Lil' Kim's new reality series Lil' Kim: Countdown To Lockdown, which premiered March 9 on BET, was the most-watched series debut in the
network's 25-year history.

According to figures released by BET, 1.9 million viewers tuned in nationwide. The series chronicles the last 14 days of Lil' Kim's freedom before she entered prison on a perjury conviction.

The Brooklyn rapper was sentenced to 366 days in prison in July of 2005, for lying to a grand jury about her knowledge of a shoot-out in front of Hot 97's New York offices.

During the show, which airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m., Lil' Kim makes her final public appearances with cameras in tow.

"When we showed the first episode of Lil' Kim to test audiences, we got the highest scores in the history of the company," said Reginald Hudlin, BET's president of entertainment. "So when it became the biggest series debut in the history of the network, I wasn't surprised."

The series was produced by Lil' Kim's Queen Bee Productions and Edmonds Entertainment, which also produced BET's reality series College Park.

"As powerful as the first episode is, the series finale is even better," Hudlin continued. "I'm pleased and relieved that my first new series on BET has become a 'must see' for so many people. I'm grateful to Edmonds Entertainment for delivering another great show for the network, and to the entire team at BET for fantastic work in every department."

The next episode is scheduled to air March 23 at 9:00 pm EST.

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BBE Records has announced that they will release producer J Dilla's posthumous album, The Shining, this July.

Dilla (born James Yancey) had completed the majority of The Shining before his untimely passing due to health complications related to lupus on February 10. His mother, Maureen Yancey, entrusted Karriem Riggins, Dilla's friend/frequent collaborator, with completing the final pieces of the project.

The Shining features appearances by Busta Rhymes, Common, Pharaoh Monche and Madlib, among others. It is also accompanied by a DVD celebrating Dilla's life and work, produced by Okayplayer Films' Brian Atkins.

"This album is inspired by and represents love," Riggins said of The Shining. "All the artists that contributed to this project Dilla considered family and when the world hears it, they will see that the love bleeds thru the music."

Later this year, Jay Love Japan, another Dilla album, will be released on Operation Unknown. It features completed collaborations with Ghostface Killah, MF Doom, Skillz, Madlib, Busta and more.

Hip-Hop fans and artists around the world have been showing J Dilla and his family love since they found out the shocking news. Last month, Justus League affiliate Skyzoo released "Sky's Last Donut," a tribute song to the fallen beatsmith.

Donations on behalf of Jay Dee's mother can be made to Mrs. Maureen Yancey, and sent to 132 N. Sycamore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036, or by bank wire to Wells Fargo Bank of Los Angeles, CA, Routing Number: 122000247, Account Number: 6043250676, 800-869-3557.

J Dilla's The Shining will hit stores on July 11.
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Ice Cube has sealed a deal with Dimension Films to turn the hit 1970's TV show Welcome Back, Kotter, into a feature film.

Ice Cube will play the title role of Kotter, who returns to his inner-city high school to teach a group of young, likeable, troublemakers.

The original series ran from 1975-79 and helped launch the career of John Travolta, who played the character "Vinnie Barbarino."

Ice Cube is producing the comedy with Andrew Lazar and Matt Alvarez, a partner in Cube Vision Productions.

Production is slated to start in the fall.
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, were sentenced to community service, stemming from a 2005 incident in which police found loaded firearms in their rental car.

Percy "Master P" Miller pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of carrying an unloaded, unregistered weapon.

A plea of no contest means that Master P neither admits nor disputes the charges, that will still stand.

Vyshonne "Silkk the Shocker" Miller pleaded guilty to a felony charge of carrying an unregistered and loaded firearm.

Both men were ordered to perform 40 hours of community service and fined $700 apiece.

Silkk was also sentenced to three years supervised probation.

Master P and Silk were arrested in February of 2005 after officers on the campus of UCLA noticed the guns in the rapper's Chrysler 300M.

"Black man with gun, white cop panic. I'm a businessman. If the cops stopped panicking for one minute, they would've realized that the guns were registered, and that is legal in America," Master P told AllHipHop.com shortly after his arrest. "It's a different way of life for a person of color with money than it is for others with money."

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Sean "Diddy" Combs and Ben Silverman are working together with David A. Hurwitz to create a five-night NBC reality miniseries titled Celebrity Cooking Showdown, scheduled to debut in April.

Blending elements of Food Network's Iron Chef America and ABC's Dancing With the Stars, the show pairs superstar chefs with different celebrities in a weeklong cooking competition.

Culinary masters Wolfgang Puck, Cat Cora (Food Network's Kitchen Accomplished) and Govind Armstrong (exec chef at Table 8 in Los Angeles) have signed on to be part of the culinary battle.

Several celebrities are also close to finalizing deals to join the show.

Silverman said he's been "working on this in secrets for months now," with NBC giving the show a green light only recently. "We've been desperate to do cooking in primetime," Silverman told Daily Variety. "And who's more primetime than Diddy?"

Silverman said he approached the Hip-Hop impresario because he thought he would make "a great partner to help lock in talent, to promote the show and to help with the creative aspects."

Diddy, who owns two restaurant chains, has participated in three cable shows in recent years: HBO's The Bad Boys of Comedy and MTV's Making the Band and Run's House.

The entrepreneur said Celebrity Cooking Showdown is "not out of my space."

"The sexiest trend going on right now is young men learning how to cook," Diddy said. "There's nothing more sensual than a man cooking for his woman. We wanted to do something that fit that trend in the marketplace."

The first three episodes of the series will feature each of the three chefs tutoring a celebrity and training them for their moment in the spotlight.

Celebrities will then face off against each other in a timed competition to create a three-course meal.

Judges will determine one winner from each night, with the three finalists squaring off for a Thursday finale.

The winner, selected by a mix of judges and viewer votes, will be revealed on Friday.

Silverman also plans to offer a service component to Celebrity Cooking, with chefs offering viewers ways to improve their cooking techniques. "You can practice what you see on TV the next day in your kitchen," he said.
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Hip-Hop continues to set milestones in the wireless world, as the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" becomes the industry's first single to surpass 2 million sales in the United States.

The song is taken from the trio's triple-platinum A&M album Monkey Business, which has spent 39 weeks on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.

"Throughout their career, the Black Eyed Peas have pursued the most innovative strategies to get their music heard by the widest possible audience," said Steve Berman, president of marketing at Interscope Geffen A&M.

"Taking advantage of every technological breakthrough is part of what defines today's true innovators. The Black Eyed Peas have harnessed the Master Tones media as an extremely effective method of outreach to their fans."

On March 28, the Peas will release Renegotiations: The Remixes, a collection of 8-tracks that will also be available as an EP via iTunes on March 21.

The set features production by Erick Sermon, DJ Premier, Large Professor and Jazzy Jeff, among others.
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