Danielle Brooks, who plays Taystee on Orange is the New Black, will make her Broadway debut as Sofia in the upcoming production on The Color Purple.

Brooks will be joined by Jennifer Hudson as Shug Avery and breakout London star Cynthia Erivo as Celie.

The critically-acclaimed production, directed and designed by Tony Award-winner John Doyle, will leave London in the fall and play Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.

Previews begin Nov. 9th and opening night is Dec. 10th. Tickets to The Color Purple will be available to the general public on Thursday, July 2nd.

Although the month isn’t finished, May 2015 has already become the deadliest month Baltimore has seen since 1999. There have been 35 homicides to date that have left the community, police officials, and the media collectively scratching their heads. Just last month, as the city thoroughly raged against the rampant police brutality that resulted in the savage death of Freddie Gray, we saw images of Bloods and Crips gang members joining forces to team up against city officials. This show of unity could reasonably lead a casual observer to believe that the result of this truce would lead to a decrease in civilian homicides, even if just for a brief moment. But the fact that there has seemingly been “an explosion” of violence in Baltimore recently is leaving many people dumbfounded. Everyone from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to the commentators at CNN and FOX News are offering their own opinions on this uptick in crime, but there is one culprit everyone seems to be overlooking: Racism.

When you talk about what’s occurring in Baltimore, a city with an incredibly complex, nuanced, and tenuous relationship with crime, poverty, race, policing, and politics (as accurately depicted by HBO’s The Wire), we must address the long-term, long-standing effects of institutionalized racism, and the recent, short-term effects of modern day systemic discrimination.

In 1910, after a Black attorney attempted to move into a predominately white neighborhood, Baltimore became the first American city to adopt a city ordinance requiring each residential block be segregated. In the 1930s, just after the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt headed a bail-out for more than a million homeowners so they wouldn’t lose their homes while, at the same time, “redlining” (i.e. declaring developmentally unsafe) many predominantly Black and Jewish neighborhoods in Baltimore. In 1950, Baltimore had a population of 949,708 which was two-thirds white, but as the suburbs became the preferred option for middle-class white people, they left the city, taking much of the industry and the city’s valued voters with them. What they left was a city full of poor Blacks who never received adequate political concern, infrastructure, employment, or access to quality education. Before the Baltimore riots of 1968, the city’s decay and descent into crime and gangs had already begun.

And that is the quantifiable effects of true systemic racism — the ongoing plunder of a people of a particular skin color. The reason Baltimore is crime-ridden today has less to do with some insane ideology of the “inherent” violence of Black folks, and more to do with a century of ignoring the legitimate cries and concerns of a community broken by racist policy.

But if that encapsulates the current culture of violence in Baltimore as a whole, how do we explain the fact that May 2015 has been the most violent month the city has seen in 16 years? Well, unfortunately, this is where racism rears its ugly head again. The most disappointing police reaction to the current climate of anti-police murders in America, has been the prevalent ideology that being anti-summary execution makes someone anti-police. It’s that reductive and anti-intellectual (aka Sean Hannity-esque) thinking that erases the legitimate concerns of an oppressed people by pretending that the oppressed group doesn’t truly want justice — just their own brand of oppression. It’s this thinking that has lead Baltimore police to go on an “unofficial strike” in Baltimore, which basically means they are enacting an NYPD-like work stoppage towards protecting the people they’ve been sworn to serve, simply because their collective feelings have been hurt by unkind words from the subjugated class of our society.

Data is now showing that Baltimore police officers are making about 45 percent fewer arrests than comparable times in previous years. Although Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts says there is no slow down, the facts prove otherwise. This slow down in arrests, investigations, and overall policing has put real people in danger, all because the police want to make a point to those who dare challenge them. While it’s racist to murder unarmed Black men and women, it’s even more racist and classist to refuse to adequately protect Black citizens from crime because your feelings have been hurt. Of course Baltimore citizens must be thoroughly blamed for their role in any violent crime because personal responsibility should never be an antiquated notion in the criminal justice system, but it’s no more inexcusable as officers of the law refusing to help those who need it the most.

