Singer, actress. Born November 9, 1922, in Cleveland, Ohio. Dandridge’s mother, the actress Ruby Dandridge, urged her two young daughters into show business in the 1930s, when they performed as a song-and-dance team billed as “The Wonder Children. Dandridge left high school in the late 1930s and formed the Dandridge Sisters trio with her sister Vivian and Etta James. They performed with the Jimmy Lunceford Orchestra and at the famous Cotton Club in Harlem, where Dandridge—who had a mixed racial heritage, early on confronted the segregation and racism of the entertainment industry.

As a teenager, Dandridge began to appear in small roles in a number of films, including the Marx Brothers film A Day at the Races (1937) and Drums of the Congo (1942). In 1945, she married Harold Nicholas of the dancing Nicholas Brothers (with whom she performed in the 1941 Sonja Henie musical Sun Valley Serenade); during their turbulent six-year marriage, Dandridge virtually retired from performing. A daughter, Harolyn, was born with severe brain damage in 1943; as Dandridge was unable to raise her herself, she placed the girl in foster care.

After her divorce in 1951, Dandridge returned to the nightclub circuit, this time as a successful solo singer. After a stint at the Mocambo club in Hollywood with Desi Arnaz’s band and a sell-out 14-week engagement at La Vie en Rose, she became an international star, performing at glamorous venues in London, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, and New York. She won her first starring film role in 1953’s Bright Road, playing an earnest and dedicated young schoolteacher opposite Harry Belafonte.

Her next role, as the eponymous lead in Carmen Jones (1954),a film adaptation of Bizet’s opera Carmen that also costarred Belafonte, catapulted her to the heights of stardom. With her sultry looks and flirtatious style, Dandridge became the first African-American to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Though many believed she deserved to win, Dandridge eventually lost the award to Grace Kelly (The Country Girl). Still, after the phenomenal success of Carmen Jones, Dandridge seemed well on her way to becoming the first non-white actress to achieve the kind of superstardom that had accrued to contemporaries like Marilyn Monroe and Ava Gardner. In 1955, she was featured on the cover of Life magazine, and was treated like visiting royalty at that year’s Cannes Film Festival.

In the years that followed her success with Carmen Jones, however, Dandridge had trouble finding film roles that suited her talents. Her only other great film was 1959’s Porgy and Bess, in which she played Bess opposite Sidney Poitier. She turned down the supporting role of Tuptim in The King and I because she refused to play a slave. It was rumored that she would play Billie Holliday in a film version of Lady Sings the Blues directed by Orson Welles, but it never panned out. In the racially disharmonious 1950s, Hollywood filmmakers could not seem to create a suitable role for the light-skinned Dandridge, and they soon reverted to subtly prejudiced visions of interracial romance. She appeared in several poorly received racially and sexually charged dramas, including Island in the Sun (1957), co-starring Belafonte and Joan Fontaine, Tamango (1959),in which she played the mistress of the captain of a slave ship,and Malaga (1960).

While making Carmen Jones, Dandridge became involved in a heated, secretive affair with the film’s director, Otto Preminger, who also directed Porgy and Bess. Their interracial romance, as well as Dandridge’s relationships with other white lovers, was frowned upon, not in the least by other African-American members of the Hollywood filmmaking community. She married her second husband, Jack Denison, in 1959, and lost the majority of her savings when his restaurant failed in 1962. He left her soon after.

As her film career and marriage failed, Dandridge began drinking heavily and taking antidepressants. The threat of bankruptcy and nagging problems with the IRS forced her to resume her nightclub career, but she found only a fraction of her former success. Relegated to second-rate lounges and stage productions, Dandridge’s financial situation grew worse and worse. By 1963, she could no longer afford to pay for her daughter’s 24-hour medical care, and Harolyn was placed in a state institution. Dandridge soon suffered a nervous breakdown. On September 8, 1965, she was found dead in her Hollywood home, an apparent suicide from a drug overdose.

Her unique and tragic story became the subject of renewed interest in the late 1990s, beginning in 1997 with the release of a biography, Dorothy Dandridge, by Donald Bogle, and a two-week retrospective at New York City’s Film Forum. In 1999, the actress Halle Berry won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dandridge in an acclaimed HBO movie, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.

