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	<title><![CDATA[Music ]]></title>
	<copyright>Copyright 2012 Copyright © 2011  Los Angeles Wave.  All rights reserved. </copyright>
	<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music</link>
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	<pubDate>Thu, 9 Feb 2012 01:10:04 PST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Middle finger 'malfunction' mars Super Bowl halftime show ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Middle-finger-malfunction-mars-Super-Bowl-halftime-show--138765849.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 6 Feb 2012 00:56:35 PST</pubDate>
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(CNN) &mdash; Ahead of her Super Bowl  halftime show, singer Madonna promised there would be no &quot;wardrobe  malfunction.&quot; What she didn't guarantee was no obscene gestures.

Rapper  M.I.A. provided a middle finger salute to network cameras Sunday night  during the 12-minute extravaganza, when she joined Madonna during a  performance of the latter's new single, &quot;Give Me All Your Luvin'.&quot;

The apologies from the NFL and the broadcaster, NBC, came quickly -- they blamed each other.

&quot;There  was a failure in NBC's delay system,&quot; said Brian McCarty, the league's  vice president of communications. &quot;The obscene gesture in the  performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we  apologize to our fans.&quot;

&quot;The NFL hired the talent and produced  the halftime show,&quot; NBC said. &quot;Our system was late to obscure the  inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our viewers.&quot;

The  episode was reminiscent of the 2004 Super Bowl when singer Janet  Jackson's nipple was briefly exposed during a performance with singer  Justin Timberlake.

The infamous &quot;wardrobe malfunction&quot; episode,  as it came to be known, prompted the Federal Communications Commission  to fine broadcaster CBS $550,000. In November, a divided 3rd Circuit  Court of Appeals ruled the FCC improperly punished the network.

Since then, the NFL has maintained tight control over the show's production.

After  the Jackson-Timberlake showstopper, the halftime show largely relied on  classic rock artists such as Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, The  Rolling Stones, The Who and Tom Petty.

Fast forward to Sunday when the New England Patriots were again playing in the big game, just as in 2004.

M.I.A,  along with Nicki Minaj, Cee-Lo Green and LMFAO, joined Madonna as she  treated fans to a greatest hits medley that included &quot;Vogue,&quot; &quot;Music&quot;  and &quot;Like a Prayer.&quot;

The &quot;spontaneous gesture,&quot; as NBC called it,  came during a performance of Madonna's latest single. M.I.A not only  flipped her middle finger but uttered &quot;I don't give a sh*t.&quot;

Madonna  did not issue a comment. But on Twitter, where the halftime show  generated 8,000 tweets per second, the reaction was swift and mixed.

&quot;What  was that singer M.I.A. thinking?! Flipping off America during halftime  can't be a good career move,&quot; Will Ripley of Denver tweeted.

But Devon Soltendieck of Montreal was less concerned.

&quot;Can we all stop pretending #MIA flipping the Finger during the halftime show is offensive in 2012?&quot; he asked.

Said  Josh Jackson, editor in chief of the music magazine Paste: &quot;M.I.A.  Didn't flip us all off. She just had a middle finger malfunction.&quot;

                                 CNN's K.J. Matthews contributed to this report]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[How Don Cornelius became the 'pope of soul']]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/soul-train-don-cornelius-impact-black-proud-ambassador-138532974.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 1 Feb 2012 18:08:56 PST</pubDate>
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(CNN) &mdash; Don Cornelius never led a  civil rights march, launched a boycott or gave a speech before a  cheering crowd of protesters.

But his impact on America was as  profound as virtually any civil rights leader, says Shayne Lee, a  sociologist who grew up watching &quot;Soul Train.&quot;

Cornelius'  groundbreaking TV show didn't just captivate African-Americans &mdash; it  tied white and black America together in a way that had not been done  before, says Lee, who teaches a course on hip-hop at the University of  Houston.

&quot;He was an ambassador, the pope of soul,&quot; Lee said. &quot;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.&quot;

Cornelius, who hosted &quot;Soul  Train&quot; for 22 of its 36 years on the air, died Tuesday. He was 75.  Police reports indicate he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The  suave Cornelius was known by an entire generation of African-Americans  as the dapper host of &quot;Soul Train&quot; who signed off each show by blowing a  kiss and declaring, &quot;We wish you love, peace and souuuullll.&quot;

Most  of the tributes to Cornelius that poured in following his death focused  on his contribution to music. Others said his legacy was bigger than  sound.

Cultural impact of 'Soul Train'

Kenny  Gamble, co-founder of Philadelphia International Records, which  produced the theme song for &quot;Soul Train,&quot; says Cornelius was a great  contributor to American, not just black, culture.

&quot;Soul Train,&quot; like Apple and Coca-Cola, is an American brand, Gamble says.

&quot;Soul  Train&quot; traditions, like dancers gathering to cheer on fellow dancers as  they shimmied down a dance line, are now a part of pop culture.

&quot;No  matter where you go in this world, people are doing the 'Soul Train'  dance line,&quot; he said. &quot;What's a party without the 'Soul Train' dance  line?&quot;

Gamble still sounded stunned after hearing the news about Cornelius.

&quot;Unbelievable,&quot; he said. &quot;That was my man.&quot;

Singer Gladys Knight told CNN that Cornelius was an unsung hero whose show amplified the message, &quot;I'm black and I'm proud.&quot;

&quot;He encouraged us to be ourselves,&quot; she said. &quot;We're going to give you this platform and you go out and do your thing.&quot;

Sociologist  Lee said that message &mdash; be black and proud &mdash; drove the civil rights  movement. And just as the civil rights movement overturned segregation,  Cornelius erased cultural barriers that separated white and black  Americans living apart in their own cultural cocoons.

&quot;I see Cornelius as a civil rights activist,&quot; said Lee, author of &quot;Erotic Revolutionaries.&quot;

&quot;The  civil rights movement changed the legal structure; Cornelius changed  the cultural structure. Changing the culture can change hearts in a way  that protests can't.&quot;

Cornelius first changed television.

TV  had not been known as friendly terrain for African-Americans before  &quot;Soul Train.&quot; Blacks were often seen in caricatured roles &mdash; as  minstrels, servants or outlaws. They were seen through the lens of white  America.

&quot;Soul Train&quot; changed the focus. It lifted the veil on  black America and showed blacks being themselves, and not as whites  imagined them, said Lee.

&quot;The show introduced the notion that  blacks were creative, we have something to offer and we're not going  anywhere. And if you give us a chance, you might like some of our  moves,&quot; Lee said.

Cornelius offered white America a new way to see black men, Lee says. He wasn't a sidekick or servant, nor was he angry.

&quot;He  walked a tightrope,&quot; Lee said. &quot;If he was too in-your-face, he would  have been offensive on television, or too accommodating he would have  been perceived as an Uncle Tom.

&quot;He was soooo cool.&quot;

The cool apparently wasn't an act to those who knew him and knew how he launched &quot;Soul Train.&quot;

The man behind the voice

Cornelius  took a big risk to start &quot;Soul Train.&quot; He was a former insurance  salesman who entered broadcasting in the mid-1960s. He gave up a steady  paycheck as a salesman because he'd often been told he had a wonderful  voice for broadcasting.

He was inspired by another television music host.

&quot;Almost  all of what I learned about mounting and hosting a dance show I learned  from Dick Clark,&quot; the producer and host of &quot;American Bandstand,&quot; he  once told Advertising Age.

Cornelius was used to taking risks &mdash; he used $400 of his own money to shoot a pilot and faced skepticism at many turns.

Yet he had an edge &mdash; &quot;Soul Train&quot; was a novel idea.

There  had been any number of radio programs focusing on black music and black  listeners, but &quot;Soul Train&quot; was the first nationwide black-oriented  music-variety TV show. It was also one of the most successful TV  programs ever: To this day, its 35 years in syndication are a record.

&quot;If  you're an African-American of a certain age, 'Soul Train' was as  important to your weekend mornings as your milk was to your cereal,&quot;  broadcasting personality Tom Joyner wrote in 2010.

Cornelius also  was a shrewd businessman. He used a partnership with Sears and  Chicago-based cosmetics company Johnson Products to take the show  national in 1971 after a year's run in Chicago. He also stayed true to  his market &mdash; and by doing so helped popularize African-American artists  among a wide audience.

He gave a number of black performers  their big break, including Shalamar, Rosie Perez and Nick Cannon &mdash; the  latter two as dancers.

Soul Train's fashions

The  fashions on &quot;Soul Train&quot; were almost as important as the music. Every  Saturday, teenagers all across America tuned in to see what the &quot;Soul  Train&quot; dancers were wearing. Viewers even paid attention to the  commercials, where companies sold black beauty products such as  Ultra-Sheen.

&quot;It was appointment television in our household, and  the clothes were talked about as much if not more than the new dance  moves,&quot; said Billboard magazine editor Danyel Smith. &quot;The style of 'Soul  Train' is a book, a movie, a documentary in and of itself. It was  flashy, it was big, it was bold, it was sexy -- and frankly it was a way  that I think many in America hadn't seen African-Americans look. To  just even see people from another part of the country &mdash; people forget  how revolutionary that was back in the '70s.&quot;

No matter how  popular &quot;Soul Train&quot; became, Cornelius never forgot those who worked  behind the stage, said Christopher Lehman, author of &quot;A Critical History  of Soul Train on Television.&quot;

&quot;He wanted to make sure that he had  African-Americans involved in every level of production. He had  African-American directors, and of course he had African-American  dancers,&quot; Lehman told CNN Radio's Matt Cherry.

&quot;If there had not  been a 'Soul Train' there would not have been a whole network like BET  that tries to do on a network level what Don Cornelius did on a program  level.&quot;

In his later years, Cornelius became an elder statesman  for the black music scene. He would show up at awards shows &mdash;  impeccably tailored as usual &mdash; to receive accolades for &quot;Soul Train.&quot;

Looking at him then, it was hard to imagine the risks he took when he started &quot;Soul Train.&quot;

But  NewsOne's Don Charnas remembered. Once, James Brown &mdash; then the biggest  name in soul music &mdash; wondered how Cornelius would succeed.

&quot;Who's backing you on this?&quot; he asked Cornelius repeatedly.

&quot;It's just me, James,&quot; Cornelius answered.

Not anymore.

Cornelius' wonderful voice &mdash; like the music and style of &quot;Soul Train&quot; &mdash; is now a permanent part of America's soundtrack.

CNN Radio's Matt Cherry contributed to this report]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA['Most desirable' list includes Sofia Vergara, Rihanna]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/sofia-vergara-rihanna-kim-kardashian-nicki-minaj-scarlett-johansson-most-desirable-list-138437439.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:51:02 PST</pubDate>
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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; Looking at the world's most  beautiful women, from actresses to musicians to models, AskMen.com  wanted its users to consider one thing above all else: Would you date  them?

AskMen released its list of the &quot;Top 99 Most Desirable Women  of 2012&quot; Tuesday, based on the results of polling both readers and  office staff. While Editor-in-Chief James Bassil agrees that it's not as  easy to qualify a woman you've only seen on TV as a potential  girlfriend, the list isn't just made up of gorgeous models.

&quot;Looks  are obviously a big one for guys &mdash; there's no question about that &mdash;  but other factors are where a woman is in life, the kind of career she's  in and the success or ambition that reflects. Sincerity and loyalty,  all of those values that guys appreciate. We ask them to try to really  assess the candidates as prospective girlfriends and rank them according  to that. That's what really distinguishes the list from a straight-up  'hot women list.' &quot;

&quot;Modern Family's&quot; Sofia Vergara nabbed the top honors and, at age 39, is the &quot;most senior No. 1 we've had,&quot; Bassil said.

&quot;Seeing  her in the show's family context contributes to that desirability  perception and those very criteria that we ask users to judge them by,&quot;  he said. &quot;There's no question that she's hot. She does lots of  interviews where she's funny and charming and seems easygoing -- all of  those personal characteristics that guys prize in women. It seems like  there is a sincerity there too, and that's a huge thing for guys in  relationships.&quot;

While models have their fair share of representation on the list, a few surprises also sneaked into the top numbers.

Kate  Upton, Rooney Mara, Miranda Kerr, Nicki Minaj, Emma Stone, Scarlett  Johansson, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Candice Swanepoel made up the  rest of the top 10.

While Victoria's Secret models are enjoying  more visibility these days because of increased TV specials, Bassil  doesn't believe they're at the same level of supermodels from the '80s  and '90s, like Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer.

Noticeably  absent were Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. Bassil believes men are  &quot;fatigued&quot; by the two actresses. Jolie's private, reserved life makes  her too much of a mystery without allowing insight into her personality,  while Aniston has never performed well on the list, Bassil said.

Newcomers  like Lana Del Ray, Emilia Clarke, Adele, Kreayshawn, and Paz de la  Huerta edged standbys from past years aside. Kristen Wiig outranked Tina  Fey at No. 36, while Fey dropped to No. 97. Former child stars are also  being perceived as the mature young women they've grown into, like  Selena Gomez and Emma Watson, ranked respectively at Nos. 14 and 17.

Kate  Middleton, making the list at No. 11, beat her sister, Pippa, by a long  shot. The younger sibling barely made the list at No. 98, but Bassil  believes that may be a reflection of the new voting system.

The  voting, which began in October, lasted just over six weeks, with an  initial pool of 170 candidates. Users ranked their top 10 on a personal  list, and each woman received points for being added to a list, as well  as her ranking on the list. The results created one list of 99  candidates. AskMen's staff also conducted an internal vote, and the two  lists combined represent the final product.

Photo: Actress Sofia Vergara walks the red carpet at the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. Credit: Tom Larson/CNN
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			<title><![CDATA[Etta James remembered at funeral]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Thousands-expected-to-attend-Etta-James-viewing-138216314.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:05:25 PST</pubDate>
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GARDENA &mdash; About 300 mourners remembered legendary singer Etta James on Saturday as an authentic voice whose velvety vocals bridged genres from blues to rock.

Another legendary singer, Stevie Wonder, gave a musical tribute to James at her funeral: He played the electronic keyboard and sang his &quot;Shelter in the Rain.&quot; He then performed on the harmonica and sang The Lord's Prayer.

