If you’re from the streets, one of the most honored codes is that you don’t tell, especially not on your friends. And although he testified against his estranged friend Lil’ Kim in her perjury trial, he maintains he’s not a snitch.

“Being that Kim took the case to trial, they subpoenaed all the witnesses,” Cease said on Friday (see “Lil’ Kim Found Guilty Of Lying To Grand Jury, Investigators”). “Me and Kim wasn’t on good terms for the moment, and she made it clear to the world that she didn’t want to have anything to do with me and my peoples. So she wasn’t trying to call us to her defense. Being that we was witnesses there, the U.S. government subpoenaed us. And there’s nothing you can do about that. When you’re subpoenaed, you either come or they take your ass to jail. It’s just that simple.”

Cease said his appearance in court was the first time he had seen his onetime close friend in several years.

“All the sh– I been through, this is the first time that I’ve touched the stand. … It was just sick. But at the end of the day … that sh– was like business,” he said. “When [the feds] come in there, they’re not playing. With this whole war on rap and these feds and this rap patrol, it’s serious. They’re looking for someone to make an example of.” (For more on the alleged war on rap, check out our investigative report “Is The NYPD At War With Hip-Hop?”)

Biggie’s onetime hype man and best friend said the Queen Bee should have never taken her perjury case to trial and should have accepted a plea bargain. Cease described the case the prosecution presented as practically insurmountable.

“She’s supposed to have caught the picture that they trying to put you away,” Cease vented. “But she felt like she could beat them, and I don’t know what she was trying to do with that. These federal people knew everything. They had phone taps, they had the video cameras from the [shooting at Hot 97]. They had that all on tape. They had pictures, they had two-way messages. Remember, [the shooting] was in 2001. So they worked on it for about two or three years, and they pulled everybody in there. My peoples, Rock and Gutta, they copped out to the case once they knew they couldn’t win it. Shorty thought she could take it further, and she did what she thought she had to do.”

The new leader of the Junior M.A.F.I.A. said that despite Kim’s conviction, he doesn’t expect her to do much time because her record is “as clean as a virgin.” Cease also made it clear that despite their ties being severed, he hates to see the woman he was once close to go to prison (see “Lil’ Kim Won’t Get Maximum Sentence, Expert Predicts”).

“No matter what our situations, I didn’t have no problems with her,” he insisted. “My thing was she didn’t call me to her defense, so I left it at that. She could have called me, she could have subpoenaed me as well, but it was the U.S. government that subpoenaed me. She don’t mess with me and my dudes, so we kept our distance from them.”

— Shaheem Reid

Rapper Lil’ Kim could face years in prison when she is sentenced in June for lying about a shootout outside a New York radio station.

Her convictions Thursday in federal court on three counts of perjury and one of conspiracy carry terms of up to five years in prison each, but as a first-time offender, she is expected to receive far less than 20 years. The Associated Press reports that any term would make her the first major female rapper to do time. That’s the AP for you, always looking on the bright side.

The 29-year-old performer, known for her raunchy raps and raunchier outfits, was acquitted of obstruction of justice.

Young Buck of G-Unit was supposed to perform at a local Nashville club in celebration of his birthday, but the party ended abruptly when revelers unable to get in the venue rushed the doors.

According to reports, about 700 people were outside of The Trap club and on-site security, which was armed, was unable to manage the situation. Roughly 30 officers responded to a request for help.

The result was three arrests on minor offenses and no reported injuries.

According to the Associated Press, police appealed to Buck for assistance in controlling the unruly crowd, but he reported refused. The rapper never did perform.

The inside of The Trap sustained damage from the disorderly crowd according to local reports.

Young Buck, a native of Nashville, still faces assault charges related to an alleged stabbing at the VIBE Awards in November.

A man was hospitalized after a shooting outside the offices of New York radio station Hot 97 on Monday night. Although police have not confirmed many details, a source close to the investigation said the incident occurred at around the time 50 Cent was making an appearance at the radio station to announce that the Game had been booted from the G-Unit.

