The Daily Roundup for Sept 22

CLICK HERE TO BE CHRONICLING TWITTER FAN!  

TV Guide Snubs Taraji P. Henson

Academy Award nominated actress Taraji P. Henson has been royally dissed by TV Guide Magazine...

From Taraji's Facebook
WOW!!!! TV Guide is NOT including me on the cover with my cast memebers........I am the female lead of a 3 member cast and I'm not included on the cover!!!!!! Do you see the shit I have to deal with in this business.....I cram to understand!!!!

And after removing it, she posted:

I swear you guys keep my spirit lifted cause it ain't easy AT ALL for a sister in Hollywood. Your love is God sent!!!! Thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart. Wanted to tell you all this on live TV at the Emmys (if I'd won) but......oh well. Muah!!!!!

I'm not even mad at her for poppin' off. She was also not included on the IMDB page for the show. I've personally seen the "Person of Interest" promos a million times on CBS and I didn't even know Taraji was on the show--seeing that they ave yet to include her. Very interesting.

TIMES ARE REALLY HARD! A Quarter of African American Population Going Hungry

*Bread for the world reports that according to new hunger data released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 25.1 percent of African-American households suffered from food insecurity in 2010. Among African-American households with children, the figure is much higher—nearly one in three. These figures remain higher than the general population and more than double those of non-Hispanic white households.

“High rates of unemployment have made it difficult for many U.S. households to put food on the table—but communities of color continue to be disproportionately impacted,” said Rev. Derrick Boykin, associate for African American Leadership Outreach at Bread for the World.

One in five Americans—and nearly one in four African-Americans—currently participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). Although hunger among African-Americans and Hispanics remains unconscionably high—especially when compared to non-Hispanic white Americans—it would be much higher were it not for federally-funded safety-net programs that helped keep millions of Americans from going hungry.

Miss Universe Leila Lopes Makes Her Pretty Press Rounds

The brand new Miss Universe 2011, Angolan Leila Lopes, made her press rounds recently for her new role. ...Miss Lopes made her way to NYC just days after getting crowned in Brazil, to make press rounds after stopping by the US Embassy to cop a visa:

Pretty.

She also posed with her family right after getting crowned. And her recent ride on American Airlines to NYC:

And Ms. Lopes isn't taking her crown without getting shade thrown at her from other contestants. Miss Fance says the other contestants don't understand how Leila won:

Miss France, Laury Thilleman, talked to Premiere.fr about Miss Angola’s unpleasant behavior, her lack of personality and her questionable fashion taste. Her declaration started with the complaint that Lopes was not sociable. “She was the only girl I didn’t know very well. We didn’t see her much.” Then she criticized her looks. “She was often in jeans and not wearing makeup. We were all surprised by her win”. Thilleman explains that many other contestants worked more and were not rewarded as they should have been. “I don’t know, something is missing in her temperament”, the 20-year-old French beauty added.

Miss France believes that the main reason Lopes won is that the contest was held in Brazil. “The fact that the competition was held in Brazil surely played a role.”

Doesn't making public statements like these actually speak to why Miss France DIDN'T win? Just askin'.... However there is a new scandal brewing against The new Miss Universe reports says she is being accused of falsifying documents to enter and win a qualifying contest in England.An Argentinian newspaper has reported that Leila Lopes was unfairly allowed to participate in the competition for Angolan citizens living in the U.K.

Sources say that a man by the name of Charles Mukano helped her falsify documents that made Lopes out to be a student of business management at a British school. It was these documents that helped her enter and win the competition in England. Other reports have even stated that Mukano may have bribed judges in England to help Lopes win the competition there.
Leila Lopes is the first Miss Universe from her country. As of now there has been no comment on the situation from Miss Universe herself. However, the Miss Universe pageant will bring clarity to the situation later on today.

Do you think these allegations against Miss Universe, Leila Lopes, are true? If they are true, what is your opinion?

Robin Thicke Declares ‘Love After War’ on Fifth Album

Robin Thicke is marching to the front lines of love. The R&B crusader has set a title and release date for his fifth album.

