Blaze is FullyLoaded!!!
DAMN...WHITNEY HOUSTON DEAD AT 48
Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.
At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.
Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like The Bodyguard and Waiting to Exhale.
She had the the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual and maintained perfect poise.
She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.
But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.
"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.
It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.
She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.
Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.
"The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club … it was such a stunning impact," Davis told Good Morning America.
"To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he added.
Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. Saving All My Love for You brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. How Will I Know, You Give Good Love and The Greatest Love of All also became hit singles.
Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like Where Do Broken Hearts Go and I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
The New York Times wrote that Houston "possesses one of her generation's most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity."
Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the Soul Train Awards in 1989.
"Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?" she told Katie Couric in 1996. "You're not black enough for them. I don't know. You're not R&B enough. You're very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them."
Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image and already had children of his own. (The couple had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.
But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.
"When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place," she told Rolling Stone in 1993. "You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that's their image. It's part of them, it's not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy."
It would take several years, however, for the public to see that side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of The Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America's sweetheart.
In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with The Bodyguard. Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.
It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy's record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the Bodyguard soundtrack was named album of the year.
She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher's Wife. Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, "My Love Is Your Love," in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut It's Not Right But It's Okay.
But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time The Preacher's Wife was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. … I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. … I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."
In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.
Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.
She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown's reality show, Being Bobby Brown, was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared "crack is whack," was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.
Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album "I Look To You." The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.
Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on Good Morning America went awry as Houston's voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.
A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.
Sin Marcellis, Philly's Best Kept Secret
For those who dont know Sin Marcellis, its time to "get familiar"!.This dude has been rocking the Philly streets with hard hitting freestyles and a rhyme scheme like no other along with some notable collaberations with some of Philly's hottest artist (Black Denero, & Gillie the Kid). Sin feels now is the time to spread his wings away from the battle scene which he's held the title for so many years travelling state to state(Detroit, Chicago,& Philly) looking for his next prey. Along side his team members, Hyku and L.F Daze(Producer/Artist) of the X League #teamsuperdope has all the elements to be the next wave of great mcees to step out of Philly with the skill and talent to do it.<<<<<STAY TUNED.
"Brave" is definately a monster!!!
Warren G -- Solving the World's Penis Problems
http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=3904346b-87fb-43e1-9a88-f39e13e41c09Warren G is seriously rising to the occasion -- because the guy's peddling PENIS pills on brand new infomercials ... and even claims to use the sexual enhancement products to regulate himself.
The commercials are set to air tonight -- but Warren tells tmz, he had no idea ... in fact, he hasn't even signed a contract with the company yet.
No bigs though -- we're told Warren put a call into his lawyer yesterday ... and expects everything to work out just fine.
The commercials are set to air tonight -- but Warren tells tmz, he had no idea ... in fact, he hasn't even signed a contract with the company yet.
No bigs though -- we're told Warren put a call into his lawyer yesterday ... and expects everything to work out just fine.
FBI Probed LA Cops Over Notorious Rap Murder
The possibility that Los Angeles police may have played a role in the murder of hip-hop star Notorious BIG was investigated by the FBI over a two-year period, according to recently released records.
The inquiry ended in early 2005, after federal prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence to pursue a case against any officers or another man implicated in the shooting of the rapper in 1997.
The decision was made after agents in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York tried to track down potential suspects and witnesses who might shed new light on the unsolved killing.
The shooting of Notorious BIG, also known as Biggie Smalls, came months after former friend and fellow rap superstar, Tupac Shakur, was fatally gunned down in Las Vegas.
The investigation started out as a civil rights violation and public corruption review, but efforts were made to solve the murder case.
Informants told the FBI that the killing of Biggie, real name Christopher Wallace, may have been aided by corrupt police officers.
FBI Probed LA Cops Over Notorious Rap Murder
The possibility that Los Angeles police may have played a role in the murder of hip-hop star Notorious BIG was investigated by the FBI over a two-year period, according to recently released records.
A fan displays a T-shirt tribute to rapper Biggie Smalls, aka The Notorious BIG
The inquiry ended in early 2005, after federal prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence to pursue a case against any officers or another man implicated in the shooting of the rapper in 1997.
The decision was made after agents in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York tried to track down potential suspects and witnesses who might shed new light on the unsolved killing.
The shooting of Notorious BIG, also known as Biggie Smalls, came months after former friend and fellow rap superstar, Tupac Shakur, was fatally gunned down in Las Vegas.
The investigation started out as a civil rights violation and public corruption review, but efforts were made to solve the murder case.
Informants told the FBI that the killing of Biggie, real name Christopher Wallace, may have been aided by corrupt police officers.
Biggie collecting an award on stage in 1996
The records showed that agents conducted surveillance on one man in San Diego who they thought may have fired the fatal shots at Wallace.
