THIS IS THE CHRONICLES OF EFREM: The Daily Buzz For March 16

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Kerry Washington Gets BEAUTIFUL For April 2015 Marie Claire Cover

We can never get enough of the beauty that is Kerry Washington. The 35-year-old has been in this acting game for almost 20 years, and it shows. As the reigning queen (well, one of them at least) of TGIT on ABC, Kerry kicked back with her homie Lena Dunham -- the creator of "Girls" and self-proclaimed "Scandal" superfan -- for her cover story interview.

In the story, written by Lena, Kerry shares what she wants most for her daughter Isabelle, who turns 1 next month. (Are we the only ones itching to fully see this baby?!) She also explains why she's become a notoriously private person, how she overcame her insecurities as a little girl, and how she's come to master the game of fashion.

Here are the highlights (and more gorge pics of that perfectly toussled hair and those delicate and chic clothes) until the full story hits newsstands later this month:

Kerry Washington on privacy: "Earlier in my career I was much more super-sharey. There were moments when I wanted to process things that were happening to me more privately, and I didn't have the space to do it, because once you let people in, they're in and you don't get to say, 'Oh, I want this for myself.'"

On collaborating with "Scandal" creator Shonda Rhimes: "I'm very respectful of Shonda's vision of who Olivia [Pope] is, but she has said that she is informed by the choices I make. If we were waltzing, she's definitely leading. And she picked the song, and she probably dressed us, but it is a waltz."

On fashion: "I just put myself in a boot camp of figuring it out—and realized that I really loved it. I guess because I came to it later in life, I realized, 'Oh, going to a fashion show is like going to the opening of Degas at the Met or going to see Swan Lake.'"

On insecurities growing up: "I didn't grow up thinking I was pretty; there was always a prettier girl than me. So I learned to be smart and tried to be funny and develop the inside of me, because I felt like that's what I had."

On family: "I just want [daughter Isabelle] to know that she's heard. Really heard, because I feel like that is what we all really want. When I think about any of the missteps in my life that I've made, all of which I'm grateful for, it's because I just so wanted to be truly seen and heard for who I am and was afraid I wasn't or wouldn't be. I see you, I hear you, I'm with you as you are."

On Olivia Pope: "I don't think I consciously say, 'What would Olivia Pope do?' but there's a new thread of belief in my own capacity that I think comes from her. She makes it happen. She figures it out. She fixes it."

Simply flawless. The issue hits newsstands March 24th. But in the meantime, Kerry & Lena collabo on screen for the March 19th episode of "Scandal." We'll be watching....

DEVELOPING NOW! Man Charged in Ferguson Shooting That Injured 2 Police Officers

A 20-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a shooting outside the headquarters of the Ferguson police department that injured two officers, St. Louis County police and prosecutors said.

Jeffery Williams was arrested Saturday night and charged with two counts of first-degree assault, one count of firing a weapon from a vehicle and three counts of armed criminal action, said St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch. Williams was being held on $300,000 cash bond.

The two officers were injured early Thursday during heated protests outside the the police department after the resignation of the city’s police chief, Tom Jackson, who stepped down in the wake of a Justice Department report that documented widespread racial bias in the city, biases that have gained national attention since the August police shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown.

Both officers are recovering, said St. Louis County Chief of Police Jon Belmar.

Williams, 20, fired the shots from a car moving through the area, McCulloch said. It's unclear if he meant to shoot the police officers, said McCulloch, since Williams told investigators he was involved in some sort of dispute prior to the shooting.

McCulloch said a handgun recovered from Williams matched shell casings found from the scene of the shooting.

It appears Williams was the only person who fired any shots, McCulloch said, but there may be other people who were "participants." The investigation is ongoing.

Attorney General Eric Holder released a written statement on the arrest, saying it "sends a clear message that acts of violence against our law enforcement personnel will never be tolerated."

Here's your 2015 NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket

March Madness is here.

