Gerald Mbago

When will you get a second stimulus check???

2020-12-21T16:24:00.003+03:00

A second round of stimulus payments is included in a coronavirus relief package struck by congressional leaders late Sunday.

Lawmakers are expected to vote Monday on the deal, which would provide for $600 checks, but experts say it will take at least two weeks for the Treasury to get cash into individuals' bank accounts after legislation is signed.

"The timing could be more challenging this time, but the IRS could likely begin to get the money out in January," said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

In March, Congress provided individuals with $1,200 direct payments and couples with $2,400 plus $500 per child under the $2 trillion CARES Act. Those payments started phasing out for singles who earn more than $75,000 a year and those earning more than $99,000 did not receive anything. The income thresholds were doubled for couples.

As with the first round, the new payments will only be sent to people below a certain income level. According to reports, the payment would start phasing out for individuals who earn more than $75,000, similar to the fist payments.

It took two weeks after that bill was passed for the IRS to start distributing the money -- but some eligible recipients still haven't received it, months later.

Who gets the money fastest

The payments do not go all out at once. Those whose bank information is on file with the IRS will likely get the money first because it will be directly deposited into their account. Others will receive paper checks or prepaid debit cards in the mail.

About 90 million people -- more than half of those eligible -- received their payments within the first three weeks of April after the March deal was signed. Most people had their money within two months.

Still, about 12 million eligible Americans were at risk of not getting the money at all because the IRS had no way to reach them. While most people received the money automatically, very low-income people who don't normally file tax returns had to register online before Nov. 21 to provide their address or bank account number.

IRS under pressure

If Congress keeps the eligibility requirements the same as they were for the first round of checks, the process may be nearly as easy as hitting a button. But it could complicate things if the parameters are changed -- especially if Congress adds restrictions aside from income.

Additional checks may delay the start of the 2020 tax filing season. A second stimulus check means the agency will have to make changes to the tax return forms, some of which have already been sent to the printers.

December is not an ideal time to add to the IRS's workload. It's typically the month when work is done to prepare for the upcoming filing season and more staff may be on leave than usual due to the holidays.

"I believe the IRS will deliver the stimulus checks in a timely manner. It just might be at the expense of the filing season start date," said Chad Hooper, the executive director of the Professional Managers Association, which advocates for more than 30,000 non-union IRS workers.

Martin Shkreli Is 'Not a Psychopath,' Journalist Defends Relationship With 'Pharma Bro'

2020-12-21T16:19:00.000+03:00

Every so often an article or story comes along that just breaks the internet—today that story is about a woman who left her husband to be with one of the most hated men in the world, Martin Shkreli.

He became despised after hiking the price of AIDS drug Daraprim nearly 5,000 percent in August 2015. Christie Smythe, who upended her life to be with Shkreli, has defended him to the world, declaring that the so-called Pharma Bro is "not a psychopath."

Former Bloomberg journalist Smythe, 38, opened up about her relationship with the convicted fraudster in a piece for Elle magazine that was published Sunday night and immediately caused a huge stir online.

Following the publication of the story, Smythe took to Twitter to defend the man whom she called her "life partner."

In the piece, Smythe recounts how she "fell down the rabbit hole" after meeting Shkreli, upending her idyllic Brooklyn life and divorcing her husband.

She described her growing involvement with Shkreli as "incremental decisions, where you're, like, slowly boiling yourself to death in the bathtub." Even admitting: "Maybe I was being charmed by a master manipulator."

Most bizarrely, the story comes with a twist with Smythe revealing that Shkreli is no longer speaking to her from prison where he is serving a seven-year sentence for scamming investors in hedge funds he operated.

A cold statement provided to the magazine from Shkreli simply read: "Mr. Shkreli wishes Ms. Smythe the best of luck in her future endeavors," with no grand gestures of romance or love.

"I realize it's hard for many people to accept that 1. Martin is not a psychopath, and 2. a woman can choose to do something with her life (which does not affect you) that you in no way approve of," Smythe tweeted. "But that's OK."

A Twitter user asked Smythe to tell her followers about the most romantic thing Shkreli ever did for her, to which she replied: "He can't really do much from prison. He once declared he would buy me a goat farm (because he knows I like goats). I do not actually need an entire farm, though. I'd rather the money be spent on some needy cause."

In a later tweet she wrote of her devotion to Shkreli: "It wasn't an easy decision. I became aware that good people were afraid to stick up for him. They cared about him, but were afraid of what would happen, the tweet storm, etc. I decided I wasn't afraid, and he needed someone to stick their neck out."

Cardi B Drops $700K On A Custom Lamborghini For Offset's 29th Birthday

2020-12-21T16:02:00.000+03:00

The rap star's attorney Howard Srebnick has uncovered his solicitation for a January condemning date for having a stacked Remington 1911 .45-type weapon in a sack on his personal luxury plane in December of 2019 was excessively aggressive.

During Lil Wayne's first hearing on December eleventh, Srebnick proposed a quickened condemning date for January of 2021, which was court-affirmed.

Notwithstanding, Wayne's attorney just presented another solicitation to the court requesting the rapper's condemning date to be pushed back.

