ShavarRoss.com

Usher Buys Justin Bieber New Car for 16th Birthday

Shavar Ross — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:30:41 +0000

Teen singing sensation Justin Bieber received an extra special birthday present for his sweet 16th Birthday – Usher bought the teen his first car:

(a’ la ‘The Price is Right’): A NEW RANGE ROVERRRRR!

Bieber turned 16th on March 10 (a lot of celeb b-days in March!) and partied it up in Los Angeles with all his friends.

Speaking on British TV show Live From Studio Five, Bieber says, “I was in L.A (for my birthday). I went to L.A. first and I had a party out there for all my friends and stuff and then we went to Toronto and had a family party up there. (Usher) helped buy me a car. He bought me a Range Rover. I can drive.”

Ledisi Performs ‘Today’ – Live at the Essence Music Festival (2009)

Shavar Ross — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 01:30:37 +0000

Sang it girl!

Ledisi performs her song ‘Today’ in the My Black is Beautiful Superlounge at the Essence Music Festival in 2009.

Ledisi Anibade Young (pronounced /ˈlɛdɨsiː/) is a R&B singer-songwriter from New Orleans. Her first name means “to bring forth” or “to come here” in Yoruba.Ledisi is known for her jazz influenced vocals. In 1995, Ledisi formed the group known as Anibade. (Wikipedia)

Who is This?

Shavar Ross — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:45:52 +0000

Why it’s my friend, actress Cherie Johnson.

Cherie Johnson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actress. Born in Pittsburgh, Johnson is African American and Puerto Rican. She is best known for her roles on the situation comedies Punky Brewster and Family Matters.

On Punky Brewster Johnson starred as Cherie Johnson, a character named and modeled after herself. She was the best friend of the title character, played by Soleil Moon Frye. She played the role throughout the series’ run (1984–1986 and 1987–1988) with her actual grandmother Susie Garrett.

On Family Matters, Johnson portrayed the recurring role of Maxine, the best friend of Laura Winslow (Kellie Shanygne Williams). Johnson played the role from 1990–1998. (Wikipedia)

Cherie Johnson on Facebook

Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger! No Coke..Pepsi.

Shavar Ross — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:30:19 +0000

Wow, those cheeseburger style Doritos tastes just like the real thing! Have you tried it?

Made me think about John Belushi in those old Saturday Night Live skits, lol!

“Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger! No Coke…Pepsi.”

The Olympia Restaurant skit.

‘Clash of the Titans’ Trailer

Shavar Ross — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:00:10 +0000

If you haven’t seen it, check out this awesome trailer for the upcoming movie “Clash of the Titans” starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes.

The 1981 mythological fantasy adventure Clash of the Titans is resurrected in this remake from Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier and veteran writer Lawrence Kasdan. The joint Legendary Films/Warner Bros. production focuses on Perseus (Sam Worthington), the mortal hero made to carry out a series of quests by the gods in order to win the hand of the imprisoned princess Andromeda.

The film opens April 2 in 3D and 2D.

clash-of-the-titans.warnerbros.com

Etta James Special: Brandy Throws It Down in the Bathroom 2

Shavar Ross — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:15:16 +0000

Wow. Amazing voice–as usual. So when’s the next album again?

Brandy took it to her bathroom once again to show us all why her raw voice is still one of the best in the game. She tweeted:

“At it again from my bathroom singing AT LAST! Sorry a little hoarse but from the heart:)”

Check out Brandy singing her take on Etta James’ “At Last.”

Special Note: As I was watching the video, I must admit, I did get a little distracted lookin’ at that pretty big window and all those clean pretty white towels.

Ho-hum, while ya’ll watch this–be right back–gonna go throw some stuff in the washer…”At laaaaaaast…”

Sam Cooke Special: Brandy Throws It Down in the Bathroom

YBF

Tyler Perry Studios Hosts Neil C. Ellis’ “Pursuing the Glory” Book Launch

Shavar Ross — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:00:03 +0000

Here are 12 photos from yesterday’s (March 18) “Pursuing the Glory” book launch event at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

Some of those in attendance were Elva and Neil C. Ellis, Tamela and David Mann, actress Terri J. Vaughn, Evangelist Paula White and others.