The follow-up to 2009’s Sex Therapy will be called Love After War, reports Rolling Stone. It has been marked for a November 15 release.
Thicke, who welcomed his son Julian with wife Paula Patton last year, has been in the lab putting the finishing touches on the project. “You get to that point where you hate it and then you love it,” he recently told Rap-Up TV. “It’s just like any important relationship in your life.”

Fans got a taste last month with the leaked track “I’m an Animal.” He has also been in the studio with Faith Evans and Pharrell

Steve-O Punched by Mike Tyson

“I should explain how this happened. I told Charlie Sheen that I was so grateful to be a part of his roast that I was going to attempt to get a black I from Mike Tyson. I dove face-first into Mike Tyson’s fist, although it was my forehead that landed on it that first time. It wasn’t until the end of the show that I was allowed to give it another proper try. It took two more tries at the end of the show, but I ended up getting it done. As a matter of fact, I broke my nose badly in the process, it was in a whole new spot on my face. As a cameraman filmed blood pouring out of my nose, a guy in the crowd came over and told me he could set my nose straight right there on the spot. I couldn’t believe it, it hurt like hell, but he managed to pop the bone right back into place. That’s so awesome, I think my nose will actually wind up straighter than it’s been since Bam Margera broke it on the set of Jackass 3D. What a great deal, I get to say that I got two black eyes and a broken nose from Mike Tyson, and I’m going to come out of it looking better than I did before it happened. Yeah dude!” – Steve-O…LOL!

Bravo Fires A Bunch Of New York Real Housewives

I think Bravo has started to realize how popular Real Housewives can be if you have interesting people on the show. New York lost the interesting thing a few seasons back and now some of the Housewives are being fired. Kelly Bensimon, Alex McCord, Jill Zarin and maybe Cindy Barshop. It makes sense for a couple of reasons. They are all kind of boring and they have been on the show long enough that they are making very large salaries. Bravo has told them if they do not find people more interesting that they could be back. I bet Bravo will have no problems finding some women who are more than willing to be dramatic and cause trouble and I also think this is even happening to an extent for Beverly Hills. I think after you have been on the show and start to get appearance money and some fame you start to focus on that aspect and making as much money as you can off the result of being on the show, and trying to create a public brand for yourself. That is why Real World switches everyone after a season.

OH FANNY! Fantasia Holding Baby Shower on Married Boyfriend's Wedding Anniversary

Fantasia sends a big F-U out to her boyfriend's estranged wife by holding her baby shower on their wedding anniversary...

From Radar Online
Fantasia Barrino is pregnant by her married boyfriend and even worse, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned the American Idol winner is planning her baby shower for the same day as Antwaun Cook’s wedding anniversary with his estranged wife!
“Fantasia is really taking every opportunity she can to stick it to Antwaun’s ex,” a source close to the situation told RadarOnline.com.

“She’s planning her baby shower for October 1, which is Antwaun’s wedding anniversary with Paula. It’s the low of lows.”
As RadarOnline.com first reported, Fantasia is due to have her baby on December 27 with Antwaun, who is still married to his estranged wife, Paula Cook — who claims the two started their relationship long before she’d officially separated from Antwaun.
“By planning her baby shower for that day, both Antwaun and Fantasia are showing complete disregard for Paula,” the source said.
“She’s already been through enough with everything that’s went down.”

This will be Fantasia’s first child with Antwaun, but it’s not the first time she was pregnant by him.
Last November, RadarOnline.com obtained exclusive audio of Fantasia testifying during a separation hearing between Antwaun and Paula, in which she states she had previously been pregnant by him and had an abortion.

BUT YOU DID! 'I didn't mean it': How student stabbed her roommate,19, to death after weeks of dorm tension boiled over

A college student accused of stabbing her room mate to death after a row over an iPod told friends 'I didn't mean to do it', it was reported today.
Alexis D. Simpson, 19, was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree assault after her room mate Dominique Frazier, 18, was found unconscious in a second-floor hallway.
The news comes as Denise Frazier the mother of 18-year-old stabbed to death by her roommate has told how she begged for her daughter to be separated from her attacker.
Court papers say Simpson then said: 'I didn't mean to do it. Yall don't know what I've been through. You all jumped me.'
According to court papers the confrontation came to a head on Thursday when Simpson turned off an iPod that Frazier and her friends were listening to.

