What can I say? I love him. He's talented. The new album Graffiti comes out in December. He has his Fan Appreciation Tour coming up (that I already got my ticket to! He's comin to DC and Bmore btw for my locals) He's back in full motion! Haters fall back. Yep.
"I Can Transform Ya-Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz
PEACE.
~Brittany Shawnté
Well yall, when I started In The Spotlight, I started with the intentions of blogging on celebrity news. I also had the goal of promoting up and coming artists.
So today on In The Spotlight, we have Joshua, a rising hip hop artist. Joshua was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and was raised in the city of Decatur. His mom was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was nine, and he began to take care of her, while still going to school, working, and playing basketball. All of this began to take a heavy toll on him, and he dropped out of school to focus completely on taking care of his mom.
Because of lack of transportation and his own "poor judgement", Joshua says, he ended up losing his job. "That threw me into a depression and a lack of motivation for basketball and more into music, mainly just rhymes." he says. He had begun writing his rhymes at the age of 12, just to make it through the day. Joshua contemplated taking his own life, but came to the realization that he needed to be around for his mom. He got serious about his music, and was determined to have his dream realized.
After getting a job as a custodian at Emory University in Atlanta, Joshua met up with Emory graduate and professional photographer Carlton Mackey. Mackey has been helping Joshua get his music "to the masses" since 2006. Joshua's musical inspirations include Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, Sade, Nas, and Stevie Wonder among others. He is also motivated by his father, Mackey, Malcolm X, and Denzel Washington.
So take a listen to some of his music. I've heard some tracks, and he's good, yall. Also make sure to check out his blog Joshua: Hip Hop For The People and his MySpace!
Dag man....You read the headline right. Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted weapon possession in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday and is to be sentenced to a year in prison, according to the Associated Press.
Police said a gun was found on his tour bus in Manhattan in 2007. He previously had pleaded not guilty to the gun possession charges, which carried a sentence of 3 1/2 years behind bars. His trial had been scheduled to start Jan. 20. But the rapper ended up signing a plea agreement with prosecutors after police used a DNA profiling technique to tie him to the gun found on the bus.
Man, so that's another good rapper gone to prison for a bit. All I can say is I hope that Weezy will have some time to contemplate his life and come up with some real hot lyrics when he gets out. Keep his children (fourth is on the way with Miss Nivea!!) and the rest of his family in your thoughts...
PEACE.
~Brittany Shawnté
Wow...it feels kinda weird to put this above Rihanna, but oh well LOL I'm excited because Mr. CHRIS BROWN IS GOING ON TOUR!!!! Yes, people! He is back and I am happy! Forget all this drama he has going on, he is getting back to the music, which is all I care about.
Chris has announced, on the same day that Rihanna released her new single ironically, that he is having a "Fan Appreciation" Tour to show love to the fans who supported him in all this mess. It is set to begin in November 14 in Houston. Just a little something something to show that he still got it, I guess. Here are the dates:
Nov 14 2009 Houston, TX @HOB Nov 15 2009 Dallas, TX @Palladium Nov 18 2009 Los Angeles, CA @Avalon Nov 19 2009 San Francisco, CA @The Fillmore Nov 22 2009 Richmond, VA @Landmark Nov 25 2009 Detroit, MI @Royal Oak Nov 26 2009 Chicago, IL @House of Blues Nov 29 2009 Ft Lauderdale, FL @Revolution Dec 1 2009 Orlando, FL @HOB Dec 2 2009 Atlanta, GA @CenterStage Dec 4 2009 Washington, DC @Warner Theatre Dec 5 2009 Providence, RI @Lupo's Dec 6 2009 Boston, MA @HOB Dec 11 2009 Baltimore, MD @Sonar (PEOPLE IN BMORE TIX GO ON SALE FRIDAY!!!!!!! I'M GOING!!!!!) Dec 12 2009 Wallingford, CT @Chevrolet Theatre Dec 13 2009 Philadelphia, PA @Electric Factory
I'm excited to see him! I've never seen him in concert, and I'm a big fan. Yall know how I feel about him and Rihanna. Neither one of them has lost a fan in Brittany Shawnté. I think that Chris is mad talented and his career shouldn't be over cuz of this. Soooo....hopefully his real fans are down to ride. Love his new song btw....
"I Can Transform Ya"-Chris Brown w/Lil Wayne & Swizz Beats (VIDEO COMING SOON)
PEACE.
~Brittany Shawnté
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, RiRi is back. Here is her new song, which debuted officially tonight about a half hour ago. It's called "Russian Roulette" and was written by my boy Ne-Yo. I'm not gonna lie, the song is a tad bit creepy cuz Rihanna is still on her Good Girl Gone Bad kick but I still kinda like it. It may sound a bit depressing, but there is a deeper meaning to the song, if you listen to it.
For those of you who don't know the background of the risky "game" of Russian Roulette, it involves a six-shot revolver that has a single bullet. Basically, each player of this "game," if that's what you even wanna call it, held a revolver to his or her head and pulled the trigger. There is 1/6 chance of shooting yourself in the head. Now why somebody would want to do this unless they wanted to lose their life, I will never know, but OK. But Russian Roulette is connected to Rihanna's song.
This single is the first single off of Rihanna's upcoming album Rated R. The album is set to be released November 23.
