Blogs

The X Factor Finale Anyone?

Posted on December 16, 2008 at 03:45 AM

London native Alexandra Burke was crowned the winner of the UK's X Factor this past weekend after a phenomenal performance of "Listen" with Beyonce. This is Alexandra's second time trying out for the singing competition in hopes of following in the footsteps of past X Factor winner Leona Lewis. Alexandra held her own during the performance and proved that she was deserving of the win.

I have to admit though, Beyonce stole the show...

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Celebrity Foreclosures

Posted on December 15, 2008 at 03:38 AM

Over the past few months I've come to realize that when the recession hits, it takes no prisoners, especially if you are a celebrity big spender. Dame Dash, Fantasia and T-Boz are the latest celebrity victims of the recession as all three have been hit with foreclosures on their homes and threats that their homes will be auctioned off by the state in a few months if they don't pay up.

A few weeks ago, a Manhattan judge ordered the city to seize Dame Dash's Chevrolet Tahoe, because he hasn’t been making the $714 monthly payment. This lawsuit comes after Damon Dash faced foreclosure on two of his homes in which he owed 7.3 million and failed to make the $78,000 mortage payment owed on the condos for a few months. Mind you, this is a man that owned several companies including Keds and Armadale Vodka and sold his stake in Rocawear to Jay-z for 22 million. I'm sure Jay-z is hiring for a shoe shiner...Ouch!

Former American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino's 1.3 million dollar house was seized by the state of north carolina last week and the state plans to auction the house off in January if the necessary payments aren't made on the mortgage.  This comes a year after Fantasia quit the broadway musical The Color Purple and she has yet to release another album.

TMZ reported on Friday that T-Boz (of the super selling group TLC) was facing foreclosure on her Georgia home for failing to make the required mortgage payments and the home would be auctioned off in January as well..

I'm sure there is more to come...

Big spending doesn't seem as fun as it use to..

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Biggie Wrote Lil Kim's Lyrics?

Posted on December 14, 2008 at 12:22 PM

Lil Kim has been considered one of the best female rappers that will go down in history alongside legends such as MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Salt & Pepa and the list goes on. Her hardcore, gritty and vulgar lyrics on the album "Hardcore" will long be remember decades after the album was released.

There were rumors for years that the Notorious B.I.G wrote most if not all of Lil Kim's material and that is why the pint sized rapper has literally fell off after his death. A few reference tracks of some of her hottest songs emerged online a few weeks ago (including Lil Kim's Queen B) with the verses rapped entirely by Biggie.  So apparently,not only did he write the verses for Kim  but he would then record the reference tracks so that she'd know exactly how to spit the lyrics.

 

Biggie - Queen B (Reference Track) *explicit lyrics*

Lil Kim - Queen B

Interesting...  Now the question is, will Lil Kim ever bounce back after the death of Biggie?

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Is Janet and Mariah Preggers?

Posted on December 12, 2008 at 11:26 PM

Earlier today Life & Style magazine published a cover of their magazine with a picture of Janet Jackson that said "Yes, I'm Pregnant". According to the magazine, Janet Jackson has been telling all of her close friends that she is pregnant but has fears of having a baby at age 42. 

For months, Jermaine Dupri has denied that Janet's mystery illness that has caused her to cancel a string of shows during her Rock Witchu Tour was indeed a baby bump and he even went off on blogger Perez Hilton for speculating.  Could Janet Jackson really be pregnant this time? If she has been hiding her pregnancy it would be understandable as she is at the age where a pregnancy would be considered high risk. Can we fault her for waiting until the second tri-mester before announcing to the world "Yes I'm Pregnant"??

Speaking of pregnancies, Maria Carey has been reported seen coming out of a gynocologist office earlier this week holding a sonogram.  I'm still having trouble believing that she is really married to Nick Cannon. This has to be one big joke or a cry for publicity..

This could get interesting..

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What Happened to Keyshia Cole? When The National Anthem Goes Wrong...

Posted on December 9, 2008 at 01:55 AM

If you are an avid urban celebrity gossip blog reader, there was no escaping the travesty that was Keyshia Cole's wig...(hell her whole outfit) during the De La Hoya vs Pacquoia fight on Saturday Night in Vegas.  Channeling Macy Gray with a blend of the Pointer Sisters, Keyshia came out in a gold bedazzled ensemble to sing the National Anthem.  I've always been a firm believer that the National Anthem is a song that can make or break an artist's career. Whiteny Houston will always be known for her rendition and I am a firm believer that Beyonce's version would have been one to remember if Janet Jackson hadn't decided to flash her nipples to the world during Superbowl XXXVIII.

Keyshia's wig on Saturday night managed to kill her performance in the same way that Janet's nipple killed Beyonce's shine that year. Check out Keyshia Cole's performance of the National Anthem below:

Beyonce's performance of the National Anthem Whitney Houston's performance of the National Anthem Granted, I heard the Super Bowl Versions are always pre-recorded but there is no comparison..

