Daddy may be home but momma isn’t. Many people are wondering why Raymond vs. Raymond with the current single “Daddy’s Home” hasn’t hit the shelf as of yet. It turns out it’s because Usher’s long time mom and manager has left his camp once again. This time on her own will.

The New York Daily News reports that Usher and his mom Jonetta Patton are at odds, so she quit her position as his manager sometime last November. 

 
“She walked away from the project because Usher had his girlfriend [and former Def Jam executive] Grace Miguel was all in the mix,” a source told the Daily News. “She felt as though if she didn’t end things when she did, it would permanently affect their personal relationship,” 

 
Originally, Raymond v. Raymond was supposed to drop yesterday. However the source said the split prompted Jive Records to push the album’s release back to March 30.
 
According to the insider, Usher said he and Grace would manage his career, but the label still thought “there was chaos in the camp.” Usher may find a new handler soon than later as the singer is reportedly close to signing a deal with Randy Phillips, CEO of AEG Live.




Alicia Keys is celebrating her first U.K. No. 1 album, after “The Element of Freedom” (J/Sony Music Entertainment) moved up one place on the new Official Charts Company survey. Owl City’s “Fireflies” (Universal Island) started a third week atop the singles chart.

Keys’ previous highest-charting album in the U.K. was her 2001 debut “Songs In A Minor,” which reached No. 6. The 2003 set “The Diary of Alicia Keys” peaked at No. 13, 2005’s “Unplugged” at only No. 52 and “As I Am” in 2007 at No. 11. “Empire State of Mind Part II,” the current single from “Freedom,” climbs 7-5 on the new Feb. 7 survey. Check Billboard.com for more.

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.

Keys’ debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for “Fallin’”. Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.

Keys made guest appearances on several television series in the following years, beginning with Charmed. She made her film debut in Smokin’ Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album, The Element of Freedom, on December 15, 2009. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.

Alicia Keys Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart

Alicia Keys Wait To See You Smile

Willie Taylor ( From Day26 ) coming through (347-325-9755 call in live!) for the ladies with a mix tape for valentine. So for the love of hip hop he is coming through as a treat for the women in the world. Check him out as he tells what his plans for 2010 is and what he has coming up in the future. Listen or call!

Willie Taylor, (born Willie Madison Taylor III on March 29, 1981), is an American singer and song writer. He is best known as a contestant from MTV’s Making the Band 4, where he was chosen by Diddy to be a member & one of the main vocalists of Day26 on August 26, 2007.
After leaving “Kwiet Storm” Taylor began on his solo career, but due to auditioning for Making The Band 4 he shelved his album.

The second season of Making The Band 4 revolves around Day26, Danity Kane, and Donnie Klang competing to see who can make a better album. In the season finale Diddy announced that Making The Band 4 would have another season. This time it would revolve around Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang touring. Willie Taylor of Day 26 premieres the video for his new single “Sex Conversation” from his upcoming mixtape, Sex Tape, which will be released on Valentine’s Day.

Willie Taylor - Sex Conversation

Bonus For The Honeys
Willie Taylor - Knock It Out The Park

On Monday (February 8), Howard Stern not only confirmed reports that Fox is interested in hiring him to replace departing “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell, but that the interest is mutual.

“There’s not a better job on the planet than judging a f—–g karaoke contest,” Stern told his satellite radio listeners. “It might be possible, we’ll see.”

Stern, who frequently dissects “Idol” on his radio program, joked that the deciding factor in the negotiations might be the size of the paycheck show producers are willing to shell out for his services.

“They’d have to pay me a ton of dough, because I already make a ton of dough,” he said.

Stern’s five-year, $500 million contract with Sirius XM is set to expire in January of next year. And according to some reports, “Idol” producers are prepared to match that deal.

“A $100 million to judge a karaoke contest? Yeah, I think I would do that show for $100 million,” Stern said. “It would be the best thing that happened to me. What a cush job: $100 million for four months. Who wouldn’t take that?”

Stern added that he wouldn’t do a radio show if he landed the “Idol” job, and said that, while the show is “nothing” without Cowell, he had read reports that it was the acerbic Brit himself who suggested the longtime shock jock take his place at the end of this season.

“I’m not going to comment about any discussions I might or might not have had,” he said. “I watch ‘American Idol.’ … people seem to think that if I was on it, because I’m such a foul-mouthed, miserable f—, that I would get them thrown off the air. I know how to judge.”

And to that end, he said that, really, he’s the best man for the job, since he’d be able to replace the acerbic wit the show would be missing without Cowell.

“If I do say so myself, I can’t imagine anyone else but me replacing [Cowell],” Stern said. “I mean, how else are they going to make that show work? Who knows how to broadcast and who knows how to be interesting? And who’s not afraid to speak their mind?”

