Source: Instagram

Instagram has gotten many a celeb in trouble, but usually it’s not over something as seemingly innocent as a photo app filter. Enter Dawn Richard who, for the last 24 hours, has been fighting off rumors she’s been lightening her skin and got a nose job after she posted some pics to her Instagram account that, honestly, look absolutely nothing like her.

The photo above was just one of the suspect pics uploaded by the former Bad Boy singer who has been outspoken about the industry pressure on brown girls. Last summer in an interview with Carlton Jordan, she said:

I always say I represent for the brown girls because when you think of a sex symbol and a huge artist, most of the time it isn’t the brown, darker girl. And I’m not dark or even a chocolate girl, but there should be more because there is no color to greatness.

Everybody has their own story…I just know what my journey has been so I only speak on it from what I know and I do know it was a difficult road being this color and having the edge that I have— short hair, the body—it’s different. It isn’t your idea of pretty for people and it’s uncomfortable for them and I like it.

Some of Dawn’s Instagram followers seemed to be getting the message that Dawn’s looks were starting to become uncomfortable for her too, because it wasn’t long after her uploads starting posting that she was hit with comments like:

deanellw: Dawnnnnn what did u do to your face? Please do not tell me u are lightening it up.. When will people understand that black is beautiful … You are so beautiful

hissoulmate7 @deanellw: When black media stops promoting the whole light skin is the right skin mentality. We can sing beautiful dark skin all day but black media is obsessed with redbone yellabone. I have read comments in the past that dawn can sing but she is too darkskin. Im sure she heard enough of this bulls**t that she decided to thin her nose and lighten her skin. It’s sad but that’s reality in the industry

Shutting all of that down, Dawn explained to her following that the real culprit here was Instagram filtering and not self-hatred, responding to the commenters with:

dawnrichard @hissoulmate7: yo it’s a filter lol. Why are y’all doing the most lol. 
dawnrichard @deanellw: no babe just pressed the filter button like every other human that has Instagram
dawnrichard: I’m saying tho. If I really got work. I would have went for my tits First Those need help more than anything lol 

Well it’s good to see she’s taking the backlash all in stride, although her reaction was a bit more snarky on Twitter, with her posting:

Behahahahaha.. Filter is the new bleach. I mean it’s cheaper tho I guess … Photoshop does wonders and seems to start Isht too.

— Dawn Richard / NEON (@DawnRichard) March 20, 2013

Guess I need to bleach my music too.. — Dawn Richard / NEON (@DawnRichard) March 20, 2013

She might wanna slow up on that IG filter though and stick with the natural pics she’s used to — not even so much for the fact that she looks light and bright, but more so that she’s nearly unrecognizable. Check out some more of the pics she posted on the next few pages. What do you think about this pic drama?

Even though Dawn Richard has been hanging around the entertainment industry for a while now, one thing you can say for certain is she’s never been in any mess. Perhaps that’s because she keeps her thoughts to herself rather than her Twitter account, unlike some of her fellow celebs. *cough cough*

When Dawn dropped by the MN office yesterday to talk about her new album release, “Goldenheart,” we chatted with her about keeping her personal biz offline in a game of Tweet It or Not where the singer told us the things she’ll talk about on the net and the topics you’ll never catch in her timeline. Check it out here!

Hmmm…my girl Dawn is probably going to have to explain this one because I’m not going to front–after watching this “short film” the first time, I was confused. Well, at least more than normal that is…

Nonetheless, Richard is able to make the track “’86″ shine throughout this message-riddled video. In it, Richard traverses through the woods, viewing her old life through new eyes. In the beginning, four women who are supposed to represent her former Danity Kane members, dance and point her to other pivotal points in her life, including her childhood as a little girl shares a close moment with both parents. And while that’s all good and dandy, things get a tad bit confusing towards the middle, where Dawn starts dancing in the woods in a slinky fringe-loving outfit, and then has to get all Street Fighter against two individuals trying to hold her back, eventually whooping some a** and taking their armor to go forward. Honestly, that part of the video went on a bit too long. But aside from that, the song is what gets my attention the most, sounding like an ’80s Prince-inspired synth-heavy declaration of independence. And as usual, her vocals are great and the lyrics about change is deeper than most: “Say you can’t go back, the same way that you came…”

Check out the video for yourself and let us know if you’re feeling the visuals and the track on its own. Enjoy!

