Source: YouTube

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Snoop explains that in 2003, he fulfilled one of his childhood fantasies and became a pimp. And not for one of his videos, the rapper was a real life pimp.

“I did a Playboy tour, and I had a bus follow me with ten bishes on it. I could fire a bish, f**k a bish, get a new ho: It was my program. City to city, t!tty to t!tty, hotel room to hotel room, athlete to athlete, entertainer to entertainer.”

Despite the crass nature of this interview, Snoop refused to name the names of his clients. He did say though that several NBA players utilized his services.

Awww! The babies grow up so fast, and this young man definitely is growing up nicely! With his famous father in the spotlight, we had the chance to meet him as a little kid when his family decided to participate in a cable reality television show. The son of high school sweethearts who married and started a family, his pops is a pretty iconic rapper and actor, and a force in the West Coast Hip-Hop scene, whose career started back in ’92 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre. He’s also done a lot of TV and movies, including hosting his own shows and having roles in movies like Baby Boy, Training Day, The Wash and (the forgettable) Soul Plane. When he’s not reinventing his image or performing all over, this child’s father is also a youth football league coach, which is probably where this young man gained his interest in the sport. So whose cute “kid” (aka, teenager) is this?

Judy Eddy/WENN.com

One thing for sure: he never fails to entertain us.

Last year, when we first heard about the emergence of Snoop Lion, more than a few eyebrows raised.  Most people assumed that he’d just found out about a religion that openly accepts smoking marijuana and he wanted to be down. But according to the rapper, it is bigger than that: becoming Rastafarian is about where he is in his life.

In a recent interview with Huffington Post, Snoop discussed his critics, his music and where he is in his life:

On his main critic, Bunny Wailer of the legendary group, The Wailers:

I’ve done nothing but what I said I was going to do: Go to Jamaica, make a great record, intertwine with some people, build on some relationships and come back and bring something back to the community. … As far as what people feel about how I’m representing or misrepresenting, that’s for no man to judge. I’m here to do what I’m doing. This is my journey. And for those who don’t like it, I still got love for them.

If he’s converted to Rastafarianism (Snoop grew up Baptist):

I feel like I’m a part of it. I feel like I’m a part of anything that’s positive, that’s loving. And Rastafari is so connected to who I am that I feel like I’m a part of it. Because it is me. It is what I am. And through the spirit of it you want to learn more about it. … I’m just learning. So it’s all brand new to me.

He speaks on the tone of his new music which has very little cursing:

It’s a goal to have songs that represent who I am today. A lot of the songs I got represent who I was, not who I am. It is my music. I love it. It’s my baby. So I’m not going to ever denounce it. It’s just that it’d be nice to have a song about peace and love and happiness and about what’s going on in the world and about addressing some real issues, when that’s what’s important right now. As opposed to just partying all the time and having a good time. That’s not what I’m on.

If he’s serious, you’ve got to respect a person, especially an artist, who doesn’t worry about what anyone will think about where they are in their lives and does what makes them happy. Snoop also noted that becoming Snoop Lion does not mean he isn’t Snoop Doggy Dogg the Crip or Snoop Dogg (who I assume is the rapper/entertainer); in fact, he says it’s all the same.

We’ve got to wonder: If he’s Snoop Doggy Dogg, Snoop Dogg and Snoop Lion, when does Calvin Broadus step in? At home?

What do you think? Do you “accept” and look forward to the music of Snoop Lion?

Shutterstock

The phrase “The only thing that’s certain is death and taxes” is very true. And with taxes on the rise many people are attempting to find ways to avoid coughing up cash to the federal government, the wealthy included. According to The New York Times, new legislation for 2013 has raised the marginal income tax rate from 39.6 percent from 35 percent for individuals with income over $400,000 and for couples with income over $450,000 and deductions can start to phase out on income of around $250,000.

Some rich people are on board with the tax increases like Warren Buffett and Russell Simmons, but others are struggling to pay their rapidly growing tax debt.

Other wealthy people are having issues paying their tax bill. We recently talked about how the Queen of R&B, Ms. Mary J, was hit with a $900,000 tax lien and now another entertainer has joined the list. This week Perez Hilton reported that rapper Snoop Dogg is not on good terms with the IRS owing $546,000 in back taxes from 2009 and 2011. This isn’t the first time the “Gin and Juice” rapper has been in trouble with the IRS. He had this same issue back in 2008.

The list of celebrities that have experienced tax problems in the past include Wesley Snipes, Nicholas Cage, Toni Braxton, Lindsey Lohan and the goes on and on. However, you don’t have to be rich to get into tax trouble. StatisticsBrain.com reports on a study conducted by Pew Research, showing that 44 percent of audited individuals make under $25,000 per year. So although the rich folks are what we read about in the papers, there are millions of ordinary people who get audited that don’t make the front page.

Filing your taxes late, substantial understatements, disregarding tax rules and regulations, and bounced checks are just some things that could get you into trouble with the tax man. In most cases if you are found to have dabbled in tax evasion you may just get hit with a fine. However in other cases you could face criminal imprisonment for up to five years.

