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Videos and Pictures After The Jump

Music and Hollywood's biggest and brightest stars all came out to the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles for the 2011 BET Awards Sunday (June 26) night. Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Trey Songz, host Kevin Hart, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were all in attendance as BET celebrated the year in music.


The ceremony kicked off in royal fashion as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige, took the stage wearing an all-white jumpsuit performing "Mary Jane (All Night Long)" and "You Bring Me Joy" from her 1994 My Life album. MJB didn't stop there, bringing out Anita Baker so the two could sing Baker's 1986 classic "Caught Up in the Rapture."

Chris Brown came up big, winning the first award of the night, for Best Male R&B Artist, beating out the likes of Bruno Mars, Usher, Trey Songz and Cee Lo Green. The ever-controversial CB also took home an award for Best Collaboration for his Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes-assisted track "Look at Me Now." It didn't end there for Brown. After a snafu that had Rihanna and Drake being announced as the winners of BET's Viewers' Choice Award, it was later learned that Breezy was the intended recipient, making that his third win of the night. Brown also lit up the stage performing a string of his own hits and then again alongside Big Sean, who rapped his #1 rap single "My Last."

Nicki Minaj was a shoo-in for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, and as expected she beat out Diamond, Lola Monroe and Master P's daughter Cymphonique. Still, Minaj, who took the stage with her Young Money family, started her speech with, "Wow, I can't believe I won." The crowd laughed before she clarified her point and thanked Lil Wayne.

Alicia Keys shined as well, treating fans to a piano-laced set as she sang new single "Typewriter," "A Woman's Worth" with Bruno Mars and "Fallin'."

Throughout the night, a number of BET-related trending topics popped up on Twitter. #betawards, Wiz & Amber and Mary Mary made the rounds on the social networking site during the night as well as #kelly after Kelly Rowland performed her single "Motivation" with Trey Songz. The ex-Destiny's Child member received one of the loudest ovations of the night.

Duo Mary Mary won for Best Gospel Album, and Patti LaBelle received the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Gladys Knight. A potty-mouthed Cee Lo Green, Marsha Ambrosius and gospel's Shirley Caesar all honored the soul singer by performing a medley of her hits before LaBelle took the stage herself.

Cali Swag District came out with Doug E. Fresh and memorialized slain CSD member M-Bone, while fallen artists like Clarence Clemons, Nate Dogg, Gil Scott-Heron and Teena Marie were honored with tribute performances by Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Queen Latifah and others.

Beyoncé closed things out with a performance from the Glastonbury festival in the U.K. Wearing a gold glittered top, with her legs on full display, B started things off with "Best Thing I Never Had" and then turned it up for a lively version of "End of Time," both from her upcoming album, 4.

In the end, the 2011 BET Awards celebrated this year's best in hip-hop, R&B and gospel as well as honoring living legends. It was definitely a night to remember.

Full List Of Winners

Best Female R&B Artist
* Rihanna
Jennifer Hudson
Beyoncé
Marsha Ambrosius
Keri Hilson

Best Male R&B Artist
* Chris Brown
Cee-Lo Green
Bruno Mars
Trey Songz
Usher

Best Group
* Diddy Dirty Money
Cali Swag District
N.E.R.D.
New Boyz
Travis Porter

Best Female Hip Hop Artist
* Nicki Minaj
Diamond
Cymphonique
Lola Monroe

Best Male Hip Hop Artist
* Kanye West
B.o.B
Drake
Lil Wayne
Rick Ross

Best Collaboration
* Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes, "Look At Me Now"
B.o.B ft. Haley Williams of Paramore, "Airplanes"
Kanye West ft. Rihanna, "All of the Lights"
Chris Brown ft. Tyga & Kevin McCall, "Deuces"
Waka Flocka Flame ft. Roscoe Dash & Wale, "No Hands"
Rihanna ft. Drake, "What's My Name"

