Just because you haven’t heard another rendition of Alicia Keys’ latest single lately doesn’t mean the girl isn’t still on fire. A. Keys is one of three talented ladies covering Elle magazine’s May “Women in Music” issue.

According to the mag’s site:

For this year’s Women in Music Issue, the ELLE team traveled from L.A. to London to capture three of today’s brightest stars—Adele, Alicia Keys, and Rita Ora—for our rotating covers. How did we pull it off? Photographer Thomas Whiteside: “We photographed Adele at L.A.’s iconic EastWest Studios, where Frank Sinatra recorded his greatest hits….

Assistant Fashion Editor Sarah Schussheim: “Across the street, we shot Alicia on the rooftop of Siren Studios. She radiated cool New York glamour, relaxing and singing along to a Grace Jones album.” Photographer Doug Inglish: “Alicia brought her two-year-old son, Egypt, and played with him constantly.”

So far, Elle has only released Adele’s final cover, but Alicia Keys looks pretty gorgeous in this shot from inside the mag. MTV Style got a few additional insider details on her shoot, writing:

For Alicia’s shoot, she went ALL. OUT in a fiery red Jean Paul Gaultier turtleneck with a matching pout. According to the mag, she sang along to a Grace Jones album during the shoot to really channel that ’90s vibe, and we can tell!

So can we! These issues should hit newsstands any day now, but if you can’t wait, check out the shots of Adele and Rita Ora on the next couple pages.

What do you think?

I think it was late 2011 that a Hip-Hop blog called Herfection put me on to Azealia Banks. For me, I was reeled in by a song called “L8R” and “The Chill$,” but like many others, it wasn’t until I heard the track “212″ that I knew homegirl was going to be a star. The song was infectious and raw at the same time, as the chick who called her self “Young Rapunxel” due to the long weaves sent out a warning to other women in the game: “What you gon’ do when I appear?/W-when-when I premiere/B***h, the end of your lives are near/This s**t been mine, mine!” To think back on my first experience listening to that track, letting the pulsating beat and lyrics give me goosebumps, it was all so refreshing, especially at a time when I was a bit over the whole Nicki Minaj adoration, wasn’t buying into the Iggy Azalea hype  and felt as though the whole female Hip-Hop game was flatlining as a whole, especially when Lil Kim came back to do auto-tune. She could change things, I thought. After “212″ came the whole 1991 EP, and more memorable joints. I was impressed because she was bold and different and could fit in with those who were all about gritty lyricism, and the white folks who live for that dance, techno ish. Oh yeah, she was different.

But in reality, she’s not as different as I once thought. In fact, as the buzz surrounding her name becomes more centered around negativity and beef every other week, I’ve learned that Azealia Banks is like any other rapper, if not one very famous rapper in particular. 50 Cent. They both have an undeniable love for drama that goes so far that after a while, it seems they only do it for attention and not principle, and at this point, it’s pretty tired. Especially when aside from those under 25, European kids and New York fans, when you bring up her name most people can only think of her mouth and not her music. And we see where being known for your mouth and not your craft got 50 after a while…in the land of irrelevancy (and yes, you can still be rich and irrelevant, fyi).

The list of people she has been at odds with is extremely long for no reason. It includes the aforementioned Iggy Azalea, T.I., Jim Jones, female rapper Kreayshawn, female rapper Angel Haze, Perez Hilton, producer Diplo, producer Baauer (behind that damn “Harlem Shake” craze), rock band Stone Roses, Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim (though both never jumped at her bait), her ex-boyfriend and manager, rapper Young Unique and as of late, Rita Ora of course. Most of the time, when I would watch Banks try to make a fool out of a colleague turned frenemy, or rant about something, I would just think to myself, “That’s just how Azealia is! She’s a firestarter!” However, after Sunday night’s drama with Ora, and Banks exposing a private conversation between the two on her social media, I couldn’t help but sit back and think, “Wow…what an a**hole.” And I only say that because just a week or so ago, Banks posted a picture of herself all hugged up with Ora, all while throwing shade her way by captioning the pic, “Me With The Third Lady Of Roc Nation.” I couldn’t help but let the “PHONY” bells ring out in my ears…

