Rihanna covers the December 2010 Issue ofMarie Claire UK, and if I must say so myself, she looks stunning. In her interview she talks about when she realized it was really over between Chris Brown and herself. She also talks about the new man in her life, Matt Kemp and how she can never seems to stop smiling when she’s with him.
EXCLUSIVE Marie Claire UK Interview: Rihanna on surviving the bad times and how she is happier and stronger than ever
She’s the toast of the music industry and the hottest talent around. Introducing our stunning December cover star, Rihanna. We caught up with the “Rude Boy” superstar to talk about surviving the bad times, learning to love her imperfections, and how she is happier and stronger than ever.
And as she sparkles for the cameras, debuting new fiery red hair (‘she has been dying to go red for years,’ says make-up artist Karen Darnell) you’d certainly never guess it has been such a hard year for Rihanna.
On her on her much publicised romance with Chris Brown.
‘Eventually, I remember waking up one day and I knew I was over it.’
‘One day. I remember I was in New York at the Trump Hotel and I woke up and I just knew I was over it.’
But after coming out of it the other side, the songstress admits she’s a different person now.
On almost losing herself and how she bounced back
‘I was very lost. I have to say I felt really confused,’ she says, her eyes welling up.‘I hate talking about it but it was really crazy because I felt so out of touch with myself and when that happens… It’s scary because nothing you say or do feels like it’s you.
‘You just lose touch of everything that you love and everything that you would normally do; how you would dress or how you would say something… It just feels like it’s not coming from you. It’s just this one empty vase. I felt like an empty vessel.’
On recording with Eminem and how she related it to her own personal life
With all that she’s been through, some critics have questioned her recent appearance on the Eminem single, ‘Love The Way You Lie’ and how, in their view, it glamorises domestic violence. Rihanna has no regrets.
‘He [Eminem] confronted himself on it. He basically gives insight into what goes on in the mind of a couple in a domestically violent relationship. I love that in every verse it just gets to that point where she wants to leave, she wants to leave, she leaves, she leaves, she leaves… but then the hook always comes back’
Did she relate to that on a personal level? ‘Absolutely. Absolutely! Every word in that song is true. It would take somebody who’s been on the inside to understand how magical those lyrics are.
‘Everybody loves the song but the lyrics can never hit home until you’ve seen it, witnessed it, in your home or experienced it yourself.’
On her relationship with Matt Kemp
Despite it all, the drama and the tears, Rihanna is relieved to have finally come out the other side, adding
‘I’m just… I feel like… I smile for real this time.’
I’m so happy for Rihanna. She’s a real inspiration to a lot of young girls. I’m glad she finally set the record straight as to how she felt when she was going through a rough path in the past.
Wow, it amazes me how people would risk their jobs for someone else or even their own stupidity. Now lets be clear here, Lil Wayne is due to be out of jail come November. This correctional officer from Rikers Island, who was trying to be cool and say that he hung out with Wayne while on job duty, done lost his job. Just a few weeks ago, Wayne was moved to “solitary confinement” for having an MP3 Player and now this.
While Wayne will be out making millions, he’ll be standing in the unemployment line. What a fool!
A veteran Correction Department captain was suspended for hanging out in the star’s cell, the Daily News has learned.
Capt. Raphael Collazzo was caught on a security camera making an unexplained 45-minute visit to the rapper’s cell, which is supposed to be an isolation lockup, sources said.
“We don’t know what he was doing. We know the camera picked him up,” said one source.
Collazzo’s explanation “did not suffice to explain the time he spent” with the rapper, who is serving a one-year sentence for a loaded gun on his tour bus, the source added.
Collazzo was suspended without pay for 10 days, said agency spokeswoman Sharman Stein, who declined to elaborate.
Patrick Ferraiuolo, president of the union for correction captains, said Collazzo has “at least 20 years” on the job, and maintains he didn’t break any rules.
“I spoke to the captain and I said, ‘Do you know what’s going on?’” Ferraiuolo said. “He goes: ‘I have done nothing wrong…I don’t have any dealings with this guy.’”
Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, is expected to be released early next month. His stay on Rikers has been eventful.
Soon after he arrived, a correction officer was canned because she was caught making an unexplained pop-in at the area housing the rapper’s cell.
Correction officials say Amelia Negron got the boot for missing work. Negron claims superiors pressured her into saying she was trying to cozy up to Lil Wayne.
Earlier this month, Lil Wayne was shipped to an isolation cell – known as The Bing – after being caught with forbidden headphones and a charger for an MP3 player.
