News:

[Gina1201]

NEW YORK — Will the real new Rat Pack please stand up? First P. Diddy and Ashton Kutcher staked the claim of being the new "It" team, but as Mr. Biggs Ron Isley will tell you, he has a tandem of playas down with him that can turn heads too.

"We got a little team going — Nelly, R. Kelly and maybe Russell Simmons," Mr. Biggs said last week. "It's like the Rat Pack back in the day of [Frank Sinatra], Sammy Davis and Dean Martin."

With the exception of Simmons, Isley's squad will be contributing to the new Isley Brothers LP, which the most popular sibling hopes to have out by July. And even though Mr. Biggs won't be singing with the godfather of hip-hop, he has plans to get in the lab with a producing pioneer.

"I'm in the studio with R. Kelly," Isley said of the new project. "I'm gonna do some stuff with Nelly and Dr. Dre. I've never worked with Dre. Nelly and I did something on his last album, but we gonna really get deep into it this year. [Nelly] is a true artist that has the staying power. It's coming unbelievable."

Besides his group project, Isley said he's open to recording a second volume of his 2003 collaborative album with Burt Bacharach, Isley Meets Bacharach. However, the music staple has a couple of business ventures that will occupy his time in between albums.

Isley said he wants to open a House of Hip-Hop and R&B before year's end, which he said will be similar to the House of Blues, because they will be part restaurant, part entertainment venue. The first one is slated for his native St. Louis, with Houses in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles to follow in the future if everything goes smoothly. Then there's his clothing line, the Ronald Isley Fur Collection. Yes, you too can wear a pimped-out fur over your basketball jersey like Mr. Biggs does in the video for "Busted."

"Basically, we wear a lot of furs on our album covers, and Mr. Biggs is a character that throws on the mink coat," he explained. "He's supposed to be the hottest dresser, and the people love that. They look to me for the different clothing styles. The fans come up and say, 'Hey, man, you wore this in a video, where can I get that?' From that I said, 'Hey man, maybe I need to design the things I wear.' "

Besides fur coats, Isley will be putting out chinchilla bikinis, which come in red, pink and yellow. His products range from $800 to $20,000 and will debut at Las Vegas' Magic Fashion Trade show in February.

—Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Jeff Cornell

[CrimsonTide4]

That collaboration sounds gross as hell. I need Ron Isley (UGLY MOFO) to hang it up, go renew his prescription for viagra and spend time with a grandchild.

[abaici]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
That collaboration sounds gross as hell. I need Ron Isley (UGLY MOFO) to hang it up, go renew his prescription for viagra and spend time with a grandchild.

LMAO at above comment!!!

Regarding MJ.....um, DUH!!!

As for Ray J...WHY??? Those boys have suffered enough!

[lostnfound117]

Originally posted by Gina1201
Nobody, not even J-Boog, Raz-B or Lil Fizz, was sure if B2K could function as trio. Now it looks like they don't have to find out, because B2K are once again a foursome.

According to Boog, Raz and Fizz's business partners, Brandy's younger brother, Ray J, will replace former lead singer Omarion, who left earlier this month.

A label spokesperson for B2K had no knowledge of the roster addition.

Omarion — while in New York recently with Marques Houston promoting B2K's upcoming film, "You Got Served" — said he's had a bit of a change of heart since making statements about the group being over.

"In the future, I hope we do get back together. I would definitely want to do that [once any solo projects are over]. I think the people would enjoy it," Omarion told MTV News.

Meanwhile, O is starting work on his untitled album, due this spring. Omarion said fans can expect something different than what they heard from him as part of a quartet.

"I'm gonna ... speak on some personal issues. Do a lot more issues. I'm gonna take on the whole business side of it this time around. I'm 19 years old, I think it's more important this time in my career that I'm involved a lot more."

Part of speaking on personal issues means addressing his departure from B2K in his music. "Most definitely," he said, "because it was critical time in my life."


No official word has come from B2K yet about when their first music with Ray J will surface, but another source working with the camp said they have a track on tap produced by R. Kelly.

—Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Sway Calloway

WAIT A MINUTE!!!!

you have got to be kidding me....

[Afrochic]

411 for the week of January 12th, 2004

Is there a feud going on between Janet Jackson and Beyonce? Esssence Magazine is planning to do a music issue and they wanted to feature Janet, Beynce and Mary J. Blige on the cover of the magazine. Beyonce said she would only do it if she got to pose in the middle of the photo well Essence has already promised it to Janet. What are the divas going to do? Beyonce is the hottest thing out right now with 4 Grammy nominations and No.1 singles back to back, and Janet is getting ready to retake her claim this year with a new LP and a movie. Will the photo shoot happen?

Singer Johnny Gill has found love with a dentist. Johnny has been in Atlanta recording with New Edition and he is dating a lady from there. Johnny needs some good luck. He recently lost his home in Los Angeles and he had to take up residence at boxer Sugar Ray Leonard's home in Las Vegas. Johnny was living in the pool house. Hopefully he will find a new home with his new love.

