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Famed Attorney Johnny L. Cochran Dead At 67

Renowned attorney Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., who made a name successfully defending celebrities like O.J. Simpson, Puff Daddy, and Snoop Dogg in high-profile cases, died today (March 29) at the age of 67.

Cochran died of an inoperable brain tumor at his home in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, according to his brother-in-law Bill Baker.

His wife and his two sisters were at his side when he passed away.

"Certainly, Johnnie's career will be noted as one marked by celebrity cases and clientele," his family said in a statement. "But he and his family were most proud of the work he did on behalf of those in the community."

Cochran is probably best recognized for defending football star O.J. Simpson in the early 90s during a high-profile murder trial that divided the country and made popular Cochran's lasting phrase, "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit."

But before then, the highly sought after attorney defended ordinary citizens against the Los Angeles Police Department's uncivil practices.

He also served as Snoop Dogg's lawyer during the rapper's trial in November of 1995 when Snoop was charged as an accomplice to murder.

Sean "P. Diddy" Combs hired Cochran when faced with charges of criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degree, stemming from a 2001 shootout at a New York nightclub.

Combs, Simpson and Snoop Dogg were all acquitted.

More recently, Cochran defended Rosa Parks during her appeal to reopen a lawsuit against Outkast over their hit song that uses her name in the title.

In the still pending trial, Parks claimed that the group was using her name for profit without compensating her.

Outkast was later dropped as a defendant.

Cochran once mentioned that his biggest disappointment came when his client Elmer "Geronimo Ji Jaga" Pratt, a Nationalist activist, Vietnam War veteran and godfather to Tupac Shakur, was convicted of murder in 1972.

Authorities alleged that Pratt robbed and shot a young white couple on a tennis court in 1968.

The woman died, and her husband survived to identify Pratt in a line-up two years after the shooting.

A judge in Orange County overturned Pratt's conviction in 1997 after he served 27 years in prison, a day Cochran described to the Los Angeles Times as the happiest in his career.

"Johnny would be one the attorneys that we would get to assist the Panthers. He's like my brother. We are like family members," Geronimo told AllHipHop.com. "Johnny was always there. …Johnny was instrumental in a lot of tactic. He is a media personality."

Cochran received a law degree from Loyola Marymount University in 1962 after graduating from UCLA.

His national law firm Cochran, Cherry, Givens & Smith, L.L.P. eventually became "The Cochran Firm" and is the country's largest personal injury plaintiffs tort law firm.

The Cochran Firm, which currently has offices in California, Florida, Georgia, New York, and Washington, D.C. among other places, has not released a statement yet.

Funeral services for Cochran have yet to be announced.

Bishop Lamont auf Aftermath ....

Busta Rhymes' Aftermath Release "The Big Bang" steht an. Am 12. Juli soll es soweit sein. Derzeit befinden sich Busta und Dre im Studio um das gemeinsame Projekt weiter voranzutreiben. Das soll aber noch nicht alles von Busta gewesen sein, denn wie zudem bekannt wurde, wird er der Executive Producer des kommenden Raekwon Albums sein.

Berichten zufolge steht Dr. Dre kurz davor einen weiteren Westcoast Rapper für sein Label zu engagieren, jedoch wurde aus rechtlicher Sicht noch kein Vertrag ausgearbeitet. Bislang basiert alles nur auf mündliche Zusagen. Bei dem Künstler handelt es sich dieses Mal, um den etwas weniger bekannten Rapper Bishop Lamont, der schon mit J. Wells zusammengearbeitet hat.

In einer anderen Aftermath News heißt es laut Street Hop, dass Dre wieder an seinem nächsten Soloalbum gearbeitet hat. Es ist nichts konkretes bekannt, jedoch können sich die Arbeiten zu Detox durch das mögliche Signing von Bishop Lamont weiter verschieben.

Which would you choose: Bitches or Bud?
PlayBoy 7 - Bitches. You can get high and still have to clip your own toe nails. Bitches can do more for you than bud can.

Und das meinte Daz dazu:


As ya'll probably heard, WCRydaz.com put up a statement from Kurupt Young Gotti, where he basically said that he would be down to get back with Daz & Snoop Dogg, for a Dogg Pound Reunion.
This is what all the fans have been wishing for since the breakup in 2002. I quickly caught up with Daz, and it looks like all parties haven't agreed to this yet, however it is not impossible.

"Ask him if he's still with Suge Knight!", Daz said. "Aslong as he's with Suge Knight & Death Row, ain't no way in hell I'm fuckin' with it!"

A reunion seems possible though, after the obligatory fight Daz wants to have. "I'ma have to beat his ass first. Then we can talk. He can do this thang. I know Snoopy been talkin' to alotta cats. And my name keep poppin' up! I ain't worried about that..">.

Hopefully we'll see something good come outta this, because we all know Snoop, Daz, Kurupt, Bad Azz, Soopafly, Nate Dogg etc were at their best when they were all together, united, as the Dogg Pound Gangstas.

www.dubcnn.com

Hello, We’ve held back for awhile but we can’t hold back anymore. There is tons of good news to share with everyone so please read this entire message. For those of you waiting for a new Lightheaded album, it is completely finished. All the recording and mixing is done. 14 brand new songs. This is definitely a step forward for us. The new album still has a track produced by Muneshine, but the majority of the production this time is handled by Ohmega Watts. Contributions are also made by Stro of the Procussions and Tony Stone. This leaves Lightheaded with only 3 “official” members (Braille, Ohmega Watts and Othello). Our extended family includes DJ Bombay, DJ Manwell and Muneshine....... but the core is the northwest trio. With Muneshine living in Canada, going to college and having prior commitments, he has been unable to tour with the group. This was one of the primary reasons for making this decision. It’s all love for sure. Now that the new album is done, we are preparing to hit the road. First off, we are going on The Extreme Tour. This is almost a mission trip of sorts, as we will be traveling for over a month doing free concerts and using merch money to pay for our gas. In the meantime, we are also shooting a music video for one of our lead singles for the new album. The video includes 3-D animation and is guaranteed to be entertaining. Speaking of videos, Braille just finished a video off his solo album for the song “Shades of Grey”. Expect to see the final video on-line or on disk very soon. Braille has been very busy as of late. If you’ve been to your local magazine shop, you might have noticed that he was featured as one of Urb Magazine’s NEXT 100. You can see Braille on page 59 of the April issue. Aside from that, Braille was also named “lyricist of the year” and his solo effort was named “album of the year” over at Sphere of Hiphop. In order to express his thankfulness to all the fans, Braille has created a new solo project titled “Scatter Brain”. This project is fully produced by DJ Bombay, and with no features involved, Braille handles all the rhymes himself. Limited hand-made copies should be available in May, and will shortly be followed by an official release. On a couple last notes.... 1. Braille has shows lined up in California for the first week of April. See him in either Sun Valley, Pomona or Orange County. 2. Tracks from Ohmega Watts upcoming 12" can be heard at www.myspace.com/ohmegawatts 3. Othello had a great time performing in Japan at the legendary Blue Note clubs. Now that the Lightheaded album is done, he is working on his next solo project titled “Alive At The Assembly Line”. Last but not least, bookmark www.hiphopismusic.com because it will be active very soon. The store will be filled with brand new t-shirts from Lightheaded and more. Thank you all for your support. Peace and GOD bless

Gaw-damn this is good!! Congratulations to Daz and to Kurupt. The best duo to ever exist.

Which would you choose: Bitches or Bud?
PlayBoy 7 - Bitches. You can get high and still have to clip your own toe nails. Bitches can do more for you than bud can.