Best New Artist
* Wiz Khalifa
J. Cole
Bruno Mars
Miguel
Willow Smith

Young Stars Award - TIE
* Jaden Smith
* Willow Smith
Shenell Edmonds
Keke Palmer
Diggy Simmons

Best Gospel
* Mary Mary
Byron Cage
Deitrick Haddon
Karen Clark Sheard
BeBe & CeCe Winans

Centric Award
* Marsha Ambrosius
Eric Benét
Cee-Lo Green
R. Kelly
Kem

Best International Act (Africa) - TIE
* 2Face Idibia (Nigeria)
* D' Banj (Nigeria)
D-Black (Ghana)
Fally Ipupa (DR Congo)
Angelique Kidjo (Benin)
Teargas (South Africa)

Best International Act (UK)
* Tinie Tempah
VV Brown
Chipmunk
Laura Izibor
Skepta
Tinchy Stryder


Sources: MTV and The Examiner

Post show news coverage.

Chris Brown "Medley"

Kelly Rowland "Motivation"

Beyonce "Best Thing I Never Had"

From The Huffington Post

The recession might be officially over, but American views toward the institutions that brought the economic system close to collapse have never been worse.

According to a new poll by Gallup, 36 percent of Americans now say they have "very little" or "no" confidence in U.S. banks, the highest percentage on record since Gallup first started tracking that data. Those saying they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in banks has also stagnated, stuck at 23 percent for the second straight year, after falling to a low of 22 percent in 2009.

Safe to say it's been a tough year in the banks' public relations departments.

U.S. banks have spent much of the past year aggressively lobbying against the implementation of Dodd-Frank financial reform. This week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called out banks for the "huge amount of money [spent by banks] to erode, weaken, walk back" financial reform. Indeed, the largest-lobbying institutions of last year spent 2.7 percent more in the first months of this year in an attempt to combat rules including higher capital requirements and restrictions on swipe fees.

The nation's five largest mortgage servicers -- Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial -- have also been the focus of a federal investigation into whether the banks defrauded taxpayers in their handling of foreclosures, first reported by The Huffington Post in mid-May.

In addition, in April, Goldman Sachs, the nation's fifth-largest bank by assets, was accused in a Senate report of systematically misleading clients by selling them assets known to be junk and then subsequently betting against that junk.

So this year's Gallup results only further emphasize the growing animosity toward banks in America. Never before 2009 had more Americans expressed more distrust than trust in banks. That has not only been the norm for three years now, but the gap is widening.

Gallup, who has been tracking confidence in banks for over thirty years now, notes the steady decline of confidence in their release, pointing out that 60 percent of Americans had at least "quite a lot" of confidence in banks in 1979. That fell to 30 percent in the early 1990s, but then steadily rose to 53 percent in the mid-2000s.

The percentage of Americans with a good deal of trust in banks has been nearly halved since 2007:

Although levels of confidence have fallen in all regions since the first years of the financial crisis in 2007, confidence is again on the rise in the Midwest and West. This year, it is the East that has the least confidence in banks, at 20 percent.

The below graph charts levels of confidence since the financial crisis:

Video and Pics After The Jump

The beautiful and talented Raven-Symone has literally been on television for most of her life. Starting with The Cosby show at three years old to her new sitcom 'State of Georgia.'

The 25-year old actress was out doing promotional work for the new show when she stopped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The two talked about why she will forever be linked Justin Bieber and a lot more.

Also check out her new slimmer figure in these photos taken from her shoot with Rolling Out.

'State of Georgia' premiers June 29 at 8:30 P.M. on ABC.

Donovan NcNabb has no time in his life for social networking sites and thinks other athletes should follow his lead.

The Washington Redskins quarterback was speaking on ESPN's Waddle & Silvy radio show last week when the subject of Chicago qb Jay Cutler came up. Cutler was criticized heavily last year by some NFL players on Twitter when he couldn't return to a playoff game because of a knee injury.

