Janet Jackson on The David Letterman Show - 12:15 p.m.
Last night, Janet Jackson made an appearance on the David Letterman Show. It was the eve of the release of Damita Jo  so she was ready to give the standard promo talk for the album; David Letterman had other plans. Throughout the interview he poked her belly with questions about the Super Bowl halftime show, and Janet ducked and smiled and gave up nothing. She had the nerve to look flustered because he kept going back to the scene, this after she answers.. 'Can we talk about something else, it's so embarrassing.'

Yeah, as if your the first person to have Janet Jackson on your late night show post titty flop, and all you get out of her is a one sentence head fake about a controversy that has media outlets across the board second-guessing themselves. I'm sure she would like to move on, it is just a breast, but there's no way she's gonna squirm out of a decent explanation.

Let's not get it twisted, it wasn't a tense interview. Letterman was easy with the stick. He did most of the talking, Janet mostly flashed a prom night smile and acted shy. At one point she did get nasty, suggesting that Letterman would be able to protect her with his Big Nick.

Letterman also asked her about her love life, but didn't come right out and say, "So what's up with JD? I hear your getting married." DLS ain't the Wendy Williams Show.. but yesterday that was the word on the wag circuit. Jermaine Dupri was quoted as saying he didn't want to mess this one up and people in their circle saying the two are so happy. That combo is officially the eighth wonder of the world, but I'm inclined to think despite the gleam on her star Janet is like any other girl: give em the right conversation, while the pimp juice is sipped, your on your biz, but there to spend and give good times and suddenly a 5'3 Mini-Me with a grizzly smile looks like 6'8 280 pounds of prime rib beef.

Here's the audio from the show Listen to It (Real Audio) or Download It (zipped MP3)

Ma$E Returning to the Game
If you saw the release page last month (or this month), you would have seen a picture of Mason Betha with the caption, "Forget the Church.. I'm Makin a Comeback. Shhhhh!" I was joking. Have you ever heard of the philosophical theory of what you think about most of the time materializes in in your life? Now you have.. and if this story turns out to be true I won't be shy about taking responsibility for Pastor Mase's return to the mic. Night after night I've prayed on this, and now this story comes to print and bits..

First of all.. I'm joking about the praying. Ma$e's return is for real though.. Fo Real Records President Ed Holmes told the NY Daily News, "Yes it is true. But we're in the process of trying to structure something with Bad Boy to allow Ma$e to do this project."

Despite his absence from music, Ma$e is still signed to Bad Boy. So any album he makes would have to go through Bad Boy, or an agreement would have to be worked out in the legal offices. The funny thing is Fo Real is Nelly's label, and Ma$e will not be doing Gospel rap. "No! It's definitely hip hop," Holmes said. "There's no profanity, though. He's still talking about relevant issues."

Why not go back to Bad Boy with that soul food material? No doubt, that's a question Puff will be asking. Lord knows he needs an artist on the label that can shine next to his shine.. As you know, ever since BIG's passing, Puff aka P. Diddy has been Bad Boy's #1 artist.

According to the Daily News, Ma$e was ministering in Atlanta's 1500 strong, S.A.N.E. Church International. That has to be a church he created, that name is way cheezy. S.A.N.E. Come on. It'll be interesting to see what kind of music he plans on making, and what kind of image he'll put out there.. Can't be dancing in front of casino's or shaking it up with the ladies when you're a preacher. Wait a minute. Doesn't Kirk Franklin do that?

Dumb and Dumber: The Killing of Sheik Ahmad Yassin - 12:58 p.m.
All the NY papers and TV news programs are talking about the stepped up security measures to prevent another terrorist attack. This comes on the heels of the dumbest move since Britney Spears got married in a wild, drunken night in Vegas: the killing of Hamas' leader Sheik Ahmad Yassin. Like Britney, Israel's decision to murk this guy may have sounded like a good idea at the time, but when the sun comes up the next morning the mistake is laying next to you with a drool line coming out the left side of his mouth.

