Rapper and producer Swizz Beatz has collaborated with small, England-based automaker Lotus, and has recently unveiled the Lotus Evora GTE Swizz Beatz Edition. His new car includes 420-hp and a 4.0 liter V-6 power.

Lotus, a high-end car known for its speed and light weight, features the typical rear brake cooling ducts, modified rear wing, and large intake vents. It’s the first chrome color car in the world, with a shiny, ruby red finish, complete with custom black wheels. “My goal is to become the renaissance man for my generation,” says the Grammy Award-winning producer.

Lotus will produce 100 cars for the Chinese market first, with undetermined dates for Europe and United States releases. No details were given on the car’s price just yet, but interested buyers will certainly have to pay more than $180,000, the price tag of the standard Evora GTE.

“Swizz is almost trying to do something never done before in the car industry, which is traditionally a boring, not a very courageous industry,” revealed Lotus CEO Dany Bahar, at the Lotus Evora GTE unveiling in 2011.

News that Benjamin Todd Jealous planned to step down as the NAACP’s president and CEO caught almost everyone off guard this past September. By all accounts, Jealous had been doing a stellar job. Even Pittsburgh-based Republican strategist Lenny McAllister, who often squared off against Jealous during tumultuous public spats with the GOP and Tea Party, gives the outgoing leader a thumbs-up.

“Ben took the approach to the ever-dogged issue of racism and addressed it outside of the traditional constructs, applying new perspectives that fit our contemporary times politically and socially,” McAllister shares. “He understands that our societal cancer has become an invisible, elusive nemesis in today’s America, one that cannot be easily pinned down with ‘whites only’ signs and ‘separate but equal’ laws on the books.”

In 2008, a number of NAACP top brass were uncomfortable with handing over the reins of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization to a 35-year-old upstart with “new perspectives.” Never mind that Jealous had revived the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a consortium of black newspapers; served as Amnesty International’s U.S. Human Rights Program director; and was president of the Rosenberg Foundation.

But the NAACP was an entirely different ball game. The civil rights organization was publicly drowning in debt, singed by scandal and fighting for relevance in the new millennium. Yet, Jealous proved capable for the difficult challenge, surpassing the expectations of most.

Describing the NAACP as something “like a donut” when he was elected, Jealous says, “On one side, you had people who were around or below the university age; on the other side, you had people who were above or below retirement age. And in the middle, there were people like us.”

Siding with the younger demographic and Generation X, Jealous embraced more contemporary issues and put the NAACP back on a lot of people’s radars. “I found his fight on the issues of Stop and Frisk, the repeal of the Rockefeller drugs laws and the student loan hikes to be so refreshing for the oldest civil rights organization to address,” remarks Baltimore talk show host and community activist Farajii Muhammad.

These moves were very intentional. “Starting with our centennial in 2009, we started to look at whether or not we needed to be similar or different [and] we decided to be different,” shares Jealous. “Our big acts needed to change. Our big act in the 20th century was federal engagement. The real opportunity was in the courthouse. Today, it is state-level legislation. The real opportunities are in the state houses. The NAACP has changed from an organization defined by its words to an organization defined by its organizers. We realized that the future had evolved right into our sweet spot. We’re the only civil rights organization that has influence in every state.”

Hitting the ground running, Jealous embraced a five-step process of talent (“quickly assemble a top-notch team”), transparency (“track your performance and make it visible”), quick wins (“show people that, inch by inch, we’re beginning to move in the right direction”), Hail Marys (“show your ability to take a real risk and to produce a real victory”) and his fundamental J-Curve (“when you look at the letter J, and you start on the left and you move to the right, you go down and then you plateau and then you go way up”).

“The first year here was really hard,” admits Jealous. “We made a lot of mistakes that kept taking my team back to the J-Curve. But the next year, we [felt] like we were hitting our stride. And then all of a sudden we started moving up.”

