Source: WENN

What were these celebrities thinking when they made these silly comments? Did they really think the other person would laugh it off or not react. We’re sure they will think twice before they open their big mouths again or do something else outrageous.

It has been a few days since Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison for tax evasion, and since then, she has been mum so far on her thoughts about the whole situation. What we do know now is that Hill will have to report to prison on July 8. But before she was even sentenced, many of her fans, including a few celebrity ones, were pulling together to lobby for the singer to get a more lenient sentence. In a way, it seemed to work because Hill was facing a year each for three counts, and in the end, she only received three months, and she could possibly end up doing less depending on her behavior inside and considering other factors. But the singer took to her blog to thank the individuals who wrote on her behalf from around the world, including Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder, and she says that she plans to share her thoughts on her situation soon:

I want to extend a sincere thank you to the following people, who wrote letters to the judge on my behalf:

Linda Banks, Edison, NJ

Davonne Breedlove

Binna Choi, Beijing, China

Hafiz Farid, East Orange, NJ

Miriam Anne Banks Farrakhan, Union, NJ

Vincent Gardner, New York, NY

Michael Green, Fair Bluff, NC

Elitta Harden, Ft Worth, TX

Mrs. Valarie Hill, South Orange, NJ

Maureen Hogan, Jersey City, NJ

Walter Jones, New York, NY

Alicia Keys

Elena Lau, Toronto, Canada

Jerald Miller, New York, NY

Tracy Morris, Jacksonville Beach, FL

Elise Munoz, France

Bunmi Olukoya, Laurel, MD

Jimmie Pierre, Trenton, NJ

Cherisse Pittman

Gabrielle Fulton Ponder, Atlanta, GA

Dominique Reese, Oakland, CA

Chris Schwartz, Philadelphia, PA

Ashley Scott, Brooklyn, NY

Derek Singletary, Astoria, NY

Dr. Sara Tai, Manchester, UK

Suzette Williams, Teaneck, NJ

Lisa Willis, Philadelphia, PA

Stevie Wonder

Jonathan Wunderlich, Cabarete, DR

 

And thank you Jerald Miller, for taking the initiative to put this together.

I also want to thank all of my family, friends, business associates, and fans who have called, emailed, sent texts, and posted messages of concern, encouragement, and support. I appreciate the well wishes, and I thank you for your prayers.

Also, to anyone who may have written letters that we did not know about, thank you also, all of you.

I will have more to say soon, but did not want to further delay expressing my appreciation.

 

Thank you again,

MLH

Lauryn Hill has so much to offer the world with her talent, and it’s a shame that she’ll have to do any real time. But as she used to say, “big ups” to all the people who found the time to write the judge and stand by the singer during such a trying time. Can’t wait to hear what her thoughts are on everything currently happening in her life.

Even though Alicia Keys just released a new music video for the sultry jam, “Fire We Make” with Maxwell last week, there’s no stopping the girl now, as she just dropped the video for her Swizz Beatz and Dr. Dre-produced jam, “New Day.” (Not to be confused with the 50 Cent song that her vocals were featured on, as well as Dr. Dre’s.) Guess she finally realized that “Girl On Fire” had its moment and it was time to move on like five months ago.

In the video, the beautiful singer can be seen meeting up with her background dancers in an ally to bust a move, doing so in a hot bustier-type beaded top and black pants (can we agree that her hair these days is just fabulous??). She’s also seen in concert performing the song while flashing images of New York City go by and an image of her face, lyrics to the track, and the title of the song is slowly but surely spray painted on a wall. It’s definitely a fashionable video and it makes me appreciate the song a bit more, but I’ll probably stick to “Fire We Make” for now, just because Maxwell is my husband and what not…

But anywho, check out the video below and let us know what you think. Is it a pass or play?

Which song would you like to see her make into a video next from her Girl on Fire album?

Source: WENN

You’re not the only person who was out here putting the poster of a celebrity crush on your wall back in the day. Some of the celebrities we jam to today have been open about the fact that they were doing the same thing at one time, and maybe even a little bit more. Just ask rapper J. Cole.