I don't claim to be an expert on Hamas or Sheik Ahmad Yassin, but it doesn't take a genius to realize that killing the leader of this Palestinian terrorist group is going to do nothing to bring peace in the region. Israel's leaders were on TV all smug and happy about their action, but check the smiles when the terrorist attacks in their country continues unabated. Their thinking was they cut the head off the snake. That Sheik was rolling around in a damn wheelchair, looking about as physically fit as the Pope. Do you think that if the Pope keeled over tomorrow the Catholic church would fall to pieces? Hardly, someone would step in his place. The same thing is gonna happen here.

The members and supporters of Hamas are rabid and foaming at the mouth, looking at today as a good day to die with Israeli blood on their faces. And now they not only criticize the US for supporting Israel they want to jump on the Al-Qaeda team and blow smoke up our ass. How did that happen.. as usual whenever Israel does something off the deep end we're all mumble-mouthed, acting like we're afraid to speak up. I have never heard the US criticize Israel, even in cases where the violation was right in your face, they do the blind man whistle and tap dance routine. It's like when 50 first came on the scene. He'd say the craziest shit about a bunch of rappers and they'd laugh, pretending like he was being cute.

Palestinian terrorists are dumbasses for what they do.. killing innocent people, and Sheik Ahmad Yassin is said to have wanted nothing to do with a two-state solution to the over 30 year, Israel-Palestinian situation. So what do you do? Kill the guy and everyone else in their crew.. some get away and come back at you at another time: sounds like the Crips and the Bloods to me.

Yassin may have been unwilling to work for peace.. but his murder is going to make a great recruiting tool for terrorist bootcamps worldwide. US citizens shouldn't be worried though.. Homeland security has this one on lock. :S

The views of an Israeli writer: The Assassination of Sheikh Yassin

By the way your not hallucinating.. that is a picture of Saruman from Lord of the Rings. He and Sheik Yassin look like family

Egypt Makes the Power Switch.. Raqiyah Mays Gets Clicked
What the hell is the Power Switch? It's a tagline used on local radio station Power 105.1 FM. that chick in the picture is Egypt, she'll be pushing buttons and taking your calls during the Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. shift. Egypt studied at NYU before graduating from Temple University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media. Before accepting the position, Egypt was hosting "BK's The Heat", a daily entertainment feature sponsored by Burger King on BET, and previously had hosting positions at WBLS in NY and WERQ-FM in Baltimore before joining Power 105.

Hah ha.. That means nothing to anyone except the Human Resource supervisor who straightened out her resume when she was hired. I had to add something about her, because Egypt replaced the person this story is really about, that I couldn't find a picture of.

Raqiyah Mays a hip-hop journalist (Vibe, Essence, The Source, Oneworld, XXL) was fired from her weekend spot on Power 105 yesterday afternoon for making comments about interracial dating. Mays comments came during a promotion contest for Usher called "Confessions" where listeners would call in and make their umm.. confession. In the spirit of the thing Raqiyah decided to admit a confession of her own about white women dating black men. In today's NY Daily News Raqiyah remarked, "I said I was concerned about interracial relationships when the African-American community has our own inner work and healing to do. If I see a white woman dating an African-American man, I feel, as do many African-American women, that there is one less black man available to us."

Considering that's a "Day After the Shit Goes Down" quote, maybe her actual words were a little more raw than that. Either that or the station brass's claim of receiving "many E-mails, phone calls and messages from listeners who were displeased and felt alienated as a result of her actions" is bullsh_t.

Power 105 is owned by Clear Channel, which may explain why Raqiyah's comments were noted on pink paper. These are the same people who pulled the Dixie Chicks records from some stations when they dissed Bush. The same folks who took Howard Stern off a few stations for doing what he's been doing since he discovered he had balls. It's the post Janet Jackson boob atmosphere that has radio and TV programmers acting like an opinion anything short of Golly Gee Whiz is offensive, irresponsible, and likely the cause for 17-year-old Tina shaking her ass for dollars at the strip club.

Granted we're talking about interracial dating here.. to simply say you don't agree with interracial dating in the way that she's quoted up top doesn't seem like a good reason to fire her. This would be a good place for a transcript.. there has to be more to it than that.

