Has it been that many years since I paid attention to R&B singer Angie Stone? I know she changed her image during the promotion of her last album, rocking long straight hair and sleek threads in contrast to her Afro and bohemian threads during albums of the past, but what’s going on here? She seems to be trying to sex up her look (her boobs look like they’re about to jump out of that corset and smack her in the face!).

The picture above is said to be the cover for her upcoming  album “Unexpected.” What do you think of her new look?

Haute Mama

Tina Knowles is pushing out another collection from her line “Miss Tina” which features contemporary dresses, shoes and accessories. Beyonce’s mama presented the collection yesterday on HSN, where it’s available for purchase. The line promises to offer “a taste of couture” and help it’s wearers “transition perfectly from fall to holiday.” She lost me with back in 1998 when she was creating Destiny’s Child’s matchy-matchy dresses and costumes but good for her!

Dwight Packing Heat

Did you see the second part of the Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion last night?  I was anticipating less fireworks than last year, especially since I had a feeling that Andy Cohen would ask Kandi about her late fiance AJ’s death –  then, “fifth housewife” Dwight Eubanks came on the stage complaining that he felt like he’d “been in church all day” because of the lack drama. Be careful what you wish for!  The tables quickly turned to Dwight when Kim Zolciak outed him for getting a penile implant.  Surprisingly, Dwight owned up to and even owned it! Think his fiance is happier?

Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman has been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, fellow group members Wanya Morris and Nathan Morris told CNN.

The illness kept the singer from preforming with the group at the 2009 Soul Train Awards which were taped earlier this week. “He got sick, and it hit him pretty hard,” said Nathan Morris. “We go all over the world really, so I am surprised it hasn’t happened earlier, to be honest. I talked to [Stockman]…and he is doing much better.”

The show must go on: Wanya and Nathan Morris still planned to perform at the awards show as a duo, according to the group’s manager. Boyz II Men has will have a album out in stores this month called Love.

SOURCE

After a two-year hiatus, the Soul Train Awards will return to the BET-launched channel Centric TV on November 29. In the meantime, we’ve got a few exclusive photos of the event which was taped last night in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia World Congress Center.  There’s much more action to come: Beyonce, Maxwell and Keri Hilson lead the nominations for the awards, hosted by Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. Performers like Trey Songz, Chrisette Michelle, Erykah Badu and Brian McKnight, among others will take the stage. Keep your dancing shoes on deck and be sure to tune in to watch later this month. Love, Peace and Soul!

Terrence Howard

Mario

MC Hammer

Brian McKnight

Whitney Houston has already said bye bye to her ex-husband Bobby Brown with a divorce in 2007, and now the singer is trying to part ways with the house the two got married at in 1992.

According to the Associated Press, the singer is putting up her Menham, New Jersey home for sale with an asking price of $2.5 million, although it’s valued at $5.6 million.

Whoever buys the modern-styled mansion will be in for a beautiful home. The property is five-bedrooms, 12,561-sq.-ft. and the real estate website where it’s listed describes other perks including “circular-themed interior spaces,” as well as a four-car garage, three fireplaces, walk-in closets, a bar and skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows.

During the end of her marriage to Bobby, Whitney moved to Atlanta. She and her daughter, Bobbi, currently reside in Los Angeles. Selling the old house isn’t the only fresh start that Whitney has made recently. Her comeback album, “I Look to You,” was the first album she recorded in seven years and it debuted at  No. 1 on the Billboard charts when it dropped at the end of August. It seems like the songbird is  trying to pick up the pieces of her rocky past and move on in general.  Go Whitney!

A few weeks ago Tiffany Evans raised eyebrows when she rent on a rant about “satanic” practices in the music industry, specifically blasting Rihanna’s new single “Russian Roulette”, a song she thinks is glorifying suicide and the devil. The lyrics start off: “Take a breath, take it deep/Calm yourself, he says to me/If you play, you play for keeps/Take a gun, and count to three/I’m sweating now, moving slow/No time to think, my turn to go”

Now although Rihanna sings the song Ne-Yo is artist who actually wrote it and here’s what he had to say in response to Evan’s comments: “It’s definitely dark, but if you think about it, ‘Thriller’ was dark, but it’s one of the biggest-selling records of all time. Nobody’s really going out to play Russian roulette or thinking about killing themselves or nothing like that. It was just an interesting topic over a crazy beat, and who better to pull that off than somebody like Rihanna?”