“Some things change babe, sometimes they stay the same.”

With the large number of Haitian-born celebrities and Haitian-American (and Canadian) stars doing it big, we couldn’t pass on the chance to highlight some of our favorites–and a few we actually didn’t realize were repping Haiti. They are a variety of singers, rappers, actors and artists, but they all have one thing in common (besides being black of course), they go hard for their favorite country (or at least one of their favorites…). Enjoy!

And be ready to click…

Source: theurbandaily.com

Maxwell

If you hadn’t heard, my imaginary husband is indeed a Haitian brother. While his father was raised in Puerto Rico and was of Pentecostal faith, the singer’s mother grew up in Haiti and was Baptist. When helping to raise money after the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Maxwell spoke about his Haitian roots and his work before the catastrophe to help the fight against hunger. His song, “Fistful of Tears,” was used to help in the relief effort.

Source: Rap-Up

Looking for a summer anthem???

Well, you might want to keep looking…(I’m just saying). Kelly Rowland released a new video for her track, “Summer Dreaming,” which is a remake of the song of the same name by Kate Yanai. Rowland re-did the song as part of a collaboration with Bacardi for their 150th anniversary. She looks absolutely stunning in colorful pieces while partying in Barcelona and posing poolside, but the song…it’s okay, I guess. A little too Z100 pop-ish for my tastes, but hey, it might be your jam. Check out the video below and let us know your thoughts:

If that wasn’t enough, Dawn Richard, formerly of Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money, released a new video for a song she is pushing called “Automatic.” The song is off of her EP, Armor On, and the video shows Richard decked out in body paint and little clothing as she displays some interesting choreography and gyrates a bit. This chick is pretty freaking talented, and it’s beyond me why she’s not doing bigger things as a solo artist yet. Maybe this video will help? Check it:

Roc Nation singer and one of our favorite chicks, Melanie Fiona, teamed up with fellow Roc Nation signee and cutie J. Cole for the video “This Time.” Getting her “Big Comfy Couch” on, Fiona plays around on a clock, sits in an hourglass and rocks a fitted cap repping the “MF” life for her track with Cole World. Digging the song as it’s definitely something different for the ballad singer. What do you think?

So…pass or play?

More on Madame Noire!

• LIVIN’ LARGE! Celebs Who Made It BIG By Being BIG
• DOPE DENIM! 12 Of The Hottest Summer Denim Dresses
• GO WITH YOUR GUT: 7 Times Women Should Trust Their Intuition
• He’s Just Not That Into You: 7 Lines That Simply Mean He Doesn’t Like You
• Don’t Be His Fool, or His Doormat: Excuses Women Need to Stop Making For Men
• OOoo Girl, No! 6 Hair Mistakes You Need Not Make
• You Could’ve Kept That: 9 Movie Remakes and Sequels That Shouldn’t Have Seen the Light of Day

Source: yourmusicmyworld.com

Folks could say, “I told you so, Dawn. I told you that Diddy would play you to the left on Bad Boy.” However, she has no hard feelings or ill will towards her former boss and band mate, as the two teamed up, along with Kalenna Harper to make the group Diddy Dirty Money.  In fact, she says that being released from Bad Boy was the best thing for her. But we will get to that in a minute…

Richard sat down with The Breakfast Club at Power 105.1 to talk about life after Bad Boy, her solo project, making up with the chicks of Danity Kane, and what happened with Que, her ex (formerly of Day 26). The summary of her days with Diddy goes like this:

If you, like moi, were wondering why Diddy Dirty Money disbanded after only putting out one album (that took three years to make), Dawn broke it down like this in her interview.