As I was watching “The Today Show” (on NBC) this morning, as I normally would, while I get “My Princess” ready for school. I heard them mention that Mariah Carey was going to be on and that she had a huge announcement to make. To my surprise it was a great one.She sat down with Billy Bush the host from Access Hollywood and made her announcement.
Check out the details after the jump, as to what I as well as the rest of the world saw and heard this morning.
Mariah Carey has officially confirmed to “The Today Show” that in fact she is expecting!
Carey said, “You’re the first person, and when I say the first I mean the first. We haven’t spoken to anybody else, but yes it’s true, we are pregnant!”
She didn’t really want to go into specifics as to how far along she is, but she did say, “it’s still early, but we’re expecting in the spring.”
Carey stated that it’s been tough to keep it all under wraps being in the spotlight, but because of her new album, ‘Merry Christmas II You’ (which is being released on Nov. 2), she felt it was time to share the news.
“It was difficult,” says Mariah about her struggles to conceive.
As her husband Nick Cannon entered the room to share the joy, he was congratulated and asked if it’s been emotional for him.
Nick says, “it’s absolutely emotional, but for many reasons. I mean obviously the greatest gift on Earth is a child, but than just the process of all we’ve been through.”
Mariah did mention that back when they first got married on March 30, 2008, and were in Monte Carlo for the World Music Awards, they were asked about being pregnant and they laughed it off. They also to the rumors having them question themselves, so they took a test, in which in fact came out positive. They took a few more to re-check and it turned out they were pregnant.
“Only one person knew about this,” says Mariah.
The joy for them didn’t last very long, when just a bit after a month or so she had suffered a miscarriage.
“It was really sad, so we had to really absorb this and take it in.” “Her strength would literally be during the day so festive, smiling for cameras and spending time with everyone, then later at night crying herself to sleep,” adds Nick.
The sex of the baby is yet to be determined, although there has been speculations that,“It’s A Boy.”
Check out the video below…
You can watch the whole interview tonight on Access Hollywood.
“I want to congratulate Mariah & Nick again for their baby news”
After much delay the first single for Lupe Fiasco’s new album ‘L.A.S.E.R.S’ is here! “The Show Goes On”, the track serves as the lead single to the rappers long overdue LP.
A frustrated Ne-Yo has hit out at internet hackers, after learning that his fourth studio album ‘Libra Scale’ has leaked more than 3 weeks before its Stateside or international release.
His comments after the jump…
Speaking on Twitter moments ago, the singer/songwriter, 31, said:
Salutations all. I’m in japan and my album officially came out today out here. Today is a day that I SHOULD be very happy, but it has been brought to my attention that my album was hacked and leaked in the U.S. roughly a month before it’s U.S. release.
Initially this angered me. It’s stealing plain n’ simple. But then I started thinking. Why do I make music….? To sell records, make money, or is it because I love it, love how it touches people, how it helps people? The honest answer is both…
However, my love for music and it’s effect on people, outweighs my desire to simply sell records, or get that number one debut spot.
In a time where people buy their status and falsify their success, can those things really be that important to me? The answer is no.
So with that said, I’ve come to this place of mental peace. No longer stressing people that steal the music, how it’ll effect my sales. The bottom line is, I worked hard on this project. The music, the concept, the whole lot is for the people, respect or not.
So if you as a fan give a damn about me, buy the album when it comes out. If you don’t care, go get it off the internet. Your choice.
Ether way, the music, the concept, the whole lot, served it’s purpose. It gave the people something quality to vibe to. I’m not solely in the business of selling records. I’m in the business of making art. That’s what an artist does, period.
So with that twit fam and haters alike, I bid you farewell for now, and leave you with this….
I’LL BE DAMNED IF YOU HACKER FUCKS GET MY NEXT ALBUM BEFORE IT’S TIME!!! FUCK YOU ALL!!!! Have a nice day.
Rihanna on Chris Brown: “I Needed That Wake-Up Call”
More than a year after Chris Brown pled guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend Rihanna in February 2009, the 22-year-old singer tells the December issue of Marie Claire UK that she doesn’t regret the traumatic experience.
“God has a crazy way of working, and sometimes when stuff happens you feel like, ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ Why was it backfiring on me?'” she recalls. “But I needed that wake-up call in my life. I needed a turning point, and that’s what God was giving to me.”
At the time, however, Rihanna says it was difficult to go through such a painful relationship in the public eye.
“All this terrible stuff they say to you, it breaks you down,” she says.
“[But] once you’re back on your feet — if you ever make it back on your feet — that’s the ultimate achievement.”
Still, she admits it wasn’t easy to break up with Brown, 21, who later pled guilty to a felony and accepted a plea deal that included more than 1,400 hours for community labor in addition to five years probation.
