Fax to Get Back: The Princess of Crunk about to be the MRS! And other News hot off the presses!

The Princess of Crunk will soon have a permanent passenger to take on her "Fantasy Ride"! Word has it that Ciara Harris will soon be Mrs.Jackson! As in Mrs Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson as sources close to the couple confirm that rap's "Bad boy" mogul has asked the "Crunk Princess" to marry him. Quite a change of heart for a man who just last year denied rumors that he and Ciara were already married citing the high divorce rate as reason why he plans to stay single. If the sources are correct this comes after a two year relationship in which "50" showered Ciara with expensive cars including a Lamborghini and a Bentley. Wow! Congrats Ciara you definitely tamed a Tiger! First Jay and now 50! I wonder what Diddy is waiting on. LOL! Oh yeah, there's more wild oats to sow! LOL! Sorry I couldn't help it!



Congratulations are also in order to one of our favorite couples NBA Baller Carmelo Anthony and actress/model LaLa Vasquez, the two who have been engaged for 3 years and have a son, have set a wedding date and started planning their wedding. He already took B's advice and "Put a ring on it" it's good to see that he's going to add the paper with it. I'm sure it will be absolutely beautiful!




After last years tragedy it's good to see Jennifer Hudson smile again and apparently she has a lot to smile about as it seems that Jennifer and fiance, David Otunga, eloped secretly last month among family and friends just days before their son, David Jr. was born. Jennifer looks FABULOUS and is absolutely glowing check out these pictures taken recently. She also is all smiles because her sister who's son was killed last year is also pregnant! Good for y'all!





Terius "the Dream" Nash's ex-wife Nivea may be pregnant and alledgedly engaged to Lil Wayne but he's not crying over spilled milk as he and girlfriend Christina Milian are said to be engaged and expecting their first child. But mums the word on the pregnancy as they are announcing it at their upcoming engagement party! Also Congrats to the Dream in his new role as Executive Vice-President of Island Def Jam.





Congratulations to Taye Diggs and his wife actress Idina Menzel who welcomed their first child a baby boy named Walker.




Also, congratulations may be in order for Halle Berry who is rumored to be expecting her second child. This news comes on the heels of rumors that her first child was conceived via invitro-fertilization and not naturally as the actress has said. I say who cares how the baby was conceived! If you want my two cents on the subject with all the "twins" popping up in Hollywood it's crazy that somebody thinks that's news! That's like telling me that Joan Rivers had a face lift.


Told ya all gossip doesn't have to be negative! All of this was good news! Peace!
~d-the-VIP

Just a Minute to be Normal

So Many people cried. Okay if I'm being honest, I cried so I had to ask myself why? I mean lets be real! The closest I ever got to Michael Jackson was watching him on TV! Okay, I did have a poster, a Michael Jackson doll, and of course Thriller as a kid. But what caused me to shed a tear??? I mean it actually felt like I had lost a relative! I even caught an attitude when I heard what I perceived to be a negative comment on his death!" Am I upset because Michael represented an era in my life that his death signifies is gone forever? Or is it something deeper?

I admit it! I'm an "MJ" baby! He certainly was a huge influence. Who didn't rock the white socks, a glittery glove, a t-shirt with his picture, or, (if you were fortunate), have a Thriller or Beat It replica jacket? I remember even burning my cousins scalp with hair spray so that he could have the Michael Jackson part and curl, even though he had a fro, and no way of that mess curling! I also remember my friend returning from Europe and she and her dad telling stories of how people followed them around asking if "SHE" were Michael Jackson, despite the obvious, (she was a girl), and only 11, but hey, she did have a curl. So pervasive was Michael during that time that besides setting fashion trends with the color Levi's , Penny loafers, and aviator glasses. In business this soft spoken child-like man showed the shrewdness of any CEO. He taught my generation how to dream bigger! "Don't just want to sing the songs, write them!" "Produce them!" "Own your masters!" "Own someone Else's!" I remember how shocked I was when I heard Michael Jackson had bought the Beetles catalogue. I thought, a "black boy" from Gary Indiana had not only the funds, but the nerve and the audacity to buy one of "white pop cultures" most prized catalogues. If he could do that I certainly could do anything! Before him music videos were simply a band recorded singing. After, him they were stories and sometimes mini movies and any entertainer worth their salt never came with anything less! MTV went from relative obscurity to a household name after the debut of Thriller's video.

