What’s fake, real people? The week is over and I’m set for

another quick two days before the cycle starts again. With the longest serving

Republican in Senate history, Ted Stevens, leaving his colleagues to carry on

without him as he appeals his recent conviction on federal charges for

concealing more than $250,000 in gifts to George Steinbrenner handing ownership

of the NY Yankees to his son. Add on to all that, the stock market going up and

down with the crazy economy. Yep. Just another five days.

 

Shout out to Charlize Theron, the new United Nations

Messenger of Peace and the sounding boards for reinforcing the law of numbers.

 

Here it comes…the Last Word for the week ending Nov. 21,

2008.

 

1.  

Mariah Carey Composes Big Hit on the Toilet

It’s amazing how hit songs are made. From real drama with

exes and former friends to being happy with the perks of fame, inspiration for

a radio friendly No. 1 track can come from a variety of sources.

 

So why not have it come from doing your business in the

bathroom? It worked for Mariah Carey, who admitted to getting the idea to write

her hit tune “Hero” while using the toilet during a break from recording.

 

If it doesn’t come to her in the bathroom, Mariah gets her

song ideas from her dreams while she sleeps.

 

“Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and have an

idea and have to get up and record it straight away before I forget it,” Carey

shared with the TV show This Morning.

“Or with ‘Hero’ I was in the studio and someone was telling me about this film Hero with Dustin Hoffman in it. I took a walk to the loo

and when I came back I had this idea for a song, and that was what then became

‘Hero.’”

 

I thought it was common knowledge that many artists receive

their inspiration from sitting on the toilet. With all the good and bad sh*t

that’s played 40 million times a day on the radio, are you surprised?

 

2.  Justin

Timberlake Gets Sued By Ex-Busboys

 

Justin Timberlake may have found time to be one of Beyoncé’s

dancers in a Saturday Night Live spoof

of the diva’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” video, but he’s catching flack

for not taking care of a busboy that used to work at his restaurant Southern

Hospitality BBQ & Bar.

 

E! Online reports that Felipe Ramales has filed a new

federal lawsuit that alleges that he and some fellow employees were not given

their rightful share of automatic gratuity charges that were applied to tables

of six or more.

 

The 26-year-old employee, who worked at the eatery for a

year, also claims that he didn’t receive any overtime pay for regularly working

more than 40 hours a week.

 

As expected, a Southern Hospitality rep disputed Ramales’

allegations by labeling the claims as being “baseless.” as well. The restaurant

manager, Chris Russell, also spoke on the case as he told E! that the workers’

salaries were well over minimum wage and that they took home every bit of their

tips.

 

No word from Justin or his partners in response to the suit.

 

3.  Tyler

Perry’s Diary Up For Court Exposure

 

Looks like Madea, or rather Tyler Perry, is headed to court.

 

The Marshall News Messenger reports the actor/mogul is being sued by a woman named Donna West.

According to the suit, West claims Perry’s#### film adaptation of his stage

play Diary of a Mad

Black Woman was “copied largely from

plaintiff’s copyrighted script.”

 

The “original script,” created by West in November 1990 and

performed in a play in Dallas in July 1991, is called Fantasy of a Black

Woman.

 

Perry’s attorneys dispute the copyright infringement

allegations, saying “the materials claimed to have been copied from the

Plaintiff’s work are not protected by copyright law because they are ideas,

facts, conventions or clichés of story-telling, script-writing or

movie-making.”

 

“Defendants were not aware and had no reason to believe that

their acts constituted an infringement of copyright,” stated the attorney.

 

West is suing Perry individually and as a businessman

working with Tyler Perry Company, Tyler Perry Company Inc. and Lions Gate

Entertainment Inc. She is seeking a judgment for “actual damages, plus the

amount of defendants’ profits attributable to the infringement.”

 

In addition, West wants court costs and reasonable attorney

fees paid as well as a an order preventing Perry from “publishing, selling,

marketing, or otherwise disposing of any copies of the infringing material” in

addition to making the entertainer destroy “all infringing copies and all

plates, molds, electronic files and other matter for making infringing copies.”

