By Derrick Bryson Taylor

Posted January 24th 2012

Brandy and Kim Kardashian, BFF’s? Hard to believe, but that’s exactly how it was before Kim’s much talked about sex tape with Brandy’s brother, Ray-J in 2007.

The two had a falling out shortly afterwards, but on the  “Wendy Williams Show” Brandy extended an olive branch to Kim, saying she missed their friendship. She tells ESSENCE.com she’s ready to forgive her brother’s ex. “I think forgiveness is growth and owning up to your mistakes is growth and we both made mistakes in our friendship — but why hold on to that?”

She adds, “Why hold a grudge because at the end of the day, I’ll always love Kim and I know she’ll always love me, whether she expresses it or not. Why hold on to something to only hurt myself? It’s not worth it. ”

As fate would have it, Brandy and Kim are co-starring in Tyler Perry’s new film “The Marriage Counselor.” The singer makes a point to say that despite all of the backlash Tyler Perry has received for casting Kim, she stands behind him. “What I respect about Tyler Perry is that he goes with his gut. He follows his intuition, that guidance we all have within us,” she says. “And I think a part of being the type of mogul that he is, is always listening to that.”

By Neda Ulaby

Posted January 22nd 2012

The “Matriarch of the Blues” has died. Music legend Etta James died Friday morning at Riverside Community Hospital in California of complications from leukemia. She was 73.

ETTA JAMES ‘AT LAST’

She was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles in 1938. Her first manager and promoter cut up Jamesetta’s name and reversed it: Etta James.

Her talent was discovered when she was 14 — the same age her mother was when James was born. Within three years, the foster-home runaway had her first hit, with the girl group The Peaches. Back then, “Roll With Me Henry” was deemed too racy for radio, “roll” being a sexual euphemism.

Etta James was still a minor when she toured with Little Richard. Then, she signed with leading blues label Chess Records and bleached her hair platinum blond.

“What I was doing was trying to be a glamour girl,” she told NPR’s Fresh Air in 1994. “Because I’d been a tomboy, and I wanted to look grown and wanted to wear high-heeled shoes and fishtail gowns and big, long rhinestone earrings.”

Darkness Beneath The Joy

James had grit in her voice that could melt like sugar or rub like salt in a wound. Between 1960 and 1963, she had 10 records on the R&B charts, including “Something’s Got a Hold on Me.”

Darkness runs beneath that joy — as does anger, says David Ritz, who wrote a biography of James.

“It isn’t like she sings that song,” Ritz says. “Sometimes, you feel she was going to war with the song.”

By the mid-1960s, James was into hard drugs, and her career hit the skids. She bounced checks, forged prescriptions and stole from her friends. A judge finally gave her a choice: prison or rehabilitation. In 1974, she spent months in recovery at a psychiatric hospital.

“I was around nothing but a lot of white kids,” James told Fresh Air. “They were all younger than I was. I remember on Saturdays, they would play rock ‘n’ roll records and I would say, ‘That music is really happening.’ My song, ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ — they had a version by Rod Stewart, and they kept saying, ‘This is the song you wrote!’ And I’d say, ‘All right!’ ”

Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones sent James a letter while she was in rehab and invited her to tour with the band if she stayed clean. In 1978, she joined the Stones on tour. By the ’90s, she’d reached a new generation of fans and won a Grammy. The next challenge was jazz.

“[Jazz] was too disciplined and too confining,” James said on Fresh Air. “I thought you had to be bourgeois to do that. I was a sloppy kid, wanted to be just wild. I think it took me maturing.”

James said making her tribute to Billie Holiday, 1994′s Mystery Lady, also honored her mother, who loved both Holiday and jazz. She said it helped make peace with the woman she idolized, and who had abandoned her.

It’s often said of Etta James that you could hear her whole life in her voice. James told NPR in 1989 that that made sense, though she mostly sang for herself.

“When I sing for myself, I probably sing for anyone who has any kind of hurt, any kind of bad feelings, good feelings, ups and downs, highs and lows, that kind of thing,” she said.

Etta James went to extremes, and owned them in her life, and in her music.

By Kenneth Partridge

Posted January 14th 2012

At the tail end of 2011, Rihanna and Chris Brown shocked fans by affirming their love for each other via Twitter. At the very least, it seemed the two were friends again, but according to Life & Style magazine, RiRi may have her heart set on rekindling their romance.

“Not only has she initiated a Twitter conversation with Chris for all to see, but she has gone to see him,” a source told the magazine, according to HollywoodLife.com. “She stopped by his studio recently — twice. She’s also calling and texting him a lot. She won’t let go.”

The news comes nearly three years after Brown famously assaulted Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards. He’s since made public apologies and completed domestic abuse classes, and while some critics continue to vilify him for the attack, others say he deserves a second chance.

