WENN.com

Every year there are plenty of odes to some of the world’s most prominent people. This past year it was Abraham Lincoln. It was Alfred Hitchcock. It was Margaret Thatcher. But who should be next to have their life story told on the silver screen? Madame Noire makes its picks for 15 legends who deserve some cinematic recognition.

Source: ESPN

You almost thought Beyonce got a quick suntan didn’t you? Don’t lie.

Well the truth is that’s Olympic Track & Field star Allyson Felix dressed up like Bey for ESPN The Magazine latest spread. The editorial for their February 18 Music Issue features today’s top athletes recreating classic album covers and we have to say they’ve done a pretty awesome job.

In addition to Allyson recreating 2003′s Dangerously in Love, ESPN included Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL quarterback Josh Freeman as Michael Jackson during his Thriller days, motocross racer James Stewart as Rick James in Street Songs, and NFL players Trent Richardson (Seattle Seahwaks), Marshawn Lynch (Cleveland Browns) and LaMarr Woodley (Pittsburgh Steelers) as Run DMC. The mag also brought along Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte to recreate Nirvana’s Nevermind, NASCAR racecar driver Jimmie Johnson as Bob Dylan, Olympic Gold medal soccer player Alex Morgan as Katy Perry on her One of the Boys album cover,  and Major League Baseball players J. Upton, E. Longoria, B. Phillips, G. Stanton and S. Victorino as Devo.

Check out the cover side-by-sides on the next few pages. What do you think?

Another day, more cute kids to showcase! With the help of Black Celeb Kids, we’ve compiled photos of some cuties and their celeb parents.

Let’s get started with Chris Bosh! Despite what his ex and baby mother Allison Mathis says, Bosh wants folks to know that his kids are his number one priority and that he’s a good dad. While making his media rounds last week, the newly minted NBA champion shared his excitement over his new son, Jackson, and raising his little girl, Trinity (3). On “Live! With Kelly,” according to BCK, he said the following about baby Jackson showing up at the championship game and his daughter’s first championship parade:

“He was absolutely a good-luck charm. That was actually his first game. I knew I had to do something special because he was in the building. My daughter got to be in the parade. [She and Jackson] were both there, so it was great.”

Source: grownfolksmusic.com

Throwback!

More on Madame Noire!

• Single Black Male: Is It Okay To Judge Someone By Her Exes?
• “No Shame Day”: How I Relate To The Fight Against Mental Illness And The Stigma In The Black Community
• Where Are They Now? Flavor of Love Edition
• Hair Me Out! Mane Mishaps To Avoid At All Costs….
• And They Say Only Black Women are Bitter? Why Bitter Black Men Need To Have a Seat…Several
• One Piece of Advice? Be Done With Ambivalent Men and ‘Settle’ For The One Who Likes You
• Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind the Making of “Set It Off”

(New York Times) — Following a recent court decision that gave Eminem and his producers a higher royalty rate for digital music, the estate of Rick James has filed a class-action suit against the Universal Music Group, saying that the company has failed to properly account for royalties and may owe its artists “tens of millions of dollars.”  The suit, filed on Friday in United States District Court in San Francisco, seeks unspecified damages from Universal as compensation for unpaid royalties. The case was filed on behalf of a trust representing James, the singer of hits like “Super Freak” who signed with Motown — now owned by Universal — in 1977, and died in 2004.  In response, Universal said in a statement: “The complaint filed by the estate of Rick James suffers from many infirmities, not the least of which is that the claims asserted are not appropriate for class treatment. We intend to vigorously defend against it.”

Read More…

With the help of a continuously embattled (but still Hot) Chris Brown, last week, Keri Hilson debuted the song and video “One Night Stand” from her album, No Boys Allowed. The Hot duet, scorching from the recording to the dark video and its synchronized dance breakdown, brought to mind all the dope duets in Hot R&B over the years. Not the lovey-dovey Ashford & Simpson or Marvin & Tammi type joints, but the make your ears melt and make you turn it down when people come around type tracks. There’s too many to narrow down, but here are a few you’ll need to get a hold of ASAP.

Singer/producer/songwriter Teena Marie, born Mary Christine Brokert, died at the age of 54 in her Pasadena, California home the day after Christmas.  Cause of death is unknown at this time. Her 19-year-old daughter found her body.

Creator of 13 studio albums and best known for her powerful Rick James duet, “Fire and Desire,” Teena Marie had many other songs beloved by fans and critics alike. She even racked up a couple “firsts” for white people. She was the first white artist on Motown Records and she was the first and so far only white artist profiled on TVOne’s “Unsung” series. Homegirl was even signed to Cash Money Records for a while where she earned another gold album.  Her first gold album was 1981′s “It Must Be Magic.” Six of her albums went platinum.

Here are just a few of our favorite Lady T  tracks! What are your favs?