Rock News

-- 1990's smooth rap legend, Heavy D, or the group Heavy D and The Boyz, died suddenly on Tuesday. Heavy D, born Dwight Arringston Myers, took a cover of the O'Jay's song “Now That We've Found Love (What Are We Going To Do)” onto the charts in 1991, he also rapped on Janet Jackson's 1990 hit “Alright“ and the 1991 Michael Jackson hit “Jam.” No cause of death has been determined. He was 44.

--Teen pop sensation, Justin Bieber, has agreed to take a paternity test following last week's allegations that he fathered a child with a 20 year old woman. Mariah Yeater claimed that her 3-months old child was fathered by the singer after a rendezvous backstage at an LA concert nearly a year ago. After first strongly denying any involvement with Yeater, and refusing to take a paternity test, Bieber has agreed to take the test as soon as he returns to the US from his current world tour. Matthew Hiltzik, Bieber's representative said they would "vigorously pursue all available legal remedies to protect Justin.” If Bieber is shown to be the child's father, the mother, Mariah Yeater may face charges of statutory rape, since Bieber would have been only 16 at the time the child was conceived.

--Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor recently convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, has been put on a suicide watch. Murray was found guilty of causing the death by being reckless in his treatment of Jackson. Murray could face up to four years in prison for Jackson's death in 2009.

--Fans in Detroit are up in arms about an upcoming Thanksgiving football game between the hometown Lions and rivals, defending Super Bowl champs, the Green Bay Packers. While fans are excited for the game, a controversy has sprung up concerning half-time performers Nickelback. A petition has been started urging promoters of the game to replace Nickelback with another, unspecified, act. According to the petition, which has gathered over 47,000 signatures in the Detroit area, “Detroit is home to so many great musicians [why] choose Nickelback?...This is completely unfair to those of us who purchased tickets to the game. At least the people watching at home can mute their TVs. The Lions ought to think about their fans before choosing such an awful band to play at halftime.”

--GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot, better known by his stage persona Flattus Maximus, was found dead on Thursday as the band prepared to cross the Canadian border. Smoot joined the band in 2002, replacing former Flattus Maximus Zach Blair. GWAR have decided to continue with their world tour, stating “[Cory] would want us to go on and would be pissed if we didn’t.”