NEW PICS: CHILLI'S ROLLING OUT MAG PHOTOSHOOT + NEW PROMO PICS & DETAILS ON WINNING A CHANCE TO DANCE WITH CHILLI ON HER PROMO TOUR.

R&B singer Chilli is featured on the latest cover of Atlanta's Rolling Out magazine on stands now. She's on her grind for real this time! Now, it was just yesterday when I told you all that Chilli had chosen a title for her new solo debut album which is Bi-Polar. When I say she's so serious about this project, please believe me. Now, yes, a couple of years ago when she was featured in a couple of urban magazines and her tracks Gameproof and Straight Jack 'Em had leaked onto the Internet...it got quite a bit of buzz going suggesting she was indeed about to do the damn thing. But in the end fans got nothing. This time around, however, the singer has finally got the molasses out of her ass: she's hired an entire new PR team, freed herself from TLC's former manager Bill Diggins (for trying to pull a fast one over on them), recorded a hot new track, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb which will be the first single from Bi-Polar and last but not least, Chilli is currently gearing up for an upcoming promotional tour (read about that after the jump) to support her new LP.

In her feature story for Rolling Out magazine, Chilli dished on why she made the decision to stand out on her own and reveals the celebrity, who also hails from Atlanta, who inspired her: “Probably three years ago, I was kind of at a crossroad[s] with everything,” she admits. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I just got on my knees and asked God, ‘what is it that you want me to do?’ I was definitely born to be a Mommy and an entertainer — it’s all I could think about since I was a little kid. Listening to radio, I started to miss good messages — [songs] that young people can listen to and their parents can be happy. It inspired me to go back into the studio and make music like that. I did some [rapping] on our first [TLC] album, and that was a lot of fun for me. [This time] I definitely stepped outside the box. André 3000 was my inspiration. He stepped outside the box to sing and pulled it off. I wanted to tap into that."

CHECK OUT PICS FROM CHILLI'S 'ROLLING OUT' MAG PHOTOSHOOT + PROMOTIONAL PICS FOR CHILLI'S NEW SINGLE 'DUMB, DUMB, DUMB.'




VIEW MORE PICS FROM CHILLI'S ROLLING OUT MAG PHOTOSHOOT AS WELL AS PROMOTIONAL PICS. ALSO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN WIN A CHANCE TO DANCE WITH THE SINGER ON HER UPCOMING PROMO TOUR...CLICK ON 'READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP! ON THE BOTTOM LEFT TO FIND OUT!

And Chilli's still in business of keeping it real....especially with her fans: “What’s funny in this industry [is that] I find that a lot of people had to struggle in the beginning and once the success came they changed into someone that no one knew. I’ve been in the industry for 17 years. Because of my personality, I’ve always been the type of celebrity that if I’m eating and someone comes over and wants my autograph, I’ll [sign] — or ask politely, ‘can you wait?’ I was that way at 20 and I’m still that way today.”

In the meantime, Chilli has reached out to those same fans--both old and new. Her first solo single, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, is a pulsating club banger, with Chilli’s trademark sexy vocals over a funky Eastern-flavored digital backdrop. The infectious track has also inspired her to challenge her fans to participate in a contest to create a dance for the tune. “I thought it would be a lot of fun to incorporate the fans. I want all of the dancers out there to make up a routine. It would super-hot if we had a ‘Dumb, Dumb, Dumb’ dance!” Chilli is looking for the hottest dancers to perform with her on her upcoming promo tour. To enter, create a one minute choreographed routine to the single Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, upload the video onto youtube, and send the link to CHILLISDANCECONTEST@GMAIL.COM.

PHOTOSHOOT PICS: ROLLINGOUT.COM
PROMOTIONAL PICS: CHILLI'S MYSPACE

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RANDOM PICS OF MADNESS: NAOMI CAMPBELL'S BARELY THERE HAIRLINE.

