Another great talent has passed away . Jimmy Ellis, 74, lead singer of the Philadelphia rhythm and blues band the Trammps, whose hit “Disco Inferno” was featured in the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever, died Thursday, March 8, in Rock Hill, S.C., from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, according to his daughter, Erika Stinson. Mr. Ellis grew up singing in church in Rock Hill before moving to the Philadelphia area, where he worked as a chauffeur and gardener. He also sang in bands like the Moods and the Exceptions, which scored a doo-wop hit in 1962 with “Down by the Ocean” on the Cameo-Parkway label. “Jimmy was straight out of church,” singer Bobby Eli, the guitarist who was a founding member of the Trammps and who played on all of the group’s recordings, said in an interview Friday. “The church never left him. And even for a church singer, he was unique. He had a scream on him that couldn’t be touched. He was the voice of the disco era for the Sound of Philadelphia, but he never wanted to be a disco singer. He considered himself a rhythm-and-blues singer.” The Trammps broke up in 1980. Mr. Ellis gave up pop music for a time and moved back to South Carolina, concentrating on gospel music. But he eventually returned to touring with the Trammps, working steadily through 2010. In addition to his daughter, Mr. Ellis is survived by his wife, Beverly; a son, Jimmy; and eight grandchildren. A memorial service was scheduled at the Central Church of God in Charlotte, N.C., for Friday, March 16. So sad. Alzheimer’s is such a terrible illness. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Ellis family. R.I.P. Source WENN More On Bossip! Eff A Traveler’s Digest: 10 Countries With Beautiful BLACK Women Action! Stars That Were Offered Large Sums Of Money To Make Adult Movies…Did They Take It?! TwitterFiles: Tisha Campbell Says People Need To Leave Her Husband Out Of Will And Jada’s “Divorce” Crazy In Love: Women That Went A Little Cuckoo For The Men They Loved
Are You El Lee!!! Ja Rule’s birthday only comes once every four years (he was born on Leap Day) so it’s important for him to celebrate it. One problem, some of his activities may land him in big doody. For this birthday, Ja was in jail and he had to follow certain rules. Those rules include not doing press while locked away. Ja, though, violated this rule by giving two radio interviews to help promote his wildly successful (*cough*) new album release Pain Is Love II that came out on his bday. Now, he’s apparently got some issues on his record and it may hurt some of his “good behavior” hopes. Damn…all of that just to promote an album that sold 3,000 copies? Probably wasn’t worth it. Pic via WENN More On Bossip! Eff A Traveler’s Digest: 10 Countries With Beautiful BLACK Women Action! Stars That Were Offered Large Sums Of Money To Make Adult Movies…Did They Take It?! TwitterFiles: Tisha Campbell Says People Need To Leave Her Husband Out Of Will And Jada’s “Divorce” Crazy In Love: Women That Went A Little Cuckoo For The Men They Loved
Before Trey Songz took the stage at the Fox Theater last night, he stopped by Hot 107.9, where MZ Shyneka asked the R&B star who he was dating, or more specifically, who he was sleeping with! Watch the video below to find out Trey’s answer: RELATED: Trey Songz Talks Anticipation 2our, New Music, Women & More [EXCLUSIVE] Trey Songz Goes Shirtless For VMAN Magazine Trey Songz Announces “Anticipation 2our” Dates Trey Songz Ft. Fabolous “What I Be On” [NEW VIDEO]
If basketball doesn’t pan out, Kris Humphries always has another beautiful woman he can depend on… his sister Kaela ! According to USWeekly reports : Kris isn’t the only Humphries putting his height to good use. His sister Kaela Humphries has signed a contract with Ford Models, the agency confirms to Us Weekly. “We are thrilled to have…Kaela,” her Ford rep said in a statement. “We think she will make a great addition to the team.” Prior to signing with Ford, Humphries, 29, was represented by Wilhemina Models in Los Angeles. The entire Ford+ team (Ford’s plus-size division), shared their enthusiasm about having the gorgeous Minnesota native on board in a separate statement. “[We’re] excited at the prospect of bringing this beautiful, engaging young woman to markets worldwide,” the agency declared. “A true size 16-18, Kaela will be in a league of her own.” Humphries may look familiar to Keeping up