Source: TV One

Well, well well. There once was a time when Tv One’s “R&B Divas” was one of the more positive reality shows on television. But baayybe judging from this recently released trailer from the premiere episode it would seem that all of that positivity and sisterliness has fallen by the wayside.

In the first video we watch a discussion about the ladies touring together escalate to Syleena throwing Nicci Gilbert out of her house, telling her to suck ten bags of d!cks on her way out.

Lawd have mercy. She said all of this after she had just put down the cross. Smh.

Take a look and see how it all transpired below.

And then in another scene, Monifah confronts Nicci about the altercation asking her what’s her personal problem with Syleena.

From the looks of things, I can see why these women touring together might not necessarily be the best idea.

This is super messy; but I won’t lie, it only makes me want to check out the Season 2 premiere tomorrow night, May 1 on TV One at 10 pm ET.

“R&B Divas” is back! Keke Wyatt, Monifah, Faith Evans, Nicci Gilbert, and Syleena Johnson are all back for another season of TV One’s hit reality show and they’ve brought some new ladies with them — Latocha Scott and Angie Stone.

The network just dropped a trailer for the upcoming season and we’re definitely planning on rearranging our schedules to catch every single episode. Beware: There is a lot of diva going on here. Season 2 premieres May 1 at 10pm on TV One. Check out the trailer above.

Will you watch?

TV One’s reality show “R&B Divas” was a proven hit last season. One thing that really caused it to stand out among the clutter of the heap of reality shows that television networks dish out is that it was one of the few shows that actually documented the lives of real celebrities. You know, people who were famous prior to being featured on a reality show. It appears that TV One is taking full advantage of that unique aspect of the show and are continuing to build on it. According to a press statement released by the station, they will be building upon that spectacular star power by adding soulful songstress Angie Stone and founding Xscape member, LaTocha Scott to the season two cast. The ladies will be joining the show’s original cast members, Faith Evans, Nicci Gilbert-Daniels, Monifah Carter, Syleena Johnson and Keke Wyatt.

As you may already know, this isn’t Angie’s first reality television experience. Years ago she appeared on VH1′s “Celebrity Fit Club 4″. Since then, she has launched a full-fleged campaign entitled FACE (Fearless African Americans Connected and Empowered), in an effort to “inspire behavioral changes in African Americans, who are disproportionately affected by diabetes,” which is an illness Angie was also diagnosed with back in 1999.

Since LaTocha’s Xscape days, she has acted as the pen behind various songs that appeared on popular movie soundtracks, in addition to launching the Goldyn Girl Foundation, which is an organization with the goal of cultivating self-love and self-esteem in young women. She is currently preparing for the release of her debut solo album as well as penning a tell-all book about her experiences during her time with R&B girl group Xscape.

The two new additions to the cast are sure to mix things up a bit and is certainly a way to add potential drama to the storyline. This is looking like an excellent formula for reality television. I’m sure many are curious and excited to see both Angie and LaTocha returning to the spotlight.

The new season is set to premiere around the Spring of 2013.

What do you think of LaTocha and Angie being added to the cast?

Photo courtesy of WENN

Jazmine Denise is a news writer for Madame Noire. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

Source: WENN

We already knew R&B Divas was slated to get a mini-facelift after news hit that Brownstone singer Nicci Gilbert was given the axe. At the time, Kelly Price was rumored to be her replacement, but TV One has taken that option and one-upped it by adding not one but two new divas to the cast. According to the YBF, Angie Stone and Sunshine Anderson will now be joining the network’s latest reality hit.

So why two new ladies? Well according to the site’s sources, Nicci Gilbert isn’t the only diva bouncing on the show. Faith Evans, who appeared to be the glue holding the bunch together, is also reportedly walking away from the series. That leaves Syleena Johnson, KeKe Wyatt and Monifah who are all expected to return.

There’s no word on what may have prompted Faith to leave — or whether her decision was by choice — but since the ladies are probably the least drama-filled group on TV, aside from Hollywood Exes, it would be surprising if she was kicked off the show for problems or for being too boring. Maybe she just decided reality TV wasn’t for her. Plus it seemed Faith’s main focus was to release an album featuring the five singers and since that hasn’t happened, I’m sure she figured, what’s the point? Nicci, on the other hand, who had no desire to sing anyway, likely isn’t too broken up over that news I’m sure.

But back to Angie and Sunshine. These are two divas we definitely haven’t heard enough or seen enough of in recent years to I will be anxious to see what’s going on in their lives these days. And if Syleena, Keke, Monifah, and these two end up being the ones to actually put out an album together, I’m sure no fans would be mad at that.

Are you excited to see these two on the next season of R&B Divas?

