Solange stopped by the Ed Lover Morning show on Friday and talked about everything from Yung Berg and rapper The Game to throwing down for Beyonce. Here’s a snippet of the interview where she talks about her champagne chronic night caps (weed and sex).
The new issue of Jet magazine, in stores today, features veteran rapper LL Cool J on the cover. Inside, the artist explains the value of his upcoming album, “Exit 13,” due Sept. 9. “This is the last record under my (Def Jam record label) contract; 13th record on a 13-album deal. And thus, that’s the name ‘Exit 13,’” he explains on page 36.
*Giant Magazine celebrates the new Phat Fashions Collection at an event tonight during the Magic Convention in Las Vegas. The label’s creative director, Kimora Lee Simmons, will be on hand at The Bank at The Bellagio Hotel (3600 S. Las Vegas Blvd.) to herald the new direction of the brand. Special invited guests will enjoy signature cocktails compliments of Hennessy, and hors d’oeuvres and music by world renowned DJ Cassidy.
Tay Zonday is back with a new video. The YouTube star, famous for his “Chocolate Rain” ditty, is using his booming voice to support Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. In his latest video, titled “Brighter Days,” Zonday sings: “Brighter days are here / ‘Cuz we declare / that history won’t repeat,” while appearing at a park in his Obama ‘08 T-shirt. He totes around black spoons and white spoons as symbols of America’s race relations. View the clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afKoZ60XXG0
*Paula Abdul reportedly underwent surgery earlier this month to repair an old cheerleading injury to her neck, which had been causing her pain since she was a teenager and was made worse by a car accident in 1987. The “American Idol” judge quietly checked in to the Olympia Medical Center in Los Angeles for the procedure, reports the New York Post.
*Justin Timberlake is denying reports that he will record a duet with his ex-girlfriend, Britney Spears, for her upcoming album. Timberlake’s spokesman insists the singer “is not scheduled to be in the recording studio with Britney,” according to SF Gate.
*Erik King, best known for his work as Sergeant James Doakes on Showtime’s “Dexter,” has joined the cast of the Vineyard Theatre’s season opener Wig Out!, reports Playbill News. King replaces Michael Kenneth Williams, who left the production “due to personal reasons,” according to a statement. King will play Lucian, the founding father of the House of Light. Previews at the Off-Broadway venue begins Sept. 10 with an official opening scheduled for Sept. 30. Tickets are available at (212) 353-0303 or www.vineyardtheatre.org.
*On Aug. 21, during “Stevie Wonder’s Morning Thunder Thousand Dollar Thursday” radio show on LA’s KJLH, Wonder donated $5,000 to actor/philanthropist Isaiah Washington’s Reach One Million Campaign. The money will be used to build a water well in the village of Njala Kendema in Sierra Leone, where there is little access to clean drinking water and 70 percent of the country’s population lives in extreme poverty. Washington’s Reach One Million Campaign, seeks to help improve the lives of one million children in Sierra Leone – one village, one region, at a time. The campaign’s official Web sites are www.ReachOneMillion.org and www.myspace.com/reachonemillion.
*A Serbian village on Saturday unveiled what it claims is Europe’s first statue to the late Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley. According to Reuters, two Balkan musicians, one from Croatia and one from Serbia, unveiled the monument in the village of Banatski Sokolac at midnight during a gathering of rock bands from the Balkans. The statue was erected to promote tolerance in a region still recovering from war. “Bob Marley promoted peace and tolerance in his music,” said Mirko Miljus, an organizer.
Venus (I’m Ready),” a song written and performed by Wyclef Jean, is slated to premiere as Venus Williams’ theme music during the 2008 US Open tennis tournament in Flushing, Queens, New York, running from Aug. 25 through Sept. 7.
The lyrics were “inspired by the spirit, character and prowess” of the recent Olympic gold medalist (with her sister Serena in the women’s doubles) and reigning Wimbledon singles and doubles champion. (Listen to the song here.)
“Venus’ determination and mental strength inspires me,” said Wyclef Jean. “Much like Isis, her strength should be celebrated.”
Clef met Williams when the two were paired for an upcoming episode of the Sundance Channel original television series “Iconoclasts,” which brings together two leading innovators from different fields to discuss their passions and creative processes. Their episode is scheduled to premiere Nov. 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
“I have been a fan of Wyclef’s for many years, from his work with the Fugees to his success as a solo artist,” said Williams. “He’s a fantastic writer, singer, producer and performer whose music crosses genres and touches people’s lives. I am specially impressed by Wyclef’s dedication to humanitarian causes and his strong sense of character. I was so happy to meet Wyclef and work with him on our ‘Iconoclasts’ episode but not even in my wildest imagination, did I expect that such a beautiful song would be one of the outcomes from meeting Wyclef. He is an amazing human being and it is truly an honor for me to be recognized in such a wonderful way by such a gifted musician and exceptional person.”
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Snoop Dogg can perform in Australia after immigration officials in the country lifted a ban that prevented him from entering the country.
The 38-year-old rapper will be allowed to tour with fellow West Coast rapper Ice Cube for 17 days beginning Oct. 21, reports Australia’s Herald Sun.
Former Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews first denied Snoop a visa back in April 2007 due to his criminal record, which included various drug and gun charges. But officials decided to approve his visa after speaking with the tour promoter for the past several weeks.
A rep for tour promoter Andrew McManus says he’s “been liaising with the Immigration Department on Snoop’s application, which has been approved.”
McManus will announce dates for Snoop and Cube’s tour this week.
Meanwhile, family and victim support groups are already planning to protest Snoop’s ban reversal.
