Source: YouTube

If you’re in need of a slight pick-me-upper, we’ve got just the thing to make you smile (and possibly even shed a few tears). A video recently surfaced of a young man explaining why he loves his mother so much and what inspired him to save his money and pay off her mortgage as a token of his appreciation.

“At one point in my life I hadn’t been home two and a half years. I hadn’t spoken to anyone or sent any e-mails. I remember the day I came back. I had all of my luggage with me. I just knocked at the door. She opened it. She said ‘Hi.’ She smiled and just asked me what I wanted for dinner. She didn’t ask me any questions. She just let me know in with everything I had. I guess it’s unconditional love,” the unnamed man expressed at the start of the video.

He proceeded to discuss how much he admired his mother for simply accepting him and how hard she works to take care of her family. As the video continues he reveals that he’s been saving his money to present his mother with a very special gift. The video then cuts to the man presenting his mother with a check to pay off the rest of her mortgage.

“Are you sure?” his mother asked, emotionally taken back by his gesture.

Ironically, the man reveals that he presented his mother with the heartwarming gift on his birthday.

“I realize birthdays are a tradition and that tradition dictates that one should celebrate their existence on the day on which they were born every year. However for me, my life has always been about what I can do for those around me. So for the last two and half years ive been saving my money, hoping to do right by a very special woman in my life. I know a lot of my friends wanted me to go out, to celebrate, but this for me is far greater then any gift/party I can hope for,” he wrote in the video description box.

Beautiful!

Check out the video below. Get your kleenex ready!

musiqqueen.com

Keep it real: Did you really think that 11 years later the BET Awards would still be around…and we’d still be excited to watch? But here we are, just hours away from the 2012 BET Awards and Stephen G. Hill, as usual, is promising big surprises. But let’s go back for a minute and take a look at some of the more shocking and outrageous moments that occurred before, during and after past BET Awards shows!

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Source: Singersroom.com

Remember big haired soul singer, Leela James? Well she’s back with a tribute to blues legend, Etta James. In a remake of Etta’s hit song, “Something’s Got a Hold of Me,” Leela takes us back to the ’60s and then up to present day. Leela James said she’s always looked up to Etta James as an inspiration: “Etta James sang from real pain, which truly made the blues and soul of her music special.” As someone who’s always been impressed with Leela James’ vocals, this song and the subsequent video did not disappoint.

Check it out below and let us know what you think.

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rollingout.com

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!  This is not only a day to celebrate biological mothers but to celebrate all the women who had a hand in raising us: grandmothers, aunts, cousins, mothers of our friends…any female who helped nurture and raise the people we are today.  So, check out some of the videos on the next few pages for our Mother’s Day e-playlist!

What’s your favorite memory of you and your mom or motherly figure?

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Source: pictures19.com

For the most part, I haven’t been a big fan of rapper Plies’s music. A majority of the time I can’t understand what he’s saying, but a lot of the time, I just think his lyrics are a bit too explicit for my tastes (“Bust It Baby, Pt.2″ for example), so when I heard he did a tribute video for Trayvon Martin, I was a little skeptical about what I would hear and see. But after watching and actually listening to the lyrics, I think he did an awesome job, and I have to applaud him for being one the first artists to do a recording (and video) about the slain teenager. In the video the rapper says he was especially touched by the young man’s death, probably because of the senselessness of it, and the fact that they’re both Florida natives. Throughout, we see images of young people being judged for their looks and their hoodies, but doing nothing but holding Skittles and ice tea. And I like the fact that he was able to get young black men and women as well as young white men and women to participate. Plus, the track isn’t bad at all, and proceeds from it are going to the Trayvon Martin Foundation. Love the hoodies, actually love the lyrics, and love the message.

Check it out for yourself and tell us what you think of the rapper’s efforts.

So what do you think?

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A throwback picture of “The Voice” aka Whitney Houston will grace the cover of Essence magazine for the April issue. The corresponding article is said to be full of goodies we may or may not have known about the late singer, including personal anecdotes from those who were closest to her.

Find out what you can expect from the issue at Hello Beautiful.com.

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Source: Bossip.com

Robin Thicke just released a cover of Whiney Houston’s Exhale (Shoop Shoop) this week.

It was his tribute to the fallen Diva, he tweets to his followers:

This is my tribute to the great Whitney Houston. Sending my prayers to her family.

The R&B singer released the song last Sunday through his twitter.  It’s free a download, which you can get here.

Thicke is one of the many artists who have done a tribute to Houston in the wake of her death. There have also been countless covers of her popular hits over the years. Just last week Amber Riley of Glee did a beautiful cover of “I Will Always Love You,” which coincidently was planned when it was.  We all heard Jennifer Hudson’s cover of the song at the Grammy’s and all the other covers at the funeral.

At a time where Thicke could have distastefully profited off of the national fame surrounding Whitney Houston’s untimely death, he decided to upload it for free for his fans.

It’s actually a beautiful tribute. He wasn’t trying to be Whitney because let’s be honest no one will ever be Whitney. He took the song and made it his, with his high falsetto and all. It felt really genuine and not forced because he was actually giving a tribute to her, not trying to imitate the late pop and R&B icon. Thicke just wanted to pay homage to her, and I think that shows through. Future artists who are looking to cover and give tribute to Whitney should look to Thicke for guidance. Pay homage, but try not to duplicate and imitate.

How do you guys feel about his cover, is it a lovely tribute to Whitney? What’s your favorite Whitney Houston cover, present or past?

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Last night Chaka Khan appeared on CNN to talk about the passing of Whitney Houston and she told Piers Morgan what many people had been dying to say about the Clive Davis party that went on in the same hotel where Whitney’s body lay upstairs: it shouldn’t have happened.

“I thought that was complete insanity,” Chaka Khan said. “Knowing Whitney, I don’t believe that she would have said ‘the show must go on.’”

Chaka Khan also questioned Clive’s motives for continuing on with the party, saying:

“I don’t know what could motivate a person to have a party in a building where the person whose life he had influenced so enormously and who’s life had been affected by hers…I don’t understand how that party went on.”

Piers Morgan tried to say Clive turned the party into a tribute, but Chaka Khan, who didn’t attend, said a true tribute would have been gathering people together for a prayer, possibly sharing a meal, and then going home, not carrying on as nothing happened.

In another clip, Chaka Khan also talked about her own drug past and said it was a mistake for Whitney to come into town for an entire week before the Grammy’s, knowing her history of substance abuse.

“Whoever flew her out to perform at that party should have provided someone to be there to somehow keep the riff raff out of the situation and some of the dangerous people away.”

Check out the clips of the interview below. Do you think Chaka Khan is right?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Michael Jackson is a star who’s often imitated but never duplicated. Still, the cast of “Glee” wants to put their own spin on the King of Pop in an upcoming episode titled, “Michael.”

“Glee” has already taken on heavy hitters in the game like Madonna, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga, which were hopefully good practice for channeling MJ. The episode will feature some of Michael’s favorite songs like “Scream,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” There are also a couple of numbers that pay direct homage to Michael’s original videos, one of the cast members says, which should be an interesting surprise.

“Michael” will air Jan. 31 at 8p on Fox. Will you tune in?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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In modern times, we can reflect on those who standout as fashion legends…Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Alek Wek, Selita Ebanks are just some of the black supermodels who have achieved mainstream success. At least one or most of us agree that we’ve tried modeling and have either tried and failed or succeeded, and realized that fashion is truly a dog-eat-dog business! Despite our feats, we cannot ignore those firsts who changed the fashion industry and paved the way for black women. Behold the legendary fashionistas on our list:

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