"Given the press of other business related issues and family occasions during the few weeks following the request, undersigned's proposition was excessively driven," Howard Srebnick kept in touch with the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida.

Lil Wayne's legal advisor said he is chipping away at a case free throughout the following not many weeks, while his staff will be inaccessible gratitude to Christmas and the New Year's vacation.

Lil Durk Releases “Backdoor” Music Video With Tribute To King Von

2020-12-21T15:49:00.000+03:00

2020 has been a significant year in Lil Durk's vocation. He scored his first Top 2 hit on the Hot 100 diagram as an element on Drake's "Chuckle Now Cry Later." Durk likewise acquired two Grammy selections for the single.

Conversely, the Chicago-raised rhymer needed to manage the deficiency of his melodic protégé Dayvon "Ruler Von" Bennett. The 26-year-old Only The Family member was murdered in Atlanta on November 6.

Durk had remained generally out of open sight since King Von's passing. In any case, he flew back out with another melody and music video on Sunday night.

Jerry Production was behind the camera for the new visuals. While advancing the arrival of the "Indirect access" MV on Twitter, Lil Durk added the hashtag "#DoIt4Von" to his tweet.

Back in May, Durk dropped his fifth studio collection called Just Cause Y'all Waited 2. With visitor appearances by Lil Baby, Polo G, Gunna, and G Herbo, the continuation of Durk's 2018 mixtape appeared in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 outline.

Ruler Von was shot and murdered after a squabble outside at an Atlanta-territory club. Timothy Leeks, 22, was captured and accused of lawful offense murder while hospitalized for a shot injury.

Game's Tweet 'Interfered' With Police, Sheriff's Department Says

2011-08-16T14:01:00.000+03:00

Rapper claims a friend accidentally sent tweet of department phone numbers, resulting in 'overwhelmed' lines.

It's no secret that Game has an itchy Twitter finger, and now a tweet from his account has landed him in hot water with the police. After a message appeared on the West Coast rapper's Twitter asking aspiring interns to call the sheriff's station in Compton, the station's phone lines were flooded with calls. The resulting calls reportedly caused a delay in emergency services, including a missing person report, a spousal assault incident, two robberies and a stolen car incident. Now the sheriff's department is looking to hit the rapper up with a series of charges.
A press release issued to Gerald Mbago Blog News by the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department said that the phone calls started at about 5:23 p.m. PT on Friday (August 12) and didn't subside until a few hours later, at 8.
"These needless phone calls interfered with the ability of sheriff's desk personnel to answer the business line phones and 9-1-1 calls, and for dispatchers to send help to people who really needed it," said Captain Mike Parker of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau. "We don't know how many people needed help but couldn't get through the overwhelmed phone lines."
Parker tweeted the Game directly, alerting him that his initial call-out was jeopardizing public safety. Game, however, told TMZ.com that he wasn't responsible for the tweet, and that a friend accidently sent the message from the rapper's phone while he was at a photo shoot on Friday.
The sheriff's department is now presenting their case to the district attorney's office in consideration of a criminal filing of three charges including annoying or harassing phone calls via electronic device or Internet, delaying or obstructing peace officers in the performance of their duties, and knowingly and maliciously disrupting or impeding communications over a public safety radio frequency.

Jay-Z Explains Watch The Throne Title

2011-08-16T13:52:00.000+03:00

Jay-Z continues to promote his and Kanye West's Watch the Throne album. While his partner Yeezy was overseas in Sweden performing with Prince at the Way Out West festival this weekend, Hov held it down at home, beginning with the opening on Friday of the WTT pop-up store in New York City. He also dialed in to Miami's 99 Jamz for a radio interview, and Monday morning (August 15) it was announced that the God MC would join Bruno Mars, Black Eyed Peas and David Guetta as part of the iHeartRadio Festival on September 23 and 24 in Las Vegas.

On Friday night, after news of the surprise retail space broke, Jigga, along with Beyoncé, Swizz Beatz and producer Just Blaze, threw a party at the makeshift store, where the retooled Maybach from the Throne's "Otis" video was also on display.
See what car expert Myles Kovacs estimates the "Otis" Maybach's work cost.
Hov also called in to Miami's 99 Jamz radio show host Lorenzo "Ice Tea" Thomas for only his second interview in promotion of WTT. In the interview, Jay explained the Throne's album title:
"It's just protecting the music and the culture. It's people that's in the forefront of music, it's like Watch the Throne, protect it. You just watch how popular music shifts and how hip-hop has basically replaced rock and roll as the youth music. The same thing could happen to hip-hop, it could be replaced by other forms of music. So it's just making sure that we put that effort into making the best product so we can contend with all this other music, with all the dance music that's dominating the charts right now and indie music that's dominating the festivals and still hold off rock 'n' roll. Just to hold our place and make sure that the hip-hop culture is still the most dominant form of music around the world."
Read what critics have to say about Watch the Throne.
On Sunday, Jigga took the celebration to Miami's Club LIV, and on Monday, it was announced that Jay would take part the iHeartRadio music festival. It is unclear whether Kanye will join his Throne partner for the festival.