*edit 3/27 - Since the blurb was posted I got a picture of Raqiyah - end edit*

America's Next Top Model.. Try to Say that Five Times, Real Fast - 1:22 p.m.
Confession.. I've been watching America's Next Top Model for the past three weeks. There was a time when I absolutely refused to watch a show about a bunch of chicks pinning all their life's hope on posing for a camera. For some reason I turned to UPN one night and got trapped in the Matrix. Even with cable, the choices on TV are about as slim as the Matrix.. one of two shows, or nothing.

Last night's episode was way hilarious. What's the deal with Shandy's boyfriend? Dude is forever whining.. when she told him that she did something horrible.. had sex with another guy. His voice started cracking like a cheap paint job.. then he starts doing this moaning thing. What the hell was that? At least he flipped the switch and threw the B word at her. Of course, later in the show they made up.. Guess he likes the taste of man meat in his mouth, cause every time he kisses her.. Yup.

Then there was the girl on girl photo shoot, which takes me to 50 Cent's comment about women hugged up being more acceptable than men.. you heard about that Playboy interview. I don't see anything shocking in that. There are very few people that would want to see two men close and comfy. Has nothing to with being gay. It could be a guy on TV or the movies jumping out the shower. I'm not trying to see this guy's junk swinging in the wind. We can be equal in everything except nude scenes.

I would have kicked off Mercedes last night.. April was stiff and insecure but she had an exotic look that plays better than Mercedes. Mercedes is a cute girl, she just looks like the average Jenny from the block. Next week is the final episode and I'll be damn surprised if Mercedes wins. The favorite to win this thing is Shandy. She's this goofy girl off camera, but she seems to strike the right pose when the flashbulbs pop. Yoanna looks like a model, straight up.. but if they're kicking off the stiff people she's gotta go. And Tyra is looking for the winner to make her proud by actually becoming somebody.. With what we've seen with Shandy, she's the one to do that, her looks plus personality will prevail. Then she and her boyfriend can start their own Jessica Simpson reality series, with him being the bitch.

Whitney Houston Checks Into Rehab - 2:05 p.m.
The funny thing about Whitney Houston checking herself into rehab is that King Bobby's name wasn't mentioned at all. Look at that picture are those the eyes of a sober man? Sprinkling sweat like a lawn faucet, the dude has problems. They should be sitting right next to each other singing duets in the lobby.

Whitney Houston publicly admitted that she had drub problems during that Diane Sawyer interview in Dec 2002. She ran down the list.. alcohol *check*, marijuana *check*, cocaine *check*, prescription drugs *check check*. It's also where she delivered the infamous line .. "Crack is wack" In reference to smoking versus sniffing coke.

While admitting to using drugs she gave the impression that she had things under control.. "I partied a lot. Trust me: I partied my tail off," she said, adding, "You get to a point where you know the party's over. I'm not going to tell you that [I won't do drugs ever again]. I'm a person who has life, and wants to live. I won't break."

Shorty after the interview Whitney was in a court room supporting her man, and sticking her tongue out at reporters. The monkey is hard to shake off... monkey meaning the drugs, not Bobby. But you can take it how you like..

I wish her all the luck in the world, but her attachment to Bobby is gonna make a permanent change impossible. There's no way he's gonna kick his habit on his own. And when the shit is laid out on the table, that's just too much temptation. "Come on just one hit, baby." If she's serious about rehab.. then the next news you should hear is about their divorce.

Jada Pinkett-Smith's Band to Open for Britney Spears
What do stay at home moms do when the kids are sleep? Apparently they call up the girls and start an American Idol jam session in the basement. Jada Pinkett is in that group of Hollywood mothers with the resources to put the kids in good hands while she belts out diddies by the tape load.

