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

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]

Looks like Breezy’s setting up for the comeback!  According to MTV.com  Chris Brown is scheduled to headline Power 105.1’s Powerhouse concert in New Jersey on October 27th (that’ll be a nice break for him from his 180-day hard labor sentence in Virginia!). The show, which will also feature Fabolous, The Dream, Trey Songz, Keri Hilson and Mario, will be the first major promotional event that Chris has participated in to push his upcoming album Graffiti.  What do you think about the concert: is it too soon for Chris to be back on the scene or has he suffered enough?

From good news to bad news: rapper Eve told TheYBF.com that she permanently shut down her Fetish clothing line due to “legal reasons” and she also confirmed she has left her label Geffen Records. Ouch! Times may be hard or maybe Eve is just on to the next thing and focusing more on her acting interests. She’s in the upcoming Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page movie Whip It! and will be guest starring on the Fox TV show Glee for two episodes.

There might have been even more you missed from The 6th Annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors which was taped this week!  Apparently Russell Simmons was not at all happy with the show that show which commemorated the 25th anniversary of Def Jam Records. Rumor has it that Russell, who co-founded Def Jam, sent an email out to the show’s executive producer and called the show “incomplete at best.” He allegedly said that not having Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye, Damon Dash, LL Cool J, or Irv Gotti involved hurt the show and said that he wasn’t feeling having a comedian host (Tracy Morgan hosted the awards). The show is scheduled to air on October 13th on VH1 so set your DVRs and judge for yourself. In the meantime, have a great weekend! We’ll chat with you next week!

SOURCE 1, 2, 3

There’s already plenty of buzz surrounding last night’s BET Awards and while I was interested to see who would take home what award, I think we can all pretty much agree that everyone who tuned in was on the edge of their seats waiting to see what would be done to honor Michael Jackson.

Throughout all of the music and the moments paying homage to The King of Pop I was fixated on all of the the Michael-influenced fashions (No comment on Beyonce’s tiara-topped wedding/Victoria’s Secret Runway ensemble and T-Pain’s “Big A– Chain”)!  Michael’s trend-setting status, though more subtle than his musical impact, is undeniable.  From the leather jackets (specifically the red one in the “Beat It” video and the two-toned one in the “Thriller” video which designer Margiela recreated in 2008!), to the marching-band style jackets, to the sparkly socks and other distinct stage costumes you can definitely find traces of MJ’s style infused in the looks of stars like Beyonce, Rihanna, Usher and Chris Brown, just to name a few.

Last night I looked forward to seeing the stars bring it fashion-wise on the red carpet and during performances and while several kept their MJ nods low key by simply accessorizing with the iconic one-hand glove (shout out to Estelle, Alicia Keys, Day 26, Sean Paul etc!) some people really went all out with their outfits! Below were some of my favorites from the night.

As the night’s host, Jamie Foxx made several wardrobe changes and each look had a Michael theme. Now I have a feeling he was fronting and playing the air guitar during this performance of “Blame It,” but he looked every bit a rock star and his tee was plenty Bad.

The curly coif, the cropped pants with socks, the sparkly top?  Keri Hilson won in my book! Miss Keri baby, Mike would’ve been proud of the way you nailed his look!

Now the original Gloved One would’ve at least had the decency to rock a hat (*side eye* this bald look…) but Ne-Yo gets some points for his crisp leather jacket and crimson gloves.

I still don’t understand why Ciara did a sit-down ballad performance of “Heal The World” instead of, um, coming with an uptempo performance highlighting her strong suit: dancing, but at least she had the look down with this sequined and tassel detailed jacket.

Keyshia Cole’s bedazzled top and capris during this performance of “Trust” confused me, but Monica came with it modernizing Michael’s signature marching-band jacket style with long leather gloves and hip-hugging tights.

Ronnie DeVoe of New Edition/B.B.D fame channeled the ABC-era Michael in a fringed vest, newsboy cap and shades.

Who do you think rocked Michael’s signature looks best?

Click here for the complete red carpet run down!

Contributor: Runteldat

Keri Hilson is off to a great start with her solo career.

First, she faced multiple single releases and album delays. Then once she finally managed to find a hit song with “Turnin’ Me On,” she went and created controversy by releasing a remix to the track that many felt was a direct shot at Beyonce.

If you haven’t caught on by now, most top R&B divas have legions of gay fans. It’s not very smart for a newbie to talk slick about their current queen.

Though she’s since denied insulting Beyonce, Keri now finds herself with another potentially damaging rumor: That she is a witch with a b.

A new online video has surfaced of a pudgy queen calling Keri Hilson out for being rude at an album signing.

Even worse, Miss Keri now has her very own hate club on Twitter.

Registered as “F—k Keri Hilson,” the profile creator writes their mission is “To F–k Up Keri Hilson life as a so call artist..f–ked that b—ch.”

Should Keri be worried or should that person get a life?

Contributor: Runteldat

The net is abuzz over controversial lyrics from yet another remix to Keri Hilson’s hit, “Turnin’ Me On.” 

In what looks like the 50 Cent approach to selling albums, Keri talks slick about one or two R&B singers. 

“I ain’t trying to start no mess but there’s something on my chest/ that I need to get off/ cause you turning me off /your vision cloudy if you think you the best, you can dance/ you can sing / but need to move it to the left/She need to go have some babies/She need to sit down she fake/them other chicks ain’t even worth my time to talk about/Been getting dollars/ go and get your money up” 

Some think she’s talking about Ciara, but she did say “you can sing” so that’s questionable. Others speculate Keri’s coming at Beyonce. For her sake, I hope not. That would be like bringing a rock to a shoot out.  

As much as I like Keri, no matter who she’s talking about, it’s kinda of tacky to generate R&B beef for attention. Her cause isn’t helped by the fact that after two years of trying – including video, after video, after video – she’s only now scoring a hit single of her own. 

How about you finally release your album before you brag to the beat?

As you can imagine, on the evening of the BET Hip Hop Awards, there were all kinds of parties to get into. Unlike most of the action at Atlanta-area clubs though, Ne-Yo’s birthday celebration at Mason Murer art gallery had a theme that went beyond bottle-popping.

Read the rest of this entry »

Check out Keri Hilson on the cover of Trace’s upcoming Black
Girls Rule issue. After writing songs for others for years and being better
known as the girl in Usher’s “Love In This Club” video, her first
album is about to drop.

“In A Perfect World…” hits record stores next month and features songs about relationships.

“No human is exempt from the realities of life—heartbreak, love, failure,
success—I want my album to convey a sense of reality,” the lady whose friends
nicknamed her Keri-okey because she sang and hummed so much, says on her website.
“That’s the standpoint that lent itself to the title. There will always
be something you’d change if only you lived ‘In A Perfect World…’ and I’m no different.”

”I deliver my songs with emotion,” she continues, “I don’t
like a lot of effects. It takes away from the emotion. Like the raspyness of my
voice in ‘Slow Dance’ (written with Justin Timberlake) for example.
I love the way I sound on that track—straightforward, throwback, and old school.
I don’t want that feeling taken away. I’m so particular about those
emotions. I don’t want anyone to walk away from my album just thinking, ‘that
sounds nice.’ Anybody can do that. I’m much more concerned that they walk
away thinking, ‘that felt great.’”