AMBITION BLISS

RESISTING CHANGE

2012-02-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

CHANGE REQUIRES A LEAP OF FAITH

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

2012-02-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

CAST SHARON LAWRENCE, DAVID OYELOWO, TROY CURVEY III, OMARI HARDWICH, PRODUCER HOWARD BARISH, WRITER/DIRECTOR AVA DUVERNAY, EMAYATZY E. CORINEALDI

DAVID OYELOWO LOVED THIS MAN IS RED TAILS

EMAYATZY E. CORINEALDI

OMARI HARDWICK

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE SHOWED AT THE SUNDANCE FESTIVAL TO RAVE REVIEWS. THE INDEPENDENT FILM FOLLOWS A WOMAN 9EMAYATZY E. CORINEALDI) WHO CHANGES WHO LIFE IN ORDER TO CONTEND WITH HER HUSBAND'S (OMARI HARDWICK) 8 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE.

BET HONORS

2012-02-10T12:51:00.001-08:00

WATCH BET HONORS ON MONDAY FEBRUARY 13TH

HEARTS TRUTH RED DRESS FASHION SHOW

2012-02-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

PHYLICIA RASHAD SAT FRONT ROW

CHAKA KHAN

LA LA ANTHONY

AISHA TAYLOR

CHAKA KHAN, LA LA ANTHONY, AISHA TYLER AND MORE WALKED THE RUNWAY AT THE HEARTS TURTH RED DRESS FASHION SHOW.

HAPPY CUPCAKE DAY

2012-02-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

THINK LIKE A MAN PREMIERE

2012-02-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

GABRIELLE UNION

TARAJI P. HENSON AND MOM

JENNIFER HUDSON

MEGAN GOODE

KEKE PALMER

SERENA WILLIAMS, KELLY ROWLAND AND MICHELLE WILLIAMS

KEVIN HEART AND GIRLFRIEND MODEL EMIKO

SHARON LEAL

REGINA HALL

MORRIS CHESTNUT

NAOMI CAMPBELL COVERS HARPERS BAZAAR

2012-02-10T12:32:00.000-08:00

I DON'T QUITE KNOW HOW OLD NAOMI CAMPBELL IS I'M GUESSING SHE IS ALMOST IN HER FORTIES. WHATEVER HER AGE SHE IS AGELESS.

Naomi Campbell still got it and it shows from looking at her photos in the March issue of Harper’s BAZAAR! She wears designers Givenchy,Dolce Gabbana,Roberto Cavalli and more. She never ages and looks so stunning! In her interview she talks about her temper,her latest ad campaign,beauty routine and more!

On her beauty routine, Campbell says she does steams, facials, and “everything I can to keep my skin elasticated.” As on plastic surgeries, she admits that these work “for those who do it for themselves and not to please someone else”. The stunning beauty also says she has no problem whatsoever with getting older. “I don’t worry about a number. I’m fine with aging,” she told Harper’s Bazaar

VALENTINE FLOWERS

2012-02-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

2012-02-10T12:22:00.001-08:00

BOKEH

2012-02-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

BOKEH (BO-CA) IS A DARLING CINNAMON COLORED BICH-POO A MIX BETWEEN A BICHON FRISE AND A POODLE. MAKES ME WANT TO GO OUT AND BUY ONE. BUT I HAVE TO FIND A STUFFED ANIMAL. SOOOO CUTE.

TOASTED COCONUT PANNA COTTA

2012-02-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

I DON'T QUITE KNOW WHAT PANNA COTTA IS BUT IT LOOKS DELICIOUS I'M WILLING TO TRY IT.

This panna cotta comes together in a manner of minutes and needs to chill for at least 4 hours, so it’s perfect to make the day before so you can focus on enjoying time with your special someone instead of slaving over a hot stove.

As an added benefit it’s dairy free and vegan. Coconut milk lends a creamy richness and amazing flavor and is perfect if you have any vegetarians to please. The recipe call for Agar agar, it is derived from a wild sea vegetable, is odorless and tasteless but can be used in any recipe that calls for gelatin. If you can’t find agar agar, gelatin will work equally well, it just won't be vegan. The pomegranates and lime add a nice tartness to the toasted coconut.

We should all celebrate every day we have with our loved ones, but it is nice to connect and reflect on what brings us together. Food is one of the best ways I know to show my family and friends that I care and I hope they enjoy eating as much as I enjoy cooking for them. If you are looking for some other sweet inspirations visit me at www.scalingbackblog.com!

Toasted coconut panna cotta

½ cup shaved coconut

1 can coconut milk (15 ounces)

¼ cup sugar

½ vanilla bean

1 teaspoon agar agar or 1½ teaspoons gelatin

2 tablespoons cold water

Pomegranate syrup

2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup pomegranate seeds

2 tablespoons water

½ vanilla bean

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds for serving

For the panna cotta:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake, stirring once or twice, until golden, about 5 to 10 minutes.

In a small bowl sprinkle the agar agar or gelatin over the water and stir. Set aside to

let the gelatin bloom.

In a small saucepan heat the coconut milk, sugar, toasted coconut and vanilla bean and bring to a boil. Whisk in the agar agar mixture and continue to boil for one minute. Strain the coconut milk into a mixing bowl.

Divide the coconut mixture evenly into three serving containers and refrigerate for 4 hours or until set.

To serve, spoon a tablespoon of the pomegranate syrup on top of the panna cotta and garnish with a few pomegranate seeds.

For the sauce:

Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and place in a small saucepan. Add the sugar, pomegranate seeds, and water to the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for five minutes until the syrup has taken on some color and coats the back of a spoon. Add the lime juice and set aside to cool.

LOVING VIOLA DAVIS' NATURAL LOOK

2012-02-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

ACTRESS VIOLA DAVIS HAS HAD US LOOKING AT HER THE WAY HOLLYWOOD SEES HER. NOW THE RECENT GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER WANTS US TO SEE THE REAL TRUE HER IN ALL HER NATURAL GLORY.

The nominations for film work keep coming, but for actor, producer, mentor and new mom Viola Davis, it all started with a love of the theater

Viola Davis is wearing a pair of slipper socks striped in DayGlo pink and purple. They whisper across the floor of her Granada Hills living room as she sings to her newly adopted 19-month-old daughter. Genesis has just woken from her nap, has milk on her face and is still cute enough to be on a baby-food jar. “Heeeeeey, Mama,” Davis coos.

In a voice barely over a whisper, she encourages little Genesis to dance. The baby sways in time to her mother’s singing, grinning widely. If this kid does decide to make her life in the Biz, she won’t be the first to count Davis as a career counselor.