LAB

Lincoln Anthony Blades blogs daily on his site ThisIsYourConscience.com, he’s an author of the book “You’re Not A Victim, You’re A Volunteer” and a weekly contributor for UPTOWN Magazine. He can be reached via Twitter @lincolnablades and on Facebook at This Is Your Conscience.

A rabbi is claiming anti-Semitism led Ice Cube‘s entourage to allegedly attack him in Detroit on May 24th.

P. Taras, a self-proclaimed rabbi, says he bumped into Ice Cube outside an elevator at the MGM Detroit casino hotel.

Taras says he responded to the incident with something like “Hey, watch out!” Ice Cube, in turn, had his boys attack, claims Taras. He thinks the subsequent beat down occurred because he was wearing a yarmulke. Taras says the group yelled several epithets as they were allegedly stomping him.

Now Taras wants $2 million from Ice Cube for assault and battery and has filed a lawsuit.

Ice Cube, however, has no clue who Taras is. A representative for him said, “Not only are these accusations a lie, he doesn’t even know who this guy is.”

It seems this could all be cleared up by reviewing the security video surveillance. Casinos and hotels always have cameras watching.

Source

Auntie Fee is known mostly for her tell-it-like-it-is approach to low-budget cooking as Chef Sista Girl on her YouTube channel, but soon she’ll be able to add actor to her résumé.

Auntie Fee not only auditioned for her film debut in Barbershop 3, but also landed a role. She will play mother to Anthony Anderson‘s J.D. And get this, the character’s name is Madea. Auntie Fee told TMZ that Tyler Perry is her idol.

The foul-mouthed chef-turned-thespian has even brought her delectable dishes to the set, says a family source.

The acting bug has hit Auntie Fee hard. She’s looking to secure more roles, even before her debut is released in February 2016.

Tracy Morgan, who suffered brain trauma resulting from a six vehicle accident almost a year ago, has reached a settlement with Walmart.

The driver of a Walmart truck was thought to have caused the crash, which left one dead.  Authorities investigating found that the truck driver, Kevin Roper, failed to slow for traffic ahead, causing him to swerve at the last minute to avoid the crash and hit the limo bus carrying Morgan and several other passengers.

“Walmart did right by me and my family, and for my associates and their families. I am grateful that the case was resolved amicably,” Tracy Morgan said.

From a Walmart press release:

“Walmart and Benedict P. Morelli, attorney for Tracy Morgan, Ardley Fuqua, and Jeffrey Millea, today announced a settlement agreement, ending a lawsuit against Walmart arising out of a multi-vehicle accident involving the men on June 7, 2014, on the New Jersey Turnpike. The terms and conditions of the settlement with Morgan and the other plaintiffs remain confidential.”

Walmart’s president and CEO of Walmart U.S. Greg Foran added, “Our thoughts continue to go out to everyone that was involved in the accident. While we know there is nothing that can change what happened, Walmart has been committed to doing what’s right to help ensure the well-being of all of those who were impacted by the accident. We worked closely with Mr. Morelli, and we are pleased to have reached an amicable settlement that ends this litigation. We are deeply sorry that one of our trucks was involved.”

This past March, the family of James McNair, one of the persons killed in the crash, accepted a $10 million settlement from Wal-Mart.

“Walmart and I worked diligently to reach this settlement for the plaintiffs and their families,” Morgan’s lawyer Benedict Morelli added. “Walmart took full responsibility for the accident, which we greatly appreciate.”

– Colby Carrington

Riley Curry, the daughter of Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and his foodie wife Ayesha, has cuteness on lock.  Last week she stole hearts (and caused a minor uproar), commanding everyone’s full attention while sitting on her dad’s lap during a post-game interview.

Last night, during another post-game interview following the Warriors’ win over Houston, all eyes were again on Riley as she interrupted her dad to sing “Blessings” by Drake and by playing a game of hide-under-the-curtain.  Even Steph had to chuckle at one point, saying, “I think she’s taking advantage of the moment for sure. She’s way too comfortable.”

Watch her take over the press conference as only Riley Curry can.

Even Drake is a fan of the pint-sized wonder.

Way way way

A video posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on May 27, 2015 at 10:14pm PDT

-Colby C.

