MP3.com News Breakers: 50 & Buck, Dylan, 2Pac, Lil Jon, Doherty, Braxton

Rapper out of G-Unit; icon nabs Pulitzer; Times retracts story; producer launches wine; rocker sentenced; singer hospitalized.

50 Cent dismisses Young Buck from G-Unit

Three years ago, G-Unit member The Game began speaking publicly about other rappers, sufficiently disturbing group honcho 50 Cent to the point that the two parted ways, leading to an ongoing beef. Now it looks like Young Buck has done the same.

In an interview on New York radio station Hot 97's morning show on Monday, 50 Cent announced that Young Buck is no longer a part of the four-man G-Unit crew but would still be signed to the company as a solo artist.

"You can take this as official notice," Fiddy said. "You can look at that and see that's Game all the way. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt then."

There has been tension brewing between the two in recent weeks, as Young Buck has spoken out about his role in the group and has seen that role diminished. The rapper had appeared with less frequency on G-Unit mixtapes and wasn't even pictured on the cover of some projects. Two weeks ago, when 50 played new G-Unit tracks for MTV News at his Connecticut mansion, Buck was the only member of the crew missing.

Young Buck has not yet commented on the announcement.

Dylan lands honorary Pulitzer

Bob Dylan has garnered one of the few honors that have eluded him to date--one that has never been bestowed upon a rock-and-roll artist. Dylan, the most acclaimed and influential songwriter of the past half century, received an honorary Pulitzer Prize on Monday for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

It was the first time Pulitzer judges, who have long favored classical music and, more recently, jazz, awarded an art form once dismissed as barbaric, even subversive.

Dylan's victory doesn't mean that the Pulitzers have forgotten classical composers. The competitive prize for music was given to David Lang's The Little Match Girl Passion, which opened last fall at Carnegie Hall, where Dylan has also performed.

"Bob Dylan is the most frequently played artist in my household, so the idea that I am honored at the same time as Bob Dylan, that is humbling," Lang told the Associated Press.

Times retracts Tupac story

Speaking of Pulitzers, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist has seen his career tarnished. The Los Angeles Times has retracted writer Chuck Philips' bombshell story that implicated Sean "Diddy" Combs in an assault that likely sparked the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop beef.

The story had alleged that Diddy associates Jimmy Rosemond and James Sabatino organized an assault on Tupac Shakur in 1994 that is widely believed to have sparked a feud that ultimately, at least in part, led to the fatal shootings of both Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

But Philips based the article on fraudulent FBI documents that were forged and provided to him by Sabatino, who is widely regarded as someone who has consistently tried to insert himself into the lives of hip-hop's biggest names.

The Times issued an apology for the story on March 27. Rosemond's attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, had hinted that legal action could be forthcoming but said in a statement that he was pleased at the paper's actions.

"The Times has since concluded that the FBI reports were fabricated and that some of the other sources relied on--including the person Philips previously believed to be the 'confidential source' cited in the FBI reports--do not support major elements of the story," the paper explained in the retraction.

Lil Jon launches wine label

He's best known for his crunk juice and his trademark wails over synth-laden hip-hop beats, but Lil Jon apparently also has a taste for the vino. The rapper-producer is launching his own winery, Little Jonathan Winery, which will include selections of chardonnay and merlot.

"It kind of came out of nowhere," Lil Jon told The Associated Press of his new venture. "We were just going to do some private label stuff [for parties] and we did it, and people was like, 'Hey, it's pretty nice.'"

Lil Jon acknowledges that he's no wine connoisseur. "I' not no 'drink wine every day' kind of dude," he said. "I'm not like an expert, so don't ask me no questions. ... I just like the taste."

"The wine is more nature: I wanted to not just have a direct connection, but make it just a little bit more upscale than regular 'Lil Jon.' ... This is not no ghetto Boone's Farm; this is some real wine."

Pete Doherty sentenced to 14 weeks in jail

Time has run out for the man who has shown an uncanny ability to avoid jail time in recent years. Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty has been jailed for 14 weeks for failing to turn up to probation hearings on time and for drug use.

Doherty received his sentence from Judge Davinder Lachar in West London Magistrates Court today. A spokesperson for the court said that Doherty had been jailed for "breach of time keeping, non-compliance of his order, and using different drugs."

In October last year Doherty had been given a suspended jail sentence for possession of drugs and driving illegally. His supervision order required him to make regular visits to court for progress reports, as well as take part in a drug rehabilitation program. He was threatened with up to four months in jail if he broke the law during this period.

He is expected to appeal the sentence.

Braxton hospitalized

The show will not go on--at least for the time being.

Vocalist Toni Braxton has been hospitalized in Las Vegas with an undisclosed but not life-threatening ailment. Flamingo Hotel-Casino spokeswoman Deanna Pettit told the Associated Press that the 40-year-old artist has an undisclosed ailment, was taken to a hospital Monday night, and is expected to be released this afternoon.

Pettit said she doesn't know the nature of Braxton's ailment or where she was when she became ill. Braxton is performing at the Flamingo hotel. Pettit says Braxton didn't have a show tonight, and she expects tomorrow's show to be canceled.