Source: rollingstone.com

So have you all seen the new Erykah Badu/Flaming Lips video? You haven’t? Well, I can describe it for you in just one word: Um….

For a more detailed description, the video, which was directed by George Salisbury, features Badu crooning to the remake of Roberta Flacks’ version of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” while her fully naked younger sister Nayrok frolicks about in bathtubs full of glitter, then blood, then some substance with a white and thick consistency. I’m just going to come right out and call it semen (seriously, that’s what it looked like). Anyway, the entire video is shot in one sequence repeated three times, with Badu singing, often times butt naked in a tub, while her younger sister gives us full on boobs, then butt and for the finale, a full frontal shot. Did I mention that this was a music video?

Oh, if you were wondering, the Flaming Lips were in the video too-albeit fully clothed. They stood around, beating fur covered snarl drums, twirling aluminum foil and made ugly ecstasy faces into the camera. For a song called “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” ironically, we only get to see Nayrok’s face and that isn’t until the end, when she is dripping the ambiguous white stuff all over it. Try getting that visual out of your head?

The video has been mostly removed from YouTube and scrubbed from much of the Internet, with the exception of a few sites being smart enough to actually download the clip and save it to their own domains. However, if you haven’t seen it yet, know that it’s more audacious than the “Window Seat” video. And it is probably more abstract and eclectic than anything that Badu has ever attached her name too. It’s clear that Badu is seeking to translate her flare for the multifarious into other realms of art but, the video is a serious head scratcher. It is probably the most “WTF” Badu video I have ever seen. And we are talking about Erykah Badu here, so you know that’s saying a bunch.  I’d like to say that I could get past all the naked booty to find a deeper meaning, but I kept coming back to the same conclusion: I just watched a video of a naked woman covered in glitter, blood and semen.  So has Badu finally gone off the deep end?

Christina Aguilera is really one of the more talented, powerhouse voices we have in the industry today. And nowhere was that more evident in the rendition of “At Last” that she performed at Etta James’ funeral service this past weekend. Aguilera, who performed James’ “Sunday Kind of Love” at her first Star Search competition, said that Etta was one of her idols. And she showed her respect and admiration through the performance.

Check out the video below.

Her talent is virtually unmatched. Yet, there always seems to be something that prevents Christina from letting her star shine the way it should. Whether it’s a raunchy video, a failed marriage, public intoxication or ill fitting clothing there is always something that prevents us from focusing on her talent alone.  While her tribute to Etta was audibly flawless, visually it was gross at worse and unfortunate at best.

Towards the end of her performance there were streaks of a mystery liquid running down Aguilera’s legs. Some are saying it was blood from her period, while others are saying it was fake tanning spray. Check out the pictures and let us know what you think it is.

We’re sincerely hoping it was the spray.

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(AOL Black Voices) — Rappers talk about their “bling,” and women lust for the brightest engagement ring they can get. Some people even wear diamonds in their teeth to show how much money they’ve got. Black Americans are dying to have the hottest diamonds around our necks, while other black people are literally dying to supply them. In Africa, “blood diamonds” are intimately related to brutal conflicts throughout the continent, as groups use the diamond trade to finance civil and other wars that have resulted in the slaughter and disfigurement of millions.

Read More…