By Franny Crooks

Twitter has been around for well over five years now and within this time you would think that people would catch on to the what to dos and the what not to dos. There are more than 300 million people who engage in tweeting everyday, but there’s an art to it that most people just have not got the hang of yet. If there were such thing as Twitter Jail, it would be over-populated with people who just do not know how to use the social network. There are unspoken laws to follow when it comes to Twitter and tweeting. Here is a warning: Avoid these violations or you may land in Twitter Jail.

Legendary “At Last” singer Etta James has died at age 73 after her battle with leukemia.

According to her close friend and manager Lupe De Leon, James died at a hospital in Riverside, Calif. with her husband, Artis Mills, and sons by her side.

“This is a tremendous loss for the family, her friends and fans around the world,” De Leon said. “She was a true original who could sing it all– her music defied category. I worked with Etta for over 30 years. She was my friend and I will miss her always.”

James  was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010 and also suffered from dementia and hepatitis C.

Known as “Miss Peaches,” James produced hits such as “The Wallflower (Roll With Me, Henry),” “Something’s Got A Hold On Me,” ”I’d Rather Go Blind” and the classic ballad “At Last.” Over her career, she garnered six Grammys, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, Blues Hall of Fame and Rockabilly Hall of Fame. She also has a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame and was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the James family during this difficult time.

SOURCE

Courtesy of The Frisky

I hate getting dumped. But I hate doing the dumping even more. I’ll take a breakup text any day of the week over having to send one. Not that I would EVER dump someone via text, even though I’ve been dumped that way. LAME. But I digress. I know how to deal with getting dumped. I have a lot of … experience, shall we say, as dumpee. Getting dumped is a piece of cake! You get angry. You get sad. You mutter expletives to yourself on the subway, listen to The Smiths non-stop for a week and think about how you really didn’t like the way he kissed anyway. Then you move on. Being the dumper is way, way trickier though. Why? Because it challenges your view of yourself as a good person. For a moment, you are forced be the asshole breaking someone’s heart. No way around it. it sucks. The guilt, the avoidance of that “asshole” feeling, has led me to perform some heinous dumpings. But I’ve learned from my mistakes. After the jump, some tips about how to end a relationship while remaining a decent human being.

1. Real men and women do it face to face. I alluded to some of my heinous dumpings above. Let me be more specific. I once hid in the laundry room of my dorm for three days to avoid having the “I don’t want to be with you anymore” conversation with my high school boyfriend. I HID! I camped out in a laundry room! I am ashamed of this. But there, I admitted it. I feel liberated. Since then, my courage balls, as I like to call them, have grown quite a bit and I’ve learned that you have to face the music when ending a relationship. The bravest thing you can do when performing a dumping is sit face to face with the human being whose heart you are demolishing and have the guts to tell them that things aren’t working. In my experience, being dumped in this fashion makes the relationship easier to get over because he isn’t left wondering where you went for three days and why you returned covered in lint. If you care or cared for someone, respect them enough to look them in the eye and tell them you don’t want to have a long distance relationship at age 17.

Continue reading at The Frisky

Courtesy of The Root

As most can imagine, not everyone swooned over Amber Rose singing about the burdens of quasi-celebrity on her debut single, “Fame.” However, that hasn’t stopped the model and TV personality (otherwise known as rap’s most famous girlfriend) from making plans to release a follow-up, “Loaded.” This attempt at a musical career might seem strange, but Amber comes from a long line of celebrities who don’t seem to have any business singing but do so anyway.

Here’s a look back at some of the worst turns from non-singing stars…

Continue at The Root!

Courtesy of Hello Beautiful

“Kush rolled, glass full; I prefer the better things,” tweeted Rihanna as she sat perched on a boulder in Hawaii. The Talk That Talk singer was quoting a common lyric from friend, Drake–who was referring to a potent grade of marijuana made popular by Wiz Khalifa. Photos of Rihanna actually smoking, later surfaced.