Source: Brown Girl Next Door

Apparently there’s a limit on just how much of a diva one can be to maintain a spot on TV One’s new hit reality show, “R&B Divas,” and according to RadarOnline, Nicci Gilbert has just about reached her max.

The former Brownstone singer stars on the show alongside Faith Evans, Keke Wyatt, Monifah Carter, and Syleena Johnson and though she’s appeared to be sensible from the first two episodes, word is she’s something of a mess off-camera. That’s why she may be getting a pink slip if and when the show returns for a second season. A source told RadarOnline:

“Despite doing interviews with her whole message of positivity, Nicci was a terror to work with on the show. Publicly, she says she wanted this show to be the anti- Housewives, but privately her actions made her a fit for Oxygen’s Bad Girls Club.”

That’s pretty harsh. I honestly would have expected that type of behavior from Syleena just because of the way she comes off on camera, but Nicci was ready to rip that seamstress a new one when she didn’t show up for her fashion show on time on the last episode. Maybe that’s her real persona.

Rumor has it producers already have a replacement in mind too, singer Kelly Price, and they’ve already met to discuss the possibility. While this all sounds like a done deal, there is the issue of Nicci being one of the co-executive producers of the show. The anonymous source says that’s not as big of a deal as it may seem though, saying producers will  ”just pay her a producer credit and cancel her talent contract.”

She better get it together quick — if it’s not already too late.

What do you think about Kelly Price replacing Nicci Gilbert on “R&B Divas?” Have you been watching?

More on Madame Noire!

• Bison Brothers: 10 Notable Men Who Attended Howard University
• When Cutting The “No Good” Men Out Of Your Life Includes Your Own Father
• Down With The Brown? Celebrities Who Look Black…But Aren’t
• Is That Just The Way She Is? Keeping Standards High and Expectations Real With Your Friendships
• The Thirst Files: How He Dickmatized Her
• Ratch On Ratch On Ratch: 7 Moments You Had To See From Part 1 Of The Love & Hip-Hop Reunion
• Heyello! 11 Bahamian Celebrities We Love And Per The Usual, A Few Surprises…

Source: eurweb.com

On August 20th, “R&B Divas” featuring Faith Evans, Nicci Gilbert, Syleena Johnson, Monifah and Keke Wyatt will premiere on TV One.

One of the starts of that new reality show is 41-year-old Monifah. The singer/songwriter reportedly fell off the scene because of a drug and alcohol addiction. She told JustTheFab.com that she has been clean for a year-and-a-half after struggling with a cocaine addiction for seven years. Everyone loves a comeback story, so Monifah’s plight will likely draw viewers support.

However, she’s suspects another aspect of her life will be tough for black viewers to watch: homosexuality

According to EurWeb.com:

When Monifah appeared with her fellow cast members at the TCA Summer Press Tour last week, she said she believes her sexuality will be a tough subject for black audiences in particular to watch on television.

“We have been walking around with blinders on and with a lot of things, sexuality being one of them, period, whether you’re gay, straight, transgender, or whatever,” she said regarding the black community. “I just I felt that it was time, or I feel my truth is what it is, and that’s what I came on this show to do, to help people to relate; especially the youth, people that are struggling with their identity. I figured I’m supposed to tell my truth.”

In the show’s trailer, Monifah’s teen daughter Akemi makes it clear that she is not feeling her mother’s lesbian relationship, telling her “I don’t support it.”

At the press tour, Monifah said it’s time to start addressing these issues on television — and viewers will see it in the scenes with her daughter.

“We’re dealing with what I think the world is dealing with, as far as tolerance and acceptance, on a global level,” she said. “I’m dealing with that on a personal level, and how we are working through that to agree to disagree because maybe our belief systems are different. But she is my child. I’m her mother, and again, we have to start addressing these things.”

The black community (much like the whole nation) is pretty divided on homosexuality, but it would be surprising to hear any backlash about Monifah. Haven’t we known that she was gay since the 90′s? Even Monifah told Essence that she was never “in the closet” saying “I’ve never been anything but who I am, and I’ve lived my authentic life.” Sounds like she’s hoping her story will help others live their authentic life too. We’ll see!

What do you think about Monifah’s statements? Do you think any viewers will have a problem with her open homosexuality on the show?

Follow Alissa on Twitter @AlissaInPink

More on Madame Noire!