 

The recently selected jury for the case is scheduled to hear

evidence before U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis on Dec. 2.

 

4.  The

Wayans Gear Up for Munsters Close-Up

 

As if we need another TV show to come to the big screen. It

seems that the Wayans’ Brothers are close to bringing a remake of the old hit

series The Munsters to a movie theater

near you. According to MTV News, the third draft of a script for the feature is

being finalized.

 

Originally airing from 1964 to 1966 on CBS, The Munsters centered on the odd but friendly Munster family with

the head of the house, Herman, being Frankenstein. Part of the sitcom’s humor

involved Herman who could never understand why people reacted to them

strangely.

 

“We were big fans of The Munsters. We grew up watching them. We loved the characters,”

said Shawn Wayans. “We thought that they would be a very, very funny movie. You

know, they did ‘The Addams Family,’ which I thought wasn’t that funny or

well-thought out of a show, but they did it ‘cuz they had a catchy theme song

and turned it into a movie. I thought The Munsters had the real meat and potatoes rich characters.”

 

The near completion of the script is the newest development

surrounding the remake since the Wayans first announced their involvement with

the film in the summer of 2004. And if you’re wondering if the Wayans will have

a dominant presence in the film, think again.

 

“If we do anything, maybe we’ll do a cameo, but we’re not

gonna make The Munsters Black all of a

sudden,” Shawn said. “They’re gonna be green, white people just like they were

in the TV show. Their characters are still who they were in the ‘50s. It’s just

in modern day.”

 

No word yet on who would be cast for the film. Maybe they

should talk to the Jacksons. With all their issues, they could stand to show

some family unity for a few dollars.

 

5.  Prince

Reeks Under Perfume Company Lawsuit; Coughs Up Dough for Video Editor

 

Other entertainers may be having a good week, but Prince is

starting to collect cases like R. Kelly.

 

Billboard reports a

perfume company called Revelations over a deal that went sour is taking the

Purple One to task. The fragrance maker is suing Prince for not making good on

his promise to help promote a 3121 fragrance.

 

The lawsuit, which was filed in New York State Supreme

Court, states that Prince and music publisher Universal Music Publishing Group

reached a licensing agreement with Revelations in December 2006 to use the

crooner’s name and likeness and the name “3121” to market two fragrances.

 

“Since July 2007, despite repeated attempts by Revelations

there have been virtually no communications from anyone who could commit to or

coordinate any promotional efforts by Prince,” according to the breach of

contract lawsuit, which also noted that the first fragrance was released in

2007 while the second is slated to come out in 2009

 

The new case comes on the heels of a recent court order for

Prince to shell out $58,000 to a video editor named Ian C. Lewis. The Grammy

winner was recently ordered to pay Lewis after a short trial last month. Lewis

claims Prince failed to pay him for editing work and unreturned equipment. In

addition, the video editor claimed the vocalist and his company, Paisley Park

Enterprises, broke a $25,000 computer because no receipts were provided.

 

So much for him being a Sexy MF. I guess in the eyes of

certain folks, Prince is just a regular MF. Fame. Gotta love it.

 

6.  Beyoncé

and Pink Think About Thanksgiving Ups and Downs

 

With Thanksgiving coming next week, it’s time to make room

for more than enough turkey, cranberry sauce, veggies and dessert to make you

roll away from the table or catch an early nap from being full.

 

But if you plan to spend the holiday with Beyoncé and Jay-Z,

don’t expect to be stuffed off anything prepared by the artist also known as

Sasha Fierce. Although she feels like she should try her luck in the kitchen,

Bey may end up eating out for turkey day because she’ll readily tell you that

she cannot cook.

 

“I like the idea of being able to cook but I just can’t do

it,” Beyoncé revealed to WENN. “I have to call my mom and she has to be on the

phone the whole time because I’m burning stuff.”

 

I guess Jay didn’t put a ring on it for her culinary skills.

At least not in the kitchen. Bang, bang, bang!!

 

While Bey tries to find another way to make stomachs bust

for Thanksgiving, Pink would rather move past memories of turkey days gone bad.

