Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The Young, Black, and Fabulous

The Young, Black, and Fabulous

Beyonce Added To List Of Performers At The 2011 MTV VMAS

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 08:52 AM PDT


Beyonce is set to perform on the MTV VMAs for the first time in two years on Sunday. Get the deets inside.....

 

This Sunday at 9pmET, Beyonce will hit the stage for the 2011 MTV VMAs, marking her first performance at the VMAs in two years. 

Beyonce, who's up for Best Female Video, Best Choreography and Best Cinematography awards, joins a long lineup of 2011 VMA performers including superstars like Lady Gaga, Adele, Bruno Mars, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Young the Giant, Pitbull and Ne-Yo. 

When asked about Mrs. Knowles Carter taking the stage again, Amy Doyle, executive producer of the 2011 MTV VMAs and MTV's EVP of Music & Talent said, 

"We are thrilled to have Beyoncé return to her rightful musical home at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards.  Her performances at the VMAs are legendary — leaving everyone breathless and talking for days. We can't wait to see her set the stage on fire once again!"

The VMAs will air live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday and, as usual, TheYBF.com will be on the red carpet providing you all the first-hand behind the scenes deets!  Follow us on Twitter and hit the site for exclusive updates all day Sunday!

Rihanna Splashes It Up In St. Tropez

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 07:53 AM PDT

More fun times in St. Tropez for Rihanna.  She rocked a cute pink multicolored jumper while hitting the water sports on the coast of France.  Pics of her still chillin' with friends on vacay inside...

Rih and co. took one of the mini boats from their super yacht out int he water so they could hop on jetski and water tubes yesterday:

Pics from the sea:

A little fun in the sun is what everyone needs every now and then.

Her vid "Cheers" hits the net today.

Pics: RihannaDaily.com

TV FAB: "X-Factor" REVEALS Mariah Carey's Role On The Show

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 07:23 AM PDT

Whether it's the US version or its sister show in the UK, everyone is buzzing about the "X-Factor", but one thing the UK version doesn't have is the diva Mariah Carey. Find out what MiMi has in store for her "lambs" this fall.....

 

When Simon Cowell's "X-Factor" show debuts on Sept. 21, he will be joined by one of the biggest recording artists of all time, Mariah Carey.  But fans won't see Mariah Carey sitting next to Paula Abdul or LA Reid as a judge...she will be “a guest of a judge - in this case Simon Cowell,” according to PEOPLE Magazine.  

A source told the mag,

“Mariah is definitely confirmed to be a part of X Factor. She is confirmed to tape something with Simon Cowell at the judge’s homes.  Each of the judges [Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger, and L.A. Reid] will tape something with mentors they have selected and Simon has selected Mariah to do that with him. The judge’s mentor the talent they pick and she will be working with them.”

I don't care what role she plays....as long as this chick shows these kiddies what they need to be aspiring to.  No more medicority in this biz... 

DAMN: WNBA Chick Jantel Lavender Accused Of BUSTING Her Ex's BALLS....LITERALLY!

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 07:04 AM PDT

Former Ohio State baller and 2011 LA Sparks rookie Jantel Lavender was accused of a "flagrant foul" off-court recently as her ex-boyfriend said she smashed his balls and left him in throbbing pain.  Wonder what he did to get her so pissy.  Get the deets inside...

 

During a recent altercation with her ex-boyfriend Adam Ashley, LA Sparks rookie Jantel Lavender is accused of kneeing Adam in the groin so hard that he was left "throbbing from the pain."  According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Adam "...obtained a temporary restraining order against the 6'4" athlete two weeks ago ... claiming he's been "in hiding" ever since a July 5 altercation where Lavender allegedly grabbed a knife and threatened to kill him."

But the alleged abuse doesn't end there.  Adam claims Jantel, "grabbed my head and slammed it into the wall. She grabbed my neck and was choking me."

According to his reports, these incidents are part of a pattern of abuse as he says Jantel also choked him in June. 

Asked about the earlier altercation he said, 

"While I was grabbing for her hands she kneed me in the genital area. My private area was throbbing from the pain."