According to the source, Game, who had been a guest on the station earlier in the evening, apparently returned to Hot 97’s offices accompanied by an undisclosed number of men and tried to get into the building. At around the same time, 50 Cent’s interview was audibly interrupted, some conferring occurred, and the interview ended abruptly. Game and company were not allowed into the building and subsequently began quarreling with a group of individuals who were leaving Hot 97. The altercation led to a man being shot at least once in the left leg. He was rushed to St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Police have confirmed the victim was a 24-year-old man from Compton, California — Game’s hometown — and that he was struck just outside the building. However, contrary to some reports that have surfaced, the police say the man was probably not a member of 50 Cent’s entourage, but they are still investigating. Police say 50 himself was not involved in the dispute.

There were also shots fired outside the office of Violator Management — the company that manages 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Tweet and Missy Elliott — on Monday night, but no one was injured, according to police. There are no suspects as of yet in either shooting.

On the radio Monday night, 50 — accompanied by G-Unit members Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks and Olivia — told Funkmaster Flex that the Game was being excommunicated from the G-Unit because he felt the West Coast MC was disloyal.

50 told Flex he was disappointed with comments Game made on the station Saturday night, when Game revealed he would not be getting involved in the beefs 50 is stirring up with “Piggy Bank” (see “50 Cent’s LP Pushed Up, Harsh ‘Facts’ Sound Like Disses On Leaked ‘Piggy Bank'”).

According to Flex, Game even said he was going to do a song with Nas. “He’s gone,” 50 scoffed. “He might as well make the record.”

50 also said Game should stop saying “G-Unit.” “He thinks he’s doing me a favor when he says that.”

During his conversation with Flex, 50 claimed Interscope was going to drop the Game until 50 stepped in and got involved with The Documentary. 50 also insisted that he’s making more money off The Documentary than Game is, and that he wrote more choruses than he’s credited for.

Game was on Hot 97 earlier in the evening, talking to host Angie Martinez. When listeners called in to ask about his and 50’s problems, Game simply said he was going to continue to make “good music.” Two nights prior, Game had said on-air that he and 50 did not have to be friends as long as they worked toward that same common goal: making good music.

For weeks there’d been rumors of friction within the G-Unit camp, but they’d always downplayed or outright dismissed the talk, and they even held it together long enough to shoot a joint video for “Hate It or Love It,” which debuted Monday on “TRL.”

A rep for Interscope had no comment on the implosion.

In February 2001, Lil’ Kim was at Hot 97 when a shooting occurred outside, and she was later indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to police and failing to cooperate with their investigation (see “Lil’ Kim Indicted For Lying About Hot 97 Shootout With Capone”). That case is currently in the jury-selection phase.

Congrats to Jamie Foxx for bringing in the Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles. He won but a quick shout to Don Cheadle for his role in Hotel Rwanda. Im proud of these two brothers for doing a fantastic job.

Good job!

She’s one of the world’s top supermodels, gracing the pages of countless magazines and strutting down catwalks for fashion’s greatest designers, from Paris to Milan and Manhattan. But NAOMI CAMPBELL harbored a dark secret, and now she’s revealing candid details about her tempestuous life on and off the runway in an exclusive “Primetime Live” interview with DIANE SAWYER.

In the one-on-one, airing tonight (Thursday) at 10 p.m. on ABC, Diane asks Naomi about her battle with drug addiction that almost destroyed her: “Did you ever say, ‘I am an addict?'”

“I did,” replies Naomi. “When I was on my knees. When I collapsed on a job … And I said, ‘What more does it take for you to now see you’re on your knees?'”

“Did you ever think of taking your own life?” asks Diane.

“I was very, very low to the bottom of the barrel; I was,” Naomi continues, “and because of that drug. I think that’s a cry for help. I am a fighter in respect; I don’t want the easy way out.”

