Source: Jim Spellman / Getty Finding: Tweet BET is back with their Finding series , this time with singer Tweet. In the 30 minute episode, Tweet details her rise to fame. It was no smooth ride –– but it did include building blocks from Jodeci’s DeVante, partying with Whitney Houston, and a life-saving friendship with Missy Elliott. Tweet also explains why it took her 10 plus year to get back into the studio and why her relationship with her daughter was strained. Hit play.
Source: Vera Anderson / Getty Tiffany Haddish Cuts Off Fake Friends Now that headlines about Tiffany Haddish bombing at her standup show on New Year’s Eve have circulated, she seems to be having a hard time locating her “real” friends. The outspoken comic has gotten public praise from everyone from Oprah to Jada Pinkett. Despite the adoration, the 39-year-old recently announced in a tweet that she’s cutting folks off she thought were friends. “Yesterday I learned that people that say “they care about you or they got your back” only mean that when they think it benefits them, I am done with a lot of y’all.” Although Tiffany didn’t specify exactly why she was feeling alone during this time, it’s easy to guess why. She’s been the subject of public scrutiny after she allegedly showed up tipsy to perform standup to a sold-out crowd in Miami on NYE and bombed. Tiffany also says the dead weight she is cutting off is for a good reason. She won’t need it once she recovers from recent criticism. “Everybody can’t go where I am going. So Goodbye and know I will always Love you but just from somewhere else.” Yesterday I learned that people that say “they care about you or they got your back” only mean that when they think it benefits them, I am done with a lot of y’all. Everybody can’t go where I am going. So Goodbye and know I will always Love you but just from somewhere else — Tiffany Haddish (@TiffanyHaddish) January 22, 2019 Previously, Kevin Hart and Ricky Smiley defended Tiffany in interviews. Do you think that Tiffany’s NYE disaster is REALLY affecting her friendships?
Source: Prince Williams / Getty 2 Chainz Stars In The “Expensify This” Music Video Expensify is doing really big things with their first-ever commercial. On Friday, the finance management app released an interactive music video starring 2 Chainz and comedian Adam Scott. Scott plays the head of finance for a record label who encourages Chainz to save his receipts. The rapper then proceeds to dive into a song about his expensive lifestyle and extravagant purchases, like 2 Chainz is known to do. “EXPENSIFY TH!$” is part of the company’s new campaign, “You Weren’t Born To Do Expenses.” The campaign will consist of digital, social, and TV content, including a 30-second ad that will debut on Super Bowl Sunday.
Source: FayesVision/WENN.com / WENN Cardi B Is Headlining Her Own Las Vegas Residency Cardi B just landed something most musicians don’t conquer until they’re years and years into their career: a Las Vegas residency. According to the Associated Press , Cardi is going to takeover the new Las Vegas club. KAOS is an amphitheater-style dayclub and a nightclub that is slated to open its doors in April as part of Palms Casino Resort’s $690 million renovation. The redevelopment of the site will feature brand new state-of-the-art technology performers can use to improve their performances, including a rotating 360-degree DJ booth. Cardi is set to join the likes of KAOS alum including G-Eazy, Kaskade, and Skrillex. Bardi snagging her first Las Vegas residency comes on the heels of the rapper picking up a whopping five Grammy nominations, including one for album of the year for her debut, Invasion of Privacy . The Las Vegas residency isn’t the only first performance-wise Cardi will be experiencing, either. In addition to her nominations, Belcalis will perform at the Grammy Awards for the first time this year. Congratulations to Bardi on all the major success!
Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty He Joins A Long List Of Artist Coming For The Video Game Rappers and viral move-makers alike are continuing their campaign against Fortnite and this time BlocBoy JB is joining the fray. According to TMZ , the Tennessee spitter has filed a lawsuit against Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite , saying they stole his “Shoot” dance. The popular leg and hand-chopping move was featured in BlocBoy’s music video for “Shoot,” and Drake made it even more popular when he performed it at parties and in his “Look Alive” music video with BlocBoy. Fortnite has an identical dance that players can acquire called the “Hype” dance. BlocBoy is calling BS, saying Fortnite didn’t get permission to use a dance he created in their video game. Granted, BlocBoy never copyrighted the dance when Fortnite used it, but he says he’s in the process of getting that done. He’s being repped by Sandy Lal and David L. Hecht , who’s repping other artists and dancers accusing Fortnite of theft , including Alfonso Ribeiro . Ribeiro, who’s forever treasured as Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, filed his lawsuit against Fortnite back in December 2018. He accuses the game of stealing his “Carlton dance” for use in the game. Backpack Kid , who’s behind “The Floss” dance, and 2 Milly , who ushered in the Milly Rock, are also coming for Fortnite ‘s coins. Smh, they better stop playing with these dancers.
