Source: YouTube.com

If you’re a Kendrick Lamar fan, it would have been hard for you to avoid his single “B!+ch Don’t Kill My Vibe” from his good kid, m.A.A.d city album. Despite the expletive in the title and throughout the song, it’s gotten much radio play.

Now there’s a video to go along with it. Kendrick dons all white in a church, a field, in a limo. There’s a moment of comic releif when Mike Epps appears to baptize Kendrick in a pool of liquor.

It’s interesting and at times feel sacrilegious.

But I’ll let you be the judge.

Check it out.

Every once in a while, the underdog starts feeling like he’s ready to come for that number one spot. This is what happened this past weekend after comedian Mike Epps had a couple of successful shows in New Orleans and Baltimore. Naturally, Epps’ fans started gassing him up. But instead of just commenting on his abilities, they attempted to tear down Kevin Harts. Now that fans are going to do what they’re going to do. Stan-ing is just the way of the world these days. But when the celebrity himself gets involved, especially if that celebrity is a comedian, then chances are, all hell is going to break lose.

This is the tweet that started it all:

Source: Twitter

And from there, Mike Epps kept coming.

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

Well. Word got back to Kevin Hart and he’s not typically one to back down from a fight. Here’s what he had to say in response. (Read from the bottom to the top.) Beware, it’s not pretty!

Source: Twitter

Wow. What do you think about Mike’s comments? Did Kevin Hart take it too far? Though it’s painfully clear who won this particular battle right here, tell me who’s your favorite comedian? And in case you’re new to how comedians come for each other, this is what Mike Epps had to say at the end of all of this.

Source: Twitter

And Kevin Hart retweeted it. *Warm Fuzzies.*

Source: Shutterstock

From TMZ

Source: Shadow and Act

From the looks of things, i.e. set photos, it appears the Nina Simone biopic is going forward with Zoe Saldana playing the lead part. Shadow and Act published a couple of photos they obtained from the set of the new film and what we see so far is pretty interesting.

As the site notes, no one is sure during which stage of the makeup process these candids were captured, but they do reveal some telling bits of the actress’s transformation. On the positive side, Zoe will be donning the afro which Nina was so fond of in the flick and it also appears teeth and a nose fashioned after the multi-faceted singer’s have been created for the actress as well. What remains to be seen is whether Zoe’s skin, which has been the major point of contention for her choice as the lead, will be darkened. I imagine if the artists have taken these other elements of Nina into consideration, they won’t neglect that detail, and it looks as though there is some darkening around Zoe’s neck in these pics. But you never know.

Source: Shadow and Act

Makeup job aside, in addition to details that Mike Epps is joining the cast as Richard Pryor. It’s also been announced that David Oyelowo has been cast as Nina’s manager, Clifton Henderson, whom according to the NY Times will be portrayed as having some sort of romantic relationship with her — much to the singer’s daughter, Simone Kelly’s, disappointment. So yes, more creative licensing to come.

But for now let’s just stick with what we see before us. What do you think of Zoe’s Nina Simone look so far?

Source: WENN

The cast of the upcoming Nina Simone biopic just got more interesting. Confusion and downright opposition from some over Zoe Saldana playing the singer has hardly subsided, but now there’s word Mike Epps will be playing the role of Richard Pryor in the flick.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Cynthia Mort wrote the script and is directing the drama, which traces Simone’s ascent to stardom and her relationship with her Paris-based manager Clifton Henderson, played by David Oyelowo.

In a supporting role, Epps will play Pryor, who opened for the singer when they two were starting out in the early 1960s. Pryor had terrible stage fright and Simone, in her autobiography, recalled how she regularly rocked him into calmness.

 Shadow and Act obtained the casting call sheet for the role of Pryor which was to be played by an actor between 40 and 60, under this guise:

Well you all know him and his brilliance is hard to find but show us what you got for this one. He was friends with Nina and performed at the same venue with her when they were younger. Richard, like Nina, had a particular kind of brilliance, wit and edge.

Mike definitely has all the qualities wrapped up in that last sentence, and according to some he was the best thing about the movie ”Sparkle.” If he can bring that edginess to this role this could be another breakout part for him, assuming this film does come to life.

Do you think Mike Epps can pull off Richard Pryor?

Source: Zimbio.com

Black folks use a lot of food references to describe our many skin tones, from butterscotch, brown sugar, vanilla, and caramel to honey, mocha, toffee, and even every woman’s favorite treat, chocolate. Some of us embrace these sweet names as a demonstration of how in love we our with our skin, and others ask why we can’t ditch the candy references and just be what we are: black. Tika Sumpter is not a part of the latter group.