For now, Jantel has been ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from Adam until their August 30 court hearing.  But not to be outdone, Jantel filed her own restraining order against Adam saying he attempted to punch her during a recent screaming match.   

Well this is an interesting twist to the the typical aggressive-athlete-battered-lover sagas.  Drama for ya mama....

No Separation For Will & Jada, But Are They Suffering Marital Troubles?

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 06:37 AM PDT

Where there's smoke, there's fire.  Yesterday, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith shot down rumors that they were filing for separation and that they were headed for a split.  But more sources now say that even though the separation papers haven't been filed yet, there's indeed trouble in paradise.

 

Deets inside....

The paperwork may not be filed and there may not be anything official...yet.  But folks close to the Smiths are saying the couple is indeed suffering through some problems.  And their marriage is at risk.  According to TMZ:

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are having significant problems in their marriage, but they have NOT made a decision to separate ... at least not yet -- this according to sources connected with the couple.

We also asked our sources about the somewhat curious statement from Will and Jada, that their marriage is "intact." Specifically, why didn't they go the more traditional PR route and say they're still in love and committed to each other? Our sources privately said, the language was carefully constructed.

The powerhouse duo will also be taking a vacay soon with the kids.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they were going through a bumpy place.  It's not that shocking.  ALL relationships--friends, family, lovers--go through those times.  So hopefully they can just continue make it work.

By the way, the couple also shot down rumors yesterday that Marc Anthony (her "HawthoRNe" co-star) and Jada were involved in an intimate relationship of some sort.

VIDEO FAB: Lil Wayne's "How To Love"

Posted: 24 Aug 2011 06:03 AM PDT

In preparation of his The Carter IV release on August 29th right after the VMAs, Weezy released the Chris Robinson directed video for his "How To Love" single.  And it actually has a storyline with some deep meaning.

 

Check it under the cut...

Lil Wayne's visual for the track portrays a young woman deciding against an abortion while on the surgical table, then how her life played out after that while raising her child and the cycle happening again--pregnancy, abuse from a boyfriend, abuse as a child, and turning to stripping and other things just to survive.  And then contracting HIV.

You feelin' it?

MIDNIGHT SNACK: Trina's Bikini Bod Revealed In VIBE

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 09:10 PM PDT

Rapper Trina rocked a swimsuit photoshoot for VIBE recently where she showed off what her workout routine has been doing for her lately.  its the mag's last installment of the "Summer of Celebs In Swimwear" series.

 

Check out the pics for a bit of a midnight snack inside....

Trina tweeted about the shoot saying: Hey guys hope u like the Vibe spread it was such a fun day! Thannk u so much to everyone at Vibe for such an amazing shoot!!!

The on-again-of-again girlfriend of NBA baller Kenyon Martin wore sexy monokinis for the occassion:
 

Hot.  Looks like she's dropped some weight too--even though I think she looks great at any size.  More pics are over at VIBE.

 

Nasty Nas Dishes On Crazy Baby Mamas, Marital Advice, & Going Back to The Beginning With Rap

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 04:33 PM PDT

He's hitting stages from the west coast to the east coast on the Rock The Bells tour, so we're finally getting to hear more from the usually quiet-but always sexy--Nasir Jones.

 

Our homies over at AOL/HuffPost Black Voices chatted it up with Mr. Jones about his advice on handling baby mamas who act crazy, being single, his style, hooking back up with his original homies in the rap game, and his charitable actions that mean so mch to him.  Check it inside...

Nas is busy performing his classic Illmatic on the Rock The Bells tour.  In addition to his new solo album he's still working on, the vintage tracks got him to start working on a new project with his The Firm homie AZ (and maybe even Foxy Brown) again.   And he's also grown past all his pst-Kelis baby mama/ex-wife drama he went through.

Here's a few excerpts that Nas, who is a new spokesperson for UNICEF, dished on in his recent interview with AOL:

 

How was it to reunite with DJ Premier, Pete Rock and AZ during the kick off of this year's annual "Rock the Bells" concert in California?