Uh, you would think with all the bitter bouts of bitching, whining, moaning, groaning and Blackberry-throwing Naomi does on a nearly daily basis, it would release enough stress in her life where it wouldn't show on her hairline or lack thereof. Here she is at the Metropolitan Opera Opening Night Gala at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 22, 2008.

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*UPDATED* WESLEY SNIPES SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS IN PRISON ON TAX CHARGES; CO-DEFENDANT GETS 10 YEARS BEHIND BARS.

I guess the 'good luck' message I wished for Wesley was in vain. According to the Associated Press, Snipes called on famous friends to vouch for him, highlighted his clean criminal record and even wrote the government $5 million in checks — all in an effort to convince a judge that his conviction on tax charges should cost him nothing more than home detention and some public service announcements. None of it worked. The "Blade" actor was ordered to do hard time. Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday for failing to file tax returns, the maximum penalty — and a victory for prosecutors who sought to make an example of the action star. Snipes' lawyers had spent much of the day in court offering dozens of letters from family members, friends — even fellow actors Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington — attesting to his good character. His attorneys recommended he be given home detention and ordered to make public service announcements because his three convictions were all misdemeanors and the actor had no previous criminal record.

Snipes apologized while reading from a written statement for his "costly mistakes," but never mentioned the word taxes. "I am an idealistic, naive, passionate, truth-seeking, spiritually motivated artist, unschooled in the science of law and finance," Snipes said. He said his wealth and celebrity attracted "wolves and jackals like flies are attracted to meat." He called himself "well-intentioned, but miseducated." Snipes surprised the court before Hodges handed down the sentence by offering the government three checks totaling $5 million in unpaid taxes over several years, money the government first denied but then accepted. Prosecutors called it "grandstanding" to avoid jail time, and a mere down payment on the actor's still-undetermined multi-million dollar tax bill.

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Co-defendants Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn were convicted on both those counts. Kahn, who refused to defend himself in court, was sentenced to 10 years, while Rosile received 54 months. Both will serve three years of supervised release. Snipes will serve one year of supervised release. Snipes and Rosile remain free and will be notified when they are to surrender to authorities. Defense attorney Carmen Hernandez signaled in court that Snipes would pursue an appeal.

Wesley Snipes has enlisted a couple of his celebrity friends--Denzel Washington and Judge Joe Brown--in order to drum up support in hopes of getting a lighter sentence (if any at all...which I highly doubt due to the fact that Johnnie Cochran done gone on to glory) at his tax invasion sentencing which will be held today (Thursday, April 24). Thirty-one character references were submitted by Snipes' legal team, according to Ocala, Fla's Star-Banner newspaper. The letters are written to Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges, who is scheduled to sentence Snipes today on three counts of willfully failing to file tax returns. Snipes faces up to three years in jail and possibly $5 million or more in fines. His legal team hopes letters from Washington, Brown, Woody Harrelson and others will encourage the judge to go easy. "Wesley is like a tree - a mighty oak," Washington wrote in his letter to the judge, adding he has known the actor for 20 years. "Many who know him have witnessed the fruit of his labors, have sat in his shade and even been protected by his presence. I am proud of him, proud to call him a fellow thespian and most importantly, proud to call him a friend."

Good luck, homey.

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NEW PICS: ALICIA KEYS VISITS B.E.T.'S '106 & PARK.'

Singer Alicia Keys made a stop at B.E.T.'s 106 & Park in New York City on Wednesday (April 23). Peep the pics below.

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DEAR KHIA a.k.a. 'MISS SLEEPY TITTIES': PLEASE...PRETTY PLEASE, SHUT THE HELL UP!