She has gotten so good at writing and singing that she is set to open for Britney Spears on the UK side of The Onyx Hotel Tour. I don't know about Jada sounding good.. the last time she was heard singing was in that Will Smith video. Which wasn't no Ashford & Simpson jumpoff.. That's an old school reference.. but there aren't any married hip-hop couples making records. Will and Jada's song came off like a Kodak moment.. a novelty thing for the family photo album. Who knew that she was serious about hers.

It won't be a solo act, Jada fronts a band called Wicked Wisdom, for the past year they've been doing shows on the Los Angeles nightclub circuit. Fall back and check out the site.. I can't get the audio to play on my computer. But this guy is giving her much respect.

"Sometimes, a person does something so unexpected and so good you are literally blown away. Jada Pinkett-Smith is the lead singer of Wicked Wisdom, a R&B and Rock fusion band. And they are good, very good. In fact, when you hear Wicked Wisdom, they are so true to rock and R&B (they have some borderline metal tunes also). And Jada... Jada... She floored me with her vocals. That little lady has such as big, strong, and expressive voice. WOW!"

And the Winner of the Benz Sport Coupe is... - 3:37 p.m.
This is gonna be hard, think back a long, long, long time ago when Roc-A-Fella Records announced that three lucky people who bought Jay-Z's Black Album would find a coupon inside redeemable for a shiny new Mercedes Benz C230 sports coupe. I heard some grumbling around the net about what cheap bastards they were for offering the value pack Benz as a prize.. Mofos wanted the top of the line SL500s and SLK32 AMGs.. You know, the joints that spin in the videos.

Forget about what model Benz they're offering for a minute and ask yourself this question.. Have you heard of ANY winners being announced? Has anyone stepped forward with a pair of keys and a cheese grin standing next to a Roc-a-Fella rep.. Rep? How about Jigga himself?

While it sounded like you were getting a car by buying the CD, the official rules make it sound like it's a raffle between the book winners. There were 10 instant winner game pieces in the CDs. The prize was an autographed copy of his upcoming book, The Life & Times of Shawn Carter. Those 10 people are automatically entered into the Benz drawing. I don't see anything on there about people automatically winning a car. Goddamn fine print.. Where's my lawyer?

In any case, the winners of the car haven't been announced because.. the raffle takes place.. "on or about March 17, 2004." So sometime in the next two weeks the winners should be announced. And here's that thing about the book winners again.. "Odds of winning an automobile among the 10 Autographed Book winners: 1:3.33. If any prize notification letter is returned as undeliverable, the corresponding prize will be awarded to an alternate winner at random from the remaining non-winning Autograph Book winners."

At the bottom of the page they say that a list of the winners will be available after March 31. I'll take it old school and send in a self-addressed stamped envelope to.. Wait a minute. The deadline for the list of winners is Feb. 28th. Is there a time limit on truth? I'm trying to find out the facts here. Everyone wants to know who wins these cars so we can pop off those rims. I'm joking, and despite the deadline I'll send the envelope and if that doesn't work there's always the phone.

The Passion Makes Hollywood See the Light
For three weeks Mel Gibson's Passion has been the number one flick at the box office. At a cost of $30 million, plus $15 million in distribution and marketing fees, it has grossed over $250 million. No one expected it to do this well, the thinking was that even people that could stomach the violence and ehem.. anti-semitism .. they wouldn't want to see it more than once. It's turning out that people are going back a second and even a third time.. I'm guilty of that myself, but that's another story.

Gibson's flick was passed over by all the major studios, ending up at Newmarket Films. Now Bob Berney, president of Newmarket Films is predicting that more religious themed films will be coming down the pipe. It's that unoriginal entertainment executive who says whatever is making money.. give me one of those. Just like in music.. whoever has the hot sound, the wack A&R's dial in and think, "Okay, I need more of this." New acts that walk through the door gotta sound like the last hit.

Regarding The Passion, Bob Berney said, "It will probably start trends and everything but at the end of the day, the films have to be pretty spectacular."

It's not hard to imagine the big studios tossing around the idea of a Noah's Ark.. or taking it to Moses parting the Red Sea. Either one of those could take advantage of the mega-million dollar bank accounts to whip up some crazy special effects.. Lord of the Rings gone wild. And if you wanted to get hobbit-like, why not get Elijah Wood for the story of David and Goliath?

