What’s universal Planet Earth? With the House of
Representatives voting today on the latest version of that $700 billion
economic bailout package the Senate passed on Wednesday (Sept. 30), to the
teams for this year’s World Series being decided with the MLB playoffs, Wall
Street having its worst performance since the big stock market crash in 1987
and the long- awaited Vice Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah
Palin (I can’t wait to see what Saturday Night Live will do with it. Shout out to Tina Fey), it’s been
another week of struggle amongst us all.
Get well wishes go out to Janet Jackson, who was admitted
and released from the hospital. Congratulations to Scarlett Johansson and Ryan
Reynolds, who got married last weekend, producer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and
his girlfriend, who gave birth to the couple’s first child, George Lopez show star Constance Marie who is expecting, and
neo-soul singer/songwriter Erykah Badu, who is pregnant with her third child.
Shout out to the sounding boards for sparing a brother a
dime for gas and a penny for my thoughts.
Enough of the ra ra, here’s…the Last Word for the week
ending Oct. 3, 2008
1. Prince Converts Dirty Mind to Celibate Living
Looks like Prince is turning over a new leaf and making his
retirement official from the player’s circle. Media sources report that the
Purple One is directing his sexual energy towards a higher cause as a Jehovah’s
Witness.
Case in point: Very little physical contact from Prince with
co-star Mía Maestro in his “Te Amo Corazon” video, which the hitmaker explained
as being “another way faith has changed me.”
As a result, Prince feels no need to revisit baby-making
classics like “Scandalous,” “Dirty Mind,” “Insatiable” and “Darling Nikki.”“I did the Dirty Mind tour and pushed that envelope off the
table,” the Grammy winner told USA Today
while promoting his new coffee-table book 21 Nights. “What I didn’t do, Madonna finished. I don’t want
to go back. You have to get out of your own way.”
Look for 21 Nights to
contain Prince’s lyrics and poetry, 124 previously unreleased photographs by
Randee St. Nicholas and Indigo Nights, a 15-track CD featuring songs performed
at post-concert club jams in London.
After two failed marriages, the singer is putting his time
and energy into the one thing that remains constant for him. Music. Whether
it’s an ode to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or a love song where he
yearns for the feel of a lover’s lips and the move of her hips, Prince seems to
have accepted being alone.
“That’s what happens with years of celibacy. It all goes
into the music,” said the vocalist, who hasn’t ruled out another go at a
relationship. Any contenders? “This time, it has to be the right person. Music
to me is a life force. It’s not what I do. It’s what I am.”
And the rest, they say, is history.
2. Jennifer Hudson Exposes Many Musical Sides
Now that Jennifer Hudson has made her mark in the film
world, she has finally come back to what got her to the table. And to make sure
she strikes a chord with all music lovers, the singer is sprinkling a little
bit of everything into her just released self-titled debut album.
“I don’t believe in limits, so I wasn’t allowing myself to
be limited and I wanted to show other sides of me, and to say, ‘Well, if you
like this side of Jennifer, let me introduce you to another side,’” J. Hud told
The Associated Press. “I used to
consider my voice a tree with many branches and that’s what to me this album
displays, all these different sides of me.”
And while it’s good that Jennifer wants to bring all aspects
of herself to her music, one thing we won’t be getting is material straight
from the mind of Hudson. The Oscar winner admitted to Popeater.com that she had
no hand in writing any of the songs on her CD.
“I didn’t write for this album, but I do write and I do plan
to start writing songs,” said Hudson. “I’m trying to focus on films and then,
OK, I have to do the music. I don’t have time to write music, too. Let someone
else do that.”
Looks like the diva is starting to come out. Let’s hope
J-Hud can put the star mentality on hold to let us really see what she’s all
about. After all, the spotlight does fade with the foolery. If you want
something done right and a classic album (and you’re able to do it), then do it
yourself. Ask Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige what that gets you. Another case of
split personality for J-Hud if you ask me.
3. Terrence Howard Makes Memorable First Impression on
Thandie Newton
People have always said that first impressions are
important. After all, they can make or break any relationship. Or at the very
least result in a good story to tell. Just ask Thandie Newton, who had an
interesting first meeting with her Crash
co-star Terrence Howard.
During an interview with the Jamaica Gleaner, Newton
admitted to not knowing who Howard was or seeing any of his films prior to
working with him on Crash. Nevertheless,
that didn’t stop Terrence from putting his best foot forward.
“The first time I met him, he was actually playing a
guitar,” Newton said. “He was like, ‘I don’t feel really able to say what I
wanna say, meeting you for the first time, so I just want to sing you this.