2011-08-16T13:40:00.000+03:00

Jay-Z famously said that he would retire after he dropped his debut album Reasonable Doubt way back in 1996, and we all saw how that worked out. With only one solo album under his belt, could Waka Flocka Flame do what Jigga couldn't?
Last month, the "Hard in Da Paint" rapper tweeted "This game 2 fake I [quit] rap after this year," but when Sway asked Waka about his post-rap plans, he elaborated on the statement.

"Nah, I am gonna retire. I'm gonna retire from the industry," Waka said on last week's "RapFix Live." "I'm not gonna kick it in the industry no more. I'm gonna do what I wanna do, how I started like from the beginning. I'm gonna do exactly what I wanna do."
Flocka didn't exactly say that he'd quit making music, however. Instead, the Atlanta-based rapper said he would go on to operate outside the music industry's traditional avenues.
"I don't expect to win awards, I don't expect to go to big venues. I'm gonna really help the youth — this is what I started doin' it for, so I'm gonna finish doin' it," he said. "Yeah, I'm gonna retire — from the industry."
For now, though, fans can tide themselves over with Ferrari Boyz, Waka's joint album with mentor Gucci Mane, which dropped last Tuesday. "Man, we just came to smash the game — point blank, period," Waka told Sway when asked why the duo made Ferrari Boyz. "They chasin' our sound, folks' singles is on our sound, and we might as well just go 'head and give it all to 'em."
Do you think Waka Flocka Flame can make it on his own terms? Let us know in the comments!

Lady Gaga's 'Yoü And I' Video To Premiere Thursday On MTV

2011-08-16T13:34:00.000+03:00

Lady Gaga has some news for all her Little Monsters. The Mother Monster herself will sit down with MTV News and Sway Calloway on Thursday night (August 18) during "MTV First: Lady Gaga" to premiere her highly anticipated music video for "Yoü and I." And during her live interview, she's also set to make another big announcement.

"Yoü and I" is the fourth video off of Gaga's chart-topping Born This Way. She's already dazzled fans with high-concept clips for "Born This Way" and "Judas" and then kicked it more lo-fi and old school in her video for "The Edge of Glory," which co-starred the late Clarence Clemons.

Gaga promised fans that she'll post a link to the video as her 1,000th tweet. So far she's posted several hints about the video as she approaches that number. Tweet #993 reads, "Love is a Result. We bare an Unbearable Human Inability: to just 'be.' " It also features a photo of a woman, presumably Gaga, in a white dress, sitting at a piano in the woods. Her next two tweets hinted that the premiere would take place in "Less than a week" and then the accompanying photo was of dirty feet in high-heeled platforms.

Watch The Throne Expected To Move 400-500k First Week

2011-08-10T12:16:00.000+03:00

Watch The Throne, the debut album from Kanye West and Jay-Z, is predicted to push roughly 400,000-500,000 in its first week, according to early sales reports.

Billboard magazine said based on early sales numbers the album would move the digital-only release to gold status. Industry staple HitsDailyDouble predicted similar sales of 495,835.

The sales numbers make it 2nd in first week sales only with Lady Gaga's'Born This Way being the top first-week seller at 1.1 million units.

Presently, Watch The Throne is sold exclusively through iTunes and will be available in all other outlets on August 12.

The album was released midnight Monday morning.

Justin Timberlake struggled to overcome his parents’ divorce

2011-08-04T12:28:00.000+03:00

Justin Timberlake has spoken of the personal “obstacles” he had to overcome after his parents divorced. The singer turned actor’s parents Lynn and Randall ended their marriage when he was around four years old and it had a profound effect on him. He admits it was a hard time in his life and took him a long time to get over.
Although Justin – who has previously dated Britney Spears, Cameron Diaz and Jessica Biel – doesn’t go into specifics, he hinted seeing what his parents went through has impacted his own romantic relationships. “When you’re a child of a broken home there are other obstacles to overcome, too. You spend so much time trying not to be a victim of what happened. Trying to overdo not becoming your parents. But slowly, you learn to become yourself,” he explained to the September issue of UK magazine Elle.
There were some positives about the situation though. Both his parents remarried and Justin learnt to deal with changes in his life. He began to see the possibilities in life are endless and decided to grab any opportunities he was given.
“Never having a sibling means you have to accept responsibility. And then coming to terms [with the divorce] as a kid… it probably gave me some sort of energy, the sense I’m going to have to do something else now,” he said.
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Zimbabwe: Munya Involved In Accident

2011-08-04T12:07:00.000+03:00

Former Big Brother All Stars housemate Munyaradzi Chidzonga is on crutches following an accident in which he broke his ankle.

Munyaradzi, or simply "The Diamond Boy" to the reality show fans, sustained a swollen ankle as a result of the accident but sources revealed that it was not that "serious".
When The Herald sought comment from the "Lobola" actor, he could neither confirm nor deny but promised to release a statement.
However, a close friend who requested anonymity confirmed the accident but insisted that it was not serious.
"Well, it was just a minor accident in which he broke his ankle but nothing serious," he said.
Munyaradzi has since sent his congratulatory message to this year's Zimbabwe's winner of Big Brother Amplified Wendall Parson, who was jointly awarded first prize with Nigeria's Karen Ibho.
"The Diamond Boy", who is an actor by profession, came second in the season four of Big Brother All Stars version although he had survived eviction for a record nine times.