• Bajan, Baby! 10 Of Our Favorite Celebrities of Barbadian Descent (And A Few Random Surprises…)
• True Life: My Best First Date Ever
• Why Are You Straightening Your 5 Month Old’s Hair?
• Virgins And Vixens: What Does Celibacy Look Like?
• The Good Guy Allergies: Why Is It That Good Guys Bore Me?
• Somebody Lied to You And Your Lacefront: 9 Celebs Who Need a Lacefront Wig Intervention
• Are They Related? 10 Sets of Celebrities Who Look Way Too Much Alike

Source: raycornelius.com

TV One’s new reality show “R&B Divas” looks like it might be the perfect mix between “Real Housewives” and “Hollywood Exes” with women grown enough not to throw fists or drinks at one another but entertaining enough to keep our attention. The show will make it’s season debut August 20 and the trailer foreshadows good reality TV in the making.

Episodes follow R&B singers Faith Evans, Nicci Gilbert, Syleena Johnson, Monifah and KeKe Wyatt’s professional lives as well as their personal relationships. From the promo, it seems KeKe may have some trouble balancing her marriage with her career, not unlike Rasheeda and Kirk on LHHATL perhaps. Monifah also makes a surprising revelation that she’s in a relationship with another woman and struggles with her daughter Akemi’s lack of acceptance of her sexual orientation. Though for most of us, we’ll see this exposure as her “coming out” so to speak, the “Touch It” singer told Essence in it’s September issue she doesn’t see it that way.

“I hate the term,” she says, “because I’ve never been anything but who I am and I’ve lived my authentic life.”

It’ll be cool to see how that authenticity plays out in front of the cameras. Check out the season trailer here. Will you watch the debut August 20th on TV One?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• 7 Black Celebrities Who Suprisingly Practice or Dabbled In Scientology
• HOLD TIGHT! 10 Clutch Worthy Handbags under $100
• Fascinating Friends: Surprising Celebrity Friendships..We Almost Forgot About!
• “Give Her Half or Go Half on a Baby? – Questions Of Being a Father vs. Being a Husband
• Black Girls Do Swim, And 13-Year-Old Olympian Adzo Kpossi Proves It
• Did You Know They Dated? Part II: 11 MORE Surprising Secret Lovers and Boos We Didn’t Know About
• Things That Freak Me Out: Men Who Pretend to Be Perfect

Madame Noire caught up with some of the strongest voices in the game recently at the Essence Music Festival. Nicci Gilbert-Daniels, formerly of the group Brownstone, Syleena Johnson, Faith Evans, KeKe Wyatt, and Monifah are now known as the R&B Divas. And they plan to star in a new reality show bearing the same name. We spoke with the ladies about reservations of being in reality tv, being real life friends and who’s the crazy one in the group.

More on Madame Noire!

• Where Are They Now? Flavor of Love, Reader’s Request Edition
• The Blackest Eye: Tales of the Light Skinned Girl Who Wanted to Be Darker
• Cute Kid Alert: Fantasia Debuts Her Son, Dallas, Lil Wayne’s Son With Nivea, And A Lot More
• Choose Your Battles: Why Do Some Black Folks Snap On Customer Service Workers Over Petty Things?
• My Life: Taught To Have Brains In The “Absence” of Beauty
• When Keeping It Real Goes Right & Wrong: Celebs Who We Like More And Less After Doing Reality TV
• Single Black Male: 7 Reasons Black Men Take Longer to Put a Ring On It

Source: Theybf.com

TV One is getting into the reality TV game but they’re starting out on a more positive note than some of its predecessors. You’ve probably heard the buzz about some r&b, lady, diva-like show for a bit now and after a few name and set changes, the network has announced that it’s new series, “R&B Divas” will debut on August 20 at 10 pm.

TV One executive VP of original programming and production Toni Judkins told Billboard from the get-go that the show is not about drama.

“These ladies have known each other in the industry for quite a while. We aren’t creating relationships for the sake of a television show, so their actions, relationships and emotions are authentic and true to life-and it makes for a powerful narrative.”

So just who are these ladies? They’re some of our favs in the business. Here’s how they’re described in a press release for the new show.

Faith Evans: Faith has been in the industry for over 10 years and was previously married to the Notorius B.I.G.  And after winning a Grammy, dropping three platinum albums and becoming a NYT Best Selling author, she’s the center of this friendship circle of ladies.

Nicci Gilbert: She’s the lead singer/songwriter from the R&B group Brownstone.  She’s now spun her 15-year-career into the acting and fashion worlds.

Monifah: After getting her start singing background for reggae artist Maxi Priest, she worked with Heavy D to get her career and first album Moods…Moments off the ground in the late 90′s.  Fifteen years and 1 Gold certified album later, the “I Miss You” singer is currently writing, producing and recording her fourth CD as she continues performing live with her band “Soulution.”

Syleena Johnson:  The singer says she lost her love for music “for a minute because it broke my heart at one point…but I am glad to say that we are back together and learning to love each other again.” The daughter of the nation’s first black female police commissioner and legendary soul and blues singer Syl Johnson, she was initially discouraged from getting into the music business by her father, who had many disappointing experiences in the industry.But after training and a breakup with an abusive boyfriend, she embarked on a career 10 years ago.  She’s well known for handling the vocals on Kanye West’s “All Falls Down” track.