“Puff was done. He decided to be done, so I was like alright, what are we going to do next? Puff got a lot of ventures going on, so he didn’t really go into it. We did our tour and we were having a good time. Maybe it was sales, I don’t really know what it was.”

“But I asked him, what we doing? And he said [in reference to her solo work], ‘I don’t know if we’re going to be able to put you out for two years or so. But I don’t think you want to wait.’ I didn’t. So I asked to be released.”

So after six years of work with Diddy, under the pop group Danity Kane, and with him for Diddy-Dirty Money, she went on her own. Diddy said that with so many other artists waiting to put out albums on Bad Boy, waiting might not be the best thing for her. Dawn says that she’s currently an independent artist, pushing her videos and her music on her own. When asked if people said “I told you so” with Diddy, she only had good things to say:

“Yeah but I had faith in him because I knew. There was a mutual respect. I went hard and made sure he respected me as an artist. He gave me an opportunity more than once. But he let me go, and it was a good look and I’ll always respect him for it. He could have did me dirty, but instead he did the noble thing. For me, in my book, that makes him great…It’s done but it’s a good done.”

And when asked by crazy Charlemagne about how she felt about literally standing in the shadows while Diddy stole all the limelight from the group (I mean, he did put his name in front of Dirty Money and brought big stars on every track), she said that it was all about the Benjamins anyway…

“It didn’t upset me because I was getting a check. It’s like having the chance to play with Kobe…You still get a ring.”

And when asked about Que, the former member of Day 26 who had something of a breakdown on Making the Band, she said they are not together anymore after more than five years. Cheating just might be the culprit as co-host Angela Yee brought it up.

“We’re just not together anymore. I’m a good woman, and you just have to make sure you get respected the right way. I don’t want to put nobody in a bad spot, I just wish him much success…It’s cool. It’s all good. This is real life. Bad things happen but you move on. That’s why I don’t explain it cause I don’t want to talk about it.  We were real. I didn’t want a public relationship. I didn’t want to fall for him, so that’s what makes it sucky because it was genuine.”

Hey girl, count yourself lucky, because where is he now? But anywho, check out what she had to say about the possibility of a Danity Kane reunion, and hear more of what she had to say about Diddy, Que, ho*s winning in 2012, reality TV and “brown skin” girls struggling to make it big in the business…(“There’s no real brown girl considered pretty right now in the game. Dark skin girls, maybe. But in the crossover world? They’re not allowing it. They don’t want to do that.”) Hmmm, MAD interesting…

Are you surprised things didn’t work out with Bad Boy?

More on Madame Noire!

• Where Are They Now? The Cast Of “227″
• He Wrote That? The Surprising Songwriters Behind Some Of Our Favorite Songs
• 7 Ways Your Relationship Should Get Better Over The Years
• Nice & Slow: R&B Singers Who’ Are A Little Soft
• Make It Last Forever: 6 Ways To Improve Your Marriage
• New MN Series: “Ask A Black Man” Episode 1: The Life Of A Single Black Man
• LaLa Addresses Confrontation With Melo’s Assistant And Open Marriage Rumors
• Backlash To Awkward Black Girl’s Shorty Award Win Is Awkward

Source: alleyesonwho.com

You know, I actually really like Dawn Richard. If you aren’t 100 percent sure who I’m talking about, she’s the New Orleans born singer of Danity Kane fame, who teamed up with Diddy and singer/songwriter Kalenna Harper to form the short-lived group, Diddy-Dirty Money. Sadly, but not that surprising, the group disbanded after releasing their only album (Last Train to Paris), and Richard revealed that she was released from Bad Boy altogether. So now she’s finally getting to do her solo thing. Her first big song, “S.M.F.U.” (Save Me From You) was pretty good, and she just released a new video for the song “Bombs.” It has a pretty Amazonian-esque theme with tall women dancing very fast and very hard in a desert. Dawn is in the middle doing the same, and also shows up alone in a long black dress and a large head garment singing, strutting her stuff, swagging us the hell out and dancing.

