R.I.P. Don Cornelius:

“Soul Train” pioneer Don Cornelius was found dead at 4 a.m. at his Sherman Oaks, California home, caused by an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound. He was 75-years-young. Spawned in 1971 with $400 of his own cash, Cornelius’ as host of the show would go on to etch an iconic role in the national exposure of everyone from Aretha Franklin to Heavy D over the course of its 35-year history. The show was also, and still is, the longest, continuously running first-run syndicated program in television history.

All Guitars Must Pass:

Oh, iPad, what don’t you do? Beatles nerds rejoice, you will soon be able to virtually explore the Grammy Museum’s exhibit of George Harrison‘s guitar collection dubbed “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” among the various other stories and instruments he acquired throughout his career on a new app coming Feb 23. The virtual cost? $9.99. Loaded with 360-views shot by photographer Steven Sebring, Harrison’s son, Dhani, developed the app. Feb 23 is also two days shy of George’s 69th birthday, for whatever that’s worth (via the L.A. Times).

Stupid Hoe:

The “female weezy” or so the Trinidadian-American artist, Nicki Minaj, calls herself in squeaky-cheek blips on single “Stupid Hoe” from forthcoming LP Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is seeing a ban from BET, reports TMZ. No word from BET reps on why, but well, there’s plenty of material here to discern for yourself, if you can make it past the three notes that make up the song, and on to the splash of skin and vibrant color the talented Hype Williams cut the official video with.

The Rapper That Happens To Be Latin:

Label behemoth BMI has announced Cuban-American talent Pitbull as the respient of its 19th annual BMI Latin Awards’ President’s Award to be presented March 30 at the Encore Wynn Las Vegas. Honoring the “unique occasion when an individual songwriter or executive has distinctly and profoundly influenced the entertainment industry,” Pitbull, a.k.a. Armando Christian Perez is specifically being recognized for his “defining new brand of global superstardom,” quotes a press release from BMI. One describing himself in an interview as “not a Latin rapper,” but rather “a rapper that happens to be Latin,” he once recorded a hybrid spitfire-howling song with Marc Anthony called “Rain Over Me.” It currently has been views over 231 million times on Youtube.

Lyricapsule:

Following a speculative complaint from an Indiana teenager, the governor of the state, Matthew Welsh, sent a message to the Indiana Broadcasters Association ambiguously mentioning that the public would basically be better off if The Kingsmen‘s slurring rock and roll classic “Louie Louie” would simply not be played on this day in February of 1965. One wooden slate on the bandwagon that it would become, the idea that the song was pornagraphic would actually make it into an FBI lab to disprove. The result, a year and a half later: “Unintelligible at any speed.” Let that be a lesson to all you fire-stokers – slur your speech.