After being pushed back repeatedly, Lil' Kim's second album will finally hit stores on June 27. The Notorious K.I.M., named in tribute to Kim's slain boyfriend Notorious B.I.G., features guest vocals from Sisqo, Mary J. Blige, Grace Jones and Sean "Puffy" Combs, who also served as the album's co-executive producer. Sade, Eric B. and Rakim, and Pat Benatar (yes, Pat Benatar) are among the artists sampled. Despite reports to the contrary, the album is hardly a departure from the graphic sexuality depicted on her 1996 debut, Hard Core, as raunchy lyrics and orgasmic moans fill songs like "Suck My D**k," "How Many Licks" and "Single Black Female." In other Kim news, she will play the Vibe Live festival to be held at Disney World's Pleasure Island resort in Orlando, Fla., June 8-10. Other performers will include the Roots, Black Rob, Doug E. Fresh and Mobb Depp . . .

Nine Inch Nails, Moby, Methods of Mayhem, Fu Manchu, A Perfect Circle, the Bloodhound Gang, Elastica, Muse, Basement Jaxx are among those set for the new "Pyramid" stage at this year's Glastonbury Festival. Other performers include the Chemical Brothers, Travis, David Bowie, Live, Counting Crows, Fat Boy Slim and the Pet Shop Boys. The festival gates open June 21 at 9 a.m. For a full list of performers and loads of information on the event see the official Web site, www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk . . .

Busta Rhymes has hooked up with Fred Durst and Q-Tip to record a zany title track for the soundtrack for the irreverent big-screen debut of everybody's favorite Yuletide classic, The Grinch That Stole Christmas. The trio will add their voices to that of Jim Carrey -- who stars in the pic -- who has already laid down some vocals for the as-yet-untitled track. Also look for Rhymes in the DVD and VHS of One Love: The Bob Marley All-Star Tribute concert originally broadcast in December on TNT, and in Shaft, where he stars as Samuel L. Jackson's sidekick. While the rapper awaits the release of this fourth CD, Anarchy, on June 20, he is on the set of Finding Forrester, which is filming in New York and Toronto and stars Sean Connery and Anna Paquin . . .

Metallica are still suffering from the backlash from fans for blocking their access to Napster. To try to win back the faithful, the cranky metal men have decided to keep everyone abreast of their latest musings on the MP3 controversy with the help of the folks at Artist Direct, who host the official Metallica site (www.metallica.com). Artist Direct has provided the band with a place to air their concerns about copyright infringement, so Lars doesn't have to keep appearing on TV or write editorials for the likes of Newsweek. Beginning next week, the band will check in at www.artistdirect.com on a semi-regular basis to let fans know how things are progressing in their war against Napster . . .

With a baby and an album due in September, it looks like Madonna may have another project on her hands -- a legal battle with Napster. Samples of the first single, "Music," (co-produced by William Orbit and French dance artist Mirwais) from her upcoming album of the same name, were leaked to fan sites and traded on Napster over the weekend. "This music was stolen and was not intended for release for several months. It is still a work in progress. Ultimately those sites are violating her rights as an artist," read a statement from the Material Girl's management. Madonna's label, Warner Bros. Records, offered its own statement, claiming, "copyright infringement, including the unauthorized use of such recordings on Internet sites, [is] an extremely serious matter. Any site that posts or makes available our copyrighted material without our consent runs the risk of civil and criminal prosecution." Meanwhile Madonna has completed filming the video for the song with "Ray of Light" director Jonas Akerlund. According to her Web site, www.madonnafanclub.com, Madonna has described the clip as "Seventies Ghetto-Fabulous" . . .

With rehearsals for the upcoming summer tour set to begin, the Dave Matthews Band will have to take a break from recording its new album. The follow-up to 1998's Before These Crowded Streets, which the band has been working on in a Virginia recording studio, was due in mid-June. But with the summer tour fast approaching, DMB has decided to push the date back to mid to late November. The band plans to head back into the studio in early October with producer Steve Lillywhite to wrap up work on the record . . .

If Noel Gallagher releases a solo album as planned, Oasis as a band will be finished, his brother Liam says. In an interview in the Wednesday edition of British tabloid The Sun, Liam downplayed his feud with his brother but at the same time issued a warning to the errant Oasis member. "I have disagreements with everyone," he told The Sun, "not just Noel. We've had a couple of fights in our lifetime but . . . that's brothers for you, mate." However, Liam indicated he'd be less understanding if Noel continued with his plans to go solo. "When you do a solo album, how can you go back? I am not there to be a shelter for him any more. And if he goes down that road, he can't go and say, 'OK, let's start Oasis again.' If he does a fucking solo album, then Oasis will be over." The interview came the morning after the band played a show in Milan, its first gig since Noel's temporary departure . . .

