Urban Thought Collective

JACOB THE JEWELER GETS PLATINUM BARS….FOR REAL
The biggest pimp of hip-hop is diamond king pin Jacob the Jeweler. Now it’s his time to shine in the big house as he’s just been sentenced to two and a half years in the federal pen for lying to investigators looking into a multi-state drug ring.

Damn, after making it through your teens without going to jail, you’d never think that in your fabulous 40’s you’d be going to the clink. At 43, Jacob Arabov copped a plea last October to doctoring records and lying to the Feds.

While in court Jacob broke it down like this, “I feel ashamed that I broke the laws of this country, a country that has been so good for me. I will carry this shame for the rest of my life.” Don’t they stone people in his country for crimes such as this?

Cops arrested Jacob back in 2006 at his Manhattan shop on charges that he and several others conspired to launder roughly $270 million in drug profits.

Damn, with that kind of money to play with, you would think he could have bought himself out prison like his boy R. Kelly.

RICK ROSS & FOXY BROWN GETTING HITCHED…MAYBE
Word on the street is Rick Ross (Trilla) and Foxy Brown’s fling is not just a one nighter or a publicity stunt to help their albums jump off.

If you listen to Foxy’s “Brooklyn Don Diva” album, she lets it be known that she likes a her man thugged out, ruff, rugged & raw w/ illegal blood running through their veins and so what…”it is what it is!”

Allegedly, Foxy has vacated her New Jersey crib to mack out in Big Daddy Double R’s mansion in Miami.

Foxy’s Brooklyn’s Don Diva has not slotted well on the charts or in critical response. And you know Foxy is not one to beat around the bush and has let it be known that she is not happy with her label and former management over the project.

Could she be joining forces with the Miami family in more ways than one? I’ll keep you posted but, believe me Brooklyn is in the building!

QUICKIE WEDDING SCOOP
JILL SCOTT dropped a bomb on her audience at Carnegie Hall recently by letting it be known that she is getting hitched again. Yeah y’all, it’s only been about a year since her divorce to Lyzel Williams, but a girl needs love and this time it will be with her drummer, Jon Roberts.

RUBEN STUDDARD & his fiancé Surata Zuri McCants recently rolled into an Alabama Probate Office to get a marriage license. No wedding date set as of yet, but at least we know the license is valid for 30 days…damn that’s some quick planning!

D’ANGELO
I can’t sleep at night y’all with erotic dreams of that sexy, muscular, “V” in the lower ab/groin area (ladies you know what I’m talking about) that we saw in D’Angelo’s “How Does It Feel” video, and the nightmare I have from flashes of his mug shot where he looked like Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Somebody wake me please!

Well that sangin’ man D’Angelo is finally making progress on his first studio album since 2000, which will likely be released early next year via J Records.

No title yet for the album, however, D’Angelo has already collaborated with Raphael Saadiq and also plans to hook up with John Mayer and a list of others.

A single may be out before the end of the year, which gives him enough time to get that ass back in the gym, remove the wires from his jaws so he can eat and flex & sing for those of us who have been kept waiting.

It’s been a long, hard couple of years for D’Angelo as he has endured a serious car accident and drug-related arrests. He’s had baby mama drama with Angie Stone, and his own creative demons.

Head to the store…oh, there ain’t no more record shops left)… well head online as Virgin Records just released a CD/DVD retrospective, “The Best So Far…,” featuring hits, rarities and previously unreleased videos. That’s just a teaser.

SIDE BAR….DAMN IT WAS GOOD TO SEE MAXWELL AT THE BET AWARDS KILLING IT!

Now back to our regularly scheduled gossip…

OMARION SIGNS WITH THE BIG DAWG TIMBALAND
It’s a done deal; Omarion has finalized a new recording deal with Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group.

The signing was confirmed last week by Omarion as he stated, “I’m really excited about this project. Timbaland is like family to me, so it’s always great to work with family and I think this is going to be my best album yet. I’m happy to call Mosley Music Group my new home.”

I haven’t heard a whack track yet from Timbaland so let’s hope he keeps it crackin.

Omarion’s third studio album is slated to be released under the new contract later this year. The album is also expected to feature my home girl Keri Hilson and Timbo’s boy Justin Timberlake.

That sounds like heat to me.

Big Lez has interviewed everyone from Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. to Mary J. Blige and Tom Cruise. She was host of and producer of BET’s landmark show “Rap City” and has enjoyed an extensive tenure in radio as co-host of The Steve Harvey Morning Show in Los Angeles, plus stints at New York’s WQHT/Hot 97, Atlanta’s WAOK/V103, LA’s Big Boy Morning Show at KPWR/Power 106 and Sirius Satellite Radio. Currently, Lez is partnered with DVA Media + Marketing as producer and host of the syndicated urban radio report, “The Urban Eye,” which launches nationwide this summer. More info at www.dvahq.com.