Reality TV isn’t fictionally scripted, contrary to what a lot of people seem to believe, but it is highly manipulated. Sometimes scenes are shot over and over and producers will tell people how to say certain things. In a lot of ways, that’s still fake so I get the accusations.
That being said, the latest show being accused of fakery is Couples Therapy. The forthcoming season (which premieres tonight at 9 on Vh1) stars Ghostface, Farrah Abraham, Jon Gosselin, Taylor Armstrong and their respective booskis but Farrah, of Teen Mom fame, will be appearing alone. The reason for the latter is because her boyfriend allegedly pulled out of the show at the very last minute. He claims that he didn’t hop on that plane to LA because he didn’t want to walk into what he felt like was a fake situation.
He told Radar that not only did Farrah ask him to pretend to be in a relationship with her so that she could get on the show but that producers make up scenes. How would he know that they make up scenes, right? Well, there’s a scene in one of the show’s trailers where Farrah says, “I think he did this to purposely hurt me,” about his absence.
(AllHipHop News) New Years Eve is meant to celebrate entering a new year but proved to be a time of sorrow for a few families. On New Years Eve (December 31st), Flavor Flav’s mother, Anna Drayton died.
While the cause of death has not yet been provided, Flav announced his mother’s passing on his personal Twitter account:
Hey everybody I just lost my mother Anna Drayton thismorning newyears eve she passed away and I’m gonna miss her. She lived good a good life
Flav has attributed his mother’s work in the church choir as inspiration for him to get into the music business. He told People.com in 2008 “She used to play in the church and I used to watch her. I used to come home and try to mimic her.”
Check out Flavor Flav’s interview with his mother for People.com in 2008:
Police say a Phoenix man confessed to axing his 13-year-old son to death, reports AP. Gary Sherrill, 51, was arrested on New Year’s Eve and booked on a first-degree murder charge.
Sherrill’s ex-wife called police after he didn’t return their child, whom he picked up a day earlier. His mother began to panic after she hadn’t been able to reach them. Police entered Sherrill’s home and found the boy dead, with stab wounds and lacerations over several parts of his body.
Authorities say Sherrill told police he believed his son was a demon that was going to eat him.
(AllHipHop News) Kanye West proclaimed in 2013 that he was a god and in less than two weeks he may also become a currency. A new cryptocurrency inspired by Kanye West is set to debut on January 11th and will be called Coinye.
Cryptocurrency is a decentralized medium for online exchange which can be traded peer to peer. Numerous iterations of cryptocurrency populated the world, namely Bitcoin, which at one point in time had a value of $1000 per Bitcoin. Members of the group behind Coinye spoke with Noisey about their new venture and explained why they chose Kanye West as their inspiration instead of other popular artists such as Drake:
We chose to represent Kanye because he is and always has been a trendsetter, and he’s always keeping things unique. I can picture a future where Coinye is used to buy concert tickets, with cryptographically verified virtual tickets, and other ideas I can’t give away just yet.
Kanye West is not affiliated with Coinye and has made no public announcements about his feelings towards the new cryptocurrency. The people at Coinye have an intriguing way to attempt to garner Kanye’s endorsement:
We’d love if Kanye named dropped Coinye. I think he’s gonna love that there’s a CURRENCY named in his honor. We don’t want to pay him off to name check us, but it’d be sick if he does so. In-fact, we’re making an open invitation to Kanye: Get hold of us at coinyewest.com and we’ll send you 100,000 COINYE on launch. A hundred thousand. Bitcoin started small too, and now look where it’s at.
On December 31, 2013, actor James Avery passed away as a result of complications from open heart surgery. Avery, best known to many as Uncle Phil on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, superbly played that role for all six seasons of the show’s run. Avery’s character was pivotal to The Fresh Prince because of the active role he played in the lives of his fictional children, wife, and nephew.
While the NBC sitcom did help make Will Smith a household name, the guidance that the character of Phil provided shaped the Banks’ residence into one of the most beloved homes on 90’s television. In honor of Mr. Avery and his most memorable character, AllHipHop.com has put together a chronological list of the best Uncle Phil Fresh Prince moments.
All rise as we pay respect to the Honorable Judge Philip Banks.
S1E1: In the series pilot, Will assumes his Uncle is a sellout. However, Phil quickly puts him in his place and tells him about how he heard Malcolm X speak.
S1E6: After Will and Carlton are put in jail for “stealing” a car, Uncle Phil shows up and gets them out.
S1E18: When Phil finds out that Will has taken Hattie, Phil’s mother, to a Heavy D (R.I.P.) concert, he goes to the show in search of them. Phil then accidentally makes his way on to the stage and disappoints the concert-goers who were eagerly awaiting the Overweight Lover.
