R. Kelly Threatens Accusers on Audio Recordings, Prosecutors Say

Prosecutors want a New York City jury at the R. Kelly sex-trafficking trial to hear profane video and audio recordings they say demonstrate how he threatened his victims with violence.

On one of the 2008 tapes, an enraged Kelly can be heard accusing an unidentified woman of lying to him before beginning to assault her, according to a court document filed on Tuesday (Sept. 14) in federal court in Brooklyn.

“If you lie to me, I’m going to f— you up,” Kelly says.

The star R&B singer is captured on another recording berating a second woman from Florida, identified as a “Jane Doe” he accused of stealing a Rolex watch from him, the filing says.

“You better not ever … take from me again or I will be in Florida and something will happen to you,” he says. “You understand what I’m telling you?”

Prosecutors had planned to call the second woman as a witness. But they decided against it after she “started to have panic attacks and appeared to have an emotional breakdown” while listening to the tape in preparation for her testimony, the filing says.

The defendant bragged about having “cameras everywhere” in his Chicago studio and other locations he used to keep an eye on his victims, it adds.

Kelly, now 54, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and other charges accusing him of sexually abusing several women, girls and boys during the course of his 30-year singing career. He has vehemently denied the charges, claiming that the women were groupies who wanted to take advantage of his fame and fortune achieved through hits like “I Believe Can Fly.”

The judge indicated on Tuesday that she would grant the government’s request to use the tapes as evidence at the trial that began on Aug. 18. There was no immediate response to a message seeking comment from Kelly’s defense team.

The request came a day after another witness testified she saw Kelly in a “sexual situation” with R&B phenom Aaliyah around 1993, when she was only 13 or 14. The woman also told the jury that Kelly had sex with her when she was 15 — the latest in a series of accusers who say he sexually exploited them when they were underage.

The woman — a former backup performer for Kelly who testified not using her real name — described opening a door on Kelly’s tour bus to find him kneeling in front of Aaliyah and appearing to perform oral sex on the girl. She said she immediately shut the door and left without ever speaking to Kelly about the encounter.

The jury had previously heard a former Kelly employee testify how two fake IDs were used to clear the way for Kelly to marry Aaliyah after he began a sexual relationship with her and believed she had become pregnant. A marriage license that was put into evidence falsely listed her age as 18; Kelly was 27 at the time.

Prosecutors say Kelly wanted to use the marriage, which was later annulled, to shield himself from criminal charges related to having sex with a minor and to prevent her from testifying against him.

Aaliyah, whose full name was Aaliyah Dana Haughton, worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” She died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22.

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9 Burning Questions That Will Be Answered at the 2021 Emmy Awards

The Grammys have yet to win an Emmy for outstanding variety special (live), but this year’s telecast — delayed to March because of the pandemic — was warmly received. Could the Grammys finally take home an Emmy in a program category? We’ll find out Sunday when the 73rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards air on CBS.

The other nominees for outstanding variety special (live) are The Oscars (ABC), The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show Starring The Weeknd (CBS),  Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand Building Back America Great Again Better 2020 (Showtime) and Celebrating America – An Inauguration Night Special (multiple platforms).

As the Super Bowl halftime headliner, The Weeknd stands to win an Emmy if that show wins. There might be some satisfaction for him in beating the Grammys, after the Grammys failed to give him a single nomination last year. The Weeknd’s megahit “Blinding Lights” was widely expected to be a leading contender.

Remarkably, Jesse Collins has three chances to win in this category. He was one of the top producers of the Grammys, the Oscars and the Super Bowl halftime show.

Here are eight more burning questions that will be answered Sunday night.

2. Will RuPaul become the first person of color to win 11 career Emmys?

RuPaul may become the first person of color to win 11 Emmys. He’s currently in a tie with Donald A. Morgan, a cinematographer and lighting director, with 10 Emmys each. RuPaul won two awards at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys for his work on RuPaul’s Drag Race and its spinoff RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked. He’s also nominated for outstanding competition program as an executive producer of the original VH1 show.

This would be that show’s fourth consecutive win for outstanding competition program. That would put it in a tie with The Voice (NBC) for second place on the all-time winners list in this category, behind only The Amazing Race (CBS), which won 10 times. Both of those shows are nominated again this year, as are Nailed It! (Netflix) and Top Chef (Bravo).

3. Will Cynthia Erivo win an Emmy for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin?

Erivo is nominated for outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie for playing the Queen of Soul in Genius: Aretha (National Geographic). This would be Erivo’s first primetime Emmy. Her previous Emmy was for outstanding musical performance in a daytime program for a talk-show appearance promoting The Color Purple. She also won a Tony and a Grammy for that show and its cast album.