There was a huge out cry throughout Africa after M-Net, the producers of the show through Endemol South Africa awarded Nigeria's Uti Nwachukwu ahead of the firm favourite Munyaradzi.

However, Munyaradzi was then rewarded by a group of businessmen who put together a whopping US$300 000 prize which was presented to Munya by President Mugabe.

His first-ever feature film called "Lobola" in which he stars as the main actor, has done exceptionally well on the market. His next film titled "The Gentleman" is due for release later this year.

Nigeria: Country Wins Big Brother Reality Show

2011-08-04T11:57:00.001+03:00

KAREN Igho yesterday became the third Nigerian to win the Big Brother Africa (BBA) reality show, also known as Big Brother Amplified.

Karen, alongside Zimbabwean housemate, Windall, emerged winner at the Big Brother Amplified finale.

Having grabbed the $200,000 grand prize, she has become the third Nigerian to become a millionaire courtesy of MNET and its BBA reality show, back-to-back.

Supplied

Nigeria's Karen and Zimbabwe's Wendall have won U.S.$200,000 each in the finale of the Big Brother Africa reality show.

The first Nigerian to win the $200,000 prize was Kevin Pam; he won the 2009 edition. Another Nigerian, Uti

happy life Karen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ProVerb (South Africa)

2011-08-02T11:34:00.000+03:00

The industry librarian
Book of Proverbs, a poetic book of maxims from the Old Testament. Proverb, a short pithy saying in common or recognised use; a concise sentence, often metaphorical, held to express some general truth.

A lot to live up to if ProVerb is your non de plume as an emcee, but this guy has the goods, as he proved with his first release, Book of ProVerb, his sophomore album, Manuscript, his mixtape, Off Da Books, and now again with his latest effort, Write of Passage. This guy is never short of words, concepts or rhymes.

Hailing from Kimberley (home of the world's largest diamond crystal), ProVerb lost no time finding his footing in the “big city” of Johannesburg.

His first break came in 2003 when he collaborated with Amu, one of Jo'burg's veterans, on the track "Attention", after which he quickly battled and freestyled his way up the ranks to release albums, make a name for hmself in radio as a technical producer, and on TV as the host of Headrush, a popular African hip hop show.

A true emcee in every sense, ProVerb is always interested in connecting hip hop from different parts of the continent, hence his collaborations with artists such as Mode 9 (Nigeria) and performance with Awadi (of Positive Black Soul, Senegal) at the African presidents tour in South Africa.

A busy guy, yet he makes the time for charity work, and is involved with Unicef, activities that have taken him to India, Uganda, Ethiopia and Spain.

Of all his activities, though, what stands out is the music. ProVerb's lyrics are profound, his rhyming skills sharp, and listening to him is like reading a good book. It feeds your soul and makes you wanna write better, wanna be better.

Soulja Boy Rep Shoots Down Multi-Million Dollar Jet Purchase

2011-08-02T10:14:00.000+03:00

So much for ballin' on your born day. A rep for Soulja Boy has put the kibosh on reports that his 21 year old client purchased a private jet for over $30 million dollars as a special birthday gift to himself at the end of last week.
"The elaborate rumors circulating about Soulja Boy purchasing a jet for his 21st birthday are grossly over exaggerated" publicist Greg Miller told Gerald mbago blog flat out calling the reports "not true."
While most new 21-year-olds bask in the freedom of legally being able to buy drinks at the bar and partying it up with their pals, birthday boy Soulja Boy Tell’Em has taken stunting to a new level with his latest reported purchase. Opting to celebrate in a most innovative way, a report says that the “Crank That” rapper has purchased a $55 Million dollar jet tricked out with features fit for a young millionaire.
News site has reported that an insider on Soulja Boys’ team said to the their staff that Soulja Boy purchased a brand new G5 private jet for $35 Million but with the bonus additions to the aircraft, the price bumped up to a cool $55 Million. According to the report, the jet will be outfitted with posh Italian leather seats, a travertine tiled floor, hardwood cabinets, four stocked bars and a number of flat screen TVs. Soulja doesn’t intend to stop there as the rapper intends to take out the usual cramped airplane bathroom stall and adding his own lavish version of a full-sized bathroom as well.
Soulja is said to also have work done on the exterior of his plane, adorning the aircraft with his artist and label logo literally stamping his expensive birthday gift. Soulja – who turned 21 yesterday (July 28) – is also throwing a big all-star b-day bash in Miami tonight, spending a reported $300,000 dollars to host the event.

Justin Bieber Visits Recovering Sean Kingston In Miami

2011-08-02T10:07:00.000+03:00

Justin Bieber was spotted in Miami over the weekend hanging out with his pal, former tourmate and "Eenie Meenie" collaborator Sean Kingston. Gerald Mbago blogsite News caught up with the teen star Sunday when he landed back in Los Angeles to see what he and his pal were up to.
"I was just down in Miami," he told us "We were just hanging out at his house, kicking it, driving around Miami and whatnot.