No one has been arrested for Wallace or Shakur's killings, although both deaths have been the subject of rampant speculation about the motives.
The one-time friends became rivals and instigators in an East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry during the mid-1990s.
Wallace was shot and killed in LA in March 1997 after leaving a Los Angeles music industry event.
RAPPER MACK 10 HOSPITALIZED!!!DAMN MY G!
The rapper was admitted to a local Los
A source told AllHipHop.com that Mack 10 was suffering from Diverticulitis, which is a swelling of an abnormal pouch in the intestinal wall.
"He went to the hospital with unbearable pain and was diagnosed," a source told datzgangstadvd "He's still there, he's just gonna take time to heal."
Mack 10 was diagnosed before surgery was needed to help with the illness.
Diverticulitis is common among men over 40. It's also found in more than half of Americans over age 60, so the rapper is expected to make a full recovery.
Mack 10 is preparing to release a new album titled Money Music with his artist/Hoo Bangin' label mate, Glasses Malone.
NEED GLASSES, MISTA CANT CEE ITS A BOY!
Diary Of A Hollywood Street King posted that the Hot 97 deejay was arrested last Wednesday when he was found in his car receiving fellatio from a male prostitute in his 20s.
SCREAM CHARACTER REVEALED BY MISTAKE...WTF?
However, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday (31Mar11), Craven's secret was revealed when the host flashed a photo of the previously unidentified actor, Roger Jackson.
Craven says, " We sneak him into the set before the actors arrive. We put him upstairs some place, in an obscure room and put a guard out front... No actor, until now, has ever seen him."
BUSTA RHYMES MUSIC STOPS FIGHT????GOOD SHIT!
He shared the account with RESPECT magazine:
“We were at the Roxy, and Kid Capri was DJing. I came in there with one of my mans, and Kid Capri played the s— for the third time, for the fourth time, for the fifth time, for the sixth time, for the seventh time, for the eighth time,” Busta explained. “By the eleventh time straight, no other song in between, I damn near started crying in the club, because I couldn’t believe that I’d done something that was so compelling that warranted that kind of love from the DJ. And the club was demanding that he keep playing it.”
He continued explaining:
“”Roc-a-fella and Terror Squad crossed paths in that spot that night, and you just started seeing bottles wildin’. Capri stopped the music: ‘Yo, y’all n—-s chill the f— out, man. Don’t f— up the party.’ N—-s still wildin’. He was like, ‘I know what’s gonna stop y’all from beefing’ — [makes beat noises] for the twelfth time. That song stopped the beef.”
LOOK AT BEYONCÉ’S NEW LOOK FOR HER NEW MUSIC VIDEO
Our Lady Diva was spotted in New Jersey on a shoot for the first video from her new album. She's wearing a Roberto Cavalli jumpsuit from the pre-spring 2011 collection and a hairy coat from the label's fall line. Aren't you so glad to see her back in action? She's been so quiet lately, probably just making home with Jay-Z instead of noise, both audio and visual. But all that can be made up for with this one look. This one Sasquatch-chic look. You go, Bey. You go.
Jay-Z Sued Over Diamond Logo!!!!WOW
Jay-Z's company Roc Nation is being sued for trademark infringement over its diamond-shaped logo.
Streetwear brand Volcom is alleging that Roc Nation’s logo bears a striking resemblance to its own gemstone symbol, which it has been using since 1991. In the lawsuit, filed on 31 March, the company said it has been asking Roc Nation to cease using the logo since it debuted in 2009, but had been ignored.
The lawsuit states: "While Roc Nation appears to have initially used the diamond only in combination with the words 'Roc Nation' it is now using the diamond log on its own, causing a likelihood of confusion among consumers." The logo is appearing on Roc Nation-branded headphones, clothing and records.
Volcom clothes and accessories are sold at similar retailers to Roc Nation’s gear and the company is seeking an injunction to have all products bearing the diamond logo destroyed.
It hasn’t been a good week for Jay-Z – the entrepreneur is also facing an investigation from the NBA after he violated league rules by entering college team Kentucky Wildcats’ dressing room.
Jay is part owner of the New Jersey Nets and is prohibited from communicating with any future draft picks. If found guilty, he could be slapped with a fine in the region of $30,000.
Streetwear brand Volcom is alleging that Roc Nation’s logo bears a striking resemblance to its own gemstone symbol, which it has been using since 1991. In the lawsuit, filed on 31 March, the company said it has been asking Roc Nation to cease using the logo since it debuted in 2009, but had been ignored.
The lawsuit states: "While Roc Nation appears to have initially used the diamond only in combination with the words 'Roc Nation' it is now using the diamond log on its own, causing a likelihood of confusion among consumers." The logo is appearing on Roc Nation-branded headphones, clothing and records.