Also performing at the service was Christina Aguilera, who sang James' signature song &quot;At Last&quot; and ended her rendition to a standing audience with a farewell directed at James' casket: &quot;May you rest in peace.&quot;

The Rev. Al Sharpton presided over the funeral at Greater Bethany Community Church in Gardena, and he began the service by reading aloud a note from President Barack Obama, who said that James' talents transcended genres.

Obama wrote that James will be remembered for her voice, Sharpton told family and friends at Greater Bethany Community Church City of Refuge in Gardena.

&quot;I know she will be sorely missed by all those who knew and loved her,&quot; the president's note said, according to Sharpton.

James died January 20 at the age of 73 of complications due to leukemia at a hospital in Riverside, California. She would have turned 74 last Wednesday.

Her assertive, earthy voice lit up such hits as &quot;The Wallflower,&quot; &quot;Something's Got a Hold on Me&quot; and the wedding favorite &quot;At Last.&quot;

Sharpton said that James first developed her voice in a local Baptist church as a little girl singing gospel -- which &quot;was just race music when she started.&quot; When she died this month, he said, her photograph appeared on the front page of the New York Times, a mark of a triumphant life.

&quot;Etta James has given us too much to work with,&quot; Sharpton said. &quot;Etta James was for real. She was authentic.

&quot;I think it was her authenticity that was part of the charisma that drew people to her,&quot; Sharpton said. &quot;She really became a bridge of American culture that changed the culture of the world. It was Etta James that bridged rhythm and blues with rock and roll.

&quot;Etta James helped break down the culture curtain of America before the Civil Rights Act of 1964,&quot; Sharpton eulogized. &quot;She was able to get us to sing the same rhythms and melodies.&quot;

Evoking the title of a signature song of James, Sharpton raised his voice: &quot;At last, you can find peace now!

&quot;At last, you can get the gratitude of the savior now,&quot; Sharpton continued. &quot;Etta, you made it, you're going home. At last! At last! At last!&quot;

Donto James, the older of James' sons, recalled how his mother had a soft spot for anyone who lost their mother. Donto James played drums in his mother's band.

&quot;She'd give them a job like that,&quot; he told the mourners.

&quot;She loved her band. She would pick up anybody to work for,&quot; he added.

In a lighter moment, the son recalled how high-spirited his mother was.

&quot;She was feisty, very feisty,&quot; he said. &quot;I found myself as a son trying to clean up some things. I should have tried to stay out of it. I don't know what I was doing.&quot;

Fans got the opportunity Friday to bid farewell to James during a public viewing at the Inglewood Cemetery Mortuary. Hundreds of people waited for hours to sign registers and attend the viewing for James.

Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in south Los Angeles to a teen mother and unknown father. She suspected her father was Rudolph Wanderone Jr., the famous pool hustler known as Minnesota Fats.

The James family has asked that donations in her name be made to the Rhythm &amp; Blues Foundation, a nonprofit group created for the historical and cultural preservation of R&amp;B music. Donations can be sent to the foundation in care of Philadelphia International Records, 309A Broad St., Philadelphia, PA, 19107; or to P.O. Box 22438, Philadelphia, PA, 19101.

James began singing as a child at St. Paul Baptist Church in South Los Angeles, where, at the age of 5 or 6, she was noticed by influential jazz pianist &ldquo;Professor&rdquo; James Earl Hines, according to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry.

&ldquo;Her rich voice influenced generations of singers who came after her, from Tina Turner to Bonnie Raitt to Christina Aguilera,&rdquo; Perry said.

Born Jamesetta Hawkins on Jan. 25, 1938, she recorded her first album in 1954 at the age of 16. She went on to enjoy a prosperous solo career through the 1950s, and, despite battles with heroin addiction, hit her peak in the 1960s, recording popular ballads that included her signature &ldquo;At Last.&rdquo;

In a 40-plus-year career, James won four Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards and toured with such notables as Little Richard and Otis Redding. In 1993, she earned a place in the Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame.

Her early career was depicted in the 2008 film &ldquo;Cadillac Records,&rdquo; which portrayed the lives of some of America&rsquo;s music legends. James was played by Beyonce Knowles, who sang &ldquo;At Last&rdquo; for the first dance of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama after the president&rsquo;s 2009 inauguration.

James had harsh words back then for Beyonce&rsquo;s performance, which James&rsquo; son would later attribute to dementia.

Beyonce issued a statement calling James&rsquo; death &ldquo;a huge loss.&rdquo;

&ldquo;Etta James was one of the greatest vocalists of our time,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I am so fortunate to have met such a queen. Her musical contribution will last a lifetime.&rdquo;

Beyonce said playing James &ldquo;taught me so much about myself, and singing her music inspired me to be a stronger artist. When she effortlessly opened her mouth, you could hear her pain and triumph. Her deeply emotional way of delivering a song told her story with no filter. She was fearless, and had guts.&rdquo;

James retreated from stage appearances in 2009, appearing on national television for the last time that year in an episode of &ldquo;Dancing with the Stars,&rdquo; during which she sang.

She made her home in Riverside for the last two decades.

The singer&rsquo;s $1 million estate has been the subject of a legal tug-of-war between her son, Donto James, and husband of 42 years, Artis Mills, who is not the young man&rsquo;s father.

James was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago. She also had dementia and a kidney deficiency and exhibited symptoms of organic brain syndrome.

James&rsquo; health problems have been at the center of the suit, which Mills filed in 2010, seeking to have his wife&rsquo;s savings accounts declared community property, thereby removing any barriers he otherwise would face in using the funds.

Donto James is challenging the action on the grounds that his mother gave him power-of-attorney to govern her affairs.

A Riverside County Superior Court judge in December ordered that $350,000 be used exclusively for her medical care.

In addition to her husband and sons Donto and Sametto, James is survived by seven grandchildren.












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			<title><![CDATA[Why Seal is still wearing his wedding ring]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Why-Seal-is-still-wearing-his-wedding-ring-138174499.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:20:28 PST</pubDate>
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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[(CNN) &mdash; Seal may have just had a  very public split from his wife, Heidi Klum, but don't expect to see him  without his ring anytime soon.


The singer, who's been making the  media rounds for his new album and  talking plenty about Klum, tells  Piers Morgan in an interview airing  Friday that this isn't about  publicity.

&quot;There was some malicious thing that 'Oh, he's still  wearing his  wedding ring, he's doing it for show, or whatever,'&quot; Seal  says of the  chatter. &quot;I'm still wearing this wedding ring because I'm  still married  to this incredible woman.You don't all of a sudden from  one day to the  next, unless you're those types of people, just all of a  sudden say, 'Oh  I hate you' and take off your wedding ring.&quot;

His  ring, he continues, &quot;stands for respect, it stands for loyalty,  it  stands for incredible memories, and it stands for these four little   miracles [his children with Klum], and Heidi making five, that have come   into my life over the past eight years.&quot;

In spite of their  split, &quot;my love for her has not waned one iota,&quot;  the singer tells  Morgan. &quot;I love her with all my heart. How can you not  love somebody  that you have just spent eight years with?&quot;

Even with all of that said, Seal is unsure if he and Klum will be able to make their relationship work.

&quot;I  don't know, at this point, [if I want to get back together],&quot; he   reveals. &quot;I think, again, if it were that easy, if there weren't   problems, we would still be together...Is it irreparable? You can never   say never. I can't speak for my wife. I'm not going to sit here and  b.s.  you and tell you that we didn't have problems. But in our favor,  or to  our credit, we've always been able to talk about them and  confront each  other.&quot;

Watch the full interview when it airs on &quot;Piers Morgan Tonight&quot; Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.










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			<title><![CDATA[Michael Jackson's children sink his glove, shoes into cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Michael-Jacksons-children-to-sink-glove-into-cement-at-Graumans-Chinese-Theatre-138138323.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:32:40 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



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HOLLYWOOD &mdash; Michael Jackson's three children sank their famous father's shoes and a sequined glove into the cement outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Thursday to pay tribute to the late singer and to mark the Los Angeles run of a Cirque du Soleil production featuring his music.

Jackson's children &mdash; Prince, 14; Paris, 13; and Blanket, 9 &mdash; were joined by other members of the singer's family at the ceremony, which was produced by the executor's of Jackson's estate, John Branca and John McClain.

The event also included a performance by the cast of the &quot;Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour,&quot; a Cirque du Soleil show that will be at Staples Center Friday through Sunday.

Other celebs who appeared at the event included Justin Bieber, Chris Tucker, Smokey Robinson, Quincy Jones and members of the cast of &quot;Glee.&quot; &quot;Access Hollywood&quot; host Billy Bush served as emcee.

Jackson, 50, died June 25, 2009, from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol. His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for administering the sedative to the singer at his rented Holmby Hills estate and sentenced to four years behind bars.

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			<title><![CDATA[Marching to the 'Drum' of his own beat]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Marching-to-the-Drum-of-his-own-beat-138101623.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">138101623</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:05:01 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







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When speaking to Christopher James Gholson, better known as the multi-platinum, award-winning record producer and rapper Drumma Boy, his deep voice verges on raspy.

The apparent exhaustion in his tone could be attributed to the countless hours he spends in the studio, crafting beats for some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&amp;B.

Last month, the Memphis native was in Los Angeles working with Atlantic Records to create beats for artists like Trey Songz, Flo Rida and T.I.

Bred to be deeply involved in the art of music-making, the road to this point in his career was not necessarily an easy one; yet, it also was marked by multiple advantages.

&ldquo;Some of the struggles and disadvantages have been going long periods of time not making money. It is not a guaranteed check, so it&rsquo;s really a matter of how hard you work and how much you put into it because it&rsquo;s not guaranteed that I&rsquo;m going to get a check next month in time to pay my bills,&rdquo; he said in a telephone interview from his Atlanta home. &ldquo;At this point in my life I&rsquo;ve saved and stacked so much money that I don&rsquo;t have to worry about that, but I&rsquo;m speaking in general about this music business, especially starting off. You don&rsquo;t know where your money is going to come from. You are just doing what you love.&rdquo;

Drumma Boy was introduced to music at a very tender age. His mother &mdash; who put earphones to her stomach while he was in the womb, exposing her unborn son to  jazz, rhythm and blues, gospel and classical music &mdash; was a professional opera singer. His father was a professional clarinetist and music professor at the University of Memphis, where he was the first African-American male to hold the first chair position in the Memphis Symphony Orchestra &mdash; where he remains an active member. His grandmother was a piano teacher, and his aunt taught violin at New York University.

All of this meant Drumma had to attend a countless number of rehearsals, plays and theatrical performances. He latched on to the art form quickly.

&ldquo;There were a lot of rehearsals and plays and theatrical performances and compositions that I learned about and studied at an early age,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;[My parents] really didn&rsquo;t have money to pay for babysitters and put me in after school programs, so a lot of the time I would just be hanging out with my dad. The symphony was my babysitter, so to speak. &hellip; &ldquo;It taught me how to be quiet and listen. At the age of 2 or 3 I was going to all of the rehearsals and I could identify all of the instruments by the time I was like 3. I knew what was the violin, the clarinet, the oboe, the cello.&rdquo;

By age three he had a recorder in his hand, and by five he was holding a clarinet. Somewhere in between, a piano was introduced, teaching him how to understand notes and rhythm. But more than anything, his father was instrumental in teaching the young musician about the profession.

And with his mother also a member of her church choir, that meant Drumma went to church religiously every Sunday and Wednesday. He took a liking to this as well and at about age 10, he had joined the choir and the band.

Things changed, however, once he hit adolescence. &ldquo;I wanted to start writing my own music and I kind of got tired of playing orchestra music. I had mastered it. The Youth Symphony Orchestra wanted me to join, and I had an opportunity to play basketball and be on the varsity basketball team at my high school,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I turned down the band and took up basketball. It was then that I started writing more of my own music.&rdquo;

Having studied orchestra style music for so long, Drumma&rsquo;s boredom turned into curiosity, leading him to the streets, he said, and his ears to hip hop. Raised in the south, some of his initial choices were Three 6 Mafia, Eight Ball, MJG, Playa Flock.

As a result of Drumma&rsquo;s rebellious nature, his mother moved him to the suburbs, an act he says changed his life. &ldquo;It put me around a different crowd and it helped me to understand how to humor a different public and crowd. It expanded my communication skills&rdquo; and opened his mind to bigger possibilities, said the classical music lover. &ldquo;I wanted to be my own Beethoven, I wanted to be my own Mozart, my own Sebastian &hellip; I absolutely love [Beethoven&rsquo;s] music, how he made it and the circumstances he went through to finalize his music.&rdquo;

Nonetheless, he never strayed far away from hip-hop and rap, which became ingrained in him. In high school, he began making beats and doing base tapes for his peers. And he left his mark on one of Cordova High School&rsquo;s ninth grade teachers. After being asked to do extra credit for a math class, Drumma Boy said he had no idea what to do so he did what he knew best: Putting rhymes on top of beats. He took the two and blended a perfect sing-along that helped his fellow students learn the quadratic formula. (During his interview with The Wave, he shot off the rap and it was just as smooth as what he produces today).

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s awesome because my teacher still uses that to this day,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It helped everybody remember the quadratic formula. Music helps us sing along, music helps us get and accept the message.&rdquo;

By the time he attended the University of Memphis, where he majored in music business, he was shopping his homemade beats to local rappers, leading to work with Yo Gotti, Gangsta Boo, 8 Ball &amp; MJG, Playa Fly and Tela, as well as Texas rappers Pastor Troy, Scarface and Bun B of UGK. And in 2002, his career skyrocketed, making him a well-known figure in the South.

&ldquo;People began hearing about me and saying, &lsquo;Hey, that&rsquo;s dope let me get one,&rsquo; then the next person would say &lsquo;hey, let me get one.&rsquo; It kind of just blew up on it&rsquo;s own,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It all starts with one person. You get one person that is good and they spread the word to others. You just keep grinding until you attract the world.&rdquo;

And that he has. He has been named by Vibe Magazine as one of the industry&rsquo;s top five producers, and was later referred to by The New York Times as one of the four hottest producers in Atlanta. Drumma was also featured in Rolling Stone&rsquo;s January 2010 issue and has been a face on FOX Good Day Atlanta, Good Morning Memphis, CBS News Channel 9 and MTV. He additionally won the Southern Entertainment Awards&rsquo; &ldquo;Best Indie Producer of the Year&rdquo; in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and received a nomination for &ldquo;Producer of the Year&rdquo; at the 2008 Ozone Awards, as well as at the 2010 BET Hip Hop Awards.

