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Charles Barkley Tells Lebron James To, “Shut The Hell Up”

Exclusive: SOHH Exclusive: Real & Chance Have Regrets, "God Dammit, I Miss So Hood

In this SOHH exclusive,Written by Danica Dow --  Real and Chance dish about the contestants on their VH1 reality show "Real Chance of Love," discuss their music and reveal what's next with their Stallionaire movement.Though Real and Chance first gained fame competing for the affections of Tiffany Pollard on the reality show,"I Love New York," the brothers say they never fought over females when they were growing up."Nah, we never competed for girls," Real said. "There was times that I found out [Chance] was sneaking around humping my girls on the bed but you know that's a whole 'nother story," But that changed when VH1 decided to move 15 ladies into a ranch to compete for the attention of the brothers.  Now, they're about half way through the season of their reality show, "Real Chance of Love" and the brothers think that they just might find women that they can spend their lives with."It's looking like it," said Chance.  "It's very possible man.  I am a lover boy.  Its not too hard for me to love."Though he still has a few good candidates on the ranch, Chance told SOHH that he regrets getting rid of the girl that he dubbed So Hood.  "I kept a couple of these meatballs and tuna sandwiches around and got rid of my dog.  She may have chased me around the house a little bit.  She may even pulled knives on me but you know what at the end of the day she was just being So Hood.  God dammit.  I miss So Hood."On the other hand, Real has developed a deep connection with an older contestant named Milf.  She's not a favorite among viewers of the show but Real doesn't care.  "A lot of people think she looks like Sean Penn," said Real.  "They're telling me a lot of people don't like her.  They think she's too old.  But it is what it is."Even if the brothers don't find love on this season of "Real Chance of Love," they see the show as an opportunity to promote the music group they have with their brother Mike called The Stallionaires."Its just another stepping stone to a career," said Chance."We're like U2," added Real. "You gon' see The Stallionaires together until the end of our careers. We perform together. We do music together. My brother Mike he produces all the music and we're actually producing his show right now, me and Chance." SOURCE:SOHH.COM

U.S. 'Not Getting What We Pay For'

Talk to the chief executives of America's preeminent health-care institutions, and you might be surprised by what you hear: When it comes to medical care, the United States isn't getting its money's worth. Not even close. "We're not getting what we pay for," says Denis Cortese, president and chief executive of the Mayo Clinic. "It's just that simple." "Our health-care system is fraught with waste," says Gary Kaplan, chairman of Seattle's cutting-edge Virginia Mason Medical Center. As much as half of the $2.3 trillion spent today does nothing to improve health, he says. Not only is American health care inefficient and wasteful, says Kaiser Permanente chief executive George Halvorson, much of it is dangerous. Those harsh assessments illustrate the enormousness of the challenge that awaits President-elect Barack Obama, who campaigned on the promise to trim the average American family's health-care bill by $2,500 a year. Delivering on that pledge will not be easy, particularly at a time when the economic picture continues to worsen. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has already warned that improving and expanding health care will cost money in the short run -- money that his Republican counterpart, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), argues the government does not have. Yet among physicians, insurers, academics and corporate executives from across the ideological spectrum, there is remarkably broad consensus on what ought to be done.A high-performance 21st-century health system, they say, must revolve around the central goal of paying for results. That will entail managing chronic illnesses better, adopting electronic medical records, coordinating care, researching what treatments work best, realigning financial incentives to reward success, encouraging prevention strategies and, most daunting but perhaps most important, saying no to expensive, unproven therapies."There is more than enough money in the system," said former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who runs the District-based Center for Health Transformation. "We just are not spending it well."The United States today devotes 16 percent of its gross domestic product to medical care, more per capita than any other nation in the world. Yet numerous measures indicate the country lags in overall health: It ranks 29th in infant mortality, 48th in life expectancy and 19th out of 19 industrialized nations in preventable deaths.One way to reconfigure health spending is to shift large sums into prevention and wellness, said Reed Tuckson, a physician and executive vice president at UnitedHealth Group in Minneapolis. The idea is to tackle the handful of preventable, chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes that account for 75 percent of health-care costs.Each year, for example, the United States spends $450 billion treating heart and artery disease. The "good news," Tuckson said, is that former certain killers such as heart attacks, strokes and aneurysms can now be treated. But the price -- of maintenance drugs, ongoing tests and procedures such as stents -- is high. It would be wiser, he argued, to attack underlying problems such as smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.CONTINUE READING...

