Nate Dogg died on Tuesday, according to his family. Less-commonly known by his real name, Nathaniel D. Hale, Nate Dogg’s cause of death is unknown at this time. The 41 year old rapper had suffered strokes in 2007 as well as 2008, and has battled illness for years.

Professionally, Nate Dogg was a member of the Dogg Pound Gangsta Crips, (DPGC). The DPGC also included members such as Snopp Dogg and Daz Dillenger, both went to Twitter to post their words of grief.

Snoop Dogg twittered his online tribute to his longtime pal, saying, “all doggs go to heaven.”

He went on to say: “One of my best friends n a brother to me since 1986 when I was a sophomore at poly high where we met.I miss u cuzz I am so sad but so happy I got to grow up wit u and I will c u again n heaven cuz u know d slogan.I love u buddy luv. U will always b wit me 4ever n a day u put the g n g funk u put the 1 n 213 n u put yo stamp on evrybdy u ever didit wit.”
 
Daz Dillinger added: “R.I.P. to my homeboy Nate Dogg DPGC Dogg Pound gangsta 4 life.”

Born and raised in Long Beach, California, Nate Dogg was most commonly known for his works with not only the DPGC, but also for his works with Ludacris, Dr. Dre and Eminem.

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Is Kid Rock a symbol of great expectations or is he merely an insensitive rocker who enjoys using his popularity to spread a message of racism and hate? That’s the fuss on a few minds as a boycott of the NAACP is being urged because of plans to honor ‘the Kid’ at the organization’s annual Freedom Fund dinner at Cobo Conference and Exhibition Center in Detroit in May.

It started out as a fairly simple idea – give a little praise to a celebrity that’s committed to the success of Detroit – but Adolph Mongo of Detroiters for Progress says that using the Confederate flag at his concerts makes Kid Rock a bad choice because the flag is a symbol of hate that he continues to wave proudly. Mongo said that he and his followers will protest the NAACP function if they carry on with their plan.

The NAACP recently released a statement regarding the issue:

“This award being presented to Kid Rock is just one of many honors being handed out during our annual dinner. Kid Rock is someone who is committed to Detroit and the future success of our city, and that is why we have chosen to honor him with our Great Expectations Award. We have great expectations that Kid Rock will continue to represent all the people of our great city. We are not familiar with the particular group leading this protest, but all are entitled to their own opinions.”

While Kid Rock has declined to comment on the planned protest, he has mentioned before that he’s never had problems with displaying the Confederate flag in the past, saying, “I’ve never had an issue with it. To me it just represents pride in southern rock ‘n’ roll music. Plus it just looks cool.”

Cool looking or not, Mongo is holding his ground, saying, “They’re going to honor someone that just smacks bigotry right in their face. They didn’t do their homework. Shame on you Reverend Anthony. Shame on the board members that approved it.”

I have to wonder if Mongo might be using this moment to catapult himself and his group into the spotlight. After all, they say everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame. Maybe Mongo feels like it’s his turn.

Of course, this isn’t the first time the Confederate flag has gotten unwanted attention. Whether it’s flying in someone’s yard or painted on the General Lee in “Dukes of Hazzard,” the familiar symbol frequently manages to incur someone’s wrath.

Now it seems like the situation merely boils down to seeing if the NAACP will hold their ground or buckle to pressure. It’s probably too soon to tell since they’ll probably wait to see if the majority is with them or against them.

American Idol producers aren’t talking, but Lady Gaga may have spilled the news early that she’ll be appearing on the show next month. Reps for American Idol have so far refused to confirm Lady Gaga will be performing (and maybe mentoring?) on the series, but it looks like a pretty sure bet.

Lady Gaga posted a short message to her fans on her Twitter feed on Friday that seemed to confirm rumors she would be hitting the American Idol stage soon. “See you on American Idol. MAY 5th, Little Monsters.” That sounds like a pretty solid confirmation to us!

Lady Gaga (Photo: Nelly - Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Lady Gaga previously lent her talents to American Idol last April when she performed “Poker Face” on the show. We’re hoping she’ll also be serving as a ‘guest mentor’ this season – that could be very entertaining indeed!

Lady Gaga fans can also look forward to the upcoming Glee episode dedicated to the eclectic pop star. “Bad Romance” and “Poker Face” will be among the songs by Lady Gaga to be featured on the show.

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Christian music star Jennifer Knapp spent seven years missing in action from the entertainment industry and living halfway around the world in Australia. Now the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter is back with a new album  and a new identiy. 36-year-old Knapp has come out as a lesbian, an extreme rarity in the Christian music industry.

Jennifer Knapp

In fact, Jennifer Knapp is the now the only openly gay singer of her level in the Christian music genre. Knapp has a plan to deal with that, however. Her new album is mainstream, rather than Christian-oriented.

