January 16 - Jamaican authorities open fire on Jimmy Buffett's seaplane, mistaking it for a drug trafficker's plane. U2 singer Bono was also on the plane, but neither singer was injured.
January 29 - Garth Brooks refuses to accept his American Music Award for "Favorite Overall Artist". Brooks says that Hootie and the Blowfish had done more for music that year than he did.
February 20 - Snoop Doggy Dogg and his bodyguard are acquitted of first degree murder. The jury deadlocks on voluntary manslaughter charges and a mistrial is declared.
July - The Smashing Pumpkins drummer, Jimmy Chaimberland, is arrested for possession of a controlled substance. The remaining members of the Smashing Pumpkins fire Chaimberland because they said his "insidious battle with drugs and alcohol" had nearly ruined everything for the band.
September 7 - Gangster singing rapper Tupac Shakur was shot 4 times and was wounded at Las Vegas, Nevada after seeing the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand as they were leaving the hotel, obviously suggested that event was caused by the drive-by shooting. Tupac was taken into hospital.
September 13 - Tupac Shakur died in hospital after his wounds with the Las Vegas, Nevada MGM Grand shooting.
Sheryl Crow's self titled album is banned from Wal-Mart stores because of the lyric "Watch out sister, watch out brother/watch our children while they kill each other/with a gun they bought at Wal-Mart Discount Stores".
Singer Tori Amos is sued when a man crashes his car after being distracted by a billboard advertising her album; the billboard featured a photo of Amos breastfeeding a piglet.
Amos's single "Caught a Lite Sneeze" becomes the first song offered as a free digital download by a major record label.
