Jay-Z protege Memphis Bleek called out The Game on New York hip-hop station Hot 97 last week, but what really raised eyebrows was a Jay-Z freestyle that included the lyrics “the game’s through,” mtv.com reports.
Later in the week, Jay-Z went on Hot 97 again and said his rhymes weren’t aimed at anyone. But The Game, whose album “The Documentary” was back at No. 1 last week, called out Jay-Z, Bleek and other members of Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella records family at a show in London on Thursday.
The Game called into a Los Angeles radio station the following day and said he had mixed feelings about slamming Jay-Z but felt he had to defend himself. He said he would try to talk with the “retired” rapper and smooth things over.
HOUSE HUNTER: Good girl-turned vampire slayer Jessica Biel has a new home.
The “7th Heaven” and “Blade: Trinity” starlet bought a home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles for $2.6 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
It’s a gated, Mediterranean-style villa with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms in just under 2,900 square feet. The house, built in 1924, was recently restored and updated. The master bedroom suite has a steam shower. The house has air conditioning and a water-purification system, not to mention a swimming pool.
Biel next stars in the action flick “Stealth” with Jamie Foxx and Josh Lucas.
ORDERING IN: After making international headlines by publicly setting their wedding date last week, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles played it low-key on Valentine’s Day, celebrating in private at Charles’ country estate after he spent the day at work.
In the coming weeks, they are expected to complete preparations for their April 8 civil wedding ceremony at Windsor Castle.
The prince spent Monday on official engagements in Staffordshire and Cheshire in central England, meeting with cheesemakers and farmers. In the early evening, he returned to Highgrove, his country estate in Gloucestershire in western England to spend the rest of Valentine’s Day with his future wife.
CHICKEN FIGHT: Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has joined other celebrities and activists who have criticized Kentucky Fried Chicken, saying he will call for a boycott if the company doesn’t reform its slaughter practices.
Simmons called slaughter practices used by the fast-food chain’s suppliers “grossly inhumane” and has filmed a commercial “showing some of the very worst abuses chickens undergo” before they are served to customers, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.
Simmons, who is chairman of Def Jam Records and is a vegan, said he has talked to officials of Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, and said he will release the ad and start a boycott if the company does not reform its practices. Pamela Anderson and Paul McCartney are among the other celebrities who also have spoken out against the fast-food chain.
Yum! Brands Vice President Jonathan Blum disputed Simmons’ claim: “We have an independent panel of outside experts who set our high standards. They are the same standards that all our competitors use to insure human treatment around the country.”
RED CARPET: He kids, he kids.
Oscar producer Gil Cates reminded everyone Monday that Chris Rock is a comedian, which means that he will occasionally make jokes.
Responding to items in Variety and on the Drudge Report, Cates issued a statement denying that the academy has heard complaints from members regarding some of Rock’s remarks in the press. He also denied that he or the academy would ask Rock to step aside.
Rock has played up his ignorance of the Oscars in recent interviews, saying things like: “I never watched the Oscars. It’s a fashion show. What straight black man sits there and watches the Oscars?”
The Drudge Report quoted unnamed sources in an item claiming that “veteran members of the academy” have grown concerned over the choice of Rock as host because he does not seem to take the show seriously enough. ABC, which is broadcasting the show, said it hasn’t received any complaints. Meanwhile, Cates scoffs at the idea of Rock’s comments even being an issue.
“Chris has not said anything that has surprised me,” Cates said. “I was there in the press conference when he first said he had never watched the show. And as for the other comments, they were very clearly jokes. Which is exactly why we chose him. Because he is funny.”
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Compiled from news services and edited by Leo Ebersole (lebersole@tribune.com) and alBerto Trevino (atrevino@tribune.com)