"It was a lot of fun," he added about hanging out with Kingston, who is recovering from a headline-making jet-ski accident. "I got to relax and take time off."
Sean Kingston," the chart-topping artist will talk about his recovery from the near-fatal accident, which occurred near his home in Miami,

Sean Kingston Will Talk Recovery On 'MTV First' 'Beautiful Girls' singer will answer fans' questions and catch us up on life since his jet-ski accident on special airing Tuesday at 7:57 p.m. ET on MTV

2011-08-02T09:31:00.000+03:00

Sean Kingston will sit down with MTV News and Sway Calloway on Tuesday, August 2, to set the record straight about his headline-making jet-ski accident.

During "MTV First: Sean Kingston," the chart-topping artist will talk about his recovery from the near-fatal accident and his plans to get back in the recording studio. The special is set to air at 7:57 p.m. ET on MTV and then continue for 30 minutes on MTV.com. Beginning Monday (August 1).
Fans first learned of the accident that landed Kingston in a Miami hospital trauma ward during this past Memorial Day weekend. He suffered from a broken jaw, a fractured wrist and water in his lungs. Nearly four weeks after the accident, the "Beautiful Girls" singer tweeted a photo of himself from what looked like his hospital bed. He was released in late June.
Recently, Kingston has been slowly getting back to work, turning up onstage with Nicki Minaj on July 24, and shooting a music video with Iyaz, Travie McCoy and Soulja Boy earlier this month.
On "MTV First," Sean will open up about the cause of the jet-ski accident and go into detail about the various medical procedures he underwent to treat his injuries. The singer will also speak candidly about how the accident helped him to focus on living a healthier lifestyle. And, of course, we'll find out what's up next for the star in his music career.

What Do You Think Of Jay-Z And Kanye West's New Group?

2011-07-27T09:17:00.000+03:00

Jay Hova. Jigga. Kanyeezy. Dr. Louis Martin Louis The King Jr. Hip-Hop royalty Jay-Z and Kanye West have introduced a number of nicknames over the course of their respective careers and today the pair added one more moniker to their growing list.

In just over a week Kanye and Hov will finally release their highly anticipated joint album, Watch The Throne. While fans have been excited after hearing news of the project including just two records from the album, "H.A.M." and "Otis," the superstar rappers have kept details around the record close to the vest with next to minimal promotion. If there was any doubt as to if the project was underway those concerns were dismissed today when it was announced WTT will drop digitally on iTunes on August 8th with the physical album hitting stores days later on August 12th. To support the album, Kanye and Jay-Z are plotting to launch a full tour kicking off in September, with the biggest news of all, Kanye and Jay-Z have formed a group and will now be referred to as ... "The Throne."

In light of the news we here at RapFix decided to ask you the fans your thoughts on Jay-Z and Kanye's new group. You feeling it or not? Hit our poll and let us know your thoughts on "The Throne" boys and their name.

What do you think of Jay-Z and Kanye West's group name?

Late Amy Winehouse Funeral Held In London

2011-07-27T08:57:00.000+03:00

AMY DURRING HER SHOWS

AMY WITH HER MOTHER AFTER WINNING AWARDS

AMY WITH HER BOYFRIEND BLAKE CIVIL FIELDER

AMY DURRING HER PERFOMANCE

Friends and family gathered in London on Tuesday morning (July 26) to pay tribute to Amy Winehouse at a private funeral at the Edgwarebury Cemetery. Winehouse, who died at age 27 of yet-undetermined causes, was found unresponsive in her Camden apartment on Saturday by a bodyguard.

According to The Associated Press, friends such as Kelly Osbourne and Back to Black producer Mark Ronson were in attendance at the funeral, which was expected to be followed by cremation and a family gathering at a local synagogue. Osbourne, one of Winehouse's close friends, wore her hair in a tall beehive as an homage to her pal's signature look.

Winehouse's autopsy results were inconclusive, and police said results of toxicology test will take two to four weeks; an inquest has been opened into her death and was adjourned until October 26. Sky News reported that Winehouse's ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, was not in attendance at the funeral after officials refused a compassionate leave from jail, where he is serving a 32-month prison sentence after his conviction on burglary and firearms offenses.

See what Adele had to say about being inspired by Winehouse.

Tributes to Winehouse continued to pour in from friends and admirers. U2, who recently paid homage to late Bruce Springsteen sideman Clarence Clemons during shows on their massive 360 Tour, tipped their hats to Winehouse on Saturday during a show at Minneapolis' TCF Stadium, performing their 2001 single "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," according to NME. Singer George Michael also had kind words for the troubled "Rehab" star, calling her the "most soulful vocalist this country has ever seen," joining a list of peers that includes Adele, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Kelly Clarkson who've posted kind words about Winehouse.

50 Cent Rocks Morocco At Festival De Casa Blanca

2011-07-19T08:40:00.000+03:00

Saturday night (July 16) in Casablanca Morocco, the attitude of thousands of fans was "get 50 or die trying." With the feeling that it may be their once in a lifetime opportunity to get next to their favorite hip-hop hero, fans at El Hank stadium jumped onstage during a 50 Cent headlined concert and on Fif’s Mercedes Benz after the show as he traveled back to his hotel.

