Trina To Host The 2004 Source Awards In Miami

TrinaFan.com reports that according to 99 Jamz, a radio station in Miami, Trina is scheduled to host the 2004 Source Awards down in Miami.

The event should take place on October 9 and 10, which is Columbus Day Weekend.

Organizers told 99 Jamz that they chose Trina because of the sexiness that she would bring to the show and it would be a nice jumpoff for her since it’s the ending of 2004 and 2005 will be a great year for her.”

P Diddy Speaks Out About Increased Child Support Payments

P Diddy has hit out at his ex-lover’s demand for increased child support branding it “ridiculous”.

The rap mogul is required by court order to pay $35,000 a month to Mysa Hylton-Brim, the mother of his first son Justin, 10, but he’s disgusted by the new demands.

He told the Associated Press, “It’s ridiculous to think any of my kids would want for anything.”

He added of Mysa Hylton-Brim, “We’ve had a great relationship, and then all of the sudden I got hit with a lawsuit for more money.”Last month, a magistrate ordered the flamboyant hip hop mogul to increase his child support from a reported $5,000 per month to $35,000. That’s the same amount he pays to model girlfriend Kim Porter, the mother of his second child, Christian.

P Diddy said, “My son goes to the best schools, he has full-time tutors. I wouldn’t know what else to do to give my son.” He is appealing the ruling and claims Mysa is only seeking more money because she’s in the process of getting a divorce from her husband, with whom she has other children.

He blasted, “It’s not about child support, it’s about adult support. I love the mother of my first child. I would never want to do anything to hurt her, but I have to defend the kind of father that I am. The fact is that the mother of my first child gets more money than the mother of my second child. I’m always going to respect her for being the mother of my child, but at the same time, that don’t mean she has to be right.”

New teenage female artist Sammy Witness

Sammy Witness is a sixteen year old girl, who has been writing and performing music for the last four years. Sammy is separating her self from the pack by not only writing her own music, but delivering it based on the music and not her appearance. Sammy Witness will also separate her self from the mainstream image by giving twenty percent of her profits from the CD to a non profit foundation dedicated to the prevention of domestic violence.

For more info or to get involved, check out the official website at www.sammywitness.com.

Evan Taubenfeld Leaves Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne’s guitarist Evan Taubenfeld left a message for all the fans and fansites indicating he’s out of Avril’s band.

“The last three years have been some of the best in my life,” Evan Taubenfeld wrote.

“I couldn’t have done any of it without the amazing support of all of my awesome fans. You all have been the best fans in the world and I appreciate all that you have given me, I consider every one of you a friend. I look forward to this next step in my life and career and hope you will all come along for the ride. Its gonna be fun!”

For details, head on over to his official space on the www: www.evanworld.net

Carl Of The Libertines Speaks To BBC Radio One

Carl Barat stopped by to talk to Zane of BBC Radio One the other day.

When asked if The Libertines listen to their music once it’s recorded in the studios, Carl had the follwoing to say. “Well, funnily enough not really. It normally gets better when we play it live cos it’s always quite embryonic in the studio.”

And if there is still a bright future with or without Pete, he said “Both Peter and I are fervently for not giving up. Whatever happens I’m gonna do my best to keep it together.”

KarmaDownload.com, A Haven For Music Fans And Bono

KarmaDownload.com is a haven for fans of independent music of every genre to legally download tracks by their favourite artists. Fully endorsed by AIM (Association Of Independent Music), KarmaDownload.com present an alternative to the big guns, and level the playing field for the independents from around the world.

Prices are 99p per track/80p for multiple track purchases of 4 or more.

Albums from GBP6.00. All downloads are in MP3 format and can be used with all MP3 compatible media players and portable devices.

The site caters for real music fans who want to support their favourite independent labels and their artists. Apparently, Bono of U2 gives KarmaDownload.com the thumbs up.He said “I love KarmaDownload.com and you should. Download original quality music from first class acts.”

Jamie Estrin, managing director of Karma Music Group said “The vision for KarmaDownload.com is to be more than just a shop. We wanted to present a destination point where music fans can discover and buy into the latest acts within their favourite music scene, from grass roots through to signed acts.”

“We have access to over 3,000 Independent labels and thousands of new artists across the world. In addition, we have already built a catalogue of over 500 quality unsigned artists, which will be constantly expanded and updated.’

The MOBOs’ Nomination List And Protests

Gay rights group Outrage! has asked the BBC to drop coverage of this year’s MOBOs unless two nominees for Best Reggae Artist are left out.