Duke Ellington brought a level of style and sophistication to Jazz that it hadn’t seen before. Although he was a gifted piano player, his orchestra was his principal instrument. Like Jelly Roll Morton before him, he considered himself to be a composer and arranger, rather than just a musician. Duke began playing music professionally in Washington, D.C. in 1917. His piano technique was influenced by stride piano players like James P. Johnson and Willie “The Lion” Smith. He first visited New York in 1922 playing with Wilbur Sweatman, but the trip was unsuccessful. He returned to New York again in 1923, but this time with a group of friends from Washington D.C. They worked for a while with banjoist Elmer Snowden until there was a disagreement over missing money. Ellington then became the leader. This group was called The Washingtonians. This band worked at The Hollywood Club in Manhattan (which was later dubbed the Kentucky Club). During this time Sidney Bechet played briefly with the band (unfortunately he never recorded with them), but more significantly the trumpet player Bubber Miley joined the band, bringing with him his unique plunger mute style of playing. This sound came to be called the “Jungle Sound”, and it was largely responsible for Ellington’s early success. The song “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” is a good example of this style of playing. The group recorded their first record in 1924 (”Choo Choo (Gotta Hurry Home)” and “Rainy Nights (Rainy Days)“, but the band didn’t hit the big time until after Irving Mills became their manager and publisher in 1926. In 1927 the band re-recorded versions of “East St.Louis Toodle-Oo,” debuted “Black and Tan Fantasy” and “Creole Love Call”, songs that would be associated with him the for rest of his career, but what really put Ellington’s Orchestra over the top was becoming the house band at the Cotton Club after King Oliver unwisely turned down the job. Radio broadcasts from the club made Ellington famous across America and also gave him the financial security to assemble a top notch band that he could write music specifically for. Musicians tended to stay with the band for long periods of time. For example, saxophone player Harry Carney would remain with Duke nonstop from 1927 to Ellington’s death in 1974. In 1928 clarinetist Barney Bigard left King Oliver and joined the band. Ellington and Bigard would later co-write one of the orchestra’s signature pieces “Mood Indigo” in 1930. In 1929 Bubber Miley, was fired from the band because of his alcoholism and replaced with Cootie Williams. Ellington also appeared in his first film “Black and Tan” later that year. The Duke Ellington Orchestra left the Cotton Club in 1931 (although he would return on an occasional basis throughout the rest of the Thirties) and toured the U.S. and Europe. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the Ellington Orchestra was able to make the change from the Hot Jazz of the 1920s to the Swing music of the 1930s. The song “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” even came to define the era. This ability to adapt and grow with the times kept the Ellington Orchestra a major force in Jazz up until Duke’s death in the 1970s. Only Louis Armstrong managed to sustain such a career, but Armstrong failed to be in the artistic vanguard after the 1930s . Throughout the Forties and Fifties Ellington’s fame and influence continued to grow. The band continued to produce Jazz standards like “Take the ‘A’ Train”, “Perdido”, “The ‘C’ Jam Blues” and “Satin Doll”. In the 1960s Duke wrote several religious pieces, and composed “The Far East Suite”. He also collaborated with a very diverse group of musicians whose styles spanned the history of Jazz. He played in a trio with Charles Mingus and Max Roach, sat in with both the Louis Armstrong All-Stars and the John Coltrane Quartet, and he had a double big-band date with Count Basie. In the 1970s many of Ellington’s long time band members had died, but the band continued to attract outstanding musicians even after Ellington’s death from cancer in 1974, when his son Mercer took over the reins of the band.

The death of Don Cornelius, the founder of the “Soul Train” television show, has been ruled a suicide, officials said Tuesday.

Cornelius, 75, died last week of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. His autopsy was conducted Friday.

Toxicology testing has been ordered and the final report will be issued once results are analyzed, the office said.

Cornelius was found February 1 at a house on Mulholland Drive, said Los Angeles police Officer Tenesha Dodine.

n an interview last week with CNN, singer Gladys Knight said Cornelius appeared in ill health when she saw him recently.

“Last time I saw him, he was pretty sick,” Knight said. “He had lost a lot of weight, but he still had that thing about him.”

Cornelius created a pilot for “Soul Train” using $400 of his own money, according to the website biography.com. The show was named after a promotional event he put together in 1969.

