KIISQueen
01-12-2006, 01:13 PM
Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown launches March 9 on BET.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Rap diva Lil' Kim, currently in the big house, is headed for the small screen. (I'll take "Fun With Adjectives" for $200, Alex.)
As part of its new slate of original programming, black-oriented BET will do a six-episode "reality" series chronicling Kim's last two weeks of freedom as she "emotionally prepared" for prison on perjury and conspiracy charges.
Lil' Kim (real name: Kimberly Jones) was sentenced in September to "a year and a day" behind bars. She's been serving time at Philadelphia's Federal Detention Center for lying to a grand jury about a 2001 shoot-out between members of her entourage and a rival rap crew in front of a New York radio station.
Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown launches March 9. The promos may appear to support the rapper, but BET takes no position on her crime, network officials said here Tuesday at the opening day of the TV Critics Association's winter meetings.
"We take a very serious look at her life and her choices, and the consequences of those choices," said Reginald Hudlin, BET's new president of entertainment. He labeled Kim's situation "absurd, tragic, Fellini-esque." (He's a Harvard grad.)
Hudlin, a film writer/director ('Boomerang,' 'The Ladies Man'), will continue to serve as executive producer of The Boondocks on Cartoon Network. He directed the pilot of Chris Rock's new UPN comedy, Everybody Hates Chris.
BET and UPN are owned by Viacom; Cartoon Network is a Time Warner property.
Back to Lil' Kim's ethics. "We're letting viewers decide," "Lockdown" executive director Tracey E. Edmonds said in an interview. "We just want to educate them on all the issues involved, and the type of pressure that would lead her to make that decision."
As for Edmonds' personal view, she would "have to support" Lil' Kim, "because even though it may have been against the law, she was under a lot of pressure."
"She was courageous enough to accept the fact that she made a mistake and is suffering the consequences. She's not blaming anyone but herself. She was prepared to serve her time."
"Lockdown" will also enlighten viewers about the "no snitch" code of the 'hood, Edmonds said. Kim "had a tough upbringing in Brooklyn. She was taught from day one that you do not snitch. You try to stay uninvolved."
Edmonds says she hasn't visited Kim, but they correspond with each other. "She's doing fantastic. Being very strong, serving her time, reading, educating herself, making the best of it."
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Wednesday, January 11, 2006
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Rap diva Lil' Kim, currently in the big house, is headed for the small screen. (I'll take "Fun With Adjectives" for $200, Alex.)
As part of its new slate of original programming, black-oriented BET will do a six-episode "reality" series chronicling Kim's last two weeks of freedom as she "emotionally prepared" for prison on perjury and conspiracy charges.
Lil' Kim (real name: Kimberly Jones) was sentenced in September to "a year and a day" behind bars. She's been serving time at Philadelphia's Federal Detention Center for lying to a grand jury about a 2001 shoot-out between members of her entourage and a rival rap crew in front of a New York radio station.
Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown launches March 9. The promos may appear to support the rapper, but BET takes no position on her crime, network officials said here Tuesday at the opening day of the TV Critics Association's winter meetings.
"We take a very serious look at her life and her choices, and the consequences of those choices," said Reginald Hudlin, BET's new president of entertainment. He labeled Kim's situation "absurd, tragic, Fellini-esque." (He's a Harvard grad.)
Hudlin, a film writer/director ('Boomerang,' 'The Ladies Man'), will continue to serve as executive producer of The Boondocks on Cartoon Network. He directed the pilot of Chris Rock's new UPN comedy, Everybody Hates Chris.
BET and UPN are owned by Viacom; Cartoon Network is a Time Warner property.
Back to Lil' Kim's ethics. "We're letting viewers decide," "Lockdown" executive director Tracey E. Edmonds said in an interview. "We just want to educate them on all the issues involved, and the type of pressure that would lead her to make that decision."
As for Edmonds' personal view, she would "have to support" Lil' Kim, "because even though it may have been against the law, she was under a lot of pressure."
"She was courageous enough to accept the fact that she made a mistake and is suffering the consequences. She's not blaming anyone but herself. She was prepared to serve her time."
"Lockdown" will also enlighten viewers about the "no snitch" code of the 'hood, Edmonds said. Kim "had a tough upbringing in Brooklyn. She was taught from day one that you do not snitch. You try to stay uninvolved."
Edmonds says she hasn't visited Kim, but they correspond with each other. "She's doing fantastic. Being very strong, serving her time, reading, educating herself, making the best of it."
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