Eva Longoria and Her Man Hit a Bump...

'Difficult Time' for Eva, Tony
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 03:20PM EST

Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria and San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker are dealing with a rough patch in their nearly two-year relationship, according to a rep for the actress.

"Eva and Tony are going through a very difficult time right now, just like any other couple with extremely demanding careers," says Longoria's rep, Liza Anderson.

Longoria, 31, and Parker, 24, met in November 2004 and, though they played coy at first, by August 2005, Longoria had confirmed they were a couple, asking PEOPLE, "What's not to like?"

In April, Longoria told PEOPLE she is happiest when in a relationship. "There's no way in the world I would rather be single," she said. "Tony is too. I've said the only reason Tony and I are going to stay together forever is because we're too lazy to look for someone else."Source:People.com

I think they'll work it out.

Hova Has International Swagger...

Jay-Z hip-hops across the pond

Def Jam CEO Jay-Z was missing from the office yesterday - but he had a good alibi.
The unretired rap titan brought his beats to London's Royal Albert Hall Wednesday night - becoming the first hip-hop artist to headline at the theater, which opened in 1871.

As the Beatles did before him, Jay got by with some help from his friends. Girlfriend Beyoncé performed "Crazy in Love" and "Deja Vu." Coldplay front man Chris Martin, who's been collaborating on Hova's new album, "Kingdom Come," played piano on "Dead Presidents," with Nas lending a mic.

Besides having a 32-piece orchestra, Jay introduced a promising backup singer on "Song Cry" - Martin's wife, Gwyneth Paltrow.

Shaking her booty in the audience was Nicole Kidman, who bought the last box in the sold-out hall. Also in the house were Steve Stoute, Irv Gotti, Vanessa Carlton, Hype Williams, John Demsey and Big John.

The whole crew partied afterward at Movida. Naturally, no one ordered Cristal, which Jay is boycotting. There was a cake for Paltrow, who turned 34 yesterday. (She and Beyoncé have been doing some serious shopping in Knightsbridge.)

Jay plays Paris tonight and Milan tomorrow. Designer Roberto Cavalli is throwing him a dinner in the Italian fashion capital. From there he heads to Africa, where he's getting involved in irrigation projects.

Island Def Jam chief L.A. Reid, who flew over from New York, told us he had no problem with a member of his senior management taking two months off to tour.

"I don't think anybody expected him to be in the office every day," Reid told us. "But he's been really serious about the job. When I hired him, I got lucky." Source:NY Daily News

He's looking rather thin these days too. I guess Beyonce' is making sure that he sticks to that diet.

Good Going Gabby!

Gabrielle Union looked stunning as she hosted Self Magazine's Breast Cancer Awareness Benefit.

Rev. Run Issues Statement on Simmon's Tragedy

Rev. Run Speaks Out About Family Tragedy
Posted Sep 27th 2006
As TMZ first reported, the newborn baby girl of MTV and music legend Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons died yesterday at a hospital in Ridgewood, N.J.


Rev. Run issued the following statement about the tragic death of his daughter to the Associated Press: "On Sept. 26, 2006, Victoria Anne Simmons for some unknown reason chose to come early and unfortunately did not survive," his statement said. "We must accept whatever is there and once you accept unconditionally, then everything is beautiful. Every pain has a purifying effect. So whatever comes your way, just be thankful. We see life in death and believe in the celebration of life in death."

Simmons, brother of hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, has five children. He can be seen on the popular MTV reality series "Run's House."

He was a founding member of pioneering rap group Run-DMC. Source:TMZ.com

Oh Patti!

The diva was a fashion DON'T at a recent charity event. The proof is in the pictures.

Fantasia's Father Files Lawsuit

The father of "American Idol" winner Fantasia Bar rino has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Simon & Schuster, publisher of Fanta sia's memoir, "Fantasia - Life is Not a Fairy Tale," claiming he was "defamed by false, ex aggerated, sensational, inten tional and malicious un truths" in the book, published last September and subse quently turned into a success ful Lifetime movie. Joseph Barrino, a truck driver who lives in Greensboro, N.C., says the book falsely claims, among other things, that he was unable to financially sup port his family and that he asks Fantasia for money.Source: NY Post

I saw the Lifetime movie--which was based on the book. They did make him look a bit cuckoo, with Joe Jackson tendencies...

Ludacris Album Release Party

The rapper just released a new album, "Release Therapy". Here are some pics from the celebration.
Of course, head honcho L.A. Reid came out to support.





The F-A-B-O also showed up.





Fredro Star came out of hiding. Something looks off about him...