“I have so many young people that come to the house I can’t even count,” Davis says. “They come to L.A. feeling lost. Some want to be actors, some don’t. They just want to be somebody.”

Those lucky souls could do far worse in the mentor department. Davis is one of the most electrifying actresses of her generation. Her 2010 role as Rose, opposite Denzel Washington, in the Broadway hit Fences burned up the boards with such intensity it earned Davis a Lead Actress Tony. As a conflicted mother in 2008’s Doubt, she built a character as nuanced as costar Meryl Streep’s prickly, compassionate nun. Streep had a whole movie to shine; Davis worked her magic in one eight-minute scene, and the performance earned her a Supporting Actress Oscar nom.

Doing more with less—that’s quintessential Davis. In The Help, Davis breathed three dimensions into circumspect housemaid Aibileen Clark, a role that required the actress to deadpan and repress her way through the Jim Crow–era South. It was an understated performance that has managed to garner as much awards-season buzz as your more gaily painted characters, à la Rooney and Michelle. The Hollywood Foreign Press and Screen Actors Guild honored her in The Help with best-performance nominations, and as we close this issue, Davis has just locked an Oscar nom. And it’s not hard to see why.

Rewatch the scene where Emma Stone says she wants her input about “what it’s like to work as a maid.” It takes less than two seconds—no words spoken, just eyes and shoulders—to see Aibileen’s day has just gone from bad to Mississippi awful. “She can rip your soul out with a look,” says costar Octavia Spencer.

Davis prefers characters like that: underrated, slow burners, still waters that run deep. “Human life is about a culmination of moments, and 99 percent of those are quiet but powerful,” she insists. “I am always interested and intrigued with watching that.” She likes to cite an acting tip credited to David Mamet: “If you’re looking at an actor onstage with a cat, who are you going to look at, the actor or the cat? The cat, because the cat is just being a cat.”

Indeed, Davis does make any scene look as easy as a tabby stretching in a sun patch. Her latest role is in the Tom Hanks starrer—and Best Picture nominee—Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which she took to work with actors Max von Sydow and Jeffrey Wright.

But Davis’ rise has not been an easy one. She “came from nothing, came from poverty”—one of six children of a horse groom and a maid raised in the hardscrabble town of Central Falls, Rhode Island. “I never had a phone,” she recalls. She once told Charlie Rose that her shoes “always had holes in them.” Central Falls is still so poor it recently filed for bankruptcy. Its struggling library received a $1,000 cash infusion in November. It came from Viola Davis.

Davis prefers characters like that: underrated, slow burners, still waters that run deep. “Human life is about a culmination of moments, and 99 percent of those are quiet but powerful,” she insists.
Despite that background, or because of it, Davis nursed her acting ambitions early and often. “Even back when I was 11, I knew that Isabel Sanford from The Jeffersons came from the stage,” Davis says. “I never watched the Oscars, but I watched the Tonys every year. I wanted to be onstage. I wanted to be like Colleen Dewhurst or Jane Alexander—one of those great ladies of the theater, doing Ibsen and Shakespeare.”

As a teen, Davis got her own mentor. At a drama festival, she caught the attention of Bernard Masterson, then the director of the theater program at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island. He called Davis’ high school and awarded her a scholarship. She eventually landed at the famed Juilliard School, where she studied for four years.

Over the next two decades, Davis wowed Broadway and impressed big-name film directors. Steven Soderbergh cast her in Out of Sight and has worked with her two times since then. She won her first Tony in 2001, for her work in King Hedley II as a mother fighting for her own abortion rights. But superstar status never materialized. For an actress, a complex, meaty role is like a ladder—you use it to climb up the Hollywood ranks and get yourself A-listed.

But early on for Davis, those opportunities were few. “That really is our plight, especially as women of color,” she says. “You can have all the training in the world, come from a respectable background and yet never get that big opportunity that breaks you out—never.”

Instead she found herself appearing in prime-time procedurals. With a docket full of credits on NYPD Blue, CSI, Law & Order (Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit), The Practice, The Division ad infinitum, she could likely cite criminal law like a beat cop.

“You can be in the business for 23 years, which I have been, and suddenly something happens that wakes people up. For me, that was being in a movie with Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman,” Davis says of Doubt. “It makes people realize you’re there. Otherwise you’re that black girl who had a guest or costar role in a TV show here or there.”

It’s not that Davis isn’t grateful. “I don’t feel bitterness,” she insists. But even as a second Oscar campaign awaits for her part in The Help, Davis is not afraid to point out the weaknesses in her industry. Her next target isn’t another lead role. It’s producing, a task she feels she must undertake if she and other black actresses are to get more fulfilling work. Young people need to be mentored to aspire to something fulfilling.

“I am doing this out of necessity,” she says. “If I am not the instrument of change, I can meander through this business and be the black woman who always has two or three scenes but with fabulous actors around me.”

To that end, she has optioned The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, a sweeping novel about an African-American woman struggling to farm the Badlands in 1917. She is developing a new picture—a thriller with Spencer as a coproducer—but is always on the lookout. “I have a stack of books in mind,” she says.

It includes a bit of everything—historical dramas, which Davis loves, but also just plain, good literature. “There are great characters in history whose stories need to be told,” she says. “But also, look at this year’s line-up: Melancholia, Young Adult...Someone just had imagination, put pen to paper and created a [whole] human being. That is what I hope for myself...for a number of black actresses.”

Davis insists she’ll still make the time for aspiring actors who need her encouragement. But as a new producer, she realizes she herself may need a fresh benefactor or two. “We’ll see,” she says with a smile. “I’m hoping there are enough people out there who will have my back.”

by LESLIE GORNSTEIN /

MY HAPPY PLACE

2012-02-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

THIS HAS BEEN ON MY MIND A LOT LATELY.

THIS AMAZING COUPLE GOT MARRIED AND HUNG OUT IN TIMES SQUARE FOR PICTURES WHEN I VISITED NYC

FIRST LADY MY SHERO

I WOULD SIT IN THIS CHAIR ALL DAY AND NOT MOVE

I'M A PROUD OWNER OF THESE GLOVES THAT CAME WITH THE MICHEAL JACKSON WII GAME. NOT A REQUIREMENT TO WEAR TO PLAY BUT I DO JUST FOR FUN.

GOOD BOOKS

THIS BEAUTIFUL BABY ON THE BEACH

CONGRATULATIONS TO VIOLA DAVIS AND OCTAVIA SPENCER

2012-02-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

THE 18TH ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS.CONGRATULATIONS TO VIOLA DAVIS FOR HER WIN FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE AND TO OCTAVIA SPENCER FOR HER OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE AND TO THE CAST OF THE HELP WHO ALSO WON BEST CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE.