Jamie Foxx pleaded not guilty last week to battery charges in New Orleans. Last year Jamie was arrested along with his sister after getting into a fight with police at a New Orleans Casino. Jamie was in New Orleans filming the Ray Charles Movie Unchain My Heart. The movie opens in theatres later this year.

Actor Ron O'Neal will be buried this week. Ron died last week at the age of 66 after a long bout with cancer. Ron is best known for his role as "Priest" in the Superfly movies. Ron was a big star in the 70's during the black exploitation movie era. One of his most recent roles was that of "Whitley Gilbert's" dad on the show A Different World. Actress Jasmine Guy played "Whitley."

Puffy and Nelly have been added to the lineup of entertainment for this year's Superbowl. Janet Jackson and Outkast are also on the bill and Beyonce will be singing the National Anthem. Superbowl 38 is Sunday, February 1st in Houston. The New England Patriots will be playing the Carolina Panthers.

The movie Rocky is coming to the Broadway stage as a musical and the producers of the show would like R. Kelly to do the musical score. In other R. Kelly news a lot of people are upset that he has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award. R. Kelly is nominated for "Outstanding Album" for Chocolate Factory. A cloud of suspicion still hangs over the singer involving a sex scandal with him and an underage girl. The big question is how could he be nominated for an Image Award? Will he win? The NAACP Image Awards will air March 11th on Fox.

Tyra Banks the singer! Yes, the hot supermodel is singing the theme for her hit UPN show America's Top Model. The show airs on Tuesday nights at 9pm and Tyra sings the show's theme song. The song is called "Shake Your Body" and Tyra has picked a guy who looks just like her to star in the video.

Nicole Richie the star of the Fox reality show The Simple Life has finally revealed who her biological father is. Nicole was adopted at the age of three by singer Lionel Richie and his first wife Brenda. Nicole's biological dad is bandleader Peter Michael Escovedo III. He is Sheila E's brother. Nicole would not talk about whom her biological mother is. Nicole says she has contact with her biological dad, but she considers the Richies to be her real parents because they are the ones who raised her. Nicole is 22 and last year she completed a 30-day stint in rehab for drug abuse. Nicole says rehab was like a 30-day vacation. She realizes she was out of control and she had to get better. Nicole says now she doesn't even drink. Later this year look for Nicole to return with Paris Hilton for new episodes of The Simple Life on Fox.

McDonald's is severing its ties to basketball star Kobe Bryant. Bryant was a spokesperson for them for many years, but with his rape trial scheduled for later this year McDonald's has decided to end the business relationship. Sprite and Nike are still being endorsed by Kobe despite his legal problems.

Sources say Diana Ross is devastated about the tragic death of her ex-husband Arne Naess. Naess was killed earlier this week while mountain climbing in South Africa. Diana had hoped to reconcile with her ex. During their marriage they had two children together, two sons. When he left her Diana's world fell apart and this is when she started drinking heavily. Diana loved this man and she did not want the marriage to end. Now he's dead and her hopes for reconciliation are gone.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. has a problem with Will Smith. In a recent interview Cuba complained that it's hard to be a black actor in Hollywood because all the good roles go to Will Smith, and he can't get any good parts. Cuba won an Oscar for his performance in the movie Jerry McGuire and became famous for his breakout role in Boyz in the Hood. Cuba can't get any good roles because he continues to play buffoonish characters. His movie choices have been awful and he's always jumping around like a nut. He should stop hatin' on Will.

Top record executive and former Babyface partner, L.A. Reid is out at Arista Records. Reid was hired in a controversial move four years ago when Arista fired their head guy, Clive Davis. Clive went on to form his own label, J Records, and he has had hit after hit ever since. Clive has Alicia Keys and Luther Vandross. While at Arista, Reid had success with Outkast and Avril Lavigne, but he had major disappointments with projects from Whitney Houston, TLC and Toni Braxton. The Whitney Houston project was a $20 million mistake. He also had disappointments with Santana, Aretha Franklin, Pink and Babyface. What goes around comes around. When they shoved Clive Davis out the door a lot of people were shocked because even though he's older Clive knew his music and he knew how to get the best out of his artists. Sources say Clive will now be back in charge at Arista under a new merger with other record labels. What will happen to L.A. Reid? He will probably wind up at another company.

Gerald Levert opens up in the new issue of Sister2Sister Magazine. Gerald opens up about his love life. He says he no longer dates Kandi from the group Xscape because he was tired of competing with her. She felt her career was better than his because she won a Grammy Award for writing TLC's biggest hit "No Scrubs." Gerald says she got too cute. He also talks about growing up with a famous dad, singer Eddie Levert, of the O'Jays and his baby mommas. Gerald also talks about two women in his life, actress/comedian Monique and Kym Whitley. Gerald says he is not with anyone exclusively, but he does date and he is friendly with both women. He also talks about his past. In 1989, he thought he had four women pregnant at the same time. After the DNA test came out, he found out only two were his.

Whitney Houston is off to Moscow! Whitney is getting a million dollars to do three concerts in the Soviet Union.


Isabel Sanford who played "Weezy" on the television show The Jeffersons was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last week.