Notice anything about the image above? The only Black faces at the Tidal headquarters are Jay Z‘s and Beyoncé‘s.

When it came to Black subscribers balking at the price of the streaming service, Jay felt completely comfortable calling out Black people for not supporting his “Black-owned” business with the same vigor as we apparently support Google, Apple, Nike, etc. But when it came to the hiring process, Jay completely forgot about us and women — Black or otherwise.

Here’s a reminder, Jay, increasing diversity in the workplace is a factor of making progress.

While no rational person, Black or white, would expect Jay to have a team of only Black folks, it’s rather suspicious that he couldn’t find one Black, qualified job candidate for Tidal in 2015. OK it’s true that Norway, which hosts the Tidal HQ, has a Black population of about 2 percent. However, business is so global that applicants wouldn’t necessarily need to be living in Norway to interview for the job.

All we can do now is wait for Jay Z to respond or not …

Michelle Cooks, a mother from Barstow, CA, had frightening encounter with local police and the incident was caught by the officer’s body cam.

The video starts with the officers speaking to another woman, who is white, about why she called them from the school parking lot.  The first woman, who never identifies herself or is asked to, explained that she and Cooks got into a verbal disagreement over a parking space.  The woman reiterates that she was frightened by their argument. An officer visually inspects the outside of the car and verbally confirms there was no damage done and that it didn’t seem that any crime had been committed.  He then says he’ll go speak to Cooks but it is likely that it will be a case of she-said vs. she-said.

The officer approaches Cooks, who was eight months pregnant at the time, to get her side of the story and eventually asks her name.  Cooks, refuses to shares her name on the grounds that it’s not mandatory but the officer rebukes her.  She asks for a moment to double check whether or not she is legally required to and proceeds to make a phone call while the officer asks her how long the verification will take, insisting that he does have the right to take her name.  Cooks tells the officer her name is Michelle and continues with the call as he continues to pester her about her surname. A few moments later, the officer reaches for her arms, and with his partner, forces them behind her back so they can handcuff her.  Cooks screams that she is pregnant and begs them to let her go, at which point they roughly wrestle her to the ground, stomach down.  She was charged with resisting arrest on January 26.

The city of Barstow, defended its officers in a statement, saying they acted properly. “It is apparent that Ms. Cook actively resisted arrest,” the statement reads.

At an April 23 hearing, a judge dismissed the charge due to insufficient evidence.

Jessica Price of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, notes, “A lot of people are going to look at this and going to say there is some level of racial profiling and bias going on here,” Price said.

In an article on the ACLU website, Price goes into further detail:

“Cooks should not have been arrested for failure to identify herself.

A person who is not suspected of a crime has no obligation to identify herself. Even if an officer is conducting an investigation, in California (unlike some other states), he can’t just require a person to provide ID for no reason. The officer can ask for ID, but the person can say no. Cooks said no, and she was wrongfully charged with resisting a peace officer. With the exceptions above, California law does not require you to provide identification to police. What happened here was wrong, and if the Barstow Police follow the new training, it should not happen again.”

Price also notes, “It’s important to note here that if you do exercise your right to refuse to show your ID, an officer might arrest you. It would be a wrongful arrest, but it would be an arrest.”

Cooks recounts how terrified she was during the incident, telling CNN that she felt “like an animal, like a monster, like I didn’t exist, like I was not human.”

“I felt like he took her word over mine automatically,” she said. “He automatically assumed I was guilty. I was in unbelievable pain. I felt they killed my baby already.”

Cooks gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Olive in March.  She is still traumatized by whole ordeal and wants to move away from Barstow.

– Colby C.

Comedian-actor Reynaldo Rey passed away on May 28, 2015. He was 75.

Rey’s manager Vanzil Burke confirmed to the AP that the Sequoyah County, Oklahoma native died at a Los Angeles hospital from complications from a stroke he suffered about a year ago.

Rey had been a teacher before going into showbiz. He was a member of the Harlem Theater Group, according to the biography on his website. He began his career as a stand-up comedian, opening for Redd Foxx. He later moved onto film and television, and has reportedly appeared in 52 movies.