PURPLE POWER

2012-02-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

BELEIVE THE PEACE

2012-02-03T12:37:00.001-08:00

OPRAH'S ACADEMY GRADUATES

2012-02-03T12:34:00.000-08:00

Saturday 14 January 2012, Henley-on-Klip, South Africa — Television icon and business leader Oprah Winfrey celebrated the first graduating class of The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa today. One hundred percent of the graduates have been accepted to college or university, including top schools in the United States and South Africa. More than a dozen have received full scholarships.

Winfrey arrived in South Africa earlier this week for the graduation ceremony at the school in Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg, to create what she described as a “final lasting moment” for the 72 girls who achieved a 100% pass rate in last year’s Senior National Certificate examinations and produced 188 matriculation distinctions between them.

“The pride that I feel today is overpowering,” Winfrey told her guests, who included the students, their parents and relatives. “I have been on a mission my whole life to be able to give back what I have been given. Today I am fulfilling that mission. This class will prove that when you invest in the leadership of girls, you invest in a nation.”

Winfrey also used the opportunity to thank Nelson Mandela, who served as an inspiration in establishing the academy. “I want to thank Nelson Mandela for his leadership and support to help make this school a reality. Although he is not present with us today, I know he shares with us the same sense of pride and accomplishment,” said Winfrey.

Winfrey concluded by noting how she has been enhanced as a person through her time spent with the girls. “They have grown. We have grown as a school. Today we offer the world new scholars, girls who now can face any challenge as they move on to the next chapter in their academic and life journey. The future leaders of South Africa. The future leaders of the world.”

Present at the ceremony was Nelson Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, who gave the keynote address and serves on the board of directors of the academy. A pioneer and leader on women’s issues in her own right, Machel, who has a post graduate scholarship for African women named in her honour to train women in areas of health and education, emphasized the importance of women’s leadership in ensuring Africa’s prosperity.

Also among the guests at the ceremony was South Africa’s Minister of Basic Education, Ms. Angie Motsekga.

Two of the girls were honored with special awards. Bongeka Zuma, from Nkwezela in Kwa Zulu Natal, achieved six distinctions. She is considering to study political sciences at Spelman University in United States of America and received the Dux award for academic excellence. The award is determined by the scores of the four compulsory subjects (English, First Additional Language, Mathematics and Life Orientation), and then adding the scores of the three remaining subjects.

Between grades 9 and 11, Zuma received academic honours and has been a top achiever in mathematics and IsiZulu. She notes one of her proudest achievements as growing from being a shy girl in Grade 8 to being elected deputy chair in Grade 12.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Award, voted for by peers and teachers, was given to Marwiya James. James scored distinctions in Afrikaans, Accounting, Life Orientation, Business Studies and Visual Arts. She now plans to return to her native province of the Western Cape, where she hails from Mitchell’s Plain, to study at the University of Cape Town to become a chartered accountant.

James, who describes her entrepreneur and community worker father as a role model, has been a recipient of service and leadership awards and was President of the Learner Representative Council during her time at the academy.

HAPPYCUPCAKE DAY

2012-02-03T12:21:00.001-08:00

OUT AND ABOUT

2012-02-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

KIMORA LEE SIMMONS AND KENZO, MING, AND AOKI.

ERIC BENET AND DAUGHTER EGYPT

HALLE BERRY RECENTLY BECAME THE NEW SPOKESPERSON FOR A SHOE COLLECTION CALLED 5TH AVE BY HALLE BERRY. SHE HELPED DESIGN 40 PAIRS OF SHOES WHICH HIT EUROPEAN STORES MARCH 5TH

CONNER CRUISE SON OF ACTOR TOM CRUISE TURNS 18 YEARS OLD.

CHANCE COMBS TURNS 5 WITH MOM SARAH CHAPMAN AND DAD DIDDY.

REGINA KING AND SON IAN KING

WILL, JADA AND JADEN SMITH

MARTIN HIS EX WIFE PATRICIA SOUTHALL AND CURRENT WIFE SHAMIKA GIBBS AND THIER RECPETIVE KIDS ARE PICTURED CELEBRATING HIS ELDEST DAUGHTER'S 16TH BIRTHDAY.

HOME OFFICE

2012-02-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

BEFORE

AFTER

VALENTINE GIFT IDEAS

2012-02-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

BEAUTIFUL SULTRY CLASSIC LOVE SONGS BY ETTA JAMES

FOOT MASSAGE GIVE A GIFT CERTIFICATE TO A SPA OR A PERSONAL MASSAGE FROM YOURS TRULY

A FLORAL ARRANGEMENT OF ROSES BY TELEFLORA DELIVERED

HEART SHAPED EARRINGS

SAFE HOUSE

2012-02-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

Safe House is an upcoming action thriller film directed by Daniel Espinosa, starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. It is set for release on February 10, 2012 in North America by Universal Pictures.[1] Filming took place in Cape Town, South Africa.

MUHAMMAD ALI TURNS 70 YEARS OLD.

2012-02-03T11:05:00.000-08:00

LAILA ALI AND DAUGHTER SYDNEY CELEBRATE MUHAMMAD ALI'S 70TH BIRTHDAY

SINGER ALICE SMITH COVERS CEE LO'S A FOOL FOR YOU

2012-02-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

ALICE SMITH DOES A VERY DECENT COVER OF CEE LO'S FOOL FOR YOU

cee lo's version

The NYC-bred singer/songwriter/producer, known for her 4-octave vocal range and stunning stage presence, made a name for herself with her critically-acclaimed 2006 debut album, For Lovers, Dreamers & Me, released on BBE Records. At the time, her artful blend of bluesy, soulful vocals and mid-tempo grooves garnered a passionate following that packed venues like NYC’s Mercury Lounge and Joe’s Pub, while Vibe Magazine gushed that her sound “evoke[s] Fiona Apple’s finest material.” Her single “Dream” was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Urban/Alternative category.

For a young performer who had until recently cut her teeth within the New York Afro-Punk scene—where she sang with Black Rock Coalition and Tamar Kali, and collaborated with Zero 7’s Sia Furler and Imani Coppola—the spotlight attention was a surprise. The glow dimmed rather quickly, however, when it came time to record her sophomore album.

She signed to Epic Records after a bidding war and re-released For Lovers in 2007. The next four years were dedicated to writing and recording new material. Meanwhile, the label went through numerous, well-documented changes to its executive staff. For an artist who had always been self-reliant, Alice suddenly found herself at an impasse. Though she was producing new material at a steady clip, it was being held back by the inner workings of her label.

