Lil Wayne — or Dwayne Carter III to his mom and the judge — appeared in a New York City courtroom Thursday morning to answer to charges originally put against him in July 2007, when a loaded gun was found on his tour bus by police. The rapper was then arrested on charges of criminal weapons possession and criminal possession of a loaded weapon.

Another hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 15, E! reports (which, coincidentally, is the same date his already much-delayed album, Rebirth, is scheduled to drop). Sentencing is expected to take place in February. Wayne remains free on $30,000 US bond, although he has been required to surrender his passport, E! reports.

This case is just one of Wayne’s current troubles. The rapper also faces trial for drug and weapons possession charges stemming from 2008, says Rolling Stone.

Or is it possible he made the music after the fatal bludgeonings? Some ‘Syko Sam’ videos were posted on YouTube after the September 18 killings,  apparently not by McCroskey himself but someone with the screen name ”SykoSam666.”

Whenever fans of a fringe musical genre–from black metal to Marilyn Manson–commit a crime,  we question whether the violence was influenced by the music or whether violent kids, along with more harmless fans, are just more likely to seek it out.

Horrorcore and similar genres may frighten outsiders–which is what they’re supposed to do–but most fans are drawn to the theatrics and understand it’s all fiction. Adults were horrified when Alice Cooper sang about necrophilia and staged mock hangings back in the 1970s. But now we can recognize him as the campy showman he really was. Menacing acts like Gwar and Slipknot will probably look the same in another 20 years.

Horrorcore is a deeply obscure, goth-influenced subgenre of rap. So far, attempts to define it in the light of McCroskey’s alleged killings have been nebulous. 

But if your  kid was into it, you’d be worried. Bands have names like Dismembered Fetus and fans chat online about the occult. In horrorcore, the grotesque imagery has a quality of one-upmanship, as if the artists were saying, ‘you think that’s evil, well what about THIS?’

Were the slayings of Neiderbrock and her family McCroskey’s bizarre attempt to gain credibility with other horrorcore artists and fans?

In the annals of ‘devil music’ murders, this one seems different. It’s rare that homicidal fans are performers themselves. And how many shock rock fans have carried out crimes they foretold in their songs? Not many. 

Because of Richard McCroskey, parents now have to ask themselves whether extreme entertainment–from gory rock to homemade slasher films– could ever become reality. 

When the creepy garage band next door starts posting morbid fantasies on YouTube, you have to wonder whether any of it has happened, or is about to happen, to your family.

The rapper was ejected from the bash in New York last night after he ran on stage and grabbed the microphone from Taylor Swift, who had just been awarded Best Female Video, the very first category of the night.

West ruined her speech by muscling in and declaring to the stunned audience that Beyonce should have won it instead.

Ignoring the boos and jeers, West, who had been seen swigging Hennessy cognac all night, said: “Yo Taylor. I’m really happy for you, I’m going to let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.”

During his outburst, the cameras cut to Beyonce who looked shocked and mortified, before panning back to Swift who was left standing speechless in the middle of the stage.

West later apologised on his Twitter page for his outburst, which, according to other guests at the event, left the 19-year-old country star in tears.

He said: “I’m sooooo sorry to Taylor Swift and her fans and her mom.

“I’m in the wrong for going on stage and taking away from her moment. Beyonce’s video was the best of this decade . . . I’m sorry to my fans if I let you guys down . . . I’m sorry to my friends at MTV . . . I will apologise to Taylor.”

Later, Beyonce picked up the award for Best Video for Single Ladies and invited Swift back on to the stage before hugging her and handing her the microphone, giving her the chance to finish her acceptance speech.

Speaking about the incident with West after the show, Swift said: “I was standing on stage and I was really excited because I’d just won the award and then I was really excited because Kanye West was on stage. And then I wasn’t excited anymore after that.’

And she said she was very grateful to Beyonce for giving up her moment to allow her to speak.

Speaking to MTV, she said: “It was just so wonderful and so incredibly classy of her and just gracious and wonderful to let me say something.

“She’s just been my hero and one of my idols ever since I was little. She’s a great person.”

But other stars that performed at the event and witnessed West’s rant, came out in defence of Swift, includin Pink, who reportedly had to be held back by security as she went to confront him.

On her Twitter page, she wrote: “Kanye West is the biggest piece of sh** on earth. Quote me.

“My heart goes out to Taylor Swift. She is a sweet and talented girl and deserved her moment. She should know we all love her. Beyonce is a classy lady. I feel for her, too. It’s not her fault at all, and her and Taylor did their thing. And douche bag got kicked out.”

Katy Perry also took Swift’s side and wrote: “F*** u Kanye. It’s like you stepped on a kitten.”

