Black Celebrity Men

Ir looks like T.I. will definitely return to prison after violating his probation this past summer. T.I.'s probation officer is recommending that the rapper face eight to 14 months in prison if his probation is revoked following his recent arrest in Los Angeles. However, T.I.'s attorneys say that amount of time is "erroneous" and that he should at most face between five to 11 months behind bars. T.I. was charged with three violations of his bond: possession of the drug ecstasy, testing positive for opiates and associating with a convicted felon.

In the end, the final decision will be up to the judge who T.I. will face on October 15th where he'll hear his fate.

On Tuesday, October 19th at 9 p.m. pure drama will find its way onto TVOne's reality show roster. R&B brothers K-Ci and JoJo will star in their own reality show aptly titled, K-Ci & JoJo...Come Clean. And I don't know about yall, but I'm going to program my DVR today to record it!

Via TVOne's website:

K-CI & JOJO…COME CLEAN is a nine-episode docu-series that follows the lives of two international R&B superstars and original members of the chart-topping R&B group Jodeci. In an attempt to save their lives and careers, brothers Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey and Joel “JoJo” Hailey have agreed to live together for the first time in over a decade. Fighting their shared demon, alcoholism, the singing duo endure radical medical treatments, physical training, as well as medical and spiritual therapy to help them stay sober. Each day they learn to come to terms with the ever-present temptations that go hand-in-hand with their fame and fortune. By any means necessary, K-Ci & JoJo are determined to reclaim their honor and respect in the music game. The only thing more important than regaining their celebrity status is the preservation of their own lives. From their outpatient rehab, to emotional therapy sessions, to the North Carolina roots where their musical lives began, every aspect of their lives is examined and explored. K-Ci & JoJo must also face the realities of a post-recession, digital music industry while trying to fight against a fate worse than death… becoming musical “has-beens”.

Raw and real, Come Clean is an emotional roller coaster that affirms the amazing power of the human mind, faith, and love. Watch the fascinating, triumphant return of the group that is credited with saving the R&B music genre. Back stronger and better than ever, this is K-CI & JOJO…COME CLEAN.

Watch the video below to hear why the Hailey brothers have decided to 'come clean.'

Damn, these dudes are aging fast and they're only in their early 40s! Living hard, fast and recklessly ain't no joke. But you have to commend them for being strong and humble enough to take the steps to get their lives, personal and professional, back in order. We all know their history. Things could have been much worse for them.

Model Tyson Beckford was caught striking a pose last night at Fashion's Night Out in New York City.

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Looks like Usher is trying out the new Wolfman look. He was spotted arriving at a private party in Beverly Hills last night to celebrate the VMAs. My man Johnny Gill was also in attendance. And be sure to check out Usher's performance tonight on the VMAs.

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Former Pretty Ricky boy band member-turned-solo artist was spotted leaving Katsuya restaurant in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and Eddie Murphy's daughter Bria Murphy. Those two are still going strong.

Lamman's new movie, N-Secure finally gets a release date! It's about time. It's been in the making forever. The movie was filmed nearly 2 years ago in Memphis and will be released nationwide on Friday, October 15th, 2010, according to the film's official Twitter and Facebook pages.

N-Secure is a no holds-barred thrilling drama mixed with murder, mayhem and manipulation among affluent professionals. This film sheds light on a man's downfall from the pinnacles of success into the depths of his damaged character. His insecurities lead him into a series of troubled romantic relationships and eventually a web of events that include betrayal and murder.

The film also stars newcomer Cordell Moore in his first-starring role, Nephew Tommy (from The Steve Harvey Morning Show), Essence Atkins (Are We There Yet?), Lamman's on-screen wife Denise Boutte (Meet the Browns), BernNadette Stanis (of Good Times fame), Tempestt Bledsoe (from The Cosby Show), Elise Neal and others.

Check out the trailer below!

Looks good, right? Can't wait to see Lamman's performance in this movie. He said unlike his other roles, he doesn't play the nice guy in this movie. I think his fans are beyond ready to see him in a more challenging role.