The new collection reveals the same passions of the “country at heart” singer, raised between Washington DC and Augusta, Georgia. Surrounded by everything from go-go, to gospel, to pop, she crafted her own stories blending elements from her favorite genres. By the time Lovers debuted in ’06, Alice was known for a unique approach to soul, tempered by a heady dose of rock and her own personal take on matters of the heart. It’s the same appeal that she brings to her new material.

FIGHT

2012-02-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

KERRY WASHINGTON COVERS ESSENCE MAGAZINE

2012-02-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

Essence magazine has hailed actress Kerry Washington one of the five women who will be honored at its 2012 “Black Woman in Hollywood” luncheon (February 23) and the actress covers the magazine’s March 2012 issue as a part of the honor.

Washington poses in a white gown with a confident stance and smug smile and told the magazine that the tide is turning for Black woman in Tinsletown.

“I think it’s a really special time to be a woman of color in this business. The landscape of who has the power is changing," she said. "We are in more influential positions and are able to have a say in the stories that are told. I feel very lucky to be in the business now.…”

The 35-year-old beauty will star in Shonda Rhimes's upcoming drama Scandal this spring, becoming the first Black actress to lead a drama based on a real-life Black woman, crisis manager consultant Judy Smith. Last month director Ava DuVernay (I Will Follow) also broke barriers and became the first Black woman to win "Best Director" at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and Dee Reese’s Pariah, starring newcomer Adepero Oduye, and was a sensation among the indie award trail in 2011.

Still, for all the progress and accolades among Black women in the film industry (and for some new faces for once), Oscar-nominee Viola Davis (The Help) has noted in acceptance speeches and other Awards season press that there is still a lack of different Black story lines on the big screen. She urged filmmakers to consider Black stories and consider Black actresses, in particular, for roles, even for characters who's descriptions don't specify race. "You don't always love what you do, but what keeps me in the business is hope," Davis said while being honored at Elle magazine's Women in Hollywood lunch. "Hope that women of color are also a part of the narrative. That our stories are just as potent because we also have the power of transformation. We also have the power to be quirky and sexy and different, funny, heartfelt, all of those things. I consider it a larger purpose in life that keeps me in the business."

Scandal premieres April 5, 10 P.M. ET on ABC.

BET HONORS

2012-01-17T14:53:00.000-08:00

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA HOLDING MOROCCAN, MARIAH CAREY AND NICK CANNON

NICK CANNON AND SON

TERRENCE HOWARD AND DAUGHTER AUBREY

ARETHA FRANKLIN

THE BET HONORS WAS RECENTLY FILMED IN WASHINGTON DC AT THE WARNER THEATER ON FRIDAY JANUARY 13. THE SHOW WILL AIR IN FEBRUARY SO LOOK FOR MORE PICTURES.

GOING GREEN

2012-01-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

KALE, SPINACH AND PEAR SMOOTHIE

CARAMELIZED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

RASBERRY AND SPINACH SALAD

GREEN BEAN WITH WHOLE GRAIN MUSTARD AND HONEY VINAIGRETTE

AVOCADO AND EDAMAME SALAD

IN ORDER TO LOSE SOME EXCESS WEIGHT THAT I HAVE. I HAVE DECIDED TO BECOME MORE GREEN.

MY MUSE - SOLANGE

2012-01-17T14:38:00.000-08:00

SOLANGE KNOWLES HAS RECENTLY SIGNED ON TO NEXT MODELS. THE 25 YEAR OLD IF FEATURED IN V MAGAZINE FEARLESS MAGAZINE COVERAGE.

I LOVE THIS GIRLS STYLE AND HAIR

Solange Knowles doesn’t mince words. “There are a lot of songs about sex,” she says of her new album, a personal project she funded and managed herself. “It’s the kind of record you put on when your man is coming over, when you’re with your girls. There are songs that make you wanna dance because we were kind of partying our way through the record, but it’s very chill.” Knowles worked with a few new friends on the album, forgoing the major label route to make a statement that is entirely her own. Along the way, she found a fated collaborator in Blood Orange’s Devonte “Dev” Hynes. “Dev was a complete surprise, his role changed substantially throughout the process,” she says of the rising star, who wound up producing most of the record. “It’s very rare that you work with someone with whom you have this creative chemistry, it’s almost like a relationship. You have a sort of musical love affair.”

Working with Hynes, Vincent Vendetta of the Midnight Juggernauts, Ariel Reichstadt, and polishing things up with Pharrell, Knowles aims for a pop-soul sound that’s equal parts progressive and throwback. “My references for the record were all Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, not just their typical Janet and Prince stuff, but SOS Band and their b-sides with Chaka Khan. At first the songs were really dark because I had a premonition before the record that I was going to die. I was having panic attacks and wiling out.” Once the team realized a house they had rented in Santa Barbara to record in had a bad vibe—to put it bluntly—they relocated to L.A. and saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

“I have never been invested in believing anything about hauntings,” Knowles says nervously, “so of course I was thinking it was something within myself because I am in complete denial of ghosts. But I think it was haunted!”

Despite the album’s intimate overtones, the blissfully in-love mother manages to address the downside of domesticity. “Now being in a stable situation, sometimes that feels fucked up within itself,” Solange says. “I’ve been on the road my entire life since I was 13, even when I had my son he came on the road with me. Now that he’s in school where there is a real structure, we have to be home during those times. Being that grounded feels really foreign to me.” Writing, recording, and putting the record out herself has helped her maintain a lot of independence. “I don’t need anyone telling me ‘this isn’t cool enough’ or anyone from the opposite end saying ‘this seems kind of weird.’ I’m lucky enough to have been in this business for so long that I know how it works. It’s not that hard. It’s not rocket science.”

RED TAILS PREMIERE

2012-01-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

DIRECTOR ANTHONY HEMINGWAY

TERRENCE HOWARD

MICHEAL B. JORDAN

METHOD MAN

ORIGINAL RED TAILS

TRISTIN WILDS

TERRENCE HOWARD AND FAMILY

SPIKE LEE AND WIFE TANYA LEWIS LEE

CUBA GOODING JR.

NE-YO

TIA MOWRY-HARDRICT

OCEAN BREEZES

2012-01-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

THIS BEACH HOME WAS DESIGNED BY TMS ARCHITECTS. IT IS LOCATED IN THE HAMPTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE OVERLOOKING THE ATLANTIC. THE RESIDENCE IS NAMED OCEAN BREEZES.