And here's Sway.

Press Conference for "King of Scotland"

The previews for this movie look real serious. And as usual, Kerry Washington was looking her best. I think she is one of the most underrated actresses out there.

If Cassie Can Do It, Why Can't She?

Former 106 & Park host Julissa is planning to launch a singing career.





August 20, 2006
A Night Out With: Julissa Bermudez
A Song Before Dinner

By DOUGLAS CENTURY
ON a recent Saturday in Midtown, Julissa Bermudez lounged on a brown leather sofa in the Sony Recording Studios, awaiting her moment with the maestro.

Ms. Bermudez, a 22-year-old former fashion model who is now the host of the youth affairs talk show “The Center” on BET every weekday, had an informal singing audition with Rodney Jerkins, the Midas-touch record producer.

While on-air chitchat about college applications and prom dresses has its moments, Ms. Bermudez — who was born in the Dominican Republic and was raised in Elmhurst, Queens — harbors slightly loftier show business dreams.

She had just returned from Los Angeles, hopscotching among meetings with talent managers and casting directors. She pulled a script from a black quilted Marc Jacobs bag. “It’s a Jack Black comedy called ‘Be Kind Rewind,’ ” she said, shrugging. “There’s a part called Cindy they want me to read for.”

This evening she’d landed every aspiring pop singer’s dream: a session with Mr. Jerkins, the New Jersey native who earned the nickname Super Producer with a litany of hits for Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige and Beyoncé.

Dressed in jeans and a pale-blue printed T-shirt, Ms. Bermudez hugged Mr. Jerkins, who wore a white shirt, sneakers and a blinding array of bling. She’d never planned to be a pop singer, she told him. “But everyone I met in L.A. kept asking me, ‘Do you sing?’ ” she said. “And I was like, if Paris Hilton is making records, I’m not going to tell them no.”

At Mr. Jerkins’s coaxing, she sang a verse or two of a Marc Anthony favorite. It was an untrained voice, to be sure, but Mr. Jerkins thought he heard something.

“You should do it,” he said. “But not big ballads. Your songs need to be light, fun, urban, reggaetón, some catchphrase stuff — that’s really where you need to be.” At 8:30 p.m., Ms. Bermudez’s best friend, Adrienne Bailon, a petite pop singer in the girl group 3LW and one of the stars of the “Cheetah Girls” films on the Disney Channel, arrived with a flourish....
Source: New York Times

Junior Mafia Movie Trailer

It's called "Conspiracy Ten Years Later".

Mya, Mya Pants on Fire

She's just asking for a diss track! Or maybe it's a publicity stunt--she does have an album coming out. Anywho, this is the quote that is circling around:

"Fifty and I never dated ...despite what he chooses to believe in his own mind. I don't know how he would get Lloyd Banks confused with me."

- Mya

Believe This Ish if You Want To!

DMX Says He Was Raped
Posted Sep 18th 2006 1:49PM by Donya Floyd

Now that Whitney Houston has divorced Bobby Brown, there's an opening for another ride-or-die chick. In the October issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine, Tashera Simmons -- wife to rapper DMX -- stands by her man as he talks openly about recently fathering a child with a Washington, D.C., woman.

"She raped me," the rapper told S2S editor Jamie Foster Brown. "I mean, you know, that might sound like some bullsh*t. No man has ever been... you know what I mean, like never? Is that the only thing in the world that's not possible?"

Mrs. Simmons recalled an earlier encounter with the woman. "Before the stuff hit the fan, she came up to us while we were in court and said 'I work for kids that are sickly,' said Tashera. "So he said 'Give her my number.' That's how it goes all the time. At first, I said OK. But, then I thought she looked deranged and obsessed with him."

While his wife "blocks out" the experience to cope, X gained a more valuable lesson: "Turn on the light before I go to sleep," he said. Source: AOL

Hmmm, I don't know about this one. Denial is not only a river!

Scary, but True!

This is real talk, not gossip!:

1 in 10 'straight' men have gay sex: study

BY JORDAN LITE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Nearly 10 percent of New York men who say they're straight are having sex with other men, city health officials found in a first-ever study of the "down-low" phenomenon here.
And a "surprising" 70% of that group are married - and less likely to use condoms or to have been tested for HIV than those who identify themselves as gay, said Dr. Susan Blank, assistant commissioner at the city Health Department.

Most live outside Manhattan, and many are minorities, foreign-born or of low economic and educational status, according to the survey, conducted in 2003 and published in today's Annals of Internal Medicine.

