[CrimsonTide4]

Lasting Love: It looks like the budding romance between Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri, has moved beyond the casual dating stage. "I'm happier than I've ever been," admits Dupri in the May issue of The Source. "Just like me enduring and being in this industry, [our] relationship is a staple." Breaking her silence on the subject, Jackson agreed, simply stating, "He makes me very happy."

Dupri made one request to the magazine, though, "I don't want to pick up The Source and read a headline that says 'Jermaine Dupri and Janet Jackson: Thug Lovin'."

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Judge Being Sued: Loveable TV arbitrator, Judge Glenda Hatchett could be on the other side of the bench now that a former personal assistant is suing her for unfair dismissal. "She fired me because I was a pregnant white woman," said Robin Rinsler, who filed a $10 million suit in Manhattan federal court. Rinsler's lawyer, Marc Garbar, told the New York Daily News, "Everything was fantastic in Ms. Rinsler's work relationship with Judge Hatchett...until [she] informed her employer she was pregnant." Rinsler apparently first got a demotion and pay cut. She believes her work duties were changed to keep her on her feet, a strategy to make her resign. Rinsler delivered a healthy baby boy in August 2001, but that November, she was allegedly told that "as a white person, [she] could not be sensitive to Judge Hatchett's black issues," and was fired. Garbar said an African-American assistant was subsequently hired. Hatchett is not personally named in the lawsuit, which lists as defendants Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Tri-Star, Entrada Productions Inc. and the "Judge Hatchett Show."

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Things That Make You Say Hmmm!?!: "I believe that every black person has a responsibility. When you do good, everyone is looking at you…every black person," said rapper Jay-Z in the April issue of Playboy Magazine. "So you're the same person as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. I'm not just representing the hood and Roc-A-Fella Records, I'm representing for the whole culture. A lot of people look at me like they looked at Martin Luther King."

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Can't Say Names: What Hollywood actress is extremely frustrated that her movie career has not taken off? Said actress apparently thought her striking good looks and big personality would help win her over with Hollywood directors -- but it hasn't. Side ventures in television, calendars, club appearances, etc., haven't help raise her level of celebrity, nor earn her any major acting roles.


* Looks like another R&B singer has been sent back to the studio to rework several tracks for her upcoming album. This singer, who is releasing her sophomore set, serviced a less-than-stellar single to radio last fall, and despite a remix of the song that came later, it never seemed to catch on. Record executives at said singer's label are now scratching their heads and are trying to come up with a single that will at least help this star earn at least the gold plaque that she got for her debut effort.

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Quickies:

~ Former NBA cross-dresser, Dennis Rodman, is trying to shop a reality show about his life. A rep for Rodman insists that several networks are interested in the hoop star's life and promises it will portray the "weird, wacky world of Dennis Rodman" where "everyday life is just a big party" a la Anna Nicole Smith. Rodman has also offered to return to the NBA, but the league is apparently tired of his act. **SMH @ DENNIS**


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Apr. 8, 2003) K-Ci & Jo Jo found out the hard way what happens when you literally don't handle your business and don't give it up to Uncle Sam. The two are free on bail after being arrested on tax evasion charges.
The two R&B crooners were released from jail Sunday. They're charged with failing to pay taxes to their home state of North Carolina for shows they performed in the state during 1999, 2000 and 2001, said their lawyer, James Williams.

"Both of these young men, as artists, do not handle their own affairs. They were victimized," he said. "The best I can discern, their main problem is that they changed accountants. It's just a matter of paperwork that needs to be filed and money that needs to be sent."

According to press reports, Cedric Renard "K-Ci" Hailey, 33, was charged with two counts of failure to pay taxes for 1999 and 2000. He was released on $287,727 bail. Joel Lamont "JoJo" Hailey, 31, was charged with three counts of failure to pay taxes in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He was released on $370,000 bail.

The two were arrested Saturday night after a Raleigh, NC performance in which they opened for Jaheim and Tank.
**must use all their money to buy their WEED. . . did I tell you those mofos were high when they came to my school and sang in my classroom.