Report: Jay-Z making Def Jam demands

Is Jay-Z on the way out at Def Jam? The rapper-turned-mogul is reportedly making huge pay demands in his contract renegotiations with the label, making what once seemed inevitable more possible. The New York Daily News reported today that Jay-Z's talks with L.A. Reid, the chairman of Island/Def Jam, have grown tense over his huge cash demands. "Jay is asking for several million as a base salary plus big bonus 'bumps' on records that do well," the paper quotes a source as saying. "Reid isn't going for it. They're miles apart."

The report insinuated that Reid is jealous of Jay-Z's celebrity. "When Jay walks into a meeting, he sucks the air out of the room," a source told the paper. "Even without trying. At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame awards, Jay and L.A. were sitting at the same table. But it was like L.A. was invisible."

Reid has firmly denied the reports, telling the Daily News, "We really love Jay. He's so important to our company; there's not much we wouldn't do to keep him here, money being the least of them. People at other labels may wish there was trouble. If you put the two of us in a room with an artist we want, we will sign that artist. It's very hard to turn us down. I hope to work with him for many, many years. He's magical. I need him."

Tony Yayo incident the talk of hip-hop

What started as a bizarre alleged confrontation between a 14-year-old boy and G-Unit rapper Tony Yayo has mushroomed into the talk of the New York hip-hop world. The 28-year-old Yayo--real name Marvin Bernard--was arrested Sunday after police accused him of slapping and hitting a 14-year-old boy. Yayo pleaded not guilty to harassment and endangering the welfare of a child and was released Sunday on $5,000 bail in Manhattan. Authorities say he pushed and slapped the boy, hurting his ear and face.

"We adamantly deny the allegations set forth by the people today," said Bernard's defense attorney, Scott Leemon. But much of the debate about the incident has turned to two other figures: 50 Cent and Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond, who is the manager for 50 rival The Game. It seems the boy is the son of Rosemond and was wearing a shirt with the Czar Entertainment logo of his father's company when Yayo confronted him. Jeffrey Lichtman, who represents Rosemond, told the New York Post that 50 Cent actually gave Yayo a hand signal to commit the assault on the boy.

Fiddy's attorney Benjamin Brafman responded by saying that the rapper wasn't even in New York State at the time and threatened to file a defamation claim against Lichtman for statements he made to the press--specifically the insinuation that 50 was at the scene at the time of the alleged attack.

Weiland's wife accused of arson--of his clothes

Anybody got an extra pair of bright red pants--let's say with a 42-inch inseam and a 26-inch waist? Scott Weiland is in need of some new clothes now that police are saying that his wife, Mary, torched his $10,000 wardrobe in front of the couple's home in Toluca Lake, California last weekend. Police arrested 31-year-old Mary Weiland on suspicion of felony arson vandalism after cops responded to a "female burning clothes" call late Saturday evening.

The arrest followed what was reportedly a wild and violent weekend for the Velvet Revolver frontman and his wife, who had shacked up at the Graciela Hotel in Burbank. The Weilands allegedly "ripped alarm clocks and phones from their sockets and threw them, made dents and gauges in the walls, and that there was even blood found on some of the linens afterward," according to TMZ.com. The hotel's pressing charges for the damage.

The couple is not unfamiliar with domestic disputes because Scott Weiland plead guilty to domestic violence charges against Mary in December 2001. He was sentenced to probation and forced to pay a fine. Mary Weiland was booked at a Burbank police station just after midnight Sunday morning and was released after posting $50,000 bail three hours later.

Jackson to get robotic?

Hide the pee-wee robots. Michael Jackson is reportedly reviewing plans for a 50-foot robotic replica of himself should he decide to launch a long-term show in Las Vegas. The Daily News reported today that the robot would be located in the desert sands surrounding the strip to promote the show, which Jackson is considering and has prompted the embattled star to move to Vegas for the time being. "Laser beams would shoot out of it so it would be the first thing people flying would see," Mike Luckman of Luckman Van Pier, consultants to large entertainment companies, told the paper. "Neon is wonderful, but it's old school."

Luckman's partner, Andre Van Pier, designed the robot and has also sketched out a stage set of a giant audience-interactive video game with human cyborgs controlled by the audience. "Michael's looked at the sketches and likes them," Luckman said. The paper also reported that Paul McCartney is considering an investment in the proposed show.

Bee Gees to be honored in LA

The Bee Gees will receive a lifetime achievement award from a music industry group in Beverly Hills in May, organizers told Reuters this week. The pop legends will be presented with the Icon Award during performing rights group BMI's 55th annual pop music awards May 15 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

A BMI spokeswoman said it was unclear if surviving brothers Barry and Robin Gibb would perform at the invite-only, black-tie event. They have sung together only twice since Robin's twin Maurice died suddenly of a heart ailment in 2003--at charity events last year in Florida and London.