MTV’s annual hottest MC list was released and we have the choices here. The criteria is based off of impact, lyrical ability, buzz and commercial success. Rick Ross topped the list, while hip-hop heavy weights Jay-Z placed at #6 and Kanye West placed at #3, respectively. Young Money rappers Drake (2), Nicki Minaj (4) and Lil Wayne (5) also placed within the top 5.

Full list after the break.

Kelly Rowland payed tribute to boxing legend Muhammad Ali by performing a rendition of  Whitney “The Voice” Houston’s “Greatest Love Of All.” Kelly performed the song of the late icon during the ’Keep Memory Alive’ party last night. She was accompanied by the legendary Stevie Wonder who played the piano & harmonica.

Watch Kelly’s performance below.

Kelly actually sounded very good. I’ve noticed that recently she has sounded much better than before. Her tribute performance to Mariah Carey on the BET Honors was a great vocal also. Hopefully this trend of on point vocals continues.

Everyone’s favorite blue-eyed soul artist, Robin Thicke has covered Whitney Houston’s last number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” from the classic 1995 soundtrack to the equally classic film,Waiting To Exhale starring Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine,and Lela Rochon. The cover is nothing short of flawless and is beautiful tribute to the incomparable Nippy. The vocals are raw and vulnerable, perfection. I wish he had went into bridge, but I’ m more than pleased with what was served. This needs to be on his next album, seriously.

After attending the funeral of the pop icon Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and L.A. Reid went out to dinner in NYC still in the attire they wore to Nippy’s home going service. Mariah and her husband, Nick Cannon have recently been in and out of the hospital due to Nick’s recent health scares. He has step down from his position on Z100 and is reportedly taking sometime off to heal. He recently shared Mariah’s reaction to Whitney’s surprising passing, check that out here.

Check out the unstoppable duo LMFAO as they perform their hits “Party Rock Anthem” and “Sexy And I Know It” on The Jonathan Ross Show. Both songs topped the Hot 100 and sold a combine total of over 13 million copies digitally worldwide. Insane!

Energetic and fun as always.

MWP

Aretha Franklin is receiving tons of flack for bailing on Whitney Houston’s funeral yesterday at the last minute, but still performing in concert at Radio City Music Hall later that night.

The Houston family had asked Franklin to perform “The Greatest Love Of All” at the homegoing, which took place in Newark, NJ, but she suddenly cancelled citing “leg spasms.” Details after the jump.

The always hilarious Maya Rudolph revisited her old stomping grounds of Saturday Night Live tonight as the host. One of the nights funniest moments came courtesy a skit starring Rudolph as Beyonce. In the skit, we see newborn Blue Ivy visited by a number of celebrities welcoming her to the world.

Take a look at what would happen if Nicki Minaj, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Taylor Swift, and LL Cool J met pop royalty below.

iDied. Everything about this was hilarious. The spot on impressions, the writing. This is one of the best sketches SNL has done in a while.

GC

There was a last minute change before Whitney Houston’s funeral commenced. Aretha Franklin, who was expected to sing for Whitney, changed her plans because of leg pains. At the actual funeral, Dionne called Aretha to sing, but obviously she wasn’t there, so Dionne went on to the next speaker (Heyyyy). Now, Aretha released an official statement explaining why she couldn’t attend her god daughter’s homegoing.

“Regretfully, I am so sorry that I was unable to be with you at Whitney’s service today. I had every intention of being there. But unfortunately I had terrible leg spasms and locked leg muscles until 4:00AM this morning following my concert last night, which I’ve been having for the last few days. I feel it necessary and very important to stay off my leg today as much as possible until concert time this evening. My heart goes out to my dear friend Cissy, Dionne, Bobbi Kristina and the rest of the family. May God keep them all.” 

- Aretha & the Franklin Family

I’m going to keep my thoughts to myself. You let a charlie horse stop you from attending your god-daughter’s homecoming, but you can somehow show up for a performance in NY? Who is REALLY zoomin’ who?