CONGRATS TO IDRIS ELBA

2012-01-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

HELEN MIRREN, MORGAN FREEMAN AND HIS GOLDEN GLOBE AND SIDNEY POITIER

CONGRATS TO IDRIS ELBA FOR WINNING A GOLDEN GLOBE FOR LUTHER

CONGRATS TO OCTAVIA SPENCER FOR THE HELP

DIDDY

MARY J. BLIGE

VIOLA DAVIS

VIOLA DAVIS LOST OUT TO MERYL STREEP
PAULA PATTON

CHRIS TUCKER

HENNESSY PRESENTS BET HONORS AFTER PARTY

2012-01-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

JILL SCOTT

ANTHONY HAMILTON

DJ NICE AND JEFF JOHNSON

INDIA ARIE AND COMMON

RAEKWON, COMMON AND JILL SCOTT

TARAJI P. HENSON COVERS UPSCALE MAGAZINE

2012-01-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

Taraji P. Henson has been busy acting and being a mother to her son. The 41-year-old actress is on the cover of Upscale magazine’s February 2012 issue. When it came to answering questions about motherhood, how she plans to overcome obstacles in entertainment and how she called out TV Guide for not including her on their cover, Henson pretty much kept it real:
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A MOTHER:
“This Hollywood thing? It’s my job. That’s it. I love it and I worked hard for it. But it by no means defines who I am. When I go home, my family and friends say, ‘I liked your movie. Now can you go was your dishes please?”
ON PLAYING A BAD GIRL IN ‘THINK LIKE A MAN’:
“You’ve never seen me play this girl. She’s a bitch. And she’s the pretty girl in the film. I wanted this role so bad. I told the casting folks,’if you don’t let me get that role, I don’t need to be in this movie at all.’ They were thinking about casting a white girl for the role and I said, ‘No. I can’t do this.’ And then of course, when it’s time to start filming, I freaked out. I said, wait’ Maybe I should play the baby-momma instead….[LOL] I was scared because it’s so different than anything I’ve ever done.”

ON OVERCOMING OBSTACLES AND POLITICS OF HOLLYWOOD:
“Hollywood keeps trying to tell me that black women can’t open a film. I will absolutely prove them wrong before my career is done. I want to stretch my acting muscle and do something completely different. I’d love to play a man. Sounds weird, but I want to do something that make me work hard. Call me kooky, but I always want to go outside my comfort zone.”

ON WHAT SHE SAID ABOUT THE TV GUIDE COVER INCIDENT:
“I just stated a fact. And the people spoke. And then CBS pulled the whole cover. I get that all the time. Sometimes I admit I feel like, ‘Can I catch a break?’ That wasn’t the first time it’s happened and it won’t be the last. This was just one time I chose to speak on it.” [Source]

Clearly Taraji is not the one to mess with! You can find this new issue in the US on newsstands everywhere.

AMARYILLIS

2012-01-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

CELEBRATION CAKE

2012-01-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

DEAR GOD

2012-01-06T12:48:00.001-08:00

NEICY NASH AND FLAVOR FLAV FEATURED ON CELEBRITY WIFE SWAP

2012-01-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

Niecy Nash-Tucker and her family will be starring on episode four of ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap. The comedian will swap families with actress Tina Yothers. In addition to Celebrity Wife Swap, Niecy is taping a reality television show about her family. The Nash-Tucker family will welcome TLC fans into their home some time this year. Niecy is mother to 10-year-old Dia, 15-year-old Donielle, and 18-year-old Dominic.
Flavor Flav and his family-wife Liz, and sons Gibran,15, and Karma,4-will also be featured on Celebrity Wife Swap on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. The hype-man’s fiance Liz will swap with Dee Snider’s wife Suzette. According to News Day, “Dee, who is perhaps best known as the lead singer of ’80s sensation ‘Twisted Sister,’ and his wife of 22 years, Suzette, met in high school. They are very much the hands-on parents to Jess (29), Shane (22), Cody (21) and Cheyenne (14). When the quiet-loving Liz travels to Long Island to swap lives with Suzette, she almost loses her mind when Cheyenne’s post-hardcore band rehearses in the house.” Flavor Flav has seven kids in all.

TYRA BANKS COVERS I LOVE YOU MAGAZINE

2012-01-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

ESSENCE COVER

2012-01-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

Love is heating up for Miami's Big 3.

Chris Bosh recently married his girlfriend, LeBron James proposed to his longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson and now Dwyane Wade is gushing about his girlfriend Gabrielle Union to Essence Magazine.

Omg! Yahoo got the scoop on the attractive couple, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, gracing the February cover of Essence magazine.

Although James will join Bosh in the husband ranks, Wade and Union said they aren't in a rush to walk down the aisle again. Gabrielle Union was previously married to Jacksonville Jaguars running back Chris Howard while Dwyane Wade went through a nasty public custody battle for his two sons with ex-wife Siohvaughn Wade.

"We're not rushing it. Both of us have been married before, and we understand that if we choose to marry again, we want it to be right," Wade told Essence. "We both took failing at marriage hard. The next time it's gotta' be forever."

TAHJ MOWRY AND NEPHEW CREE

2012-01-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

TIA,TAHJ, TAMERA

TAHJ MOWRY LITTLE BROTHER TO TIA AND TAMERA ALSO KNOW FOR BEING ON THE TV SHOW SMART GUY PLAYS DOTING UNCLE TO HIS NEWPHEW CREE HARDRICT. MOM IS TIA FROM THE TV SHOW THE GAME.

HAPPY CUPCAKE DAY

2012-01-06T12:20:00.000-08:00

CYDNEY'S 2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY

2012-01-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

CYDNEY 2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY THEME SESAME STREET.

ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I WANT A PARTY LIKE THIS.

EBONY

2012-01-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

NATE PARKER, TERRENCE HOWARD, DAVID OYELOWO, CUBA GOODING JR.

NE-YO, METHOD MAN, TRISTIN WILDS, ELIJAH KELLY, MICHAEL B. JORDAN, LESLIE ODOM JR.
REDTAILS IS A INTEPRETATION OF THE STORY OF THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN DIRECTED BY GEORGE LUCAS (STAR WARS) THE FIRST AIRMEN AMERICAN PILOTS TO FLY IN COMBAT SQADRON DURING WORLD WAR II. MOVIE RELEASE DATE JANUARY 20, 2012.

THE GRASS ISN'T ALWAYS GREENER

2012-01-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

BLAIR UNDERWOOD'S MENSWEAR

2012-01-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

Blair Underwood has partnered with K & G for an exclusive suit collection for men called the BU Collection. The suits do look well tailored.

LAURYN HILLS DAUGHTER MODELS

2012-01-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

Rising star: Lauryn Hill's model daughter Selah Marley looks set to rival her mother in the world of showbiz with her striking looks

However, in an interview with Teen Vogue published earlier this year, Selah insists modelling was her idea: 'I was in a hotel with my dad, and I was just joking around and said, "Oh yeah daddy, I want to model." I don't know, the camera is just fun.'
She added: 'People tell me I have to follow in the footsteps of my mum and grandfather, but it's a lot of pressure - I can't really slip up and mess up the name.' Bob Marley is also Selah's grandfather.