And what else would Stern bring to the table? Well, judging by the jokes he made about current “Idol” judges Randy Jackson and Ellen DeGeneres, he wouldn’t be opposed to sparring with his fellow judges. And when asked about the kinds of critiques he’d offer up to auditioners, he replied with this hypothetical nugget.

” ‘Hey Fantasia, you’re not getting little boys hard. You look like you stepped out of a cartoon. … They want a Britney Spears or a Rihanna,” Stern said. “Little boys are scared that you are going to sit on them. You’re out. … You’ve got to go clean up your act. Get a haircut like Rihanna if you want little boys [to get excited about] you.”

Should make for an interesting show! A spokesperson for 19 Entertainment, which produces “American Idol,” had not responded to MTV News’ request for comment at press time.

Dubbed “an energy drink for your feet”, ZigTech is the brand’s most technically advanced running and training shoe. Everything about Reebok’s ZigTech footwear is designed to conserve and return energy to the athlete for a soft and springy ride. The one-of-a-kind ZigTech bottom unit features an innovative, lightweight foam that is engineered into a dramatic, geometric, zig-zag shape. This unique zig-shaped sole absorbs the impact of heel strike and sends a wave of energy along the length of the shoe to help propel the athlete forward with each step.

Bill McInnis, Reebok’s Head of Advanced Innovation, had this to day “Traditional energy return is focused only on the vertical impact of the heel strike, in contrast, ZigTech is designed to transfer energy horizontally along the zigs so the athlete gets that energy back in the forefoot.”

Not being comfortable with only technological innovations, Reebok’s dramatic styling of the sole an array of bold, bright colors will definitely set it apart from all others. ZigTech is set to debut at major retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Foot Locker, Finish Line and on Reebok.com on March 11, 2010 for a suggested price of $100 USD. So what do you guys think? Via. KicksOnFire.com

The event scheduled for February 6 in the city of Negril was called off after promoter Clive Pringle was denied a permit.

Police report that Pringle’s birthday bash for Marley was canned because it was notorious for going over its 2 a.m. curfew and attracted a number of noise complaints from angry residents.

Bob Marley would have been 65 this year.

Although the concert was put on hold Bob Marley’s birthday was celebrated in L.A. with the first annual Jammin & Wailin art exhibit.

Taking place on his birthday at Mr. Musichead art gallery in L.A., the exhibit displayed photos and art pieces of Marley with proceeds donated to Doctors Without Borders for Haiti relief.

The GOP’s candidate for Vice President who called the President a “charismatic guy with a teleprompter” was caught with the talking points from her speech written on her hand.

Video from the event has surfaced showing her clearly looking down to her hand to remember all the important, useful information she has to share.

Peep the video of this genius below.
Click here to view the embedded video.

Last week we posted a story on Ludacris along with some new music from the multi-platinum selling artist.

Now Luda has officially released a mixtape by the name of Ludacris Presents Conjure: A Hustler’s Spirit.

“I did a verse to the beat,” Chris said in Los Angeles last week. “I love the beat so much. That’s one of the beats that comes on and you feel instant gratification. Somebody put my verse sandwiched in between the Jay and the Snoop verses [on the] G-Mix. It’s all good. I just want people to hear it. Whatever it is, y’all just need to listen to it.”

While that freestyle didn’t make it to the Conjure mixtape, the iconic Southerner has an entire grab bag of flows for you.

“Before the album, after the album, I’m just in a space where I’m inspired,” he says. “I’m inspired by beats of course, the ones that are on Battle of the Sexes. But even beyond that, I’m jumping on stuff. It’s my exercise. I wanna give all my fans something — [the ones] that have been supporting me for the last 10 years — something for free.”

The mixtape’s title has a dual meaning.

“It’s as simple as this. Spirit has a double meaning,” Luda explains. “When you talk about spirits, you talk about liquors, as in Conjure [cognac]. Then my spirit, I have a hustler’s spirit. People that listen to the mixtape have a hustler’s spirit. It’s a lot of people out there getting money. That’s basically what this thing is about. Even in the rap game, you have to sell records, we hustle. This is for the hustlers. Simple as that.”

Chris’ Battle of the Sexes features appearances by Nicki Minaj, Lil’ Kim, Eve and others. It hits retailers on March 9.

Here’s a taste of what to expect from the new mixtape.
Ludacris O let’s Do It

Ludacris Patna Dem

Soulja Boy gets into the chain game of “Where’s Yung Berg’s Chain”? It looks like Soulja Boy is the owner of Yung Berg’s chain at the moment. Look at him flick it up with his boy Arab and the new hardware.

I told you guys Twitter is crazy. Apparently, Soulja Boy brought this chain off of one of his million plus Followers on the popular website.  Is twitter becoming the new craigslist. Just how many hands and necks has this chain seen. This is another slap in the face to Berg even worst than the smack Maino gave him. I think right now this chain has traveled more than Berg himself has.   

Young Jeezy video, with Shawty Redd