While her beefs have often made people laugh, and the one with Hilton allegedly even helped her sell more of her singles, I couldn’t help but feel that her antics with Ora crossed a line. She looked less like the talented Harlem-ite with the slick knack for words that I had come to be a fan of, and more of a big a** bully playing into some high school s**t who needed to be knocked down a few notches. In all honesty, for all the talent she has, she hasn’t come SO far that she can start burning bridges and pissing off people in the industry over the pettiest of things. For that reason alone, I’m starting to fear that Banks’ career could come to a screeching halt before it even gets started. If she’s not coming crazy at people for claiming New York, she’s arguing with others for their use of the word “vamp,” trying to tear down artists who are way more established than her (see her one-sided beef with Lil Kim) or publicly embarrassing producers who helped her put out some of her biggest hits. Bad idea. While it’s all good to “keep it real” on folks every once in a while, you never know who the people you cut off are connected to and what opportunities they can make or break for a sista in the future because of the negative reputation someone like her relishes in having (wonder if that alleged feature she did for the new Beyoncé album is really going to come to fruition now…). And if you don’t think being labeled as “difficult” can hold you back to the fullest, just ask ya boy Terrence Howard, who has been whining about people trying to “blacklist” him for years for being hardheaded on the set and behind-the-scenes of Iron Man.

While I’ve been riding for Banks for a minute now, I can say that a part of me wanted to throw in the towel this past weekend. I’m so tired of watching women in the music industry act as though there can only be one diva and feed into extra negative a** stereotypes of black women (as she does the angry one pretty well) and women as a whole. If she used all the energy she does trying to expose people’s emails and texts via Instagram and Twitter to finish an actual studio album, she would be on the top of the Hip-Hop game. However, she’s still putting together mixtapes, calling people all sorts of b***hes on social media and scaring away some she could use in her corner. Like rapper Eve, who might have said it best when it comes to Azealia Banks as a whole: “I like her wordplay. I think she actually can rhyme, I just don’t like the drama. That bothers me.” She might be making money, but she’s not making enough to keep on this negative path and thinking the mainstream will let her in. Most musicians are two steps away from living back with their mothers, jumping on reality TV as a safety net and ending up on our Where Are They Now? lists. By all means, I get that she doesn’t give a f**k, but it might be time that she starts before she sabotages her own greatness.

Source: WENN

Now that her beef with blogger Perez Hilton and gay advocacy group, GLAAD has died down, it looks like New York emcee Azealia Banks has a new bone to pick. This time it’s with British pop singer, Rita Ora. While the origin of the rift between the youthful recording artists is unknown, Azealia’s rant implies that Rita, who is currently touring with her on the Future Music Festival tour, publicized some unflattering photos of her. Banks gave fans a play-by-play of her drama-filled weekend via her Twitter page.

“Lol Rita Ora is so thirsty. She climbed over the wall of my dancers dressing room to snap photos,”  she tweeted.

“She’s been TRYING IT on this tour man…..”

“She’s mad she’s Rihanna’s understudy.”

“Ever since I arrived on this tour Rita’s been going out of her way to try and intimidate me.”

“Taking all these candids of me when I wasn’t looking, then posting and deleting them like a weak b***h”

It seems that Azealia went even further when someone who appears to be Rita text messaged her, claiming to be innocent.  The “212″ rapper only screen grabbed the text message and uploaded the photo to Instagram with a caption that read:

“Shut up Rita Oral. @RitaOra.”

The text message reads:

“At the end of the day I don’t know who the f*** you think you are. Secondly you don’t know me. I’ve done nothing but try to be nice to you. Thirdly your dancers were talking to me. Furthermore, I’ll see you a** at the motherf***ing concert.”

It seems that Rita isn’t the only act Ms. Banks is beefing with on the tour. She is also reported to have had a moment with British group Stone Roses’s Ian Brown as well. Banks believes that the Stone Roses made a pact with the her former manager to sabotage her sets on the tour because she fired him.

“My ex tour manager made a pact with the stone roses saying they’d sabotage my set because I fired him.. And they decided to check their equipment behind me during my set,” she tweeted.

“Wow! I must really be a superstar.”

“You’ve got an established band trying to sabotage my lil rap b***h shine.”

“A bunch of old white men trying to bully a young black girl … F**k those old saggy white n***as stone roses. I wish them nothing but excrement and death.”

Her later tweets revealed that she and Ian almost came to blows back stage.

“He charged at me. We LEGIT almost got into a fist fight. I’m more rock and roll than he is. I would’ve won. It was a pretty classic moment though. Legendary if you ask me. I was a little turned on. Just a little. Not a lot,” she tweeted.

This morning, Azealia took to Twitter, reveling in the memory of her dramatic weekend.

“This weekend was CRAZYYYY … Almost had a fist fight with Ian Brown, then hopped on stage with the Prodigy 15 minutes later.”

Source: Instagram

Thoughts?

Remember a few months back when we told you about Rob Kardashian going bananas on Twitter about Rita Ora after their split as a romantic item? The rant was pretty disrespectful whether the claims he put out there about her were true or not (since adults shouldn’t expose people’s sexual lives on social media…or at least they shouldn’t), and included him saying she slept around on him with 20 guys, and ended it with such statements as, “How can a woman who is so busy trying to start her own career have time to be with so many dudes all while in a relationship?!”

