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The blue cheese steak sandwich that was depicted on the social networking site was accompanied by a caption that read:

RELATED: Jay-Z “Deeply Disappointed” By Rihanna, Chris Brown Reunion

In Rihanna’s interview with Seacrest, Rihanna said:

I reached out to him about doing ‘Birthday Cake’ because that’s the only person that really — it made sense to do the record. Just as a musician — despite everything else — that was going to be the person.

Making her case that her decision was a professional one, Rihanna continued:

I thought about rappers, and I’ve done that so many times, and the hottest R&B artist out right now is Chris Brown. So I wanted him on the track.

Hear the interview here:

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When the songs “Birthday Cake” and “Turn Up the Music” were made public late February, many were shocked by not just their reunion but by the actual lyrics of “Birthday Cake”:

[Rihanna]

Come and put your name on it, put your name on it

Come and put your name on it, your name

But you wanna put your name on it, put your name on it

Come and put your name on it

Baby baby uhh

It’s not even my birthday (my birthday)

But he wanna lick the icing off (the icing off)

I know you want it in the worst way (worst way)

Can’t wait to blow my candles out (candles out)

He want that cake cake cake cake….. (But you wanna put your name on it)

Ooh baby I like it

You so excited

Don’t try to hide it

I’ma make you my bitch

Cake, cake, cake, cake (But you wanna put your name on it)

I know you wanna bite this

It’s so enticing

Nothing else like this

I’ma make you my bitch

And it’s not even my birthday (my birthday)

But you wanna put your name on it

And it’s not even my birthday (my birthday, my birthday, my birthday)

And he trying to put his name on it

[Chris Brown]

Leggo

Girl, I wanna f— you right now (right now)

Been a long time, I’ve been missing your body

Let me, let me turn the lights down (lights down)

When I, when I go down it’s a private party

Ooh, it’s not even her birthday (her birthday)

But I wanna lick the icing off (the icing off)

Give it to her in the worst way (the worst way)

Can’t wait to blow her candles out

I want that cake, cake, cake

Ooh, baby, I like it

It’s so exciting

Don’t try to hide it

I’ma make you my bitch

[Rihanna]

Cake, cake, cake, cake (But you wanna put your name on it)

Ooh baby I like it

You so excited

Don’t try to hide it

I’ma make you my bitch

Cake, cake, cake, cake

[Chris Brown]

Doggy want that kitty

Give me a heart attack and throw it back, now watch me get it

Ain’t new to this but you the sh–

Damn girl you pretty

Blowing out your candles

Let me make a couple wishes

[Rihanna]

Remember how you did it?

Remember how you fit it?

If you still want to kiss it

Come, come, come and get it

Sweeter than a rice cake

Cake worth sippin’

Kill it, tip it

Cake, fill it

If you sexy and you know it

And you ain’t afraid to show it

Put a candle on my mother f—in’ back, baby, blow it

Love the way you do it, when you do it like that

Show up with them stacks

Screaming racks on my rack

Wrap it up, wrap it up

Boy, while I take this bow off

Talk that talk, yeah I know I’m such a showoff

Daddy, make a wish

Put this cake in your face

And it’s not even my birthday

[Chris Brown]

Ooh, it’s not even her birthday (her birthday)

But I wanna lick the icing off (the icing off)

Give it to her in the worst way (the worst way)

Can’t wait to blow her candles out

I want that cake cake, cake, cake (But you wanna put your name on it)

[Rihanna]

Ooh, baby, I like it

You so excited

Don’t try to hide it

I’ma make you my bitch

Cake, cake, cake, cake (But you wanna put your name on it)

I know you wanna bite this

It’s so enticing

Nothing else like this

I’ma make you my bitch

Cake, cake, cake, cake… (But you wanna put your name on it)

Reports came out that close friend and mentor Jay-Z was “deeply disappointed” with Rihanna’s decision.

In 2009, while the then-couple were on their way to the Grammy Awards, Brown unmercifully beat, choked, and threatened to kill Rihanna, after an argument. What’s worse, photos of an abused and sad Rihanna emerged, enraging Rihanna fans and women’s rights groups alike.

While it could be argued that Rihanna was trying to cash in on the celebrity of Brown, the fact that Rihanna is a top-selling worldwide star definitively weakens her argument. Many wonder if Rihanna and Brown’s coupledom will hurt her career as unforgiving fans continue to drift away from the star.

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Reportedly, a source close to the King of New York, says that even though it has been a few years since Brown and Rihanna broke up, Jay-Z will never forget the beating Brown inflicted upon Rihanna:

“Jay was absolutely disgusted by what Chris did to Rihanna. Jay doesn’t understand how a man could ever lay hands on a woman; it just goes against who he is and about. Chris is absolutely dead to Jay, he wants nothing to do with him ever. Now that Rihanna is hooking up with Chris and recording songs with him, Jay is deeply disappointed in her actions. He can’t fathom why Rihanna is doing the things she is doing. He understands the need for forgiveness, but he is adamant that Rihanna shouldn’t forget what Chris did to her. Jay wonders what kind of message this is sending to Rihanna’s young female fans. Rihanna knows how Jay feels about Chris, but she doesn’t care, she is going to do what she wants,” the source says.

If you haven’t heard Brown and Rihanna’s “Birthday Cake,” listen to or read the lyrics here:

[Rihanna]
Come and put your name on it, put your name on it
Come and put your name on it, your name
But you wanna put your name on it, put your name on it
Come and put your name on it
Baby baby uhh

It’s not even my birthday (my birthday)
But he wanna lick the icing off (the icing off)
I know you want it in the worst way (worst way)
Can’t wait to blow my candles out (candles out)

He want that cake cake cake cake….. (But you wanna put your name on it)
Ooh baby I like it

You so excited

Don’t try to hide it
I’ma make you my bitch

Cake, cake, cake, cake (But you wanna put your name on it)
I know you wanna bite this
It’s so enticing
Nothing else like this
I’ma make you my bitch

And it’s not even my birthday (my birthday)
But you wanna put your name on it
And it’s not even my birthday (my birthday, my birthday, my birthday)
And he trying to put his name on it

[Chris Brown]
Leggo
Girl, I wanna f— you right now (right now)
Been a long time, I’ve been missing your body
Let me, let me turn the lights down (lights down)
When I, when I go down it’s a private party
Ooh, it’s not even her birthday (her birthday)
But I wanna lick the icing off (the icing off)
Give it to her in the worst way (the worst way)
Can’t wait to blow her candles out

I want that cake, cake, cake
Ooh, baby, I like it
It’s so exciting
Don’t try to hide it
I’ma make you my bitch

[Rihanna]
Cake, cake, cake, cake (But you wanna put your name on it)
Ooh baby I like it
You so excited
Don’t try to hide it
I’ma make you my bitch
Cake, cake, cake, cake

[Chris Brown]
Doggy want that kitty
Give me a heart attack and throw it back, now watch me get it
Ain’t new to this but you the sh–
Damn girl you pretty
Blowing out your candles
Let me make a couple wishes

