JANET JACKSON OUT AND ABOUT

It was a girls night out for Janet Jackson, who made a safe exit from L.A.'s famed Villa nightclub Thursday night, after enjoying a couple drinks with two girlfriends in a reserved booth.



How did her album ever do???

JILL SCOTT HITS UP TOM JOYNER

Jill Scott hit up the Tom Joyner Morning Show to pub her new plus sized lingerie line called The Butterfly Collection By Jill Scott.

I never realized she was that heavily endowed....is that the PC way to say it??

Love her hair.

ASHANTI HITS UP MTV

Ashanti was spotted arriving to and leaving the MTV Upfronts session at the MTV studios in NY Thursday.

I'm feeling the black and white....classy. I hope her album matches her new look. I kinda want to see her pull it together and do good.

SUGE KNIGHT GETS BEAT DOWN

So hip-hop scary mogul Suge Knight caught a beat down this weekend.


Wow....look at all that blood on his shirt.

TMZ reports that he got into a fight last night after being heard telling a man “give me my money”. The man then knocked Suge out for a about three minutes before getting stomped by Suge’s homies in the club. TMZ reports that Suge went to the hospital but wouldn’t talk to police about the incident.

AALIYAH REMEMBERED

Fader magazine is doing an editiorial tribute to Aaliyah for their June ‘08 issue - its Annual Icon Issue. The issue will include contributions from producers, family, friends & peers.

Missy Elliott
“We was gonna save the world. We was gonna change music every chance we got. We was gonna always be family. Forever.”

Mark Ronson
“If it wasn’t for Aaliyah being the face and voice of [Missy Elliott and Timbaland’s] sound they might have never got to where they did. They were presenting their sort of brilliant but challenging breakthrough music through this beautiful young girl who could sing it perfectly.”

Kidada Jones
“I think about her all the time…Anytime she’s brought up or her music comes on the radio, it’s sweet, but it definitely sounds like she found a niche before it was here. If you listen to her music it’s so relevant today, but we had it so long ago.”

Damon Dash
“She was already a fashion icon, she was getting into movies, she had already planted that seed. If she was alive today she would be so relevant. I see little bits of her everywhere I look, in a lot of artists.”

Jomo Hankerson
“I think a lot of that mysteriousness they talk about was just what she was. She seemed like she came here already grown up, from the beginning.”

She was definitely one of my favorites.

NICK BACK IN NEW YORK

Sporting a wedding band, newlywed Nick Cannon makes an appearance in New York City sans Mariah Carey, on Thursday.



Speaking of Mariah, here are more photos of their wedding.

CHRIS BROWN & RIHANNA GET COZY

Looks who's getting cozy in KFC.....

They may be coy about their relationship – but Rihanna and Chris Brown let their cuddling do the talking Wednesday at a KFC in Miami.

Especially when TMZ posted a pic of them locking lips

No wonder Chris told Ebony mag reporters he was "off the market."

BEYONCE GETS POP BURGER CRAVING

After a night of red carpet glamour at the Metropolitan Museum yesterday, newlyweds Beyoncé and Jay-Z headed out for burgers and fries.

"Pop Burger had just closed," said a source. "There was a loud knock on the door, and Jay and Bey, who was still in her ball gown, were at the door with their Maybach waiting." The East 58th Street spot opened its doors and bagged up cheeseburgers and fries, which the famished duo took to go.

DMX ARRESTED

DMX was arrested after speed-enforcement cameras captured him in a bright yellow 1966 Chevrolet going 114 mph on a suburban Phoenix freeway.

114 in this punch-buggy.....WTF??

LOL!!!!!!!


The rapper was taken into custody Tuesday at his north Phoenix home. He posted bond and was released.

DMX was booked on charges of criminal speeding, public endangerment, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.

Electronically activated cameras placed along the Loop 101 freeway in Scottsdale captured him three times on Jan. 21 in his Nova II with a large “DMX” decal on the windshield. He was driving at 100, 101 and 114 mph.

The speed limit on the stretch of roadway is 65 mph.

MARY J PARTIES

MJB hosted the Heart of the City Wrap Up party last night at Spotlight live in NY.

Of course Kendu was there in tote


Kevin Liles made an appearance

Trina was there looking cute

Ed Lover

RUSSELL RESPONDS TO KIMORA

Russell Simmons has filed a response to his estranged wife Kimora Lee's divorce petition in a Los Angeles court Tuesday.

Rush, whose legal papers cite irreconcilable differences, is seeking joint physical and legal custody of his and Lee's daughters, Ming, 8, and Aoki, 5.

The couple married in 1998. In her divorce filing in March, Lee, 33, requested that Simmons, 50, get "reasonable child visitation ... to be accompanied at all times by the children's nanny and security personnel."Both parties are asking the court to deny spousal support for the other.

At the time of their initial separation in 2006, Simmon said in a statement: "Kimora and I will remain committed parents and caring friends with great love and admiration for each other."

I'm sure these two will be fine.

NE-YO & NICOLE DO LUNCH

Ne-Yo and Nicole Scherzinger hit up The Ivy yesterday for a lunch date. Hopefully they were discussing working together. She has a great voice. Too bad it hasn't really blossomed into anything.


Look....a tender moment.

FOXY BROWN GRACES JET

Foxy Brown graces the latest issue of Jet mag to reveal how she survived jail.....and probably other random nonsense.



"I want to do things different now and to show people the maturation. Therewill be a big change, but no one does a 360 overnight. I’ve learned to accept my shortcomings and flaws. I’ve made mistakes."

Foxy.....In the words of Hov....you need more people.

JAY-Z & BEYONCE CELEBRATE WITH A-ROD

Newlyweds Jay-Z and Beyoncé partied with New York Yankee and new dad Alex Rodriguez in New York Tuesday night, where they continued to dodge questions about their April 4 wedding.


