The Daily Roundup for Jan 4

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Denzel Washington Covers ‘Esquire’ Russia Magazine

Denzel Washington, covers the latest issue of Esquire Russia magazine. And what is a better way than to celebrate your 57th Birthday…Go Denzel!

Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick Star in Documentary

*In a new documentary called “The Wonderful Family of Divas,” Whitney Houston and family will share some insight about the Drinkard family, whose impact in Gospel has pioneered a path for artists in all genres.

The Drinkard Singers are known for their foundational music that paved the way for people like Whitney, Cissy Houston, and Dionne Warwick.
The film will feature performances, never-before-seen footage, and of course exclusive interviews with some of the industries best-known artists.

Cee Lo Green Causes Uproar By Changing John Lennon Lyrics, Responds To Fans

The Soul Machine says that he didn't mean to offend any fans for changing lyrics to "Imagine."

During his performance on New Year’s Eve, Cee Lo Green performed John Lennon’s classic song “Imagine” and changed a few of the lyrics at the end of the song. For his rendition, Cee Lo altered the last lines - “Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion, too” - to “And all religion’s true.”

After causing uproar on the Internet, the Goodie Mob member took to Twitter to explain why he changed the lyrics to the song.

“Yo I meant no disrespect by changing the lyric guys! I was trying to say a world were u could believe what u wanted that's all,” he wrote. The tweet has since been deleted.

USHER & TAMEKA THE CUSTODY DRAMA CONTINUES!

Tameka Raymond asked a Georgia court last month for full custody of their two kids — claiming Usher has continually dropped the ball as a parent … failing to get her permission to travel with their kids, hiring nannies without her approval … the list goes on.

Tameka also claimed Usher callously closed her Saks 5th Avenue credit card – and now she can’t take advantage of the “special benefits” the card offers. But Usher claims it’s all BS — filing his own response in the ongoing custody battle … asking a judge to reject Tameka’s request for full custody, on grounds her allegations are false.

Usher and Tameka currently share joint physical custody of the kids. As TMZ previously reported, Tameka has also tried numerous times to get the judge to force Usher to submit to a drug test. So far, no luck.

The website TMZ has reached out to both sides for comment — so far, no word back. A trial date has been set for February 27.

NEW YEARS PARTY ROUND UP: How Your Favorite Stars Spent New Year's Eve!

Your favorite stars their dates and plenty more partied it up this New Year's Eve. Lets have a look see

Whoever this Ryan Press guy is looks like he's making Ms. Norwood very happy.

The two hit up the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Vegas for a Stevie Wonder performance at The Chelsea. She looks great!

Tyrese also was there hitting the stage with Stevie.

Nice!
Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa rang in the new year together in Vegas at the swanky Surrender Nightclub at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas:

And Juicy J looked like he had his NYE honey there too.

And will.i.am worked the DJ turntables:

Elsewhere in Vegas, Rick Fox and girlfriend Eliza Dushku partied at the HYDE Bellagio with friends:

And Leona Lewis hit up the party in a pink and black puffy gown.

Nicki kicked it with her girl Fergie for NYE celebration based in Hollywood. The west coast pre-taped syndicate of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012" had Nicki rocking the crowd with "Super Bass" with Fergie Ferg hosting. Which on Thursday I gave you a sneak peak.

And, of course, she rocked her fave galaxy inspired outfit for the occasion:

Meanwhile, her bestie Drake rang in the New Year from the NIVEA Kiss stage in Times Square:

 Somebody looked happy to be there.

In Hollywood, "Top Model" chick Saleisha Stowers and actress Annie Ilonzah looked hot at the Big Bang New Years Eve party 2012 at Hollywood & Highlands Complex:

 Pretty.

"Real Housewives of ATL" star Kandi Burruss did her Housewife promo duties hosting a Bravo/Ciroc party down in Miami:

She kicked it with her manager Don Juan and couple Selita Ebanks and Terrence J.

Cute dress Kandi.

Elsewhere in Miami, Weezy did his usual and partied hard with his YMCMB crew at Club Dream on South Beach:

 He performed damn near an entire concert with his homie Lil Twist.

This dude doesn't look a day over 12.

