The Atlanta music scene is reeling over the senseless death of Ashley Jewell. Jewell, known affectionately as “AJ” was involved in a brawl with several men in the parking lot of the “Body Tap” strip club where he was co-owner. He was transported to Piedmont hospital where he subsequently died from severe head injuries.

AJ had received a ton of flack recently after appearing alongside his ex-fiance Kandi Burruss on the 2nd season of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta. When it was revealed on the show that he had 6 kids from 4 other women, he was (more…)

As police continue to look into the details surrounding Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein’s death, it seems the late entertainer reverted back to his past drug using ways in the last hours of his life. Goldstein, 36, was found dead in his New York apartment at 5:20 p.m. on Friday August 28, 2009 after police responded to a response to a 911 call about a man who hadn’t been seen for two days.

According to police reports, Goldstein sent a text message to two friends at 1am on Friday, August 28th concerning his weekly gig at the Palms Hotel’s Rain nightclub in Las Vegas. (The Palms, in tribute to Goldstein, have since blacked out the “P,” “L” and “S” on their sign so that it simply reads “AM.”)

Adam’s two traveling companions called police when he failed to answer his cell phone and neglected to arrive at the airport to catch his departing flight. When the NYPD broke down the door, police found Goldstein dead in bed, with a crack pipe and prescription pills nearby. According to People, a half bag of crack cocaine was also recovered from Goldstein’s apartment. There were no signs of foul play, and an initial autopsy yielded inconclusive results.

Addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky said Saturday that pain medications likely led DJ AM, a former drug addict who had sustained sobriety for 10 years, away from his sober path. “It very slowly and subtly reawakens addiction,” Pinsky said of pain medication in an interview Saturday. “I’m not saying it was inappropriately prescribed, I’m saying he didn’t know the risks.”

Pinsky, host of VH1’s Celebrity Rehab, said he believed pain medication Goldstein took for injuries sustained in last year’s plane crash which required him to go through two skin graft surgeries, reawakened his addiction to drugs. Goldstein had long preached sobriety and openly discussed his earlier addictions to drugs including crack cocaine and Ecstasy.

A medical examiner’s office spokeswoman said Saturday that toxicology tests, expected to take weeks, are needed to determine what killed Goldstein. An autopsy Saturday was inconclusive, said the spokeswoman, Ellen Borakove.

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New details of the death of Jackson, who would have turned 51 this Saturday, emerged yesterday after court documents pertaining to a search of Dr Murray’s Houston offices and storage facilities were made public.

In making a case for the search warrants, police said the Los Angeles Coroner had concluded that Jackson’s death was a homicide in that it was caused by the actions of another. The Coroner said Los Angeles police had asked for no public statements while they were continuing with their investigations. But in asking a Texas judge to approve the search warrants, police believed they would find “evidence of the crime of manslaughter”.

Although Dr Murray has been the primary target of the investigation, the documents released yesterday made it clear investigators were still determining whether Jackson died as the result of a single doctor administering a single combination of drugs or as the result of a long-term pattern of many doctors over-prescribing him drugs.

It is very rare for doctors in the US to be charged in these kinds of cases, but not unprecedented. (Source)

In case you missed it:
A Message From Michael Jackson’s Doctor (Video)

Did Michael Jackson predict his own demise in a song?  ‘Morphine’ from the 1997 album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix is being tossed around online and the question is being asked did the song actually foreshadow his death and reveal his Demerol addiction? The song starts off with the lyrics “He got flat baby/Kick in the back baby/A heart attack baby/I need your body.” But the verse about morphine substitute Demerol is what is creating a ton of buzz, particularly after rumors have surfaced that Michael had been suffering from drug addiction and abuse. Recent reports that Jackson was injected with the same painkiller just before his death also sparks the controversy surrounding the track.

Check out the haunting song and lyrics below: (more…)

Sad news has been traveling around the net this morning that famed author and Atlanta resident, E. Lynn Harris has passed away at the age of 54.  According to The Arkansas Times Harris had been suffering through an undisclosed illness and that his personal assistant had confirmed an unspecified health event:

E. Lynn Harris, the best-selling Arkansas author known for contemporary stories about African-Americans, died today during a West Coast book tour. His personal assistant confirmed an unspecified health event this morning, but said she was awaiting word from the scene before providing specifics.

Harris, a best-seller whose work dealt with black, gay culture and delved into athletics, was a passionate Razorbacks fan. Born in Michigan, Harris grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was the school’s first black cheerleader. He continued to be a diehard Razorback fan. He has taught adjunct courses in the English department, most recently last fall.

Harris’ was on a book tour promoting his 11th novel, “Basketball Jones”, which involves an NBA player and the player’s gay lover. Prior to “Basketball Jones,” Harris penned “Just Too Good To Be True,” a novel detailing the life of Heisman Trophy candidate Brady Manning. Harris’ novel focused on the pressures surrounding Manning and the support system the star athlete leaned on to help him through dark and troubling times.

I’m hoping this is a rumor but it doesn’t look good at this point.  I’ll definitely keep you guys updated.

(Source 1 2 3)

We all knew it wouldn’t be long before a Michael Jackson “Tell-All” was released, now The Sun has revealed that a sensational new book has been rushed out in the wake of Jackson’s death and the author insists “virtually everybody” around him knew he was gay:

Biographer Ian Halperin claims to have tracked down two of the superstar’s alleged male lovers. One, who Jacko was “madly in love” with, met him for liaisons at a grungy motel which was all the debt-ridden star could afford. And one told Halperin: “The very first time he had sex with me he said, ‘The King of Pop’s going to lick your lollipop’. I still laugh thinking about that.”

Halperin makes the bombshell allegations in his book Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, for which he claims to have interviewed many people who told him Jacko was gay. He said: “Virtually everybody has told me. Even those who are his most ardent defenders, people who maintain he is innocent of the molestation charges, insist that he is homosexually inclined.”

He claims the two lovers he traced were a Hollywood waiter and an aspiring actor, “Lawrence”. The actor boasted they met almost every night for three weeks at his Hollywood Hills home in a short but passionate affair. Lawrence added: “He was very shy. But when he started to have sex, he was insatiable.”

Shocker? No. Not really. But couldn’t they have waited a month or two or three? *sigh*

In related news, earlier today an unidentified source revealed to news outlets that Michael’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe had accepted a $4 million dollar settlement (more…)

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

Jennifer Hudson (and her baby bump) with Usher backstage

Michael Jackson’s memorial service is going on right now as I type. I was going to attempt to live blog it but just can’t do it. Too caught up in emotion. You can also check my Twitter for live updates. I’ll update this post as additional photos become available.

Chris Brown spotted in the audience

Wesley Snipes backstage

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