Erivo would be the fourth actress to win in this category in the 2000s for playing a real-life entertainer. The first three were Halle Berry as Dorothy Dandridge in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (2000), Judy Davis as Judy Garland in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001) and Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon in Fosse/Verdon (2019).

Another portrayal of Lady Soul is also likely to get some awards show love. Jennifer Hudson has a good shot at an Oscar nomination for playing Franklin in Respect.

4. Will Leslie Odom Jr. beat Lin Manuel-Miranda at the Emmys, as he did at the Tonys, for their leading roles in Hamilton?

Odom won a Tony for best performance by lead actor in a musical five years ago for his role as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, beating out Lin-Manuel Miranda, who played the title role. The actors are competing again, this time for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for their performances in the Disney+ filmed version of the theatrical blockbuster. This would be Odom’s first Emmy, following his Tony and Grammy wins for Hamilton. Miranda has already won all three of those awards and is just waiting on an Oscar to become an EGOT.

Daveed Diggs and Renée Elise Goldsberry, who won Tonys for their featured roles in Hamilton, are also nominated for Emmys in supporting categories.

5. Will Tracee Ellis Ross follow Isabel Sanford into the Emmy history book?

Ross is nominated for outstanding performance by a lead actress in a comedy series for the fifth time. Ross is vying to become just the second Black actress to win in the category, following Isabel Sanford of The Jeffersons (1981). Incidentally, Ross’ legendary mother, Diana Ross, has never even been nominated for an Emmy, despite many TV appearances over the decades.

6. Will Ted Lasso make Emmy history?

Ted Lasso won three Creative Arts Emmys and is nominated in six categories on Sunday, including outstanding comedy series. If it wins them all, upping its total for the season to nine, the series will tie two major Emmy records – most Emmys won by a comedy series in single season (Schitt’s Creek set the mark just last year) and most Emmys won by a series in its first season (The West Wing set the mark in 2000). If Lasso falls short in one category and winds up with eight Emmys, it would still tie The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2018) for the most Emmys won by a comedy in its first season.

7. Will Last Week Tonight With John Oliver win outstanding variety (talk) series for the sixth year?

That would put the HBO series in a tie with Late Show With David Letterman (CBS) for second place on the all-time winners list in this category, behind only The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central), which won an astonishing 11 times. Both of those franchises are nominated again this year, with their current hosts – Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah, respectively.

The other nominees in the category are Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) and Conan (TBS). This is the 10th nomination in the category for Kimmel’s program; it has yet to win. It’s the second nod in the category for Conan, which concluded an 11-season run in June. It too has yet to win.

8. Will Saturday Night Live win outstanding variety sketch series for the fifth straight year?

There is only one other nominee in the category — the buzzy A Black Lady Sketch Show. SNL won seven Creative Arts Emmys this year, bringing its Emmy total to 84, more than any other series in TV history. Five cast members are competing for Emmys Sunday night – Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong. All are nominated for outstanding supporting actor or actress in a comedy series.

9. Will Bo Burnham become just the fourth person in Emmy history to win four Emmys in one year?

Comedian Bo Burnham won three awards at the Creative Arts Emmys for his work on his Netflix special, Bo Burham: Inside. He took outstanding music direction and both outstanding directing and writing for a variety special. If Burnham also wins on Sunday for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded), he will become just the fourth individual to win four Emmys in one year. The first three were Moira Demos (Making a Murderer, 2016), Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, 2018) and Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek, 2020).

But the competition in the variety special category is fierce. Dave Chappelle, who has won in this category in two of the last three years, is back with 8:46 (also on Netflix). The competition also includes Hamilton (Disney+), David Byrne’s American Utopia (HBO), Friends: The Reunion (HBO Max) and A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote (HBO Max).

Several of these entries have proven awards appeal. Hamilton won a near-record 11 Tony Awards. Its cast album won a Grammy. David Byrne’s American Utopia is set to receive a special Tony at the long-delayed Tony Awards on Sept. 26. Its cast album was nominated for a Grammy. The West Wing won four consecutive Emmys for outstanding drama series. Friends won an Emmy for outstanding comedy series.

The first stand-up special to win in this category was Chris Rock: Bring the Pain (HBO) in 1997. The next two were Dave Chappelle: Equanimity (2018) and  Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones (2020).

Burnham’s album, Inside: The Songs, reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200.

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Jhay Cortez’s ‘Timelezz’ Arrives at No. 2 on Top Latin Albums Chart

Jhay Cortez earns his highest ranking yet on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart as Timelezz, his sophomore effort, arrives at No. 2 on the Sept. 18-dated survey.

