Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Young, Black, and Fabulous

The Young, Black, and Fabulous

Jennifer Hudson Joins The Cast Of "The Three Stooges" + Kelly Rowland Dazzles At Day Two Of "X-Factor"

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 07:07 AM PDT

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson has been added to the star-studded cast of The Three Stooges.  Get the deets inside and see what Kelly Rowland wore to work for day two of "X-Factor"...

 

Jennifer Hudson will soon don a habit on the big screen as she has signed on to play Sister Rosemary in the upcoming film adaptation of The Three Stooges. 

According to Deadline.com, Jennifer will join Jane Lynch, who will be playing the role of Mother Superior, and Larry David, who will be playing Mother Mengele.

Actors slated to play the stooges are Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, Sean Hayes as Larry, and Will Sasso as Curly.

The 20th Century Fox comedy has already begun production.

 

And in Birmingham....

 

"X-Factor UK" judge Kelly Rowland looked very stylish in a long printed maxi dress and tan wedges on day two of the "X-Factor" auditions across the pond.

 

Miss Kelly has definitely come into her own fashion wise.  Loves it.

 

Photos via xsposurephotos.com

DO WE LOVE IT?!: Keri Hilson's Curls & Stripes

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 06:03 AM PDT

Keri Hilson got her Pretty Girl Rock on as she hit up The Mayfair Hotel in London last night.  Decide if we love her sexy and bright cut-out blouse, her striped look (but they're really mini-folds) skirt, and blonde curls look when you read on...

Keri kept it bright with a yellow cut-out blouse, a metallic bra peeking underneath, and her bright pink lipstick.

Interesting look for Ms. Keri.  And it sounds like she's ready for some British eats.  She tweeted:

Hello, London!! Land of the sacred deep fried (not baked) apple pies @ McDonalds! If you get one, hold it tight. Right, @intlasshole?! Hehe.

DO WE LOVE IT?!

 

Photos via WENN

EARLY BIRDS: Preview Jill Scott's New "Light Of The Sun" LP

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 05:52 AM PDT

Jill Scott wants to give you all a preview of her brand new upcoming LP Light Of The Sun.  You can hear snippets of 8 (out of the 18) tracks off the album, which hits shelves June 28th.

 

Peep it after the cut...

Jill and co-producer JR Hutson talk about the making of each track followed by 2-3 minute snippets of each track. You can listen to the entire playlist all the way through, or click on the track names to skip to different songs.  You feelin it?

SPOTTED: Usher & Godfather Ben Vereen Take Cinco For A Walk

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 05:23 AM PDT

Usher Raymond took his 3-year-old son Usher V (Cinco) for a walk in L.A. yesterday.  And they brought Usher's godfather, 64-year-old actor Ben Vereen, along as well.

 

Pics when you read on....

Not sure why Ben is dressed like a priestly man of the cloth, but yeah.  The trio headed to Real Food Daily, a super healthy cafe selling vegan and vegetarian dishes.

The kiddie looked like he wanted to hop on that red Ducati motorbike. 

How cute his Cinco!  Fresh to def in his ripped jeans and bright colors...

Photos via SPLASH

Shaquille O'Neal Announces His Retirement After 19 Years Of NBA Ballin' + Trina's Behind-The-Scenes Video For "Hit It Right"

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 02:37 PM PDT

 

After 19 years in the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal announced today that he is retiring.  Deets inside plus see a behind the scenes preview of Trina's video for "Hit It Right"....

At age 39, Shaquille O'Neal is the oldest active player in the NBA...or should I say was the oldest player as he announced earlier today, via twitter, that he is retiring.  

By posting a video to his Twitter account, Shaq bid farewell to his fans saying....

"We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first that I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon."

In a mini-tribute to the baller, The LA Times said this about Shaq:

"The 7-foot-1, 325-pound former No. 1 overall draft pick of the Orlando Magic in 1992 center averaged 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds in his career but played sparingly in his final season with the Boston Celtics.

O'Neal was a 15-time All-Star, four-time NBA champion -- three with the Lakers, one with Miami -- and the 1999-2000 MVP. He is considered one of the most dominant players to have played the game."

