NEWS
50 Cent's efforts to secure a $1 million default judgment against ex Shaniqua Tompkins is not going well. In fact, things are effectively at a stalemate despite the latter missing deadlines to respond to it. If you didn't know this is tied to a life rights agreement she signed in 2007 with G-Unit Books.
A Manhattan commercial court has come to the conclusion that the entity has yet to show enough proof to secure said judgment. This comes to light exclusively through Grouchy Greg Watkins of AllHipHop.
While 50 Cent's team claims the life rights agreement was okay for both sides, Tompkins has argued recently that's not so true. In late January, she claimed she was forced into signing it. Allegedly, 50 Cent's former manager Chris Lighty, tracked her down and threatened her. "During this encounter, Mr. Lighty told me that I would suffer severe consequences if I did not sign the agreement."
While this ruling is certainly not ideal from the rapper's point of view, it's not totally over yet. However, it does signify that 50 Cent will need to try and find more evidence to support his case.
The G-Unit mogul sued his longtime ex last year, accusing her of "wrecking" the agreement she signed those years ago. He says she did by speaking about their relationship in interviews and in social media posts.
50 alleged all of this information she spilled should've exclusively belonged to him and nullified the agreement. Speaking of, it allegedly gave G-Unit Books broad, exclusive, and continuous control over Tompkins' life story, name, and likeness.
To compensate for such stipulations, Tompkins received an $80,000 advance and the promise of future royalties from a planned book.
NEWS
Nick Cave has reflected on reports that his massive Preston Park concert with The Bad Seeds became “the largest ticketed event in Brighton’s history”.
Read More: In conversation with Nick Cave: “There’s no metric that says virtuousness makes good art”
The legendary rock band performed in Brighton on Friday, July 31, delivering their only UK show to more than 50,000 fans while celebrating their praised 2024 record, ‘Wild God’.
The Flaming Lips, English Teacher, Cate Le Bon and Warmduscher appeared as special guests, while Kylie Minogue joined Cave for a moving rendition of ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’.
Before the main concert, the group gave fans another unexpected treat by performing an intimate acoustic set on the rooftop of Brighton’s Resident Records.
Following the packed Preston Park performance, Cave has now reflected on the milestone event, revealing that the occasion felt like a “homecoming” for several reasons.
Responding to a fan through his Red Hand Files website, Cave explained that he spent the following morning sitting along Brighton’s seafront and taking in the “near-empty, early-morning streets” while thinking about the previous night. He also revealed that his manager had told him “last night’s show was the largest ticketed event in Brighton’s history”.
While remembering the concert, Cave called it a “big day for The Bad Seeds” and said he could not “overstate the pride I feel in performing with a band that can play the rooftop of a record store in the morning, and then perform to nearly 50,000 people in the evening with the same ferocious intention”.
“There is simply no other group that can summon pure chaos and the most acute intimacy almost simultaneously, and that is both tight and anarchic within the same song,” he continued. “They are a force to behold, and it is a sheer privilege to share a stage with them.”
Discussing Minogue’s surprise appearance, Cave shared that her outfit had been created by his wife, fashion designer Susie. He also praised the Australian star as “a performer who only gives, gives and gives, then retreats, as ghosts and great performers do.”
The ‘Red Right Hand’ singer went on to express his gratitude to “everyone who came to the concert”, explaining that the evening felt like “a homecoming in many different ways”.
“Although part of me is relieved the Preston Park show is behind me, sometimes my job is so completely and emotionally overwhelming, I’m happy we could, for a delirious moment in time, create a place where the absent and the present could dance together. Again, thank you,” he finished.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will now complete their tour with a final series of European festival appearances. The group has also suggested that another record may be approaching, having revealed earlier this year that they were “messing around” in the studio and considering what could follow ‘Wild God’.
Following the release of that project, Cave appeared on ‘Honora’, the first solo album from Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. He has also created a fresh recording of ‘Red Right Hand’ for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
