Another Baby Spice, Kirk Franklin, And 'Family Values' In News Bites

03/05/1999 4:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(3/5/99, 1 a.m. PST) - The Spice Girls may have lost Ginger last year (LAUNCH, 6/1/98), but they keep coming up with new additions to the Spice family. Less than two weeks after Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown became the first Spice mom (LAUNCH, 2/19), Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams delivered a healthy seven-pound baby boy yesterday at London's Portland Hospital.

Adams was not accompanied by her fellow Spice sisters, but by her fiancé, Manchester United soccer star David Beckham, who had just finished playing a soccer game hours before. The couple has named their son Brooklyn Joseph, making it the second Spice baby who shares a name with an American locale. (Scary Spice named her baby girl Phoenix).

Adams was reportedly in good condition after the birth, celebrating by drinking champagne, according to the BBC.

Gospel star Kirk Franklin is teaming up with Honey Nut Cheerios to assist a charity devoted to rebuilding churches. The cereal will feature a picture of Franklin on selected boxes, as well as offer a special on the back.

The back of the box offers consumers the chance to purchase a special Nu Nation tour sampler CD for $5.99. The nine-song album features Franklin, CeCe Winans, and Trin-i-tee 5:7. From each of the album sales, $1 will go to the Burning Churches Project, an organization that battles racism in the United States, primarily in the South.

Honey Nut Cheerios has never had a gospel figure grace the front of the cereal box, but the company did a similar promotion with veteran R&B acts last summer (LAUNCH, 6/25/98).

On March 30, homes will be invaded with the heavy-metal-meets-hip-hop sounds and views of the show that rocked the fall, when the Family Values tour album and video are released by Epic. The album will feature songs Korn, Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube, Rammstein, Orgy, and Incubus. The video will highlight the unique parts of the tour, including laser shows, cages full of radio listeners, and giant-sized statues of rap artists.

Highlights on the album include Limp Bizkit's cover of the George Michael hit "Faith," Korn's 10-minute medley of some of its greatest hits, and Ice Cube's rendition of N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton."

Features on the Spice Girls, Kirk Franklin, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube, Incubus and Rammstein are available now on LAUNCH.com; an exclusive chat transcript with Incubus is also available. Look for an Orgy feature next week.

-- Kathleen Howe, Los Angeles

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