Proud parents Beyonce and Jay-Z took time away from Blue Ivy to attend the Knicks/Nets game Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

Related: First Pictures Of Blue Ivy Carter!

The couple sat courtside to enjoy a 100-92 Nets win, making Jay-Z a very happy man as he is a part owner. Beyonce kept is simple, yet chic, in a loose white tee, yellow blazer, skinny jeans and Christian Louboutin Daffodile Panama Geometrico pumps.

Aside from parenting and impromptu NBA games, the pair is also reportedly getting back to their first love– music.

Songwriter/producer Ryan Tedder told AOL’s The Boom Box, “The conversations about [Beyonce's] next album literally just started and there [are] two projects happening. All I can say is you kind of feed her the best that you have and she’s this phenomenal filter and she takes it all in.”

Jay-Z, one half of The Throne, is set to team up with Kanye West once again in concert; the two will begin their international “Watch The Throne” tour in London on May 20.

Check out more pictures of the cute couple!

(Getty Images)

It looks as if Magic Johnson is going the way of Oprah Winfrey and Sean “Diddy” Combs to start his own television network.

Related: Diddy To Launch Music-Themed Cable Network

The former Laker and Hall of Famer is preparing to launch Aspire, a 24-hour channel with a focus on “positive, uplifting images of African-Americans.”

“This is so exciting for me, I’m pinching myself,” Johnson told the L.A. Times. “This is big for myself, for the African-American community and the African-American creative community.”

“I wanted a vehicle to show positive images and to have stories written, produced and directed by African-Americans for our community. Aspire– that’s how I’ve been leading my life,” he says.

On June 30, Aspire will join the ranks of other Black networks such as BET, TV One and Bounce to provide the community with targeted programming. Johnson says the network will include film, TV, music and comedy, original programming and acquired projects, but also performing arts and shows about faith.

Similar to Diddy’s upcoming music network Revolt, Aspire will launch under Comcast Corp. as part of its agreement with the FCC and Department of Justice to diversity programming. By 2018, Comcast will have backed 10 new independently owned cable channels, mostly by African-Americans and Latinos.

Johnson’s network will begin in 11 million Comcast Cable customers’ homes, but he hopes to expand to 50 million homes within the next few years.

And as for learning from his peers’ mistakes? (read: Oprah’s mistakes)

“We’ll learn from those who have gone before us. We understand the landscape, and we will run a sound business.”

Courtesy of the New York Times

LORAIN, Ohio — It used to be called illegitimacy. Now it is the new normal. After steadily rising for five decades, the share of children born to unmarried women has crossed a threshold: more than half of births to American women under 30 occur outside marriage.

Once largely limited to poor women and minorities, motherhood without marriage has settled deeply into middle America. The fastest growth in the last two decades has occurred among white women in their 20s who have some college education but no four-year degree, according to Child Trends, a Washington research group that analyzed government data.

Among mothers of all ages, a majority — 59 percent in 2009 — are married when they have children. But the surge of births outside marriage among younger women — nearly two-thirds of children in the United States are born to mothers under 30 — is both a symbol of the transforming family and a hint of coming generational change.

One group still largely resists the trend: college graduates, who overwhelmingly marry before having children. That is turning family structure into a new class divide, with the economic and social rewards of marriage increasingly reserved for people with the most education.

“Marriage has become a luxury good,” said Frank Furstenberg, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania.

Continue at the New York Times…

Courtesy of Loop21

Basketball Wives: Season 4 premiered last night and surprisingly no fists were thrown but, of course, we know it’s coming soon. The ladies have temporarily traded Miami’s beaches for New York’s concrete jungle, but despite different scenery the drama remains the same.

Tami Roman was surprisingly the voice of reason as she tried to get former BFFs Jennifer Williams and Evelyn Lozada to reconcile, Royce Reed established that she didn’t trust friend Suzie Ketcham, who was too eager to get back into the “inner circle” last season, and the new girls, Kesha Nichols and Kenya Bell, seem okay for now, but these ladies are just getting started.

Let’s take a look at 3 of last night’s best moments.

RELATED: Q&A: Royce Takes The Stage

Royce calls Suzie out for being two-faced.

It’s too bad Suzie isn’t owning up to her behavior, but at least Royce is being smart by keeping her distance. It’s hard being caught in the middle of opposing sides, but Suzie fails miserably at being the diplomat. You can’t claim that you’re cool with both sides when you participate in gossip about each respective individual by laughing and egging it on.

Continue reading and see clips of the episode at Loop21.

It’s been a whirlwind week for Mariah Carey, from coping with the death of friend Whitney Houston to her husband Nick Cannon‘s second health scare. But the “We Belong Together” singer finally got a chance to sit down with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America Tuesday to discuss how she’s holding up.

