Catching Up: Producer Charged With Murder, New MJ Track, Elton John, Eminem

New Michael Jackson

A snippet of an unreleased Michael Jackson recording recently appeared on the Internet.

According to TMZ, the track – “Another Day” – is probably a collaboration between Jackson and Lenny Kravitz with the King of Pop singing a verse that originally appeared in an older Kravitz tune called “Storm.”

Kravitz wrote a moving tribute to Jackson for Spinner shortly after the pop star’s June 25 death, saying he and the Moonwalker had been working on a yet-to-be released track. In the essay, Kravitz called Jackson a “beautiful human being.”

“There will never be another talent like Michael Jackson,” wrote Kravitz. “Many people are saying what a performer, what an icon. How many Grammy’s he won. How Thriller was the biggest selling album in history. They speak about the controversy and countless other things. But the truth of the matter is he was a boy that God blessed with the most angelic voice.”

Click here to read the TMZ article.

Click here to read Lenny Kravitz’s tribute to Jackson in Spinner.

Elton John Helps Eminem ‘Just Say No’

Elton John has been helping Eminem fight drugs for the past 18 months, telling a radio host the rapper has been doing “brilliantly.”

Appearing on the BBC Radio’s “Live Five,” John told host Danny Baker that he’s always ready when people ask for help.

“I’m there if people want help,” John told the radio host. “If people ask for help you tell them where to go but there’s no point advising if they don’t want it.”

According to London’s Telegraph, Eminem spoke during a recent interview about asking John for help, saying he called on the pop legend because John knew from first hand experience what it’s like to clean up.

“[Elton] had a substance-abuse problem in the past,” Eminem said. “So when I first wanted to get sober, I called him, because he’s somebody in the business who can relate to the lifestyle and how hectic things can be.”

John’s own experiences with cocaine during the 1980s are pretty well documented. The star refers to that period as his “lost years.”

“Initially it was fun, but I am not a man who can just do one of anything,” John said. “I have got that kind of nature. So I could not do one gram of coke, I had to do six grams and then I would want more. It ended up being incredibly depressing.”

John first met Eminem in 2001 during the Grammy Awards when the Brit criticized the American for making less than complimentary remarks about gays. According to the Telegraph, the two became friends during the time period leading up to the release of Eminem’s Relapse album in 2009.

Click here to read the complete Telegraph article.

Click here to listen to the entire BBC Radio “Live Five” interview.

Book ‘Em

Rap producer Shawty Redd was arrested Friday morning in Atlanta and charged with murder.

The 28-year-old Redd, whose real name is Demetrius Lee Stewart, is accused of shooting Detroit resident Damon A. Martin during an argument at Stewart’s home outside Atlanta, and is being held without bail.

Stewart, who has worked with several rappers, including Snoop Dogg and Young Jeezy, is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 12.