Brown Sista

Andrea Kelly saunters into the room with her stiletto boots clicking, her shoulder-length curls bouncing; she’s sparkling like the crystal hoops dangling from her ears. Despite her famous last name, few in the room know who she is. She’s used to that. Andrea has been ignored before, like in those posh stores near Chicago’s Gold Coast or in Los Angeles, where burly bouncers blocked her from crossing the velvet ropes—that is, until the gatekeeper found out who she was. Then it was “Oops.” Disbelief turned to immediate accommodation. And then came the apologies, “Sorry, Mrs. Kelly.” But mostly it’s, “I didn’t know he had a wife.”
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Mary J. Blige has teamed up with MTV-U, MTV’s 24 hour university station, to host a show that deals with depression and suicide prevention in college students. MTV, along with the JED Foundation have re-launched Half Of Us.com, a website where various people in the public spotlight speak candidly about their own struggles with depression and suicide. Mary, along with Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Max Bemis of Say Anything also share their struggles.
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British soul band the Brand New Heavies and its beloved front-woman N’Dea Davenport recently reunited for the release of their critically acclaimed new album ‘Get Used to It.’

“When I stepped away from everything,” Davenport told Black Voices of her abrupt departure, “I needed to really get some perspective because I’m just not that kind of girl where I let business sort of dictate to me how I’m supposed to live my life.”
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Former Destiny’s Childsinger LaTavia Roberson has enjoyed her time away from the limelight. Back in 2000, during the midst of a whirlwind promotional tour for their sophomore album ‘The Writing’s on the Wall,’ Roberson and LeToya Luckett attempted to sever their management agreement with Mathew Knowles. They claimed Beyonce’s father favored his daughter and that he was keeping too much of the group’s profits.

Roberson and Luckett were then ousted from the group, replaced in their “Say My Name” music video with Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin who lip-synched to their background vocals. The two founding members then sued father and daughter Knowles, as well as group member Kelly Rowland. Both parties slung dirt during a back-and-forth media blitz, but the lawsuits ended up being settled out of court and Roberson and Luckett were said to have made a pretty penny. A non-disclosure agreement prohibits them from discussing the settlement.

Despite claims from Rowland and Knowles that Roberson and Luckett couldn’t sing, the two formed a new group called Anjel-right around the same time that Destiny’s Child kicked Franklin out of the group and became a tri0. Signed to a production deal with Jagged Edge, the group’s failure to launch caused them to disband. Luckett embarked on a solo music career and Roberson decided to retreat and do some soul searching.
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Mary J. Blige is walking the walk of “The Breakthrough,” the current album that finds the vocalist living and loving with a clean slate and a clear outlook.

The queen of hip-hop soul used optimism Saturday to overpower the estimated audience of 10,000 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
“Breakthrough” selections “Baggage” and “Take Me As I Am” served as companion pieces as Blige worked to distance herself from anguish that accompanied the first 13 years of her career, regardless of that era’s professional triumphs.
Saturday’s rendition of “Baggage” featured obvious visual aids in the form of bags marked “scorn,” “jealousy,” “fear” and “revenge” lined across the stage. During “Take Me As I Am,” Blige sang mightily about not needing anyone to like, love or want her. Her realization of self-worth will suffice.
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With Janet’s re-emergence back into the spotlight it seems like new and old pics are surfacing left and right.Below we have a few images that were e-mailed to us from the Damita Jo era (1994)
We are loving the natural yet sexy beauty of Ms Jackson here.Kudos to the photographer and stylists for this shoot.This is when Janet was definitely on her A Game.Enjoy!

Jeffrey Wright has been described many ways: brilliant, underrated, an actor’s actor. But the description that seems most apt is scene-stealer. Whether he’s playing a Dominican drug kingpin in Shaft, the iconic civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., in Boycott, or commanding a Tony Award for his turn as an acerbic gay nurse in Angels in America: Perestroika, you can’t take your eyes off him. That is, until his 4-year-old son tromps into the room, merrily singing a tune. The little boy (Wright prefers to keep his kids’ names private) has already learned a thing or two about grabbing the spotlight. “Give me a little space so I can have this conversation,” says Wright, 40, gently shooing his son for the third time. “Parenthood is a never-ending story. That’s my best role right now.”
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Beyoncé was in Cannes this week for a special sneak peek of her latest film, an adaptation of the Broadway hit ‘Dreamgirls.’

“It feels like old Hollywood,” Knowles says about the festival, “it’s really kind of chilling and makes me a little nervous but it’s beautiful and I’m honored to be here.”

As the most bootylicious member of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé is used to stepping into the spotlight, but her role as “Deena” in the musical forced her to shy away from the fierce diva she becomes during concerts.

“With Deena I had to hold back my strong voice,” Beyoncé said. “I had to hold back my personality on stage because everything she did was very held back and minimal and subtle and I’m the complete opposite as Beyonce the performer on stage.”

‘Dreamgirls’ opens in December.

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