Vibe Magazine

A new pop culture magazine aimed at young males is set to compete with the likes of Rolling Stone and Details when it hits newsstands next year, its publisher said Thursday. Bob Guccione Jr., who co-founded Spin magazine in 1985 and sold it last month, told Reuters he is now working on a magazine called Gear, which he envisages will be the first step in a diversified publishing empire. The first two issues of Gear, beginning September 1998, will be quarterly, and then it will become a monthly.

The rapper accused of stabbing a man at the 2004 Vibe Awards pleaded no contest to an assault charge in a plea deal made public Monday. David Darnell Brown, 24, who records under the name Young Buck, had faced assault and attempted murder charges in connection with the Nov. 15, 2004, stabbing of 26-year-old Jimmy James Johnson. Under the agreement between prosecutors and Brown's attorney, the rapper receives a sentence of three years' probation and must serve 80 hours of community service.

Pop diva Mariah Carey made a clean sweep at the third annual Vibe Awards in Culver City during an incident-free evening Saturday, collecting trophies in all four categories in which she was nominated. Carey was named artist of the year and received album of the year honors for her "The Emancipation of Mimi" album, which has sold more than 3.7 million copies in the U.S., making it one of the biggest hits of 2005.

The Scene: Tuesday's West Coast launch party for Vibe magazine at the Mayan. The 10-issues-a-year mag, a co-venture between Quincy Jones and Time Warner, is described by editor Jonathan Van Meter as "Rolling Stone for the post-rock 'n' roll generation." One clue that indicates Vibe won't be covering Crosby, Stills and Nash reunions, Carly Simon revivals or Eagles re-issues is the cover featuring emerging hip-hop artist Snoop Doggy Dogg.

TV & MOVIES Made for TV: Christopher Reeve and Wesley Snipes will both star in two-hour ABC movies next season. In his first lead acting role since his 1995 horseback riding accident, Reeve will play a paralyzed man who believes he has witnessed a murder from his apartment window in a remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic "Rear Window." Snipes, meanwhile, will star in "Futuresport," a "Rollerball"-like action drama about a "'dangerous new game" that decides "the fate of entire countries."

Pop diva Mariah Carey made a clean sweep at the third annual Vibe Awards in Culver City during an incident-free evening Saturday, collecting trophies in all four categories in which she was nominated. Carey was named artist of the year and received album of the year honors for her "The Emancipation of Mimi" album, which has sold more than 3.7 million copies in the U.S., making it one of the biggest hits of 2005.

The pop music world was thrown into a spin this week when the owners of Vibe magazine, the nation's leading hip-hop journal, bought Rolling Stone's chief rival in the rock field. Wednesday's $42-million purchase of Spin magazine gives Vibe Ventures a powerful one-two punch in the publishing world and raises numerous questions in the record industry. Among them: Will the new owners shift Spin from its alternative rock base to a more mainstream focus?

MTV, chili peppers and Seattle-scene hoopla aside, it looks as if, at long last, rock 'n' roll is finally dead. The last nail in its coffin seems to have been pounded this week by Vibe magazine, which hopes to become the official voice of rock's cultural replacement: the hip-hop nation. Monday, 200,000 copies of Vibe's preview issue hit the streets for a nationwide test run. Judging from all cultural weather vanes, such a publication's timing is perfect.

A rap artist suspected of stabbing a man at this week's Vibe awards ceremony surrendered to Santa Monica police detectives Friday. David Darnell Brown, 23, who records under the name Young Buck, faces assault and attempted murder charges in connection with the stabbing of Jimmy James Johnson, 26. Authorities believe Brown stabbed Johnson during a melee that broke out just before rap star and record producer Dr.

Does the music business need a David Stern? The National Basketball Assn. commissioner took swift and strict action against the players involved in the recent brawl with fans in Detroit. His message in suspending Indiana Pacer star Ron Artest -- the most flagrant offender -- for the rest of the season at a cost to Artest of nearly $5 million in lost salary, was a clear one of zero tolerance for such behavior.

A rap artist suspected of stabbing a man at this week's Vibe awards ceremony surrendered to Santa Monica police detectives Friday. David Darnell Brown, 23, who records under the name Young Buck, faces assault and attempted murder charges in connection with the stabbing of Jimmy James Johnson, 26. Authorities believe Brown stabbed Johnson during a melee that broke out just before rap star and record producer Dr.

Santa Monica police named a young rap entertainer Tuesday as the suspect in a stabbing during a melee at the Vibe music awards. David Darnell Brown, 23, was sought in the attack Monday night on Jimmy James Johnson, 26, of Los Angeles, who remained in stable condition Tuesday, police said. Brown is better known to rap fans as Young Buck, a member of the G Unit, a rap collective that has been among the hottest names in pop music.

The magazine industry is abuzz about who will buy Vibe, Spin and Blaze now that Miller Publishing Group has put its prized music publications on the selling block. Since the Los Angeles-based publishing company hired investment banker Salomon Smith Barney to explore a deal, a Chicago investment firm and the former president of Vibe/Spin Ventures have emerged as potential buyers of the hip, urban magazines. Some say Miller Publishing Chairman Robert L.

Among the losing bidders for Petersen Publishing last year was Robert L. Miller, an expansion-minded executive who helped create such magazines as Vibe and Martha Stewart Living during a 23-year career at Time Inc. You won't find Miller licking his wounds, though. With backing from a prominent investment firm, Miller last month scooped up six sports magazines--more than doubling the size of his Los Angeles-based media company.

A new pop culture magazine aimed at young males is set to compete with the likes of Rolling Stone and Details when it hits newsstands next year, its publisher said Thursday. Bob Guccione Jr., who co-founded Spin magazine in 1985 and sold it last month, told Reuters he is now working on a magazine called Gear, which he envisages will be the first step in a diversified publishing empire. The first two issues of Gear, beginning September 1998, will be quarterly, and then it will become a monthly.

Does the music business need a David Stern? The National Basketball Assn. commissioner took swift and strict action against the players involved in the recent brawl with fans in Detroit. His message in suspending Indiana Pacer star Ron Artest -- the most flagrant offender -- for the rest of the season at a cost to Artest of nearly $5 million in lost salary, was a clear one of zero tolerance for such behavior.

Quincy Jones made his name producing music--not magazines. But the world's best-known record producer--the man behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album--says he's getting into the magazine business because he's fed up with rock music magazines such as Rolling Stone that virtually ignore rap. "Rolling Stone makes second-class citizens out of the people in this business who are icons," said Jones.

The pop music world was thrown into a spin this week when the owners of Vibe magazine, the nation's leading hip-hop journal, bought Rolling Stone's chief rival in the rock field. Wednesday's $42-million purchase of Spin magazine gives Vibe Ventures a powerful one-two punch in the publishing world and raises numerous questions in the record industry. Among them: Will the new owners shift Spin from its alternative rock base to a more mainstream focus?