"This was probably the craziest night we've ever had, besides [when we performed a concert in] Angola," Tony Yayo, a co-founding member of the G-Unit group along with Fif and Lloyd Banks, assessed back at the Hyatt hotel after the show.

"I would say we had about 20 attempts to get onstage," Yay continued. "About eight successes.

During a smile-filled postmortem of the show in his luxury suite, 50 laughed as members of the entourage he was traveling with, such as new signees singer Governor and New Orleans MC Kidd Kidd (known most notably from his guest spot on Lil Wayne's smash "Mrs. Officer"), gave their own takes of the show.

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela

2011-07-19T08:35:00.000+03:00

Yesterday we celebrate the born day of iconic leader and one-time South African President Nelson Mandela who turned 93 years old today. The former President celebrated his big day with family and friends as the country also acknowledged the anti-apartheid leaders birthday with a number of tributes.

Fans across the states paid tribute to the leader with a series of messages online as well their own personal Twitter accounts.

A few years back 50 Cent and his G-Unit faction including Tony Yayo personally met Mandela while out touring Africa. The meeting between the men left an impression that continues to stand strong with 50 and Yayo til this day.

"I've been enlightened in a lot of different ways," 50 continued, referring to his tours of the Apartheid Museum and the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum with Mandla Mandela. "To have someone directly involved give me information was exciting. You know, I learn faster hands-on than I do from reading books. It's exciting to be in a position where people [of the Mandelas' stature] will actually take the time out to explain these things to me."

Yayo chimed in saluting Southa Africa's first black leader for standing tall considering he was incarcerated for over 27 years.

"I've been incarcerated before, and that prison cell made Rikers Island look like Great Adventure," Yayo said later. "What they were sleeping on — no toilet, no bed, no nothing. We got it easy where we came from. This is real hard out here."

"How could you spend 27 years in prison and come out and not want to kill everybody?" Yayo continued.

"To endure so much and still be as peaceful as he is when you actually see him," 50 said. "I guess you got options, and they can either drive you to become an animal, or you can become what he's actually become. I mean, there's a huge significance to Nelson Mandela and his struggle."

The G-Unit soldiers weren't the only stars of rap who wished Mr. Mandela well on his day of birth.

New Orleans rap veteran Mystikal tweeted today, "Happy birthday Nelson Mandela!!! An inspiration of freedom without racism!!!" Entertainer and comic Nick Cannon tweeted a link to his blog that featured an entry dedicated to Mandela.

Slaughterhouse MC Crooked I also joined in on the festivities by tweeting, "Nelson Mandela turned 93 today... Happy BawseDay to a born leader..." and Wu-tang Clan swordsman Ghostface Killah added, "Yo Yow...Happy Born Day to Mr. Nelson Mandela" – joining a bevy of stars such as Russell Simmons, actress Kerry Washington and others paying loving tribute to the South African leader by posting various quotes from the man himself.

Happy Birthday Mandela.

Infinity Ward: 'Modern Warfare 3' Will Allow Party Chat, For The Most Part

2011-07-19T08:33:00.000+03:00

Looking back at my stats, I spent around 30 hours playing "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" multiplayer, but in "Modern Warfare 2," I only spent about a third of that time. Why the discrepancy? Sure, prevalent hackers played a part in my frustration, but that wasn't the main reason. The main reason was that, in just about every objective-based mode, Party Chat was blocked.

Infinity Ward's rationale was that, by blocking Party Chat, it would encourage teamwork among strangers and cut down on cheating as Party Chatters wouldn't be able to join separate teams and give valuable intel to the other side.

While that's great for the most hardcore players, I'm really just interested in playing and chatting with friends. There were work-arounds using Xbox Live security settings, but it was still an unnecessary chore every time I wanted to play "MW2" multiplayer.

Yesterday, at an event in New York City, I spoke with Robert Bowling, the creative strategist at Infinity Ward for "Modern Warfare 3," about whether the same Party Chat restrictions would be in place.

"When designing multiplayer, especially 'Modern Warfare' multiplayer, you have 30 million people [playing]," said Bowling. "They all are very different. You have guys like you, playing just for fun, just want to jump on there and have a good time. You have your hardcore competitive guys. You have your casual guys that maybe are competitive, they're just not as good. It's all about delivering a platform to allow you to have fun the way you want to have fun without hindering the other audiences."

The crucial difference between "Modern Warfare 2" and "3" is that the former's multiplayer was designed as if it were a professional sports league, whereas the latter allows for both professional, triple-A and amatuer leagues. Bowling wouldn't go too in-depth about how the game would separate different players, but he did give a few examples.

"A major focus of 'Modern Warfare 3' multiplayer is allowing you to have a lot more control over [how you play], looking at those restrictions and doing away with stuff like [Party Chat blocking] that's super hardcore. It's about giving options. We will have places where competitive guys go where you might have restrictive voice chat. And then you have an option to maybe play that same mode without the same restrictions if that's the type of player you are."

He finished by saying, "The only place where Party Chat should be blocked is Search & Destroy." In that mode, players are given just a single life per round, so those attempting to cheat with Party Chat would definitely give players an advantage. It wouldn't, however, be blocked "for modes like Dom[ination]."

