Image Source: WENN.com

I can still remember when the Control album came out and you’re telling me janet. is 20 years old?! Someone hand me a cane because I must be old as…anyway.

Janet Jackson spoke with Billboard about the 20th anniversary and where she was mentally during the creative process.  If you’re old enough to remember (don’t leave me hanging, I know some of you are), janet. hit a very high sexual peak.  Some of the songs we could only sing while our parents weren’t around or with headphones in our rooms…with the door closed. Yes, that was intentional on Janet’s part:

“I can’t believe it is already 20 years! I always write my music based on what is going on in my life at the time. I wanted to allow people in… I want my fans to really know me. The ‘janet’ album was sexual and I was beginning to really discover that side of me.”

Yes girl, don’t we know it! From the clear lyrics to the dance moves, Janet let us know what was on her mind and what she wanted to do about it. Producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were geniuses in how they put it all together for her.

But what does she think about artists like Kendrick Lamar who’ve sampled her music and given their take on it?

“I have listened to the music that is out there and I love Kendrick’s “Poetic Justice.” There are artists, true performers that have come before me who have been a big inspiration to me. I hope I do the same for others.”

Oh and about that new music? It wasn’t much but Janet gave just a glimmer of hope:

“I am working on a new project now. We are creating the concept and initial thoughts on the music.”

Don’t be mad at me, fans – I told you it wasn’t much! But if you still get excited about the idea of a new Janet Jackson album, it sounds like you have something to look forward to!

Did you own the janet. album? If so, what was your favorite song? Would you buy a new Janet Jackson album or do you think her time has passed?

Source: AP Images

Beyoncé told ya’ll on April 4, 2008 somebody put a ring on it. And today she, that somebody and their mommas celebrated that day in Cuba. We’re talking Beyoncé and Jay-Z’ anniversary ya’ll. We know there are plenty of Beyoncé haters to go around but those same haters are curious to see what homegirl is wearing and what not. Beyoncé, who’s back to box braids, is sporting a printed tunic and skirt (?) and a red lip. While Jay-Z puffs on the cigar that has become his staple. Click through and check out pics from the couple’s vacay.

Martin Luther King, III with Lenfest Broadcasting President Jon Gorchow at the December announcement that Bounce was heading to Philly. Image: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Have you seen Bounce TV yet? Well, a growing number of you have being watching it. Bounce TV, the network focused squarely on programming for African-American audiences, is readying for its one-year anniversary on September 26. And the network has announced a slew of new business deals.

Since its founding in 2011 by Martin Luther King III and civil rights legend Ambassador Andrew Young, Bounce TV says it has reached up to 80 percent of African American homes. It is currently in 17 of the top 20 African-American markets and in more than 60 percent of total U.S. television households. So if you’re living in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, DC, Atlanta or Philly, for example, no doubt you’ve caught Bounce TV.

In 10 days, Bounce TV will go on the air in Detroit, Phoenix, Minneapolis and Orlando too. Bounce TV also released news that it has inked its first motion picture licensing agreement with Lionsgate that will allow Bounce to broadcast a package of African American-skewing Lionsgate movies, such as  Halle Berry’s Academy Award-winning performance in Monster’s Ball and Pride starring Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac.

“I am very proud of our network and the amazing growth it has enjoyed. Bounce TV’s rapid expansion validates the need for free programming for our under-served community,” said King, a member of Bounce TV’s board of directors, in a press statement.

Bounce TV targets African Americans primarily between the ages of 25 and 54 with movies, live sports, documentaries, original series and more. It airs 24 hours per day, seven days a week on the digital signals of local television stations.

With African Americans watching more television than other segments of the population, according to Nielsen research, Bounce TV may well be on is way to becoming the  major TV network.

Source: Mrsgrapevine.com

Boris Kodjoe may get a few side-eyes for his Twitter commentary but one thing we can’t argue with is that this man loves his wife, Nicole Ari Parker. Today, the gorgeous couple is celebrating their seventh anniversary and the man who brought two lovely children into the world with his former “Soul Food” co-star chose to commemorate the special day with a surprise, one-of-a-kind poem for his wife on Essence.com:

My Seven Year Itch

You’ve always been my itch, so many ways you’ve touched my body, mind and soul from the moment He designed our paths to cross, finally.