His beats were recognized at the 2009 Grammy Awards, in which T.I.&rsquo;s &ldquo;Paper Trail&rdquo; was nominated for Best Rap Album and Young Jeezy and Kanye West&rsquo;s single &ldquo;Put On&rdquo; was nominated for Best Performance by a Rap Duo. In 2011, his work on the hit single &ldquo;No Hands,&rdquo; by Waka Flocka was nominated for &ldquo;Best Collaboration&rdquo; at the 2011 BET Awards and received an accolade for &ldquo;Best Club Banger.&rdquo;

Yet he is more than a Southern producer, he said with a little frustration, noting that the tag has in some ways hindered or prevented him from showing the industry his range.

If they took a good listen, they would note that Drumma mixes classical chords with street beats, he said, naming Beethoven, Mozart and Bach as his inspirations.

&ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m from the South. And yes, the majority of my clients have utilized Southern beats, but I have folders full of all types of music. I got pop, I got techno, I got rave party music, I got gospel music, I got country music, I got so much music that I&rsquo;ve made in different genres,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Put me around Garth Brooks and watch what happens; put me in a room with Seal and watch what happens.&rdquo;

Still, it doesn&rsquo;t stop him from working with T.I., Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Young Buck, Gorilla Zoe, Plies, Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti, Waka Flocka Flame, Ciara, Usher, T-Pain, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Nelly, Wiz Khalifa, Wale, Drake, Ludacris, Fabolous, Roscoe Dash, E-40, Monica, Goapele, Stephen and Damien Marley, Paul Wall and Lil Jon.

With his own label, Drum Squad, which he founded in 2004, the umbrella company consists of Drum Squad Productions and Drum Squad Records. It provides him with the flexibility needed to carry out his two loves: Rapping and blending notes.

In November 2009, he released a music video from his first single off his mixtape &ldquo;Welcome II My City,&rdquo; which received millions of hits on Worldstarhiphop. Two years later he released &ldquo;The Birth of D-Boy Fresh.&rdquo;

It also gives him time to indulge in other projects, like television appearances &mdash; in 2009 he starred alongside Jazze Pha and Def Jam Recording artist Vawn in BET&rsquo;s reality series &ldquo;Welcome to Dreamland,&rdquo; and appeared on a segment of Bravo&rsquo;s &ldquo;The Real Housewives of Atlanta&rdquo; and BET&rsquo;s &ldquo;Still Standing,&rdquo; featuring R&amp;B artist Monica.

Currently Drumma is looking into soundtrack opportunities and small movie roles, but if you are wondering what he been up to, go no further. He just did two tracks on Young Jeezy&rsquo;s newest album, &ldquo;Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition&rdquo;; worked on Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa&rsquo;s new album &ldquo;Mac &amp; Devin Go to High School,&rdquo; which came out last month; worked on Nelly&rsquo;s new single called &ldquo;Country Azz Nigga,&rdquo; featuring T.I. and 2 Chainz; and has made his mark on R&amp;B, doing beats for Jagged Edge on their 2011 album &ldquo;The Remedy&rdquo; and Music Soulchild&rsquo;s &ldquo;Musiq In The Magiq.&rdquo;

The sky is the limit for the evolving producer, so &ldquo;stay tuned,&rdquo; he said.

Caption: Highly sought-after producer Drumma Boy says that his skills go beyond the Southern rap he is most identified with. (Photo by Hannibal Matthews)]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Hip-hop newcomer harkens back to the old school]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Bay-area-rap-newcomer-Mac-Reem-harks-to-the-old-school-137727858.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">137727858</guid>		
			<pubDate>Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:37:59 PST</pubDate>
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Given its politically-charged history, it was probably no surprise that the Bay Area city of Oakland bore witness to some of the most fired up Occupy protesters.

It&rsquo;s also well-known for hip-hop icons like Tupac and Digital Underground, and 2012 could be a year where they add a new name to the mix &mdash; one who sees it as his mission to build a better community and return rap to its old-school roots.

Mac Reem (real name Karamon Kareem Harbin), became a breakout artist in 2011 with a sampler single, &ldquo;Quit Lying in Your Raps,&rdquo; produced by J. Glaze and featuring Roscoe and Kurupt of the Dogg Pound.

He was named an artist of the month by the indie promo site Register My Music, and now the West Coast rapper&rsquo;s creative and management team have hooked him up with renowned hip-hop producer Battlecat (Kevin Gilliam), who&rsquo;s worked with artists such as Snoop Dogg, The Game and Xzibit. Battlecat also doubles as Snoop&rsquo;s concert DJ.

Reem recently released a groovy, club-friendly debut single, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re Gonna Zoom,&rdquo; and is looking to increase his emerging fan base with a debut album later this year.

He got his start at an early age, entering local talent shows and placing well in a New York rap contest.

And, as he told The Wave at his first studio meeting with Battlecat in North Hollywood, music runs in the family.

&ldquo;Yeah, David Ruffin, from The Temptations, is my cousin, so music&rsquo;s in the bloodlines,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;[Although] I only got the chance to see David twice in my life, me and David Jr. got to do some  songs together. That&rsquo;s music I love, it&rsquo;s where I came from. It&rsquo;s what you heard on Friday nights and Saturday mornings growing up in the house.&rdquo;

As for his rap heroes, he cites Tupac, Run DMC and, in particular, KRS-One.

&ldquo;I was in the 7th grade and I was first inspired to rap when I heard KRS&rsquo;s &lsquo;Love&rsquo;s Gonna Get&rsquo;cha.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s my all-time favorite artist as far as inspiration in the game,&quot; he said. &quot;At the time it seemed like the song was speaking directly to me because that&rsquo;s what I was going through at the time.&rdquo;

He added: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s where I&rsquo;m at. I want to bring back structured music, music that can help build communities. We need to build back our youth right now. It&rsquo;s like the music has evolved so much to where it&rsquo;s lost it&rsquo;s form of what it used to be.&rdquo;

Saying that he&rsquo;d like to build a better West Coast and better world, Reem added that he&rsquo;s prepared to do whatever it takes.

&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been grinding hard and I&rsquo;m not scared to take chances,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what life&rsquo;s about, I&rsquo;ve learned if you&rsquo;re going be in this [rap] game you&rsquo;ve got to go all the way. There ain&rsquo;t no half measures.&rdquo;

Battlecat predicted good things for his new prot&eacute;g&eacute;.

&ldquo;I heard a few things that were sent to me on mp3, which got my attention, but I wanted to come to know the person,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just wanted to hear his tone of voice, his flows, his cadence. It felt good. I like this dude&rsquo;s energy, his humble approach to communicating with his surroundings, it felt like we can go somewhere.&rdquo;

Photo: Battlecat, left, and Mac Reem. Credit: Kadeve.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Obama channels Al Green at Apollo Theater]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/President-channels-Al-Green-at-Apollo-fundraiser-137772618.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">137772618</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:12:49 PST</pubDate>
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																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

Perhaps instead of an election we should just have a sing-off.

During  a campaign appearance Thursday night at the famed Apollo  Theater in  Harlem, New York, President Barack Obama got the crowd  cheering with a  tune.

After legendary soul singer Rev. Al Green performed, the   Commander-in-Chief took the stage and crooned a few lines of Green's hit   song &quot;Let's Stay Together.&quot;

&quot;I..I'm so in love with you,&quot; the president sang, showing off just a touch of the falsetto.

The  audience cheered loudly and Obama joked that &quot;the Sandman&quot; didn't   appear to pull him off stage as is the tradition for acts that bomb   during Amateur Night at the Apollo.

We wonder if the president takes requests?]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Anonymous strikes back after feds shut piracy hub Megaupload ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Anonymous-strikes-back-after-feds-shut-piracy-hub-Megaupload--137744288.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">137744288</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:17:57 PST</pubDate>
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(CNN) &mdash; &quot;Hacktivist&quot; collective  Anonymous on Thursday took credit for taking down U.S. Department of  Justice, FBI and entertainment company websites, following arrests in  one of the federal government's largest anti-piracy crackdowns.

Federal  agents earlier in the day arrested the leaders of Megaupload.com and  shut down the popular hub for illegal media downloads.

Hours  later, some of Megaupload's fans turned the table on the feds. Anonymous  said it set its sights on the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI.

Both  sites appeared to be back up late Thursday, but portions of FBI.gov  were not readily available. A law enforcement official told CNN the FBI  was investigating.

Anonymous said 10 websites in all were targeted.

&quot;We  Anonymous are launching our largest attack ever on government and music  industry sites. Lulz,&quot; the group said in a statement posted late  Thursday on an associated Twitter account. &quot;The FBI didn't think they  would get away with this did they? They should have expected us.&quot;

The  group also posted personal information on former Connecticut Sen. Chris  Dodd, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, one of the  targeted sites.

A Justice Department spokesperson, who did not  want to be identified, said its Web server was &quot;experiencing a  significant increase in activity, resulting in a degradation in  service.&quot;

&quot;The department is working to ensure the website is  available while we investigate the origins of this activity, which is  being treated as a malicious act until we can fully identify the root  cause of the disruption,&quot; the spokesperson said.

The website glitches came soon after various Twitter accounts associated with the collective took aim at the government.

Anonymous'  favorite weapon for these attacks is what's called a &quot;distributed  denial of service&quot; (DDoS) attack, which directs a flood of traffic to a  website and temporarily crashes it by overwhelming its servers. It  doesn't actually involve any hacking or security breaches.

&quot;One thing is certain: EXPECT US! #Megaupload&quot; read one tweet from AnonOps that went out midafternoon.

One  hour later, the same account tweeted a victory message: &quot;Tango down!  http://universalmusic.com &amp; http://www.justice.gov// #Megaupload&quot;

Speaking  of the Web attacks, an Anonymous representative said 5,635 people used a  networking tool called a &quot;low orbit ion cannon.&quot; A LOIC is a software  tool that aims a massive flood of traffic at a targeted site.

The  news comes as lawmakers have turned their attention to anti-piracy  legislation. Protests erupted both online and offline this week against  two bills under consideration in Congress: the House's Stop Online  Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA).

The  bills are aimed at cracking down on copyright infringement by  restricting access to sites that host or facilitate the trading of  pirated content. But the legislation has created a divide between tech  giants, who say the language is too broad, and large media companies,  who say they are losing millions each year to rampant online piracy.  (Time Warner, the parent company of CNN, is among the industry  supporters of the legislation.)

On Twitter, YourAnonNews said Thursday's attacks meant an &quot;involuntary blackout&quot; for sites of SOPA supporters.

Universal  Music's website went down Thursday afternoon. The music company had  been locked in a legal battle with Megaupload over a YouTube video that  featured many of Universal Music's signed artists promoting Megaupload's  site.

The websites of the Recording Industry Association of  America and Motion Picture Association of America were out of action  Thursday afternoon, but they appeared to be back up later in the  evening.

A spokesman for RIAA cast the attack as a minor hiccup.

&quot;The  fact that a couple of sites might have been taken down is really  ancillary to the significant news today that the Justice Department  brought down one of the world's most notorious file-sharing hubs,&quot; he  said.

The Anonymous attack came soon after the Justice Department  announced the indictment of seven individuals connected to Megaupload  for allegedly operating an &quot;international organized criminal enterprise  responsible for massive worldwide online piracy of copyrighted works.&quot;

Authorities  said the operation had generated more than $175 million in illegal  profits through advertising revenue and the sale of premium memberships.

According  to the indictment, Megaupload, which launched in 2005, was once the  13th-most visited website on the Internet, serving as a hub for  distribution of copyrighted television shows, images, computer software  and video games.

The site's popular MegaVideo subsidiary was  widely known in tech circles for its copious selection of pirated  content, including recent movies and episodes of hit TV shows.

Four  of those indicted were arrested Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand, at  the request of the United States. Three others remain at large.

The  individuals indicted are citizens of New Zealand, Germany, Slovakia and  the Netherlands. No U.S. citizens were named. However, Megaupload has  servers in Ashburn, Virginia, and Washington, which prompted the  Virginia-based investigation.

To shut down Megaupload, federal  authorities executed 20 search warrants in eight countries, seizing 18  domain names and $50 million worth of assets, including servers in  Virginia, Washington, the Netherlands and Canada.

In some of its attacks, Anonymous has targeted governments or companies it says are part of or support a police state.

The  list of police officers and agencies targeted by the collective is  long. From New York to Oakland, California, police websites have been  hacked; personal information, including the home addresses of specific  police officers, was posted online in 2011.

CNN's Laurie Segall, Terry Frieden, Amber Lyon, Steve Turnham, Carol Cratty and David Goldman contributed to this report]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[DA drops effort to get $100 million restitution from Conrad Murray]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/DA-drops-effort-to-get-100-million-restitution-from-Conrad-Murray-137741453.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">137741453</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:26:02 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



	


		

																		



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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; The  prosecution's effort to force Dr. Conrad Murray to pay Michael Jackson's  family $100 million in restitution for the singer's death has been  dropped, a court spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.

Los Angeles  County Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told the court Wednesday  that he was ending the restitution request after talking with Jackson's  parents and lawyers for his estate.

California law allows for restitution claims by victims' families.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last year for Jackson's death.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor had set a hearing for Thursday to consider the restitution.

When  Murray was sentenced to four years in prison in November, Walgren  argued the doctor should also pay Jackson's children and parents $100  million, the amount Jackson could have earned if he had survived to  complete his planned &quot;This Is It&quot; concerts in London.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009, in his Los Angeles home, two weeks before those shows were to begin.

His  death was caused by an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol and  sedatives, according to testimony in Murray's trial last year.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA['The Help' leads Image Award nominations]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/137696518.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">137696518</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:52:41 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



				
	
	
	


		

																		



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BEVERLY HILLS &mdash; The civil rights drama &quot;The Help&quot; collected eight nominations Thursday for the 43rd annual NAACP Image Awards, honoring the achievements of people of color in television, music, literature and films.