“Making this album was a yearlong process because I want my music to be Timelezz and have longevity atop the charts like Famouz did,” Cortez told Billboard. “I’m building my own sound which will change the game musically.”

Timelezz is a follow-up to Famouz, the Puerto Rican artist’s debut studio album, which peaked at No. 5 in 2019. The album has remained in the tally’s top 20 in all but one of its 120-week (and counting) run, holding strong at No. 16 on the current chart.

Timelezz starts with 11,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 9, according to MRC Data. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

Of the album’s opening-week total, 10,000 units derive from streaming activity. That represents 14.7 million on-demand U.S. streams of the set’s tracks.

A combination of reggaetón, trap and a nod to techno and EDM, the 17-track Timelezz was released Sept. 3 via Universal Music Latino/UMLE. While Famouz launched at No. 164 in May 2020 on the all-genre Billboard 200, Timelezz marks a big leap for Cortez, bowing at No. 70 on the current chart.

As Timelezz arrives, one of its songs debuts on Hot Latin Songs: “Ley Seca,” with Anuel AA, at No. 12. The album previously yielded four other tracks on the airplay-, digital sales-, and streaming-blended list, starting with “Kobe En L.A.” (No. 44 debut and peak, November), “Los Bo,” with Myke Towers, (No. 40 debut and peak, Jan. 21), “Christian Dior” (No. 28 peak, June 26) and “En Mi Cuarto,” with Skrillex (No. 22 high, Aug. 14).

Timelezz concurrently starts at No. 2 on Latin Rhythm Albums.

Billboard Latin Music Week Presented by Samsung Galaxy. For All News, Videos, and Coverage Click Here. This link opens a new window.

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Ozuna’s ‘La Funka’ Slides Into Top 10 on Tropical Airplay Chart

Ozuna captures his fifth straight top 10 on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart, as “La Funka” debuts at No. 9 on the Sept. 18-dated ranking. The latest from the Puerto Rican arrives with only one day of airplay as the song was released Sept. 12, the final day of the chart’s latest tracking week.

“La Funka,” a Soca (soul of calypso) and Brazilian funk-tinged tune, logged 2 million in audience impressions in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 12, according to MRC Data, the same date Ozuna premiered the song with a live performance at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

“La Funka” is Ozuna’s highest debut on the almost 27-year-old chart and follows the one-week ruler “Travesuras,” with an all-star collaborative team. Here’s a recap of his five top 10s:

Position, Title, Artist (if other than Ozuna), Date

No. 7, “Yo Soy,” with Pirulo, January 2017
No. 7, “Dile Que Tú Me Quieres,” January 2017
No. 1, “Sobredosis,” with Romeo Santos, April 2018 (10-week ruler)
No. 1, “Travesuras,” with Nio García, Casper Mágico, Wisin, Yandel, Myke Towers & Flow La Movie, March 6
No. 9, “La Funka,” Sept. 18

Billboard Latin Music Week Presented by Samsung Galaxy. For All News, Videos, and Coverage Click Here. This link opens a new window.

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Watch Nas Toast Bottomless Bellinis With LeBron James in ‘Brunch on Sundays’ Music Video

On Tuesday (Sept 14), Nas rang in his 48th birthday with the release of his all-new music video for the collaborative track “Brunch on Sundays” featuring Blxst.

The song appears on Nas’ 14th studio album, King’s Disease II, which dropped Aug. 6 as the sequel to his 2020 King’s Disease album; the latter LP earned Nas the Grammy for best rap album last year, his first win from the Recording Academy after a total 14 nominations. His latest project, King’s Disease II, with “Brunch on Sundays,” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and charted for three weeks.

In his star-studded new music video — captured at California hot spot Catch LA — Nas is seen enjoying an all-white-clad brunch alongside LeBron James, Swizz Beatz, Russell Westbrook, Cordae, Lil Rel Howery, his collaborator Blxst and more.

At one point in the music video, Lil Rel stands up to propose a toast to Nas, in which he says, “To one of the O.G.’s in the game, Nas. Man, lyricist, poet, a prophet, fam, you did it the right way, bro. Hit-Boy [is] in here … Let’s propose a toast to Nas. To better years, brunch on Sundays.”

As the song comes to an end, Nas raps, “To make it Sunday to Sunday, that sh– is deep.”

In an Instagram post he shared Tuesday announcing the new music video, Nas wrote, “Bday Brunch Vibes with my guys.”

Since the ’94 release of his debut studio album Illmatic, Nas has dropped 27 Billboard Hot 100 tracks, including two top 10 hits. In 1999, his album I Am… peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, where it charted for 25 weeks.

Watch the snazzy new music video for “Brunch on Sundays” by Nas featuring Blxst below:

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