So try to figure out the meaning of the song (Rihanna IS NOT talking about trying to kill herself people!!!). I'm kinda wondering if this is a song for Mr. Chris Brown???? Anybody think so? I think it could be...Take a listen.
Russian Roulette-Rihanna
PEACE.
~Brittany Shawnté
Ok, EXPLOSIVE NEWS THAT I JUST FOUND OUT!!! TMZ and MediaTakeOut has reported this phone call to 911 by R&B singer Usher. Apparently he had an altercation one night with his ex-wife Tameka Foster and in the morning, USHER'S CAR HAD BEEN KEYED!!! Take a listen....
Dang...Tameka don't play!!!! Can we say restraining order? Or has one already been filed? I don't know, but man this situation is getting a little crazy. Maybe just maybe it was all because of this song right here!!!
"Papers"-Usher
Hot song Usher, but dang! Did you have to put out your failed marriage in song?!! LOL guess Tameka's kind of salty....
PEACE.
~Brittany Shawnté
Well, by now, I'm sure you all have heard about Filippa Hamilton, the international supermodel who was fired by Ralph Lauren, for being too fat, according to NYDailyNews.com.
"They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore," Filippa said. She also said that her contract with Ralph Lauren was terminated in April, but felt she had to speak out after a severely Photoshopped ad of her came out recently in Japan.
"I was shocked to see that super skinny girl with my face," she told the NY Daily News. "It's very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that." The ad shown on the left has Filippa's hips shrunken greatly. Another ad (shown on the right) shows Filippa's true body proportions.
Polo Ralph Lauren said in a statement Tuesday night that Filippa is a "beautiful and healthy" woman but their relationship ended "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us." The company also said that the ad was not meant to be released and the ad is not running in the U.S.
Filippa is concerned about the impact the ad will have on the public. "I think they [Ralph Lauren} owe American women an apology, a big apology," she said. "I'm very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy."
Now you tell me, how in the world is a girl who is 5'10 and weighs 120 pounds too fat for your ad, Ralph Lauren?! I'm seriously outraged! There is absolutely nothing wrong with this girl! And Ralph Lauren ought to be ashamed for letting a beautiful model go!
Many clothing stores, including Ralph Lauren, show these ads of ridiculously skinny girls and make females feel like this is the standard. There are so many girls in this country and in this world that have issues with their body because ads like this make them think that if they aren't skinny, that there is something wrong with them. It's sad that this is the world we live in, but people feel like this is beauty. Girls STARVE THEMSELVES to achieve this level of "perfection." But, in my opinion, it's all so unrealistic and unhealthy!
PEACE.
~Brittany Shawnté
Happy Monday everybody! Sorry for not writing last week. Busiest week of my life, I swear, but I'm back! And back with Michael's new single, "This Is It!"
The single officially was put on his website at midnight last night. It will be featured on This Is It movie in the end sequence. I've taken a listen, and I really like it! I hope yall do too! Take a listen...
MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THIS IS IT! It's starts October 28, and runs for two weeks only! RIP Michael...we miss you.
PEACE.
~Brittany Shawnté
Wow...so my mouth literally dropped when I heard this news. A.J. Jewell, ex-fiance of Kandi Burress who is a former member of the R&B group Xscape and a cast member of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, was killed in a club brawl in Atlanta Friday evening. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported this news.
Burruss' publicist Lisa Nelson confirmed to WSB that the actress has been informed of the incident and said the family asked for privacy.
Police said it's unclear what prompted the fight. No arrests have been made.
I am a regular viewer of Housewives and the show shows just how in love Kandi and A.J. both were. And to lose someone you love is extremely hard, but to lose someone over what seems to be senseless violence is even harder. I send prayers and condolences out to Kandi, her family, and A.J.'s family. RIP.
PEACE.
~Brittany Shawnté
Ok, I know most of yall who read don't know me like that but today is my 19th birthday!!! So shout out to me right quick LOL and my "fraternal twin", my girl Christina turned 17 today. And shout out to my girls Tiffany and Tiffani (difference in spelling LOL) who celebrated their birthdays yesterday!!! And now back to my news LOL!
MediaTakeOut first reported the rumors that it would happen, and now Access Hollywood has confirmed. The "Fame Kills" tour starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga has been officially canceled. The three month tour was set to begin this Sunday.
Last month, Kanye interrupted Taylor West as she accepted her Best Female Video award at the VMA's. A day later, while on The Jay Leno Show , Kanye told Jay that he planned to take a break.
"I need to, after this, just take some time off and analyze how I'm [going to] make it through the rest of this life, how I'm [going to] improve and because I am a celebrity and that's something I have to deal with," Kanye previously told Jay. "And if there's anything I can do to help Taylor in the future or help anyone I like, 'cause you know, I [want to] live, this thing is hard."
Ugh...I wish that people would just let this thing go. I mean, sure I feel like Kanye ain't had to open his mouth at that moment and he should've just let Taylor have her shine. But dang! This has gone on long enough. Kanye apologized, Taylor and her family have accepted. Beyoncé gave Taylor a moment to say her speech. IT'S OVER PEOPLE! Kanye, I have to be honest with you. Sometimes, I feel like you have let the fame gone to your head, but you are still a good rapper and I'm behind you for sure. If you need this time to get your head straight, all power to you. But don't let these new found Taylor Swift fans stop your shine. (Not dissing Taylor Swift at all btw...she's cool).