Source: Alex Wong / Getty Covington Catholic High School Students Defend Racist Blackface Throw the entire Covington Catholic High School in the trash and set it on fire. It should come as no surprise that Nick Sandmann and his a-hole cronies who jeered and mocked Native American elder Nathan Phillips are getting the royal treatment from not only right-wing cable news, but also from 1600 FUBAR Ave. in Washington, D.C. EXCLUSIVE on the new #LauraIngrahamPodcast — the Covington Catholic students threatened by the leftist internet mob will be meeting with @realDonaldTrump at the White House as early as tomorrow. @iTunes @PodcastOne — Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) January 22, 2019 Looking like Nick Sandman & Covington Catholic students were treated unfairly with early judgements proving out to be false – smeared by media. Not good, but making big comeback! “New footage shows that media was wrong about teen’s encounter with Native American” @TuckerCarlson — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2019 Nick Sandmann and the students of Covington have become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be. They have captivated the attention of the world, and I know they will use it for the good – maybe even to bring people together. It started off unpleasant, but can end in a dream! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2019 It appears that the school and the kids’ parents are putting their sons out on the trail to do some incredibly insulting PR work in conservative spaces like Trump’s favorite morning show, Fox & Friends . According to The Daily Beast , senior Sam Schroder asked about wearing Blackface, peep his reply: “Five years ago, there was a pep rally where one of the members of the school body appeared to have blackface on. People have even asked you to explain that. How do you explain that?” Schroder, wearing a white button-down shirt and a blue striped tie, said: “I just explain it as showing school spirit. We have many themes. Like nerd, business, whiteout, blueout, blackout—as you’ve seen in the video. Ever since I’ve gone to CovCath, we haven’t been able to wear black paint because of the video, but I know the kids meant nothing by it, it’s just showing school spirit.” Steve Doocy asks a CovCath kid about others wearing blackface at basketball games, and he says since he’s been there “we haven’t been able to wear black paint because of the video, but I know the kids meant nothing by it, it’s just showing school spirit.” pic.twitter.com/rbuO5CKIts — Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) January 23, 2019 Blackface is as much about school spirit as KKK hoods are for keeping warm during negro-dragging horseback rides on a bitter cold night. FOH, cr-…soup cookie. We highly suggest you read a very insightful Newsone piece about how these kids are being treated versus how Black kids who are considered “threats” are treated.
Source: SplashNews / Splash News Jay Z and Beyoncé Partied With Biggs Burke For His Birthday Beyoncé and Jay Z were out partying on Saturday but they managed to avoid the paparazzi using a pretty smart trick! The couple were seen celebrating at the surprise birthday party for Biggs Burke, Hov’s former Roc-A-Fella partner, in a private area at Avra Beverly Hills Saturday night, but the couple managed to avoid cameras when they left. According to Page Six reports: “they snuck out through the back as the other guests made their way to the front to distract the paparazzi.” Our sources tell us the lavish dinner was hosted by Burke’s publicist and business partner Simone King who partnered with Avra and managed to get the restaurant to drape off their section and avoid cameras. We’re told the dinner was an intimate affair filled with love, laughs and beautiful speeches to Biggs Burke honoring him on his birthday. The dining table was decked out with beautiful roses from Venus et fleur. Besides, Jay Z and Beyonce, the guest list included Kelly Rowland, Diddy, former NBA player Al Harrington, singer Saint Jhn, music manager Gee Robinson, rapper/podcaster, Noreaga, Tyrina Lee, Brandon Jennings and Emory Jones. Check out the photos below:
Source: Charles O’Rear / Getty Cyntoia Brown Opens Up About Getting A Second Chance At Life Despite being locked up when she was just a teenager, Cyntoia Brown is going to be a free woman very soon and she’s so happy about it, she praised the United States criminal justice system for its “compassion.” Brown was granted clemency by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam after spending 12 years behind bars for killing the man who bought her for sex when she was 16 years old. Now, the 30-year-old is excited to have a second chance at life. As a guest columnist for The Tennessean , Brown opened up about her experience: “There are no words to describe the joy and relief I felt when I learned of Gov. Bill Haslam’s extraordinary act of mercy in granting me clemency. In just seven months, I will walk out of prison and get a second chance at life. I cannot properly convey my gratitude to Tennessee’s 49th governor, to my legal team and to all those along the way who listened to me and help me tell my story to others. Honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she wrote: I believe what matters most is when people begin to listen. That’s how the tide began to turn in the days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and that is certainly how the tide began to turn for me these past few years.” In that same sentiment, Brown specifically wrote about the importance of listening to the youth . “There is great power in listening to the insights of young people. As you think about the issues facing our society today, I invite you to view them from the lens of our youth with an open ear and mind. Let us step fully into our roles as stewards of their future and open our minds to the issues as defined by them. The smaller, quiet voices can speak the loudest if we would only listen.” Brown says her second chance is a beautiful act of mercy and compassion… “When you think of me, I hope you will celebrate not only me and my journey, but America and the beauty of a justice system that has the power to listen and understand redemption, forgiveness, mercy and compassion,” adding “America is a wonderful country because of this. Let us all proudly celebrate it as we honor Dr King.” She’ll be released from prison on August 7 and we’ll be cheering her on all the way. Read her full letter here .
