will.i.am Unveils IAMAUTO Car

will.i.am is getting behind the wheel of a new business venture. The enterprising Black Eyed Peas frontman debuted his new automobile on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

 The white futuristic vehicle, which he calls IAMAUTO, was developed to create more jobs in the East Los Angeles neighborhood where he grew up.

“I’m a big technology freak and a geek and I invested my money in building my own vehicle ’cause I want to bring jobs to the ghetto that I come from,” explained will. “I invested in making a demo to start the Black Eyed Peas, now I want to invest to have a car company in the neighborhood where I come from.”

The vehicle was built using OEM parts from Chrysler and features a Beats by Dr. Dre sound system. “It’s sick, it’s really fresh,” said will, who will drop his solo album #willpower later this year.

Amber Rose Blames Kim K for Destroying Her Relationship with Kanye West

Kim Kardashian has always insisted that she and Kanye West are just friends, but that may not be the truth after all!

In an exclusive interview with Star magazine, Kanye’s ex girlfriend, Amber Rose, revealed that the reason she and the singer split was because of the reality star’s devious cheating ways.

“Kim is one of the main reasons why me and Kanye are not together,” Amber exclusively told Star. “She’s a homewrecker!”

According to Amber, she was dating Kanye when he and Kim first hooked up — and Kim was dating NFL star Reggie Bush!

“They were both cheating,” Amber, 28, said.  “They were both cheating on me and Reggie with each other.”

Amber says it was Kim, 31, who instigated the whole affair by calling, texting and sending racy photos of herself to Kanye.

Paris Exhibition Explores History of ‘Human Zoos’

Via Grio.com

A fascinating exhibition in Paris explores the history of so-called “human zoos,” predominately from Africa, which were the objects of curiosity and fascination in a bygone era.

On view at the famous Quai Branly Museum, it tells the story of the men, women and children, who were shipped to Europe and showcased like zoo animals in circuses, stage shows and reconstructed villages.

The practice, which involved indigenous peoples brought from Asia, Africa, Oceania and America, started in the 16th century and continued until the mid-20th century in Europe and also in the U.S., Japan and Australia.

The exhibition, entitled “Human Zoos: The Invention of Savage”, explores these “freak” shows as a mass entertainment phenomenon, which captivated an estimated 1.4 billion spectators who, between 1800 and 1958, marveled at more than 35,000 individuals throughout the world.

The exotic shows began to decline in the 1930s with changing public interest and the advent of the big screen. The last “living spectacles” were Congo villagers exhibited in Belgium in 1958.

The story, told through 600 items and film archives, shows how what started as a curiosity fed into pseudo-science in the mid-1800s, as researchers sought out physical evidence for their theories of differing races.

Report: CPS Fraud, Employee Misconduct Includes $1.13 Million in Improper Benefits

Via Chicago Tribune

In the year leading up to the overhaul of Chicago Public Schools leadership, the school district was beset by troubling instances of fraud and employee misconduct, including $1.13 million in improper benefits paid to retired teachers, systemic abuse of the federal free lunch program at a West Side high school, and a scheme by a central office employee to use school funds to buy items he later exchanged for cash.

Those are among more than two dozen cases detailed in the annual CPS inspector general’s report released to the public Wednesday.

At a time of transition for CPS — operating under an interim chief executive, with a school board on its way out as a new mayor was on his way in – the report suggests a lack of institutional authority and control.

In some cases, employees took advantage of lax oversight in the free lunch program to enroll their children despite earning six-figure salaries. In other cases, employees were circumventing the district’s computer system to access pornographic material online or visiting dating sites, the report found.

Omar Little Arrested: Man With ‘The Wire’ Name Arrested In Baltimore

The HBO hit “The Wire” was known for its gritty, realistic portrayal of inner city crime in Baltimore. But it never got this real.

Justin Fenton, a crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun, tweeted on Sunday that a man named Omar Little Jr. had been arrested on gun charges in the city. The catch? The alleged criminal shares a name with the fan favorite “Wire” stickup artist (played by Michael K. Williams) who survives by holding up other criminals for cash and other goods.

Series creator David Simon was himself a police reporter for the Sun, and based some of the show’s details on his own experiences. When Fenton reached out to him for comment, Simon insisted that the incident was a “coincidence, completely.”

J-Hud Credits Brother for Comeback after Family Murders

Just months after a family tragedy that saw her mother, brother and nephew murdered, Jennifer Hudson somehow gathered the strength to return to the stage for a performance of  the Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl XLIII.

But as the “Dreamgirls” star and former “American Idol” favorite sees it, she didn’t have a choice — her murdered brother wouldn’t have it any other way.

Hudson appears on the Jan. 8 edition of NBC’s “Dateline” to discuss the tragedy, among other topics, and tells the show’s Lester Holt that she heard her brother Jason’s voice, which urged her to undertake the comeback performance, reports Reuters.