“I’m almost incapable of talking about this still,” Carey said on Houston’s death. “It’s very heavy emotionally, especially just looking at that little bit of [footage] of us together, but it was great. And I don’t think people could ever understand our relationship. There was always this supposed rivalry in the beginning and then we did the duet and we became friends and I saw her towards the end and I loved her. We all were inspired by her and we all loved her. May she rest in peace and her legend’s gonna go on forever.”

Carey went on to express her support for Cannon leaving his radio show after having issues with his kidney and heart.

“The best thing I think was the choice that he made to leave the radio and to just focus on [America's Got Talent] and Up All Night. It was just something that hit us really hard at the top of the year,” she said before ensuring Roberts that he is doing better.

Check out Carey’s full interview as she talks about new music, motherhood and her campaign with the American Heart Association.

Courtesy of Hello Beautiful

Lala and Carmelo Anthony met in 2003. The hazel-eyed video jockey captured the attention of the blossoming athlete who was so interested in her that he asked friend–DJ Clue, what he knew about the Latina television host.

The chemistry between the two was undeniable and not too long after Carmelo proposed on Christmas Day! Lala gave birth to their baby boy a year later and he was given Carmelo’s middle name–Kiyan! Lala Vasquez officially became Lala Anthony on a sunny day in July!

Why She Loves Him:
Lala loves being Carmelo Anthony’s wife, she has said so herself, but even through-out being labeled a “Basketball Wife,” Lala has never settled as one. She is independent and a hard-worker and Carmelo has never stood in her way and only encourages her dreams. Carmelo is a family man and they work as a unit to raise their son who adores him, just as much as Lala does. He is a the ultimate role-model to Kiyan and other young boys who watch him dribble up and down the court everyday. Not to mention, he is a great athlete who provides for his family!

Continue reading at Hello Beautiful

Courtesy of The Frisky

I read Kate Fridkis’ recent essay about small boobs with a mix of fascination and envy. As someone who’s had double Ds since junior high, the small boob experience is totally foreign to me, although I’ve wished for smaller boobs on many occasions. Large breasts are idolized in pop culture, but the experience of actually walking around with two watermelons attached to your chest? Well, sometimes it’s awesome, and sometimes it’s decidedly not awesome. Here’s why…

10 Reasons Big Boobs Are Awesome

1. Breasts are really beautiful. They’re soft and pillowy and feminine. They’re pretty shades of pink and brown. Who wouldn’t want more of that gorgeous goodness?
2. Guys are into them.
3. It’s fun to look at curvy figures throughout history–from paintings of Greek goddesses to ’50s pin-up girls–and see a bit of yourself in these classic beauties.
4. Effortless cleavage.
5. You never have to pass up a great dress because you couldn’t fill out the bustline.

Continue reading at The Frisky

Courtesy of The Root

The National Basketball Players Association has estimated that 60 percent of retired players go broke five years after their NBA paychecks dry up. So it’s not surprising to hear that a future Hall of Famer like Allen Iverson has fallen upon hard times, despite the fact that he earned more than $154 million in salary (and more in endorsements) during his 15-year NBA career.

His lifestyle included multiple cars, houses, a large posse and a traveling hairstylist to do his cornrows every few days. His love for bling didn’t help, either — a Georgia judge recently ordered his wages garnished in order to pay a jeweler more than $850,000. NBA opportunities dried up in 2010 — Iverson played his last game exactly two years ago Monday. His most recent offer to play pro sports comes from another league and involves a different ball.

New York’s Rochester Lancers, of the Major Indoor Soccer League, offered Iverson a contract over the weekend. The team has two regular-season games left on its schedule and offered to pay Iverson $20,000 per game with a $5,000 bonus for each goal scored, as well as bonuses for wins and merchandise sales.

Continue reading at The Root

February 11, 2012 will forever mark the loss of music icon Whitney Houston. But for Cissy Houston, the date will always remind her of the day she lost her one and only beloved daughter.

In the program for Whitney’s homegoing service, Cissy pens a heartfelt open letter to her “Nippy” and details the events that led up to finding out about her daughter’s passing.

Dearest Whitney:

The presence of God blessed our home with life, love, joy, and peace. You and your brothers were the center of divine love attracting God’s richest blessings. You were a child of God. We had so much love in our home that was truly from on high.

You always gave without expecting anything in return and our love was the force that multiplied these blessings higher and higher. I never told you that when you were born the Holy Spirit told me that you would not be with me long and I thank God for the beautiful flower he allowed me to raise and cherish for 48 years.

God said it’s time Nippy; your work is done. The other day on February 11th He came for you. But not without warning. For two months now I have been depressed, crying, lonesome and sad not knowing why.