The 2015 NCAA Basketball Tournament starts on Thursday, March 19 (play in games are Tuesday and Wednesday) so have your brackets perfected before then.

Kentucky is the overall no. 1 seed after going 34-0 in the regular season, Villanova is the no. 1 seed in the east, Duke is the no. 1 seed in the South, and Wisconsin is the no. 1 seed in the West.

The bracket is set

Is your Bracket as such?

Jay Z Calls Emergency Meeting With Kanye, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Coldplay & Madonna…BUT WHY?

Jay Z is taking on Spotify, Pandora, YouTube and other streaming services with his now approved $56 million acquisition of Swedish streaming service Aspiro.

Reports Show Biz 411: Sources tell me that a few days before the Grammy Awards in February, the rap entrepreneur (real name Shawn Carter) hosted a group of music superstars at an all day meeting. The guests were like a meeting of the music version of the Avengers or Justice League of America.

They included Madonna, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Nikki Minaj, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Jack White and of course, wife Beyonce. “Rihanna came in at the end,” one source said. “They all kept saying, Where is Rihanna?” At least two country music stars attended as well.

The subject was how they could turn Aspiro — which will be known in the U.S. as TidalHifi (@tidalhifi) when it relaunches– into a streaming music and video service akin to the old United Artists pictures, in which artists would actually profit from their art and put out quality material.

In 1919, a handful of movie stars– Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks– and director D.W. Griffith– banded together and started their own studio to combat what they saw as growing commercialism of the majors. I’m told that Jay Z, who can be a bit of a visionary, sees his new service just this way.

Jay Z, according to my sources, chose The Fig House, an out of the way event space in northeast Los Angeles near Pasadena so that his top tier guests would go undetected by press.

In addition to the stars there were some music execs, lawyers, and a few assistants. The total group of non stars, I’m told, numbered about 20. Many of them were from RocNation, Jay Z’s company. Jay Z’s reps declined to comment.

Jay Z’s purchase of Aspiro for $56 million was finalized in Sweden on Wednesday. A formal announcement is expected as early as Friday (3/13) morning. TidalHifi is appealing to Jay Z because it’s a streaming service completely in place, and operational in the U.S. with 25 million high def digital or “lossless” tracks– much like HDTracks.com. The tracks would be playable on Sony’s Walkman A17 or Neil Young’s Pono player among others.

Jay Z– who’s using the corporate name Project Panther Bidco Ltd– is obviously after something here along the lines of Spotify, Pandora, iTunes’ Beats Music, and so on. Right now, Aspiro offers high def digital music to its customers. In the U.S. subscriptions are $19.99 a month.In the Panther prospectus, there’s a lot of discussion of international expansion of global operations and “upscaling” of Aspiro operations.

But I’m told the discussion at the Fig was more about videos, artists rights, and how music has been diminished by crass commercialism. The Daft Punk robots are said to have made the most persuasive comments on these subjects. Tidal is going to be big on curated editorial. These artists could be involved in the editorial side, too.

The meeting was pretty lively, I’m told. Kanye West can’t calm down even among friends. “Kanye,” says an onlooker, “is out of control. He blurts things out. Jay Z kept him by his side and joked that he was his ‘interpreter’.”

What all this means for this group of artists is still unclear. Madonna isn’t signed to a record label per se. But most of these people are signed to Universal Music Group, which owns Vevo video service with Sony and Google. Plus, many of them are friendly with Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, who are now billionaires invested in Beats Music and Apple. A lot of loyalties may be divided soon.

But the endless battles between artists and Spotify and other digital services that pay low royalties may take a turn if Jay Z and friends can make inroads.

New Music: Jamie Foxx – “You Changed Me” (Ft. Chris Brown)

Jamie Foxx is ready to leave his player ways behind on his new jam, “You Changed Me,” featuring Chris Brown.

The R&B crooner lets his girl know that she has him thinking about settling down. “Use to be the kind of n-gga that never wanna settle down… You changed me baby,” he sings. While Breezy drops some sexy lyrics on his verse.

