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The L.A. Recorder’s Office shows that Lil Kim owes from 2002 to 2009. Her most recent tax addition is an amount of $86,347.85 for the final year, bringing her total debt to a whopping $1,026,862.42.

Beginning her rap career with Junior Mafia in 1995, the Brooklyn-born rapper went double-platinum with her “Hard-Core” album. Singles, such as “No Time,” “Not Tonight,” and “Crush On You” were the chart toppers that brought Lil Kim into her own.

Afterward, Kim continued to enjoy moderate success until she was imprisoned for a year for lying to a jury in 2005. In perfect rapper style, though, after being released, Lil Kim appeared on “Dancing With the Stars.”

More recently, Lil Kim has gotten in to a number of public spats with fellow female MC Niki Minaj, and while the jury is out as to which femcee actually wears the crown, Lil Kim is reportedly working with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent on her fifth studio album.

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To expand the show, VH1 is taking the hit reality drama down south for an Atlanta spinoff. The move comes after the New York based season of “Love & Hip Hop,” featuring Chrissy Lampkin, Emily B., Olivia, Somaya Reece, Kimbella, Yandy Smith, and Erica Mena, averaged a reported 3 million viewers per episode.

The cast for Atlanta hasn’t been confirmed yet, so I guess we’ll all have to stay tuned.

Will you be watching?

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The proud recipient of countless coveted awards, such as the 2009 Urban X Award for “Best Anal Performer,” Fire began her porn career in 1998 at 22 years young.  Fire, who has appeared in hundreds of adult films, actually made the cut and had a legit cameo in the TNT police drama ”Southland,” where she played the girlfriend of a gang member.

Fire actually gave her breaking news item to her adoring fans via her Twitter account:

the_jada_fire $★jada fire★$

the_jada_fire $★jada fire★$

I WANNA SAY THANKS TO ALL MY FANS,I LOVE YALL SO MUCH…IM JUST DONE SHOOTINGS SCENES THAT’S ALL,ITS OK

So why is the Black queen of raunchy giving up her glorious crown? Fire tweeted that she is tired of the game:

the_jada_fire $★jada fire★$

People asking WHY? I’m just tired of having sex on camera that’s all, but I will continue to webcam, I don’t have 2 f**k nobody but me LMAO

Listen To Win Tickets EVERY HOUR!

We are celebrating the Legendary Don Cornelius with a Soul Train winning weekend… featuring tickets to see The Whispers.
 
Listen for the “Soul Train” cue to call and be the designated caller to give us your best rendition of the “sooouuuul train” to win.

FRIDAY: 7:00 PM – 12 MIDNIGHT

SATURDAY: 10:00 AM – 12 MIDNIGHT

SUNDAY: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Tickets are on sale now and are available at the Sound Board Box Office and online at Ticketmaster.com. Click Here to purchase your tickets online at Ticketmaster.com

Get Instantly Qualified for a Fantastic Voyage!

All of our winners this weekend will be qualified to win a cabin aboard the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage 2012! You and a guest could be joining the Fly Jock, Tom Joyner for a tropical cruise experience of a lifetime. Just listen for your chance to win!

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It takes being a student of history or simply being alive in 1971, the year Cornelius introduced “Soul Train” to the American television audience, to fully appreciate how he turned the perception that Black culture could not survive mainstream market on its head. And the times were not in his favor.

Malcolm X was shot and killed in 1965. Five months later, the Watts Riots erupted due to suppressed anger from African Americans toward law enforcement. In 1967, five days of rioting claimed the lives of 43 people in Detroit, accelerating an already white exodus from the predominately Black city. That same year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. (Cornelius’ second  ex-wife is white.) And let’s not forget that Dr. Martin L. King Jr. was killed in 1968.

Throughout the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement forced America to recognize that Blacks were not treated as equal citizens under the law, and they demanded sweeping federal legislation to correct it.

Now enters this dark-skin, baritone-voiced Negro telling white executives that they should invest in a Black music television show. Dick Clarke‘s “American Bandstand” was the television dance show that most Americans wiggled their hips to prior to “Soul Train.” And as Kenneth Gamble of the once-renowned Philadelphia International Records label told the L.A. Times recently, there certainly weren’t many Black folks on Clarke’s show leading any of the wiggling.

“‘Bandstand’ was a dance show, but it basically concentrated on Caucasian people. While they had a few Black artists on from time to time, “Soul Train” was something that the African-American community embraced first — and it’s always good to see African-American people on TV — but then it became a national and an international phenomenon.”

NPR correspondent Karen Grigsby recalls an interview she had with Cornelius, where he discussed advertisers’ initial trepidation.

“[Cornelius] told me that when I interviewed him on the celebration of the 40th anniversary, people said, ‘Oh, nobody’s going to buy this,’” Grigsby said. ‘There’s not going to be any advertisers.’ So he lined up the advertisers and, after the first couple of shows, people were like, ‘Wow.’”