But Jay-Z, who turns 40 in December, asserts that he’s the exception on his 11th studio album, “The Blueprint 3” (Roc Nation), which he rush-released Tuesday after it leaked on-line. In hip-hop, extreme wealth is more potent than any drug, more lethal than any Glock – or so Jay-Z says.

  “I’m a multimillionaire, so how is it I’m still the hardest [guy] here,” he announces on “D.O.A. (The Death of Auto Tune).”

 The track takes a shot at the ubiquitous vocal effect that has dominated hip-hop production in recent years, though Jay-Z is not above using it himself elsewhere on the album. If nothing else, Jay-Z has proven himself an expert at knowing the marketplace, and “The Blueprint 3” employs a handful of top-dollar producers (Kanye West, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, the Neptunes) to cover all the commercial bases, Auto-Tuned or not.

 Its reach echoes the first “Blueprint” album, released in 2001 and coproduced by West, at that time a relative unknown still three years away from making his star-making solo debut. The combination of West’s dusty soul grooves and Jay-Z’s determination to reassert his skills as a master MC (after a few years in the pop celebrity wilderness) turned the album into a landmark.

“Blueprint 2” came out a year later, but was a far less focused effort, larded with cameos, as if Jay-Z could only be intermittently bothered to participate in his own album.

“Blueprint 3” splits the difference between its two predecessors, with Jay-Z sounding hungrier than he has in years on about half the tracks while sharing time with guest stars or grappling with undercooked production on the rest. At its core, the album is less about introducing newfound skills or subject matter than it is a platform for Jay-Z to showcase his imperious flow, to reassert his world-conquering ego, to remind everyone just who the heck he is. Just as his New York predecessor Rakim made his menacing delivery sound almost off-hand, Jay-Z has a way of delivering the news as if he’s already done it all — twice.

Born Shawn Carter in 1969, he grew up a drug dealer in the Brooklyn housing projects. He turned to hip-hop as a way out, self-releasing his debut in 1996 when no label would take a chance on him and turning himself into a star and powerbroker. Last year Forbes magazine estimated his annual income at $82 million. Little wonder he once crowed, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.”

By celebrating his business as a more elevated (and legal) form of gang-banging, Jay-Z has turned himself into something of a rap godfather. But he’s been phoning it in lately; on his 2006 album “Kingdom Come” he sounded as though he would rather be hanging out on his yacht with Beyonce.  

“The Blueprint 3” aims to show everyone he’s still got wicked skills on the mike. It does, even as it also illustrates that sometimes he coasts on his celebrity. The opening “What We Talkin’ About” sets the tone: He doesn’t have time to escalate longstanding beefs with his rivals because, let’s face it, they’re just peons and he’s got more important things to do, like hang with his pal, the new U.S. president.

 Hubris reigns. He’s the king of New York, able to command cameos from Rihanna and Alicia Keys on “Run This Town” and “New York State of Mind,” respectively. These tracks are the sound of Jay-Z cruising for pop hits, and they already sound like anthems. But there’s no justifying “Forever Young,”  with a vocal hook sung by Mr. Hudson; it’s the kind of mush that suggests there might be something true to those rumors Jay-Z has gone soft. There’s the ponderous “Reminder,” a blustery list of accomplishments. And “Venus Vs. Mars” reaffirms that Jay-Z has never been particularly strong at seduction raps.

 Yet even at three-quarter speed, Jay-Z can still be formidable. Timbaland’s sci-fi production on “Off That” is a poor fit, but the MC opens up a spigot of rhymes about refusing to live in the past, invoking his nemesis Bill O’Reilly to comic effect. The hard-edged soul claps of “A Star is Born” and the zinging strings of “Already Home” (both produced by West) are natural fits, and he dazzles without breaking a sweat. He even turns a joke about his resemblance to a camel into an opportunity to once again disarm his critics. The message: Don’t mess with ol’ Gray-Z.

On “Run this Town” he demands respect for his new record company by saying, “This is Roc Nation, pledge your allegiance.”  The entire song is meant to introduce Roc Nation, Blueprint 3 and touches on Jay-Z buying out his contract from Def Jam. “I’m a couple bands down and I’m tryin’ to get back.  I gave the other grip, I lost a flip for five stacks.”

Tuesday night, Commissioner Bob Langstaff pushed the city attorney to develop an ordinance that would limit the kind of entertainment allowed at the Civic Center.

The Gucci Mane controversy continued as city commissioners held a special briefing to discuss whether it’s possible to establish new policies to regulate who can perform at the Albany civic center.

City commissioner Bob Langstaff first brought up complaints about the rapper’s lyrics.