Paranoid Black Women Unite!

J.L. King, New York Times bestselling author of “On the Down Low: A Journey into the Lives of ‘Straight’ Black Men Who Sleep with Men” has just released the DVD sequel “The Top 10 Signs of ‘Down Low’ Behavior and More.” 

In additional to giving tips on how to tell if a man is on the down low, the DVD also advice on how woman and men can make better decisions on sex and relationships altogether. 

 

Information: www.jlking.net 

Fact: Beyonce Has God’s Pardon

Just FYI Beyonce says: “I can’t really go to church any more, which is a shame,” she said. “People have come up to me in church during the sermon and, of course, people watch everything I do. They come up and take my picture on their mobile phones. They’re very nice, but I think God understands if I miss Sunday service.” Tsk tsk Beyonce… good excuse but it’s an excuse nonetheless. Just say you don’t wanna go. Religious people: What’s that quote about church requirements? Something like “Anywhere that two or more people gather in my name”? I don’t think Beyonce has to go down to church service in order to get the word, if it were that serious she could get a pastor to come to her.

50 vs. Rocsi

We’ve actually been hesitant to post about anymore of 50 Cent’s rantings… However, we ultimately decided that while we don’t want to put anymore attention on 50’s ignorant actions, we also feel that we have an obligation to our readers to report on him because after all, his ignorance has affected us all. ::sigh::

In his latest bout, 50 attacks Rocsi of BET’s 106 and Park for saying (in some video that surfaced on the net) that 50’s CD “Curtis” was garbage (which we agree with) in comparison to Kanye West’s “Graduation.” 

Curtis retaliated by calling in to Washington D.C.’s 93.9 radio station and called out Rocsi for being a hoe saying that she’s slept with at least 4 people that he knows. 

Watch Rocsi ON LEAN here: 

We’re not really sure who’s side to take on this one, while we feel that 50 Cent is an asshole and his CD was garbage, who is Rocsi (of all people) to open her mouth and say something about it. I mean 50 didn’t have to call her a hoe, but maybe she is and maybe she deserved it… if a woman ever deserves to be called a hoe. Does she? Who’s wrong, who’s right? 

Corinne Bailey Rae Attends Husband’s Funeral

The funeral for Jason Rae, husband of British soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae took place on April 2 in Leeds, England.

      According to the U.K.’s The Daily Mail, the 29-year-old was among the last to leave a group of mourners gathered at St. George’s Church.

       A hearse with the name “Jason” spelled out in white flowers stood outside of the church. After the service, Corinne attended the wake held at The Wardrobe bar, a local pub in the theatre district where Corinne and Jason held their wedding reception in 2001.

      The Scottish-born saxophonist and member of the eight-piece group Haggis Horns died earlier this month of a suspected overdose. His body was found in a friend’s apartment

New Study on Hip Hop Music and Drugs Released

A new study suggests that hip hop music has increasingly glamorized the use of illegal drugs, portraying marijuana, crack and cocaine as symbols of wealth and status, according to a new study by the journal Addiction Research & Theory.

::crickets::

The study found that rappers had moved away from lyrics that warn against drug use, an approach that was more common in hip hop during the early days of the genre, reports Reuters.   

After sampling 341 lyrics from rap music’s most popular hits between 1979 and 1997, the researchers found references to drugs had increased six-fold over that period.

Of the 38 most popular songs between 1979 and 1984, only four contained drug references. But by the late 1980s the incidence had increased to 19 percent, and after 1993 nearly 70 percent of rap songs mentioned drug use.

Lyrics describing drug use have not only become more frequent but the context changed from concern about the devastation of drugs to a more positive portrayal. For example, Grandmaster Flash’s “White Lines,” recorded in 1983, warns cocaine does nothing except “killin’ your brain,” but more recent tunes by popular rappers such as 50 Cent’s “As the World Turns” refers to cocaine and heroin as positive things.

India.Arie Hits Broadway in ‘For Colored Girls…’

India.Arie is currently rehearsing for her Broadway debut this summer. The neo-soul singer is scheduled to star in the Broadway revival of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf.”

The classic play by Ntozake Shange shares the stories of seven women of color.

For Colored Girls, which has also been described as a choreopoem, had its first run off-Broadway at the Public Theater in 1976 before moving to Broadway where it ran for almost two years, garnering a Tony nomination for best play.