If Rihanna is ready to forgive and pick up where they left off, Brown might not be on the same page. He’s got himself a new boo, model Karrueche Tran, and as the Life & Style spy reports, he’s happy with the relationship, as seen here on New Year’s Eve.

“She’s trying to break up Chris and his girlfriend, Karrueche,” the source said. “Chris is happy, but Rihanna keeps playing her game to make trouble. It’s become an issue.”

Brown and Rihanna are both expected to appear at the 2012 Grammy Awards on Feb. 12, so the next chapter in this ongoing drama may well play out on national television.

Read more at: http://www.theboombox.com/2012/01/11/rihanna-chris-brown-reconciliation/

Posted January 10th 2012

ALBUM ALREADY RECEIVES RAVE REVIEWS FROM USA TODAY, AOL BOOMBOX, EXAMINER AND SINGERSROOM!

“The album is perhaps Thomas’ most accomplished and well rounded romantic offering” – EXAMINER

DEBUT SINGLE “DON’T KISS ME” CLIMBING UP CHARTS

LOS ANGELES-PRNewswire-The reviews are in and four years later Carl Thomas’ new album shows critics he can still “Conquer” the music world. Grammy® nominated, platinum-selling R&B artist Carl Thomas has released his highly anticipated new album Conquer today, available in stores and with digital retailers. Fans can tune in to Carl’s website www.carlthomaslive.com; LiveStream.com; Vibe.com and CentricTV.com to see a live webcast of his performance from SOB’s Thursday, December 8th at 9:45 PM EST.

After a brief personal hiatus, Thomas returned to the studio armed with an arsenal of hit songs, award-winning producers and a triumphant spirit to deliver his highly anticipated new album, released on Verve Forecast. Conquer has already been declared by USA Today as the “Pick of the Week” and has garnered rave reviews from AOL Boombox, Singersroom and Soul Tracks. In the AOL Boombox Track by Track preview of the album one track was called “the one you want playing as you cozy up by the fireplace next to your loved one. Clothing is optional,” while the Examiner said, “The album is perhaps Thomas’ most accomplished and well rounded romantic offering.”

His smoldering lead single, “Don’t Kiss Me” produced by Rico Love (Usher, Beyonce), a modern-day ode to the oldie R&B track with Thomas’ signature vocal styling—with a reminiscent touch of Al Green and Marvin Gaye for good measure, is currently climbing the Urban A/C Charts and is available on iTunes. The “Don’t Kiss Me” remix featuring Snoop Dogg is also available on iTunes and for free on Carl’s Facebook page: on.fb.me/carlthomaschallenge

A lot has happened since Carl Thomas’ debut album Emotional climbed the charts to become an instant R&B classic. After the tragic murder of his brother in 2004 on the eve of the release of Thomas’ sophomore album Let’s Talk About It, a devastated Thomas put writing and recording on pause and went abroad to escape the pain from his shocking loss. With frequent international travels and remaining incognito in the States, Thomas embarked on a personal journey of recovery.

Still grieving the loss of his brother, Thomas was invited to the studio to record for “fun” resulting in 2007′s So Much Better. “That not only gave me legs to stand on again,” Thomas recalls, “but it showed me that I was supposed to be standing.” And even as an independent release, So Much Better hit the Top 50 on the Billboard 200 chart: A cathartic process serving to ease Thomas back into writing and recording with a whole new outlook, paving the way for Conquer. For the recording of Conquer, Thomas enlisted some of today’s top producers, including Andre Harris (formerly of multi-platinum production duo Dre & Vidal) who produced the smooth and seductive title track which opens with a quiet tempest of strings—the kind you hear during a pivotal scene of a spaghetti Western—and “Round Two,” about his request to repeat an intimate encounter with a beautiful woman to jar his memory. Conquer continues with the Rex Rideout-(Ledisi) produced “It Is What It Is” which was written by hip-hop legend Heavy D and showcases Thomas’ effortless ability to ride rhythms and skillfully ad-lib all at once; the romantic wedding ballad “I Do” which was written by Thomas and produced by The Internz (Justin Bieber) conveys the groom’s point of view as he watches his gorgeous bride walk down the aisle; and the Mario Winans-produced “It Ain’t Fair” whose production style works in perfect tandem with Thomas’ subtle yet urgent delivery as he continues his grown-man flirts and adulation of a angelically beautiful woman.