“Soul Train” is the longest running, first-run, nationally syndicated program in television history, according to the website of Soul Train Holdings. “During its 37-year run, the show featured such staples as the Soul Train line and performers as important and diverse as Al Green, Ike & Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Whitney Houston, David Bowie, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson and Beyonce,” according to the website.

]]> http://www.bilalaliproductions.com/gone-but-not-forgotten/coroner-rules-don-cornelius-death-a-suicide/feed/ http://www.bilalaliproductions.com/celebrity-news/ne-yo-and-his-fianceebaby-mama-drop-3000-5000-in-atl-strip-club/ http://www.bilalaliproductions.com/celebrity-news/ne-yo-and-his-fianceebaby-mama-drop-3000-5000-in-atl-strip-club/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:52:04 +0000 Bilal Ali strip shakers redecorating club rained leopard booty print http://www.bilalaliproductions.com/?p=20636

According To TMZ:

Ne-Yo went on a redecorating mission last weekend at an Atlanta strip club — dropping so much money on naked booty-shakers … he literally covered the floor with singles … and TMZ has obtained the pics.

Ne-Yo hit up Magic City strip club on Saturday night with his fiancee/baby mama – the one in leopard print — and sources tell us, he rained down between $3,000-$5,000 in ones.

We’re told he didn’t drink a drop of alcohol either — keeping mostly to himself in the VIP room for two hours between midnight and 2AM.

Just enough time to take over the entire club.

According To TMZ:

Deion Sanders “orchestrated” a violent attack on his wife … designed to physically force her out of his Texas mansion … this according to a new lawsuit filed by Pilar Sanders.

In a fast and furious legal response to the altercation at the home this week, Pilar filed suit against Deion and a woman named Laura Jones, the woman accused of carrying out the attack.

According to the documents, Deion summoned Laura — his “fake aunt” — to help him physically remove Pilar from the home on Feb. 6 so Deion could change the locks and bar her from returning.

Pilar claims Jones is legally banned from entering the home … but she entered the place anyway … so Pilar says she demanded that the woman leave immediately. Instead, Pilar claims, the woman “squared off and took a swing at [Pilar] hitting her in the eye.”

Pilar says Laura “continued to hit, slap, punch, choke, push and kick” her … causing various injuries. Pilar says she was so scared, she grabbed a KITCHEN KNIFE and prepared to defend herself until cops arrived.

Now, Pilar wants a judge to issue a restraining order against the woman … and she wants Deion to fork over a check for the mental and physical pain.

After the incident, Deion claimed Laura was only at the home to fix his phone system and said Pilar’s account is completely untrue.

A Missouri teenager who had described the slaying of a young neighbor girl as an “ahmazing” thrill made an emotional apology Wednesday to the girl’s family and was sentenced to a potential lifetime in prison.

Moments before her sentence was imposed, 18-year-old Alyssa Bustamante rose from her chair — with shackles linking her ankles and holding her hands to her waist — and turned to face the family of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, whom she confessed to killing in October 2009.

“I really am extremely, very sorry for everything. I know words,” she said, pausing to take a deep breath and struggling to compose herself, “can never be enough, and they can never adequately describe how horribly I feel for all of this.”

She later added: “If I could give my life to get her back I would. I’m sorry.”

Elizabeth’s mother, Patty Preiss, who on the first day of Bustamante’s sentencing hearing called her an “evil monster” and declared “I hate her,” sat silently, staring forward as Bustamante’s finished her apology.

Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce then sentenced Bustamante to the maximum possible sentence for second-degree murder — life in prison with the possibility of parole. She ordered the teenager to serve a consecutive 30-year term for armed criminal action, a charge resulting from her use of a knife to slit the throat and stab Elizabeth after she had strangled her into unconsciousness.

Elizabeth’s family declined to comment about the sentencing, as did Bustamante’s family.

There were no immediate indications that Bustamante planned to appeal the sentence.

Bustamante originally had been charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty last month to the lesser charges to avoid a trial and the possibility of spending her life in an adult prison with no chance of release.

Bustamante was 15 years old at the time of Elizabeth’s murder in the small town of St. Martins, just west of Jefferson City. Evidence presented during her hearing revealed that Bustamante had dug a shallow grave in the woods several days in advance, then used her younger sister to lure Elizabeth out of her home with an invitation to play. Bustamante, who had hidden a knife in a backpack, said she had a surprise for Elizabeth in the forest. The surprise turned out to be her demise.

