First lady of calm, Sasha P: Musicians provide therapy with music

Sasha P

THE line said “Hey put your head up don’t you cry, you can make it if you try shara giri omo ekun adara” The Yoruba translation is to pull yourself up like a lions kid and it will get better. Her name is Yetunde Alabi better known as Sasha P. When I arrived from North America a year ago, I purchased a Samsung phone which was loaded with her album. This was a 2007 album which I never knew as I was not familiar with her music but I definitely listened to this album 3 times daily but the track “Adara” became my favourite.

Sasha P is very captivating and all her songs are very inspiring. I learned she is a motivational speaker as well. I first saw Sasha on stage in Lagos May 2013, during the #DivasRockConcert. “Always Keep Moving” coupled with “Adara” reduces me to tears when I’m having a tough time in Nigeria. It has been a tough transition here as my father told me it will take 7 years while I estimated 5 years. Sporadic power outages introduces petrol into my garage for the generator and then mosquitoes introduce insecticide sprays banned in US and Canada. Spray that and start the gen and you have a lethal combination for my asthma which almost got deadly 4 months ago.

Living in Nigeria is very harzadous for my health here. As I complain daily, many dont even those amenities I have. One Saturday, I broke down frustrated losing blogging money with no power and the PHCN box fell of the wall on a Saturday! I became livid and emotional knowing that we were not going to have power till earliest Monday when they come and fix the problem.

I jumped in my bed, put on my MP3 player to use music to drown my frustrations when all of a sudden, I tweeted Sasha telling her that her music lifts me up when things get rough and could she call me pls? What star has time for that? In five minutes, she called me in Ibadan. She spoke to me 45 minutes and motivated me about how I felt. She also started praying for me. Excerpts of her Tweets before she called read: “You must strengthen your mind as it is a daily battle. It is well with u in Jesus name. Kemi, I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better, but I know that the Lord will meet u at every point of need. Sis may the Lord comfort you the way only HE knows how and bring u solace thru this time, call me back if u need to talk.”

I was speechless and uplifted as her twitter direct message inboxed to me was one I had to share with my readers. What kindness! What caring I got from this musician who created calm around me that day. How I wish we could all call Keith Sweat, Bobby Valentino, Miguel and even Luther Vandross and Marvin Gaye who are in heaven or even our favourite rappers and actors. Remember what MTV UK said this week? Have you tried tweeting your fave musicians, they may just respond. I did last weekend and it changed my life together plus even getting a phone call and for that, I named Sasha the “First Lady of Calm.” Join Sasha P on twitter, she has some of the most inspiring tweets@SashaPOfficial and on Facebook.com/SashaPofficial to catch up with all her latest projects. Follow me on all Sasha P developments @HipHossip and @NigerianTribune.

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The full lenght interview Sasha P had with my colleague Rotimi Ige is also in today's Friday Treat section here. Read all about the upcoming album and the new Etisalat deal we are hearing about but cannot confirm.

#MsKemi
@HipHossip on twitter

HAS L'IL KIM GONE TOO FAR? BEHEADING NICKI MINAJ ON BLACK FRIDAY MIXTAPE.

Outspoken Lil' Kim is courting controversy with her new mixtape art after featuring an image of a beheaded Nicki Minaj on the cover.Black Friday hit the streets on Valentine's Day along with the title track aimed at Minaj, but it's artwork, featuring Lil' Kim and a decapitated Minaj in a pool of blood, that has got the bloggers busy.The two rappers have been feuding since November, when Minaj called Kim a "has-been" in an interview.

The new mixtape is a big hit - it sold 113,000 copies in just 28 hours, setting a new PayPal record.In a tweet to fans, a thrilled Lil' Kim writes, "Thanks to you guys!! #lilkimblackfridaymixtape sold 113,000 copies in 28 hours which made me the #1 seller on paypal ever =) THANK U!"The success comes as Minaj's Pink Friday album is toppled from the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart by the latest Now That's What I Call Music compilation.

Aside from the graphic shyt seeing a pink wig filled with blood, hasn't this fight gone too far Kimberly?

MASTER P'S 14-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER JUMPS INTO THE MUSIC BUSINESS.

Master P.'s 14-year-old daughter hopes to follow in the footsteps of her father, brother and uncles, by launching a career in the music business.

Cymphonique Miller recently signed a record deal with Sony Music, in addition to a new television deal with Nickelodeon.

Her first single under the deal with Sony is titled "Daddy I'm A Rockstar," which is a "new genre" of music Cymphonique has dubbed "Hip Rock Pop."