For better or worse, your gonna see another bible based movie on the big screen. The question is will they carry a message, or will the movies simply be watered down versions of religious stories lifted for entertainment value and an espresso shot to the balance sheet?

What's Gonna Happen to Martha Stewart? - 1:53 p.m.
All sorts of wild stuff.. Big Rosie visiting Martha's jail cell looking for hot muffins and not the bakery kind; Martha redecorating her entire cell with pastels and makeshift toilet paper artwork; Martha making sure Rosie doesn't visit again by scraping down a shank and hiding in the corner. With Martha Stewart facing jail time the future of her company is looking bleak. That's if you speak to.. Well, nearly ever business critic in the industry. I'm not so sure about that. Would the people who buy her products suddenly be turned off just because she was convicted? The day after the guilty verdict executives at her company were looking for ways to erase her name off all the boxes.

How can I support someone who would push the close door button on the elevator with the quickness if she saw me running for it? I'm not looking at her crime, just the reality of her situation.. it ain't that sad. It's not like she's gonna come out of jail with nothing to go back to.. future fucked like someone from the hood. Her sh*t is straight. I say forget the appeal, sail down the river and get it over with.

Already, anyone with home decorating skills is looking to slide in her slot. This chick Chris Madden is looking to release the Chris Madden with J.C. Penny Collection. And Oprah is about to launch a new magazine called O at Home. Oprah's people say she isn't going to do a home decorating TV show but she definitely sees possibilities in the house-and-home thing.

** Edit 3/14 - Johnnie Cochran's Analysis of the Martha Stewart Case **

DC Sniper Sentenced to Death
Absolutely no surprise that John Muhammad got the death penalty. All the evidence says that he was the guy behind that madness. Yet.. if you hear him tell it, the police got the wrong guy. "Just like I said in the beginning, I had nothing to do with this, and I'll say it again, I had nothing to do with this," Muhammad told the judge. "Don't make a fool of the Constitution of the United States of America." How he explained the car with the modified trunk, perfect for doing long-range gunning has yet to be put out there. Not to mention the lack of any shootings since the arrest. Yeah, it's over. Lee Malvo got life, which might be worse if you ask me. What kind of life can you lead in jail? comments  (".$counter.") comment";} if($counter >=2){echo "(".$counter.") comments";} ?>

Joe Budden vs. The Game.. Just Insane - 1:54 p.m.
Last week I caught the tail end of an interview with The Game on Sway's Reality Radio  morning show. He was talking one of the newest members of the Shady/Aftermath family. (Has any noticed that Dre doesn't put any of these new dudes on straight-up Aftermath?) The Game was in the studio and Joe Budden was on the phone, and there arguing about a beef between them. Couldn't make out what Game was saying, but Joe Budden ends his call off by saying that if 50 wants to get in it, he'll get on him too, because everyone is scared to confront him.

I'm listening to this like, "Are we still doing the beef thing?" I really thought that played it self out last year. After 50 and Ja it got tired. Mostly because the beefs they have with each other are based on nothing. Joe Budden had a little thing with Jay-Z early in his shelf life: Jay-Z rhymed over "Pump it Up" and Budden didn't want him to steal his moment, so he recorded another verse to take his track back. That didn't build into anything.. probably because Jay has better things to do.

So over the weekend my cousin plays me this Joe Budden freestyle over DOC's "Funky Enough." He was talking a lot of stuff. Was this in response to The Game or did he set it off? I still can't figure it out.. and I'm not in a rush to find out.

But here we are, Monday morning and Allhiphop.com has a link to The Game giving his side of the story. So I did read it.. you can do the same. As I said before, it just sounds childish. The Game says he heard Joe Budden disrespecting G-Unit on a song that he recorded for Clue.. but he didn't ask for Joe Budden to be on the song, and it looked like he was co-signing Budden's disses; 50 called him to point that out. I haven't heard the song, but to respond to a few veiled "slick" remarks is dumb. Why acknowledge it at all? More than likely it's not a remark about his mom's or kids.. it's not serious. Are the egos that fragile? If there was any question it should have been about how Joe Budden got on the song in the first place? Give DJ Clue a call, it's his mixtape..*ring ring* "My man, how did that happen?"