"We expected a substantive percentage [to be married], but we hadn't estimated 70%. No one should be making assumptions. Marital status isn't necessarily an indicator of sexual behavior," Blank said.

The down-low phenomenon, in which supposedly straight men sleep with other men on the sly, has been the subject of anecdotal reports in recent years.

However, this is the first time health experts have scientific evidence of it, Blank said.

A separate study in the medical journal found that an increasing proportion of deaths among New Yorkers with AIDS stems from causes other than the deadly disease itself.

Deaths from cancer, heart disease and drug abuse rose by 33% among the city's AIDS patients between 1999 and 2004.

However, three-quarters of New Yorkers with AIDS still die of HIV-related illnesses.

"It's the new drugs that are allowing people with AIDS to live longer and then die of other causes that kill the rest of us," said Judith Sackoff, city deputy director of HIV epidemiology.
Source: New York Daily News

Some of Zab Judah's Dirty Laundry

* The wife of Zab Judah had to remind the former boxing champ whose corner he's in the other night. Judah had just arrived at club Sol with Serena Williams when he discovered that his missus, Meda, was there. Making matters worse, Meda wound up outside the VIP area containing Zab and Serena. "She threw a hysterical fit," says our spy. "She grabbed her husband and dragged him out of the club. She showed him who the champ was." Serena found a replacement for the pugilist by texting Busta Rhymes. Zab can count on more drama Wednesday in Queens Family Court, where Natassia Wright, mother of his 4-year-old daughter, Amissia, is due to demand $100,488 in back child support. Her lawyer, Suzanne Kimberly Bracker, promises that "If he doesn't pay up, we're going to send him to jail" …--Source:New York Daily News

Tyra Banks Remakes "De Ja Vu"

Janet f. Khia: "So Excited"

Kelis Throws Nas a Party

It was the Virgo's birthday and his wife did him right with a celebrity-studded surprise bash.





Look at his family--Grandpa and Father--showing love.





Rosie Perez, Diddy, Usher and Mario were there too. Look how Nas has Mario in the Suge Knight choke hold.














Crazy ass Tracy Morgan was there. Must he always take off his shirt?!





So was Katt Williams. He's funny as hell.





Chamillionaire showed up. He's corny...

"Official" News on Jay-Z's Album

Jay - Z Emerging From His Rap Retirement

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:33 a.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- Call him the Michael Jordan of rap. Jay-Z, who declared that 2003's ''The Black Album'' would be his last, is coming out retirement and releasing a new CD.

''Kingdom Come'' will hit stores this fall, Entertainment Weekly magazine reports in its new issue, due on newsstands Monday.

''It was the worst retirement in history,'' Jay told the magazine.

Actually, his post-retirement career looked pretty good. In 2004, the rap icon (real name: Shawn Carter) became president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings. He became part owner of the New Jersey Nets that same year. Also on his resume: Not-So-Secret Boyfriend of Beyonce.

Despite naysayers' doubts, the 36-year-old Jay-Z thought he was retired from music-making: ''I believed it, yeah. I believed it for two years.''

But since his ''retirement,'' he's gone on a world tour, performed on hit records with Beyonce and other entertainers, and had a profile higher than most working rappers. There were rumblings that he was working on a new album. And in an interview with The Associated Press this summer, he said he was thinking about coming out of retirement.

He told Entertainment Weekly that he began tinkering in the studio over the summer.

''Something, when you love it, is always tugging at you and itching, and I was putting it off and putting it off. I started fumbling around to see if it felt good,'' he said.

The result: ''Kingdom Come.''

The disc is ''more in the vein of `The Black Album' than `The Blueprint,''' he tells the magazine. ''I've been experimenting with things, different types of music.''

He's already recruited some A-list producer-collaborators: Timbaland, Kanye West and Dr. Dre. Even Coldplay frontman Chris Martin produced a track called ''Beach Chair,'' he said.

So -- for real now -- when does he plan to retire?

''If I wake up one day and the best material has passed me by -- and that's going to happen,'' he said, ''then it's time to move on. I've said what I wanted to say.''--Source: Associated Press

Beyonce' Proves Critics Wrong!

Beyonce's 'B-Day' Makes Big Bow At No. 1

September 13, 2006, 11:20 AM ET

Katie Hasty, N.Y.
Beyonce racks up her second No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with "B'Day," bypassing her best one-week sum by more than 220,000 copies. The Columbia set moved a whopping 541,000 units in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the best sales number since Tool's "10,000 Days," sold 564,000 in May. "B'Day" also scores the No. 1 position on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums tally.