During her two-day sentencing hearing, prosecutors referred repeatedly to an entry Bustamante wrote in her journal on Oct. 21, 2009 — the night of Elizabeth’s death — in which she admitted to having just killed someone.

“I strangled them and slit their throat and stabbed them now they’re dead,” Bustamante wrote in her diary, which was read in court by a handwriting expert. “I don’t know how to feel atm. It was ahmazing. As soon as you get over the ‘ohmygawd I can’t do this’ feeling, it’s pretty enjoyable. I’m kinda nervous and shaky though right now. Kay, I gotta go to church now…lol.”

Bustamante then left for a youth dance at a Mormon church her family attended while hundreds of volunteers began a two-day hunt for the dead girl. Although she initially lied to authorities about Elizabeth’s whereabouts, Bustamante eventually confessed to police and led them to Elizabeth’s leaf-covered shallow grave.

Defenses attorneys had argued for leniency after presenting evidence from family members and mental health experts about Bustamante’s troubled childhood. Bustamante was born to teenage, drug-abusing parents; her father was imprisoned and her mother abandoned her, leaving her in the legal custody of her grandmother.

After a suicide attempt on Labor Day 2007 as she was starting eighth grade, Bustamante was prescribed the antidepressant Prozac. Her dosage had been increased just two weeks before Elizabeth’s death. A defense psychiatrist testified that the medication could have made Bustamante moodier and more violent and contributed to the murder — a theory rejected by a different psychiatrist testifying for prosecutors.

Charlie Moreland, one of Bustamante’s attorneys, described the sentence imposed Wednesday as “a harsh punishment.”

“This was a child who had been spiraling out of control, but has treatable conditions,” Moreland said.

Under Missouri guidelines, Bustamante would have to serve 35 years and 5 months in prison before she is eligible for parole, said Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Cline. It’s also possible that the more than two years Bustamante spent in jail while awaiting her sentencing could be counted toward that time.

After spending several weeks at a diagnostic prison, Bustamante could be placed in either one of Missouri’s two female prisons or sent out of state. Cline said department officials also would evaluate whether Bustamante should be kept separate from other adult woman inmates.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louis Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with the family’s eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earl’s civil rights activism prompted death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion, forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday. Regardless of the Little’s efforts to elude the Legion, in 1929 their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground, and two years later Earl’s mutilated body was found lying across the town’s trolley tracks. Police ruled both accidents, but the Little’s were certain that members of the Black Legion were responsible. Louise had an emotional breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution. Her children were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages.

Malcolm was a smart, focused student and graduated from junior high at the top of his class. However, when a favorite teacher told Malcolm his dream of becoming a lawyer was “no realistic goal for a nigger,” Malcolm lost interest in school. He dropped out, spent some time in Boston, Massachusetts working various odd jobs, and then traveled to Harlem, New York where he committed petty crimes. By 1942 Malcolm was coordinating various narcotic, prostitution and gambling rings.

Eventually Malcolm and his buddy, Malcolm “Shorty” Jarvis, moved back to Boston, where they were arrested and convicted on burglary charges in 1946. Malcolm placated himself by using the seven-year prison sentence to further his education. It was during this period of self-enlightenment that Malcolm’s brother Reginald visited and discussed his recent conversion to the Muslim religious organization the Nation of Islam. Intrigued, Malcolm studied the teachings of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success. Among other goals, the Nation of Islam fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower with the new surname “X.” He considered “Little” a slave name and chose the “X” to signify his lost tribal name.

Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan and Harlem, New York. Malcolm utilized newspaper columns, radio and television to communicate the Nation of Islam’s message across the United States. His charisma, drive and conviction attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was largely credited with increasing membership in the Nation of Islam from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.

The crowds and controversy surrounding Malcolm made him a media magnet. He was featured in a week-long television special with Mike Wallace in 1959, The Hate That Hate Produced, that explored fundamentals of the Nation of Islam and Malcolm’s emergence as one of its most important leaders. After the special, Malcolm was faced with the uncomfortable reality that his fame had eclipsed that of his mentor Elijah Muhammad.

Racial tensions ran increasingly high during the early 1960s. In addition to the media, Malcolm’s vivid personality had captured the government’s attention. As membership in the Nation of Islam continued to grow, FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents infiltrated the organization (one even acted at Malcolm’s bodyguard) and secretly placed bugs, wiretaps and cameras surveillance equipment to monitor the group’s activities.