The Missy Elliot Project, Under Construction
Yesterday afternoon in Burbank, California, Missy Elliot held the first casting call for her new reality series, The Missy Elliot Project. I should say dramality series, that's how the folks at UPN are dubbing it.. "We're currently searching the U.S. for aspiring performers to go coast-to-coast with Grammy Award-winning artist Missy Elliott on one of her upcoming concert tours."

"A handful of selected men and women will travel, live together on the road and compete against each other for the opportunity to become the next big hip-hop superstar, in the new dramality series presently titled THE MISSY ELLIOTT PROJECT. Participants can spring from a variety of backgrounds, but what they will have in common is superstar talent, superstar style and superstar attitude. The selected group will be challenged in a variety of ways while on the road, and with Missy's guidance, will be exposed to top music industry insiders, all under the 24-hour-a-day surveillance of THE MISSY ELLIOTT PROJECT cameras."

It sounds like a combination of Making the Band and American Idol.. but if there gonna toss reality shows together, might as well throw some Top Model/Apprentice in the mix. Imagine people being voted off ie. kicked off the tour bus, now they're stranded AND losers. Trying to call home and the cell battery is dead.. That would be good TV.

If you'd like to be involved in this.. the list of eligibility requirements pretty much says you must be a complete amateur. Which is perfect for so many people, we all have plenty of friends who stink, but don't know it. American Idol wasn't picking up hip-hop artists, so this is your chance to have them make fools of themselves in front of millions. Hey.. somehow they have to realize that a 9-5 is the only way they're ever gonna eat. You can see the requirements on the UPN site. There are casting call dates over the next two weeks: Chicago (3/10), New York (3/12), Virginia (3/17), and Texas (3/19).

McDonalds Drops Supersizes.. "Super Size Me" Takes it to Them Regardless - 1:46 p.m.
The fast food Fat fatties will be pissed off the next time they walk into a McDonalds.. which will be sometime this afternoon, if they're not snacking right now. Yesterday, a McDonalds spokesman announced that the the super-size option would be removed from the menu. They say it's a spring cleaning job, wiping things off that people don't order, and to make it simpler to get to what they come there for.. the Big Mac and fries.

"The driving force here was menu simplification," spokesman Walt Riker said in a brief statement late Tuesday. "The fact of the matter is not very many super-size fries are sold." And that would be because super-size fries are no different than large fries. You get like 10 extra fries, then they shake it up and 5 are at the bottom. Not only that.. because you bought the super-size, your friend says, "lemme get some." Now you have even less.. Paid more money, less fries, and now your dealing with half a bag of fries. Ain't nothing super about that.

The move is also part of McDonald's "Eat Smart, Be Active" campaign, which they launched to cater to those who go to McDonalds to eat healthy. They've added more salads, and offer fruit and yogurt options for Happy Meals.
Okay, so they're trying, but the idea that you go to a burger place to eat smart is about as smart as.. well the conclusion of this independent film "Super Size Me."

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, took to the road, making stops in the fattest cities in the US to answer the question, "Is it our fault for lacking self-control, or are the fast-food corporations to blame?" For one month he lived on nothing but McDonalds food. The rules: he could only eat and drink what was available over the counter (including water); he had to eat every menu item at least once; and *surprise* no super-sizing unless offered.

The result as documented was, "A fat food bill, harrowing visits to the doctor, and compelling viewing for anyone who's ever wondered if man could live on fast food alone." Yeah, the whole thing is done as joke, to show that you can't eat that way on the regular and expect a clean bill of health. But McDonalds feels that it puts them in a bad light, "it's a super-sized distortion of the quality, choice and variety available at McDonald's," a spokesman said. "It's just a gimmick to make a film." That film won a directing prize at the Sundance Film Festival and is set for release this spring. Check the movie site for more.