with the Kardashians fans, who got to see her on-screen in the midst of Kim and Kris’ courtship. In fact, the stunner has admitted she’s been mistaken for a Kardashian sister herself while out with her famous former family-in-law. “People think I look like [Khloe] with my hair straight,” Humphries told the Twin Cities’ Star Tribune in 2011. “We both have light eyes and are 5-foot-10!” Kris’ sister has some pretty eyes, but we don’t know if Khloe will be thrilled to learn she’s been mistaken for a plus-sized model — banger or not. What do you think of Kaela? Would you wife her? Photo Credit: Ford Models More On Bossip! Eff A Traveler’s Digest: 10 Countries With Beautiful BLACK Women Action! Stars That Were Offered Large Sums Of Money To Make Adult Movies…Did They Take It?! TwitterFiles: Tisha Campbell Says People Need To Leave Her Husband Out Of Will And Jada’s “Divorce” Crazy In Love: Women That Went A Little Cuckoo For The Men They Loved
Would you believe this cold-blooded killer made a hefty deposit on his great granny’s grave before fleeing the law? The FBI is asking for Facebook and Twitter users to help find a 22-year-old man who is wanted for stealing $2.3 million out of his employer’s armored car and fatally shooting a Garda Cash Logistics employee. The face of Kenneth John Konias has been displayed all over the news after he allegedly committed the crime Feb. 28 in Pittsburgh, Penn., during a work shift. The FBI has turned to audiences on Facebook and Twitter to catch him. Pittsburgh officials said Konias is wanted in connection with a shooting involving Michael Haines, 31, inside an armored truck sitting idle under a bridge. He is suspected of criminal homicide, theft by unlawful taking and robbery, according to the wanted poster released on the FBI’s Facebook page. Konias and Haines worked together for the money transactions company and were collecting cash from the Rivers Casino and a Home Depot that day, according to an ABC report. Local reports state Konias left $25,000 at his great-grandmother’s grave and $200,000 at his parents’ house in Dravosburg, Pittsburgh, before disappearing. The money has been recovered by officials. More than 100 commentators on the Facebook page mention Konias and more than 400 users shared the FBI’s post. “I went to school with this kid and like someone said earlier he was very impulsive,” said Ryan Flaherty on the post. Another commenter took to the FBI page to share his sentiments about the victim. “I remember Michael Haines; a good, decent, well-liked man,” Tony Ruiz said. “I feel terrible for his family. I hope they find peace and justice.” There is now a federal arrest warrant for Konias. The FBI believes he has several weapons in his possession. The public, along with Facebook and Twitter users, can call 1-800-CALL-FBI to share any information pertaining to the case. Is sharing wanted posters and case details on social media effective? Will you pay more attention to the FBI social pages as they share more pictures of suspects and fugitives? Tell us in the comments. This kid is gonna be on an express train to hell when they catch him. Hopefully somebody on Facebook and Twitter has seen this evil S.O.B. and can lead the FBI to him! More On Bossip! Eff A Traveler’s Digest: 10 Countries With Beautiful BLACK Women Action! Stars That Were Offered Large Sums Of Money To Make Adult Movies…Did They Take It?! TwitterFiles: Tisha Campbell Says People Need To Leave Her Husband Out Of Will And Jada’s “Divorce” Crazy In Love: Women That Went A Little Cuckoo For The Men They Loved
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, wait… it’s just Captain Save-A-Ho . Almost two years ago, Drake fell head over size 12 heels for Houston stripper Maliah Michele after he saw her dance and ended up flying her out to Jamaica to be play the lead in his ‘Find Your Love’ music video. What happened afterward is somewhat a blur but a year or two later, both seemed to have moved on and it looks like things didn’t end so amicably. Yesterday he quietly crept out of Marvin’s Room and hopped on Twitter for a little sub-tweeting: Although Drake may or may not have been tweeting about Maliah, she definitely took it to heart. She tweeted back: Drizzy responded: Meanwhile back at the ranch when Maliah’s followers caught on to what was going on: What happened to the good ole’ days of just unfollowing someone when they started getting out of pocket on twitter? We’re not sure if Drake was even talking about Maliah but someone sure does seem pretty ticked off. Source Twitter More On Bossip! Eff A Traveler’s Digest: 10 Countries With Beautiful BLACK Women Action! Stars That Were Offered Large Sums Of Money To Make Adult Movies…Did They Take It?! TwitterFiles: Tisha Campbell Says People Need To Leave Her Husband Out Of Will And Jada’s “Divorce” Crazy In Love: Women That Went A Little Cuckoo For The Men They Loved