 

I'm sure he and his girlfriend Nicki "Hoopz" Alexander will be living a comfy post-NBA life.  Watch the video of Shaq's announcement here.

 

And in music videos....

 

We told you previously about the club video for Trina's song "Hit It Right" and now we have a behind-the-scenes clip of the official video before it debuts.  By the way, her ex Kenyon Martin was spotted leaving her trailer while filming last week.  Reunited?  Check out the footage above.

"Single Ladies" & "Basketball Wives 3" Get Record Ratings For VH1+Lala Starts Publicity Tour For "Full Court Life"

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 02:20 PM PDT

It was a big night for VH1.  Their brand new "scripted" series "Single Ladies" debuted with a record breaking 2.8 million viewers.  And Season 3 of "Basketball Wives" kicked off with a record 3.5 million viewers.

 

But just because the show was well-promoted and that many viewed, doesn't mean everyone loved it.  Deets, plus Lala making an appearance at Planet Hollywood with Carmelo, Kiyan, and fam, when you read on....

LisaRaye McCoy, Stacey Dash, D.B. Woodside, and Charity Shea have a rcord breaker on their hands with last night's premiere of VH1's "Single Ladies."  But whether they'll be able to keep these viewers is a whole other story.

I was sent the screener for "Single Ladies" 2-hour movie and the first episode of the follow up tv series about a week ago.  I wanted to turn the movie off by the time the DVD player hit the 7 minute mark.  I chose not to write a review at all as it would have been horrificly scathing, and with so few black leads on tv, it was just best people form their own opinion as maybe I simply wasn't their demographic.

However, after seeing everyone on my Twitter and Facebook timeline tearing into this show, I see I'm not alone.  The Washington Post summed it up best today by calling it embarrassing and basically an insult to our intelligence:

This is a series for people who found “Sex and the City” too quick-witted and “The Wendy Williams Show” too intellectually stimulating. It’s the TV equivalent of a beach read with no words. Even if “Single Ladies” can be enjoyed in some basic brainless way (and even though it’s safely sequestered on VH1, where standards are aggressively low), there’s something steadfastly embarrassing about it.

I honestly feel like this show wasn't even on BET Blackbuster level.  Which was worse: The cringe-worthy acting, the played out sterotypical "successful black woman can't find a man meets the black jezzebel ho-tastic woman" story line, Common--who played the mayor--have umpteen blondes as mistresses, the fact LisaRaye is stealing jewlery on video sets at the age of 44, or the fact the cameo list was painfully Z-list? 

I was just waiting on the whole Braxton clan to come on the ATL set and promote their own show.  That would have made it better actually. I mean damn.

Anywho, the folks over at the Washington Post pretty much summed up everything I thought about that ish.  Check it.  Will you be watching the tv series?

 

In other tv news, Lala Vazquez Anthony is ut pubbing her upcoming show "Lala's Full Court Life".  She hit Planet Hollywood in Times Square with her hubby Carmelo Anthony, her son Kiyan, her mom and fam as she dipped her hands in the mold during the handprint ceremony:

Cute dress though.

Lala's mom is in blue.

Looks like little Kiyan was ready to go.  Don't even blame him....

Photos via WENN

Rihanna Draws Outrage From Parent Teacher Council For Gunning "Man Down" In New Video

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 12:58 PM PDT

When Rihanna tweeted her fans that her "Man Down" video had "a very strong underlying message 4 girls like me," we didn't know it would include taking a gun and creating your own type of vigilante justice. 

And now Rihanna is drawing fire from the Parents Television Council...again.  Deets inside...... 

Most people seemed to love Rih's new caribbean track and video "Man Down."  Rihanna has moved to number one on the Parents Television Council list of bad influences for teens, as her latest video has them outraged because of it's violent undertones. 

RiRi first drew the PTC's fire after her sexually suggestive performance of "S&M" with Britney Spears at the Billboard Awards and now she is drawing their fire for the suggested violence in the "Man Down" video. 