Jealous and his team dug deep for its modern-day success formula.

“To attract folks, we went back to the old school,” Jealous says. “We went back to focusing on community organization. We went back to focusing on having very big, bold 50-year dreams. For example, it took us 60 years to stop the practice of lynch mob violence. The secret to our success back then was saying, ‘We will fight lynching until we win. We will fight segregation until we win.’”

An essential part of that approach is what Jealous calls “casework.” Noticeably excited and animated when talking about it, Jealous says, “It made sense [whether it was] Troy Davis, the Scott sisters, Marissa Alexander or Trayvon Martin. Casework is critical because the gateway to a terrific cause is often a great case.”

Technology is another important component. “By aggressively embracing technology [and] allowing people to do in moments what used to take hours and days by running a voter registration program online as opposed to [exclusively] in the streets, we’ve been able to make it possible for young professionals, who are raising kids and are moving up the ladder in their careers, to become active in the NAACP again.”

Jealous’ biracial background also contributed to his successful NAACP helm. As the black offspring of a white father and a black mother, Jealous describes himself as being “born on a bridge between two communities like most bridges built by black people. My father’s family disowned us, but my mother’s family refused to disown us. I’ve always felt an obligation to meet people where they were, to listen to them and to look for what we agreed on.”

This “bridging” ability aided him greatly in building the many coalitions he did, especially in the gay marriage struggle, which also owes a lot to his Bay Area upbringing, as well as the bold stance he takes on other controversial issues.

“If the battle is comprehensive immigration reform, we have to be the dog in that fight,” he says. “If the battle is Islamophobia or anti-Semitism, we have to have a dog in that fight… From the beginning, we’ve had people of all colors, including white people, who understood that white supremacy and racism dehumanizes them as well.”

All these approaches have netted huge gains. “We have always been the biggest civil rights organization in the streets. Now, we’re the biggest in the streets, online, on mobile and at the ballot box,” he beams. “We’ve gone from 175,000 activists online to 1.3 million, gone from zero people on our text list to 423,000. We’ve gone from registering approximately 124,000 voters in 2008 to registering precisely 366,851 in 2012—which made us the largest non-partisan field voter registration program.” Continuing, he adds, “We also moved 1.2 million likely and unlikely voters to the polls in 2012. That means we are more powerful and we are more multigenerational.”

Andra Gillespie, Emory University professor and author of Whose Black Politics?: Cases in Post-Racial Black Leadership, observes that Jealous’ NAACP success isn’t unprecedented. “At various points, they have all turned to younger leadership to try to stay relevant,” she says of civil rights organizations and their leadership.

With all of Jealous’ success and outside praise, ‘Why step down now?’ many ask, with some speculating that NAACP heavyweights who have long been used to doing it their way aren’t completely happy with Jealous’ big, bold changes, regardless of what the numbers say. And rather than do battle with those forces, Jealous, who turns 41 on January 18, is “spending time with his family” as he plots his next big move.

“In this town, it’s pretty much uniformly discouraged [for] a man to cite ‘family’ as his reason for leaving,” Jealous says, dismissing any hint of discord. “When I was 2, my father took two years off from work, and my family went from barely getting by—we were living on subsidized housing— to being right on the federal poverty line. But he knew that, as someone who for all his life was driven by his passions, if he didn’t allow his kids to be his passion for a couple of years, he would just miss it. . . [So] there’s always been an expectation in my mind that when my kids were young, there would always be a time when they would be my top priority.”

Not up for debate, though, is his NAACP tenure. “Jealous’ legacy is one of reinvigorating the most venerable civil rights organization the nation has ever seen,” observes Tufts University professor Peniel E. Joseph, author of Waiting ’Til The Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America.

