Black Celebrity Men

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

==============================

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.

==============================

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.

I was so excited last night when Candy (the Admin of New Edition's number one website NewEditionFanClub.com) sent me a tweet telling me that the guys of Heads of State (Ralph, Bobby and Johnny) would be performing TONIGHT on Mo'Nique's late night show (11 p.m. on B.E.T.) that I could barely contain myself. Why you ask? Read any posts on my other blog RealGossip 101 (or click here) and you'll find out why! And because I haven't had the pleasure of watching these guys perform live, well, then I have no other choice but to watch them on television. Hey, I'll take whatever I can get!

Alot can be said about this H.O.S. For one, they have never recorded an album, yet their shows are selling out not only in the United State, but all over the world. For those of you who aren't aware of their background or how they became Heads of State here it is:

Bobby Brown and Ralph Tresvant are known as original members of New Edition, a group that gave the world such smooth R&B hits as Candy Girl, Cool It Now, and Mr. Telephone Man. Brown was voted out of New Edition in 1986 with Johnny Gill replacing him, and the act scored the hit If It Isn't Love. Brown went on to release 1989's Don't Be Cruel, and Tresvant and Gill both scored hits as solo artists after New Edition. With New Edition now on continued hiatus, Brown, Gill and Tresvant formed the R&B supergroup Heads of State. There's no album to promote, just 25 years of New Edition and solo hits featuring the trio.

Remember. Mo'Nique. Tonight, April 13, 2010. 11 pm. B.E.T.

Again, thank you so much Candy for giving me the heads (no pun intended) up! LOL! I appreciate it.
......

Here are a couple of BCM cuties we don't often see out and about with their boos. Luda was seen taking a stroll with his lady friend in Atlanta earlier this month.

--------------------------

And Johnny made sure he had his side piece of eye candy draped on his arm when the clock struck midnight on New Years.

......

First of all let me say I'm mad as hell that they have Bobby 'Busted' Brown in the middle/front-and-center of that flyer as if he's still the King of R&B. This ain't 1987! Second of all, it is with tremendous shame and embarrassment to tell you all that I had no idea that New Edition members Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown and Johnny Gill have banded together to form a supergroup who goes by the name The Summit (the group is also referred to as 'Heads of State'...I'm still trying to figure this name issue out!). Not only will the guys perform together under that moniker, they will also incorporate fashion, fragrance, film, television, music and of course, touring under The Summit brand. The trio kicked off their tour (check Ticketmaster to see if they're coming to a city near you) with a concert performance at the Atlanta Civic Center on September 27th where they also confirmed their plans to record an album together. What is really going on and why? I guess they decided to go this route after failed attempts of reviving their solo careers. Can't knock their hustle. But can you imagine Bobby and Johnny on the same stage trying to out-sing each other? That has got to be a sight to see! A sight I would love to see even though I'm still beyond miffed at Johnny for lying to me two years ago when he was here in Tallahassee...but I'll digress...at least for now. Besides, this blog post is long enough already.

Anywho, as for the remaining members, Ronnie is busy operating his Atlanta-based real estate company. Last I heard, Mike scored a gig as a game announcer for the NBA. As for Ricky? An even better question would be are they still going to go through with releasing a 25th anniversary album and television special THIS YEAR?

Watch the guys talk about The Summit during an interview on My Fox Atlanta news broadcast.

Remember these photos from Tyler Perry's grand opening of his multi-million dollar tv and film studio in Atlanta this past weekend? Everyone who has seen these two particular pictures has asked the same question: 'What was going on to make Tyler and Oprah cry openly?' Well as a proud Tallahasseean, I am happy to tell you that the tears they shed were tears of joy as the listened to the angelic voices from the The Boys' Choir of Tallahassee. Choir director Dr. Earl Lee Jr. said he thought someone was trying to pull a fast one on him when he received the call saying Tyler wanted the Boys' Choir to sing at his grand opening. And then it took another two weeks before he was convinced that the call was real. Tyler found the choir after doing a bit of online research. Once he went to their official website and listened to their voices, it was a wrap! He footed the bill so that the 70 member choir could travel to Atlanta and have ample time to rehearse for his big historical day.

"The boys will definitely be talking about this experience for a long time. They were greeted and received by a thunderous applause from the special guests in attendance. The talk at the gala was 'What choir is that performing?' They stopped and watched the choir and they were in tears. They were crying. The stars were actually taking pictures of the local stars so it made the boys feel real good that those folks actually were in tears because the Amazing Grace was absolutely gorgeous. He (Tyler) wanted the choir to sound like angels and to look like angels and that's what they did," Lee wrote Sunday in an e-mail to the Tallahassee Democrat.

Amazing Grace happens to be Tyler's favorite song, hence the tears. As for Oprah, well we all know it doesn't take much for her to cry! Bless her heart. Besides, she's not a stranger to the Boys' Choir. The group performed on her talk show back in 2002 as part of her Angel Network. Lee says Tyler told the group that they are now a part of the Tyler Perry family and that "they will go down in history" as the first choir or boys choir to perform at Tyler Perry Studios. They were also the first to see Perry's new studio. Fourteen year old Boys Choir member Forrest Price said, "It was fantastic. We met a lot of people. We met new stars, we saw Tyler Perry. We went to a studio. It was a lot of fun." Jamaal Shareef-Rogan, a 14-year-old choir member, said, "When I saw Oprah in person, I really just wanted to stop singing and say hey to her. But I really couldn't get off focus. It was really exciting." Hell, now I'm over here about to cry. I'm so proud of them! The Boys' Choir sung at my grandmother's funeral about 8 and a half years ago when two of my cousins were members. She LOVED to hear them sing and adored Dr. Lee, so hearing them sing at her funeral was truly bittersweet. Needless to say, there wasn't a dry eye in the church on that cold January morning but on the flip side, there also was a lot of hand clapping and rejoicing as well! After high school, one of my cousins later became a mentor to the new members coming in.

To read the background history of The Boys' Choir of Tallahassee, go to their official website by clicking HERE. I'm just sorry I'm not able to provide you all with any photos of the guys at the event, but here are a few file photos of the choir.

I also found a few more pics from Tyler's grand opening. Below you'll see pictures of actor Palmer Williams Jr. with two of his House of Payne co-stars (L) Bobbi Baker and Denyce 'Made in Korea' Lawton (I'm sorry, but I laugh hard as hell everytime I hear Palmer call her that!); newly married couple Malinda Williams and Derrick D-Nice' Jones; New Edition member Johnny Gill; and House of Payne co-star Larramie Doc Shaw and his mother.

......