Eyes on Obama this World AIDS Day

EXCERPT FROM ADVOCATE.COM -- Monday, December 1 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, and on the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration, AIDS educators and health professionals the world over are looking forward to a new direction and renewed dedication to fighting the world epidemic.Though much of the focus on AIDS has shifted to Africa over the past several years, stateside, after years of making great strides toward reducing new infections, in 2006, the Center for Disease Control reported a 40% increase in new infections. Fifty-three percent of cases were among men who have sex with men -- the rate of new infections in the African American community rose by more than 40 percent.AIDS educators -- perhaps predicting a dramatic shift in leadership in this country -- got off to an ambitious start toward turning those numbers back around in June when the second annual “Test 1 Million” event in Los Angeles vowed to test one million black Americans for HIV before World AIDS Day.That number caught on with educators around the globe. Earlier this week, the AIDS Healthcare foundation -- which provides services to nearly 100,000 people in the U.S., Africa, Asia and Latin America -- launched their campaign… one million tests on World AIDS Day alone.Countries worldwide will take place in this year’s World AIDS Day in various ways.South Africans will observe a 15 minute moment of silence to reflect on the estimated 70,000 children who are born in Africa each year with HIV.In San Francisco, General Hospital -- home to the oldest AIDS treatment program in the United States -- will gather speakers and politicians to commemorate the 25 years the hospital has spent fighting the disease, and announce a renewed commitment to finding a cure.Carol Bergman, acting director of the Global AIDS Alliance, said that this year, all eyes are on Obama to see if he can stand behind the $50 million over five years he promised to fight AIDS on a global level.“Obama comes into office having made a number of specific commitments, including on HIV prevention. He, along with Vice President-Elect Joe Biden and Senator Hillary Clinton, the likely next US Secretary of State, signed a pledge on this issue,” Bergman said in a statement. For more on World AIDS Day and events around the world, visit www.WorldAIDSCampaign.org.

Industry buzz

Nothing but the blues: In the tradition of "Ray" and "Walk the Line," the music biopic most likely to get tongues wagging this fall is "Cadillac Records." Focused on the Chicago blues scene circa 1955, the movie tells the true story of record-label impresario Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) and his stable of groundbreaking musicians, including Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), Little Walter (Columbus Short) and Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles).To reinvent vintage recordings of "At Last," "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man," "Nadine," "I'm a Man" and other R&B classics, director Darnell Martin recruited drummer Steve Jordan as the film's music producer."The main thing was to get the feel right, to make sure we had goose-bumps moments," Jordan says. "It's not about re-creating the exact notes at a certain tempo. We wanted the music to affect you like the first time you heard the real stuff. It's about the vibe."Jordan, who has worked with Neil Young, John Mayer, Solomon Burke and Keith Richards, assembled a core unit of blues-drenched musicians to channel the performances of Chess Records' pioneering artists. His first hire: harmonica player Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds."Kim is basically Little Walter reincarnated," Jordan says. "He's the only one who can capture the feel, the soul, the sound, the relentless, incredible virtuosity that you hear in Little Walter's playing. It's part of Kim's DNA."Knowles, who executive-produced "Cadillac Records," jumped at the chance to play troubled but gifted singer James. Jordan modeled his approach for Knowles' part on "Lady Sings the Blues.""There's only one Billie Holiday, so it would have been ridiculous for Diana Ross to imitate Billie's singing style," he says of that 1972 film. "It was the same thing here: You don't want to stifle a great vocalist by having Beyoncé try to sing like Etta James. We wanted her to sing like Beyoncé, but with the sensibility of the music from that period. Learning about Etta James and her life was, I think, a revelation for Beyoncé."Taking its title from the Cadillacs that Chess gave artists when they made hit records, the film dramatizes a blurry line between exploitation and collaboration."Some people might say, 'Oh, he ripped them off.' Who knows what really happened, but at least you had a forum," Jordan says. "During this period, black people couldn't use certain water fountains or sit on a certain side of the bus. The fact that these incredible innovators and inventors could record their music and have it be heard - that's the one thing that comes out in it. The songs got recorded and it influenced generations of musicians, and we're talking about it today. We sent Chuck Berry's music to Mars."SOURCE:SFGATE.COM

Oscar predictions

This time last year, anyone attempting to divine the Oscar nominees would have had a lot more to go on. "No Country for Old Men," "Michael Clayton," "Into the Wild," "Eastern Promises," "Away From Her," "La Vie en Rose" and "In the Valley of Elah" were all already in release. Other potential nominees such as "Atonement" and "Juno" had played festivals, leaving a trail of reviews to aid one in prognosticating. This time around reels of the most likely Oscar nominees are locked in a vault somewhere in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Oscar buzz for earlier releases such as "W." and "Rachel Getting Married" is barely audible anymore. The perception that this is an off year for movies could change once the studios march out their top-of-the-line product.Here's how the Oscar race is shaping up. Potential nominees are in alphabetical order. Nominations will be announced Jan. 22, and the 81st annual Academy Awards will take place a month later to the day. 