The awards also honor groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.

&quot;The Help,&quot; the story of an idealistic young writer who gets civil- rights era black maids to talk about their lives as servants in white homes, was nominated for best picture, best actress for Emma Stone and Viola Davis and supporting actress for Bryce Dallas Howard, Cicely Tyson and Golden Globe winner Octavia Spencer.

Also nominated for best picture were &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; &mdash; which earned six nominations, &quot;Pariah,&quot; &quot;The First Grader&quot; and &quot;Tower Heist.&quot;

&quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; earned best actor and actress nominations for Laz Alonso and Paula Patton, respectively.

Other best-actor nods went to Eddie Murphy of &quot;Tower Heist,&quot; Laurence Fishburne for &quot;Contagion,&quot; Oliver Litondo for &quot;The First Grader&quot; and Vin Diesel for &quot;Fast Five.&quot;

Along with Stone, Davis and Patton, best-actress nominations also went to Adepero Oduye for &quot;Pariah&quot; and Zoe Saldana for &quot;Colombiana.&quot;

The Image Awards will be presented Feb. 17 and televised on NBC.

Here is a list of nominations:

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

Outstanding Comedy Series
&mdash; &quot;Love That Girl!&quot; (TV One)
&mdash; &quot;Modern Family&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;Reed Between the Lines&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;The Game&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Tyler Perry's House of Payne&quot; (TBS)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Dule Hill, &quot;Psych&quot; (USA Network)
&mdash; Malcolm-Jamal Warner, &quot;Reed Between the Lines&quot; (BET)
&mdash; Phil Morris, &quot;Love That Girl!&quot; (TV One)
&mdash; Pooch Hall, &quot;The Game&quot; (BET)
&mdash; Terry Crews, &quot;Are We There Yet?&quot; (TBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Tatyana Ali, &quot;Love That Girl!&quot; (TV One)
&mdash; Tia Mowry-Hardrict, &quot;The Game&quot; (BET)
&mdash; Tracee Ellis Ross, &quot;Reed Between the Lines&quot; (BET)
&mdash; Vanessa Williams, &quot;Desperate Housewives&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Wendy Raquel Robinson, &quot;The Game&quot; (BET)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Craig Robinson, &quot;The Office&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Damon Wayans Jr., &quot;Happy Endings&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; J.B. Smoove, &quot;Curb Your Enthusiasm&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; Nick Cannon, &quot;Up All Night&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Tracy Morgan, &quot;30 Rock&quot; (NBC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Amber Riley, &quot;Glee&quot; (FOX)
&mdash; Gabourey Sidibe, &quot;The Big C&quot; (Showtime)
&mdash; Keshia Knight Pulliam, &quot;Tyler Perry's House of Payne&quot; (TBS)
&mdash; Maya Rudolph, &quot;Up All Night&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Sofia Vergara, &quot;Modern Family&quot; (ABC)

Outstanding Drama Series
&mdash; &quot;Boardwalk Empire&quot; (HBO)
&mdash;  &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; &quot;The Good Wife&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; &quot;Treme&quot; (HBO)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
&mdash; Andre Braugher, &quot;Men of A Certain Age&quot; (TNT)
&mdash; Hill Harper, &quot;CSI: NY&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; L.L. Cool J, &quot;NCIS: Los Angeles&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Taye Diggs, &quot;Private Practice&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Wendell Pierce, &quot;Treme&quot; (HBO)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
&mdash; Chandra Wilson, &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Khandi Alexander, &quot;Treme&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; Regina King, &quot;SouthLAnd&quot; (TNT)
&mdash; Sandra Oh, &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Taraji P. Henson, &quot;Person of Interest&quot; (CBS)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
&mdash; Corey Reynolds, &quot;The Closer&quot; (TNT)
&mdash; Ice T, &quot;Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; James Pickens Jr., &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Nelsan Ellis, &quot;True Blood&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; Omar Epps, &quot;House M.D.&quot; (FOX)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
&mdash; Alfre Woodard, &quot;Memphis Beat&quot; (TNT)
&mdash; Anika Noni Rose, &quot;Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Archie Panjabi, &quot;The Good Wife&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Diahann Carroll, &quot;White Collar&quot; (USA Network)
&mdash; Loretta Devine, &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot; (ABC)

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
&mdash; &quot;Five&quot; (Lifetime Movie Network)
&mdash; &quot;Hallmark Hall of Fame, Mitch Albom's Have a Little Faith&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;Luther&quot; (BBC America)
&mdash; &quot;The Least Among You&quot; (Showtime)
&mdash; &quot;Thurgood&quot; (HBO)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
&mdash; Esai Morales, &quot;We Have Your Husband&quot; (Lifetime)
&mdash; Idris Elba, &quot;Luther&quot; (BBC America)
&mdash; Laurence Fishburne, &quot;Thurgood&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; Louis Gossett Jr., &quot;The Least Among You&quot; (Showtime)
&mdash; Samuel L. Jackson, &quot;The Sunset Limited&quot; (HBO)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
&mdash; Anika Noni Rose, &quot;Hallmark Hall of Fame, Mitch Albom's Have a Little
Faith&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; Jenifer Lewis, &quot;Five&quot; (Lifetime Movie Network)
&mdash; Rosario Dawson, &quot;Five&quot; (Lifetime Movie Network)
&mdash; Taraji P. Henson, &quot;Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story&quot; (Lifetime)
&mdash; Tracee Ellis Ross, &quot;Five&quot; (Lifetime Movie Network)

Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
&mdash; Aaron D. Spears, &quot;The Bold and the Beautiful&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Bryton James, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Emerson Brooks, &quot;All My Children&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; James Reynolds, &quot;Days of Our Lives&quot; (NBC)
&mdash; Texas Battle, &quot;The Bold and the Beautiful&quot; (CBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
&mdash; Christel Khalil, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Julia Pace Mitchell, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Tatyana Ali, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Tonya Lee Williams, &quot;The Young and the Restless&quot; (CBS)
&mdash; Yvette Freeman, &quot;The Bold and the Beautiful&quot; (CBS)

Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)
&mdash; &quot;BET News Exclusive: The President Answers Black America&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Judge Mathis&quot; (Syndicated)
&mdash; &quot;Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; &quot;Unsung&quot; (TV One)
&mdash; &quot;Washington Watch with Roland Martin&quot; (TV One)

Outstanding Talk Series
&mdash; &quot;Anderson&quot; (Syndicated)
&mdash; &quot;Oprah's Lifeclass&quot; (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
&mdash; &quot;The Doctors&quot; (Syndicated)
&mdash; &quot;The View&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;The Wendy Williams Show&quot; (Syndicated)

Outstanding Reality Series
&mdash; &quot;All-American Muslim&quot; (TLC)
&mdash; &quot;American Idol&quot; (FOX)
&mdash; &quot;Dancing with the Stars&quot; (ABC)
&mdash; &quot;Sunday Best&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Tia &amp; Tamera&quot; (Style Network)

Outstanding Variety Series or Special
&mdash; &quot;2011 BET Awards&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Black Girls Rock!&quot; (BET)
&mdash; &quot;Oprah Presents: Master Class&quot; (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
&mdash; &quot;Prince! Behind the Symbol&quot; (The Africa Channel)
&mdash; &quot;UNCF An Evening of Stars Tribute to Chaka Khan&quot; (BET)

Outstanding Children's Program
&mdash; &quot;A.N.T. Farm&quot; (Disney Channel)
&mdash; &quot;Dora The Explorer&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; &quot;Go, Diego! Go!&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; &quot;I Can Be President: A Kid's-Eye View&quot; (HBO)
&mdash; &quot;My Family Tree&quot; (Disney Channel)

Outstanding Performance in a Youth/ Children's Program - (Series or Special)
&mdash; China Anne McClain, &quot;A.N.T. Farm&quot; (Disney Channel)
&mdash; Keke Palmer, &quot;True Jackson, VP&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; Lance Robertson, &quot;Yo Gabba Gabba&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; Leon Thomas III, &quot;Victorious&quot; (Nickelodeon)
&mdash; Zendaya Coleman, &quot;Shake It Up&quot; (Disney Channel)

RECORDING CATEGORIES

Outstanding New Artist
&mdash; Committed (Epic)
&mdash; Diggy Simmons (Atlantic Records)
&mdash; Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (Columbia Records)
&mdash; Mindless Behavior (Streamline/Conjunction/Interscope Records)
&mdash; Wynter Gordon (Big Beat/Atlantic Records)

Outstanding Male Artist
&mdash; Anthony Hamilton (RCA Records)
&mdash; Bruno Mars (Elektra Records)
&mdash; Cee Lo Green (Elektra Records)
&mdash; Chris Brown (Jive Records)
&mdash; Common (Warner Bros. Records)

Outstanding Female Artist
&mdash; Beyonce (Columbia Records)
&mdash; Jennifer Hudson (Arista Records)
&mdash; Jill Scott (Warner Bros. Records)
&mdash; Ledisi (Verve Forecast)
&mdash; Mary J. Blige (Geffen)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
&mdash; Boyz II Men (Benchmark Entertainment/MSM Music Group)
&mdash; Cee Lo Green feat. Melanie Fiona (Elektra Records)
&mdash; Mary J. Blige feat. Drake (Geffen)
&mdash; Sounds of Blackness (Malaco Music Group)
&mdash; The Roots (Island Def Jam Music Group)

Outstanding Jazz Album
&mdash; &quot;Chano y Dizzy,&quot; Terence Blanchard and Poncho Sanchez (Concord
Music Group, Inc.)
&mdash; &quot;Friends,&quot; Stanley Jordan (Mack Avenue Records)
&mdash; &quot;Guitar Man,&quot; George Benson (Concord Jazz)
&mdash; &quot;Legacy,&quot; Gerald Wilson (Mack Avenue Records)
&mdash; &quot;Road Show Vol. 2,&quot; Sonny Rollins (Emarcy)

Outstanding Gospel Album (Traditional or Contemporary)
&mdash; &quot;Becoming,&quot; Yolanda Adams (N House Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;Church on the Moon,&quot; Deitrick Haddon (Verity Gospel Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;Hello Fear,&quot; Kirk Franklin (Verity Gospel Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;Something Big,&quot; Mary Mary (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;The Journey,&quot; Andrae Crouch (RiverPhlo Entertainment)

Outstanding World Music Album
&mdash; Afrodiaspora,&quot; Susana Baca (Luaka Bop)
&mdash; &quot;Carnival Fever,&quot; Brother B (King Chero Records)
&mdash; &quot;Live at 2011 New Orleans Jazz &amp; Heritage Festival,&quot; Boukman
Eksperyans (MunckMix, Inc.)
&mdash; &quot;Sounds of Blackness,&quot; Sounds of Blackness (Malaco Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;The First Grader,&quot; Alex Heffes (Varese Sarabande)

Outstanding Music Video
&mdash; &quot;25/8,&quot; Mary J. Blige (Geffen)
&mdash; &quot;Hear My Call,&quot; Jill Scott (Warner Bros. Records)
&mdash; &quot;I Was Here,&quot; Beyonce (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;Someone Like You,&quot; Adele (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;Where You At,&quot; Jennifer Hudson (Arista Records)

Outstanding Song
&mdash; &quot;Best Thing I Never Had,&quot; Beyonce (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;Fool for You feat. Melanie Fiona,&quot; Cee Lo Green (Elektra Records)
&mdash; &quot;I Smile,&quot; Kirk Franklin (Verity Gospel Music Group)
&mdash; &quot;So In Love feat. Anthony Hamilton,&quot; Jill Scott (Warner Bros. Records)
&mdash; &quot;Someone Like You,&quot; Adele (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Album
&mdash; &quot;4,&quot; Beyonce (Columbia Records)
&mdash; &quot;F.A.M.E,&quot; Chris Brown (Jive Records)
&mdash; &quot;I Remember Me,&quot; Jennifer Hudson (Arista Records)
&mdash; &quot;Lasers,&quot; Lupe Fiasco (1st &amp; 15th/Atlantic Records)
&mdash; &quot;The Light of the Sun,&quot; Jill Scott (Warner Bros. Records)

LITERATURE CATEGORIES

Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction
&mdash; &quot;A Silken Thread,&quot; Brenda Jackson (Harlequin Kimani Press)
&mdash; &quot;Boundaries,&quot; Elizabeth Nunez (Akashic Books)
&mdash; &quot;Say Amen, Again,&quot; Reshonda Tate Billingsley (Gallery Books)
&mdash; &quot;Silver Sparrow,&quot; Tayari Jones (Algonquin Books)
&mdash; &quot;The Plot Against Hip Hop: A Novel,&quot; Nelson George (Akashic Books)

Outstanding Literary Work - Non-Fiction
&mdash; &quot;Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America,&quot;
Melissa Harris-Perry (Yale University Press)
&mdash; &quot;Super Rich,&quot; Russell Simmons (Gotham Books)
&mdash; &quot;The Cosmopolitan Canopy,&quot; Elijah Anderson (W. W. Norton &amp; Company)
&mdash; &quot;The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in Its Place,&quot; Hill Harper (Gotham
Books)
&mdash; &quot;Who's Afraid of Post- Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now,&quot;
Toure (Free Press)

Outstanding Literary Work - Debut Author
&mdash; &quot;2Grieve 2Gether: A Journal from the Heart Helping Survivors &amp;
Supporters Navigate the Healing Process,&quot; Denise Hall Brown (2Lift 1Up
Publishing)
&mdash; &quot;A Defining Moment,&quot; Patricia Duncan (IJABA Publishing Inc.)
&mdash; &quot;The Loom,&quot; Shella Gillus (Guideposts Books)
&mdash; &quot;The Strawberry Letter,&quot; Lyah Le Flore (Ballantine/Random House)
&mdash; &quot;We the Animals,&quot; Justin Torres (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Outstanding Literary Work - Biography/Auto-Biography
&mdash; &quot;A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother,&quot;
Janny Scott (Riverhead Books)
&mdash; &quot;Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,&quot; Manning Marable (Penguin Group
(USA)-Viking)
&mdash; &quot;My Song,&quot; Harry Belafonte (Knopf)
&mdash; &quot;No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington,&quot; Condoleezza
Rice (Crown Publishers)
&mdash; &quot;The John Carlos Story,&quot; John Carlos, Dave Zirin (Haymarket Books)

