After an exhausting 32 hour trip, Keri visited Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27 years in prison.
Afterwards she visited the Origins Centre and got to see the first human remains that were found in Ethiopia. Which confirmed for her that mankind comes from Africa.
She played a show in Capetown, "The response was incredible, it was a really good feeling," she said.
"I'm an American artist, I never expected to come this far away from home and be received like this."
Her final stop was in Soweto where she had a great time dancing with the kids there.
Chicago rapper Common is not only one of the premier rappers in the game today, he's also developed into a very good actor.
He's out promoting his new movie 'Just Wright' which also stars Queen Latifah, Paula Patton and Pam Grier.
George Lopez always has something up his sleeve so he surprised Common by bringing in Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings to play Common in a game of H-O-E.
Common also talks about being a ball boy for the Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordon played, his kissing scenes with Queens Latifah in 'Just Wright' and his girlfriend Serena Williams.
Common's new album 'The Believer' is out this fall.
Megan Fox may be pretty but things get ugly when she is photographed in the nude - or has to use a public bathroom.
In the June issue of Allure, the 24-year-old star of "Transformers" reveals she has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and that she has no qualms about hurting the paparazzi photographer who snapped a topless photo of her on the set of her new film.
"If I knew who took this picture, I would personally cause them harm - physical harm," she said in the magazine’s upcoming issue.
At the time the unauthorized photo was taken, Fox was shooting an independent feature called "Passion Play,” in which she stars alongside Mickey Rourke as a circus sideshow performer.
"I'm at my job and I’m trying to play a character and I'm trying to be serious, and this is the s--- that's happening to me," Fox told the magazine. "It makes me furious."
The raven-haired bombshell is often photographed off set around Los Angeles with her on-again, off-again beau of five years, Brian Austin Green. But she does not appreciate being tabloid fodder - even with her top on.
"I’m not a f---ing reality-TV star that’s courting the paparazzi and wants my f---ing picture taken all the time," she told Allure.
Fox, who is known for speaking her mind, dropped multiple f-bombs during her chat with the fashion magazine, but only six made it to print.
"I'm going to spend 20 years never saying anything interesting? Never telling a joke? Never pushing anyone's buttons?" she asked Allure. "I'm a person, I'm not a robot."
Though she may have a dirty mouth, Fox can't stand dirt as a rule. The actress told the magazine that she suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which means she can't use public cutlery or enter a restroom without feeling uncomfortable.
"This is a sickness, I have an illness," she told the magazine.
It’s that time of year again. The nominees for the 2010 BET Awards were announced today (May 18) in New York City and Jay-Z received the most nods.
Jigga is in the running in four categories including Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, Best Collaboration for “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys, Video of the Year for “Run This Town” and “Empire State of Mind,” and Viewer’s Choice. He was followed in leading nominations by wife Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Trey Songz and Melanie Fiona with four each.
As a crew, Young Money racked up a total of eight nominations if you include Drake’s three individual nominations and the two Nicki Minaj received on her own. Drake will go head to head against Jay-Z, Fabolous, Ludacris and rookie B.o.B for Best Male Hip-Hop artist. His Young Money label-mate Nicki Minaj will go against Lil Kim, Rasheeda, Trina, and Ester Dean for the Best Female Hip-Hop artist.
Diddy-Dirty Money, who appeared at the press conference to announce some of the nominees, also announced that they’re hosting a huge, televised after-party and countdown to the release of his upcoming LP Last Train to Paris, that will take place directly after the awards show. Queen Latifah, this year’s host of the BET Awards was on hand to announce some of the nominees as well.
This year’s show, which will be broadcast live on June 27 from Los Angeles will feature special performances by Diddy-Dirty Money, Trey Songz, Nicki Minaj, Drake and more to be announced. The show will be webcast simultaneous on BET.com. For a complete list of all the categories including hip-hop artists as nominees see below. For more information visit BET.com. —Brooklyne Gipson
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist
Ester Dean
Lil Kim
Nicki Minaj
Rasheeda
Trina
Best New Artist
Justin Bieber
Melanie Fiona
Nicki Minaj
Wale
Young Money
Best Group
Black Eyed Peas
Clipse
Diddy-Dirty Money
New Boyz
Young Money
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
B.o.B.