Looking back to look forward, Jealous says, “We ultimately have two types of responsibilities in the civil rights movement. One is to preserve the civil rights that our parents and grandparents started. The other is to rise up and meet the challenges that have crept up in our lifetime. We have to then focus on making sure that every child gets a good education, has real opportunity for employment and business ownership, access to good health care and a fair justice system.” And based on his record, regardless of where he is and what he does in the future, he will never resign his commitment to civil and human rights.

Photos Courtesy: BRIAN BLANCO/epa /Corbis

Grey’s Anatomy cutie Jesse Williams welcomed daughter, Sadie, with wife Aryn-Drake Lee. The news was confirmed this week although Sadie was apparently born in early December. They did a great job of keeping that under wraps.

The is the first child for both parents. Williams, 32, and Lee, 33, have been married since September 2012, but got together in 2007. They couple reportedly had their baby shower in Brooklyn on September 29th. Congrats to the new parents!

Courtesy of Sister 2 Sister

There was a time when Steve Harvey’s people thought his marriage might not work out.

Steve seemingly can’t say enough great things about his wife Marjorie Harvey whenever the topic of relationships come up. However, not everyone in his circle has always been some complimentary.

He revealed to Essence that not long after their wedding the comedian-turned-talk show host was slammed with a $20 million tax lien. The lien came after it was discovered that Steve’s accountant had been holding onto years worth of the funny man’s tax returns without filing them.

At the time, the people in Steve’s camp advised him to keep the devastating news from Marjorie. “She’ll leave you,” Steve recalled them saying. “This is the happiest we’ve ever seen you. …Nobody is going to stick around with this kind of mess.”

Continue here…

Courtesy of EBONY.com

Many young writers, no matter how independent they are as thinkers, want to be down with a cool group of fellow scribes. Flipping through library books, we read about the days of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald hanging tough in Paris; Langston Hughes and Claude McKay doing their thing in Harlem; and the Beat boys Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs driving cross country. Some of us want to sit down at the Algonquin’s round table with Dorothy Parker, while others wanted to talk through the night inside Ralph Ellison’s massive Riverside Drive apartment.

Yet for me, as a young writer coming of age in the early 1980s, it was the discovery of the Black Arts Movement (BAM) spearheaded by poet Amiri Baraka which inspired me to aspire higher in my chosen craft. These were the cats, with their beards and their poetics barbs, who first made me aware it was all right to be me when I sat in front of a blank page.

Continue here…

NBC has tapped Zoe Saldana to take the lead in the television remake of Rosemary’s Baby which will unfold in a four-hour miniseries.

The actress will play Rosemary Woodhouse, a young wife and would-be mother who moves into a questionable Paris apartment with her husband. Upon learning of her pregnancy, she begins to suspect that her husband and mysterious neighbors have ulterior motives about the future of her child. The character was made famous by Mia Farrow in the 1968 thriller based on the 1967 horror novel by Ira Levin.

“Zoe has proven that she is one of our most gifted actresses and we think she has the perfect combination of spirit and gravitas to take on the title role from Ira Levin’s infamous novel,” said network exec Quinn Taylor. “With Zoe leading the cast under the direction of Agnieszka Holland, this reimagined event miniseries is off to a great start.”

Production on Rosemary’s Baby begins this month in Paris.

The Weinstein Company is slowly but surely moving forward with the long-gestating Richard Pryor biopic.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Lee Daniels is considering tackling the project as a follow-up to his 2013 box office hit The Butler. The film studio will fully finance the biopic with Pryor’s widow, Jennifer Pryor, serving as producer. She is offering up more than 50 pages of her late husband’s personal journals to provide insight into his personal life and career.

Sources also add that Michael B. Jordan, Eddie Murphy and Damon Wayans are being eyed to take on the role of the legendary comedian. Murphy and Wayans have been attached to the project for quite some time, but it’s the possibility of Jordan that adds a fresh take to casting.

There is no word on when (or if) production will begin.

Amber Ruffin is joining the writing team for Seth Meyers’ new edition of Late Night, making her the first black woman to write for a network late night talk show. In fact, she is the first woman of color to be on the writing staff of a nightly late night talk show ever.