Once a protege of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs (who signed Carl Thomas after hearing him sing at an open mic night in New York in the mid ’90s), the Chicago native was the first heartthrob R&B songster on Bad Boy Entertainment. After a string of recordings with other Bad Boy artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Black Rob and Mase, Thomas finally got his chance and released his full-length debut album, Emotional, in April 2000 that reached No. 2 on the R&B chart, Top 20 on the Billboard 200 and sold nearly two million copies-— with the single “I Wish” hitting No. 1 on the R&B Singles chart. His follow-up, 2004′s Let’s Talk About It, hit No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 4 on the Billboard 200. And in 2006, Thomas earned a Grammy® Award nomination for “Everyday (Family Reunion),” along with Chaka Khan, Yolanda Adams and the late Gerald Levert, for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.

For up-to-date Social Media, please follow Carl Thomas on @Mr_Carl_Thomas and Carl Thomas: Conquer New Album.

Posted January 9th 2012

So it’s not a total shocker that for every congratulations that’s sent out about Beyonce and Jay Z’s new baby, there is an equally shady comment about who actually gave birth and the interesting name choice for baby Blue, but some people are really stretching it when it comes to the new Carter threesome.

Ingrid Jackson is the name Beyonce reportedly checked into the hospital under but given the suspicious nature of Bey’s pregnant belly, rumors are already flying that Ingrid is actually the name of the surrogate mother who really gave birth to the couple’s baby girl. And according to notoriously shady celebrity blogger, Sandra Rose, the reported $1.3 million that the two spent to rent out an entire floor of Lenox Hill Hospital is “absurd.”

According to her hospital source: “Lenox Hill does not turn away expectant mothers to cater to the needs of celebrities. We don’t have entire floors sitting empty at Lenox Hill.”

But it seems the hospital actually may have. While Beyonce and Jay Z supposedly spent big bucks to keep their family close together, other new parents were kept apart.  A Brooklyn man is requesting an apology for the way he and his wife were treated Saturday. Neil Coulon told the Daily Mail the stress of his wife delivering premature twin girls was tripled when Beyonce’s bodyguards allegedly barred him from the neonatal intensive care unit.

“Three times they stopped me from entering or exiting the NICU and it happened once on Friday – just because they wanted to use the hallway,” he said.

“I know they spent $1.3million and I’m just a contractor from Bed-Stuy but the treatment we received was not okay. My wife is just terribly upset. She had a C-section. She gave birth to twins. She is sore. Nobody needs this.

“This is the NICU. Nobody cares if you’re a celebrity. Nobody is star-gazing. They just want to see their children. To have that circus roll into town and ruin our parade was unpleasant.”

In other news, you know no one is letting the name Blue Ivy slide by. Initially, there was confusion about whether the name was Ivy Blue or Blue Ivy, but according to tweets from Beyonce’s BFF Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebs, it seems Blue Ivy is correct. Now what does that name mean exactly? Depends on who you ask. Most sensible explanations point to Jay Z’s Blueprint album and Beyonce’s most recent album ’4′ because IV is the Roman numeral symbol for the number 4. But then there’s also this:

‘Ivy = Illuminati’s Very Youngest. Blue= Born Living Under Evil. Spelled backwards these names supposedly spell Eulb Yvi, the Latin name For Lucifers Daughter.’

People have too much time on their hands don’t they? I’ll stick with the first explanation. Beyonce has spoken numerous times about the significance of the number 4 in her life, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the baby’s name is a creative take on the Roman Numeral. And if 1+1 equals 2, the baby’s birthdate of Jan. 8 seems to perfectly sum up her parent’s bdays of Sept. 4 and Dec. 4th. Some have found it odd, though, that Jay Z’s daughter will share the name of his rumored ex, “Hit ‘Em Up Style” singer Blu Cantrell.

All I know is this is way too much drama for someone 24 hours old. I’ll stick to my initial suggestion on this whole pregnancy thing: Beyonce should’ve just had a home birth and let Erykah Badu be the doula and none of this would’ve happened.

What do you think about all of the Bey/baby Blue drama? Are Beyonce and her people to blame for some of the craziness or is the media/public taking it too far?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

Posted January 5th 2012

Nick Cannon is on the mend after suffering a “mild kidney failure,” the 31-year-old’s wife Mariah Carey announced via Twitter Wednesday.

Carey, 41, also uploaded a photo of herself with Cannon from inside his Aspen, Colorado hospital room.

“We’re trying to be as festive as possible under the circumstances but please keep Nick in your thoughts because this is very painful,” she wrote on her official website, adding that doctors tried — and failed — to remove her from Cannon’s room.

“We’re doing OK but we’re stranded in Aspen,” Carey added. “I know, we could be in a lot worse places, but the truth is as long as we’re together, we’re OK.”

“I’m not trying to make light out of the situation because it’s a serious moment that’s very tough on all of us,” Carey, mother to twins Moroccan and Monroe, wrote. “So please keep us and our family in your prayers.”

Posted January 3rd 2012

She lost 85lbs last year and now Aretha Franklin is gaining a husband.