ATLANTA, March 17 /PRNewswire/ — Tyler Perry Studios makes plans to host Bishop Neil C. Ellis and some 50 members of the US Media, at a special press gala and luncheon on Thursday, March 18th at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. This event marks the national release of Ellis’ latest book, Pursuing the Glory, published by Pneuma Life Publishing. Neil C. Ellis is founder and senior minister of the 8,000 member Mount Tabor Full Gospel Baptist Church, based in Nassau, Bahamas; a chain of islands near the Florida Coast. He also serves as 2nd Presiding Bishop of the 500,000 member Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International, the second largest predominately African-American Christian denomination in the United States; founded by Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr.; and only second to the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) — founded in 1907 by Bishop Charles Harrison Mason.

In 2007, Ellis noticed complications related to what was then perceived to be a throat infection, which prompted him to seek the help of his Primary Care Physician. It was soon determined that he had severally damaged his right vocal cord, and was in desperate need of immediate repair; otherwise he would risk permanently losing his ability to speak and preach, if went untreated. Ellis agreed to surgery, and within a few weeks of voice rest from his first round in a series of surgeries; he began compiling sermon notes, which later became the book, Pursuing the Glory, and has become the central message of a new mandate he believes God has called him to. Joining Mr. Ellis in promoting this new message is colleague, and mega-church minister, Pastor Paula White, of Without Walls International Church, based in Tampa, Florida. “The body of Christ is in crucial times; we are in an age where we cannot afford to miss any opportunity to hear God — even when we experience test and trials. While many times our first instinct is to react to stressful, challenging, or difficult situations with fear and panic, Pursuing the Glory encourage believers to recognize how unforeseen trials can offer us periods of reflections…,” says White, who also wrote the book’s Foreword.

Among those offering personal endorsements and support is film director and producer Tyler Perry; actors David and Tamela Mann of Meet the Browns; Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr.; Pastor John K. Jenkins, Sr.; Bishop Walter S. Thomas; Bishop Joby Brady; Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, and Ellis’ longtime friend and popular televangelist Bishop Eddie L. Long, of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, near Atlanta. Bishop Ellis says he is extremely grateful for the encouragement, input and tremendous support of the friends and colleagues across America, who has already participated in the promotional tour of the pre-release edition of the book — which has sold over 10,000 copies. It is predicted by both critics and supporters alike that Pursuing the Glory is slated to appear on Amazon.com’s top 100 Best Selling Books over the next few weeks. Books will be available in April at retailers nationwide.

Rapper Chingy Celebrates 30th Birthday

Shavar Ross — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:30:21 +0000

Hmm, is it just me or does it seem like there’s been a lot of celebrity birthdays in March??

Anyway, rapper Chingy celebrated his 30th birthday at TAO Nightclub at the Venetian on March 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Oh, and by the way, a few of you wanted to know the name of the song playing on my photography website.

Answer: Chingy “Fly Like Me” featuring Amerie.

Um, the instrumental version, of course!!

And someone even emailed me, inquiring about the song to play in their church, lol!

Party Pics: Beyoncé and Jay-Z at Robin Thicke’s Birthday Party

Shavar Ross — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:00:04 +0000

Beyoncé and Jay-Z were recently spotted at 1OAK in New York City during Robin Thicke’s birthday party.

Check out the photos below.

Robin turned 33 on March 10th.

Madonna Checks Out FELA!

Shavar Ross — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:30:58 +0000

The Material Girl, Madonna, was seen leaving the FELA! play (musical) at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre last night (March 18) in New York City.

Below Video: FELA! director and choreographer Bill T. Jones and biographer Dr. Carlos Moore discuss Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the legendary pioneer of the Afrobeat genre. A provocative hybrid of concert, dance and musical theatre, FELA! features arrangements by Aaron Johnson and Antibalas with direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones.

felaonbroadway.com

NEW MUSIC: T-PAIN – “REVERSE COWGIRL” (Official Video)

Shavar Ross — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:00:03 +0000

Check out the official music video for T-Pain’s new single “Reverse Cowgirl” off his upcoming “RevolveR” album.

The video was directed by Jeremy Rall.

A few pics below. Cool song and the video is artistic. Reminds me of a photo shoot.

New Talent: Zakiya Randall – Teen Golf Phenom

Shavar Ross — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:00:37 +0000

From the moment she began playing golf, Zakiya Randall was regularly winning most of the amateur tournaments even playing better than most of the boys.