Rey is probably most familiar to my generation as Ray the mailman on 227, but his career spanned 30 years and he’s appeared in many cult classics like, Harlem Nights, Friday, White Men Can’t Jump, and House Party 3.

Rey also had roles on Everybody Hates Chris; Sister, Sister; and The Parent ‘Hood. He also brought his style of comedy to BET’s ComicView.

Rey is survived by his 96-year old mother, Lillian Murray; wife, Evelyn; daughter Harla Major; and sons Golden Rey and Todd Murphy.

Need a family vacation? Want to tour the world with your family? Then, keep reading.

The Hangzhou Tourism Commission recently launched its Global Tour 2015 social media campaign, which will send one American family, one Chinese family, and a media “Storyteller” on a free 30-day trip around the globe from July 24th through August 22nd.

Families wishing to enter can submit a short, yet captivating video convincing the public and a panel of judges why they should be selected for the trip. Once chosen, the two families will be accompanied by a member of the media to start the trip with seven days in Hangzhou, which is known for its perfect blend of traditional and modern China. The rest of the stops will coincide with the ancient Silk Road as participants make their way west. The trip will culminate in New York City on August 22nd.

Go to GlobalTour2015.com to begin the application process. And good luck, or as they say in Mandarin, hǎo yùn!

[Image: Shutterstock]

A college student from UC Irvine shared a racist sign posted in her apartment building which specifically called out black residents for being too loud.  Instagram user Teyent_thequeenb, a resident of Toscana Apartments in Irvine, CA,  took this photo of a sign in her elevator.

I found this in my elevator a few minutes ago. Lord give me strength to finish school in Irvine I’m still not sure if my eyes are playing tricks on me.I needed @lexxn__ to help me out and read it again

A photo posted by TT (@teyent_theequeenb) on May 28, 2015 at 11:28pm PDT

In a subsequent post, Teyent noted, “After checking about 8 elevators in different buildings, those 2 were ONLY posted in my building! Call me crazy but it’s only about 8 people or less I’ve seen that are black in my building so what’s really the issue?”

Several local commenters didn’t seem surprised by such a memo, suggesting that such racist overtures are not uncommon in Irvine. Others pointed out the possibility that the signs didn’t come from management, but instead came from racist pranksters.  User kidgonz asked, “Has anyone verified if this in fact was printed by the apartments or possibly some a**hole with a printer?”

In the comments section of the student’s Instagram post, this message from the official Instagram account for UC Irvine appeared, “Toscana Apartments are not affiliated with UC Irvine and we do not condone the message in this flyer. The University is also addressing this issue with the apartment management and the City of Irvine.”

There was also a comment from Equity Residential’s account, denying that the signs were posted by management and promising to investigate.

–Colby C.

Kim Kardashian dropped some major news on last night’s episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.  She and husband Kanye West are expecting baby number two.  And if the interwebs has its way, South West is what we’ll be calling the newborn.

Kardashian has been very transparent about how difficult it’s been to conceive. Earlier this month, she admitted to E!News, “We are trying. We try every single day. You can’t try harder than we try. It’s getting exhausting. He always says, ‘Trying for baby No. 2 isn’t as fun as trying to baby No. 1.'”

At one point, Kardashian was rumored to be considering a surrogate. The announcement comes almost two years to the day their daughter North West was born.

The pregnancy isn’t slowing down the mom to be.  This week she’s on the road performing brand ambassador duties for Hype Energy Drink. She’s revealing the relaunch of her website this summer, as well as the relaunch of DASH, the women’s apparel  chain founded by Kim, Khloe and Kourtney in 2006.

– Colby C.

It’s been nearly a year since Tracy Morgan was injured in a fatal auto collision that claimed the life of his friend and fellow comedian James McNair, and now he’s speaking out. Monday, Morgan sat down with Matt Lauer on TODAY to pay tribute to his friend and discuss the crash.

“I can’t believe I’m here. I can’t believe I’m in front of you,” Morgan told Lauer, as he was overcome with emotion. “I can’t believe I’m just here, and just seeing the tragedy that happened. It touches me.”

