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ROYAL PAIN
They're the kings of rock/There are none higher/But
label suits/Are making life dire.... Run-DMC's star-studded
album, Crown Royal, is on indefinite hold, due to unsuccessful
negotiations between their label, Arista, and those of guests
Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst (Atlantic and Interscope,
respectively). Atlantic and Interscope have declined to grant
Arista permission to release the Run-Rock and Run-Limp
collaborations as singles, fearing they might divert attention
from Rock's and Limp's own recent albums. ''It's not normal to
let somebody work a conflicting single when you're in your
current record cycle,'' says Peter Katsis, an exec with Limp's
management. ''We tend to agree with Interscope.'' Arista's Pete
Ganbarg admits to ''some issues in terms of single rights,'' but
says he hopes they'll be ironed out in time for a spring
release. ''We're trying to get Run-DMC back into the studio to
record more songs where single rights aren't a concern.''
BIG FINISH
In this age of cobbled-together posthumous rap
albums, it's heartening to learn that Big Punisher (who died
Feb. 7 of an apparent heart attack) can rest in peace without
folks mucking with his legacy. According to Sean C, an A&R exec
at Pun's label, Loud, the artist's second record, Yeeeah Baby(due April 4), will be his last: ''No one wants to exploit his
memory — not the label, not [Pun mentor] Fat Joe. We're just
going to try to make everything good for Pun's family.'' Hip-hop
hooray.
