Ne-Yo Leaves Def Jam to Become Motown’s Senior VP of A&R

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R&B’s Ne-Yo is soon to try his hand behind the desk at Motown Records. It was announced yesterday (January 25) by Barry Weiss, Chairman & CEO of Universal Republic and Island Def Jam Motown, and Ethiopia Habtemariam, Senior Vice President of Motown Records, that Ne-Yo will become Senior Vice President of A&R for the historic label.

Ne-Yo is bringing his label imprint, Compound Entertainment, over to Motown, along with three Grammy Awards and a highly anticipated fifth studio album, which will likely release in the summer as his label debut.

While at Motown, Ne-Yo will serve as a producer and mentor to label artists, along with being responsible for seeking out and signing new talent to the label.

“I’m a combination of excited, honored and terrified all at once!” said Ne-Yo in a statement. “Excited about a new beginning here at Motown, honored that I’ve been given such a prestigious title and trusted with such responsibility, TERRIFIED because I know that playing this role, in the fashion of one of my idols and career role models, Mr. Smokey Robinson. These are big shoes to fill…..but trust, I can handle it.”

Ne-Yo has been busy as of late, recently hitting the big screen as a co-star in the movie Red Tails and on national TV on NBC’s upcoming season of The Voice, as a mentor for Cee-Lo Green’s team.

“Ne-Yo is an enormously talented artist, songwriter, and producer,” said Weiss. “In fact, he’s one of the greatest songwriters of our times. His track record of success at Def Jam will always be a benchmark. But this move to Motown will provide new and inspiring challenges for Ne-Yo, as both an artist and a key member of the new senior management team that is taking form at the label in 2012,” he added.

Ne-Yo’s most recent album from 2010, Libra Scale, followed up the RIAA-certified platinum album, Year Of The Gentleman, released in 2008. The album was his third consecutive to enter the Soundscan chart at #1.

Year Of The Gentleman had several RIAA platinum hit singles, including “Closer,” “Miss Independent,” and “Mad,” and received five Grammy nominations in 2009. His track “Miss Independent” won Best R&B Song (songwriters’ award) and Best Male R&B Vocal

Rihanna Shows Off New ‘Thug Life’ Tattoo

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Rihanna’s tattoo obsession continues. The bad girl added some fresh ink to her body this week. RiRi visited the Shamrock Social Club in Los Angeles, getting “Thug Life” tatted across her knuckles.

“All these bitches screaming that 2pac back ♫ #THUGLIFE,” tweeted the pop star, who already has around 14 tattoos including one with her best friend’s birthdate on her shoulder and another on her chest that reads “Never a failure, always a lesson.”

But that wasn’t all. She appeared to be getting another tat on her body from famed tattoo artist Mark Mahoney, while holding a beer bottle. During her trip to the tattoo parlor, she also ran into Grindhouse actor Danny Trejo.

The Female Rap Game Bouta’ Get Real Nasty???? Lil Kim Fires of about Nicki Minaj (AGAIN), and this Time Feels a Lil Personal (VIDEO)

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When will this all be over???  It seems as though Lil Kim is not going out like no sucka!! She and Nicki Minaj continue to take jabs at one another, eventually they are either going to call a truce or something bad is really going to happen. According to Julia Beverly –  founder of Ozone Magazine– Jones’ publicist sent her an email which read the following:

 Lil kim is gonna release a statement this week that will “destroy nicki minaj’s credibility & career.

This follows the release of Minaj’s video for ‘Stupid Hoe‘, a response to a number of jabs aimed at her by the Brooklyn native over the years.

Check out this video below back in 2010 where Kim imitates the one who may have snatched the crown right off her head, so either Lil Kim is delusional or she does not want to face the fact that just might, and I say just might…(unless she can prove otherwise), but she just might be washed up. Damn, I said it!!

Jay-Z’s ’40/40′ Club Re-Opens Again

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The celebration of the re-opening of Jay-Z’s hot  “40/40″ club was cut short when code enforcers shut the spot down for health code violations.

According to reports, the decision to shut it down was made on Thursday Jan. 19 after food was not being stored at the proper temperatures among other things.

Now a rep from the club is saying the club is back open after the necessary changes and repairs were completed the following day.

But critics doubt whether the club will last, being that his business ventures often end sour. They say he only acquired the businesses he has so far in his career to boost his public image and viability in the corporate investor world.

Is Khloe really a Kardashian??

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According to Blind Gossip

Meet Alex Roldan, Kris Jenner’s hairdresser. This is Khloe Kardashian’s biological father. He worked on a music video that Kris Kardashian did for her 30th birthday called “I Love My Friends”. Alex is now a hairdresser in West Hollywood. While Robert Kardashian was only 5’7″ tall, Alex is a much larger man, standing approximately six feet tall. BTW, Khloe’s middle name is Alexandra.

Although Khloe blasted her former step moms for being ‘disgusting’ on twitter when they ran to the tabloids, she already knows that Alex is her father. In fact, she is said to have been pissed that she was lied to all of these years. Kris, on the other hand, is already plotting to make the reveal on a future episode of the Kardashian show.

Kris is taking this another step forward. She wants to introduce Khloe’s real biological father as a plot point on a “very special episode” of one of the Kardashian shows. We’re going to spoil her surprise by introducing him here first. (FYI, Kris did tell Khloe who the man is already, so this is not coming a surprise for anyone in their family. Plus it’s all leaking out this week, despite Kris’ desire to keep it a secret until showtime to make the ratings as high as possible.)

I don’t know what to believe, but if the picture above is anything to go by, then I must say Khloe favors Alex a great deal from the nose, eyes, and bone structure. 

DC Stand Up!!! New Music: LoLa Monroe – ‘Stay Schemin’ (Freestyle)’

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Female rap is on the rise. Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang signee LoLa Monroe steps to the mic, spitting over Rick Ross’ Rich Forever mixtape cut “Stay Schemin’.” The video vixen-turned-rapper shares her hustler’s ambition, while delivering some tough bars. “It’s like Picasso in this bitch, female Pac up in this bitch, I’ll Apocalypse your shit,” she rhymes.