ThatNewish has photos off the set of the Notorius BIG movie!

One of our sponsored links Thatnewish.Com has full movie set pictures of Jamal Woolard playing Biggie on the set of this upcoming Christopher Wallace movie. Doesn't she make a good Faith Evans? Check them out here.

Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams has a new OUTLOOK! And I mean looks!

Above Picture courtesy of Columbia records

Aside from all the rumors out there that she has BLEACHED, it's a hot new look – and new sound – for former Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams, and PEOPLE has your exclusive first listen to "We Break the Dawn," the synth-heavy first single from her album, Unexpected, due in August......and this ain't gospel either!

Sad Day: Toronto loses Chris "Punch" Andrews to lung cancer at 43!

Local radio announcer and traffic reporter Chris “Punch” Andrews died yesterday of lung cancer. He was 43. Andrews was known as Punch on 99.9 MIX FM, where he hosted the Saturday Night Party, and as Chris Andrews on CFRB, where he did traffic reporting.

He started his career at Cable 10 in Aurora as an on-air host at the age of 17, co-workers at Astral Media said. While studying radio and television at Ryerson University, Andrews began working at a Newmarket radio station, eventually leaving to become a producer at AM 640.
After three months, he left for Prince Edward Island to become an evening announcer at a station there, returning to Toronto two years later to do overnights at MIX. He did several jobs at the station.

Andrews also taught communications technology classes at Vaughan Secondary School and Humber College. A tribute can be found at 999mixfm.com and condolences left at the Facebook group “The Chris 'Punch’ Andrews Support Posse.” R.I.P

Source: Toronto Star

Punch appeared on CFRB's Jim Richards Show March 13th to talk about his battle with lung cancer. Astral Production Manager John Masecar used the interview to produce this tribute to Punch Andrews ....

Thanks to Chris Evans at Z103.5FM who's on the air now (11.19amET) who sent me the funeral arrangements. Chris Evans and Chris Andrews were lifelong friends in the business.

Visitation and Funeral Arrangements:

Visitation will be held at Roadhouse and Rose Funeral Home - 157 Main Street South, Newmarket on Wednesday April 2nd between the hours of 2pm-4pm or 7pm - 9pm. The Funeral will be held at Trinity United Church in Newmarket (on the corner of Main St. South and Park Ave - right across the street from the funeral home) at 11am on Thursday April 3rd.

In lieu of flowers, Chris and his family requested that donations be made and sent directly to The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation at 610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON M5G 2M9. The visitation and funeral will be open to anyone who knew and loved Chris; Family, co-workers, students, listeners and friend alike. PLEASE TO ALL SMOKERS, WE WANT YOU TO QUIT! QUIT! QUIT!

BREAKING NEWS! SEAN LEVERT COLLAPSES IN JAIL CELL THEN DIES IN THE HOSPITAL!

Just days after I reported that Sean Levert was sent to jail for 22 months for not paying child support in the amount of nearly $80,000, he was found dead in his cell. Sean Levert, son of O'Jays lead singer Eddie Levert, COLLAPSED in a Cleveland, Ohio, jail over the weekend, then died in the hospital sources said.

Sean Levert, 39, was being held for allegedly failing to pay about $80,000 in child support. The cause of death was not immediately known. Sean Levert was a member of the R&B group LeVert with his late brother Gerald Levert and Marc Gordon. Gerald Levert died Nov. 10, 2006 at the age of 40. Sean Levert had recently completed an album with Gordon, sources said. Sean Levert appeared in the movies Dope Case Pending (2000) and New Jack City (1991). Now the woman and her children looking for back child support now have a sadder problem on their hands! R.I.P

My earlier story about the sentencing to 22 months where he said nothing...

Picture of the Day! Will Smith and kids at Nick Awards.

