Tyrese is doing his press rounds in conjunction with his mega-hit “Transformers 2″. When I saw him on the fourth hour of “The Today Show” chatting up Hoda and Kathie Lee he got in a plug for his new “Mayhew” comic book and what he is calling its soundtrack the new single “Mayhew: Take Me Away (The Remix)”. Glad to know the brother has gone back to his roots.

If there is one good thing that came out of that time suck known as the BET Award is that more mature artists can certainly show up the young folks when it comes to singing. Anyway, that’s why I am so excited to share that Dame Shirley Bassey (yes a sister is a Dame—just like noted actresses Helen Mirren and Judi Dench) has just inked a new record deal. Her new project will be out as early as this fall. And like Tina Turner (who is a little younger) this lady has still got that sexy, sultry sound that made her one of the biggest selling artists in the UK of all time. Who knew? But it certainly explains why she is a ‘Dame’.

Bassey is best known for singing the theme songs for three, yes count ‘em three, James Bond movies: “Diamonds Are Forever”, “Goldfinger”, and “Moonraker”. This is ironic because we don’t automatically think of a sister when we think of James Bond. There were only two black “Bond Girls” (Gloria Hendry and Trina Parks)  before Halle Berry did her thing in”Die Another Day.” But credit Kanye West with introducing her to another generation of fans when he sampled her in “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” (although the Dame was not happy about it). But she’s been gaining in popularity with a new generation of fans in the UK too—especially after she covered Pink’s “Get The Party Started”  two years ago. (Okay, how cute is that?).  In fact, she showed out at a music festival around the time of the hit and made the music industry stand up and take notice. That plus her sustained popularity convinced ‘the powers that be’ that she needed a new deal.

And the best part of all: the British press is comparing her comeback to that of Sting and The Police. Well, alright! I hope she brings her legendary style Stateside so we too can witness greatness. In the meantime, check out the Dame singing the hell out of one of her Bond theme songs:

“My hair is soooo thin”. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that one. It’s the main reason why many folks decide to go natural. It’s one of the most frustrating things to go through if you don’t have the proper information or proper care. As you have heard me before say it, everyone’s hair texture is different and it may be easier for some than others.

The frustrating part of it all comes from watching your hair break in the process or hearing, “cut it all off” to get rid of the relaxer.STOP!! There are several alternatives! I have successfully grown out many of my client’s relaxers. Never was there a more relaxing process.

Here are some ideas to help you grow out that relaxer:
1. Move to a texturizer (light relaxer) on your next visit to the salon The texturizer will help keep some texture to your hair keeping the texture friction to a minimum, assisting with possible breakage. If you have “tight tight” curls, I would suggest using the next three “touch-ups” to get progressively lighter and lighter texturizers each time eventually no longer using any chemicals. The tighter your curls the longer the process can take going natural. It is important in this process to keep the natural and relaxed hair as straight as possible and well conditioned while growing out. Friction between the relaxed hair and your natural curl can cause severe breakage.

2. Weave - if you plan to press your hair when you go natural you can still keep a cute style of your relaxed hair. The process would be the same as the texturizer except you have less of your hair to deal with because the majority of your hair is away.

3. Braids - this is probably the easiest way. BUT be careful to use human hair only!!!! I can’t express that enough. Your stylist may fight you on it…but it’s worth the fight. I’d suggest you bring your own hair to ensure that it is human. Synthetic hair is plastic. It will break the relaxed hair right off and damage new hair as it grows in. In other words, you’ll be stuck with natural damaged hair.

If you have questions, ask away!

When it comes to fragrance, I love rich, sexy scents. But when the temperature rises I like to go with something lighter. For the past week or so I’ve been spritzing on Jo Malone’s Grapefruit Cologne ($55, $100). I’ve always steered clear of grapefruit because I am allergic to citric acids. But now I know that I can wear it without a problem. Plus I can change it up by combining it with Sweet Lime & Cedar or Pomegranate Noir and change my whole fragrance footprint. Mix up your own combinations to create your sweet scent of summer.

Venus and Serena are having a good run at Wimbeldon both individually and together. Today they easily advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles competition. I love how they keep their head in the game by talking strategy. But if you’re like me you’re also secretly hoping that there will be an all Williams final for the singles title too.

No one really knows what really goes on inside of a marriage except the people involved. But when it comes to celebrities a lot of assumptions are made  by the public about whether there should be a relationship at all. Chalk it up to the cost of living in a fishbowl—I wouldn’t want to do it. Such is the case in the union and breakup of Usher and Tameka Raymond. 

Their relationship seemed to be doomed from the start. (The fact that she left her husband and children, the messy break from his mother/manager, and  the cancellation of first wedding ceremony were like writing on the wall to some). Plus rumors of the shaky nature of their marriage were a constant companion even when there was no drama. But these same rumors were also cited as the reason the sister went to Brazil for plastic surgery and suffered a life-threatening health scare as a result. Look all that speculation can’t be easy. But now that Usher filed for divorce last month the dissolution of their marriage seems to as public as everything else. (Of course people say that they knew it was coming once he reconciled with his Mama.) Yikes. 

Yesterday, Tameka Raymond’s lawyer filed papers that essentially said that she was surprised by the turn of events—especially since she claims that the couple had sex not even a week before the the R&B singer filed for divorce. (I’m assuming that’s what she means by ‘intimately together as husband and wife”). You see that statement right there is one of the reasons their relationship seemed questionable. Why must we know all of these details? It’s one thing to have papers filed, it is another altogether for the public to know. Do you recall knowing details about the sexual relationship of other celebrity couples who have broken up?  Do you care? And for the record, I think Nas and Kelis’ split is getting  pretty petty too (but their mess is more about finances so that’s another story).
But money was at the heart of yesterday’s court filings too. It is perfectly fair and reasonable that  Tameka would ask for support. But that normal act is clouded because comes on the heels of her infamous Twitter faux pas (in which she sent a public message to Star Jones seeking a legal referral that was meant to be private). Then there is Tameka’s constant assertion that she has been a ‘good wife and mother’. Why is there a need to remind us of that over and over? Is he saying that she wasn’t? Could there actually be something we don’t know? Or is it just that Usher’s soon-to-be ex is simply trying to salvage her damaged reputation? In any case it seems to be backfiring so she might want to start.

The losers in all this seem to be Tameka’s children, especially the older ones. It can’t be easy to see your mother discussed, dissected and labelled so publicly time after time. In fact, it sucks. So perhaps Tameka should consider taking the private route about the end of her very public romance.  And in so doing, she might just earn some respect.

Summer has been here for a minute but it looks like the weather is actually starting to cooperate. You know what that means? It’s beach time. Once you find a bathing suit that you’re actually willing to wear out in public the crisis is over until you realize you don’t have anything to put your gear in. I say plan ahead and go for a memorable choice instead of something of the utilitarian variety. I really like Tepper Jackson’s Copa Clear Tote ($55) because it is both functional and whimsical. The bonus: it is made of vinyl so you can wipe away any dirt with ease plus it is so cute that you might want to carry it around when you’re not at the beach.

Folks started lining up early at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater to make sure they got inside for the tribute to Michael Jackson. Even a brief (and potent) shower didn’t deter them. Respect to the King of Pop had to be given!