Ketara Shavon Wyatt, b.k.a. Keke Wyatt:  She’s the daughter of a Caucasian vocalist mother and an African American organist/vocalist father and started singing at two. KeKe grew up in the church, where the family had the image of a happy Christian family; but behind closed doors there were problems stemming from abuse and also adversity experienced by the family’s multi-racial background.  At the height of her career breakthrough, the “Nothing In This World” singer’s private struggle with domestic violence became the main focus in the media. In 2001, Wyatt was arrested for stabbing her husband; the charges were later dropped, but her career suffered from the negative attention. In 2004, the songstress signed to New Orleans based Cash Money Records.  Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, her album promo and sales suffered.  She now serves as a spokesperson for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The eight-episode, one-hour series will follow the ladies’ friendships and their professional and personal lives as they maneuver various life challenges like divorce, parenting issues, drugs, alcohol, physical abuse, and more. There’s also a feel-good aspect to the show in that Faith will be bringing the ladies together to produce a charity album inspired by Whitney Houston, and proceeds will benefit the Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts in East Orange, NJ.

I don’t know why Monday is such a hot night for reality TV but this definitely sounds like a show to add to the lineup. Will you tune in?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making of School Daze
• They’ve Got a Story To Tell: Celebs Who Went From Top Ramen to Top Dollar
• If I Wanted to Deal With Kids, I’d Have My Own: A Letter to Parents Who Think Everyone Loves Their Kid as Much as They Do
• Let’s Talk, Ladies: Are You Afraid Of The “S” Word?
• My Story: For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When the Law Couldn’t Protect Them From Incest
• Evening Eye Candy: NFL Baller Ray Edwards
• HALF ON A BABY: The Top 7 Ways You’ll Know He’s Ready For Kids

Source: Bossip.com

When the ’90s ended so did much of Monifah’s mainstream career. The singer left us with singles like “Touch It” and “I Can Tell” but after she was dropped by her label, she did more low key projects, appearing in stage plays and things of that nature.

But now Monifah’s back. The 41-year-old is working on her fourth studio album and she’s also getting ready to star in a new reality TV show on TV One with Faith Evans, Keke Wyatt, and Syleena Johnson. Just he Fab caught up with the singer to see what she’s been up to all this time and what she has planned down the line. Here are a few snippets from the interview:

What happened to make her leave the industry

“Life happened. When I did the third album, it didn’t do as well as the others. It did well to not have any promotion behind it, they just sort of threw it against the wall to see if it would stick. I wasn’t really anyone’s baby at the label once Heav left the CEO position… Teddy Riley produced that album and creatively it felt like the best of me up to that point. I was very happy with the project…

“Universal decided to drop me…I fell out of love with the business and I kind of was depressed and drinking a lot.

Rumors that she left the business because of a drug addition

“Addiction came later. I was gone and didn’t have a deal before that part started. I’ve been clean for a year-and-a-half. I was using for seven years. I left way before that but in the interim after that, depression, not really having a passion, trying to find my way, led me down a path of numbing, not dealing, and not just because of the business. Our experiences shape us as children, things that you go through as a child affect you so the abandonment issues were dredged up once I was dropped from the label. I lost my dad, I lost my brother, I lost my aunt and I don’t think I dealt with the loss in the correct way and the symptom of that was the addiction.”

What her new reality show, “R&B Divas,” will be about

“We’ve gone through some really trying times and have come through, by the grace of God, stronger and grateful and happy and not bitter and not blaming anyone and being accountable. We fight, love, and laugh…  We’re real friends, we’re not people coming from obscurity trying to be famous. We work hard, we have our own brands, and we’re not coming into it to be famous. We’re coming into it to share our story.”

Monifah also spoke on why she and Heavy became distanced after he launched her career and how she handled news of his passing. Check out the full interview below.

Are you a Monifah fan?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• Noire Naturals, Episode 1: The Natural Twist Out
• In Coolest Ish Ever News: Photographer Gives Black Barbie a Traditional Nigerian Wedding
• Snatch It Off! Celebrities Who Should Toss Their Wigs
• Controlling, Manipulative & A Crazy Beyotch: 7 Signs This Might Be You in Your Relationship…
• Are You Dealing With a Real Man Or A Little Boy? 7 Signs You’ve Got a Grown A** Man
• MN Exclusive: Teedra Moses Dishes on Her Faithful Following, Finding Love, and Rick Ross
• The Joys of Thrift Shopping: Why I Shop at Goodwill and NOT Forever 21