AND ANOTHER ONE
Poor Rihanna. She isn't doing a good job picking lovers. The 'Umbrella' singer's new boy toy, Matt Kemp, reportedly has a violent past. In June of 2008, his live-in girlfriend, 'Day of Our Lives' actress Felisha Terrell, filed a restraining order against the LA Dodgers baller accusing him of threatening, intimidating and stalking her. She said, "He is violent and I am afraid." Some of Rihanna's friends have reportedly told Star magazine, "You'd think after what she went through with Chris [Brown], RiRi would be extra careful about learning the background of any man she gets close to." As if that wasn't enough, Kemp was also reportedly kicked out of a club for fighting with a woman. [Crunktastical]

WORTH NOTING: After the news spread like wildfire, Kemp's camp issued a statement. [Young, Black & Fabulous]

*****

FREE AND CLEAR
Can't say we've heard a recently incarcerated rapper say this before; New Orleans rapper Mystikal was just released from a six-year prison bid for sexual battery and extortion and now he's calling for reparation. "It's been a long time...if feels like a dream. Watch how I'm going to shake this world up now. I want reparation!" he told New Orleans Q93 radio jock Wild Wayne. The rapper, whose real name is Michael Tyler, was released from jail last week. He owes one more album to Jive Records as part of the contractual agreement he signed with the label before serving his jail time. Already, record labels have expressed interest in signing him. But, the 'Danger (Been So Long)' MC says "It had to be God" who got him through his ordeal. [Eurweb]

*****

FINALLY THERE FOR 'FELA!'
It's about time!!! Despite a big campaign to let it be known that Will and Jada Smith were signing on as producers of the Broadway musical 'Fela!' -- along with Jay-Z -- the Hollywood power couple had yet to turn up to check out the show. The Roots drummer ?uestlove, who is also a show producer, cleared things up when he blogged that the Hollywood couple announced that they just recently signed on as executive producers. He said over this past weekend Mr. and Mrs. Smith were in town to see 'Fela!' and there was even a 'Welcome to the Team' party thrown in their honor. Jay-Z -- along with major celebrities such as Spike Lee, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Fallon and Ben Stiller -- turned up at the show's opening night celebration on Nov. 23. [Young, Black & Fabulous]

*****

SECOND TIME AROUND

'Save the Last Dance' actor Sean Patrick Thomas and wife Aonika Laurent are expecting their second child. The couple, who has a 20 month-old daughter, Lola Jolie, will add a new baby to the fold early this summer. According to the 39 year-old actor's rep, "All is going well and they are due in June." Congrats! [People]

*****

THE KING THING
It doesn't look like the family of Martin Luther King Jr. will overcome plans to create a bio-pic of the Nobel Prize winning civil rights activist's life. Though one of King's sons, Dexter, has given a Steven Spielberg-produced movie his blessings, two of King's children aren't having it. "This is a deal that Spielberg and his people have entered into believing that they have the blessing of The King Estate. They don't have the blessings of Bernice and Martin King," Bernice King informed reporters last May. But, Dreamworks doesn't care and they've hired Academy Award-winning screenwriter Ronald Harwood --of 'The Pianist' -- to pen the feature film and he says, "I will do my utmost to be true to truth." Some are guessing King's women-loving ways will turn up in some way. [Perez Hilton]

*****

GROUND ZERO
This 'American Idol' season's William Hung, 'General' Larry Platt, who crafted the catchy 'Pants on the Ground' song, is having the best week ever...or so he thought. Apparently, the hit tune about young people who look silly wearing baggy pants was never copyrighted. Platt has now hired an attorney to help him get his song copyrighted so that he can profit from the song's success. Famously, Minnesota Viking Brett Favre sang the song in the locker room after the team's win last weekend. Platt also turned up to perform 'Pants on the Ground' on 'The View' on Jan.18. [TMZ]

*****

OFF ON HER OWN

If the latest gossip is true, Kelly Rowland is showing her former manager and Beyonce's daddy, Mathew Knowles, that she can survive without him. The former Destiny's Child singer was reportedly seen leaving Universal Motown Records offices last week and talk of the town is she just scored a new record deal. The label has yet to formally announce the signing, but it looks like Rowland may have come into her own. [Bossip]

*****

MORE THAN THE COLOR PURPLE
'The View' co-host Whoopi Goldberg appeared in the hit Disney musical 'The Lion King' on Jan.14. She threw on a colorful headdress and lots of make-up to play Rafiki for a one night cameo in the long-running Broadway production. The Academy Award-winning actress voiced Shenzi in the original animated move back in 1994, but some folks are buzzing that the 'Sister Act' star's get-up was a bit much for an actress of such acclaim. 'The View' plans to show clips of her performance, so you can decide. [Crunktastical]