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Not good news for Akon. A company that worked with the singer on a website is suing for more than $127,000 for work to create Fantrace,  reports TMZ. Akon and two business partners created Fantrace, which was to be sort of a Facebook-style site where fans could interact with celebrities.

Atlanta Business Video (ABV) claims in the suit that it was hired in 2011 to cut video for Fantrace but was never paid. ABV says it put in 1,023 hours of work — worth $127,875 — to take Fantrace live.

In its mission statement,  Fantrace  says its goal “is to break down the walls between fans and their favorite celebrities. Musical artists, actors, entertainers, comedians, and athletes can all come face to face with their most loyal fans and communicate on a one-on-one level.” But according to social media experts, the site has not done well. The site’s homepage says it offers a variety of services — sweepstakes, a social network, celebrity videos, and event services — but there isn’t much that indicates how exactly these services are offered.

Have you ever even heard of Fantrace?

The world of fame guarantees that all of your personal business will be aired out; it’s the simple downside to a life that’s decorated with the finer things. Even so, many celebrities, for years, have managed to keep small nuggets of knowledge about their past and personal lives from the public for long stints of time before that info is unearthed. We learned as much from Janet Jackson’s secret marriage.

So, in the interest of discovery, here’s a list of little known, but more fun facts about some of your favorite celebrities.

PNP/ WENN.com

Jamie Foxx

As a 2nd grader, Django Unchained star, Jamie Foxx was so talented at telling jokes, his teacher used him as a reward for the hard work and cooperation of her students. If the class behaved, Jamie would entertain them.

It’s officially the internet age and everything celebrities Tweet, speak or claim is recorded. But that fact escapes a few of the rich and famous from time to time. Here are a few big celebrity lies your favorite stars have been caught in.

Photo Credit: FayesVision/WENN.com

Tyga

This all started when TMZ posted a clip of Tyga from an unaired MTV show called “Bustas.” In it, an 18-year-old Tyga bragged that he was named after Tiger Woods by wealthy parents who drove Range Rovers and brought him up in The Valley.

And that was news to Tyga fans who thought that the rapper was from Compton. Since the video’s release, Tyga says his parents were only wealthy during the time they were taping the show and that he’s really from Compton. OK Tyga.

Another week has come to a close and as usual, your fave celebs gave us a little “tea” to sip on.  Check out what you may have missed this week!

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By Charlotte Young

In the royal hip hop empire, there are no deficits or credit score downgrades among the Cash Kings.
There are however, collaborations. Almost as if in celebration of their Cash King status, Jay-Z and Kanye West released their long-awaited collaboration “Watch the Throne,” this week. Forbes reports that among the top earning rappers, Jay-Z is number one; his earnings this past month added up to $37 million while West came in third.

Jay-Z owes his year’s earning to the close of his Blueprint 3 Tour and vast selection of business ventures. In second was Diddy, who earned $35 million, about half of which came from his partnership with Diageo’s Ciroc Vodka. In third place, West made $16 million. His profits are sure to skyrocket this fall as he joins Jay-Z on a co-headlining tour.

The duo are “hip hop ambassadors,” according to Steve Stoute, chief of the branding firm Translation and author of The Tanning of America. Not only have they taken the production to the next level, they know how to reach a global crowd and launched their album around the world exclusively on Apple’s iTunes.

In fourth place, Lil Wayne tied with his mentor and label boss, Birdman. Just out of an eight-month jail sentence, he’s released an album and has performed from Buffalo to Vancouver, making about $15 million. Birdman tells Forbes that he has “billion dollar dreams,” and promised that they’ll be in the number one spot soon.
Swizz Beats earned the number 15 spot with $6.5 million. He wrote in an email to Forbes that he also plans to claim the number one spot.

Other rappers, such as newcomer to the list Wiz Khalifa in the number 11 spot, are just surprised and pleased to have made it to the top and proclaimed, “that’s what’s up!” Another newcomer is Nicki Minaj, who tied with Swizz Beats for the number 15 spot. Minaj also has the honor of becoming the first female rapper to ever land a spot among the Cash Kings.

In total, the top 20 Cash Kings made a combined $271 million from live shows, recorded music sales, endorsements and various entrepreneurial ventures. Thirteen of them earned $10 million or more. Earnings are determined based from the sum earned from May 2010 to May 2011 and originate from several different sources of data including Nielsen SoundScan, individual record labels and interviews.

Here’s the full list of the Top 20 Rappers:

Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter– $37 million

Sean “Diddy Combs–$35 million

Kanye West– $16 million

Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter and Birdman– $15 million

Marshall “Eminem” Mathers, Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, Snoog Dogg and Akon– $14 million

Ludacris– $12 million

Wiz Khalifa and Aubrey “Drake” Graham– $11 million

Pharrel Williams–$10 million

Timbaland– $7 million

Swizz Beats and Nicki Minaj– $6.5 million

Rick Ross, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Pitbull–$6 million

T-Pain and Bobby “B.o.B” Simmons, Jr. — $5 million

Since the new millennium artists have emerged that rival the popularity of legends that spent decades building their careers. They are reaching audiences worldwide due in large part to their abilities to blur the lines between genres and generate cross-cultural appeal. Whether by signing them or producing monster hits, many seasoned African-American artists are behind these megastars.  The Atlanta Post rounds up six:

Lady Gaga and Akon

Lady Gaga is currently the biggest music star in the world.  Her latest album “Born This Way” recently sold over 1 million records in less than a week.  Much of her success can be accredited to Akon.  Recognizing her vocal ability Akon convinced Interscope records to sign Gaga in a joint deal with his record label, Kon Live Distribution.  In the past he has referred to her as his “franchise player” and recently admitted to considering retirement due to the income the “Mother Monster” is bringing in.

Hip-hop artists continue to break records when it comes to business dealings. Although it’s no longer a rare occurrence to see a rapper land a multi-million dollar endorsement deal, it’s still fascinating to see how well these brandmakers have infiltrated the mainstream and have become the go-to sources to help hawk and sell products.  Not to mention, rappers have become an inspiration for African-American entrepreneurship, having become owners of their music and business offshoots like fashion labels. Here’s a list of some of the biggest deals that have helped to enrich the bank accounts of the biggest names in the rap game.

50 Cent

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson boldly thanked Vitamin Water during a televised performance a few years ago. That’s probably because his deal with the company turned into one of the biggest in hip hop history. In May 2007, Coca-Cola  bought Vitamin Water for $4.1 billion. Timing is everything, as 50 cent had recently bought into the bottled water company. After the sale,  business experts estimated his take from that sale, after taxes, was about $100 million.

There’s so much hoopla these days about identity in America. Black president? Scream! White fashion editor at Essence magazine? Scream! We’ve decided to give you a snapshot of diversity that transcends “black” and “white”: a list of celebs who practice varied religions. Here’s to celebrating difference—and the joys of humankind. Check out our list and let us know in the comments section if there are any celebs or religions you’d love to add.

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