Here's a very rare find. Candid pics of Martin Lawrence. The comedian was spotted in Los Angeles leaving Mr. Chow restaurant after enjoying a meal with friends and family on Wednesday night (10.24.07).
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Whoopi Goldberg was spotted in SoHo with her daughter, Alexandrea earlier this week. Why they're standing there holding hands while clutching a brown paper bag in what appears to be the middle of street is anybody's guess. I'm not even going to try to figure it out!
How many of all remember when beige dudes (i.e. Al B. Sure, Christopher Williams, the incarcerated De Barge brothers, El and Chico, Prince...) were in style? And by that I mean in full effect something proper-like? Okay, so now, how many of yall feel that in this present day and time, the only thing a beige man can do for you is to tell you where the dark skin men are at?! LOL! Say what you will, but as far as light-skinned brothers making a comeback...I really don't think history intends on repeating itself anytime soon...at least I hope not. But I see Trey Songz, J. Holiday, Chris Brown and T.I.--oops, my bad! Scratch that last one--out there trying to make it happen again. Good luck fellas! Anywhoo, Al B. Sure, who I consider as the aforementioned fellas 'Beige Godfather' was spotted at Brooklyn's Duo Live's 'The Color of Money' album release party at the PM Lounge in NYC on Monday (Oct. 22). Please don't ask me who they are. Check out their MySpace page to find out more about them...because truthfully, I really don't care who they are or what they do. That's just real talk on my part.
When I first saw these pictures of Kerry Washington and Common together, I asked myself, 'What in the world do they have in common?!' (no pun intended). Then I remembered reading an online article about Kerry making her directorial debut as director of Common's latest video, I Want You. So, I'm going to go ahead and assume that this is the reason why they both appeared on MTV's TRL together.
According to SOHH, originally, Common, who hails from Chicago, handpicked the talented actress as the leading lady in his new video. However, Washington wanted more (i.e. a directorial credit)... and she says it wasn't just her pretty face that earned her the spot in Com's director's chair. "Common called me and asked me if I wanted to be 'the girl' in the next video because we've really always had a mutual respect for each other's work and I said that I would do it if I can direct it," Washington told SOHH. "And he was like, 'Alright well write a treatment."
The shoot, which took place in L.A. a week ago, turned out to be a celestial event. "One of the really cool things about the video is that it's totally star studded," Washington said. "It's myself, Common, Alicia Keys [and] Kanye West. It's really fun. I'm loving it even more than I thought I was going to."
As for those rumors that these two are allegedly dating...well, the hell if I know! Although there has been more than a few web whispers regarding their courtship (Kerry has reportedly been seen at a number of Common's performances...and there were also rumors that the two possible lovebirds were spotted playing kissy-face in Virginia earlier this month), only time will eventually tell as to rather Kerry and Common have a little more in common than just music and whatnot. Besides, isn't he somehow always rumored to be dating any chick he happens to be working with or photographed with?
Shit like this just don't make any damn sense. A statue of slain rapper Tupac Shakur was vandalized in Georgia last Saturday (10/20). Now, it's bad enough that the statue, which was supposedly made in Tupac's physical likeness, looks more like a statue of an 90-year-old crippled man (no disrespect to the dead) than it does the slim and sexy rapper. But to disrespect the man in death (whether you liked him or not) on some KKK sh!t is even worse. According to reports, vandals defaced and tied a damn noose around the neck of the bronze statue which sits on the grounds of The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center of Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Tupac's mother Afeni branded the perpetrators "ignorant". She tells Allhiphop.com, "We thank everyone for their prayers and support. Although our hearts are temporarily in pain, our spirits have already forgiven the perpetrators. Hate comes in all colors and genders; therefore we will use this act of hate and ignorance to bring our community together and to pray for the healing of those who harbor such feelings."
The attacks are being investigated as hate crimes by the De Kalb County Sheriff's Office. One person has been arrested.
Shakur was shot dead in Las Vegas in September 1996. In 2005, the statue which was designed by Tina Allen, was unveiled on the center's property to commemorate the nine year anniversary of his death.
