Photo Credit: Johnny Louis/WENN.com

The other day I saw a hilarious SomeeCard meme that read: “I can’t believe the music that you kids listen to nowadays. What happened to the good wholesome songs like Push It and Me So Horney?”

That got me thinking about Rick Ross. From Hello Beautiful:

“Known for his braggadocious lyrics, showboating style and dangling stomach, Rick Ross stomped all over the lines of inappropriate, disgusting and misogynistic content with the release of his verse on Rocko’s song “You Don’t Even Know It”: “Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it/I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it,” the MMG bawse rapped with confidence.”

It’s no secret how I feel about our favorite ex-correctional officer turned “BAWSE.” But this is sort of Ross’ schtick, right? Say something inflammatory, watch people get mad and reap the benefits financially from the controversy? Remember last year, when Ross took us on a swagged-out voyage through the slums of Nigeria for his video to “Hold Me Back?” Or the time that he tried to woo the ladies with this romantic line from Usher’s “Lemme See,” “Chanel hoodie on looking like Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman don’t want it.”

Move over Barry White! Because nothing says let’s get it on more than having your dude tell you that you remind him of a murdered teenager. Oh, and let’s not forget that Ross cover art for his The Black Bar Mitzvah mixtape, featuring himself draped in a fur coat, centered inside of the Star of David, not only raised the eyebrows of the Jewish community, but also ruffling the feathers of the nefarious Gangster Disciples, who too use the symbol as part of their own logo. The man obviously has no filter, nor does he understand (or maybe care about) boundaries. And at this point, I would be more surprised if Ross had something more thoughtful to say.

Yet if we are being honest here, Hip-Hop has always said some pretty messed up things. I freaking love Biggie Smalls, but I remember cringing like hell when I heard him say, “I’m using rubbers so they won’t trace the semen/The black demon, got the little hookers screaming/Because you know I love it young, fresh and green/With no hair in between, know what I mean?” Yes, I know what you mean and that is not appropriate. Ice Cube was my favorite quasi-conscious West Coast rapper from back in the day, but aren’t we being hypocritical when we chastise Lil Wayne for his “whip it like a slave” lyric and not thinking about when Cube said, “So don’t believe what Ren say/Cuz he’s goin’ out like “Kunta” Kinte/But I got a whip for ya Toby…”?

Too $hort made an entire career out of his misogyny. And there was no other more gangster rapper than Scarface. I remember in high school, one of the biggest dancehall songs at the time was Sasha’s “Kill the B***h.” According to her Wiki page, Sasha has since rediscovered Jesus and will no longer perform the song that made her a ghetto household name. But that doesn’t change the fact that she once thought nothing wrong with mimicking sex through half of the song. Neither did my best friend and I, who used to take pride in the fact that we knew all the words to Dr. Dre’s The Chronic album, and would sit in the back of our classroom, flowing to B***hes Ain’t S**t. We swore up and down that since we weren’t those type of girls, those lyrics we belted out out had nothing to do with us. It would take years later to learn that some dudes, despite our best efforts at respectability, still couldn’t tell the difference. Even our beloved Tupac, who most try to remember canonizing women in “Dear Mama” and “Keep Ya Head Up” (“…cause Tupac care, if don’t nobody else care”) also reminded us that, he’s only got one night in town so basically, “Break out or be clowned.” While being the agent of and the voice of the downtrodden and politically conscience who screamed “fight the power,” Hip-Hop too has always offered a welcoming home to voices who only wanted to talk about the money, clothes and most importantly, the ho*s. And we have sort of been kind of okay with that for a while now.

