The straight dope on what's going on in Hip-Hop, Media and Entertainment

Jul 3, 2003

After making headlines by breaking first day ticket sales for a summer concert tour of any genre, the reputation of the Jay-Z/50 Cent Rock the Mic tour took a turn for the worst Tuesday in Toronto when a young man who just left the concert with his friends was shot several times, including a wound to the head.

Police said that the victim, believed to be either in his teens or around 20-years old, was leaving the Molson Amphitheatre around 10:30 p.m. when he was shot several times in the upper body and head. Paramedics arrived amid the chaos of the shootings and the crowd leaving from the Canada Day celebrations at the nearby Ontario Place waterfront to find the victim bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head - still conscious.

Witnesses told police that they saw flashes and heard several shots, but thought they were fireworks. Concertgoers and patrons said they ignored the shots, presuming to be part of the Canada Day festivities, and carried on. Some witnesses said they saw flashes coming from a beige compact car and also saw a black SUV leaving the scene.

The victim was rushed to nearby St. Michael's hospital in Toronto, where as of yesterday he remained in very critical condition. Police said the shooter, whom they have no description of as yet, took off on foot and believed jumped into a dark colored sport utility vehicle with tinted windows - similar to the vehicle witnesses reported seeing.

This incident comes just two days after a Buffalo man was arrested last Sunday at the Rock the Mic concert at Six Flags-Darien Lake Amphitheater for possessing a loaded handgun, a loaded .357 revolver found in his limousine, and wearing a bulletproof vest into the concert venue. The gun was discovered by the limo driver who contacted Genesee County authorities.

The police said the incident was not related in any way to any of the artists, but said the Buffalo man told them he had an "issue with some other party - whom he didn't mention - and felt he needed this [the gun] for this protection."

The tour will not miss a beat, carrying on tonight in Philadelphia, Saturday in Virginia Beach, Sunday in Bristow, VA at the Nissan Pavilion and a homecoming on Monday, July 7 for Jay-Z and 50 Cent at the Tommy Hilfiger Jones Beach Theater in Long Island, NY.
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DJ Premier has confirmed the long rumour that he will be releasing a new album under Fat Joe's 'Terror Squad' imprint.

No release date, or comfirmed tracks or appearances as yet, and no album title has been decided yet.
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