Imagine just how far back that goes. There are a plethora of late night shows on many different networks, and yet not one woman of color has ever been on their writing teams? Ever? According to Jezebel:

After analyzing the writers’ rooms of nightly network talk shows like The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, David Letterman’s two shows, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Jay Leno’s two shows, Jimmy Fallon’s two shows, Conan O’Brien’s two shows before he was on TBS, Last Call with Carson Daly and even older shows like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, it’s clear that Ruffin is an outlier in the world of traditional late night comedy writing. Expanding that list to look at non-network shows brings in programs like Conan on TBS, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report,Chelsea Lately, the cancelled Lopez Tonight and Arsenio Hall, but still, no one comes up. Shows that did have women of color on their writing staffs: Totally Biased and The Chris Rock Show, plus Real Time with Bill Maher at one point.

I’m honestly shocked. Even shows that I love like The Daily Show did not have a single woman of color on the writing staff. However, I’m happy that this is happening. Being represented in the writer’s room is extremely important because she can help to dictate how black women are presented to the world by someone who is in the spotlight and not of color. Sometimes, people can’t understand you when you explain yourself, but for whatever reason, they receive the message when it comes from someone else. I applaud Ms. Ruffin and wish her well.

Incidentally, the former Second City mainstage and iO Theather performer (based in Chicago) was among the black women selected for the Saturday Night Live auditions last month. One door closes and another one opens indeed.

Photographer/filmmaker Danny Hastings talks about art, what inspires him, and why he doesn’t have a Plan B!

Remember the days when you and your boyfriend had the same friends and you all hung out after school? Everyone was in the group – old flames, potential new flames, close friends, and even that one guy that kind of creeped you out.

Back when we were young, relationships were simple and everyone knew who was dating whom. This was known because not only was Susie Q wearing Termell’s letterman jacket, but they also had matching tennis shoes. And, if he was raised correctly, he was carrying her books to class. When the break up happened (as was a frequent occurrence in high school relationships) everyone knew about it an hour after it happened and there was typically reconciliation the next day.

During that interim period everyone who stood by the wayside during the relationship, male and female, exes and new prospects, would try their hand – some even succeeded and a new union formed or a former situation rekindled. Every day everyone had to sit together in class, assembly, or the periodic pep rally – the possibility of forced interaction was commonplace due to the environment. Interaction with exes was possible but social dynamics made it improbable for communication to occur without the news traveling through the grapevine and into your relationship.

After we received our diplomas, we elevated to the dynamics of undergraduate life, which, in essence, is simply a larger version of high school. The only difference was, depending on your institution of choice, the playing field was much larger and there was less of a chance that you had to see your boyfriend or girlfriend, much less your exes. There was less of a chance that people knew your business and the integrity and boundaries of your relationship dynamics was based on your personal convictions and morals rather than the knowledge (or fear for some) that your business would come to light.

[Image: Shuttershock]

If a breakup did occur – those in your circle of friends knew and the chances of someone trying to move in on your significant other was not going to happen until weeks or even months later without the potential for drama. As youth we have a more lax view of relationships, but as we get older our social dynamics and, therefore our relationship dynamics, evolve and with that comes the necessity to eliminate sources of drama – one of which is often found in the form of the ex.

In the beginning stages of young adulthood, relationships take on a more significant tone. Many of us focus more on our careers, some of us have children to consider, and our significant others now are candidates for marriage. With the maturity in relationships comes a need to make our lovers happy – often sacrificing relationships with certain old flames. Often the main implication of being friends with an ex is the potential for infidelity, while for others who are mature enough he or she is simply another friend of their partner.