We tried to tell ourselves that there was a bigger purpose; that these rappers were not just appealing to the rebellious side of our natures but also daring to speak on the authenticity of what is taboo. Or as stated by Jay-Z (with assistance from Dream Hampton) in his book, Decoded:

“Hip-hop has always been controversial, and for good reason. The music is meant to be provocative—which doesn’t mean it’s necessarily obnoxious, but it is (mostly) confrontational, and more than that, it’s dense with multiple meanings. Great rap should have all kinds of unresolved layers that you don’t necessarily figure out the first time you listen to it. Instead it plants dissonance in your head. You can enjoy a song that knocks in the club or has witty punch lines the first time you hear it. But great rap retains mystery. It leaves s**t rattling around in your head that won’t make sense till the fifth or sixth time through. It challenges you. Which is another reason hip-hop is so controversial: People don’t bother trying to get it. The problem isn’t in the rap or the rapper or the culture. The problem is that so many people don’t even know how to listen to the music.”

Yet I don’t really think there is no deeper significance or much else to “get” from Ross’ lyrics, other than that this hopefully fictitious woman in this song was date-raped – and she didn’t even know it. And I think that is the point: rappers recognize that you don’t have to say much of substance or even be lyrically inclined these days. You just have to be provocative and obnoxious. And I feel like like our inability to call it out or acknowledge the music genre’s shortcomings earlier on paved the way for Ross and other industry folks to commodify and repackage the art form into a cash crop of the most garish, misogynistic and overall opulent images and lyrics. Instead of checking the rappers of past, many of us yelled foul over what we felt was the government’s attempt at denying 2 Live Crew constitutional rights to be as narsty as they wanted to be. We forgot later on that the group’s Supreme Court victory would later be symbolically used to justify why it was okay for Snoop Dogg to walk across mainstream stages with women on leashes and later why it would become acceptable for Ross to rhyme nonchalantly about drugging and sexually assaulting a woman.

Source: Black Celeb Kids

Exactly sixteen years after slain rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s death, it was announced that his two children T’Yanna Wallace, 18 and Christopher Wallace Jr., 16 will be keeping the Brooklyn emcee’s memory alive by starring in a new animated series entitled, House of Wallace, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The show’s plot will center around T’Yanna and C.J.’s attempts at maitaining their father’s legacy by fighting to keep the doors of his New York City recording studio open. In the Ossain Media produced show, the children will be battling against a global music conglomerate that seeks to acquire the studio and turn into a more uniform, “cookie-cutter entertainment factory.” The offspring of the late hip hop megastar are presented with the task of re-branding and reviving the studio. The Wallace children realize that they must garner some sort of income to fund their efforts, so in addition to their own musical projects, they start a jingle company. As with any great animated series, the protagonists are expected to experience humorous hiccups along the way.

Both T’Yanna and Christopher Jr. will serve as the voice actors for their individual characters. As if that isn’t interesting enough, the spirit of the gunned down emcee is said to be a key character in the storyline, as he will guide them through their dutiful tasks.

The LA Times also reports that the show is expected to feature “re-imagined” renditions of Biggie’s popular songs, in addition to original music from guest stars.

“It’s been 16 years since our Dad was murdered and we miss him dearly. It is such an honor for us to be able to carry on his legacy, not only through his music but also by channeling him through our own creativity. This project, ‘House Of Wallace,’  is a great opportunity for us to bridge the gap between our parents, who loved his music, and the kids and young adults our ages, that were not around to really appreciate it,” the slain rapper’s son and daughter expressed in an issued statement.

So far, the show has not been picked up by a network, but Ossain representatives say there are a few serious prospects who are interested.

This sounds like a really great idea and a creative way for Biggie’s children to carry on their father’s legacy.

Thoughts?

Follow Jazmine on Twitter @jazminedenise.

WENN.com

It’s tough being a celebrity. Why you ask? I mean how are you supposed to choose from the many, many attractive men and many, many smokin’ hot women who throw themselves at you? Easy, you can’t. Celebrities are only human, after all. And while their inability to keep their lust to themselves could cause some problems in their personal life, it provides endless entertainment for the rest of us. So for your viewing, thank God I don’t have all that drama going on, pleasure, here are 15 of the craziest celebrity love triangles.

