‘Barbershop The Next Cut’ Cast Join For Promo: Ice Cube, Nicki Minaj, Eve, Regina Hall, Common & Cedric The Entertainer!
With Barbershop: The Next Cut due in theaters next month, the movie’s cast got together for promo on Friday. Ice Cube, Nicki Minaj, Eve, Regina Hall, Common and Cedric the Entertainer, all posed for pics around a barber’s chair with a green backdrop.
More than a decade has passed since we’ve gotten a peek inside Calvin’s barbershop, and this time around, Nicki and Common are joining Calvin and his longtime crew.
“In every neighborhood, there’s a place folks get together,” Cube says in the film’s trailer. “To talk about their dreams, to share their frustrations, and maybe even tell a joke or two. It’s a home away from home.. and these aren’t just friends. They’re family.”
Catch a few more pics,
“The Next Cut” hits the silver screen on April 15th.
#RHOA: Phaedra finally tales the boys to see the Dad Apollo Nida!
On Sunday night’s Real Housewives Of Atlanta things got naked and emotional as Phaedra Parks finally took Ayden and Dylan to visit Apollo Nida in federal prison. Phaedra does not tell Kandi about her planned visit to Apollo because she’s tired of people in her business! “These women are more up in my business than my gynecologist is in my vagina!” Phaedra quips. Adding, “Unless you have a hand in raising these kids, I don’t give a rat’s patootie what you think of what I’m doing with my kids.”
Later Phaedra’s divorce attorney comes over, bringing Phaedra a menorah, to prep her for visiting Fort Dix. Apollo has moved to the cushiest of federal prisons, so Phaedra has decided to visit – after a year. Coincidentally this visit comes right on the heels of Phaedra filing for divorce and needing Apollo to sign the papers without contest…
Pastor Regina Belle accompanies Phaedra and the boys to Philadelphia, an hour outside of Fort Dix. Phaedra doesn’t tell Ayden and Dylan they’re here to see Apollo because she doesn’t want to upset them, if, for whatever reason, the visit doesn’t happen. Phaedra’s mother counsels her to be prepared for the aftermath and also asks her how she’s going to handle all the specifics. Phaedra, for once, has no answers and actually seems legitimately unsettled by the whole thing.
I really do not think this was an appropriate thing for Bravo to film – just my opinion. I know RHOA is supposed to represent ‘real life’ but because the children were involved, it was a little… “off” for me. Also, is Bravo becoming the Prison Spouse Channel now?
Phaedra, dressed in a fur cape(!), because everybody knows you should look like the undertaker of riches when you walk through the metal gates of federal penitentiary.
In the car to Fort Dix Phaedra is anxious and the tension is palpable. Bravo cameras can’t go inside the prison, so the car, with Pastor Belle, waits outside. Two and a half hours later Phaedra and the boys return. Phaedra is unsettled, but thankfully the boys seem unfazed. Ayden was most unsettled because Apollo now has a Mohawk.
Apparently the visit was awkward and the boys were restless. Phaedra seemed upset that the boys had to endure the situation. Given how stressful and overwhelming the trip was, Phaedra isn’t sure when she’ll return, because she’s over the drama with Apollo.
Speaking in Mom-Code, which means saying a lot in shorthand words parents think kids can’t decipher – Phaedra informs her mom that Apollo has not changed at all. He also warned her he wouldn’t sign the divorce papers. Phaedra is frustrated because she has future plans – including remarrying … some day. “I’m ready to move on with my life,” she says simply. True love does not wait for the prison gates to re-open!
Tell Us – What Do You Think Of Bravo Filming Phaedra’s Prison Visit?
#TEAMEMPIRE: Serayah Covers ‘Hype Hair’s’ Latest Issue!
Empire star, Serayah McNeil, is simply fab on the cover of Hype Hair’s March 2016 issue. In addition to starring on FOX’s hit Hip Hop drama, she just signed a new deal with Sony Music, and is also setting social media on fire with her natural hair slay.
Inside, the 20-year-old shares what it’s like to work with Taraji P. Henson and the the rest of the cast, how she maintains a healthy tresses, and her hairspirations.
Read a few excerpts below..
On what a typical day on set is:
Hair and makeup for two hours, and LOTS of dancing!
