapper was released from the Maricopa County Jail in Arizona last Thursday morning at about 4 a.m. after serving 90 days, the minimum sentence for pleading guilty to the following: cruelty to animals, possession of narcotic drugs, theft and possession of marijuana.

Finally, Actress Vanessa Williams returns to music next month with the release of “The Real Thing,” a collection of classics inspired by jazz and Latin music, particularly the work of Sergio Mendes, who first performed the Stevie Wonder-penned title track.

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