Singer Natalie Cole's Sister Dies

On the same day that the singer Natalie Cole received her kidney transplant this past Monday, her sister Carol Cole died at the age of 64. Carol Cole had done past appearances on the television shows "The Nat King Cole Show" and "Sanford and Son." She also had an appearance in the 1974 movie "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three."

Singer Natalie Cole Receives Kidney Transplant

The singer Natalie Cole has undergone a kidney transplant and is doing well. She plans to postpone her summer tour, which was scheduled to start June 5 and last until November, while she recovers. She has been receiving dialysis treatments three times each week since September, which is unrelated to her diagnosis of hepatitis C. She announced that she had hepatitis C last year and said that the damaging liver disease was likely due to her previous drug use. She has received chemotherapy to treat the hepatitis disease and had kidney failure within four months of treatment. Without a kidney donor, she would have needed dialysis treatment for the rest of her life. A company called One Legacy, which is a regional organ-procurement agency, was able to find a kidney for her.

Rapper Serves Prison Time in Arkansas

The rapper T.I. has to report to Forrest City's low-security federal prison by noon on May 26th. He has been sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison after pleading guilty in March to federal weapons charges. He has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of his charges in his three count indictment. He will be credited for the 305 days of home detention that he has already served, so he is likely to be at Forrest City prison for only two months. Unless there are custody or security concerns, he will be treated like any other prisoner and will be placed in the general population with the rest of the prisoners. When he is released, he will be on probation for three years and will pay a $100,000 fine as part of his sentence.

Rapper Kanye West Makes Court Plea

On Friday, the rapper Kanye West pleaded not guilty to the charges of misdemeanor battery, grand theft, and vandalism that come from an incident that happened last September when he was caught breaking a paparazzo's camera flash at Los Angeles International Airport. He is scheduled to reappear in court on July 15th.

Rapper DMX Freed from Jail

On Thursday, the rapper DMX was released from a jail in Phoenix, AZ on a $10,000 bond after serving a 90-day sentence for his felony convictions. He may have to return to court to face the charges that were added while he was in jail for throwing a tray at a jail officer.

Rapper Rev Run's Son Arrested

On Friday night, Jo Jo, who is is the oldest son of the rapper Rev Run from the rap group Run DMC, was arrested after police caught him rolling a marijuana joint in a car in Manhattan's Upper West Side. He tried to get away from the scene by putting his car into reverse but he almost backed into the police vehicle. While getting arrested, he started acting up and had to get subdued by the police. He was arrested for resisting arrest, attempted reckless endangerment, and criminal use of drug paraphernalia.

Singer Michael Jackson Gets Sued Again

Raymone Bain, the publicist and general manager of singer Michael Jackson, has filed a $44 million lawsuit against him stating that he did not pay her for the deals that she has made. She says that she has been working for him for more than five years as his spokeswoman, publicist, head of Michael Jackson Co. Inc, and personal general manager. She claims that Jackson agreed to pay her 10 percent of the agreements that she handled. He also didn't pay her for negotiating the release of his CD to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his "Thriller" album, refinancing his loan to keep the Beatles' song catalog, and negotiations of a concert series in London.

Singer Kelis Files for Divorce from Husband Nas

On Thursday, the singer Kelis Rogers filed for divorce from her husband and rapper Nas citing "irreconcilable differences" as a reason for the separation. Kelis wants him to pay her attorney's fees and to pay spousal support. The couple married in July of 2003 and Kelis is currently pregnant with their first child. Nas also has a daughter from a previous relationship.