Tuesday Tales

Rappers T.I. and Kanye West and singer Justin Timberlake were among those voted the Best Styled Men by GQ magazine. Actor/comedian/singer Jamie Fox was among those voted Most Eliagable Bacholor. Rapper Lil Wayne is being suied by a promotor who claims he backed out of a concert in Rochester NY, twice. Congradulations are in order to Nas and Kelis. The couple are expecting their first child. You can catch the top 36 constestants perform live on "American Idol" tonight on Fox. Happy Tuesday!

Monday Madness

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards aired last night and the night was filled with plenty of highlights and lowlights. Among the highlights were performances by Jennifer Hudson, Coldplay, T.I., Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Jay Z, Carrie Underwood, Neil Diamond and U2. Among the lowlights were the Al Green, Justin Timberlake and Boyz 2 Men performance, a very pregant MIA and a performance by the Jonas Brothers with Stevie Wonder. I'm a bit hard pressed to understand why Justin Timberlake was allowed to sing Al Green's classic "Let's Stay Together" by himself and why the Jonas Brothers were allowed to perform with Stevie Wonder. Another lowlight was the more than obvious audio difficulties. Also, reportly singer Chris Brown was arrested just hours before the show for felony domestic abuse. The incident ocurred late Sunday evening when Brown's rented Lamborgini pulled over and he and an unidentified female got out. A onlooker called 911. Brown left the seen before police arrived. The woman according to police had visible injuries. It's rumored that the woman in question is singer Rhianna. Neither singer's camp would comment on the matter. Among the winners last night were Lil Wayne, Robert Plant and Allison Kraus, Coldplay, Ne-Yo, Mary Mary and Al Green. Have a good Monday!

Tuesday Tales

The beef between rappers 50 Cent and Rick Ross seems to have no end in sight. 50 interviewed the mother of Ross's child, Tia in which she mentioned their child custody case and how the rapper exhaggertes his financial prowess. The interview was posted on the site thisis50.com. Rapper Kanye West is set to release a new book with photos from his recent Paris trip. You can pick up XXL magazine's Crew Love issue with rappers Jim Jones and Julez Santana on the cover. And catch tonight's episode of "American Idol" as the show moves to Hollywood. Take care!

Monday Madness

Rapper 50 Cent is at it again. The rapper recently released a dis track in which he called out Miami rapper Rick Ross and taunted Lil Wayne as well. Ross responded by calling the track "garbage". Congradulations are in order to singer Eryka Badu. The singer gave birth to a baby girl, her third child. The drama between rapper Lil Kim and Voletta Wallace, the mother of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. is heating up. The petite rapper was reportedly upset she had not been consulted on the film "Notorious". Mrs Wallace fired, "she's a white woman in a black woman's body". The top five films this week are: 1. Taken, 2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop, 3. The Uninvited, 4. Hotel For Dogs and 5. Gran Torino. Happy Monday!

Tuesday Tales

Awards season is in full swing and Oscar nominations have been announced. Among those getting an Oscar nod are Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella and Mickey Rourke for best actor. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button was among those nominated for best picture. Angelina Jolie was among those nominated for best actress. A hugh shock was the snub of Heath Ledger for best supporting actor. You can catch the 48th annual Academy Awards on Feburary 22 on CBS. You can also catch the good, the bad and the oh so ugly of the auditons as "American Idol"'s seventh season gets underway as well. And 'The Boss" Bruce Springsteen is among artists who have new releases hitting store shelves this week. Take Care.

In Loving Memory

First, I'd to say everyone have a blessed new year. I'd like to pay tribute to the artist we lost in 2008. The contributions these indivduals made to the industry will live on. Bernie Mac, actor/comedian, 1957-2008. Isaac Hayes, singer/songwriter, 1942-2008. Bo Didley, rock-n-roll pioneer, 1930-2008. Eartha Kitt, singer/actress, 1931-2008. May they rest in peace.

Is Hip Hop Sexist?

In light of the Don Imus controversy and Oprah Winfrey, BET and others weighing in on the subject of Hip Hop lyrics and videos as a result, I wanted to chime in with some observations of my own on the subject. I believe first and formost that the lyrics and images we're seeing now have actually existed for some time, it's just that they have become more overt. A Few years back Too Short, 2 Live Crew, Ict T, N.W.A and The Geto Boys were the artists who pushed the envelop in terms of explictness. Now it seems everyone's trying to see how far they can go. I believe the problem is not that we're being bombarded with these lyrics and images. It's that that's all the record labels are promoting. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a video where women of color are not objectified and lyrics that don't refer to them as just oversexed, money grubbing opportunists. I think with the recent attention given to the subject, everyone tried to connect the dots between Don Imus' remarks and Hip Hop. I firmly believe that they are two entirely different matters. Don Imus is in my opinion, a racist male chavenist who stated what he truly felt and remarkbly still had the wherewithall to know what to say to deflect attention from himself and his remarks. What's going on with Hip Hop now is a matter of those who run the industry taking responsibilty for marketing and promoting more that what they have thus far. No human being is one demensional so why continue promoting one demensional images of our men and women? Just a little food for thought.