Drake
Fabolous
Jay-Z
Ludacris
Best Collaboration
Beyonce ft. Lady Gaga – “Video Phone”
B.o.B ft. Bruno Mars – “Nothin’ On You”
Drake and Trey Songz – “Successful”
Drake ft. Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Eminem – “Forever”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Trey Songz ft. Fabolous – “Say Aah”
Video of the Year
Beyonce ft. Lady Gaga – “Video Phone”
B.o.B ft. Bruno Mars – “Nothin’ On You”
Melanie Fiona- “It Kills Me”
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West – “Run This Town”
Viewer’s Choice
Beyonce – “Sweet Dreams”
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Monica – “Everything to Me”
Rihanna ft. Young Jeezy – “Hard”
Trey Songz ft. Fabolous – “Say Aah”
Young Money – “Bedrock”
A 24 year old dirtbag loser in Chicopee, Massachusetts is in trouble with the law after allegedly trying to trade his three month old baby daughter for beer.
Mathew Brace and the mother's baby had stopped at a gas station. While the mom was inside buying cigarettes, Brace put the baby in a maintanence worker's truck and said: "For two 40s, you can have her."
The maintanence worker instead called police. When they arrived at the scene they found Brace hiding behing a garbage dumpster with the infant.
Amazingly, Brace wasn't arrested. Instead he will have to appear in court on charges of reckless endangerment of a child.
Maino and DJ Vlad had the chance to chop it up recently regarding Lil Wayne's prison stint. Maino understands the harsh realities Wayne is having to deal with with having spent ten years lock up for an attempted kidnapping.
Vlad brought up a comment G-Unit's Tony Yayo made about what Wayne would need to do to stash his drugs or whatever. Maino thought it was hilarious, but also a reality.
He explained that when you are in prison you gotta do what you can to survive.
Damian Marley and Nas went in at their album release party for 'Distant Relatives.' They mixed the old with the new, performing big hits like "Welcome To Jam Rock", "Hate Me Now", "Made You Look" and so much more.
Just when he thought he was out, free to enjoy his life with his new woman Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz ex-wife throws up a stop sign.
Mashona is claiming the super producer still owes her $334,000 in missed support payments according to the New York Post.
Papers were just filed in Manhattan Supreme Court and Mashonda wants her money right now.
"I so much wanted both of us to get on with our lives and maintain our respect for one another, but he now shows that his priorities and sense of responsibility are screwed up," Mashonda said.
Swizz's divorce from Mashonda was finalized two weeks ago after months of mud slinging, mostly from Mashonda's side. She had accused Alicia Keys of breaking up their marriage. Now it seems the drama isn't done yet.
Swizz says he's gone "above and beyond" to provide for his ex and their 13 year old son Kasseem Jr. And the allegations that he owes $325,000 in equitable distribution and $9,000 in alimony and child support are "inaccurate" and "overblown,"
"I gave over what the judge was recommending to give. I gave her $700,000 up front, because I thought $200,000 wasn't enough for what she wanted to do. I still get spit in my face for it," he said.
Mashonda's lawyer called the non-payments from Swizz "particularly troubling" given the fact he'd given Alicia a seven-carat engagement ring and is moving into a $14 million dollar crib with her.
The two are due back in court next month.
Alicia and Swizz are getting married this summer no matter what Mashonda does at this point. She might just want to get over it and move on with her life.
Message to Green Lantern: Homie, make it happen! One of the great DJs in the game is on the road with Nas and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley on the Distant Relatives Tour, and we're all hoping Green can convince Nas to do another mixtape.
"Perhaps," Nas said with a grin. "Green is that dude. I'm always knocking Green Lantern mixtapes."