A wax figure of slain MC The Notorious B.I.G. was unveiled by the rapper’s mother, Voletta Wallace, at the world famous Madame Tussaud’s wax museum in New York City this morning (October 25). The figure of Biggie portrays the rapper in a white three piece suit with white hat and shoes, with one hand in his pocket and the other on a white and wooden cane. After the unveiling, 23 students from the Brooklyn High School of the Arts performed the Biggie tribute song I’ll Be Missing You, and the gospel tune I’ll Fly Away (I break down in tears whenever I hear this song!).
Visitors were allowed to touch and take pictures with the figure which will be housed in it’s own room on the 9th floor of the museum. Additionally, when guests move through colored light beams around the figure, they will automatically trigger audio clips of Biggie’s songs.
THERE'S MORE PICS FROM THE UNVEILING AFTER THE JUMP!
***I UPPED THIS POST (WHICH I POSTED LAST WEEK) TO REMIND YOU ALL TO REMEMBER TO TUNE IN TO THE 4th SEASON PREMIERE OF 'RUN'S HOUSE,' WHICH AIRS TONIGHT AT 10 pm ON MTV***
I must be slipping because until I saw the preview last night, I had absolutely no idea that the fourth season of Run's House would premiere next Thursday night (October 25) at 10 pm on MTV. This show has got to be realest reality show I've seen in a long time. And that's rare. And I think that's also why people love it so much. Although MTV gets a hard time these days for not showing music videos, and giving a lot of air time to people who certainly aren't, or shouldn't be, role models (like My Super Sweet Sixteen) you have to give them credit for sticking with a show like Run's House that doesn't have a sexy hook. Run himself has proved himself as a capable and beloved patriarch, and is one of the most morally centered programs that MTV produces. It's just a show about a family. Simple. It's about time MTV does something right.
At Run's House the laughs, drama and excitement never seem to end. Rev. Run, (Joseph Simmons of Run-DMC), and his wife Justine continue to manage a very bustling household and keep the lives of their 5 children as normal as possible amid the extravagance of their surroundings. With the entire family back together again under one roof, life in the Simmons house is anything but normal. This season Rev. Run and Justine make a major decision on adopting a new baby and life for them may never be the same again.
Eldest sibling, Vanessa, 24, lands her first acting role on the day-time soap opera Guiding Light and finds that perfecting her craft is harder work than she thought. Angela, 20, sets her sights on expanding her current magazine insert into a bona-fide celebrity driven fashion/entertainment magazine. JoJo, 18, deals with everything from graduating high school, to hustling for a record deal, to developing deeper relationships with his dad and Uncle Russell (music/fashion mogul Russell Simmons).
AFTER THE JUMP, READ MORE ON WHAT'S IN STORE FOR DIGGY & RUSSY FOR THE NEW SEASON; PLUS DETAILS ON THE SALE OF THE FAMILY'S HOME.
As the coolest tween-ager on television, Diggy, 12, is fast becoming a ladies man but Rev. Run manages to keep him grounded. And Russy, 11, might just be ready to cast his love for video games aside for a new interest girls!
In related news, Rev. Run (real name Joseph Simmons) has put the family's Saddle Creek, New Jersey mansion up for sale for a cool $5.5 million. I'm not surprised by this at all. Reality show stars have a tendency to sale their homes after it's been seen by everyone and their mama on national television. Coincidentally, Nick (Lachey) and Jessica (Simpson), as well as Travis Barker and his estranged wife, Shanna, did the same thing.
The Simmons' estate, which has been on the market for several months, contains six bedrooms and five bath rooms. It also has a basketball court, swimming pool, recording studio and a movie theater. Not a bad place to grow up.
For you die hard fans, Run's House seasons are out on DVD. It'll make a great stocking stuffer.
Oh, Lord! The news in the following story is going to put my baby sister, who is the biggest Brandy fan--on screen and off--that I know on cloud 9 for a spell or two! LOL!