“I felt as though I had to,” Hudson tells Holt. “Just the same as I hear my mother’s voice in my head, I can hear my brother’s voice in my head. And he– they, like, everybody, it’s like, is she ever gonna sing again? Is she gonna– you know? And what was I gonna say to that– I could hear him, like, ‘Jennifer–’ he would always say, ‘Knock it off, Jenny,’ if I was cryin’ about somethin’ or if I was upset, discouraged, mad, ‘Jenny, knock it off.’ That’s what I hear in my head. And it’s like, ‘Okay, well, what they want me to do? I can either just sit here and mope around, or do what I know that would make them proud.’ And that’s what I did.”

During the interview, Hudson also reveals how she would have been on the scene at the time of the murders were it not for her fiance, professional wrestler David Otunga.

“I remember it like yesterday,” Hudson recalls. “I was literally picking up my bags to walk out the door to go to my mother’s house. And he called me, like, ‘Can you come out here instead of going, you know?’ And I was like, ‘Okay, sure.’ And that one decision, that one thing, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, along with her brother Jason, were found shot to death in Donerson’s Chicago home on October 24, 2008; Donerson was 57, and Jason 29. After a search, Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found in a parked car, after dying of what the medical examiner’s office determined to be multiple gunshot wounds.

William Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister Julia, pleaded not guilty to the murders and awaits trial in February.

Video: Lil Wayne Now a Sports Commentator?

Lil Wayne is getting busy in the sports arena.  The rapper is doing his very own sports segment called “Weezy’s Sports Corner.”

On December 24, he released his first installment of his video web series that will see him musing about the latest happenings in the sports world.

He’ll be talking about his favorite teams: Green Bay Packers, LA Lakers, Boston Red Sox, Washington Capitals, LSU and UNC basketball teams.

“My love for sports started when I was about zero years old. That means I was born a sports child,” said Wayne. “It was mostly the women in my family. My mom and my grandmother, they were just super sporty… They loved their teams, they loved football, they loved baseball, they loved basketball.”

The video blog is a continuation of a text blog of the same title, which Wayne began when he was blogging from prison. In a room filled with Green Bay Packers merchandise and skateboards adorned with “YMCMB,” Wayne announced that he would be releasing the videos every Saturday. But that’s not all. He’ll also be co-hosting a “real” sports show called “The Sports Rap” with Jalen Rose and Rob Parker.

Video: Snoop Dogg Wins $72,585 on ‘The Price is Right’

Snoop Dogg made a guest appearance on popular game show, “The Price is Right” and even won big – $72,585.

The episode aired on Monday morning, starting off the show’s Celebrity Charity Week.

The West Coast super star not only played the game, but also acted as a good luck charm and even modeled some of the prizes, which included a refurbished ‘60s Cadillac and a VIP package to see him perform live at the 2012 Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans.

“This is like one of my favorite shows,” Snoop revealed in a post-game show interview. “As a kid watching, coming home from school, even acting sick and didn’t want to go to school and just watching ‘The Price Is Right’ — just loving the way it was put together, the prizes, Bob Barker – the feeling is still there.”

Snoop’s prize money went to the Snoop Youth Football League.

Other celebs included Heidi Klum, Jenny McCarthy, Neil Patrick and Chris Daughtry.

50 Cent: ‘I Don’t Think I’m Gonna Live Much Longer’

While most were celebrating the new year, 50 Cent was feeling less optimistic about the future. The outspoken rapper took to Twitter once again to vent his frustrations.

 Following the premature premiere of his new single “Girls Go Wild” featuring Jeremih, the G-Unit CEO expressed his disappointment with those around him. “I have lost all the faith in the team I’m on,” he tweeted. “I having nothing left to say I will not be promoting my music.”

Despite threats to his label Interscope Records, 50 still plans to release his fifth album. “I’m going to deliver this album. Then I have a film I wrote to focus on. I’m not upset, I’m just convinced this is not how I want to remembered.”

In a darker tweet, he explained why he started his Street King movement, which feeds millions of starving Africans. “I’ll be honest I don’t think I’m gonna live much longer,” revealed 50. “That’s why I started my street king movement. I want to mean more in other people’s lives.”

And his moment of reflection didn’t stop there. “To be conscious that life is short is not suicidal. I’m good if I die tonight. I’ve taken care of the people who took care of me when I couldn’t take care of myself.”

New Music: D’Angelo – ‘Black Hole Sun’ (Soundgarden Cover)

If you’re a D’Angelo fan, 2012 is looking promising. The soul crooner is set to return with James River, his first album since 2000’s Voodoo.

Just days into the new year, his rough cover of Soundgarden’s 1994 hit “Black Hole Sun” has surfaced online. But this is not necessarily an indication of what’s to come. The Roots’ ?uestlove explains that the previously unreleased recording is from eight years ago and will not appear on D’Angelo’s forthcoming album.

In the meantime, you can catch the singer on his brief European tour, which kicks off January 26 in Stockholm.