Critics of Rihanna might argue that this attributes to her “Good Girl Gone Bad” image which is only in addition to her drinking, short-lasting relationships and sometimes vulgar language. Of all the Rihannaisms that occur on a day to day basis, smoking weed should be the least of our concerns!

***Contemporary uses of marijuana and cannabis are as recreational drug, as religious rite, as spiritual rite, and as medicine.***

5. It distracts her from liquor

Rihanna has been known to go on a few drunken rants brought to our attention via Twitter. The singer has been seen stumbling out of restaurants and taking shots on stage. She was even boo’d one time while in concert for being too raunchy. None-the-less, marijuana might give her liver some much needed rest.

Continue reading at Hello Beautiful

The news of Etta James’ passing has saddened the music and entertainment world alike. Beyonce, who portrayed James in 2008′s Cadillac Records, released this statement through her official website to mourn the loss of the legendary singer.

“This is a huge loss. Etta James was one of the greatest vocalists of our time. I am so fortunate to have met such a queen. Her musical contributions will last a lifetime. Playing Etta James taught me so much about myself, and singing her music inspired me to be a stronger artist. When she effortlessly opened her mouth, you could hear her pain and triumph. Her deeply emotional way of delivering a song told her story with no filter. She was fearless, and had guts. She will be missed.”

And the love doesn’t stop there. Celebrities have been sending their condolences throughout the day from Russell Simmon’s tweet ”Our contributions to this earth are never erased…the spirit lives on… RIP Etta James” to Gabrielle Union stating, “We lost another treasure.”

James was truly revered and will be missed.

Check out more of what celebrities are saying in the celebration of Etta’s life over at Essence.com.

One thing is certain, stars love their ink!

But can you guess which celebrity sports which tattoo?

By Hayat Mohamed

Regardless of how common cheating is these days, most women you talk to often admit they never could imagine it happening to them. But what happens when it does? Do you sit around and mope over your lost love, or does your devious scorned mind begin to plot?

A summer article in Psychology Today highlighted the benefits of revenge and came to the conclusion that getting back at the person who has scorned you can actually be good for you. We think the following ladies on our list can agree with that study. Here are some of the most notable and creative ways women have decided to get even.

***DISCLAIMER: We do not suggest you try doing any of the things mentioned on this list – mostly due to legal reasons — but we do hope you get a kick out of it.***

The winter months bring with them an unique opportunity for us to hibernate and reflect. Rest is imperative for healing and rejuvenation. Winter is the opportune time to get the “me” time you deserve. There are so many faculties at work within your system on an everyday basis. You work mentally. You work physically. You work spiritually. You work emotionally. With conscious rest, you ready yourself to be in optimum shape to fulfill your purpose: to live!

We are bombarded with advice and suggestions everyday. Our subconscious mind remembers everything. Take the time to digest the information by reflecting mentally, spiritually, physically and emotionally. Begin to identify your intuition … your voice inside that  knows things from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning. As you quiet the outside noise, your intuition is likely to heighten. Trust yourself and this process. You are wiser than you think.

A good way to connect with intuition is through meditation. We quiet our minds and allow the wisdom to flow.

“Rest, for action is most appreciated after the calm.” — Finding Your Way: Alphabetical Keys to the Divine.

In honor of getting the rest we deserve, click here to view our Well-Life Maintenance Goals for January.

Welcome to Uplift at UPTOWN. If you are just joining us this week, my name is Anita Kopacz. I am an author and spiritual adviser with a passion to see people thrive! Collective energy possesses a divine power that can remove stubborn obstacles and open locked doors. My intention is to join our UPTOWN family in spirit and forge our return to healthy living. With the Well-Life Maintenance Program, together we will take small steps in four areas of our lives to improve our quality of living. The four areas include Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, and Physical. You can find more in my new book,Finding Your Way: Alphabetical Keys to the Divine. 

Kobe Bryant‘s soon-to-be ex-wife Vanessa Bryant is in high demand, but not only by eager bachelors waiting to scoop her up.

Producers for VH1′s wildly popular series Basketball Wives are feverishly putting together “an extremely lucrative pitch for Vanessa” in hopes she will be the show’s newest recurring character.