S1E22: After Will gets hustled at a pool hall, Phil comes to Will’s rescue by giving the scam artist a taste of his own medicine.
S2E16: Carlton, Phil’s son, brings him a toupee. Geoffrey, the Banks’ butler, then makes one of his typical smart-aleck remarks after seeing Phil’s new look.
S3E09: During the campaign to get Phil elected to be a judge, Will makes some last-minute changes to a video promoting his candidacy.
S3E014: Carlton and Will successfully trick Geoffrey into thinking that he has won the lottery. Phil then gives them both a memorable scolding before sending the two out to apologize to Geoffrey and get him to return to the Banks’ home and take back his job.
S3E20: Phil and Will get stuck on an elevator when Philip’s wife, Vivian, goes into labor. In order to respond to the page, Phil makes Hannibal Lecter type threats to someone else in the elevator so that he can use their cell phone.
S4E03: In a very powerful dialogue, Phil explains to Will how his reluctance to face challenges is holding him back in life. This then prompts Will to get back into a difficult college course, even though it will now be for no credit.
S4E22: The beautiful Pam Grier guest stars in this episode as an old college flame of Philip’s named Janice. And although he is at first excited to see her, Janice’s presence creates conflict. She even tries to tempt Philip into intimacy, but her inappropriate behavior ultimately reinforces Philip’s commitment to his wife.
S6E24: One of the most memorable scenes in the series finale is when Will’s mischievous ways get the best of him again, and Phil confronts him about it. Will says, “I just didn’t want your last memory of me to be the same as your first.” Phil then responds, “You have no idea what my first memory of you is. I saw a kid with all the potential in the world. Now I see someone on the verge of realizing that potential.”
And last, but not least…
Rest in peace James Avery (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013). AllHipHop.com sends our deepest condolences to his family and friends.
What are some of your favorite Uncle Phil moments? Please share them in the comments section!
(AllHipHop News) Last night (January 1st), the Michigan State Spartans celebrated the new year by winning the school’s fourth Rose Bowl championship in its history. After the game, the team and its coach Mark Dantonio celebrated the win with Rich Homie Quan and performing his hit song “Type of Way”.
According to Spartan players, Rich Homie Quan’s “Type of Way” was the team’s theme song and coach Dantonio even snuck in a reference to it when explaining the team’s win:
We got great leadership from our guys. All of our seniors, great leadership. Guys came to play and we just fought back tonight and some Type of Way we got it done.
Check out Rich Homie Quan perform “Type of Way” with the Michigan State Spartans in their locker room below:
I was told that I had to make this one a blind item because folks don’t want to get fired but it’s a believable bit of information. Apparently there’s a Momanger who runs a tight ship with her reality TV klan who star in a wildly popular show but some of her offspring are over the shenanigans.
One of her daughters, a minor, wants off the family show but Mom Dukes said it’s not going to happen. She will continue to work toward pushing the family brand and she will love it!
Wow, this mom sounds like a real winner, which rhymes with…
Chris Brown and Karrueche Tran are and official item now. Over the holidays, apparently she asked him to make it official and Breezy agreed. She’s been down with him through all of the BS that he’s suffered. This is the pic she posted as the new year rang in.
This image offends me. LOL!
D. Wade probably violated Gabby Union before their “break.” TMZ is going in on them, because the timeline makes no sense. Common sense says they took a break after she was p##### off!
These celebs are more rachet than The Ratchets.
Beyonce got in trouble for using The Challenger disaster in her music. Now, Solange is retroactively getting heat too, because she did it first. On 2008, she release the song “I Decided” and it was pretty dope. Included in the video are clip from The Challenger disaster, where a space shuttle exploded shortly after launching. People want to know, why are they using this national tragedy in their music?
Yeah…they are definitely late, but I guess Beyonce make everybody look at things differently.
Folks are supposedly worried that Fantasia may be suicidal because her ex-boyfriend went back to his wife. He was still married. This isn’t the first time Fantasia has tried to take her own life so people are especially frightened. The Enquirer is reporting the ‘Tasia is saying that she can not life anymore without Antwaun Cook. Cook dumped his wife and family for the singer.
These guys out there are really doing the do in cheating. Luda cheated on this:
Eudoxie Agnan is not pregnant, but some other woman is. I know dudes know better! Just strap up! There are millions of dollars on the line. Speaking of which, Luda is reportedly trying to minimize the amount of child support he has to pay. He wants to pay $1,754.66 monthly and says he’s making about $25,842.41 per month.
“They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!” -illseed.
