A Motown vocalist dies of cancer

Motown singer Pervis Jackson, of the popular 1970s group The Spinners, has died. Jackson, whose voice can be heard on hits including “Rubber Band Man,” was hospitalized, suffering from cancer in Detroit . He was 70 years old when he passed on Monday.

Rapper is on Arizona ’s “no bail” hold

The good news is that DMX will go at least a month and a half without being arrested again. The bad news is that he’s locked up in Arizona until his next court date in October after he was collared in Miami last week. X had missed a hearing on Arizona drug charges days earlier, later telling his lawyer that he’d checked himself into a Florida hospital for unspecified reasons. Cops later found the rapper at a Wal-Mart store where he was promptly picked up and then sent back to Arizona , where he’s listed on “no bail” hold. DMX has been arrested more than a half-dozen times on various charges this year.

Rapper’s hospitalization reportedly caused court absence.

Rapper DMX’s lawyer says the performer had an excuse for missing his latest court hearing. X reportedly checked into a Miami hospital Tuesday, preventing him from returning to Arizona for a scheduled appearance on drug charges. Meanwhile, the Arizona judge in the case issued a warrant for DMX’s arrest after he missed a court date on the charges. Details aren’t clear about the nature of X’s ailment, but the judge who issued the warrant hadn’t been told the rapper was hospitalized. His lawyer hopes DMX can return to Arizona without being taken into custody. Legal problems and arrests have plagued the artist for most of 2008. Attorney Charles Kozelka says X is “serious” about getting help for substance abuse.