Eventually, Cornelius convinced enough power players to invest in “Soul Train” and started the show in Chicago. It moved to Los Angeles soon after. Sears and Chicago-based cosmetic company Johnson Products were Soul Train’s first major advertisers.

Cornelius, in his own way, was an activist. But not in the traditional sense. He didn’t picket or march out his frustration toward the system. He relied on his silky voice, impeccably tailored attire, and laid-back disposition to work within it instead.

Like the Black cultural ambassadors before him who successful gained acceptance from White mainstream audiences (Sidney Poitier, Jackie Robinson, Bill Cosby), Cornelius could not appear as an “angry, Black man” down-trodden by “the White man.”

Shayne Lee, a sociologist, told CNN that Cornelius’ style allowed “Soul Train” to slowly make its way into American mainstream pop culture.

“He was an ambassador, the pope of soul,” Lee said. “For a lot of suburban Whites living in segregated America, this was their first exposure to this exciting new world of movement and energy. He made Black culture more accessible.”

In other words, Cornelius made Black culture “less threatening.”

His efforts to achieve this clean-cut identity eventually clashed with his changing audience and their evolving musical tastes. Cornelius did not like hip-hop at first and was very reluctant to welcome rappers on his program, but his business acumen convinced his ideological bias to open his doors to the likes of Run-DMC, Public Enemy, and Eric B and Rakim.

(These acts were not exactly “hard-core”)

But what is uniquely special about “Soul Train” is that while Cornelius catered to Black audiences, White dancers regularly appeared on his show. Even Elton John and David Bowie (you can’t get any whiter than these two) performed on his shows to expand their reach to Black audiences. If there ever was a musical integrationist, Cornelius was it. Not only did he make Black hip to mainstream White America, he convinced the business world that it was profitable to invest in it.

Black people have always known that we have that God-given gift known as “soul.” Don Cornelius simply made sure the rest of America (and the world) knew it too.

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I need help with one of my best friends who introduced me to your site.

He is a good friend and my daughter’s godfather. He just doesn’t make the best decisions, especially when it comes to women. We attended college together and worked together for three years, and about six months ago he told me he was leaving and moving to Atlanta with a female friend.

I was happy for him, but at the same time a little concern. See, he is the type of guy that is woman crazy. He falls head over heels for women even if they show no interest in wanting him. The first of the year I get a call from one of our other friends and he began telling me about our mutual friend. Since he has been in Atlanta we talk about every month and he makes it seems that everything is all good and he loves it. He called our friend, however, to borrow money and he told him what was going on and told him the truth about his living conditions.

He takes care of her three kids, his godchildren, baby-sitting, cooking and cleaning, and giving her something on rent every month. But, come to find out he is sleeping on the floor of her three-bedroom apartment. She has an empty room for her two-year old, but since the child sleeps with her, she won’t let my friend have it. Then, she has a young twenty-two year old boyfriend, who is close to moving in also. While my friend is handling chores like a stay-at-home husband, she’s in her room getting the ‘D’ from a younger guy.

I talked to him last week, and he didn’t sound like himself. His tune was of someone defeated and unhappy, not his usual happy joking personality. I tried talking to him, but I think everything I said went in one ear and out the other. He is continuing putting up that front like everything is all right. His voice tells of something different. I know he continues reading your site and I feel hearing advice from you might make him snap into his right mind and get out of that situation before it turns on him. I also have to mention that the job he had covered his medical insurance, and now he has no insurance and has health problems.

His female friend keeps nagging him about getting a better job and giving her more money, while she is living above her means. I feel her new guy will soon want him out of the picture and he’s going to be stuck homeless trying to move back home. I think it is hurting his pride that he doesn’t have a job, and moving back will make him look like a failure. I am close to giving up on him because honestly he is too old to be living like this. We are both in our thirties, I am 31 years old, and married with kids and he is close to 36 years old with no kid. What should I do, let him keep on this path until he hits a brick wall, or help him save himself the pain and misery and admit defeat. – Help my friend out before he is homeless and naked on a corner!

Dear Ms. Help My Friend,

Chile, I say let his dumb ass find out the hard way. I’m all for helping folks, and helping friends, and extending a hand to them, but if they don’t want to listen and they are stubborn or have too much damn pride to admit when –ish ain’t working out, then, unfortunately, sometimes you have to let them hit the brick wall and hit rock bottom so they can see the situation for themselves.

It’s truly sad when a grown ass man who appears to have it all together, smart, educated, and a good head on his shoulders, but is too p****y hungry to know the difference between being used and being taken advantage of. He’s a clown and needs to have his ass clowned!

And, for the record, who the hell moves to another state with someone they barely know, sleeps on the floor, does the household chores like a live-in nanny and maid, and watches as some young tender bangs his girl? Oh, my bad, your friend!

Chile, I am truly thankful for my friends! Thank the Lord! We have a policy with each other that no matter what we will always be brutally honest with each other. We tell each other when we are doing asinine stupid ass –ish. We tell each other the TRUTH, regardless if we want to hear it or not, we don’t bite our tongues, and we don’t hold back. What good is it to have friends who co-sign your bull-ish and watch you go through something and then talk about you behind your back? No ma’am! Not me!