“I think it’s more of a fear of brothers—black men—doing crime [that] is the reason why they’re getting arrested or profiled. The fear is bigger than actual crimes that are being committed. Crime is on the decline, drugs are on the decline. These are things that we can actually measure. How many people are doing crime? Is crime up or is it going down? Crime is going down but arrests are going up. That’s the problem that is going on.” –Dice Raw
Fluffy, white cotton, plucked by oppressed souls, blazing crosses consumed tarred-and-feathered skin, and America still sacrifices melanin for money. While Lincoln may have physically “freed” the slaves, Big Brother Willie Lynch and Brother Crow, have ensured their descendants continued psychological confinement. A nationally clouded-consciousness, coupled with a resentment of a mistreated people, has created an undulating fear which creates and sustains an institutionalized system of oppression.
Dice Raw, of The Roots, extended an invitation to AllHipHop to meet up at New York Live. There the Grammy-nominated MC spoke candidly about his upcoming solo-project, Jimmy’s Back:
AllHipHop.com: In the past, you’ve earned artistic respect from your diligent work with The Roots. With your release of your second solo project, Jimmy’s Back, how are you able to broach such topics as: the mass incarceration of the melanin-enriched; the war on drugs; and the damning stigma that’s attached to words like “felon” in an insightfully compelling way rather than being preachy?
Dice Raw: Basically, the one thing I can say is that I don’t come off preachy on the album. Also, most of the features that I have on the [album] are people who did eight years in jail, ten years in jail, or six years in jail. Like, K Dot The Show Stoppa, is an artist that I have a tremendous amount of respect for; I’m looking forward to seeing his career blossom in the future. He’s only 26 years old, but he’s done eight years in prison, you see what I’m saying. One of my best friend’s, growing up in the streets, his name is, Wallace Peoples. Wallace Peoples is 34 years old and he’s done 21 years in jail. You see what I’m saying; so, it’s not a big preachy thing.
To me, the War On Drugs is really a war on black men. It’s a war on the poor community that’s always been masqueraded behind—a war on drugs. Even when they wanted to get rid of the Chinese people who were building the railroads— [and back] in the mid 1800’s when the Opium—the war of Opium with the Chinese people. You want to lock up the Chinese people, but you can’t just lock them up for being Chinese. So, what do you come up with? ‘Okay, we’re gonna lock them up for being Opium heads.’
[Ed. Note: Through the 1700s China’s imperial system flourished under the Qing dynasty. It was at the center of the world economy as Europeans and Americans sought Chinese goods. In China’s favor, Western nations experienced an outflow of silver bullion to China. Westerners brought Opium into China to reverse the flow of silver. China attempted to ban the sale of Opium leading to the War of 1839 and they were defeated by the British.]
Once you’re labeled as felon it’s mission impossible. In some states, you can’t even get a Driver’s License. With dealing with the small, basic, civil rights—a human right—which is being able to transport yourself from on destination to another; it’s crazy! Barack Obama getting rid of 1.8M felon’s right to vote, that’s a problem. Once you got it, the stigma is here to stay. The thing is, how do you not get the stigma? How do you not get arrested? How do you not become a product of this mass-incarceration, prison-industrial complex?
The one thing is do not sell drugs. Do not do crime. To be honest with you, it’s like you have to do a lot of crime in order to get caught. Or, you have to be really stupid at doing crime. Marijuana is the biggest charge that young black males are being arrested for. Besides the more serious crimes, like homicide, rape, extortion, stuff like that. But it’s basically marijuana.
AllHipHop.com: Today, are you creatively and financially in a place to where you feel comfortable speaking on social evils; who and or what compels you to voice your opinion on what’s going on in society?
Dice Raw: As far as finances, I’m very comfortable, I co-wrote and produced over 30 to 40 songs for The Roots. You know, I’ve worked with Jill Scott, I’ve worked with Young Jeezy, and I’ve worked in television and film. So, making money in the music industry is pretty much like a no-brainer. Right now, while I’m standing here with you I’m making money. Finance is not really a big problem for me. It never really was a focus. It never even came into my creativity [realm]. ‘I can’t say this because—or I don’t want to say this because’— of anything in particular—I’ve never felt that way. I’ve always been the kind of person who was going to say what I wanted to say and when I wanted to say it. I don’t care about money. Money is one of the least things on my mind. The biggest thing on my mind is taking care of my family. Being healthy, loving people that I love and who love me, and staying focused; that are [some of the things that] I’m focused on.