In addition to describing how she regained control of her life from the drug in question, cocaine, the British-born Naomi also addresses the persistent rumors and tabloid tales of a sometimes violent temper that has allegedly led her to lash out at others.

In 1998, she was sued by her personal assistant, GEORGINA GALANIS, who claimed the model hit her on the head with a mobile phone and threatened to throw her from her car during an argument. Another assistant, SIMONE CRAIG, accused Naomi of striking her, throwing her on a sofa and hurling a phone at her while holding her hostage in a hotel. Other accusations have also been made against Naomi, including a fight with her maid, and the supermodel has reportedly taken anger management classes mandated by the court.

Rap mogul Marion ”Suge” Knight was booked on suspicion of violating his parole after police found marijuana in his truck during a traffic stop in Barstow, Calif., authorities told The Associated Press.

Police said they searched Knight’s Ford pickup and found marijuana after pulling him over for making an unsafe U-turn. He was cited for not having insurance.

A woman in the vehicle, identified as Alexis Wilkenson, 18, of Las Vegas, allegedly had a fake ID and was arrested for investigation of providing false information to police. She was later released.

Knight, 39, cofounder of the pioneering rap label Death Row Records, was released from prison in 2001 after serving time for assault and weapons violations. He recently served an additional 10-month prison sentence for violating his parole and striking a Hollywood nightclub valet.

Naw she aint the next model on SynC’s Black Women but she is a new artist that has paired up with Lil Jon & Big Boi for her first single ‘Girlfight’.

Here is a link to her video: Brooke Valentine – Girlfight

A couple Brooke Valentine wallpapers

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Ossie Davis, whose rich baritone and elegant, unshakable bearing made him a giant of the stage, screen and the civil rights movement often in tandem with his wife, Ruby Dee has died. He was 87.

Davis was found dead Friday in his hotel room in Miami Beach, Fla., according to officials there. He was making a film, “Retirement,” said Arminda Thomas, who works in his New Rochelle office and confirmed the death.

Miami Beach police spokesman Bobby Hernandez said Davis’ grandson called shortly before 7 a.m. when Davis would not open the door to his room at the Shore Club Hotel. Davis was found dead, apparently of natural causes, Hernandez said.

Davis wrote, acted, directed and produced for the theater and Hollywood. Even light fare such as the comedy “Grumpy Old Men” with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau was somehow enriched by his strong, but gentle presence. Davis and Dee celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1998 with the publication of a dual autobiography, “With Ossie & Ruby: In This Life Together.”

Their partnership rivaled the achievements of other celebrated performing couples, such as Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Davis and Dee first appeared together in the plays “Jeb,” in 1946, and “Anna Lucasta,” in 1946-47. Davis’ first film, “No Way Out” in 1950, was Dee’s fifth.

Both had key roles in the TV series “Roots: The Next Generation” (1978), “Martin Luther King: The Dream and the Drum” (1986) and “The Stand” (1994). Davis appeared in several Spike Lee films, including “Do the Right Thing” and “Jungle Fever,” in which Dee also appeared.

Davis had a guest role as the father of two women characters in Showtime’s dramatic series, “The L Word.” He appeared in one episode in the first season, then returned for three episodes for the season about to begin, where his character takes ill and dies.

“We knew that we were working with a powerful, important actor,” executive producer Ilene Chaiken said Friday. “Ruby Dee sat with me and watched as he filmed his death scene. It was extraordinary.”

Among Davis’ more notable Broadway appearances was his portrayal of the title character in “Purlie Victorious” (1961), a comedy he wrote lampooning racial stereotypes. In it, he played a conniving preacher who sets out to buy a church in rural Georgia. In 1970, Davis co-wrote the book for “Purlie,” a musical version of the play. A revival of the musical is planned for Broadway next season.

Actors’ Equity Association issued a statement Friday calling Davis “an icon in the American theater” and he and Dee “American treasures.” House lights for Broadway marquees were to be dimmed Friday at curtain time.

