[CrimsonTide4]

Usher, the movie star? Yes! Usher is going to star in and produce a movie called Step in the Name of Love. The movie is set in the world of stepping. The movie will be like an urban Saturday Night Fever. This October Usher will be featured in the Ray Charles biography movie Unchain My Heart starring Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles.


A Night of Rapture, a live album featuring the best of Anita Baker
arrives in stores on June 8th. The album was recorded at the 1986
Montreux Jazz Festival.


Jill returns with a new CD on August 31st. Beautifully Human Words
and Sounds Volume two is the name of the album. The first single is
a song called "Golden." Look for Jill on an upcoming issue of
Essence Magazine. She will be on the August cover.


Whoopi Goldberg's NBC show Whoopi has been cancelled after one
season. The show started strong and later fell to low ratings.


Mariah Carey is looking to reinvent herself. After many years of
service she has fired her longtime publicist Cindi Berger. Berger
was there through the good times and the bad including her marriage
to Tommy Mottola, her mental breakdown and the movie Glitter. If she
would just put some clothes and sing her career would take off
again. Benny Medina is now managing Mariah. He's the man who made J-
Lo a star and he's also working with Brandy.


Patti LaBelle is headed to the big screen. Patti is teaming up with
John Travolta in the movie Be Cool. Be Cool is the sequel to the
1995, crime comedy Get Shorty. The movie also stars Uma Thurman and
Andre 3000 from Outkast. Patti's has a new CD out called Timeless
Journey and she will be touring the US in August. In the movie Patti
plays a disc jockey.


Rick James will be the big honoree at the 17th Annual Rhythm and
Soul Awards. The ceremony takes place June 28th, in Beverly Hills.
Rick is getting the ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Heritage Award for his
contribution to R&B music.

Whitney Houston says she feels whole after completing a portion of
her drug rehab. Whitney no longer has a chaperone to watch her as
she moves into phase two of her recovery. Whitney's former mentor
Clive Davis is planning a major comeback for Whitney next year. He
is urging her to stay out of trouble. Clive made Whitney a superstar
and he feels he can work his magic on her again.


Alicia Keys is ready to start her acting career. Alicia is making
her film debut in a movie based on the life of piano prodigy Phippa
Schuyler. Schuyler was a bi-racial classical pianist who went on to
become an award-winning journalist who later died in Vietnam during
the war. Halle Berry is producing the project.


Country singer Charlie Pride is recovering at home from brain
surgery. The 66-year-old entertainer had been complaining about
frequent headaches when doctors discovered a blood clot between his
brain and his skull.


Rocker Lenny Kravitz says he did not cheat on Oscar winner Nicole
Kidman. Lenny and Nicole were a hot item last year and a lot of
people thought they were headed to the altar. Lenny was photographed
with various women and sources say this led to the breakup with
Kidman. Lenny says it was just speculation that he cheated on
Kidman. Lenny turns 40 next week and he has a now album out called
Baptism. He says he and Nicole remain friends and he would like to
get married and have more children. Lenny has a teenage daughter
from a previous marriage to Cosby Kid Lisa Bonet. Lenny is also
working on a movie Barbeques and Bar Mitzvahs. He's going to direct
and star in the movie based on his life experiences growing up black
and Jewish.