Malcolm’s faith was dealt a crushing blow at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963. He learned that Elijah Muhammad was secretly having relations with as many as six women in the Nation of Islam, some of which had resulted in children. Since his conversion Malcolm had strictly adhered to the teachings of Muhammad, including remaining celibate until his marriage to Betty Shabazz in 1958. Malcolm refused Muhammad’s request to keep the matter quiet. He was deeply hurt by the deception of Muhammad, whom he had considered a prophet, and felt guilty about the masses he had lead into what he now felt was a fraudulent organization.

When Malcolm received criticism after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy for saying, “[Kennedy] never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon,” Muhammad “silenced” him for 90 days. Malcolm suspected he was silenced for another reason. In March 1964 he terminated his relationship with the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

That same year, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The trip proved life altering, as Malcolm met “blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers.” He returned to the United States with a new outlook on integration. This time, instead of just preaching to African-Americans, he had a message for all races.

Relations between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam had become volatile after he renounced Elijah Muhammad. Informants working in the Nation of Islam warned that Malcolm had been marked for assassination (one man had even been ordered to help plant a bomb in his car). After repeated attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely traveled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the home where Malcolm, Betty and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was firebombed (the family escaped physical injury).

At a speaking engagement in the Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 three gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage and shot him 15 times at close range. The 39-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival at New York’s Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Fifteen hundred people attended Malcolm’s funeral in Harlem at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ on February 27, 1965. After the ceremony, friends took the shovels from the gravediggers and buried Malcolm themselves. Later that year, Betty gave birth to their twin daughters.

Malcolm’s assassins, Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam.

The legacy of Malcolm X has moved through generations as the subject of numerous documentaries, books and movies. A tremendous resurgence of interest occurred in 1992 when director Spike Lee released the acclaimed Malcolm X movie. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design.

Malcolm X is buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Meagan Good is covering the Valentine’s issue of Vibe Vixen, and the 30-year-old actress chops it up with the magazine about all aspects of love.And she’s revealing all about her dream role playing Whitney Houston (yeah, she said it), having a few deep loves but never losing herself in the relationship, and how she keeps her good Christian girl values while constantly playing the sexpot.

Here are the Highlights:

On Her Dream Role Playing Whitney Houston:
“I want to do Whitney Houston’s life story. I think that would be an incredible story to do. I talked to Whitney a little bit about it, and she’s open to it, so I want to see what happens with that. Hopefully, in the very, very near future. She has Sparkle coming out, and I’ve heard good things about it already. I heard she looks beautiful, she sounds beautiful, she looks healthy and she’s the Whitney that we know and love. And so I think that would be a great place for her story to end and really just be beginning, if they were to do her life story right now.”

On Flexing Her Singing Skills

I always said that I didn’t want to sing because I wanted to be considered a very serious actress, not an entertainer, but singing is a passion of mine, rapping is a passion of mine, and in the way that we decided to do it, it’s very fun. We’re not taking ourselves too seriously, and our vibe is kind of like Beastie Boys mixed with Gwen Stefani. We kind of just do what we want to do; that’s what I love about it. The music is fun, and I think that the audience that we’re trying to reach will definitely be receptive to it. It’s not negative; it’s not saying ‘Boy, you want me’ and all this other crazy stuff. It’s about girls having fun and respecting themselves and being fly, doing their thing.

On her crazy moments in love:
“I mean, when you find yourself walking out on the side of freeway in a different state at three o’clock in the morning because someone has pissed you off, and you are completely convinced that you’re walking to the airport that is over an hour away, you’ve pretty much lost your marbles there. [Laughs] Yeah, I’m not crazy like I’ll bust the windows out your car. I don’t like to be vindictive, but I am the type of person that’ll be like, ‘You know what? Nigga forget you, and I’ll be on my own!’ [Laughs] I’m one of those people who will mentally check out when I get so mad.”

On Playing Uber Sexualized Roles While Maintaining Her Good Christian Beliefs

I think that [sexual activities] natural things. I think that, for me, it’s about portraying a character creatively and artistically as an actress. I believe that God has gifted me as an actress and intends for me to use that gift, but He also intends for me to use it to glorify him. So, if I’m playing the most perfect, religious girl then nobody gets anything out of it. It’s like being a Christian and only hanging out in church. When I play a character, I try not to judge her because ultimately it’s about where she ends up and what she learns from the journey, no matter what happens along the journey. Does she become a better person?