On maintaining her natural tresses:
Keep it hydrated with water and use lots of leave-in conditioner! Also minimize brushing and detangle your hair when it is wet and not dry. I love to deep condition my hair at nighttime under a dryer. Keep the ends cut and make sure to apply minimum heat. Protective styling is what it’s all about!
On her hairspirations:
Tracee Ellis Ross and Madison Pettis—she has great curls and looks like she keeps them healthy, long and luscious!
The issue, which also features interviews with R&B group SWV, actress Kimberly Elise, and more – is available on newsstands now.
New Music: EXCLUSIVE: MAXWELL Teases Preview Of New Single “Lake By The Ocean”
Is it finally real??!!! We were pretty certain that Maxwell would be making his return in 2016, and after talking about his upcoming album with Essence, and being made a headliner at the 2016 Essence Music Festival, it was all more apparent. But, with Max you just never know.
However, on Saturday morning that has all changed, when the R&B singer-songwriter teased the release of his brand new single “Lake By The Ocean” on Instagram. Posting a split up collage of images, including shots of the ocean, and high above a forest, he gave us one short clip with the single cover and audio of the song too!
“in the light of the sun i was dazed i was burned i was lost deep in a storm of a grave had a bed as coffin,” he wrote with multiple posts. “you were only the one that made me fulfilled only the thing that made me reveal my destiny was before us a beach of a forest anything ain’t nothing it’s just… it’s just you just us nobody but.. love on trust on us nobody now can we swim a lake by the ocean we’ll be one like drops in slow motion..” #lakebytheocean #LTBO #maxwell #summers #20thyearanniversaryofmaxwellmusic”
According to his post, the song is due out on March 8! Check out the preview below.
YESSSSSSSSS!
OOOPS! Katt Williams Gets an Onstage Beatdown at Philadelphia Rap Show
Comedian stomped on after allegedly punching someone during Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel performance
Apparently Katt Williams figured things could use a little punching up at a rap show this weekend, but it didn’t work out too well for him.
Williams received a beat-down after crashing the stage and throwing a punch at someone during a performance Sunday night at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia, TMZ reports.
According to TMZ, Williams took to the stage during a show while Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel and Jahlil Beats, among others, were performing. At one point during his bizarre onstage appearance, Williams reportedly took a run at someone onstage and punched him, at which point a group of people stepped in and laid a beating on him.
Watch video of Williams’ onstage antics below courtesy of rollingout.com
Nobody was arrested following the melee, TMZ reports. Which is probably a relief for Williams, who’s had a long string of run-ins with the law. Most recently, he was arrested in Georgia last week after allegedly punching an employee at a pool-supply store.
Erin Andrews Awarded $55 Million in Peeping Tom Trial!
Sportscaster Erin Andrews has been awarded a settlement of $55 million for damages sustained after a stranger secretly recorded her in the nude in 2008 at the Nashville Marriott and then posted the video on the Internet.
Andrews had sued the franchise owner of the Nashville Marriott, West End Partners; the Windsor Capital Group that manages the hotel and Michael Barrett, the man who filmed Andrews by removing peepholes from her door and pointing his cell phone camera into her room.
Barrett pleaded guilty to stalking in 2009 and served prison time. The former delivery truck driver testified during the trial that his motivation for filming Andrews was financial, and that he was "not proud" of what he had done.
Andrews testified during the trial that the video still haunts her. "I think about it every day," she said.
"One of the worst thoughts I have is when I walk around a stadium ... there's always that thought, as I walk right by the stands, and I think, 'My God, everyone in this stadium has seen that video.' "
A forensic computer expert testified at trial that an estimated 16.8 million people had seen the video. A psychologist, Dr. Kim Brown of Vanderbilt University, testified that Andrews suffers from mild post-traumatic stress disorder.
Andrews, 37, who worked for ESPN at the time of the video but now works for Fox Sports, said, "It's on the Internet now," adding, "And I've been told it's going to be on the Internet until I die."
The trial hinged on the issue of whether or not the managers of the Nashville Marriott should be held liable for Barrett's actions.
Defense attorneys argued that the incident was a freak occurrence that the hotel couldn't have prevented, and that Barrett is solely to blame.
Lawyers for Andrews, meanwhile, alleged that hotel employees confirmed to Barrett where Andrews was staying and allowed him to book a room next to hers.
Testimony varied on how Barrett knew where Andrews was staying, and whether a hotel employee told Barrett which room Andrews was in and then alloed him to reserve a room next to hers.