Nas and Damian Marley's Distant Relatives joint LP came out Tuesday (May 18). Nas also appears on Capone-N-Noreaga's independent July 13 album, The War Report 2. Although Nas didn't specifically record rhymes for the album, he appears on a track called "With Me." Nore told us the Nas vocals were taken from an old studio session he had in the vault.
"It's all good," Nas said about appearing on the album. "That's a team outta Queens. It's all good."
What about C-N-N's business partner Raekwon? Nas was conspicuously absent on the Chef's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ... Pt. II, and he regrets it. Maybe he'll get on the Wu-Tang Clan co-founder's upcoming Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang album.
"It's been no discussions," Nas said about appearing on Rae's new project. "You know how the music game is. Everybody is out there grindin', making music. But his last album was classic. I definitely wish I was on that piece. So yeah, something in the future is definitely likely. That'll be good."
Finally, what's good with a new Nas solo LP?
"I talked to a lot of people I really like about my next project. But there's no one sitting there doing my album right now that I could speak of," he said. "This record here [Distant Relatives], I think it's gonna push me and D in our solo projects. I think any record we do, it's gotta live up to this record. It's gotta be as good or better. We set the standard with this album. I'm just excited about this record right now."
Christina Aguilera has never shied away from controversial topics during her career. Whether that be sharing a three-way tounge fest at 2003's MTV Awards with Madonna and Britney Spears. To her new eye popping, racy new video for "Not Myself Tonight."
With that being said her new interview in Out magazine is still an eye opener.
She opens up about her sexual relationship with husband Jordan Bratman, telling the mag.
“I don’t get to kiss all the girls and the boys,” Aguilera says, “but my husband knows that I get into girls. I think it’s fun to be open and play. The line is real to me. My husband and I check in with each other, but I definitely love women. I think they’re more attractive to the naked eye,” she says before adding, “I don’t think I could ever really be with a woman because that’s a lot of…what do you call it? Guys have testosterone, girls have…” Estrogen? “Yeah, there’s a lot of estrogen and I’m a lot to deal with when it’s that time of the month, so I can’t imagine it times two.” Aguilera pauses and then shakes her head. “And you know, I love dick. To be honest, that I cannot live without.”
Xtina has been hounded by critics and even fellow artists like Akon as trying too hard to be like Lady Gaga with her song like "Not Myself Tonight." Christina brushes off the comparisons, in fact she barely acknowledges Gaga's existence.
“Oh, the newcomer?” Aguilera chuckles. “I think she’s really fun to look at.”
Unfortunately, the comparisons are something Christina will just have to deal with as she preps the release of her new album 'Bionic'.
The simple fact is Christina has had a very successful decade long career. And with her vocal range and beauty it's easy to see her being around another decade, if not more.
Nas shared a brotherly bond with Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley while recording their Distant Relatives LP, which was part of the reason he has been able to get through his much-publicized personal turmoil over the past year. In April of last year, Kelis filed for divorce from Nas. Since then, the two have been embroiled in a court battle over child support.
Still, despite whatever drama the MC found himself in, it didn't blur his focus on his new project.
"Personal life is what it is," he said Monday (May 17). "Everybody goes through it. Working on this record got me through it. Rockin' with D got me through it. His whole squad, his whole team, the way he rides, his whole culture. He didn't have to push anything on me. He didn't have to say anything particular. Just, I know this is my brother right here. Rockin' with him, I kept my head clear and focused on what we was doing, so it was all good."
Their joint effort hits stores Tuesday. The two started a tour in support of the project, touching the stage in Chicago over the weekend, and they hit New York on Monday night.
"People don't know what to expect still," Nas said of their live shows. "It's a good thing the album is out. You can enjoy it, come through, anticipate certain songs. We're doing an album for the first time, so we're still getting the kinks out, but each show we do, it's just growing."
Nas promised that the duo will get "heavily" into the album at their concerts. The guest stars on Distant Relatives include K'naan, Joss Stone, Lil Wayne and Jr. Gong's brother Stephen Marley.
"He's on two tracks, his vocals, which is on 'Leaders' and 'In His Own Words,' " Damian said. "He also produced those two tracks and a track called 'Patience' on the album. For me, it's a natural thing. All of my albums prior to this was produced by my brother and myself. That's how we do music. It's another natural step for us to do music on this album also."