On Keeping Her Skin & Looks Close To Perfection

You know, my mom and my dad look fairly young now too. My mom always taught me as a young girl to stay with over-the-counter products, so I’ve been using Clearasil since I was a teenager. The only thing I use that’s not over-the-counter is eye creams. There’s this one, Peter Thomas Roth, and it is incredible. It takes the bags away, it takes dark circles away, it makes it so smooth under my eyes. It trips me out how good this eye cream is. Then, I’m trying to make healthier choices when I eat, I’m trying to work out a little bit and I’m trying to drink more water. You know, the usual things. Mainly, I try to stick to a facial regimen that I do morning and night. At this point, it’s about being preventive. Everything I do from here on out is about keeping it the way that it is.

On Why she loves Gabrielle Union so much
Well, the reason I love Gabby [Union] so much is because we did Deliver Us From Eva together almost 10 years ago, and she really took me under her wing. She went to the head of Sony/Screen Gem and she said to him, ‘Clint, this girl is really talented. I really want you to start working with her. I really want you to help her out.’ In this industry, especially in this industry with Black folk regarding Black women, it’s very rare where another Black woman will go to bat for you and want you to get a job knowing that you guys could possibly be going up for the same role. And that’s the type of person that Gabrielle is. She’s an honest and genuine person, a real lover and she went to bat for me. All those [Screen Gem] movies kind of came from that one relationship that Gabrielle introduced me to. It’s not that she taught me something in particular, but she showed me that there are good women out there that are not catty and that actually want to see you succeed.

Check out the full interview at VIBE VIXEN.

The 27-year-old is new to modeling world and definitely leaves an impression.

Growing up in poverty in Haiti, Wilnor Tereau has an interesting story. For years, he survived living in a homemade two bedroom shack of mud with sugarcane leaves used as a protective roof top.  And with no access to electricity, clean water, or food to eat.

After living with his grandmother in Croix-Des-Bouquets (which was affected by a massive cholera outbreak) he eventually moved to a poor city in Port-au-Prince called Cite Soleil.

But things began to look up for Wilnor after he moved to Chatham, Massachusetts to live with his father and step mother.  He recalls bullied for being Black in a lily white environment.  But he eventually became a superstar athlete on the school’s soccer team. After graduating, he enrolled in college, with aspirations of becoming a physical therapist.

And now, this damn near perfect specimen of a man is on the model tip.

Currently, Wilnor is exclusively signed to BIENAIME AGENCY where he is pursuing his career as a fashion model.

What does the muscle ridden model have to say about his story?

“Modeling really means a lot to me. It keeps me occupied and helps boost my self esteem and confidence. It has opened doors for me that I never thought were possible. It plays a big factor in my health because it motivates me to work out and stay fit. I am so blessed at this moment of my life right now. I thank God everyday for giving me this wonderful opportunity. My goal is to bring hope to all the people in Haiti!”

And we love it.

As part of the Shawn Carter Foundation’s philanthropic work to benefit United Way,Jay-Z took the stage for the first of 2 nights of charitable concerts. Nas & Alicia Keys made surprise appearances.

Jay-Z did his first live performance of the song he did with (and for) his new baby girl Blue Ivy:

According To TMZ:

Pilar Sanders called cops to Deion’s gargantuan Texas mansion yesterday … claiming she was ATTACKED by one of Deion’s female friends … while the NFL legend stood by and watched.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … Pilar told officers a woman named Laura arrived to the mansion to see Deion … but Pilar told Laura she was not welcome in the home and asked her to leave.

We’re told Laura refused … and after some words were exchanged, Laura threw an object at Pilar … striking her in the eye.

Pilar grabbed her phone and called 911 … and told police Deion was present during the altercation, but didn’t do ANYTHING to diffuse the situation.

Cops tell TMZ … no arrests were made and the situation is under investigation.

We called Pilar’s people and Deion’s people for comment — so far no response from either camp.

Beyonce had her daughter Blue Ivy on her mind when she made her first post pregnancy appearance rocking blue nail polish, a huge, gorgeous blue ring and a Blue Ivy (IV) tattoo!