Not going to lie, I couldn’t help but think of “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé when it started. Sorry. And online, it seems that a lot of folks felt a bit similar–some more harsh than others:

“This video is a complete rip off of Run the World by Beyonce and you all know it there is nothing original here the dancing is a bit different but anyone with ears and eyes can she she is copying Bey’s vid Dawn should of done something totally different so there would not be comparisons…NEXT!”

“I am not of fan of this video and don’t understand the words to the song. I think she tried to have it like Beyonce’s video (Who runs the world) in my opinion. I am happy she has come into her own and wish her all success.”

I still love this chick and don’t think the whole thing is some sort of rip off, they just have similar themes, hence it coming to mind. But Bey isn’t the first person, and obviously she won’t be the last, to booty pop with a bunch of under-dressed women in the dessert. I was a bit distracted, but overall, I do like what I see, and I haven’t seen anybody dance that hard in a while. Somebody’s out here grinding! I respect that.

What about you? Check out both and let us know…

Now this…

Are there real similarities?

More on Madame Noire!

• Shequoiya, Cordozar And Other Amusing Middle Names Of Black CelebsII
• The Fashion Police’s Most Wanted: 6 Celebrities Whose Style Should Be A Crime
• Chaka Khan, Angela Bassett And Other Celebs Create ‘Super Life’ Video In Trayvon Martin’s Memory
• Tami Roman Suffers Mild Heart Attack
• Would You Let A Man Upgrade You?
• Allen Iverson Says No To Divorce Because He’s Still Getting It On With His Wife
• Introducing Caviar Nails-The Next Nail Trent You’ll Be Beading + How-To Video
• Style To Steal or Girl, Stop: June Ambrose, La La Anthony & Adrienne Bailon”

Need some new jams for your workout playlist? Well the ladies are doing it big this week.

Singer/songwriter Ester Dean (LOVE “Drop it Low“) teamed up again to do damage with their new track, “Gimmie Money,” a very dance-worthy Rihanna-sounding song for the clubs and the cars. No gold-digging though! They want a man’s time more than his dollars…riiiiiight…The two are known to produce bangers together, as Dean co-wrote the infectious (but now tiring) “Super Bass.” And as all the commentators on YouTube said, Nicki definitely does better work on OTHER people’s joints…Just saying. Check it:

And we’re glad to see that Dawn Richard, formerly of Danity Kane AND Diddy-Dirty Money is stepping out and doing her own thing. Her track “Black Lipstick” has a pretty sweet beat, but I think I’m going to need a couple more listens to figure just what the hell she is talking about, as well as how I feel about the song. Not bad so far though! But I still think she sounds eerily close to Brandy and I’m not sure how I feel about that…Check out that track below:

Melanie Fiona is closing out our new jams. She’s got a new album coming out soon called, The MF Life, and her newest single, “Change the Record,” features rapper B.o.B. The song itself is cool (definitely a poppy, radio-friendly track), but the lyrics seem to be what work for me best. “You can do better, if you don’t like how he’s playing, change the record…” Say that again! It’s no “It Kills Me,” but it’s fun. Check it out for yourself:

What do you think of the songs? What’s wack and what will you be jamming to? Let a sista know!

*Opening photo courtesy of JustJared.com

More on Madame Noire!

• My BFF: The Non-Celebrity Besties of The Famous
• Quarterback Calls Off Wedding Hours Before Ceremony
• Do White People Make You Uncomfortable?
• True Life: I Knew He Wasn’t Into Me When…
• Saying One Thing and Doin Another: Celebs Who Lack Consistency
• ’90s One-(Or Two) Hit Wonders Whose Jams Make Us Want a Comeback
• Black Girls Rock It Across The Pond: Snaps From The 2012 Brit Awards
• Are You Being Used? Signs You’ve Got a “Temporary” Friend on Your Hands

Twitter chatter erupted two weeks ago as Que (full name Qwanell Mosley), formally of Day 26, proposed to girlfriend Dawn Richard. The solo singer tweeted, “I want tha hole world 2 kno ur mind forever…. Will u Marry Me……..I love you.”

Read the rest of this entry »