You’ve always been my itch, so good to me I’ve wanted you day after day, night after night, making me wonder how my body was able to be without you all this while, before our very first touch.

You’ve always been my itch, giving wings to my thoughts, encouraging them to unforeseen heights, where I would build our castle in the sky, fit for a king and his queen.

You’ve always been my itch, filling my spirit with comfort and peace like I hadn’t felt since a child in Oma’s garden, so familiar and yet so new.

You’ve always been my itch. My seven year, seven days a week, 24/7 itch I always want, desire, crave, and never ever want to be without.
Not for seven seconds.

Nicole,
Happy 7th anniversary
Let’s do this again
I love you more

A couple of months ago, Boris told Essence that men need to learn to be more present in their relationships and make a woman feel special at all times. He certainly is a man of his word. Love, love, love these two!

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

Source: Classic Movies

Lifetime has been airing ‘The Bodyguard’ nearly every weekend since Whitney Houston passed, but now fans will have a chance to see the 1992 love story on the big screen again.

On March 28, these select theaters will show the film for one night only, not only in honor of Whitney Houston but also the film’s 20th Anniversary. When “The Bodyguard” was released in 1992, it became one of the highest-grossing films of the year both in North America and worldwide, and it has stood out over time for it’s soundtrack featuring Whitney singing her classics, “Run to You,” “I Have Nothing,” and of course, “I Will Always Love You.”

Another look on the big screen will also give fans a chance to look back on the chemistry Whitney Houston’s co-star Kevin Costner talked about at her funeral, and her questioning whether she was good enough. He said, “Whitney, if you could hear me now, I would tell you you weren’t just good enough. You were great.”

Check out the list of participating theaters here. Do you plan on heading to see “The Bodyguard” again March 28?

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

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It has been a minute since I’ve seen Elise Neal around–on TV and on the red carpet–so I was excited to see her stepping out this past weekend for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s 50th Anniversary Gala. Now, as for being excited or inspired by her outfit, we’ll leave that up to you to determine.

While some went for major ballgowns and others picked out pretty cocktail dresses, Neal went for something in between with this red dress that showed off an angled red skirt. The red dress was covered in a lot of bright beading and sequins that hugged her figure very nicely. To accent the spaghetti strapped dress, she showed off shiny tan closed-toe heels (which were on display thanks to the open angled skirt) and a scalloped clutch that matched the shoes. Her jewelry was minimal, while the hair was very conservative. She went for bangs and a tucked under roll atop the crown of her hair. The makeup was fab, and so was the glistening skin.

Let’s keep it 100: this outfit is a mess. Instead of a red carpet worthy ensemble, this dress reminds me of something my sister and her classmates were wearing to prom way back in the day. The back of the dress isn’t soooo bad though. But while a little sparkle never hurts, all the sparkle, beads and the designs they made on top of that randomly angled skirt were just way over the top. And something even more over the top might have been the hair–but in actuality, that might be what makes the whole ensemble match (a matching over the top mess). She looks amazing underneath all the mess, but next red carpet, we hope she tones it down a little. Okay, I’m kidding, we hope she tones it down a lot. But what do you think?

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On this day 10 years ago, Aaliyah Dana Haughton passed on to the next life after 22 short years on this earth. In the time she was here, she changed the image of the R&B singer, normally adorned in shiny dresses, faces covered in pounds of makeup, hair big and to the sky. Instead, she went the menswear route, kept her hair long, and straight, and her makeup to a minimum, yet she still managed to look better than most of her competition. Watching her dance and sing in videos on The Box when I was young, I thought she was ALL that AND a bag of chips (for the old-school folks). So when she passed in 2001, it was a huge blow for the music industry and fans like me.

So to celebrate her life and work, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite videos by Baby Girl. Seven is an important number, the number of completion, so here are seven visuals that will keep her image etched in modern day music forever. Or, at least as long as YouTube is around.

As good ol’ fashioned journalism supposedly goes out of style, Ted Turner’s non-partisan news network, CNN, insists on not collapsing under the noise of opinion news. Quietly, the network has turned 30 years old. No confetti, no fanfare. Back in 2000, when they’d turned 20, they’d thrown a big party. So, why no celebration now, CNN? Are you forgetting that 30 is the new 20?  Get it together and shake that news network thing!

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