FOUR AGREEMENTS

2012-01-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love

Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you wont be the victim of needless suffering.

Don't make assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With this one agreement you can completely transform your life.

Always do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best and you will avoid self judgement, self abuse and regret.

Every now and then I like to revisit 'The Four Agreements' (1997) by Don Miguel Ruiz. This book has helped me align myself accordingly and has taught me about living purposefully and stress free.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-12-30T14:19:00.000-08:00

HAPPINESS

2011-12-30T14:15:00.000-08:00

MY HAPPY PLACE

2011-12-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

I LOVE THIS DUVET COUCH IT REMINDS ME OF THE DUVET COVERS ON MY BED.

LOVING THIS FESTIVE FIREPLACE

WHERE I WANT TO BE

GETTING SOME REST

OUT AND ABOUT

2011-12-30T14:06:00.000-08:00

ITALIA AND SAMARIA DAUGHTERS OF LL COOL J.

ERIC BENET AND DAUGHTER INDIA

NAHLA DAUGHTER OF HALLE BERRY

JASMINE JORDAN DAUGHTER OF MICHAEL JORDAN

DON CHEADLE COVERS JET MAGAZINE

2011-12-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

HOUSE OF LIES STARS DON CHEADLE ON SHOWTIME

HAPPY CUPCAKE DAY

2011-12-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

AMP FIDDLER - DREAMING

2011-12-30T12:59:00.000-08:00

RESOLUTIONS AND GOALS

2011-12-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

EVERY YEAR I SET OUT TO ACHEIVE NEW GOALS. THIS YEAR I JUST PRAY FOR COMPLETION OF ALL THE THINGS THAT I SET OUT TO DO.

THINK LIKE A MAN

2011-12-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

Four friends conspire to turn the tables on their women when they discover the ladies have been using Steve Harvey's relationship advice against them.

SOLANGE KNOWLES SHARES SUMMER PICS

2011-12-30T09:50:00.000-08:00

This is why we love Solange. Leave it to one of our favorite style muses to turn her summer vacation photos into a gorgeous fashion spread. Her exact location is unknown, but she spent time in Paris and Morocco this summer, and she gushed over her friend’s Parisian wedding, so we’d guess she took these pics in the romantic city.

In the fun photos, she’s seen posing with her boyfriend, Alan Ferguson, a well known music-video director. Solo rocks a colorful turban with a beautiful, feather-patterned pink-and-white dress tucked under a bright tangerine blazer. She switches up her style in another shot with her son Julez, outfitting the turban with a pair of pink slacks and a gray shirt.

REFLEXOLOGY

2011-12-30T09:44:00.000-08:00

I LOVE REFLEXOLOGY ESPECIALLY FOOT RUBS. ONE EVENING I HAD THE WORST HEADACHE THAT I WAS TOSSING AND TURNING IN MY BED. I ASKED MY HUSBAND TO RUB MY FEET AND WITHIN MINUTES THE HEADACHE STOPPED. I HAD BEEN STRUGGLING WITH A HEADACHE FOR MOST OF THE DAY.

The most common form is foot reflexology. Practitioners believe the foot to be divided into a number of reflex zones corresponding to all parts of the body, and that applying pressure to tight or "gritty" areas of a person's foot will stimulate the corresponding body part and cause it to begin healing itself.

In reflexology, it is believed that there is a "vital energy" that is circulating between organs of the human body, that penetrates into every living cell. Whenever this energy is blocked, the zone of blockage will be affected, and the reflex zones can indicate the blockage of energy in different organs.

For the most of the part, the sensation is pleasant and soothing. Reflexology can help relax the client and is believed to stimulate the body's own healing mechanisms.

AUTUMN LEAVES

2011-12-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

TRUE LOVE

2011-12-30T09:23:00.000-08:00

FORMER NFLER CHRIS DRAFT LOSES HIS WIFE KEASHA RUTLEDGE TO CANCER 1 MONTH AFTER THIER NOVEMBER 27TH WEDDING. THE ANAHEIM NATIVE CHRIS DRAFT HAS PLAYED FOR 7 TEAMS WHICH BEGAN WITH THE CHICAGO BEARS IN 1998. HE LAST PLAYED FOR THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS IN 2010. CHRIS DEDICATES HIS LIFE GIVING BACK TO KIDS, FAMILIES, SERVICE PROJECTS AND HIS CHRIS DRAFT FAMILY FOUNDATION.

Keasha & Chris Draft Wedding Trailer from KRJ PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

WEDDING VIDEO

Keasha Draft Photo Montage from KRJ PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

PHOTO MONTAGE IN REMEMBERANCE

CAROL OF BELLS

2011-12-23T07:27:00.001-08:00

HAPPY CUPCAKE DAY

2011-12-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

2011-12-23T07:10:00.000-08:00

PEPPERMINT PINA COLADA

2011-12-23T07:07:00.000-08:00

There are only 6 ingredients:

Handful of Ice
3 oz of coconut milk (be sure to shake the can first)
1 1/2 oz of premium white rum
1 oz of pineapple juice
2 peppermint sticks
Mint (for garnish)

Add the 1st four ingredients to a shaker and shake it up. Pour in a glass. Break up one of the peppermint sticks and put it in the drink. This will give the drink the peppermint flavor and create the pink color as it melts. Garnish with the mint and a peppermint stick. This recipe makes one drink, so double or triple it based on your needs and/or desires! Enjoy and remember to drink responsibly! :)

GOOD

2011-12-23T07:04:00.001-08:00

GOOD DEEDS

2011-12-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

Good Deeds stars Tyler Perry, Thandie Newton, Brian White , Rebecca Romijn, Jamie Kennedy, Eddie Cibrian, Jordenn Thompson, Beverly Johnson, Phylicia Rashad, Gabrielle Union and is directed by Tyler Perry.

Synopsis: A successful, wealthy businessman, Wesley Deeds (Tyler Perry) has always done what’s expected of him, whether it’s assuming the helm of his father’s company, tolerating his brother’s misbehavior at the office or planning to marry his beautiful but restless fiancée, Natalie (Gabrielle Union). But Wesley is jolted out of his predictable routine when he meets Lindsey (Thandie Newton), a down-on-her-luck single mother who works on the cleaning crew in his office building. When he offers to help her get back on her feet, the chance encounter with someone so far outside his usual circle ignites something in Wesley. This one good deed may finally spark his courage to exchange the life that’s expected of him for the life he’s always really wanted.

The movie will be released to theaters on February 24, 2012.

