As reported last week, Kanye West was interviewed in the current issue of Complex magazine. The ‘Stronger’ rapper also did a photo-shoot for his feature; I don’t know what to think about these pics – they’re ‘different’ for sure lol.

{Click pics to enalarge

What do you think of the pics?

Former B2K member Raz B has finally addressed the persistent rumors surrounding his sexuality. Speaking out via MySpace, the singer denied being gay, however I’m thinking the way he went about it had the opposite effect. Here’s what he had to say…(it’s long):

Let me put something out on the table right now. Here is my official response to all these gay rumors going around about myself.

1. Yes I heard the radio interview Fizz did.

2. No I am not upset with him and we do not have beef.

Now, a lot of people seem to believe I am gay. Well I am here to say IT’S NOT TRUE. I have expressed that many many times and frankly if some people can not understand that and still want to be ignorant about the subject matter then so be it. As I said before in a magazine interview and excuse my language, but I love pussy..I love the female body and I just have love for women in general.

I have nothing against the gay community, yes I support them. Why discriminate against someone due to their sexual orientation? I’m not close minded and I’m not stuck in a primitive decade. They have feelings to because they are human just like a hetrosexual male or female. Who is anyone to judge just because others discriminate against it? In a way that’s no different than being a racist. I said in a way..I didn’t say it was exactly the same, so don’t send me messages saying “it’s not the same thing” if u disagree.I have love for everyone even if they do hate my guts.

The Bible says “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. (Matthew 5:38-44) ” In my case it’s all love and I do my best to look the other way.

Aside from that, people feel that I am gay because I have performed at the gay pride festival a couple of years ago. Well ya know what, that community is an audience like any other people. Why deprive them of a performance because of their sexual orientation? I am not the only musician who has performed for that group of people. Musicians who are on a bigger status have performed there, so why pinpoint me out and make me out to be the black sheep? Lets also get another thing straight, I never performed at a gay club. I made an APPEARANCE at one club, which means I signed autographs. Again, I’m not going to not fullfill my commitment to a group of people who were willing to come out to visit with me just because of their sexual perference.

Also just because I did the whole mohawk thing, doesn’t mean anything either. I was trying a different look and it certainly grab attention, which was my intention, but who knew it would grab so much negativity. And last but certainly not least, JUST BECAUSE I DID NOAH’S ARC DOES NOT MAKE ME GAY. I did it for the purpose behind the meaning of that particular episode which touched on HIV. Nothing more, nothing less other than receiving a pay check for it.

Do you know how many straight male actors have played gay roles? The Rock, Will Smith, The male actors on Will and Grace, Taye Diggs, Robin Williams, Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Bruce Willis, Marlon Brando, Forest Whitaker, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.The list goes on, so therefore if they can act in such roles and continue on in life without the world wondering about their sexuality, then why can’t I? If I didn’t feel comfortable with the role then I wouldn’t have taken it. It’s called acting, that doesn’t mean I live that lifestyle.

So please hear me and understand me, I am in no way shape or form a gay male. I have nothing against that community. But I would appreciate it if people would stop with the false accusations. If you just asked me the question in recent times, this is not against you, I’m pointing this out for other purposes.Indeed I do realize majority of the public could careless in what I say and believe what they want, but overall it doesn’t matter because myself, my family and my friends know the real me. If you seem to have an issue with what I stated, then I don’t know what to tell you, but God Bless.

Hmmm…

What do you think of Raz B’s denial?
{Spotted @ Concreteloop.com}
Nas and Kelis are featured in the latest issue of Fashion Rocks magazine. The couple – who tied the knot in 2005 – speak on a number of things including their married life, how they met and their upcoming MTV reality show. Check out extracts from the interview below:

ON BEING FOLLOWED BY CAMERAS
Sometimes I feel like ‘This is cool, man; I have TV cameras following me everywhere I go,’ he says sipping a margarita from a plastic cup. “Other times I want to crawl under a rock.” His mouth turns down stubbornly. “I feel like an idiot – ‘Did I really agree to this?’ It feels self-absorbed and self-indulgent.”

“It’s going to be great, baby,” says Kelis in the calming tones of someone used to this conversation. “It has to be great, because if it’s not great we won’t let them put it on TV.”

NAS ON HOW KELIS STEPPED HIS FASHION GAME UP
“Before I met Kelis, I wore Gucci or whatever was hot,” says Nas, with admiration in his eyes. “I didn’t dress badly, because there’s no excuse to disrespect the gods of the stage with some bummy shit: I always say you better rob, cheat, or steal threads to look good up there because hip-hop is about being fresh from your head to toes. But this is a whole different level. Kelis has really made me get my spirit up and step up my clothes game.”

{Click here to read the full interview}

I’ll be sure to check out their show whenever it airs – I’m sure these two will make great viewing.

Your thoughts?

A radiant looking Alicia Keys made an appearance on MTV’s TRL today (August 23rd) to promote her new move ‘The Nanny Diaries’, as well as speak on her new album ‘As I Am’. Alcia has really stepped it up it – she was looking on-point.
{Click pics to enlarge}
In other Alicia news, the singer recently spoke of her forthcoming single on her blog. Check out what she had to say:

The single is called “Noone” and I’m LOVING IT!!! I hope it’s a bit unexpected and something that completely surrounds you, engulfs you and sweeps you away. I hope it makes you feel good and strong and passionate and makes you scream the words at the top of your lungs. I hope it does things to you!!!!

I really can’t wait for Alicia to drop this new CD of hers. Genuine talent in R&B is a hard find nowadays and Alicia is just that. The release date of ‘As I Am’ has apparently been pushed back from October 16th to November 13th. Whatever the case, I’m sure she’ll bring ‘it’ – as she has done with her last two albums.