In a recent interview with Hello Beautiful, the actress talked about the relationship she developed with Mike Epps while on the set of their new movie “Sparkle,” saying,

“He’d just come in the makeup room in the morning, and then he’ll just say something and be like, ‘Hey, chocolate.’ You know?”

Though Tika giggled after she made that remark, the site still asked her how she felt about Mike and his lighter-toned comedic self referring to her in that way, especially in light of Naomi Campbell’s infamous comment that “It’s upsetting to be described as chocolate.” Tika said she doesn’t mind.

“I think it’s a term of endearment. I mean I don’t care. It’s just like, I don’t know if it’s like they don’t know what else to say, or do they just love my skin color? I don’t know.

“I don’t think it’s anything negative. I mean, chocolate’s my favorite thing to eat. So I can’t live without it. So I don’t mind it. I don’t find it like a negative way. I just— it is what it is. And I know when guys say it like, you know, I know when Mike Epps says it… it’s not a negative thing. So I don’t care. Look, if Tyler Perry wants to pay me the money to call me ‘chocolate’ and be an a**, I’m cool with it.”

I’m not completely sure what that Tyler Perry reference was about, but I’m feeling the rest of what Tika said. I think when someone you know or have a rapport with references your skin tone in a way that’s not derogatory, it’s not a big deal. It’s almost the same as only wanting to be called pet names like sweetie, honey, or baby by close friends, boyfriends, or relatives. But when random men on the street — who ought to know better anyway — think it’s cool to just shout out things like “hey chocolate” or “hey red” to get your attention, it’s not even so much offensive as it is uncomfortable and inappropriate. It really is quite easy to tell when someone is using one of these words as a term of endearment versus an expression of disgust with your skin tone, but as the story so often goes with black people and color we tend to get in our feelings when caught off guard by one of these said terms.

How do you feel about people using words like chocolate or caramel or mocha to describe your skin color?

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Source: Zimbio.com

Sadness. “Friday” fans have been holding out for the next part of this ongoing series since the “Friday After Next” 10 years ago. Earlier this year, Ice Cube said the fourth flick would definitely be happening and he would even get Chris Tucker on board, but when a poster for the supposed new movie, “Last Friday,” hit the web over the weekend, Mike Epps had to step in and set the record straight. He wrote on Twitter:

THAT last friday s**t THEY PUT up IS fake WE not doin s**t until New Line SAY SO! THAT last friday TWITTER account IS fake WE dont Know HIS A** unfollow HIS A**! GROUPIE

OK ‘den. Mike’s tweet doesn’t totally put another sequel out of the realm of possibility, but the question is what does New Line have to say about all this. They don’t see to be moving too quickly to get production started.

Are you hoping for another “Friday” movie?

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Source: Gospel.com

The buzz surrounding the upcoming remake of the 1976 movie “Sparkle” has grown even greater since Whitney Houston’s passing and the trailer released by Sony Pictures is raising anticipation levels even more.

This morning, the trailer for the film, which will hit theaters Aug. 17, debuted on the ‘Today” Show, and ironically mimicked the tale of Whitney Houston’s real life, showing her as a mother who is hesitant to let her daughters enter the entertainment business due to the struggles she faced as a singer. Despite the mother’s warnings, the three daughters go off on their own and get a harsh dose of reality as a singing group in the Motown era.

In addition to Whitney, the film stars Jordin Sparks as the self-titled character, Tika Sumpter, Derek Luke, Mike Epps, and Cee Lo Green.

Check out the preview clip here and tell us what you think? Do you plan to see the movie when it comes out?

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

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Source: The Jasmine Brand

When I first read about Mike Epps and his daughter Bria’s squabble over tuition funds I immediately rolled my eyes and thought if this little girl doesn’t want her father to pay her school directly, let’s see if she likes the way Sallie Mae effs her up with that loan repayment after graduation. The fact that Mike had threatened to f*** his daughter up paled in comparison to the sense of entitlement she was displaying, and I dismissed his words for his 18-year-old child as an isolated incident and a slip of the tongue—until I actually heard them.

See Mike didn’t just threaten to eff his daughter up, he called her out of her name several times and made repeated threats, which Bria caught on tape and that have made their way to YouTube. In the recording Mike tells her, “I’ll whoop yo a**,” and calls her a “disrespectful little b****, “the f***ing devil, and several others b****es before telling her if she disrespects him again she’s going to have a problem.

For most of the conversation Bria is silent except for her daring her father by repeatedly asking him, “What are you gonna do?” and then telling him “You’re not going to do anything but run your mouth,” before adding: “Don’t call my phone  being disrespectful no more. If you have a problem you know my grandmother’s address. Period.” Is that the equivalent of you know where to find me?

