What’s good everybody? Another week gone by and we have a
slow five days to show for it. From AIG execs getting blasted for those hefty
bonuses they got to Obama picking UNC to go all the way in the NCAA Tournament,
it was just another ordinary week.
Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of
actress Natasha Richardson, who died Wednesday (March 18) because of a head
injury from a skiing accident Monday afternoon near Montreal. Shout out to the
sounding boards for making everyday worth working for.
So here it is…The Last Word for the week ending March 20,
2009
1. Case Becomes Blaxel Rose; Accidentally Shoots Self in
Throat
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Case, but the
absence, according to the crooner, hasn’t been without good reason. While
working on his forthcoming album, The Rose Experience, Case moved to Atlanta to
be closer to his family and ended up wounding himself to prevent his kids from
finding his gun. It was then the weapon’s trigger went off.
“I had an accident in ‘02 where I accidentally shot myself
in the throat, so that put things on home for a minute,” he told EUR. “After I
came-to, the first thing I did was try to sing. That’s all I was really
concerned about at that time.”
Soon after recovering from the accident, Case tried
unsuccessfully to negotiate a new contract with Def Jam Records. The experience
resulted in the singer going the independent route to release his music as well
as the birth of his persona, Blaxel Rose – “The Black Axel Rose [of the
rock band Guns-N-Roses].”
“He’s a little wilder than I may generally be. I wanted to
have a little more fun and make the music sound lighter on this album and
that’s more so a reflection on the other side of my personality,” Case
explained about the alter ego, which plays into the title of the new release.
And if you feel Case is going to abandon R&B and Hip-Hop
for a full on foray into rock, think again. Blaxel is nothing more than a name
that expresses his love of rock music. Nothing less.
“It’s just like Hip-Hop; it’s a way of life,” he said. “I am
a fan of rock music; I listen to it all the time. But it’s more so a persona,”
he said. “I’m not one to pigeon-hole myself. In order to that, I have to show
all sides of my personality. No one thing defines who I am.”
Case’s The Rose Experience is slated to hit stores on Tuesday (March 24).
2. Justin Timberlake Considers Tequila Side Hustle
When you’ve done music successfully and haven’t had too bad
of an experience with acting in movies and creating your own clothing line,
then finding something else to do with your time may not be too far off.
At least for Justin Timberlake. The New York Post reports the crooner was spotted on video tasting
tequila during a recent tour of a Mexican distillery. When asked about the trip,
a spokeswoman for Timberlake revealed the outing was “one of his many meetings
over the last two years in development of his tequila business.”
All signs seem to point to JT making moves to launch a new
brand of “naked” tequila. The question is will it or won’t contain the worm.
3. Taraji P. Henson Joins Kanye West and Sanaa Lathan for
Family Guy
Spinoff
Now that she’s officially arrived with her best supporting
actress Oscar nomination, Taraji P. Henson is returning to the small screen
with an appearance on the upcoming Family Guy spinoff, The Cleveland Show.
The show, which his slated to premiere in the fall on Fox,
will follow the character of Cleveland Brown and his family as they move from
Rhode Island to Virginia.
Henson will be featured in a future episode of the series,
while Kanye West will be the voice of a rapper named Kenny West. Sanaa Lathan
will be a Cleveland Show regular as the voice of Cleveland’s new wife Donna.
And as an added bonus, Nia Long (remember her?) will play Donna’s teenage
daughter Roberta.
Let’s hope Stewie makes an appearance so he and Kanye can go
at it. Talk about a meeting of the minds. How funny would that be?
4. Tyson Beckford Wants Celebrity Free Magazine Covers
You know the economy is bad when supermodels can’t earn a
steady paycheck. Maybe that’s why Tyson Beckford is putting his foot down and
asking his fellow celebrities to stop doing magazine covers.
The 38-year-old Make Me a Supermodel host justified his
views to the Associated Press as he
revealed that having actors and musicians on these covers ultimately takes away
jobs from models.
“You have to do a lot of tweaking and airbrushing to get the
same from a celebrity that you would get from a model,” Beckford said. “A lot
of celebrities – I’m gonna tell you right now – they’re not 5’11”
(1.8 meters); they’re not a size two to fit into these designer dresses, but
the designers want exposure so they’re willing to make the specific dress for
that actor or actress to get them to look good on the cover.”
