If you’re thinking you might be able to capitalize financially on the birth of Beyonce and Jay-Z’s baby daughter, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has a message for you: Back off.

The Smoking Gun reports that a New York City clothing designer, Joseph Mbeh, tried to obtain a trademark for “Blue Ivy Carter NYC” for use on baby and toddler clothing. Not at all coincidentally, Blue Ivy Carter is the name of Beyonce and Jay-Z’s newborn daughter.

A PTO attorney looked askance at the trademark request, noting that little Blue Ivy is a “famous infant,” and that consumers would likely conclude that a clothing line in her name was somehow connected to her even more famous parents. Mbeh then thought better of the idea, and withdrew his application.

Apparently, though, PTO attorneys can expect to continue to have to deal with such applications. Another New York firm already has tried to trademark “Blue Ivy Carter Glory IV” for use on such products as fragrances and body glitter. Good luck with that.

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Few neophyte rappers would turn down the chance to sign with Kanye West, but that’s exactly what French Montana did. The NYC street darling revealed yesterday in an interview with Hot 97′s Angie Martinez that he rejected Ye’s offer to sign with G.O.O.D. Music. It all began when Angie snapped a picture of French and Ye’ backstage during aWatch the Throne show, but the love didn’t translate into a deal because of Kanye’s digital ineptitude?

“I met up with him one time and then I met up with him again. There were things that I was used to ’cause I was already moving, like a money train,” French told Angie. “Kanye doesn’t have a phone. If you need to get in contact with Kanye, you have to EMAIL him. I mean, you can’t tell me how to do that. I don’t even know how to use an email, so I guess me and you is never gonna talk! And I’ma put my career in your hands? He’s definitely talented and I felt like if I went there, we would have definitely made history.”

“The hottest in the city” instead signed with Bad Boy Records and has nothing but love for honcho Diddy. “When I met up with Puff, everything he promised me came through,” French says. The rapper loves “everybody in New York” and is working on an upcoming project–to be executive produced by Diddy and Rick Ross–as well as a football-themed “Shot Caller” remix for the New York Giants.

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Rapper Shyne has finally settled his differences with former mentor Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, 13 years after a club shooting left their friendship in tatters.

The hip-hop star, born Jamal Barrow, was convicted of first degree assault and reckless endangerment relating to the 1999 incident in a New York club, which saw Combs and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez facing police questioning in the aftermath of the crime.

Shyne had little contact with Combs as he served eight years of a 10-year sentence for the charges, but the rapper, who walked free from prison in October, 2009, has now made amends with his old pal over the phone.

He tells MTV News, “As far as Puff (Combs) is concerned, that’s been a long time coming. He had reached out to me twice while I was in the pen (penitentiary), but I just wasn’t ready for it.”

Shyne, who has since converted to Judaism and changed his name to Moshe Levi Ben-David, admits his past rants about Combs have been unwarranted as the music mogul has always tried to patch up their troubled friendship.

He says, “In retrospect, when you looked at the way he handled it, he held it down, he wore it. He ain’t (sic) had nothing (bad) to say (about Shyne); always had good things to say. It was always, ‘Yo, whatever Shyne need, we got him.’”

Now the two stars are planning to meet for the first time in over a decade.

Shyne adds, “I just feel real good about moving on with our relationship. Me and son(Combs), we gonna get together in Paris – I’m in Paris right now. We gonna get together in a couple of weeks, and we gonna sit at the roundtable.”

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Heavy D’s funeral will be held in New York next Friday, November 18th, with a public viewing the day before, Thursday November 17th, according to the New York Daily News.

Here is his public viewing and funeral information:

Heavy D (Dwight Arrington Myers)

Thursday November 17th : Public viewing at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, NY.
Time: Noon to 7pm.
Wake: will immediate follow at 8pm.

Funeral November 18th: This invitation only funeral is at the Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, NY.

Heavy D, experienced difficulty breathing and collapsed in an exterior hallway of his condo building on Tuesday morning when returning home from a shopping trip. He remained conscience and talking when paramedics first got to him, but he died 90 minutes  later at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

It’s reported that Heavy D had gone to the doctor the day before with what appeared to be flu-like symptoms. The autopsy results will not be released until his toxicology test is back, which could take up to six weeks.