For more information, go to the movie's official website: N-Secure

As a big fan (however, not as big a fan as FamuDiva!) of Lamman Rucker's, I have read many, many interviews about him, including q-and-a interviews and the interviewers always seem to ask him the same things over and over again. So imagine my surprise when I flipped opened a Sister 2 Sister magazine (September issue) and finally read a Lamman Rucker interview where he shared some of the most intimate details about his life. Details I never knew about. I know! I was shocked too!

Lamman sat down with Jamie Foster Brown of Sister 2 Sister and gave an in-depth interview on how he dealt with the pain and anger of losing his baby brother to gun violence in the streets of Pittsburgh back in 1992. And of course no Lamman Rucker interview would be complete without him giving his two cents on us females and what he expects from his significant other. After reading his interview, I swear I found a new respect for this man. I might have to reinstate my crush on him. That's a big might. For those who don't know (or don't read my Lamman posts on the regular) I had to cancel my crush on dude a few years ago after I had a dream about him...and in that dream he didn't even want me. Yeah, I know when I'm not wanted. LOL! Nah, but seriously, Lamman ain't playing when it comes to knowing exactly what he wants in a woman.

Anywhoo, check out his interview excerpts below.

LAMMAN ON HIS BROTHER'S DEATH: 'My brother was killed in 1992. I think about [him] everyday. He was 19. His name is Chanu Rucker. He was very, very talented--incredible football player. There's no reason why to this day he wouldn't be playing on Sundays. Luckily he's got a beautiful little girl who's doing very well. She's in college right now. It hurts my heart all the time to think about all the things that he didn't even have the opportunity to become. The guy that we think was responsible for his murder was also murdered. So it's just a dumbass ridiculous cycle. In a distorted kind of way there are certain times I've almost felt like he was one of the best things that could have happened to me, personally, selfishly. Now, it's a huge loss to me and my family. I talk about him and think of him all the time and I can't just begin to articulate how much I miss him. I also know of the choices that I had at the time. And trust me, I consider one of them in particular, which was dropping everything I was doing. I was in school at the time, just hunting the streets, and I almost found myself in the life that he was in. I honestly was almost in a place where I could have very easily just gone downhill from there. I had to realize "Why would you do that when that's exactly where we lost him?" And I understood, even though it was unfair that there was a lot more expected of me because now I'm the only boy left. And then I thought about my sister. My father moved away. Now, my brother's gone. Now, I;m going to put my mother and my sister in a position for me to be gone too? It just didn't make any sense to put my family through that.

Sometimes I'm afraid that if my brother had still been here...There's a couple of men that, to this day are alive only because my brother is dead, because I would have definitely taken the altercation to a whole 'nother level. And it would have been a tragic end for at least one of us, most likely them, had I not had the self-control to say, "You know what? Let me chill. Let me back up off of this" [because] his had no idea how close he got to be being ripped from this planet. But I'm just going to just go on my way because I got a bigger fish to fry. I got goals. I got a family to make proud of me. I got a God that's looking after me. So I just felt like I listened to my spirit. I didn't let these little macho games and all that kind of stuff overpower me. I listened to the good voices, not the evil voices.'

LAMMAN ON HIS STANDARDS FOR WOMEN: 'My standards for a woman are very high. That means if you step this way, you better come correct because if you can't have an intelligent conversation, if you don't have any self-esteem, I'm going to come off like I'm a wolf or I'm arrogant and you ain't going to be able to keep up. What I need to know is if you can really handle it. If you can really really handle it or if I know you're working on learning how to cope with it, alright, cool. I'm going to give it to you. But if you can't handle it, you're not encouraging me to be with honest with you.'

Remember the latest Essence cover featuring Blair Underwood, Boris Kodjoe and Lance Gross?

Well, here are the photos. The trio were featured in Essence's Men at Work issue where they each talked about their professional and personal lives.

Check them out below.

LANCE GROSS

STATS: 29, Single

His role as Calvin on Tyler Perry's House of Payne on TBS: 'It's an exciting ride.'

