[Gina1201]

It's a boy! Hot 97 New York radio personality/rapper Angie Martinez and Dru Hill's Nokio welcomed their baby, whom they named Niko, into the world on Thursday in New York. ...

Timbaland was deemed songwriter of the year at the 16th annual ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Awards Tuesday. Tim, who also received the honor in 2001, was recognized for penning the hits "More Than a Woman" and "I Care 4 U" for Aaliyah, as well as Tweet's "Oops (Oh My)" and Missy Elliott's "Work It." Ashanti's "Foolish" picked up the top R&B/hip-hop song; Nelly's "Hot in Herre" was dubbed best rap song; and Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" was named best soundtrack song. ... Timbaland is also working on his third LP with his childhood friend Magoo. The album is coming out later this year and features Missy on the first single, "Cop That Sh--." All three flip classic verses from Rakim, MC Lyte and Special Ed in their rhymes. ...

Destiny Child's Kelly Rowland will perform the national anthem at game 6 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio on Sunday. ...

Queen Latifah will play a cab driver who teams up with a young cop to solve a series of bank robberies in "Taxi," a remake of the 1998 French movie of the same name. Tim Story ("Barbershop") is in negotiations to direct the flick, scheduled to start filming in September. ... Ja Rule and comedian George Carlin will make brief appearances in "Scary Movie 3," which is currently being shot in Canada. Pamela Anderson, Denise Richards, Charlie Sheen and Simon Cowell will also make cameos in the movie. ...