Be sure to keep it locked on That Grape Juice for the latest performances from tonight’s MTV Video Music Awards, as and when they become available.
In the meanwhile..

Whose performance(s) are you most anticipating?

Beyonce and her mother, Tina Knowles, appear in the first of a number of print ads for American Express. The ‘Deja Vu’ singer was announced as the spokesperson for the company and will feature in both print and TV ads for the ‘AMEX’ campaign. Airbrushed or whatever, she’s looking flawless.

In other Beyonce news, the 26 year old star made an interesting comment in a recent interview with Latina Magazine:

“I’m just jealous that I wasn’t born Latina. I wish I had been because the culture is so beautiful.”

Ok, so where was her publicist? I’m sure she meant to word what she said differently, but this foolishness cannot be justified. Already criticized by some for not being ‘ethnic’ enough, this is unlikely to help matters.

What do you think of the pics / Beyonce’s comments?
As Kelly Rowland’s new single ‘Ghetto’ (ft. Snoop Dogg) continues to gain momentum on Urban radio, pics from the video shoot have surfaced. The Andrew Gura directed vid is set to premiere tomorrow (September 10th) on BET’s Access Granted. Be sure to keep it locked on That Grape Juice for the goods tomorrow.

What do you think of the pics?

Speaking to Blender, Houston rapper Slim Thug – who has been pretty successful in the real estate market – explains his concept of ‘Flippin Houses’. Here’s what he had to say:

Do Research
“I hire a researcher to find me property, but you can look on the Internet or go to auctions. Then have an appraiser inspect the house. Hopefully you can find somebody who’s about to be in foreclosure and be like, ‘Can you sell me your house rather than having these people just take everything from you?’”

Do More Research
“With auctions, research the list that they publish in advance. Once I said, ‘Fuck it,’ and spent $7,000 for a house without seeing it. Turns out, there wasn’t even a house on the land! Also, run comps (comparable sales) on the Internet — a house is worth what the last house that was sold nearby it is worth.”

Fix Things Up

“After buying the house, redo the restroom, the kitchen, the wood floors — simple shit that makes the house look better. If it’s worth $100,000 and you bought it for $60,000, spend no more than $20,000. Hire a manager; he’ll oversee a crew.In Texas there are Mexicans on the corner who are ready to work.”

Close the Sale
“To sell the house, you can get a realtor or, preferably, just put a FOR SALE BY OWNER sign on your front lawn to avoid fees. When you’ve got a buyer, run a credit check on him. Then, as long as the bank can make the loan go through, it’s good. When you have the money, then you go and flip another one!”

Finally! It’s great to see one of our rappers being smart and investing their wealth – something not enough of them do. Though Slim may not neccessarily be riding high on the charts, he will have made alot more than your average ‘Rims Flaunting’ rapper.

Your thoughts?

{Spotted at Concreteloop}
Some of you may remember Teyana Taylor from an episode of MTV’s ‘Sweet Sixteen’. The Harlem native is hit-maker Pharrell Williams’ new protégé and is signed to his label Star Trak. A triple threat in her own right (she can sing, rap and dance), Teyana seems destined for big things. Below are extracts of her feature in the current issue of Trace Magazine where she speaks on how she taught Beyonce to dance, her alternate look and how she hooked up with Pharrell. Check it out:

On Teaching Beyonce:
Beyoncé even enlisted Teyana to teach her the dance for a segment in her “Ring The Alarm” video.

“She was mad focused and really wanted to learn,” recalls Teyana.

On Her Look:
“I always stood out as far as dressing,” she says. “I like to look different and people know me for that. My look is a mix of old-school hip-hop and skater.”

On Pharrell:
“I sang for the Senior Vice President of A&R at Universal, and he asked me the top five people I would really want to work with and my first three were Pharrell. It was crazy to meet him. I mean I love that dude and we connected,” Teyana recalls.

Pharrell couldn’t agree more, “I heard about how talented she was, and I wanted to meet her. I was impressed she could, sing, dance and rap, so we gave her a shot.”