Are J-Lo and P. Diddy back together again? The two were spotted at a Miami nightclub together. Spokespeople for Jennifer and Puffy say it was just a coincidence. So where was Ben Affleck, J-lo's Fiance? Ben was in London promoting his new movie Paycheck. Puff's lady Kim Porter was not at the party. Puff says he would always love Jennifer and be there for her.

New Edition returns with a new Lp on May 11th. They are now signed to Bad Boy Records. Maxwell is supposed to have a new album out by June.

[AKA2D '91]

Johnny Gill LOST his home? How?

Sheila E is Nicole Richie's aunt? Dayuuuuummmmmmmm!

Dayum Gerald! Dayum Eddie!

New Edition? They don't know what they want to do.

Maxwell: IT'S ABOUT DAYUM TIME!

Welcome Back Afrochic!

[CrimsonTide4]

I must have missed Gina's post about Ray J last night . . . lawd have mercy. Ain't he too old?!!??

Johnny Gill -- WOW. How DID he lose it!?!? You don't LOSE a house. You lose your keys. You lose your mind. You lose a pair of socks but you do not LOSE a house.

Rocky, the Broadway musical -- haaaaaated it.

Tyra Banks singing -- haaaaaaaaaaaaated it on the runway.

Cuba -- SYADS!!!

Gerald LeVert -- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!! MESSY MESSY MESSY!!!!

[kiml122]

Originally posted by FeeFee
HC I thought that he died a while back?

HC I thought that too.

[CrimsonTide4]

Rapper 50 CENT is set to spark outrage by releasing a DVD featuring groupies
having sex on his tour bus.

The badboy rapper has recruited adult movie company DIGITAL SIN to film GROUPIE LUV, which will feature 50 inviting his fans to indulge in intercourse with his entourage.

The hip-hop star - who will not be involved in the sex sessions - will help put together the footage when he tours America later this year (04). The project has been described as a new business venture for the former crack dealer.

Spokesman JEFF MULLEN says, "It will make the viewer feel part of the entourage. You'll be able to choose which groupie you want to watch having sex and where it takes place. It will be like the viewer is on the bus.

"50 understands that this is another marketing outlet for him, one that could
open him up to an even bigger audience."

[feu_declipse]

Originally posted by lostnfound117


he's too cute...but when i see him, i want to sing,"heeeeeeyyyyy yahhhh!!!"

I think that's a beautiful picture. Would be nice in black and white.

[feu_declipse]

Tyra banks hired a GUY to play her ??? - OK - som'n wrong with that for real.

I heard about Ray J and B2K on the radio this morning. What the ...?? Ray J is thuggish - he used to hand with SUge Knight - come on now. B2K is to clean for that. They need to hold proper auditions. Dang at least let Bow Wow be the honorary member instead.

[Sidebar] Has anyone seen the Punk'd with Omarion and Bow Wow - it was too funny. [/Sidebar]

On the radio this morning, I heard Nicole Kidman acted "ignorant" at the Golden Globes. WHen the show was over, she was seen walking up to Tom Cruise. Everyone thought she was saying hi. Why did she grab this man's arm and tell him "Stop sending those f**king text messages!!!" His response was "Not here" but she went on. They said she was bloody serious too.


Courtesy of ET Online:
Lopez & P. Diddy Court Bound?
January 26, 2004


SEAN "P. DIDDY" COMBS and JENNIFER LOPEZ have reportedly both been subpoenaed as witnesses in a lawsuit brought against Combs by his former driver, WARDEL FENDERSON. It all stems from that 1999 shooting incident at a New York City club that landed P. Diddy on trial for weapons charges. The rap mogul was completely exonerated in the incident, but Fenderson claims his then boss forced him to ignore police orders to pull over when the group was speeding away from the incident. Fenderson alleges he feared that if he stopped, "somebody" in the vehicle would hurt him. Lopez, who was dating Combs at the time, was among the passengers. A spokesperson for Combs says the lawsuit is "without merit."

[sidebar] I felt bad for J.Lo at the Globes. SHe looked sad - like she wasn't even trying to be out at all. Poor thing. [/sidebar]

[toocute]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
I must have missed Gina's post about Ray J last night . . . lawd have mercy. Ain't he too old?!!??

Too old and too ugly. Sorry but he ain't cute. B2K are a bunch a pretty boys.

I haven't read this thread in over a week...I'm trying to process all this info.

[Conskeeted7]

How did you all feel about Nicole Kidman's ugly dress at the Golden Globes? Oops...I guess you know how I feel about it. If she did that to Tom, that was really tacky. Keep you business at home sweetie...

How are JLo and Puff Daddy supposed to be back together when he's in Ebony with Kim, the baby mama? If it's true, Kim needs to be done, and stop being the go-to girl for him.

[lostnfound117]

Originally posted by Conskeeted7


How are JLo and Puff Daddy supposed to be back together when he's in Ebony with Kim, the baby mama? If it's true, Kim needs to be done, and stop being the go-to girl for him.

lol

but sadly, it seems as though she likes the dough-dough (no pun intended!!!)

[MeezDiscreet]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4

Cuba -- SYADS!!!

alright soror i couldn't figure this one out