From ex-wives to ex-girlfriends and former mistresses as well as cuddle buddies, these women were constant arm candy for some of music’s biggest stars (oh, and one NBA baller I couldn’t keep out). Some got a ring and went through the most with their men, others just had a good ‘ol time with some high profile people, and well, some had their lives flipped upside down. They were seen everywhere with them at events–and then they weren’t. Where are they now?

The former stylist and model, and of course, daughter of Quincy Jones was allegedly engaged to Tupac before he passed away. Clearly cut from a different cloth than her sister, actress Rashida Jones, Kidada was besties with Aaliyah and was known for helping Tommy Hilfiger’s line of clothing become a must in urban wear. Anywho, after Shakur’s death, during a time of grief, Jones went ahead and got a tattoo of him on her arm. Today though, it has been covered. These days, Kidada is back focused on styling and designing, as she was the force behind Disney Couture and the extension, Kidada for Disney Couture.

WENN

The 19-year-old pop star Miley Cyrus recently announced her engagement to 22-year-old Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth. While you would expect most folks to be happy that she’s walking down the aisle and doing things in order, there’s been a lot of blowback that she’s too young. But don’t it twisted, she wouldn’t be the first to get a head start on happily ever after in Hollywood. Or getting that first divorce out of the way quickly…Here are 9 couples who were 25 and under when they jumped the broom.

eurthisnthat.com

Solange Knowles

Solo has always been in her big sister’s shadow but she crossed the threshold into womanhood in two ways before Beyoncé did. At the tender age of 17, Solange became pregnant by her boyfriend Daniel Smith. They married in the Bahamas’ on February 27, 2004 and welcomed their son Daniel Juelz Smith Jr. that October. The couple divorced when she was 21 but continue to co-parent their son.

mirnabear.com

The entertainment industry is clear on one thing: If you’re a woman, you need to be thin and if you’re a man you must be in shape to make a living and be successful.  But these entertainers took matters into their own hands and actually made a living – in part or in full – based on being overweight. Check it out!

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Bizzy Blanco

Hey loves, weekend wrap-up time! I’ve got to admit, our celebrity “friends” have been pretty quiet this weekend but there are some things out there I want to tell you guys about.  Enjoy!

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(AP) — FBI agents on both coasts participated in a nearly two-year investigation aimed at finding out who gunned down the Notorious B.I.G. and whether any Los Angeles police officers were involved, according to recently released records.  The inquiry ended in early 2005, after federal prosecutors concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue a case against any officers or another man implicated in the rapper’s 1997 shooting death.  The decision was made after agents in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York tried to track down potential suspects and witnesses who might shed new light on the unsolved killing that came months after another rap superstar, Tupac Shakur, was shot dead in Las Vegas.  The investigation started out as a civil rights violation and public corruption review, but efforts were made to solve the homicide case. The FBI’s file included police reports.

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(Black Voices) — CBS Los Angeles is now reporting new evidence that officers within the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) may have played a role in the death of rapper Christopher Wallace, also known as the Notorious B.I.G and Biggie Smalls.  Wallace was murdered March 9, 1997.  According to witnesses, a lone gunman in the driver’s seat of a black Chevy Impala pulled up to the truck, where Wallace was sitting in the passenger seat, and opened fire. Wallace died shortly thereafter.

The Wallace family filed suit against the LAPD in 2005, bringing forth additional evidence that implicated LAPD officers in the death of Christopher Wallace. The two officers under suspicion are David Mack and Rafael Perez.  Both Perez and Mack are in prison now for unrelated crimes, Mack for bank robbery and Perez for stealing cocaine.  The new evidence involves an alleged conversation between Perez and a cellmate in the L.A. County jail. Mack and Perez were reportedly close confidants with Death Row Records, the label that represented rap artist Tupac Shakur, who was involved in a highly publicized dispute with Biggie.

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The former first lady of Bad Boy shares her dreams and memories with Madame Noire.