In the video, Rihanna is raped by a young man she met in a cub after a night of clubbing.  She then takes justice in her own hands and guns the man down.

The PTC is upset that BET would air the video.  Secondly, they say there is a double standard because Chris Brown wouldn't get away with gunning a woman down in one of his videos.

Hmmm.....I see their point about Chris Brown, but what do you think?  Shouldn't Rihanna be allowed to make strong artistic statements in her videos whether we agree with them or not?

TV FAB: Halle Berry Starring In New Cable Series? + Garcelle Beauvais Returns In New Show "Franklin & Bash"

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 11:34 AM PDT

Both Halle Berry and Garcelle Beauvais are returning to the small screen and we have the deets on their new projects inside.....

 

Halle Berry is expected to appear on the small screen this fall in "Higher Learning" where she will play a college professor.  The Dreamworks TV series is being targeted towards pay-cable networks and is written by Lee Rose, a 30-year tv veteran.  

 

Also on the small screen, Garcelle Beauvais returns to TV tonight on "Franklin & Bash" (a new legal drama) where she stars with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer.  Asked about her new role as a lawyer, the actress said,

"It's better to play one on TV.  I didn't have to go to school for it.

But why return to TV now?

"I really wanted an ensemble cast so that I wouldn't have to work every day so I could be with the boys (her twin 3-year-olds) too."

Garcelle recently divorced the father of her twins Jax and Jaid, ex-husband Mike Nilon.

"Now that I'm sharing them with their dad, I don't have them all the time, which is the biggest disappointment of my life. Regardless, "we're making lemonade out of the lemons we got."

"Franklin & Bash" premieres tonight on TNT at 9 ET/PT.

 

The Randomness

1..  Mary J. Blige records "The Living Proof" for The Help movie soundtrack.  Story.

Cassie Says Her New Album Compares To...Aaliyah

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 10:49 AM PDT

Cassie is dishing more details about her upcoming album we're all twidling our thumbs waiting for. *eyebrows raised*   Cassie tells Nylon magazine, as she's featured in their July 2011 issue, that her new album, Electro Love, is going to be a "blend of a cool blend of pop, hip-hop, and ska."  And she's aiming for an "Aaliyah" sound.

 

Deets when you read on...

 

 

Here's an excerpt of what Cassie had to say in Nylon mag with writer Ysa Perez:

Tell us about your new album.
It's a cool blend of pop, hip-hop, and ska. It's urban Gwen Stefani meets Aaliyah. I hate referencing people but if you had to compare, that's it.

What's your favorite song on the new album?
"Lonely Disco Ball" which is about the end of the night when the party is done and everybody has left.

Yeah...this isn't going to end well.  I doubt she meant that to come off the way it did.  But um, yeah.

 

BONUS: Cassie is also featured in the upcoming "SEXY ISSUE" of VIBE mag.  Here's a couple of her pics:

She's rocking a neon green bikini by Diesel and strappy nude stilettos by Fendi.

Hot.

SOURCES: Vibe.com/Cassie-Verse.com

OH SNAP! Mister Cee Pleads GUILTY To Lewd Sexual Conduct Charges!

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 10:18 AM PDT

Uh oh!  Hot 97's Mister Cee reportedly entered a guilty plea this afternoon in a Manhattan courthouse. He stood before a judge today for the lewd sexual act and public exposure charges he was arrested on back in April after he was found by police in a car with another man at 4am in an alley.

 

The drama when you read on....

After much protesting about his innocence, by both Mister Cee and his bestie DJ Funkmaster Flex, Cee (government name Calvin Lebrun), plead guilty today at his hearing before the judge at New York Criminal Court.

No word yet on what this will mean for the radio host. Back in April, reports of Mister Cee allegedly performing "sexual like" acts with another man, 20-year-old Lawrence Campbell, with his mouth were detailed and laid out in full police documentation.

He was arrested, and then released on bail. He returned to radio with a different tagline. Mister Cee was previously only called "The Finisher" since he first entered the music business over two decades ago. And he has since changed (or added to) his tagline to "The Family Guy."  We doubt the re-branding is going to help his cause....
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