During an interview with The Fat Jew for The Crosby Press, the very cute MC was asked about the women he encounters at his shows, and instead of bragging or telling a sordid groupie tale like most rappers, he threw himself under the bus–in a comical way. He opened up about his own past being a fanatic for no other than Alicia Keys, which is why he can’t even hate on the women who go hard trying to meet and mess with celebs after shows:

“You know what? I have fanatic tendencies in me too. Alicia Keys, I one time…this is going to be crazy. When I was like 14, Alicia Keys just came out. I was in love with her. You can ask my mom, she’ll tell you. Super duper crush on Alicia Keys. There were a few of these in my life. Mariah Carey was one when I was real young. Alicia Keys when I was a little older. I felt like I had a chance. So I’m at this Alicia Keys concert with my cousin in Dallas, I’m 14 mind you…needing Alicia Keys. She does her set. They had a bunch of other people performing. She ends her performance and I tell my cousin, ‘Yo, there’s only one place she can go. She gotta leave from the back.’ So I convinced my cousin to go the back, so now the same things girls are doing to me in the shows, I was that guy. ”

“So you see a young Jermaine Cole, trying to be smooth. I don’t even speak cause I think she’s just going to see me. Nothing. I’m behind the gate, and she just got in her car and went. But the way I thought it was going to go was she was going to be like ‘You! [points] 14-year-old boy!’ So, I say all that to say, there’s nothing really weird to me that a fan can do. … I get it.” I was 14, [but in my head] it was going to be perfect [laughs].”

Big laugh at him thinking he was really going to meet her outside and get play. But that’s pubescent teenagers for you.

Check out the funny interview on the next page!

As she played the first chords, something within me knew that I was about to discover the anthem for this season of my life. Then came the lyrics— It’s been a while…I’m not who I was before… As she continued singing “Brand New Me,” scenes of my life—friendships, fears, and pain—played in my head. Alicia Keys had written a song for me. (I’m almost completely serious about that.) Hearing her close with “It’s a brand new time for me…yeah…” sounded more like “It is finished.” I immediately got out of bed and went to the salon to chop my hair off (again), but this time I resolved that it (my hair) would not be my glory and that no one and nothing would keep me from my destiny. This girl was on fire! Nobody could tell me nothin!

Fancy earrings, selfies, and a shopping spree at the thrift store were only the beginning. The caged bird was finally flying. My passion to write was restored, I was meeting new people, I was traveling, I was laughing, I was dancing, and I wasn’t crying anymore. There was no pain. I’d dealt with the idols in my heart and turned in my counterfeit gods.  I could finally breathe. That is until one day, months later, a very dear friend of mine dropped a bomb on me—I’d changed. I’d stopped contacting her as much, I was short in my responses when I did, I wasn’t as concerned with her welfare, and the list went on.

My first thought: HATER. Dang. One of my best friends isn’t happy for me? Really?!? If [she] was worth the while, she’d be happy to see my smile. My response: I did what all the self-help people tell you to do. I decided to surround myself with positive people and not allow any negative energy to bring me down. Derailment avoided. But now, this freedom train was carrying loads of guilt. Had I changed? Was my friend really just hating? Was I willing to lose this friend in order to stay positive? Yes, no and absolutely not.

Some of my change was long overdue and meant freedom, so it couldn’t be bad.  But I began to recall Prince’s surprising words during his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame speech. He’d said, “I learned that too much freedom can lead to the soul’s decay.” Whoa.

Indeed, other aspects of my change were loaded with pride and selfishness. I’d gone from one extreme (dependence) to the next (independence).  My pursuit of happiness had quickly become a path of self-preservation that abandoned chivalry. I didn’t want to hear anyone’s bad news nor did I want to be anyone’s shoulder to cry on. I wanted to think and reason for myself and define things as I saw fit.  And I didn’t want to feel bad for enjoying this new way of life. Yet, I had to consider that while there are people who literally do no want to see you prosper, there are others who wrestle with their own discontentment and have yet to overcome it in order to celebrate you. They are not liberated, so your freedom mocks theirs. Your happiness taunts their depression. Your smile laughs at their tears. And beyond that, they weren’t prepared for the new you. You all have not been re-introduced.

But that reintroduction will take time and seemingly slow you down. And if life is a race in which winning is determined by who allows the least amount of pain, burden, arguments, and frustration to enter into their lives before they cross the finish line, then the best thing for you to do is to avoid negativity at all costs. Don’t slow down. Avoid the depressed, avoid pessimists, avoid quitters, avoid opponents, avoid, avoid, avoid. But that’s not what life is. And we know it. We know that because we’ve been depressed, we’ve been pessimistic, we’ve wanted to quit (or have quit) something, and we’ve been opposed to things and people. We would be avoided and left aside on the road waiting on a good Samaritan all the same. I can’t speak for Alicia’s situation—it is actually her song about her own life—so her resolve could very well be the best for her, and I will continue to cheer for her freedom. (Die hard fan over here.) But sometimes the people who challenge and frustrate us, or interrupt our lives the most, are the people who will actually help transform us into better people. So, in turn, the path of least resistance can often be the path to mediocrity, self-righteousness, and incompleteness even if it looks like we’re on the yellow brick road.