[Rihanna]
Remember how you did it?
Remember how you fit it?
If you still want to kiss it
Come, come, come and get it
Sweeter than a rice cake
Cake worth sippin’
Kill it, tip it
Cake, fill it

If you sexy and you know it
And you ain’t afraid to show it
Put a candle on my mother f—in’ back, baby, blow it
Love the way you do it, when you do it like that
Show up with them stacks
Screaming racks on my rack
Wrap it up, wrap it up
Boy, while I take this bow off
Talk that talk, yeah I know I’m such a showoff
Daddy, make a wish
Put this cake in your face
And it’s not even my birthday

[Chris Brown]
Ooh, it’s not even her birthday (her birthday)
But I wanna lick the icing off (the icing off)
Give it to her in the worst way (the worst way)
Can’t wait to blow her candles out
I want that cake cake, cake, cake (But you wanna put your name on it)

[Rihanna]
Ooh, baby, I like it
You so excited
Don’t try to hide it
I’ma make you my bitch
Cake, cake, cake, cake (But you wanna put your name on it)

I know you wanna bite this
It’s so enticing
Nothing else like this
I’ma make you my bitch
Cake, cake, cake, cake… (But you wanna put your name on it)

Jay-Z isn’t alone in his alleged “disappointment” with Rihanna. Since the tracks dropped on Monday, there has been an outpouring of outrage. According to ABCNews, former fans protested the duets over Twitter:

“Deleted Rihanna off my iPod. Not being associated with that imbecile in any capacity,” one Twitter user wrote.

“Ladies, don’t be like Rihanna… if a man beats you stay away, call the cops, get help. Don’t let him remix your face or your song,” another wrote.

“Rihanna owes better to her millions of female fans than to sing/dance on stage with a man who put her in hospital,” said another.

According to Radar’s source, Jay-Z’s new status as a father to daughter Blue Ivy, further underscores how inappropriate and damaging a Rihanna and Chris Brown reunion could be:

“He is even more protective of the women in his life. Jay has told Rihanna he will never give his blessing for what she is doing with Chris. He has told her, this isn’t going to end well, it never does. In Jay’s opinion, Chris has rage issues that he doesn’t think have been dealt with,” the insider says.

Whether you are a lover or a hater of Chris Brown, his recent antics of snatching a cell phone from a fan and blacking out after a Good Morning America interview last year, when he ripped off his shirt and threw a chair, suggests that Brown’s temper still remains out of check.

Rihanna, you have been warned.

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TMZ, which acquired the photo of him “leaving the club,” reports that the woman, Christal Spann, took a photo of Brown in his Bentley.

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He was at Cameo, South Beach club, when the incident took place. He reportedly told the fan that she would not post his picture “on no website,” according to Miami Beach Police.

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Here is more on this story:

Brown’s eager fan, a 24-year-old Miami woman, told police that she was inside Cameo during the wee hours Sunday when she saw Brown, 22, and fellow artist Tyga leaving the nightclub at 1445 Washington Ave. through a side door.

The woman, Christal Spann, and her friends followed Brown and rapper Tyga outside, where she saw him get into his black Bentley, according to a Miami Beach Police report. Spann approached Brown and took a photo with her $500 white iPhone 4S while he was sitting in his car.

Then the surly hip-hop star reached through the window, took her cell phone from her hands, and said, “B**** you ain’t going to put that on no website,” Spann told police.

It seems like Brown stays in the news for all of the wrong reasons.

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Though Brown and Rihanna are collaborating on songs now and are reportedly spending more time together, the court of public opinion doesn’t seem quite ready to forgive him just yet. And, from all indicators, forgiveness appears to the farthest thing from people’s minds when thinking of Brown. Is it that people are being too hard on him or are critics justified in their belief that he has not truly changed?

Take, for example, a report from the New York Daily News where several domestic violence experts said there are things that Rihanna must look out for if she wants to reunite with him:

Experts cautioned that Rihanna, 24, should look for warning signs — if Brown, 22, becomes controlling, jealous or aggressive toward her, verbally or physically.

Rita Smith, executive director of National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said she didn’t believe Brown seemed that reformed, judging by his reaction to fan criticism and media scrutiny of his performance at the Grammys. Many people were unhappy about seeing a performer on the show who had a record of domestic violence.

After the show, Brown tweeted, “HATE ALL U WANT BECUZ I GOT A GRAMMY Now! That’s the ultimate F— OFF!”

“The response was fairly belligerent and didn’t really indicate that he had changed much in the several years since the assault,” Smith said.

Both Smith and Loy said they’re crossing their fingers that things work out differently for the celebrity couple — or not-couple.

“I think it’s possible they can be friends, and however they’re involved again, whether it’s as intimate partners or as good friends or as professional associates, I hope that he will continue to treat her with respect,” Smith said.

Do you think the experts have a point or should they and the everyone else stay out of he and Rihanna’s business? Check out the rest of the Daily News article for more on this topic.

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Brown was so paranoid about negative media attention that he made many of the guest sign confidentiality agreements saying they would not tell anyone he was there, TMZ says.

Here is more on the story:

Chris Brown was so paranoid about keeping his attendance at Rihanna‘s birthday party a big fat secret — he actually tried to FORCE partygoers to sign confidentiality agreements … TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us, Chris refused to enter the private party Monday night at the famous Hearst Mansion in Beverly Hills until everyone signed an NDA — sending his henchmen in beforehand to gather every partygoer’s signature.

We’re told although they didn’t get EVERYONE to sign — Chris eventually walked in … and spent a huge chunk of the night nuzzling up against Rihanna.

According to sources, the two got real intimate — sitting next to each other, talking, and holding hands … all perfectly legal ever since the restraining order was lifted.

What do you guys think? Did Chris Brown get too paranoid?

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Three years after Chris Brown‘s infamous altercation with his former flame Rihanna, he remains a controversial figure in the music world.

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Following his performance at the Grammys, some prominent entertainers like Miranda Lambert and Michelle Branch spoke out, criticizing the warm reception he received. Now Chris Brown is lashing back. Huffington Post reports:

Brown was front-and-center three times during Sunday’s Grammys. He won best R&B album for “F.A.M.E.,” he performed a single from his upcoming album, “Turn Up the Music,” and he opened a dance tribute to “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius.

The imagery of Brown’s Grammy glory was striking because it was, literally, a return to the scene of the crime. On the eve of the 2009 Grammys, Brown beat his then-girlfriend Rihanna, for which he later pled guilty to a charge of assault and was sentenced to five years of probation and six months of community labor.

Since then, Brown has worked to repair his image, undergone domestic violence counseling and rediscovered popularity with his hit album “F.A.M.E. (Forgiving All My Enemies).” Last year, his restraining order was eased. The former order required Brown to stay 50 yards away from 23-year-old Rihanna, but the restriction was reduced to 10 yards if they were at a music industry event. Rihanna also performed Sunday but the two never shared the stage.

