At last night's taping of "VH1 Divas" there was plenty of star power on hand as the network celebrated soul music. With anticipation building for performances from Mary J. Blige, Marsha Ambrosius, Kelly Clarkson. Jennifer Hudson, Jill Scott and many more, it was 50 Cent who managed to steal some of the spotlight when he arrived with legendary R&B diva Chaka Khan.
The two announced that they were collaborating on something very big.
"It's a surprise, the most exciting situation" 50 told MTV. "We're working together."
When asked what they were working on Khan replied, "big things."
Khan, who was also a performer on the show described what it meant to be a diva.
"You have to be in a blessed situation to be a diva, so I feel very blessed," she said. "I'm honored to be amongst such greats as Mary J."
50 told MTV that he wanted to make sure Khan was his date at the event.
“I reached out to her to make sure I can actually come with her. This is exciting for me,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to come hang out with her. Totally, you know you need to stand next to the fire to keep warm. You see what I’m saying. It’s getting cold out here. It’s wintertime. It’s really exciting to be around people that have the same artistic integrity, people you want to be associated with.”
While we wait to see what will develop from this collaboration, you can catch Chaka Khan performing tonight on VH1 Divas at 9P/8C.
In the second official trailer for The Dark Knight Rises we start to get a clearer picture of what Batman will be up against.
This film is set eight years after the end of The Dark Knight. The Joker is gone, Harvey Dent/2-Face is a distant memory and all is well in Gotham City. Things are going so well in fact, the city is planning to force Commissioner Gordon into retirement... than all hell breaks loose.
Catwoman and Bane arrive to turn the city upside down, leaving it up to Batman to once again save the day. But can he?
This two minute teaser leaves no doubt that Batman is up against his toughest challenge. Only time will tell if he will make it out alive.
Rapper Yung Joc's Atlanta recording studio was robbed of $50,000 worth of equipment early Sunday morning December 18, when three armed men ambushed a man and a woman looking after it.
Police say the gunmen were waiting in the bushes for the two caretakers to arrive. The thieves forced them inside a bathroom, where they tied them up while the studio/home was robbed of equipment as well as guns and cash.
The victims managed to free themselves once the thieves left and called 911.
Police are hoping the robbers left behind fingerprints so they can be traced.
Yung Joc wasn't at the studio at the time of the robbery.
Choo Biggz - Drive-Bye. Official Music Video, New 2011 Produced By: 2Deep of Anno Domini Beats Co-signed By: 50Cent (G-Unit) Visualized & Directed By: Choo Biggz Filmed By: GoFootage
Somebody might want to tell Left Brain it's not a good idea to slap your fans, that's if you still want them to buy your albums.
During a recent concert the Odd Future rapper slapped the ish out of a fan who probably had a little too much to drink. It's hard to make out what the fan said to provoke Left Brain, but whatever it was he wasn't having it.
This isn't the first time Left Brain has been accused of slapping a member of the audience at a show. He was accused of slapping female photographer Amy Harris in the face at New Orleans' Voodoo Festival back in October. The group issued a statement denying that incident. However, this latest one was clearly caught on tape.
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on December 19, 2011 at 10:56am
The official music video for the record off the "Alize & Popeyes" project, serving as sort of a redux for 1992's classic "Juice". The scenes were shot at the same locations as the movie was 20 years ago!
(CNN) -- Seoul put South Korean forces on high alert and Pyongyang urged an increase in its "military capability" as the death of North Korea's enigmatic leader Kim Jong Il spurred fresh security concerns in the tense region.
A tearful state TV broadcaster reported Kim's death Monday. She said the 69-year-old leader died Saturday due to "overwork" while "dedicating his life to the people."
North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim suffered "great mental and physical strain" while on a train. Kim, who had been treated for "cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases for a long period," suffered a heart attack on Saturday and couldn't be saved despite the use of "every possible first-aid measure," according to the agency.
In the country where Kim was revered as "dear leader," passers-by wept uncontrollably on the streets of Pyongyang.
"My leader, what will we do? It's too much! It's too much!" one person sobbed on state television. "Leader, please come back. ... You cannot leave us. We will always wait for you, leader."
Kim's youngest son, Kim Jong Un, will likely take over the reins. A letter from the ruling Workers' Party on Monday dubbed him "the great successor."
The deceased leader's body will remain for a week at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang -- where the body of his father, Kim Il Sung, lies. Memorial services will follow on December 28 and 29.
"We should increase the country's military capability in every way to reliably safeguard the Korean socialist system and the gains of revolution," the National Funeral Committee said
For its part, South Korea's National Police Agency ordered officers across the country to be ready for overtime shifts. President Lee Myung-bak canceled the rest of his Monday schedule, and all members of South Korea's military were placed on "emergency alert," his office said.
Under the alert, South Korean forces will closely monitor North Korean troop movements and tighten security measures at sea, according to the ministry of defense.
Following the Korean War in 1950, the two nations never formally signed a peace treaty and remain technically at war -- separated by a tense demilitarized zone.
