They’ve Turned Into A Bunch Of Grim Rappers

The drive-by shooting death of Notorious B.I.G. last Sunday, in the wake of Tupac Shakur’s murder last September, has some rappers staying under wraps.

Snoop Doggy Dogg has delayed his concert tour because “he doesn’t want to be next,” according to the booking director at the Winston-Salem, N.C., coliseum.

“It is unsafe for Snoop to come to a concert in New York, for Nas to go to a concert in L.A., because there ain’t nobody finding these people who are killing everybody,” said fellow rapper Luther Campbell.

But Bahri Kitwana, author of “The Rap on Gangsta Rap,” begs to differ: “You would think that we’re living in the days of Al Capone, and I don’t think that there is that level of violence in the rap industry.”

Loose talk

James Brown, “The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business,” on his retirement plans (in Rolling Stone): “I’ll go as far as I can before I drop. But I ain’t gonna push it. When God tells me to get offstage the first time, I’m gonna get off.”

Shouldn’t that be Terence Trent D’R&B?

Terence Trent D’Arby turns 35 today.

Guess she knew when it was time to cut out

Rapper Lil’ Kim (“Hardcore”) knows violence from the other side, having stabbed her abusive father back when she was 16. “One night I just lost it,” she told Source magazine. “I was screaming at him … Then I stabbed him. It was at that point that I took to the streets. And that’s where I survived for eight months, just doing what I had to do.”

It’s just not like Luther to toss his cookies , And speaking of Luther Campbell, the former 2 Live Crew leader has been cleared of charges that he threw a girl off a stage last year based on statements from witnesses. “On top of that, we had a bootleg video of the show that showed her being thrown from the stage by two male dancers,” Campbell’s lawyer said.

She should lose her smooth operator’s license

Grammy-winning singer Sade (“Smooth Operator,” “Sweetest Taboo”) has pleaded innocent in Jamaica to charges of dangerous driving and disorderly conduct. She is accused of driving through an intersection last month after an officer signaled her to stop and hurling expletives at another officer who chased her down.

And this one here, that’s Junior’s first nose job

The National Enquirer is the apparent winner in the race to publish pix of Michael Jackson Jr. TV’s “Access Hollywood” reports that the tabloid is teaming with an international publication to pay $2 million to the family for the photos.

Let’s hope that he’ll someday be known as ‘Dad’

The Artist Formerly Known as Prince reportedly plans to seek a court order barring twin sisters who worked for his wife, Mayte, from discussing the death of his son. The week-old boy died Oct. 23 from complications of Pfieffer’s syndrome Type 2, a rare skull deformity.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 color photos

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino