Snoop Dogg avoids jail time

Presented with the possibility of facing up to four years of jail time for felony gun and drug charges, Snoop Dogg pleaded no contest to those charges yesterday, avoiding any prison time, according to the Associated Press. The 35-year-old rapper--real name Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr.--agreed to five years of probation and 800 hours of community service. He faced charges of gun possession by a felon and sale or transportation of marijuana. The charges stemmed from an incident last October at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, where he was arrested on suspicion of transporting marijuana. Police later found a gun at his home.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry Smerling placed conditions on the probation, including that only 400 hours of the community service could involve Snoop's much-publicized youth football league. The judge also ruled that Snoop Dogg could not have any gang members in his entourage and must notify the probation department before leaving the state. The rapper must also provide authorities a DNA sample, and he must have a medical permit if he uses marijuana. The rapper caused a sensation when he arrived in a fur-collared black leather jacket, a T-shirt, and sequined jeans.

Janet Jackson hit with lawsuit

Facing a $120 million assault lawsuit, Janet Jackson will be forced to give a deposition under oath about an allegation that two of her bodyguards grabbed a man and choked him when he attempted to pass the singer a note at Club Marquee in New York in February 2004. Jackson's lawyers had sought to have the suit thrown out, but Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Rolando Acosta decided this week that the case can move forward, according to the New York Post.

In the lawsuit, 41-year-old Leonard Salati alleges that two African-American men, one weighing around 300 pounds, were serving as bodyguards for Jackson and her boyfriend, codefendant Jermaine Dupri. Jackson requested the case be thrown out, claiming that they were accompanied by only one bodyguard that evening, whom they described as a 5-foot-8 Caucasian man, weighing only 180 pounds. Judge Acosta described Jackson's lawyers' legal maneuvering as a failed "Hail Mary" attempt to keep Jackson and Dupri from testifying.

Rick Ross sued by manager

He can rhyme Ross with boss, but Rick Ross allegedly can't keep up on his bills. The Miami rapper has been hit with a lawsuit claiming he owes his manager more than $1 million dollars for services rendered over the past three years. Philadelphia-based Respect Management, owned by attorney Kevon Glickman, filed the lawsuit this week in US District Court in Pennsylvania. The lawsuit claims that Ross--real name William Roberts--breached his contract with the firm by attempting to divert commissions due to Respect Management to his comanager, Elric "E-Class" Prince.

Glickman claims that while Ross was his client, Ross' earnings went from $5,000 to more than $1 million in the three-year span, yet Ross failed to compensate Respect Management for its management services, in excess of $1 million dollars. The lawsuit claims that through the use of physical and mental intimidation, "Roberts has demanded that management commissions due on his record and publishing contracts be paid Prince rather than to Respect as required by the agreement."

New Balance eyes Joy Division tribute shoe

Sneaker maker New Balance is set to release a shoe that honors seminal British post-punk band Joy Division, according to HypeBeast.com. The white and gray sneakers, designed by independent artist Dylan Adair, feature the artwork of the cover of the band's 1979 debut, Unknown Pleasures, embroidered on the tongue tag and printed on the insole. "Fact 10" is embroidered on the back, a reference to the band's label, Factory Records. The shoes were made to mark the 30th anniversary of the band's formation. New Balance hasn't yet announced details on when the shoe will be released, though the site indicates that they may already be gracing the front windows of shops in the UK.

Proof doc premieres tonight

One year after Proof was killed in a bar-brawl-turned-gunfight at a Detroit area nightclub, a film featuring the D12 rapper and Eminem sidekick is set to premiere in the GM Theater at the Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit. Time A Tell, a documentary that looks at the acclaimed Detroit hip-hop scene, features Proof and DJ Jewels in the studio as they put together a complete 18-track CD full of original lyrics and beats within 24 hours for a segment called "The Challenge." The movie trailer can be found here.

Proof died in a hail of bullets last April 11 after an argument over a pool game escalated, with the rapper reportedly pistol-whipping and shooting 35-year-old Keith Bender Jr. before being fatally shot by Bender's cousin Mario Etheridge. Etheridge avoided murder charges in the case after a court determined he shot and killed Proof in an act of self-defense.