Today, our Queen Whitney Elizabeth Houston was laid to rest in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey at New Hope Baptist Church. The ceremony was classy, touching, elegant and powerful just like Houston herself.

There were a number of celebrities in attendance along with family and friends, and Houston was eulogized by Pastor Marvin Winans. Many of Houston’s close friends in the music industry performed and ministered to the masses including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Kim Burrell, R. Kelly and BeBe and CeCe Winans. Aretha Franklin was scheduled to perform, but suffered from leg spasms and was unable to attend.

Moments of reflection were brought to us by Houston’s co-star in The Bodyguard Kevin Costner, movie mogul/ actor/ director Tyler Perry, longtime music director Ricky Minor and more.

What we can learn from Houston’s funeral and life is that she was an awesome woman of God. She loved the Lord all her life and always acknowledged and kept Him first. She was giving, generous, kind and unafraid to uplift and encourage no matter what she was personally going through.

One thing that I most admire about Whitney is how secure and confident she was in her talent that it allowed for her to feed life and strength into others. Never threatened or jealous, but always giving and nurturing. She gave love. She was love.

Houston passed on Feb. 11. The cause of death is not determined at this time.

Watch some of the performances after the jump and keep the Houston and Brown families in prayer.

Today, the world said a final goodbye to Whitney “The Voice” Houston during her funeral service at her childhood church in Newark, New Jersey. The memorable funeral was unfortunately almost overshadowed by drama concerning Bobby Brown’s exit from the funeral. Rumors came about of Bobby being rejected from attending the funeral. Then, reports of Bobby causing a scene at the funeral and storming off surfaced. Now, Brown has released a statement to tell the truth.

My children and I were invited to the funeral of my ex-wife Whitney Houston.  We were seated by security and then subsequently asked to move on three separate occasions.

I fail to understand why security treated my family this way and continue to ask us and no one else to move. Security then prevented me from attempting to see my daughter Bobbi-Kristina. In light of the events, I gave a kiss to the casket of my ex-wife and departed as I refused to create a scene. My children are completely distraught over the events. This was a day to honor Whitney. I doubt Whitney would have wanted this to occur. I will continue to pay my respects to my ex-wife the best way I know how.

I’m glad Bobby released a statement because this incident was beginning to overshadow the purpose of today; to celebrate the homecoming of Whitney Houston.

Mariah Carey is just one of the many entertainers grieving for Whitney Houston after her sudden passing last Saturday. As the funeral approaches later today, Carey’s husband Nick Cannon shared with E! how his wife is handling the death of her close friend.

It was tough for many reasons. One, knowing how close my wife and Whitney were, and I was in the hospital during the time, and that’s where we got the news. I was kinda in a life-threatening situation and then to see that, it was kind of bizarre and sad at the same time, but you know, it’s part of life and it makes you step back and reflect and appreciate every day for what it is.”

As we reported yesterday, Cannon was in the hospital after blood clots were found in his lungs, which have forced him to quit his radio show on NY’s 92.3 FM. Carey will be in attendance at Houston’s funeral which begins today at noon along with L.A.Reid.

High off the success of the gold certified TM 103, Young Jeezy stopped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to perform his latest single “Leave You Alone” featuring Ne-Yo. “Leave You Alone” was produced by West Coast legendary rapper and producer Warren G.

Watch the performance below:

Check out The Road To ‘Talk That Talk’ released from Rihanna’s WhoSay. The documentary follows the superstar while prepping her sixth studio album.

Videos of part 1 & 2 after the break.

The Queen of Soul — Aretha Franklin talked with Al Roker this morning on Today about the shocking death of her god-daughter, Whitney Houston. Franklin told Roker where she was when she found out saying, “I was sitting on the side of the bed. I just jumped up off the side of the bed: ‘What?! This could not be!’”

Franklin also commented on what she thinks Houston’s overall legacy should be and recited a poem in her honor.