Oh my god, it was crazy. I couldn't help but feel like the moment was just on a timeless space. I felt honored to be there, and I also felt good for the audience to see an album that came out before most of them were born. And the way they tuned into the different cultures, Pete Rock, AZ, and (DJ) Premier. I was just blown away.

A few days ago AZ tweeted a picture of you, your brother Jungle, and himself in the studio. Have you guys completed any material as of yet?

Me and A definitely hit the studio, even when we're in New York. While me and him were planning this tour, that just made us start building. Just recently we've been messing around with ideas here and there, so we're just getting started.

Initially you announced that the title of the album would be "Life Is Good." You have since stated that you were thinking about changing the title. What's the latest?

Yeah, when I first initially said it, of course it came as a shock to some of the people around me. Actually it was just one person around me. Jungle (Nas' brother) is pro "Life Is Good." He's one of the main riders for that title, along with everybody else. It was really just one dude, but everybody else over stand (sic) it. "Life Is Good" -- there's nothing better than that. There's nothing touching that. And that's real.

In terms of style, you have always been one of the very few rappers to have your own distinct look. Who would you consider to be some of your old-school hip-hop fashion muses?

Slick Rick, Eric B. & Rakim -- I mean, all of them. Some of the people in hip-hop think that the look isn't important. To me, the look is almost 60 percent of killing it out here, because the look is everything. So I think of Run-DMC and EPMD, with the bucket hats. The Dapper Dan sh*t, that was out. Heavy D kept it fly. LL (Cool J) was super on top of his A-game with the super-crispy fly sh*t. And even NWA, they came in with their sh*t that introduced us to how they do it in Watts, South Central and Compton. So the look is everything, man. If you sound amazing and you look like a burger, I don't care what's coming out your mouth, you're a cornfield! Especially on your debut (album), when you first come out. Your look reflects what's happening in your mind. You gotta have some swag to you.

Being the proud father of two children, can you talk about the importance of fatherhood in today's society?

All fatherhood is very important because single mothers shouldn't have to raise sons or daughters, they need that help. A lot of times, men may feel like the baby mother is so crazy, "I can't deal with her, I'm going to let it all go." I've been through it. Or they're playing games with kids, or whatever. But you know what, you gotta be that man. You gotta be that man for those kids, and even for the crazy baby mother (speaking for all the people out there with the crazy baby mothers). You just gotta do what you gotta do. Just because they're crazy, that don't got sh*t to do with what's going on with your life and you keeping the lights on. And you doing what you gotta do every day. So you gotta do what you gotta do as a man, don't make excuses.

For all the people out there considering or planning on getting married, do you have any advice?

No, and don't take anyone's advice, that's what you do. Everyone has their own walk, everyone's relationship is different. But don't take too much advice, even from a parent sometimes. You know, weed it out and see what stuff makes sense to you. But no, I don't have any advice. I think marriage is a beautiful thing. I'm still a supporter of it..

Ha!  Funny funny (and true) that marital advice....

Check out Huff Post Black Voices for the rest of the interview.  Gotta love Mr. Jones...

Lauryn Hill Does Rare Interview With Reebok About Classic "Miseducation" Album

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 03:24 PM PDT

Before the Rock The Bells tour kick off last weekend, headline performer Lauryn Hill dished to Reebok about her motivation behind and how she feels now about one of the most classic albums of our time--The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

 

Peep Lauryn's vid inside...

The rare interview was done for the Reebok Classics and Rock The Bells series "Classic Albums for Classic Artists."

About creating the 1998 classic Miseducation album, Lauryn said:

I think we understood it was gonna be landmark, but I don't think we understood to what degree people would be deeply impacted by what was done. I was really trying to express myself. I say all the time, I make music not necessarily for selfish reasons, but I make music I wanna hear. But when you fin other people who want to hear it to, how could you not be excited about that? Miseducation was sort of a play on low and high culture coming together.