In 2004, Davis and Dee were among the artists selected to receive the Kennedy Center Honors.

“His greatness as a human being went far beyond his excellence as an actor,” former New York Governor Mario Cuomo said Friday. “Ossie was a citizen of the country, first, and the world. He and his wife were activists and they took it seriously.”

Dee was in New Zealand making a movie at the time of Davis’ death, said his agent, Michael Livingston.

When not on stage or on camera, Davis and Dee were deeply involved in civil rights issues and efforts to promote the cause of blacks in the entertainment industry. In 1963, Davis participated in the landmark March on Washington. Two years later, he delivered a memorable eulogy for his slain friend, Malcolm X, whom Davis praised as “our own black shining prince” and “our living, black manhood!”

“In honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves,” said Davis, who reprised his eulogy in a voice-over for the 1992 Spike Lee film, “Malcolm X.”

Davis directed several films, most notably “Cotton Comes to Harlem” (1970). Other films include “The Cardinal” (1963), “The Client” (1994) and “I’m Not Rappaport” (1996), a reprise of his stage role 10 years earlier.

On TV, he appeared in “The Emperor Jones” (1955), “Miss Evers’ Boys” (1997) and “Twelve Angry Men” (1997). He was a cast member on “The Defenders” from 1963-65, and “Evening Shade” from 1990-94, among other shows.

Davis had just started his new movie on Monday, Livingston said. “Retirement,” a comedy about an elderly group of friends, also starred Jack Warden, Peter Falk and George Segal.

The oldest of five children, Davis was born in tiny Cogdell, Ga., in 1917, and grew up in nearby Waycross and Valdosta. He left home in 1935, hitchhiking to Washington, D.C., to enter Howard University, where he studied drama, intending to be a playwright.

His career as an actor began in 1939 with the Rose McClendon Players in Harlem. After the outbreak of World War II, Davis spent nearly four years in service, mainly as a surgical technician in an Army hospital in Liberia, serving both wounded troops and local inhabitants.

Back in New York in 1946, he debuted on Broadway in “Jeb,” a play about a returning soldier. His co-star was Dee. In December 1948, on a day off from rehearsals from another play, they took a bus to New Jersey to get married.

As black performers, they found themselves caught up in the social unrest of the then-new Cold War. In one instance, Davis stood by singer Paul Robeson even as others denounced him for his openly communist sympathies. “We young ones in the theater, trying to fathom even as we followed, were pulled this way and that by the swirling currents of these new dimensions of the Struggle,” Davis wrote.

“Look up the word ‘activist.’ Think about what it means to be a role model,” Bill Cosby said of Davis in a statement Friday.

Besides Dee, Davis is survived by three children Nora, Hasna and Guy, a blues artist, and seven grandchildren.

R&B singer Houston, whose full name is Houston Summers IV, reportedly gouged out one of his eyes after a failed suicide attempt in a London hotel.

MTV.com reports that last Thursday (January 27), the singer attempted to commit suicide by jumping off of the hotel balcony but was stopped by his security team. Houston then locked himself into a bathroom and gouged one of his eyes out. The singer was in Europe for a string of performances.

Details are still sketchy but on Wednesday (February 2), the singer’s label, Capitol Records, released the following statement, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Houston during this tragic time.”

The Los Angeles-based singer released his debut album, It’s Already Written, last August. The set was certified gold for sales of 500,000 copies and featured the hit, “I Like That” featuring Chingy, Nate Dogg, and I-20.

When LAUNCH spoke to the singer last year, he explained that singing was in his blood. He said: “Been singing all my life. Pops is a singer, I’m the Fourth. You know he’s Houston Summers the Third. You know he used to sing with Marvin Gaye back in the day. He used to do those background vocals. He was on the radio, so it’s basically in my blood. Music is what I thirst for you know as well as God.”