Celebrity photographer Derek Blanks has worked his magic again.

Remember the alter ego photos from “America’s Next Top Model?” You know, the challenge that got Toccara Jones eliminated?

Well Mr. Blanks has gotten a hold of the cutest couple of MTV’s “Making the Band,” Dawn & Q (a.k.a. Quarnell), and photographed them in their good/bad/peaceful/angelic states.

What do you think? Hot or not?

TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, 38, is working on a reality show.

That’s right, another celebrity is trying to find love via VH1.

“The Chilli Project” (the title may change) will feature the former TLC star looking for love with the help of relationship expert Tionna Smalls. Eight half hour episodes of the program have been given the green light by the network.

Launch date: TBD.

.. by The Game, P. Diddy, Boyz II Men and Chris Brown

Tribute song to Michael Jackson.

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Seems as if the preteens onstage with Lil Wayne and Drake was a last minute decision and they technically weren’t supposed to be there.

If you saw the BET Awards, or the rerun, or are planning to watch the rerun of it tomorrow (yeah, I know), you’ll see Drake performing, “Every Girl” and trying to do the radio version, but Wayne gets up and goes full out album version while little girls dance to the cussing and the bleeping much to all our surprise.

As a parent, all I could do was frown at the TV with the illest grill I ever had. As a blogger, I can speak on it and ask that artists and programmers do better.

Here’s a lackluster explanation found online:

I just heard from a source close to Tiny’s camp who informed me that the appearance of Tiny’s preteen group OMG onstage with rappers Lil Wayne and Drake at the BET Awards was neither planned nor rehearsed.

My source said the group’s appearance onstage was a last minute decision by Wayne and no one else.

According to my source, what happened was Wayne’s daughter Reginae, 9, was upset that she didn’t get the chance to accompany her father, Lil Wayne, to the stage to accept his award because she was sitting too far back in the audience.

Once backstage, the youngster began to cry. And Wayne, who they say is a great dad, hated to see his little girl cry. So he told Reginae she could come out onstage during his performance with Drake. Reginae, being the team player that she is, asked the other members of her group to go out on stage with her.

So there you have it.

Also, remember that the 2009 BET Awards was pre-recorded on Saturday afternoon. So the girls were not up past their bedtimes.

[Source]

And?

It really isn’t much of an excuse, not to mention it’s hearsay.

I’m sorry but as a parent you have to know that this was totally inappropriate and the public has a right to be offended. It was BAD.

As an artist being introduced to a broader audience on an award show, you need to be sure your performance is flawless. Having the kids onstage while singing Every Girl flopped big time. In fact, it was a little scary.

It made it seem as if Drake the “new artist” (to some) has no respect for kids. Face it, most of us have never seen Wayne perform with little girls onstage during an award show so to many, this looked like Drake’s idea.

Too bad he didn’t go with one of his slow songs considering he was going to perform on a stool anyway.

Photos from the rehearsals of Michael Jackson’s now-canceled “This Is It” tour have been released.

Many have expressed that they are glad to see him happy in these photos and doing what he loves to do, I for one, am shocked at these photos. He is definitely super thin in these shots.

News reports say he was 112 pounds. That’s TOO thin for a grown man who is 5 foot 10.

And yes, he’s been thin for years, but look at his thighs in these shots. Wow.

If, there is any truth to the gaggle of rumors flying around and he was truly sick in his last days, I’m glad he is out of any pain he may have been in. Living your life in pain and having to take any pain medication on a regular basis sucks.

May he truly rest in peace.

A few weeks ago Drake was weighing his options on staying indie, or signing to a major label. His buzz has been spreading like liquid fire and I’m not surprised that he’s been in a bidding war lately., Well the wait is over and he announces that he is signing with Lil Wayne & Baby’s label, Cash Money/Universal/Republic Records.

Drake, government name Aubrey Graham, has been the talk of the Net and the music industry a bidding war was out between Atlantic, Universal, Def Jam and Interscope Records. I guess he felt he owed Weezy something because his choice speaks volumes.

Congrats to him on his deal, but if his music starts to sound more and more like the typical Cash Money sound, I’ll be very disappointed.

Summer is here and yes, were are still in the middle of an economic crisis. Parents all across the country are trying their best to stay afloat and childcare expenses are not helping to keep money in their pockets.

The question at hand, which makes many of us so nervous is, “Is it time yet?”

Is it time yet to leave your kid, or kids alone? Are they ready to kids care for themselves? The question is never easy.

Knowing your children and their capabilities varies per household. Make sure you are making a wise and educated decision. Test your kids. Evaluate their skill without them knowing. Then, try it for a few hours, but keep an eye on them from a distance. Some kids are naturals on their own. But others may not be ready for self-care.

Does your child follow your household’s rules? Is parental authority a problem? If so, they may not do well with the rules if you are not in the home. Can your child maneuver the locks in the home? Can he or she reach the locks to lock themselves in or lock others out?

