AMERIE SLAMS BEYONCE IN NEW MIXTAPE TRACK

Two weeks before Beyonce's new album B'Day dropped, I stated how Sugar Mama and Green Light sounded like Amerie songs especially that Green Light track in which Amerie's former producer Rich Harrison took Amerie's vocal style and interjected it onto Beyonce. My exact words were that she had copied Amerie's swagger. Many of my visitors agreed. Long term visitors of my blog would remember this. At the time it wasn't looking good for Beyonce who was accused of being a serial jacker when she straight jacked Janet Jackson's dance moves (although it was reported to be a Janet tribute because of MTV's boycotting) as well as the copying of Britney's costume for her VMA performance back in August 2006. Well, on one of Amerie's mixtape tracks Because I Love It (the intro), she slams Beyonce for jacking her sound and vocal style. This is the VERY reason why Amerie opted NOT to work with Rich Harrison on her upcoming third album None of The Above because she felt that he was giving her sound to everybody else and ever since he got mainstream recognition for Beyonce's Crazy In Love, he got promoted creating beats for Jennifer Lopez and Toni Braxton. In the track she says:

Six months, and yall done checked my style
Thinkin I was M.I.A., that's wishful thinking child.
It's obvious to see,
Chickens try to bite it,
But they can't cop my delivery.
My style, my aggression on the track,
When yall chicks know yall wasn't singing like that, Yeah!
So let me break it down for ya,
To the ground for ya,
Go and chase that track.
Pay a hundred stack,
But you can't buy my sound,
Can't take my flow,
Can't bag my swag,

Lawd jeebus. The cattiness of it all! She is saying that since it's been a hot minute that she's put out any new music, other singers have jumped onto the bandwagon to cop her sound (although its crystal clear that the song is mainly about Beyonce and nobody else). She then talks about chicks not being able to steal her sound especially when she spits out her aggression on a track, but if it serves me correctly, it was Kelis who was the first to do that. She is also telling Beyonce that she can go after the beats for a raw deal because no matter how much money she spends, she cannot buy her sound or duplicate her. Miaow! Could it be that Amerie is bitter because her albums are no where near as successful as Beyonce's and that Beyonce got all he credit for introducing Rich Harrison when in fact it was Amerie who was the first to work with him? Hmmmm ... Anyway, I only started listening to her mixtape yesterday and thought it was awful. I just didn't get it. Very wrong in so many ways, she's just basically singing over Hip Hop beats and well, it was just lame to me. You can listen to the track by clicking the link below.

Because I Love It (Intro)

FRIDAY'S R&B CRUMBS ...

Here is Janet Jackson's BLACK CAT 2006 photo shoot and she looks fierce! That means good to the slow folks. Some people on here love to misinterpret what I say. These are the type of photo shoots that should have been an ongoing thing from day one. Classy and gorgeous. The fact that she resorted to going half naked in almost every shoot shows her desperation to sell records and at the end of the day, it did not amount to anything because her album 20 Years Old is now a certified flop.

You can only play sex kitten for so long. It may have worked when you were younger but nobody wants to see a woman close to her menopause stages half naked in bra and pannies with her tits hanging out. My mama is only 6 years older than Janet and is already going through the change. Well, you WILL not catch my mama with her tits hanging out at every opportunity.

I do NOT recall Justin Timberlake taking off his clothes to sell a million records in his second week but then JT brought the heat with FutureSex/LoveSounds. His album is still in the top 5 after almost two months of release. All it takes is a good album to sell and a hot single that is catchy and radio friendly. Janet did not deliver in either segment unfortunately. However, these pictures are a step in the right direction.

Lauryn Hill and the Conde Nast Media Group celebrated the New Starwood Prefererd Guest Card from American Express on October 25, 2006. Lauryn is beautiful. If it were anybody else, I would say they would need to tone down their eyebrows or at least make the effort to shape them up a little but Lauryn can definitely pull it off and it matches her hair. Her style, definitely an inspiration to black women! Word.

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Pretty Ciara celebrated her 21st birthday on 106 yesterday. Wow. That is a lot of hair Ciara. How many horses had to be put down for that I wonder?