So how did Rihanna finally find the strength to end the toxic relationship?
“I remember I was in New York at the Trump Hotel and I woke up and I just knew I was over it. It was a different day. I felt different. I didn’t feel lonely,” she recalls. “I felt like I wanted to get up and be in the world. That was a great, great feeling.”
And she hasn’t looked back since.
“I feel like I smile for real this time. The smiles come from inside, and it exudes in everything I do,” she says. “People feel my energy is different. When I smile they can tell that it’s pure bliss and not just a cover up.”
Why Rihanna Skipped BFF Katy Perry’s Wedding
Katy Perry tied the knot with Russell Brand in India over the weekend, she was noticeably short one equally famous gal pal: Rihanna.
One of Perry‘s best friends, Rihanna, 22, was on hand for Perry‘s epic Vegas bachelorette bash in September, but wasn’t among friends and family when Perry, 25, wed Brand, 35, on an Indian tiger reserve on Oct. 23.
Why the no-show?
“Rih was finishing her album, and she just switched managers, so she had to pull out at the last minute,” a source close to the “Only Girl (In the World)” singer explains to UsMagazine.com.
“It was always sort of up in the air that she would go anyway, and Katy knew that,” the source adds. “They saved her a room just in case, but they always knew it would be nearly impossible for her to make it as she’s still finishing the album and it’s out in a few weeks. Rih was in the studio all weekend.”
Perry and Brand exchanged their vows against “the inspirational and majestic countryside of Northern India,” in a ceremony officiated by a Christian minister, according to her rep’s statement. Perry wore an Elie Saab haute couture dress.
The “Firework” singer and the British comic have since flown to the Maldives for their honeymoon.
Rihanna Bought Katy Perry a “Really Cool” Wedding Gift
She may not have been able to attend Katy Perry and Russell Brand‘s wedding in India last weekend, but Rihanna made sure the “Teenage Dream” singer knew she was there in spirit.
“I got her a really, really cool gift,” Rihanna, 22, told Entertainment Tonight Wednesday afternoon. “But I’ll let her tell you about that!”
Though Rihanna said she and Perry continued to text each other prior to the ceremony, she hasn’t heard a peep from her pal since Perry and Brand tied the knot.
“Ever since she’s been there it’s been no text messages because there’s no service,” the “Only Girl (In The World)” singer explained.
Multi-talented singer/producer Ryan Leslie got his laptop stolen in Germany over the weekend, and he’s offering a big reward of $20,000 to the snitch as Leslie explained in a YouTube video for its return.
Leslie claims the laptop and hard drive were stolen from a black Mercedes parked outside of Loom nightclub in Cologne, Germany, on the night of Oct. 23.
“Last night something very personal, something very special was taken. I’m offering a reward of $20,000,” Leslie explained in a YouTube video. “That reward is really not even close to the value of everything that we lost,” he continued. “I’ve been coming to Germany for like six years. I do it because I love the people here. I love the time that I have here. I love the experience that i have sharing my music with all of you. So last night the tools that I have to share with all of you, the videos i have of all the tours, the memories that we’ve made together, the music that I make, everything is gone, so if you have any information, if you’ve seen anything, if you hear anything, get at me.”
Leslie also took it beyond the video and appealed to his Twitter followers, beseeching fans to help him retrieve the laptop, which apparently was not completely backed up.
“For the record, I had so many amazing music & visual projects on that MacBook that I was working on to share with u this winter,” Leslie revealed.
If you have any information regarding Ryan Leslie’s lost laptop and hard drive, contact him at ryanleslielaptopreturn@gmail.com.
The Grammy-winning pop singer has parted ways with manager Marc Jordan and is now being managed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Management
So with the worldwide promotion of her upcoming album ‘Loud’ becoming a success, Rihanna has been making some serious future decisions in regards to her career.
According to The Associated Press, It looks like Riri is back in the arms (Beyoncé‘s place) or should we say under the wings of the one and only Jay-Z. And why? Because she has decided to join Willow Smith and others under Roc Nation management!
Rihanna is now under Jay-Z’s umbrella
Rihanna told The Associated Press in a statement Wednesday (Oct.20) that she’s “so excited to take this next step in my career.”
The 22-year-old is also launching a new company called, Rihanna Entertainment. She says it will “merge all of her businesses, including music, film, fragrance fashion and book ventures.”
Jay-Z signed Rihanna to Def Jam in 2005. The two won a Grammy in 2008 for the hit song “Umbrella.” Earlier this year, the pair picked up two Grammys for the rap song “Run This Town,” which also featured Kanye West.
