JAY-Z FESSES UP TO STABBING

Roc-A-Fella/IDJ’s Jay-Z pleaded guilty today to third-degree assault charges of stabbing producer Lance "Un" Rivera during a fight in a New York nightclub.

The Grammy-winning rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, confronted Rivera at a party for rapper Q-Tip on December 1, 1999 at Manhattan's Kit Kat Klub. There, he accused Rivera of making and selling counterfeit copies of one of his recordings, then stabbed Rivera at least twice with a 5-inch knife, according to a police.

A New York State Supreme Court judge will sentence him on Dec. 6 to three years probation, and unlike certain other rappers, most likely will not give Jay-Z credit for past sentences served.

Rivera also prepared a lawsuit against Jay-Z but settled with the rapper out of court for between $500,000 and $1 million. He later told prosecutors he was not interested in pursuing the case, since a cool million is adequate compensation for being stabbed… twice.

A separate weapons charge against Jay-Z was dismissed Tuesday (10/16) after his chauffeur, Hamza Hewitt, admitted ownership of a gun found in a sport utility vehicle the rapper was riding on April 13. The chauffeur pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the third-degree and was sentenced to a year in jail.

The streetdate for Jay-Z’s latest album, "Blueprint," was moved up because of widespread bootlegging. The disc is #5 this week.