McNabb, who has been no stranger to criticism throughout his career said he could identify with Cutler, and thinks it is unprofessional for athletes to tweet about situations like that.

"First of all, I'm not a fan of Twitter. Nothing against their program or what they have, but as an athlete I think you need to get off twitter," Mcnabb said. "All these social networks of you tweeting about you watching a game when you want to be playing in it, but you're mad you're not playing in it, so you're gonna criticize someone that's playing in it. I don't believe that that's the right deal. That's not professional by any means and you know we are all in a fraternity, so if you see a guy who's struggling this isn't the time to jump on him or kick him while he's down because that same guy will come against you and kinda blast your team out the water, so I think for an athlete to be 'twittering' is the wrong move. It's one of those things to leave to the fans and let them comment on certain things, but athletes need to get off Twitter."

What do you think of McNabb's comments?

Video After The Jump

Snoop Dogg is promoting his affiliation with Blast by Colt 45 with a new music video/commercial.

There's plenty of eye candy as Snoop and Tha Dogg Pound party with a bevy of bikini clad women.

Life After Death Tracklisting

1. “Intro – Life After Death”
2. “It’s Brat (Tupac Back Remix)”
3. “West Side”
4. “Get It Get It” feat. Jadakiss and Brandon Hines
5. “Racks (Remix)”
6. “Sure Thing (Remix)”
7. “Second Chance”
8. “Fab 5 Freddy”
9. “Dumb Stupid Crazy” feat. Twista
10. “Motivation (Remix)”
11. “Look at Me Now (Remix)”

Download Here

Common has found a new recording home after leaving Universal Music For Warner Bros.

The rapper spent a decade with the UM, but decided it was time to move on.

"I'm very grateful to be a part of this family, to be a part of this team," Common told crowd yesterday in Warner Bros. Records courtyard. "We have very inspirational, exciting music to team up with you. We're just open to what this change can bring."

No word on when Common will begin work on his ninth studio album, but we'll keep you updated

Video After The Jump

ASCAP’s 24th Annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards were held yesterday (June 24) in Beverly Hills, California.

Dr. Dre took time away from his 'Detox' recording sessions to present Diddy with the ASCAP Founders Award.

"Puff has been a creative force behind some of our biggest hits and has help push rap music into the worldwide industry that it is today," Dre said. "He also introduced us to one of the greatest emcees of all time the Notorious B.I.G.. I've had a chance to expereience his hustle myself, so I know he's no joke. I’ve been inspired, I’ve been motivated by this man’s hustle."

"Give it up for Dre and the gym," Puffy said when he took the podium, joking about Dre's muscles. "Yall don't know how happy I am right now. I truly appreciate this. The feeling of just being acknowledged by your peers. I don’t know if ya’ll know my favorite producer in the world ’cause we in a room of producers and writers. … Dr. Dre my whole life has just been my favorite producer.”

Watch Puffy's acceptance speech below.

Video After The Jump


The latest visuals from Eminem's Grammy winning 'Recovery' album.

The video features porn star Sasha Grey and is directed by Joseph Khan.

Video After The Jump

Rihanna's stiletto heels got the best of her during one brief segment of her concert in Edmonton earlier this week.

The 23-year old was in Canada on Wednesday as part of her 'Loud' tour when she tripped and fell hard. But like the seasoned pro she's become, she got right back up and continued the performance as if nothing ever happened.

In other Rihanna tour news, Cee Lo has dropped early out as opening act.

The singer was scheduled to play at least 13 more dates, but cited tv commitments and production starting on his new album as the reason he leaving the tour.

A spokesperson for Green released a statement according to the NYTimes that said: “He always puts 100 percent into his work and with the requirements and time commitment to ‘The Voice,’ on top of heading back into the recording studio and an upcoming book, he feels that he wouldn’t give his fans the show that they deserve."

Video After The Jump

In Jennifer Hudson's latest video for "No One Gonna Love You" the singer gets a chance to show off a few dance moves.