Meanwhile the producer of the song Chuck Harmony wasn’t having any of it! He called Evan’s rant “beyond stupid” and “immature” and also added: “There are no satanic messages in the music. Maybe if we did a remake of ‘Promise Ring’ (Tiffany’s hit single), then Rihanna wouldn’t be a devil worshiper. People are so closed minded. The song is not literal. Like most provocative art, its symbolism. Grow up.”

Singer Omarion added his two cents to the subject in an interview with TheBoombox.com and elaborated on the music industry’s “dark side”:

“I don’t personally know Rihanna’s beliefs but I think there’s a very dark and very sinister part of the entertainment business and I think it’s very visible…it really made me think that there is a [time as an artist] where there’s going to be a choice. The [entertainment] world [dictates] that you have to be with three or four women, or do this in order to get that [and] I think it’s really interesting. With God and the industry, it’s really dark. The dark side is having to get in, there’s a certain submission you need to have. Just like a gang [initiation], so to speak. You might have to do something against your moral code. I’m not saying that it’s always this way, but when you’re someone that is young and you’re coming up in the industry and you really don’t have a grip on your morals it can be very dark. The game is just about over saturation.

I don’t know if Rihanna [has fallen victim to those pressures]. I’ve never really heard her speak about it. I hope that she doesn’t believe in that stuff and I don’t think that she does, but I don’t know. It’s not just been a Rihanna thing, [there's has been religious speculation] about a lot of artists.”

Evans, like Omarion, made some good points on the music industry having a pull on an artist’s morals, but honestly I forgot she was even a recording artist before her rant so I wonder if she’s just trying to get some attention by going as far to say artists in the industry are “devil worshipers.” What’s your take on the whole controversy?

SOURCE

Halloween is rapidly approaching and this year amid the ghouls and goblins a popular costume choice will be to dress as a celebrity. Even celebrities are being celebrities: Tyra Banks showed off her Kim Kardashian costume on her show earlier this week (pictured above).

One of my friends mentioned going as Rihanna, complete with a black eye and an umbrella and having her boyfriend be Chris Brown in a community service jump suit (too soon, too soon!), here are some other ideas if you want to be one of the stars.

Michael Jackson

“Thriller” is always an unofficial Halloween anthem grab a red leather jacket, pants (make sure to show off your white socks) and a jheri curl wig and be the King of Pop in the iconic video. Points if you know the choreography when the song starts playing while you’re partying.

Lil’ Mama

With a cheap weave ponytail, a bedazzled shirt and jeans you too can be ‘Lil Mama. Run up on folks and interrupt their conversations while breaking into a thug stance or have a friend be Jay-Z (all black everything, easy enough).

Lil Wayne

Rock locks, add fake tattoos on your neck and face (don’t forget the teardrop), get a grill and you’ve got Weezy F. Baby. Just don’t break out into “Lollipop” if little trick-or-treaters are around.

Beyonce

If you’re feeling bold, try an easy Beyonce costume from her “Single Ladies” video. A leg bearing leotard, heels and a blond wig.
Tell any guy who tries to holler if he likes it…well you know the rest!

Share your celebrity costume ideas and tell us who you’ll be tomorrow night! Happy Halloween!

Michelle Obama is pretty and poised on the December cover of Glamour. The first lady, will be one of five women to have her own cover on different versions of the  “Women of the Year” issue. Inside the issue, Lady O, who is honored by the magazine “for her focus on mentoring the next generation,” is interviewed by Katie Couric and talks mentoring, dating, and of course, fashion. Snippets of the article are already out although the issue doesn’t hit newsstands until November 10th. Here’s a peek of what Mrs. Obama had to say:

Mentoring matters, especially for young women: “I think that mentoring is such a critical part of the role I can play in this position. I see how little bits of exposure and big bits of exposure really change my girls significantly, and I want that for more girls around the country and the world.”

The real role models aren’t movie stars–they’re the people you know: “They were the people in my life. My mom, for sure. My dad. The teachers. For me, role-modeling was immediate, it was touchable…Children connect with who is in their lives, present and accounted for…That’s why we’re trying to encourage moms, teachers, fathers, to be that presence in their children’s lives, in their communities, because it really makes a difference.”