Being more mature in a relationship means implementing proactive damage control by knowing and being respectful of one’s significant other and their potential for jealousy, and knowing if these outside relationships will heighten that potential. YourTango reports the findings of Canadian researchers whose studies prove that maintaining a relationship with former lovers is detrimental to the growth of present relationships. Therefore it has been scientifically proven that lessening or altogether removing interaction with exes can be beneficial to your current relationship. We may believe that former flames may also provide emotional support, business connections, and can even be integrated into your family, but that does not mean that it will benefit your future with your current life partner.

But let’s be honest with ourselves – the relationship ended for a reason and nine times out of 10 the reason fueled drama. Body and Soul conveys Sydney-based clinical psychologist and relationship expert John Aiken’s advice to find out the true purpose of the ex in your life and to truly assess whether he or she is beneficial for your future. Boundaries are healthy for all types of relationships. Sharing children is always a tricky subject – however their existence does not negate the need for boundaries being established between exes. The same sentiment applies in romantic relationships – if there is no tie that binds and those involved are not mature enough to adhere to those boundaries, then the ex is causing drama and not preventing it. Ensuring the happiness and comfort of your chosen partner is your main goal in a relationship. If the both of you are putting your all into pleasing the other, then the good days will surely outweigh the bad and the longevity of the relationship will be guaranteed.

[Image: Shuttershock]

12 Years A Slave takes home the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama in a down to the wire victory.

“I’m going to forget someone. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t expecting this,” Steven McQueen said in his acceptance speech. He asked the fellow cast and crew to remind him of who to thank.

McQueen had every right not to suspect a victory. 12 Years A Slave which stars nominated actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and newcomer Lupita Nyong’o was largely ignored during the broadcast. The movie rolled in with seven nominations and watched as the six previous nominations were handed off to winners.

As Nyong’o, who looked stunning in a red Ralph Lauren cape dress, lost to Jennifer Lawrence for Best Supporting Actress in American Hustle, many began wondering if any of the actors from the film would have an opportunity to grace the stage.

The film based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup has received praise for its raw portrayal of slavery, along with memorable performances from the ensemble cast. The film also stars Adepero Oduye from Pariah and Sarah Paulson from American Horror Story: Coven, who tearfully joined the cast onstage for the film’s win.

Looking ahead, predictions have surfaced that the film’s shut out could be repeated during the Academy Awards on March 2. Those nominations will be revealed Thursday January 16 ahead of the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday.

Though touted as a front runner for several nominations, Mcqueen seems unworried. “I’m just so happy that the public has received the film so well in Europe and the United States. It’s so exhilarating, really,” he said.

For now he says he is “actually happy” with the Golden Globe award.

A study published Monday, Jan. 6, in Crime and Delinquency states that nearly half of African-American males are arrested by the age of 23. The study also found that 40 percent of white males are arrested by age 23. The report was based on survey data from 1997-2008 and included minor crimes, even truancy, to violent crimes, but excluded traffic offenses.

“A problem is that many males – especially black males – are navigating the transition from youth to adulthood with the baggage and difficulties from contact with the criminal justice system,” the study’s lead author, University of South Carolina Criminology Professor Robert Brame, said in the release. “Experiencing formal contact with the criminal justice system could also have powerful effects on behavior and impose substantial constraints on opportunities for America’s youth.” he added.

The report has since gone viral, sparking strong media opinion from journalists. The Root posted a rebuttal to the study, arguing the validity of the conclusions. The author, Ivory A. Toldson, Ph.D, proposes that statistic creation based solely on historical information, withholding primary survey question details decreases the study’s validity. The “proven” stats seem to be calculated by mere chance and likelihood, or being guilty by association. The numbers are based on the pattern of the male peers more so than individual action.

The study used self-reported data on a group of 500 Black males, but reaches to account for the majority, argues Toldson. He also points out the lack of diversity of the research team that is trying to address complex issues.

