Five years after his untimely demise, the late Big Pun's Terror Squad Tombstone medallion was recently put on sale at eBay.

Previously worn by Pun, the customized $100,000 medallion piece has been put on auction on behalf of the Rios family. The piece is yellow gold dipped in white gold, featuring 1,728 baguette diamonds and 173 round diamonds and weighs over 1.25 pounds.

Since June 24th, the medallion was put up for auction with the opening bid starting at $1,000. Proceeds from sale of the medallion will go to Big Pun's widow, Liza Rios and their three children. Sources claim Liza has struggled to raise the children and make mortgage payments on their home since the emcee died back in 2000. To date, the family has not received any royality checks from Pun's first two albums but has received one small check for the emcee's last album, Endangered Species.

The auction closes on July 4, 2005 at 4:48pm PST.

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MTV is currently developing several new programs including two reality series from the Ying Yang Twins and Omarion.

The Ying Yang Twins project is tentatively entitled "Welcome to Crunkville." In the series lucky contestants will get a chance to get crunk as the Atlanta duo's roommates. Those that can survive the craziness will have a chance to win a mansion.

Omarion's show, simply titled "Omarion," will focus on the young R&B artist as he starts his own record label and a shoe line.

Other MTV shows in the developmental stages include "Yo Mama" and "Mr. Rooney's Barbershop." "Yo Mama" is Wilmer Valderrama's (That 70's Show) ode to the art of snapping. "Mr. Rooney's Barbershop" centers on a barbershop in Queens, NY searching for Hip-Hop acts. "Mr. Rooney's Barbershop" is being executive produced by music industry mogul Tommy Motolla

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Word is Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, who is presently serving a 10-year prison sentence, has been placed in involuntary protective custody for allegedly getting into an altercation.

According to the New York Post, Shyne has just concluded a two-month stretch in 23-hour-a-day lockdown.Shyne was put in solitary confinement for scrapping with another inmate on the chow line at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Upstate New York. He allegedly got into another fight with the same inmate immediately after being released from lockdown.

Shyne was convicted and sentenced to serve 10 years in prison after wounding two bystanders during 1999's infamous Club New York shooting. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, CEO of Shyne's former recording home, Bad Boy Entertainment, was also present at the time of the incident. Puff was found not guilty of four counts of weapons possession and one count of bribing a witness.

Earlier this year, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Michael Garson ordered that any revenue Shyne generates from his $3 million deal with Island Def Jam records and his Godfather Buried Alive album be held in a bond. Shyne's revenues will be confiscated until verdicts have been reached in the civil suits filed by the shooting victims. Garson also cited the state's revised "Son of Sam Law," in his decision to freeze Shyne's funds. The law requires inmates to be barred from profiting from their crimes.

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In its second year honoring hip-hop pioneers and legends, VH1 will pay tribute to rappers Big Daddy Kane and Notorious B.I.G. during their annual Hip Hop Honors show on September 22.

"Our first Hip Hop Honors proved to be an incredible success not only for the channel but also within the hip-hop community," the show's executive producer, Lee Rolontz, said in a statement to The Associated Press. "It was a long overdue celebration of the genesis and roots of a genre that has permeated world culture."

Kane and Biggie join fellow honorees LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Ice-T, Salt-N-Pepa, and the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood.

"This year's honorees run the gamut from MCs to trailblazing duos to an iconic motion picture all of which have had a massive impact on the hip-hop music landscape," said Rolontz.

The show takes place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York and airs September 26 on VH1.

Last year, VH1 honored Public Enemy, Run DMC, and the late, great Tupac Shakur among others in its star-studded program.


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The reunited Fugees gave a surprise performance, Destiny's Child gave surprise lap dances and BET gave some, well, not-so-surprising awards on Tuesday at the fifth-annual BET Awards.

As has become an awards-show





ritual over the past 12 months, Kanye West was the top winner, taking home Best Male Hip-Hop Artist and Video of the Year for "Jesus Walks."

West, like Best Male R&B Artist winner Usher, Best Actor winner Jamie Foxx and six other victors, was not in attendance at the Kodak Theatre, shifting the focus off the awards and on to the show's performances.

The once-feuding Fugees kicked off the show with an unannounced medley of "Ready or Not," "Fu-Gee-La" and "Killing Me Softly." "We've been in the studio," Pras said before the show. "We're trying to figure out how we gonna do it."

Along with performing, Destiny's Child also won Best Group. Other winners included Alicia Keys for Best Female R&B Artist, Remy Martin for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist and John Legend for Best New Artist. Legend also marked the evening by performing with his musical hero Stevie Wonder.

Omarion pulled off a feat similar to Ciara's, winning the Viewer's Choice Award minutes after his choreography-heavy performance.

While Fugees were certainly the biggest surprise reunion, Will Smith had a little something up his sleeve as well, bringing out the entire cast of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" later in the show. "It's all about family," Smith said.

The Game apparently agreed, as he held his young son while he performed "Hate It or Love It" as part of a medley that also featured Mary J. Blige.

Other performers included Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott, T.I. and Tye Tribbett with Fantasia. Toni Braxton and Faith Evans also appeared, singing songs from Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Gladys Knight.

Rick James, who performed at last year's show ,Ol' Dirty Bastard and Johnnie Cochran were also honored with special tributes.

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There will be no live rendition of "Candy Shop" during the Philadelphia edition of Bob Geldof's Live 8, a follow-up to 1985's Live Aid concert, which raised millions for famine relief efforts in Africa. The thousands expected to flock to the City of Brotherly Love and congregate at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in little more than two weeks' time won't even be hearing "Just a Lil' Bit." That's because 50 Cent has removed his name from the concert's bill, just as more artists have been added.

A publicist for 50 Cent told The Associated Press on Wednesday that a scheduling conflict linked to the filming of the rapper's forthcoming film, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," which is shooting in Toronto, has forced the New York native to pull out of the show.

However, organizers announced on Thursday (June 16) that Linkin Park and soon-to-split Destiny's Child have been added to the Philadelphia concert, which also features Will Smith, Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, Kaiser Chiefs, Maroon 5, P. Diddy, Rob Thomas, Sarah McLachlan and the Dave Matthews Band, among others.

Geldof has organized five simultaneous Live 8 concerts for July 2, as a means to raise awareness about African debt relief; the events precede the two-day G8 summit, which is set to begin on July 6 in Gleneagles, Scotland.

While the G-Unit general is off the Live 8 bill, several artists have just been added. Organizers announced Wednesday that African musicians would stage a concert to coincide with the other Live 8 events, which had been criticized by Blur frontman Damon Albarn as being "too damn Anglo-Saxon".

According to Reuters, Peter Gabriel is spearheading the show, dubbed Africa Calling. The concert will be held in Southwest England, at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Senegalese star Youssou N'Dour, West African singer/songwriter Angelique Kidjo, Somalia-born vocalist Maryam Mursal and Salif Keita, called the "golden voice of Africa," are all scheduled to perform.