R&B producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri has been named president of Virgin Records' new Urban Music division. Dupri's own So So Def label will join Virgin under the deal, and he will also record solo material and produce other artists for Virgin. Dupri is up for two Grammys this year, for his co-writing credits on Usher 's "Burn" and "My Boo" . . .
In other hip-hop mogul news, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs could be a surprise bidder for part of Andrew Lloyd Webber's theater group, according to reports in the British media. Lloyd Webber ("Cats," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Evita") is the owner of Really Useful Group, a London-based company that, among other things, owns 11 theaters in London's West End. Although Combs's camp was mum on the subject, British papers reported that his Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group could make a bid on four of Lloyd Webber's theaters. Other reports described the sale as concerning the whole group, and said Clear Channel was the likely buyer . . .
Bob Dylan's memoir, "Chronicles, Vol. 1," has been nominated for a National Book Critics Circle prize in the autobiography/biography category, pitting it against bios on Alexander Hamilton and William Shakespeare. A spokeswoman for his publisher, Simon & Schuster, said Dylan was honored by the nomination but would probably not attend the March 18 ceremony because he'll be on tour.
-- Compiled by K. Wilcox
from Web and wire reports