Honey, you’ve done all you can do. You’ve spoken with him, gave him a listening ear, and reached out and have been a friend to him. He is the one that is not opening up and being honest with you about his situation. You are getting the information secondhand. Unfortunately, and until he is ready, he is going to have to wake up and see what’s really real and say to himself, “What the hell am I doing? Why am I, a 36 year old grown ass man sitting up in this woman’s APARTMENT, not house, and sleeping on the floor, giving her money for rent, doing all the chores, baby-sitting, and some other dude is banging her back out? What am I trying to prove? Why is my ego so damn big and I’m too proud to admit that this –ish isn’t working, and I need help?” But, your friend won’t and can’t do that. And, it’s because of his ego and pride.

So, let his ego and pride put him out on the streets. Let his ego and pride ignore his health and realize he has no medical insurance. As a matter of fact, ask him if he can have sex with his ego and pride and if they can fulfill his longing desire to be with someone, feel love, and be wanted?

Your friend is searching for something that you cannot provide him with. He is looking for love. He is looking for someone to want him, desire him, and need him. And, he will put himself in this precarious and F’d up situations because he is driven by his emotions which are clouding his mental capabilities. So, let him learn his lesson, and hopefully he will stop being so damn egotistical, and hard-headed and count his losses. And, let him know you’re still there for him, and will have his back. – Straight From Your Gay Best Friend

Make sure to get your copy of my new book,  Mogul: A Novel (Atria Books – June 2011; $15). It is available in bookstores everywhere, and on Amazon, click HERE!

“I Know My Man Loves Me, But His Ex Refuses To Get Out Of The Picture”

“I Gave Him The Ultimatum Of “Now or Never” For Marriage & He Said “Never”

Pre-Order Marvin Sapp’s “I Win” Album HERE

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During a segment on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Mrs. Obama was challenged by the show’s host to a push-up competition, the Daily Mail reports.

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The pair started doing the push-ups on the studio floor with the audience counting along – Mrs Obama completed an impressive 25.

‘I thought it wouldn’t be good to show off the first lady so I stopped,’ quipped DeGeneres after quitting. ‘

I thought this looks bad that I’m going to beat her. I’m 54 and you’re 48.’

During a 1995 interview with The Washington Post, Cornelius said he was not the same person after the operation.

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“My health history does not allow me to be what I used to be as a manager or as an entrepreneur,” he said.

His problem started with headaches in the early ’80s. A congenital malformation was discovered in some blood vessels in his brain. On Nov. 12, 1982, he underwent a 21-hour operation. “You choose your brain surgeons for their stamina,” he said. “You’re never quite the same afterward. Travel is always a real test.”

Though specifics about Cornelius’ health before his death have yet to be revealed, the New York Daily News reports that his son, Tony Cornelius, says his father was very uncomfortable the day he died.

Tony Cornelius, who worked alongside his father, didn’t reveal specifics of what troubled the TV and music legend. Don Cornelius had suffered serious health problems, and in 2009 went through a bitter, and costly divorce. “My father was extremely private,” his son said. “Unfortunately, when you’re a private person, you keep things inside. ”

He said it was hard to imagine how badly his father felt.

“Me, being extremely close to him, I could tell he was uncomfortable,” Tony Cornelius said.

NewsOne will update this post with new information on Cornelius’ health issues as we receive it.

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Orchestral and Hip-Hop — along with Rhythm & Blues, Jazz and Country — are all necessary ingredients in the Memphis gumbo that seasoned my perspective on manhood and music. Though I flirted with selecting one genre and perfecting it, once I began studying the diverse career of iconic composer Quincy Jones, I began to realize that the merger of Hip-Hop and Classical music is not impossible — it is inevitable.

There is an electric synergy between the two genres of Classical and Crunk, but one has to have a discerning ear to recognize the instinctive connection. One has only to listen to Nas‘s sampling of Beethoven‘s Fur Elise in his inspirational ghetto hymnal, I Can, Coolio‘s C U When U Get There or former G-Unit soldier, Young Buck rhyming menacingly over Mozart‘s Requiem in Say It To My Face, to feel the mirror tension and twisted beauty that lies in both genres. The theatre of Carmen: A Hip-Hopera — based on the 1875 French opera Carmen, by Georges Bizet, and Kanye‘s ‘Runaway.’

Drumma Boy, who also raps under the alias D-Boy Fresh, shows his extensive knowledge of orchestral history when he shares his appreciation of Ludwig van Beethoven and examines how the maestro’s deafness enhanced his capability to feel music on another level:

From his 3rd symphony (Eroica), to his 5th symphony (Symphony No. 5 in C minor), I find my true, kindred spirit lives within the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. He couldn’t hear at the height of his career when he created his masterful 9th symphony — what many consider to be his magnum opus and the first symphony by a major composer that incorporated vocals — but, he, like I, understood that music transcends sound; it breathes with each note that is created.

Read more on Drumma Boy and the connection between Hip-Hop and Classical music at Huffington Post.

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