Today, we have Beyoncé and Idris, but before they were heating up Google images, there was Eartha Kitt and Billy Dee Williams. With movie star good looks and the magic to make grown men and women cry, these 15 stars gave us nothing but sex appeal and our parents and grandparents loved it! Here are some of the best black sex symbols of yesteryear!

Source: Promotional Photos/Google Images

Billy Dee Williams

“Oh Billy Dee” is what all of our grandmothers said whenever the mere shadow of this actor came on a screen. Billy Dee was so hot that Diana Ross couldn’t  stop acting with him, appearing with him in Lady Sings the Blues and Mahogany.  Billy even made the hood-classic drink Colt 45 hot. Who else can do that?

From SingleBlackMale

So many girls are raised thinking that the world is perfect and they will grow up to be a princess. I know that when I have my daughter, I’ll probably tell her stories of Persia, Ancient Egypt and Sparta. I don’t really want my daughter to grow up to be a Princess; I want her to grow up to be a Spartan woman. I don’t want to be the father who tells his daughter all of these tales of happy endings, and she gets older only to find out they were all lies. Most of those stories from our youth were great, I think there was some truth to them, but I don’t think it was explained all that well.

“I can remember stories, those things my mother said
She told me fairy tales, before I went to bed
She spoke of happy endings, then tucked me in real tight
She turned my night light on, and kissed my face good night
My mind would fill with visions, of perfect paradise
She told me everything, she said he’d be so nice
He’d ride up on his horse and, take me away one night
I’d be so happy with him, we’d ride clean out of sight
She never said that we would, curse, cry and scream and lie
She never said that maybe, someday he’d say goodbye”
(Anita Baker – Fairy Tales)

I always loved that song as a child.  Now, take for example, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, and Nala. I’m going to break this down in a way that will relate this to the real world in the most realest way ever.

Read more at SingleBlackMale.org.

Source: Soundcloud

Anita Baker may not be front and center of the mainstream music scene anymore but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still have it. The soul singer with the sultry jazz voice that gave us hits like “I apologize,” “Body and Soul,” and “Giving You The Best That I Got” is back at it and giving us something you don’t often hear of. New artists are notorious for remaking old classics, but Anita took a song from a newer artist and decided to make it her own.

Many women fell in love with Tyrese’s 1999 hit “Lately” but now Anita is throwing her own contralto take on the semi-old school hit. Take a listen and tell us what you think. Whose version are you feeling most?

More on Madame Noire!

• Are They Related? 10 Sets of Celebrities Who Look Way Too Much Alike
• Woo Woo Woo: 8 Celebs Who Really Need A Hug
• Ask a Very Smart Brotha Live: When Should I Introduce Him to My Son?
• Yeezy and His “Perfect B****” Are a Perfect Match: The Importance of Dating Someone With The Same Values
• LOL! The Funniest “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” Parody Ever In Life
• Somebody Lied to You And Your Lacefront: 9 Celebs Who Need a Lacefront Wig Intervention
• Lolo Jones and Her Pretty Girl Problem

The list of singers who will be performing on “VH1 Divas Celebrate Soul” just keeps on growing. Ms. Anita Baker has now been added to the lineup along with Mavis Staples, Wanda Jackson, and Ledisi.

As the show’s headliners, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Jennifer Hudson, Jessie J., Kelly Clarkson, and Florence + The Machine will all pay tribute to the cities that have had a significant impact on Soul music like Chicago, Detroit, London, Memphis and Philadelphia. Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Boyz II Men, Estelle, Marsha Ambrosius and Travie McCoy have also been asked to join the mix as performers.

The show is just one week away from airing on VH1 Dec. 19 at 9pm. Who are you most excited to see?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• WEEKEND WRAP UP: Kat Williams Wins Back Custody, Common vs. Drake? + More!
• Over Age Acne? Learn How To Beat the Bumps
• The Odd Couple: Hollywood’s Most Shocking Relationships
• Changing Faces: Common Cosmetic Surgeries Performed in 2011
• Do You Have a Love List?
• Unforgivable Hood Baby Names: Celebrity Edition
• Family Feud: Celebrity ‘Blood’ Battles

It is no secret that 23-year old soul songstress Jazmine Sullivan has a short fuse. On her latest track, “10 Seconds,” the Grammy-nominated singer gave her cheating man a 10-second warning before she started “throwing and breaking s**t”—but who would have guessed that the same deadline applied to the budding singer’s mainstream career. After announcing her hiatus from music earlier this week—only three years in—fans were left wondering why Sullivan had opted for only 15 minutes of fame. After plenty of head scratching we began to think that maybe Sullivan’s short fuse with the music industry was justified because of its unwillingness to embrace Neo-Soul artists such as her.

Here are the top 10 reasons why we are losing our “Jazmine Sullivans”:

We were pleased to find out that Anita Baker was performing the National Anthem at Game 4 of the NBA finals. Too bad her promise to “raise eyebrows” was fulfilled for all the wrong reasons.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Grammy Award-winning legend will be front-and-center to perform for the Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers game tonight. Singing the national anthem to 215 countries and territories in TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, this is Game 4 of the finals.

Read the rest of this entry »