A fight developed as Simpson was asked to turn the music back on. As the other girls yelled at her, Simpson returned with a knife and stabbed Dominique to death.
Authorities say she was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators believe the two women got into an argument in their suite that turned into a fight.
Miss Simpson fled but later turned herself in to county police. Police have not identified her until charges are filed.
University police arrived at the scene first and found Frazier in the hallway outside of her second-floor apartment, unconscious and bleeding from the upper torso.

Denise Frazier told how her daughter Dominique was put in a room with Alexis Simpson by authorities at Bowie State University and immediately fell out with her.
Mrs Frazier said her daughter complained about the tense atmosphere between her and Simpson.
But according to the Washington Post, when she offered to have her transferred, she refused saying, 'no mom, we're just having words now.'
Greg Shipley, a spokesman for Maryland State Police, said a preliminary investigation indicated that the victim and suspect had a verbal argument that 'escalated into a fight and culminated in the stabbing', according to Maryland Community News.
They do not yet know what Simpson used when she allegedly stabbed her room mate and are waiting for a search warrant to be approved.

Classes were cancelled today, according to Bowie State’s website.
Cassandra Robinson, a university spokeswoman, said the university held a community gathering this afternoon for students and faculty to 'share their grief and get support from the counselling staff'.
'There was a visible calm and quiet solitude, even in a room with hundreds of people,' she said. 'Everyone is in their own way trying to deal with the magnitude of this.
'Certainly whenever an event of this nature takes place, it gives us an opportunity to pause, reflect, and re-examine everything we’re doing.'
After the service, a prayer circle for the murdered student formed in the middle of the campus mall, with one woman collapsing to her knees as the students prayed together.
Damial Fletcher, a 19-year-old from Frederick who was friends with the victim, told The Baltimore Sun: 'It's an eye opener. If you have a dispute, it's not worth fighting over. Dominique lost her life over something trivial.
'We come to college to mature ourselves, but sometimes still act like children. She was so popular and out-going. If you were having the worst day of your life, she'd make you just laugh.'
A state police spokesman said that two other roommates were present during the attack.
Simpson is being held at the Prince George’s County Detention Center without bond. She does not yet have an attorney listed in online court records.

Basketball Wives: LA’ Star Draya on All the Haters

*Draya of the VH1 reality series “Basketball Wives: LA” recently sat down for an interview with VIBE Vixen to discuss her business aspirations, her favorite Miami cast members, and how she is being portrayed on the show.

Read an excerpt from the interview below:

You’re obviously pegged as the girl who’s going to shake up the show, but how do you want to portrayed on the show?  

Hopefully, after editing and everything, it changes some people’s opinions of me. I know what to expect, so I won’t be shocked if a lot more people hate me than they already do. People don’t always have the nicest things to say about me, so I’m used to it already. I want people to see what I do and how I live me life, just so they have a better understand of what it is that I do. A lot of people are confused about how I live my life and why I live my life a certain way and I’m able to travel so much. I want to put a light on what [my life] really is. It is not always a party. I don’t look at a party as a party; I look at a party as a job, so [the show] will let people know what is really going on inside of my world.

Can you let people know what you do?
I do everything. Anything and everything I can get my hands on out here in LA, I’m into it. I’m doing my acting, my modeling and starting a business–a million things.

Now, make it clear — what’s your connection to the basketball world?
Basically, now I’m friends with a bunch of wives and I dated a basketball player before. I mean, it was nothing currently or anything like that. It was a couple years ago. No big deal.

Who is your favorite wife or cast member [from Miami franchise]?
I bounce back and forth between Tami and Evelyn. I like different things in each of them, so I bounce back and forth between them.

Would you say you have the same feisty nature as well, or do you like them because that’s them?
I like them because that’s them, but I have similarities that I see in Evelyn. I am little bit more reserved, and I don’t really like to snap on people and show that side. I don’t think it is really necessary for me to get all crazy, but I can. I definitely have that inside of me. All I need the right person to bring it out.

Now that everyone is critiquing you and being on the show, are you regretful at all?
No, I’m having fun, and it’s a learning experience for me.