Now when it comes to taxes it’s important to make sure you reduce your tax burden as much as possible through legal practices spelled out by the IRS. This is called “tax avoidance” and is encouraged by the federal government. This includes, for example, finding all of your deductions and getting any credits you qualify for.

However you don’t want to reduce your tax burden by lying or being deceitful, which is tax evasion. The biggest difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion: one is illegal.

With the tax deadline approaching it’s important to keep your morals at the forefront. If you don’t feel qualified to do your own taxes then hire a professional. At least in that case, if you have been truthful with providing information and things hit the fan, you have a preparer to help clean it up. Income taxes aren’t going anywhere. It just makes since to be truthful and pay your tax bill instead of wondering if the tax man will come knocking at your door.

Judy Eddy/WENN.com

There is no reason on earth why the IRS needs to come after a person twice for unpaid taxes.

But when you’re Snoop Dogg, apparently there is a reason. For the second time in the last five years, the government is after Snoop (or Snoop Lion or real name Calvin Broadus) for trying to evade them.

This time, the IRS is looking for a payment of $101,952.44 from 2009 and $444,317.85 from 2011, for a grand total of $546,270.29.  They’ve put a federal lien against him for said taxes.

Back in 2008, the IRS was after him for more than $400,000 in back taxes. As soon as Snoop was made aware, he paid them off and cleared his debt.

Now, while I’m sure Snoop has an accountant or two on his payroll, it seems like it would make sense for him to either seek entirely new employees or hire someone to watch them so things like this won’t happen more than once.He’s got to be pretty high way too often for allowing this to keep happening.

TMZ reach out to Snoop’s reps but haven’t received any comments.

It is amazing that, for the most part, it seems like average working people do the very best we can to pay our taxes on time so that Uncle Sam isn’t sending us letters about owing something like $500. Meanwhile, celebrities always find a way to go years without paying only to owe hundreds of thousands of dollars and not give it a second thought.

Are we, the working class, doing something wrong by trying to so hard to do things the right way? If so, I’ll be that because I’m not trying to have the IRS come after me for even five dollars of unpaid taxes!

Source: Instagram

Snoop is lighting up in…style these days. Forgoing his signature perm, the rapper turned Rasta recently posted this picture of himself participating in his favorite past time. Smoking that Mary Jane. But this time he wanted to get prissy with it by putting French tips on his fingernails. We’re not making any claims about anything but this is indeed interesting, especially for a rapper.

So what do you think, caption this picture of Snoop and his French tips. What’s he thinking or saying in this photo?

Cheese! With big papa Snoop missing from this cute family photo, Corde, momma Shante, Cordell, and little Miss Cori put on their Kool-Aid smiles for an exclusive Broadus pic. Everyone looks cute, even though it would have been nice if Corde would have at least thrown on a shirt, but hey, whatever works!

Twitter

Speaking of family photos, our girl Brandy, aka, B-Rocka, 33, took a very cute photo with her 10-year-old daughter, Sy’rai Smith. Taking from her mom’s fashion sense, Sy’rai rocked braids, including some adorable pink and white extensions we’re digging.

Twitter – Christina Milian

It’s fall, ya’ll! So with that, everybody is hitting the pumpkin patches and trying out the hay rides again, including Christina Milian and her little lady, Violet. The cutie patootie in her colorful floral dress and braided coily curls posed on top of a pumpkin and cheesed it up for the camera. Milian captioned the photo, “A pumpkin for my little pumpkin!”

And who needs models when you can get your kids to be in your ads? Diddy got his son Christian, his other “son” Quincy (Kim Porter and Al B Sure’s son), and model Tyson Beckford’s son, Jordan Beckford, to pose for the new fall Sean John ad. Aren’t they fresh?

And guess who just turned 8? The son of Lebron James, Lebron James Jr! Savannah Brinson posted this picture via Instagram of her son over the years. As she said in the caption, “Happy 8th Bday Jr! Wow time is flying by.” Doesn’t it always?

And here’s an up-to-date photo of “Jr.” hanging out at dinner with his family. Sounds like dad is proud: “Happy Bday again to my 8 year old young man Bronny. Love u son!!”

Adorable-ness all around!

More on Madame Noire!

• Damn Mr. Right, I Need Mr. Right Now! 7 Signs You’re Too Thirsty For Someone To Put A Ring On It
• Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of “Why Do Fools Fall In Love”
• When Girl Crushes Go Wrong: The Thirst Of Wanting To Fit In
• When Pretty Girls Wear The Wrong Make-Up! 10 Celebs Who Can’t Get Their Faces Right
• Where Are They Now? Contestants from “The White Rapper Show” & “Miss Rap Supreme”
• C’Mon Now: Black Celebrities That White Folks Mistake For One Another (But They DON’T Look Alike…)
• Cuz I Said So! Celebs We Don’t Like…Just Because We Don’t!