BEST PICTURE

FROST/NIXON: All the interest in politics this year should give this drama a push at Oscar nomination time. Ron Howard directs an intricate conversation between British TV commentator David Frost and disgraced President Richard Nixon. We're guessing academy voters will be engaged, not put off, by the film's intellectual tone.

THE DARK KNIGHT: In recent years, smaller films such as "Crash" and "No Country for Old Men" have captured the best-picture prize. Studios are making a big push this year to go back to the days when huge, popular movies were Oscar winners. "The Dark Knight" is most likely to benefit from a marketing boost since, besides making more than $400 million, it is an elegantly crafted piece of cinema.

DOUBT: Although set in the 1960s, the movie has subject matter - a priest in trouble for possible molestation - that is as topical as ever. With John Patrick Shanley directing, you can be sure nobody messed with the words of his award-winning play.

MILK: Deserving of a nomination for telling the story of slain San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. Led by Sean Penn in the title role, the acting is extraordinary. But the film could be hurt by a bias against smaller films with a gritty indie feel.

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD: Academy members who are fond of "Mad Men" are likely to be drawn to this movie set in a similar milieu around the same time. A troubled marriage catches people's attention because it makes their own unions look not so bad. Director Sam Mendes proved that he has a touch for this kind of story with "American Beauty."

ALSO IN THE RUNNING

"Defiance," "Gran Torino," "The Reader," "Slumdog Millionaire," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

BEST ACTOR

RICHARD JENKINS for "The Visitor": The consummate supporting actor, Jenkins is finally given a leading role at age 60, and he hits one out of the park. He plays a widower who discovers he has rhythm.

FRANK LANGELLA for "Frost/Nixon": Academy members might want to make it up to Langella for being cheated out of a nomination last year for "Starting Out in the Evening." He brings humanity to Richard Nixon. You actually end up liking the guy.

SEAN PENN for "Milk": The main concern about Penn playing Milk is that he wouldn't be able to capture the politician's lighter side. But Penn proved to be wonderful at being silly.

BRAD PITT for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button": Academy members like to watch actors distort their faces and bodies. So Pitt is sure to engender interest for playing a man born in his 80s who grows younger. The only time he was a nominee was more than a decade ago, for "Twelve Monkeys," and he and the mother of his children would be most welcome at the 2009 ceremonies, adding their flash of glamour.

MICKEY ROURKE for "The Wrestler:" Score some extra points for Rourke for a comeback that has all of Hollywood buzzing. Once a romantic lead, he disappeared for years, only to regain attention by playing a wrestler trying to make a comeback. His face and body are bruised for real, but he has never seemed so emotionally accessible.

ALSO IN THE RUNNING Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road"; Clint Eastwood, "Gran Torino"; Ralph Fiennes, "The Reader"; Ben Kingsley, "Elegy"; Will Smith, "Seven Pounds."

BEST ACTRESS

CATE BLANCHETT: 

Early reviews talk about how essential Blanchett's character is in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." She is Brad Pitt's romantic interest, the force that keeps him going through his very strange trajectory from an old man to a young one. Blanchett is already an academy favorite.

ANNE HATHAWAY in "Rachel Getting Married": The movie disappeared without a trace. But the memory of Hathaway as a young woman fresh out of rehab and hell-bent on spoiling her sister's wedding lingers. A backlash against indie films could hurt Hathaway's chances.

KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS in "I've Loved You So Long": It takes a minute to adjust to her speaking French and a few minutes more to her wearing no makeup. Then, suddenly, you realize that this is acting - bare-bones and magical. It's a transformative performance and would probably not only be nominated but also win, except for Kate Winslet.

MERYL STREEP in "Doubt": She looks scary and acts scary as the head nun in a parochial school. Streep doesn't try to get you to like her character, only to accept that she is on the side of God. This would be her 15th nomination. She beat Katharine Hepburn's previous high of 12 five years ago. Now all Streep can do is top herself.

KATE WINSLET in "Revolutionary Road" or "The Reader": This actress, 33, with five nominations is a double threat for a sixth. She could get it as a Nazi war criminal in "The Reader" or as an unhappy 1950s housewife in "Revolutionary Road."

ALSO IN THE RUNNING

Cate Blanchett, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Penélope Cruz, "Elegy"; Angelina Jolie, "The Changeling"; Emma Thompson, "Last Chance Harvey"; Michelle Williams, "Wendy and Lucy."

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

JOSH BROLIN in "Milk": With most of the script focusing on Milk, Brolin had to move quickly to present assassin Dan White as a confused and complicated man. You may even feel sorry for him.