Outstanding Literary Work - Instructional
&mdash; &quot;A Year to Wellness and Other Weight Loss Secrets,&quot; Bertice Berry
(Freeman House Publishing)
&mdash; &quot;Living My Dream: An Artistic Approach to Marketing,&quot; Synthia Saint
James (Create Space)
&mdash; &quot;Our Difficult Sunlight: A Guide to Poetry, Literacy, &amp; Social
Justice in Classroom &amp; Community,&quot; Quraysh Ali Lansana (Teachers &amp; Writers
Collaborative)
&mdash; &quot;The T.D. Jakes Relationship Bible: Life Lessons on Relationships
from the Inspired Word of God,&quot; T.D. Jakes (Atria Books)
&mdash; &quot;Too Important to Fail: Saving America's Boys,&quot; Tavis Smiley
(Author), Juan Roberts (Illustrator) (SmileyBooks)

Outstanding Literary Work - Poetry
&mdash; &quot;Afro Clouds &amp; Nappy Rain: The Curtis Brown Poems,&quot; James Golden
(iUniverse)
&mdash; &quot;Head Off &amp; Split,&quot; Nikky Finney (TriQuarterly Books / Northwestern
University Press)
&mdash; &quot;Honoring Genius: The Narrative of Craft, Art, Kindness and
Justice,&quot; Haki Madhubuti (Third World Press)
&mdash; &quot;Intimate Thoughts,&quot; Darrin Henson (Author), Anna Saunders
(Illustrator) (Godzchild Publishing)
&mdash; &quot;Last Seen,&quot; Jacqueline Jones Lamon (University of Wisconsin Press)

Outstanding Literary Work - Children
&mdash; &quot;Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band,&quot; Kwame Alexander (Author),
Tim Bowers (Illustrator) (Sleeping Bear Press)
&mdash; &quot;Before There Was Mozart,&quot; Lesa Cline-Ransome (Author), James
Ransome (Illustrator) (Schwartz &amp; Wade Books / Random House Children's Books)
&mdash; &quot;Heart and Soul,&quot; Kadir Nelson (Author/Illustrator) (Balzer + Bray,
an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books)
&mdash; &quot;White Water,&quot; Michael S. Bandy (Author), Shadra Strickland
(Illustrator) (Candlewick Press)
&mdash; &quot;You Can Be A Friend,&quot; Tony Dungy (Author), Ron Mazellan
(Illustrator) (Simon &amp; Schuster Children's Publishing - Little Simon)

Outstanding Literary Work - Youth/Teens
&mdash; &quot;Camo Girl,&quot; Kekla Magoon (Simon &amp; Schuster Children's Publishing -
Aladdin)
&mdash; &quot;Eliza's Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary,&quot; Jerdine
Nolan (Author), Sadra Strickland (Illustrator) (Simon &amp; Schuster Children's
Publishing - Paula Wiseman Books)
&mdash; &quot;Jesse Owens: I Always Loved Running,&quot; Jeff Burlingame (Enslow
Publishers, Inc.)
&mdash; &quot;Kick,&quot; Walter Dean (HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins
Children's Books)
&mdash; &quot;Planet Middle School,&quot; Nikki Grimes (Bloomsbury Children's Books)

MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES

Outstanding Motion Picture
&mdash; &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; &quot;The First Grader&quot; (National Geographic Entertainment)
&mdash; &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; &quot;Tower Heist&quot; (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
&mdash; Eddie Murphy, &quot;Tower Heist&quot; (Universal Pictures)
&mdash; Laurence Fishburne, &quot;Contagion&quot; (Warner Bros. Pictures)
&mdash; Laz Alonso, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; Oliver Litondo, &quot;The First Grader&quot; (National Geographic Entertainment)
&mdash; Vin Diesel, &quot;Fast Five&quot; (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
&mdash; Adepero Oduye, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Emma Stone, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; Paula Patton, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; Viola Davis, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; Zoe Saldana, &quot;Colombiana&quot; (TriStar Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
&mdash; Anthony Mackie, &quot;The Adjustment Bureau&quot; (Universal Pictures)
&mdash; Charles Parnell, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Don Cheadle, &quot;The Guard&quot; (Sony Pictures Classics)
&mdash; Jeffrey Wright, &quot;The Ides of March&quot; (Columbia Pictures)
&mdash; Mike Epps, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
&mdash; Bryce Dallas Howard, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; Cicely Tyson, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)
&mdash; Kim Wayans, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Maya Rudolph, &quot;Bridesmaids&quot; (Universal Pictures)
&mdash; Octavia Spencer, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
&mdash; &quot;I Will Follow&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; &quot;Kinyarwanda&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; &quot;MOOZ-lum&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; &quot;The First Grader&quot; (National Geographic Entertainment)

Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture
&mdash; &quot;A Separation&quot; (Sony Pictures Classics)
&mdash; &quot;Attack the Block&quot; (Screen Gems)
&mdash; &quot;In the Land of Blood and Honey&quot; (FilmDistrict)
&mdash; &quot;Le Havre&quot; (Janus Films)
&mdash; &quot;Life, Above All&quot; (Sony Pictures Classics)

DOCUMENTARY

Outstanding Documentary - (Theatrical or Television)
&mdash; &quot;Beats, Rhymes &amp; Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest&quot; (Sony
Pictures Classics)
&mdash; &quot;Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey&quot; (Submarine Deluxe)
&mdash; &quot;Sing Your Song&quot; (HBO Documentary Films)
&mdash; &quot;The Rescuers&quot; (Michael King Productions)
&mdash; &quot;Thunder Soul&quot; (Roadside Attractions)

WRITING

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Arthur Harris, &quot;Reed Between the Lines,&quot; Let's Talk About Ms.
Helen's Son Part 1 (BET)
&mdash; Prentice Penny, &quot;Happy Endings,&quot; The Girl with the David Tattoo (ABC)
&mdash; Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil, &quot;The Game,&quot; Parachutes....Beach Chairs
(BET)
&mdash; Vali Chandrasekaran, &quot;30 Rock,&quot; It's Never Too Late For Now (NBC)
&mdash; Vince Cheung, Ben Montanio, &quot;Wizards of Waverly Place,&quot; Wizards vs.
Angels (Disney Channel)

Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series
&mdash; Cheo Hodari Coker, &quot;SouthLAnd,&quot; Punching Water (TNT)
&mdash; Janine Sherman Barrois, &quot;Criminal Minds,&quot; The Bittersweet Science
(CBS)
&mdash; Lolis Eric Elie, &quot;Treme,&quot; Santa Claus, Do You Ever Get the Blues?
(HBO)
&mdash; Pam Veasey, &quot;Ringer,&quot; Oh Gawd, There's Two of Them? (The CW)
&mdash; Zoanne Clack, &quot;Grey's Anatomy,&quot; I Will Survive (ABC)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture - (Theatrical or Television)
&mdash; Alrick Brown, &quot;Kinyarwanda&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; Ann Peacock, &quot;The First Grader&quot; (National Geographic Entertainment)
&mdash; Dee Rees, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Elizabeth Hunter, Arlene Gibbs, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; Tate Taylor, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)

DIRECTING

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
&mdash; Jay Chandrasekhar, &quot;Happy Endings,&quot; The Girl with the David Tattoo
(ABC)
&mdash; Kevin Hooks, &quot;Drop Dead Diva,&quot; Mother's Day (Lifetime)
&mdash; Leonard R. Garner Jr., &quot;Rules of Engagement,&quot; The Set Up (CBS)
&mdash; Miguel Arteta, &quot;How to Make It in America,&quot;  Mofongo (HBO)
&mdash; Salim Akil, &quot;The Game,&quot; Parachutes/Beach Chairs (BET)

Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series
&mdash; Ernest Dickerson, &quot;Treme,&quot; Do Watcha Wanna (HBO)
&mdash; Ken Whittingham, &quot;Parenthood,&quot; Opening Night (NBC)
&mdash; Kevin Sullivan, &quot;NCIS,&quot; Tell-All (CBS)
&mdash; Paris Barclay, &quot;Sons of Anarchy,&quot; Out (FX Network)
&mdash; Seith Mann, &quot;Dexter,&quot; Get Gellar (Showtime)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture - (Theatrical or Television)
&mdash; Alrick Brown, &quot;Kinyarwanda&quot; (AFFRM)
&mdash; Angelina Jolie, &quot;In the Land of Blood and Honey&quot; (FilmDistrict)
&mdash; Dee Rees, &quot;Pariah&quot; (Focus Features)
&mdash; Salim Akil, &quot;Jumping the Broom&quot; (TriStar Pictures)
&mdash; Tate Taylor, &quot;The Help&quot; (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant
Media/Touchstone Pictures)]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Nick Cannon: I'm back, and feeling 100 percent ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Nick-Cannon-Im-back-and-feeling-100-percent--137596888.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:03:58 PST</pubDate>
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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; Two weeks following his hospitalization in Aspen due to kidney troubles, Nick Cannon is back at work and on the mend.

The  actor and &quot;America's Got Talent&quot; host has posted a video reassuring  fans that he's regaining his health, and during a simulcast  interview  with Howard Stern Tuesday, the 31-year-old gave a more  detailed  explanation of what was going on.

Originally, doctors thought it  was kidney stones, but after more  tests they realized it &quot;was more  serious, and they found that my kidneys  weren't functioning well,&quot; he  said.

&quot;We didn't want to say 'kidney failure' because then people  think,  'Uh oh I gotta go get new kidneys' and Gary Coleman and all of  that,&quot; he  explained. &quot;We didn't want to go there, so we said 'mild  kidney  failure.'&quot;

He has a few more procedures, &quot;but I'm good, I'm back, I'm feeling 100 percent,&quot; he assured Stern.

When  his new &quot;AGT&quot; colleague (Stern has signed on as the new judge) noted  that Cannon really could just  sit back and relax rather than &quot;take on  20 jobs,&quot; the media personality  said he is going to try to ease up on  his crazy work ethic.

&quot;I was always [taught] the harder you work,  the more you can  accomplish, but because of this situation, I know that  I don't need to  go too hard.&quot;]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Will.i.am has game — like, literally]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/William-has-game--like-literally-137550698.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:52:11 PST</pubDate>
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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

Editor's note: John Gaudiosi  is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Gamerlive.tv video syndication  network. He has covered video games for hundreds of outlets in the past  20 years and specializes in the convergence of movies and games.


LAS VEGAS (CNN) &mdash; Most people know  international recording artist Will.i.am (born William James Adams Jr.)  as the producer and front man for The Black Eyed Peas, the  Grammy-winning group that has performed at the Super Bowl and sold more  than 18 million albums worldwide.

But Will.i.am is also a huge  gamer and techie. When it comes to technology, he's much more than just a  gear head. He actually visits NASA for rocket launches and works with  nonprofits such as FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and  Technology) to encourage kids to build robots.

He also serves as Intel's director of creative innovation.

At  the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, Will.i.am announced  that he's doing a global tour with Intel to promote its new Ultrabooks.  Fans will be able to follow his journey as he visits 12 countries in 12  months recording music and filming his adventures. He helped design the  new willpower360 app, which allows viewers to experience the Ultrabook  Project from any angle.

And &mdash; and! &mdash; not only did Will.i.am  help create one of the top-selling music games this holiday season,  Ubisoft's The Black Eyed Peas Experience, he actually helped Microsoft  design the Kinect for Xbox 360 technology that powers the dance game.

The  man behind the games chatted with CNN about his love of video games and  tech at CES in Vegas. The following is an edited transcript of that  conversation:

CNN: What's a favorite memory of playing video games when you were young?

Will.i.am:  We were poor. We couldn't afford video games. So I would go to my  friend Calvin and Douglas' house to play his Nintendo or Markey's house  to play the Atari 2600, Intellivision or Colecovision. We'd always go to  Markey's porch, and he used to have them there. We had to pay 15 cents  to play one of his games, whether it was Pong or Combat. You remember  Combat and having those graphics? Just think about that. Wow!

What did you think of the music in those old-school games?

I remember playing Donkey Kong and Pac-Man and thinking, &quot;Wow, who  designed the audio for that?&quot; Some guy was like, &quot;Oh, shucks. When  Pac-Man eats the ghost should it be booo-oomp!&quot; I wonder what they were  thinking when they made the audio.

Did game music influence you at all?

I remember when Super Nintendo came and then the graphics changed and  that was a big leap because you saw Mario from different angles. That  was cool. I did a beat. I have a track where I sampled that game. I have  my hip-hop Mario underground music. That's when he goes underground (in  the game).

Did you play games as they got better over the years?

Yeah. I remember Joust and then Q*BertC, right with the graphics  started getting better and then there was Pole Position and Mike Tyson  Punch-Out. That's when Nintendo started coming in. I loved Duck Hunt. Do  you remember Gyromite? What was that all about? And then Zelda came  out. That's when I was like it's all about video games. Zelda. Did you  save the princess yet? Did you get the fairy? Where's the fairies at?  Wow, that was like the dopest. And there was that little pond that you  had to go to get some more lives and stuff. I loved that. I mean, that's  my childhood from just video games.

What are you playing these days?

My favorite game is Madden. That's it. I'm a Madden addict. I go at it.  I design my own teams. People online always go, &quot;I'm not playing you,  you're a freaking cheater.&quot; And I'm like, &quot;What are you talking about?  You can design your own team too. We can just play with our own teams  anyways.&quot;

Who's on your Madden team when you design them?

Oh, I make names up like Little Whoop A** or Little Speedy. I make a  little short guy that runs really fast; change his attributes and  whatnot. I like big dudes, like 6-foot-2 quarterbacks. That's what I  like doing. So that's why I play Madden.

Do you play any other games?

I freaking love Grand Theft Auto. Don't have me play that because I  don't even do the missions. I just like to see what I can do to make the  cops come chase me and see if I can run from them. But Madden's my  favorite.

What was it like working on The Black Eyed Experience game?