In his closing statement, Andrews's attorney, Bruce Broillet, said, "Right from the beginning they gave out information that they shouldn't have and multiple hotel witnesses in this case admitted that was a violation."
He added that the hotel should have "cut off the snake at the head" by not telling Barrett that she was staying there, and that the hotel didn't have proper security because they failed to notice that Barrett had tampered with the peepholes.
"The Nashville Marriott could have just called me and said, 'We're putting this man that requested to be next to you [next door]: Is this okay?' And I could have called the cops and we could have caught him and could have stopped this," Andrews testified.
The defense countered that Barrett, and not the hotel, was at fault. "Are banks responsible for bank robbers?" defense attorney Marc Dedman said in closing arguments.
Defense witness Stephen Barth, a professor of hospitality law at Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College, said, "It's my opinion that the [Nashville] Marriott met or exceeded its duty of care to Ms. Andrews on the day this incident occurred."
Barth compared Barrett's videotaping of Andrews to bed bugs, saying it's "impossible to guarantee no bed bugs," no matter how many times a bed is cleaned or how often rooms are inspected.
The defense also called Herman Turk, Regional Vice President of Windsor Capitol Group, the hotel's management company, who oversaw the Nashville Marriott in 2008. Turk testified the hotel scored 100 percent on its undercover security assessment examination in June 2008, three months before the video was taken.
BLACK STAR POWER! The Celebs showed up at Hit 2016 BET Honors!
Over the weekend, The beautiful folks hit the Warner Theater in D.C. to honor L.A. Reid, Patti Labelle, Eric Holder, Lee Daniels and Mellody Hobson. See all the pics who hit the red carpet to celebrate with the honorees
YESSSSSSS! Monica was the best dressed of the night in Dennis Basso. Loving this embroided patterened full skirt and metallic bodice.
OVAH!
You'll see performances from Toni Braxton, Jussie Smollett, Usher, Eddie Levert, Ledisi, Fantasia, Jazmine Sullivan, Raheem Devaughn and The Deele when the BET Honors air March 14 at 8 p.m. ET on BET.
Now India Arie is blasting The Nina Simone Biopic!
Everywhere you turn it seems like somebody is talking about the upcoming Nina Simone biopic and unfortunately for the movie’s star, Zoe Saldana, most people don’t have anything positive to say about her portrayal of the soul legend. Now, famous singer India Arie has weighed in on the matter and blasted the film, as well.
As previously reported, the biopic has been plagued with bad press and negative fan comments since its inception years ago when it was revealed that Saldana was cast as Simone. Fans were outraged that Saldana, who is lighter in skin tone than Simone, would be portraying the singer and they complained that actresses like Danai Gurira, Adepero Oduye or even Arie would’ve been better choices to play Simone.
However, what seemed to anger fans even more was the fact that Saldana darkened her skin with makeup and wore a prosthetic nose and fake teeth to complete her portrayal of Simone, as well. When photos of Saldana in costume hit the web, fans unleashed a fury of angry comments online about Saldana and the film.
Most recently, Simone’s brother and Simone’s estate blasted Saldana online as well, saying that her casting and the dark makeup were disrespectful to Simone’s legacy. However, Simone’s daughter recently spoke out in Saldana’s defense, explaining that she hates the film, but thinks that Saldana did the best she could with an unfortunate situation.
And it seems like Simone’s daughter isn’t the only one who chose to take aim at the film over Saldana. According to media reports, Arie recently shared her thoughts about the film and said that filmmakers for the movie made Simone look like an ugly woman in the film.
“It made me sad. The way she looked in the movie was ugly. Whether or not Nina Simone was beautiful in your eyes, I thought she was beautiful. But in this movie, she just looked weird. Her skin looked weird, and her nose looked weird. It made me wonder, was that how the filmmakers see her? Did they not think she was beautiful? Were they like, ‘Yeah, we got it! That’s how she looked,'” Arie said.
Arie then spoke about fans blasting Saldana for wearing dark makeup and questioning whether she was Black enough to play the role because of her Latin heritage.
“It’s messy to put it that way. I think the best way to say it is that they casted her against type and went too far to make her fit. It’s not my place to say how Zoe Saldana perceives herself, and I can’t say how anybody else perceives her either. I see her as a black person of Hispanic origin, but I don’t even know what that really means, because I don’t know anything about race and Hispanic culture,” Arie explained.