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. in "Tropic Thunder": Another beneficiary of the push by major studios to see their big-ticket movies on the Oscar ballot. Downey has done better work, but not in blackface.

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN in "Doubt": As the priest whose moral principles are in question, Hoffman holds his ground. He also holds the screen - even opposite Streep.

HEATH LEDGER in "The Dark Knight": As the Joker, Ledger's face of evil stays with you, and you wonder what it took out of him to inhabit this monster. He will almost certainly win the Oscar, but it will be a bittersweet victory for the late actor's family and friends.

MICHAEL SHANNON in "Revolutionary Road": As the mentally disturbed son of a suburban real estate agent, this young Chicago stage actor is said to turn in a performance reminiscent of Edward Norton's role in "Primal Fear."

ALSO IN THE RUNNING

Ralph Fiennes, "The Duchess"; James Franco, "Milk"; David Kross, "The Reader"; Sam Rockwell, "Frost/Nixon"; Liev Schreiber in "Defiance."

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

AMY ADAMS in "Doubt": Each of her co-stars knows where they think the truth lies. Adams wins us over by presenting her young nun as riddled with doubt.

KATHY BATES in "Revolutionary Road": As a go-go real estate agent, Bates sees the unhappiness in her clients' homes but doesn't understand it. Her obliqueness is the strength of the performance.

PENÉLOPE CRUZ in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona": Cruz has been so miscast in Hollywood it's a pleasure to see what she is capable of in a proper role, in this case the loony Spanish-shrieking ex-wife of a lothario.

VIOLA DAVIS in "Doubt": As the mother of a boy who possibly has been sexually abused, Davis tells Streep's principal off. That alone should win her a nomination.

MARISA TOMEI in "The Wrestler": Tomei goes the full 12 rounds as a stripper who becomes Rourke's confidante and almost girlfriend. The two make an odd but touching couple. Tomei is as naked emotionally as she is physically.

ALSO IN THE RUNNING

Dakota Fanning, "The Secret Life of Bees"; Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Sophie Okonedo, "The Secret Life of Bees"; Debra Winger, "Rachel Getting Married"; Elsa Zylberstein, "I've Loved You So Long."

BEST DIRECTOR

David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Sam Mendes, "Revolutionary Road" Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight"

Gus Van Sant, "Milk" John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"

ALSO IN THE RUNNING

Darren Aronofsky, "The Wrestler"; Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"; Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"; Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"; Baz Luhrmann, "Australia."

Got a Room? Inauguration Is a Windfall

More precisely, how much is it worth to someone who is coming to town for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration in January and needs a place to stay? One three-bedroom house in suburban Virginia is said to have gone for $57,000 for inauguration week. A week at a four-bedroom in suburban Maryland was listed at $60,000, though that, like other offerings, may be wishful  hinking.As Washington gears up for the historic inauguration of the first African-American president, more than one million people are expected to descend on the capital. The five-county metro area has 95,000 hotel rooms.You do the math. The demand for hotels outstripped the supply more than two months before the Jan. 20 inauguration, not just in Washington and environs but as far away as Pennsylvania and West Virginia; even campsites are filling up. Some people are renting RVs; others are offering apartment swaps.At this relatively late date, the chance of finding a warm place to spend a cold January night (or two) within range of the swearing-in may be largely a matter of luck — and the ability and willingness to pay. But despair for would-be visitors has become an entrepreneurial opportunity for locals. While many people who own, rent or otherwise control sleeping space are packing in family and friends without charge, many others smell profits and are auctioning off their homes, rooms, sofas and even spots on the basement floor. All of this enterprise has prompted complaints that some in the area are exploiting the historic moment by price-gouging. Such high prices are “barring earnest people who want to witness and participate in something remarkable, positive, and promising” from coming to the capital, wrote one poster on Craigslist, who had let out his or her home for “a very modest sum” and urged others to do the same. “Let’s act like we really do want it to be a democracy,” the poster wrote. But another poster responded that it costs money to rent out your house. Besides, this poster added: “Do I deserve to avail myself to a little windfall profit from the smart investment I made and sacrifice for to live so centrally? Darn right I do. So get over it.” One of the highest prices obtained so far appears to be $57,000 for a week in a three-bedroom home near Chantilly, Va., about 24 miles from Washington. Or at least that is what Keith Bell, a lawyer for the federal government, said he was told by the lawyer who reviewed the contract between the homeowner and the renter, who is coming from overseas. SOURCE:NYT.COM

