The Daily Roundup for April 20

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Oh yes Maxwell is BACK!

The Fabulous Maxwell just announced he will return to the stage with a 6 city tour. He will be performing his full album for his fans in which I am one of them. The six arena dates will see two-night stands in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Newark.

The first night in each city, Maxwell will perform his catalogs of Urban Hang Suite (1996) and Embrya (1998), and on the second night of the live show, he will play Now (2001) and BLACKsummers’night (2009). As well as a few never-before-performed tracks. Loves it.

It’s The Forbes 2012 Hip-Hop List and look who’s on TOP!

Sean “Diddy” Combs tops Forbes‘ Wealthiest Hip-Hop Artist’s of 2012 with an estimated net worth of $550 million, hanks to his investment in Ciroc vodka, his Sean John and Enyce clothing lines, his record label Bad Boy and several startups. Additionally, his cable channel Revolt could make him a billionaire in 2013.

Others who made the Forbes Five shortlist include Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter ($460 million), Andre “Dr. Dre” Young ($270 million), and more.

1. Sean “Diddy” Combs: $550 million
2. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter: $460 million
3. Andre “Dr. Dre” Young: $270 million
4. Bryan “Birdman” Williams: $125 million
5. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson: $100 million

FORBES posted this message in regards to how the list was developed:

In order to form the Forbes Five list, we followed the same procedures we use to calculate our list of the world’s billionaires—looking at past earnings, valuing current holdings, leafing through financial documents and talking to analysts, attorneys, managers and other industry players to find the nitty-gritty details. We considered only performers, which is why hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons isn’t on this list.

Its good to see strong black men!!

ITS A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE…NO ITS Demi Moore She Makes First Post-Rehab Public Appearance

Making her first public appearance since checking out of Utah's Cirque Lodge in March, Demi Moore turned up at the launch of 'The Conversation with Amanda De Cadenet'
The "Ghost" actress looked to be in fine form as she joined alongside actress/photographer Amanda de Cadenet and InStyle Editor Ariel Foxman at the fete held at a private residence in Beverly Hills, CA.

During the festivities, Miss De Cadenet spoke with E! News about her new show - telling that she was keen to work with Miss Moore (her best friend) on the program.

"I'd been doing these interviews for about a year and Demi is one of my best girlfriends and a great sounding board for me," Amanda dished to E!. "She's got 10 years on me, and so she is more ahead of me in the game of being a woman. She is an amazing resource for me, and so she has a vast life experience that I love to experience and to hear. And so I had been doing this for a year, and at a point that it became a reality and looked like it could actually go on TV, Demi said, 'Listen, Lifetime wants me to do something with them, but I want to do it with your thing. I really believe in what you are doing.'"

Amanda added, "It was amazing to go to work with someone that I am so close to. It's really cool to be able to do that. She is really enjoying going behind the camera, she's a really good director...She's not someone that's like, 'Oh I can't make that phone call.' If she's on she's on, she's in. She doesn't do things half-arsed. It was great to have her involved."

Prodigy Talks Using Alleged Mobb Deep Breakup For Publicity

Now that the Mobb Deep breakup saga is seemingly over, with a hacker being blamed on Havoc's inflammatory tweets, Prodigy sat down with Hot 97's Cipha Sounds & Rosenberg yesterday (April 17) morning to set the record straight.
After being grilled by CS and Rosenberg to tell the truth and shame the Devil, P admitted he is still somewhat clueless as to how the whole situation blew up. “I can't even tell you how it happened,” said P. “All I can say is that when we got down to the bottom of it, me and Hav realized what was going on, we knew it was all bogus.”

Peep the entire interview: 

Prodigy acknowledged that when the duo didn't come forward immediately to clarify the situation it may have looked like something was afoot for someone on the outside looking in. “We didn't get up on Twitter and be like its bogus. So that's probably why people think we set it up or something. We just waited for a minute, and we was like, ‘You know what? They'll see when we at the game and we working on this album putting out singles that it's all a bunch of nothing.”