And what about the key? Does your child have the dexterity needed to maneuver the key to unlock the doors, or work an alarm system?

If you answer no to any of these, you may want to rethink leaving your kid alone. Also, if any of the above is an issue for one, don’t even think about leaving them to care for a younger sibling.

Here are a few other things to ponder while testing your child’s self-care abilities:

• Be able to call a relative, authority figure, or 911
• Run out of a burning house and seek help with a neighbor, or call you at work
• What to do if someone knocks on the door? Make sure they know what to do
• Does your child know when to play outdoors, if it’s allowed at all?
• If you want him/her to stay inside, be sure to express that…repeatedly
• Are they allowed to let anyone in? If so, make a list of who is allowed in and make sure there aren’t any exceptions
• Are they allowed to use the phone? the internet? how long can they watch tV?
• What about food? Will they need to fend for themselves or are you going to leave Snacks?
• Which appliances is your child allowed to use? Can they use the microwave or the oven?
• Are there any chores or homework that need to be completed?

The most important thing is to integrate a check-in system. Make sure your kid is able to call you or answer your call. Keep that line of communication open so your child knows you love them and are concerned about their safety even when you are not physically there. Also, remind them of the time you’ll be home. Knowing you’ll be there soon may be more comforting for you rather than your child.

If your child becomes frightened or scared to stay home alone, you’ll need to rethink your arrangements. Know your child and keep their safety in mind at all time.

Arm your kids with the right tools. Remember, you are still responsible for them even when you are not physically there.

… by Jay-Z

After watching the award show last night. I can’t help but agree with Jigga on this one.

All I can say is I miss the days of Donnie Simpson and Video Soul. BET has opened doors for many new artist and a I appreciate that about this channel.

Other than that, their programming and production seems to have gone the way of afro picks and jelly shoes, out of style. I don’t watch much of BET as it is, but the shameful promotion of the alleged Michael Jackson tribute did not live up to it’s name.

They should have just left the show the way it was with a brief tribute at the end, it would have seemed more sincere. I did enjoy Maxwell, BBD, Tyrese, Johnny Gill, Guy, Keith Sweat, Ne-Yo, The O’Jays, Monica and Keyshia and Jay-Z.

Props to Janet for being strong enough come out during their time of grief. I have no words for Joe.

I was disturbed at the Lil’ Wayne & Drake performance. Singing, “I wish I could fk every girl in the world” with those young girls on stage seemed like career suicide, but whatever. I give him props for being able to make it to the awards as a performer and not just a guest with no album and no video buzz. Kudos to him for achieving that.

On that note, I’m putting that “tribute” show behind me and moving forward.

I hope the remaining award shows this year give Mike a proper send off.

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… by Giovanca

This is the video for “Hypnotize You” by Giovanca. This song is off the Subway Silence album.

You like?

I had a strange dream this morning.

I was touring what was supposed to be downtown Atlanta with my boss. I’d recently told her I needed to go check out the city like a tourist because I have yet to see all the sites the city has to offer.

Well, typical to most dreams, what you see isn’t always what’s real. Our tour looked more like SoHo, NY than Atlanta.

Anyway, we were walking these HUGE city blocks looking at restaurants, shopping for clothes and shoes, and although we bought several things, in the dream we never carried bags out of the stores. Nice. Where’s my stuff right?

So we came up on this park, that looked suspiciously like Central Park, and next to it was this huge double-decker bus that had been turned into a diner. It was called, Eat ‘n Ride. While I was pondering the meaning of the name, my boss was pulling me inside saying we me just had to go into it because they had the best food.

OK, so we walk into this “bus” diner and once inside it looked like any other diner, too long and too wide to have actually been the inside of any bus, but whatever, I’m dreaming you can’t hold me to the floor plan of a bus when I’m unconscious.

We put in our order at the counter and found a seat. We ended up choosing a tiny booth, the kind made for two people, near the entrance. We sat down and I took a look around at the decor, bulls horns were hanging above the door, there was sawdust on the floor, a real honky tonk type diner.

Our order came up and I volunteered to pick it up. When I got back to my seat, all of a sudden, my booth had swivel seats. For some reason, that was supposed to be normal in the dream. I sat down and my boss and I dug in. I heard a noise from behind me and when I swung around in my new swivel chair, the bus-taurant was moving and I was driving! WTH?

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It’s time again for the Rock the Bells Tour brought to you by Guerilla Union. Get your hip hop fix on and try to catch the show at a city near you.

Supernatural is bananas on the mic as he sums up the lineup.

For more information hit up guerillaunion.com.

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… by Michael Jackson

Was this an eery premonition? This song is quite frightening, the lyrics truly seem to have been written by someone on narcotics as well as someone who’s been taken advantage of. I’ve never even heard Michael Jackson swear let alone this many times.

Listen to the song and tell me what you think.

View the lyrics here.

[Note: The song/video of the day is about me sharing what I'm currently listening to, what I've got on constant rotation, or what's hot for the moment not necessarily newly released music. Now let's get back to the music.]