Photos by Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Rapper/Actor Will Smith and his children with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow and Jayden at the nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards Saturday. I haven't seen this family since these kids were born. Seems like yesterday! This photo montage below has Jada carrying Jayden as a baby at the premiere of Wills movie "Wild Wild West" with Trey in the white suit and a nephew, one of Jada and my almost 17 yrs old son at his 6th birthday, one of Jada and I on my old radio station show in Baltimore, one of Jada's aunt and then Manager with a friend Tarsha and Will at a mother's day party all in 1997 thru 1999. They were not married yet in these pictures (except the WWW premiere). They would later marry in Dec 1997.

CELEBRITY BLOGGER SHOWTIME "MR. TALK OF THE TOWN" APPEARS ON MTV WITH FAT JOE.

Celebrity blogger Showtime "Mr. Talk of the Town" from WWW.THATOTT.COM
recently appeared on the MTV game show "Hood Fab" and competed in a battle of Hip Hop knowledge against Fat Joe. Click HERE to see Showtime and Fat Joe battle it out in a game of Hood Fab in Miami. You can also check out what Fat Joe had to say about losing the game of Hood Fab by clicking HERE.

YAWN! 'Kiss Kiss' crooner Chris Brown officially says he's 'not in a relationship' with Rihanna!

Rihanna and Chris Brown both walked the orange carpet at the Kids' Choice Awards. Separately. "We're not in a relationship or anything," Brown told The Associated Press before Saturday's slime-filled ceremony.

Rumours have been swirling for months the R&B singers are dating, but Brown was quick to squash such gossip, insisting he was single and Rihanna was just a friend. The 18-year-old "Kiss Kiss" crooner, clad in a custom-made orange hoodie emblazoned with a blingin' Nickelodeon logo, later collected a trophy for favourite male singer.

Rihanna, 20, bypassed the press line before the awards ceremony, strutting down the carpet in a polka-dot corset top.

Rapper Wyclef Jean asks Haitians to give up crime!

In a radio ad sponsored by the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Grammy Award-winning musician Wyclef Jean is asking his fellow citizens to give up crime and work to improve the country. Geez, in this article, it's like everyone over there is some bad guy! That's W up there with his cute baby gal.

Rapper Tone Loc plans shows at bars that got scammed by impersonator.

Tone Loc plans to play shows at two bars in the Detroit area that were swindled by a man posing as the rapper's manager.

The AP reports that Tone Loc will play April 11 at the Red Dog Saloon in Milford and April 12 at Bumpers in Westland. Red Dog owner Patty McMillan gave about $400 last summer to a man posing as Tone Loc's manager who promised his client would perform at her bar. Authorities say the man also scammed Bumpers out of $1,000. The scam artist hasn't been caught.

McMillan and Judy Johnson of Bumpers contacted Tone Loc's real manager and the rapper offered to play the shows for his regular fee. The rapper, whose real name is Anthony Terrel Smith, is known for the hits "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina."(watch)

Mariah Carey comes up with a new equation.

Singer Mariah Carey mixes reggae and hip-hop beats into her new album, ‘E-MC2.’ Read her complete interview with Billboard magazine. If “E-MC2” scores big, Carey could find herself in elite chart company. She’s currently tied at No. 2 with Elvis Presley for the most Hot 100 No. 1 singles, with 17.

HipHossip is now on MySpace!

Head on over there and be my friend and also tell your pals. The hottest hip-hop blog in Canada and possibly North America. We give you the news, not just gossip! It's at www.myspace.com/hiphossip
My gurl Tiny (T.I's girl) has beat all of you to it. Even Diddy and Omarion are there! Wait a minute, where's T.I? He is #1 on my personal MySpace. I'm killing that site to merge here. He's probably still chilling after all that courthouse drama!

Pop icon Nelly Furtado lights Toronto during Earth Hour.

Toronto rocked to pop star Nelly Furtado's live concert 'Turn off the Lights' during Earth Hour, as the city joined the worldwide movement for environmental awareness and energy conservation. Before the city switched off lights to mark Earth Hour 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, thousands of residents poured into the Nathan Phillips Square in the heart of downtown to enjoy a free concert by the Canadian musician.

Nelly Furtado, a Vancouver-born singer, songwriter and musician of Portuguese origin, is known for experimenting with different sounds, music, genres and vocal styles. The venue was packed to capacity and the media were out in full force. All one could see was camera flashlights when Furtado, dressed in all black, sang 'Turn off the Lights' with a guitar.