OUT AND ABOUT

2011-12-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

MARIAH CAREY

VIOLA DAVIS

GABRIELLE UNION

TRACEE ELLIS ROSS

MICHAEL JORDAN

JERMAINE DUPRI AND DAUGHTER SHANIAH

BRANDY

50 CENT

FAITH

2011-12-23T06:30:00.001-08:00

BEAUTIFUL HOUSE

2011-12-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

JANET'S NUTRISYSTEM COMMERCIAL

2011-12-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

THE AWAKENING

2011-12-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

I LIVE DOWN THE STREET FROM NATIONAL HARBOR. EVERY FRIDAY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER THEY HAVE CHRISTMAS TREE CEREMONY WITH LIGHTS AND CHOIRS THEN THEY HAVE FIREWORKS WHICH START AT 7:00 PM. THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE FIREWORKS FROM THE AWAKENING STATUTE.

KIDS

2011-12-23T06:09:00.000-08:00

FOR ME KIDS MAKE CHRISTMAS. THE SEASON OF GIVING AND WATCHING THEM ON CHRISTMAS MORNING IS MAGICAL, IT MAKES THE HOLIDAYS ALL WORTHWHILE TO HAVE A HOME WITH A CHILD PLAYING WITH THEIR TOYS. THIS YEAR AS MY CHILD GETS OLDER AND IS NO LONGER ASKING FOR DOLLS TO PLAY WITH I STILL WANT US TO GET TOGETHER EARLY IN THE MORNING AND GIVE THANKS AS WE OPEN GIFTS AND REFLECT ON WHAT THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON REALLY MEANS TO ME AND THAT'S JUST BEING TOGETHER WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

CONDOLA RASHAD

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

If you want to know the definition of rising star, look no further than Stick Fly standout Condola Rashad. The actress, who is making her Broadway debut in the Alicia Keys-produced new play by Lydia R. Diamond, is definitely one to watch. Rashad chats with host Paul Wontorek about her famous family (she is the daughter of actress Phylicia Rashad and football great Ahmad Rashad, her aunt is actress/dancer/choreographer Debbie Allen and her cousin is Broadway hoofer Vivian Nixon) as well as her passion for music and her early acting aspirations.

WINTER WHITE

2011-12-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

VANESSA WILLIAMS WHAT CHILD IS THIS

2011-12-16T13:55:00.001-08:00

ARE YOU READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS

2011-12-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

PANTONE COLOR OF THE YEAR TANGERINE TANGO

2011-12-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

PANTONE 2012 COLOR OF THE YEAR IS TANGERINE TANGO. EXPECT TO SEE IT EVERYWHERE IS IT ORANGE OR IS IT RED. PANTONE CHOSE IT BECAUSE IT PROVIDES THE ENERGY BOOST WE NEED TO RECHARGE AND MOVE FORWARD.

TRACEE ROSS VIXEN COVER

2011-12-16T13:39:00.000-08:00

We simply adore Tracee Ellis Ross for so many reasons. She is an incredible actress, talented producer, has enviable personal style, and we can't get enough of her fabulous hair.

As Vibe Vixen's December/January 2012 cover girl, Ross opens up about her new hit show "Reed Between The Lines" and truly being Tracee--not the characters she plays on TV.

Here are a few excerpts from the cover story...

On both producing and starring on "Reed Between The Lines":

I wouldn't say difficult, but it's definitely makes for a long day. But it is the kind of full plate that I adore. I adore this kind of work and it's very rewarding. The producer role very much plays into the kind of person I am. In the evolution of my career it is a really exciting step for me because I am the kind of creative person that has a real opinion about the kind of images that I want to portray and want in the public in general. So having a seat at the table with the many voices that is part of the collaborative art of television is really and exciting and wonderful for me.

On making the distinction between Joan from "Girlfriends" and Carla from "Reed Between The Lines":

The way I went about Joan and Carla is I always ask myself who this woman is. Every once in a while people say Carla is so much like Joan, and I'm like, 'People, Tracee plays both people.' So what you're seeing that's the same between Carla and Joan is not Carla being like Joan, but it's Tracee. Tracee was Joan and Tracee is Carla. It's so funny people don't understand that, it makes me laugh.

On "The Cosby Show" comparisons:

For some people, it's a great context to know what the show might be, and for some people, it makes it hard because you're comparing it to something that you have such a clear idea of. BET seems to be promoting it as the new Cosby, which I don't think it helpful, and I don't think makes sense.

The way Malcolm [Jamal Warner] and I have been describing it is that we are in no way, shape or form trying to be a new "Cosby Show." What we are doing is taking the recipe of what Cosby did, which was a family show that was timeless and good, and use those elements.

FIRST FAMILY OFFICIAN PORTRAIT

2011-12-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

FIRST FAMILY 2011

FIRST FAMILY 2009

FIRST FAMILY 2008

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY

HAPPY CUPCAKE DAY

2011-12-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

I love snowman. All of my christmas decorations include a snowman or an angel.

JANET JACKSON FACING HER WEIGHT STRUGGLES

2011-12-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

JANET JACKSON IS THE NEW FACE OF NUTRISYSTEM. JANET'S IS THE NEWEST CELEBRITY ENDORSOR FOR THE WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM. KNOWN FOR ITS HOME DELIVERED PACKAGED GOODS. SHE HAS ALSO CO-FOUNDED THE NUTRIBANK WITH THE CAMPANY TO FIGHT WORLD HUNGER. FOR EVERY POUND OF WEIGHT LOST BY PARTICIPANTS NUTRISYSTEM WILL DONATE $1 TO FEED THE HUNGER.

SOLANGE AND HER LITTLE MAN

2011-12-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

EVEN THOUGH BIG SISTER IS PREGNANT WITH HER FIRST CHILD. LITTLE SIS SOLANGE SON DANIEL JULEZ SMITH IS BREAKING THROUGH WITH BEING A FAMOUS CHILD WHO VERY PHOTOGENIC. HE CAN BE THE NEXT CHILD STAR.

OUR DAUGHTERS

2011-12-16T12:52:00.001-08:00

CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON

2011-12-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

THE FIRST FAMILY

JUSTIN BEIBER WAS DAPPER IN A WHITE TUX JACKET

CEE LO SUNG THIS CHRISTMAS

JENNIFER HUDSON

My dear cousin works for time warner and every year she invites my family to the Christmas in Washington 2011. This year Conen Obrien hosted the festivities. The Band Perry, Cee Lo, Justin Beiber, Victoria Justice and Jennifer Holiday performed. There were plenty of holiday music sung by the Navy Glee club and various choirs from DC, MD, and VA.