[Image: Shutterstock]

Legal marijuana sales in Colorado surpassed $5 million this week, but marijuana shop owners have had to resort to old school tactics like hiding cash stacks in their mattresses because banks are refusing to accept their money. The banks will not set up accounts for marijuana businesses — recreational or medical — because although the sale is legal in the state, banks aren’t sure if it’s technically legal under banking regulations, and they’re worried that they will be penalized on the federal level.

The New York Times described the current plight of the business owners:

The limitations have created unique burdens for legal marijuana business owners. They pay employees with envelopes of cash. They haul Chipotle and Nordstrom bags containing thousands of dollars in $10 and $20 bills to supermarkets to buy money orders. When they are able to open bank accounts — often under false pretenses — many have taken to storing money in Tupperware containers filled with air fresheners to mask the smell of marijuana.

Beyond the logistical headaches, there is a warranted fear of holding that much cash. “Carrying such large amounts of cash is a terrible risk that freaks me out a bit because there is the fear in my mind that the next car pulling up beside me could be the crew that hijacks us,” said one business owner. “So, we have to play this never-ending shell game of different cars, different routes, different dates and different times.”

This issue is a concern for law enforcement and elected officials as well.  Colorado’s senators and representatives wrote in to the Treasury and the Justice Department to request that they clarify the banking regulations so that business owners can begin to deposit their money in a safe way.

The possibility of a cash-only system has raised significant public safety concerns for customers and employees who must now handle and transport large quantities of cash. Additionally, a cash-only system may make it more difficult for the state and federal government to regulate and audit these facilities. Finally, without access to the banking system, it may become easier for retail stores to avoid sales tax collections, which would diminish funding for marijuana enforcement activities and Colorado school construction.

Hopefully they can get this all sorted out before any major theft or worse occurs. There should have been a better implementation plan in place to avoid this dangerous atmosphere that’s been created.

Holler If Ya Hear Me, the Tupac Shakur inspired musical, will begin performances on Broadway on May 26, 2014 and officially open June 19, 2014 at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway at 47th Street).

Director Kenny Leon (Fences, Stick Fly) will bring the original story about friendship, family, revenge, challenge and hope set in the present day on the inner-city streets of a Midwestern industrial city to the stage.

“[Holler If Ya Hear Me] is a present day musical using all of Tupac’s music, but Tupac is not a character in the musical,” Leon told Broadway.com. The musical will incorporate Tupac’s poetry to glimpse through “a window into realities of the streets still relevant today.”

Throughout the years Tupac’s music, life and unsolved death in 1996 has been studied extensively. He has become a cultural icon for past and present-day rappers. “Tupac was a prophet and I want everyone to see that,” Leon explained.

Holler If Ya Hear Me from 2Pac’s second album, talks about black poverty and injustice in inner city communities. The video tells a narrative of a young boy who has lost his father and the effects on his life and community.  Tupac’s music incorporated themes of black love, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy and violence from his point of view growing up on the east and west coasts. Author Michael Eric Dyson detailed the rapper’s life in a book that shares the same name.

The Rose That Grew From Concrete, a collection of Tupac’s poetry was released in 2000 including spoken vocals from Nikki Giovanni, Jasmine Guy and Mos Def. Its inclusion would make for an interesting addition of the multi-talented artist’s work that extends beyond music into film.

Holler If Ya Hear Me will feature a book written by Todd Kreidler and musical supervisor Daryl Waters. Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur is listed as a producer on the musical. The casting has not been announced.

Leon hinted that Condola Rashad, who starred in Stick Fly, may be of interest in the role. Leon will direct Denzel Washington in an upcoming revival of Raisin in the Sun opening this spring.

Tia and Tamera Mowry appeared on OWN’s “Where Are They Now?” on Friday night and discussed the racist criticism they’ve had to deal with as a result of their marriage choices.

