What’s the word? Another weekend in sight and we have Michael McLendon killing ten people and himself in a shooting rampage in Alabama, Obama encountering talk that he’s taking on too much too soon as well as signing an order to lift the ban on embryonic stem cell research and March Madness going into full swing.

Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the shooting in Alabama. Shout out to the sounding boards for keeping all possibilities infinite.

Hear ye, he ye. It’s…The Last Word for the week ending March 13, 2009

1. Patti Austin Gives Cowardly Commentary on Chris Brown/Rihanna Situation

It seems like every celebrity has something to say regarding the whole Chris Brown/Rihanna soap opera. But jazz singer Patti Austin is doing more than chiming in as she recently revealed to PopEater.com that she wrote a song that urges folks to take a deeper look at domestic violence.

The song, called “By the Grace of God,” was not inspired by Rihanna and Brown but rather a domestic violence victim she saw on Oprah. Still, Austin did not mince words as she compared the lack of talk to Attorney General Eric Holder’s labeling of American’s as “cowards” for not speaking openly about racism.

“Many people went ‘How dare he?’ like he talked about your momma. I'm going to use that word one more time and people can take it however they’d like to: We’re cowards on many levels when it comes to addressing violence,” said Austin, who is working with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence to bring more awareness towards the issue. “Anybody who hits anybody to bring their point home is already a coward,” she said.

Austin believes the issue of domestic violence will get worse despite it being in the current spotlight because of Brown and Rihanna.

“Whatever's going on with Rihanna and Chris Brown is endemic of a much larger problem that is only going to get worse as the economy declines,” she added as she weighed in on TMZ’s posting of the infamous photo of a battered and bruised Rihanna shortly after the alleged incident. “None of us will ever really know what happened, and I doubt either of them really knows what happened, because when you’re in a painting you can’t see it. Well, we got a chance to see the painting.”

Now that Rihanna and Chris have reportedly gotten back together and they’re back in the studio recording now, will it take another incident to truly fix what is wrong with the “painting”? Just wondering.

2. Sheila E. Sets Her Sights on a Glamorous Country Life

Sheila E. may have sung about the glamorous life back in the day, but the songstress is now forging a new path for herself with a foray into country music.

People.com reports that Sheila, who emerged as the winner of CMT’s Gone Country reality show last Sunday (March 8), is expanding her 15 minutes in the country spotlight after singing her song, “Glorious Train.” The singer is currently working on her forthcoming country music album.

“I want to take an advantage of this opportunity and I would love to do a country record,” said Sheila, who mentioned Dolly Parton, Faith Hill and Taylor Swift as her favorite country artists.

As for the sound of her album, the vocalist stated the project would be influenced by her love of contemporary gospel and her background in pop music.

“I already contacted all of the writers who appeared on the show and I'm going back to Nashville to do a writing session at the end of March to come up with material.”

Needless to say, it may take fans a minute to adjust to Sheila’s new musical direction. So what did her mentor, Prince, make of his protégés switch from pop and R&B to country?

“He asked me why in the heck would I do this show,” Sheila told People, as she cited the chance to work with famed Nashville songwriters as the reason behind doing Gone Country. “So he said, ‘Okay, well, mama knows best!’”

I can’t hate on artistic growth. Maybe Prince can do a country duet with Sheila if things are successful. Now that would be interesting to hear.

3. American Idol’s Mandisa Gets Personal With Weight Loss

American Idol star Mandisa is looking a little thinner these days, as she has shed more than 75 pounds.

And while the weight loss is attributed to a new diet full of salads, lean meats and fiber, it goes much deeper for Mandisa, who revealed that her weight issues stemmed from being sexually molested and raped at the age of 16.

“A lot of girls turn to men to fill that void and some turn to drugs,” the 32-year-old singer shared with People. “I turned to food as my drug of choice.”

The choice to use food to cope with her trauma resulted in more stress as Mandisa encountered health problems and ridicule. The final straw came via a visit to Mt. Rushmore last summer. It was there that the vocalist encountered shortness of breath that prevented her from making it to the viewpoint.

As a result, Mandisa set a deadline of March 24 to lose 100 pounds. The 24th is the date her new album, Freedom, arrives in stores.

“I thought I couldn't get up and sing about freedom when I had been chained for so long,” said the singer, who engages in cardio workouts five days a week. “Being able to fit into clothes I couldn’t before is great. To be able to walk into a room and not feel self-conscious, I don’t ever remember feeling this way.”

The slimmer Mandisa is a far cry from the days where she was denied health insurance because of her weight. Nowadays it’s all about taking care of herself.

