Thursday Dish

With the third anniversary of the Chris Brown assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna approaching, rumors continue to spread regarding whether the two have reconciled. Reportedly Rihanna visits Brown when she's in the Los Angeles area. Fans will recall some time ago the two exchanged tweets that lead to speculation regarding the nature of the relationship today. So far, there's been no comment from either of the singers or their representatives. Only time will tell whether it's true or just another false rumor. Rapper Jay Z, who many will recall wrote a poem to his newborn daughter in which among other things, he vowed to stop using the b word, may have contradicted himself. It appears the poem wasn't written by the hip hop mogul, although that hasn't been confirmed as yet. No comment from Hova on the matter as yet. In the meantime, due to feeling the pinch of hard economic times, he's had to lay off half of the work force at his Rock-A-Wear clothing line. Although he sold the line some time ago, he's still a shareholder in the company.  Fans of rapper/actor LL Cool J will be happy to know that according to People magazine he's been tapped to host the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. He will be the show's first host since Queen Latifah was given the honor in 2005. In a released statement, he revealed that he's thrilled to be hosting the show. He's hosted "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! since it began in December 2008. The 54th Annual Grammy Awards will air from The Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 12 on CBS at 8 pm. Astro, the 15-year-old rapper who made waves on the American version of "The X Factor" and clashed with Simon Cowell, has inked a deal with Epic Records. As a contestant on the show, he made it to the top ten, and became known for his passionate and defiant attitude. This lead to a confrontation with judge Simon Cowell. He later apologized for the incident. He's since gone on to accumulate a huge following, with nearly 200,000 followers on Twitter. He joins a Epic Records roster that includes Jennifer Lopez, Sean Kingston, Brandy, Shakira, and the winner of the first season of "The X Factor", Melanie Amaro. He previously shot down rumors of signing with Jay Z's Rock Nation Records. He says he's glad to be able to say he's now working on his album. He also has LA Reid as a mentor. No word yet on when his album will be released. The second night of the new season of Fox's "American Idol" airs tonight as the judges continue to hold auditions. While it's too early to tell who will make the final cut, the season is sure to be an exciting one. Be sure to catch the film "Red Tails" when it hits theaters. The film is the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, who fought during World War 2. Support of black films is important, as the industry needs to know that the story of the black experience in America needs to be told. Support black films! On the tube: "American Idol" on Fox, "The Big Bang Theory" on CBS, "Wipeout" on ABC and "30 Rock" on NBC. Happy Thursday!