The “Shook Ones” rapper even admitted to using the situation to his advantage. “Really, me and Hav are businessmen. We stepped back and was like, ‘Alright, how can we use this to our advantage. And basically we was like, ‘Alright well, P got an album bout to drop. Just wait, do the interviews and promote your sh#t like you supposed to.'”

“Me and Hav, its business as usual,” he added. “We good.”

With so many conflicting stories and information its hard to tell who to believe. But if they say they are cool, they are cool. Right?

Hot Shots: Mariah Carey Shows Off Her ‘Shape’

Now this is a hot shot! ‘Touch My Body’ belter Mariah Carey is flaunting just that on the May cover of ‘Shape’ magazine. As fans know, the Grammy-winning diva was appointed spokesperson for weight loss giants Jenny Craig after her remarkable post-baby weight loss.

The journey with them has seen Miss Carey lose over 70 lbs total since beginning! As we await more music to marvel from the ‘My All’ maestra, all we can do is marvel at shots like these…and wait…patiently.

Jennifer Hudson's LAX Family Flight

Mother and son pair Jennifer Hudson and two-year-old David Daniel Otunga Jr. looked stylish while walking through the LAX Airport in Los Angeles hand-in-hand this afternoon (April 17) to catch their flight.
The “Dreamgirls” star rocked a pair of leopard print ankle pants, black flats, and a floor length white sweater while her son sported a flat-bill hat with some funky glasses and a Michael Jordan track jacket.

The family was together as the cutie’s WWE wrestler father, David Otunga, helped navigate their way through the terminal keeping a close watch on his boy and Miss Hudson.
In personal news, the 30-year-old singer is facing a difficult time ahead as she prepared for her family’s murder trial in Chicago. The jury selection was just completed for William Balfour’s trial, the man accused of shooting and killing her mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew in 2008.

Also, her sister Julie just announced that she finally filed for divorce from Balfour.

BeYAwnSeY & Blue Ivy Visit Auntie SO-LonGee!

Spotted Beyonce and Blue Ivy enjoying the spring weather in NYC today by heading out to pay a visit to Auntie Solange place in Brooklyn

Of course the “Love on Top” singer kept Blue Ivy shielded by her bodyguard, Bey rocked a Versace Venetian print silk blouse tucked into black shorts.

Our Favorite Auntie is BACK! Tyler Perry Releases "Madea's Witness Protection" Trailer.

Madea is back...and in the government's hands. Tyler Perry just premiered the first trailer for his upcoming flick Madea's Witness Protection. Check it under the cut...
Director Tyler Perry assembled a comedic cast, including himself, for his second of his 3 films releasing in 2012--Eugene Levy (seen in clip), Denise Richards, Romeo Miller, Tom Arnold, Marla Gibbs, John Amos and more.

Good Deeds was released this past February, while Alex Cross will premiere this fall.
The film's official synopsis:

Comic legend Eugene Levy (the AMERICAN PIE franchise, BEST IN SHOW) stars in the film as George, a high level CFO at the center of a Ponzi scheme in New York City who is enrolled in the Witness Protection program along with his family in the one place that absolutely no one will think to look for them: Madea's house down South.

Check out the first trailer revealing a tipsy Madea on a plane on her way to the government's witness protection:

Madea's Witness Protection hits theaters June 29th. Will you be hitting the theaters?

Forest Whitaker To Produce Oscar Grant Biopic Fruitvale

It's been three years since police gunned down Oscar Grant at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station, but his story has not been forgotten. A major motion picture chronicling the life and death of the Oakland, Calif. resident is in the works.
Forrest Whitaker will produce the film alongside his Significant Productions partner, Nina Yang. Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, and actor Michael B. Jordan, are in talks to star indie drama.

Titled Fruitvale, after the BART station where Grant was killed, the screenplay is penned by Ryan Coogler who will also direct the motion picture. Pending approval of final negotiations, Jordan – who starred in the sci-fi flick Chronicle –will play the role of Grant, while Spencer will play his mother. The film is set to look at the friends, family members, and strangers whom Grant crossed paths with on his last day alive.