Toronto's landmark CN Tower, which till last year was the tallest structure in the world before the Burj Tower in Dubai overtook it, and the famous Rogers Centre switched off lights to mark the token energy conservation hour. Almost all major corporate houses and hotels in downtown Toronto joined the Earth Hour by switching off their neon logos.

Said Mayor David Miller: 'We are proud to be the lead city in Canada fighting to save the environment and supporting the Earth Hour.' Many high-rise condominiums in Toronto and in neighbouring Mississauga switched off power for the worldwide conservation movement launched by the World Wildlife Fund. Millions of Canadians, along with Americans in Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Francisco and dozen of other communities- small and large - joined mayors, citizens' groups, schools and corporations from coast to coast in switching off their lights.

People from five continents across the globe took part in the Earth Hour to make a statement about the global climate change. The Toronto authorities reported 900 MW less of power consumption in Ontario province - known as the powerhouse of the Canadian economy - during the Earth Hour. About a third of the 300,000 people worldwide who signed an online pledge with the WWF for Earth Hour were from Canada. This is not surprising as the green movement was born in this country and the Green Party enjoys widespread support among Canadians.

Earth Hour was also observed in all other cities across the country.

Picture of the Day: Kemi and Snoop's Uncle Junebug!

Don't we just make a great couple? I love older men 20 years more than I am. The sugar daddy syndrome! Uncle Junebug is Calvin Broadus's (Snoop Dogg's uncle) and you can see the resemblance. You have probably seen him on many stages dancing with Snoop during concerts. He's no back up singer yo! Many people nicknamed him "Papa Snoop" as hip-hop fans think he's actually Snoop's dad. Below is a photo later that evening when Snoop performed. He was really kicking it! They really loved Africa!

I was doing spring cleaning yesterday when I spotted these pictures taken October 2006 in Nigeria when Uncle Junebug took me to brunch at the posh Eko hotel in Lagos, Nigeria where the entire tour was staying. Beyonce, Jay-Z, Ciara, Missy, Snoop, Busta, En Vogue etc. It was sort of an interview/breakfast date. Snoop and Rio were still in bed as the concert was not till 8pm. Check out the bling. What a nice man!

Watch him dance in this video below when he was still younger.



Diddy thinks he can battle Uncle Junebug in dancing?



Uncle Junebug can really dance old skool!

Mos Def to play Chuck Berry in Cadillac Records.

US rapper and actor Mos Def is to play Chuck Berry in a new film about the legendary record label Chess Records. Cadillac Records, written and directed by Darnell Martin, is set in the 1950s and will follow the lives of Leonard Chess, the man who founded Chess Records, and some of its famous artists. This is the same movie Beyonce plays Etta James in.

LL Cool J Signs 15 Year Old Rapper Nicolette.

L Cool J has signed an unknown 15 year old female rapper named Nicolette and he thinks she will be the next big thing.

Nicolette will also the first act to join LL's new Platinum Harvest music label and speaking of her potential, he says: "I would put her on a record with anybody and see what they think as far as competition. She's unbelievable. She's a star, not just somebody spitting bars in my face... She can rap... She's the truth."

LL Cool J is hoping to have the same success with the young MC as he did when he introduced Foxy Brown to the hip-hop world, on his hit song I Shot Ya hit.

The "Donda West " Law has finally been introduced!

Following the death of Kanye West's mother, a bill proposed by Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto) on behalf of a Colton family member would require medical clearance for elective cosmetic surgery

The proposed legislation, which is called the "Donda West Law", is now Assembly Bill 2968. Yolanda Anderson, who has lived in Colton since 1984, has said that after her aunt died on November 10, 2007, "We felt this is something we wanted to do to make sure her death wouldn't be in vain. We don't want to let it happen to other families. We've spoken to Kanye and he's very enthusiastic about it."

Nelly wants to collaborate with Bruce Springsteen!