On love: 'The single life is really not me. My parents have been married for 43 years. What I've learned about love is that communication is everything. I'm also paying more attention to the little things because they add up.'

On the cost of fame: 'I'll never get used to it. There's a part of your privacy that you can't get back, but I'm learning how to create my own privacy.'

BLAIR UNDERWOOD

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Actor Mehcad Brooks is featured in a fall fashion photo spread in Vibe's October 2010 issue; which means, unfortunately, no shirtless, Calvin Klein-ish pics. But there is one pic of the actor donning fire-engine red long johns (also known as a 'union suit' by designer Billy Reid). There was also a brief interview where Mehcad talked about finding work in Hollywood, his work-out regimen and fighting childhood obesity.

MEHCAD ON WHY HE HAD TO SETTLE ON AUDITIONING FOR WHITE ROLES: It was really difficult coming into Hollywood because Black roles were not written for me or the people in my family or the people I grew up with [Mehcad, who was accepted into Yale before attending USC, was raised by a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist mother and an attorney father]. They wouldn't hire me to play a guy that was from the 'hood. So I had to go out for White roles. The last two projects that I got were written for White characters. In My Generation, Rolly was blonde, conservative, a George Bush supporter. They only difference now is he's not blonde.'

Well damn, Mehcad.

MEHCAD ON THE RUMOR THAT HE DID 1000 CRUNCHES A DAY FOR HIS CALVIN KLEIN AD CAMPAIGN: 'I didn't have the time to do that or the inclination because I don't always have a Calvin Klein shoot. When I do have something like that, I'll go crazy for a couple of weeks and go to the gym twice a day, eat lean protein like fish and turkey and vegetables and cut carbs around 4 p.m. I'm actually launching a website later this year to try to battle obesity, especially childhood obesity, in this country. If you can contribute 45 minutes to an hour a day exercising, you're going to be a healthy person.'

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The Dark Gable of R&B has return and he says he's 'bringing lightskin back!' B.C.M. favorite, El DeBarge handsomely graces the October issue of Ebony magazine. Just looking at the photos will make you fall in love with El all over again! In the article, El dishes on his infamous past that has led to his  triumphant return to music (and if you watched his BET Awards performance, he sang as if he never left us!); a past that, we all know included hardcore drug abuse, prison time, growing up in a dysfunctional family and an 'out-of-sight-out-of-mind' mentality from folks when others randomly asked, 'Where's El?' However, in the interview El shared things about his life that some people, like myself, never knew. For example, although I knew that the DeBarge family come from gospel roots, I had no idea that Bishop William Abney, who penned the gospel classic I Won't Complain is actually El's uncle! Or that El originally wanted to be a gospel artist. Little brother Chico also joined in on the interview. Now that I think about it, El talked more about his personal life than his new album Second Chance, which according to Billboard.com, has been pushed back to late November. Just in time for the holidays!

Oh, and remember when I made that comment suggesting someone give El (and/or his family) their own reality show? Well, it went from my mouth to God's ears because the currently single father of 12 (hey, that's the number he's claiming) has a reality show (network to be announced) in the works which will focus on how he's rebuilding his life, raising his kids and dealing with their mothers. Yall know I'mma watch!

Peep excerpts from his interview below:

EL ON HOW GOD PULLED HIM FROM FROM HIS DRUG ABUSE: 'I was in a drug coma. I went to sleep for about 22 years. I was crying to God, 'Lord, please help me get off this. I don't want to be like this.' I was never in denial about the fact that I had a problem. I just didn't know if I was going to ever get off of it, but I didn't give up. Drugs had me. When I came out of my addiction, when God saw fit to have me locked up in prison, that was really a rescue. He let me know right there in prison, 'I had you the whole time. I allowed you to go through this for such a season, for a reason. And you're in prison right now because I plucked you out of the situation. I'm the one who had you locked up for your own sake, But when you come out of here, watch what I do for you.'

