What’s real, people? Another week in the can and talk is still going around about John Edwards coming clean about his marital indiscretion, the Russia-Georgia conflict and the tight medal race at the Olympics between the US and China. R.I.P. to Bernie Mac, who died Saturday (Aug. 9) at the age of 50. George Clooney said it best, “The world just got a little less funny. He will be missed dearly.” Shout out to the sounding boards for making life easy between paydays. So what is this…the Last Word for the week ending Aug. 15, 2008. 1. Amy Winehouse Stars in Her Own Video Game; Tops Nightmare List To have your own video game is a dream come true for many people, particularly athletes, pro wrestlers and movie characters. It’s rare that singers get that type of treatment (Anybody remember the Michael Jackson Moonwalker video game?). But Amy Winehouse has made the cut with a new online game modeled after her well-publicized behavior. The game, called Escape from Rehab, features an animated version of the 24-year-old embattled songstress as she attempts to rescue her husband Blake Civil-Fielder from jail. Gamers can help Amy with her mission by choosing different weapons to her help her break out of a clinic, everything from crack pipes to syringes. The animated Amy even battles the Hulk, Hellboy and Batman while quoting the catchy “No, No, No” from her breakthrough hit “Rehab” in the game, which also allows players to use the character to throw booze and knock people out with what Now Magazine labeled as the singer’s “rock hard beehive.” Escape From Rehab is a promotional tool for the upcoming film Disaster Movie. If this is the case with Amy, maybe the highly anticipated Bobby Brown game, Soultastic: Absence of Right Mind, will finally make its way to stores. Maybe putting your personal issues in video game form can work for him as well. Just what we need. Another way for crack to kill. And if you still can’t get enough of Miss Winehouse, maybe you can dream about her. Or be like those overseas who’ve had the singer appear in their nightmares. Winehouse topped a Travelodge survey of celebrities and politicians who currently occupy British people’s nightmares. Other celebs featured in the survey were rocker Marilyn Manson, American Idol judge Simon Cowell and the former Mrs. Paul McCartney Heather Mills. Are things that bad that you have nightmares about Amy Winehouse? As if people don’t have anything else to wake them out of their restful sleep. Next thing you know, people will compare Amy to Freddy Kruger. What kind of f**kery is this? Indeed.2. Prince Rains on Dentist’s Purple Dream If you’re thinking about covering any song from Prince, you might want to reconsider. According to reports, His Purpleness has banned Andrew Bain from covering his classic 1984 hit “Purple Rain.” Bain, a dentist for England’s National Health Service (NHS), is known for performing operatic versions of modern songs. He was signed to Sony BMG after sending the label his operatic version of “Purple Rain.” Although the cover impressed Sony BMG, Prince was less than thrilled as he refuses to allow Bain to include his version of “Purple Rain” on his forthcoming debut album. “Without Purple Rain I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Bain said after learning he would not be able to have the song on his project. “I struggled until I took a chance, mixed my operatic style with pop in ‘Purple Rain,’ and realized my dreams.” Although he didn’t get Prince’s approval, Bain did get the green light to cover songs from David Bowie, Bryan Adams and ABBA. I’m a Prince fan as well, but it is Time for a ReVoLuTIoN. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.3. Aretha, Patti and Dionne Remember Isaac Hayes As if the death of Bernie Mac wasn’t hard to take, this past weekend saw the loss of another revered entertainer with the passing of composer/musician Isaac Hayes on Sunday (Aug. 10).Best known for winning the Oscar for his 1971 hit theme to the movie Shaft, Hayes’ influence on music is still being felt today through numerous artists and music makers. The entertainer’s death stuck a chord among legendary singers Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle and Dionne Warwick, who shared their memories with Access Hollywood and E!”It was so sad to hear about Isaac Hayes. So musically advanced and timeless in his compositions. He was loved and appreciated by so many,” said Franklin, who called the singer “an enduring symbol of the struggle of the African-American man” as well as “a shining example of soul at its best. God bless.”For LaBelle, it was Hayes’ ability to perform in spite of being less than 100 percent physically that she remembers. “I last saw Isaac a while back in Washington, D.C. at a concert where we were both performing,” she said. “Although he was under the weather, he was still performing. He was the man – he had ‘the show must go on’ spirit. In his absence, he will be remembered through his great music. He will forever be in our hearts and souls. God bless his family.”News of the death came as a major blow to Warwick who admitted that “I’ve lost one of my best buddies and it is not easy to reckon with…I know one can never put a question mark where God puts a period, so I will not question the Almighty’s decision to call him home…He was my ‘family.’”Condolences go out to Hayes’ family. He will be missed.4. Rohan Marley Sheds A Little Light on Lauryn HillAlthough she is among the most talented rappers and singers to bless us with her song stylings, Lauryn Hill has treaded on Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse territory where her sporadic recording projects and questionable public behavior has overshadowed her musical legacy.And while we’re still trying to figure out if L-Boogie will make that long-awaited return, the father of her five children, Rohan Marley, is offering a bit of insight into the former Fugees member in the Aug. 18, issue of People magazine. As for what she’s been doing with her time, Marley sums it up by citing Lauryn’s kids. “She loves [suburban life], being with her children, seeing them grow and instilling our teachings of righteousness to them,” he told People. “[She does] what regular people do: She cooks, shops, goes to restaurants, regular things…She became more in tune with the earth.”While that’s all good, there’s still the matter of those odd appearances and performances. Anyone who has seen Hill live over the last couple of years can vouch that her live set is anything but spectacular. But Rohan is adamant in his faith in the diva, who decline to comment for the People story.”Down and depressed? No,” Marley said. “They tell the record label, ‘She’s crazy,’ and then the next minute they say, ‘Oh, Rohan, can you call Lauryn [for me]?’ It’s hypocrisy.”Although it’s good to see Rohan speaking up for her. I, like everybody else, would love to see the old Lauryn come back stronger than ever. And with this year marking the 10th anniversary of the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, there has to be something more for us fans to listen to. Word on the street is L-Boogie is in the lab working on her sophomore album. Hopefully, we will all win one rather than face the loss of another one. In Other Words… * Alicia Keys has become the latest celebrity to endorse Vitamin Water. The singer, who revealed her favorite flavor to be lemonade-like Multi-V joins fellow entertainers and Vitamin Water promoters 50 Cent and Jennifer Aniston in backing the product. * Looks like someone has gotten their hands on some unreleased tunes from Chris Brown. And it’s not sitting well with his those at his label as the following statement was released to address the leak: “Recently, unauthorized Chris Brown material was leaked online. Most of the unfinished songs were demos and reference tracks Brown and his production team were writing and producing for other artists. Brown’s record label, Jive Records is doing everything possible to prevent any further illegal distribution of these tracks.”