Do you have any close friends in the industry or on the show?
Close friends is a touchy [thing] for me. As far as models go, I like to keep most of them as associates. Girls are designed to disappoint you, so I am very careful and selective of who I call my friends. I don’t really want to shout anybody out as my friend, but I do have some. Everybody don’t hate me [laughs]. I got a personality that if you know me, you will like me. It just comes off as a little bit cold at first, but eventually I can warm up to anybody if I want to.

There’s been talk about the child endangerment arrest and your son. Will we be able to meet your son on the show?
You will definitely see me doing my family thing, my mom thing and my work thing. Anything that is me is going to be on there. Of course, my son is an important part of my life, so I wouldn’t do anything that didn’t involve him. I didn’t leave anything uncovered.

What projects do you have in the works?
I am working on a bikini line right now for all types of girls. Its going to be affordable for everybody and stylish enough for everybody.

T.I. Out Of Prison And Back At Halfway House

Rapper T.I. was slated to get out of prison September 29th but that is no longer the case. The rapper is currently back at the same halfway house he was scheduled to live in before he was taken back to prison because of drama surrounding his tour bus ride. Controversy swirled around the fact that officials believed T.I. was conducting business on the tour bus. T.I.’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, offers reasoning to why T.I. was released from prison before September 29th:

“We have good reason to believe that this favorable result was reached because of the proactive and assertive approach taken to protect T.I.’s rights by providing B.O.P. officials and the media with reliable and accurate information and that T.I. did not intend to violate his transfer furlough or any other B.O.P. rules en route from the prison facility in Arkansas to the halfway house in Atlanta.”

Check out pics of TIP as he enters the halfway house:

I’m sure that T.I. is looking forward to September 29th because that will be the day that he is released from custody. From there forward, he will only have to serve a year of probation. Are you happy that T.I. is out of prison again?

50 Cent, & More Hit The Street King Launch & Others More Get "Stylish"

50 Cent launched his new "Street King" line of drinks with a double decker tourbus and an after party at the Hudson Hotel Library Bar.

First 50 and the ladies downed SK mini bottles in Times Square.

Then.............

50 and his friends gathered to drink up.

50 Cent and Tika Sumpter also kicked it at the after party at the Hudson.

Looking good Tika!

Omarion was there.

Tyson Beckford added some model flair to the red carpet.

Pepa tried the new "Street Kings."

Jesse Williams and Angela Simmons also met and kicked it.

BJ Coleman also attended.

Corinne Bailey Rae was there in a black sequin evening gown.

Also in New York
Us Weekly held a party for the 25 Most Stylish New Yorkers Of 2011 at the Penthouse (PH-D) at Dream Downtown.

Carmelo And LaLa Anthony were among the stylish New Yorkers at the event. But I bet LaLa was the only one with a billboard in Times Square!

Ashanti also made the rounds.

Estelle posed with Questlove at the party.

Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson wore a sexy black and lace mini-dress to the event.

Mr. Qream himself, Pharrell Williams, was also in the building.

FUN, FUN, FUN in NYC!

FIGHT FLASHBACK:Well what’s going on here? I Need Answers

For some reason at Wednesday nights weight-in Floyd Mayweather thought it prudent to suck on his opponent Victor Otiz.

From RingTV

Danny Garcia, Ortiz's trainer, is shown on the far right in the photo behind Ortiz. From that position, Garcia said that he didn't see what was going on.
"I didn't see that at first. I just thought that they were close. But what do I think right now?" asked Garcia?

"Floyd's f---king gay. I don't know why he would do something like that. Use the gloves, man.
Use the gloves.".

AND THE PIED PIPER SPEAKS: R. Kelly Sees Chris Brown, Trey Songz as Potential Successors

R. Kelly made a rare appearance during the close of New York Fashion Week. Kellz suited up and had the well-dressed crowd sweating to his R&B jams during ARISE Magazine’s Made in Africa fashion show after-party at the Jumeirah Essex House in New York City.
“All I can say is R muthercking Kelly. If you weren’t at the Essex house for the Arise Mag party, you missed a legendary affair,” tweeted DJ Cassidy. “When R Kelly joined me on stage and we ran through classics, people didn’t know what to do with themselves.”