 

And about the message she was voicing throughout her creation:

What I intended to get across was that there was a learning, a process of understanding, that came from an extremely non-traditional way. This album would be an embodiment of those type of rules and lessons. What may be--a more formal paradigm would call--uneducated...or wouldn't acknowledge. But in fact were valuable life lessons. And this music would be a representation of that. Peep the video that will be used as part of Reebok's "Classic Albums by Classic Artists" series for Rock The Bells.

SO love her.

BUSTED: Khia Arrested For Trying To Stop The Repo Man!

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 02:14 PM PDT

"My Neck My Back" rapper Khia was arrested over the weekend for lashing out against someone trying to take her car. The only problem is that the "someone" was the repo man! Deets inside.....

 

She already has umpteen mugshots.  Now Khia Chambers (or "Khia Finch" as she told the cops) was arrested over the weekend for “concealing/endangering property-secured interest” under GA code 16-9-51.  So what does that mean?

Basically it's saying that someone else had a vested interest in some property (most likely a car) and Khia was caught in the act of trying to hide, conceal or prevent the "person" from laying claim to the property.  Translation: She tried to hide her car from the repo man.  But they got her.  Womp.

Now she's out $500 and had to hitch a ride from the jail house.  And from the mug shot, it looks like she was there a LONG time. 

See Khia's gallery of mugshots over at Straight From The A.

Will & Jada SHOOT DOWN REPORTS: "The Rumors About Our Relationship Are FALSE!"

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 01:15 PM PDT

Will & Jada Pinkett Smith just shot down rumors that their relationship is on the rocks and that they're separated.  The Hollywood power couple say they're A-OK, and the rumors are completely false.

 

Deets inside...

Today, tabloid news broke that Will & Jada Pinkett Smith supposedly separated.  And, as we hoped, the couple says it's all untrue.  The couple put out a joint statement today saying:

"Although we are reluctant to respond to these types of press reports, the rumors circulating about our relationship are completely false.  We are still together, and our marriage is intact."

Welp....there you have it.  They're making entirely too much money together as a fam to toss that aside anyway.  Just sayin'...

BLACK LOVE: Holly Robinson Peete Reveals How She And Rodney Have Lasted 17 YEARS!

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 12:28 PM PDT

 

Wait...there's still hope for the Hollywood marriages!  Holly Robinson Peete opened up to Essence.com for a revealing Q-n-A about marriage and lasting love with her husband, former NFLer Rodney Peete.  Find out how they keep the love alive inside.....

Holly Robinson Peete and her husband Rodney have been married for 17 years (and that's two lifetimes in Hollywood) and she opened up to Essence.com about their marriage and what's kept it going for so long.

ESSENCE.COM: How long have you and Rodney been married? It feels like forever. What’s that like?
HOLLY ROBINSON-PEETE: Yes, we’ve been married for almost seventeen years. It’s very happy. We’ve had our ups, our downs; we’ve had lots of things happen in our life we didn’t expect. We had these great twins and this great love story and then autism came and kicked us in the gut. Rodney retired from football, which was another transition. Some players retired to the golf course, but he retired right to the carpool lane – and proud of it.

 

ESSENCE.COM: How do you two do it? Make it work, that is.
HOLLY: One of the biggest things is that we’re really fortunate because Rodney and I are really good partners. When one is up and the other one is not, we support each other.

I think that as a couple, our priorities are different than some of the other celebrities in town. Are our kids happy? Do we have a house to live in? How’s our charity going? Those are the things we look at to gage success. We have a very different gauge of success, I believe. There was a little dry spell for me when I wasn’t on TV, but I was like, you know what, I’m raising this money for autism and we are embracing this mission and speaking on behalf of thousands and thousands of families that don’t have a voice. That feels successful to me. Some people get excited when they meet a big star. For me, meeting the philanthropic stars, like Marian Wright Edelman, are the ones that get me excited.

ESSENCE.COM: What do you admire most about Rodney?
HOLLY: His pride in being a father. It’s a very sexy trait. When the twins were born and he would sleep with them and cuddle with them it was so special. Just watching him with his kids and discovering a new love. It really used to get me so teary-eyed. Now it’s watching him in the backyard with his son or watching him give my daughter some advice that she doesn’t want. Just him investing himself as a dad and taking pride in that makes me admire him as a man.