Nelly was mum on what a duet with Springsteen would've sounded like, but the "Hot In Herre" rapper is hopeful he'll be able to work with the "Born to Run" rock and roller later this year. There's Nelly at 9 yrs old I believe.

Jackie gave me this one. The late Jackie Donahue, his sister who fought a real brave battle with leukemia. God bless her soul! We miss you sister!

White Memphis Rapper "Dirty White" Survives 2 Gunshots To The Head!

Rapper Dirty White who states that he does have a lot of people hating on him, but he can't believe that a person would have so much beef with him that they would want to shoot him. The incident which occurred just a day ago happened at Winchester and Hwy 51 in between the Whitehaven and Airport area of South Memphis, TN. This guy just reminds me of Eminem.

Rapper Flo Rida Accused Of Song Jacking "Don't Know How To Act"

Florida rapper Flo Rida who's been making digital waves has been accused of song jacking according to a letter from one of the representatives for the Memphis based rap music group Stockholdaz. The song in question is the newly released song by Flo Rida "Don't Know How To Act" featuring Yung Joc which is called "Don't Know How 2 Act" by the Stockholdaz which was originally released in late 2006 produced by Memphis bred, now Atlanta based, producer Drumma Boy.

Greedy Rapper arrested for stealing Tacos......Yes Tacos, the edible ones like Taco Bell!

Aspiring California rapper Robert Echeverria aka Mr. Caliefro was arrested for pulling a taco scam at a local fast food restaurant which landed him 30 days in prison. In the taco scam, Robert Echeverria, a reported aspiring rapper and poet who goes by the name of "Mr. Caliefro" pretended to be a CEO named "Robert Kennedy" complaining about his fast-food order. The scam and fake order landed Robert and his two pals ('The Great Bambino' and 'White Noise') two quesadillas with extra chicken, seven tacos, two sodas, a large order of fries and 30 days in jail. They posted it on YouTube and that's how they got caught!

Did you know that Keminications Media interviewed Melanie Martin of Flow 93.5FM back in November 2007?

I aired this interview with Melanie on Dec 5th 2007 on my media blog and most of you are requesting it since you didn't see it and it belongs here too......The videos are coming!

What's it like working at Flow I asked her? This gorgeous radio personality grew up in Sudbury and graduated from Humber College. She says it's a wonderful family oriented atmosphere to work in and chuckles about her love-hate relationship with JJ and compares it with working with a brother. She describes her transition to a morning personality as a quick journey for her personally and did not believe in the people that said that she was not going to work in a big market such as Toronto. When you have the passion, do it! When you want to be on the air, get on the air she said as she was advised. It's never too soon. She showed persistence and it paid off!


Within 6 months she was at Flow after she graduated. As I said earlier, she attended and graduated from Humber College. I asked her about the personal lives of artists they play on the air and how important that was to her and the listener. I detailed some examples from some artists I personally knew in my Atlanta Entertainment Reporter days. She says that this is important as long as it does not get too much like the Britney Spears thing. We talked about Kanye West's mom, Whitney and Bobby and also T.I.

She did not like much of gangsta rap which she called "hard core" rap. The "ho" word and "killing people" phenomena is not for her. She also wants to set an example for her 15-year-old daughter. She told me she really admired singer Beyonce and her talents and I asked her what her dreams were. Melanie said she wanted to be on Broadway but she couldn't sing. We joked about dirty dancing which is something she would love to give a try.

I asked her about her daughter who she said that she had very young so nobody believes she has a teen daughter. She and her boyfriend have been living together for 11 years probably since the little girl was 4 years old and she does not consider herself being a single mom. Melanie told me she and her loyal boyfriend just bought a house together and one day they may get married. She does give more power to all single moms out there including me. That was nice of her to say. She's done a lot of TV at much Music, E-Talk, MTV and lots of Canadian Idol commercials and will advance her career as things come along. What a simple life! Wish we could all live like that. Thank you Melanie for that beautiful sit-down interview. Appreciate you!


Part One of my interview



Part Two of my interview

Canadian Kids: I have the hip-hop lowdown for you on Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards!