Arie then referred to an open letter she wrote about the film years ago, in which she discussed the history of Black actors wearing blackface in films.
“In my open letter I called it ‘black(er) face.’ I didn’t know what to call it either. I have heard that there were black actors who played blackface, back when people did that. I think blackface was putting charcoal on your face and doing a certain type of act on stage, the shucking and jiving. You could be black or white. [The Nina portrayal] is a caricature. You had to put a whole other face on someone’s face,” Arie shared.
What do you think? Do you agree with Arie?
A 2Pac Fan Unearths New Tupac Shakur Music & Memorabilia
Fans of the late Tupac Shakur were recently thrilled at the news that handwritten notes of his went public. Another lucky fan has unearthed handwritten notebooks of 2Pac‘s rhymes and CDs featuring unreleased music, which will go to the highest bidder according to TMZ.
From TMZ: The goods are pretty awesome … 3 notebooks containing a bunch of handwritten Pac ideas and lyrics, and some CDs with unreleased tracks.
We’re told the lucky finder got his hands on the items after answering a Craigslist ad for baseball cards. It just so happened the seller had the Tupac merch too … his dad worked with the rapper for years.
As for authenticity … the handwriting in the notebooks matches handwriting in the prison letter that hit the market for $255k in October on the site Moments in Time. MiT is also selling the newly discovered items.
It won’t come cheap … the two-page “Point The Finga” music video notes are expected to pull $35k minimum.
Check out a couple of images from the 2pac stash in the photos below.
And the song: Point The Finga listen HERE
Afeni Shakur, who runs her son’s estate, is reportedly trying to block the sale of the items. The New York Daily News reports that the bundle is selling for $250,000.
Lupita Nyong’o debuts on Broadway in Danai Gurira’s ‘Eclipsed’
It’s not every day that an Oscar winner makes her Broadway debut in a history-making production. Lupita Nyong’o appeared on opening night in Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed on March 6. The actress is reprising her role in the production, which previously ran at the Public Theater. Directed by Liesl Tommy, at the Golden Theatre.
Nyong’o will reunite on stage with the off-Broadway company: Saycon Sengbloh, Pascale Armand, Akosua Busia and Zainab Jah.
Amid the chaos of the Liberian Civil War, the captive wives of a rebel officer band together to form a fragile community — until the balance of their lives is upset by the arrival of a new girl. Drawing on reserves of wit and compassion, Eclipsed reveals distinct women who must figure out how to survive in this deeply felt portrait of women finding and testing their own strength in a hostile world of horrors not of their making.
Playwright Danai Gurira, best known as Michonne on “The Walking Dead” — delivers politics with passion in this searing drama about the decisive roles women played in the second Liberian civil war — during which warlords conscripted child soldiers, ate each other’s hearts and performed human sacrifices. Superbly directed by Liesl Tommy and powerfully acted by a strong ensemble led by the Oscar-winning star of 12 Years a Slave, Lupita Nyong’o, the play gives voice to women ranging from the wives of warlords to activists in Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, the political action group that brought an end to the war.
Meticulously detailed design work by Clint Ramos (set and costumes), Jen Schriever (lighting) and Broken Chord (sound) presents a surreal — or perhaps hyper-real — setting of the bullet-riddled one-room hovel where the captured wives and — inevitably, the children born as a result of the sexual assaults committed by a base commander of the rebel Liberian army — are housed. The women are colorfully clothed in authentic but well-worn native dress, and when they aren’t servicing their unseen lord and master, they remain sequestered in this small room, cooking for him, laundering his clothes and awaiting his every command.
Helena (the quietly dignified Saycon Sengbloh) is wife No. 1, the stern and sensible heart of the household. Bessie (Pascale Armand, enchanting) is wife No. 3, bubbly and babyish, although soon to deliver a baby of her own. There’s no sign of Maima (the vivacious Zainab Jah), who, although still officially wife No. 2, has run off to join the rebel army, a sexy soldier “fighting for freedom” in provocative halter tops and bejeweled jeans.
Eclipsed marks the first time on Broadway that the cast, director and writer of a play are made up of entirely of female artists.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘VISIBLY INVISIBLE’
It’s like the camo and the bright green leg fringe things are double negatives here. They just seem to cancel each other out girlfriend. Pick a side.
HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!
EFREM