Zakiya Dara Randall (born May 12, 1991) mononymously known as ‘Z’, derived from her first name Zakiya (pronounced zah-kee-yah) is an American golfer, public speaker, model and music producer. Born in Arlington, Virginia she was raised at an early age in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area and later as a child moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
She was awarded and crowned champion and ‘Player of the Year’ honors in her 1st year of playing golf in 2002. Randall was winning from the moment she began playing golf. She has been named a Golf Phenom and Golf Sensation.

Credited with pioneering and creating more young ladies interested in golf, she openly gives back and is thought to have popularized golf and people into the mainstream. She is generally admired for overcoming adversity, her philanthropic efforts of giving back and speaking engagements to become a benefactor to others.

In 2006, she became the only Atlantan to win a Medal and 1st Place in U.S. Women’s Open Local Open Qualifier. Randall began receiving national and international attention only 4 short years after playing golf at age 14.

Randall at age 17, became the first female in Georgia to win at the Championship level against an all amateur men field of players on the Golf Channel Tour. (Wikipedia)

zakiyarandall.com

Thanks for the tip guys!

20 Photos: Alicia Keys in Concert..and Guests! (+Video)

Shavar Ross — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:30:11 +0000

Singer Alicia Keys performed in concert last night ( (March 17) at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Special guests included Beyonce Knowles in a duo performance (with Alicia) on their song “Put It In a Love Song.”

Alicia also brought out Jay-Z to perform their ever-popular song “Empire State of Mind.“

Other performers included soul singer Robin Thicke and up and coming singer Jermaine Paul.

Click the photos to enlarge and there’s a bootleg video (below) that somebody uploaded on Youtube, lol.

The End of Print Media? Is Essence Magazine Next?

Shavar Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:30:42 +0000

Could the END be nearing for ESSENCE Magazine?

Well, that seems to be the word goin’ around in the magazine world and I certainly hope this isn’t the case. One fact I do know: print media is suffering and the blogazines, internet media publishing, seems to be the “thing” now. But with tens of thousands of folks getting on the “online bandwagon” everyday, should we be surprised that people are drawn to the “eye candy” of internet media?

And speaking of surprises, I was shocked to recently learn that my own site, ShavarRoss.com gets just a many daily visitors as EbonyJet.com. Interesting.

So, is this an “out with the old, in with the new” situation we’re dealing with?

Are popular websites such as Young, Black and Fabulous, Bossip, Concreteloop and NecoleBitchie the new “Essence?”

Hmm. Can’t really speak on that one; I mean, Essence is Essence. Totally different kind of breed is ya know what I mean.

But is one of the only journalistic print magazines for young black fashion and beauty savvy women about to be a goner?

Well anyway, according to theYBF.com, a press release went out today announcing the retirement of Beauty and Cover Director Mikki Taylor who’s been at Essence for 30 years. Apparently they also found out that a “major assistant” as well the entire fashion team was AWOL today. And after a huge amount of layoffs last November, 6 more people “left” just last week. One was major “beauty” editor Pamela Edwards Christiani–who is now over at People magazine.

Lastly, Essence decided to use a stock photo (instead of an actual photoshoot) to use of Reggie Bush for their February cover–further suggesting budget cuts within the organization.

Let’s just hope this is just one big rumor. Unfortunately the source is pretty reputable, and it better be–throwing out all those names like that, lol. We’ll know something shortly, that’s for sure.

But the end of Essence would definitely confirm even further that times have changed in the African-American publishing world.

Who is this Woman?

Shavar Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:00:52 +0000

This is just terrible news. Or is it?

Seems like it was just the other day I watched Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock tell Barbara Walters how much her husband “completed her.” Sad.
I even thought I saw her husband Jesse, (Jesse James, that is) shed an almost watery tear when she gave her Oscar-winning speech at the Academy Awards…

And now this…

Yes, this is the alleged mistress of Sandra Bullock’s husband Jesse James.

Michelle “Bombshell” McGee told a tabloid magazine that she had an affair with Bullock’s husband, creating a sensational sex scandal that continues to escalate.

I’ll let you read the rest of the story from the “real” gossip sites, lol.

Source: RO

And unfortunately, there seems to be a flipside to this story.

If You Don’t Get It The First Time…

Shavar Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:00:27 +0000

A little throwback encouragement for ya.

You ARE somebody.