"It's mind-blowing, man," Nas added about being in the lab with the Marley family. "Anytime you see family, you're always taken aback and see the similarities between people. When you see Stephen, you see Julian — all the brothers. It's an amazing thing. Sometimes I think, 'What if their father was here to see all of them, how well they're doing now?' He's gotta be proud — even now. It's a beautiful thing. [My brother] Jungle definitely came through. We made it a big family affair; the Marleys and Joneses: We chillin'."
The current single from Distant Relatives is "As We Enter."
"Great fun shooting that music video," Jr. Gong said. "It's almost like, in some way, a version of the live show. We get up there, performing for the camera. It reminded me of the 'Road to Zion' video. The look of it."
Mariah Carey's quick thinking saved the R&B diva from a potentially dangerous situation.
MC was in Egypt about do her thing on stage when she literally got a hot foot.
"In Egypt getting ready to go on stage and suddenly there was a surge of power and an electrical fire started under my feet! Wtf?!" she tweeted "Naturally,my emergency instincts kicked in and I put out the flames w/a towel. Lol(yet true)."
Mariah even found time to laugh about the whole situation.
"The funny thing about this ish is an ol'skool radio station in the other room started playing "aww freak out!"@that exact moment!"
Good to see you're ok MC, you might want to fire your security and stage hands though, they move way too damn slow
Long before Rima Fakih was crowned Miss USA 2010, she took home top honors in a contest that would make even Donald Trump blush.
Miss Michigan, who made history Sunday night as the first Arab-American to win the Miss USA beauty pageant, won a pole dancing contest in 2007 hosted by local Detroit radio morning show Mojo in the Morning.
In a series of photos posted on the radio show's Web site, Fakih is seen provocatively working her way up and down a stripper pole while wearing a blue tank top, bottom-grazing red shorts and a pair of high heels. Another photo shows her wearing a bra stuffed with dollar bills.
The 24-year-old beauty did not need to remove any clothing during her show-stopping performance at the Coliseum Gentleman's Club which won her "jewelry, gift cards, adult toys and a stripper pole for home use."
According to Mojo In The Morning, radio show producers have been contacted by Miss Universe representatives requesting additional photographs and information regarding Fakih's involvement in the annual "Stripper 101" contest.
Pageant officials reportedly did not answer to inquiries regarding whether Fakih's status as Miss USA was in danger.
"It would be foolish to consider anyone other than Rima to represent the USA," radio host Mojo said. "The photos taken from our Web site are no more provocative than those on the Miss USA Web site."
Dancehall star Mavado has angered some in his home country of Jamaica for his appearance in Drake's new video "Find Your Love"
Some feel his portrayal as a gun toting gangster named "Puffy" promotes the wrong image of the country, while others say it depicts reality.
Jamaica's Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett protested the content of the video saying, "Care has to be taken by all, including our creative artists, in portraying images of our destination and people."
"Gun culture, while not unique to Jamaica, is not enhancing [the island's image]," he added.
The video was shot in the Jamaican cities of Kingston and St. Andrew and follows Drake as he pursues his love interest who happens to be Puffy's woman.
Mavado's manager Julian Jones-Griffith responded to the criticism:
"The concept that they came up with, where did they come up with that? If Mavado did not do it, another Jamaican actor would have done it," he said.
"There are a broad range of issues which need addressing if people from California want to portray a love story like this."
Drake's character is killed at the end of the video by gunshots from his love interest.
Diddy has never been short on confidence. In the new June issue of XXL the rap impresario breaks down why he feels he's the best.
As he preps the release of his latest album 'Last Train To Paris' Puffy takes a look back at his colorful career.
“I am the champion of hip-hop” Diddy says. “Hands down, undisputed, I’m the undisputed heavyweight champion of hip-hop. We are going to have to deal with those facts. There is nobody that can f*ck with me with what I do, which is getting busy. We are going across the board, as an entrepreneur, innovator, motivator. Who was there first? Who traveled to Europe first? The first. The first. The first. The first. I was the first.”