Green Day's long awaited follow-up to 1997's Nimrod will be called Warning, and it's due Oct. 3. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on the record in an Oakland studio. On June 24 in Phoenix, Green Day will kick off the five-week Vans Warped tour with NOFX, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, the Donnas and others . . .

Tommy Lee was released from the Los Angeles County Jail Wednesday after serving five days for violating his probation. According to a statement from Lee's record label, it was Pamela Anderson who on May 5 reported Lee's drinking -- a shared glass of champagne on New Year's Eve -- to the District Attorney's office. Malibu Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira warned Lee that if the drummer is unable to stay sober then "you're going to come back to this court, and it'll be a very unhappy experience for you." Lee is due before Mira on Sept. 5 for a progress report . . .

Black Rob can add a charge of criminal contempt to his growing rap sheet. The rapper was supposed to appear in court Friday, May 26, to answer to charges of possession of a criminal weapon and possession of a controlled substance, stemming from his May 21 arrest in New York City. When he didn't show, a judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest. According to the Manhattan DA's office, as soon as Rob is located, a new court date will be set. No word from Bad Boy Records on why Rob missed his court date . . .

Celine Dion is recovering after two operations she underwent May 25 and 28 at a fertility clinic in New York. As a result, Dion was unable to accept a request to perform at the funeral of French Canadian hockey legend Maurice Richard, who died May 27 in Montreal. The singer is said to be doing well and will take it easy for the next couple of weeks. The thirty-two-year-old Dion announced last year that she would put her career on hold in order to have a child. Since then, she's refuted rumors by the National Enquirer that she and husband Rene Angelil were expecting a child . . .

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have plotted a joint arena tour. The questionably titled "Soul 2 Soul" tour won't have much to do with Motown or Stax, but that's fine -- traditionalists might say it won't have anything to do with country either. The luvvy dubby Nashpop couple will make twenty-three stops, with each performing a set in addition to a plentitude of duets. The tour kicks off July 12 in Atlanta, Ga., with Bud Lite sponsoring McGraw's portion of the tour and Alltell picking up the tab for Hill. For a full listing of Soul 2 Soul tour dates go to www.soul2soultour.com . . .

Services for Eva Jagger, Mick Jagger's mother, were held at St. Andrew's Church in South West London last Friday. Mick and his younger brother Chris were joined by the congregation, which included Rolling Stones Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts, in singing "Morning Has Broken" and the gospel song, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." Former wives Jerry Hall, with two of her children, and Bianca Jagger, along with daughter Jade Jagger, were also among the two hundred mourners in attendance. Eva Jagger died on May 18 in a London hospital from a heart condition. She was eighty-seven . . .

Lauryn Hill is due back in court on June 21 to face a suit brought against her by four musicians who played on her Grammy-winning album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Drummer Vada Nobles, singer Rasheen Pugh, pianist Tejumold Newton and guitarist Johari Newton are seeking millions in royalties in the case filed in December 1998 in New Jersey. Though the musicians were thanked in the liner notes, they are seeking co-writing and co-production credits for the album . . .

Sinead O'Connor still has Shane MacGowan on the brain. The singer/priest covered the former Pogues frontman's "Song With No Name" at a Dublin Rock & Roll Hall of Fame performance last night, as well as dedicating the song to the troubled MacGowan. Several months ago, O'Connor launched an intervention by leading police to MacGowan's home where he was busted for heroin possession. Therapy? and the Undertones also played at the performance, which was part of the BBC's Music Live event . . .

Eddie Murphy's new flick, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, boasts an impressive soundtrack, slated for release July 11. Featuring Janet Jackson's single, "Doesn't Really Matter," the soundtrack will also include tracks by Sisqo, DMX, Foxy Brown, Eve, LL Cool J, Brian McKnight, Jay-Z, R. Kelly and Method Man. Timbaland produced the soundtrack, with some help from veteran producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis . . .

More than two years after his death, the battle over INXS singer Michael Hutchence's estate is finally over. "It's everything we could have hoped for," Hutchence's mother Patricia Glassop told Australian reporters. Hutchence's girlfriend, Paula Yates, believed that her daughter with Hutchence, Hiraani Tiger Lily, was entitled to the estimated $10 million fortune. Lawyers agreed that half of Hutchence's estate will go to his daughter, while the remainder will be split equally between Yates, and Hutchence's mother, half-sister, father and brother. Documents discovered after Hutchence's death showed that his assets were just under $1.9 million. But Glassop claimed that the singer owned up to $25 million of property and cash, and discovered that the high-end properties were tied up in homes on the Isle of Capri and the South of France, expensive cars, a bowling alley and off-shore companies and investment schemes. The specific terms of the settlement are confidential . . .

BILL CRANDALL, ANDREW DANSBY, CHRISTINA SARACENO, GABRIELLE SCHAFER, JAAN UHELSZKI, JENNIFER VINEYARD
(June 3, 2000)