Campaign aims to bring African militia leader Joseph Kony to justice for war crimes and for enlisting children as soldiers. By Gil Kaufman Justin Bieber Photo: MTV News A campaign to stop the nearly 30-year, brutal rule of African militia leader Joseph Kony became a viral sensation this week. “Kony 2012,” started by the group Invisible Children, aims to make Kony’s face so famous that authorities will finally be able to arrest him and try him for his crimes. A 30-minute documentary released on Monday is one of the keys to the campaign, and as of Thursday it had gotten more than 26 million views. The video details the atrocities carried out by Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army. The campaign appears to be working, as at one point on Wednesday, Invisible Children and #stopkony were trending higher on Twitter than Peyton Manning or the new iPad. Since 1987, human rights officials say Kony has forcefully abducted more than 60,000 children to be soldiers in his army and reportedly raped, mutilated and killed civilians in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan and displaced more than 2 million people. The leader is wanted for committing atrocities by the International Criminal Court and is being hunted down by 100 U.S. Special Forces advisers and local troops in four Central African nations, according to the Associated Press. Kony 2012 is an effort to capture Kony and disarm the LRA before a reported window of opportunity closes. One way it plans to do that is by encouraging users to directly message a variety of stars to make use of their Twitter ubiquity to get the word out. Among those listed on the site are: Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Jay-Z, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Ryan Seacrest and Ellen DeGeneres, along with a number of major policymakers. When users click on the celebs’ photos, a tweet pops up that reads: Help us end #LRA violence. Visit kony2012.com to find out why and how. @timtebow Join us for #KONY2012. Get More on Invisible Children at ACT.MTV.com. Related Artists Justin Bieber Lady Gaga
‘It was such an idiotic thing to have happen,’ Rob Cesternino tells MTV News of the men giving up immunity for a trip to tribal council. By Josh Wigler Bill Posley, of the Manono Tribe in “Survivor: One World” Photo: CBS And just like that, the whole Manono tribe has officially joined the “Survivor” Hall of Shame. After winning immunity in a blowout challenge against Salani and recapturing momentum in the process, the men of Manono flushed their good fortune down the toilet by volunteering to go to tribal council in place of the women. Their reason: to vote out one of their own, Leif, who “betrayed” the tribe’s core alliance by telling stand-up comedian Bill, the unwitting nemesis of newly anointed Manono mastermind Colton, that he was next on the chopping block. After a racially tense tribal council, however, it was Colton who had the last laugh, and Bill — not Leif — was sent packing. Manono’s unanimous decision to exchange immunity for an early trip to tribal council goes down as one of the single-most confounding, moronic moves in “Survivor” history. At least, that’s my take. Good thing we have the smartest player to never win the game, two-time contestant Rob Cesternino , to weigh in with his thoughts on this week’s unprecedented episode of “Survivor.” Keep reading for his take on Manono’s controversial move, Colton’s sudden rise to power and more. MTV : OK, Rob. My head has not stopped spinning since the last 10 minutes of that episode. What was your reaction on seeing Manono’s “plan” go into action? Rob Cesternino : It really was such an idiotic thing to have happen on this show. I’ve seen a lot of dumb things happen in the history of this show, but usually the dumbness is confined to one person making a dumb move. Usually, the groupthink doesn’t invade a whole team of people, which is what happened here. It’s pretty remarkable. It’s a remarkable event that eight people went along with an idea that was so insane. MTV : So, just to clarify: This was not some brilliant outside-the-box thinking that I can’t wrap my head around. This could very well be the single stupidest move in “Survivor” history. Cesternino : Well, I don’t think it’s the single dumbest thing that’s ever happened. I still think that belongs to ice-cream scooper Erik [from “Survivor: Fans versus Favorites,” who was voted out after surrendering his idol to a chief competitor], with Brandon Hantz [from “Survivor: South Pacific,” voted out in similar fashion] being second. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this, though. Is there any sort of strategic advantage to the men’s decision? I really can’t come up with anything. The best I can come up with is that maybe for Colton, he feels that he has the girls in his pocket and he has a bunch of guys he’s working with. “As long as I’m getting rid of somebody who isn’t working with me, better than sending the girls to vote out someone who I have a good relationship with.” But just from the beating that Colton took at tribal council from both Bill and Jeff Probst, it’s not a good thing for his reputation to continue taking a pummeling like that. MTV : Colton has been and continues to be an absurd character. He’s like the homesick camper who cries and cries nonstop the first week, then comes back strong and rules the bunk as a dictator the rest of the summer. How did that happen? What do you think? Are the men following him out of fear? Loyalty? Is it the idol in his pocket? Cesternino : I think there’s some fear there. I think also some of these men are just along for the ride, and that’s not necessarily a bad strategy. Jay, Jonas, Leif, these guys are just sort of more followers. Troyzan and Tarzan feel like more in cahoots with what Colton is doing. Then there are a few who are just outnumbered and are going along with it, not trying to upset the apple cart. Colton does have a very dominating personality. I’m sure there’s some charisma there. Most of the offensive things he’s saying are just to us, the audience. So I’m sure he can be charming. But I’m not sure exactly if it plays out this way every season, but right now, there’s a combustible enough combination out there for Colton to be successful right now. MTV : Everyone on Manono had to agree to make this choice to go to tribal council. If you’re out there, how do you say no? Can you say no? There has to be a way you can say no to that without looking like a jerk, right? It’s such a blatantly boneheaded move — would it really alienate you that much to go against the majority on this one? Cesternino : This is the part that was really insane. “We’re all going to tribal council, but it has to be unanimous!” First of all, they said they’re going to vote Leif off — I don’t know how much that’s a smokescreen to get Bill to vote yes, but that even seems more idiotic. Why do you need a unanimous vote to vote somebody off? Why Bill agreed with it, I’ll never know. But why did Leif agree to this plan? I’ll never know! How much of this was misdirection? Because he only got Bill’s vote at tribal council. If Bill went, “You know, not good. I’m going to vote no on tribal council.” What do they say? “Well, you’re outvoted, and now we’re voting you out.” I don’t know. It didn’t make much sense to me. MTV : I guess part of that might be that Leif seemed to feel genuinely terrible about spilling the beans to Bill, and Bill just seems like a bit of a dummy in the game of “Survivor,” and was once again way too excited to dodge a bullet that was headed directly to his face. If the two people who really needed to object were a) too guilty to say no and b) completely unaware of how much trouble they’re really in, I guess they’d vote yes? Cesternino : I don’t know. Why would Bill want to get rid of that padding? If there’s a person between you going home and someone else going home, that’s an airbag for you. That’s keeping you alive in the game. Why you would want to accelerate getting rid of that person by going to tribal council [voluntarily] — all of this could have played out further into the game. There’s always the chance that politics could change, there could be a switch, a merge. Time is your friend in this game when you’re in that position. MTV : There was some amazingly absurd foreshadowing when you see Leif in the box at the