In previous seasons, the Basketball Wives’ budget wasn’t big enough to support such an in-demand spouse. Yet with the success of its original cast in Miami and spin-off in Los Angeles, the show has more than enough money to make Vanessa a generous offer.

Sources say the 27-year-old mother of two would take the lead on the L.A. edition and “[she] has more than enough storyline and would bring the show to another level.”

Just last week, Vanessa scored half of the couple’s assets– around $75 million– and all three of their homes in the Newport Beach area.

It’s rare that a white man will get behind an all-black production, especially a film that shows a real and raw account of racism, the remnants of which still exist today, but George Lucas is that man. For 23 long years, Lucas tried to get the Tuskegee Airmen flick Red Tails made, but Hollywood didn’t see the profitability of an all-black cast. But just like Kelsey Grammar with “Girlfriends” or Steven Spielberg distributing The Help, Lucas stood by his production, funding a majority of the film out of his own pocket. The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is definitely worth hearing and seeing, but here are eight more reasons you should see Red Tails:

In a recent Q&A session at the Sundance festival in Utah, director Spike Lee had a few things to get off his chest involving his upcoming film, Red Hook Summer.

“Please tell [viewers] that this is not a [explicit] sequel to ‘Do the Right Thing’,” he said in joking, yet stern manner.

Lee revealed he worked on the film (shot in 19 days) without the financial backing of a big Hollywood studio because “they” just don’t get us. He said:

“We never went to the studios with this film. [...] We said, ‘Were gonna do this [explicit] film ourselves and show it at Sundance. [...] This whole thing was planned out. [...] They know nothing about black people. And they gonna give me notes about what a young black boy and girl gonna do in Red Hook? [Explicit] no! We had to do it ourselves.”

The Hollywood Reporter describes Lee’s latest project as:

“A coming of age story about Flick (Jules Brown). A preteen private-school student, he is sent against his wishes from his comfortable Atlanta home to spend the summer in a Red Hook housing project with the grandfather he’s never met. That would be Bishop Enoch Rouse (Clarke Peters), a fulminating Baptist preacher determined to deliver the Lord to his sullen grandson. Why this extended visit seemed like a good idea to Flick’s mother (De’Adre Aziza) is a mystery given her icy-cold rapport with the Bishop.

Conscripted to go help fix up the under-attended church, Flick finds some salvation in his friendship with feisty young congregation member Chazz (Tony Lysaith). Her mother (Heather Alicia Simms) is a church trustee who has long been fishing for a marriage proposal from the evasive Bishop Enoch.

As Flick gets to know the neighborhood, documenting his discoveries on his iPad, Lee and co-screenwriter James McBride stuff talking points into the mouths of their characters. These include encroaching gentrification; the decimation of African American neighborhoods by drugs, crime and AIDS; street gangs; impotent police; unemployment; income inequality; healthcare; the elation of seeing a black man elected President, and the disillusionment over the promised change that never materialized.”

Red Hook Summer will screen Tuesday at Sundance at 8:30 a.m. MST, with additional showings on Saturday.

Cancel the cake. Aretha Franklin has called off her wedding.

According to the Associated Press, The Queen of Soul released a statement Monday saying she and former fiancé Willie Wilkerson will not be making that magical walk down the aisle.

Franklin said things were moving too fast and “a number of things” had not been thought through. She adds she won’t be commenting on the matter because of “the very personal and sensitive nature of it.”

There is no word on if the couple are still together.

Franklin announced her engagement Jan. 2 after the proposal over the holidays.

by Kevin Powell

Dear President Obama:

I pray that you, Michelle, and your daughters are well during these very difficult times in America’s history. It has been three momentous years since you swept into the presidency of the United States on a wave of hope and change, and God knows you, and our nation, have been through much in that time. There is no denying, Mr. President, that your place in history is secure simply because you inspired a nation and an entire planet to say “Yes we can” and believe, in our core, that anything is possible if we come together as a people—all people. Indeed, sir, your very being symbolizes the majestic heights any of us can reach if we simply try. But even on that Tuesday night in November 2008, as I held a party, as many of us did globally, to celebrate your victory—our victory—and the DJ cued up Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” something in me said this was as good as it was going to get. That, like Dr. King after his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in August 1963, you would never see this level of popularity and mass adoration again. I had no idea what was going to happen to you, but I did sense a return to reality for most of us, and to the business at hand.