And the fellas partied it up with Birdman and their usual gang of chicks.

 Where was Weezy's boo?

And Terrence J partied with the fellas too.

Over at Club Cameo in Miami:

Moet & Hennessy presented the Rick Ross NYE At Cameo Miami party. Comedian Mike Epps and wife Michelle and rappers Pill and Stalley were all there of course.

DJ Khaled came out.

Oh hey Pleasure P.

Ricky Ewwwwww, Mike and Khaled.

 And MMG artist Magazeen hit up the party too.

Fab times all around…Happy Nu Nu!

HOWEVER;Kanye West as DJ? : Vegas People Not Happy With His Skills

Kanye West was spotted at a New Year’s Eve party DJ’ing by the name of “DJ World Jeezy.”
According to sources, the party was hosted by Fergie in Las Vegas. Kanye played a 3-hour set and played songs including Rihanna’s We Found Love, some old school classics by MJ and others. He also played his own songs including “Nigga’s In Paris” for as many as 5 times.
Sources added that Kanye’s G.O.O.D Music family was also at the party. However, the people who paid a really big chunk of money ($275 to $15,000) to attend the party did not seem too happy with their new DJ’s performance. Some of them took to twitter to express their frustration with their DJ in a polite way. Two of those tweets go as the following:

Looks like Kanye West won’t have a good career in DJ’ing, right? Or do you think he’ll improve over time?

Derrick Rose New Sneaker Deal Is Worth Quarter Of Billion Dollars

Move over Lebron, Move over Kobe…. Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls has stepped into the building and doing it big. He just signed a five-year contract extension with the Chicago Bulls worth nearly $95 million. And he’s about to get richer.

In his Weekend Dime on ESPN.com, Marc Stein drops news from “one industry source” that the point guard will soon sign a “lifetime” endorsement deal with the company worth up to $250 million.

Stein wrote, “Rose, as it was explained to me, is adidas’ only counter to Kobe Bryant in China. I’m told Rose already outsells LeBron James there.”
Which means he also clearly outsells Dwight Howard.
If this deal goes through, it will probably make Derrick Rose the highest paid shoe endorser in the NBA.

IN TODAYS’ TOMFOOLERY NEWS; Dennis Rodman To Coach NYC Topless Women’s Basketball Team

NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman wants t0 coach a women’s team, who just so happen to be topless. Dennis came up with the idea after he found out that rival strip joint Rick’s Cabaret had launched a league with former Atlanta Hawk star Spud Webb.

Talking about the venture, Dennis said,

“I don’t know too many men that don’t like a good-looking woman running up and down around the court. He added, “You don’t have to have too much experience, just know how to throw the ball into the hole.”

How will Rodman’s practices run? Is he going to take it seriously or is this all in good fun?

Philadelphia’s New Years Resolution: Become the Murder Capital of The Country

Well their off to a good start; 6 dead already!

Police in Philadelphia reported a bloody end to the old year and the start of a new one with six people killed and others injured in less than 12 hours around the City of Brotherly Love.

Here's the timeline!
Shortly after midnight, a 36-year-old man and 31-year-old woman were found shot to death inside an idling car on the 5600 block of N 2nd Street in the Olney section of the city, police said. Police are calling it the first murder of the year.

Just after midnight, a 77-year-old man was stabbed during an argument on the 2400 block of Jessup Street in South Philly. He died about 45 minutes later. A 52-year-old man was arrested.

Around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, a 47-year-old man was shot and killed on the 4100 block of Orchard Street in the East Frankford section of the city.

Around 2:45 a.m. a 23-year-old man was found shot near a nightclub at 8th and Callowhill Streets in the Poplar section of the city. He was pronounced dead at the hospital about an hour later.

Earlier, a 26-year-old man died Saturday afternoon around 4:45 after he was shot six to nine times on the 1300 block of W Pike Street in North Philly.

And then the year just started…GOD HELP US ALL!

Dramatic Video: T.I. Watches as DJ Big Boy Collapses in Front of Him

(Big Boy & T.I. right before the DJ collapsed and went into a seizure ... all caught on camera)
*Thanks to Kevin Ross’ Radio Facts we came across a segment of T.I. and Tiny’s new show which aired Monday night as a bonus episode.