India.Arie has previously acted on NBC’s “American Dreams,” where she portrayed Nina Simone.

‘The Game’ Next to be Cancelled After ‘Girlfriends’?

  Looks like it might be time to say goodbye to the CW sitcom “The Game” as it was not named among the six shows receiving early pickup for the fall.

“Girlfriends” which is arguably the best show on the channel has already gotten the ax.

“America’s Next Top Model” and “Everybody Hates Chris” will return in the fall, along with “Gossip Girl,” “One Tree Hill,” “Smallville” and “Supernatural.”

“ANTM,” the network’s most popular series and the top-ranked show among its 18-34-year-old female demographic (along with “One Tree Hill”), will return with its 11th and 12th cycle, while “Chris” will begin its fourth season in the fall. 

 Er’a'um how you gonna get rid of Girlfriends and not Smallville? Does anyone even watch Smallville? 

‘Black Magic’ to Air on ESPN

 Just in time for March Madness, ESPN will air “Black Magic,” a film directed by award-winning filmmaker Dan Klores that tells the story of the Civil Rights movement in America, as told through the lives of basketball players and coaches who attended and worked at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Narrated by actor Samuel L. Jackson, jazz great Wynton Marsalis, and New Orleans Hornets star point guard Chris Paul, “Black Magic” will be presented by Russell Athletic Group and State Farm commercial free on ESPN March 16 and 17, 6 p.m.

**Pictured: Earl Monroe (left) and Clarence “Bighouse” Gaines.  

Movie Review: ‘City of Men’ Returns to Rio Slums of ‘City of God’

By Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer

“City of Men” begins atop the metaphorically named Dead End Hill in Rio de Janeiro, where a gun-toting gang is lazily contemplating a swim.

With the sun beating down, the gang, led by a charismatic figure named Midnight (Jonathan Haagensen), decides to head down the hill to the beach. Their preparation isn’t gathering towels, but quickly establishing a perimeter of guards and calling the cops to alert them that they’re “coming through.”

Such is the world of Rio’s shantytowns or “favelas” where violence travels with ease, as depicted in “City of Men.” The film is a unique companion piece to “City of God,” a minor international hit in 2002 that drew comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas” and was nominated for four Academy Awards.

“City of God” was a visceral, stylish tale about a generation of gang life in the favelas, filmed with MTV-like flash by Fernando Meirelles, who has since made “The Constant Gardener.”

“City of God” bristled with the sexiness and destruction of young gang life, but was also almost ridiculously sensational.

“City of Men” is a more humanistic film, primarily focused on the lives of those in the shadow of Rio’s gangs, either enamored by them or cowering from them. Meirelles is here a producer, and gives way to Paulo Morelli.

Morelli directed several episodes of “City of Men” the TV series, which was hugely popular on Brazil’s TV Globo and appeared in the United States on the Sundance Channel. Footage from the series, which ran for four seasons, is used for flashbacks in the film.

In the favelas, everything is intertwined and everyone has allegiances that overlap. At one point, a gang member wonders aloud if everyone is everyone’s cousin.

Wallace’s pursuit of his father digs up skeletons from the past that are almost too neatly parallel to the present. The point is that generations have been fighting the same way for decades, and no one’s winning. With the TV series and now the second film, it’s easy to see the enduring appeal of the favelas to the filmmakers: they’re teaming with vibrancy and conflict. Though the histrionics of “City of Men” are a bit obvious, and it lacks the bravado of “City of God,” it’s ultimately a more rewarding film.

Web Site Launched to Stop Racist Comedian

Here we go again, if you’re not familiar with Shirley Q. Liqour alias Charles Knipp, a 45 year-old gay drag comedian, who performs in blackface then congratulations!

Please excuse me while I rain on your racially harmonious parade.

Nicknamed “the Queen of Ignunce” Knipp describes Shirley as “an illiterate welfare mother with 19 kids who guzzles malt liquor and drives a Caddy” who pronounces everything wrong, think “K-Mark” instead of K-Mart and attends Mount Holy Olive Second Baptist Zion Church of God in Christ of Resurrected Latter-Days AME CME. Knipp routinely performs stand up routines across the country despite resistance from the African American community.

::Shaking My Head::

A Web site has been launched to stop the comedian: www.BanShirleyQLiquor.com.

Next Page »