I think sometimes people speak and don’t think all the time. She was having her problems. She was having her challenges, but a lot of people have challenges of all kinds. You have to be more understanding. You cannot define a person on just one thing. You know, you can’t just forget all of these wonderful and good things that a person has done just because one thing didn’t come off the way you thought it should come off.

Watch the video below:

Pop legend Janet Jackson recently sat down with Anderson Cooper for an interview to discuss a number of topics from her past and now a number of teasers have been released. In the previews, we see Jackson discuss her secret marriage to James Debarge, visiting Studio 54 as a child, how much she hated working on FAME and of course her traumatizing experience at Good Times. Yes, she talks about the infamous chest binding….again. On the bright side, I didn’t hear her say “anecdotes” or “it’s not an autobiography.”

I’m still trying to understand how she looks like she did during the All For You era. She’s completely flawless! Take a look at the videos below.

Nick Cannon has quit his job as a radio host in New York. Two years ago, Cannon began a radio show called “Rolling with Nick Cannon” on 92.3, but now after several health issues, he has been forced to resign. A few months back, Cannon was hospitalized due to “mild kidney failure,” and this morning he tweeted, ”The Doctors found blood clots in my lungs and said if I don’t slow down and stop working so hard then it’s a wrap!” Read Cannon’s official statement below.

“Under doctor’s orders, I have been asked to put my health first and cut back on some of my professional commitments in order to allow my body to get the rest that it needs to keep up with the demands of my multi-tasking schedule.

It has been an absolute pleasure working with CBS Radio and the 92.3 NOW morning show team and I would like to thank them for their unwavering support. I will continue to host my syndicated “Cannon’s Countdown” weekend show and look forward to contributing to 92.3 NOW whenever possible. Even Superman has to sleep.”

This is a smart move. Cannon already acts as the Chairman of TeenNick and is the host of America’s Got Talent, two positions he will maintain. While his work ethic is admirable, he has a wife and two young children who need him. I sincerely doubt money is an issue, so it’s just best to let certain things go. Get well soon Nick!

Source

Last Saturday the world lost one of the greatest voices of all time and an amazing woman, Whitney Houston. Her unexpected passing has left many devastated, stunned and asking questions. During the last days of her life, Houston was seen frequently with longtime friend and rumored boyfriend Ray-J, who has been silent up until now.

“Over the past few days, I’ve tried to process the emptiness that I am experiencing. What my heart feels cannot be expressed in words.  The world lost an icon, but I lost my close friend. Nippy, I miss you so much! You were so happy and full of love.  Your smile will live in my heart forever.”

Regardless of their relationship status, it’s easy to see that there was a genuine love between the two and that Ray-J is truly distraught. Hopefully in the coming months he will be able to provide honest and truthful insight into the last days of Nippy’s life to debunk all speculation and lies.

TMZ

R&B veterans Monica and Brandy encountered a serious setback in their personal lives last Saturday when pop ICON Whitney Houston passed away on the day they were to perform at Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party. The pair, now finding strength in one another recently filmed the video for their first collaboration in 14 years, “It All Belongs To Me” and also performed the song on Jay Leno.

While on the video set, VH1 caught up with the Grammy winners to find out how they are coping with the death of their idol. In the video below we see Monica very vocal about how painful the experience has been, but how Houston would want them to go on saying, “Giving up was not an option.” Brandy is more reserved.

Watch the video below.

TGJ

It’s finally here! The video for Chris Brown’s long awaited second single off forthcoming album Fortune called “Turn Up The Music.” Watch below.

Buy “Turn Up The Music’ on iTunes here or below.

R&B titans Brandy and Monica stopped by The Tonight Show With Jay Leno to perform their first duet in 14 years, “It All Belongs To Me.” This is the first time the pair have performed the song publicly after cancelling at Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party due to the loss of their idol, Whitney Houston.

Watch below:

Lord. Brandy SLAYED. Monica also did amazing and I LOVED her shirt. Let’s hope the song finds success and that they find peace.

Buy the track from iTunes here or by clicking on the icon below.