But don’t expect Mandisa to sacrifice her curves. The singer is quick to say that she is fine with a slimmer yet voluptuous version of herself.  “I don't need to look like the models on the magazine covers in order to be beautiful.”

Case closed.

4. Fergie Goes Viva Glam for HIV/AIDS Awareness

Although domestic violence is the current hot topic, HIV/AIDS is still a problem that needs addressing. And Fergie is more than willing to do her part as she begins a new partnership with MAC cosmetics for the company’s Viva Glam campaign.

According to the singer, the charity campaign will include her creating her own brand of lipstick as a unique way of raising awareness for the condition young people who may be at risk.

“I think it’s important to realize that half of all new HIV infections each year are in men and women 25 and younger…,” Fergie told the LA Times. “I have friends that are proud of being careless, that haven’t been infected or who have been and aren’t bothered by it. I want to educate people.”

Fergie had hands on experience with creating the Viva Glam IV lipstick as she admitted to going through ten shades of the stuff before deciding on a soft pink-tinged rose color that would work for a variety of skin tones. In addition to Viva Glam VI, the Grammy-nominated vocalist went a step further for the campaign by renaming and remixing her hit song “Glamorous” under a new name “Viva Glamorous.”

“It's a new house dance remix with new raps and new vocals and harmonies,” added Fergie, who will promote the lipstick and HIV/AIDS awareness in a series of magazine ads.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the new lipstick will go to HIV/AIDS education. MAC and Fergie’s Viva Glam IV lipstick is scheduled to hit stores next week.

5. Tyrese Trades Singing Career to Make Big Movie Moves

Those looking for new music from Tyrese Gibson will have to wait a little longer as it looks like the actor/singer/rapper is trading his microphone to see what can happens by spending quality time on the big screen.

According to WENN, Gibson made a full switch to acting after talking to fellow artist turned actor Will Smith.

“I had one of the heaviest and deepest conversations with Will Smith and he said to me, ‘Tyrese, you are 29 years old, and I just turned 40... If you take this acting thing serious for the next three years it's gonna change your life forever,’” he said. “So I shut down everything on the music side and I lost about forty six pounds training with Will Smith and his trainer Darrel Forster, and it's just pure film focus now man.”

Will’s advice apparently did more than facilitating Tyrese’s turnaround. It seems as though the former corner, who will soon return to fighting Decepticons on this summer’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, picked up a newfound appreciation for acting as he is focused on taking advantage of potential opportunities to hone his craft and grow.

“I can't take the situation for granted anymore, and keep doing movies and music and music and movies... going back and forth,” he added. “So I just cleared out everything that's got to do with music. I'll totally focus on acting and see how far this takes me.”

All of this reminds me of what my teachers kept telling my mom in school. “If he just applies himself, there’s no telling how far he can go.” Here’s to you Black Ty for waking up old memories and making an effort to master the art of acting.

In Other Words…

*Although Chris Rock is working hard on his upcoming feature Death At A Funeral, his brother Tony is working on dealing with his recent arrest for DUI. TMZ reports younger Rock was charged with driving under the influence and driving with a .08 blood alcohol level or higher.

Shortly after his arrest, Rock told the web site that he had been drinking Patron and putting the pedal to the metal on the 101 Freeway. In addition, Tony made things worse for himself by mocking his arrest and saying he would skip the alcohol education course. If convicted, he could be sentenced to six months in jail.

Note to Tony: You have two choices if this situation doesn’t get any better. Give up the a** or take the class. ‘Nuff said.

* With a successful stint in pro-wrestling and an equally successful career as an actor, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is living a good life. But this may not have been the case had the entertainer chosen a life of crime over doing better.

Media sources report that Johnson was arrested numerous times for fighting and theft, which resulted in frequent encounters with authorities while growing up in Hawaii. Fortunately, he turned over a new after leaf his mother bailed him out of jail when he was 17. According to Johnson, his troubles with the law didn’t help his parents, who were struggling with financial problems.

“My parents were dealing with evictions and repossessions and electricity getting shut off, and I just realized I had to get it together,” the entertainer said.

Shout out to Dwayne for getting it together and making sure the smackdown is laid only onscreen.

* Ladies and gentlemen, Halle Berry has scored the top spot on another list. The Oscar winner was named the Sexiest Black Woman Alive last week by TV One Access. Tyra Banks, Alicia Keys and Jada Pinkett Smith as well as Rihanna, Iman, Janet Jackson, Joy Bryant, Gabrielle Union and Kerry Washington.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love me some Halle, but she can’t hold the top spot on every publication or website forever. No. 1 has to go to somebody else eventually. So who would you pick to pick up the mantle of sexiest woman, actress, entertainer, etc. etc. I can think of a few, but I want to hear from you. Who can replace Halle Berry?

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