“Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta” just keeps getting better and better, i.e. more entertaining, and if you didn’t catch last night’s episode, you definitely missed out on some interesting drama. Don’t worry, we’ve got all the best parts right here for you in one place.

(Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

In case you need a “Reminder”: “men lie, women lie, numbers don’t,” and while HOV may have been talking about himself – the same can be said about Justin Timberlake right now. It’s been seven years since he introduced us to “Future Sex/LoveSounds” and now he’s made a strong comeback with his new album, “The 20/20 Experience.” In a recent interview on the CNN special, The Justin Timberlake Experience, Timberlake’s manager Johnny Wright revealed the triple-threat (y’all know you like him on SNL) took twenty days to make the entire album.

Talk about a quickie! Heck – bills are due in thirty days and this man has sold shy of one million albums in half that time (album dropped on March 15) which begs the question, why the rush?

JT is undeniably a strong talent, but why did he decide to spit out an album so quickly after multiple movie projects and marrying longtime girlfriend, Jessica Biel just a few months ago? Is he that tired of being a newlywed, or was there a third party pushing him? According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), Justin made a deal with concert giant Live Nation that may have forced his vocals.

According to sources, Live Nation reportedly gave Timberlake $20 million back in 2009 on promises of a future tour – and as some years have passed since the deal, it may be time for the singer-turned-actor to uphold his commitment. This might explain why the creative process took only 20 days, with the album premiering just three months after announcing it back in January 2013 (he released “Suit and Tie” that same month).

And what about this newfound friendship with Jay-Z? Did they really have so much fun collaborating that they felt the need to go on the ‘Legends of Summer’ tour together this year? A source for Live Nation told THR:

“Live Nation always envisioned an arena tour for Justin Timberlake. After their successful studio collaboration, Justin and Jay-Z approached us, and we are thrilled to promote their stadium tour.”

That’s a very interesting statement considering Jay-Z made his own deal with Live Nation back in 2008 for a cool $150 million that would give him $5 million annually to support his label endeavors, $25 million upfront and an estimated $10 million per album (three album minimum requirement). In return, Jay left Def Jam and has touring commitments of his own which might not make this newfound bromance genuine.

Maybe it’s all a coincidence. Or maybe Justin did make a quick album to fulfill his obligations to Live Nation. If he did, are you mad at him, or does it not matter? Do you like The 20/20 Experience?

Speaking of diversity in the realm of black romantic comedies, Shadow & Act is reporting on Contract, a highly anticipated Ghanaian film starring Ghanaian actress Yvonne Okoro, South African actor Hlomla Dandala, and Nigerien actor Joseph Benjamins, which is scheduled to open in Nigerian cinema this Friday.

According to Shadow & Act, expect this to happen in the plot:

“Successful Businessman Peter Popolampo is the ultimate alpha male. He is 40 years old, rich, and a staunch bachelor. Despite his mother’s persistent attempt to find him a woman, Peter sticks to his rule of non-committal casual dates, freedom and controlling his life until a yearning to have a child arises. In his quest to find the woman who will take his money, have his child and disappear, Peter begins a roller coaster, contracted relationship with Abena Boateng, a crude but clever local girl who is anything but impressed with Peter’s affluence.”

Check out the trailer below:

Based on the trailer alone, the film looks very promising; definitely a visual and stylistic upgrade from films, which we normally associate with this region. Also, how cool is it that in addition to Nollywood, we now have Ghollywood to look forward to? Well almost. According to Shadow & Act while the film has already debuted in both native Accra, Ghana and London to “impressive audiences,”the prospects of seeing this film stateside are largely doubtful. So why are we talking about a film, you will most likely never get a chance to see? Glad you asked…

The plot. More specifically, when was the last time – if ever – you heard of a film centered around a black man, grappling with the urges from his biological clock (who knew men even had biological clocks?), on the intentional search to become a single parent? This is some ground-breaking black filmmaking right here; it’s a shame we have to go all the way back to the motherland just to see it. Nevertheless, a film, which takes an interesting angle on the successful single woman meme is worth noting and exploring.

In most films of similar plots, it is women, who are mostly choosing to go into parenthood alone. Of course, that plot has been reconfigured as of late to include the gay, white man or men; but traditionally speaking, single parenthood is mostly viewed through the lens of the fairer sex. Of course, there are some variations in this single mother movie troupe, most visible when race is injected into the character. For the single white mother, the setup usually goes like this: She usually hails from an upper middle class; is currently established professional; with oodles of disposable income but can’t seem to find that perfect partner to conceive with. Therefore she decides to head on down to the nearest fertility clinic for a little turkey baster potion or pays someone to be knocked up for her. The joke isn’t that the decision to get pregnant is always a choice and always her choice. The jokes, instead, revolve around the pregnancy itself – because as we all already know, morning sickness, dating (because they still are allowed to be seen as beautiful and datable) and finally labor is chocked full of slapstick and drollery. While the premise of these films still rely on sexist sentiments, our white single mom is still able to overcome her situation and in most of the times, our single woman heroine meets and marries a man, who ultimately provides her – and most importantly her child – legitimacy.