And what business you inherited: a devastated economy near collapse; a broken health-care system; a nation increasingly divided by race, class, region, and political ideology; a people, Americans, desperately seeking a savior. Absolutely no one person, no one man or woman, could meet those great expectations.

You have, Mr. President, had some major victories along the way, be it the passage of the health-care bill—watered down or not, no president before you had ever achieved such landmark legislation. You have provided some relief to homeowners, to middle-class and poor people, to small businesses. You got “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repealed as the official policy on homosexuals serving in the American military. You’ve signed into law new educational funding for persons with disabilities. You appointed the first Latina to the U.S. Supreme Court, and with your hiring of blacks, Latinos, and gays, you have perhaps the most diverse and inclusive presidential administration ever. You signed a nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia, putting off potential nuclear war, we hope, for another generation at least. You signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers. You have forcefully challenged banks, corporations, and the wealthy in America to pay their fair share toward our national economic crisis. And you’ve led an administration largely free of scandal, which is rare in American presidential history.

Courtesy of NewsOne

NEW YORK — Since its beginnings in the 1970s, rap music has transformed from an underground, street-based sound to a definitive part of pop culture, transcending race and becoming one of the strongest — and most prolific — voices of today’s generation. But at the Grammy Awards, rap has had a long-lasting losing streak in the top categories.

The hip-hop sound — first recognized at the 1989 Grammys — has garnered numerous prestigious nominations over the years, and for 10 of the last 14 years, rap acts have either led or tied for most Grammy nominations. But rarely will a hip-hop act win one of the show’s top four honors — album, song and record of the year, along with best new artist. Instead, rap acts tend to win rap awards.

50 Cent, who won his first and only Grammy two years ago, believes Grammy voters are out-of-touch and need a fresh outlook on what’s going on in contemporary music.

“I think that the board is a lot older and they’re conservative, so some of the content in the music is offensive on some level,” said 50 Cent, who famously interrupted Evanescence’s best new artist speech by walking onstage when he lost to the rock group in 2004. “There’s a lot of people that don’t accept that hip-hop culture is now pop culture.”

Continue at NewsOne!

Is there any avenue Diddy won’t take? Music. Clothing. Broadway. Fragrances. Liquor. And now, a cable network.

Related: Is it Better to be Diddy’s Girl/Baby Mama Than Signed to His Label?

Word around town is that the 42-year-old media mogul is working on a music-themed cable network called Revolt to be launched by the end of the year (12/12/12).

According to Broadcast & Cable, Revolt is described as a “music and music news channel with an urban skew.” Sources say the aim is to create a network reminiscent of the old MTV, but for the African-American audience.

As a part of its commitment to the FCC to launch minority-owned networks, Comcast will provide distribution. It is also reported Time Warner Cable will be involved with the Revolt distribution as well.

Although Diddy hasn’t released an official statement, we’re guessing this is one of his “major announcements” for 2012. He told AdWeek in December:

“[...] Twelve months ago, I basically relocated to L.A. I still live in New York, but I’m bi-coastal. I have some major announcements at the top of the year on things I’m producing—an announcement that’s bigger than anyone can realize on something I’m acquiring. And also, films that I’m starring in. I’m looking forward to 2012; it’s a huge transition for me out of music onto the big screen and continuing my legacy as a producer. You know, I’m one of the most successful African-American television executive producers in history. I’ve had six shows on the air at one time. I don’t say that in a braggadocio way. But you should definitely remember this conversation and look back at it and say, ‘I remember he told me he was going to make some huge announcements.’”

Impressive.