On Sunday evening, Twitter was abuzz with questions of Brown’s significant role in the proceedings. Many critics argued against the Grammys’ decision to celebrate Brown and endorse his comeback.

New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones called Brown’s return “one of the Grammys’ weirdest choices ever,” and cited R&B singer Drake as the more deserving star in the genre to celebrate.

In an op-ed, Valerie Strauss for The Washington Post said that while people deserve second chances, “That doesn’t mean they deserve a chance to strut around the Grammy stage a few years after being convicted of felony assault.”

Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantic tweeted: “I don’t look for the Grammys for moral clarity, but, really? Do the words ‘felony assault’ mean anything at all?”

Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich defended the show’s backing of Brown on “CBS This Morning” on Monday. He said that he was “kind of rooting” for Brown.

“I just believe people deserve a second chance,” said Ehrlich. “The year he had this year, really brought him back into the public. He really deserved a second chance.”

Certainly, there are many fans of Brown — “Team Breezy,” as he calls them — and they, too, took to social media to defend Brown. But some of those tweets were also held up as examples of questionable taste.

The site Buzzfeed gathered 25 tweets from Brown fans with lines such as: “I don’t know why Rihanna complained. Chris Brown could beat me anytime he wanted to.”

The feminism blog Feministe cited such reaction as evidence that “we as a society have a lot more work to do” to educate on domestic violence.

Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, also questioned the message the Grammys were sending.

“If an awards show is going to highlight an artist, what an awesome message they could send if we got an update somehow about how that artist had changed in a positive way,” said Smith. “Otherwise, the message becomes wait for a period of time and go on with business as usual.”

Brown, who didn’t attend last year’s Grammys even though he was nominated for three awards, has sometimes portrayed himself as embattled. On Sunday, he tweeted, “Team breezy we have come (a long) way … No matter what anyone says … WE MADE IT!!”

In his acceptance speech and performances, he made no mention or gesture to his last, abbreviated trip to the Grammys. But he did tweet — and then delete — the message: “People who make mistakes and learn from them are ROLE MODELS too. I’m just happy to inspire growth and positivity.”

Rihanna also performed Sunday, singing her hit “We Found Love” and transitioning into a duet of “Princess of China” with Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Rihanna was nominated for four awards, including best album for her disc “Loud.” She shared in the wins for best rap/sung collaboration and best rap song for Kanye West’s “All of the Lights,” with Kid Cudi and Fergie.

But many performers watching at home questioned Brown’s involvement.

“Are Chris Brown’s mom and dad CBS and Grammy Brown?” sarcastically wondered Eric Stonestreet of “Modern Family.”

The singer Michelle Branch tweeted: “Trying not to go off on a rant but … Chris Brown … (bites tongue) have we forgiven him?”

“View” co-host Sherri Shepherd took a similar tact, writing, “Looks like all is forgiven (with) Chris Brown. That’s all I’ll say.”

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The Grammy Award-nominated performer did not attend the hearing, but his lawyer requested that his supervised probation be ended based on his exemplary behavior over the last two years.

Despite the lawyer’s plea, Superior Court Judge George Lomeli decided that although Brown is complying with his terms of his sentence, he should still continue to report to his probation officer, who is based in his hometown of Virginia.

Reportedly, Brown’s probation officer has been giving him high marks across the board and has commended him for being forthright, dependable, and passing all of the required drug testing.  The 22-year-old songwriter and actor even made an impressive comeback, winning favor among his fans with a chart-topping album release, “F.A.M.E.,” last year.

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Rihanna and Chris Brown are both scheduled to perform on the 54th annual Grammy Awards this Sunday.

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This will be the first time the pop stars attend the prestigious award ceremony together since Brown violently assaulted Rihanna three years ago today. Over the past few months there have been rumors that the pop stars have been secretly seeing each other, which might lead some people to ask, what if Rihanna and Chris Brown got back together? Would it kill their careers?

After the February 8, 2009 incident, Brown was charged with two felonies and sentenced to five years probation and six months of community service.

During an exclusive interview in November 2009 for 20/20 with Diane Sawyer, Rihanna was candid about her turbulent romance with Brown. “He was definitely my first big love,” she told Sawyer. “The more in love we became, the more dangerous we became for each other.The thing that men don’t realize, when they hit a woman, it’s…the face, the broken arm, the black eye, it’s going to heal. That’s not…the problem. It’s the scar inside.”

Go to theGrio for more on this story!

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At least that is what his manager is saying.

Breezy’s manager Tina Davis said he won’t be doing any interviews this year and will be focusing on his recording and performing instead, NecoleBitchie.com reports.

“We’re not trying to be rude, selfish or disrespectful in any way,” Davis said. “If people are going to judge anything, judge him for his talent.”

After his relationship with ex-girlfriend Rihanna ended with a public assault trial in 2009, and a “Good Morning America” interview that resulted in a number of smashed windows, the R&B star had a tough time overcoming his reputation as a hothead with a short fuse.

Do you think this is a good move? Can he keep his mouth shut that long without hurting his career? And doesn’t he need to learn how to express himself? Isn’t that what being a superstar is all about?

Read the rest of the story here.

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—–

This month, NewsOne presents a special exploration of Black Americans’ influence on social media, #TWEETING WHILE BLACK.

—–

Twitter has amassed more than 300 million users since its public launch in 2006, and a Pew Research Center survey shows that African Americans are more likely to Tweet than any other demographic. There is some speculation that this is because the median age among African Americans is currently skewing seven years younger than that of Whites — which can then be linked to smartphone usage and interest in the celebrities and media outlets (like BET’s 106 & Park), that rank among the most followed — but no conclusive study has been conducted.

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But there’s no doubt that Black Americans are among the most effective and powerful users of Twitter, and that their influence is far out of proportion to their share of population.

Here is NewsOne’s official list of the Top 10 Black Tweeters. Are you following them?

1. @BarackObama: 11,449,382 Followers)

The account is run by his #Obama2012 campaign staff with at least daily updates on Presidential happenings. Much less frequently, he’ll chime in (he signs these Tweets “-BO”): “This dinner is important because I’m only president thanks to the work of millions of Americans like the four I just met.” (He dined with a teacher, an entrepreneur, a postal worker, and an artist who all donated at least $3 to his campaign and won the “Dinner With Obama” contest.)

2. @rihanna: 10,428,259 Followers

Her Tweets range from a Happy Birthday @britneyspears to quoting Jay Z to self-promotional commentary on her own social gaffes like “Shooting another vid in Ireland today!No farm this time :( … Im shooting another #ARMANI campaign Spring/Summer!Try to sneek u a pic ;)”

3. @Oprah: 8,456,870 Followers

She’s surprisingly not new age-preachy on this Twitter account. Instead, the media mogul posts one word response to her followers (“hi”), smiley face icons, and the occasional update of what it’s like to be Oprah: “Just saw Hugh Jackman on Broadway. WOW was he awe inspiring. He BROUGHT IT. Sang it, danced it and THREW DOWN!”