Volcom clothes and accessories are sold at similar retailers to Roc Nation’s gear and the company is seeking an injunction to have all products bearing the diamond logo destroyed.
It hasn’t been a good week for Jay-Z – the entrepreneur is also facing an investigation from the NBA after he violated league rules by entering college team Kentucky Wildcats’ dressing room.
Jay is part owner of the New Jersey Nets and is prohibited from communicating with any future draft picks. If found guilty, he could be slapped with a fine in the region of $30,000.
LMFAO....THIS DUDE IS THE TRUTH!!!
Wiz Khalifa Raps Beyond His Years, OH REALLY?!
What do these collaborators have in common? They’re all at least 10 years Wiz Khalifa’s senior. This 22-year-old rapper has the taste of someone who’s been around far longer.
But it’s more than that. On Tuesday Wiz Khalifa released his first major-label album, “Rolling Papers” (Rostrum/Atlantic), and celebrated with a concert at Roseland Ballroom. But for all the youthful exuberance on display during that show, his album is relaxed and unforced and oddly unambitious. It doesn’t sound eager and curious like someone’s first crack at the big time, but rather like the work of someone comfortable with his well-honed style and feeling no need to innovate. It has the sound of a rapper who’s on his fifth or eighth album.
Which, in a way, Wiz Khalifa is. He’s released two albums independently, the first in 2006, and he’s released several mixtapes since then, many of them album quality. Maybe it’s confidence, maybe it’s precision, maybe it’s lethargy, but he’s been admirably consistent throughout his career. He’s an old-fashioned, uncomplicated type of rapper, impervious to the technical advances of the last 15 years. Wiz Khalifa soothes.
“Rolling Papers” is more single-minded and less nimble than his mixtapes. It’s full of starchy but unmemorable lyrics, streams of soft boasts with barely a metaphor in sight. At times, especially on the album’s brighter, more pop-leaning songs like “Fly Solo,” it’s not clear if Wiz Khalifa is a more interesting rapper than, say, Jason Mraz.
In places his casualness is indelible, like on the Pittsburgh anthem “Black and Yellow,” which eventually became a No. 1 pop hit in sync with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ run to Super Bowl XLV, and on songs like “Rooftops” and “The Race.” But it’s just as often numbing. “Wake Up” and “Top Floor” weigh down this album and, arriving near the end of the concert, they felt molasses-thick and suffocating.
The album’s sound is conspicuously regionless: the snoozy low end of the West Coast, the reassuring thump of the East Coast, the quirky effects and tweaks of the South. It’s designed to alienate no one.
That good will extends to the subject matter, which is less marijuana minded than his mixtapes, though not by much. He’s so known for his predilection that other rappers are taking note. “My Chevy sitting too high/I call that Wiz Khalifa,” Ace Hood raps on his current hit “Hustle Hard (remix),” which Wiz Khalifa’s D.J. played teasingly before Tuesday’s show.
“It’s bigger than just weed, it’s bigger than just fly” things, Wiz Khalifa insisted during the show, which included several songs from last year’s impressive mixtape “Kush & Orange Juice” and maybe too many from “Rolling Papers,” the worst of which were impossibly diffuse for a space as large as Roseland.
It might be the case that he has more to offer, but it needn’t be. His syllables land calmly and purposefully, if slowly. There’s such an ease about Wiz Khalifa that his jolts of eccentricity and ambition — that dash of bleached hair at the front of his short afro — feel overwrought. And he’s goofy too, unafraid to dance while rapping or in between verses, his skinny body bending at odd angles. He’s young enough not to know better, or old enough not to care.
Similarly, he didn’t mind showing emotion. Midway through the show he appeared to be wiping away tears with a towel while talking about the friends and family members of his crew, Taylor Gang, who died without getting to see him finally succeed.
Chevy Woods, a Taylor Gang affiliate, was one of just two guests Wiz Khalifa brought out during this concert. The other was the morbid and underappreciated Houston rapper Trae, who came out to perform during the first song of the night, “Phone Numbers,” and spent the rest of the show impassively standing sentry by the D.J. table, another old hand for Wiz Khalifa to shake.
Get on my Level...lil wayne too busy to listen to his artist albums, hahahaha
Is it that much of a shocker, though? We already knew that the recentl incarcerated rapper was not even familiar with the title of Minaj’s album Pink Friday while in prison, and that he had to ask his artist Mack Maine about what Drake’s album sounded like (“He singing his ass off?”) when asked about his expectations for Thank Me Later‘s first-week sales. Besides, Lil Wayne’s super-prolific and often poorly edited output over the years has hardly suggested the behavior of a man with the attention span to sit down and listen to one album all the way through.
