Pediatrician Chidimma Acholonu and entrepreneur Emmanuel Egolum stopped by to discuss the state of R&B, FN Meka, Nick Cannon’s latest baby announcement, Irv Gotti’s obsession with Ashanti, and so much more.
In a statement posted to Instagram yesterday, Tiffany Haddish expressed regret for participating in the “Through a Predator’s Eyes” skit that led to her and Aries Spears being sued.
The little boy featured in this skit — and his elder sister — accuse the comedians of grooming them in a lawsuit filed last week. The boy also accuses them of molestation. A lawyer for Haddish has called the suit an extortion attempt by the plaintiffs’ mother, Trizah Morris, who has been “trying to assert these bogus claims against Ms. Haddish for several years.”
Fifty-four years after his passing — and 24 years after the movie of about his life, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, was released — everything about Frankie Lymon seems iconic. However, he actually had a very brief run of commercial success. After he left The Teenagers, his popularity declined significantly.
By 1960, Lymon was now years removed from his days as a teenage star. That being said, he was still a heck of a performer. On August 13 of that year, he performed his cover of “Little Bitty Pretty One” at the Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show. Originally written and recorded by Bobby Day, the song was made famous by Thurston Harris, whose cover of a song was a top 10 hit in 1957.
If you’re like me, you’ve seen this live performance many times and probably assumed that the white girls the camera keeps panning to are mean-mugging because they’re racist. Yes, they are, but there’s more to it: For whatever reason, they thought Frankie Lymon was white. This hilarious fact makes this amazing performance that much more interesting, and serves as a reminder of just how challenging it was to be Black recording artist in the early days of the rock & roll era.
Nicki Minaj dropped a visual for “Super Freaky Girl” earlier today, and it’s the camp, extra pink affair you would expect. Check it out below.
A brother and sister — who have both chosen to remain anonymous — accuse Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears of grooming in a new lawsuit. They claim they met the comedians as children — through their mother, Trizah Morris, who was also a comedian.
The lawsuit says the comedians made them film sexually suggestive skits when the girl was 14 years old and the boy was seven, including one where the girl was taught to mimic fellatio. The boy also accuses both comedians of molestation.
According to TMZ, the lawsuit cites an incident where Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears made the then seven-year-old boy film a skit called “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes,” which was uploaded to Funny or Die.
In a statement, Tiffany Haddish’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler, said, “Plaintiff’s mother, Trizah Morris, has been trying to assert these bogus claims against Ms. Haddish for several years.” He adds, “Every attorney who has initially taken on her case — and there were several — ultimately dropped the matter once it became clear that the claims were meritless and Ms. Haddish would not be shaken down. Now, Ms. Morris has her adult daughter representing herself in this lawsuit. The two of them will together face the consequences of pursuing this frivolous action.”
In a statement to TMZ, Funny or Die said, “Funny Or Die found this video absolutely disgusting and would never produce such content. We were not involved with the conceptualization, development, funding, or production of this video. It was uploaded to the site as user-generated content and was removed in 2018 immediately after becoming aware of its existence.”
When she’s not being shady on Twitter, Diane Warren can write a hell of a song.
Ms. Warren wrote “The One I Gave My Heart To,” the fifth and final single from Aaliyah’s sophomore set, One in a Million. She sought out the then-17-year-old singer, reaching out to an exec at Atlantic Records to make the collaboration happen. Her intent was to showcase a side of Aaliyah that audiences were not used to seeing, and that she did.
“The One I Gave My Heart To” is a lavish, ‘90s-style power ballad, and its heartfelt lyrics are peak Diane Warren. Babyface was initially tapped to handle production, but he ended up having to abandon the project. He recruited Daryl Simmons and Guy Roche in his place.
The song was sharp departure from the R. Kelly productions of Aaliyah’s debut album, and the Missy Elliott and Timbaland productions of her sophomore album. We got to experience Aaliyah in her Whitney & Mariah bag, and she showed that she was a very capable vocalist even though she generally showed restraint.
Many describe “The One I Gave My Heart To” as Aaliyah’s finest vocal performance, but that isn’t quite true. However, it was the biggest hit from One in a Million, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Today marks 21 years since we lost Aaliyah, so in her honor, let us enjoy this spectacular song from a star we lost far too soon.
Raïssa Kengne, the woman who allegedly shot three people in Downtown Atlanta on Monday, made her first court appearance yesterday, where she was denied bond.
The 34-year-old allegedly killed her former boss, 41-year-old Wesley Freeman, and the manager of the building she lived in, 60-year-old Michael Shinners. A third person, 68-year-old Michael Horne, was injured, while a fourth person, Zamir Steed, was shot at but sustained no injuries.
In a LinkedIn post made just a week before the shooting, Kengne accused her former employer of fraud and claimed that she was being retaliated against. She also claimed that her computer was hacked and home was broken into. Another post on LinkedIn shows her reporting the break-in to the Atlanta Police Department and getting little help.
Kengne has been charged with two counts of felony murder, four counts of aggravated assault, four counts of possessing a gun during a felony, and one count of false imprisonment.
In October of 1994, TLC released “Creep” as the lead single from their sophomore album, CrazySexyCool. Written and produced by Dallas Austin, the song is as cool as it is scandalous, with lyrics that amount to a confessional from a woman who cheats back on her cheating. Because two can play.
“Creep” is said to be based on T-Boz’s experience with infidelity, and fittingly, she sings lead on the track. Left Eye is on record as being against the song’s message, and on the Untouchables Super Smooth Mix of the song, she provides a rap verse that is basically anti-creeping. Also, when the video for the song was being shot, she is said to have threatened to wear black tape over her mouth in protest. This dynamic in the group would result in a very public dispute years later.
(Side bar: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that “Creep” has quite a few official remixes that are really good — the Maxx Remix might be as good as the original.)
“Creep” would become TLC’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for four weeks. The song also won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
Tyson Beckford has been selling his looks for 30 years and I am a big-ass hater.
The legendary model plays Lizzo’s imaginary beau in the video for “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready),” the second single from her fourth LP, Special. Rapped first verse aside, Lizzo goes full pop on this track, which sounds like something from Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream era. The song will have you singing along on the first listen, and its video matches the mood perfectly. Click play.
We can officially add Megan Thee Stallion to the list of high-profile hip-hop and R&B acts dabbling in House and House-adjacent music. While her latest album, Traumazine, is generally a regular rap album, its latest single, “Her,” sounds like something right out of Azealia Banks’ catalog.
Megan Thee Stallion doesn’t seem like the kind of rapper who could ride a House beat properly, but with “Her,” she shows that she’s got got a bit more range than she gets credit for. Check it out below.