4. @NICKIMINAJ: 7,560,448 Followers

Between her Pink Friday promotions and congratulations to @maryjblige for her new album, the platinum-selling artist spends most of her Tweets thanking her Barbz and acting in cyber-speak: “Thank u my loves. I couldn’t do this w/o you. I am overwhelmed. I’m in love w/u guys. How could one girl be this lucky? *holds u close*”

5. @chrisbrown: 6,011,182 Followers

He still has a considerable following after recently deleting most of his Tweets. Now, Young Brezzy’s account is sporadic, sparse words like: “ELEVATE MENTALITY” and “Live LIFE!”

6. @MariahCarey: 5,314,200 Followers

With her record-breaking 1993 release, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” still charting and recently being remixed by Justin Beiber, Mrs. Cannon is using her Twitter to count down the days ‘til 25th, and bubble about her new song with John Legend, “When Christmas Comes.” She also takes a moment to shout out her second cousin’s sweet sixteen, post a Twitpic of herself in the booth, and send a note to O.D.B.: “Happy birthday & RIP to the late great O.D.B! I miss you & love you. “Ol’ dirty bastard across the globe.” – Fantasy.. classic, forever. Xo”

7. @aliciakeys: 5,284,370 Followers

Besides the occasional personal Tweets to the likes of @traciellisross, she’s all business on her account promoting her Keep A Child Alive cause, the Broadway play “Sticky Fly” that she produced, and her job as a “light bearing mommy/artist/songwriter/musician…”: “‘You’ve got to dance like nobody’s watching and love like it is never going to hurt ~ Ann Wells’.”

8. @50Cent: 5,301,573 Followers

He goes in multiple times per day, and will sometimes drop insight like how amazing it was to see Goldie Hawn and @deepackchopra live, but in true 50 fashion is mostly about the marketing strategy: “Streetking is the movement I’m not reading or retweeting if I don’t see SK in your tweets I need your help hold me down” (referencing his energy drink partnership with the United Nation to feed the hungry).

9. @kanyewest: 5,251,094 Followers

Only a select group of Tweeters have millions of followers without following anyone at all (the Dalai Lama, Rev Run, and Lord Valdermort), and, of course, Kanye tops that list. But it’s not the arrogant, Ye-centricity that one may expect. He expresses gratitude with a thank you to HipHopDX.com for a “tasteful well written review,” Chicagoan camaraderie with a re-Tweet of Bears stats mid-game, and just genuine goodwill: “Support Michael J. Fox foundation & NIKE and the fight against Parkinson’s”

10. @SnoopDogg: 5,222,697 Followers

He’s got a narrowed-eye focus on #macanddevin via many daily Tweets. The only thing that’ll make him take a breather from his new joint album with Wiz Khalifa is news of his Snoop Youth Football League Superbowl game and his family: “Sunday n vegas syfl superbowl go hard or go home! Happy 2 b home. Cocori! N tae tae !! Love yall!!”

SEE THE ENTIRE #TWEETINGWHILEBLACK SERIES HERE

METHODOLOGY:

List derived from Twitaholic.com, data updated via Twitter.com

Now whatever you think of his music, Chris Brown beat his girlfriend to a pulp, he uses the N-Word, the C-Word, the S-Word, the F-Word, the most degrading misogynistic lyrics in some of his top songs like “Look At Me Now,” he trashed the ABC studio, yet he’s treated like royalty, the Pope, whatever the best analogy is on the Today show.

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We’re told Teyana allegedly flipped out — and punched the other woman in the face multiple times … sending the woman crashing to the floor … where Teyana proceeded to kick her in the stomach and head with her boots.

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Below is an open letter written by NewsOne contributor Kevin Powell to Chris Brown.

Dear Chris,

I really did not want to write this open letter, and would have preferred to speak to you in person, in private. Indeed, ever since the domestic violence incident with Rihanna two years ago there have been attempts, by some of the women currently or formerly in your circle, women who love and care deeply about you, to bring you and I together, as they felt my own life story, my own life experiences, might be of some help in your journey. For whatever reasons, that never happened. By pure coincidence, I wound up in a Harlem recording studio with you about three months ago, as I was meeting up with R&B singer Olivia and her manager. You were hosting a listening session for your album-in-progress and the room was filled with gushing supporters, with a very large security guard outside the studio door. I was allowed in, as I assume you knew my name, and my long relationship to the music industry. I greeted you and said I would love to have a talk with you, but I am not even sure you heard a single word I said above the loud music. I gave your security person my card when I left, asked him to ask you to phone me, but you never did, for whatever reasons. And that is fine.

But I have thought of you long and hard as I’ve watched you, from a distance, as you dealt with the charges of physical violence against your then-girlfriend Rihanna, as you were being pummeled by the media and abandoned by many fans, admirers, and endorsers, and ridiculed on the social networks. You were 19 when the altercation with Rihanna occurred, and you are only 21 now. Yes, you’ve achieved both international fame and success in a way most people your age, or any age, could never imagine. But you also are at a very serious crossroads because of the dishonor of your persona derived from your beating Rihanna. There is no way to get around this, Chris. You must deal with it, as a man, now and forever. For our past can both be a prison we are locked in permanently or it can be the key to our freedom if we glean the lessons from it, and deal with it directly. All the external pressures and forces will be there, Chris, but no one can free us but ourselves. And it must start in our minds and in our souls.

That is why I was very saddened to hear about your recent appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” to promote your new cd “F.A.M.E.” The interview was embarrassing, to say the least, you slouched through the entire episode, and you were so clearly defensive as Robin Roberts, the interviewer, threw you what I thought were very easy questions about the Rihanna saga. I get that you want to move past it. But that is not going to happen, Chris, until people see real humility, real redemption, and real changes in how you conduct yourself both publicly and privately. Whether the interview and what happened at ABC studios were a publicity stunt to push your album sales is not the point (as has been suggested in some online blogs). It has been spread across the internet, and throughout the world, that you ripped off your shirt following that interview, got in the face of one of the show’s producers in a threatening manner, and that somehow the window in your dressing room was smashed with a chair. And then there are the photos of you, shirtless, walking outside the ABC studios looking, well, pissed off, immediately after. Finally, you tweeted, somewhere in the midst of that morning, Chris, “I’m so over people bring this past s**t up!! Yet we praise Charlie Sheen and other celebs for [their] bullsh**t.”

Yes, that tweet was taken down very quickly, but not before it was spread near and far also, Chris. And it was a tweet written with raw honesty and, for sure, raw emotion. Very clear to me, as it is to so many of us watching your life unfold in public, that you are deeply wounded, that you are hurt by what you have experienced the past two years. That you’ve never actually healed from what you witnessed as a child, either, of your mother being beaten savagely by your stepfather, and how that must’ve made you feel, in your bones. You’ve said in interviews, long before the Rihanna incident happened, that it made you scared, timid, and that you wet the bed because of the wild, untamed emotions that swirled in your being. I am certain you felt powerless, just as powerless as I felt as a boy when my mother, who I love dearly and have forgiven these many years later, viciously beat me, physically and emotionally, in an effort to discipline me, to prepare me, a Black man-child, for what she, a rural South Carolina-born and bred working-class woman, perceived to be a crude and racist world.

