What’s up, Wordists? Another Friday has dawned. So what else
is new other than GM joining Chrysler at the bankruptcy hotel, Obama delivering
a great speech to the Muslim community and the 20th anniversary of the violent
crackdown on pro-democracy protestors at Tiananmen Square?
Thoughts and prayers for family and friends of Kung Fu star David Carradine (aka Bill from the Kill
Bill films), who died Thursday (June 4).
Congratulations to Kimora Lee Simmons and Djimon Hounsou on the birth of their
new baby.
Now that all bets are off, let’s get to…the Last Word for
the week ending June 5, 2009.
1. Anthony Hamilton Wants a
Different Sound; Hopes for Stint on Detox
Since he entered the scene with his first album, Anthony
Hamilton has made good use of his talents. And while the results of those
pairings have seen the light of day, the same may not hold true for the
crooner’s work on Dr. Dre’s highly anticipated album, Detox.
Ask Hamilton about and he’ll say that he’s “just waiting to
see if it’s gonna stay or not.”
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed on that one,” the singer
told Billboard as he has no idea whether
or not “The Detox” will actually make the final cut. “Dres just very, very,
very good at getting what he wants. He’s pretty talented. When he’s producing
something he’ll try different ingredients, and he’ll make what he feels is the
best for the project. He just looks at the overall body of work, not just songs
or individual collaborations, which I think is smart.”
And while we wait to see if Dre keeps Hamilton’s work on the
much delayed opus, we can least take comfort in knowing the entertainer’s next
solo project will arrive much sooner than last year’s The Point of it All.
According to the singer, he may release something new “before the end of this
year, or the top of (2010).”
“It’s gonna be a blues, country, soul, rock kind of album on
the next one,” he explains. “I want to do something different. I may do some
orchestrated stuff. I’m not afraid of it. I have a fan base that loves me
enough to trust that I’m giving them. That’s a great place to be.”
2. Tyler
Perry Shows = Coonery and Buffoonery for Spike Lee
Does Spike Lee have something against Tyler Perry? Judging
by a recent interview Lee did with Ed Gordon on Our World with Black Enterprise, the answer may be ‘yes’.
The Do the Right Thing
filmmaker didn’t hold much back as he noted what he considered to be
“troubling” images found in Perry’s#### TV shows Meet the Browns and House of Payne. So much so that he compared the characters on those
shows to the ones found in minstrel shows.
“We’ve had this discussion back and forth. When John
Singleton [made Boyz in the Hood], people came out to see it. But when he did
Rosewood, nobody showed up. So a lot of this is on us!” Lee said. “You vote
with your pocketbook, your wallet. You vote with your time sitting in front of
the idiot box, and [Tyler Perry] has a huge audience. We shouldn’t think that
Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make, or that
John Singleton or my cousin Malcolm Lee [would make]. As African-Americans,
we’re not one monolithic group, so there is room for all of that. But at the
same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and it harkens back to ‘Amos n’
Andy.’”
Lee continued to make his point during the show while
expressing that efforts can be made toward having better shows on the air
despite the popularity of Meet the Browns
and House of Payne.
“Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic
endeavors, but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is coonery
and buffoonery. I know it’s making a lot of money and breaking records, but we
can do better. I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I
see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns and House of Payne), and I am scratching my head. We got a Black President,
and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep ‘n’ Eat?”
As always, Spike never fails to tell it how he sees it. The question is do you agree or
disagree?
3. Mo’Nique Sheds Weight for
Extended Love Connection
There’s no doubt that Mo’Nique is proud to be a big girl.
But the funny woman is looking a bit slimmer these days as she shed 40 pounds
in return for something more valuable.
“I decided that I had to get some of that off of me,”
Mo’Nique told Jet magazine as she cited
a conversations she had with her husband, Sidney Hicks. “What he said to me was
motivation. It was so gentle and sweet and he wasn’t judgmental. He said, ‘Baby,
that’s too much and I want you for a lifetime.’”
Armed with that type of motivation as well as the chance to
be around for her family, Mo’Nique adapted a healthier way of living as the
pounds started coming off. So much so that talk surfaced that the
actress/comedienne resorted to gastric bypass surgery to reach her goal, a claim
Mo’Nique says is far from the truth.
“I’m so scared of needles,” said the entertainer, who
weighed as much as 262 pounds at one time. “Baby, for them to take blood from
me, it’s a production. This was truly making the commitment to watch what I eat
and commit to working out. I stopped eating red meat.”