Now, I don’t want to make the picture look too rosy because we fight, we have our stuff. We have ups and downs and we have issues on all levels just like all families do, and all couples do. The reality is that I find the more you focus on what is really positive about your relationship the better. I remind myself to compliment him.

Every now and then I send him a random text like, “You look cute today” or “I love you." When you’ve been married this long it can be hard, but you work at it. When you get mad there are so many little things you can say, but every now and then I send that sweet little text to show that I appreciate him and I’m thinking about him. The beauty is in the little details. It’s the little things in that you do in relationships. For my kids, I’ll leave these corny little notes – sometimes drawings – in their lunchboxes. I’ll write I love you, or draw a picture or something. They love it.

 

Read the rest of the informative Q-n-A over at Essence.com

 

SNAP THIS! Usher Turns The Tables On The Paparazzi!

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 11:50 AM PDT

Sometimes celebrities want to be left alone to enjoy their privacy...and when that doesn't happen, they fight back!  One photographer found that out yesterday as Usher took out his cell phone and gave him a dose of his own medicine.  Get the deets inside....

When the paparazzi got in Usher's face yesterday in NYC, the singer took out his Blackberry and gave them a dose of their own medicine.

 


 

Well at least they found the table-turn humorous.

 

Besides his new side gig as a photographer, Usher is back taking over the dance floor with David Guetta and their hit "Without You." 

 

The Randomness:

1. Even Mother Earth is pissy about a possible Will & Jada split!  The NY, NJ, VA, and even Toronto area just suffered a 5.9 earthquake and aftershock.  STORY We're OK here at YBF.  Hope our readers are good.  SCARY ISH!

2.  Jamie Foxx set to produce "Showtime At The Apollo" for BET.  Story.

 

Photos via Pena/Hall/INFphoto.com 

FAB LIVING: INSIDE Rihanna's LUXE St. Tropez Vacay Yacht!

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 11:44 AM PDT

Rihanna (or one of her rich ass industry exec colleagues) chartered a fabulous yacht for a luxe vacay in St. Tropez.  She left Sunday right after her 2-day stint at the V Festival in England.

 

Now, we've got pics of her chillin' in a bright blue bikini...and pics of the type of boat $330,000 will get you for a week...

Rihanna and her girls have been chillin' on the Benetti yacht named Latitude.  And if you've got a little over $300K laying around, you can vacay in the lap of luxury too.

Latitude's got six cabins for 12 guests--enough for Rihanna and all her friends--and an in-house beauty salon to keep that hair, skin and body right.

There's Queen rooms, a master suite, a sun filled pool deck, a sparkly alfresco dining room, and more.

 

And when you're bored of soaking up the sun and getting massages, the boat's got toys to keep any girl extra occupied: plenty of jet skis, snorkeling gear, water skis, Bananas and donuts.  Oh, and a Nintendo Wii to get in your fitness.

Pics of Rih rocking her bright blue bikini on board today:

Check out what the girls are living it up in {Click Thumbnails}:

Nice!  By the way, Rihanna stated that her next video for "Cheers" drops tomorrow.

So...It's Your 33rd Birthday Kobe Bryant!

Posted: 23 Aug 2011 09:47 AM PDT

Seems like only yesterday Kobe Bryant was a high school prodigy set to take the NBA by storm. Now the NBA superstar is turning 33! Celebrate his birthday in the gallery inside...

Who can forget when Kobe Bryant went to the prom with Brandy? He was just a young talented basketball prodigy back then who had the potential to take over the NBA....and he did!  With numerous Laker championships, millions upon millions in endorsements, and a wife and kids, Kobe has become a household name and role model.

And though he has had his ups and downs over the years, most recently laying hands on a fellow church-goer and using homophobic slurs, he has weathered the storm professionally.

Peep inside the gallery and watch Kobe become a grown man and icon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOBE!

Getting Up There...Happy 33rd Birthday Kobe!
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