Cymphonique, who is an honor student, will be one of the keynote speakers at a charity event this November titled "From Girlz II Women," sponsored by the Urban Born Foundation.

The focus of the event is to "empower young girls to become effective women of tomorrow," according to Urban Born's founder, Johnel Langerston.

Source

THE TRINA PHONE CONTROVERSY.....WE CARE ABOUT TRINA AT HIPHOSSIP.

Photo: Keminications Media Trina with my Reporters the Lawrence twins at the BET Hip-Hop awards 2009 in ATL.

During a recent interview, Trina opened up about the lost phone.

"I lost my phone and I had some pictures of me that I don’t want the world to see,” Trina said in an interview. “And I’m thinking, if it ever comes out, I’m devastated, but I mean, it’s not sex tape pictures but still, I don’t want you to see them, they’re not for you. But losing a phone and all this stuff happens.” She continued “but it’s a wake up call…I just feel like, what’s personal is personal. I don’t feel like, as an artist, like I need to do anything to expose myself. I don’t need to put out a nude photo for press…I don’t need a sex tape of me and my, my significant other to be worldwide, for the world to see.”

My take is that the scumbag trying to extort her for $100,000 should be arrested by the cops. Trina should not tolerate it. I REFUSE to post the videos of the naked pictures and all these alleged STD rashes with Kenyon Martin etc. We love Trina too much at HipHossip for that shyt!

RAPPER EVE ON JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW.

THE ROUND TABLE: QUEEN PEN CALLS BET'S ROSCI A FAKE BYTCH!

Queen Pen Speaks On The Fight With Rocsi At The Round Table! "I Don't Like The Bitch, Shes Just Fake, Phony & Shes Wack" [Defending Lisa Raye]

Lil Kim Has A Wardrobe Malfunction "Nipple Slip" At Her Hot 97 Reggae Tip Performance!

WHOA! FOXY BROWN BLASTS JAY-Z FOR LACK OF SUPPORT!

FOXY BROWN has taken aim at her former mentor and collaborator JAY-Z for failing to support her while she was incarcerated for eight months in 2007 and 2008. The rapper, who partnered with the mogul on the hit Bonnie & Clyde, had hoped Jay-Z would be there for her while she spent time behind bars for a probation violation in September (07) - after she showed him so much loyalty when 50 Cent wanted to poach her from Def Jam.

She says, "There are times when I just really needed him... and he just wasn't there." And, in a new interview with rap magazine XXL, recorded shortly after her release in May (08), she adds, "I've been incarcerated for eight months, and Jay's been everywhere, and he hasn't mentioned one thing about, 'Tell her I love her. Tell her to be strong.' That broke my heart more than anything. "When they sent me to jail, I just knew he would be there - everyone came. But he never showed up."

Can someone pls tell Foxy that Jay himself stabbed Lance Rivera in 1999 and learned his lesson on assaulting people and it's not his job to babysit Foxy in jail. She needs a jail therapist for that! Besides Beyonce would not dare let Jay go near Riker's Island, the home of another female rapper Remy Ma.....Da Brat too assaulted someone. Ladies, the assault shyt gotta stop! No one's supporting your ass when you end in the pokey!

M.I.A. COMES OUT OF RETIREMENT ALREADY?

British rapper M.I.A. has come out of retirement to record a new album. The star - real name Mathangi Arulpragasam - announced her retirement from the industry after cancelling her European tour in June (08). But she has promised fans a new album following the success of her single Paper Planes, which featured in the theatrical trailer for new movie Pineapple Express. However, she is adamant she will never tour again.

She tells Entertainment Weekly, "I stopped touring... and I didn't want to make music again. I was quite happy to just leave it all behind. I was happy with what I had achieved. "Now, with the success of Paper Planes, there's pull for me to make another record. Even my mum believes in me more. It's a nice encouragement. But I was planning my life as a fishing woman on the outskirts of Cambodia. That's a joke."

That was QUICK! I guessed all that "terrorist" accusation shook her up and then she quit.

DIAMOND SIGNS A SOLO DEAL WITH WARNER BROTHERS!

Who is Diamond Canada? I will introduce you to her. I have an interview I kept from 2004 that I have never aired. Diamond, formerly of Crime Mob, has inked a solo deal with Warner Bros. Records, according to a press release we received today. The “Knuck If You Buck” rapper signed a multilayer solo deal with Warner Bros. Records Inc. Warner Bros. Records Inc. will be investing not only in the growth of Diamond as an artist, but also as a brand, building off of her recent campaign with FILA.