Will Janet Jackson Perform "Nipple Gate" on SNL?
Janet Jackson hasn't been on the scene since the Superbowl incident. She's been in a few BET promos, is currently on Ebony magazine's cover, which are all good looks.. but her presence in the mainstream outlets has been non-existent. It's not entirely her choosing, but it looks like she may be making the first steps to kiss and makeup with her detractors. Sources at Saturday Night Live say she is penciled in as a guest on April 10th. She'll sing and appear in skits during the show. Friends are hoping that she'll do a skit to make fun of the Superbowl incident, so people can get over it already. No one is confirming the appearance yet, but that may be to keep the haters off balance. :T comments  (".$counter.") comment";} if($counter >=2){echo "(".$counter.") comments";} ?>

Solange Knowles Gets Married in the Caribbean - 1:31 p.m.
Yesterday afternoon, the gossip queen you love to hate Wendy Williams, read a fax from a "spy" in California. The guy said he works in a boutique on Rodeo Drive and the Whudat R&B Artist of the Year walks in.. Beyonce Knowles. She bought something, he didn't say what, but she paid by American Express and signed the receipt.. "BK Carter." Just in case your wacked on drugs.. that's shorthand for Beyonce Knowles-Carter.

WHOA! Does that mean Jay-Z and Beyonce have secretly married? Can you sign a credit card receipt just any ol' way and walk out the store without the flashlight cops chasing you down the street and taking you down by the ankles?

Pure speculation there.. Only a select few would know if Jay-Z and Beyonce rapped the vows at a hip-hop wedding.. Jay dressed in Roc-A-Wear.. B in Momma's finest. I do know you can sign a credit card receipt anyway you like. Cashiers never check the signature to tight, it could be straight up scribble scrabble. They'll look at it, pretend like they can read it, cause it's procedure and shrug. As long as the register flashes "Transaction Approved" there's no need to hold up the line.

While Beyonce's marital status remains in rumor land, her little sister Solange is definitely sporting a wedding ring. Columbia Records went as far to confirm the story.. not many details but it was a Caribbean wedding.. CNN reports, "Solange Knowles, 17, wed Daniel Smith in a ceremony in the Bahamas over the weekend, according to her record company, Columbia Records. Beyonce, her parents, Mathew and Tina Knowles, and Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland were in attendance." Daniel Smith is a college football player. I've been looking for his picture.. but he must a bench warmer.

Why would Solange get married at 17? Back to rumor land, where the word is Solange must be pregnant. The Knowles family might not believe in abortion, so she had a shotgun wedding. Regardless of the circumstances Solange is glowing.. you know, like a baby mama.. "I am excited about this new phase in my life," Solange said Monday in a statement. "I am very happy and feel truly blessed to have the unconditional love and support of my parents and my entire family."

*Edit 3/2/04 - Thanks to Geena J.. she says the guy sitting on the left is Solange's husband

Ludacris Signs Budweiser Deal.. Bill O'Reilly's on the Prowl
Out goes one deal and in comes another.. Ludacris has signed with Anheuser-Busch, those fine folks who've brought you the talking frogs, bikini girls, and Whazuppp! Yeah man, I'm talking bout Budweiser. Not really the beer of choice for the hip-hop heads, but the powers that conjured up this deal may be thinking that Ludacris is just the man to get all of us drunk and pissy off the bitter, yellow liquid. And it goes real nice with fried chicken and beer..

As you know, Ludacris was a Pepsi sponsor for.. ohh, about two months. Then one night, Bill O'Reilly was at home picking crust out of his toes, he looked up at the TV for a minute and saw Ludacris bouncing around his 32 inch screen. He thought armageddon had took place. The damn nigrets are taking over he said. Bill rushed to the Fox studios and feverishly prepared his next Talking Point memo.. "I'm tired of this rap/gangsta crap.. It all stinks. Why is this rapper making Pepsi dollars? My daughters drink the stuff. I'll be damned if they get the 'feels' for Ludacris and his buddies and pop out some mulatto babies. For that reason.. Ludacris must die. Well, not die.. but, you know, lose the endorsement or something."