Keyshia, it's time to step your game up! Don't ever let a wig piece upstage you :-(

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Plies In A Whole New Light

Posted on December 7, 2008 at 02:01 AM

Last week, I attended the Listening Session for Plies upcoming album "Da Realest" at Patchwerks studio in Atlanta.  Now I'm gonna be honest, I wasn't a fan of Plies before the listening session. In fact, the only reason I agreed to go was because I was already out at a video shoot.  My first real introduction to his music was "Bust It Baby" and even then I would ask myself "Why would a college educated man refer to his women as bust it babies". Better yet, refer to himself as a "goon".  I always believed it to be an "act" and never thought it was real but yet all of his album titles played off of the word "real" (The Real Testament, Definition of Real, Da Realest)

Ironically, as soon as Plies took the mic, the first thing he said was "I'm the realest artist you'll ever meet". Oh Brother, Here we go... He went on to thank everyone for allowing him the opportunity to feed his family and expressed that he never wants people to feel as though they are beneath him. Throughout the night he continuously expressed how thankful he was for the opportunity to be there and somehow he started to get through to me. I'm not sure if it was the story he told about offering a released inmate a ride home and then giving him a "start up kit" (financial blessing) as he dropped him off. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I just happened to remember audio of a lady who had just lost her job calling into a radio station to talk to Plies.  I remember how I felt when she broke down in tears after he asked for her information so he could send her money.  How many rappers would do you know that would have done that? Now that was real...

Maybe it was the record "Family Straight" which he described as his most personal record to date.  In the record he raps about his brother's prison sentence, his aunt's kindey failure, an aunt living with AIDS and his 16 year old cousin who was pregnant by a 38 year old man. He pleads throughout the record "God before you take me, let me get my family straight".

He also played snippets of collaborations with Ashanti and songwriter Sean Garrett before the session ended in an unexpected twist.  We all were asked to bow our heads in prayer. (God don't strike me, I needed that prayer...)

Sean Garrett, Yung Joc and Plies

Chaka Zulu (DTP) and Plies

Plies turns his Goon chain in for praying hands...

Julie Beverly post-interview with Plies

I may not "get" Plies just yet, but I will say last night gave me a better understanding of who he is as an artist and where he's coming from. Not to mention he had some bangers on the album. I'll give him that...

His new album "Da Realest" hits stores December 16th!

Images: Ozone Magazine

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Grammy Nominations ARe In!!!

Posted on December 4, 2008 at 01:30 PM

LIL WAYNE CLEANS HOUSE!!!!

The Gammy Award nominations were announced last night during a live concert on CBS and Lil Wayne leads this year’s nominees with eight nominations. Among his nominations were Album of the year, Best rap album (for The Carter III), Best rap song for "Lollipop," best rap solo performance and best rap/sung collaboration for "Got Money" featuring T-Pain.  Looks like Lil Wayne will be cleaning up at the show in February so Kanye can hold on to them awards he's been giving away. :-) Speaking of Kanye, he is up for six nominations including two in the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group category. He’s got two songs up for that award: "Swagga Like Us" (with Jay-Z, T.I. and Lil Wayne) and "Put On" (with Young Jeezy). Surprise Surprise! Newcomer Jazmin Sullivan was nominated in the Best New Artist Category and Trey Songz' "Can't Help But Wait" was nominated in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category.   My only question is, Did TI's "Life Your Life" miss the Grammy deadline?  That song was definitely worthy of a nomination. Here's a breakdown of the major nominees:

Album of the Year • Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay • Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne • Year of the Gentleman, Ne-Yo • Raising Sand, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss • In Rainbows, Radiohead

Record of the Year • "Chasing Pavements," Adele • "Viva la Vida," Coldplay • "Bleeding Love," Leona Lewis • "Paper Planes," M.I.A. • "Please Read the Letter," Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Song of the Year • "American Boy," William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters (Estelle featuring Kanye West) • "Chasing Pavements," Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Adele) • "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz, songwriter (Jason Mraz) • "Love Song," Sara Bareilles, songwriter (Sara Bareilles) • "Viva La Vida," Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)

Best New Artist • Adele • Duffy • Jonas Brothers • Lady Antebellum • Jazmine Sullivan

Pop Vocal Album • Detours, Sheryl Crow • Rockferry, Duffy • Long Road Out of Eden, Eagles • Spirit, Leona Lewis • Covers, James Taylor

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Adele, "Chasing Pavements" Sara Bareilles, "Love Song" Duffy, "Mercy" Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love" Katy Perry, "I Kissed a Girl" Pink, "So What"

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Kid Rock, "All Summer Long" John Mayer, "Say" Paul McCartney, "That Was Me" Jason Mraz, "I'm Yours" Ne-Yo, "Closer" James Taylor, "Wichita Lineman"

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Adele, "Chasing Pavements" Sara Bareilles, "Love Song" Duffy, "Mercy" Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love" Katy Perry, "I Kissed a Girl" Pink, "So What"