Outrage! has accused Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel of recording homophobic lyrics, although Vybz Kartel recently issued a statement saying that’s all in the past.

Acts like Norah Jones Jamie Cullum, Denys Baptiste, KebMo and Amy Winehouse who are all up for the Best Jazz Act. Estelle, Wiley, Alicia Keys, Brandy, 2Play, Ludacris, Outkast and more are up for various other nominations at the MOBOs. See the full list below.Best RnB act

Alicia Keys
Beyonce
Brandy
Lemar
Usher

Best hip hop act

G-Unit
Jay-Z
Kanye West
Outkast
Twista

Best video

Jamelia – See It In A Boy’s Eyes
Jay-Z – 99 Problems
Kanye West – All Falls Down
Kelis – Milkshake
Ludacris – Stand Up
Usher – Yeah

Best jazz act

Amy Winehouse
Denys Baptiste
Jamie Cullum
KebMo
Norah Jones

Best reggae single

Elephant Man – Jook Gal
Sean Paul – Like Glue
Toots and The Maytals – True Love
Vybz Kartel – Picture This

Best producer

Kanye West
R Kelly
Timbaland
The Neptunes
Wiley

Best world music act in association with

Angelique Kidjo – Sony
Bebel Gilberto – Atlantic
Cesaria Evora – BMG France
Youssou N’Dour – Atlantic
Daara J – Wrasse

Best collaboration

2Play ft. Raghav and Jucxi – So Confused
Brandy and Kanye West – Talk About Our Love
Marques Houston and Joe Budden – Clubbin’
Twista and Kanye West – Slow Jamz
Usher and Ludacris – Yeah

Best single in association with

Jamelia – Thank You – Parlophone
Kanye West – All Falls Down – Roc-A-Fella
Mario Winans – I Don’t Wanna Know – Bad Boy
Outkast – Hey Ya! – Arista/BMG
Usher – Burn – Arista/BMG

Best album

Alicia Keys – The Diary Of Alicia Keys
Jay-Z – Black Album
Joss Stone – Soul Sessions
Kanye West – College Dropout
Outkast -Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Usher – Confessions

Best UK radio DJ

Ace and Invisible – 1Xtra
Gilles Peterson – Radio One
Jigs – Choice FM
Semtex – 1Xtra
Shortee Blitz and Big Ted – Kiss 100
Spoony – Radio One
Steve Sutherland – Galaxy
Tim Westwood – Radio One
Trevor Nelson – Radio One
Zane Lowe – Radio One

Best UK club DJ

Manny Norte
Matt White
Panjabi Hit Squad
Shortee Blitz
Steve Sutherland
Rampage
Westwood

UK act of the year

Amy Winehouse
Dizzee Rascal
Jamelia
Lemar
Joss Stone
The Streets

Best UK newcomer

Estelle
Gemma Fox
Shystie
Taz
Wiley

Best ringtone

Black Eyed Peas – Where Is The Love?
Eamon – F*** You
Mario Winans – I Don’t Wanna Know
Outkast – Hey Ya!
Usher – Yeah

Best gospel act

Fred Hammond
Michelle Williams
Siani
Raymond & Co

Outstanding achievement – to be announced

Lifetime achievement – to be announced

The awards, hosted by Pharrell Williams, will be held this Thursday, September 30 and highlights will be screened on BBC 1 on October 6.

Ashanti’s Looking For Dancers In London

Ashanti’s in London to check out potential dancers for the video for her new single Only You.

She’ll be judging the final of MTV’s Shakedown. The winner gets the chance to star with her in the video. The singer promises it’ll be a very different concept but the final video plan is under wraps.

She’s also been working on several feature films one with Denzel Washington; as previously reported she’s also starring alongside Aishwariya Rai in a Bollywood style movie, Bride And Prejudice and she’s also been filming the new Muppets movie in Vancouver.

Ashanti says her new album, which is due out in November, is treading new ground:

“Definitely with the album, it’s a new direction but it’s still your signature Ashanti.”

“You know, lyrically and the feeling of the beat, it’s kinda like more in a club. So I’m happy.”

Jennifer Ellison Cooks For Diners

Jennifer Ellison gave diners at a swish London restaurant a treat 2 weeks back.

After a slap-up feast at Embassy, the Hell’s Kitchen beauty who wore ripped jeans and a fur jacket asked to help out in the kitchen. “It was so sweet,” a fellow diner tells us. “Jennifer wanted to see if she still had the skills she learned from Gordon Ramsay.”

Embassy’s Michelin-starred chef, Garry Hollihead, gladly agreed and Jen stayed for more than an hour, helping to prepare dinners for guests.