Late breaking: RIP PEDRO BELL, the "operational crazoid" artist who created most of FUNKADELIC's album covers, wrote the liner notes while he was at it, and helped create a cosmic, mythological funk universe in the process. One of the all-time great album artists. He deserved a better life in this universe. Bell on Chicago cable access TV in 1997. Talking to SUPREME in 2007. A heartbreaking profile from 2008. And then: "He could’ve been making that BASQUIAT money, but he wouldn’t follow up ... Musical law and order: MEEK MILL's 12-year odyssey in the Pennsylvania court system is over, with the Philadelphia DA's office dropping all remaining charges after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegal possession of a firearm. Prosecutors, who in the past year have been on the rapper's side, said the case was "an example of excessive punishment, excessive supervision.” District Attorney LARRY KRASNER told reporters, "just as [Meek Mill] has evolved in the last 10-plus years, the criminal justice system also needs to evolve." Hip hop hooray... A prosecutor in Sweden won't appeal the suspended sentence given to A$AP ROCKY in his assault case, thus ending yet another hip-hop justice cause célèbre. The chance that Rocky will thank PRESIDENT TRUMP, who apparently saw himself as the MICHAEL RUBIN to Rocky's MEEK MILL, but without doing quite as much work, remains low... UNIVERSAL MUSIC wants to close the book on a lawsuit stemming from a disastrous 2008 fire, the disastrous effects of which it declined to disclose to its artists for several years. Previously, UMG had said four of the five artists who sued over lost master tapes had not in fact lost master tapes. Now it's saying the fifth, SOUNDGARDEN, did lose a valuable master—the 1/2-inch analog reels containing the two-track master of 1991's BADMOTORFINGER—but that it had told the band. In 2015. Seven years after the blaze. UMG is asking that the suit be dismissed. HOWARD KING, a lawyer representing artists in the suit, told VARIETY, "Why would we accept anything they say at face value now?" Still unknown, 11 years after the fire and two and a half months after the NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE's JODY ROSEN tried to assay the damage: what exactly was lost. That's the one thing artists want to know, and have a right to know... Ratings for Monday's VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS were flat, which MTV might well consider a victory. Viewership was down in the 18-49 demo and up in the 25-54 demo, which we will label the "MISSY ELLIOTT demo." Also, someone appears to have been watching at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., which we'll dub the TAYLOR SWIFT hate-watch demo... Linguists apparently hate-watch, or at least hate-read, Taylor Swift, too. But the singer was figuratively correct when she used the word "literally" in an interview last week, and anyone who doesn't understand that literally needs to get a life... Rosewood is about to become generally available to guitar, cello and clarinet makers for the first time in two years. An international endangered-species treaty in 2017 severely restricted trade in the prized tonewood, but instrument makers argued that their industry isn't the problem and that the restrictions had led to a tangible cultural loss. They're expected to be granted an exemption from the treaty this week... On Oct. 1, PRINCE's estate will take over management of PAISLEY PARK from—in case you'd forgotten—the KING's estate... RIP NEAL CASAL.