“I just wouldn’t find it respectful at all to say, ‘Hey this is something that you want in your store next to your Jesus statue,” Knapp said in an interview with Reuters. “It would just be disingenous to try to convince someone that they needed to do that.”

Knapp may be venturing into the mainstream, but she says she still considers herself a “person of faith” and has not turned her back on the church.

Letting Go will be released May 11 through Sony Music independent distributor RED. The album is Knapp’s fourth and her first since her 2001 The Way I Am gospel rock album.

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Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has announced he will go on tour with a full performance of the band’s The Wall rock opera in concert. The Wall tour will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s legendary stage show for the album.

Roger Waters says he will gift audiences with an “updated” version of the original The Wall stage show. The 35-date tour will kick off in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre on September 15.

Roger Waters

“Thirty years ago, when I wrote The Wall, I was a frightened young man,” Waters told Spinner.com. “It took me a long time to get over my fears. In the intervening years it has occurred to me that maybe the story of my fear and loss with its concomitant inevitable residue of ridicule, shame and punishment, provides an allegory for broader concerns: nationalism, racism, sexism, religion, whatever! All these issues and ‘isms are driven by the same fears that drove my young life.”

This is one show you definitely don’t want to miss! Check out the tour dates below:
» 9/15 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
» 9/20 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
» 9/21 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
» 9/26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Consol Energy Center
» 9/28 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
» 9/30 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
» 10/5 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
» 10/8 – Buffalo, NY @ HSBC Arena
» 10/10 – Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
» 10/12 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
» 10/15 – Hartford, CT @ XL Center
» 10/17 – Ottawa, ON @ ScotiaBank Place
» 10/19 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
» 10/22 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
» 10/24 – Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
» 10/26 – Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
» 10/27 – St Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
» 10/29 – St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
» 10/30 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
» 11/3 – New York, NY @ Izod Center
» 11/8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
» 11/9 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
» 11/13 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
» 11/16 – Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum
» 11/18 – Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
» 11/20 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
» 11/21 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
» 11/23 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
» 11/26 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
» 11/27 – Phoenix, AZ @ US Airways Center
» 11/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
» 12/6 – San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion
» 12/10 – Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
» 12/11 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
» 12/13 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center

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American Idol sensation Adam Lambert has announced he will return to the show next week as a guest mentor for the current crop of contestants. Lambert will also perform his single “Whataya Want from Me” on the results show on Wednesday.

“It’s true!” Lambert told fans in a post on his Twitter page on Tuesday. “In addition to performing on Idol April 14th, I will be mentoring the top 8 on the 13th. I feel honored to be asked.”

Although Adam Lambert is barely out of his own American Idol experience, he feels confident he can serve as a good mentor on the show. “Even though I’m just at the start of my recording career, I hope to lend some insight as one who’s been thru the Idol adventure.”

Lambert also assured fans his performance on American Idol would be strictly PG-rated, alluding to the controversy over his racy American Music Awards appearance last November. “I will be beyond family friendly,” Lambert said. “Relax and enjoy.”

You can be sure we will Adam!

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The U.S. Justice Department approved a merger on Monday between Ticketmaster and concert promoting company Live Nation, paving the way for an entertainment conglomerate of unbelievable force in the market. The new merged company will be called Live Nation Entertainment and could change the face of the live music industry forever.

The $889 million merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster received approval from the U.S. Justice Department on Monday. The two companies have faced serious criticism regarding the merger due to the near-monopoly the combined company could have over concert ticket sales. One of the major concessions in the deal to forestall such a monopoly was an order for Ticketmaster to provide access to its technology to Live Nation rival AEG Live.

Some are still not convinced enough concessions have been made to prevent the new Live Nation Entertainment conglomerate from taking a stranglehold on the live music industry.

“While we appreciate the efforts of the DOJ to extract meaningful concessions from the parties, we remain concerned that these two companies, with a history of anti-consumer behavior, will abide only by the letter and not the spirit of the settlement agreement,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League, according to MTV.com.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation argue their combined power will actually be good for customers, despite complaints they will drive their competitors into the ground. It will give us greater flexibility in how we promote market and sell tickets to events,” Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “It will give us a pathway to alternative pricing and fee structures.”

We just feel bad for anyone trying to do business in the live music industry without going through Ticketmaster and Live Nation. No matter how much they might want to dismiss the ‘monopoly’ accusations and no matter how many ‘concessions’ they had to make to finalize the deal, a monopoly is pretty much what they’ve got at this point.

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The celebrity laden Hope for Haiti Now Telethon has raised $58 million in funding so far to help Haiti earthquake survivors – and the number is still growing. Donations are still being accepted online, via text, by phone or by mail.

The amount raised by the star-studded Hope for Haiti concert telethon is staggering, setting a record for the most funds ever raised from a telethon event. Donations from corporations and money raised through iTunes sales are still being added up.