But the fact is, Chris, we cannot afford to teach children, directly or indirectly, that violence and anger in any form are the solutions for our frustrations, disagreements, or pain, and not expect that violence and anger to penetrate the psyche of that child. To be with that child as he, you, me, and countless other American males in our nation, grow from boy to teenager to early adulthood. Ultimately it will come out in some channel, either inwardly on themselves in the manner of serious self-repression, self-loathing, and fear. Or outwardly in the shape of blind rage and violence, against themselves, against others, including women and girls.

You see, Chris, I know much about you because I was you in previous chapters of my life. I am presently in my 40s, a practitioner of yoga, and someone who has spent much of the past 20 years in therapy and counseling sessions. I shudder to think who I would be today had I not made a commitment to constant self-reflection and healing. Yes, like most human beings I do get angry at times, but it is in a very different kind of way, I think long and hard about my words and actions, and if I do make a mistake and offend someone in some way verbally or emotionally, I apologize as quickly as I can. And I am proud to say I have not been involved in a violent incident in many years, that I am about love, peace, and nonviolence now, and this is my path for the rest of my life. I am not willing to go backwards, nor am I going to permit anyone or any scenario to take me backwards, either.

But, Chris, it was not always like this for me. The hurt and pain I felt as a child led to arguments and fights in my grade and high schools: arguments with teachers and principals and physical fights with my classmates. This in spite of the fact I possessed, very early on, the same kind of talents you had coming up. Mine is writing and yours is music. And because we both had gifts that people recognized, the more problematic sides of our personas were often overlooked, or ignored completely. In reality, Chris, I attended four grade schools and three high schools partly because my single mother and I (I am an only child) were very poor, and forced to move a lot; and partly because of my behavioral issues at various schools. Many adults could not understand it because I was routinely a straight-A student breezing through everything from math and science to English.

Yet I was no different than countless American children terrorized by their environments, with no true outlets to understand, and heal, what we were experiencing. That is why, Chris, I eventually was kicked out of Rutgers University, why I got into arguments with my cast mates on the first season of MTV’s “The Real World,” and why I often had beef with my co-workers, as a twenty something hot shot writer at Quincy Jones’ Vibe magazine. And why I was eventually fired from Vibe, Chris, in spite of writing more cover stories than any other writer in the magazine’s history. There was always a darkness in my life, Chris, a heavy sadness, born of years of wounds piled one on top of the other. And I did not begin to grasp this until a fateful day in July 1991 when I pushed my girlfriend at the time into a bathroom door in the middle of an argument. As I have written in other spaces, Chris, when she ran from the apartment, barefoot, it was only then that I recognized the magnitude of what I had done. Just like you I had to deal with public embarrassment and court and a restraining order. But the big difference, Chris, is that a community of people, both women and men, saw potential in me, the boy struggling to be a man, in the early 1990s, and rather than shun me or push me aside or write me off completely, they instead opted to help me.

The first step was returning to therapy, as I had done briefly in 1988 after being suspended from Rutgers for threatening a female student. The next step was my struggling to take ownership for every aspect of my life, and not just that bathroom door incident. That meant, Chris, I had to go very far into my own soul, and return, time and again, to being that little boy who had been violated and abused, and meet him, on his terms. I assure you, Chris, it was extremely difficult to do that, and I put off many issues for months, even years, unwilling or unable to look myself in the mirror. Add to that the sudden celebrity of my life on MTV and at Vibe, and I found myself around many other people who were living escapist lives, who were not bothering to deal with their demons, either. That, Chris, is a recipe for disaster, for a life stuck in a state of arrested development. The worst thing we could ever do is only be in circles of people who are wallowing in their own miseries, too, yet covering it up with fame, money, material things, sex, drugs, alcohol, and an addiction to acting out because that is much easier than actually growing up.

As a matter of fact, as I watched your “Good Morning America” interview, and read the accounts of what happened after, I thought a good deal about the late Tupac Shakur, who I interviewed more than any other journalist when he was alive. Tupac was, Chris, without question, equally the most brilliant and the most frustrating interview subject I’d ever encountered. Brilliant because his abilities as an actor (imagine what he could have been had he lived) were towering, and his writing skills instantly connected him with the man-child in so many American males, especially those of us who grew up as he did, without a consistent and available father figure or mentor, and with some form of turmoil in our lives. But, Chris, I could see the writing on the wall from the very beginning, of Tupac’s downfall, because he willingly participated in it, encouraged it, openly advertised it every single time he rhymed about dying, or spoke about a short shelf life in one of his interviews. I do believe each and every one of us human beings is given a certain amount of time on this planet. I for one feel very blessed to be here as long as I have been, especially given my past destructive paths. But I also believe, Chris, that so many of us participate in what I call self-sabotage, or slow suicide. That is, because we do not have the emotional and spiritual tools to process the many angles of our lives, we instead resort to predictable behavior that may feel empowering or liberating on the surface, but is actually damaging to us, and doing even more harm to us.