This is why I’m passionate about these things. Dr. Michelle Alexander, her book, The New Jim Crow, is one of the main reasons why I made this album. Reading her book—or listening to the audio book. I was blown away by her statistics, and the way she puts it all together, and the way she adds it all up. It makes me want to open up a different narrative to Hip-Hop. It’s kinda what I do on The Roots albums with my partner, Black Thought. It’s the same things which I did with this record. It’s more of a social commentary and it’s more specific. I think what The Roots have always done is they’ve always been champions of injustice, trying to enlighten, and to inspire people.
AllHipHop.com: In life, sometimes our blessings may be camouflaged as challenges. Who and or what circumstances have best taught you to use your discretion, strength, and loyalty to navigate stressful situations?
Dice Raw: Well, the first thing is that I try not to even subscribe to stressful situations or even to the word stress. Stress is fear. Basically, I’m not afraid of any outcome. Man makes the plans and God makes the outcome. So, stress is not something that I subscribe to. One thing I can say is that there are different times in my life where I feel like they’re harder than others. The way I get through those things are by being honest with myself. I try to tap into my own emotions on determining how I feel about these situations and not let it become masqueraded behind anger, or greed, or different things that can only lead down a dark path.
The Sidebar:
“Well, I just want to let everyone know that the album is coming out December 10th. You can pre-order it right now on iTunes , Amazon, or CD Baby. I also want to thank Dr. Michelle Alexander for being so supportive with everything she’s done for the cause. And I want thank AllHipHop’s Grouchy Greg and Chuck!” – Dice Raw
Happy Thursday my creatures of undeniable greatness! Welcome to the 2nd day of the best year of your life! Today’s Daily Word is dedicated to consistency! The secret to attaining your dreams and aspirations is no secret at all… If you believe in yourself and work hard towards your dream there is absolutely no doubt that you will receive it! The problem is that many of us put time limits on our dreams so if it doesn’t happen when we say it will we either give up or compromise. Criss Jami once said “Most people either compromise or drop their greatest talents and start running after, what they perceive to be, a more reasonable success, and somewhere in between they end up with a discontented settlement. Safety is indeed stability, but it is not progression.” Make this year, the year that you refuse to be regular… The year that you tell yourself that you will stick to your dream and achieve it no matter the obstacles and no matter the circumstance! As the saying goes…. You don’t drown by falling you drown by staying there! Don’t drown your dreams away! Be consistent and stick to it by all means!! NOTHING CAN STOP YOU BUT YOU!! -Ash’Cash
“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.” -Anthony Robbins
“Rain puts a hole in stone because of its constancy, not its force. Just keep knocking on doors until the right one opens” -H. Joseph Gerber
“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.” -Jim Rohn
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” -John C. Maxwell
“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” -Louis Sachar
“Do it badly; do it slowly; do it fearfully; do it any way you have to, but do it.” -Steve Chandler
“As long as there’s breath in You – PERSIST!” -Bernard Kelvin Clive
“It’s good to remember that success may be just beyond the next failure, and you’ll get there, not because you’re destined to, but because you’re determined to.” -Steve Goodier
(AllHipHop News) Battle rapper Lotta Zay is calling out what he calls the “top tier” of his peers. In an interview with VladTV, Zay expressed he feels some of the more well known competitors are avoiding jumping in the ring with him.
“A lot of these n***as is too comfortable with they spot. They don’t want to lose,” said Zay. “A lot these n***as is fake a** emcees. A lot of these n***as is ducking me.”
Zay goes on to explain that everybody loses, but a lot of unnamed rappers are “scared to get knock out.”
During the interview Lotta Zay also talks about the rise of the battle rap scene over recent years. He credits the battle culture’s rawness for saving Hip Hop and refers to battle rap emcees as “lyrical athletes.”
(AllHipHop News) Hip Hop legend Ice Cube and comedian superstar Kevin Hart are both starring in the new movie Ride Along that is hitting theaters January 17th. Before the film debuts on the big screen later this month, the two actors are scheduled to participate in the popular “Ask Me Anything” segment on Reddit.com this week.
Fans will get the chance to ask the two actors about their upcoming action comedy which also features Tika Sumpter, John Leguizamo, David Banner, and Jay Pharoah. Questions covering other aspects of Cube and Hart’s respective careers will sure to be a part of the discussion as well.
(AllHipHop News) Last year produced some memorable music and big moments in Hip Hop. Albums from veteran performers like Kanye West, Jay Z, Eminem, Killer Mike, and Pusha T had fans and the media talking all year, and young rap stars like A$AP Rocky, Drake, J. Cole, and Wale topped the Billboard 200.
Throw in projects from Chance The Rapper, Action Bronson, Blu, Tyler, The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, A$AP Ferg, Danny Brown, Troy Ave, and many more, and 2013 may become a standout year for the culture’s new generation of emcees. One of the contributors to rap’s run last year expressed his belief that the current state of Hip Hop is close to what many consider the apex of the culture – the late 80’s/early 90’s.