Last week, Morgan settled with Walmart for the June 7, 2014 collision. Morgan and several friends were driving in a limousine on the New Jersey Turnpike when a Walmart truck rear-ended their vehicle. Morgan suffered debilitating injuries: a broken leg, several broken ribs and severe brain trauma. Two other passengers in the limousine also suffered severe injuries. McNair was killed.

“The case is settled, but the pain is always going to be there for Jimmy Mac,” Morgan expressed. “Bones heal, but the loss of my friend will never heal.”

Although the anniversary of the car crash is coming up, Morgan, who says he doesn’t remember the actual accident, is still affected by his injuries. He still requires the assistance of a cane to walk, among other issues.

“There are times where I have my good day and my bad days, where I forget things,” he said. “There are times where I get the headaches, and the nose bleeds. I won’t even let my lady know because I don’t want her to be worried about it.”

But through all his suffering, it’s clear the biggest loss has been his friend McNair.

“He was a close friend of mine, a comrade in comedy. He was a loving man, and he was a warm man. He was a good man. It’s just hard for me to see that he’s gone.”

Watch the touching interview below.

Source

And the winners are … Taraji P. Henson and Lorraine Toussaint!

On Sunday, the best in television were honored during the 2015 Critics’ Choice TV Awards. Henson took home the prize for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Cookie on FOX’s Empire. Toussaint won for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Orange is the New Black.

This was a big year for Henson. Empire skyrocketed to the top of the TV ratings in its first season. And her character Cookie, from her lust-worthy wardrobe to her one-line zingers, is definitely a fan favorite. And now, she’s the first Black woman to win the Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series award.

Henson showed her appreciation for the Critics’ Choice TV Award with a to-the-point Instagram post.

WOW! #GodIs " class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />

A photo posted by taraji p henson (@tarajiphenson) on May 31, 2015 at 7:26pm PDT

An hour later she demonstrated her appreciation for all the support.

HA! The love in the room from SO MANY I look up too and appreciate. Soooooo overwhelming. #GodIs #CriticsChoiceAwards2015 Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!! A photo posted by taraji p henson (@tarajiphenson) on May 31, 2015 at 7:37pm PDT

Toussaint won the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Vee in season 2 of Orange is the New Black. She was nominated against Christine Baranski from CBS’s The Good Wife, Joelle Carter from FX’s Justified, Carrie Coon from HBO’s The Leftovers, Katheryn Winnick from History’s Vikings, and Mae Whitman from NBC’s Parenthood.

She accepted the award in person and gave a passionate speech.

“Thank you so much to the Critics’ Association. Thank you to Netflix — who — you’ve revolutionized the way in which we absorb entertainment,” she said. She went on to thank the various people in her life, as well as Orange Is the New Black show runner Jenji Kohan.

“Thank you to Jenji Kohan who wrote and continues to write extraordinary words to me,” Toussaint said. “And thank you Jenji for all the spaces around the words that you left for me to fill.”

She also addressed the critics.

“To the critics, you know I’ve never believed you, [they] say ‘don’t read the critics. ‘Cause if you read them when they say you’re good you’re gonna believe them when they say you’re bad’ but tonight, damn it, I believe you!”

Vanity Fair is getting a jump on summer by revealing their July 2015 cover featuring Caitlyn Jenner (fka Bruce Jenner).  The magazine just tweeted the new cover, using the hashtag, #CallMeCaitlyn.

Jenner was photographed by Annie Leibovitz, with the former wearing a cream corset at her Malibu home.  There’s been much speculation about Jenner’s transformation from man to woman, in particular what name she would select and when the big reveal was to happen.   E!, home to reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, has been documenting Jenner’s new life as a woman in a docuseries set to premiere in July.

Jenner tells cover story author Buzz Bissinger, “If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, ‘You just blew your entire life.’ ”

Watch a behind the scenes clip from the Vanity Fair shoot below. What do you think about Caitlyn Jenner’s debut?

-Colby C.

The CFDA Fashion Awards annually honor top designers in the industry.  But this is one ceremony where less attention is paid to who won and more attention is given to who wore what.

