U.S. rapper Gucci Mane jailed for alleged assault

ATLANTA | Wed Mar 27, 2013 4:47pm EDT

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Rapper Gucci Mane was jailed in Georgia on Wednesday for allegedly hitting a fan in the head with a champagne bottle at an Atlanta nightclub earlier this month.

Mane, whose real name is Radric Davis, turned himself in to authorities late on Tuesday, according to Fulton County Sheriff's Office records.

Mane, 33, faces an aggravated assault charge after causing a "severe laceration" to the man whom he hit with a champagne bottle on March 16, according to a police report. The fan had approached Mane and tried to strike up a conversation, police said. Mane left the nightclub before police arrived.

A magistrate judge denied bond for Mane at his first court appearance on Wednesday, sheriff's spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said.

Mane did not enter a plea. His next hearing will be on April 10, Flanagan said.

Mane's attorney, Drew Findling, told Reuters he would appeal the denial of bond to a higher court. He said six witnesses interviewed by his office about what he described as a melee at the club did not pin blame on the rapper.

"None of them said Gucci had anything to do with it," Findling said.

The incident is the latest in a long string of legal troubles for the rapper, who has appeared in remixes with the Black Eyed Peas and Usher.

In 2001, Mane was arrested for cocaine possession and spent 90 days in jail. He served a six-month prison term in 2005 for assault, and in 2009 was imprisoned for a year for violating probation in that case.

A Georgia judge sentenced Mane to six months in jail in 2011 after he admitted to pushing a woman out of his car.

(Reporting by David Beasley; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Bernadette Baum and Leslie Adler)

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Sharon Osbourne, NBC Clash Over Alleged Firing of Son

NBC defended itself Monday against Sharon Osbourne's claim the network discriminated against her afflicted son in casting a new reality show. The "America's Got Talent" judge told the New York Post that she's quitting the show because NBC fired her son, Jack Osbourne, by email two days before he was to co-star on the reality show "Stars Earn Stripes."

Jack Osbourne, 26, was diagnosed recently with multiple sclerosis.

In a statement Monday, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt said the network "does not discriminate on any basis."

All potential contestants for "Stars Earn Stripes," which puts celebrities through arduous military-style exercises, had to undergo medical vetting, Greenblatt said. He cited medical privacy in declining to discuss Jack Osbourne specifically.

"Stars Earns Stripes," which debuts Aug. 13, requires "dangerous water stunts, strenuous physical activity, and uses live ammunition," Greenblatt said.

Jack Osbourne was offered two alternative roles on the show but declined both, said Greenblatt, who made an effort to smooth things over with the Osbourne clan, including patriarch-rocker Ozzy Osbourne.

"We have the deepest affection for Sharon Osbourne and consider her to be part of the NBC family," Greenblatt said. "And our hearts go out to her, Ozzy, Jack and his family at this time."

NBC declined further comment. Sharon Osbourne's publicist didn't respond to a request for comment.

A person close to the production said that, contrary to Sharon Osbourne's claim that Jack Osbourne was abruptly fired, NBC hadn't signed him to a contract and had tried to call Sharon Osbourne several weeks beforehand to discuss why her son wouldn't be on the show.

An email was sent after she didn't respond, said the person, who was not authorized to comment on the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sharon Osbourne had tweeted two weeks ago that she wanted to leave "America's Got Talent," but gave no explanation other than saying it wasn't an issue of money. She remains under contract with the talent contest, the summer's top-rated series.

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Pusha T Releases Alleged Diss Track; Lil Wayne Responds

by Erika Ramirez, N.Y.  |   May 24, 2012 1:40 EDT

Another day, another rap beef. Two beefs in the case of Pusha-T.

Yesterday (May 23), Pusha released his new song, "Exodus 23:1," speculated to be laced with shots at Drake and Chicago producer, Young Chop.

"Beef is when you hide behind them other ni**as / But they ain't killers, they ain't pullin' them triggers, fuck ni**as," Pusha raps on the The-Dream- assisted track.

20 Famous Music Feuds

It looks like Lil Wayne took offense to the alleged diss track. Earlier today (May 24), he took to Twitter to respond, tweeting, "Fuk pusha t and anybody that love em." Why is Weezy mad? It may have to do with Pusha's "Exodus" bars that allegedly reference Drake's recording contract with Wayne and Wayne's with Cash Money and Universal Music. "Contract all fucked / Explain up I guess that means you all fucked up / You signed to one ni**a that signed to another ni**a that's signed to three ni**as / Now that's bad luck," Pusha raps.

The fighting words regarding "Exodus 23:1" don't stop there, though. Young Chop, who had a short tiff with Kanye West for re-purposing his beat on Chief Keef's "I Don't LIke" remix, took to Twitter, as well, to address Pusha's alleged shots thrown at him. "You can keep your beats, ni**a / We'd much rather share your bitch, ni**a, bitch ni**a," Pusha raps on "Exodus 23:1."

"Fuck (Pusha T) am on that," Chop tweeted, "Am on that with yo bicth ass @PUSHA_T [ sic]." Chop continued to re-tweet Weezy's tweet.

It looks as if Pusha has re-ignited a past beef with Lil Wayne. Both rappers went back and forth in 2006 through 2007, taking jabs at one another. The beef continued till last year when Pusha squashed any ill will towards the rapper in an interview with Complex. People also speculated Pusha threw shots at Drake on his freestyle, "Don't Fuck With Me," but he later told 107.5 WGCI's DJ MoonDawg that he wasn't "dissin' Drake" and "actually like[s] him."

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