Currently, Mo’Nique weighs 224 pounds with hopes of slimming
down to 200 pounds. And if you’re worried about her abandoning her big girl
mind state, don’t worry.
“I want to say to big people, ‘Let’s be healthy big people,’”
Mo’Nique said. “Everybody can’t be a size 0 or 45, but let’s be healthy.’”
‘Nuff said.
4. R. Kelly Enters the Mixtape
Game
It seems like ever since he arrived on the scene, R. Kelly
has embodied the qualities of your favorite rapper (minus the quotable lyrics).
Whether it be the swa g he displays in his videos or the numerous
collaborations with rhymesayers, Kells seems to come across as a rap star
trapped in an R&B star’s exterior.
So it should come as not too much of a surprise that Mr.
Kelly released his first ever mixtape with DJ Drama and DJ Skee this week. The
project, titled The Demo Tape, features
the crooner’s remixes as well as previously unreleased songs and new material from
his upcoming coming album. According to Kelly, the mixtape served as a vehicle
for going back to his mindstate before he became a household name.
“I took it all the way back to when I first started; all I
had was my demo,” the Grammy winner told MTV. “It’s a way to start fresh, be
humble. It’s like being a new artist. This is my demo tape for my fans.”
5. Megan Fox Supports Legalized
Pot; Compares Acting to Prostitution
Megan Fox is a looker. No doubt. She’s one of the hottest
out right now. And her opinions
are just as likely to keep your interest as she called for the legalization of
marijuana.
“I can’t tell you how much bulls**t I’ve been through
because I will openly say that I smoke weed,” the Transformers actress admitted
to Britain’s GQ magazine as she labeled
the politicians’ war on drugs as “propaganda.” “People look at it like it’s
this crazy, hippy, f**ked-up thing to do. And it’s not. I hope they legalize
it. And when they do, I’ll be the first person in line to buy my pack of
joints.”
And while getting legally high with Miss Megan paints an
interesting picture, don’t expect her to exhibit a love for filming love scenes
on the big screen. To hear her tell it, Fox has a sincere dislike of displaying
affection towards her onscreen lovers as she confessed to not liking the idea
of people paying to watch her feign attraction the big screen.
“When you think about it, we actors are kind of
prostitutes,” Megan said. “We get paid to feign attraction and love. Other
people are paying to watch us kissing someone, touching someone, doing things
people in a normal monogamous relationship would never do with anyone who’s not
their partner. It’s really kind of gross.”
In Other Words…
* Sade isn’t the only songstress coming back after a long
time away. Amerie’s forth album, In Love & War, is slated to hit stores in August. The project,
which is the songbird’s debut album on Def Jam, will include production from
Teddy Riley, Sean Garrett, Eric Hudson, Jim Jonsin, Rico Love and The
Buchanans. The video for the
album’s first single, “Why R U,” will premiere Monday (June 8) on BET, while
the song’s officially release will follow on June 15.
* Brandy can now move on from the 2006 car crash she was
involved in. TMZ reports the singer has reached a settled with the kids of the
woman who died in the accident, which occurred near the interchange of the 405
and 101 freeways in Los Angeles. Court documents filed in L.A. County Superior
Court show that Awatef Aboudihaj’s two children will receive $300,000 each from
the settlement.
* The son of legendary singer Stevie Wonder started the week
off with an up-close and personal meeting with the LAPD. TMZ reports that Keita
Morris was taken into custody early Monday (June 1) morning after police
received a call regarding a verbal argument between Morris and an unidentified
woman that turned physical. Cops arrived to find marks on the woman and arrested
Morris on felony domestic violence charges.
Morris, who is Wonder’s son from former girlfriend Yolanda
Simmons, was held on $50,000 bond. He was later released after posting the bond
himself.
* Hell to the yes. She is coming back. Media sources report
that Whitney Houston will make her comeback official when she drops her new
album in September. The release, which was said to be in the final stages in
May, will indeed hit stores on September 1, as confirmed by the big wigs at
Houston’s record label, Arista.
* Funny how time flies. Can you believe that the members of
En Vogue are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year? And from the looks
of it, they are not letting it pass by without some kind of recognition.
In honor of the occasion, En Vogue’s four original members –
Cindy Herron-Bragg, Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson and Maxine Jones –
reunited to perform their classic hits on A&E’s Private Sessions. To
further add to the nostalgia, the ladies are back in the studio working on a
new CD that is slated to come out in late 2009 and will hit the road on a US
tour that will kick off this month.
Private Sessions featuring
En Vogue will air at 9 a.m. EST /8 a.m. CST on Sunday (June 7).