The rest is history. Ludacris was Pepsi-less and Bill O'Reilly was oh so satisfied.. "I'm doing big things, mayn!"

Well, now Bill O'Reilly has got the word that Budweiser and Ludacris have hooked up, and once again he's mad as hell. In a Talking Point Memo he's got words for Budweiser and his faithful viewers.. "A personal note to the executives at Anheuser. You guys must be nuts. Most Americans deplore the kind of garbage Ludacris puts out, and they're going to remember that you are rewarding him. Pepsi got the message, but you guys don't seem to. Unlike Ozzie Osborne, who curses, or Britney Spears, who's an immature exhibitionist, Ludacris is hard-core. He glorifies criminal conduct, and kids hear this stuff. Some of those children are from troubled homes and adopt the anti-social attitudes as their own."

"Ludacris is real big on firearms: Quote: "Hollow bullets I pull it. I'm about to live in vain. And then I drill 'em, refill 'em. Make sure they feel the pain. My shotguns are cold and hard, and my triggers are always talking about some squeeze me, squeeze me. I smack bitches with 'no. Just get a couple of girls that shake their thang."

Got the picture?

"Anheuser-Busch knows all this and doesn't care. [It] Simply wants to make money and thinks Ludacris can sell beer and malt liquor--Society be damned. So this Bud is not for me any more. Responsible Americans must hold corporations responsible for polluting the country, whether it's PCB's in the water or hyping criminal behavior on CDs."

He goes on to mention a poll on his website.. "We will, of course, send the results along to Anheuser. But by the time they get them, I suspect the company will have received a message that's anything but ludicrous."

Aristide Says He Didn't Resign, He Was Kidnapped - 1:39 p.m.
Through the whole Haiti thing I've said nothing.. but I've been following it on the news. The cliff notes version is that Haitian rebels claimed that President Aristide was corrupt and must step down. Aristide said, he was going nowhere. Since we're all into regime changes these days and helped to get Aristide in his position, the world was waiting to see what the US was going to do.

This weekend it was reported that Aristide changed his mind and decided to resign for the sake of peace. No one had heard from him or knew where he was, but it was rumored that he was headed to Central Africa. This morning Congresswoman Maxine Waters called NYC radio show Democracy Now, saying that Aristide called her and said he didn't retire, he was kidnapped by Haitian diplomats under assistance from the US Military. I know this sounds like crazy talk, but here's the story.

Aristide said he, his wife, his brother-in-law and two security guards were in his home when Haitian diplomats entered and told him that he had to leave. He had no choice. US Marines were coming to Port Au Prince; he would be killed, many Haitians would be killed, and they wouldn't stop until they did what they wanted to do. They took him to an airport and on the plane he was told to keep the shades closed and not to make phone calls. They flew for 2 hours and landed at an airport in Antigua. Again they took off flying for 6 hours and landing at a place he wasn't familiar with. The plane stayed there for 3 hours and again took to the skies landing in the Central African Republic. He is currently at The Palace of the Renaissance, the building is surrounded by military security and he cannot leave, nor is he supposed to be using the phone. He was using a cellphone that someone slipped to him; while he was talking to Maxine Waters the line got disconnected. Can you hear me now? Hello.

This sounds like something out of a movie.. My thing is if he was kidnapped, what did they expect him to say once he arrived in Africa? How would they keep him from telling everyone about the big snatch? Lets say it did happen, someone was supposed to talk to him and say this is all for the best.. work with them.. but he gets to the cellphone before that conversation takes place. Now they have a huge problem.. so if news comes out that Aristide fell down the stairs and broke his neck, or commits suicide because of the stress of the situation, then you know something fishy happened.

Maxine Waters says that she is going to take the matter to the State Department immediately.. We'll see if this story goes anywhere. It's linked on the Drudge Report, but the Democracy Now site doesn't have anything up yet. Wait a minute, let me check again.. Okay.. Here's a link to the headline with audio links AND a transcript of the conversation with Maxine Waters.