Two years ago, I would go up to Seattle and consulted on Natal. That's  what it was called before they coined it Kinect. Project Natal. So I'd  go up to Seattle and put in all the work, when I finally saw the video  game, I'm like, &quot;Wow, that's what I was consulting on?&quot; And my group got  the benefit off of all that flying back and forth. I'd work with  (Ubisoft) and say, &quot;Oh, no, the dancing shouldn't be like this. We  should make it so once I sit down the avatar shouldn't turn into a  noodle. You got to fix it to like.&quot; And they'd work on that. And I'm  like, &quot;OK, cool. Also, it should have some type of gesture where the  beat slows down and then the choreographer dance guy instructor tells  you what you're doing wrong. You should have it do that. It should be  real.&quot; And they'd work on that.

What impact have you seen your game have on fans?

What I've noticed with BEP Experience was it was the Christmas thing to  do, it was the New Year's thing to do when families got together. I  read Tweets like, &quot;Oh my gosh, I haven't had that much fun with my  daughter in years. I haven't had that much fun with my wife in years. I  haven't had that much fun with my brother for years.&quot; When families come  together and they're doing this Black Eyed Peas experience with songs  that they all know, it's great. It's a great extension of the Peas. And  it goes back to all the work I did going back up to Seattle working on  Code Natal, which is now Kinect. It's been a great journey and I'm proud  of the result.

What's your favorite piece of technology that you can't live without?

Really I want to say my phone. I like my phone because that's the  thing, but really it's my laptop. I can Tweet with my phone and I have  all my addresses in it, but now it's backed up to my computer. So if I  lose my phone, I lose it. It has a code (password) on it. Nobody's going  to get into it. I just get a new phone and download. It's really my  laptop that I can't live without.

How do you use your laptop creatively today?

I've been making music on desktops and laptops for a long time now, so  to use this Ultrabook, which is lighter and offers better performance is  great. I love DJing with it. I love creating with it. If you imagine  what it was like when Michael Jackson was making music, we used to make  music in studios and the music played on the radio. Now you're making  music on a computer and you listen to it on the computer. So just the  idea of that is amazing.
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			<title><![CDATA[Pitt, Jolie pay visit to White House]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/137128408.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:44:16 PST</pubDate>
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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[(CNN) &mdash; A big slice of Hollywood  came to the White House Wednesday when President Barack Obama greeted  Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the Oval Office.
 


For a brief  moment, the White House press corps was transformed into a pack of  paparazzi as the star couple was spotted through the Oval Office windows  during a previously unannounced visit with the president.

A  senior White House official later told CNN that Pitt and Jolie were in  Washington to screen a new movie Jolie directed about Bosnian war  crimes, &quot;In the Land of Blood and Honey.&quot;

Deputy White House Press  Secretary Jamie Smith told CNN that Obama spoke with Jolie &quot;about her  work to raise the profile of preventing mass atrocities and combating  sexual violence against women.&quot;
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			<title><![CDATA[Blue Ivy gets gifts from friends of Jay-Z, Beyonce]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/137124993.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:01:08 PST</pubDate>
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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[(CNN) — What do you buy for the baby whose parents have everything?

If you are Blue Ivy Carter, a.k.a. the newborn daughter of a superstar rapper and singer, not only are you liable to receive cool gifts, but they are probably going to come from some pretty high profile folks.

While her dad, Jay-Z, has already composed a song for (and featuring) her, the newborn also reportedly received some presents from celebrity friends of her parents.

Auntie O (that's Oprah Winfrey for those not in the know) supposedly purchased a trunk full of children's books, according to The Insider. Given her love of the written word -- what with her book club and offering Jay-Z's book "Decoded" as one of her "favorite things" -- it's no surprise.

Meanwhile, mommy's former group mate and BFF Kelly Rowland is said to have gone a more fashionable route.

According to People magazine, Rowland stopped by an upscale boutique to snag a onesie featuring a drawing of Bob Marley for B.I.C.

The green, long-sleeved onesie was reportedly purchased from an upscale New York City kids boutique, Lucky Wang. Entertainment Weekly also reported that the former Destiny's Child member has gifted the couple a $5,200 Swarovski crystal baby bathtub for the little darling.

The new parents reportedly took their bundle of joy home early Tuesday morning.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Coachella 2012 lines up Dre, Snoop, Black Keys and Radiohead]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/137054288.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:27:48 PST</pubDate>
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(CNN) &mdash; Coachella has announced its  full 2012 lineup,  and festival goers can expect to see The Black Keys,  Radiohead, Dr. Dre  and Snoop Dogg headline when the music fest kicks  off in Indio,  California in April.

Last spring, Coachella  announced that this year's fest will last for two separate  weekends.  The first will be held April 13-15, and the second will be  April 20-22.

The  Black Keys will play on Friday, April 13, and Friday, April 20,  and  will be joined by Swedish House Mafia, Pulp, Arctic Monkeys,  Afrojack,  Cat Power, Jimmy Cliff and Frank Ocean, among others.

Radiohead  will headline Saturday, April 14, and Saturday, April 20,  and then Dr.  Dre and Snoop Dogg will close out the six-day event by performing on   Sunday, April 15 and Sunday, April 21.

Other acts include Bon Iver, the Shins, David Guetta, Feist, Florence + the Machine, La Roux, the Weeknd and Girl Talk.

Weekend  passes went on advance sale last June for a week, but the  festival is  selling another round of three-day passes starting Friday at  10 a.m.  PST. According to the L.A. Times, prices will range from $285 for a  weekend pass to $665 for the VIP admission.

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			<title><![CDATA[Drug dog busts Snoop Dogg's bus ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Snoop-Dogg-admits-prescription-bottles-with-marijuana-were-his-Texas-Sheriff-says--136964948.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 9 Jan 2012 13:03:19 PST</pubDate>
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(CNN) &mdash; Rapper Snoop Dogg  faces a drug charge after border agents searched his tour bus along the  same stretch of a west Texas highway where singer Willie Nelson was  busted in 2010, a Texas sheriff said.

Snoop Dogg, whose real name  is Calvin Broadus, &quot;freely admitted&quot; that three prescription bottles  filled with marijuana cigarettes were his, a statement from the Hudspeth  County, Texas, Sheriff said.

The entertainer's representatives did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

The  rapper, like Nelson, is an outspoken proponent of pot and he is known  to have a license to use prescription medical marijuana in California.

The  bust happened early Saturday at his bus approached the U.S. Border  Patrol Checkpoint located in Sierra Blanca, Texas, at the U.S.-Mexico  border about 85 miles southeast of El Paso, the sheriff's statment said.

&quot;During  a routine check of U.S. citizenship the inspecting Border Patrol agent  detected the odor of marijuana emitting from the inside of the vehicle  and requested the driver to pull into the secondary inspection lane for  further inspection,&quot; the statement said.

A drug-detection dog  sniffing inside the bus &quot;alerted to a trash can located at the rear of  the vehicle where a red prescription bottle containing rolled marijuana  cigarettes were located,&quot; the statement said. Two other containers with  marijuana, weighing in all total of 0.130 pounds, were also found, it  said.

&quot;Snoop Dogg freely admitted that the marijuana belonged to  him and he was placed under arrest by U.S. Border Patrol agents and  detained,&quot; it said.

He was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia, given a court date of January 20 and released, the sheriff said.

Willie  Nelson settled his November 2010 Hudspeth County pot bust with a plea  deal that reduced his marijuana possession charge to possession of drug  paraphernalia and imposed a $500 fine.

The west Texas prosecutor  who handled Nelson's case had suggested Nelson, a treasured icon in the  Lone Star state, could pay just a $100 fine if he'd serenade the court  with his 1975 hit &quot;Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.&quot; The judge quickly  vetoed that offer.

&quot;You can bet your ass I'm not going to be mean  to Willie Nelson,&quot; Hudspeth County Attorney C.R. &quot;Kit&quot; Bramblett told  CNN at the time.

Bramblett was in court Monday and unavailable to comment on how he might handle Snoop Dogg's prosecution.

CNN's Carolyn Sung contributed to this report.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Fans speculate on meaning behind Beyonce name 'Blue Ivy' ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Beyonce-gives-birth-to-girl-136896038.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Sat, 7 Jan 2012 22:47:38 PST</pubDate>
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(CNN) &mdash; Beyonce reportedly delivered  a baby girl named Blue Ivy Carter in New York on Saturday, and the  rumored name has sparked plenty of online conversation as fans tried to  dissect the meaning.

(Some reports suggested that the name was  &quot;Ivy Blue,&quot; but a tweet  from Beyonce's pal Gwyneth Paltrow appeared to  clear up the confusion:  &quot;It's Blue Ivy Carter!&quot; the actress wrote to a  curious Twitter follower.)

While Beyonce and Jay-Z have stayed mum  about whether or not there is a baby, let alone baby names, fans  bandied about a popular theory that &quot;Ivy&quot; is indicative of the Roman  numeral four - as in, &quot;IVy.&quot;

(Beyonce has said that &quot;four&quot; is an  important number in her life, with it being her birth date, the date of  her wedding and the title of her latest album.)

As for &quot;Blue,&quot; Us  Weekly points out that Jay-Z has rapped about the shade being a favorite   color, and fans have raised the correlation between &quot;Blue&quot; and Jay-Z's   &quot;Blueprint&quot; albums.

Still others saw a more nefarious  connotation, tweeting the belief that &quot;Ivy&quot; stands  for &quot;Illuminati's  Very Youngest,&quot; which is based in the gossip that Jay-Z is involved in  the occult.

(It was a Sunday, guys - apparently people had time on their hands.)

Regardless, both Beyonce and Jay-Z have maintained radio silence. However, their celebrity friends haven't been as quiet.

Rihanna  tweeted Sunday, &quot;Welcome to the world princess Carter! Love Aunty Rih.&quot;  P. Diddy chimed in, &quot;Congrats to jay and B! God Bless! And many more!&quot;

Gwyneth  Paltrow added, &quot;Welcome to the world Blue! We love you already,&quot; while   Beyonce's sister Solange simply tweeted, &quot;The most beautiful girl in  the  world.&quot;]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Singer Etta James leaves hospital]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Singer-Etta-James-leaves-hospital-136784993.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">136784993</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 5 Jan 2012 19:25:44 PST</pubDate>
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(CNN) &mdash; Terminally ill  singer Etta James was released Thursday from a Southern California  hospital, her manager said.

&quot;She is home with her husband and family by her side,&quot; said Lupe De Leon. &quot;Her condition remains stable.&quot;

James, 73, was hospitalized two weeks, battling the final stages of terminal leukemia and suffering from dementia.

The  &quot;At Last&quot; singer spent New Year's Eve watching the ball drop with her  sons, Donto and Sametto James, in her hospital room, said Donto James,  who played drums in his mother's Roots band for 15 years.

Paul  Wright, a lawyer who represents the sons in their dispute with Etta  James' husband over who makes decisions for her, said Sunday that the  singer is &quot;nearing the end of her time, but she's a tough lady.&quot;

The  judge overseeing James' conservatorship approved an agreement last  month in which husband Artis Mills is the conservator, but he must  equally share &quot;end of life&quot; decisions with the sons, Wright said.

Mills is also limited in how much of her estate he can spend and he cannot &quot;encumber her music catalog,&quot; Wright said.

CNN's Carolyn Sung contributed to this report.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Judge issues favorable ruling for insurers of Jackson's ill-fated tour]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Judge-issues-favorable-ruling-for-insurers-of-Jacksons-comeback-tour-136754403.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Thu, 5 Jan 2012 11:37:52 PST</pubDate>
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																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

The insurers of Michael Jackson's attempted comeback concerts won a round in court Thursday when a judge said the company can begin collecting information from the promoters of the singer's attempted 2009 comeback tour.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey denied a motion by AEG Live asking that a lawsuit by Lloyd's of London be put on hold until two other legal actions by the mother and father of the late singer concerning his death are concluded.
Mackey also said he will delay setting a trial date and appoint an evidence referee to make recommendations to him in case any disputes arise between the two sides in exchanging information.
 
&quot;I know this is a multi-faceted case and I think that somewhere it's going to settle way down the line,&quot; Mackey said. &quot;For what, I don't know.&quot;
 
Attorney Paul Schrieffer, on behalf of Lloyd's, criticized AEG Live's motion. He said his clients have waited for more than two years to get the documents they need and that any such motion should have been brought months earlier.
 
&quot;Now they have the epiphany to come into this court and ask for a stay in this case,&quot; he said.
 
After the hearing, Schrieffer said he was pleased that the motion was denied. He also said he would be agreeable to the cases by Katherine and Joe Jackson being tried ahead of the Lloyd's case so long as his clients continue to get their information from AEG Live.
 
Lloyd's filed suit against AEG Live and the Michael Jackson Co. LLC last June. Lloyd's wants a judge to declare it does not have to pay AEG's $17.5 million policy on grounds the insurers were not told the singer was taking drugs before he died of a drug overdose on June 25, 2009, at age 50.
 
The Lloyd's lawsuit against AEG claims the company did not tell the insurer about the singer's medical history, &quot;including, but not limited to, his apparent prescription drug use and/or drug addiction.&quot;  The company also alleges AEG did not disclose the star's use of propofol, a powerful anesthetic normally used in a hospital setting.
 
The late pop star's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last year in the death of Jackson, who died of acute propofol intoxication. The physician was sentenced to four years in prison, but is expected to spend about half that time behind bars.
 
Murray administered the final dose to Jackson at his rented mansion to help him sleep, then failed to monitor the singer, according to trial testimony.
 
Lloyd's was never told that the singer was missing rehearsals and appearing at meetings with slurred speech after visiting the office of Dr. Arnold Klein, the singer's dermatologist, according to the Lloyd's attorneys' court documents.
 
Up until the last day of Jackson's life, Lloyd's executives were asking for Jackson's medical information from AEG Live's lawyer, who in turn was passing those requests to Murray, according to the Lloyd's attorneys' court papers.
 
In their suits, Katherine Jackson is suing AEG Live for the alleged negligent hiring of Murray. The case is scheduled for trial in September.
 
Joe Jackson's complaint names both Murray and AEG Live. No trial date is set.
 
Attorney Marvin Putnam, on behalf of AEG Live, said the company is not interested in settling either case.
 
&quot;These are just shakedowns of my clients,&quot; he said.

