NEW CANDIDS: USHER LAGS BEHIND TAMEKA AS THEY ARRIVE AT MTV'S TRL STUDIO.

I swear to God even I am getting tired of seeing Usher! But I guess I just have to make it do what it do...at least until I become physically ill at the sight of his face. And his album is still over a month away from dropping. Lord, give me strength. In the meantime and in between time, what you see above are images of the urban-hip-hop-looking version of Curious George (someone still make him stop wearing any type of red clothing) and that walking negro spiritual he calls wife arriving at MTV's TRL studio in NYC on Monday. If she don't stop looking like his Aunt Charlie Mae, I know something. Let me find out she refuses to let lil man (and by 'lil man' I mean Usher, not their baby) out of her sight. There is so much more I can say, but I just don't have the energy tonight. My mood is too funky right about now.
....

READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

NEW CANDIDS: BEYONCE & JAY-Z SPOTTED IN MANHATTAN...SEPARATELY.

Though he's officially remained mum on his recent wedding to girlfriend Beyoncé, rapper Jay-Z shares some happy news while walking and talking Monday in New York....and what a way to fuel wedding rumors! While Jay-Z went sans wedding band the day before, Beyoncé Knowles one-ups her man Tuesday by donning fingerless gloves as she steps out in balmy New York City.

In related news, sources say although Jay-Z married his girlfriend of six years, last Friday at a private ceremony in New York City, they haven't had much of a honeymoon, bouncing from NYC to North Carolina to Washington, D.C. in just three days. And now OK! magazine can confirm that Jay-Z spent Monday night (April 7th) — the one break in his busy tour schedule — not with his better half, but watching basketball with his guy friends! An OK! spy spotted Jay-Z hiding in plain sight on Monday at The 40/40 Club, the Manhattan hotspot he owns. Sources inside the club also reveal to OK! that the rapper called ahead to let the club's security guards know he was coming, and that he "just wanted to watch the NCAA Championship. He was sitting on the stairs in plain sight of everyone, just watching the game on the mammoth projection screen. He was in a great mood, cheering like everyone else."

Unfortunately, it was too dark inside the club for the witness to tell whether or not Jay-Z was wearing his wedding band. And while her man hung out with his friends from tip-off until well past overtime, Beyoncé was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the former Destiny's Child frontwoman just needed a day off, as Jay-Z is off to Atlanta for Tuesday night's stop in his Heart of the City tour with co-headliner Mary J. Blige.
....

READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

KEEP TINY TONI (BRAXTON) IN YOUR PRAYERS; SINGER HOSPITALIZED AFTER SUFFERING CHEST PAINS IN VEGAS.

Six-time Grammy winner Toni Braxton was admitted to a Las Vegas hospital for chest pains Monday night, media reports said. The 40-year-old singer, in Vegas headlining a five-nights-a-week show at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, is currently listed in good condition and is expected to be released soon. The cause of the chest pain was not immediately known. But Braxton has a heart condition called pericarditis, which she found out about after she gave birth to her second son. She has since been named a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association since her disclosure. The Flamingo Hotel and Casino was offering refunds to the canceled Tuesday show. No immediate decision was made whether Braxton's Wednesday show would be canceled, hotel spokeswoman Deanna Pettit said.

Braxton's act, Toni Braxton: Revealed, also has shows scheduled Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the vintage 720-seat Flamingo Showroom. Her two-year run at the Flamingo began in August 2006.
.....

READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

SEAN LEVERT LAID TO REST AFTER PRIVATE FUNERAL IN CLEVELAND; SINGER LEAVES BEHIND A WIFE & 6 CHILDREN.

Eddie Levert has laid to rest his second son in 16 months. The wake for Sean Levert was held last Thursday (April 3rd) and Friday (April 4th) at E.F. Boyd & Sons Funeral Home in Cleveland, Ohio. The family held private services for the funeral. Sean, who died Mar. 30, leaves behind his wife, Angela; children Sean, Jr., Chad, Keith, Breoni, Brandon and Shareaun; his parents Martha Byrd Levert and Eddie Levert Sr; siblings Eddie Jr., Kandice, Asha, Eury, Ryan, Shawnquetta and the late Gerald Levert. Sean, 39, died just before midnight Mar. 30 at Lutheran Hospital. He was taken there from the Cuyahoga County Jail after guards said Levert was pounding on his cell door and had to be placed in a restraining chair for his own safety. Levert's breathing became weak while he was in the chair so he was taken to the hospital. The Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office ruled out foul play or trauma in Levert's death and also performed toxicology tests on the body. The autopsy was completed Monday but the test results won't be back for four to six weeks. The Cuyahoga County Sheriff's office also is investigating the circumstances surrounding the jail incident. The family has told the media that they also want the FBI to investigate the circumstances surrounding Levert's death.

This was the second death in 16 months for the legendary R&B Levert family. Sean's brother Gerald died Nov. 10, 2006 of an accidental overdose in his sleep at his Newbury home. He was only 40. Sean Levert was in the Cuyahoga County Jail awaiting transfer to a state prison after being convicted of being $85,000 behind in child support payments. He had been in the jail since March 24.

....

READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!