What’s shakin’ everybody? As we get ready to enjoy the three
day Memorial Day weekend, let’s reminisce over Michael Vick being released from
prison, the discovery of a 47-million-year-old primate fossil known as Ida and
Kris Allen stunning American Idol followers
with his surprise win over Adam Lambert.
Thoughts and prayers go out to family and friends of
Atlanta-based rapper Dolla, who died Monday (May 18) at an upscale mall in LA
after a dispute with another man, former NBA star and jazz musician Wayman
Tisdale, who died Friday (May 15) after a two-year battle with cancer and Wayne
Allwine, the actor that provided the voice of Mickey Mouse for more than 30
years, who also died Monday.
Shouts go out to Jamie Foxx, whose latest hit, “Blame It,”
set the all-time record on the Urban Mainstream chart with 12 consecutive weeks
at # 1 and actress Sandra Bullock, who was recently inducted in to the Warren
Easton High School Hall of Fame after donating what the Associated Press labeled as “tens of thousands of dollars” toward
rebuilding the New Orleans school that was heavily flooded by Hurricane
Katrina.
And let’s not forget the sounding boards, who always seem to
know where to go for a good time or three.
Ladies and Gents…the Last Word for the week ending May 22,
2009.
1. Tyrese Causes Mayhem In New Comic Book Series
First, he showed us he could sing. Then he displayed his
charisma as an actor on the big screen. After that, he revealed his rhyming
skills as his rapper Black Ty. Now, Tyrese Gibson is showing his latest talent
with the creation of Mayhem, a new
three-issue comic book series from Image Comics.
Set in Los Angeles, Mayhem features Big X, a mysterious crime boss who leads a brutal crime wave
on the city. When police are unable to stop Big X, a faceless vigilante named
Mayhem steps up to restore order with the help of his partner Malice.
To help construct the limited series, Tyrese recruited noted
comic book artists Tone Rodriguez and co-writers Mike Le & William Wilson.
According to the entertainer, aligning with Image was the perfect way to get
his latest endeavor off the ground.
“Image has a long and rich history of great titles and I am
honored to be apart of that history,” Gibson said in statement. “Robert
Kirkman's and Eric Stepheson's input throughout this creative process has been
invaluable and I know we've produced a special comic book for all fans to
enjoy.”
Known as one of the four largest comic book publishers in
America, Image is home to such comic series as Spawn, Witchblade, WildC.A.T.s and the Savage
Dragon.
The first issue of Tyrese’s Mayhem comic book series is priced at $2.99 and will arrive
in stores Aug. 5.
2. Next
Member Earns Restraining Order from Ex-Girlfriend
Times must be hard for at least one member of the group
Next. According to TMZ, a restraining order was taken out against Raphael
Shawan Brown by Nikki Giavasis.
The order stemmed from an incident last week involving
Brown. According to Giavasis, the singer tried to enter the gate of her
community in the San Fernando Valley. It was there that Brown was arrested on
an outstanding warrant. While some may wonder why the crooner was trying to
enter the community to see Giavasis, the answer is simple. They were an item
years ago.
So much so, that Giavasis invested $300,000 in Next. She further
stated that Brown had written her a check to pay her back but it bounced. After
they broke up a year ago, Giavasis says that Brown repeatedly harassed her,
allegedly broke into her house and stole her $700 shoes and a $1,000 handbag.
Man, this is crazy. I guess you could say he got a little
too close to someone that could’ve been his wifey.
3. Amy
Winehouse Stars in Complicated Documentary
You knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time before
the Amy Winehouse story was told on a wide scale. In this case, it’s a
documentary helmed by Israeli-American interviewer Daphne Barak
According to a post on Winehouse’s MySpace blog, the film
will chronicle the time Barak spent recently with Amy and her family in St.
Lucia, as it describes the project as
“a truthful and revealing look at her complicated life” in “true honest
to goodness Amy style.”
Barak’s website features pictures from the outing as well as
a clip of the documentary, which will be released this year. The journalist
provided a sneak peak into her time with Winehouse as she provided the Sunday
Times with entries from a diary she kept on
the experience.
From what she remembers, Amy was not in top form as she
notes seeing the embattled vocalist transition carry on like an
attention-starved child as she replaces her well-documented drug addiction with
something new.
“When she comes back, she peers at my green cocktail and
asks what’s in it. I say: “You wouldn’t like it — it’s not sweet.” She
tries it and makes a face. “Does it have alcohol?” she asks. I admit it does,”
Barak wrote. “Within seconds she has drained two-thirds of my glass. Mitch and
I exchange glances. Has she swapped one addiction — to heroin and crack
— for another?
“…I present her with a set of lip glosses that I’ve brought
as a gift, but she can’t open the little box and quickly loses patience. When I
open it for her, she asks one of her security men to bring her a lip pencil and
then shakily tries to outline her lips…She looks at me hesitantly, unsure what
to say. It’s as if the grown-up world is too complicated for her. When I thank
her for dinner, she is visibly relieved and hugs me ferociously.”