EL ON WEANING HIMSELF OFF OF DRUGS: 'I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. It wasn't about my career anymore, it was about my life. [Going cold turkey] is worse than what you see on TV or in the movies. They really don't want to make it graphic. It's nastier than that. It's bad, bad. You hurt past your body. You hurt from the inside out. Your hair hurts.'

EL ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER: 'I stayed out of my father's way growing up. My daddy had problems. I was so young when it all started. I was born into it. I didn't know the difference. My father gave all of us love. That was the disturbing thing about it. He was like Jekyll and Hyde. He would hug us and play games with us. The next thing you know, it was on and popping! Then he'd apologize. 'I love you. I'm sorry, and pray for your daddy.' He would always win our sympathy and our empathy. Always. You could tell he was dead serious. He would cry. He wasn't faking. That man had some issues.'

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T.I. and Tiny's mugshots after their arrest on drug charges has finally hit the Internet.

Since his arrest T.I.'s probation officer and other federal officials demanded he return to Atlanta to face his fate.

According to TMZ:

Officials are "in the process" of determining if they will try to revoke T.I.'s probation in the wake of his arrest late last night. United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates tells us, "The probation office is in the process of determining what happened and will make a recommendation regarding Mr. Harris when they have all the facts."

If officials determine T.I. did violate his probation, he could be sent back to the slammer to serve some serious prison time.

It's also being reported that the drugs that were found in T.I.'s car was indeed Ecstasy. An anonymous source reached out to blogger Sandra Rose to give a detailed about what happened that night:

Former Xscape singer Tameka “Tiny” Cottle is telling friends that the small amount of methamphetamine (street name Ecstasy) that was found in her possession during a traffic stop in West Hollywood Wednesday night was not hers.

Everyone in the car was taken into custody after police smelled marijuana and found a controlled substance in the car. According to a very credible source who asked to remain anonymous, Tiny told friends that she and her BFF Vanity were picked up at their hotel by her husband T.I. and his BFF C-Rod. The two couples were on their way to dinner when T.I., who was driving a Maybach, made an illegal u-turn on Sunset boulevard. We all know what happened next.

In the meantime, Tiny has told friends that the only drugs found in the car was the small amount of Ecstasy that did not belong to her.

C-Rod and his girlfriend Vanity were also arrested that night. I'm still shaking my head on this one. Even if a small amount of drugs were found that's still way too much in the first place because T.I. is on probation.

UPDATE: More details are emerging following the arrest of T.I. and his wife Tiny last night in Hollywood on felony drug charges. According to TMZ, the couple were originally stopped for making an illegal U-turn. While searching their car cops found a controlled substance. The controlled substance was not cocaine, but rather the class of controlled substance that triggered the arrest includes methamphetamines and ecstasy (it's still a felony though). Come on, son!

T.I. and Tiny were then handcuffed, placed in separate squad cars and taken to jail to be booked on felony possession of a controlled substance. The couple made bail and were released from lock-up around 4 a.m.

And apparently Tiny went from jail straight to Twitter to tweet her fans for their support. I mean really! Truthfully speaking, T.I. is going to need all the support he can get right now.

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ORIGINAL POST

Well, damn.

T.I. and Tiny are in jail (at least at the time of this blog post).

It's only been a month since they wed in Miami and now it looks like their honeymoon phase has come to an abrupt end. According to TMZ.com the couple were arrested last night in Hollywood for possession of a controlled substance:

L.A. County Sheriff's deputies pulled over the multi-platinum selling rapper and his wife in a Maybach on Sunset Boulevard around 10:30PM. Deputies say they smelled marijuana, and after searching the vehicle they arrested T.I. and Tameka. The couples bail has been set at $10,000.

This is NOT a good look for T.I. He's still on probation on those federal weapons charges (and ironically he had been on probation from a 1998 arrest when he was arrested on the federal weapons charges in 2007!). Getting into trouble and more importantly getting arrested on brand new charges could violate his probation and send him right back to prison. He just came home five months ago! Maybe Tiny will re-activate her 'ride-or-die chick' status and take the rap for him this time. Good luck with that.