The red carpet at the 2015 CFDA Fashion awards last night at Alice Tully Hall in New York didn’t disappoint on the fashion front, nor was there a lack of zany moments.  From Taraji P. Henson to Kim Kardashian West to June Ambrose, here is a look back at the night in pictures.

Shout out to Pharrell & Helen who saved my life last night! LOL After the awards at dinner the feathers of my dress caught on fire from a candle & they jumped on me to get it out! #WereOn

A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Jun 2, 2015 at 6:24am PDT

Pharrell and Helen saved three lives last night, Kim’s, Kanye’s and that of their soon-to-come new arrival.

@tarajiphenson wears #VeraWangCollection to the 2015 @CFDA Fashion Awards. #tarajiphenson will present the Accessories Award at this year’s ceremony. #CFDAAwards #verawang A photo posted by Vera Wang (@verawanggang) on Jun 1, 2015 at 6:26pm PDT

Taraji P. Henson in Vera Wang

Date night! A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Jun 1, 2015 at 10:42pm PDT

Kim Kardashian (in Proenza Schouler) and Kanye West, well before her dress caught on fire.

  Plunging @Calvinklein #cfdaawards A photo posted by Joan Smalls (@joansmalls) on Jun 2, 2015 at 6:00am PDT

Joan Smalls wears Calvin Klein

Why not interview @xobetseyjohnson while doing the splits? I mean, I’m a lady. #CFDAawards @vanessamcryan A photo posted by Alicia L Quarles (@alicialquarles) on Jun 1, 2015 at 4:24pm PDT

Alicia Quarles and Betsey Johnson, winner of the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, go low for an interview.

  my dates #cfdaawards #cfda @cfda   A photo posted by Jhené 3:16 sailing NOT selling (@jheneaiko) on Jun 1, 2015 at 7:31pm PDT

Diane Krueger, Prabal Gurang and Jhene Aiko

Let the celebration of my season begin.. Hit the @cfda awards scene repping for my eyewear partner @selimaoptique in a @zac_posen gown, @drawbertson art on my turban & #mcqueen clutch! Photo captured by @alicialquarles A photo posted by June Ambrose (@juneambrose) on Jun 1, 2015 at 5:44pm PDT

June Ambrose transformed into the dancing lady emoji, in a Zac Posen gown, Brian Atwood shoes and Alexander McQueen clutch.

  #JanelleMonae & #TadashiShoji #CFDA #CFDAAwards #Fashion #Awards A photo posted by MONÁEDROID ⚡ Φ Β (@monaedroid) on Jun 1, 2015 at 10:29pm PDT

Janelle Monae looks almost Cercei-like in a caped number by Tadashi. (Plus Christian Louboutin sandals and an Edie Parker clutch)

Was an honor tonight to attend the @Cfda awards! …so inspirational! Wearing @publicschoolnyc @chanelofficial @Swarovski A photo posted by TINASHE (@tinashenow) on Jun 1, 2015 at 8:06pm PDT

Tinashe in Public School.

  And we’re off! #CFDAAwards #tracyreese   A photo posted by Tracy Reese (@tracy_reese) on Jun 1, 2015 at 4:27pm PDT

Designer Tracy Reese

Thank you @CFDA for Fashion Icon of The Year Award and to my brother Kanye for the warm, inspiring introduction. I’m truly honored. #CFDAAwards

A photo posted by Pharrell Williams (@pharrell) on Jun 1, 2015 at 9:15pm PDT

Pharrell wins Fashion Icon of The Year Award

“For Black women, we just have to be open because there’s not a lot of eligible bachelors, that are Black, for us to choose from anymore. If you take away the ones that are gay, in jail, this is a real issue. Statistics show why we don’t have the choices. You take the ones that are gay, in jail, don’t have a job, the ones that are already married and the ones that are dating and marrying outside our race, what do you have left? You don’t have much to choose from. The nicest thing is that you have options.”

— Kenya Moore speaks exclusively to Hello Beautiful about dating and endorses the stereotype that most Black men are either in jail, gay, or unemployed. Of course, Kenya’s track record of lying doesn’t have anything to do with her being single. Kenya gave this interview at a time when it wasn’t known that her Millionaire Matchmaker boyfriend was actually married to another woman. Do you agree with Kenya’s dating advice and the reasoning behind it?