On Saturday, before I found out about your transition, my doorbell rang. I went to answer it but there was no one there. It rang again and again, no one was there. I called the concierge to tell him someone was ringing my doorbell. He checked the cameras and told me no one was there. You promised me you were coming to spend time with me after the Grammy’s. I believe the spirits allowed you to come after all.

How I love you Nippy and how I miss you, your beautiful smile, your special little things you used to say to me and sometimes you’d call just to say “hi Mommie, I love you so much,” I loved you so much more.

I love you,
I’ll miss you,

Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter.

Rest my baby girl in Peace; you’re now in the arms of Jesus.

Love, Mommie

It seems as if Chris Brown just doesn’t know how to stay on the right side of the law.

Related: Chris Brown & Rihanna Get Back Together [AUDIO]

According to the Miami Beach Police Department, the 22-year-old singer allegedly snatched a fan’s phone early Sunday morning outside of the South Beach club Cameo.

Christal Spann, the accuser, said her and her friends followed Brown and rapper Tyga after leaving the party in hopes of snapping a picture of the music stars.

Upon taking the photo, Spann tells police Brown grabbed her $500 white iPhone 4S and told her, “B*tch you ain’t going to put that on no website.”

Brown allegedly rolled up the window of his black Bentley and drove away, phone in hand.

Police have listed the offense as “robbery by sudden snatching” and the office is preparing the arrest warrant for Brown.

Brown is still on probation from his domestic violence incident with Rihanna in 2009.

Source

Another week, another day and another round of outrageous celebrity phrases! This week, the celebrity sound bites making headlines include everything from an obnoxious divo cursing out a female friend during a concert to everyone’s favorite TV aunt responding to the death of Whitney Houston to a rapper’s denial of his sexual orientation. Plus, guess which legendary soul sister skipped out on the funeral of her super star goddaughter and why you should never cross any female from Detroit.  And I quote …

In today’s link round-up: National Enquirer publisher catches heat for Whitney Houston’s casket photo, ESSENCE celebrates Black women in Hollywood and much more!

BET.com
Aretha Franklin Reacts To Criticism Over Missing Whitney Houston’s Funeral
Aretha wants to get all the nasty rumors straight.

Madame Noire
Tyra Tweets Graduation Photos
Congratulations to the graduate, Ms. Tyra Banks.

Loop 21
National Enquirer Publisher Calls Whitney’s Casket Photo “Beautiful”
Absolutely sickening.

The YBF
Kerry, Kelly, Viola, Jordin, & TONS MORE Hit The ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon!
These ladies look great!

HuffPost BlackVoices
Octavia Spencer: ‘I’m Going to Get My Boobs Lifted’ After The Oscars
A little nip/tuck never hurt anyone.

Hello Beautiful
The Dream Dishes On Rihanna: “Reuniting With Chris Brown Was Her Idea
The Dream opens up about the pair’s collaboration and forgiving Chris.

Courtesy of The Frisky

Two years ago, Levi’s debuted their new Curve ID jeans by blasting our eyeballs with ads about their three different “slight curve,” “demi curve,” and “bold curve” shape versions. The sizes ranged from 2 to 14 and each size offered versions for different shaped curves. Some women were apoplectic about Levi’s over these jeans: first, because the tag line was “All asses were not created equal,” and second, because none of the models were particularly curvy. Some critics said a line like “All asses were not created equal” implied that some asses are, in fact, better than others. Another point of contention was why Curve ID ads didn’t have more women of color in their advertisements, since they purported to be for “curvy” girls and plenty of women of color are rocking curves.

I, personally, wasn’t so harsh on Levi’s regarding the tag line.  I thought they meant well and the negative tag line was open to interpretation. When people mean well, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they sensed a sympathetic ear, because they granted me an exclusive interview to talk about the Curve ID jeans controversy. They explained how they photographed Causasian, African-American and Hispanic women for the ads, and had nine women modeling in three different ads each, but most people only saw one ad which showed models who appeared to be all white. (Levi’s didn’t know the ethnic breakdown of their models when I interviewed them, but it appears that there was only one African-American model in the whole campaign. It’s unclear about the other eight models.) Levi’s seemed surprised at how angry people were.  You can read the full interview here, but basically it boiled down to them being oblivious to the way the average person consumed their advertising. That’s undeniably a failure, because, well, we’re talking about advertising here. Image is everything.

Continue reading at The Frisky

Courtesy of Madame Noire

I love Girlfriends. It’s a show that not only introduced us to the hilarious and diverse dynamics of Black female friendships but also taught us a lot of lessons about love and life. Sure, it’s purely fictional and exaggerated at times, but the trials and tribulations of the thirty-something gals surely gave me some things to think about in my own life – and that’s the barometer of good television: being able to connect with viewers on a personal level.

