Jay-Z

Want to know how easy it is to copy an original garment and market it as your own? Well - this time around, Jay-Z sought permission from the original owners - i guess he's done with fashion related "lawsuits".

Representatives from the rapper has revealed how it can be done...professionally.

According to reports:

... a small, family-run custom clothing shop in Ogden -- just got an exclusive order from rapper Jay-Z.

If you went to high school in Utah and got a letterman jacket, it was probably made by Coleman Knitting Mills. The company's been in business since 1947.

Coleman Knitting, located in Ogden, was founded in 1947 by William C. Coleman. It is now owned and operated by his grandson, Richard. A representative for Jay-Z's new clothing line tracked an old letter jacket from the ‘70s to the shop in Ogden and ordered a batch of them for the musician's new clothing line. The Grammy Award-winning artist is also part owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team and already owns the clothing line Rocawear.

When the rep called Richard Coleman, owner of Coleman Knitting Mills, about the order, Coleman admits he didn't know who Jay-Z was.

"Never heard of him," he said. "He told me somebody had found a jacket in a thrift store that had our label in it, and it was made back in 1971."

Now Coleman and his crew are making 88 jackets for a new clothing line Jay-Z purchased out of England, called Artful Dodger.

Who is... Jay-Z? Jay-Z, or Shawn Corey Carter, is a rap artist and businessman with holdings in, among other things, record companies, a clothing line (Rocawear) and sports bars. He is also the part-owner the NBA's New Jersey Nets. He is married to R&B star Beyonce. The jackets are all handmade with the best materials -- just like what's used in the letterman jackets and cheerleading outfits the company makes for Utah high schools.

That's what Jay-Z's representative liked about the jackets.

"He says, ‘I love the quality of your coat;' and he says, 'and I assume that the quality's still the same today.' I said, ‘Yes, it is,'" Coleman recalls.

Jay-Z was adamant the Coleman name remain on the jackets so people know they were made in America.

"This is how the original label was; my grandfather designed way, way back when," Coleman said.

In the next couple of weeks Coleman will ship out the jackets, hoping Jay-Z likes them enough to make another order.

The new Artful Dodger jackets will sell for about $400. Because only 88 were ordered, Coleman says he doesn't know if Jay-Z will want more or if it's a limited item.

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Wondering how T.I. feels about Jay-Z jocking styles from his fashion line and marketing them overseas?

These letterman jackets probably cost $60.00.

Jay-Z purchased 88 customized jackets that his company plans to sell for $400.00 a piece?

Highway Robbery if you ask me. Yes the company will receive due credit, however why isn't the company Coleman Knitting Mills selling exclusive Rocawear letter jackets for $400.00?

Jennifer Lopez:

...Mrs. Lopez is thrilled that she has someone that she can finally call her own - despite taking him away from an already "married-in" situation.

According to Reports:

After two divorces and several unsuccessful high-profile relationships with stars including P. Diddy and Ben Affleck, Jennifer is now happily married to singer Marc Anthony. The beauty admits she has been heartbroken many times, but couldn’t stop herself falling for men she knew were wrong for her.

She struggled to cope when relationships ended and often vowed never to date again.

“I always made the same mistake: I threw myself passionately into a new relationship because I believed in love, as I still do, despite all the disappointments, pain and depression,” Jennifer told the German edition of OK! magazine.

“There were moments I wished I didn’t have a heart, because it hurt so much. When a love ended, a love I had believed in so hard, I wished I could crawl away like a dying animal.”

Jennifer has now settled down with Marc and the couple have two-year-old twins Max and Emme together. The 41-year-old star says she has learnt a great deal from her tumultuous love life and this has helped her relationship with Marc.

Her previous heartache has made her more realistic about love and shown her you have to work hard to be happy with someone.

“I have learnt not to give up,” she explained. “Not to run away being resigned after every contention. In my opinion there is no couple made for each other, two people are just too different.

“To love means to adjust and to accept that my partner is not the ideal man because he doesn't exist just as his ideal woman doesn’t.”

Wow - it seems as if Mrs. Lopez has "adjusted" to her current situation very well.

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Al Goodman

It's being reported that the legandary soul singer, "Al Goodman" passed away; he was 63.

It seems as if every oldtimer who allows Jay-Z to sample their music, end up Dead. Maybe it's all about the Royalty checks after all...

According to Reports:

"My good friend of at least 40 years passed away yesterday," said Marshall Thompson, leader of The Chi-lites, on Tuesday. " There's mourning all over the world -- in England, in Germany and in Japan. We're all mourning for Al Goodman."

Goodman was a member of the Moments, an R&B group that formed in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1968, along with Harry Ray and William Brown. They topped the soul charts in 1970 with "Love on a Two Way Street," and again in 1975 with "Look at Me (I'm in Love)."

Last year, rapper Jay-Z sampled "Love on a Two Way Street" for his hit, "Empire State of Mind."

In 1978, the trio renamed itself Ray, Goodman and Brown. A year later, they hit No. 1with "Special Lady." The group made regular appearances on the soul charts into the 1980s. Their last Top Ten single was in 1986.

Goodman's funeral is planned for Monday at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey.

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Jay-Z and June Ambrose

...So Jay-Z doesn't dress himself? He has a female fashion stylist who educates him on the latest and greatest "fashions" to hit the streets?

..and Jay-Z calls her his "Style Architect".

Here's a paragraph taken from a recent Interview with the Rapper:

As the Drake song continues, a stylish woman enters the office holding a grey Tom Ford suit. She's wearing designer overalls, a pair of oversize sunglasses and a silk scarf patterned with little tennis rackets and sailboats.

"Oh," she says, noticing me. "Do you want to do this somewhere else?"

"Nah," Jay says, casually removing his pants. "It's like a locker room in here."

The woman, June Ambrose -- Jay teasingly describes her as a "style architect" -- shrugs. "I brought your tighty-whities," she says, walking behind the desk. "Oh! You're wearing them."

Jay, pleased with himself, says: "I knew I'd be wearing a suit tonight." He's going to a function at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Ambrose squints at his lap. "The ones I

brought are tighty tighty-whities, though," she says.

Jay grabs the suit pants and says, "Come on, now. We don't wanna make the guy really uncomfortable."

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Wyclef Jean

Singer Wyclef Jean's family is reporting that he's considering running for president of Haiti, where he was born.

According to reports:

There have been rumors for some time the Haitian-born entertainer might enter the 2010 presidential contest, ever since his 2007 appointment as ambassador-at-large for the Caribbean nation by President Rene Preval, who cannot seek re-election.

In a statement e-mailed to reporters, the family said, "Wyclef's commitment to his homeland and its youth is boundless, and he will remain its greatest supporter regardless of whether he is part of the government moving forward ... If and when a decision is made, media will be alerted immediately."

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Aretha Franklin and Condoleezza Rice:

The Associated Press is reporting that Aretha Franklin and Condoleezza Rice will duet on August 3rd in Philadelphia at the Mann's Music Center.

As reported:

Condoleezza Rice is no stranger to the whims of royalty. So when the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, decided the two should get together to play a song or two for charity, it was decreed.

The former U.S. secretary of state and Franklin take the stage Tuesday evening at Philadelphia's Mann Music Center in a rare duet for Rice, the classically trained pianist, and Franklin, the divalicious voice of a generation. Their aim is to raise money for urban children and awareness for music and the arts.

"It is a joint effort for the inner-city youth of Philadelphia and Detroit," Franklin told The Associated Press the night before their concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Their appearance will brim not only with Franklin's catalog of hits, but arias from the world of opera and classical music.

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