World AIDS Day: Bad Laws Could Be Pandemic’s Setback

An increasing number of countries worldwide are making spreading HIV a crime, according to a new report from the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Health officials fear the trend could undermine gains made in fighting the AIDS pandemic and provoke a surge in cases. Globally, about 33 million people are thought to have HIV and nearly 3 million people are newly infected every year. "If the law is applied badly, this could set us back and do incredible damage," said Paul de Lay, an AIDS expert at the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, who was not involved in the report. De Lay said the laws could result in forced testing and drive the epidemic underground as people hide their HIV status, allowing the virus to spread unnoticed. According to Planned Parenthood, 58 countries worldwide have laws that criminalize HIV or use existing laws to prosecute people for transmitting the virus. Thirty-three more countries are considering similar legislation. Since 2005 seven countries in West Africa have passed HIV laws. In Benin simply exposing others to HIV is a crime, even if transmission doesn't occur. And in Tanzania intentional transmission of the virus can lead to life imprisonment. Many of the laws in Africa were passed after a meeting in Chad in 2004 sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the world's biggest funder of AIDS programs, and attended by U.N. officials. "The U.N. was definitely remiss to allow this to happen," said Kevin Osborne, a senior HIV adviser at IPPF and one of the report's authors. De Lay said UNAIDS found out about the meeting only after it happened. But poor countries aren't the only ones using these laws. In the United States 32 states have laws criminalizing HIV transmission. Experts estimate that thousands of people have been charged across the country with spreading HIV. Since 2001, 16 people in the United Kingdom have been prosecuted for spreading HIV. In 2005 a woman in Canada was charged with criminal negligence and aggravated assault for passing HIV while pregnant to her baby. She did not tell her doctors that she had the virus and did not receive the medications necessary to prevent it from infecting her child. She was given a six-month conditional sentence followed by three years of probation. In countries like Britain, Canada, and the United States, which are major donors of efforts to fight HIV in Africa, such cases are particularly unfortunate, many experts say. CONTINUE READING...

Today's papers: Mumbai Under Siege

More than a day after groups of gunmen descended on southern Mumbai and carried out a string of highly-coordinated attacks targeting "well-known symbols of India's prosperity and places where Westerners and Israelis gather," as the Washington Post summarizes, government forces were still working to gain control. The attacks have left at least 143 people dead, according to early morning wire reports, and more than 300 injured. The New York Times highlights there are widespread fears the death toll would rise since people who escaped the hotels reported "stepping around bodies." It's still not known who was behind the attacks, although it's clear the gunmen were well prepared. The Los Angeles Times hears word the militants "struck after months of reconnaissance during which they set up 'control rooms' in the targeted hotels." And the Wall Street Journal hears unconfirmed reports that the attackers had been renting an apartment for the past six months near the Jewish center that was attacked. USA Today highlights that whoever they were, the gunmen delivered "an unmistakable message: This U.S.-friendly democracy of 1.2 billion people has joined the front lines of the global war on terrorism." USAT goes big with the attacks in Mumbai, but devotes its lead spot to a look at how Iraqi government officials involved in corruption that has cost billions of dollars to U.S. taxpayers have gone unpunished partly due to an Iraqi amnesty law. Although no one thinks it would be easy to pursue corruption charges in Iraq, as a result of the law 690 corruption cases have been dismissed and it has undermined efforts to make government officials accountable for their actions. Around $18 billion, more than half of which came from U.S. taxpayers, has vanished due to corruption. To continue reading, click here.

Wal-Mart worker dies after shoppers knock him down

A worker was killed in the crush Friday after a throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains burst through the doors at a suburban Wal-Mart, authorities said. At least four other people were injured, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island was closed.  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.  "He was bum-rushed by 200 people," co-worker Jimmy Overby, 43, told the Daily News. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too. ... I literally had to fight people off my back."  Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m. The man's name was not released and the cause of death was not immediately known.  A police statement said shortly after the store's 5 a.m. opening time, shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground."  A metal portion of the door was crumpled like an accordion.  Shoppers around the country lined up early outside stores in the annual bargain hunting ritual known as Black Friday. Many stores open early and stay open late, and some of the most dramatic bargains are available in limited quantities. Among the bargains offered by Wal-Mart for Friday were Samsung 50-inch high definition Plasma TVs for less than $800. Witnesses told the Daily News that before the store was closed, eager shoppers streamed past emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the worker's life. "They were working on him, but you could see he was dead," said Halcyon Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through." A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation, and she and the unborn baby were both reported to be OK, said Sgt. Anthony Repalone, a Nassau County police spokesman. Four or five other people suffered minor injuries, he said.  Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman at National Retail Federation, said the group knew of no other incident where a retail employee has died working on the day after Thanksgiving.  Wal-Mart is working closely with police, company spokesman Dan Fogleman said.  "The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," Fogleman said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families at this difficult time." SOURCE:AP NEWS.COM

E-40 Fans Invited to Submit Best Remix Tracks For Retwittered: The Break Ya Ankles Remix Contest on LOUD.COM

