With years of lending controversial ideas on racially charged topics (see:  Travyvon Martin, “absent black fathers,” and more), 71-year-old Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera has once again found himself in the line of Twitter fire for his assessment that hip hop has been “more damaging to black and brown people over the past 10 years” than the institution of racism itself.

Taking to HuffPost Live, Rivera – who lost the ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ crown this week to fellow journalist/former talk show host Leeza Gibbons – appears to have lost his mind as well when he argued, “Hip-hop has done more damage to black and brown people than racism in the last 10 years.”  Expounding, he asserted it’s impossible to “…find a youngster — a Puerto Rican from the South Bronx or a black kid from Harlem who has succeeded in life other than being the one-tenth of one-tenth of one percent that make it in the music business — that’s been a success in life walking around with his pants around his ass and with visible tattoos.”

His comments have incited a host of ongoing debates on social media, but as always, we turn to you – That Grape Juice readers – to ask:

Is Geraldo Rivera right?

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Being the most popular new television show on the air certainly comes as a double edged sword, just as FOX’s hit series ‘Empire.’

On one end, fans can’t get enough and tune in to the show in droves to watch the weekly antics of its main characters “Lucious Lyons” (Terrence Howard) and “Cookie” (Taraji P. Henson). On the other end, critics also tune in to scrutinize every “hot button” the show dares to press (see: alleged “gay agenda,” poor representation of African Americans, etc.).

Case in point?

Fans of the show are still griping over its unceremonious slam of President Barack Obama after one of its main characters branded him a “sellout.”  Weeks after the episode in questions, the “backlash” annoyed Henson to the point where she lent a fiery response to viewers:  ‘…I’m glad you mad. Do something about it.’

This, just a fans mistakenly went in on Black America’s favorite newscaster Don Lemon for saying he “hates” the show.   See what we mean inside:

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Big Sean calls on a little help from his friends Kanye West and John Legend to release the song ‘One Man Can Change the World‘, pulled from his forthcoming album ‘Dark Sky Paradise.‘

The song was written in honour of his grandmother, one of the first African-American female captains in World War 2, tributing her before the album’s February 24th due date.

How Legend and West add to the moving song?

Find out after the jump…

Your thoughts?

Let’s face it:  Madonna‘s ‘Living For Love’ is slowly, but surely, dying on pop charts.

The ‘Lucky Star’ singer, who’s notched five consecutive #1 albums since the turn of the century and a top ten single preceding four of those releases, may be seeing her luck run out as the tune has yet found footing inside the Billboard Hot 100.  This, despite a revolutionary rollout for the its official music video release and a much-talked about Grammy performance.

Then, as if it wasn’t already clinging to life, ‘Living for Love’ was dealt a crushing blow when reports surfaced indicating BBC Radio 1 blacklisted the tune for lacking “audience relevance” and “musical merit.”  Let us tell it, that’s just sugarcoat for “she’s too old and out of touch.”

Be that as it may, could the unceremonious exclusion be grounds for legal action?  Some stars seem to think yes. Tuck in below to hear their assessment and tell us if you agree:

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Hip Hop royal Drake continues to snap, cackle and pop at and on his critics this week, casting a OVO branded a shadow over his rivals with the release of his surprise mixtape ‘If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.’

For, the project has rocked the Billboard 200 with epic first week sales.

Good news below…

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For however you feel about Grammy-winning pop diva Rihanna and her reliable antics, one thing cannot be denied – the girl is a fashion icon.

Striking many-a-fierce pose that’s landed her stiletto to stiletto with some of the fashion industry’s top names, the songstress has seemingly upped her ante via her latest campaign, courtesy of a tribute to the late, great designer Alexander McQueen.

As reported here, Ri’s homage to McQueen inspired the spread found aboard AnOther magazine’s latest edition as snapped by famed photogs Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.  

We’ve already given you a glimpse at some of the action, but tuck in below to see more of the finished products:

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“…Chris Brown’s furs are just more of the same from him: ugly violence.”

Ouch!

The stinging quote above comes courtesy of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) after spotting regular fur offender/R&B bad boy Chris Brown at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.  Coupled with on-again-off-again girlfriend/Instagram model Karrueche Tran, the duo worked their way to #1 on the radical animal rights’ group’s shitlist when she took to Instagram to share a photo of them rocking fur coats while attending the Michael Costello show on Tuesday.

Never ones to bite their tongues, tuck below to see the organization’s thoughts on the lovebirds’ wardrobe choice and also read Brown’s fiery response:

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Ariana Grande is on a roll it seems as we’ve seen her name in headlines everyday this week for some reason or the other.

First, after headlining a slamming halftime show for the NBA All-Star Game this Sunday, the diva followed up with the premiere of the music video longtime fan favorite song ‘One Last Time,’ found aboard her #1 ‘My Everything’ album.

Later winning over new fans after the televised Stevie Wonder Grammy tribute saw her lend a stunning rendition of “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”  alongside Babyface,  the night brought with it news that there is at least one group of people who definitely don’t fancy themselves #Arianators after the diva’s killer week – Aussie band Safia.

For, the indie group has caused quite the stir among the fan group after accusing their leader’s ‘One Last Time’ video of directly copying their ‘You Are the One’ visual – sparking quite the debate among fans.  Did you miss any of the action?  See it all below:

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After being accused of being in an illegal relationship with the underage TV personality Kylie Jenner, the rapper Tyga made his way to radio ‘The Breakfast Club‘ to answer his critics, baring all on their supposed pairing.

There, he also weighed in on his ongoing feud with his ‘Young Money’ sibling Drake, revealing how he felt when he learned the star had taken aim at his alleged relationship with the 17 year old girl.

An intense interview below…

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New video alert!

Before he touches down in London to rock the city’s KOKO, Omarion releases the visual for his new single ‘Post To Be‘, featuring his pals Chris Brown and Jhene Aiko.

The singer co-directed the video and releases it in support of his latest album ‘Sex Playlist‘, dropped following his first spin in the ‘Love & Hip Hop Hollywood’ machine.

Check it out below…

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Charli XCX teams up with Tinashe and Ty Dollar Sign to ‘Drop That Kitty’, unlocking the bop in support of Sign’s forthcoming LP ‘Free TC.’

The jam is now available to pick up on iTunes, and follows Charli’s success with the smash hit single ‘Fancy’ and Tinashe’s run atop R&B with the infectious number ‘2 On.‘

How they sound when placed side by side?

Find out below…

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Hip Hop & R&B duo Chris Brown & Tyga made their way to ‘The Tonight Show’ yesterday, turning up to perform their brand new single ‘Ayo’!

Their appearance came in aid of their collaborative LP ‘Fan of a Fan’ and saw them own the stage before its February 24th due date, doing so with help from The Roots.

Press play to peep their performance below…

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