In 2009, the 22-year-old was fatally shot in the back by police officers in the early morning hours of New Year's Day. Grant's shooting was captured by several bystanders via cellphone. Despite the evidence against them all of the officers involved received little, if any, disciplinary action for the incident. Among those who got off easy was Grant's shooter, Officer Johannes Mehserle. While he was initially slapped with murder charges, Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. In November of 2010 the former police officer was sentenced to two years behind bars with credit for time served, and was released in June of last year.
Civil Rights attorney, John Burris filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against BART on behalf of the Grant family, in addition to a $1.5 million claim on behalf of his friends, who were unlawfully detained following the shooting. BART later settled with Grant's mother and daughter for $1.3 million.

Whitney Houston Saddened by State of Her Voice

Friends claim Whitney Houston was deeply affected over the state of her voice shortly before she died.

Whitney Houston was ''deeply, psychologically and emotionally'' affected by the state of her voice shortly before her death.

The tragic singer's vocal coach and friend, Gary Catona, said her whole personality had been changed by the deterioration of her voice through smoking and drug abuse before she was found accidentally drowned at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in February.
Gary told The Sunday Times newspaper: ''She was horrified by it. When someone is a singer at that level, their voice is so much of who the person is. She identified with her voice. It was not possible for Whitney to be affected very deeply, psychologically and emotionally, by the fact she couldn't sing.''

Gary - one of the world's leading voice coaches - first met Whitney in 2005, at which point she could barely speak. He says he managed to get her voice to return by around 75 per cent, but she never fully recovered before she would then ''take off'' and damage it again.
He added: ''As her voice started returning, lo and behold, her personality began changing, just as I predicted. She became more confident, she became who she really was - funny, charming, an intelligent person. Her self-esteem began rising.

''But what would happen was that I would work with her, and she'd get her voice back to some extent, and then she'd take off.

''She'd try to sing here, or she'd try to sing there. Rather than getting her voice back completely, which would have secured her legacy, she got caught up in her lifestyle again and she began practicing the habits which were not beneficial to her voice.''
Whitney, 48, was found face down in the bathtub of Beverly Hilton with a bloody nose and the remnants of cocaine nearby on February 11. The Beverly Hills Police Department cited cause of death as accidental drowning with drug abuse and heart disease also factors.

Rihanna scrawls 'Thug Life' across her midriff in memory of late rap star Tupac

She was overawed when Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg were joined by a hologram of Tupac at the weekend.
And Rihanna paid her own, small tribute to the late rap star at Coachella when she had 'Thug Life' scribbled across her midriff.
The 25-year-old singer tweeted a pictured of herself, joined by Snoop and Warren G with the words written in marker pen on her stomach.

Her outfit was comprised a Chanel jacket, a pair of denim shorts covered in studs, a cropped vest with 'Peace' emblazoned across the front and a pair of wayfarer shades.
The words on Rihanna's stomach were in honour of Tupac Shakur, who was 'resurrected' by way of an impressive hologram stunt at Coachella over the weekend.

She also tweeted a photo of her hands with the very same words written across the knuckles earlier this year.

Rap star Tupac, who was shot and killed in September 1996, famously had the words tattooed across his stomach.
Rihanna appeared to have the time of her life at Coachella, particularly Dre and Snoop's performance which enlisted the aid of hologram technology to include Tupac in the spectacle. 

She tweeted her excitement after the amazing show.
The pop superstar wrote: '#TupacBACK #unbelievable #IWASTHERE #STORY4myGrandKidz'

And later added: 'This turned out to be one of the best nights of my life #BuffaloSoldier #ThugLife #EPIC.'
And the fun didn't stop there as Rihanna teamed up with her friend Katy Perry to party the night away to Calvin Harris.
The pop starlets joined normal members of the crowd during the Scottish DJ's set, Katy Perry crowd surfing while Rihanna joined Harris to perform their No 1 hit, We Found Love.

Meanwhile, the singer has posted a still from her upcoming video Where Have You Been, which was produced by Harris.