Madonna performing at 'Hope for Haiti Now' telethon (Photo: Hope for Haiti Now)

The Hope for Haiti Now album is topping the charts as the number one album on iTunes in over a dozen countries worldwide and is reportedly the biggest one-day album pre-order in the history of iTunes. Individual songs from the album can also be purchased through iTunes and the album can be pre-ordered for $7.99. You can also download the full two-hour video of the telethon.

If you haven’t contributed yet and can spare a few dollars for this massive relief effort, you can contribute by one of these methods:

•Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
•Phone: 1-877-99-HAITI
•Text: Text “GIVE” to 50555
•Mail: Hope for Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017

100% of funds will go toward Haiti earthquake relief efforts supported by the Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the International Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme and the Yele Haiti Foundation.

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Pop icons Beyonce and Madonna have signed on to perform for MTV’s Hope for Haiti telethon, broadcasting live tonight at 8 p.m. EST. Beyonce and Madonna join other notable names such as Jay-Z, Rihanna, U2, Shakira and Taylor Swift scheduled to perform to raise funds for Haiti earthquake survivor relief efforts.

Earthquake damage in Port au Prince, Haiti (Photo: Marco Dormino/ The United Nations United Nations Development Programme)

The Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon will feature performances from dozens of today’s hottest music celebrities, including Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake.

The two-hour Hope for Haiti event will air live on all major television networks and cable stations MTV, VH1, CNN and more. Hollywood star George Clooney will co-host the telethon with Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean. Twilight star Robert Pattinson will present via satellite from London.

The benefit concert will also be broadcast live on YouTube.com, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, MTV.com, CNN.com and host of other websites.  The concert will raise funds for a variety of charitable organizations providing relief to survivors of the massive 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, including the Red Cross, UNICEF, Oxfam America, Partners in Health and Yele Haiti – the charity organization run by former Fugees member Wyclef Jean.

>> Related:  Robert Pattinson Joins Hope for Haiti Concert

The lineup for the 11th Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival has finally been announced and it looks like its going to be a banner year for music fans attending the big event. The festival will feature more than 130 acts, including big names like Jay-Z, Vampire Weekend, Faith No More, Pavement, Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Muse and Gorillaz.

11th Annual Coachella Festival Poster (Image: Coachella.com)

The Coachella Music Festival will take place on Friday, April 16 – 18 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA.

BTW, those question marks after Thom Yorke’s name aren’t a misprint on the poster. That’s how he likes his name listed when he’s performing solo. Maybe without his band, he suffers from some kind of identity crisis disorder, who knows.

Check out the full line up below:

Friday, April 16: Jay-Z, LCD Soundsystem, Them Crooked Vultures, Vampire Weekend, Deadmau5, Public Image Limited, the Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Benny Benassi, Fever Ray, Grace Jones, She & Him, Erol Alkan, the Avett Brothers, Calle 13, the Whitest Boy Alive, the Cribs, La Roux, Yeasayer, Lucero, DJ Lance Rock, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Proxy, Ra Ra Riot, Deer Tick, Wolfgang Gartner, Aeroplane, Iglu & Hartly, Sleigh Bells, P.O.S., Baroness, Hockey, Little Dragon, White Rabbits, Wale, Kate Miller-Heidke, As Tall as Lions, Jets Overhead, Alana Grace, Pablo Hassan.

Saturday, April 17: Muse, Faith No More, Tiësto, MGMT, David Guetta, the Dead Weather, Hot Chip, Devo, Coheed and Cambria, Kaskade, 2Many DJ’s, Major Lazer, Dirty Projectors, Gossip, Z-Trip, the xx, John Waters, Les Claypool, the Raveonettes, Mew, Sia, Camera Obscura, Tokyo Police Club, Porcupine Tree, Old Crow Medicine Show, Aterciopelados, Bassnectar, Frightened Rabbit, Dirty South, Flying Lotus, Corinne Bailey Rae, Pretty Lights, Shooter Jennings, RX Bandits, the Almighty Defenders, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, Craze & Klever, Zoe, the Temper Trap, Portugal. The Man, Band of Skulls, Girls, Beach House, Steel Train, Frank Turner.

Sunday, April 18: Gorillaz, Pavement, Thom Yorke, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, De La Soul, Julian Casablancas, Plastikman, Gary Numan, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, MUTEMATH, Deerhunter, Infected Mushroom, Club 75, Matt & Kim, the Big Pink, Gil Scott-Heron, King Khan and the Shrines, Florence and the Machine, Yann Tiersen, Little Boots, Miike Snow, Talvin Singh, Ceu, B.o.B., Babasonicos, Owen Pallett, the Glitch Mob, Mayer Hawthorne, Local Natives, Rusko, the Middle East, Hadouken!, the Soft Pack, Kevin Devine, Paparazzi, Delphic, One EskimO.

For more on the Coachella Music & Arts Festival, go to www.coachella.com.