Heavy D was on medication at the time of his death and the toxicology report will reveal the levels of those medications in his system. Heavy D was 44 and weight 344 lbs. at the time of his death. Family members report he had “a touch of pneumonia,” maybe from traveling, as he’d just gotten back from England, said his cousin Ruddy Phillips.

A public viewing will happen on Thursday with a private, invitation only funeral on Friday. Sean (Diddy ) Combs, Mary J Blige and the Waynans brothers are among the celebrities invited to the private funeral on Friday. Heavy D’s real name is Dwight Arrington Myers.

Reference: NY Daily News

Last week, Machine Gun Kelly told New York’s Power 105.1′s The Breakfast Club, that he felt Yelawolf’s BET Hip-Hop Awards cypher verse was directed at him. Apparently, the Bad Boy artist took offense to Catfish Billy’s line, “Plenty of white rappers to pick from this year/But before you pick a pepper/You better pick up your heater.” Yelawolf makes sure to respond to MGK’s assertion in his recent interview with Hot 97.5′s Bootleg Kev. But what’s more interesting than this latest installment of white-on-white rap beef is the way Yela details the diversity of his influences and within his own team. “Just because a rapper is white, I don’t feel the need to attack them,” he says. “Part of my crew is white rappers—Ritz, Struggle, Marshall Mathers—come on, man. That’s not at all my aim. At the end of the day, it could all be boiled down to records…put it on wax.” He continues:

I’ve worked really hard for a long time to create a style and a sound that’s all my own taken from the inspirations that I’ve pulled from, from the Beastie [Boys] and Redman, and as far a live shows go Cypress Hill and Triple 6 [Mafia], just trying to give a rebirth to that energy. So I heard there were some [comments]…after the BET Awards…[where Kelly] was going on about how no one needs to be doing [crowd surfing and other stage antics]…like, ‘We started this, when no one else was headbanging, we were headbanging.’ I really was in awe, I couldn’t believe he had the audacity to say that. Not even on my behalf—take me out of the equation—this is hip-hop, man. This music is very broad. I have people in my crew that are straight hardcore [music fans] that came off of the [Vans] Warped Tour…[and] they were offended.

[Source]

Nick Ashford, one-half of the legendary Motown songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson, has past away at age 70. His former publicist told the Associated Press that the singer and songwriter died in a New York City hospital on Monday. He had undergone radiation treatment for throat cancer.

Ashford & Simpson were known for their hit “Solid” and also penned  “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “‘You’re All I Need To Get By.”

Ashford, who was born in Fairfield, S.C., and raised in Willow Run, Mich., had originally aspired to be a dancer.

The couple, who had been married since 1974, were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. They recorded eight albums for Warner Bros., including four that went gold, five with Capitol and two independently. Their last album, 1996′s Been Found, was a collaboration with poet Maya Angelo.

They continued to perform sporadically and frequently hosted events at their New York restaurant, Sugar Bar.

He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Big Sean is facing charges of sexual abuse after a woman alleged she was assaulted at his concert in upstate New York Thursday night, according to an Associated Press report.

New York state police charged the rapper with misdemeanor counts of forcible touching, unlawful imprisonment and sex abuse after receiving the complaint at Artpark State Park in Lewiston, which is near the Niagara River. He was performing with Wiz Khalifa.

A second man, Willie “Sayitainttone” Hansbro, was also arrested and faces the same charges. They were arraigned and released on $500 bail and are set to appear in Niagara County Court in Lewiston on Sept. 6.

The 23-year-old got his break after getting a co-sign from Kanye West, who signed him to his G.O.O.D. Music imprint. His debut album, “Finally Famous,” debuted at No. 3 after logging 87,000 copies sold following the strength of his Chris Brown-assisted single “My Last.” The disc was the first release under West’s new “long-term worldwide label agreement” for his imprint through Def Jam.

Sean’s lawyer, Scott E. Leemon, issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying both men “vehemently deny the allegations.”

“I am confident, that after further investigation, both men will be vindicated,” Leemon wrote.

A representative for the rapper’s label didn’t return request for comment, and the rapper tweeted[warning: contains profanity] that he is currently back home in Detroit prepping for a show.