Apple's Plans For iPad Mini Coming Soon?

Just over a month after Apple dropped the iPad 3, rumors have begun to surface about a compact version of the tablet created to compete with Amazon's Kindle Fire.
According to Kotaku (who translated a report from NetEase), Apple is planning to release an iPad Mini sometime in the third quarter, and will produce around 6 million of them. NetEase cites "Taiwan media reports" who say they have based their reports on orders that Apple is placing to factories in the region, notably Honhai Precision (Foxconn) and Pegatron.

Last month, The Korea Times wrote that Samsung was supplying Apple with "new PLS-based LCD technology for smaller iPads." Citing an unnamed Samsung official as its source, they said Apple was "planning to release a smaller iPad, probably with a 7.86-inch screen," later this year. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen.

Despite claims, Mashable questions if an iPad Mini isn't even on deck. They argue that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was famously skeptical of 7-inch tablets, calling such devices "tweeners" that are too big to compete with smartphones and too small to vie with the iPad. And, comments that Apple would likely cut sales of their "pricier iPads if it released a smaller, cheaper model."

Stay tuned...

MESSY DRAMA Baller Boyfriend “Dezmon Briscoe’s” of Royce Reed Has Baby Mama DRAMA!!

I’m sure you watched Tueday night’s episode of VH1′s reality show Basketball Wives then you were introduced to Royce Reed’s new boyfriend, 24-year-old NFL player Dezmond Briscoe. I’m sure you thought Dez was a cutie but usually when he’s a cutie some drama comes along. Well this time it’s Baby Mama Drama, who goes by the name of Christina Nero, who was not happy to see the father of her child sucking faces all over the TV screen with another woman.

Check out the tweets from Christina Nero below:

Check out some text messages Christina uploaded that allegedly from Dezmon:

Well of course that didn’t sit well with Royce, who in tern took to her Twitter to set the rumors straight, that her boyfriend, Dezmond Briscoe of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was contacting his baby mama and that she was keeping Dez from seeing his child.

Royce kept it going, with defending her relationship with the NFL player with more tweets!

Here is a photo of Dez’s baby mama “Christina Nero” below.

I’m all confused with all this messy DRAMA, I don’t know who to believe….

Mystikal Headed Back To Jail for Probation Violation

Rapper Mystikal will be going back behind bars for three months because of a probation violation. The 41-year-old MC, born Michael Tyler, was released from a Louisiana prison in 2010 after serving six years for sexual battery and extortion. He will return to jail on May 14.
On Monday, state District Judge Tony Marabella added the extra time as a condition of Mystikal’s five-year probation in the extortion case as a result of his arrest in February on a misdemeanor charge of domestic abuse battery.

“It was an unfortunate incident between two people who have cared a lot about each other for 10 years,” said Roy Maughan Jr., Mystikal’s attorney.

The Dream Flaunts His New Blonde Look…..GURL STOP IT I SAY…NOW!

It's a blonde beard and 'stache for Terius Nash. No...he's not gearing up for an attention craving cosmetic new look much like his ex-wife Christina Milian did with that platinum bleached blonde look a while back. He went blonde all because of a bet. His home team the Hawks lost to the Raptors on Sunday. So this was the result. Dream tweeted:

Losing a bet is as wack as this blonde beard. Thanks Atlanta Hawks
He also tweeted he's now looking for black dye. Good. Because dude looks every bit like a Honey flavored Teddy Graham right about now.

And apparently he's real confident in his hair maintenance skills now as he tweeted his other ex-wife, Nivea, about how he just did their daughter's hair himself:
@thisisNIVEA. Just got finish [Washing], conditionong, platting, and flat ironong your daughters Hair. Damn I'm so Dope! Lol

Oh...
Dream is gearing up to drop his upcoming album, The Love; IV (Diary of A Madman) soon.

AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
“Meshed Up”

Is it just me or does mesh make everything look sexy?…Oh, it’s just me? Hmm, I guess I look kinda foolish now. Not as foolish as this guy, but still foolish

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL!

EFREM