Talking about the first time he met Rihanna, Jay-Z say he signed her only hours after seeing her audition:
“We signed her that night — 3 in the morning was when that contract got signed. We wouldn’t let her leave the office. From meeting her at 4 [p.m.] in the office till 3 in the morning, I was absolutely certain. That doesn’t happen too often.”
Rihanna however remembers the meeting a little bit differently saying she was super nervous:
“When we first got there, I was shaking. I had never met a celebrity, and to have to audition for one and meet him at the same time … I was hysterical. But the minute I went in the office, it was totally different. He was so welcoming; the environment was so warm and friendly. The jitters just went away immediately.”
So Jay-Z has always had a hand in Rihanna’s career and he rhymed on her biggest hit “Umbrella.” So it looks like the Roc fam is sticking together beyond Def Jam.
She’s released four albums and plans to release her fifth CD, “Loud,” on Nov. 16.
Jay-Z and Kanye West are working on a full album together.
The pair previously announced they were to collaborate for an EP called ‘Watch the Throne’, but Kanye has since revealed this will now become an album.
He told MTV:
“We’re putting out a whole album now. We had done five songs so far, but then a few of them kind of were out there – and I put them on my album. Sorry, Jay!”
Although Kanye used some of their initial ideas for his forthcoming ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ album – including the track “Monster”, a version of which featuring Jay-Z has been released – he added the pair have set a date to record again, and he doesn’t expect Jay to have any problems coming up with lyrics.
He added:
“We’re going to the South of France at the end of this month just to record new ideas. We’ll probably be done with the album in like a day or whatever. If you think about it, it’s really easy for Jay: He only has to think of, like, 10 verses!”
Kanye has a long association with Jay, working with the star as a producer on his breakthrough album ‘The Blueprint’ in 2001.
Jay-Z to Stump for Obama Again in 2012
During the 2008 presidential election, Jay-Z made it known that he was rooting for now-President Barack Obama. The rap superstar appeared at campaign rallies with Obama and even sang his praises during (typically sold-out) shows.
Jay-Z hasn’t been involved in the upcoming mid-term elections, but that doesn’t mean he’s done with politics. While speaking with the New York Post, Deputy White House Press Secretary William Burton made it sound like the Obama camp is expecting Jay-Z to help out in 2012.
Burton joked about the rapper taking over a key economic post before admitting his appeal to the Democratic party.
“In all seriousness, keep in mind he was pretty active during the 2008 election, so I don’t think it’d surprise anyone that he would be involved again,” Burton said. “But it’s a little premature.”
I’m A Business, Man! Jay-Z’s 10 Smartest Business Decisions According to Vibe Magazine
Guess who’s bizzack? Less than a month before the release of “Decoded”, a book that breaks down the meanings behind many of his most complicated lyrics, Jay-Z is proving once again why he landed atop of the Forbes “Hip-Hop Cash Kings” list late last summer.
Last week, Hov teamed up with Microsoft‘s search engine Bing to launch an advertisement campaign that will see pages from his upcoming book plastered to billboards throughout the country as well as surfaces like the bottom of a pool and the top of a pool table. Jay-Z fans are encouraged to use Bing to find and locate these pages, and the first fan that locates all of them and “decodes” them properly will win a chance
to catch a Jay-Z concert in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve.
It’s already proven to be an incredibly deft business move by Jay-Z. The promotion has given the book a ton of free press and a good chance of moving off bookshelves quickly on Nov. 16.
In honor of Hov‘s latest deal, VIBE looks back at 10 of his smartest business decisions. If you’ve ever wondered how he managed to take his life from Marcy to Madison Square, look no further.
“I think the list is a bit bogus. Nothing against VIBE by all means they are a great magazine. I just feel the list could have been put together more for his Business/Investment ventures, rather than what kind of champagne he prefers, but that’s just me.”
Here’s one from wikipedia.org:
Jay-Z has also established himself as an entrepreneur like his fellow hip hop moguls and friends, Russell Simmons, Dr. Dre and Sean “Diddy” Combs, who also have business holdings such as record companies and clothing lines. In an interview, he stated that “my brands are an extension of me. They’re close to me. It’s not like running GM, where there’s no emotional attachment.” He is the founder of the urban clothing brand Rocawear along with Damon Dash. Rocawear has clothing lines and accessories for men, women and children. The line was taken over by Jay-Z in early 2006 following a falling out with Dash. In March 2007, Jay-Z sold the rights to the Rocawear brand to Iconix Brand Group, for $204 million. Jay-Z will retain his stake in the company and will continue to oversee the marketing, licensing and product development.He also co-owns The 40/40 Club, an upscale sports bar that started in New York City and has since expanded to Atlantic City and Chicago. In 2008, the 40/40 club in Las Vegas was closed down and bought back by the hotel after attendance steadily declined. Future plans will see 40/40 Clubs in Tokyo and Singapore. In 2005, Jay-Z became an investor in Carol’s Daughter, a line of beauty products, including products for hair, skin, and hands, as well as fragrances.
