Music

Soulja Boy has signed a multi-year sneaker and apparel contract with Yums Shoes, a Dallas-based clothing company. Interscope, the teen rapper's label, will lend a helping hand via marketing to raise awareness for the collaboration, according to a label representative.

"The Soulja Boy exclusive shoe will be released in the fall along with my album," says Soulja Boy. "The Soulja Boy cartoon will also be released in the fall, so there's three things to look out for."

Through this endorsement deal, the teen rapper will design – along with graffiti artist and designer Tex – his own signature Yums "Block Star" sneakers, as well as an apparel line.

Each Yums sneaker sole is emblazoned with graffiti art. Soulja Boy will introduce his line at the Magic trade show this fall. The rapper will appear in both television and print advertising for his Yums line and create five Webisodes that will run across the Yums and Soulja Boy Web sites.

Soulja Boy's second album, iSouljaBoy, is expected to feature contributions from Polow Da Don, Bow Wow and Sean Kingston. His 2007 debut, Soulja Boy Tell'em, has sold 919,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Billboard.com

Boy George's plans for a North American tour have run into some bad karma.

The Culture Club singer, whose given name is George O'Dowd, has canceled his summer plans, including a performance at Dallas' House of Blues on Aug. 23, after U.S. authorities denied him a visa to enter the country.

Mr. O'Dowd, 47, had planned to kick off his 25-city tour in Aspen, Colo., on July 10, and was to throw in a free concert at the New York City Department of Sanitation's Family Day in August. He worked for the department in 2006 while performing community service in a drug case.

That didn't appear possible, though, when last week his managers issued a statement saying he had been refused a visa because he's awaiting trial in London on charges that he falsely imprisoned a man. The Sun newspaper reported in April that a 28-year-old man claimed he was chained and threatened at Mr. O'Dowd's London flat, where he had gone to work as a photo model.

The singer, whose hits include "Karma Chameleon," has pleaded not guilty.

He said he's hoping to reschedule the tour for next winter.

The Associated Press

Pianist Alessio Bax, an adjunct lecturer in piano at Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts, is one of 14 musicians named to a new residency program with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The three-year residency will include performances, tours, recordings and educational outreach activities.

Mr. Bax, an Italian native who holds a master's degree and artist certificate from SMU, was first-prize winner in the 2000 Leeds International Pianoforte Competition in England.

Scott Cantrell

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