The twins, who are themselves bi-racial, have apparently dealt with an onslaught of comments regarding the race of their husbands. Tia is married to actor Corey Hardict, a Black man, and Tamera is married to Fox News correspondent Adam Housley, who is white. Tamera broke down into tears as soon as she broached the topic, recounting hateful comments that she’s received. “It’s hurtful because what my husband and me are so open and fine with showing is love. Love. But people choose to look past the love and spew hate,” said Tamera through her tears. For her part, Tia says that people have told her that Tamera got it right in marrying a white man and Tia should have done the same.

All of it is ridiculous. These two have been positive role models for so many years now. Watching them on their reality show “Tia & Tamera,” they seem like such beautiful and upbeat people, so it really just sucks to hear that they’ve been the targets of such malicious commentary in return. When will people get over that BS? Watch the clip below:

Beyoncé contributed an essay to The Shriver Report, titled “Gender Equality Is a Myth!” As we all know, Bey has been pumping this girl power fist hard for a while now, so this essay falls right in line with that ideology.

The piece is short and to the point.

We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect.

Humanity requires both men and women, and we are equally important and need one another. So why are we viewed as less than equal? These old attitudes are drilled into us from the very beginning. We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect, so that as they grow up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. And we have to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible.

We have a lot of work to do, but we can get there if we work together. Women are more than 50 percent of the population and more than 50 percent of voters. We must demand that we all receive 100 percent of the opportunities.

I completely and emphatically agree with everything said here. Gender equality is long overdue. However, I’m struggling with believing that Beyoncé dropped the word “commensurate.” We all love B’s drive and phenomenal talent, but homegirl has never been touted for her mental prowess. Either way, kudos to her for rallying behind women’s empowerment.

The first look of Chad Boseman as James Brown in Get On Up has been revealed by Entertainment Weekly.

Boseman takes the lead as the soul legend after his portrayal as Jackie Robinson in 42. After a successful run with The Help, director Tate Taylor decided to tackle Brown’s life story as his second feature film.

“As I dug in and started to discover more about him, the good and the bad, I loved the reasons he was often bad and I loved the reasons he was good. I love that he would stop at nothing to keep reinventing himself so he could stay current, and as a result he changed music,” Taylor told EW.

The biopic will cover Brown’s rise from humble beginnings in Georgia to becoming the legend behind hits “The Payback,” “It’s A Man’s World,” “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” and more through the 1960s and 1970s.

Brown has a storied past with many legal troubles, multiple wives, children, drug abuse but everything centers around his prolific music career. He is also best known for his electrifying on stage dance moves.

“James Brown, really, was the first real dancer that broke the ground on how people move,” Taylor said.

Boseman is having “so much fun” while filming. Joining him are Nelsan Ellis, Viola Davis as Brown’s mother, and Octavia Spencer as his brothel-running aunt. Tika Sumpter and Jill Scott round out the cast.

Get on Up is currently shooting in Mississippi and is set for an August 1, 2014 release date. Before that Boseman will star alongside Kevin Costner in Draft Day, which hits theaters April 11, 2014.

[Photo Credit: Entertainment Weekly]

Drake is the star of the Time Warner 2014 Superbowl Campaign, Billboard announced Friday. Time Warner recently announced Drake as a headliner for their private pre-Superbowl party with Revolt TV. Now new details have emerged about the deal that includes Drake starring in a commercial during the Superbowl broadcast.

Drake’s status as one of the most recognizable figures in music today interested Time Warner in working with the rapper/singer.

Jeffrey Hirsch, Time Warner Cable’s exec VP, stayed quiet about the commercial but revealed the commercial may boost Drake’s acting career. “He’s not just a phenomenal performer, but a phenomenal actor. I got to watch him at the shoot, and he can really act. He’s gonna be even bigger for many years to come.” Drake’s previous acting credits include Canadian teen drama Degrassi.

The hype behind the Superbowl has extended to the ads shown during the broadcast. Along with high ticket prices, ad costs continue to skyrocket, costing upwards of $4 million. Companies are banking on the dialogue and buzz during and after they air to recoup costs and influence consumers.

