'Big Willie' and wife to host BET Awards
It's been announced that rapper turned mega movie superstar Will Smith will host the upcoming BET awards to be held in Los Angeles next month.
The Philly native will be co-hosting the event with another big name in the industry.... his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith who recently appeared in the Matrix sequels. The two are in the process of shooting a promo spot for the event that showcases their family including their 3 children.
The nominations for the event are out and leading the way with 4 nominations is newcomer Ciara including one for 'Best Collaboration' for her track with Missy Elliott called 1, 2 Step. A host of others have 3 nominations including Kanye West and Alicia Keys. Scheduled to appear will be Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, T.I., Mike Jones, Ciara and the rumor mill has it that Lauryn Hill might be added to perform.
The BET awards will take place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood CA on June 28th and will be broadcast live on BET at 8pm, look out for it.
source: bet.com
__________________________________________________________________Keith Sweat speaks out on Hip Hop, new album due
Veteran R&B singer Keith Sweat is speaking out on the current status of Hip Hop. The Harlem native said recently that he does like Hip Hop don't get him wrong but he doesn't like what it's done to the smooth and soothing ballads he made popular in the late 1980s and 1990s.
"I like hip-hop, but (radio) needs to be more balanced," says the 43-year-old Sweat. "People miss the love songs, the good songs."
Sweat, who is busy mixing his 11th CD and his first since 2002's 'Rebirth', will make his only Florida concert appearance Sunday — Mother's Day — at the Harborside Event Center.
Sweat's new CD, 'Grown & Sexy' is due out on Sanctuary Urban Records this coming July the label is headed by Beyonce's father Mathew Knowles.
"Basically, it's gonna be the same old Keith Sweat," he says. "There's going to be a lot of slow songs, but there's also going to be some up-tempo stuff."
No word yet on whether he will support the new album with a promotional tour or major tour.
- Source: R&B news (topix.net)
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Grammy award winning singer, dancer turned actrss Mya headlined the very first Big Breakout concert in the Caymans last week. The concert was the first for the new radio station X-107.1 that was held in Safe Haven.
Mya shot to fame when she was just 18, with her self titled debut album that featured the big hits 'It's All About Me' and 'Moving On'.The sexy siren had the audience in the palm of her hand as she led them through a list of her hit songs, chatting and joking between songs such as ‘Fallen,’ ‘Ghetto Superstar,’ ‘Woa,’ and ‘Lady Marmalade.’
Half way through, after finishing a song, she told the audience: “That was a song I wrote when I was in love. Now I’m single,” before inviting a man from the audience on stage with her to do a steamy lap dancing act. She would later invite members of the audience to come on stage and sing with her.
Before Mya took to the stage, the audience was treated to a local band, After Dark. This local and talented group are all skillful jazz/funk musicians and very good in their own right, but what really sets them apart is the huge talent of the lead singer Karen Edie, whose rich diva’s soul voice is truly the voice of an international singing star belting out subtle and sophisticated rendenditions of songs such as ‘The Promise,’ Roberta Flacks ‘The Closer I Get to You,’ and the Isley Bros 'Footsteps in the Dark'.
- Source: caymennetnews.com
Mom to be Jamelia curses skinny celeb Moms__________________________________________________________________
British R&B singer Jamelia has spoken her mind on celebrities who crash diet to lose their baby weight.
The singer is expecting her second child and has vowed to keep it real after giving birth to her new baby – unlike Victoria Beckham who dramatically shed all the extra pounds just five weeks after having third son, Cruz.
She also maintains that those in the public eye should realise they are putting unfair pressure on other women.
According to the Daily Mirror, she said: “I don’t want to get caught up in this thing where as soon as I’ve had the baby I’m in this diet mode. I just think it’s so dangerous.
“You see all these celebrity mums who have their babies and within weeks they look slimmer than before. To me that’s dangerous and unrealistic.
“There are mums out there who haven’t been able to get their figures back just like that and seeing these people in magazines talking about how easy it is to lose weight puts on extra pressure that they don’t need.
“Being in the spotlight means people do pay attention to how you look and you don’t want to be encouraging people to do things like that.
“I hope I’ll be the one who takes her time and does it naturally.”
The 24-year-old is dating Gillingham footballer Darren Byfield and already has a four-year-old daughter, Teja, from a previous relationship.
She claims she hates the gym and keeps fit by running around after Teja and taking her for long walks.
- Source: BBC.co.uk