This is so disappointing. I was really rooting for these two...especially T.I. everything seemed to be going so well for him: marriage, a number one movie at the box office, a new album (King Uncaged) set for release next month, new endorsements. To go and muck it up like this is just stupid.

In an interview last week, T.I. spoke of his prison sentence, what he learned about himself while incarcerated, his return to the media spotlight and his new album:

"One learns so much in prison. I guess I learned different ways to manage circumstances - different approaches to best- and worse-case scenarios." Prison gave him time to think about how he previously approached his life. T.I. says he had to get honest with himself. "There's plenty of time for that openness. A lot of people use prison as a badge of honor, I learned that the badge of honor comes with staying out, not going in."

Oddly enough, T.I. says he did little writing in regard to his upcoming King Uncaged, an album he confidently told Rolling Stone was the "most significant return from incarceration that the game has had since Tupac Shakur's epic All Eyez on Me. A celebrated artist with a widely publicized legal situation goes into jail and comes out with the same level of success and artistry as when he went in. Maybe even more so. Yes, I believe I can do that."

Mmm-hmmm.

Swizz Beatz and his pregnant wife Alicia Keys were spotted walking hand in hand in the Tribecca District of New York City yesterday. In an interview last week, Swizz opened up about his and Alicia's unforgettable wedding last July on the Mediterranean: “Everything was just wow, it was a blessing. It was positive energy, and we’re still in those moments. Our chemistry is just a simple flow.”

By the way, Keys calls Beatz “Baba” instead of his branded first name, Swizz, which he got from the sneaker company because, “I used to wear K-Swiss sneakers back in the day, and I couldn’t get rid of the name. I had every color,” he said.

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It's about damn time! If you're a regular reader of B.C.M. I'm pretty sure you have heard me gripe over Essence magazine's cover selections when it comes to black celebrity men. Well, in the upcoming October issue, Essence chose actors Blair Underwood, Boris Kodjoe and Lance Gross, three of the most beautiful celebrity black men, to grace their cover and needless to say, I'm absolutely loving it. It's like having a triple combo platter of swaggerific-sexiness, handsomeness and a whole lot of flavor lying face-up on your coffee table or nightstand. The three men will discuss both business and pleasure aspects of their lives which include their current projects and why they love Black women.

Take a glimpse of all of that caramel, pecan-brown and deep, dark chocolate below!

From Essence.com:

"...My parents have been married for 43 years. What I've learned about love is that communication is everything. I'm also paying more attention to the little things because they add up..." --Lance Gross

Just breathe. That's what we're trying to tell ourselves as the fall TV season begins. From Blair Underwood's role as an ultra-cool Commander in Chief, to Lance Gross' return as a steamy fireman, to Boris Kodjoe's double life as a spy and husband, prime time has never looked this sexy.

*goes to check mailbox*

Today, August 29th marks what would have been Michael Jackson's 52nd birthday. Words can't begin to express how much this man was loved, adored and cherished by nearly a billion people, including me. And although he left us a little over a year ago, his contributions to the world will live on forever. His legacy will never die. No matter how you feel about Michael as a person, no one can deny his profound influence on music, music videos and philanthropy.

He is loved and missed dearly.

Needless to say, Michael left a mark with some of the greatest songs ever recorded. So in honor of that, I would like to celebrate his life by posting MJ's You Rock My World (with Chris Tucker) video. Well, I can't honestly say this song is one of my favorites because as a lifelong fan, there is no such thing as having a favorite MJ song/video. But since I can't post each and everyone of his videos, I chose an up-tempo song that makes me want to get up and dance my ass off as soon as I hear its intro.

The Hollywood premiere of Lottery Ticket took place last night at the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. Celebrities in attendance included: Bow Wow, Ice Cube, Charlie Murphy, Terry Crews, Corey Hardrict (and his wife Tia Mowry), Diddy (and his mini-me Christian), Keith David, Brandon T. Jackson, Jermaine Dupri, Naturi Naughton, Teairra Mari, Angela Simmons, Bill Bellamy, Jason Weaver, Lance Gross, Michael Jai White, Vince Green and more.

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