(November 26, 2008 - New York, NY) To celebrate the release of E-40’s 14th studio album The Ball Street Journal on November 25th, LOUD.com and Warner Bros. Records are proud to present Retwittered: The Break Ya Ankles Remix Contest. LOUD.com and Warner Bros. urge all budding producers and E-40 fans to submit their best remix of the hit song “Break Ya Ankles” to LOUD.com. E-40 will personally choose one winner, who will fly to The Bay Area to meet with the legendary hip-hop star and his son Droop-E in the studio. In addition, the winner will broadcast live backstage at an E-40 show using a Nokia Kyte phone. The second place winner will receive the complete Rane Serato Scratch Live set-up, which bridges the worlds of vinyl and digital audio files and while the third place winner will receive a copy of Ableton Live 7 LE, which provides musicians an intuitive interface and professional features for recording, songwriting, remixing, and DJ’ing. Interested participants are directed to download the a cappella of “Break Ya Ankles” here: http://www.loud.com/contest/break-ya-ankles-remix, produce their own original beat, and submit their entry to the LOUD.com community. In addition to the prizes mentioned above, LOUD.com will interview the winner, post a webisode compiling footage from their studio and show experience, and post the winning remix on their homepage, E-40.com, and MySpace.com/E40. E-40 is a rap innovator, a business-savvy tycoon, and one of the music industry’s most consistent success stories. The man with the terrific tongue returns with his most polished product to date, the imaginatively titled The Ball Street Journal. "This traces everything from the beginning to now," E-40 explains. “I’ve been through hard times and I've been through good times. It's like a discography of my life." The Ball Street Journal hit the streets on 11/25 on Warner Brothers / Sick Wid It Records. Retwittered: The Break Ya Ankles Remix Contest closes on December 9th and the lucky winner will be announced on December 30th. Good luck - but don't get it twittered!
Contest Instructions and Rules: http://www.loud.com/contest/break-ya-ankles-remix
MySpace.com: MySpace.com/E40 / Imeem.com: Imeem.com/artists/e-40
Serato: http://www.serato.com
Ableton: http://www.ableton.com/newsletter
PR Contacts: bmunson[at]loud.com: 212.331.2621 or michelle[at]audibletreats.com: 718.768.7275

SOUL TRACKS CRITICS CHOICE: THE BEST CD'S OF 2008

It is always fun at the end of each year to celebrate the best of that year.  And in the midst of a music industry that is trying to redefine itself, 2008 gave us a lot of great music to celebrate. And so we've lassoed our music critics to each pick five of their favorites, which we've assembled below in alphabetical order (by artist name).  These are uniformly releases with which you can't go wrong -- or so our critics say. Looking for a Christmas gift for a music lover?  Then spend some time with these winners.This was tough stuff for us. Many of us had way more than five choices and had to limit them.  Others had favorite choices who were already taken by another writer (sorry Angela J, but Christian had already picked you!).  So, imperfect as they are, here are the selections from Peggy Oliver (PO), BJ Bunneh (BB), Christian John Wikane (CJW), Chris Rizik (CR), David Nathan (DN), L. Michael Gipson (LMG), Detrel Howell (DH) and Howard Dukes (HD).  Also, each album cover is a link to either CD Baby or Amazon, where you can generally listen to clips from the disc or where you can purchase it.CHECK OUT THE LIST

Jamie Foxx (Feat. T.I.) - “Just Like Me” Video

POLITICS/VIDEO: THE OBAMAS SIT DOWN WITH BARBARA WALTERS

Vigil marks 2nd anniversary of Sean Bell shooting

About 100 people gathered before dawn Tuesday for a candlelight vigil and prayer service on the second anniversary of the fatal police shooting of an unarmed man on his wedding day that sparked outrage in the black community.The Rev. Al Sharpton and Sean Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, led the memorial on the street in Queens where the 23-year-old black man was killed outside a strip club on Nov. 25, 2006 after leaving his bachelor's party.At precisely 4:10 a.m. -- the time of the shooting -- the mourners rang a large bell 50 times to mark the number of bullets fired at the Bell and two of his friends, who were seriously injured.After laying wreaths and flowers, the group marched half a mile to a church, where Sharpton held a prayer service. "The idea is to commemorate the second anniversary and to continue to push for a federal case," Sharpton said later.At a non-jury trial in April, a judge acquitted three police officers of state charges that included manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment.The officers -- undercover detectives investigating reports of prostitution at the club -- said they opened fire because they thought one of the men was reaching for a gun. No weapon was found.The shooting and subsequent acquittals of the officers ignited protests and raised questions about whether the NYPD was too quick to use excessive force against minorities.Last week, Bell's family and their lawyers met privately with federal prosecutors to discuss a possible civil rights case against the shooters."They've assured them they were doing a full investigation," Sharpton said Tuesday. "We don't know what the outcome will be but ... the family is still demanding justice in this matter." U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell has refused to comment on the private meeting."Sean Bell's civil rights were violated -- the right to go home unarmed and not be killed by police," Sharpton said.Among others in attendance Tuesday were Bell's parents and Joseph Guzman, one of the two men injured in the shooting."It seemed like it just happened all over again just being here," Bell's father, William Bell, told NY1 television. "The feeling hasn't changed. It still hurts." SOURCE:NEWSDAY.COM