For an instance when I looked at the photo of you, shirtless, with the shiny tattoos across your chest, I saw myself, I saw Tupac Shakur, I saw all us American Black boys who so badly want to be free, who so badly want to be understood, who feel life unfair for labeling us “angry,” “difficult,” “violent,” “abusive,” “criminals,” or “cocky” or “arrogant.” Yes, Chris Brown, in spite of Barack Obama being president of the United States, America still very much has a very serious problem with race and racism, which means it still has a very serious problem with Black males who act out or behave badly, who speak their minds, who assert themselves in some way or another. I know that is what you are reacting to, Chris. And you are not wrong in tweeting that Charlie Sheen is catching a break in a way that you are not. I am very clear that Charlie Sheen’s father is Latino and his mother is White. But Charlie Sheen operates in a space of White male privilege because of his White skin and his access to White power, and thus he is given a pass for his violent, abusive, mean-spirited, and drug-addicted outbursts in a way you or I never will, Chris. Charlie Sheen, as insane as it appears, is even celebrated in many circles because of how American male (read, White male) privilege can exist while ignoring the concerns of those he has harmed, including women. That is why, Chris, I rarely discuss in public the chapter of my life that is MTV’s “The Real World.” In spite of who I am as a whole human being, my numerous interests and skill sets, the one thing that was played up were the arguments I had with my White cast mates. So I was labeled, for years and years, Chris, as “the angry Black man,” something that troubled me as deeply as you were bothered on “Good Morning America” by the Rihanna questions. And how certain media folks, including Joy Behar on “The View,” must bother you calling you a “thug,” in spite of the obvious racial overtones of such a loaded word. If you are a thug, then what is Charlie Sheen, or Mel Gibson, or John Mayer, or Jude Law, or any other famous White male who has engaged in bad behavior the past few years? Why are they often forgiven, given a pass, allowed to clean themselves up and to redeem themselves in a way Black males simply cannot, Chris? It is because, to paraphrase Tupac, we were given this world, we did not make it. And it is because of power, Chris, plain and simple. Whoever has the power to put forth images and words, to put forth definitions, to determine what is right and what is wrong, can just as easily label you a star one day and a thug and a has-been the very next day. Or make you, a Black male, the poster child, for every single bad behavior that exists in America. Just ask Black males as diverse as Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson, or Kanye West. No apologies being made by me for these men or their actions, but the chatter, always, in Black male circles is how we are treated when we do wrong as opposed to how our White brothers are treated when they do wrong. Call it racial or cultural paranoia if you’d like. We Black brothers call it a ridiculously oppressive double standard. And that is because America has historically had a very complicated and twisted relationship with Black men, ranging from slavery to the first heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson to Malcolm X and Dr. King both, and including men like Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, Michael Jackson, Prince, and, yes, Barack Obama. Sometimes we feel incredible love and affection, and sometimes we feel as if we are unwanted, armed, and dangerous. It is a schizophrenic existence, to say the least, and it is akin to how the character Bigger Thomas, in Richard Wright’s classic but controversial novel “Native Son,” saw his life reduced to the metaphor of a cornered black rat. Thus so many of us spend our entire lives, as Black males, navigating this tricky terrain, so few of us with the proper emotional and spiritual tools to balance our coolness with a righteous defiance that, well, will not get us killed, literally and figuratively, by each other or the police, or by the American mass media culture.

I am telling you the truth, Chris Brown, man-to-man, Black man to Black man, because you need to hear it, straight up, no chaser. If you really believe that because you are famous and successful that the same rules apply to you, you are deceiving yourself. Like many, I love people, regardless of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, religion, any of that, and I believe deeply in the humanity and equality of us all. But until we have a nation, and a world, where the media places the same energy and excitement in documenting a Black man who is engaging in, say, mentoring work, as it does in a Black man smashing a window at a television station, then we are sadly fooling ourselves, Chris, that things are fair and equal in this universe. They are not. And sometimes it will be big things, like what you just experienced, Chris, at “Good Morning America,” and sometimes it will be quieter moments, far off the radar, where we Black men have to think on the fly about who we are, what we represent, how others perceive us or may want to perceive us, how we say things to people, particularly our White sisters and brothers, for fear or worry of being misunderstood and being pegged as “problematic” or a “troublemaker,” and magically navigate best we can to assert our humanity, our dignity, our leadership, our visions and ideas and dreams, and, yes, our definitions of manhood rooted in our very unique cultural journeys. Complete insanity, this emotional and spiritual juggling act, no question, and our harsh reality in this world, my friend.

So what you have to understand, Chris, and what I had to grapple with for years, is there is no escaping your past, especially if we engage in angry or violent behavior. If we do not confront it, probe and understand it, heal and learn from it, and use what we’ve learned to teach others to go a different way, then it dogs us forever, Chris, and we unwittingly become the entertainment, nonstop, for others. And that simply does not have to be the case for you, Chris. You are too much of a genius to allow this to destroy you, but your self-destruction is exactly what many of us are witnessing. I have no idea who is around you at this point, or what kind of men, specifically, are advising you, but the worst possible thing you could do is act as if what happened with Rihanna was no big deal. It was and is a major deal because women and girls, in America, and on this earth, are beaten, stabbed, shot, murdered, raped, molested, every single day. Because of your fame you have become, unfortunately, a poster child for this destructive behavior in spite of your proclaiming just a few years before, in a magazine interview, you would never do to a woman what had happened to your mother. What I gathered, very quickly, Chris, after I pushed that girlfriend back in 1991, was that I could not hide from my demons or myself. That is why I wrote an essay in Essence magazine in September 1992 entitled “The Sexist in Me.” That is why I made it a point to listen to women and girls in my travels, in my community, even within my family, tell stories of how they had been violated or abused by one man or another. And that is why, Chris, nearly twenty years later, so much of my work as a leader, as an activist, as a public speaker, is dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. In other words, I took what was a very negative and hurtful experience, for that girlfriend, and for myself, and transformed it into a life of teaching other males how to deal with their hurts without hurting others, particularly women and girls.

Tupac Shakur, Chris, never got to turn the corner, as you well know, because he was gunned down at age 25. I do not know if he actually raped or sexually assaulted the woman in that hotel room as he was charged. But one thing he did admit to me, Chris, in that famous Rikers Island interview, was that he could have stopped his male friends from coming into his hotel room and sexually exploiting his female companion that night. And he did not. You, Chris Brown, cannot turn back the hands of time to February 2009. We have seen the photos of Rihanna’s battered and bruised face. Yes, you’ve apologized, yes, you’ve done your time in court and your hours of community service, and yes, and you have been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion. But it is really up to you, Chris, to decide in these tense moments, as you approach your 22nd birthday on May 5th, if you want to be a boy forever locked in the time capsule of your own battered and bruised life, or if you want to be the man so many of us are rooting for you to be, one who will take responsibility for all his actions, who will sit up in interviews and answer all questions, even the uncomfortable ones. And the kind of man who will admit, once and for all, publicly, privately, however you must do it, that you need help, that you need love, that you need to love yourself in a very different kind of way, that you no longer will hide behind an album release, music videos, dyed hair, tattoos, or even your twitter account, Chris Brown. That you will make a life-long commitment to counseling, to therapy, to healing, to alternative definitions of manhood rooted in nonviolence, love, and peace, that you will become a loud and consistent voice against all forms of violence against women and girls, wherever you go, as I do, for the rest of your life. All eyes are on you because you’ve brought the world to your doorstep, my friend. The question alas, Chris, is do you want to go forward or not? And if yes to going forward, then you must know it means going to the deepest and darkest parts of your past to heal what ails you, once and for all, for the good of yourself, and for the good of those who are watching you very closely and who may learn something from what you do. Or what you do not do. The choice is yours, Chris Brown. The choice is yours—

Godspeed,
Kevin Powell

Kevin Powell is an activist, public speaker, and award-winning author or editor of 10 books, including Open Letters to America (essays) and No Sleep Till Brooklyn (poetry). Kevin lives in Brooklyn, New York. Email him at kevin@kevinpowell.net or follow him on Twitter @kevin_powell

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NEW YORK — After Chris Brown stormed out of the ABC studios, losing his shirt and breaking a window in the process, he was seen playing a pick-up basketball game at “The Cage,” New York’s famed West 4^th street courts.

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Daily News reports:

The volatile R&B singer hit the typically crowded West 4th street courts just hours after throwing a tantrum at ABC‘s studios following his interview with Robin Roberts, who asked him about his infamous attack on former girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.