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Jennifer Lopez may be one of Hollywood’s most famous serial monogamists. After three marriages,

and a few long term, high profile relationships such as Ben Affleck, and Sean (P Diddy) Combs; it’s

clear the Latin songstress is not one to stay single for long.However, if reports are true that Lopez

was recently spotted in New York having an intimate dinner with ex boyfriend Sean Combs, she may well

be on her way to breaking a personal record regarding single time between relationships.

MediaTakeout.com is alleging that Lopez was seen having dinner with Combs in NY July 27, 2011. An

eyewitness, who reportedly noticed the pair at Phillipe Chow, informed the site; “Diddy came in quickly and immediately went to the private area . . . about 20 minutes later J Lo went in.

I was in shock.” However, given that Jennifer was also on set in Atlanta filming What To Expect the same day, it may be a bit

of a stretch to envision her jetting off to NY later that evening to dine with Combs.

Although Combs and Lopez previously dated for over three years, their relationship publicly imploded amidst

media speculation surrounding Comb’s involvement with a shooting incident in a popular NY club. Could it have been a case of mistaken identity? In any case, one thing is clear, Jennifer Lopez”s love

interest are often fleeting and fickle; so if Puffy is interested he better act fast because Lopez isn’t

likely to stay single for long.

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Wacka was recently arrested by NY police, According to a witness on the scene , Waka was in the the parking lot for COLISEUM at Queen NY mall.

A team of officers ran down on Waka and his people and immediately started their arrest , no questions being asked.

According to MediaTake Out insider claim that an officer stated “He said something about a warrant.”

No words on the arrest!!

Homosexual couples in New York are being married for the first time after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law permitting same sex marriage in the state last month. But such marriages, though now legal in New York, remain controversial.

So many couples wanted to be married on Sunday, the first day of legal homosexual marriage in New York City, that local officials announced a lottery to determine eligibility.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, herself openly gay, witnessed the first two ceremonies.  She says the same sex marriage law supports equality. “A law that says every family is as good as every other family; that every family is based on love, and is exactly the way God wants it to be,” she said.

Margie Phelps minced no words to denounce same sex marriage as a crime against God.  She and other Christians from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas came half way across the country to say marriage is defined by Holy Scripture.  “The pattern is one man and one woman for life to have children who you raise in the nurture and admonition of the Lord to bless the earth by procreation,” she said.

Read More

In 2006, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that there is no constitutional right to same-sex marriage in New York.Following the 2006 Court decision, the New York State Assembly passed same-sex marriage legislation in 2007, 2009, and 2011. However, the New York Senate rejected same-sex marriage legislation in a 38-24 vote on December 2, 2009. Now in 2011 June 24 New York has pass the law for same-sex marriage.

What are you point of views?

Rapper Ja Rule surrendered to prison officials at Rikers Island today (June 8th), to begin a 2 1/2 year prison bid for possessing a handgun. Today, just before he turned himself in Ja Rule sent one last message to his Twitter followers. “Out on my patio having my last free moment I love all my fans Pain is love!!!” Ja Rule tweeted. The rapper will serve most of his time in an upstate correctional facility in New York.

On the upcoming season of How To Make It America Pusha T will star alongside Bryan Greenberg and Kid Cudi for four episodes. He’ll portray a drug dealer who slangs that good green, not the white girl we’re used to hearing about (word to the “Blow” video).

We’ve been keeping you posted about Hot 97 DJ Mister Cee arrest on March 30th for indecency. The Smoking Gun has obtained the official police report that was filed. Continue reading to read the report.

Authorities added that Lebrun was found exposed and naked receiving oral sex from the co-defendant, Lawrence Campbell. Both men were charged with a Class A Misdemeanor. In New York State, the maximum penalty for a Class A Misdemeanor is one year in jail. Mr. Cee has remained on the air since the allegations broke, although he has not publicly addressed them. In addition to his work at Hot 97, Mr. Cee worked with Notorious B.I.G. and extensively as Big Daddy Kane’s deejay. TheSmokingGun broke similar stories about Akon’s criminal past and Rick Ross’ background as a correctional officer.