AL B. SURE HIGHLIGHTS THE 'UNSUNG': R&B star/radio host narrates new TV One bio series.

Singer/songwriter Al B. Sure! has become an “Unsung” hero thanks to TV One.The music maestro and radio personality is the voice behind the cable network’s new show “Unsung” that takes music fans down memory lane behind the scenes look at the stories behind some celebrated stars with tragic stories. Beginning Thanksgiving night and airing on four consecutive nights starting Sunday, Nov. 30, TV One will premiere the series of one-hour biography specials that celebrate the lives and careers of four of those accomplished artists or groups who deserved – but didn’t make – the transition to superstardom.The first episode explores the rise and fall of DeBarge, the family supergroup of the ‘80s that was poised to take the music industry baton from the Jackson 5. Sure, who worked with El DeBarge on the Quincy Jones track “Secret Garden” considered this particular story as close to home. “I think the most important thing was the validity of the story. I think they nailed it on the head in terms of sticking to the truth,” Sure said. “The only thing that I would have a problem with is if the story was inaccurate. They were pretty much accurate and sticking to the story and talking to the family and getting it straight from the horses mouth.” Sure explained that he was able to see some of the footage gathered by the show’s producers. He said that it was something that was really close to home in regard to being passionate about music and dealing with the industry – “as a big monster.” That connection and that fact that he’d only be a part of the project if it was an honest portrayal, and he guaranteed that there were no “inside sources” involved in the “Unsung” episodes.This is actually the family and friends and the artists themselves speaking on behalf of what their story is so that you have an accurate description of what transpired,” he said. “This particular series is the exception to the rule. ‘Unsung’ can now be that catapulting step that will depict the truth and let you walk through that journey with them about how it all went down. The most surprising thing that I learned was that when Motown signed the whole DeBarge family, it was almost a business transaction to transgress out of the Jacksons into the DeBarges.”   Sure agreed with EUR’s Lee Bailey that Motown saw DeBarge as being potentially bigger than the Jacksons in part because of their look. SOURCE: EURWEB.COM

iPHONE Blog Buzz 11.25.08

The nation's foreclosure crisis has arrived on the doorstep of Wyclef Jean's Miami property.According to TMZ.com, Miami-Dade County will auction off the house he was still building on Dec. 12 because the singer owes $2 million in mortgage payments.  Comedian Sheryl Underwood gets to keep her title as president of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority following a ruling Wednesday by Washington D.C. Superior Court Judge Gerald I. Fisher dismissed a lawsuit filed by Kim Sawyer who, after losing a close race in July, sought to unseat Underwood. Sawyer claimed that she was the International Grand Basileus, the official title of the organization’s national president.  She then asked the court to declare that Underwood did not receive a majority of the votes cast at the national convention, and sought a run-off election. Comedian Luenell says news of fellow standup comic Katt Williams having a reported nervous breakdown is an all-too-familiar story among black, male comedic superstars.The "Borat" actress cites Martin Lawrence, Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle among famous funnymen who have suffered some sort of personal meltdown. "It seems to happen to the great minds that just sometimes may be on overload," she says. Members of rap collective The Roots escaped injury Thursday night and made a concert appearance just hours after a traffic accident caused their double-decker tour bus to flip over on a highway in France.  A man accused of assaulting "Stargate Alantis" star Jason Momoa at a Hollywood restaurant on Nov. 15 has been charged in Los Angeles County.Dominic Bando, 21, is accused of smashing the actor in the face with a beer glass, causing gashes that required 140 stitches and reconstructive surgery to repair his injuries, reports the Associated Press. Prosecutors on Friday charged Bando with felony assault with a deadly weapon.General Motors released a press release this week announcing the end of the endorsement deal they've had with Tiger Woods for the last nine years effective December 31. The company says that Tiger is looking for more personal time while expecting his... Read more  At 44, Michelle Obama will be the youngest First Lady since Jacqueline Kennedy. And many are expecting her to usher in a similarly glamorous era in Washington. (”Bamelot,” as some are already calling it.) But Michelle’s influence could go far beyond the superficial. When her husband raises his hand to take the oath of office, Michelle will become the world’s most visible African-American woman. The new First Lady will have the chance to knock down ugly stereotypes about black women and educate the world about American black culture more generally. (Continue Reading…)After a sloooooooooow start, True Blood finally became interesting. I started watching out of curiosity (sweet ad campaign, HBO), kept watching out of loyalty (Six Feet Under is just so great), and finished watching because it got kind of awesome. Most of my friends stopped after the first couple of episodes, but that's when it finally got good. I was bummed when the first season ended last night, and not just 'cause I won't get to see a shirtless Ryan Kwanten until next summer (well, there's always On Demand). Some finale...Over the weekend, MTV Base held the first annual MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) in Abuja, Nigeria, and a convenient number of Nigerians took awards in the major categories, including Artist of the Year D'Banj, who performed onstage with Kelly Rowland during the show. The Game also traveled over there to do a little medley of hits for the crowd and was rewarded with a loss in the Best Hip Hop category to our man 9ice, from Lagos, who also beat out Lil Wayne. Seun Kuti did a tribute to his father with Egypt 80 and Alicia Keys called in an acceptance speech for her Best R&B award. Unfortunately, FADER 52 feature Kwaw Kese lost out to, surprise, Nigerian Naeto C in the Best New Act category, but he'd already backed out of the show to perform at the semi-disastrous Zain 026 Experience in Ghana the same night. Mobile service provider Zain, incidentally, sponsored the MAMAs also. So, in celebration of of the MAMAs successful launch, we're offering up D'Banj's "Why Me," which sounds a little Akon-ish at first, but don't sleep on the weird, womping synth melody and harmonica solo toward the end. Download: D'Banj, "Why Me"