After apologizing to my friend, and hopefully mending our broken relationship, I wondered how I could pursue my dreams and be happy without becoming a mean girl and losing sight of what is true and good? I knew it would have to involve resetting my moral compass by an unchanging north star. And I recalled that North Star being what my pastor always says: “Love God, love people, and do whatever else you want. The restriction is in the first two.”

That’s a brand new kinda free…yeah.

There’s not too many people in music who can put out the caliber of music Prince has since he debuted in the late ’70s. And maybe it’s for that reason so many artists, young and old, new and veterans, have tried to cover his joints and make them their own. Even Janelle Monáe and Tina Turner have done his work live and in concert. But it’s hard to outdo or really “cover” the Purple One.  However, these people gave it a try and released their attempts as singles. Some to great success, others to some “what-the-hot-hell??” results. But hey, it never hurts to try, right? Check out these cover attempts and let us know which ones were good, and which one’s you thought missed the mark.

*The original Prince tracks (which were hard to find) have been hyperlinked in the descriptions if you’d like to take a walk down memory lane…

Source: YouTube

We almost don’t even need to ask “pass or play” on this one. This song, the meshing of Keys’ and Maxwell’s vocals is pure perfection. A stark deviation from the new style of music Keys has been promoting for the past several months, “Fire We Make” is slow, smooth and sultry. And now there a visuals conveying that same sentiment.

The video, set in a steamy New Orleans bed and breakfast, features Keys and Maxwell yearning for each other.

I do have to note that Maxwell and his lips are looking particularly scrumptious in this video. We know he doesn’t want to be considered a sex symbol but he shouldn’t dismiss God’s masterpiece.

Anyway he also sings flawlessly in this video so check he and Alicia out and let us know what you think of this song. Are you passing on it or playing the mess out of the track?

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Not too long ago, we were wondering what exactly happened to the whole BlackBerry/Alicia Keys relationship. After a big splashy announcement that she would be serving as global creative director, it seemed like Keys kind of disappeared.

Not true, said Frank Boulben, BlackBerry’s chief marketing officer. “Ms. Keys has sat in on five marketing meetings with the company, even presenting her own PowerPoint slides at one, he said. She is also expected to give a presentation at the company’s upcoming BlackBerry Live event,” reports Ad Age. Boulben spoke yesterday at the Ad Age Digital Conference. Ad Age says that bringing Keys’ input into the company’s marketing is a way for the company to appear both professional and “cool.”

Business Insider notes that these celebrity partnerships are usually just for show. “But a ‘global creative director’ actually contributing their own input to a brand’s marketing strategy is relatively unheard of. Brand ambassadors usually get by just flashing a logo every now and then — Keys’ PowerPoint presentation takes the role to a new level,” they say.

Of course the big question is whether Keys’ contribution is valuable. Sales will tell.

Source: WENN

Everyone knows that Kandi Burruss is a hitmaker. Being able to purchase her first home at 19 years old, it’s clear that this woman has been thinking business for a long time. Despite what some of her Real Houswives’ cast mates and even former group members would have us believe about her, Kandi has more than proven she’s not one to sleep on. In addition to writing bangers, she was also the first African American woman to be named songwriter of the year by the prestigious American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) in 2000. Her accolades are numerous but we’re sure that you really don’t know ’bout Kandi like you should. So in an effort to be informed, check out the hits Kandi’s made over the years. We’re sure there will be some surprises.

Just because you haven’t heard another rendition of Alicia Keys’ latest single lately doesn’t mean the girl isn’t still on fire. A. Keys is one of three talented ladies covering Elle magazine’s May “Women in Music” issue.

According to the mag’s site:

For this year’s Women in Music Issue, the ELLE team traveled from L.A. to London to capture three of today’s brightest stars—Adele, Alicia Keys, and Rita Ora—for our rotating covers. How did we pull it off? Photographer Thomas Whiteside: “We photographed Adele at L.A.’s iconic EastWest Studios, where Frank Sinatra recorded his greatest hits….

Assistant Fashion Editor Sarah Schussheim: “Across the street, we shot Alicia on the rooftop of Siren Studios. She radiated cool New York glamour, relaxing and singing along to a Grace Jones album.” Photographer Doug Inglish: “Alicia brought her two-year-old son, Egypt, and played with him constantly.”

So far, Elle has only released Adele’s final cover, but Alicia Keys looks pretty gorgeous in this shot from inside the mag. MTV Style got a few additional insider details on her shoot, writing:

For Alicia’s shoot, she went ALL. OUT in a fiery red Jean Paul Gaultier turtleneck with a matching pout. According to the mag, she sang along to a Grace Jones album during the shoot to really channel that ’90s vibe, and we can tell!

So can we! These issues should hit newsstands any day now, but if you can’t wait, check out the shots of Adele and Rita Ora on the next couple pages.

What do you think?