The Boi-1da and Vinylz-produced track is the lead single off Jamie’s upcoming album – due later this year.

Check out “You Changed Me”

Thoughts?

Eddie Murphy Joins Lee Daniel's Richard Pryor Biopic

Eddie Murphy! Has been cast in the forthcoming Richard Pryor biopic that Lee is directing. The good news was confirmed by Entertainment Tonight who revealed Eddie will play Richard Pryor's father, LeRoy "Buck Carter" Pryor, a former boxer. ET also confirmed that Kate Hudson will play Richard's wife, Jennifer Pryor.

Lee uploaded a pic of himself and Eddie to the 'Gram with the caption, “Strap in and brace yourself. They done let me and him out of our cages! #idonteventhinkimreadyforthisone! #excited #proud #OMG”

Eddie will star alongside Mike Epps (Pryor) and Oprah Winfrey, who'll play Richard's grandmother, Marie Carter.

We're here for this.

BAD NEWS FOR STEVIE J! Lawyer is DROPPING him in Child Support Case!

More legal drama for Stevie J (real name Steven Jordan). the Love & Hip Hop Atlanta (LHHA) cast member is accused of refusing to help his lawyer put together a defense in his $1 million back child support case and is now headed to court demanding he be allowed to drop the reality star. According to TheJasmineBRAND

As previously reported, Stevie J was arrested back in June by the feds, all over a million-dollar child support debt he reportedly owed to his baby mama. He has two kids with his former girlfriend and was ordered to pay $6,600 a month which was then raised later to $8,800. The reality star is accused of not paying a dime to his baby mama since 2001 and his back support bill ballooned to $1,107,412.

Last month, Stevie J appeared in a New York federal court for his arraignment in the case. The reality star went before the judge with his legal team and reportedly made the plea of NOT GUILTY to failing to pay the $1 mill+ in child support over the years.

On March 12th, Stevie’s lawyer — G. Michael Bellinger — filed docs demanding he be allowed to drop his client. He explains that Stevie J has not contributed any substantial help to get his defense in the case.

He says that the reality star has refused to assist him in putting the documents and case together and claims he has attended numerous hearings for him but he can no longer help him in the case due to the impossibility that Stevie J has caused. The lawyer says his former client has enough time to get a new lawyer and have them represent him. The Documents are HERE! Courtesy of TheJasmineBrand.com

IHOP -VS- Nicki Minaj?

So Super Random IHOP Decided to tweet this to it’s 200 thousand followers. Well Nicki Minaj had something to say about that.

Not really sure what happened there. Maybe a bad IHOP experience.

Celebs taking shots at restaurants lately.

Faith Evans Takes Over Tempted 2 Touch Las Vegas Sin City Weekend!

The beautiful Faith Evans performed for Tempted 2 Touch Welcome to Vegas Party at Bally’s Casino last night. The evening was epic as the singer helped usher in the 8th year of Tempted 2 Touch Las Vegas Sin City Weekend; the biggest and dopest Black Pride event on the West coast.

Check out the details below.

Over the weekend was The Tempted 2 Touch Welcome to Vegas Party held at Bally’s Casino. The first event of the weekend was powered by the beautiful Faith Evans who performed for Tempted 2 Touch Welcome to Las Vegas Party. See pics below.

Spies told me everything was dope from the food to the drinks to the songstress doing her thing on stage. Tempted 2 Touch Weekend is the brainchild of Mexican Joe a dynamic businessman who’s all about balancing business and pleasure. Mexican Joe is celebrating the 8th year of Tempted 2 Touch Las Vegas Sin City Weekend.

Rickey Smiley Sets The Record Straight On If He’s Dating A “RHOA”’s Claudia Jordan!