The Time Warner deal is the latest in a string of exciting partnerships. Team Jordan partnered with Drake last December. He revealed the news during a Portland concert calling it “one of the best days of my life.” Later exclusive looks of the Air Jordan 10′s and OVO Stingray 12′s from their collab were posted to his Instagram.

He is also the global ambassador of the Toronto Raptors who named this past Saturday “Drake Night.” He was seeing wearing OVO Air Jordan 10s from his collab with Team Jordan during the game.

The 2014 Super bowl will air Sunday February 2 with Bruno Mars serving as headliner of the Superbowl Haltime Show with Red Hot Chili Peppers. He follows superstar Beyonce who shut down the New Orleans Superdome.

After only confirming they were a couple in July of 2013, wedding bells are ringing for the newly engaged Evan Ross and Ashlee Simpson.

Ross (nee Evan Olav Næss), the 25 year old son of Diana Ross, announced the engagement via Twitter on Monday night by posting this picture:

The love of my life said YES!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/8CI6ovBAA1

— evan ross (@realevanross) January 14, 2014

Ashlee Simpson – who has been silent on Twitter since November 22 – chimed in with her two cents soon after:

My baby love and I are ENGAGED!!! Hallelujah Hawaii !!!!! pic.twitter.com/KVwoltverE

— Ashlee Simpson (@ashleesimpson) January 14, 2014

Big sister Tracee Ellis Ross sent her congrats via social media as well.

This will be the first marriage for Ross.  Simpson, 29, was previously married to Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and the two have a five year old son named Bronx.

When celebrities are constantly in the headlines, the content usually ranges from drama to drama and more drama. It’s not too often that we celebrate these high-profile role models for the positive things that they do. It is important that we take the time to highlight their good deeds, especially because of the influence their actions have on the youth, as well as their audiences as a whole. The following is a review of celebrities caught giving back. Enjoy and be inspired!

1. First on our list is Dr. Dre (aka Andre Young) who, along with Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine, gave a cumulative $70 million to create the Jimmy Lovine and Andre Young Academy for the Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The first class of 25 students is geared to enroll in Fall of 2014 and will revel in the opportunity to prove their creativity beyond the typical classroom setting through the innovative curriculum.

[Image: LA Times]

2. Since 2005, Snoop Dogg (aka Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr.) has been brightening the lives of California youth with his Snoop Youth Football League. The non-profit organization provides opportunities for youth ages 5 to 13 to play in stadiums around the country, fly in airplanes, and build upon teamwork skills with children from their surrounding area. The teams even participate in a “Superbowl” at the end of their playing season in November.

[Image: BlackCelebKids.com]

3. This past Christmas, Pusha T (aka Terrance Thornton) teamed up with Adidas to contribute to A Thousand Shoes for a Thousand Smiles needy youth initiative. The organization annually collects brand new shoes for under-privileged schoolage children in Hampton Roads, Virginia, for the back-to-school and Christmas seasons.

[Image: 1000 Shoes for a 1000 Smiles]

4. Oprah is a regular on the list of charitable Black celebs. This past year, she held a yard sale to which the proceeds were pledged to the Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa. The TV mogul auctioned off almost $600,000 worth of furniture, art, and antiques.

[Image: Rena Schild/Shuttershock]

5. D.C.-based rapper Wale gave a $25,000 scholarship to a Hampton University student this past summer. Lauren Pryor, who is a sophomore psychology major, won the scholarship through a local Norfolk radio station, reported the Grio.

[Image: AtlantaBlackStar.com]

6. Jay Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation Gilman International Scholarship awarded study abroad opportunities to four gifted students in 2013. The students were able to go to a country of their choice with all expenses paid. His foundation also sponsors an annual HBCU bus tour that gives students opportunities to view the campuses of their potential alma maters before applying.

[Image: Everett Collecton/Shuttershock]