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Nicole and The Pussy Cat Dolls performed at the Snoop Youth Football League Benefit - October 25, 2006. The Dolls performed Beep featuring Will.I.Am and Buttons featuring Snoop Dog. Click thumbnails for larger view.

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R&B CRUMBS ...

Alicia Keys new movie Smokin' Aces is expected to come out 2nd March 2007 and you can watch the trailer here. I love Alicia and cannot wait to see her in this movie. She has also been very busy working on her third studio album so maybe at around that time we'll probably hear a new single to coincide with the movie. Can't wait! Whilst mad bitch Naomi Campbell is going around making British black chicks like myself look bad, more controversy dominates the R&B world so here are todays R&B crumbs. It seems Hong Kong have put their foot down and decided they will NOT be victimised by Mariah Carey's diva-ish ways and demands. Her Hong Kong gig was axed due to poor ticket sales (4,000 copies sold to be precise) and ridiculous last-minute demands. And things will never change huh? Kwame did an interview with Hot 97 to talk about Janets new album being a failure and in the interview he came across as rather bitter all because 5 of his cuts did not make the album, hinting that one of the rejected tracks would have made Beyonce's Ring The Alarm sound like a lullaby. Ha!

The most controversial quote is when he said "Ask Jimmy and Terry how they felt when Jermaine came over and changed almost everything". Well, who can blame them? I always stated that JD should not have been given so much artistic control over the album and I still stand by those words. It seems like Janet allowed her album to become downgraded just because JD is her man. JD and Janet do not mix well artistically unlike Mariah. He is brilliant with Mariah but Janet is another story. This is like the Christina Milian saga all over again when LA Reid wanted Christina to work with other producers but she made her boyfriend Dre produce her whole album instead. Not that the album was bad because it wasn't but as an artist, the public just don't warm up to her, well it would be like spotting a polar bear in Jamaica wouldnt it? Just because you're getting good dick doesn't mean your man will put on the same effect for your career. Just saying. There is also rumour going round that JD did NOT quit but was chucked out of his position. "Since there are so many rumors running rampant about my position at Virgin Records, I feel that it is necessary to set the record straight," Dupri said Wednesday in a statement released to the AP. "I was not forced out of the company, I made a decision that it was in my best interest to leave." Yeah right, after you found out your ass was about to get dropped. And the saga continues. Stay tuned for more R&B crumbs.

THURDAY'S R&B RUN DOWN!!!

Yesterday, Ciara Harris celebrated her 21st birthday at Marquee and a host of celebrities came out to help her celebrate, including Letoya Luckett, Lyfe Jennings, Missy, Busta Rhymes and many others so check out these latest pictures.

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Ciara and friends seemed like they had soooo much fun! Click on thumbnails for larger view.

OK, so this week super hot R&B producer Ryan Leslie landed himself in a bit of hot water with You Tube. Apparently, he has been accused of creating YouTube accounts to hype RyanLeslie TV. The company is crying foul in the major publicity and visits the RyanLeslie TV channel gets. The controversy emerged following a video entry made on October 19, 2006, by a YouTube member who's screen-name is BOH3M3, which resulted in over 400 video responses and RyanLeslie TV being removed from YouTube Channel ranking. Well, Ryan is a bit of a dark horse isn't he? When he use to email me, he came across as sweet and level-headed not to mention that he is mad talented (he did the damn thang on Cassie and Jojo's albums). I love his work and I downloaded his album some months ago and it was good. He has a very nice voice. But hey, if Murda Stinc were allowed to buy all of Ashanti's records and if Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez can indulge in payola and pay all the major radio stations to spin their records, then I say he isn't doing anything different from all the other music executives that cheat their way to the top. I mean buying your artists records, c'mon! Talk about desperation and not having faith in your new artist to pull units. I would feel insulted but it's like whatever.

Rihanna supports Jay-Z!

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Some sexy concert pictures of Rihanna Fenty in Australia where she supported Jay-Z on his Australian tour. Judging by these pictures, no wonder Beyonce decided to tag along. I guess she decided to keep Rihanna in check. When Jay-Z was in the UK a couple of weeks ago on his UK tour, Rihanna was there as she performed at the Mobo Awards. Wherever Jay-Z and Rihanna may be, expect Beyonce not to be too far behind, with her insecure self. The Blu Cantrell incident *cough* Ring The Alarm. *cough*

Well, speaking of Bee, more sightings of Beyonce in Australia where she attended the zoo.