He made us wanna dance like him. He made us dress like him but in his music he encouraged us to find our own greatness! He told us to care about those who were less fortunate and that a change starts simply with the "Man in the Mirror". As I thought about it I realized that I wasn't crying because his death marked an end of an era but rather I was crying because that ended forever his opportunity to have the happiness that he had given so many of us! I was upset that he had given tirelessly of his talents, time, and money and we as a society greedily took, took, and took with out ever giving him what he so richly deserved. Just a minute to be normal. We never questioned what he saw or heard as a talent in the racially turbulent 60's that made him think a change of skin tone, hair texture, and nose shape was so very necessary. We weren't willing to believe that his desire to be in the company of small children was not for nefarious reasons but rather because by virtue of their innocence and their age they wouldn't act or treat him differently. We never considered what being a kid on the road with teenage brothers with raging hormones and girls willing to "swap" more than "candy" because of who they were would do to his psyche or his self-esteem. We certainly didn't factor in how he would process seeing those same girls claim to be pregnant weeks later. How do you have "normal" in a world were everybody knows your name? How do you build self-esteem when everybody wants something from you including those you love? How do you trust when time and time again people have "hung you out to dry?" Is it so surprising that he wanted to buy Joseph Merrick's, (the elephant man), bones seemingly one of the few people to ever walk the earth who could know the total isolation and sometimes desolation that he felt? A peek inside Merrick's novel will probably tell you more about Michael's feelings than even he was willing to admit.

Yes, he was treated like a King in every part of the world he visited but what happens when you just wanna be regular? There were no school buddies who liked him because they shared a love of something. There were no school dances to pass notes that said "Do you like me? Yes or No, check the box". There was no stolen kiss because you were simply a cute guy. There would never be an opportunity to go to the amusement park with strangers, share in their laughter, ride the highest ride without being noticed. There would never be an opportunity to take your kids to a park to thoroughly enjoy their antics. There would never be a normal life. At some point I guess I held out hope that as long as Michael was alive he would someday be able to have "normal". This week I cried because his death meant that would never be. I remember watching the TV show Fame. In it Debbie Allen would tell her dancers, "Fame cost and Right Here is where you start paying in sweat!" I know now that Fame most certainly costs and sometimes the price is far greater than sweat!
~d-the-VIP

Why you shouldn't watch the CW after the last episodes of The Game and Everybody Hates Chris!

I'm PISSED!!!! The CW has decided to cancel Everybody Hates Chris and the Game, two of their TOP 10 shows while keeping shows that have less diversity and even fewer ratings. I understand that television is a business wrought with tough decisions but I would think cutting two of your top rated shows while keeping shows with low ratings would be ASININE!!! To add insult to injury CW's President Dawn Ostroff said that the shows were cancelled because the "CW would no longer carry any comedies in it's line-up." ARE you KIDDING ME???? Name one network that does not have a comedy on its roster? Hasn't she heard of the success of Friends, Seinfeld, and Cheers??? All of which were rated highly until their respective departures. What about the reruns of Sanford & Son, Good Times , and The Cosby Show all of which can be seen nightly on various networks! What about the fact that the the third top rated show of ALL TIME was a COMEDY!!!, (an I LOVE Lucy episode). So the excuse for her teams decision does not add up! Nor does it mesh with her stated planned demographic of women ages 18-35, as I am certain the Game, if not Everybody Hates Chris, attracts the audience she seeks and then some. Aren't most movies that target that demographic "romantic comedies" anyway??? So either Ms. Ostroff is "out of touch with reality" or she's grasping at straws in her effort to KILL these shows while "flying under the radar" of groups that promote diversity on television. What really PISSES me beyond PISTERITY, (Yeah I said that!), is the fact that the audience of color has been "ripped off", "taken for granted", and flat out "USED" AGAIN!!!! to support a fledgling network only to be tossed aside once it's garnered broader support!