Trust me, if you didn’t see it, it’s startling and extremely scary. Take a look starting at about the 5 minute mark.

video:

Get More: T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle

But what we found most interesting and dramatic was the scene where LA/nationally syndicated radio show host Big Boy, who lost over 250 pounds after by-pass surgery, collapses and has a seizure during T.I.’s visit to the station.

I hope he’s fine!

Charli Baltimore Talks 2012 Comeback, Responds To Rumors Of Jay-Z Ghostwriting For Her

One-third of The Commission explains why music, and not gossip, tops her itinerary for '12 and responds to longstanding rumors of ghostwritten rhymes.
In the trailer for her forthcoming new album (due April 24th), not only does Charli Baltimore show off her just-released new single, "Machine Gun," but the West Philadelphia emcee born Tiffany Lane is also clearly showing off her shaved-head tattoo that sent tongues wagging online this past summer.

"It says 'we are never deceiving others, we are only deceiving ourselves,'" she explained of her German-inscribed tat. "I kinda got it like paying homage to my dad. My dad was German and Irish, so I dunno, just something different."

Almost every move in the career of the spitter named after Geena Davis' assassin character in The Long Kiss Goodnight has been "different" from her mic-grabbing peers. Entering the Rap game not through open mics and battle-rhyme competitions but via her romantic relationship with The Notorious B.I.G. caused Charli to be seen as too different in the eyes of many skeptical Hip Hop heads who viewed her solely as a beneficiary of Biggie's legacy and not an artist to take seriously in her own right. Respect as an emcee has been hard to earn for Ms. B-More from the very beginning of her career in the late '90s, with the criticism of nepotism being compounded by rumors that her rhymes were being supplied by her other Commission crew-member.

"Jay-Z didn't ghostwrite 'Money,'" replied Charli when asked about Hov's role in her debut single. "I never had any [songs] ghostwritten by Jay-Z. I do all my own writing. But actually, 'Money' was written by The L.O.X. And that was because I had just gotten my deal and the person running the label at the time, [Lance "Un" Rivera], just thought that my first single should be written by someone else. But they wrote that and then after that I never had anybody else write anything for me. I write all of my stuff."

"I'm really big on that," she continued. "I think that's really important. I mean, I know people don't really pay a lot of attention to it, but to me it's just kind of my thing. I write all of my stuff, so I don't have a problem with saying that The L.O.X. wrote 'Money' 'cause everything else after that was all my stuff."

Charli was forced to defend herself against detractors wanting to know if she spit her own hits after "Money" on the DJ Premier-produced "Everybody Wanna Know" from her eventually shelved debut full-length, Cold as Ice. But ironically, that track only further fueled speculation of a Jay-Z influence either directly or indirectly on her bars.

"Well, that's hot! That's great. That's a great comparison," she replied when her Jigga-esque delivery on "Everybody Wanna Know" was inquired about. "I've actually heard that before. I mean, when I signed with Murder Inc., Irv Gotti was really big on all of his artists being able to be multi-talented. Ja [Rule] wrote R&B and was able to write Hip Hop. I kinda did the same, but rhyming is more my thing more so than R&B. But, he used to tell me that I rapped a little bit like Hov. So that's a compliment. I'll take that all day."

What the onetime "Down Ass Chick" for Murder Inc. would also gladly take all day are questions (even sharp ones) about her rhyming rather than nosey inquiries into her personal life. For her reemergence on the music scene in 2012 (which is being assisted by indie powerhouse Gracie Productions), she is making her bars the focus of discussion and not past label drama, love interests, or even tattoos.

"My personal life overshadowed a lot of my music, which is kinda sad because I know for a fact that I can write really well," said Charli. "But, you know, at this point in my life I feel like that's in the past. The stuff happened so long ago that it's not really relevant to anything that's going on now, so hopefully the music can speak for itself and all of my personal life, stuff that went on that people are kind of intrigued with, will stay behind the scenes."

AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
“HARDLY NOTICABLE”

Going bald with dignity…..you’re doing it wrong.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

EFREM