For what it’s worth, Weezy says that Drake and Minaj probably wouldn’t take the revelation personally. “They would probably guess it,” said the Extraterrestrial. “I’m always focused on something and it captures my whole attention, I can’t do nothing else… Drake and Nick, don’t take that no kinda way.” You should check the albums out sometime, though, Wayne—they’re pretty good! Maybe we’ll throw some of the tracks on a mix for you sometime.
WTF, JACKIE CHAN'S DEAD?.....
A note posted on the Spy Next Door's Facebook page today read:
“Jackie is alive and well. He did not suffer a heart attack and die, as was reported on many social networking sites and in online news reports.”Thank goodness!
Instead of a heart attack, Chan was the latest victim of celebrity death hoaxes spawning from viral internet rumors that have already given the fans of celebs like Adam Sandler, Jeff Goldblum, and Owen Wilson a scare.
That's not nice or FUNNY, people! Don't you have anything better to do with your time than sit around spread disgusting death rumors?!
We've got three words for you: Get a life!
Certifed Gangsta, ST.LAZ As Above So Below!
Police Say DJ Megatron Was Shot During Marijuana Buy
According to police, DJ Megatron was talking to a friend on a cellphone, as he allegedly drove to buy a cigar and a small amount of marijuana.
Law enforcement is investigating DJ Megatron's homicide as a possible random crime, a planned hit, or a drug deal gone wrong.
DJ Megatron, born Corey McGriff, was 32-year-old when he was gunned down by unknown assailants.
DJ Megatron leaves behind three children, including a four-year-old who was allegedly left home alone when DJ Megatron left the house.
Police are also seeking more information on the three unidentified males who fled the scene of the shooting.
Damn she's at it again! come on FOXY!
The rapper, who spent time in jail for attacking two nail salon employees in 2004 and was arrested in 2007 for going ballistic in a beauty store, was kicked off a Royal Caribbean cruise after having a fit in the ship’s salon, TMZ.com reports.
Brown, who had performed on the boat, showed up three hours late for a manicure appointment and became enraged when the salon couldn’t fit her in.
Security had to remove her from the salon, and she remained under supervision for two days, until the ship docked in the Cayman Islands and she given the heave-ho.
weed is definately a powerful drug...ask Rick Ross!(mugshot inside)
Life imitated art for Rick Ross when the rapper was busted for marijuana possession Saturday (March 26) in Shreveport, La.The Maybach Music Group head honcho was in town for an appearance at a local night club and was arrested when cops smelled marijuana coming from his hotel room. According to TMZ, upon further investigation, police uncovered a gram of the substance sitting in "plain view."
Ross was arrested but later released on a misdemeanor summons. Unscathed, the 35-year-old headed to his next location of Redding, Penn., the very next day. "Let no man destroy what we build #SELFMADE," he tweeted Sunday (March 27).
COME ON SON....wtf it looks like money it tight for everyone these days!!
Rapper Mack 10 is in trouble again after he was sued for unpaid studio time.
The hip-hop star - real name Dedrick Rolison - returned to the studio for the first time since his 2009 album Soft White to work on a new record set to be released later this year (11).
However, Rolison allegedly failed to pay up for the use of The Doghouse Studio and is being sued by the venue's boss Rodger Carter for failing to pay $2,165 (£1,353) in hiring fees, according to Tmz.com.
The suit was filed at a small claims court in Malibu, California last month (Feb11).
Rolison was sued last year (10) over allegations he failed to pay a leading hip-hop producer $60,000 (£37,500) in royalties for his work on Soft White.
DAMN ANOTHER BLOW TO THE HIP HOP COMMUNITY! R.I.P MEGATRON
Witnesses heard a single shot at about 2 a.m. in the Clifton section of Staten Island. Megatron was pronounced dead on the scene a short time later from a gun shot to his stomach.
Law enforcement officials would not immediately confirm his identity and said they were investigating the shooting
Gab Gotcha , lets talk about raw talent....officially gangsta!
Shout outs to Mak Mustard, Al Pac & Gain Greene bangin wit datz gangsta dvd!
xxx pornstar Lethal Lipps showed some special love...now DATZGANGSTA
keep watching there's more 2 cum....pause
J-krist is everywhere....datz a good look DiamondPlusRecordz!
them Diamond Plus boys are on the move
Datz Gangsta DVD is proud to bring you LACEY MONROE
Datz Gangsta DVD (words for the public)
First off, I would like to thank all of our supporters for DatzGangsta DVD!, every artist signed and unsigned, every fan and merchant for believing in the movement and making DatzGangstaDVD a reality. We will continue to bring you real hip hop and entertainment as well as strive to bring you quality with each dvd in efforts to make each project a success for all aspiring artist.
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