Gladys Knight will be performing on the second Soul Train Cruise Image: PRNewsFoto/Time Life via AP Images

When the folks over at Soul Train first introduced their celebrity cruise people couldn’t wait to get. The first ever Soul Train Cruise sold out in just days. Now the second one has been announced for next year.

It will set sail October 5, 2013 from San Diego and rock it ol´school with Earth, Wind & Fire, Gladys Knight, Jeffrey Osborne, The Whispers, Freddie Jackson, Sugarfoot’s Ohio Players, Jennifer Holliday, Billy Paul, ConFunkShun, Jody Watley, Regina Belle, The Bar-Kays, The Dazz Band, The Mary Jane Girls, The Original Lakeside and A Taste of Honey featuring Janice Marie. Comedian Alonzo Bodden and DJ extraordinaire Biz Markie are also confirmed.

The cruise, which is on Holland America’s m/s Westerdam, will take place over seven days and travels to Cabo San Lucas, with two days in Puerto Vallarta and a scenic cruising of Baja Magdalena. And the stop in Puerto Vallarta will include a golf tournament, so pack those clubs. In addition to the back-to-back on-board concerts, they’ve also planned beach parties, a themed ball (with the iconic Soul Train Line led by Original Soul Train Dancers), onboard games and other activities.

The Inaugural Soul Train Cruise featuring Patti LaBelle, The O’Jays and Jeffrey Osborne, is February 17 through 24.

Cabin rates for the 2013 cruise start at $1,900 per person and include all meals, concerts, entertainment and onboard activities. Tickets went on sale yesterday.

The Soul Train Cruise isn’t the only celebrity-themed cruise at sea. Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage has also announced its 2013 offering. The party with a purpose (some of the proceeds go to the foundation’s work) will sail  from Miami April 7, 2013 and return April 14, 2013. It’s visiting San Juan and a private island in Nassau, Bahamas and will include major beach concerts.

This party at sea is more of an “old school meets new school” affair. Celebrity events include Snoop Dogg’s (Snoop Lion’s?) Pool Deck Concert with Bootsy Collins and the Funk Unity Band; Tyler Perry’s Beach Party With Earth Wind & Fire; and Jamie Foxx performs at the Fantastic Voyage White Party on the Beach. Ludacris will also be on deck.  A number of tickets have already sold out, but prices start just over $2,000 and go up to more than $5,000.

Source: twitter.com

This is not our normal Cute Kid Alert. This right here, is complete and utter ratchetness. The above picture is proof that Snoop Dogg Lion and his firstborn Corde Calvin Broadus do indeed get high together. Nothing like that father-son bonding time. And not only do they get high together, there’s a third party in the room documenting the quality time so it could be posted to social media. Snoop’s son, Corde posted the above picture and a few more of him getting high on his own.

Sigh.

We’ve known for decades now that Snoop gets high…like all the time; but I guess us folks with common sense just assumed that he wasn’t involving his kids in his shenanigans. Unfortunately, we were wrong.

I can see that Snoop believes that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with smoking weed, so I’m not here to question his morals or parenting skills; but rather to note that here in America, smoking marijuana is still illegal. So by smoking with your son and then posting it for the public to see, is in fact endangering his safety, even if he doesn’t believe the herb is.

What do you make of this image?

More on Madame Noire!

• Did You Know They Dated (Part IV)? 14 Celeb Couples We Were VERY Surprised By
• Ask A Very Smart Brotha: How Do I Tell Him The Sex Is Wack?
• Bypass The Bitter: How To Get Over Your Relationship Gracefully
• True Story: I Dated A Man With Horribly Bad Breath And Lived To Write About It
• Lady Jaguars: 10 Famous Women Who Attended Spelman College
• “Baby Hair, Don’t Care”: Andrea Kelly Says If She Could Leave R Kelly, You Can Walk Away Too
• The Thirst Files: She Pulled A Disappearing Act, I Got Desperate

Change can represent a lot in one’s career. From changing your sound as an artist, or stepping out of your comfort zone, it can work out for the best–and sometimes for the worst. (Anyone remember Joaquin Phoenix’s meta attempt at rapping??)  Despite that train wreck, most celebs have had successful career changes and have been better than ever. Here’s a look at some of the best (and not so great) career changes.

Source: karaoke-lyrics.net

Queen Latifah — Best

[Rapper to TV Star, to Academy Award Winning Actress and Jazz Singer]

Queen La went from rapping about “Ladies First” and rocking afrocentric garb, including some pretty sick hats, to acting on a weekly television program that we all loved. If that wasn’t enough, she did big things on the silver screen too, gaining critical acclaim for her work in movies like Set It Off and obtaining an Academy Award nomination for her role as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago. Since becoming a household name, she’s been picked as a CoverGirl, and she’s also had the chance to sing jazz music (even though she’s been singing for years) and releasing soul music albums. Latifah proved that staying in your own lane is indeed for suckers.