R.KELLY IS ILL AND CANCELED APPEARANCES

Earlier this morning TMZ reported that R. Kelly is suffering from a mysterious “health emergency” that’s caused the singer to cancel an event in New York this evening. They spoke with Kelly’s rep who told them that the singer has officially postponed tonight’s (“Soulacoaster“) book launch event in NYC “due to a health emergency that has sidelined Mr. Kelly in Chicago.” The rep would not disclose the nature of the illness but adds, “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.” SR. Kelly’s camp has now issued a press release explaining the nature of his sudden illness and its implications: While on his way to New York this morning (06-27-12) to celebrate the publication of his long-awaited memoir “SoulaCoaster,” multi-platinum R&B superstar R. Kelly was taken ill and had to return to Chicago for medical treatment. Initial indications are that he is suffering from complications from surgery he had last year to treat an abscess on his vocal cords. As a result, Kelly has had to cancel appearances on “The Jimmy Fallon Show” and NBC’s “Today” as well as a book party that was being held in his honor. It is unclear how long Kelly may be sidelined.

QUINCY JONES DISS SEAN “DIDDY” COMBS

Legendary producer and musician Quincy Jones had to clarify some things at the recent launch event for the music streaming service Spotify. Music mogul and one-time producer Sean “Diddy” Combs may have a great ear for music, having signed and cultivated such talent as The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans and 112, but according to Jones, the Bad Boy head honcho “couldn’t recognize a b flat if it hit him.” Instead, Jones noted, “P. Diddy has a doctorate in marketing,” citing his clothing labels and success with Ciroc (his vodka company) as the rapper’s true talents, reports the Huffington Post. Not all of Diddy’s business ventures have stood the test of time.  He recently closed Justin, the Atlanta restaurant he named after his son. The New York outpost of Justin was also closed, in 1997. Jones curated a playlist for Spotify, as did the bands Tiesto, Rancid and Distrubed. The service hopes the playlists will help guide users through the millions of songs it has licensed.

CELEBRITY QUICKIES

Tyler Perry has hit a roadblock in his pursuit of movie making. The filmmaker expressed interest in producing a film with Diana Ross, but apparently, she won’t return his calls. “She’s been ignoring me for years,” Perry told Essence.com while promoting his latest movie, Madea’s Witness Protection. “She’s the only person that I have dreamed of working with that will not return my phone calls.” But he does recall a time when they had a short conversation. “That was it, she never called me again. She said, “No!” And that was it.”

Rihanna was evacuated from her hotel in London this morning after a huge fire broke out.   In the wee hours of morning, the London Fire Brigade reports that Rihanna, along with 300 people, were evacuated from their hotel after an early-morning fire in an elevator shaft.  And as 10 firefighters fought the flames on the 7th floor of the luxury Corinthia Hotel. RiRi hopped herself in a cab and rode around the city tweeting “Roamin da streets since 6am! Fyah in da telly.”