“I think that in many years this year will be looked back on as a very special time and there hasn’t been anything that as a movement has been as big as this since the quote-unquote Golden Age,” shared Mac Miller with Thestar.com.
Miller’s Watching Movies With the Sound Off helped Hip Hop break a chart record back in June. Along with Kanye’s Yeezus, Cole’s Born Sinner, and Wale’s The Gifted, WMWTSO‘s top three placement on the album chart secured the first time that Hip Hop albums controlled the 1-3 spots in the country for three straight weeks.
“Artists right now are making some of my favorite music in Hip Hop that’s ever been made,” added Miller.
Hip Hop projects were consistently near the top of ever major music publication’s “best of the year” lists as well. Rap music’s dominance in 2013 was even acknowledged by The Recording Academy.
Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are among the artists leading in Grammy nominations. Jay got the most nominations with nine total. Kendrick and Macklemore each got seven nods including “Best New Artist” and “Album Of The Year.”
(AllHipHop News) The East Coat rap group Onyx is set to return with a new album later this year. The NYC crew announced their project will be arriving in 2014 on social media.
The trio is best known for the hit single “Slam” from 1993’s Bacdafucup. Group members Sticky Fingaz and Fredro Starr have also appeared in films and television programs. Sticky can be seen in movies like Dead Presidents and In Too Deep. Fredro had a recurring role on Moesha and starred in Sunset Park. Onyx was also featured on last year’s Trap Lord album by A$AP Ferg.
(AllHipHop News) Former drug kingpin Freeway Ricky Ross lost his lawsuit against rapper Rick Ross (born William Leonard Roberts) on First Amendment grounds. The case originally began in 2010 and later appealed to a higher court after the lawsuit was ruled to be “untimely” since the real Ross knew about the entertainer’s stage name since 2006.
After first acknowledging that he did not necessarily agree with the reasoning behind the original decision in the case, California appeals court judge Roger Boren once again sided with Roberts. Judge Boren stated that while the rapper’s stage persona and career were influenced by Ross, they are not the “very sum and substance of Roberts’ work.”
The ruling also affirmed Roberts’ constitutional right to free speech and free expression:
He was not simply an impostor seeking to profit solely off the name and reputation of Rick Ross. Rather, he made music out of fictional tales of dealing drugs and other exploits –some of which related to plaintiff. Using the name and certain details of an infamous criminal’s life as basic elements, he created original artistic works.
Happy New Year and Happy New YOU! Welcome to the absolute first day of the rest of your life! Today is the day that you continue to make your dreams come true! No matter which way your prior year went, TODAY gives you the opportunity to do it better than you have ever done it before! The time for procrastination and excuses is officially over! Ready or not, you have graduated to the next level of life! The level that only excepts actions and results! No more intentions and no more false starts! It’s NOW or NOW!! Losing has never been and will never be an option that you have the luxury of taking! The mere fact that you have breathe in your body is all the indication that you need, to know that you still have a purpose in life and by all means you need to fulfill that purpose! Imagine crossing a bridge into an unknown land and as soon as you reach that land the bridge is burnt down…. Yup!! that’s what this is! You’ve have entered the point of no return and your only choice is to win! You are powerful beyond belief and now is the time to settle into your greatness! Are you ready??? (Don’t Answer that…. It was a trick question!) Strap up your boots, put on your war-gear, and get ready for your best year yet!! NOTHING CAN STOP YOU BUT YOU!!!
-Ash’Cash
“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
-Oprah Winfrey
“No matter what happened yesterday it is insignificant when compared to what lies within the core of your being today.”
-Sandy Brewer
“We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.”
-Rick Warren
“Today is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.”
-Brad Paisley
“What the New Year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the New Year.”
-Vern McLellan
“If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you for the mistakes you’ve made, if they don’t realize that you are not your mistakes, then they have to go.”
-Steve Maraboli
“A diamond doesn’t start out polished and shining. It once was nothing special, but with enough pressure and time, becomes spectacular. You are that diamond.”
-Solange nicole
“Let go of your regrets. Today is a new day, a new year, a new you. Now is the time.”
-Unknown
With Drake on the wheels of steel, Sean “Diddy” Combs hosted the most exclusive party of the night, at his home on Star Island. T.I. & Tiny, Jamie Foxx, Terrence J., Scott Storch, Fat Joe, Trey Songz, The Weeknd and more were in attendance, including Jay Z, Beyonce and The Dream, who were spotted engaged in deep conversation.