“I never actually thought it was a relationship in all honesty. I never mentally defined it as boyfriend/girlfriend. When I split up with him, I said, ‘It’s because I’m never there, I don’t know how to do it.’ That’s all I said, then … the rest happened. He obviously felt that creating myths was the way forward.”

“When you are involved with someone for a while and they decide to express their feelings to the public, well, that’s not my personal way of therapy but I guess everyone takes split-ups differently. You should have to sit an exam before you go on Twitter. To see if you’re mentally stable.”

s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

Mariah Carey loves to bedazzle; her fashion sense always seems to combine glamour with sparkly touches. So it is only fitting that when OPI inked a deal with the R&B/pop diva to create her own nail polish line the colors will have a some sparkle.

According to EUR, the glitter glamour nail bedazzle comes in eight colors, which will be “textured matte finish infused with reflective glints of light.”  The line, which will hit stores this month includes: “Can’t Let Go” in purple glitter liquid sand; “The Impossible” in red glitter liquid sand; “Sprung” in shimmery copper; “Butterfly Moment” in pale pink; and “Pink Yet Lavender” in chunky pink glitter.

This is just one of Carey´s ventures into the beauty industry. She already has a popular fragrance line, The Lollipop Collection, as well as lines of clothes, jewelry, and fragrances sold on HSN.

According to EUR, Carey isn’t the only diva with a new deal. British singer Rita Ora has signed with “Next Models” and has her first fashion campaign with Italian footwear brand Superga.

What were you wearing this week? Be glad that you’re not one of these celebrities whose looks for the week shall be critiqued to the nines. But you know I try and keep it real and leave the ugliness at the door. Hey, I said I try. Let’s check out what these fab ladies were wearing from London to LA and NYC. I can’t promise that it will be pretty on each page, but it WILL be interesting!

FayesVision/WENN.com

Eva Pigford

Model and reality personality Eva Pigford showed up for the Voli light vodkas event in West Hollywood brightening up the black carpet with her hot pink dress. The body hugging look was on its mini-skirt ish and had a turtleneck and long sleeves (maybe a bit longer than 3/4). She accessorized with black fingerless leather gloves that had spikes all over them, as well as a black choker with multicolored studs and black leather boots that were of course, heels.

Shout out to what could possibly be box braids on her head (hey, they might be Senegalese twists instead) and the fun long pink nails. And while I love the hair and the nails, I’m not sure if I’m feeling the outfit. The hot pink color is already a lot, but the fact that the dress doesn’t know whether or not it wants to dress her for summer, fall or winter (see the short skirt, 3/4 sleeves and turtleneck to understand the joke–in that order) throws me off. Plus, it’s tight, so tight that you can see the bra she maybe should have passed on. Love Eva, but not this outfit. STOP.

FayesVision/WENN.com

Source: WENN

On Monday we reported that Rob Kardashian went on an all out Twitter rant where it seemed that he was blaming his ex-girlfriend Rita Ora’s infidelity for the couple’s recent split. In the tweets he proceeded to expose the unnamed woman for sleeping with “20 dudes” while they were together. Considering the fact that the these tweets came only days after word of the couple’s split had been making its way around the rumor mill and that other details included in the rant seemed to accurately describe the British pop sensation, almost everyone assumed that she was the woman he was referring to. However, it seems that today the story is taking a new turn. In a recent interview with Glamour UK, the 22-year-old songstress opens up about her relationship and breakup with the Robbie and according to her, they broke up because of the strain the distance was putting on them and their relationship — not that she would own up to sleeping with 20 random men or anything.

“I’m not going out with Rob. We were close for a while, but it didn’t work because I was never there. I was like a ghost. I used to get so frustrated with myself and then wonder why I was angry, so I decided it was best to keep it friendly — especially at the moment, when there’s so much going on.”

She also revealed that she was never in love with Rob.

“In 22 years, there’s been nothing. I have had young fascinations but never love. I think it’s my only weakness. I’m scared of letting my guard down, and if I feel in love with someone now, he’d have to try ten times harder to break it down.”

Rob also seems to be doing some backtracking as he recently took to his Twitter page to claim that he was talking about Rita in his emotional rant the other day.

“Just so we clear I never once mentioned “Rita Ora” in any of my tweets or even used the word “wh*re” and I never would. I respect women.”

“I speak truth. I’m a very real dude and everything I say I mean… But never called anyone specific a wh*re and said any names. You all did.”

“Sad that the media created negativity for a young artist new to the game that is working so hard to make it. Never mentioned any names.”