Together, Diamond and Warner Bros. Records Inc. will also be tying in various endorsements, which include TV and film opportunities, setting her debut solo album up to be one of the biggest releases of 2009. Diamond promises there will be a “few surprises in store” for her fans who breathlessly await her new album which is set to drop in early 2009. Thanx to Sandra for the heads up.

Source: Sandra Rose

Some of you may know her as L'il Scrappy's girlfriend. I will go retrieve that 2004 interview and edit it for air. She is one of those respectable female rappers I truly adore.

Sri Lankan Rapper M.I.A. Accused Of Supporting Terrorists!!!

British rapper M.I.A., who is of Sri Lankan descent, is being accused of supporting terrorists, despite denying those accusations in the past. In a 2005 interview with Australian paper The Age, M.I.A. (real name: Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) says, "I've heard lots of people say that I'm part of a terrorist group and I'm singing about that, and singing songs for them, but that's wack, I'd never do that."

Another Sri Lankan hip-hop artist by the name of DeLon doesn't agree. In a YouTube video posted in late July, which remixes M.I.A.'s track "Paper Planes," DeLon claims that the British rapper used imagery from the Liberation Tiger Tamils of Eelam (LTTE), a Sri Lankan terrorist group. DeLon's version re-cuts M.I.A. version with Tamil Tiger bombings and child soldiers, and openly questions whether M.I.A. supports terrorists. DeLon notes that M.I.A. consistently uses tigers in imagery -- on clothes, in videos -- and that M.I.A. has called her father a "freedom fighter."

A little back-story: Her father is credited as a co-founder of a militant pro-Tamil group called EROS, which, in turn, was once linked to the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers have been labeled a terrorist group by many countries, including the United States. "In the video, we didn't really accuse her of being a Tamil Tiger," Marshall Shen, head of DeLon's record label, Ceylon, told E!. "But we're asking, why she is putting these images out there if she doesn't support them?"

DeLon's video is no longer available on YouTube. Interscope served the rapper with a cease-and-desist, claiming the video endangers "M.I.A.'s reputation as a freedom fighter." In response, DeLon and his label has filed a lawsuit against Interscope/UMG for infringement of his First Amendment rights.

Source: Ballerstatus

DEAD WOMAN FOUND IN CLUB WHILE L'IL KIM AND LISA RAYE PARTY UP THE NIGHT! CLUB EMPLOYEE CONFESSES TO KILLING!

Police say an employee of a New York club has confessed to killing a woman whose body was found there days after Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Thursday that the employee of the Spotlight Live karaoke club in Times Square confessed to killing 24-year-old Ingrid Rivera. He did not identify the employee. Rivera went to the club Sunday night when it was hosting a birthday party for Lil' Kim. Rivera's mother reported her missing Tuesday.

Police went to the club Wednesday to review security videotape. The club later reported that Rivera's body had been found in a utility shed on the roof. According to the official, a friend of Rivera's who was with her at the club Sunday, when the rapper's party was held, says she last saw Rivera being escorted out the door. It was unclear why she was kicked out and how she ended up back inside.

A second police official also said on condition of anonymity Thursday that investigators believe the woman died from a blow to the head and that they were "near an arrest" in the case. She visited the club during a party for rapper Lil' Kim. A distraught Ingrid Estrada said Rivera, a ticket agent at Kennedy Airport, was her only daughter whom she had raised alone. She described her as "my life, my happiness." Messages left at the club and its corporate offices were not immediately returned.

"When I was there, everything was cool," actress LisaRaye McCoy-Misick, a friend of Lil' Kim's and the wife of the premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, told The New York Times."

Lisa Raye, the First Lady of DOOM! Are these kind of pictures from the party suitable for a first lady? The Turks and Cocaine Island is already jinxed as the President is allegedly sexing Rosci from BET's 106 & Park and Nikki Blonksy and Bianca from ANTM all beat each other's parents up last week with Bianca's mom in the hospital severely injured by Blonsky's dad who is still locked up......all this from a fight over a seat in the airport depature lounge! CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHY LISA AND KIM HAVE THEIR EYES CLOSED? WHAT'S IN THE TEST TUBES?

PICTURES OF THE DAY: CANADA'S LEADING FEMALE RAPPER EYEZ WITH MOM JEANNIE AND DAD LUCIO VITALE MEETING WITH HIPHOSSIP KIDS CORRESPONDENT KJ.