The R&B veteran, who just announced the title of his next album Black Panties, is not slowing down anytime soon. But when asked who he sees as potential heirs to his musical throne, he named Trey Songz and Chris Brown.
While he and Trey may have had their differences in the past, Kellz still gave the “Bottoms Up” singer props. “Trey Songz is a guy that if he keeps with the hits and he humbles himself a little more, he will definitely be one of the runner-ups,” he told WGCI Chicago’s “Tony Sculfield & The Morning Riot.”

He had more flattering words to say about Breezy, who he took under his wing when he was a teen. “Chris Brown is already there,” he said. “He’s a humble guy. I got the utmost respect for Chris Brown. My hat goes off to him because he got in the studio, he did what he was supposed to do, and he bounced back like round ball.”

Rihanna Touches Down in Brazil

Making her first trip to the land of the Amazon, Rihanna was spotted arriving in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Sporting a gray coat and white top with sunglasses, the “Disturbia” songstress covered her face with her assistant’s hoodie as she made her way through the terminal.
Rihanna is in Brazil ahead of her sure-to-be-amazin concert tomorrow as she continues on her current world tour.

Additionally, she tweeted details about her much anticipated forthcoming album’s release date- “THIS FALL!!!!”

Ice-T Disses Rick Ross & Lil Wayne

Wow, rapper/actor/reality TV star Ice-T went in on Rick Ross in a recent interview with VH1. At a screening for VH1′s documentary Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation. “Don’t start that article with none of that Ice-T disses Rick Ross bullsh*t,” Ice-T says right after dissing Rick Ross. Ice–T who was friends with the original Freeway Rick Ross has this to say about rapper/producer Rick Ross:  

“That’s fake,” Ice-T blurts out. “Rick Ross stole a n****’s name. I call him ‘Identity Crisis.’ He thinks he’s [Freeway] Rick Ross, he thinks he’s Larry Hoover, he thinks he’s Big Meech, he thinks he’s MC Hammer, he thinks he’s Tupac. Like, who the f*ck are you really, dude?”

Ice continues, “When we rapped about dope— me, Snoop and everybody—it was like we doin’ it because we GOT to. Now these n***** is actin’ like it’s somethin’ that’s FUN. It’s so easy to fantasize about it. To actively do it? That’s a whole ‘nother f*ckin’ thing.

To Ice-T, the issue with rap music these days has to do with accountability. “You can tell kids these days any motherf*****’ thing and they’ll believe it,” he laments. “There’s not a code of accountability in hip hop. When I came out, if you said it, you HAD to be about it. N***** would check you really quickly.”

At this point, I press Ice on whether he thinks there’s a famous rapper out there right now who has enough visibility and credibility who can serve as a rap ombudsman, if you will. According to Ice-T, that’s not really the issue, though. It’s more that rap, as a musical artform, has changed.  

“Rap is pop right now,” he explains. “Q-Tip said, ‘Rap is not pop. If you call it that, then stop.’ Rap was a counterculture that went against pop. But when you have Rihanna singin’ on your records and you’re doin’ records with Katy Perry, that’s no longer rap. It’s pop music, pop using rap delivery. When you hear Lil Wayne sayin’ ‘I got a chopper in the car,’ you go, ‘Yeah, right you do.‘”

Hmmm, could this be setting the stage a battle between ol school rappers and new age hip pop performers?

What do you think?

FOOLYWANG MATERIAL: Ron Artest & His Gold Daisey Dukes Dance It Up

WHY is this happening Ron Artest?? We know you love your Laker purple & gold...but this ish right here....

Check out Ron's daisey dukes and baby tee practice uniform inside...

So Ron hopped out his car yesterday to attend dance practice or "DWTS" yesterday. And gave the paps a package. THAT package.

WHAT IN THE WORLD. He's always a comedian. On a side note: Now we see one good reason Kimsha sticks around even though they're divorced. Just sayin'...

And finally from “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
“So Long Sweet Summer”

Summer is over and it’s starting to get a bit chilly out there folks, so remember to dress accordingly so your ass cheeks don’t frost over.   

SEE YA!!!!
EFREM