Right, whatever Rob. I’m no Olivia Pope but my gut tells me that Rita’s lawyers tore Rob a new one for being a sour puss and making false accusations about her because his little feelings got hurt and now he’s trying to pull his foot out of his mouth. Pull your skirt down, Rob. Your panties are showing.

What do you think of Rob’s latest claims?

Jazmine Denise is a news writer for madamenoire.com. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise 

Twitter hath no fury like a man scorned and Rob Kardashian is proving that more and more as the day goes on. It wasn’t enough that he embarrassed the mess out of Rita Ora earlier today, proclaiming on the social media site that his ex cheated on him with 20 men. This afternoon he came back for another round, suggesting Rita not only stepped out on him, but had unprotected sex with the man she cheated with and possibly contracted something. Silly me for thinking the fact that he deleted his first set of tweets meant he’d realized the error of his ways.

Here’s what he recently tweeted:

Robert, I know it feels good to finally be getting some attention by yourself because the only reason people care about you is because of your sisters, but I need you to get a grip. Not only are you being extremely disrespectful to a woman you claim to have loved, liked, or at least cared about, you’re also looking like the softest dude ever. I don’t know about you but if someone cheated on me just one time, I’m not trying to tell the world. And how does he really know there were 20 other dudes and that Rita didn’t use protection? I can almost guarantee she didn’t confess all of that to him so let’s back away from the computer and cut the exaggerations. Plus are you really one to talk about someone without a career?

Rob would do better turning on “Cry Me a River” and eating a bowl of Rocky Road than to let out another tweet on this situation because the joke is starting to fall back on him. Is it not enough that “Rita Whora” has been trending all day? Let it go bruh.  Meanwhile, I’m sure Adrienne Bailon is somewhere having a good laugh at karma making it’s rounds.

Source: WENN

Robert Kardashian appears to be assuming the role of a scorned lover today as he took to Twitter to confirm his split with ex-girlfriend Rita Ora and expose the “real” reason why the couple called it quits. According to Necole Bitchie, rumors had been circulating all weekend that the two had decided to throw in the towel on their long-distance relationship because Robert being in the United States while Rita resided in London was putting a strain on them. I guess Rob decided not to let Rita tip toe out of the relationship that quietly though because he used his Twitter account to make public claims that Rita had cheated on him with 20 men and that is what caused the split.

“She cheated on me with 20 dudes while we were together, I wonder how many she will sleep with now that we apart. I mean 20?!”

“How can a woman who is so busy trying to start her own career have time to be with so many dudes all while in a relationship?!?!”

“I’m actually disgusted a woman could give up her body to more than 20 dudes in less than a year’s time while trying to start a career.”

Big sis, Khloe Kardashian wasted no time hopping into mother hen mode and coming to her baby brother’s aid.

Cheaters never prosper. @RobKardashian I’ll be home today … Try and smile little brother.

Rob, obviously appreciative of his big sister’s encouragement and support tweeted back “I love you.”

While we know that a broken heart is no fun thing to deal with and we’re sorry that Rob has to go through this, we will say that karma has a way of striking when you least expect it. If you remember, back in 2010 during an episode of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” Rob shared that he and ex-girlfriend Adrienne Bailon split because he cheated on her. There’s nothing fun or funny about being cheated on regardless of who it happens to. Hopefully Rob has learned his lesson.

Unfortunately for Rita, though Rob has deleted every tweet he’s sent before November 30, she’s now trending on Twitter as Rita Whora.

And women are the emotional ones?

What do you think about Rob putting Rita on blast?

Jazmine Denise is a writer living in New York. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

We’re finally coming to a close with the work week and before we get lazy because it’s about to be the freakin’ weekend, we of course had to take a moment to showcase some of the most colorful and attention-grabbing ensembles from the week. Sistahs were out and about in their leather pants, with their fur stoles and jackets, rocking metallic accessories and playful African prints. Could we finally go a week with no stops? We shall see…

WENN

Selita Ebanks

Red usually means stop, but looking vibrant in firetruck red, Selita Ebanks was a go! The former Victoria’s Secret Angel attended the 8th Annual UNICEF Snowflake Ball at Cipriani in NYC doing the va-va voom thing in this strapless red gown with a gathered asymmetrical bodice that had a cascading ruffle around the waist. The dress also had a split that stopped at the thigh, and a dramatic train for added effect. She wore black pointed toe pumps and took with her a small black satin clutch. As you can see, her jewelry included a beaded drop necklace, and she brought along her favorite thing in the attempt to go Hollywood glamour and keep warm – some fur.

I think, for starters, that Selita’s makeup is gorgeous, and the hair is “flickin’” which is always a good thing. And I do find the dress to be very stunning, plus I like the mix of the black heel with the black clutch, but the necklace she could have saved for another day. Either way though, steal!

WENN