Retweet Apple and Eminem Settle 4 Year Dispute

For over four years, Apple and Eminem have been at odds with each over an alleged copyright infringement on 93 of the singers tracks that were sold on iTunes. As we reported last week, the case was to head to trial should the parties fail to reach an agreement.

The case did proceed to trial in a Michigan federal court, and since has seen five days of heated and contradictory testimony from both sides. Apple’s attorney, Glenn Pomerantz painted Eminem and Eight Mile Style LLC as greedy, with the opposition claiming that Apple profited by at least $2.5 million in wrongful downloads.

Today, however, Yahoo News is reporting that Apple and Eight Mile have somehow managed to reach an agreement. Though the financial details have yet to be disclosed, the lawsuit has been “settled to the satisfaction of all parties,” according to an Eight Mile attorney.

Given the four year delay, we have to wonder if there was a smoking gun in the case, or if Apple and Aftermath, the two accused parties, simply decided that it was better to cut their loses and pay up. Either way, we have to believe that the terms of the settlement are more favorable to Enimem and Eight Mile, with a pretty big payout for those 93 disputed tracks.

We’ll update this post should the financial terms of the deal be disclosed. But, what’s your take on the case? Does the rushed settlement at trial indicate that Apple and Aftermath were in the wrong? Let us know your thoughts.

Retweet Rapper Earl 'DMX' Simmons Takes Plea Bargain In Miami

MIAMI - Rapper DMX has pleaded out a Miami drug case and now awaits extradition to face more charges in Arizona.

The 37-year-old rapper and actor pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted marijuana and cocaine possession and was sentenced to time served. His lawyer Bradford Cohen says DMX is still in custody waiting for Arizona authorities to pick him up on drug and animal cruelty charges he faces in Phoenix.

Cohen says the rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, decided to plead guilty when he was denied bail earlier this week due to the outstanding Arizona warrant.

Cohen says if he hadn't pleaded out, Simmons would have had to sit in jail in Miami until an October trial date.

Source: AZCentral.

Retweet Suge Knight Slapped with Assault In Vegas

Marion “Suge” Knight, the 43 year old gangsta’ rap mogul, and former CEO of Death Row Records has been arrested in Las Vegas on a variety of felony and misdemeanor charges including assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a controlled substance.

According to an AP wire report, the rap promoter was booked into Clark County Jail, but later posted a $19,000 bail bond on the promise he would appear in Las Vegas court on September 26.

The incident reportedly took place when Knight was arrested by police in a parking lot near the Las Vegas strip, where he was found beating a woman said to be his girlfriend and brandishing a knife. The woman was not stabbed, but was treated at a nearby hospital. Police also discovered the drugs Ecstasy and hydrocodone in Knight’s possession. Knight surrendered without incident.

During the nineties, Knight was arguably the hottest rap promoter in music with this label Death Row Records. The label specialized in gangsta rap records by such pioneering west coast rappers as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and the late Tupac Shakur. Knight also became just as well known for his violent reputation, which over the years has included rumored gang affiliations and several brushes with the law.

Knight was in fact present the night that Shakur was gunned down gangland style in 1996, also in Las Vegas. Shakur’s murder was never completely solved, and less than a year later Christopher Wallace, a rival East coast rapper better known as Notorious B.I.G., was gunned down in similar fashion. Conspiracy theories connecting the two murders have proliferated on the internet and in music circles in the many years that have passed since, and in fact continue to this day.