Buzz Notes
First like to say thanks to everyone who took the time out to holla at me and say genuine things about my little speech yesterday. I had like 40 extra emails this morning, it was crazy. When I say that I appreciate ya’ll I don’t be bullshittin’. You guys help keep me sane more than you’ll ever know. I would also like to say a million thank you’s to Rod and Cathy for their expert advise. These are two major players in this blog pop culture movement and have always been such a huge help to me. Rod is in the process of establishing a network for African American bloggers on Blogads.com. Yo, if you sleeping on Rod you need to wake your ass up. He’s trying to help put other black blog sites in the position as our white counterparts who are generating major dollars from their site traffic. And ya’ll stuck on the fact that he’s gay? C’mon homie we major.
Fresh + Rich = Bre. This is our love child, she looks quite beautiful don’t you agree? Anyways, everyone’s favorite crazy ass upcoming model Lisa was booted this past week but not before the girls’ trip to London. . . The Ultimate Hustler had an interesting turn of events this week. I thought for sure Jen would’ve been packing her bags but to my shock Shola was axed. . . Making The Bed 89 was funny for me to watch last night due to all the drama with The Lox and Puff that took place this week. . . Run’s House season may be over but no worries, they’ll be back next season.
Freshly Squeezed
- Typically, celebrities pitch products that play to their strengths. Martha Stewart’s a stylish homemaker, so she makes sheets. Paul Newman’s the kind of progressive, cool husband who wouldn’t mind cooking dinner, so he makes salad dressing. But, alarmingly, if Shar Jackson’s new cosmetic line, RelationLips, is any bellwether of things to come, celebrities have now realized that the things that make them most famous, most recognizable, are things that they really shouldn’t be proud of. The trouble stems from the name of her first gloss, “He Cheated.” Getting knocked up and deserted by Kevin Federline hardly seems like the kind of thing Ms. Jackson would want to celebrate; when George Foreman started selling grills, one imagines that naming the first model “Ali Whupped My Butt” didn’t cross his mind. (via Radar)
- Producer Swizz Beatz, who gained notoriety for tracks he has produced for DMX, Jay-Z and others, was in family court today (accompanied by his wife J Records artist Mashonda) to defend against a lawsuit brought against him for child support, according to a witness. Nicole Levy, who is being represented by Raoul Felder (the same attorney who brought a child support action against Diddy on behalf of his son’s mother Misa Hylton-Brim), filed for child support on Dec. 22, 2004 and now awaits the court’s decision on the fate of her case. According to a spokeswoman in Felder’s office, Swizz had originally denied paternity when the suit was filed. However, paternity was established after a blood test was administered. Levy is suing for the child to have the “same lifestyle that he would if he lived with the father,” says the spokeswoman. At press time, representatives for Swizz were unavailable for comment.
- LeBron James has Nike, Allen Iverson has Reebok, Tracy McGrady is down with Adidas, Dwyane Wade re-upped with Converse and Shaq signs with… Payless ShoeSource? Shaq maybe on the sidelined for the next few weeks but he’ll be sporting his new Dunkman Game Show the entire time. The Big Fella recently signed an exclusive deal with Payless to distribute his shoe at Payless stores starting Dec. 1. Not only is the actual deal with Payless a shocker, but the price tag for the shoes may leave basketball fans in awe. While you can hardly find a pair of NBA superstar shoes for under $100, Shaq’s shoes will run $24.99 for youth and $39.99 for adults.”When I was a kid, I got a lot of my shoes at Payless,” O’Neal said in a statement. “Now having kids of my own, I wanted to create a performance shoe that parents everywhere felt good about providing for their kids or themselves.”Shaq will be wearing the Game Shoe in all his games this season, let’s hope that the shoe wasn’t the reason for his hurt ankle last week. That’s not good publicity.
Nigga Please
- Kanye West will receive the Artist Achievement Award at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, which will be presented Dec. 6 in Las Vegas. The awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Fox (8 p.m. EST). “Kanye West has not only had a huge impact on R&B/hip-hop, he has transformed modern music as a whole,” Tamara Conniff, co-executive editor of Billboard, said in a statement Thursday.The Billboard Music Awards recognize the year’s leading artists and songs as determined by performance on Billboard’s weekly.
Next thing you know his ass will be at the podium accepting the artist of the millenium award a la Wacko Jacko.
In unrelated news, guess who I saw in an issue of Essence from a few months back? None other than Jimi Izrael! I wish ya’ll could’ve peeped my facial expression when I came across the article. I looked like Beyonce (who graces the cover that Jimi’s interview appears in) at Popeye’s in line trying to decide on two side orders. Yeah I know I’m hella late but I had to tell say something.