Jay-Z serves as co-brand director for Budweiser Select and collaborates with the company on strategic marketing programs and creative ad development. He provides direction on brand programs and ads that appear on TV, radio, print, and high-profile events. He is a part-owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team paying a reported $4.5 million for his share. He is interested in relocating the team to Brooklyn. In October 2005, he was reported in English media as considering buying a stake of Arsenal F.C., an English soccer team. He has also invested in a real estate development venture called J Hotels which recently acquired a $66 million mid-block parcel in Chelsea, New York. Jay-Z and his partners are contemplating constructing a high-end hotel or an art gallery building on the newly acquired site which has the potential to go up about twelve stories. Through his company Gain Global Investments Network LLC, had an interest estimated between 2 and 7% in the Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG) consortium which in January 2010 was awarded a contract to operate a 4,500 slot machine racino at the Aqueduct Race Track. Jay-Z became interested in the project after New York Governor David Paterson who awarded the contract said there had to be an affirmative action component to the ownership. Jay-Z initially approached Steve Wynn who was also bidding on the contract. On March 9, 2010, Jay-Z and Flake withdrew from the project and Paterson recused himself from further involvement.
Jay-Z’s Interview With The Wall Street Journal
Here are excerpts from an interview from The Wall Street Journal with Jay-Z in his office.
WSJ: This book puts a frame around your career. When did you really start thinking about how you wanted to present your legacy?
Jay-Z: You think about legacy before you even start. When a kid is practicing on the basketball court, it’s “5-4-3-2-1 and the crowd goes crazy!”
As you start realizing your dreams and it’s tangible, you think about it in a real way. But I think that emotion happens from the beginning, from record one.
The legacy, I think about that as I make the music, all the time. How can I make the best album of all time? You always fail. But every time I go up to bat, I’m thinking how can I make an album better than “Thriller.”
WSJ: I’ve talked to some of your friends who say that when you guys make personal career decisions, you’re taking into account how the decisions will move hip-hop culture forward overall. Can you give me an example?
Jay-Z: For us, this is the music that saved a generation. So there’s a big responsibility for those who it saved to make sure that thing is intact for the next generation. We’re the first generation that really took advantage of it, starting with Puff [Daddy] and Master P, guys who really made a name and became successful as entrepreneurs.
Even more than that, when you’re under attack so much as a genre [as hip hop is], you’re forced to come together. But probably the last time we really came together on something was working for Obama, lending our voice and the people we had toward that campaign. Whether he does a great job or not is almost secondary to what it did for the dreams and the hopes of an entire race. Just based on that alone, it’s a success, the biggest we’ve had. Period. To date. It’s Martin Luther King’s dream realized. Tangible. In the flesh. You can shake his hand.
WSJ: What would you change about hip-hop if you could?
Jay-Z: We have to find our way back to true emotion. This is going to sound so sappy, but love is the only thing that stands the test of time. “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” was all about love. Andre 3000, “The Love Below.” Even NWA, at its core, that was about love for a neighborhood.
We’re chasing a lot of sounds now, but I’m not hearing anyone’s real voice. The emotion of where you are in your life. The mortgage scandal. People losing their jobs. I want to hear about that.
WSJ: What’s the most important decision you made along the way to help keep your career in your own hands?
Jay-Z: We got lucky. In the beginning we couldn’t get a deal. We had to work our own records in the beginning. It gave us a different way to negotiate when we came to the table. Most people get excited and take the first deal they’re offered. We had a little bit of success already, so we were stubborn enough to think that we could really do it at that point. They offered us a deal and we asked for a co-venture. That pretty much ensured that we’d have control from the beginning, from album one.
WSJ: You don’t hand out awards. Are there other things you say no to automatically?
Jay-Z: That doesn’t have anything to do with building the myth. I’m just uncomfortable speaking. I can do a stadium show for two hours and I’m in my comfort zone. But if you look at any of my acceptance speeches they’re maybe seven seconds. I want to get off the stage.
Check out a video below of an exclusive Amazon.com interview with Jay-Z about his book “Decoded”
Jay drops some book knowledge in this exclusive interview for Amazon.com. He gives more detail about what we can expect from “Decoded” when it hits stores on November 16th.
JNEL & J. Magazine 