Brown has been no stranger to bad press, and it appears as if this most recent attention-grabbing stunt may have cost him a performance on an episode of “Dancing With The Stars” next week.

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The R&B star exploded in a rage behind the scenes. The eruption was not caught on camera.

He joined co-anchor Robin Roberts for the interview as part of promotion of his brand new album, F.A.M.E..

During the interview, Roberts asked Brown about the 2009 beating incident. She mentioned the restraining order which was recently relaxed to which Brown responded: “I mean, it’s not really a big deal to me now, as far as that situation, and I think today’s the album day, that’s what I’m focused on.”

After his outburst, Brown went on to tweet:

Read more at HuffPo

Read The Whole Story

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New Rihanna Beating Photos Surface Online

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The pictures released a day after Brown’s restraining order was eased, show Rihanna with a swollen eye and a busted lip. Brown remains on probation until 2014 for the 2009 assault.

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MediaTakeOut.com is hearing reports of  a possible Chris Brown-Rihanna RECONCILIATION. In light of that, we’ve decided to release the images.

See more Rihanna pics in our gallery below:

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Read more at MediaTakeOut.com

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R&B singer Chris Brown, right, and his attorney Mark Geragos petition a Los Angeles judge to ease a restraining order in his felony assault case on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011, in Los Angeles. Brown doesn't have to stay away from Rihanna anymore after Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg downgraded a restraining order in the singer's felony assault case. (AP Photo/David McNew, Pool)

LOS ANGELES — Chris Brown doesn’t have to stay away from Rihanna anymore after a judge on Tuesday downgraded a restraining order in the singer’s felony assault case.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg’s ruling came after an attorney for Rihanna said she didn’t object to removing the stay-away provisions of an order issued after Brown pleaded guilty to beating her in February 2009. The old order required Brown to stay 50 yards (45 meters) away from Rihanna, but the restriction was reduced to 10 yards (nine meters) if they were at a music-industry event.

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The judge said she never would have considered relaxing the order without Rihanna’s consent and until Brown completed domestic violence counseling. Prosecutors did not object to the change.

Schnegg praised Brown, who was in the court Tuesday and left holding a one-page copy of the new order. She noted he continues to make progress on completing the physical labor requirements of his probation and said the R&B singer does not have to attend a June 22 progress report hearing.

The new order remains in effect until August 2014 when Brown’s probation is scheduled to end.

He and Rihanna, 23, can now see and speak to each other. But if Brown harasses, threatens, assaults, or tracks his ex-girlfriend’s movements, he could be found to be in violation of his probation.

Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Fenty, can record any threatening conversations with Brown and present them as evidence to authorities.

Her attorney, Donald Etra, said he thought the new order was adequate protection.

Brown, 21, was charged with felony assault for the February 2009 fight in which he repeatedly struck Rihanna in a rented car after they left a pre-Grammy Awards party. Both entertainers missed that year’s awards show, although both have had renewed success in their careers since the incident.

Both Brown and Rihanna were nominated for Grammys this year, and she performed during the glitzy awards ceremony. Brown did not attend the show, but performed on Saturday Night Live a day earlier.

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Singer Chris Brown arrives at the premiere of the documentary film, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)

LOS ANGELES — Chris Brown wants a judge to ease a restraining order barring him from being near ex-girlfriend Rihanna. The R&B singer is due to appear in court Tuesday to make the request and update a judge on his progress.

Brown remains on probation after pleading guilty to assaulting Rihanna in February 2009.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg has ordered Brown to stay 50 yards away from Rihanna, although the two can be 10 yards apart if they are attending a music industry event.

Rihanna’s attorney Donald Etra said his client supports removing the stay-away provisions in the order. He plans to attend the hearing and lay out Rihanna’s position.

Brown’s attorney Mark Geragos did not immediately respond to an e-mail message seeking comment.

Brown acknowledged beating his then-girlfriend in a rented car after leaving a pre-Grammy Awards party.

Since then, he has been required to perform physical labor in his home state of Virginia. He has completed domestic violence counseling and has received praise from Schnegg for complying with the terms of his sentence.

Brown and Rihanna were nominated for Grammys this year. Brown did not attend the ceremony earlier this month. Rihanna performed at the event.

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R&B singer Chris Brown appears for a progress report hearing in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting his pop star girlfriend Rihanna in Hancock Park after a pre-Grammy Awards party in 2009. He was sentenced to five years probation, ordered to complete 180 days of community labor and a year of domestic violence counseling. (AP Photo/David McNew, Pool)

LOS ANGELES — Chris Brown has completed a domestic violence counseling program required as part of the singer’s guilty plea to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna nearly two years ago.

On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg congratulated the 21-year-old R&B performer for finishing the yearlong program.

As a result of completing the required counseling, Brown will no longer have to appear in court every three months for progress report hearings.

Brown is serving five years of probation after pleading guilty last year to assaulting pop star Rihanna in a rented sports car after a pre-Grammy Awards party.

City News Service reports the judge said she would consider lifting the protective order against Brown at a later date. The order requires Brown to stay at least 100 yards (meters) away from Rihanna.

Brown quickly tweeted in response, “@razb2k, n — you want attention! Grow up n — !!! D — in da booty a– lil boy,” and followed up with several tweets taunting Thornton over his accusations that he was molested by his ex-manager and one of his former group mates.

Read more at CNN.com

Joyce Hawkins says she was ‘misunderstood’ after tweeting ‘Michael Jackson died so that Chris Brown could live!!!’

Chris Brown’s Mom: “MJ Died So Chris Brown Could Live!”

Like son, like mother. Just as impertinent social media posts have often tripped up Chris Brown, his mother, Joyce Hawkins, set off a 140-character tempest this week with some provocative comments she made about her famous offspring’s musical hero.

Text continues after Pictures of the week gallery:

It all began on Tuesday, when Hawkins tweeted the phrase “Michael Jackson died so that Chris Brown could live!!!” The comment about the June 2009 death of Jackson has since been taken down, but not before it elicited a raft of harsh comments for Breezy’s mom.

It was especially puzzling given the singer’s avowed love for the late King of Pop, which was on display at the BET Awards earlier this year when Brown had a breakdown while performing during a tribute to Jackson.

After apparently being inundated with flames for her tweet, Hawkins released a statement to USA Today on Thursday in which she explained, “I’m so sorry that the tweet I sent yesterday was misunderstood. What I meant to say is that Chris has always been inspired by Michael Jackson’s music and his career.” She later tweeted, “I’m sorry I offended anyone. The statement meant Chris would carry on Michaels [sic] legacy.”

Read entire article article at MTV.com

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If you’ve followed entertainment news for the past year or so, you’re familiar with controversy that has befallen the young singer, following is brutal post-2009 Grammys beating of then girlfriend and pop-star Rihanna. And, if you’re like me, you’ve grown sick of seeing his name, especially when it has been attached to half-baked apologies and poorly executed media appearances and interviews. But the young performer has seemingly put most of that behind him.

