Friday, April 11, 2014

Sorry Tracy Morgan....It's Stephen Colbert that's got the Letterman gig.

stephen colbert
*Sorry Tracy Morgan. We know you want the Letterman gig, but according to Reuters, CBS has chosen a replacement and it’s not you. (oh well).

So just who have they chosen, you ask? That would be Stephen Colbert.
CBS said on Thursday that  Colbert will become the host of ‘The Late Show’ when David Letterman retires next year.

Colbert, who hosts “The Colbert Report” on the cable channel Comedy Central, signed a five-year agreement with the network, CBS’ CEO Les Moonves said in a statement.

The location of the show will be determined at a later date, the network said.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Jay Z’s Medallion Invites Questions About Five Percent Nation

jay-z-five percent nation-chain*

Whether by himself or with his wife BeyoncĂ©Jay Z is known to attract attention.
But it wasn’t the rap veteran or his better half that drew eyes last week at the Barclays Center. According to the New York Post, it was a Five-Percent Nation medallion Jigga wore that had heads on notice. The golden accessory, which has been worn by Carmelo Anthony, features the Five-Percent Nation symbol — an eight-point star with the number 7 in the middle.

Best known for controversial beliefs that include black people being the fathers and mothers of civilization, white men labeled as the devil and the Christian god being nothing more than a ghost, the Five-Percent Nation was founded in 1964 in Harlem by Clarence Smith, a former student of Malcolm X who disagreed with the Nation of Islam over the nature of God.

According to the Post, Smith rejected the notion of a supernatural deity. Instead, he believed that all black men had God in them and that black women were “earths” who took on a complementary yet subordinate role to their gods.
Michael Muhammad Knight, an author who wrote two books on the Five Percent Nation, explained that the group’s beliefs go beyond the surface towards something that may raise an eyebrow for many.

“The rationale is that the black man is God and created the universe, and is physically stronger and intellectually stronger and more righteous naturally,” Knight told the Post. “Whiteness is weak and wicked and inferior — basically just an errant child who needs to be corrected.”
The number 7 on Jay Z’s pendant falls in line with the Five Percent Nation’s Supreme Mathematics and Supreme Alphabet, tools used to decipher the meaning of the universe, the Post reports, adding that each letter and number represents a concept. In Jay Z’s case, the number 7 on his pendant stands for God.

Despite the display at the Barclays Center, Jay Z is not involved with the Five-Percent Nation. In fact, the rap mogul’s representation of the medallion has caused friction among some Five Percenters, who aren’t in favor of people using their flag to make a fashion statement as an accessory.

“Jay Z is not an active member — no one has vouched for him,” Saladin Allah, a representative of the group’s upstate region, told The Post. “It was always understood that you don’t wear the ­regalia if you don’t totally subscribe to the life.”

Jamie Foxx Looking to Reconcile with Biological Parents

Jamie Foxx attends "The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise Of Electro" press conference on March 31, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan
Jamie Foxx attends “The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise Of Electro” press conference on March 31, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan
*Jamie Foxx is reportedly attempting to reconcile with his biological parents who abandoned him more than four decades ago.
Foxx, born Eric Marlon Bishop, was left in the care of his mother’s foster parents when he was seven months old and struggled to understand why his parents did not make contact with him as he grew up.
The Oscar winner is now trying to build bridges with his parents and has even moved his mother, Louise, into his home in an effort to forge a relationship with her.

“We’re trying to learn (about) each other,” he tells Britain’s The Sunday Times Magazine. “The one thing I think is great is she’s in the same house, because you realize certain things that you missed when you were growing up, like, ‘Oh, I do that because of that,’ or, ‘Oh, I do this because of that.’ It’s profound.”

Attempts to reconcile with his father, who has since converted to Islam, haven’t gone as well, but Foxx remains hopeful.
Fingers crossed, it will become a real thing,” he says. “But the door is open. That’s one thing I’ve learned: always keep the door and your heart open… I don’t hold a lot of grudges… But it’s tough, you know? Because there are questions, like, ‘What happened? Where were you? Were you stricken with something? Could you not make it?’ Growing up, I would always go, man… I’m a good dude. I wasn’t the kid getting in trouble. I was quarterback on the high school football team. And he only lived 28 miles away. So I always said to myself, you know, I’m gonna grade him a little harder for that, because he could have tried.”