First I have to thank Mario Anzuoni of Reuters News for all these fantastic pictures!

Akon crashed a dune buggy into giant containers of Nickelodeon's trademark green slime, Usher blasted a sumo wrestler several yards with slime fired from a cannon and supermodel Heidi Klum , attached to a bungee cord and wearing a specially equipped "butt spike belt," flung herself into a wall covered with slime-filled balloons. "Don't try this at home," boxer Laila Ali said as Usher turned the cannon on the sumo wrestle. They were sliming each other like no man's business. Harrison Ford had it BAD with the SLIME!

Actor Will Smith greeted the crowd as he walked onstage with his son, Jaden

Jamaican American reggae singer and rapper Sean Kingston (L) greets pop and R&B singer Chris Brown on the red carpet at the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards.

Even Rapper Nelly was there at the awards. Kids love him!


Meanwhile American Idol Singer Jordin Sparks looked like a fat pregnant girl in that Nick-themed dress at Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards.

Smart girl Rihanna and Brendan Fraser presented the award for Favorite Television Show and as you can see Rihanna bought her umbrella-ella-ella to avoid being slimed!

Chris Brown accepted the award for Favorite Male Singer while Rapper Lil Mama performed at the show.

It was the best of both worlds at Saturday's Kids Choice Awards for Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana), who took home trophies for favorite female singer and TV actress and rocked the show with a spirited performance of her hit song, "GNO — Girls Night Out."

We'll watch it sometimes soon on regular cable. Unfortunately Turbonick.com never worked. The server crashed! Too many Canadian and other country kids were all heading there at the same time. I will ask YTV Canada's Nickelodeon contractor on Monday what the air date plans will be.

From our darling server Google, it's LIGHTS OUT for Earth Hour!

Google says Happy Earth Hour 8-9pm tonight right now!

CANADIAN Kids! I'm still waiting for the satellite feed info!

NOT HIP-HOP RELATED but this is posted here for the kids too as well as my media news site where all the e-mails are flooding in. Kids I know you are gonna be in the dark at 8pm for Earth hour, now this?

7.26pm EDT: Right now I am being bombarded by e-mails about the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice awards which is live in 15 minutes! Below is all I got back from Nick. There is no reply yet from YTV who aired the 20th one last September. It looks like I will have to cover this for you via satellite so at least you can know the winners. I have Rogers cable too and it's not on YTV, Treehouse, Teletoon nor TVO. My neighbor has a dish and we are going to use this downlink co-ordinates we media outlets use to get a program in via satellite. With your parents permission you can watch it live online at www.Turbonick.com which is CURRENTLY DOWN. Florida is telling me that they are working on the problem. Nickelodeon studios is in Orlando, Florida. Worst comes to the worst, we'll watchit in the Summer when it's very stale!

Nickelodeon's 21st Annual Kids' Choice Awards Show Feed Hosted by Jack Black With performances by Miley Cyrus and The Naked Brothers Band Live from UCLA's Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, March 29th

WHEN:

Saturday, March 29th, 2008 5:00-7:00PM (Pacific Time) 8:00-9:30PM (Eastern Time)

DOWNLINK COORDINATES:
Space Segment:	Galaxy 10R/24K (Ku band - digital) 123º West
Uplink Frequency:	14480 Mhz (V)
Downlink Frequency:	12180 Mhz (H)
Bandwidth:	36 Mhz
Audio:	6.2/6.8

COMPRESSION:
Data Rate:	36.56325
FEC:	3/4
Symbol Rate:	26.45
4:2:2 MODULATION:

PETA Tells Aretha Franklin: Give Up Your Furs And We'll Pay Your Tax Bill!

I will burn those fur coats right away and take the deal if I were you Aretha!

Shannon Moore of Celebrity News Service tells me that the animal rights activists group People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) have offered to pay the queen of soul's $19,000 tax bill if she agrees to stop wearing fur.Ingrid Newkirk, the president of the group, has written to Franklin and offered to help the soul legend avoid foreclosure on her Detroit mansion if Franklin hands over her collection of fur coats.