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			<title><![CDATA[Nick Cannon tweets thanks as he transfers to L.A. hospital ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Nick-Cannon-tweets-thanks-as-he-transfers-to-LA-hospital--136750393.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">136750393</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 5 Jan 2012 10:39:46 PST</pubDate>
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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[(CNN) — Nick Cannon is on the move after wife Mariah Carey revealed to fans Wednesday that he'd been hospitalized for a "mild kidney failure."

The 31-year-old actor and "America's Got Talent" host tweeted Wednesday that he was being transferred to a hospital in L.A. from Aspen, where the couple vacationed over the holidays with their twins, Monroe and Moroccan.

Cannon also reassured worried fans, writing, "Thank you all for all your love, prayers and concern. You know me... I will be a'ight."

Concern was sparked yesterday when Mariah Carey posted an update on her website explaining that Cannon was fighting to recover. The 42-year-old shared a photo of herself taking care of her ailing husband in the hospital.

"This is us in the hospital -- role reversal," she wrote. "Last year it was me attached to the machines (after having dembabies) and Nick was there with me through it, and now here we are."

The singer added to People magazine that Cannon's in "good spirits considering the situation." She said he's stable, but in a lot of pain.

"We are hopeful that he'll be 100 percent as soon as possible," Carey continued. "We really appreciate everyone's love and support."]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Singer Etta James off respirator, breathing on her own]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Singer-Etta-James-off-respirator-breathing-on-her-own-136521768.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">136521768</guid>		
			<pubDate>Mon, 2 Jan 2012 01:24:50 PST</pubDate>
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																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[(CNN) — Singer Etta James is off the respirator and breathing on her own, but remains in a Southern California hospital, her son said early Monday.

The "At Last" singer is battling the final stages of terminal leukemia and suffering from dementia.

James, 73, was hospitalized on December 21 at the request of her two court-appointed doctors, according to her son, Donto James.

"She's all right. My brother and I would like to see her stay in the hospital a little longer until she gets more stable. Our main concern is for her to be taken care of right," said Donto, who played drums in his mother's Roots band for 15 years.

The singer is conscious, and spent New Year's Eve watching the ball drop with her sons in her hospital room, James said. ]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Singer Vesta Williams died of an enlarged heart]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Singer-Vesta-Williams--136510343.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">136510343</guid>		
			<pubDate>Sun, 1 Jan 2012 16:04:36 PST</pubDate>
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R&amp;B singer Vesta Williams died of complications from an enlarged heart, the website EURweb reported Thursday.

Williams, who died in her sleep in a California hotel room on Sept. 22, was 53.

&ldquo;Although it&rsquo;s a sad situation overall, it&rsquo;s great news to find that Vesta&rsquo;s death, as I said from the very beginning, was not drug related,&rdquo; the singer Norwood Young, who was a good friend of Williams, said in an interview. &ldquo;Vesta did indeed die from an enlarged heart. As we know, an enlarged heart can remain undetected in the body for many, many years.&rdquo;

Photo: Vesta Williams. Credit: Via vestawilliams.com.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Tyler the Creator released on bail after vandalism charge]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Rapper-arrested-following-Roxy-show-136150048.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">136150048</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:33:57 PST</pubDate>
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																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

WEST HOLLYWOOD &mdash; A rapper known as Tyler, the Creator was  arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism for allegedly trashing  electronic equipment following a show at The Roxy Theatre on the Sunset  Strip, authorities said Friday.

The 20-year-old rapper, whose real name is Tyler Gregory Okonma, was  taken into custody after deputies were called to the theater at 9009  Sunset Blvd. about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, said Sgt. Arthur Famble Jr. of  the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's West Hollywood Station.

Okonma, who was released after posting $20,000 bail, is scheduled to  appear in court on Tuesday in Beverly Hills, according to the sheriff's  department.

Okonma was arrested following a show in which he appeared, according to the celebrity news website TMZ.com.

&quot;Deputies were contacted by security guards employed by the Roxy  entertainment venue (who) stated that (Okonma) had just destroyed an  electronic soundboard belonging to the venue,&quot; Famble said.

Okonma &quot;exited the location and was placed under arrest by deputies for  felony vandalism, due to the value of the electronic soundboard,&quot; Famble  said. &quot;As he was being escorted to a nearby radio car, the crowd  exiting the venue became angry and rushed into the street towards the  deputies.&quot;

Other deputies were summoned to the scene for crowd control, and Sunset  Boulevard was closed between Doheny Drive and San Vicente Boulevard for  about 30 minutes, Famble said. No injuries were reported.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Ad time for 'All-American Muslim' sells out, despite Lowe's withdrawal ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/135530518.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">135530518</guid>		
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:40:11 PST</pubDate>
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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; Ad time for next  Sunday's &quot;All-American Muslim&quot; episode is apparently sold out, despite  Lowe's decision to pull its commercials from the TLC reality series, a  TLC network spokeswoman said.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons  announced his intentions Monday to buy up any unsold commercial time on  the controversial show in response to the withdrawal of the home  improvement giant. He would use the ads to promote his prepaid Visa  &quot;Rush Card,&quot; he said.

&quot;He has tried to buy,&quot; TLC's Laurie Goldberg  told CNN in an e-mail Tuesday. &quot;We are checking inventory. Still don't  know on that one. I do think it was already sold out, but still  checking.&quot;

If any ad time is left, Simmons said he was standing by to take it.

Simmons'  website posted a statement Tuesday saying &quot;TLC has announced that Rush  Card will not be able to purchase the remaining ad space as they have  all been sold out.&quot;

&quot;All-American Muslim&quot; is an eight-part series that follows five Muslim families living in Dearborn, Michigan.

&quot;Each  episode offers an intimate look at the customs and celebrations,  misconceptions and conflicts these families face outside and within  their own community,&quot; TLC said in the show's description.

The  controversy, and Lowe's decision to pull their spots, followed a  complaint by the Florida Family Association. The group warned Lowe's in a  letter that the show &quot;is attempting to manipulate Americans into  ignoring the threat of jihad and to influence them to believe that being  concerned about the jihad threat would somehow victimize these nice  people in this show.&quot;

Lowe's, a national home improvement chain, defended its decision in a statement to CNN last Saturday.

&quot;Lowe's  has received a significant amount of communication on this program,  from every perspective possible,&quot; the company said. &quot;Individuals and  groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this  program became a lightning rod for many of those views. As a result we  did pull our advertising on this program.&quot;

Simmons, who is an  outspoken social activist, sent a series of Twitter messages over the  last several days urging Lowe's to reverse its decision:

&quot;Dear  @Lowes, we got over 21k signatures standing up against ur poor decision.  Do right thing: apologize &amp; put $ back in #AllAmericanMuslim&quot;

Simmons called the controversy &quot;a press nightmare&quot; for Lowe's in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

&quot;This country is built on religious freedom,&quot; he said. &quot;This is the kind of hate that tears this country apart.&quot;

CNN's Carolyn Sung contributed to this report.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[L.A. underground artist JimiJames evokes Lady Gaga aura]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/LA-underground-artist-JimmiJames-evokes-Lady-Ga-Ga-aura-135225138.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">135225138</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 9 Dec 2011 12:00:44 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	







																														                                                                        <description><![CDATA[



Lady Gaga, whose outrageous sense of self-expression, music and fashion, has created a fanatical fan base &mdash; her self-dubbed &ldquo;little monsters&rdquo; &mdash; while achieving global pop stardom in only three years.

And like many icons, there appears to be a healthy dose of manifest destiny at play.

Apparently as the New York-raised Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, Gaga told a former boyfriend who dumped her and taunted her that she would never make it, that he wouldn&rsquo;t be able to turn on the TV without seeing her face.

Meanwhile, although she doesn&rsquo;t yet have that kind of following, L.A.&rsquo;s music scene could be in for a shot in the arm from a singer/songwriter who blends soul, funk, pop and rock, and trained for three years at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts &mdash; LACHSA, for acting, music and dance.

JimiJames, a moniker inspired by her dad, is an underground indie artist, who has cultivated a raw, outsider image, dubbing herself the &ldquo;Rah Rah Girl&rdquo; and describes her music as &ldquo;Gritti-pop.&rdquo;

Born and raised in the mid-Wilshire district, the artist born Moria Denson, who got her start as a teenager in a girl group, has gone from collaborating with a host of well-known production talent to writing, recording and self-releasing three albums, the latest of which is called &ldquo;The Love Club.&rdquo;

The lead single on 'Club,' &quot;Badd,&quot; featuring Milwaukee hip hop artist Prophetic has garnered good reviews on itunes and can be found on her website, jimijamesmusic.com.

&ldquo;Given the right circumstance and platform, there is no stopping JimiJames,&rdquo; she said, sounding like her idol Gaga.

&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve created something that doesn&rsquo;t need to be changed, but magnified. I have been in a tunnel all my life, but once in a while you need to come up for air. The music business is a tough road, but everything happens for a reason. I know who I am, how I can inspire, whether that&rsquo;s with a major [music label], an indie, or an indie that becomes a major.&rdquo;

Noting that her dad did &ldquo;a little work in showbiz,&rdquo; and her mom works in property construction management, the artist does have a connection to the music industry through an uncle, who managed singer Karen White at the height of her success.

Her earliest break was as a teenager in a long-forgotten girl band &mdash; well, James had consigned it to the past &mdash; performing with the notorious Maia Campbell, the sitcom star who turned to prostitution and drugs.

&ldquo;We were exposed to the biz at a very young age and kinda thrown in it,&rdquo; she said, adding &ldquo;I was quite nervous and wasn&rsquo;t out in front.&quot;

Shecontinued: &ldquo;I never really considered myself as a singer back then; Whitney Houston, Chaka, they were singers. I hadn&rsquo;t had the opportunity and experience to find my voice. [It was only later] that I found my core and a truth that allowed me to start writing and literally painting pictures through song. I was fresh out of school and had no boundaries, I was getting dirty and ugly with it, finding my emotions. I had so many characters and stories that I wanted to put out into the world.&rdquo;

However, before she could mount another assault on the music charts, James took some good advice from her family and creative circle to attend college and get a fine arts degree at the historically Black North Carolina A&amp;T State University, where her student-president cousin was an influential force.

&ldquo;I was encouraged to go to school and study the craft for the long haul. They said, &lsquo;don&rsquo;t be a microwave actor or singer.&rsquo; It really opened my eyes, the way it challenged me and made me view myself and my people. I got a great sense of pride going to a Black college.&rdquo;

Back in L.A. after university, James began to get some traction in the underground scene, helped in 2006 by doing a number of one-off gigs in different states after getting invitations from promoters that were hearing the buzz.

Again, a family connection helped her out.

&ldquo;[The promoters] were interested, but they weren&rsquo;t gonna fly me out,&rdquo; she recalled. &ldquo;I prayed about it and the opportunity came through a cousin that worked for the airlines. I was able to get a companion pass and told them if you put me on, I&rsquo;ll get there.&rdquo;

Photo: Indie artist JimiJames uses her love of theater and dance to create a musical style she calls &quot;Gritti-pop.&quot; Credit: Maricel Sison
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			<title><![CDATA[Ice Cube pays homage to the Eameses in Pacific Standard Time video]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Ice-Cube-135220973.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">135220973</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 7 Dec 2011 20:18:41 PST</pubDate>
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																		                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

Former architectural drafting student O'Shea Jackson, aka Ice Cube,  pays homage to the renowned architects Charles and Ray Eames in a newly  released Pacific Standard Time video.

&quot;Ice Cube Celebrates the Eames,&quot; produced for the art collaborative by music director Dave Meyers, opens with the rapper-actor driving through the streets of Los Angeles in a Lincoln Continental convertible.

&quot;A lot of people think L.A. is just eyesore after eyesore &mdash; full of minimalls, palm trees and billboards. So what?&quot; he says. &quot;They don't know the L.A. I know.&quot;

What many of Ice Cube's fans might not know is that his passion for architecture &mdash; and uncertainty about his music career &mdash; led him to matriculate at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in 1987.

&quot;When N.W.A. was first about to pop off I wasn't sure if I was gonna make a living [from music],&quot; he says. &quot;Cussin' on the radio? I didn't know if that was gonna bring me any money, so I ended up going to school in Phoenix and spending a year out there.&quot;

In the second half of the two-minute video, he is seen walking trhough the Eameses' landmark Case Study House #8.

&quot;In a world full of mcmansions, where the structure takes up all the land, the Eameses made structure and nature one,&quot; he says.

--John A. Moreno]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Beyonce on the best thing about being pregnant ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Beyonce-on-the-best-thing-about-being-pregnant--135119313.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">135119313</guid>		
			<pubDate>Tue, 6 Dec 2011 12:50:17 PST</pubDate>
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																																											                                                                        <description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; Beyonce is finally slowing  down now that she's  expecting, and she says she's having a grand time  doing it....but not by  indulging in cravings you may have read about.

The  30-year-old entertainer told Katie Couric on &quot;20/20&quot; Friday that she  hasn't been chowing down on ice cream with hot chili sauce as some  gossip has claimed.

&quot;I've read that I like ketchup on everything,&quot;  she says, noting  that's also not true. &quot;I was on a plane and the  flight attendant came  and was like, 'I have your hot sauce and pickles  and bananas.' And I'm  like, 'That is absolutely disgusting, what are  you doing?' And he was  like, 'I read it on the Internet,'&quot; she laughed.

That other rumor, the one about her wearing a prosthetic baby bump, she's been able to dismiss without anger.

&quot;There are certain things that are so far, it doesn't even upset  you,&quot; she explained. &quot;It's so ridiculous and over-the-top.&quot;

Beyonce  wouldn't say whether she knows the baby's sex - if Kelly Rowland's to  be believed,  Beyonce and husband Jay-Z (who turned 42 on Sunday) are  expecting a  little girl - but she did spill on what the best thing is  about  expecting a new addition.