Brandy, who faces lawsuits and possible criminal charges from a fatal traffic accident, is coping by recording music. "I've just got to get that album out," the pop star tells PEOPLE. "I have to get it out, if it's the last thing I do."Brandy's album, which does not currently have a title, would be her fifth studio album, and the first since 2004's critically well-received Afrodisiac. "I've been gone for a long time," says the 28-year-old R&B singer-actress, who spoke to PEOPLE at the recent Christian Audigier fashion show at L.A. Fashion Week. "I really want to give the fans something that they deserve to have. So, I'm working really hard on this. I really want to make it the best work I've done so far."
The Moesha star has kept a low profile since December, when she was involved in a four-car accident in which another driver was killed. The family of the deceased, Awatef Aboudihai, who was 38, has filed lawsuits against Norwood, as has another driver in the accident. Police investigators recommended that Brandy be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, but the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office has yet to file charges. Brandy declined to comment on the accident or the lawsuits. But she says that she's staying strong while making her new music.
"I think it's really finding that belief in yourself, where you just have it no matter what's going on, no matter what anyone else says," she says. "I think that's the challenge, is to really have that belief in yourself." She continues, "I'm really working on this thing. This is what I'm supposed to do. I'm destined to do it. You just keep affirming everyday, and it will just be there."
Academy Award winning actress, Halle Berry, who is expecting her first child in the spring – said being pregnant is "fantastic." (And she certainly looked the part, wowing the crowds as she arrived in a blue, full-length Versace dress at the screening for the BFI London Film Festival.) Earlier this month, Berry claimed there is "nothing bad" about being pregnant. "There is nothing bad about it. The morning sickness and the vomiting and the hot sweats. Nothing's been bad about it. I've loved every second of it," she said. Last night, however, the mom-to-be seemed to be even happier to confirm she feels "wonderful" morning and night. "I'm over [the morning sickness] now. I'm all good."
Holding up four fingers when asked how many months along she is, Berry also said, in response to a query about "maternity chic" and what she's wearing these days, "I think I feel like I'm such a slave to fashion. It's a hard concept for me to fathom that I'm going to have to wear maternity clothes." But, as she also sees it, "Fashion is on my side."
Berry was also asked what made her companion, Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, 32, "Mr. Right." "He's a wonderful person, and I happened to find someone really special to have a baby with," she said. As for any strange food desires to go along with her pregnancy, she admitted, "I crave things daily. It changes every day, and I try to listen to my body and not overdo it so I don't become too big."
When it comes to getting on my reserved nerves, those gay rights people are virtually neck-in-neck against those PETA people, I swear. Both groups will do and say just about anything to get a little attention. This time is no different. Barack Obama is being pressured by a gay rights group to remove gospel star Donnie McClurkin from his fund-raising tour because of the singer's views on homosexuality. The artist, who has spoken openly about his belief that sexual preference is a choice, reiterated his stance Monday in a telephone interview with the Associated Press, stating: "I don't believe that it is the intention of God. Sexuality, everything is a matter of choice." McClurkin – who is among several gospel singers scheduled to raise money for the Democratic presidential candidate at a concert in South Carolina this weekend – said he does not believe in discriminating against homosexuals. "What people do in their bedrooms and who they are as human beings are two different things," he said.
In a statement, Obama said he believes gays and lesbians are "our brothers and sisters" and should be afforded the same respect, dignity and rights granted all other citizens. I strongly believe that African Americans and the LGBT community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. And so I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin's views and will continue to fight for these rights as president of the United States to ensure that America is a country that spreads tolerance instead of division," Obama said.
The statement, however, did not specify whether McClurkin has been booted from the tour. "We strongly urge Obama to part ways with this divisive preacher who is clearly singing a different tune than the stated message of the campaign," Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, said in a statement.
In 2004, McClurkin performed at the Republican National Convention and told AP Radio at the time that he was "once involved with those desires and those thoughts," which he attributed to being raped at 8 and 13. "That's what thrust me into it, and then God delivered me from that and gave me back who I really am and my true purpose," McClurkin said.