Don’t Get Consumed By The Marriage Project 

If Woody Allen could create a black female version of himself, she would seem a lot like Joan Clayton. Her over-obsessive attitude towards getting married caused her and her friends more stress than what was necessary. Joan allowed her life to be so overwhelmed with her neurosis that she didn’t get to enjoy what she did have, which included a fabulous California life complete with supportive friends and a beautiful home. She failed to comprehend the saying that “it is the journey, not the destination.”

Continue reading at Madame Noire

Courtesy of HuffPost Detroit

The Plaindealer broke ground not only as Detroit’s first black newspaper but as one of the first of its kind in the country.

Its creators referred to the Plaindealer as an “Afro-American” newspaper, consciously rejecting the term “negro.” Founded in 1883 by the brothers Benjamin and Robert Pelham Jr., along with Walter H. Stowers and W.H. Anderson, the publishers saw the publication as a political effort and worked tirelessly at the project, putting it together in the spare time apart from their regular careers.

“The Plaindealer was the African-American voice. That was our voice,” explained Kimberly Simmons, chair of the Detroit Historical Society’s Black Sites Committee and president of the Detroit River Project. “You had a whole group of people here, and the only way they knew what was going on was the Plaindealer. So it was a huge deal.”

Only 2,821 African Americans lived in the city in 1880 at the time of the census, but the weekly paper met with rapid success. Simmons said the population was blossoming and hungry for news. This enthusiasm helped the Plaindealer grow from a small folio to a 20-page publication within a few years.

Simmons believes nearly every African-American family in the city at the time would have had a copy of the Plaindealer.

Continue reading at HuffPost Detroit

Comedian Bill Maher made a generous donation to support the pro-Obama Priorities USA Action Thursday night.

The HBO host presented on oversized check for $1 million during CrazyStupidPolitics, an hourlong special streamed on Yahoo.com.

“I would like tonight to announce a donation to the Obama super PAC, which has the very unfortunate tongue-twister name Priority [sic] USA Action. I know, it was named by Borat,” he joked. “But tonight, I would like to give that PAC one million dollars.”

In a statement after the show, Maher said an Obama win over any Republican candidate would be “worth a million dollars”  and described his donation as “the wisest investment I could make.”

According to the L.A. Times, the super PAC has raised $4.4 million to date. Maher’s donation means big dollar signs, but is also backed with unwavering confidence.

“My money is still on Mitt Romney,” Maher said when asked who the Republican nominee will be. “And I think he’s going to get the nomination, and then I think Obama is going to beat him like a runaway sister-wife, yes, I do.”

Courtesy of Loop21

A judge in Dallas, TX has found her teachable moment.

While speaking at an event earlier this week, Dallas County District Judge Tonya Parker told the audience:

“I`m sorry I don`t perform marriage ceremonies, because clearly the state does not have marriage equality and until it does I`m not going to partially apply the law to one group and not apply it to another group of people,” said Parker. “It doesn`t seem right for me to perform ceremonies for people that can`t be performed for me.”

The video has gone viral and reaction to it is split.

Continue reading at Loop21

It’s evident Whitney Houston was on her way to making a big comeback in the remake of 1976′s Sparkle, but her unexpected death would never allow for the singer’s revival.

In new footage from Entertainment Tonight, a visibly healthy and cheerful Houston explains the movie’s connection to her home church in Newark, N.J. and her strict rules against explicit music.

Martin Lawrence is ready to bring the laughs in a new comedy series for CBS!

Related: We Love The 90s: Five Black Shows We’ll Never Forget

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network has picked up a late-season pilot for the project starring the actor/comedian. The untitled series will center around “a widowed father of two teens who, after losing his construction job, opts to enroll at the police academy in an effort to become a cop at the ripe old age of 46.”

Mike Lisbe and Nate Reger, of the former CBS series $#*! My Dad Says, will write and executive produce the new show for CBS Television Studios.

Lawrence is widely known for his roles in Bad Boys, the Big Momma’s House series and, of course, his popular 90s sitcom Martin.

Listen, everyone is entitled to have an opinion, and with the free country that is America, you can express those views as freely as you like … in most instances. Unfortunately, that makes room for as much hate as one can express or spread. UrbanDictionary.com defines a hater as: “A person that simply cannot be happy for another person’s success. So rather than be happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person.” And I often feel like some folks hate so hard without merit. I just feel like the facts are never included when people hate, and why would they be?

Well, allow me to flip the lights on for a second. Because truthfully, some folks should just shut up! Here are five groups of haters who should just HAVE A SEAT!