Although she came across real bratty on the the show (which is the point of it, I guess), I was definitely feeling her whole ‘alternate’ vibe and the fact she’s bringing something different to the table. For more info on Teyana check out her Myspce: www.myspace.com/rockstarteyana


Any thoughts?
It appears Foxy Brown’s reckless behaviour has caught up with her. Brown, real name Inga Marchand has been sentenced to one year in prison for violation of probation. Check out TMZ’s report below:

Foxy Brown will spend the next year in jail for violating her probation — and she’s going straight back to a cell on Rikers Island, where she’s spent the last two weeks. TMZ was in the courtroom when it all went down, and Judge Melissa Jackson slammed Foxy’s pleas for mercy, calling her a “great actress,” and saying that if this were the first time she’d apologized, she might be believable, but not now. We’re told that Foxy was visibly distraught by the verdict, and her mother refused to talk to reporters outside. Foxy originally was sentenced to the probation after an assault on two employees at a nail salon in Manhattan.

Outside the courtroom, cops from New Jersey — where she allegedly lied to cops about her birthdate and state of residence — told TMZ that she got what she deserved. Interesting note: if she serves the full term, Foxy will give birth in prison.

Source

I can’t say she doesn’t deserve it. It’s just messed up that her baby will be born in jail because it’s mother is a nut.

Your thoughts?

As reported, the Fashion Rocks 2007 concert took place in New York City this week. A host artists performed at the star-studded event including Usher, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson. Check out some of the performances below:

Usher & Mary J Blige.
It’s A Man’s World, Respect & Do I Do

 

Jennifer Lopez
Do It Well / Waiting For Tonight

 

Jennifer Hudson
Come Together

 

Alicia Keys
The Thing About Love

 

For the first time in the longest, I felt everyone did great. One of the standouts, for me, was Usher & Mary’s performance. With the way Usher was nailing the James Brown choreography I was left thinking ‘Justin who?’. Jennifer Hudson was also a standout; it was good seeing her sing something different. She really has a great stage presence too. I was pleasantly surprised with J. Lo’s performance – she is far from a great vocalist, but her live singing has improved a lot.

What do you think of the performances?

After a lengthy wait, the video for Mya’s latest single ‘Ridin’ premiered on Yahoo Launch yesterday. Though the track itself is great, the same cannot be said for the video. Her label must be counting the pennies because the vid is extra cheap looking; and though not that bad, she’s been in the industry too long to be putting out cheapness like this. Still, with all the set-backs her ‘Liberation’ project has gone through, it’s just good too see that she is pressing forward with it. I’m hoping she does ok with this album, as it may just be curtains for her career if otherwise.

What do you think of the video?

R&B singer Keyshia Cole performed the US national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, at the NFL Opening Kickoff yesterday (September 6th). Though a bit ‘off’ in places, Keyshia gave a decent rendition. Not sure the choir was needed though (listens again…yes they were lol).

What do you think of Keyshia’s performance?

With all the hype surrounding the ‘Kanye vs 50 Cent’ showdown on September 11th, other releases on the date seem to have been overlooked – including the new CD from Bad Boy artists B5. The group, which consists of brothers Dustin, 19, Kelly, 18, Patrick, 16, Carnell, 15, and Bryan Breeding,13, are set to release their sophomore album ‘Don’t Talk, Just Listen’ on the much publicized date. Led by by single ‘Hydrolic’, the album features production from Bryan-Michael Cox, Adonis, The Underdogs, among others.
I’ve received quite a lot of emails about this, yet haven’t seen any promo ANYWHERE. I’m guessing Diddy is up to his usual antics of not promoting his artists. Here’s hoping the guys don’t fare too badly.

Will you be checking for B5?

Stars from both the fashion and music industries were out in full force yesterday for the 2007 Fashion Rocks concert. The event, which took place in New York City, saw performances from Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Usher and Jennifer Lopez. Visitors from the US can catch the show when it airs, tonight at 9pm ET/PT on CBS.

{Click pics to enlarge}

{Click pics to enlarge}

What do you think of the pics?
R&B star Alicia Keys has been added to the list of performers at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The Grammy Award winning singer is slated to perform her new single ‘No One’ at the Las Vegas event. Keys joins previously announced performers 50 Cent, Kanye West, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Common, Nelly Furtado, Akon, Soulja Boy, T-Pain and Cee-Lo (of Gnarls Barkley). {Source}
Though Alicia always delivers with her performances, I can’t say I’m too hyped about this one. I like ‘No One’, but can’t help but feel she could have come a bit harder than she did with that track. Still, with the line-up kinda lacking any performers of real interest, Alicia is good addition.

Any thoughts?
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