Beyonce also topped The Billboard 200 with her solo debut, "Dangerously in Love," which sold 317,000 in its first week. Only one Destiny's Child album managed a bigger start, 2001's "Survivor" with 663,000.
Source: Billboard.com

Bobby and Whitney are Done-so!

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown Separate

Whitney Houston has split from her husband, Bobby Brown, Houston's rep, Nancy Seltzer, has confirmed to PEOPLE.

"She has filed for divorce from Bobby Brown," says Seltzer.

Houston filed the paperwork Friday, Sept. 8 in Orange County, Calif.

The filing is technically a legal separation, Seltzer clarified, adding: "We're saying she filed for divorce because that is (Whitney's) intent." Divorce proceeding are expected to begin next month.

"(Whitney) was in L.A. last night with Clive Davis at the Ella awards," Seltzer says. "I have nothing further to add."

A Houston friend tells PEOPLE of the singer, "She is doing fabulously well."

Houston, 43, and Brown, 39, wed on July 18, 1992. They have one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, 13.
Source:People.com
I guess Bin Laden has a chance now.

Premiere for New Damon Wayans Show

It's called the "Underground" and it will be airing on ShowTime. Hopefully, it will help him to redeem himself from the BET hosting fiasco. HATED IT!
Here is a picture of Damon with his son, Damon Jr.





And, I am not sure what his son's sexual orientation is, but if you take pics like this, people WILL make assumptions.








Like Dat from Flavor of Love, Anthony Mackie and Nick Cannon came out to support.

Kanye's Self-Celebration

The Louis Vuitton Don held a party to celebrate his landing on Vanity Fair's "Best Dressed" list.
Of course Alexis was there.








And so was Lil' Kim and Nick Cannon. I'm mad at Kim for that outfit!





Serena Williams also attended. That's all I'll say about her...

Is Mary's Marriage on the Rocks?

Adding fuel to the Black Voices blind item, mediatakeout.com is "reporting" that Mary J. Blige and husband Kendu will soon call it quits. Here's the story:

MARY AND KENDU HEADING FOR DIVORCE

****EXCLUSIVE****

September 13. For the past five years Mary J Blige and her husband Kendu Isaacs have been the happiest couple in hip-hop. But it now seems that all that has changed. MediaTakeOut.com has learned that Mary and Kendu are on the verge of divorce.

A close friend of the couple told MediaTakeOut.com that Mary suspects that her husband has been cheating. According to our source, "Mary caught him doing something that he shouldn't have been doing and she is mad as hell." And the source added, "for Mary, there's nothing worse than being betrayed ... so I think the marriage is probably over."

And the break up couldn't be happening at a worse time for the R&B diva. According to our tipster, Mary had been trying to get pregnant. The source tells, "Mary was really looking forward to having a baby ... it was the happiest I'd ever seen her." Adding, "if those two break up it will really be sad, Mary was on top of the world with her new album and everything ... that woman just can't get a break."

But not everyone feels sorry for the platinum selling artist. Rod McCullom, author of the popular blog Rod 2.0, tells MediaTakeOut.com, "Kendu has three children with his ex-wife that are approximately five, six and eighteen years old. That means that his ex-wife was either pregnant or had just given birth when he and Mary began dating in 2000. How can you hook up with a man who cheats on his pregnant wife and not expect this kind of drama? Ray Charles could have seen the writing on the wall."

Developing...
-Source:mediatakeout.com

Remy Ma Tries a Lil' Harder

If at first you don't succeed....
Here are some pics of the rapper at a party she hosted in NYC for DJ Envy. Dare I say that she looks halfway decent...











Speaking of Remy, here is some footage of her talking real greezy about Missy's winning the BET award over her:

B'Day a Flop?

Story posted on sandrarose.com:

B'Day Debuts At #47 on Billboard R&B Chart

Who would have thunk it? Despite the strong 1st week numbers predicted by Beyonce's manager/dad Matthew Knowles, B'Day debuted at #47 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop albums charts.

Billboard's Top 200 Album chart doesn't come out until tomorrow but Soundscan numbers put B'Day sales at 323,000+ with 60% of the sales tallied. That's far below the 650,000 that the album was projected to sell in it's first week. This has to be devastating news for Beyonce's camp and her loyal fans. It's beginning to look like Beyonce's reign is drawing to an end.


Source: Sandrarose.com

"Real Men Don't Wear Sandals"

That's what DMX is saying regarding Jay-Z's love affair with chancletas.