Thousands of fans, celebrities, and well-wishers—even President-Elect Barack Obama—have reached out to Jennifer Hudson since the brutal slayings of the Oscar winning singer/actress' mother, brother and nephew.  Everyone that is except her Dreamgirls co-star Beyoncé Knowles. MediaTakeOut first reported this interesting trivia two weeks ago and Beyoncé confirms the report. "On Friday, radio personality Elvis Duran asked whether she reached out to Jennifer since the tragedy. Beyonce responded, and we quote, 'No, but I’m praying for her.' "While her Destiny’s Child bandmate was getting ready to rock the American Music Awards stage, singer Kelly Rowland was holding it down in Nigeria at the 1st Annual MTV Africa Music Awards. Kelly performed with a slew of African and Ameriacn artists, including D’banj, The Game and Flo Rida. Miss Kelly also acted as co-host for the evening and even accepted Alicia Keys‘ award for best R n’B Artist, on her behalf. As many of you know Alicia was getting ready for her American Music Awards performance- but still the sista found time to record a video thank you for all her African fans. As for Kelly, she continues to find much success overseas and is already working on the follow up to her 2007 release, Miss Kelly. Kanye West spoke with Hot 97’s Angie Martinez on the release day of his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak. Listen to the full interview below. Audio: Kanye West on “The Angie Martinez Show”

JAMIE FOX IN THE STUDIO

Behind the Scenes: Jamie Foxx - Just Like Me ft. T.I.

Prince denies anti-gay-rights remarks; New Yorker stands by story!

The singer Prince was asked about religion, politics, abortion and Proposition 8 in a profile in the New Yorker. Here's his response: "You've got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to [the Bible]. But there's the problem of interpretation, and you've got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn't. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you've got blue, you've got the Democrats, and they're, like, 'You can do whatever you want.' Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right."Asked about his perspective on social issues—gay marriage, abortion—Prince tapped his Bible and said, “God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’ ”Hold on. The miniature singer who used to perform in bikini briefs, leg warmers and platform boots said what?This is the effeminate musician who played the androgyny card big time with his wild, sexy costumes and provocative lyrics to create album-selling controversy?The guy whose music was so darn dirty that it inspired Tipper Gore  to slap parental advisory stickers on music deemed not suitable for minors?He’s now against gays having equal rights? Wow. Talk about alienating your base. According to Perez Hilton, the New Yorker piece is dead wrong. He quotes a source close to Prince as saying that the New Yorker piece is "grossly misquoted" and all wrong. Something about the reporter not using a tape recorder? Read Prince's defense here. But the New Yorker stands by its story. Prince's anti-gay statement is already reverberating around Los Angeles' gay community. At Train, a popular West Hollywood gym, openly gay spin instructor Tevia Celli told her packed Sunday morning class that she had removed all Prince songs from her playlists. What do you think? Is Prince, now a converted Jehovah’s Witness, totally off base?  Will you continue to buy and listen to his music? Or do you agree with him? SOURCE:LATIMES.COM