Is his face made out of spandex? *lol* Just so surreal. He really need not make those weird facial expressions when he looks, not so pretty. Pretty Ricky shoot their new video for Hotline!

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Anyway, I was the first to give you the new Pretty Ricky track Hotline which is going to be their new single from their sophomore album entitled Late Night Special and now here are some pictures taken from their new video for the track. Click thumbnails for larger view.

Yesterday, Madonna did an interview with Oprah Winfrey via satellite from her London home and these touching family pictures only serves to prove that Madonna really means business in providing little David Banda with the loving and security that every baby needs. Kudos to her for ensuring that the little mite will no longer live in poverty. David looks REALLY happy! He will enjoy a life of luxury, drink the finest wine, travel and see mama Madonna at her concerts. Just by association, he is already a famous rich kid, hahaha! He will mingle with Britney Spears children, date one of Puffy's girl twins when they get older and be best pals with baby Suri *lol* I am sure once David's biological father sees these pictures he will see that maybe the adoption was for the best and will no longer intervene. And yeah, maybe I was a little harsh in my Madonna rant. However, these pictures speak louder than words any day of the week.

I love the show Prison Break and I'm not one to miss an opportunity to post pictures of the cute Wentworth Miller. So check him out!

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This week, Went and his co-stars attended the FOX Fall 2006 Eco-Casino Party at Boulevard3 in Hollywood, CA. Even when gross-looking Teabag is cleaned up and dressed in a suit, he still looks greasy and no different from the grubby pervy cellmate we are use to seeing. Nevertheless, you got to give it to him. The dude is frickin' hilarious. Just what will they do now that he has stolen all that damn money? After a 3-week hiatus Prison Break returned this week on US screens. However, they have yet to start airing the new episodes over here. I have to download the episodes instead or watch them via a stream. The same with Lost as well. My sister who is a Lost fanatic is telling me the new episodes won't air on British screens until January. Grrrr! Well, at least by that time, American Idol will be back on our screens. Hurray!

How does someone get from this?

to this?

I was over at Cake & Icecream where she posted some pictures of pre-surgery Kim and she was an attractive black woman back in the day. I am looking at pictures of Kim when she attended an event this week, and it just broke my heart. Despite the black nose it was actually cute, but now her nose looks like a blob of plasticine with two holes dented on each side. Her skin looks unhealthy and sometimes she wears foundation that is lighter than her actual skin tone. Sometimes the foundation is applied so heavily, it looks like her pores are all clogged up. Her bright eye contacts just look weird, her long and sleek weaves never seem to match the texture of her hair underneath (you can always see the new regrowth which is NOT a good look). She wears white people's make-up and her mouth is all twisted as if she were a stroke victim of some sort. I think it's really sad that you allow so much plastic surgery to contort your looks in horrific circumstances. I think it all started when she fell in love with the late Biggie Small (Christopher Wallace) who had a thing for high yellow mixed race women with euro-centric features (Charlie Baltimore and Faith Evans).

Kim was nothing more than just a notch on his bedpost. He went on to marry Bad Boy's R&B singer Faith Evans and I know that must've cut up Kim, to marry a woman he hardly knew when Kim was always there for him was pretty trifling. Now it seems Kim is going out of her way to look like the women that Biggie was attracted to, because she felt rejected by a man she had strong feelings for. In these circumstances she feels it will liberate her and make her more appealing but deep down she is very unhappy and insecure with herself because she feels the need to be accepted by black men and society in general, propelling herself to live up to society's standards of beauty. Have you even seen the album cover to her last album and the pictures within it? Just pitiful. Low self-esteem is a bitch and believe me I've been there during my high school era but I think everybody goes through some self-awareness during their adolescence stages. A young girl starts her menstrual cycle, will start to take a fascination in make-up, grow breasts and her thighs become more rounded. Boys will start to grow stubble and their voices start to deepen, and then there's the acne. By the way, I don't have a bone straight nose my damn self. It is on the pudgy side, cute but pudgy. My dad is pretty fair with bone straight features. I use to ask myself why didn't I adopt his features? Why couldn't I be lighter skinned like the rest of my siblings (one of my sisters looks like Mariah Carey and one of my brothers has freckles). But I grew out of that stage by the time I started college and learned to embrace myself and love me for me.