After Jay-Z's Madison Square Garden concert, the couple – dressed to match in black and white – separately walked the red carpet leading into the Hov's 40/40 club. Jay-Z jokingly cat-called to his wife as she strutted her stuff in front of cameras and ignored wedding queries, instead telling PEOPLE his fans can expect "more great things" from him: "I've got a couple more albums to give you."

Inside the club, the newlyweds (neither of whom were wearing wedding rings) danced together to New Edition's "Cool It Now". Later in the evening, Jay-Z and actress Joy Bryant broke out into the robot dance and Beyoncé boogied with a fellow clubgoer to Timbaland's "The Way I Are." To cap off the evening, Jay-Z did two rounds of Patron shots with Rodriguez (currently on the disabled list for a muscle strain), whose team lost to Cleveland Tuesday night.



Pepa

Hov & Patron

Fabolous

Irv Gotti

A-Rod

Steve Stoute

Fonzworth Bentley

Hov & Kendu

KOBE BRYANT OFFICIALLY GIVEN THE MVP

Kobe Bryant was officially given the NBA MVP Award yesterday.

His kids are adorable.

USHER REFUSES TO PIMP PHOTOS

There's one celebrity who refuses to cash in on parenthood by selling baby pictures to a magazine.....Usher. "In no way would I ever pimp out my child for money," Usher told Page Six.


The pop singer - upset by rumors he was trying to sell photos of his infant son, Usher Raymond V, and eager to defend his wife, Tameka, and his upcoming album, "Here I Stand" - wants to set the record straight.
"I am livid that people talk about my child," Usher told us. In fact, he has posed - for free - with his son for an "incredible" Father's Day cover for Essence magazine.

"What makes you a man more than being a father to your child? I recognize I gave anonymity away when I became an artist, but to have people try to paint a horrible picture of what's so beautiful - it's obvious someone is trying to stop something so beautiful."

As for embattled spouse Tameka - who has been blamed for the firing of most of Usher's music team, for not getting along with his mother, Jonetta Patton, and for being jealous of other women - Usher says, just get over it.
"I stand by her as a man loving my wife and being there for my child . . . Opinions are like [bleep]holes. Everybody's got one. What I will say is, this is my wife and I would hope that [people] would respect my wife and my marriage and who I have chosen to spend my life with."

Regarding talk that his album underwhelmed a few critics, Usher fumed, "It was just finished on Friday! And no one but a few international journalists have heard it yet. Everybody responded very well to it.

"They noted that it was very courageous to take this direction in my music . . . They called it timeless."

BEYONCE INKS $25MILLION PRENUP

According to the National Enquirer, Beyonce inked a prenup deal with new hubby Jay-Z that could pay the R&B diva up to $25 million.

B, reported to be worth $100 million, will gain more money the longer she stays married to Jay. The prenup calls for Jay-Z to pay Beyonce $10 million if the marriage ends after two years, and a million a year for every extra year she remains in the marriage, up to 15-years.

In addition to cash payments the agreement also includes a few of Hov's prized possessions. According to the report, Beyonce would be granted access to their private jet and a fleet of cars, which includes a $1 million 1959 Rolls Royce convertible. Hov has promised to pay Bey an additional $5 million for each child she bears for him-for her loss of income during pregnancy and child-rearing years.

JAY-Z & BEYONCE BACK AT IT

So Hov and B are back to their couple-like antics

During Jay-Z's solo set....he sits in the DJ booth and pushes buttons to cue up instrumentals of classics like "Money Ain't a Thang," "Who You Wit" and "Hard Knock Life." "F--- that," Jay yelled every time he played a song, cutting it off within seconds of bringing it up. Humorously, he started " '03 Bonnie & Clyde" and just like before, he stopped it after a second. "F--- that," he said with a grin. Then Hov pulled up Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and, you guessed it, said, "F--- that too. ... No disrespect."

But almost immediately, Beyoncé came onstage, walking with a sassy "how dare you" strut. Jay started "Crazy in Love" again, and B did her crowd-pleasing "uh oh" dance. She walked over to Jay, did a spin, smiled and went backstage. Jay doubled over laughing.

MARIAH GRACES VIBE

Mariah Carey shows off her new physique on Vibe’s June cover.

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NO WARRANT FOR FOXY BROWN

A bench warrant for the arrest of Foxy Brown was rescinded after a court mix-up.

Laura Dilimetin, Browns lawyer, said that the date was rescheduled with all parties but the change was not updated on the official court calendar. The court did issue a bench warrant, but it was recalled later in the day Monday, according to tmz.com.

Foxy Brown’s court date for May 6 was rescheduled for May 8. Brown faces assault and weapons charges, stemming from an altercation with a Brooklyn neighbor.

The NYPD accused Brown of striking her 25-year-old neighbor in the face with a mobile device and caused the woman to have a swollen lip, loose teeth and swelling in her right eye.

REMY MA SPEAKS OUT

Oh Remy.....

While in the big house, rapper Remy Ma somehow found time to do interviews....apparently jail isn't hard enough these days:

“‘It’s nothing. I’m in here chillin’ – eating mad mackerel,’ the rapper joked, quickly changing tone to a more serious nature. ‘I’m in the cell 23 hours a day – max security. It’s real crazy over here. You got certain officers that are extra nice and you got the ones that are extra not nice. I be telling them it’s not my fault that my commissary is more than their salary.’”

‘Don’t be mistaken about a jury that was not my peers. There was no tan [or] dark brown, Black – nothing - on that jury. It’s a whole conspiracy against rappers right now so I already knew what it was,’ she said.
The rapper insisted she would return for another interview, because she has ‘wild phone time.’ It appeared that her fiancé rapper Papoose was on the call as well.”