SISSY SOLES

DMX - the oft-arrested hip-hop star - says real men don't wear sandals. And he blames Beyoncé for Jay-Z's flip-flop fetish. "The flip-flops - he's just not the same," DMX complains in Vibe magazine. "It's Beyoncé. He's a sucker for love. Thugs don't do flip-flops. Yo, no matter how much vacation I'm on - we been to St. Thomas, Bahamas, all the little islands - I don't wear no flip-flops. I'm never that comfortable, not even in my own house."--PageSix.com

A Little Bit of Corniness

Here are some pics of Justin Timberlake's recent visit to 106 & Park. Snore, snore, bore, bore.

Remembrance

I want to take a break from all of the fun and games for a bit to acknowledge the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. For me, the events hit very close to home as I am a New Yorker and I can remember exactly what I was wearing that day, down to where I was when it happened--one block away from the World Trade Center. I remember the reunion with my mother after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, but sadly, there are many who don't have that same memory.
Let's take a moment to reflect on those who were not as fortunate as me to make it home in one piece, the rescue workers who gave their lives and those who are still suffering the effects through their daily health problems. Say a prayer for the families who had to set one less place at the dinner table and the children who will grow up not knowing their mother or father.
9/11 affected us all in some way and I still can't believe it's been five years. Choose today, and hopefully the rest of your lives, to live as a better person.

Peace,
Dakota Jones

Rudy Huxtable Likes the White Lady?

That is what Bossip.com is reporting!:





Bossip has exclusively learned that Keisha Knight Pulliam formerly of the Cosby Show (Rudy) has a cocaine habit that goes back years. Multiple sources tell Bossip that Keisha ran in an elite circle of Morehouse and Spelman students in Atlanta who dabbled in cocaine while in college. The source who is a member of this circle says he witnessed Keisha do a line of coke at a party and that one of their friends from Florida dropped out of college and fell on hard times due to this cocaine culture within this elite group of primarily wealthy students. “Keisha still does coke and it is widely known by her friends, it’s not a secret” says a source.

Bossip has contacted members of this circle of Morehouse and Spelman students and Keisha’s cocaine habit is said to be beyond “dabbling”.

Sources tell Bossip that Keisha came to Spelman College during her freshman year "round and plumpy" and not only used cocaine for the high, but to lose weight as well. “Cocaine was the drug of choice to lose weight for the elite group of girls at Spelman” says another source to Bossip. Sources say Keisha still does coke but her habit is “managed and covered up pretty well.” It seems no child star from the Different Strokes and Cosby Show days made it squeaky clean from the child star syndrome.

I sincerely hope that there is no truth to this story. I hate to see a sister go down.

Black Voices Blind Item

Can't Say Names…

Say it ain't so. I hear the entourage of a certain singer currently on tour is waiting for the artist's road show to end so that they can tell her that her man is cheating on her. Sources tattle that the belter's beau, who has contributed to her recent lifestyle change, has been keeping company with a couple of chicks on the side. Now her camp is afraid to break the news to the singer for fear she'll cancel the rest of her tour. After the tour wraps, the relationship could be 'a wrap' as well.

I'm guessing it's Mary, but I REALLY hope that I'm wrong. Care to take a stab at it? Leave your guesses in the comment section...

Fiddy Arrested?

Perez Hilton says so:

50 Cent Arrested!

Details are scant, but....

We're hearing that Fiddy was just pulled over in NYC - on 34th and 8th and 8th Ave - by police.

He was stopped in a grey Lamborghini with no plates.

Developing!

I guess time will tell and we'll soon know whether there is any truth to this rumor.

Beyonce' on Good Morning America

The diva TORE IT DOWN during her Friday morning show. Personally, she is one of my favorite performers to watch because she always gives it 100%. Check out some of the pics:

Foxy Brown Has a Party

The rapper celebrated her b-day at a party in NYC. I am not sure of what age she is claiming these days, but I assume it's 25-ish. She looked alright...I guess. She could have used a little cover-up on her forehead though.





Here is the birthday girl with reggae artist Junior Reid.





And of course her BFF Kimora Lee Simmons showed up--almost looking a hot mess!





Here is Kimora with stylist Misa aka the mother of Diddy's first son. She doesn't seem to age at all!

Kelis f. Nas: "Blindfold Me"

All About Eve

The rapper/actor was out and about in New York City, promoting M.A.C's new Viva Glam IV campaign. What can I say kiddies, it's a slow news day...
First, she was at the launch of the campaign.








Then, she hit up TRL to do some more promotions.








My girl has come a looooonnng way. I hate to take it back, but remember when she used to look like this: