Fans are known to make outlandish claims defending the supremacy of their chosen idol. When debates get heated and tempers flair, it’s time to face the facts. As the song goes, “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.”

Album sales don’t come as easily as they used to. Purchasing an album is a commitment only the best artists can persuade audiences to make. Compiled below are the best selling black artists in Pop/R&B and Hip-Hop, as tallied by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). How does your favorite measure up to the best?

At the Billboard Music Awards in 1995. Image: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

Hip-Hop #5 – Notorious B.I.G.

17 million units

A gift for storytelling and a penchant for humorous, violently detailed narratives of Brooklyn street life launched the Notorious B.I.G. to stardom and paved the way for the return of East Coast rapper after the Dr. Dre era. His untimely death in 1997 raised his impact to mythic proportions.

Simon Burchell/WENN

Part of the job of being a celebrity is that you’re often photographed when you’re out.  However, some people just seem to find their way into entertainment news way too often. But you also have those who, although you see their picture taken, you don’t often hear much else from them…unless they want you to.

Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Black Celeb Kids

Reality personality and actress Tami Roman’s daughter Lyric recently graduated from high school last Friday, and her proud mother and sister, Jazz, were there to help commemorate the day. Lyric is doing big things, as she graduated as a National Honor Society member and will be attending Pepperdine University in the fall. Both of these young ladies (with their two-toned hair) look exactly like big momma Tam Tam. Don’t you agree?

Source: Black Celeb Kids

Another big event to celebrate, to enjoy Father’s Day celebrations last Sunday (the 17th that is), Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton hung out with their sons in the ATL. Andre 3000 brought his son Seven (with Erykah Badu), and Big Boi kicked it with his sons Cross and Bamboo. Interesting names, mad cute kids. By the way, I love that I can see both Andre and Erykah in Seven immediately. He’s like the perfect fusion of both of them…

Source: Black Celeb Kids

Source: Black Celeb Kids

Usher also shared photos of his little men during his Father’s Day celebrations as they got all funky fresh dressed to impress and ready to party with pops. Absolutely digging the bow ties and those suspenders. Can you say adorable? Usher also shared photos of Navyid (on the left) and Usher Raymond V getting cute with their dad. It’s safe to say that he looks his hottest when in dad mode.

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

And last but not least, one of the crunkest cast members on “Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta,” Lil Scrappy sat down with Rolling Out magazine to talk about being a father to 7-year-old Emani. As he says, “[I just] want to let [Emani] know that a man is suppose to treat her with respect, like a queen. She needs to know God.” Ain’t that the truth! She is his daughter with Erica Dixon, his girlfriend on “Love & Hip-Hop.” Big LOL at his face next to her big smile.

Source: Black Celeb Kids

Big ups as usual to Black Celeb Kids, and we hope all these images brighten up your day *does a toothy smile*

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From Necole Bitchie.com

Andre 3000 is not on twitter. He’s not on facebook.  And he rarely does interviews. He’s the perfect example of  an artist retaining their mystique in a world were everyone is dishing their every thought on social networks.

Even though he has pretty much kept himself out of the public eye since he and Big Boi finished collecting the accolades they racked up from the Speakerboxxx/The Love Below LP, he’s built up anticipation for a new album by blessing artists like Beyonce,  Drake, Jeezy, Chris Brown and Ke$ha with guest verses over the few years.  But although he’ll write a verse here and there, Andre 3000 is not sitting around writing rhymes all day and he’s definitely not up to being in anyone’s videos.

Fader recently snagged one of his rare interviews. See what he had to say below.

On Collaborations and supporting Chris Brown

Most of the time it has to be the music. The music has to kinda move me in some kind of way. Sometimes it’s emotionally, sometimes it’s just being there supporting another person. Even the Chris Brown remix—of course I love the beat, but at that time a lot of people were on Chris Brown as a human being. And I know he’d gone through his troubles or whatever and I just was like—I just wanted to stand by him and be like, Hey, you know, you can’t really charge a man forever and condemn a man forever. So it’s really just like a support thing. I thought it was a cool thing to do.

On why he hasn’t appeared in videos [ Ex. Beyonce's 'Party' music video] 
When I would get these calls from artists, I felt great about it. At the same time, I never wanted to tease people in a way where I’d be in the video and then they won’t see me for another ten years or anything. So, you know, when I would talk to these artists and we’d agree that we’d do these songs, we would all be in agreement that it was just vocals. There was no visual or anything. Every artist I work with from Beyonce, from Young Jeezy and Jay-Z, from BoB, it was all understood before my first rhyme was written that there was going to be no videos. And I always felt like—you know, I haven’t been in even in a video with Big Boi—it’s kind of disrespectful of me if I can just jump in a video with a new artist and I haven’t even jumped in the video with my own partner. [...] I just feel like—it just didn’t seem like a right time to do it. If it’s not my project or an Outkast thing, or you know, if I’m supporting Big Boi, then it just didn’t make sense for me. It just didn’t feel right doing it.

Read the rest of Andre 3000′s interview where he talks about the state of Hip Hop and getting older at Necole Bitchie.com. 

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Source: Photo courtesy of GQ.com

If you were like me, hoping and wishing for another OutKast album that you could jam to like Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (let’s be real, Idlewild was just okay), you’ll have to keep holding your breath. I’m all for the duo going out and producing solo projects since that’s all they’ve been doing for years, well, Big Boi at least, but the way they talk you would think the group is pretty much dunzo.

In an interview with GQ, Mr. Three Stacks, who has been pretty MIA lately (we missed you in that “Party” video, sir!) resurfaced to talk about his new sponsorship deal with Gillette of all people, the resurrection of his clothing line Benjamin Bixby (now just Bixby), his upcoming solo album, and why another Outkast album won’t be happening in the near future.

This is what he had to say about the possibility of an OutKast album and what he’s been doing since he pretty much went in hiding (I just call like I see it…or don’t see it):

There’s been a lot of talk on the Internet about an OutKast album and I have to say that as of now, there are no plans for another OutKast album. I’ve been privileged to have these new artists kind of reach out and grab back and say, “Hey, Andre, we want you on this song.” So I’ve been taking those calls and for the last two years, I’ve been doing collaborations. So these new artists have kind of been keeping me alive. I’ve just really been feeding off of that and this year I think I’m planning to do a solo project. I don’t know when it will come out, but hopefully it’ll come out this year. As far as OutKast, I really don’t know if or when that will happen.

Asked about what the new album will sound like that he’s doing by his lonesome, he’s not too sure yet, but he knows that making it will be fun:

The only thing I can really say is I’m going to get back to having fun because that’s what it was all about when I started this in high school—with OutKast—those were like high school dreams. I’m 36 now, so I have grown-man dreams. This album will just be me being myself as normal.

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The record labels that brought you Outkast, Alicia Keys, R. Kelly, and KRS-One, are shutting down. Parent company RCA has announced they are dissolving Arista, Jive and J and forming a whole new music company that will possibly focus on rock music. Read more here…

Do you think this is a sign of what’s next for the other record labels?