MAKING ROOM

Hip-Hop Stars Increasingly Vocal About Supporting Gay Rights

By Jacob Wittich

WHILE THE SUPREME COURT WEIGHS THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE In a case that could potentially grant same-sex marriage to US citizens, hip-hop also faces a revolution when it comes to the topic of same-sex relations.

The latest to chime in on this movement is rapper A$AP Rocky, who — despite hip-hop’s history of homophobia — expressed support for the gay community in a recent interview with designer Alexander Wang for Interview.

“It’s 2013, and it’s a shame that, to this day, that topic still gets people all excited,” A$AP said. “It’s crazy. And it makes me upset that this topic even matters when it comes to hip-hop, because it makes it seem like everybody in hip-hop is small-minded or stupid — and that’s not the case. We’ve got people like Jay-Z. We’ve got people like Kanye. We’ve got people like me. We’re all prime examples of people who don’t think like that.”

QUEEN B**CH

Beyoncé Demands Us All To Bow Down

By Jacob Wittich

WHO RUNS THE WORLD? Beyoncé. Now bow down, b***hes.

The Bey Hive buzzed with excitement when the Queen Bey surprised the world by dropping a new song on her Tumblr yesterday.

Bow Down / I Been On features the same aggressive style fans are familiar with from her previous works like Diva and Run the World (Girls)” yet contains an urban element not always present in Beyoncé’s music.

Sings Bey: I took some time to live my life, but don’t think I’m just his little wife. Don’t get it twisted, get it twisted, this my sh-t, bow down, b***hes,” Beyoncé sings aggressively over the up-tempo high-pitched track.

CAN SECRETS BE BORING?

‘Secret Files’ Site Reveals Alleged Addresses, Credit Records of Celebrity High Fliers

By Elizabeth C.

BECAUSE I COVER THE NEWS IN BLOGGING FORMAT, it was my duty to check out the website linking to alleged personal information on a baker’s dozen of high-profile personalities.

The domain headlined “The Secret Files,” carried Russia’s “SU” suffix and showed a demonic child putting a finger to her lips. The tagline: “If you believe that God makes miracles, you have to wonder if Satan has a few up his sleeve.” An Illuminati reference perhaps?

The hacker’s hit list was a who’s who of the high profile: Beyonce, Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Donald Trump, Mel Gibson, Ashton Kutcher, Joe Biden, Robert Mueller, Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

SWAG HAS ITS LIMITS

And Now For Some Counterprogramming To the Justin Timberlake Onslaught: Chris Brown’s Don’t Judge Me

By Elizabeth C.

IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T FIGURED IT OUT YET, I’M GENETICALLY INCAPABLE OF BEING A SHEEPLE. Feel sorry for me because it makes life harder. But you gotta be who you are, right?

So I’m confessing here and now: Justin Timberlake makes my skin crawl, and particularly in his latest iteration of swag, Suit & Tie. As hard as he’s tries, there’s no soul, no real depth in this jazzy muzak which you just know you’re about to hear on every on-hold soundtrack in America. Even David Fincher’s decision to shoot the video in black and white seems contrived. It’s fitting that Target is sponsoring this mass-produced plastic. Justin Timberlake is an organic productpropagating itself.

A MELLIFLUOUS MELTING POT

Justin Timberlake: POTUS Of SWAGNATION

By Elizabeth C.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE WAS THE POTUS OF SWAG NATION at this year’s Grammys as the music award show served up a melting pot from red states and blue, and proving we’re all better for the mix.

The night’s common denominator: talent with heaps of attitude. And Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z’s swag may have outweighed talent in their albeit polished performance of Suit & Tie, followed by JT’s solo of Pusher Love Girl. Mrs. Carter, with help from Ellen Degeneres, introduced JT’s comeback performance with a command for the audience to rise. Then Jay-Z joined him onstage, and his constituents responded as though he was the hope they’d been waiting for.

EXPECT A SCORE

Credit: Instagram

Odds On Favorite To Win Super Bowl 2013: Beyonce

By Jacob Wittich

FOOTBALL FANS ACROSS AMERICA ARE READYING FOR the Baltimore Ravens to face off against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. But I’m calling it now: Beyonce will be the big winner of tomorrow’s game.

For the past two weeks Beyonce has been sharing peeks into her perfectionist rehearsals in photos posted on Instagram and elsewhere. The R&B star’s setlist was also leaked last week, and fans hypothesize the choreography in one photo is very similar to the hip-thrusting Single Ladies dance.

FROM DOWN ON HIGH

Is Breezy’s Career on Hova’s Hit List?

By Jacob Wittich

WHAT’S IT TO JAY-Z?

Media Takeout is reporting that the Hip-Hop impresario is the reason Frank Ocean wants to press charges against Chris Brown for throwing a punch at him Sunday night at an L.A. recording studio.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Justin Timberlake Drops Suit and Tie

By Jacob Wittich

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE CAN’T DO WELL? Singer, actor and all around Renaissance man JT dropped his new boppy song, Suit and Tie, late last night on his website and on Myspace. The song shot to No. 1 on iTunes for which JT thanked his fans on his website: “Just woke up and heard we’re #1 on Itunes! Wow… Speechless. Thank you, thank you, thank you! #SuitAndTie http://tmbr.lk/SuitAndTie.”

In one of his most low-key music releases in a while, Timberlake announced that he would be returning to his music career after a 6-year hiatus.

‘A SPADE A SPADE?’

OMFG! Wendy Williams Disses The Queen B

By Elizabeth C.

WE’RE THINKING JUST ABOUT NOW WENDY WILLIAMS IS BEEFING UP HER SECURITY and buying those Google glasses. She’ll need them to protect herself against the assailant who plans to make her pay for dissing the Queen B.

The irreverent talk show host stabbed hip hop’s reigning royalty Beyonce with her forked tongue last Thursday when she mocked the songtress’s voice on the trailer for her upcoming HBO hagio-documentary:

AND THE NOMINEES ARE…

Credit: The Recording Academy

Who’s In, Who’s Out, At The 55th Grammys

By Jacob Wittich

ECLECTIC IS THE NEW BLACK AT THIS YEAR’S GRAMMY NOMINATIONS. A diverse mix of ROCK, POP, R&B and Hip Hop stars snared nominations at the 55th Awards Nominations Concert held Wednesday in Nashville.

As usual, Kanye West lead in nominations with a total of six nods, sharing top billing with collaborator Jay Z, The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, and breakout stars fun. and Frank Ocean.