Although she’s noted for interviewing other celebrities as
well as royalty, world leaders, and international personalities, I doubt that
Barak has chatted with someone as complicated as Miss Winehouse. Docs are cool,
but I’m waiting for Hollywood to give Amy’s story the red carpet treatment.
So who would you want to see portray Amy on the big screen?
Is there someone that cold truly bring her good and bad sides to light in a way
that truthfully gives us a glimpse at what’s going on with this lady ?
4. Al B.
Sure! Makes Hidden Beach Return to Music; The Commodores Prepare for ’09
Reunion
Attention all old school R&B fans. The Commodores are
getting back together. And it may be sooner than you think if you ask Lionel Richie.
The hitmaker, who is on tour promoting his latest solo
album, Just Go, let the cat out of the
bag as he admitted to constantly being asked about plans and rumors regarding
the reunion of his former group.
“It's the No. 1 question we get,” Richie confessed to
Billboard.com about the long-promised reunion. "I can honestly tell you
before the end of the year, for sure, you'll hear a rumble. I think now might
be the proper time."
And if that doesn’t get you excited, maybe the thought of Al
B. Sure! Coming back on the scene may hit you. The singer/songwriter, who is
signed with Hidden Beach Recordings, is preparing to release his first album in
more than 15 years. The 13- track project, titled Honey I'm Home, will center around themes of love, romance and
relationships as it features ten original songs written and co-produced by
Sure!, two cover tunes (Sting's "Fragile" and Michael Jackson's
"Lady in My Life") and an interlude version of Sure!'s first No. 1
R&B hit, the 1988 classic "Nite and Day."
"Honey I'm Home is
In Effect Mode 2009 on
steroids," Sure! told Billboard
while referencing his hit debut album and alluding to a more mature mindstate
this time around. "I didn't want to do a trendy record or sound like
everyone else. This is the grown-up version of me and all that I've experienced
in the interim."
For those that don’t know, Sure! has kept himself busy over
the last few years by writing and producing on releases from various artists
such as David Bowie, Richie Sambora, Faith Evans and Usher.
Al B. Sure’s Honey I’m Home is slated to hit stores on June 23. The lead single from the project,
"I Love It (Papi Aye, Aye, Aye)," which is available now on iTunes.
Those interested in pre-ordering the album can visit hiddenbeach.com/albsure.
In Other Words…
* Eva Longoria is Mexican and proud of it. So much so that
she’s making it known that she wants to play Maria Felix in a film about the
revered Mexican film actress’ life.
“I'd love to adapt the story of Maria Felix. I think she's
the icon of Mexican cinema, and I would love to bring her story to life,”
Longoria told the New York Daily News. “
I'm very proud of being Mexican-American, so I celebrate it as much as
possible.”
* Ciara is doing her part to make sure her young fans get
the supplies they need for school by teaming up with www.DoSomething.org and
Selena Gomez for a new public service announcement. The PSA, which will air on
Channel One, BusRadio, MySpace, Facebook and TV and radio stations nationwide,
will promote the second annual National Do Something 101 School Supply Drive.
The effort is designed to help encourage teens to make a difference by
collecting school supplies for kids in need and dropping them off at their
local Staples store.
Beginning in July, Staples customers can donate $1 for the
cause at any Staples store through September. One hundred percent of the
proceeds from the effort will kids in need.
* Vanessa Williams is coming back to the world of music as
she gears up for the release of her forthcoming album, The Real Thing. The project, Williams' first musical offering since
2005’s Everlasting Love, is a
collection of classic and original songs that were inspired by jazz and Latin
music.
"I wanted to do something with kind of a Brazilian
feel," the singer/actress told Billboard.com. "It's kind of a hybrid
of samba, bossa nova, some salsa and also some pop and R&B."
Look for The Real Thing to
hit stores next month.
* Bishop Eddie Long is countering negative images found on
television and film with his new company, Bell Town Productions. According to
reports, the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church senior pastor will partner
with actor/writer/director Robert Townsend to produce uplifting and positive
films, television shows, web based programming and mobile content.
The duo’s first project will involve producing The Gospel
Music Theatre, a web-based half-hour series inspired by real life situations
and featuring musical performances.
* Former NFL player Michael Strahan has become the latest
sports star to crossover into acting. USA Today reports the sports figure will star in Brothers, a new sitcom picked up by Fox for its fall line up.
Strahan will play a former NFL player [big stretch] who returns home to
Houston, spars with his wheelchair-bound brother (Daryl "Chill"
Mitchell), the owner of a struggling restaurant, and deals with his parents, a
conservative high-school coach (Rocky's Carl Weathers) and scheming mom (The
Shield's CCH Pounder).
* America Ferrera is looking to open the floor up for a
discussion on the effects of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with her
new movie The Dry Land. The film centers
on the challenges a young man faces in readapting to life in a small town
following a tour of duty.
According to Ferrera, the U.S. "should have an honest
discussion about the effects that war has on our society, on the men who come
back, on the families that are broken from it." The Ugly Betty star is hopeful The Dry Land comes as a labor of love for the actor, who serves
as a producer on the film as well as its star.