About the Show
It’s going to be a holiday to remember as Justin Bieber, Cee Lo Green, Jennifer Hudson, Victoria Justice and The Band Perry are set to come together in the nation’s capital for TNT’s annual Christmas in Washington special. Hosted this year by Conan O’Brien, the star-studded concert will premiere Friday, Dec. 16 8/7c, exclusively on TNT.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Christmas in Washington is a holiday tradition benefiting the Children’s National Medical Center. The concert is attended each year by the President and First Lady and other Washington VIPs. Christmas in Washington will be taped at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Dec. 11.

CHRISTMAS RUM CAKE

2011-12-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
■FOR THE CAKE:
■1 box (about 18 Oz.) Yellow Cake Mix
■1 package (3.5 Oz.) INSTANT Vanilla Pudding Mix
■4 whole Eggs
■1/2 cup Cold Water
■1/2 cup Canola Oil
■1/2 cup Rum (dark Or Light Is Fine)
■1 cup Chopped Pecans
■Brown Sugar (optional)
■_____
■GLAZE
■1-1/2 stick Butter
■1/4 cup Water
■1-1/2 cup Sugar
■3/4 cups Rum
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 F.

Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. If desired, sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar over the nuts.

Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour batter into pan over nuts. Smooth out ’til the top is even. Bake for 1 hour, or a little less if the pan is black. Do not overbake!

Glaze:

While cake has ten minutes to go, make the glaze.
Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off flame and pour in rum. Stir to combine and reheat for 30 seconds.

Remove cake from oven. Immediately drizzle 1/3 of the glaze on the bottom (top) of the cake. Allow to sit for five minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Prick surface a hundred times with a fork (gently, please.) Slowly drizzle remaining rum glaze all over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Cool to room temperature before serving to ensure glaze has soaked in.
Eat. Enjoy. And don’t feel guilty. It’s Christmastime!

JOYFUL NOISE

2011-12-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

"Joyful Noise" is the story of a small town choir out to win a national competition despite overwhelming odds. A story of faith and determination by the choir leaders (Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton) and the young talent who give their all to win god's praise and beat the competition for the grand prize. This film also stars Courtney Vance and Keke Palmer.

COULDN'T RESIST

2011-12-09T13:40:00.001-08:00

STICK FLY PREMIERES ON BROADWAY

2011-12-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

PRODUCER ALICIA KEYS AND HUSBAND SWIZZ BEATZ

CAST MEMBER DULE HILL

ANGELA BASSETT WHO IS NOW STARRING ON THE MOUNTAINTOP WITH SAMUEL JACKSON

CAST MEMBER MEHKI PFIFER

TARAJI P. HENSEN

ABOUT

It was a relaxing weekend on Martha’s Vineyard … until the baggage got unpacked.

Meet the LeVays. When two adult sons independently choose to introduce their girlfriends to the parents on the same weekend, sibling rivalries flare, opinions clash, class distinctions divide and family secrets unravel. Get your tickets now to STICK FLY, a wickedly funny, endlessly surprising new play by Lydia R. Diamond, directed by Kenny Leon.

FESTIVE HOT CHOCOLATE

2011-12-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

SCANDAL

2011-12-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

From the creator and executive producers of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice comes a drama revolving around the life and work of a professional crisis manager and her dysfunctional staff.

I LOVE KERRY WASHINGTON WHAT A TALENTED ACTRESS LOOKS LIKE A GOOD SHOW TO WATCH

AFRICAN HORIZONS

2011-12-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

BLUE CHRISTMAS

2011-12-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

CHOICES

2011-12-09T12:45:00.001-08:00

QUEEN LATIFAH COVERS ESSENCE

2011-12-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

Qeen Latifah is telling people she's no Oprah Winfrey. The rapper-turned-actress is prepping for her return to daytime television, and people have been buzzing that she will fill the void left by the former queen of daytime. She, however, refused the comparison in an interview with Essence Magazine.

"People say I'm going to be the next Oprah. No. Oprah is still Oprah," the 41-year-old Grammy winner, who graces the cover of the publication's January 2012 issue, said when addressing the matter. She went on to stress, "I'll be the next me. I feel like there's always a lane for me as long as I'm true to myself."

Beside her upcoming talk show, the Leslie Wright of "Just Wright" also talked about providing a clothing line for curvy women like herself. "A lot of manufacturers don't respect the curvaceous woman. They don't respect our dollar or our shape," she explained.

Speaking of her partnership with Home Shopping Network, the Academy Award nominee said, "Working with HSN has been such a great partnership." She further gushed, "I'm happy to be able to make women's clothing I really like...everything in the line is something I would wear myself."

In the January issue, Latifah also shared to Essence "how she rose from the streets of Newark to the pinnacle of the entertainment industry". Her full interview will be available for reading when the magazine hit newsstands across the United States on December 12.

CHRISTMAS CUPCAKES

2011-12-09T12:40:00.001-08:00

OUT AND ABOUT

2011-12-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

YOLANDA ADAMS AND DAUGHTER

JANET

ANGELA SIMMONS WITH COUSIN KENZO (MOM IS KIMORA LEE SIMMONS)

WILLOW, JADEN, DIGGY AND WILL SMITH

REGINAE CARTER DAUGHTER OF LIL WAYNE

RACHEL STEWART JEWELRY - AFRO PICKS

2011-12-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

WARM AND FUZZY

2011-12-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

ON THE ROUGH

2011-12-09T12:26:00.000-08:00

'From The Rough' is based on the true story of Catana Starks, a former swim coach at Tennessee State University who became the first woman ever to coach a college men's golf team. With drive, passion, and guts, she took an unruly group of mismatched kids from around the world and guided them to an all-time record at the PGA National Collegiate Minority Championship.

Tasked with building Tennessee State's first golf team and finding only one available African American golfer -- Craig (Robert Bailey Jr.), a former caddy with plenty of talent but no confidence -- Catana Starks (Taraji P. Henson) pushes outside TSU's Historically Black context, and, against huge resistance, opens up the roster to underprivileged kids from around the world: Edward (Tom Felton), a lower class British youth with a rakish charm and a contempt for authority; Bassam (Ben Youcef), a French-Algerian from Paris, angry about the discrimination of his people, soft-spoken but likely to explode; Cameron (Paul Hodge), an Australian from a single-parent household with a childhood spent working, using golf as means to escape; and Ji-Kyung (Justin Chon), a disaffected South Korean from Orange County with a love of hip hop.

Finding each of these wildly different players in places around the world is tough. Getting them to come together as a team is tougher. But Catana Starks relishes the challenge. At the end of the day, a person's character is determined by the adversity she faces. Against all odds, Catana Starks takes her underdogs From the Rough and turns them into winners.