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

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