“Snoop Dogg trades in toxic messages of menace, violence, misogyny and lawlessness,” Angela Conway of the Australian Family Association said. “To add to the fire, he’s actually had issues with firearms and drugs. So not only does he portray and glorify these things in his music, it’s exemplified in his real life. We need to keep him out of Australia. These menacing, blood-soaked misogynist raps have a corrosive impact.”
Sean Diddy Combs had an entourage four cars deep on Sunset Blvd. over the weekend when one of the vehicles was pulled over by LAPD and a gun was drawn on Diddy in the confusion that ensued.
According to TMZ.com, one car in Diddy’s caravan was stopped by deputies from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department at around 3 a.m. Saturday morning for having improper tags. The other three cars reportedly pulled over near the stopped car to wait.
However, Sheriff Dept. procedure forces deputies to call for backup when other cars linger during a traffic stop. Extra officers arrived and, according to TMZ, the driver of the second car became “extremely uncooperative,” to the point he had to be detained.
This reportedly prompted Diddy and the remaining five or six members of his crew to exit their vehicles and walk toward the detained man.
“That’s when one deputy drew his weapon, not knowing what the dudes were up to,” reported TMZ. “We’re told at the time the weapon was drawn, deputies did not know Diddy was part of the group.”
Turns out the original stopped vehicle with the improper tags was a rental car, so that driver wasn’t ticketed. The detained man was subsequently released and no arrests were made.
A Cuban Olympic tae kwon do athlete who deliberately kicked a referee in the face after being disqualified now faces a permanent ban from his sport.
Angel Matos snapped his foot into ref Chakir Chelbat’s grill during a bronze medal match on Saturday.
The move stunned commentators and prompted World Tae Kwon Do Federation Secretary General Yang Jin-suk to recommend that Matos be banned for life.
Matos was winning, 3-2, with 1:02 left in the second round, when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan’s Arman Chilmanov.
Matos was awaiting medical attention, when he was disqualified for taking more than the one-minute allowance for injury time. Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge, then pushed and kicked Chelbat, who required stitches in his lip. Matos spat on the floor and was escorted out.
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Tae kwon do athlete Angel Matos deliberately kicks referee at 2008 Olympics
“We didn’t expect anything like what you have witnessed to occur,” said WTF Secretary General Yang Jin-suk. “I am at a loss for words. This is an insult to the Olympic vision, an insult to the spirit of tae kwon do and, in my opinion, an insult to mankind.”
View clip here.
For the first time in six years, fans will get a chance to see neo-soul star Maxwell live in concert.
The string of live dates were described in a Thursday press release as a “pre-party tour celebration” for his upcoming trilogy album, “Black Summers’ Night.”
The trek kicks off on Oct. 8 in Boston and includes stops at New York’s Radio City Music Hall the following day, Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium on Nov. 1st as well as theater dates in Cincinnati, Chicago, Kansas City, Oakland and Washington, D.C. [Dates detailed below.]
October 8 – Boston, MA – Opera House
October 9 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall NY
October 10 – Wallingford, CT – Chevrolet Theater
October 14 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theater
October 15 – St. Louis, MO – Fox Theater
October 17 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theater
October 18 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theater
October 19 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theater
October 21 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theater
October 22 – Omaha, NE – Music Hall
October 23 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
October 25 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theater
October 28 – Oakland, CA – Paramount Theater
October 31 – Las Vegas, NV – Pearl
November 1 – Los Angeles, CA – Shrine Auditorium
November 6 – Houston, TX – Verizon Theater
November 8 – Dallas, TX – Majestic Theater
November 10 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Hall
November 11 – Memphis, TN – Orpheum Theater
November 12 – Atlanta, GA – Civic Center
November 14 – Greensboro, NC – War Memorial
November 15 – Richmond, VA – Landmark Theater
November 17 – Washington, D.C. – Constitution Hall
November 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Susquehanna Center
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Felicia “Snoop” Pearson, who played a cold-blooded killer of the same name on HBO’s “The Wire,” was arrested in her Northeast Baltimore home Wednesday when cops discovered weed in her bedroom while serving an arrest warrant.
According to the Associated Press, cops had arrived at Snoop’s house to take her into custody for refusing to cooperate as a witness in a murder trial.
Once inside of the residence, police found two cigars containing suspected marijuana in a bedroom and loose plant material. The actress was arrested and charged with one count of drug possession.
Police were serving a warrant that would allow them to detain Snoop, if needed, until the Sept. 16 trial of Steven Lashley. Authorities say Pearson witnessed Lashley stab three men, killing one, during an argument in 2005.
Cash Money/Universal Motown has launched a mobile subscription service that gives fans direct access to content featuring such label artists as Lil Wayne, the Hot Boys and Birdman, reports Billboard.
For $9.99 per month, charged directly to a user’s phone bill, Cash Money Mobile will deliver ringtones, graphics, videoclips, text alerts and contest opportunities related to its talent roster.
Universal had a soft launch for the program in June, around the release of Lil Wayne’s chart-topping “Tha Carter III.” Since then, subscribers have had access to a dozen exclusive ringtones that comprise second edits, remixes and alternate takes of album tracks.
Similar subscription programs are commonplace with mainstream artists. Island Def Jam started its own IDJ Mobile subscription service this year.
“But this is Cash Money. It’s a small boutique group of artists with a very similar fan base,” according to Kameo Carlson, senior vice president of digital business development for Universal Motown Republic Group (UMRG). “There’s a core group of consumers that associate with the specific Cash Money brand.” That core group helped make Wayne’s “Lollipop” one of the first platinum-selling ringtones in the United States earlier this year.
According to Carlson, the company has not yet determined the number of subscribers who have signed up for the initiative. But more than 100,000 fans have subscribed to Lil Wayne’s free mobile fan club, which offers services like text updates.
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