I would NEVER in a million years touch my face. I would be too afraid to do it. Look at the Jackson's as an example of plastic surgery gone catastrophically wrong. Looking at Michael Jackson should be enough to put anyone off from getting their faces messed with. Why fix it if it aint broke? I know that I clown the hell out of celebrities on my blog, but I just find it extremely funny to see these people with soooo much money looking a hot ass mess. A good stylist, nutritionist and nice make-up can go a long way. Amerie and Letoya Luckett were natural beauties BEFORE they got their noses done. It's just crazy. Plastic surgery can do wonderful things for some people but when you go too far with it, you can look horrific. Not everybody can have a nose like Halle Berry and to see Kim with this complex and be well into her 30s shows that it won't end well. If she hasn't accepted herself for what she is at that age, I would hate to see the extent of her self-loathing in the next 10 years. Black Courtney Love? Most definitely. Love yourselves ladies, I'm out!!!

BOBBY VALENTINO - TURN THE PAGE (NEW VIDEO)

Bobby Valentino is back with a brand new video taken from his new upcoming album Special Occasion and its pretty generic. Not an exciting video but the song is mad cool.

PROMISE - CIARA (WORLD PREMIERE)

Wow. Absolute wow. I have to say that this video is soooo on point and is definetely the best video she has EVER done. The director responsible for this video deserves a gold medal. This is the song and video that Janet should've done for her comeback instead of that weak Call On Me mess. The choreography in THIS video was well executed, sexy and real smooooth. The chair scene where she was bending down was sexy and beautifully shot. I didn't get why the short hair scene was added. It was so unnecessary, but apart from that I absolutely LOVED the video.

The video straight reminded me of Janet's Pressure Principle (the microphone shot) and Aaliyah's Are You That Somebody (the baggy outfit and the dancers scene), not to mention that the song has a Prince vibe to it which is a winning combination because the song is mad hot. She is a better dancer than Aaliyah (and dare I say it, Janet as well). She moves with such ease and fluidity. She is definetely a natural mover. Mya had better come haaaard with her dance video because this one will definetely be hard to beat. Needing to add that vocally, she has stepped up her game. In the UK, Ciara got to no1 with Goodies and I can see this being a huge hit too! Ciara is back people! I can't wait for her new album Ciara: The Evolution which is expected to drop 5th December 2006.

Mad props to Oxygen Chunks for uploading the video.

WEDNESDAY'S TASTY R&B SCOOP!

Brooke Hogan was accompanied by that weirdo gorilla Dennis Rodman and her wrestler papa Hulk Hogan at her album release party yesterday. Someone really needs to lock up this animal in his cage until he decides to get some kind of intervention. Dude has some serious issues. But then again, we knew that already.

I love this couple soooo much, don't ask me why but I just love seeing them together. These pictures were taken yesterday when R&B princess Ashanti and her rapper fella Nelly wrapped up warm in their winter gear when they attended the St. Louis Cardinals World Series game. Having said that, it's October and over here the weather is pretty mild. It's not north-pole cold or anything like that, which is weird because Britain is one of the coldest places at this time of year.

Today is Ciara's birthday and she is 21 years old! So happy birthday. To celebrate, Ciara will be premiering her new video Promise TONIGHT at 7:30pm on Access. These are two new pictures from a recent Lara Rossignol photoshoot. Not really feeling them. She has taken much better pictures in the past but oh well, she looked gorgeous in her video shoot and I cannot wait for tonight.

This is supposedly Fantasia's album cover and it's um, NO COMMENT!!!

Because I Love It (Intro)
Kept My Head Down
Push It
Reminisce Witcha
Take Control
Same Thing
Blow
The Money
Money In The Bank
Get Gone
Rest Of My Life
That's What U R
Outro

Amerie has a new mixtape called Because I Love It: Vol 1, so if you want to download the FULL mixtape, click on the picture, otherwise you have a choice to download each song seperately. Amerie's new album None of The Above is expected to drop in March 2007. Enjoy the mixtape!

TUESDAY'S R&B SCOOP!