&quot;The best thing is knowing that  my favorite person in the world, I  haven't met them yet,&quot; she says.  &quot;And hopefully I'm going to pass on  things that generations of my  family passed on to me. It's exciting.&quot;]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Where is the love in R&B music?]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/music/Where-is-the-love-in-RB-music-134994028.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">134994028</guid>		
			<pubDate>Sun, 4 Dec 2011 12:51:25 PST</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	



				
	
	
	


		

																		



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(CNN) &mdash; When I was a teenager  trying to figure out what the ladies liked, I would turn on the TV on  Saturday afternoons to catch &quot;The hippest trip in America.&quot;

I'd  close my bedroom door to make sure my younger brother wasn't watching,  and then I'd imitate the latest dance moves on &quot;Soul Train,&quot; the  African-American dance show. Standing in front of a mirror, I'd unleash a  series of spasmodic dance moves before embarrassing myself too much to  continue.

Soul Train's dancers never had that problem. As the  show's festive theme song played, wiry dancers in tight double-knit  pants shimmied across the dance floor. I loved the huge afros, the  lapels that were so wide you could land a small plane on them, and the  suave &quot;Soul Train&quot; host, Don Cornelius, who signed off each show by  declaring, &quot;We wish you love, peace ... and sooooulllll!&quot;

But  most of all I loved the music on &quot;Soul Train,&quot; especially the slow jams.  They had everything -- evocative lyrics, head-bopping grooves, soaring  string arrangements and a whole lot of talk about love.

Yet when I  listen to R&amp;B today, I ask myself the same question Roberta Flack  and Donny Hathaway posed in their classic 1972 duet: &quot;Where is the  Love?&quot;

Listening to black music today is depressing. Songs on  today's urban radio playlists are drained of romance, tenderness and  seduction. And it's not just about the rise of hardcore hip-hop or  rappers who denigrate women.

Black people gave the world Motown, Barry White and &quot;Let's Get It On.&quot; But we don't make love songs anymore.

Why?

I  asked some of the stars who created the popular R&amp;B classics of the  late 1960s, '70s and early '80s. Their answer: The music changed  because blacks lost something essential -- something that all Americans,  regardless of race, should regret.

&quot;We had so much harmony&quot;

Some of what we lost, they say, was an appreciation of love itself.

Earth  Wind &amp; Fire keyboardist and founding member Larry Dunn says a new  generation of black R&amp;B artists is more cynical because more come  from broken homes and broken communities.

&quot;How are you going to  write about love when you don't know what it is?&quot; asks Dunn, whose new  album &quot;N2 The Journey&quot; contains a remake of one of Earth Wind &amp;  Fire's most famous ballads, &quot;Reasons.&quot;

EWF, which gave us 1970s  classics such as &quot;After the Love is Gone,&quot; didn't create songs just to  make hits, Dunn says. They also wanted to change lives. The group was  known for songs like &quot;Devotion&quot; and &quot;Shining Star&quot; that celebrated love  of self and God.

Those sentiments may sound hokey now, but Dunn  says EWF could tell their songs had the intended effect. People played  EWF love songs at their proms and weddings, and people still write  letters of thanks to the group today.

&quot;We had one guy who came up  to us before a show and told us that we had helped him get off heroin,&quot;  says Dunn, who is as relentlessly upbeat and warm as EWF's music.

Kenny  Gamble brought the same ambition to his sound. Gamble is the co-founder  of Philadelphia International Records, known as the Motown of the '70s.  The record label patented &quot;Philly Soul&quot; -- tight, sophisticated  arrangements with lush strings that formed the backdrop for classic love  songs such as Billy Paul's &quot;Me and Mrs. Jones&quot; and Teddy Pendergrass'  &quot;Come Go With Me.&quot;

Yet Gamble's songs were also driven by black  pride and self-help. With his co-producer and songwriter Leon Huff,  Gamble created social conscience anthems like &quot;Wake Up Everybody&quot; by  Harold Melvin &amp; The Blue Notes and &quot;Love Train&quot; by The O'Jays.

Both  the love songs and those with messages sprang from the same source, the  belief that loving one another and your community was important, says  Gamble, who still lives in Philadelphia renovating blighted  neighborhoods through his nonprofit, Universal Companies.

&quot;We had  so much harmony, so much purpose in our music,&quot; he says. &quot;Our whole  purpose was the message is in the music, and that message was to love  one another and to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.&quot;

Love  songs flowered during that era also because black people were more  optimistic, music critic Rashod Ollison wrote in an essay on Barry  White, the rotund singer with what Ollison described as the  &quot;low-as-the-ocean-floor bass voice&quot; who gave us love songs such as  &quot;Never Gonna' Give You Up.&quot;

White was caught up in the same  social pathologies that trap some black youth today. He was a teenage  father and gang member who spent time in jail, but &quot;music saved him,&quot;  Ollison wrote.

When I listen to White's songs today, I'm struck by  his constant references to love. White was in love with love. He even  named his band &quot;The Love Unlimited Orchestra.&quot;

It seemed like an  easier time to talk about love because things seemed to be getting  better, Ollison wrote in his essay in The Virginian-Pilot newspaper.

&quot;Black  pop was ripe with music that echoed the aspirations of a people  realizing some of the dreams of the civil rights movement,&quot; Ollison  wrote. &quot;Ghettos had become burnt-out shells after MLK was gunned down.  Those who had the means to leave were now tucked in the 'burbs,' working  in offices their mamas used to clean.&quot;

At the time, I was just a  kid growing up in a gritty part of West Baltimore, which would later  serve as the setting for the HBO series &quot;The Wire.&quot; But even then I  could see evidence of that hopefulness.

My older brother became  the first family member to graduate from college. He took me with him  when he bought his first suit, and later when he bought his first house.  He gave me the first ride in his brand-new, pine-scented Pontiac  Firebird.

Everybody seemed to be following the path that George  Jefferson, the strutting black character in the 1970s sitcom, took in  the opening montage of &quot;The Jeffersons.&quot; We were &quot;movin' on up&quot; and  finally getting &quot;a piece of the pie.&quot;

It was a time when, as a  friend of mine said, &quot;Being black was the bidness!&quot; We celebrated our  kinky hair and dark skin and greeted each other as &quot;brother&quot; and  &quot;sister&quot; without any sense of irony. Everybody seemed to have a copy of  Jet or Ebony magazine on their coffee tables; a man would have been  slapped if he called a black woman a bitch.

Then it all seemed to  evaporate. Crack cocaine decimated black communities in the 1980s. The  blue-collar jobs that gave many black families a foothold in the middle  class began to disappear. Desegregation split the black community. Those  with money and education moved to the suburbs. The ones left behind  became more isolated.

Today, we have a black first family, but  our own families are collapsing. A 2009 study from the Institute for  American Values and the National Center on African American Marriages  and Parenting at Hampton University in Virginia highlights the erosion.

The  study found that while 70.3% of all black adults were married in 1970,  that rate dropped to 39.6% by 2008. The study also showed that while  37.6% of black births were to unmarried parents in 1970, that figure  soared to 71.6% by 2008.

Our music became as grim as those statistics. Singing about love now seems outdated.

Too narcissistic to love

Something else also happened: Black people became more narcissistic, and so did our love songs.

There's  been a lot written about the narcissism of young Americans. They don't  want to pay their dues. They are self-absorbed -- tweeting, texting,  posting asides on Facebook -- and they are constantly immersed in their  private worlds.

This self-absorption has seeped into contemporary black love songs.

One of R&amp;B's most popular current hits is &quot;Quickie&quot; by Miguel, who declares, &quot;I don't wanna be loved. I want a quickie.&quot;

There's  nothing wrong with singing about sex. Few songs are as sexually charged  as Marvin Gaye's &quot;Let's Get It On.&quot; And few singers can evoke bedroom  heat like Al Green. But black men don't even bother to romance women in  love songs anymore, says Kimberly Hines, editor-in-chief of SoulBounce,  an online progressive urban music site.

Consider a recent  Valentine's Day song by popular R&amp;B artist Chris Brown called &quot;No  Bull S**t,&quot; in which he sings about inviting a woman over to his place  at 3 in the morning because &quot;you know I'm horny.&quot;

Then he sings to  her to take off her clothes because &quot;you already know what time it is&quot;  and orders her to &quot;reach up in that dresser where them condoms is.&quot;

Compare  Brown's lyrics to Pendergrass' &quot;Come Go With Me,&quot; where he spends the  song telling a woman, &quot;You look so sweet ... You look like you oughta be  with me ... We could sip a little wine, work things out.&quot;

&quot;It was  more about romance and seduction,&quot; Hines says of classic R&amp;B love  songs. &quot;It was more of, 'Let me work my way into something with you,'  instead of 'Let's do it.' Teddy [Pendergrass] had to convince a woman to  'Come on over to my place.'&quot;

A recent study of Billboard hits confirms the notion that wooing a woman is disappearing from modern R&amp;B.

Psychology  professor Gordon Gallup Jr. and student Dawn Hobbs studied the subject  matter of the 174 songs that made the Billboard Top 10 in 2009. They  analyzed three musical genres among the top-selling songs: R&amp;B,  country and pop.

The researchers at the University at Albany in  New York found that R&amp;B contained the most references to sex per  song (an average of 16 sex-related phrases per song). The top three  sexual themes in R&amp;B songs were the singer's sex appeal, the  singer's wealth as it relates to finding a partner, and descriptions of  sex acts. A total of 19 song themes were examined.

The  least-popular theme in R&amp;B music was &quot;courtship,&quot; while country  music offered more songs about courtship than any other genre, the study  said.

Music critic Ollison says men and women have objectified  each other in modern R&amp;B and whine &quot;about not getting what they felt  they deserved.&quot;

&quot;It's a shame, because our desires don't change  and we still want to be loved and open to someone, but the music we're  sharing doesn't evoke it,&quot; Ollison says. &quot;It's not about sharing. It's  very narcissistic, sort of look at me.&quot;

&quot;You don't need a band anymore&quot;

That narcissism hasn't just seeped into the songwriting. It's infected the process of recording R&amp;B love songs, as well.

During  the classic soul era of the '60s, '70s and '80s, making records was a  communal experience. It was a time of great bands. Think of the album  covers from that era -- they were crowded with musicians.

The  ability to play well -- and with others -- was expected. But how many  contemporary R&amp;B artists can actually sing, write or play  instruments?

Dunn, of Earth Wind &amp; Fire, says he was playing  professional engagements every day of the week by the time he was 15.  There was only one prerequisite for being in a band.

&quot;You had to play your butt off,&quot; he says.

&quot;I  got into music for one reason, and all the guys I knew did for the same  reason. We wanted to be the best we could be. We didn't know you got  paid. We were too young to be tripping on women. We didn't know what the  bling-bling was.&quot;

What made the classic R&amp;B love songs great  wasn't just the singing or the lyrics. It was the music. The wicked  groove the drummer and bassist unleash on Barry White's &quot;Never Gonna'  Give You Up,&quot; Dunn's jazzy keyboard riffs on &quot;Reasons,&quot; the bittersweet  saxophone accompaniment on Billy Paul's &quot;Me and Mrs. Jones&quot; -- it all  still sounds good.

That musical depth is missing from  contemporary R&amp;B love songs. Funding for music programs has been cut  from many schools, so kids often don't grow up learning how to play  instruments.

Any wannabe singer with a mediocre voice can now sit  home in his or her underwear and eat Doritos while cutting a song on a  computer and post it on the Internet the next day.

&quot;You don't need  a band to make music anymore,&quot; says Hines of SoulBounce, which compiled  a list of the top 100 classic R&amp;B love songs.

&quot;A lot of producers just do everything by computer and knock that song out. Musicians have gotten checked out of the equation.&quot;

Why songs about love matter

So  where do you go if you want to hear good contemporary R&amp;B? Critics  say to check out independent labels, neo-soul websites and Internet  destinations like iTunes.

There you'll find singers like Jesse  Boykins III, a 26-year-old with a supple, soulful voice that would've  fit right in during the classic soul era.

Boykins and a  collection of other artists are trying to start a &quot;new romantic&quot;  movement in R&amp;B to revive the genre. He says he still listens to  artists like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye for inspiration.

&quot;They taught me that it's OK to be vulnerable as an artist,&quot; he says.

Boykins  is still trying to get consistent radio play and uses the Internet and  live performances to spread his music. His songs are also posted on  iTunes and YouTube.

&quot;Love music is not gone, it's just harder to find,&quot; he says.

Others  say the same thing. Toby Walker, creator of the soul music site  Soulwalking, says many contemporary R&amp;B artists can produce great  love songs by changing the way they make music.

&quot;These performers  would hugely benefit by leaving the stilettos, makeup, mobile phones and  management behind them, putting on a T-shirt and jeans, and retiring  for a couple of months someplace with some real musicians, real  instruments, and a recording studio,&quot; Walker says.

Some people may say it's not important if we stop singing about love, but I'm not so sure.

Black  music isn't just for black folks; it's America's music. It's been that  way for years. Black musicians who played the blues inspired rockers  like Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones; contemporary hip-hop artists  have as many white fans as black listeners.

What happens when  millions of young listeners -- regardless of color -- learn about  intimacy from songs that reduce love to reaching &quot;up in that dresser  where them condoms is&quot;?

And what happens to black people if we can't sing about love?

Whenever  I see a black couple doting on their children in public, I want to  throw a ticker-tape parade. I know so few blacks who are married. How do  we build families and raise children if we can't even stay together?

Music  was never just about entertainment in the black community. It was about  hope. From the spirituals that slaves sang to survive brutal racism to  civil rights anthems like &quot;We Shall Overcome,&quot; love of God, self and one  another was the message in much of our music.

It was a message that made a difference during a critical part of my life.

During  my first year of college, I almost flunked out because I didn't believe  anyone from my neighborhood could do well in school. I bought the  notion that being smart was a &quot;white thing.&quot;

But I remember  driving over to my older brother's house one weekend to listen to Earth  Wind &amp; Fire. Donning my headphones, I listened to the band encourage  me to &quot;Keep My Head to the Sky&quot; and tell me that I needed &quot;Devotion&quot; to  &quot;open all life's treasures.&quot;

I needed something more than songs,  but they helped my self-confidence. I was proud to belong to a people  who could create such exquisite, hopeful and exuberant music. Maybe, I  thought, I could create something worthwhile myself one day.

I took that attitude into the classroom and it changed my life. I graduated with honors.

But I wonder where a new generation will go to hear those songs that talk about striving and love.

I wonder if they will even know enough about their past to ask.

Where is the love?]]></description>
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