Don’t wait to be “discovered” by a mentor: “I was blessed throughout my entire career. I had people rooting for me. It started with my parents, but it extended to almost every teacher that I had. When I was a young lawyer, there were other women and men in the firm who took me under their wing. Look for those mentors, because sometimes mentors don’t find you–sometimes you seek them out. Oftentimes, they’re flattered and glad to lend a hand.”

Don’t put yourself last in line: “I have always tried to put my kids first, and then…put myself a really close second, as opposed to fifth or seventh. One thing that I’ve learned from male role models is that they don’t hesitate to invest in themselves.”

When it comes to looks and style, set your own standards: “People are always going to have opinions, and people have a right to their opinions, particularly when you’re the First Lady; you’re representing the nation. So I can’t be surprised that people are interested. But I’ve tried to be at peace with the choices that I make first, and then be open to everyone else’s reflection.”

With men, don’t be swayed by “cute”: “Cute’s good. But cute only lasts for so long, and then it’s, Who are you as a person? Don’t look at the bankbook or the title. Look at the heart. Look at the soul…When you’re dating a man, you should always feel good…You shouldn’t be in a relationship with somebody who doesn’t make you completely happy and make you feel whole.”
SOURCE

After months of laying low in St. Lucia Amy Winehouse is back in the UK and she’s no longer the emaciated figure she once was. Notice the twins? The singer showed off her new set at the Q Awards in London this week though she is still learning to control her new assets (photos of nip-slips are all over the web).

Amy’s father Mitch Winehouse told British TV show This Morning that his daughter is, “Fantastic, fantastic. Her boobs are great as well.” He must’ve realized how creepy that comment sounded because he added, “I shouldn’t have said that should I? She looks absolutely fantastic. I didn’t have to pay for [the boob job], that’s all I know. I didn’t have to pay for the boobs.”

Besides the ta-tas how is Amy doing? Her father also mentioned, “There is no total recovery, it’s a recovery and if you look back to where we were a year ago, we are on a different planet. We are in a different space and a different time and [Amy is] a different person.“  (We’ll just assume that’s water in her glass).

Glad to hear Amy is on the up and up. Do you hope this new look gives her the motivation to make new music soon?

Mario and RichGirl group member, Audra Simmons, migh’ve been breaking up in the video they shot this summer, but off-camera they are in fact a couple!  The two have been seen out and about for awhile now, but they’ve denied that they’re together while playing it coy with the “we’re just friends” line.  However, a rep confirmed to BET.com that the two are an item.

Our source said they met during Mario’s promo tour, where RichGirl opened for the Grammy-nominated R&B star.

Audra was the lead girl for the “Break Up” video and they started dating shortly before they filmed the video “Thinkin’ About You,” which was about five weeks ago.  The two are dating seriously and, according to our source, “It’s hot and heavy now.”

We knew there was a reason why they had so much chemistry in the videos! Cute!

Mario is promoting his current fourth album, D.N.A. and has been co-headlining the first ever BET 106 & Park tour with Trey Songz. The concert, which also includes Sean Garrett and Day 26 wraps November 25th in Las Vegas.

Mario will also perform at the New York’s Power 105.1 Powerhouse ‘09 concert tonight which also features Chris Brown, The Dream and Keri Hilson. Meanwhile, RichGirl opened for the North American leg of Beyonce’s I Am…Sasha Fierce tour and the group has dropped a single “He Ain’t Wit Me Now (Tho).” They’re preparing to release their first album.

[Image via Necole Bitchie]

Angela Simmons has a new boyfriend and apparently she’s taken some flack for her choice to date outside of her race. She blogged about the issue on Global Grind and had this to say to all the people who have a problem with her standing by her man:

“I wanted to talk to you about something I have recently noticed. I am a lil surprised at the number of people that seem to disapprove of the relationship with my boyfriend. I find this reality to be kind of hard to accept. There are times when I notice people giving us long hard stares and those stares are usually from my own people!

Honestly, I wish everyone could benefit from the beauty that can come from experiences that happen outside of your own comfort zone. It is truly a beautiful thing that can add so much to your life. Give it a shot and you can learn so much from a person you never thought you’d talk to or have something in common with. I’m not just talking about dating but about all types of relationships…basically what I’m saying is love everyone. Rise above the hate.”

Gotta love the Simmons for their positive messages (wonder if she typed this on her Blackberry during a bubble bath a la Rev. Run).  As long as Angela’s happy, who cares if she’s trying “something new” (although I’d bet some of those “long hard stares” are simply due to the fact that she’s a TV personality. She does live in LA)!

SOURCE