Ono unveils new Lennon tour bus; ties on the way?

With a star-studded cast to help her, Yoko Ono unveiled the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Joined by The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, Natasha Bedingfield, and Pat Monahan of Train, Ono showed off the Lennon bus, the second of its kind.

Designed to be a mobile recording studio, the bus will tour high schools, colleges, universities, and retailers, with big-name artists scheduled to join the bus at its stops. See the Lennon Bus Web site for a schedule and an interactive map. The bus will boast a high-end Apple Mac Pro loaded with Ableton Live, Logic Studio, Final Cut Studio, and Sibelius music-notation software

But Ono isn't stopping there. The New York Post reported this week that Lennon's widow is in final negotiations with an American clothing brand to use her late husband's designs on a brand-new line of neckties. Eight different ties have been designed by Ralph Marlin and Company, each adorned with Lennon's own paintings. The Post said that if the ties are given the green light, the firm hopes to expand the collection to include nightwear and boxer shorts.

Lavigne settles lawsuit

Avril Lavigne appears to have put plagiarism charges behind her. The Canadian pop star has reached a confidential settlement in a lawsuit that accused her of stealing portions of her hit single, "Girlfriend," from the 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" by the Rubinoos.

Songwriters Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer had claimed that Lavigne's track sounded suspiciously like theirs, but Lavigne and her manager, Terry McBride, denied the charges, with the latter saying he consulted a musicologist who found no similarities between the songs.

Terms of the deal were fully confidential, and a settlement does not necessarily indicate an admission of copyright infringement or payment to Dunbar and Gangwer.

Ice Cube interested in Mr. T role

First name Ice. Last name T! Ice Cube is reportedly up for the role of B.A. (Bad Attitude) Baracus in a forthcoming A-Team film, a role made famous by Mr. T. The veteran rapper, actor, and director told MTV News that he is looking forward to chopping his new afro into a Mohawk to play Baracus.

"I can't say that I'm gonna be [B.A. yet] because it's still up to Fox, the people who have the movie," Cube said. "But John Singleton hit me--I believe he's gonna direct. If he directs it, I have a great chance of doing B.A. And yeah, I'd cut it. I'd get it into a Mohawk!"

"Not only was I a fan of the show and a fan of Mr. T," Cube continued, "but it's just a great character. It's a dude, a backbone kind of dude: a little scared of airplanes, on the run from the government, that damn near sounds like me anyway! It's just a perfect fit for me."

"I wanna make a hardcore movie with these characters you remember, but I'm not trying to be Mr. T," he said. "I'm not going to wear all the gold and all that stuff. I think that's his thing. I'm gonna bring my flavor to the role. We're taking it to the big screen so it's something different."

Lupe, Rhymefest battle over Obama, election

Most rap beefs center on disses, turf talk, and ego, but Lupe Fiasco and Rhymefest have added a new flavor to hip-hop beefs. The two engaged in a spirited online debate this week about the 2008 Presidential primary elections and politics in general, with Rhymefest urging Lupe to support Barack Obama and Lupe replying that he doesn't believe in voting, but would back Hillary Clinton if he did.

The debate stemmed from an SOHH article in which Lupe said he doesn't vote and wouldn't support Obama. "Obama doesn't really impress me like that," Lupe told the site. "It's not a shot at him but some of his agendas, the bombing of Iran and all that stuff."

Rhymefest sparked the dialogue on the Okayplayer message boards and on his own MySpace blog, challenging Lupe's facts about Obama and imploring him to reconsider. "As a brother, all I'm asking you to do is tell the people that you really don't know what Barack Obama's position is on Iran, or at least not when you did the SOHH interview," he wrote.

The two went back and forth for several posts, politely explaining their backgrounds and political leanings, with Lupe saying the American political system "has shi**ed on us for over 400 years using principles that our precious politicians and candidates still hold dear to this very day...a contract of social equality written by slave owners...that deserves so many 'f**k outta here's' it ain't even funny. I have no faith in it...never have, never will."

Check out the full thread here.

As for Obama, he's voting for Jay-Z and Kanye, it seems. "I gotta admit--lately I've been listening to a lot of Jay-Z," he recently told BET. "This new American Gangster album is [good]. Kanye, I like. I enjoy some of the newer stuff. Honestly, I love the art of hip-hop. I don't always love the message of hip-hop."

Prodigy gets bid delayed for health reasons

Set to begin a three-and-a-half year prison term this week, Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy was told he can delay his sentence for 30 days to allow him to deal with some health issues. The rapper--real name Albert Johnson--was sentenced to prison for gun possession, his third felony offense.

But Prodigy suffers from sickle-cell anemia, a fact Tupac Shakur made infamous in his biting diss track "Hit 'Em Up," and the rapper asked to postpone the start date of his prison sentence so he could arrange for prescriptions and medical treatment. The rapper is due back in court Feb. 13.

Crandell domestic abuse charges dismissed

Although he'll likely have to deal with the ramifications of it for quite some time, the legal aspect of Shins keyboardist Marty Crandell's alleged domestic abuse of ex-girlfriend Elyse Sewell has concluded. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office dismissed the domestic-abuse charges against both Crandell and Sewell, citing lack of evidence.

In her LiveJournal blog, which first sparked much of the outcry about the case when Sewell posted photos of her bruised arm, the former America's Next Top Model contestant said she considered the matter finished.

"The D.A. has rejected the case against me. I am free. I wish the same outcome for Marty and have no intention of pursuing any further legal action. I would not wish entanglement in the widening gyre of the American legal system upon my worst enemy."