The J.B.’s (sometimes punctuated The JB’s or The J.B.s) were James Brown’s band during the first half of the 1970s. On record the J.B.’s were sometimes billed under various alternate names such as The James Brown Soul Train, Maceo and the Macks, The First Family and The Last Word. In addition to backing Brown the J.B.’s played behind Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins and other singers associated with the James Brown Revue, as well as performing as a self-contained group.

The “original” J.B.’s

The J.B.’s were formed in March 1970 after most of the members of Brown’s previous band walked out on him over a pay dispute. (Brown’s previous bands of the 50s and 60s had been known as The James Brown Band and The James Brown Orchestra.) The J.B.’s initial lineup included bassistWilliam “Bootsy” Collins and his guitarist brother Phelps “Catfish” Collins, formerly of the obscure funk band The Pacemakers; Bobby Byrd (organ) and John “Jabo” Starks (drums), both holdovers from Brown’s 60s band; three inexperienced horn players, Clayton “Chicken” Gunnells, Darryl “Hasaan” Jamison, and Robert McCollough; and conga player Johnny Griggs. This version of the J.B.’s played on some of Brown’s most intense funk recordings, including “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine“, “Super Bad“, “Soul Power“, and “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing“. They also accompanied Brown on a European tour (during which they recorded the long-delayed live album Love Power Peace), performed on the Sex Machine double LP, and released two instrumental singles, the much-sampled “The Grunt” and “These Are the J.B.’s”.

Other lineups

In December 1970 trombonist Fred Wesley rejoined James Brown’s organization to lead the J.B.’s. Other former Brown sidemen including Maceo Parker and St. Clair Pinckney eventually followed his lead, while the Collins brothers and most of the rest of the “original” J.B.’s left Brown to join George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic collective. The J.B.’s lineup shifted frequently thereafter until the group disbanded in 1976 following the departures of Wesley and Parker. (Wikipedia)

Jaden Smith Named ShoWest’s ‘Breakthrough Male Star of the Year’

Shavar Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:30:49 +0000

Jaden Smith (the new ‘Karate Kid’) is already receiving accolades for his work on the feature from the ShoWest film festival.

The young star, who is the son of rapper/actor Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, has been named ShoWest’s Breakthrough Male Star of the Year.

The award was presented Wednesday (March 17) at the event, which was held in Las Vegas’ Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas hotels.

Kevin Costner and Wife Christine are Expecting a Baby

Shavar Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:57 +0000

Kevin Costner and his wife, Christine Baumgartner Costner, are expecting a baby this June!

The 55-year-old actor and his wife already have two children together:
Hayes Logan, 13 months, and Cayden, 2 1/2!

Kevin and Christine married in September of 2004 at his ranch in Aspen, Colorado.

Kevin also has four children from previous relationships, according to People:
Liam, 13, Joe, 22, Lily, 23, and Annie, 25.

Congrats Kevin and Christine!
JJ

The ‘Telephone’ Video: Did Lady Gaga Go Too Far?

Shavar Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:00:22 +0000

I know there’s a lot of young people out there who just love Lady Gaga. I’ve written about Gaga on this site, even created a category for her. Tons of Lady Gaga fans visit my site every day. I’ve pushed some of her (other) music on this blog as well. I’ve uploaded her photos…blah, blah, blah…

So, I’m not a Lady Gaga “hater,” LOL.

But it should be noted that LG has received a lot of backlash over the controversial “Telephone” video. However, at the same time Gaga has received a lot of praise for it. Some even call the video a masterpiece.

I mostly hear old(er) people (see video below) bashing Lady Gaga for her [fill in the blank] but many young(er) people have come to her defense.

I’m curious to know if there are any Lady Gaga fans (or non fans) who actually thought she went ‘too’ far in this video?

Whata Flocka? Rapper Waka Flocka Locked Up!

Shavar Ross — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:00:23 +0000

Rapper Waka Flocka Flame was locked up yesterday and it doesn’t look like he’s getting any time soon.

Lawd have mercy, the boy just recorded a video with P. Diddy and unfortunately violated his probation by leaving the state.

Waka, real name Juaquin James Malphurs is/was on probation in Georgia for possessing a sawed-off shotgun.

Waka will be held without bail at the Houston County Jail until his court appearance in a few weeks.

Good news though, his song “O Let’s Do It” is moving up the charts. Hmmm.

Rappers can’t be goin’ to jail on purpose just to boost album sales, could they? Nah.