"It was my perfect exit. I planned on going to the show to promote my music. My mission was accomplished. Everybody there used pre-written material, so it was like [MC] Serch was hating all along. Serch and all the rest of them will have to really accomplish something, before I have anything to say about them. The show was a joke. Now that I'm gone, the ratings will be going down. Everybody know they were watching the show to see me.....I'm such an actress, you didn't see me? I'll have my own show soon. That's what it was for. I want to do television all the way around. I screen write -- I want to get hands on with all of the sides -- as far as production and television, whether reality or sitcom. I'm a creative writer first so you'll definitely be seeing a lot of me. It was a platform. I'm independent and I don't want to be signed to a label. I like the independent money and the independent success. I'm Khia, I'm still in my same neighborhood, I'm around my people, my community, I want to uplift them and let them know you can make it no matter where you're from, or what struggles you've been through. Everybody is like 'You wish you had this, or you wish you had that,' but my wish came true. I'm successful doing what I love to do and I don't want to change anything about it. I would never want to be under the microscope. I would never want to be put up on a pedestal to be torn down. I'm comfortable and content where I am."

--Khia explains to SOHH.com her dismissal from VH1's Miss Rap Supreme, why she feels it was a joke, the hateration she has for the contestants and host, MC Serch, why she never wants to be placed under a microscope--and Khia, believe me when I say that the last thing we would ever want to see is a magnified version of your mug....that is not the business--as well as her plans to launch her own television show and the release of her new album Nasti Muzik. Ewwwwwwww.

Oh and I found more promotional photoshoot pics of the rapper. Click 'em to see 'em.


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ACTRESS TERRI J. VAUGHN & HER HUSBAND WELCOME A BABY BOY; HIS FIRST, HER SECOND.

According to Essence.com, Actress Terri J. Vaughn (The Steve Harvey Show, All of Us, Daddy's Little Girls, Dirty Laundry) and her new husband Karon Riley of the Arena Football League (AFL) welcomed a baby on Monday (April 21) evening in Los Angeles. Vaughn, who spent six hours in labor, named her bundle of joy Kal'El Joseph Riley. Lil dude came bouncing into the world at 6:05 P.M. PT, weighing in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces, and measuring 19.5 inches. The proud father, a defensive lineman for the Cleveland Gladiators and self-professed Superman fanatic, named his son after his favorite superhero's Kryptonian name (Kal'El), which he interprets to mean 'of God-like abilities. I think the name is very fitting for him. He's strong, cool and mellow, just perfect. I could tell even when I was carrying him inside me because he made me feel like Superwoman!,' Vaughn said from her hospital bed.

And the first-time dad wasn't short on compliments for mother and child: "Terri was amazing during the delivery, and Kal'El looks just like his daddy." Although this is the couple's first child together, the 38-year-old actress has a son, Daylen Ali, 6, from her first marriage. Daylen was excited and ready to assume his new role as Big Brother. 'He couldn't keep his hands off of him,' Vaughn said. 'I keep him loaded up with hand sanitizer!'
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Vaughn, who eloped with Riley this past January in Vegas, said motherhood the second time around is familiar territory. 'Once a mom, always a mom,' she proclaimed. 'But my sons each bring different spirits to my life. Daylen softened my heart and spirit while Kal'El strengthened my heart and soul. God knows what He's doing. I need them both. I just hope that Kal'El fulfills his God-given purpose, which will make the world a better place.'

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OJ SIMPSON WANTS TO STAR ON THE NEXT 'CELEBRITY APPRENTICE.'

Former sportsman-turned-actor O.J. Simpson is desperate to take part in the next season of The Celebrity Apprentice, and has reportedly asked Donald Trump for the chance to star on the reality show. The hit TV show, which sees various celebrities vie for the approval of property mogul Trump, could score a ratings coup if it recruits Simpson, who has been surrounded by controversy since being named a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994. He was acquitted of the charges in 1995, but was later found responsible for their deaths in a civil trial held in 1997.

But, according to New York gossip column PageSix, Simpson's appearance on the show has been met with mixed reactions by the show's producers. A source says, "Simpson really wants to do it. Trump and NBC are thinking about it, but are being very cautious. There's a certain amount of heat associated with Simpson."

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