On the flip side of that, let’s take a similar plot setup but instead of a single white woman, let’s add a single successful black woman. Like her white counterpart, she is and established professional who mostly maintains an middle to upper middle class lifestyle. Also like her white counterpart, despite having education and oodles of income at her disposable, she too has a trouble finding a suitable suitor. But despite their matching profiles, unlike her white counterpart, our black single woman is not anticipating pregnancy. In most of the films revolving around single black woman parenthood, more than likely, her pregnancy is unplanned. The result of some late night bumping and grinding with some lame dude, who will either abandon her for the streets, prison or another woman (another man if you are Tyler Perry). We spend the next half of the film, pondering whether she should keep it [also known as the baby] or not; all the social implications this illegitimate spawn will have on society; and how she is destined to a life of poverty, bitterness and singlehood. Basically, the struggle. Nothing about this character is inspiring or aspirational. Instead the single black mother troupe is usually treated as a cautionary tale, meant to be fixed and empowered.

Like his black woman counterpart, single parenthood is usually hoisted upon our typical black male character, however what appears to be different here, at least in terms of movie setup, is that Contract looks as if it might give our black male character the redemption of legitimacy, which is rarely offered to black women in film or even in television. Although I am also curious of this spin on the “no available” suitor idea. That too would make an interesting topic for discussion. Of course, there is no way of knowing for sure until I see the film. And that’s why I’m hoping that one of our West African readers might actually have the hookup. Wink.

Source: WENN

An interesting observation is surfacing across Social Media this morning as people still haven’t quite gotten over Keyshia Cole’s catty remarks toward Michelle Williams during the Super Bowl Halft-time Show. Everyone’s been waiting for Michelle to react to the shade that’s been thrown her way — by a lot more people than Keysh by the way — and some think a post she uploaded to her Facebook page yesterday might be just that.

Yesterday we told you how underneath a pic of her goofing off with her Destiny’s Child girls, Michelle wrote:

It was an honor to share the stage with my sisters Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé on Sunday night. To all my ladies, we must learn to stick together and support each other. The incredible Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson did an amazing job too! Thank you to my sister Beyonce for sharing your moment with Destiny’s Child. Love you!

So much positivity, right? Meanwhile, back at the ratchet ranch, Keyshia Cole is still quite unapologetic about her statements. Along with the hashtag, #WhoCaresWhatUHatersfeel#IstillGotMyMoney, Keyshia posted a pic of a contract for a “guaranteed” $100K to do a show. Something tells me Michelle’s money is probably still quite a bit longer, but hey, get it how you live.

Keyshia also bragged that her album sales are up 24% this week, which makes me curious if that was part of the intent behind her Michelle shade. It should be pointed out, though, that Destiny’s Child’s album sales are up 348% — which is an additional 11,000 units. Digital song sales alone are up 286% (44,000 songs), and I won’t even get on Beyonce’s sales. Basically, they’re all winning and Keyshia…well…I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.

Image: Photodisc

It doesn’t need to be said because we’re sure you know this, but just a quick reminder: A lease is a binding contract. When you sign a lease, you commit to a year (or two) of paying rent to that landlord, no ifs, ands or buts. BUT sometimes, you just have to go.

A landlord could decide that he’s just not going to have it no matter how nicely you ask, no matter how much you beg. You could be charged for the months remaining on your lease or you can choose to take the matter to court. Black Enterprise offers a few pointers for getting out of your lease with the least amount of financial pain. One piece of advice:

“Find a tenant to take over the lease. If you find a suitable tenant to take over your lease, you might be able to avoid paying the remaining balance.”

There are, however, some instances in which you can legally break a lease, among them, a serious illness. The site suggests doing some homework before making the big move, to see if there’s any wiggle room. And don’t make the big move under the cover of night.

For more, click here to visit BlackEnterprise.com.

(Black Voices) — To no one’s surprise, NBA star LeBron James has signed a new deal with Nike. The old deal, signed in 2003, was for $93 million dollars, and James seems to have delivered for the Nike Corporation. “LeBron James is one of the world’s best basketball players and a global sports icon that has transcended generations and cultures,” Nike spokesman Kejuan Wilkins said. “Nike’s relationship with LeBron has created innovative basketball products and captivating campaigns. We’re proud to continue our partnership with him for years to come.”

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