“This is the first time that I’ve had the chance to dance,” Jennifer said recently according to Just Jared. “It was probably the part I anticipated the most and I actually had a lot of fun. I thought I accomplished it. You be the judge.”

The song is the latest single off of Jennifer's new cd 'I Remember Me.'

Video After The Jump

Official video from Jay's upcoming album 'Follow Me Home'

The track is produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and features Kendrick Lamar.

Video After The Jump

I don't think it's possible to count a talented young emcee out who is right on verge of releasing his debut album. But the Friday Hip Hop Report Lounge crew is questioning everything about J. Cole's career.

In their latest video they discuss why the 26-year old hasn't blown yet, his latest song "Work Out" and the entire strategy behind his marketing.

They seemed to go in pretty hard on the Roc Nation signee. what do you think?

Method Man visited the TLC Show NY Inc.

Mef got a sick Wu Tang Killer Bee tattoo from Tommy on his left arm, then returned the favor by tatting a Wu Tang Clan symbol on Tommy's leg.

While there Method also talked about what he sees wrong with today's hip hop scene.

"Can you even call it hip hop?" Meth asked. "Back in the day when you told a kid 'yeah I'm an MC.' First sh*t they would say to you is 'say a rhyme for me.' Now you tell a kind I'm an mc '[they ask] where your car? where your chain?'

Video After The Jump

Jay Leno had a top notch line up of guests last night with Shaquille O'Neal, Justin Timberlake and Kevin Hart making their way to his couch.

During Hart's hilarious segment, the diminutive comedian was clowning on Shaq until the big man walked out and playfully lifted him up like a rag doll.

Hart spent the rest of the time joking about growing up wanting to see a black singer in 'N Sync, his recent shoulder injury and his divorce.

Check it out below.

Kevin Hart, Shaquille O'Neal and Justin Timberlake Pt. 1 of 2

Kevin Hart, Shaquille O'Neal and Justin Timberlake Pt. 2 of 2

Video After The Jump

The Bay Area trio of Kreayshawn, V-Nasty and Lil Debbie, better known as the White Girl Mob have been catching a lot of flack for their use of the word "nigga." It's something that was picked up in the environment they were raised in according to them. and at least one well known black Oakland rapper is in their corner.

In an interview with WeTheWest.com Mistah Fab says people should fall back in their criticism of the group.

"First of all you motherf*ckers need to wake up," he said. "This is 2011, nobody gives a sh*t about that no more. We grew up in the same communities, same neighborhoods. It's not the same as how people once looked at it. You want to stand up for a cause like that? You'll let somebody from your own race disrespect you all day, then soon as someone from outside your race...you want to turn into Malcolm X or Martin Luther King or Dick Gregory. All of a sudden you're Huey Newton."

Fab thinks that a lot of the people pointing fingers are being hypocritical.

"You're the same person that sells dope in your community all day. You shoot guns, but you wanna trip off of someone saying the word 'n*gga,'" the rapper said. "And believe it or not V-Nasty is mobbing harder than you n*ggas that's mad at her saying the word 'n*gga.' She just got out of jail for a robbery. She not playing dawg. When she rap about that sh*t, that's really what she do."

Does Fab have a point? Or is way out of bounds? Weigh in with your opinions below.

Mistah Fab Defending White Girl Mob

V-Nasty "Psycho B*tch"

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To put rumors to rest that she has had any surgical enhancements done to her famously huge ass Kim Kardashian actually had it x-rayed.

"Kim got a butt X-Ray... See, it's REAL!!! LOL," her sister Khloe tweeted along with a link to her Celebuzz page where the picture above was located. "Nothing like a good old Armenian ass to get your day going!"

"Haha! The things my sisters have me do! Proof baby!" Kim replied.

If you're a fan of the reality show "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" you can watch this Sunday as Kim gets the x-ray done by her family doctor according to GlobalGrind.

Was there that much doubt Kim's ass was real?