As a relatively new network Fox aired, In Living Color, Martin, ROC, Living Single, and New York Undercover only to give these shows the "boot" once Party of Five, Melrose Place and 90210,(ironically the latter two have been revamped by the CW), "stepped on the scene". I feel comfortable in saying that Ostroff and her cronies are following FOX's blueprint sadly enough, right down to actually recreating their shows, with designs on revamping others, like Dawson's Creek and Ally McBeal. Its a shame that with all the talented, creative, people with fabulous show ideas Ms. Ostroff's team is too LAZY, too lackadaisical, or just too downright trifling to seek out newly created shows.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for business and making money and if Ms. Ostroff could point to that as a motivating factor for canceling the shows I wouldn't have a problem. But don't "ax" the shows and give me a "cockamamie" story to "legitimize" the decision. Next Ms. Ostroff is going to "pee" on stage, (YES I SAID PEE), and tell people it's raining!!! ENOUGH is ENOUGH!!!! After the last episodes of the Game and Everybody Hates Chris, I say we stop watching the CW. They've proven that our viewership doesn't factor in their decision making anyway, so why continue to support them! "Don't let Ms. Ostroff "pee" on your head and tell you it's raining!"

~d-the-VIP

For Those of you who want to write or call to voice your opinion
Dawn Ostroff, President
CW Network
11800 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 575-7000
(818) 977-5000

~d-the-VIP

Dhani Tackles the Globe: An Ambassador?

NFL linebacker Dhani Jones is probably the most unlikely of ambassadors, or is he? Jones, a bow-tie clad, poetry writing "intellectual", is the antithesis of the stereotypical professional athlete. Now Jones's show, Dhani Tackles the Globe, is playing the unlikely role of ambassador for America and, in my opinion, ambassador for African American men! While movies, music, and even some video games depict and perpetuate a negative stereotype of African American men within the United States and abroad. It is the images reflections outside of the United States that go largely uncontested as most of the international consumer's of this entertainment have never actually met an African American Man. Dhani Jones is changing that fact one country and one game at a time!

On Dhani Tackles the Globe, Dhani's challenge is to learn each countries favorite pastime and participate in a match at the end of a week of intensive training. While matching Jones' "NFL worthy" athletic prowess against other sports is interesting. It's his immersion in each countries culture, dress, and edible delicacies, (Yes! He's eaten Bugs!), that really steals the show! Dhani's, enthusiasm and respect for the sport that he is learning and his gracious sportsmanship soon earn the respect of his new trainers and teammates and ultimately extend an "olive branch" on behalf of this "cocky country" called America. While his "chunky fro", playful manner, and eloquent speeches, introduce people, in America and Abroad, to an African American Man totally different from the "gangster", "thug", "killer", characters seen or heard in far too much entertainment. Dhani Tackles the Globe on the Travel Channel, Monday nights.

~d-the-VIP

DWB in Obama's America?

I'm sure by now everybody has heard about Ryan Moats, the NFL player denied being by his mother-in-law's side during her final minutes of life, by an overzealous Dallas cop. While this stories tragedy is not typical. It has all the earmarks of stories that can be told by a majority of African American Men including the affluent and elite among them. It's called DWB, Driving While Black! The act of being stopped, detained, and/or searched for unprovoked and unfounded reasons. In the case of Mr. Moats, the officer in question believed it was more important to give him a ticket after witnessing him run a red light, (with hazards blinking), to enter a hospital parking lot than escorting him to his dying mother-in-laws bedside. Anybody watching the video of the incident can see that something was terribly wrong but even after hearing the Moats' repeated explanations, (an explanation immediately confirmed by hospital staff), the officer, who had drawn his gun, still believed writing a ticket rather than allowing Mr. Moats to be with his family was most important. Think this is an isolated incident? Think again! So prevalent and pervasive is this act that everybody from Blockbuster Superstar Will Smith to the late and great "Legal Eagle" Johnny Cochran has experienced it. Rapper and Music Mogul Jay Z even wrote about it in his song 99 Problems. In it he says:

Son do you know what I'm stoppin you for?

"Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hats real low
or do I look like a mind reader sir I don't know?
Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo?"

