Real Music People

Debbie Rowe has spoken positively of the arrangement she has reached with Katherine Jackson over the custody of her two children with Michael Jackson.

Rowe gained visitation rights with the two children she had with Jackson, Prince Michael I and Paris Katherine. “I am encouraged by the way things are working out,” she said in a radio interview.

CKNBC reporter Chuck Henry said Rowe told him she had not received any money and that the deal was not and never was about the folding stuff. Rowe is also said to have sought a psychologist’s assistance for the children to help them adjust to her.

Rowe told Henry she will not attend a court hearing set to take place in Los Angeles on Monday.

Under the new arrangement, Katherine Jackson will maintain custody of the three children. She has had temporary guardianship of them since her son’s death on June 25.

The singer specified he wanted her to become their permanent guardian in his will, which made no provision for Rowe, who gave up her custody rights in 2001. She regained them in part three years later.

Henry said Rowe told him forming a relationship with the children “will take time”.

The nurse and dietician Michael Jackson consulted before his death has commented on his medical condition in a new interview.

Cherilyn Lee said that it was sleep not highs, Jackson was seeking when he sought out drugs.

“Mr Jackson did not present himself as a drug addict and from January to April, I didn’t see that in him. Even when it came to the Diprivan, he was looking for something that was going to help him sleep.”

Lee said the beleaguered pop singer even asked her to sit in with him while he tried to sleep. “The night I stayed with him. He said, ‘I want you to see how I sleep, ’cause I want you to see that I don’t fall asleep. Or I fall asleep, it takes a while, but then I wake up after a couple hours.’ And that was before he started talking about the Diprivan.”

“He said, ‘Once it hits my veins, I’m knocked out. And I wake up the next morning I feel good, I’m full of energy. He was very excited about it – ‘Please find me someone’.”

Lee also speculated that the track marks that were alleged to be on his arms were the result of shoddy treatment, suggesting they were not those of a drug addict. “When I was drawing his blood, his veins were awfully, awfully small. And he said, ‘Oh my goodness, I have these little squiggly veins,’ and he just started laughing about it. He said, ‘Doctors always have a hard time finding my veins.’ And later it kind of dawned on me — why would doctors be looking for veins? Basically it’s nurses [that deal with veins]. I’m sure people kept missing when they were doing whatever and that’s why it looked like he had track marks.”

It is being said that Janet Jackson will not be performing at the tribute concerts scheduled for August 29th and 30th at London’s O2 Arena to honor her brother, the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Friends close to Janet say that she is much too busy with her shooting schedule for the new Tyler Perry movie ‘Why Did I Get Married Too?’ while other sources claim that the singer just wants to “separate her life from her brothers”. So far, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon Jackson have all signed on to participate in the concerts, one of which would have been on the day of Michael’s 51st birthday.

It seems that legal drama follows Foxy Brown wherever she goes. The sassy rapper has been slapped with a lawsuit from the IRS for failing to pay over $600,000 in back taxes. According to legal documents, Foxy failed to make tax payments from the years 2003 to 2006. The IRS has already brought the case to a New York court in order to collect the money they are owed from the rapper. If you remember, Foxy served 8 out of a 12 month sentence at Rikers early last year which stemmed from assault charges. You have to wonder where she’s going to get that much money fast.

Lil Kim joined Cyndi Lauper for a duet at the concert which celebrated the birthday of Nelson Mandela at Radio City Music Hall in New York City last weekend. And surprisingly, the female rapper’s performance was really awesome. The two artists performed Cyndi’s hit ‘Time After Time’ which they mashed up with Lil Kim’s ‘Lighters Up’. Obviously, Lil Kim is not a singer but the fact actually works to her advantage in the duet. Lil Kim showed something that was raw, vulnerable and pretty about her singing. I think this is probably the most real she has ever been. I wonder if she’s planning to make a new album of her singing like Queen Latifah has done.

Michael Jackson’s longtime friend Debbie Allen has joined the dispute over where the superstar’s final resting place and has said Jacko should be buried at Neverland.

The King of Pop died suddenly in LA, on 25 June, and his family are still split over where his final resting place should be.

Fame choreographer Allen said: “I really wish he could be there [Neverland]. Michael just loved being there. It was his fantasy come true.”

Allen revealed that she had a “great” time with her children visiting the singer at his Neverland ranch.

“We had so many great days there,” she said.

“The movie theatre, the trains, the animals, the lions, the games room, the candy, the popcorn – all these things I can never forget.”

She added: “One time, he [Jackson] took my son on all the rides. They had such a good time on the bumper cars.”

“I really wish he could be [at Neverland], but I have no idea what’s going to happen.”

Tito Jackson told the Daily Mirror that his late brother Michael is indeed the biological father of his three children. The former Jackson 5 member said “They are all his children. Blanket is Michael’s, I can tell. Those eyes don’t lie. Them eyes are Michael over again. I see a lot of Michael in him. Prince looks just like my grandfather. There’s no question they are Michael’s. They are 100% his. The kids are like three peas in a pod. They remind me of me and my brothers when we were growing up.” Why don’t they all just subject them to a DNA test?

Tyler Perry will try to make up for an alleged insult borne by a group of children at a Philadelphia day camp.

Perry said on his website on Sunday that he would send the Creative Steps campers on an all-expenses-paid trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.

“I want them to know that for every act of evil that a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who will do something kind for them,” Perry wrote.

Creative Steps, meanwhile, is planning to file a federal lawsuit against the Valley Swim Club in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, alleging breaches of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The club allegedly barred some 65 children from swimming in its pool after a visit in June.

The centre had contracted the pool during summer, but it now alleges the club cancelled and returned its cheque for $1,950 – with no explanation given.

Rapper Common is being accused by a pair of songwriters of plagiarism. Andrew Marks and London McDaniels recently filed a lawsuit claiming that the rapper stole their song ‘When Will the Day Come’ in his tune ‘Take it EZ’. There’s an interesting twist though. Common gives the two writers some credit on the downloadable version of his song, with the tag saying “Contains samples from: ‘When Will the Day Come.’” But the problem is, the credit doesn’t exactly pay the rent. The two writers are now suing the rapper for unspecified damages. Common should have just given them credit from the very start.

The tributes of Michael Jackson fans will be buried in the heart of Motown in a unique memorial to the pop star.

Flowers, letters, cards, photos, stuffed animals and other items placed outside Motown Museum will be given an official burial ceremony at a Detroit cemetery.

Spokeswoman for the museum, Sharon Banks, said, “the memorial is being dismantled today and will be taken at 10 am Friday by two hearses donated by James H. Cole Home for Funerals to Woodlawn Cemetery.”

The service will include a brief remembrance and a prayer for the tribute items. Banks said can attend the service at Woodlawn which has donated two burial plots. There would be no processional from the museum to the site, she said.

The museum is the former Motown Records studio which signed Jackson when he was fronting the Jackson 5, his band with his brothers.