"South Korea's concern is warranted, frankly, because an insecure North Korea could well be an even more dangerous North Korea," a U.S. official said.
But the demilitarized zone between the Koreas remained peaceful on Monday.
"We have not seen any unusual movement ... from North Korea," said Choi Jong Kun, a professor at Yonsei University in Seoul. "We will have to watch and see."
After an emergency Cabinet meeting Monday, Lee asked South Koreans "to go about their lives."
"For the sake of the future of the Republic of Korea, peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is more important than anything else. It should not be threatened by what has happened," he said.
U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Lee on Monday morning, and the two agreed to stay in "close touch as the situation develops," the White House said.
Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who has visited North Korea eight times, said his initial reaction to Kim's death was "extreme concern." He said he is more concerned abut stability in the region now than before news broke of Kim's death.
"North Korea, the peninsula is a tinderbox," said Richardson, who has brokered diplomatic deals in the North. "The issue is, will there be stability in the North Korean leadership? Will they continue their recent efforts of engaging South Korea and the United States over food aid, over nuclear talks?"
However, Richardson said, "I think it's important that if the signs are positive that there's a stable succession -- and we don't know that -- that we engage North Korea, that we proceed with the humanitarian aid. People are starving there. Keep it non-political, but at the same time, keep a very watchful eye, standing beside our ally, South Korea."
Kim Jong Il had been in power since 1994 when his father -- the nation's founder -- died of a heart attack at age 82. The obscure leader was a frequent thorn in the side of neighboring South Korea, as well as the United States.
North Korea's nuclear program and international attempts to hinder its nuclear weaponry potential put Kim at odds with many world leaders in recent years, as did his governing style.
Under his leadership, North Korea was largely closed off to outside influences, fearful of threats from its neighbors. At the same time, it also sought international aid after extensive famines contributed to the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
Both North Korea and South Korea have shown signs of concession in recent years. Pyongyang has expressed willingness to engage with countries involved in multilateral talks aimed at North Korea's denuclearization, while Seoul recently sent humanitarian aid through U.N. agencies to help the malnourished population in the North.
But relations between the two rival nations soured yet again when the South accused the North of launching an attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. Two South Korean marines and two civilians were killed.
Reports surfaced in recent years about Kim's failing health. But North Korean news reports earlier this fall indicated that Kim had been traveling around the country and visiting China, a big change from 2009 when he was thought to be ill with cancer.
On Monday, the ruling Workers' Party confirmed that Kim will be succeeded by his youngest son, whom the party called the "great successor to the revolutionary cause" and the "outstanding leader of our party, army and people."
"Kim Jong Un's leadership provides a sure guarantee for creditably carrying to completion the revolutionary cause of Juche through generations," the party announced in a letter posted on KCNA.
The philosophy of "juche," or self-reliance, is the basis of North Korea's reclusive nature.
The son started his military career as a four-star general and in recent years was given more official duties by his father.
"This has been in place for a while," said Mike Chinoy, a senior fellow at the U.S.-China Institute.
Chinoy said he expected that, in the short-term, North Koreans would "rally around the flag (and) hunker down." But given the nation's deep-rooted economic and other problems, maintaining that unity and control without a overarching figure like Kim Jong Il in place may be more difficult.
"The deeper questions come over the long-term," Chinoy said.
French Montana and Waka Flocka just dropped their joint mixtape, Lock Out. Check out the behind the scenes footage of their upcoming music video "Black N White."
The Tupac Shakur sex tape is off the market for good.
According to TMZ the tape was sold to a private collector and will most likely never be seen by the general public.
Back in October we reported that a bidding war had erupted between various online porn sites wanting to be the first to broadcast the explicit material. There was even a $1 million dollar bid for the unreleased song playing in the background of the tape.
In the end, the owner of the tape decided against selling it to any of the corporate bidders, calling them "parasites."
No information was given on how much the tape sold for, but it should come as a relief to millions of 2Pac fans that the late rapper's legacy won't be exploited by people who could care less about his contributions to the hip hop culture.
Poet Maya Angelou is upset with one of her biggest supporters.
Angelou wrote and recited a poem for a new song by Common titled "Dreamer" off of his upcoming album The Dreamer/The Believer. The problem between the two stems from the Chicago MC's frequent use of the n-word throughout the song.
The Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet detests the word, which she calls “vulgar and dangerous” to the black community.
“I had no idea that Common was using the piece we had done together on [a track] in which he also used the ‘N’ word numerous times,” Angelou told the New York Post. “I’m surprised and disappointed. I don’t know why he chose to do that. I had never heard him use that [word] before. I admired him so because he wasn’t singing the line of least resistance.”
Common said he thought Angelou knew and understood that he uses the word in his music, but admits he didn't specifically tell her he would be using it in the song they collaborated on.
“I told her what ‘The Dreamer’ was about and what I wanted to get across to people,” he told the Post. “I wanted young people to hear this and feel like they could really accomplish their dreams.”
There was obviously a huge miscommunication between the two. Hopefully they can work out their differences. "Dreamer" is one of the stand out tracks on the album which drops December 20.
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