It's encouraging news, given Infinity Ward's historically stubborn reputation regarding competitive multiplayer. Looks like those with a sub-1.0 K/D ratio might actually be able to enjoy themselves this time around.

'L.A. Noire,' 'Duke Nukem Forever,' And 'InFamous 2' Lead June Game Sales

2011-07-19T08:31:00.001+03:00

There's an old saying, "there's no such thing as bad publicity." Though it was critically panned, "Duke Nukem Forever" appears to have pulled off some decent U.S. sales figures last month. According to the NPD Group, the game managed to take the second-highest sales spot for the month of June. Leading all software titles for the month was Rockstar's "L.A. Noire," the second month it has dominated the sales charts. Third place went to Sony's "inFamous 2."

There's obviously some truth to that old adage I mentioned, given the hubbub surrounding the content of "Duke Nukem Forever" and its less-than-stellar review scores. The game was also involved in controversy when a public relations representative threatened game critics with blacklisting for what he deemed to be reviews that "went too far." The same could be said for "L.A. Noire," which despite generally positive review scores, has found itself embroiled in controversy regarding the production methods of its developer, Team Bondi.

Nintendo didn't miss an opportunity to rightfully brag about the sales figures of "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D." Even though the game had only been on store shelves for two weeks, it still managed to sell 283,000 units last month, grabbing the fifth-highest spot on the NPD report. That's a big deal for Nintendo, who have so far struggled to find a big hit in software titles for its new 3DS hardware.

On a less jovial note, Joystiq reports that Grasshopper Manufacture's "Shadows of the Damned" and Q-Games' "Child of Eden" didn't fare so well in June. While "Shadows" didn't launch until June 21, and "Eden" released mid-month on June 14, the sales numbers were rather poor. "Eden" -- only available on Xbox 360 at this point -- only sold 34,000 units. "Shadows" only managed to move 24,000 copies across Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined. Both games received generally favorable reviews, with our own review of "Shadows" calling the game "genuine and clever, rather than simply crude for the sake of being crude."

To put those sales in context, "Duke Nukem Forever," which our review described as "an absolute rip-off," sold 376,300 units. That's over six-times the sales of "Eden" and "Shadows" combined. Ouch.

'Assassin's Creed Revelations' Was Once A 3DS Game

2011-07-19T08:28:00.000+03:00

After two "Assassin's Creed" games starring Ezio Auditore, there weren't too many people expecting a third. After all, the last major time period and protagonist change was back in 2009 with "Assassin's Creed 2." Despite that, Ubisoft is sticking with the Italian assassin for one more go-around in "Assassin's Creed Revelations." The game's focus will be on forming the connection between Ezio and the franchise's first protagonist, Altair. That heretofore untold story is clearly important to the franchise, but it was a story that was originally going to be told on a handheld device, according to Darby McDevitt, lead writer for "Revelations."

Late last week, at a media event in New York City, I spoke with McDevitt about "Revelations," and he mentioned that it wasn't always such a massive project. "This story was developed simultaneously with 'Brotherhood,' but it was in a slightly different format," he explained. "It was not a full console game."

So how did "Revelations" begin development?

"There was a game announced called '[Assassin's Creed:] Lost Legacy.' It was a 3DS game. And that has never been officially cancelled, but we just morphed that idea. It was literally a matter of falling deeply in love with our subject matter and within months of realizing we needed to go bigger, we went bigger."

On that front, players can expect deeper multiplayer and a storyline that features playable sequences as Ezio, Altair and Desmond. McDevitt wants to be clear that this is still primarily an Ezio game, saying that sequences as the other characters will be much shorter and more linear. You won't, for example, explore the ancient city of Constantinople as Altair, though you will have specific missions as him.

Although some fans may be disappointed that this new "Assassin's Creed" game is sticking with the same protagonist, McDevitt does point out that when the franchise is ready for an "Assassin's Creed 3," it'll have a fresh new time and character. "First and foremost, it's an ancestor thing, and a location and a time period thing." As you may recall, my fingers are crossed for the American Revolution.

A Tribe called Quest

2011-07-19T08:13:00.000+03:00

Without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s, A Tribe Called Quest jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap. In essence, they abandoned the macho posturing rap music had been constructed upon, and focused instead on abstract philosophy and message tracks. The "sucka MC" theme had never been completely ignored in hip-hop, but Tribe confronted numerous black issues -- date rape, use of the word nigger, the trials and tribulations of the rap industry -- all of which overpowered the occasional game of the dozens. Just as powerful musically, Quest built upon De La Soul's jazz-rap revolution, basing tracks around laid-back samples instead of the played-out James Brown-fests which many rappers had made a cottage industry by the late '80s. Comprised of Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Phife, A Tribe Called Quest debuted in 1989 and released their debut album one year later. Second album The Low End Theory was, quite simply, the most consistent and flowing hip-hop album ever recorded, though the trio moved closer to their harder contemporaries on 1993's Midnight Marauders. A spot on the 1994 Lollapalooza Tour showed their influence with the alternative crowd -- always a bedrock of A Tribe Called Quest's support -- but the group kept it real on 1996's Beats, Rhymes and Life, a dedication to the streets and the hip-hop underground.