very beginning of the episode, which was just such a ridiculous visual. It portended some doom for this guy. But honestly, I don’t think Leif did anything so egregious to warrant such a turnaround from his tribemates. Clearly he slipped up and that wasn’t smart, but does anything he did warrant the reaction he got last night? Cesternino : No, I thought everything was overblown with Leif. Who cares if Bill knows he’s next to go? It’s not like he has an immunity idol or anything like that. I didn’t think that was such a big deal. I thought Colton’s reaction was over-the-top, but Tarzan’s too. Didn’t it seem like Tarzan was talking to Leif like he was a Chihuahua? “That was bad, Leif! Get in your box, Leif!” [Laughs] I thought that was so over-the-top. And honestly, this was the most we’ve seen of Leif so far, and I really liked Leif. He seems like a nice guy. MTV : Well, there’s more to talk about in this episode, but Manono’s decision is such a lightning rod that it’s hard to focus on anything else. But what do you think: Who, if anyone, is playing the game well right now? Cesternino : I think one of the guys who still looks good is Jonas. Even though he’s going along with bad ideas, he’s not rocking the boat that much. I didn’t like how he negotiated with the women; he came off bad there, negotiating about using their fishing net. He looks easygoing enough to follow along in the aftermath of Colton and continue to advance in the game, though. MTV : And who doesn’t look good? Everybody ? Cesternino : Well, for the women, Alicia continues to get into arguments with people where she doesn’t really have a conflict. She’s continuing to create tension wherever she goes in the game, and that’s not usually a good formula for success. MTV : She was also instrumental in Salani losing immunity. Hypothetically, if things had played out as they should have played out and the women were sent packing to tribal, would Alicia have gone home? Cesternino : Hmm. [ Pauses ] Her name was coming up, but I think Christina would still have been the one to go. Much like Cat versus Nina , the person inside of the alliance, even if they’re deserving of going home, probably stays over the person not in the alliance. Get more of Rob’s thoughts on “Survivor” at his website . What did you think of last night’s episode? Sound off in the comments section or hit me up on Twitter @roundhoward !
Those rumors of an Evelyn and Chad show are now reality! Variety is reporting that the executive producer of “Basketball Wives” will be continuing in his duties with the franchise AND working as EP for Evelyn and Chad’s new show: Shed Media U.S. has signed Sean Rankine to a new deal to continue as showrunner of VH1′s “Basketball Wives” franchise. Rankine exec produces Miami-set “Basketball Wives” and “Basketball Wives Los Angeles,” as well as upcoming new unscripted series “Ocho & Ev,” featuring Chad Ochocinco and Evelyn Lozada. Rankine operates “with grace under a lot of pressure,” Shed Media prexy Nick Emmerson said, and has worked well on “Basketball Wives” in coordination with Shed senior veep Alex Demyanenko. “They together managed to sort of get the women to really trust the team, trust the producers and basically open up to allow their lives, warts and all, to be on screen,” Emmerson told Variety. “Day in, day out, night in, night out … (Rankine) is there, gaining their trust, carving out storylines.” February’s fourth-season premiere of “Basketball Wives” drew 2.5 million overall viewers, a nearly 40% increase over its May 2011 season-three launch. “Sean has been absolutely instrumental in guiding this hit franchise for us,” VH1 programming and production exec veep Jeff Olde said. “He is an incredible storyteller and apparently also an insomniac, and we are so grateful for both.” Rankine’s other exec producer credits include “The Kristoffer Winters Project” for Bravo and “Saddle Ranch” for VH1. SMH @ “warts and all”! We sure hope ain’t nobody got none of that going on. But on a serious note, congrats to Evelyn and Chad. Will y’all be watching??? More On Bossip! Played: The Most Embarrassing Ways These People Found Out They Got Cheated On Coupled Up: Kimmy Cakes And Kanye West Cozy Up For The Cameras In Paris, Kim Rocks Ye’s $5800 Giuseppes [Photos] Tale Of The Tape: Rih Rih Vs. Karrueche…Which One Should Breezy Take?! Karma Is A Mother: Poor Fantasia Dumped By Baby Daddy Cuz He Thinks He Loves His Wife!
