HACKER SPREAD RUMORS: NATE DOGG is NOT DEAD!

The manager of hip-hop star NATE DOGG has blasted "vicious" rumours alleging the singer is dead, insisting he is alive and well. Snoop Dogg's cousin - real name Nathaniel Dawayne Hale - was said to have passed away at the weekend (10-11May08) after suffering complications following his stroke late last year (07). The news spread across the internet after a message was posted on the 38-year-old singer's MySpace page - but his manager Rod McCrew insists the cruel reports are all false.

And he claims the MySpace post was made by a member of the public who had hacked into Nate Dogg's account on the social networking site. McCrew tells XXLmag.com, "It's a vicious rumour. And it's run amok." Nate Dogg has been recovering at home since he was hospitalised in December (07), but McCrew reveals he is gradually regaining his health.
He adds, "We're pleased with his progress."