Urban Thought Collective

REMEMBERING WAYMAN TISDALE
Our hearts go out to the friends, family and fans of musician and former NBA basketball player Wayman Tisdale as he dies at 44.

Wayman was a top jazz musician, former NBA star, and three-time All-American at Oklahoma. He passed after a two-year battle with cancer.

Wayman learned he had a cancerous cyst below his right knee, after breaking his leg in a fall at his home in 2007. His leg was amputated last August and a prosthetic leg that he wore was crimson, one of Oklahoma’s colors.

“Nothing can change me,” Tisdale told The Associated Press last June. “You go through things. You don’t change because things come in your life. You get better because things come in your life.”

Wayman played three years at Oklahoma, going on to play 12 years in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns. His NBA accolades include his averaging 15.3 points for his career. He was on the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. Tisdale in 1997 also became the first Oklahoma player in any sport to have his jersey number retired.

After basketball, Tisdale became an award-winning jazz musician. He was a bass guitarist who often wrote his own material. He recorded eight albums, several making the top 10 on the Billboard charts. His most recent album, “Rebound,” was inspired by his fight with cancer and included guest appearances by several artists, including saxophonist Dave Koz and country star and fellow Oklahoma native Toby Keith.

Wayman is survived by his wife, Regina, and four children. God rest his soul.

ASHANTI GETS THE BOOT FROM LABEL
Ashanti has been dumped by Irv Gotti’s recording label The Inc. as her relationship with the rap mogul had “run its course.” Ashanti’s last LP, “The Declaration” was her first in four years and came out in June of last year on The Inc. and didn’t sell wood.

Gotti broke it down as such: “The relationship has run its course. I’m gonna just drop her. The chemistry of what’s needed – we’re in two totally different places. You’re talking to somebody that took her and shaped and molded her and put her out there for the world, and it blew up.”

Gotti also added that his “views and philosophies and her views and philosophies are not meeting up.”

Well I’m sure Ashanti will land on her feet, but regarding her film and singing career, I won’t be the one who’s first on line at the store or the movie theater!

GETO BOYS WILLIE D ACCUSED OF IPHONE SCAM
Word on the street is, he allegedly took orders for device, pocketed money and never sent the product. Willie D is reportedly facing 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on charges that he ran an Internet scam involving iPhones.

Willie’s government name, William James Dennis, posed as an electronic salesman and used eBay to interact with international buyers.

He conducted businesses transactions independent and outside of eBay, and allegedly took numerous orders for iPhones and other electronics. Funds were transferred into his bank account and he allegedly sent tracking numbers out, but never sent the iPhones or electronics.

After crazy numerous complaints, the rapper would tell the consumers that the packages were either lost in the mail, or that he could not refund their money until he located the products, but he would eventually cease communications with the victimized parties.

Willie’s ass was arrested at Bush Intercontinental Airport after he was indicted for his relationship with a company named Texas One Wireless.

COULD T.I. BE GETTING HITCHED?
It’s been rumored for months that TI and his fiance Tameka “Tiny” Cottle might be ready to wed. Well, now it’s ALL BUT CONFIRMED!!!

A source EXTREMELY close to Tiny told news outlets that Tiny and her bridesmaids are working feverishly – making last minute arrangements to make sure that everything turns out perfectly.

I love maturity and change and people who recognize that everything happens for a reason. There are no mistakes in life, good for him, great for them!

NEWS BLAST
***Jay-Z tour outlines ‘Blueprint’ for summer concerts with Ciara. Only five concerts have been confirmed for the tour, which features a full backing band. It leaves off with a July 12 show at Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, GA. Live Nation is handling primary ticketing for the tour as part of its 10-year contract with Jay-Z. “The Blueprint 3,” tentatively scheduled for a September 2009 release…

*** 50 Cent & Forest Whitaker will in roles of a doctor and his violent alter ego in the upcoming film “Jekyll,” Violator Record’s Chris Lighty is one of the executive producers. “Jekyll” will begin shooting in late summer…

***DMX is again a free man & was released from the Maricopa County Jail in Arizona after serving 90 days, the minimum sentence for pleading guilty to the following: cruelty to animals, possession of narcotic drugs, theft and possession of marijuana.

***T-Pain and his wife, Amber, welcomed a baby boy earlier this month. The producer/singer and his wife are also parents to daughter Lyriq and son Muziq.

***Akon is coming out with two new fragrances later this year from his recently-formed Konvict Cosmetics: Konvicted, a scent aimed at younger consumers, and Aliaune, titled after his real name and marketed to more mature customers. Akon also announced the expansion of his clothing line, Konvict & Aliaune Clothing, which will now also be made available for fans in Africa…

***Coach Marvin Lewis and his Cincinnati Bengals will be the subject of this fall’s HBO series “Hard Knocks,” a documentary that follows NFL teams throughout training camp. HBO teams with NFL Films to produce the program, which was launched in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens and last year followed the Dallas Cowboys. The Bengals have only one winning record since 1991, when owner Mike Brown took over.

Big Lez has interviewed everyone from Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. to Mary J. Blige and Tom Cruise. She was host and producer of BET’s landmark show “Rap City” and has enjoyed an extensive tenure in radio as co-host on 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. Check out: www.myspace.com/BODIOGRAPHY