After releasing his third album, Graffiti, in December of last year and starring in this past weekend’s number one box-office hit, Takers, Brown is more focused on presenting his audience with artistic output than updates on his personal life. On Monday, Brown took to Twitter and said:

“#1 single in the country and the #1 movie in the country. life has turned around for me.i couldnt be more happier. thanks to the fans”

Aside from the false claim of having a number one single when his latest song “Deuces” featuring Tyga and Kevin McCall is actually #2 on the Billboard Hip-Hop and R&B charts, his statement greatly concerns me. He’s asserting that because of his professional success his life has somehow “turned round.”

Nearly a year and a half after he sent Rihanna to the hospital with bruises covering her face, he has yet to express any genuine remorse or desire to heal the wounds that were born of and caused this situation. There was never any talk of therapy or anger management classes, things that would help Brown cope with the history of abuse visited upon his mother at the hands of his stepfather. Rather, Brown spent time making “apology” videos, appearing at parties, speaking with Larry King, and presumably working on his album. Instead of taking time to work on himself he worked on his career.

Read more at TheGrio

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From Vibe.com:

In honor of the summer action thriller Takers—starring Idris Elba, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Michael Ealy, Chris Brown and Zoe Saldana and hits theaters Aug. 20—we thought we’d look back at some of the coolest bank robbery films the big screen has to offer. See where your faves fared and get ready to fire up those Netflix and Blockbuster queues to add a few of these titles to your list if haven’t seen them yet. 

Click here to read more

Click here to see our gallery of infamous drug lords

Infamous Drug Lords

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My Baby is Black: Movie Trailer

It’s around this time every year that I make my annual Smokey Fontaine joke, but being that this year Smokey donned a pencil-thin mustache and appeared onstage as El Debarge, I’ve decided to cut him some slack.

Nice try Smoke, but everybody knows that El Debarge died horribly in a do-rag factory explosion over 25 years ago.

If he hadn’t, it would be the perfect time for him, a la Maxwell, to make a BET Awards Show inspired comeback that would return him to the top of the charts and make grown folks music a premium again.

Wishful thinking, I know.

Latifah was a good host, wasn’t she? She poked fun at all of previous incarnations from both stage and screen and even had a little fun with the notion that she’s (hint, hint) a hint, hint—if you know what I mean.

I couldn’t understand a word from Drake or Eminem and wanted them both off the stage.

I’ve hated that song by Monica right up until the moment that she brought Denise Williams up onto the stage.

Now I love it.

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Is Alicia Keys pregnant or do none of her dresses fit?

What exactly is “Dirty Money” and why must anybody watch it televised?

Trey Songz’s mom is a good-looking woman and Nicki Minaj is a bona fide superstar—haters!

How does DJ Khaled keep getting the cream of Hip Hop’s crop to perform on his weird, self-aggrandizing songs?

I wanted to feel for Chris Brown, but the last time I witnessed somebody crying through a performance of any kind it was Oliver McCall as he got beat senseless by Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight title.

Somebody needs to tell John Legend that a true humanitarian wouldn’t force us listen to hour-long acceptance speeches.

I’m glad that Prince is Black. I’ve always suspected that he was, but now I’m sure.

All in all, it’s great (to me at least) that a network—which admittedly has its flaws—consistently outshines the Oscars, Grammys, MTV and everybody else when it comes to putting on award shows.

Outstanding job, BET.

Anybody beg to differ?

LONDON (AP) — Britain says U.S. singer Chris Brown has been denied entry into the United Kingdom, postponing his tour.

Brown had been scheduled to perform in London, Manchester, Birmingham and the Scottish city of Glasgow but the British government’s Home Office said he had been refused a visa because of his past criminal record.

Last year Brown was sentenced to five years’ probation and six months of community service for the beating of his then-girlfriend, R&B singing sensation Rihanna.

The Home Office said Brown applied for his visa last week and should have been notified of its refusal Monday.

Promoter SJM concerts said Tuesday that Brown’s tour had been postponed “due to unforeseen circumstances.”

RELATED STORIES

UPDATE: Chris Brown Deletes Twitter Account After Tantrum

Outrage As “Good Morning America” Books Chris Brown

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Santa Claus is coming to town tonight, so NewsOne decided to help him out by making a list (and checking it twice) tell him who’s been naughty and nice this year. So which newsmakers deserve gifts, and which have a lump of coal to look forward to? Check out the list below to find out.

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NAUGHTY

Chris Brown – He beat up Rihanna in February, and has since shown little remorse. Instead he’s been tweeting complaints about stores not carrying his album … because clearly Chris is the victim in all this.

Joe & Jermaine Jackson – Between Joe shilling DVDs on the BET Awards’ red carpet days after Michael’s death and Jermaine’s reality show preening and on-again, off-again “tribute concert,” these two were a case study in shamelessly reaping benefits from the death of a loved one.

Michael Steele – He just … keeps … talking.

Lil Mama – A picture is worth a thousand words:

Yeah.

Tiger Woods - Tiger was very naughty this year, at least 14 times over. Maybe a nice lump of coal will teach him to keep it in his pants.

NICE

Alicia Keys – Sure she may have sort of stolen someone’s husband, but she’s also been doing great work to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. So, we’ll let that whole Swizz Beatz thing slide.

Barack Obama – It was a bumpy first year, but he kept the country from sliding into a second Great Depression and has brought us closer than ever to real health care reform. Not bad.

Janet Jackson – Since her brother died this summer, Janet has not only gracefully dealt with the loss while in the public eye, but has stepped up to help care for Michael’s children. In short, she’s acted nothing like Joe or Jermaine.

Mo’Nique – Her Oscar-worthy performance in “Precious” was a welcome and much-needed reminder that fair-skinned waifs aren’t the only talented women in Hollywood.

T.I. – While he did serve time in prison this year, T.I. made strides toward redeeming himself before his sentence began by reaching out to troubled kids and trying to get them back on the right track.

It’s been a wild ride this year in news, full of amazing ups (like President Obama’s inauguration) and tragic downs (like Michael Jackson’s death). Through it all, NewsOne has been here keeping you up to date on what’s going on.

So what was the news that caught your attention this year? Check out our list below of the Top 10 Most Clicked Stories of 2009 to find out!

10. Man Charged With Throwing Baby Out Car Window

9. Malcolm X’s Grandson Breaks Silence

8. Top 5 FOX News Uncle Toms

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7. LisaRaye Testifies About Prime Minister Ex-Husband

6. Joe Jackson Confirms MJ’s Love Child

5. California Mayor Emails White House Watermelon Picture

4. 29-Year-Old Has 21 Kids With 11 Women

3. Seattle Police Beat 15-Year-Old Girl

2. Chris Brown Assaults Rihanna

And the number one most clicked story of the year was ……..

1. Top 10 Racist Rush Limbaugh Quotes - Thanks for the memories, Rush!

Check out more of NewsOne’s Best & Worst of 2009 and the Decade HERE.