UK newspaper The
Guardian named rapper Estelle along side various global women personalities
as Women of the Year. “A few years ago she was depressed and penniless,
unable to break through the underground garage scene, but she listened to her
mum and kept going,” the Guardian said. “And now we bow down to
this year’s two massive hits [“Free’ and “1980”] the
Mobo award, the refusal to play macho and some sweet, cool music. ‘No
way would I take my clothes off to sell records and I think I’ll be more successful
because of it.’ Hurrah.” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
British aid worker Margaret Hassan, who was killed in Iraq and India’s
Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi were also named.
Long Beach, California native Snoop Dogg will make his concert debut in the
country of Ireland in February. Snoop will play the RDS Main Hall on February
22. Tickets went on sale nationwide for the highly anticipated concert on Monday
(Dec. 20).
Steve Sangwook
Kim, a former member of the once popular South Korean hip-hop group UPTOWN,
was arrested Tuesday (Dec. 14) for allegedly shooting and killing Man Nguyen
of Burbank, California on Saturday (Dec. 11), according to published reports.
Kim, who was arrested in 2001 on drug charges and deported to the United States,
allegedly knew Nguyen. According to police, the shooting was "not a random
act of violence."
Kim’s parents, Richard Kim and Lois Kim, were also arrested the night of the
shooting for accessory to murder and were released on Tuesday.
East African rapper
Big Pin, born Chrispin Mwangale, was honored as East Africa’s best artist at
the 9th All Africa KORA awards in South Africa earlier this week, according
to the East African Standar publication Pulse. Prior to receiving the award,
Pin attended a funeral for his father, who died from a stroke. If Pin had been
present at the awards, he would have received a cash prize, only given to winners
in attendance. But the proclaimed "King of Luo rap music" said he
had no regrets. "At the end of the day what matters is that I did my country
proud." Pin is currently working on his debut album, expected next year,
in addition to promotional tours.