Frank Ocean Not Pressing Charges Against Chris Brown
Let bygones be bygones.
Frank Ocean is
taking the moral high ground following his physical altercation with Chris Brown. In a
post on his Tumblr page today, the Odd Future singer revealed that he was not going to press any
criminal charges against Brown following the fight that occurred in a recording
studio parking lot.
In his explanation for not wanting to take legal action against his music
foe, Ocean wrote, "As a child I thought if someone jumped me it would result in
me murdering or mutilating a man. But as a man I am not a killer. I'm an artist
and a modern person."
Though he spoke to the police following the incident, Ocean plans to move on
from the matter.
In the close of the statement he
said, "I’ll choose sanity. No criminal charges. No civil lawsuit. Forgiveness,
albeit difficult, is wisdom. peace, albeit trite, is what I want in my short
life. Peace."
As previously reported, the singers were involved in a nasty
brawl at Westlake Studio in Los Angeles on Sunday. As for who started the melee,
which included members of both stars' entourages, each side has pointed the
finger at the other. Police investigating the fight are still waiting to speak
with Chris Brown. Though Brown's lawyer has reached out to law enforcement about setting up a meeting, it
has yet to occur.
The "Don't Judge Me" singer did have a run-in with the
police on another matter. Brown was pulled over and cited for speeding in
Beverly Hills on Saturday. According to TMZ, the singer was driving 60 mph in a 35 mph
zone. Police issued the ticket and sent Brown on his way.
JoJo Simmons Fires Diss Freestyle at Juelz Santana
Them Simmons boys ain’t nothing to play with.
Obviously taking cues from his
father Rev.
Run and little brother Diggy, JoJo Simmons is not one to back down
from a rap battle. In response to Juelz
Santana mentioning his name on the mixtape banger "Soft," JoJo unleashed
scathing diss freestyle "Holy Water" yesterday [Jan. 31].
On the Rick
Ross-assisted track from his latest mixtape, God Will'n, the
Dipset member rapped, "As far as that dough goes/ I’m Russell Simmons, you
JoJo."
The line prompted Rev. Run’s eldest son to hop in the booth and record
a vicious response.
"Now how you gonna mention my uncle Russell / Then disrespect his nephew /
The industry forgot you / f------, you nothing special," JoJo griped. "Why you
have to call my name / Thought you retired / Boy, that little bit of fame you
had / That s--t had died / Tryna ride Ross' d--k to get a hit, you high."
This is not the first time a young
Simmons has went on the attack after feeling slighted. Diggy Simmons
also defended the Simmons family name last year on "What You Say to
Me" after J. Cole name-dropped him on "Grew Up Fast" in addition to
allegedly rapping about his older sister, Vanessa Simmons, on "Purple
Rain."
Rappers beware: keep the Simmons name out your raps, or else.
BET Wins Three NAACP Image Awards, Kerry Washington Shines
It was a big night for diversity
at the NAACP Image Awards. BET won Best Comedy Series for The Game, as
well as awards for Black Girls Rock! and children's program Kasha and
the Zulu King.
Kerry
Washington also has a lot to celebrate. The actress won three awards for
Django Unchained, Scandal and a President's Award for her work on
behalf of President Barack
Obama.
"This award does not belong to me," she said, tearing up
as she accepted her Best Supporting Actress award for Django Unchained.
"It belongs to our ancestors. We shot this film on a slave plantation in the
South. They were with us every step of the way."
Denzel
Washington took home the top acting prize, Best Actor in a Motion
Picture for his work in Flight, while Samuel L.
Jackson won for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Django.
Viola Davis was recognized for her role as a teacher on a mission in
Won't Back Down. Surprisingly, Oscar favorite Beasts of the Southern
Wild lost the Best Motion Picture award to unexpected winner Red
Tails, but it did nab the Best Independent Film prize.
On the
television front, Golden Globe winner Don Cheadle won for
his comedy series House of Lies, and Omar Epps and LL Cool J took home
prizes for their network dramas House M.D. and NCIS: Los Angeles,
respectively.
In music, Elle Varner won Best New Artist while Alicia Keys
took the award for Best Female Artist.
$40,000 Reward Offered in Hadiya Pendleton Killing
Police raised the amount of the
reward leading to information leading to the arrest of the shooter of Hadiya
Pendleton to $40,000 Friday.
When the reward was initially announced Wednesday it was at $11,000 but rose
as more people donated funds. The increase was announced prior to an
anti-violence march in Hadiya’s honor that started at her high school, King
College Prep High School.
Writes the Chicago Tribune:
Dozens of adults and children marched this afternoon from King Prep High
School to Harsh Park, the scene of the shooting.
They were escorted by at least six police vehicles as the crowd chanted,
urging anyone with information about Pendleton's slaying to come
forward.
"If you know who did this, turn them in!" shouted Melvin, a man who led
the march but did not want to provide his last name out of fear of retaliation.
"If you don't support this, next it might be you!"
When the march reached Harsh Park, Melvin urged
Chicago police to hire more new officers, not just redistribute
desk workers.
Keyshia Cole beefing with Michelle Williams
Most of America loved the Destiny's Child reunion during Super Bowl halftime, but Keyshia Cole didn't.
Specifically, she wasn't feeling D.C's Michelle Williams. Keyshia Tweeted during the show:
"I think I was frightened to blink for a second. Then Michell [sic] sang and woke my ass up from my daze. She always [messes] the groove up." Cole then added, “By the way, the b**** Michelle said some foul s*** while I was performing once. But no one recalls.”
