CHRIS BROWN
And she's staring right at you!
Gracing the cover of May’s issue of Elle, Rihanna gets real and personal about the men in her life and the controversy she’s part of.
The world will never forget what her abusive ex, Chris Brown, did and the leaked photos will probably never go away. A Georgia steakhouse even went on to make a 'Black & Blue' hamburger dedicated to her tumultuous relationship with Brown. Despite the traumatizing incident, she credits the controversy for her resulting strength. The 24-year-old sexy singer says, “It gave me guns. I was like, well, f**k. They know more about me than I want them to know. It’s embarrassing. But that was my opening. That was my liberation, my moment of bring it. […] Now you know that, so you can say what you want about it. I don’t have anything to hide.”
In Watkinsville, Georgia, about ten miles outside of Athens, a local steakhouse, Chops & Hops, debuted a new steak and bleu cheese sandwich to mix reviews. Not because patrons didn't enjoy the sandwich but because of the way in which the steakhouse decided to advertise their menu addition. On Saturday, Chops & Hops published a picture to their Facebook of their new sandwich, "Black and Blue,” accompanied by this quote:
“@chrisbrown @rihanna and us teamed up for a [sic] award winning celebrity sandwich. Put your hands on this Caribbean black and bleu sandwich. Chris Brown won’t beat you up for eating this unless your name starts with a R and ends with A.”
In a time where American media inundates us with over-bronzed twenty-somethings whose lives revolve around dragging beds onto rooftops and drinking Chardonnay in the work bathroom, it’s become increasingly difficult to find serious music. Pop lyrics sing praise to ferocity, mediocrity, and debauchery. From Katy Perry’s “It’s [last night] a blacked out blur / but I’m pretty sure it ruled,” to Jay-Z and Kayne West’s acronymous title equating a cut of cured meat with street toughness, it’s pretty safe to say the American Dream has evolved. Blame it on the media, economy, school system, or even Facebook, but for many youths, particularly youths of color, the American Dream has become something along the lines of a luck-cum-instant stardom that, sadly, keeps stereotypes all too alive and prevents growth towards a positive cultural experience.
Why do we even keep this guy around?
Chris Brown, once upon a time, was one of the most popular and kid-friendly music sensations on the planet. The world was his oyster; that is, until that night news spread about the infamous Rihanna beatdown. Now, most ladies (as well as most men) see him as nothing more than an angry, pathetic guy with a lot of issues. And as implied by Rihanna, he also suffers from being not-so-blessed in certain areas down under. Maybe that's why he's always so moody?
Nowadays, Chris Brown seems like a completely different person. He bleached his hair, he cusses more frequently, his once adorable persona has transformed into an angry dude in a class similar to Naomi Campbell and Charlie Sheen...and of course he causes a ruckus almost everywhere he goes. Whether he's yelling at people or throwing objects across the room.
The phenomenon of mixing insanely expensive designer pieces with label-less bargain duds began when Sharon Stone appeared on the red carpet of the 1996 Oscars wearing a Valentino skirt paired with a plain black t-shirt from the Gap. It's been fifteen years (105 in fashion years) since the birth of the High/Low craze, yet it is still going strong. Quickly evolving from a trend to a necessity, High/Low fashion has come to mean that mixing a $3 tank top with a $300 skirt is more than acceptable. In fact, it's highly encouraged. Celebs and commoners alike are balancing their wardrobes with high-end designer pieces and cheap-o trendy clothes and accessories.
The Cool Kids -- When Fish Ride Bicycles::
After years of fans waiting and being teased by announcements that the Cool Kids would be releasing their first official LP "soon" and then dropping mixtapes instead, the hip-hop duo will finally be giving their fans what they want on July 12th. The Album, When Fish Ride Bicycles, dominates summer anthem territory with cameos from Ghostface Killah, Bun B, Travis Barker and more. After the success of their EP, The Bake Sale, enormous hype surrounded their old school hip-hop revival sound and brilliantly self-aware rhymes. With such a high-profile Rolodex of guest appearances on When Fish Ride Bicycles, there is no doubt that the album will justify all the hype. The Cool Kids have transitioned from an underground sensation to the hottest ticket in the booths. Stand out tracks like "Bundle Up," "Penny Hardaway" and "Rush Hour Traffic" will be flooding your speakers this summer with their old school, golden age hip hop flare and knocking bass.
Last night at the BET awards, the viewers choice award went to ::drum roll:: Chris Brown, wait Rhianna, wait Drake... wait Chris Brown. Huh?! Exactly.
Tiffany Green was the lucky winner chosen by Coca-Cola to present the viewers choice award, and oh she did. In a teleprompter mistake, she announced Chris Brown as the winner, before apologizing and announcing Rhianna as the winner. A presenter quickly interrupted the confusion to announce Drake with the award, which was still incorrect. None-the-less, Drizzy went on to accept the award with a speech and the opening line, "Well this is awkward."
Lil Wayne will join Drake, Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, and Chris Brown as performers at the 2011 BET Awards, which airs live on the cable network on Sunday, June 26th at 8pm ET/PT.
It seems like Weezy's been in the rap game forever. He's been spitting his lyrical wisdom song after song, album after album, and the flames of this New Orleans Hot Boy are not going to die out anytime soon. Best rapper alive? Most would say yes. Even while serving time at New York City's Rikers Island jail complex, Weezy made chart history when his album I am Not Human debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200. He joined Tupac Shaukur (Me Against the World) as the only rapper to have a #1 album while incarcerated. This guy really isn't human. This year Weezy is nominated for five awards including Best Collaboration, Best Male Hip-Hop Artist and Video of Year. He is set to perform music from his forthcoming album Tha Carter IV.
In the new issue of Rolling Stone, the Umbrella songstress explains why she agreed to the lifting of a restraining order against Brown.
"You can never please people," she said. "That's my decision. It doesn't mean we're gonna be in a relationship, or make up, or even talk ever again. It just means I didn't want to object to the judge."
With this modified order, Brown can attend the same industry events as Rihanna as long as he doesn't annoy, molest or harass her.
Rihanna insists on the fact that what Brown did to her two years ago has nothing to do with his career.
He might need a couple of other anger management lessons...
The 21-year-old singer dropped by the stage of Good Morning America on Tuesday to promote his new album F.A.M.E. But when co-host Robin Roberts started to ask him questions about his past and his domestic violence with Rihanna, Brown flew into rage...
“I mean not really, it's not really a big deal, that situation, I think I'm past that in my life, and I think today's the album day so that's what I'm focused on, so everyone go and get that album.”
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