The new mom arrived to support her husband Jay-Z for his historical performance at Brooklyn’s Carnegie Hall.

Beyonce was nothing short of stunning in an Alice Temperly dress, Ofira & Lorraine Schwartz jewelry, an Alexander McQueen clutch and 4-inch Christian Louboutin pumps. Jay-Z was quite sharp himself with styling by June Ambrose as he opened the show in a white Tom Form dinner jacket. Mr. Carter had a touching moment when he performed his tribute to Blue Ivy in ‘Glory.’ “I didn’t think I was going to make it through that one. That was tough.”

Just one day shy of a month after giving birth to Blue Ivy Carter, the ‘Run the World’ singer’s body snapped right back to form! Accentuating all the curves in all the right places with a glow that only comes from pure happiness. Reportedly Bey also joined her mother Tina Knowles at the after party at Jay-Z’s luxurious 40/40 club.

Now that Jay-Z and Beyonce have gotten the post pregnancy appearances out of the way – next up is baby Blue. Who knows when she will make her debut but no doubt it will be grand and calculated.

Most historians date the beginning of the modern civil rights movement in the United States to December 1, 1955. That was the day when an unknown seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. This brave woman, Rosa Parks, was arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance, but her lonely act of defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in America, and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere. Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama to James McCauley, a carpenter, and Leona McCauley, a teacher. At the age of two she moved to her grandparents’ farm in Pine Level, Alabama with her mother and younger brother, Sylvester. At the age of 11 she enrolled in the Montgomery Industrial School for Girls, a private school founded by liberal-minded women from the northern United States. The school’s philosophy of self-worth was consistent with Leona McCauley’s advice to “take advantage of the opportunities, no matter how few they were”

Opportunities were few indeed. “Back then,” Mrs. Parks recalled in an interview, “we didn’t have any civil rights. It was just a matter of survival, of existing from one day to the next. I remember going to sleep as a girl hearing the Klan ride at night and hearing a lynching and being afraid the house would burn down.” In the same interview, she cited her lifelong acquaintance with fear as the reason for her relative fearlessness in deciding to appeal her conviction during the bus boycott. “I didn’t have any special fear,” she said. “It was more of a relief to know that I wasn’t alone.”

After attending Alabama State Teachers College, the young Rosa settled in Montgomery, with her husband, Raymond Parks. The couple joined the local chapter of the NAACP and worked quietly for many years to improve the lot of African-Americans in the segregated south. “I worked on numerous cases with the NAACP,” Mrs. Parks recalled, “but we did not get the publicity. There were cases of flogging, peonage, murder, and rape. We didn’t seem to have too many successes. It was more a matter of trying to challenge the powers that be, and to let it be known that we did not wish to continue being second-class citizens.”

The bus incident led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, led by the young pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The association called for a boycott of the city-owned bus company. The boycott lasted 382 days and brought Mrs. Parks, Dr. King, and their cause to the attention of the world. A Supreme Court Decision struck down the Montgomery ordinance under which Mrs. Parks had been fined, and outlawed racial segregation on public transportation.

In 1957, Mrs. Parks and her husband moved to Detroit, Michigan where Mrs. Parks served on the staff of U.S. Representative John Conyers. The Southern Christian Leadership Council established an annual Rosa Parks Freedom Award in her honor. After the death of her husband in 1977, Mrs. Parks founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development. The Institute sponsors an annual summer program for teenagers called Pathways to Freedom. The young people tour the country in buses, under adult supervision, learning the history of their country and of the civil rights movement. President Clinton presented Rosa Parks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996. She received a Congressional Gold Medal in 1999.

When asked if she was happy living in retirement, Rosa Parks replied, “I do the very best I can to look upon life with optimism and hope and looking forward to a better day, but I don’t think there is any such thing as complete happiness. It pains me that there is still a lot of Klan activity and racism. I think when you say you’re happy, you have everything that you need and everything that you want, and nothing more to wish for. I haven’t reached that stage yet.”

Mrs. Parks spent her last years living quietly in Detroit, where she died in 2005 at the age of 92. After her death, her casket was placed in the rotunda of the United States Capitol for two days, so the nation could pay its respects to the woman whose courage had changed the lives of so many. She is the only woman and second African American in American history to lie in state at the Capitol, an honor usually reserved for Presidents of the United States.