RELATED: Kenya Moore Gets Shaded By Ex BF’s New Wife

RELATED: Kenya Moore Sounds Off About Her Married Boyfriend

[Image: Rolling Out]

Nick Young made good on his word that he’d be getting married one day by proposing to his girlfriend of almost two years, Iggy Azalea. The couple was celebrating Young’s 30th birthday when he dropped to one knee and popped the question.  The giddy proposal – and ‘yes’ – was captured on video.

Swaggy P celebrated his birthday tonight by popping the question to his girlfriend Iggy! pic.twitter.com/mF3W5eRau2

— Karεn Ciѵil (@KarenCivil) June 2, 2015

Young, a 6’6″ guard for the LA Lakers, collaborated on the design with jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills. The yellow diamond clocks in at 10.43 carats and is valued at $500,000. And clearly, his “Fancy” rapper girlfriend is over the moon about it.

Happiest Day #Isaidyes A photo posted by Iggy Azalea (@thenewclassic) on Jun 2, 2015 at 12:54am PDT

Azalea (nee Amethyst Amelia Kelly) was most recently in the news for canceling her “Great Escape” American tour. The Australian musician revealed the reason for last week’s cancellation in a Seventeen interview, saying, “I’ve had a different creative change of heart. I want to start totally anew, and if I stayed on my tour, that would mean I wouldn’t even be able to start working on that until after Christmas. On top of that, mentally, to be honest with you, I just feel I deserve a break. I’ve been going non-stop for the past two years, nearly every single day.”

It certainly looks like she’ll be able to focus on the wedding planning, although it might not feel much like the ‘break’ she’s looking for.

-Colby C.

On May 29th, the remains of University of Pennsylvania track star Timothy Hamlett were found in the Hudson River, which separates New York and New Jersey. Hamlett, who is from Teaneck, New Jersey, went missing on Dec. 26th after leaving his family’s home. After he vanished, his parents said his behavior changed drastically after he started taking male enhancement pills to heal from an injury.

On Monday, his parents posted a death announcement on Facebook. “It is with heavy, heavy hearts that we share that Timothy Akil Hamlett’s remains were removed from the Hudson River on Friday, May 29, 2015,” wrote his mother, Katherine Frink-Hamlett.

The Hamletts spoke to the Daily Beast earlier this year and revealed that they saw a change in their son in 2013, when he suffered a leg injury during a track meet and began to self-medicate. He took a cocktail of supplements he ordered from Amazon and eBay, identified as Cordyceps, a fungus extracted from caterpillars in China; and pills such as Vitalikor Male Enhancement, Big Jim, and the Twins Male Enhancement Formula. When his father asked his reason for taking the pills, Hamlett reportedly answered, “It’s not banned.”

The supplement regimen seemed to be working for Hamlett. But his coaches added to the pressure on him when they switched him to the 800m race from the 400m. He began skipping classes, became isolated and disengaged, and began experiencing a “‘a supplement-induced psychosis,” as Frink-Hamlett labeled the condition. His parents ultimately removed him from school, as a result of his issues.

But being home didn’t seem to help. Hamlett was arrested for throwing bricks at houses and cars in his neighborhood. He was charged with third-degree aggravated assault and criminal mischief.

“Our son did not experience any issues until he started taking these supplements,” Frink-Hamlett, an attorney, told the Daily Beast.

“And people look at us cross-eyed and I know there’s a lot of skepticism. But if you look at the history he goes all the way through school – no issues whatsoever and then he starts taking these supplements and everything in his life, literally everything in his life changes.”

It is believed Hamlett committed suicide.

Source

Married to Medicine returns for season 3 on Sunday, June 7th, with more drama. Quad Webb-Lunceford tries to dig out Lisa Nicole Cloud‘s skeletons in the closet by hiring a private investigator. Toya Bush-Harris and Dr. Simone Whitmore go head-to-head when the season 2 reunion is brought up. Basically, there are more whoop-ass checks being written than prescriptions. Check out the trailer above and a clip below, and let us know whether you’ll tune in Sunday for Married to Medicine on Bravo at 9 p.m.