Eminem lost his living Proof
Eminem says he wouldn’t be who he is today without his late friend and fellow rapper Proof.
Proof, whose real name was Deshaun Holton, was killed early Tuesday in a shooting at an after-hours nighclub in Detroit.
The 32-year-old rapper, a member of the group D12, was Eminem’s constant companion and the best man in his January wedding.
“He pushed me to become who I am,” Eminem says in a posting on his Web site. “Without Proof’s guidance and encouragement there would have been a Marshall Mathers (Eminem’s real name), but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady.
“He can never, ever be replaced. He was, and always will be, my best friend.”
Police have said that Proof fired the first bullet inside the nightclub, touching off a shootout that ended his life. But his family believes an investigation will clear his name, according to their lawyer.
Legal blog jam?
Prosecutors in the drunk-driving case against country star John Michael Montgomery have been granted a one-month delay, in part to review statements about the singer posted on the arresting officer’s Web site.
Charges include driving under the influence, carrying concealed weapons without a permit and possession of a controlled substance.
Authorities acknowledged they were concerned about congratulatory comments posted by other police officers on the MySpace.com Web site of arresting officer Joshua Cromer. The site also included an altered picture of Montgomery and a fan, with Cromer’s head superimposed over the fan’s.
Well, sort of a leaky rein
That new Janet Jackson music making the rounds on the Internet is apparently not as new as you might think.
The 39-year-old pop superstar, who is working on her first new album in two years, says someone has leaked songs she recorded a few years ago. At least one song has already made the rounds, titled, “Put It on Me.”
Jackson said none of the songs will appear on the new album, adding: “I have a tight rein on all of the music that has been recorded.”
Doors opening for Keys
Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys is adding to her acting resume with a role in the big-screen adaptation of “The Nanny Diaries.”
The film will star Scarlett Johansson as a nanny for a wealthy Manhattan family. Keys will play her best friend.
Keys, 25, also plays an assassin in the upcoming “Smokin’ Aces,” starring Ben Affleck.
Jell-O, Dolly?
Dolly Parton knows how to whip up a tasty banana pudding, and the country singer explains how to make that and more than 125 other recipes in a new cookbook to raise money for her Imagination Library.
All proceeds from “Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s” will go to her Dollywood Foundation, which supports the Imagination Library, a program providing free books to young children.
The birthday bunch
Actor Michael Ansara is 84. Country singer Roy Clark is 73. Singer-guitarist Dave Edmunds is 62. Actress Emma Thompson is 47. Singer Samantha Fox is 40. Actor Danny Pino (“Cold Case”) is 32. Actress Emma Watson (“Harry Potter”) is 16.