Diddy didn't stop there, he got on a Floyd Mayweather Jr type roll bragging on his accomplishments.
"I was the first on the jet. I was the first running the marathon. I was the first donating millions of dollars. I was the first," Diddy bragged. "I was the first with the 10 million records sold. I was the first with the label. I was the first with the renegotiations. F--- a Forbes list. I was on the cover of Forbes."
There is no doubt that Diddy has done a lot for the hip hop community and will go down as a genius when it comes to marketing and promoting. If you don't think so, just ask him yourself.
"There is going to be someone that will pass me, but as long as I'm on the court, they are not going to be badder than me, because there is too much catching up to do," he continued. "There is not one mutha----er that's here now who is going to outwork me. That is not going to happen, not right now. Maybe if I slow down, but to this day, no one can f--- with me when it comes to getting busy and working."
The June issue of XXL hits stores June 1. While Diddy's 'Last Train To Paris' is expected later this year.
Lloyd Banks' "Beamer, Benz or Bentley," featuring Juelz Santana, came out of nowhere to be a smash. The song has been such a favorite that artists from Eminem to Joell Ortiz have freestyled on the beat.
Banks is grateful for the love from his peers, and last week, he dropped the official remix with a slew of teammates. "Shout-out to everybody who did the record prior to the official remix coming out," Banks said on Friday from Panama.
The remix features Jadakiss, Ludacris, Yo Gotti and The-Dream. "The fans, I think they wanted to hear something new, something fresh," Banks said. "While I was on tour, the international tour, I kept in communication with all those artists. Shout out to Jada, shout out to Luda, Yo Gotti, The-Dream. I had everybody's verse except for Dream. That was the last thing that came in. Those were all people I respect and people I would like to work with outside the remix. It ain't really hard to decide who's gonna be on it."
Banks also switched up the much-rapped-on beat, making the "Beamer, Benz or Bentley" remix almost an entirely different song.
"I had about six different beats," Banks said. "Just sitting with 50 [Cent], he brought it to my attention to try and change the element a little bit. Being that already 40 or 50 artists already rapped on the [original] beat, it's kinda hard to decipher what's the real remix. If they all rapping to the same beat, you can just patch it with the other 40, 50 artists and make a mega-mix and not know what the official remix is. The beat change lets people know off the rip 'This is the official remix.' I'm pretty sure they'll be blending the original beat in with it anyway."
Here, Banks breaks down how each artist came to appear on his remix:
The-Dream: "I had spoke to couple of different R&B artists. That's an element that I think helps. Everybody wants to be a part of that record. I don't think it has to be kept to one lane. I've heard Spanish versions to [the original], Jamaican versions to it, Haitian versions to it. I got a feel of what the melodic feel would bring to the record. The-Dream, he was already doing [his own version]. Once I caught wind of it, I was like, 'Yo, let me get that. Don't put that out.' "
Yo Gotti: "Yo Gotti, I had spoke to him directly. I spoke to him a couple times, told him I wanted to get something done with him. Before that opportunity presented itself, the [song] bubbled all down south in Memphis. I was like, 'Let's get Gotti on it.' He has the street in a chokehold. We'll probably have more records come in the future also. He definitely has a lane, man, and I wish him luck."
Ludacris: "Luda, that's the homie, man. Just through that, [it] wasn't really nothing [difficult]. Luda is out there bubbling, platinum plaques and all that, #1 records, where I'm trying to take it. Shout-out to Luda and shout-out to [Disturbing Tha Peace co-founder] Chaka [Zulu] for making that happen.
Jadakiss: "That wasn't nothing. That wasn't nothing but a phone call. I spoke to him a few times about the record. I had his verse for a minute. I had his verse while I was overseas and everyone was leaking their versions. We built the beat around his verse. He adds that extra, that lyrical element, that New York City vibe to it. I didn't want to stand alone on that joint."
Purchase the Beamer, Benz Or Bentley remix from iTunes Here
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