Well you was doin 55 in a 54!
License and registration and stop out of the car
Are you carryin a weapon? I know a lot of you are

"I ain't stepping out of sh*t all my papers legit"

well do you mind if I look around the car a little bit?

"Well my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk in the back
And I know my rights so you gon need a warrant for that"

Aren't you sharp as a tack you should try out
For a lawyer and something somebody important or something

"I ain't pass the bar but I know a little bit
Enough that you won't illegally search my sh*t"

Well we see how smart you are when the canines come

"I got 99 problems but a b*tch ain't one!"

"While most DWB cases never reach the attention of mainstream America nor have the tragic consequences of this case, this is still a prime example of what happens every day to African Americans across America. While I commend the Dallas Police Department for recognizing that their officer made a very poor decision. I wonder what they, and other departments, will do to ensure that this does not happen again. It frightens me to think of how close Mr. Moats and his wife came to being shot by an officer who had absolutely NO reason to draw his weapon. I'm reminded of Shawn Bell and Amadou Diallo and a list of other young African American men who were stopped and subsequently killed by police for unfounded or unprovoked reasons. This Dallas cops callous actions denied Mr. Moats the comfort of being by his mother-in-laws' side when she took her last breath. However, had he not kept his composure, this incident, could have quite possibly turned as tragic as the Bell and Diallo cases. Police are sworn to serve and protect us. My only question is, if they are here to protect us against criminals, who's here to protect us against them?

~d-the-VIP

Jay Z: 99 Problems Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hsC6txiySQ

ABC News Interview with the Moats:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=207187&cl=12730195&ch=243724&src=sports

TI's Road to Redemption is paved with a Heart of GOLD!

TI: Road to Redemption is an absolutely fantastic show that MTV is currently airing! For those critics of Rap and Rappers this program shows the true heart of the average rapper labeled a "gangster" by society and music critics alike. In the show, Rapper, Clifford "TI" Harris, intervenes in the lives of 7 street hardened gang-banging, drug dealing, and gun-toting teens headed down the path of certain death. TI, himself, a graduate of the "school-of-hard-knocks, uses wisdom and insight gained from his years on the "other side of the law" to convince the "would be criminals" that their lives won't have the happy ending that is often reflected in movies or heard in music. It's his triumph over the same adversities that allow him to touch the core of these kids and change the trajectory of their lives. While the clock draws TI closer to his own personal day of "reckoning", (a 1 year prison sentence stemming from federal firearm charges), March 27th, I think something should be said for a person, rapper or not, who while recording an album and touring to secure his family’s financial stability in his absence, and completing 1000 hours of mandated community service, has chosen to use his celebrity and circumstance to change the lives of others. I'm sure there is no irony in the fact that 7 people were chosen since the number 7 represents completion. Presumably this is an indication that 7 "Sinners" who crossed paths with TI on his own personal journey of redemption have completed the negative chapters in their lives. It may be a coincidence that all 8 "Winners", (the kids including TI), are starting a new beginning since 8 is the number that represents new beginnings, but knowing the intelligence of TI, it's not. TI: Road to Redemption airs Tuesday.

T.I.'s Road to Redemption - MTV Shows

~d-the-VIP

Have you left a ripple in the pond of Life?

Last Saturday, I met a young lady in her early 30's, who radiated a refinement born of her rich Nigerian Heritage, she was a high-powered New York finance executive with a fabulous Manhattan apartment. She had all the accouterments of success. We were talking about her move to South Africa, a move that would take her close to her homeland yet provide her with a new adventure. Today she died. A seemingly healthy young lady with everything to live for is no longer. And all I can wonder is if she knew happiness. I mean true happiness, the kind that comes from knowing ones self and being comfortable with "The man in the mirror". Living life to the fullest, with no regrets. Touching the people that you love and know in a way that is meaningful and beneficial to you both. I know she's never going to get married, never going to have children, never going to get to move to South Africa. But was she happy? Had she lead the life she wanted to lead? Did she leave the the legacy that she wanted to leave. Did she leave a ripple in the pond of life? Tomorrow is not guaranteed. If your number is picked tomorrow have you left a ripple in the pond of life?
~d-the-VIP