In the letter from to Franklin, Newkirk writes, "We would like to help you out by paying the approximate $19,000 in back taxes that you owe- if you'll agree to save animals from hideous suffering and death by promising never to wear fur again and donating your old furs to PETA."She concludes the letter by writing, "Our offer is a win-win situation: You get to keep your home, and animals get to keep their lives. We are rooting for you to please give animals the R-E-S-P-E-C-T that they deserve by giving up fur."PETA has reportedly been trying for months to get Franklin to give up her extensive collection of famous fur coats. Franklin has until March 31 to pay her debt and save her home.

50 Cent Previews G-Unit Album For MTV News At His Connecticut Mansion

Shaheem Reid of MTVN (VH1 Networks) visits 50 in his Conneticut mansion where they also chatted about the presidential race — and long-in-the-works G-Unit group album, tentatively titled Lock and Load. 50 only reveals one song title, "The Party Ain't Over," which features all four of the core Unit members, including Young Buck. Read the dynamite article here.

Slow-burn singer from London’s badlands setting America alight!

Back in 2006, not many people watching the early stages of ITV’s talent show The X Factor believed in the staying power of Leona Lewis, who last week became the first British female to top the US pop chart for 20 years with her single Bleeding Love. The British Sunday Times elaborates....

Let me CLEAR MY THROAT: Frenchie and Leona Lewis both face throat surgery!

Leona Lewis is a damn good singer and she is not taking chances on that voice yet! In 2003, Frenchie Davis was dropped from "Idol" because of a previous appearance on an adult Web site. In contrast, the Fox talent show took no action this season when contestant David Hernandez's stint as a nightclub stripper was revealed or when racy photos of Antonella Barba surfaced last season on the Internet. We know Fox is a fraud but this story is about Frenchie facing throat surgery to remove a vocal cord polyp. Same goes for Leona Lewis, the currently hot British R&B singer. She is prone to severe bouts of tonsillitis which are threatening to hamper her singing career!

Afeni Shakur responds to the L.A Times Diddy ambush story!

Diddy and Henchmen may be hitting the Times with some libel suits as they claim their family was put in danger and slandered! Ms Afeni Shakur released this statement to the media

"We will continue to work to save the lives of our young people and to offer peaceful alternatives to violence and conflict resolution," Afeni Shakur said in a statement Friday. "That is what we have done since the murder of my son, and that is exactly what we will consciously continue to do."

Beanie Siegel back in Jail again!

Rap star Beanie Siegel has returned to prison. A federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced Sigel to three months in prison Friday after authorities say he gave a false urine sample to probation officials. That's violating probation!

Toronto Slammed! Soulja Boy CANCELLED and Postponed entire Tour to September 2008!

I first got the shocker from Canada's only hip-hop station's boss, Wayne Williams at Flow 93.5FM. I believe Flow was a sponsor and Wayne told me that they had postponed his upcoming 23-city 21 & Under Tour with Lil Mama, V.I.C. and Tiffany Evans. A spokesman for the rapper said the tour is expected to be rescheduled for the fall with a kick-off sometime in September. Fans should check at point of purchase to determine what to do with tickets already purchased for the tour. Soulja Boy's 2007 debut album, souljaboytellem.com, spawned the hit song "Crank That (Soulja Boy)," which earned a Grammy nomination for best rap song. I told a neighbor's teen who bought a ticket last week. She didn't say "Crank that." She said "fu*k that!" Whoa!

Akon secretly records a COUNTRY ALBUM?

Whoa Nelly! as they say in the country world! I hear R&B star Akon has recorded a “secret” country and western record and released it under an alias in a bid to be the first successful black artist in the genre. The ‘Lonely’ singer is a big fan of country music and is determined to conquer the genre but is convinced that fans of the music would not buy the records if they were released under his real name.

And the 34-year-old insists he is already on his way to making it big as a country star as he has already released his first single - and it has been a major success. He says, ‘No black artist has ever broken into the genre. I’m going in under a secret alias and I’ve already got my first hit record.’”

He recorded the album under a secret alias.