Despite all of this, Tyson does feel that celebrities on
magazine covers will go out of style someday.
“It’ll all come back around. One day some designer will wake
up and say, ‘You know what? I don’t want to use Gwyneth Paltrow. I want to use
Adriana Lima, I want to use Gisele (Bundchen), I want to go back to the high
fashion,’” he said. “I think slowly but surely you’ll see that start
happening.”
Is it me or is that the pot calling the kettle black? You
want to invade acting, but don’t want the actors to invade modeling. I know
times are hard, but can’t we all just get along?
5. Spike Lee Gives Kobe Bryant Starring Role in New
Documentary
Kobe Bryant’s antics on the basketball court are getting the
big screen treatment as Spike Lee’s prepares to premiere his new documentary,
Kobe Doin’ Work, at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.
The ESPN Films production, which features a score by Bruce
Hornsby, was shot during last year’s NBA playoffs when Lee and cinematographer
Matthew Libatique spent a day with Bryant.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kobe Doin’ Work will be
shown April 25 as the gala entry in the festival’s Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film
Festival sidebar.
The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival highlights independent
films about sports and competition. Other films featured in the event include
Jonathan Hock’s Lost Son of Havana, Eric Bana’s Love the Beast, Erez Tadmor and
Sharon Maymon’s A Matter of Size (Sipur Gadol), Marshall Curry’s Racing Dreams,
Carlos Cuaron’s Rudo y Cursi, Mans Herngren’s The Swimsuit Issue (Allt flyter)
and Liz Mermin’s Team Qatar.
Those who can’t make the festival can catch Kobe Doin’ Work
when it airs May 16 on ESPN. After Kobe’s extra-marital past, should the title
of the film be considered a sequel?
6. Aubrey O’Day Becomes Perv Magnet, Bounces Back from
Diddy Firing
Say what you want about Aubrey O’Day, but the former Danity
Kane member is continuing to move forward after being let go from the Bad Boy
girl group.
“Everything in life happens for a reason. A lot of people
last year were fired, we are in a recession,” O’Day said. “We are all going
through hard times. I’m just a public representative for being fired in 2008
and moving on in 2009.”
Hence, her recent appearance in Playboy magazine – the experience proved to be so much
fun that O’Day hasn’t ruled out going au natural again.
“I absolutely want to do it again, any day. I’ve been asked
to actually,” the entertainer told Fox News. “I only took a little bit off this
time so I’ll be back.”
And while the joy of doing Playboy has its pluses, there
comes the shady side as Aubrey’s nakedness has garnered responses from people
who have no problem expressing how much they love seeing her in her birthday
suit.
“I get sent a lot of creepy pictures like of guys licking
the pages,” she said. “It’s slightly weird.”
Anything to get some attention, I suppose. It could always
be worse. There are so many ways to express appreciation for the female form
that it seems to come down to how creative (or rather freaky) a guy or girl
could get their point across.
But then again, that’s the difference between a fan and a
fanatic…Or is it?
In Other Words…
* Nelly Furtado is trying her hand as a record label owner. Billboard reports that the songbird has launched Nelstar in cooperation
with the Canadian independent label group Last Gang Labels. The name is in
reference to her previous stage name of Nelstar during Furtado’s electronica
days. The first act to come out of the label will be the Toronto-based
electro-dance band Fritz Helder & the Phantoms. The group’s debut album is
slated to arrive July 7.
* Danny Glover and Angela Bassett are lending their talents
to a new independent film helmed by actor Giancarlo Esposito. The feature,
titled Gospel Hill, focuses on a decades-old investigation into the death of a
civil rights leader. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gospel Hill will open
the ninth edition of the ReelWorld Film Festival on April 15. In addition to
Glover and Bassett, the film will feature Esposito, Julia Stiles, Taylor Kitsch
and Nia Long. Gospel Hill is the directorial debut of Esposito, who is probably
best known for his roles in the films School Daze and Fresh and the TV show
Homicide: Life on the Street.**To get the latest AllHipHop Alternatives Features, follow us on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/AHHalternatives**