Funnyman Rickey Smiley drops in on “The Real” to chat it up with the ladies for an episode airing on Monday. And he came to set the record straight on whether or not he’s dating a star on BRAVO’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

The woman in question? Well that would be Claudia Jourdan, who is also his co-host on his nationally syndicated radio show “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show.”

When asked if he was dating his co-worker, Rickey made it clear he does not sleep where he makes his money. Hmph. Oh yeah, and the comedian is single too.

Below are the highlights:

Adrienne Bailon: Are you single?

Rickey Smiley: I am!

Adrienne Bailon: But there is a little bit of word on the street that your radio cohost, Claudia Jordan is your boo. So here is the time to set the record straight on The REAL.

Rickey Smiley: What y’all think? Y’all think I hit?

The REAL: (Laughs and Claps)

Tamera Mowry-Housley: Oh my gosh!

Rickey Smiley: No, I’m professional. I’ve been in this business twenty-six years.

Tamar Braxton: Absolutely!

Rickey Smiley: I do not sleep where I make money!

And when asked about the other "RHOA" star who is also his RSMS co-star via Dish Nation, Porsha Williams, he acts like he has a school boy crush.

Rickey Smiley: Porsha thick! Porsha is thick! Thicker than a snicker!

Adrienne Bailon: Yes she is!

Rickey Smiley: Porsha is the real deal!

Rickey also talks about being a father to 10 children (sheesh!), with two being his biological kids and the others being children he took in from parents who were unable to raise them. He also talked about sometimes having keep his stand-up act PG. You can catch his episode when it airs today Monday, March 16th

The Sandy Hook families seek damages from The Lanza's Estate!

Two lawsuits are seeking unspecified damages from the Lanza's estate, which has an estimated value of $64,000.

The families of children and teachers who were victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 are now suing the shooter's late mother.

Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, before he drove to Sandy Hook Elementary and killed 20 children and six school officials. Lanza used his mother's Bushmaster AR-15 rifle in the massacre.

Now, the Hartford Courant reports two lawsuits are seeking undisclosed damages from Lanza's estate. The outlet reports both lawsuits make similar claims: Nancy Lanza was negligent in allowing her son, who had a history of mental illness, to have access to the firearm.

Nancy Lanza's estate is reportedly worth up to $64,000 and includes a $1 million insurance policy on her home. CNN legal analyst Mel Robbins says the families filing the lawsuit have a strong case.

"He is locked in his room, you've got known mental problems, and you've actually got weapons that somebody can access. ... I wouldn't be surprised if you see the NRA step in and file a brief as well because they don't want to see this kind of case prosecuted," Robbins said.

In January, the city of Newtown voted to demolish the Lanzas' home.

First Picture of Kelly Rowland’s Son Revealed!

And the world let out a collective “Awwwwww”!

Kelly Rowland and husband, Tim Weatherspoon are showing off their baby boy, Titan Jules on the cover of Essence Magazine! This is the first time a clear picture of the cutie pie that has been revealed since his birth on November 2, 2014.

K. Michelle Performs Live at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta

R&B Singer K. Michelle did her thing last night at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta. As you know she is on a country wide tour promoting her new music and showcasing her talent, artistry, and personality for her adoring fans.

Check out the details below.

Atlanta loves K. Michelle and The Fox Theatre was sold out as her fans came out to show their support.

K. Michellle did her thing and she brought out some of our favorite artists including the lovely Monica and the homie Rico Love as they performed their hits to the adoring fans. It was truly a treat to see Monica, Rico Love, and K. Michelle rock the same stage.

K. Michelle is doing it big with her partnership with Jack Daniels Whiskey. K. Michelle has the distinction of being the first African American to work with the iconic brand.

K. Michelle told her fans that VH-1 is going to bring back season 2 of “K. Michelle: My Life“. The show did so well and K. Michelle enjoyed the experience so much that she’s ecstatic about the contiuation of the show. Also K. Michelle is working on a new reality show for VH-1 called “Cheaters” where she will help women catch their unfaithful spouses in the act of adultry.