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Beyonce and her sugar daddy Jay-Z arrived in Sidney, Australia yesterday morning. Jay-Z is currently on his Australian tour where Rihanna and Ne-yo are supporting him. I see Beyonce stays stuck on her man like flies on shit.

Nicole Scherzinger is finally putting the finishing touches to her solo debut album which is expected to be released in early 2007. She has collaborated with a host of other big names for her album, including Akon, Polow Da Don, Sean Garrett, Kara DioGuardi (who wrote an Eden's Crush song back in the day), Timbaland (who also got Nicole to sing on his upcoming album) and Will.I.Am.

The Pussycat Dolls are also continuing to push their debut, PCD, and just signed on to tour with Christina Aguilera. "We're going to have some new songs with new elements, new choreography, some fresh looks," Scherzinger said. "It's an honor to be on tour with Christina because we respect her not only as a top female artist today, but also as a vocalist. And we definitely want those fans behind us."

At some point in the future, Nicole also plans to return to her roots in acting. She had bit parts on the TV shows "My Wife and Kids" and "Las Vegas," as well as the movies "Love Don't Cost a Thing" and "Chasing Papi" before joining the Dolls.

I look forwards to her solo album but I'm mildly disappointed at her line-up of producers because she went and done a Fergie and Ciara meaning her album is going to pretty much sound like everybody elses. As to whether she can make it big as a solo artist we will have to see, but I think it's great that she is not leaving the Pussy Cat Dolls and will feature on the next album.

Anyway, here's a new Gwen Stefani track called Wind It Up. It's a weird track and she samples that annoying Mary Poppins song with the yodelling but the beat has potential. It is a Pharrell Williams production and is said to be the official first single off her new album. Click banner to download full track in HQ.

SHOULD MADONNA HAND OVER DAVID BANDA? (TOYA'S RANT)

The big debate is, should Madonna hand over David Banda back to his father Yohane? The whole circumstance of the adoption process is to abide by regulatory practises in order to ensure that such procedures are carried out lawfully, effectively and FAIRLY. Am I right? You guys know I'm right. OK. Moving on. In these regulatory practises, Madonna has practically pissed through the process creating holes not just in those adoption papers but the rules within it. David's father claims he did not understand what he was signing as he couldn't read and write. He says he was tricked and manipulated by officials (the government) into permanently signing his son over to Madonna and had no intention of allowing Madonna to fully adopt his son when he himself was well capable of feeding him. Fair enough. If David's father WAS manipulated and spoon-fed with a bunch of half-truths just so that Madonna could run off with him and treat him like an extended addition to her family, then in deed David Banda MUST be returned to Malawi as soon as possible.

I don't think it's right that Madonna fast-tracked the process and was allowed to get away with it just because she is rich and famous. No wonder she went on a snatch and run parade just to get him into Britain because she knew that she were breaking the rules and that David's father was tricked into the unauthorised adoption. His lack of literal comprehension was deliberately abused. If it were any of us ordinary folk, we'd have had to stay in Malawi for 18-months and I myself would personally have ensured that David's father knew the exact correct procedures involving his child. As the father, he was entitled to it. I guess it's like elements of slavery in that poor blacks were taken advantage of in a situation they were vulnerable to due to their rich white counterparts having the upper hand. We're in 2006 now right? Yeah I thought as much because back in the day blacks weren't allowed to know HOW to read and write for those very reasons. But hey, that's a whole new can of worms so I'm going to stop right there.

These days you just can't help but feel that black babies are the latest new fashion accessory for white celebrities or that it has become the new fashionable celebrity career enhancer. Angelina Jolie is a wonderful mother but it's not coincidental that Madonna has now taken the plunge and Britney Spears now considering doing the same. They are not toys, they are babies who need to be nurtured and cared for 24/7 right up until they reach 18-years-old. Angelina gets pictured showing her motherly devotion to beautiful Zahara all the time and is a well respected figure because of it. Britney has struggled to cope with her own, never mind somebody else's child. I hope she reconsiders though and spends more time on that flailing marriage of hers. We know that Madonna's whole career has been confounded with shock, scandal and controversy and I don't doubt for a second that Madonna had good intentions for the little boy she'd like to raise as her own but if she were a decent human-being, and knew in her heart that she wilfully abused her power to get her own way, she'd do the right thing and give David back to his father who never intentionally agreed to this adoption.