Will you be checking for Alicia’s new CD?

It seems all of Foxy Brown’s foolishness has caught up with her. The troubled rapper will now serve time behind bars, according to TMZ. Check out their report below:

TMZ has learned that Foxy Brown is headed to jail, after a Manhattan judge ordered the reportedly three-months-pregnant rapper to serve time for violating her probation.

We’re told that just minutes ago, Judge Melissa Jackson remanded Brown to the custody of the state, and threw her in the clink until her next hearing, which is Sept. 5. Brown had been on probation on assault charges, but two incidents in recent weeks violated her probation, thus leading Judge Jackson to send Foxy to jail.

A source tells TMZ that Foxy’s face was “priceless” when the judge handed down her decision, and that Brown had not expected to see jail time. It has yet to be determined where Brown will be serving her time.

Good! It’s about time too. For the longest time, it’s like she wanted to get locked up. A mess.

Any thoughts?

R&B singer and Broadway star Fantasia recently gave a commentary on her role in the ‘The Colour Purple’:

“Miss Celie takes a lot out of me. I’m being told everyday that I’m ugly. … you can’t play the part if you don’t kind of put yourself in her shoes and live her life. So it’s like, I carry that stuff with me. I put myself in her shoes in having (daughter) Zion at such a young age and dropping out of school and being in just bad relationships and disrespected. I just feel like God won’t put too much on me than I can bear. As long as I feel like I’m touching somebody … as long as I’m blessing somebody, I know that I’ll be blessed.”
{Source}

Pretty deep. I’m still hoping to see Fantasia in the show one day – the reviews of her performance have been phenomenal. More power to her.


Any thoughts?
Having got caught up in this whole ‘Kanye vs 50 Cent’ hype, I kinda forgot that Kanye can say some dumb sh*t sometimes. Check out extracts of his interview in the latest issue of XXL magazine:

NEW YORK — Kanye West considers a certain “SexyBack” singer his biggest rival.

“My biggest inspiration and biggest competition is Justin Timberlake,” the 29-year-old rapper tells XXL magazine in its October issue, on newsstands Sept. 11. “He’s the only other person that gets an across-the-board response and respect level — black radio, white radio.”

“If Justin hadn’t come out and killed the game, I can’t say that my album, singles and videos would be on the same level that they’re on,” he says. “We push each other. I look at me and Justin like Prince and Michael Jackson in their day.” {Source}

Up until that last part, I was like ‘ok, you may have a point’; but after that I was lost. Put simply, Michael Jackson and Prince they are not. Yes Justin has been successful, but neither of them are at that level of superstardom.

What do you think of Kanye’s comments?

A naked Mariah Carey graces the cover of the September issue of Interview magazine. Despite her efforts, there is something not quite right with Mariah here. Aside from the ‘uncomfortable’ look in her face, the pose is real awkward – she just looks plain wrong standing there. Moving on, Mariah addresses her multi-million dollar divorce, her breakdown and more in the main feature. The issue hits newsstands August 28th.

What do you think of the cover?
Following the news last week that Beyonce is to release another album next year, the ‘Deja Vu’ singer has gone on record to, once again, confirm that a new CD is in the works. According to the star, she will begin recording in towards the end of this year. Check out the video below:

Why she feels the need to come out with another album so soon is anyone’s guess. A few years (hell, even one) out of the limelight may do her career some good – build the anticipation-but no. I can’t front though, I will be watching closely to see how things go down with her next project. Pre-‘Irreplaceable’, ‘B’ Day’ was largely considered a commercial failure; even with a re-release the total sales failed to top those of her first album ‘Dangerously In Love’. So it’ll be interesting to see how she fares this time around.

Do you think Beyonce’s next CD will be successful?

Rumors have been swirling that Bow Wow and longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri are beefing and for that reason JD won’t be producing on the rapper’s joint project with Omarion – ‘Face Off’. SOHH.com sat down with both Bow Wow and JD to find out whether there is any truth to the specualtion. Click here to check out the video.
I feel what Bow Wow is saying about wanting to grow, but I think his judgement is wrong. There’s ‘growth’ and there’s knowing what works for you; name any Bow Wow hit and you’ll find it’s JD that produced it. This isn’t the first time Bow Wow’s tried to go it alone, most seem to forget that he dropped an album in his mid-teens called ‘Unleashed’ (which they should..it was garbage). Without JD’s presence, the album lacked any hits and ultimately flopped. Time will tell if ‘Face Off” suffers the same fate.

Your thoughts?
Lil’ Wayne, T-Pain, Cee-Lo (of Gnarls Barkley), Common and Nelly Furtado have been added to the list of performers at this year’s MTV VMA’s. They will join previously-announced performers Kanye West, Chris Brown, Fall Out Boy. Rihanna, Foo Fighters and Amy Winehouse (TBD). The 2007 VMA’s will broadcast live from Las Vegas on September 9th.
The VMA’s have been slacking for years now and the BET Awards has become ‘the’ award show to watch. What happened to the ‘shock’ factor? I remember being in awe of Michael Jackson’s surprise performance with Justin and co at the 2001 show, as well as Beyonce tearing the house down at the 2003 ceremony. Since then it’s been kinda ‘blah’. I will be watching this year, though, and not because of any of the above performers. Like many, I’ll be looking out for the rumored comeback (or train wreck) performance of Britney Spears…that ought to be great television either way.

Will you be tuning into the VMA’s?
R&B star LeToya appeared at the 2nd International Hip Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment in Toronto, Canada this past week. As usual, she was looking great; but I’m hoping she switches up her image (even if just a little) soon. She’s starting to look real ‘samey’. Still, why fix what’s not broken? Check out more pics below:

{Clicks pics to enlarge}


What do you think of the pics?
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