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Eric Benét, "You're the Only One" Chris Brown, "Take You Down" Ne-Yo, "Miss Independent" Trey Songz, "Can't Help But Wait" Usher, "Here I Stand"

Best Rap Solo Performance Jay-Z, "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is ... )" Lil Wayne, "A Milli" Lupe Fiasco, "Paris, Tokyo" Nas, "N.i.*.*.e.r. (The Slave and the Master)" Snoop Dogg, "Sexual Eruption"

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Estelle (featuring Kanye West), "American Boy" Flo Rida (featuring T-Pain), "Low" John Legend & Andre 3000, "Green Light" Lil Wayne featuring T-Pain, "Got Money" Lupe Fiasco (featuring Matthew Santos), "Superstar"

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Big Boi (featuring Raekwon and Andrew 3000), "Royal Flush" Jay-Z and T.I. (featuring Lil Wayne and Kanye West), "Swagger Like Us" Lil Wayne (featuring Jay-Z), "Mr. Carter" Ludacris (featuring T.I.), "Wish You Would" Young Jeezy (featuring Kanye West), "Put On"

Best Rap Song Lil Wayne, "Lollipop" Flo Rida (featuring T-Pain), "Low" Snoop Dogg, "Sexual Eruption" Lupe Fiasco (featuring Matthew Santos), "Superstar" Jay-Z & T.I. (featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne), "Swagger Like Us"

Rap Album • American Gangster, Jay-Z • Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne • The Cool, Lupe Fiasco • Nas, Nas • Paper Trail, T.I.

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will air on CBS on February 8, 2009

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New Videos from Brandy, Busta Rhymes and Kanye West

Posted on December 2, 2008 at 05:16 AM

Brandy - Long Distance Busta Rhymes - Arab Money Kanye West - Pinnochio Story (live) Kanye's video is depressing... sigh

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Who Will Get Ethered? 50 Cent vs. Lil Wayne

Posted on November 27, 2008 at 02:27 PM

I'm hearing there may be a huge Lil Wayne vs  50 Cent rap battle brewing..

Oh brother... WHY??

You see, I am a firm believer that the best way to handle a so-called beef is to not respond at all. Just take the high road ....If the person keeps throwing jabs without a relevant reason for beefing with you, they will just end up looking like a proud member of the "Hater" committee.

In the past year, Lil Wayne has managed to do just that, ignoring the 50 Cent jabs with his refusal to respond on wax.   All the while 50 continued to bait Lil Wayne telling King Magazine "I've already baited Lil' Wayne to come on out so I can break his little neck. My consistency will break his neck the same way LL's consistency broke Canibus'."

He continues. "Lil Wayne is a talented rapper but not a great songwriter. He has had great verses on other people's projects, but they were not his complete ideas over production that he picked. He's not marrying the right production and lyrics to make classic records."

Earlier that year, he also referred to Wayne as a whore for jumping on everyone's record. "A whore sleeps with whoever pays them so we gotta call him a whore  cause he will just go with whoever pay him to be on a record."

...And I can't forget the blatant Lil Wayne diss on 50 Cent's  song "Part time Lover"...

Its more than your body baby damn its your brain
You make me wanna kiss you like Baby kiss Wayne
and make you call me daddy like Baby do Wayne
Damn that sh*t sounds gay, its insane
I guess that’s the price the lil n*--a pays for fame

Lil Wayne never really fought back..or maybe he did with the sweetest revenge. A Milli first week sales, numerous accolades, CMA awards appearance, ESPN blog  and I can go on..Not to mention he is probably the most talked about rapper on the web right now. Hi Haters! You can hate me now... ..

.BUT then he decided to finally take the bait. In his latest record "Louisianimal" ft Lil Boosie he raps

All About A Dollar,
F*** Two Quarters
B--ch I’ll pour syrup in that vitamin water
I hope you die ugly, and tonight will be gorgeous
Feed me your organs b--ch I'm starving

Lil Wayne ft Lil Boosie - Louisianimal

What's a 50 Cent album release without a beef...fake or not?

Lil Wayne just gave 50 Cent 1 up...

..but it will be interesting to see who will get Ethered...

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Bigga (Beyonce + Jay-z) @ The Knicks Game

Posted on November 26, 2008 at 02:17 AM

Beyonce and Jay-z was spotted at the Knicks game tonight getting their old married couple steez on. Beyonce was fresh off of her appearance at the Cadalliac Records premiere in Hollywood were Jay-z was noticeably absent.  At any rate, the two hit up the game tonight to cheer on Jay-z's best buddy Lebron James. 

In an interview with Ellen earlier this week, Beyonce revealed that she was traumatized while watching Solange give birth to baby Juelz.  Am I the only one that's ready for Beyonce to sit her butt down and have some Bigga Babies?  Maybe I'm moreso curious of how strong that Jigga Gene is..[pause]

Check out the interview

Part 2 ...And a few more pics from the game

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