“I was thinking: What am I supposed to do?” continued
Newton, who took it all in while standing up. “…and the song went on for a
while so in my mind, I was like, OK, maybe I should sit down. But it was quite
beautiful.”If she didn’t get anything from Terrence, the least Thandie
can say is that, “He’s definitely not in any type of box. He’s really doing his
own thing. But, sometimes I wanna slap him a bit!” And if that didn’t get you,
the actress weighed in on Howard’s view on female cleanliness. Apparently,
there was a story in which, according to Newton, Howard was quoted as saying
that a woman couldn’t be “completely clean” if she only used toilet paper and
not baby wipes after using the bathroom.
“When I heard about that, I thought, come on, Terrence!” she
said. As you can see, a good first impression (and an interesting quote
for a publication) is all you need.
4. Kem Defines the Meaning of Intimacy and Love
Live your life long enough and you’ll have your view on what
intimacy and love mean to you. If you’re Kem, you can explore the definition of
the word on your upcoming album, KEM III: Intimacy.
“I’m known for making love songs so we thought we’d explore
that word, that idea – not only sensual intimacy, but the true meaning of
relationships and opening yourself up to somebody and allowing them to do the
same with you,” Kem shared with Billboard
while giving insight into one of the tracks on the album. “So the song
‘Mother’s Love’ is about maternal intimacy between a mother and child. There
are spiritual love songs on the album, too. Life is about relationships –
good, bad or indifferent. That’s what we will be exploring on this new album.”
And while he defines love and intimacy for his fans, don’t
look for the Intimacy album anytime
soon. Kem, who is in talks to include a superstar duet on the release, hopes
his latest project will see store shelves in 2009.
5. Stan Lee Considers Will Smith for Black Captain
America
As a retired comic book collector, superheroes and me go way
back. From Saturday morning cartoons to the current slate of movies, we all
know that certain heroes and villains look a certain way. But that could change
as Marvel Comics fixture Stan Lee considers making Will Smith a part of the
cinematic Marvel Universe…if Barack Obama becomes President.
“I would love us to do something with Will Smith, but I
don’t know that he’s Captain America. That would be a long shot,” Lee told Moviefone. “It would be a real leap to make Captain America Black
… then again, I don’t know. It might be a really smart thing. If Barack Obama
becomes President who knows…suddenly a lot of our characters will be Black!”
While Matthew McConaughey has been mentioned to possess the
red, white and blue shield, it would be interesting to see what the Fresh
Prince could bring to Steve Rogers when Cap hits the big screen in 2011.
So what say you? Should Marvel go with Will Smith for a
little swag to go with Captain America or should they stay traditional with McConaughey?
Which Cap fits best, America?
In Other Words…
* Toni Braxton may be Dancing With the Stars, but the Grammy winner is making moves to come back
to her day job. BlackVoices.com reports that Braxton has recently signed a
recording contract with Atlantic Records. The 40-year-old songstress is
currently selecting music for her upcoming CD while competing on DWITS. Plans
call for Atlantic to have Toni’s album ready for early 2009.
* Jennifer Lopez is back in the stores. The fragrance store,
that is. Just Jared reveals that the
singer/actress launched her new fragrance, Deseo for Men, Monday (Sept. 29) at
Macy’s in New York today (Monday Sept. 29). Scents to choose from include lemon,
yuzu, red berries and cedar leaf; a heart of tobacco leaves, guaiacwood and
orris, and a drydown of sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli, amber and vanilla.
Prices range from a 1.7 oz. eaux de toilette for $45 and $55 for a 3.4 oz. eaux
de toilette. If you’re looking for
something a little cheaper, you can get Deseo for Men aftershave balm for $40
and a 2.4-oz. Deso for Men deodorant for $16. With prices like these, Jenny may
get run out of the block.* More evidence has surfaced that D’Angelo is on his way
back. On Tuesday (Sept. 30), iTunes released the crooner’s remake of his song “I
Found My Smile Again,” as well as his “I Believe,” a song he did with Q-Tip for
the rapper’s forthcoming album The Renaissance. “I Found My Smile Again,” which D’Angelo originally recorded for the Space
Jam soundtrack in 1996, is “something
that’s very close to him,” the singer’s manager Lindsay Guion, admitted to
Billboard.com while alluding to the problems D’Angelo has had over the last few
years. “He’s able to smile again and he’s ready to connect [with fans]. He’s
coming back. And he looks great, by the way.” The new D’Angelo album is slated
to hit stores in the spring of 2009.
* Halle Berry and Forest Whitaker are among the celebs
urging young people to vote by telling them not to do it. The pair, along with
Leonardo DiCaprio, Usher, Jennifer Aniston, Tobey Maguire and Eva Longoria,
appear in a new public service announcement on YouTube as they join DiCaprio, who says “Please –
just don’t vote.” After reinforcing the actor’s plea with “Don’t Vote,” stars
such Ellen DeGeneres, Dustin Hoffman, Demi Moore, Sarah Silverman, Jonah Hill,
Ashton Kutcher, Courtney Cox, Laura Linney, Natalie Portman, Jamie Foxx, Usher,
Kyra Sedgwick and will.i.am come back with: “Voting is a civic duty and the
only way to affect change.”