Ya Heard: T.I. to testify in murder trial in death of close friend

"In any enterprise, your perspiration will be inversely proportional to your preparation."

—Scott Sorrell

T.I. is expected to be in court again this week, but this time for a matter that has troubled the hip-hop star over the last couple years. The self-proclaimed "King of the South" will make his way north to a Ohio courtroom to testify in the case of the 2006 murder of his close friend Philant Johnson. Johnson was killed May 2006 following a performance at a Cincinnati nightclub.

The altercation allegedly began after the two suspects —36-year-old Hosea Thomas and 40-year-old Padron Thomas—were denied access into the VIP area of the club after a performance by T.I.

The Thomases, who are brothers, were not named as suspects until this past summer, when one of the brothers called investigators.

According to the elder Thomas brother, upon being denied access into the VIP section, an altercation broke out between them and some of T.I.'s associates located inside the exclusive section. Allegedly, this enraged the brothers so much they followed T.I.'s entourage as it left the club in two vans. The elder

Thomas described how he drove alongside the vans as his younger brother fired shots into one of the vehicles, in which Philant Johnson was fatally injured and three others wounded.

Since Johnson's death, T.I. constantly laces his rhymes with the deep pain of losing a close friend, most notably on the track "Dead and Gone" from his latest album "Paper Trail."

In relation to this and other ongoing issues in the entertainer's life, T.I. now has a commercial running in Atlanta encouraging citizens to call Crime Stoppers with any tips on criminal activity.

According to sohh.com, the commercial features T.I. saying, "Hey, what's happening y'all? Some people call me Tip, but this is about another kind of tip that could help our mothers, our sisters, our brothers and our fathers to help get the perpetrators who commit crimes against them off the streets. All you gotta do is call Crime Stoppers Atlanta. Tips can be anonymous and there's even a reward."

I, for one, think this is a step in the right direction for not just T.I., but hip-hop in general. The "No Snitching" campaign, big in hip-hop a few years ago, went a little overboard. When it comes loss of lives and the endangerment of families, the line needs to be drawn. People need to step up, especially when all the people screaming "stop snitching" at the top of their lungs in the first place are the same ones tattle-telling faster than you can blink…Yes you!

50 CENT NEEDS CHANGE ON REALITY SHOW

Moving on… I'm not quite sure, but 50 Cent's MTV reality show "The Money and the Power" looks to be a wash. Nevermind the fact Donald Trump publicly stated the show would fail, and nevermind the fact Diddy playfully told 50 to "Get your hand out of my pocket" during a recent interview with MTV. The show just doesn't have any pop to it. After watching one episode, it is clear 50 continues to try any and every thing to stay relevant.

All the contestants seem to be genuinely afraid of 50, and I mean afraid like he's going to shoot one of them right there on camera at any given moment. Furthermore, what makes it worse is 50 is really trying to play the part.

In the tradition of all these protégé-assistant-wannabe lover "reality" shows that all have catchy phrases such as "You're Fired!!!" and the like, 50 says "Get outta here. You've been dropped!" What? Come again, Curtis!

Personally, I think they should bring Babs and the crew from "Making the Band 2" to "The Power and the Money" and see what kind of entertainment that would make.

I'm sure there are a few of you who are in love with the show, so I won't go too hard on 50's jump into prime time. But, I will say Ja Rule has to be shaking his head in disbelief after having his credibility attacked so ruthlessly.

ANGIE MARTINEZ GOES NATIONAL

Speaking of prime time, my girl Angie Martinez is finally bringing her lovely, beautiful, intelligent personality to television. That's right, the voice of New York will be premiering her show, creatively titled "The Angie Martinez Show," on BET Monday at 11:30 p.m.

Ms. Ang recently told sohh.com (who happens to be everywhere these days), she is aiming for a "comfortable" talk show.

"It's not a big production, it's not a lot of bells and whistles—it's just like, interesting talk with interesting people, that's what we kept saying." Ang stated before continuing, "It's that kind of vibe. It's very comfortable and easy. I like shows like that."

The premier show will feature Jay-Z getting candid about his marriage to Beyoncé. So check it out.

OK, that's all for this week folks.

Get back at me on turkey day next week for Ya Heard Trivia, a little something to argue about with the fam, and the latest in the world of hip-hop and R&B…Peace!

Dennis Winn can be reached at 703-200-4928 or .