By Demetria L. Lucas

Some version of this question comes up almost daily on my Formspring feed where I mainly answer questions about dating/ relationships (16,000 questions answered and counting). There’s often a woman who agreed to do something — go on vacation, tag along to a party, play wing woman on date — and now doesn’t want to, or can’t because of a schedule conflict or a financial setback. They want to know how to get out of it without hurting the friend’s feelings, or perhaps worse, incurring their wrath, so they suggest lying instead.

The lie, of course, is a short-term convenience, a tool some women are using to avoid acknowledging bad communication in their friendships. Those women also aren’t thinking of long-term consequences of avoiding the truth. (And I only say women because most of the women seeking advice on friendships are women. As such, I can’t speak for the guys on this one.)

Courtesy of Madame Noire

I was 15 at the time when my dad decided that he wanted to have a impromptu heart to heart while sitting in his caroutside of his house.  I was visiting him for the summer in his home of Harrisburg, which is about 100 miles away from my home base of Philadelphia.  Since I only got to see my father once or twice a year, he was taken aback by a number of changes I had undergone since our last visit. At that age, we were virtual strangers to each other. He couldn’t understand my style of dress, my choice of slang and why I chose to sit in the house instead of  going out and, in his words, do something.  However, his lecture for that early evening zeroed in on my taste of music.

“You know, one day you are going to realize that all that rap stuff just isn’t real music,” he said, as he pulled the car up to the curb. “You are going to recognize that this is just a phase and that you will grow up and have better taste in music. It’s time to mature and let go of all this hip hop stuff.” I remember I was angry with my dad.  I didn’t understand where any of this was coming from. And I felt really defensive for the way in which he had nonchalantly dismissed my choice of music because it didn’t fit his ideals of real music.  But being a typical teenager, riddled with teenage angst and the inability to express thoughts outside of sucking teeth and a blase “whatever,” I just roll my eyes and hummed the lyrics to Wu Tang’s Protect Ya Neck.

Nineteen years later, I’m driving my own car now, and despite my dad’s calculations, still banging with hip-hop. However I’d be lying if I said that I’m still that 15-year-old kid.  As I’m in my car, listening to Nicki Minaj do voice fluctuations through Stupid Hoe on the radio, I can hear my dad’s voice in my head asking, is this what we call music now?

I want to give Minaj the benefit of the doubt, mainly because she is the only female emcee repping in a world heavily laced with testosterone.  So I have tried very hard to like her music. I really have. Her weird, childish animations and voices and her eccentric outfits and performances appealed to the quirky Black girl in me, who wished she had the guts to walk around in colorful wigs and pink tutus. But listening to her mocking the “nappy headed,” in contrast of her kitchen being “good” and calling another female rapper that “n****’s monkey,” doesn’t sit well with me. All I can think about is the message that it sends to young black girls everywhere and that little girl with the big voice on Ellen, who happily belted out Super Bass along side her idol.

Continue reading at Madame Noire

Not to downplay the MANY accolades Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer have already scored this awards season, but the pair have now been nominated by the big dogs: The Academy Awards.

Related: ‘The Help’ Cleans Up, Again

Davis has, yet again, been nominated for Best Actress as Aibileen Clark in The Help. She’s up against veteran Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Rooney Mara (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Michelle Williams (A Week With Marilyn) and Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs).

Spencer, who recently won a Golden Globe, is up for Best Supporting Actress. Fellow The Help actress Jessica Chastain, Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids),  Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) and Bérénice Bejo in (The Artist) are also nominated.

The Help collected four nominations, including the coveted Best Picture.

The 84th Annual Academy Awards will air live Sunday, Feb. 26th at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

Check out all the nominations here.

Unlike many Hollywood separations, Seal and Heidi Klum are vowing to keep it clean. In a recent interview with Tavis Smiley, to be aired Friday, Seal discusses the love he and Klum still have for one another and the well-being of their children.

Related: Heidi Klum, Seal Confirm Split

“We have a tremendous amount of love and respect for each other,” he says. “Just because you decide to separate, I don’t think you all of a sudden stop loving each other.”

Seal also paid a visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show Monday still wearing his wedding band.