The Grammy-winning singer is engaged to long-time companion William ‘Willie’ Wilkerson.

She said in a statement today that she and Wilkerson are considering a summer wedding, perhaps in Miami Beach, Florida.

The Queen of Soul wants to follow the ceremony with a reception on a private yacht.

The 69-year-old joked: ‘No, I’m not pregnant.’

Franklin and Wilkerson became engaged over the holidays.

She is considering Vera Wang, Valentino and Donna Karan to design her dress.

It will be the third wedding for Franklin, who has four children.

She was married to her then manager, Ted White, during the ’60s and split from her second husband actor Glynn Turman in 1984 after five years together.

Franklin recently said she is feeling ‘fabulous’ again after suffering from a serious health issue in 2010.

The Chain of Fools singer was reported to have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer – claims Ms Franklin denied.

However, she did undergo an unidentified surgery in December that year and she had cancelled concerts and personal appearances up until May.

Her more transformed physique has now promoted rumours she underwent gastric bypass surgery.

But Ms Franklin said in a recent interview that she ‘would never’ go under the surgeon’s knife for weight loss surgery.

Asked if she had had a gastric bypass, Ms Franklin replied: ‘Definitely not – and would not. I heard that rumour. I said, “That is crazy.” It definitely was not the bariatric or, what is it, gastric… Yeah, I can’t even tell you the correct name of it.

‘It’s really not necessary to talk about one’s personal medical health.’

Ms Franklin also addressed the rumours about reports she had pancreatic cancer and said: ‘There was just so many wild things out there and just so many things being said that weren’t true…

‘I just felt I needed to address it a little.’

‘I don’t know where pancreatic cancer came from, she states. ‘I was sitting there reading the newspaper and it was saying someone in my family said that.’

She clarified: ‘No one in my family ever said that to anybody.’

Although she did not state what the nature of her health concerns were, the Baby I Love You hit-maker said that her doctors believe the surgery she had ‘is going to add 15 to 20 more years’ to her life.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2081392/Aretha-Franklin-engaged-William-Wilkerson-Singer-69-wed-long-time-companion.html#ixzz1iP5vJexf

Posted December 26th 2011

Rap superstar 50 Cent is teaming up with legendary soul singer Chaka Khan for an unlikely musical collaboration.

Gossip bloggers went into overdrive  when the rapper joined Khan as her date for the VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul event in New York.

50 Cent says their pairing is all about the music. Describing the venture as the “most exciting situation,” the rapper tells MTV News, “We’re working together. We’re working on a project, hit music.”

The two stars say they’ve long admired each other’s work and they jumped at the chance to hit the studio together. Khan says, “We met last week officially for the first time. But we’ve loved each other’s music and we’ve loved each other’s art form forever.”

By Contessa Gayles

Posted December 22nd 2011

Kelly Rowland has been quite vocal about her relationship with her estranged father — or lack there of. Now the singer reveals she was absolutely overwhelmed with emotion when she happened upon a magazine article featuring a photo of her father, whom she hasn’t seen since she was 8 years old.

The ‘X Factor’ U.K. judge told Marie Claire U.K. that she hid in her TV studio dressing room and balled her eyes out after accidentally coming across her dad Christopher’s photo. “A couple of weeks ago, I was reading through a magazine and I saw a picture of him. I didn’t even know who it was until I read the caption. I completely lost it,” the 30-year-old former Destiny’s Child member revealed.

“My camp saw me disappear into the bathroom and they were like, ‘What happened?’ I didn’t know there was so much emotion still there. You close so many different things of your life, and I like to shut them off and keep moving. But, in that moment, it just sucked everything out of me and I cried so hard,” Rowland recalled.

Kelly’s candid story continued, “There were so many different emotions — confusion more than anything. I was like, ‘Who is that?’ I haven’t seen him for 22 years.” The songstress recently opened up about her troubled childhood in a single parent home, insisting she always longed for a “normal” family like the Huxtables in ‘The Cosby Show’!
 

By Natalie Abrams

Posted December 18th 2011

Fantasia Barrino has given birth to a baby boy, People reports.

The American Idol alum welcomed Dallas Xavier Barrino on Tuesday in North Carolina. Dallas weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces.

“I feel so blessed that my son Dallas Xavier was born healthy, and is a wonderful new addition to our family,” the 27-year-old singer tells the magazine. “I thank all my fans for their well wishes and continued support.”

Barrino announced her pregnancy during a concert in August. She has yet to disclose who the baby’s father is. When she appeared on The Wendy Williams Show in October, Williams asked Barrino if it was Antwaun Cook, a married man with whom she previously admitted to having an affair. Barrino replied: “I’m not gonna talk about that.”

Barrino is already a mom to 10-year-old daughter Zion.