A Tribe Called Quest was formed in 1988, though both Q-Tip (b. Jonathan Davis) and Phife (b. Malik Taylor) had grown up together in Queens. Q-Tip met DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad while at high school and, after being named by the Jungle Brothers (who attended the same school), the trio began performing. A Tribe Called Quest's recording debut came in August 1989, when their single, "Description of a Fool," appeared on a tiny area label (though Q-Tip had previously guested on several tracks from De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising and later appeared on Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart").

Signed to Jive Records by 1989, A Tribe Called Quest released their first album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, one year later. Much like De La Soul, Tribe looked more to jazz as well as '70s rock for their sample base -- "Can I Kick It?" plundered Lou Reed's classic "Walk on the Wild Side" and made it viable in a hip-hop context. No matter how solid their debut was, second album The Low End Theory outdid all expectations and has held up as perhaps the best hip-hop LP of all time.

The Low End Theory had included several tracks with props to hip-hop friends, and A Tribe Called Quest cemented their support of the rap community with 1993's Midnight Marauders. The album cover and booklet insert included the faces of more than 50 rappers -- including obvious choices such as De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers -- as well as mild surprises like the Beastie Boys, Ice-T, and Heavy D. Though impossible to trump Low End's brilliance, the LP offered several classics (including Tribe's most infectious single to date, "Award Tour") and a harder sound than the first two albums. During the summer of 1994, A Tribe Called Quest toured as the obligatory rap act on the Lollapalooza Festival lineup, and spent a quiet 1995, marked only by several production jobs for Q-Tip. Returning in 1996 with their fourth LP, Beats, Rhymes and Life, Tribe showed signs of wear; it was a good album, but proved less striking than The Low End Theory or Midnight Marauders. While touring in support of 1998's The Love Movement, the group announced their impending breakup. ~ John Bush, Rovi

'Harry Potter' Box Office: How High Will It Go? Film experts weigh in on how 'Deathly Hallows, Part 2' blockbuster finale

2011-07-19T08:11:00.000+03:00

There was little doubt that when the "Harry Potter" franchise finally came to a close after a decade-long presence at the multiplex, it would do so in epically lucrative fashion. But only when "Deathly Hallows, Part 2" actually began lighting up screens last Thursday at midnight did the true extent of its box-office power become clear: The film raked in a record $43.5 million at those early screenings and ended up shattering the three-day opening record of "The Dark Knight."

"While I assumed it would have the best 'Harry Potter' debut of all time, I wasn't quite sold on the fact that it could eclipse the 'Dark Knight' record, as none of the previous films, although highly successful, have ever approached that staggering number, despite having one of the most rabid fanbases filmdom has ever seen," said Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "This was monumental, as it seems everyone wanted to be a part of the discussion, everyone wanted to say goodbye to dear friends, and everyone wanted to experience the magic on the big screen one more time."

But not everyone wanted that magical experience in 3-D. While "Deathly Hallows, Part 2" benefited from the largest 3-D launch ever, according to Box Office Mojo, a majority of ticket buyers choose 2-D screenings, with just 43 percent of its total gross coming from 3-D screenings ("Transformers: Dark of the Moon," by comparison, earned 60 percent of its opening gross from 3-D showings). So, although "Deathly Hallows, Part 2" opening marks the second-biggest 3-D opening after "Alice in Wonderland," the last "Potter" film wasn't a 3-D must-see — it was a pop-culture must-see.

But insiders hardly predicted how intense the get-out-to-the-theater urge would be. Phil Contrino, editor of Boxoffice.com, pointed at social-networking sites as the key factor that raised awareness and drove ticket sales in the days leading up to release. The franchise's Facebook page added 870,000 new "likes" last week and Twitter registered more than 225,000 tweets in that time frame. "It clearly showed that even casual fans of the series were excited about the last installment," he said. "You can't break records with just die-hard fans — you have to expand the base. That's exactly what 'Part 2' did."

Just don't expect it to do what "Avatar" did. James Cameron's sci-fi flick built slowly and stayed at the top of the box office for weeks. "Deathly Hallows, Part 2," by contrast, experienced a hefty, 53 percent drop from Friday to Saturday, showing the film, like so many blockbusters before it, was a frontloaded theatrical event. While it will safely become the biggest movie of the summer, these wizards won't be able to compete with Cameron's big blue aliens, who drove "Avatar" to $2.8 billion worldwide.

"While the global grosses of 'Avatar' and 'Titanic' will likely be out of reach, expect 'Deathly Hallows, Part 2' to become the third-highest grossing movie ever once it exits theaters, and surpasses 'Lord of the Rings: Return of the King,' which hauled in $1.1 billion worldwide, " Bock said.

"Harry Potter," then, is on the verge of unseating "Star Wars" to become the most lucrative franchise in movie history. While some franchises struggle to maintain early success (see this summer's "Transformers" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" films), "Potter" has had no such problems. The example that Warner Bros. has set with its boy wizard is one that other studios wrapping up franchises would be wise to follow.

" 'Potter' fans grew up and didn't abandon the series, but that could happen with 'Twilight,' " Contrino said. "You have to mature at the same pace as your audience. The 'Potter' series grew darker and more compelling as its audience aged. It worked perfectly."