Her dad is Italian, her mom Carribean and the mix goes deep down the roots. I spent yesterday afternoon and evening with the charismatic EYEZ. The "Untouchable" hitmaker and I had dinner at Il Lupo restaurant in Toronto which is owned by amazing chef/entrepreneur Lucio Vitale......her father and Manager. KJ even got to interview her for HipHossip Kids and hang with Luch in the savoury kitchen. What a great evening! Those giant pasta shells have filled me up for 24 hours Luch!!!!! LOL!

I will be working as EYEZ' Publicist and am currently developing new PR campaigns for her. Look out for her Caribana Float next month. Haven't seen "Untouchable" and "In da crib"? Check them out by visit www.eyezhiphop.com Luch's father and Eyez's Italian grandpa is in that "Untouchable" video playing member of the family at the roundtable meeting not wanting to accept her as the new BOSS of the family. GREAT TORONTO FAMILY!! Stay tuned for KJ's video coverage of his interview.

QUEEN LATIFAH HITS WEIGHTLOSS GOAL?

Once Rapper QUEEN LATIFAH has become U.S. diet firm Jenny Craig's latest success story after reaching her weightloss goal. The rapper and Chicago star signed up as a celebrity spokesperson for Jenny Craig in January (08), aiming to shed 10 per cent of her bodyweight. Latifah, 38, reveals she has hit that target, stating, "My intention was to lose five to 10 per cent of my bodyweight because it makes a difference with health related issues, and I achieved that goal in a couple of months." "I'm excited about this weightloss. My jeans are looser, I feel more energetic (and) people dig it. "They come up to me and say, `I'm glad you're talking about the health side of it.' People get that message, which is important too."

Dig what Latifah? Oh no gurl! That's freaking cellulite. Check out my arms standing near Akon in that MMVA slideshow above. It's a lot of cake and ice cream!

MC LYTE FIGHTS FOR FEMALE RAP GRAMMY! UNHAPPY WITH THE LEGAL SYSTEM PENALIZING FEMALE RAPPERS!

Rap veteran MC LYTE is spearheading a new campaign to help her peers pick up more Grammy Awards. The Cha Cha Cha hitmaker, who became the first female rapper to score a gold single, is using her position on the Grammy committee to reinstall a category for the ladies of hip-hop at the annual music Oscars. She says, "We have not had a female rap category at the Grammys since 2003, and I'm trying to get this thing reinstated for 2009. "I'm getting all of these sisters ready, whether they're signed or unsigned." You go girl!

MC LYTE fears the U.S. legal system is sexist when it comes to punishing the ladies of hip-hop - because they get a tougher deal than their male counterparts. The 1990s rap sensation admits she was horrified by the sentences handed down to Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim, while T.I. served a house arrest term on illegal weapons charges over Christmas (07) and R. Kelly's child pornography case took six years to get to court.

In a recent statement on her okaysister.blogspot.com website, MC Lyte wrote, "After allegedly purchasing firearms and such, T.I. gets to stay home in the comfort of his luxurious Atlanta home, while nearly every woman in the game that has been taken in for something has either done time or (they're) waiting on pins and needles to know the outcome of their cases." And now she's speaking out about the trend for jailing her peers. Hey guys, she HAS A POINT! I love TIP dearly but also that REMY MA sentence is controversial too to some fans.....

M.I.A. FUNDS AFRICAN SCHOOLS WITH MTV MONEY.

British singer/rapper M.I.A. is building two schools in Africa with the money she earned performing at the MTV Awards after party on Sunday (1Jun08). The star - real name Mathangi Arulpragasam - picked up a staggering $100,000 (£50,000) paycheque to sing at a starstudded bash to follow the California ceremony. And she revealed to guests what she plans to do with the cash.

M.I.A. said from the stage, "They're giving me $100,000. Not bad, eh? I'm going to use it to build schools in Liberia. It costs $52,000 (£26,000) to build a school for 1,000." The 30-year-old - who announced her engagement to singer Benjamin Brewer last week (27May08) - will be following in the footsteps of Madonna and Oprah Winfrey, who have both opened schools in the continent.

Rapper QUEEN LATIFAH LAUNCHES FRAGRANCE.

Rapper/actress QUEEN LATIFAH has become the latest celebrity to launch her own perfume. The star is set to release her fragrance next year (09). She says, "For me, beauty really does start on the inside. It's like a state of mind - a state of love, if you will. So, I see fragrance as just a natural expression of this state of love: Scent expresses a woman's confidence and sensuality. It's how she embraces her body, her mind and her strength." Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez have all launched their own fragrances.

Rapper Trina burning the charts!!!!!

Miami bred rapper Trina and Slip-N-Slide Records are celebrating the #1 debut of her fourth album Still Da Baddest, which is currently the top album on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Charts.