The 15 Most Fugazi Moments in Music
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The 15 Most Fugazi Moments in Music - Happy birthday, Donnie Brasco! Today, February 28, is the 15th anniversary of the classic Mafia flick starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. One of its best moments is when Donnie, played by Depp, tells Pacino's Lefty that his diamond is a "fugazi." You know, a fake. It's a classic slang word, and unfortunately it's often perfectly suited to the world of music, where imagery, fakery and drama often win out over talent. So, in honor of Donnie Brasco's big day, BET.com brings to you the 15 most fugazi moments in music. Fuhgetaboutit! (Photo: Courtesy Columbia/TriStar Pictures)
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Vanilla Ice's Street Cred Melts - Back in 1991, white rapper Vanilla Ice had the fastest-selling rap album of all time, To the Extreme, on the strength of his hit single, "Ice, Ice Baby," and a backstory that claimed he grew up rough and tumble on the streets of Miami. Later that year, a piece in The Dallas Morning News revealed that he was actually from the Dallas 'burbs, and Ice has been a punchline ever since. (Photo: Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
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Milli Vanilli - Around the same time Vanilla Ice's real past was exposed, it all came falling down for hit-making duo Milli Vanilli. After their backing track skipped during a performance, it became obvious the two were lip-syncing. But then reports emerged that the pair didn't even sing on their smash debut, Girl You Know It's True; their Grammy for Best New Artist was revoked as a result.(Photo: CBS/Landov)
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C&C Music Factory - The video for C&C Music Factory's 1990 chart-topper "Gonna Make You Sweat" showed a photogenic dancer singing the explosive hook. But it turned out the real singer was Martha Wash, the legendary disco diva; after a media backlash and legal battle, the credits were amended so that finally Martha got her due. (Photos from left: COurtesy MCA Records, RCA Records)
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Officer Ricky - In July 2008, The Smoking Gun published photos and documents that proved that Rick Ross, who frequently rapped about his drug kingpin past, had in fact worked as a corrections officer in the '90s. Four years later, his suspect past is a thing of the past as Ross is one of the hottest MCs in the game. (Photo: Mediatakeout.com)
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Ashlee Simpson's SNL Performance - Ashlee Simpson was widely ridiculed when a technical foul-up made it obvious she was lip-syncing during a performance on Saturday Night Live in 2004. (Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images)
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Soulja Boy's Private Jet Fiasco - Last year, TMZ reported that Soulja Boy and his camp had told them that the "Turn My Swag On" star had bought himself a $55 million jet for his 21st birthday. A day later, the story crashed and burned when Soulja Boy's press rep told TMZ that it was 100 percent fugazi. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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HipHopDX Goes in on Plies - In 2008, website HipHopDX revealed that, despite Florida rapper Plies' frequent claims of past serious criminal activity in his music, his arrest record was misdemeanor-level skimpy. (Photo: Ben Rose/PictureGroup)
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Akon: Not "Locked Up" After All - Akon, who came into the game with the prison anthem, "Locked Up," claimed he was the head of a huge auto-theft ring, and that he had served more than four years total behind bars. But an investigation by website The Smoking Gun showed that, in reality, he had only served several months while awaiting trial for possession of one stolen BMW, and that the charges were later dropped. (Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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Alfamega Exposed - The Smoking Gun was at it again in 2009, publishing an investigation that revealed that Alfamega, a tough-guy rapper signed to T.I.'s Grand Hustle Entertainment, was a DEA informant in the 1990s. T.I. dropped Alfa from the label as a result. (Photo: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BET)
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