Source: Stockbyte / Getty After Multiple Reported Instances Of Discrimination, She Had Enough One Black girl is coming for the entire Blue Valley School District after she was told her skin was “too dark” to perform during a school dance. According to The Kansas City Star , Camille Sturdivant graduated from Blue Valley Northwest High School in May 2018, and she was only one of two Black students on the 14-member Dazzlers dance team. According to a lawsuit filed by Sturdivant in U.S. District court, she suffered racial discrimination and was ostracized from dance team events out of retaliation for complaints she made in regards to her race. It was in 2017 that the dance team choreographer Kevin Murakami allegedly made remarks about Sturdivant’s skin being too dark. He said it would distract the audience from looking at the other dancers. “Murakami also told Sturdivant that her skin color clashed with the color of the costumes,” the suit said. Then in 2018, more pasty shenanigans allegedly went down when the dance team’s coach, Carley Fine, was fired for racial comments she made about Sturdivant, according to the lawsuit. Shortly before Sturdivant’s graduation, someone gave her the coach’s phone to play music for the dance team. According to the suit, Sturdivant saw messages between Fine and Murakami talking about how she recently won a spot on the Golden Girls dance team at the University of Missouri for the next year. The choreographer wrote, “THAT DOESN’T”T MAKE SENSE. I’m so mad.” The coach responded, “It actually makes my stomach hurt.” She then added, “Bc she’s (expletive) black. I hate that.” Sturdivant was sickened by the beige rage, and she showed the messages to her parents, according to the suit. They then showed the messages to the school principle. The coach was fired the next day, and she wasn’t allowed to be on school property or have contact with Sturdivant or any other members of the dance team. However, according to the suit, the former coach was seen at the school and with members of the dance squad multiple times afterwards. Sturdivant’s family also said that a team banquet paid for by the parents was canceled. However, they later learned that Fine and the other dancers, except Sturdivant, organized a dinner on the Plaza… On the same date as the canceled banquet. Smh. During the final dance performance of the school year, all of the team members, except Sturdivant and the other Black teammate, rocked ribbons on their costumes with the initials CL for Carley Fine, according to the suit. Sturdivant and the other Black student were also excluded from the team photos taken after the event, which was on school property. Now, Sturdivant’s lawsuit names the district, school principal Amy Pressly, Fine and Katie Porter, the parent of another dancer and a school district teacher, as the defendants. The Blue Valley district released the following statement regarding the lawsuit: “Respectful and meaningful relationships between staff and students are at the heart of Blue Valley’s culture. Discrimination of any kind has no place here. The District expects staff to treat all students with respect at all times, and any report that this expectation has not been fulfilled is taken very seriously. As stated in the Complaint, on May 1, 2018, Mrs. Sturdivant showed Dr. Pressly the text message between Mr. Murakami and Ms. Fine. Ms. Fine’s employment with the District was separated the following day on May 2, 2018.” Mhm. We’ll find out if that same energy works in court. The damages being sought by Sturdivant are unspecified.
Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty Performers For This Year’s Grammy Awards Have Been Announced The Recording Academy just announced the first group of artists who are going to take the stage for this year’s 61st annual Grammy Awards . The performers on the list are Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Dan + Shay, Post Malone, Shawn Mendes, Janelle Monáe, and Kacey Musgraves. One of the biggest nights in music is set to be hosted by Alicia Keys and will broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 10. Of course, all of the performers set to take the stage are also nominated for some awards. Camila Cabello received two nominations this year for Best Pop Solo Performance “Havana” along with Best Pop Vocal Album. Cardi B is nominated for Record of the Year for “I Like It”, Album Of The Year for her debut Invasion Of Privacy , Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Maroon 5 for “Girls Like You”, Best Rap Performance for “Be Careful”, and Best Rap Album once again for Invasion Of Privacy . Two-time nominee Janelle Monáe is up for both Album Of The Year for her project Dirty Computer and Best Music Video for “Pynk”. More performers are sure to make an appearance during this year’s broadcast, but we’ll just have to wait and see once those are announced. This year’s Grammys is shaping up to be one for the books.