To be honest, this conversation sounded more like drama between a young couple in the projects rather than a father and his daughter—possibly even two dudes who were about to square up—and that’s what made me concerned. There were so many things racing through my mind when I first heard the sound bite: what made Bria decide to tape this conversation? Did she expect her father to react this way because he had done so in the past? Why didn’t she take his threats seriously? What kind of men is she dealing with romantically and what kind of relationships will she have in the future?

The very first thought I had after hearing the recording was Bria was the type of girl who would hit herself upside the head with a frying pan and then call the cops and cry domestic abuse to have her boyfriend locked up because he made her mad that day. Her calmness on the phone with her father was striking and you could almost sense the undertone of, “yeah I got you right where I want you.” Her questioning Mike’s ability to make good on his threats by asking him, “what are you gonna do” was so reminiscent of the countless World Star Hip Hop videos of women who verbally disrespect a man, possibly even put their hands on him, and then dare him to do something about it, only to literally be knocked out in the end. Bria stepped to her father like a grown man in that conversation and he did the same in return, except she had the tool that cripples many black men in our society on her side—the police—and at 18 she already knew exactly how to capitalize on that power. I have no doubt in my mind that Bria knew exactly what she was doing when she called her father, threatened to sabotage his career, and recorded the conversation, and he played right into her manipulative hands, seemingly because this type of interaction wasn’t unique for them.

Something tells me this isn’t the first time Mike lost his cool and called his daughter everything but a child of God but no matter how mad that disrespectful brat made him, she’s still his daughter, and calling her a b**** and the devil crosses the line. Listening to the audio immediately brought to mind the Alec Baldwin situation a few years back when he called his daughter in and angry rant and told her she was a thoughtless pig. Alec was crucified in the media for his comments, and said he even felt suicidal over his behavior. Mike is on camera telling TMZ it’s hard being a father of a teenager before shouting out Bria and saying he loves her.

So where do we go from here? Bria gets her tuition paid directly and the father-daughter duo make up? No. The disrespect Bria showed for her father will no doubt show up in her relationships with other men, except unlike her father who we hope will not “make problems” for his child and her family, and who hasn’t so far, these men may. I know a little something about not having respect for your father, but I also know that not having respect for someone doesn’t mean you get to disrespect them. There’s a certain level of honor that goes along with someone being your parent, or at least being an elder, that won’t cause you to speak to them a certain way. Bria doesn’t seem to know that, and it’s not surprising from the way her father carried on in their conversation. It’s clear this girl has never been shown a model of a man to respect and at 18 it’s a little late to try to start teaching that lesson. But what would be even more unfortunate is for a man more bold than her father to teach her the hard way, or for a young man to fall victim to her manipulative ways and find himself caught up in the judicial system by a young girl who knows the law is on her side. This situation with her father makes both of those possibilities highly plausible and the saying there’s no time like the present is highly applicable in this teachable moment.

The disrespect Mike and his daughter showed one another is beyond anything I’ve witnessed personally, but that dynamic shows up in the way men and women treat one another on a daily basis. Regardless of how out of line Bria was by filing a police report against her father, she deserves to be addressed as more than a b**** before she comes to internalize that and expect that behavior in her relationships with other men. She may be a grown woman legally but these negative childhood experiences will play out destructively if they’re not corrected now and she isn’t taught to not only respect other men but also herself.

Do you feel differently about this situation after hearing the audio tape? Do you think this is an isolated incident? Could Bria Epps be headed down a dangerous path with men in general?

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

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Source: Manifesto Part 2

Mike Epps’ relationship with his daughter Bria is on the rocks after his appearance on the Wendy Williams Show a few days ago. Mike gave a shout out to his kids on the episode—well, two of them—and when Bria was left out she didn’t take it too lightly.

According to The Jasmine Brand, The 18-year-old expressed her anger to her father and threatened to air some family drama because of the incident and Mike wasn’t having it. A police report filed by Bria with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, states Mike threatened to:

“F*** her up” [and] “cause her and her mom and grandmother problems.”

TMZ says the drama over Wendy Williams really stems from arguments Mike and Bria were already having about money. Bria reportedly asked for a lump sum of cash to pay her college tuition and Mike refused, insisting on paying the school directly which his daughter wasn’t too fond of.  So far, Mike’s camp hasn’t put out an official word on the situation. The only response we’ve seen from him is a tweet that says:

“It’s hard being a dad sometimes.”

Do you think Mike was wrong to say what he said or is his daughter being a spoiled brat?

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

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