The cause of it all, according to the pop star, was her willingness to drink

tequila with friends before eating lunch.

 

“I ended up with 13 stitches in my hand, the food was all

over the floor,” recalled the pop star, who told Access Hollywood that “We decided between six of us to drink three

bottles of Patron before 11am, and when somebody was saying grace, I decided

that the sweet potatoes should be on my father-in-law’s head, so I dumped the

bowl on his head.”

 

Just when you think the alcohol could not do any more

damage, the mayhem continued as Pink remembers having a close call in the

kitchen and her bedroom.

 

“I ended up in the pool, and I almost had a heart attack and

then I was chopping ice and I cut my hand open, had to go to the ER but I

couldn’t feel a thing; it was fascinating actually – when you’re that

drunk and you can just watch the stitches happening,” the songstress said. “And

then I set my bedroom on fire because we (Pink and ex-husband Carey Hart) went

upstairs to have a quickie (sex) and I left a cigarette in the oven mitt.”

 

So there you have it. A few reasons why you should not drink

and give thanks. That’s a lot to go through to get your turkey stuffed on

Turkey Day. 

 

In Other Words…

 

*  Looks like

the ruckus over California’s same-sex marriage ban has brought out comedian

Wanda Sykes, who officially came out recently at a gay right’s rally in Las

Vegas.

 

“You know, I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation.

I didn’t feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the

closet, but I was living my life,” Sykes told a crowd as she felt like she was

“attacked” when Cali’s Proposition 8 passed. “Everybody that knows me

personally, they know I’m gay. But that’s the way people should be able to live

their lives.”

 

“Now, I gotta get in their face,” she continued. “I’m proud

to be a woman. I’m proud to be a Black woman, and I’m proud to be gay.”

 

*  After four

years of being out of the public eye, Syleena Johnson is on her way back with

her upcoming album, Chapter 4: Labor Pains.

The album, which includes the singles “It Is True” and “Shoo Fly,” will hit

stores on January 13, 2009.

Recently, some urban radio listeners thought they tuned to the wrong dial when they heard Lil Wayne gracing a rock song called “Let It Rock.” Thanks to Weezy’s embracing of the Rock genre, Rap-Rock Mash ups are gaining popularity again. To change the pace of the game, Ca$h Money  took Weezy’s lead by signing Kevin Rudolf to their Ca$h Money Records label. No stranger to working with pop and Hip-Hop artists, Rudolf has worked with the likes of Nelly Furtado, Lil’ Kim, and Timbaland earning co-producing and collaborative credits in his career. Rudolf’s album In The City is slated for a November 25th release, armed with collaborations such as Rick Ross, Nas, and of course, Lil Wayne. After gaining momentum hitting #5 on BillBoard’s Top 100, we decided to find out Kevin Rudolf’s Top 5 Rap-Rock Mash-Ups. 5.) Run DMC & Aerosmith – “Walk This Way” Walk This Way – Aerosmith & Run DMC“I remember as a kid when they would still play videos on MTV, they would throw that one in even way after the fact. I just remember as a guitar player wanting to learn how to play the guitar and seeing Joe Perry break down the wall with his guitar. I thought I would definitely get one of those.”4.) Jay-Z & Linkin Park –“Numb/Encore”Numb/Encore – Linkin Park & JayZ“I think it’s more like Rock than Hip-Hop.”3.) Public Enemy & Anthrax—“Bring The Noise”Bring The Noise – Anthrax and Public Enemy“I was a little metal head when I was a kid. I was a guitar player, so I was into anything like that. Then Public Enemy was in it…that was actually crazy.”2.) Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne—“Let It Rock”Let It Rock – Kevin Rudolf ft. Lil Wayne“I heard this song that’s really incredible called “Let It Rock” with Lil Wayne on it.  I don’t think there’s anything out there like that. [laughs]”1.) Jay-Z – “99 Problems”99 Problems – Jay-Z“Even though it’s not a rock band with Jay-Z, it’s a rock record with Jay-Z. This would be my Number 1 because it’s one of my favorite Jay-Z records. It’s a Rick Rubin record.”