2013 Grammy Nominations

Record of the year

Get Lucky — Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams

Radioactive — Imagine Dragons

Royals — Lorde

Locked Out Of Heaven — Bruno Mars

Blurred Lines — Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. & Pharrell

Album of the Year

The Blessed Unrest — Sara Bareilles

Random Access Memories — Daft Punk

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City — Kendrick Lamar

The Heist — Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Red — Taylor Swift
Song of the Year

Just Give Me A Reason — Jeff Bhasker, Pink & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Pink Featuring Nate Ruess)

Locked Out Of Heaven — Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine & Bruno Mars, songwriters (Bruno Mars)

Roar — Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Katy Perry & Henry Walter, songwriters (Katy Perry)

Royals — Joel Little & Ella Yelich O’Connor, songwriters (Lorde)

Same Love —- Ben Haggerty, Mary Lambert & Ryan Lewis, songwriters (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Mary Lambert)

Best New Artist

James Blake

Kendrick Lamar

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Kacey Musgraves

Ed Sheeran
Best Pop Solo Performance

Brave —- Sara Bareilles

Royals — Lorde

When I Was Your Man — Bruno Mars

Roar —- Katy Perry

Mirrors —- Justin Timberlake

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Get Lucky — Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams

Just Give Me A Reason — Pink Featuring Nate Ruess

Stay — Rihanna Featuring Mikky Ekko

Blurred Lines — Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. & Pharrell

Suit & Tie — Justin Timberlake & Jay Z

Best Pop Instrumental Album

Steppin’ Out — Herb Alpert

The Beat —- Boney James

Handpicked — Earl Klugh

Summer Horns — Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair & Richard Elliot

Hacienda — Jeff Lorber Fusion

Best Pop Vocal Album

Paradise — Lana Del Rey

Pure Heroine — Lorde

Unorthodox Jukebox — Bruno Mars

Blurred Lines — Robin Thicke

The 20/20 Experience — The Complete Experience — Justin Timberlake
Best Dance Recording

Need U (100%) — Duke Dumont Featuring A*M*E & MNEK

Sweet Nothing — Calvin Harris Featuring Florence Welch

Atmosphere — Kaskade

This Is What It Feels Like — Armin Van Buuren Featuring Trevor Guthrie

Clarity — Zedd Featuring Foxes

Best Dance/Electronica Album

Random Access Memories — Daft Punk

Settle — Disclosure

18 Months — Calvin Harris

Atmosphere — Kaskade

A Color Map of the Sun — Pretty Lights

R&B Field

Best R&B Performance

Love And War — Tamar Braxton

Best Of Me — Anthony Hamilton

Nakamarra — Hiatus Kaiyote Featuring Q-Tip

How Many Drinks? — Miguel Featuring Kendrick Lamar

Something — Snarky Puppy with Lalah Hathaway

Best Traditional R&B Performance

Please Come Home — Gary Clark Jr.

Get It Right — Fantasia

Quiet Fire — Maysa

Hey Laura — Gregory Porter

Yesterday — Ryan Shaw

Best R&B Song

Best Of Me – Anthony Hamilton & Jairus Mozee, songwriters (Anthony Hamilton)

Love And War – Tamar Braxton, Darhyl Camper, Jr., LaShawn Daniels & Makeba Riddick, songwriters (Tamar Braxton)

Only One – PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton Featuring Stevie Wonder)

Pusher Love Girl – James Fauntleroy, Jerome Harmon, Timothy Mosley & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (Justin Timberlake)

Without Me – Fantasia Barrino, Missy Elliott, Al Sherrod Lambert, Harmony Samuels & Kyle Stewart, songwriters (Fantasia Featuring Kelly Rowland & Missy Elliot)

Best Urban Contemporary Album

Love And War – Tamar Braxton

Side Effects Of You – Fantasia

One: In The Chamber – Salaam Remi

Unapologetic – Rihanna

New York: A Love Story – Mack Wilds

Best R&B Album

R&B Divas – Faith Evans

Girl On Fire – Alicia Keys

Love In The Future – John Legend

Better – Chrisette Michele

Three Kings – TGT
Rap Field

Best Rap Performance

Started From The Bottom – Drake

Berzerk – Eminem

Tom Ford – Jay Z

Swimming Pools (Drank) – Kendrick Lamar

Thrift Shop – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Wanz

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

Power Trip – J. Cole Featuring Miguel

Part II (On The Run) – Jay Z Featuring Beyoncé

Holy Grail – Jay Z Featuring Justin Timberlake

Now Or Never – Kendrick Lamar Featuring Mary J. Blige

Remember You – Wiz Khalifa Featuring The Weeknd

Best Rap Song

…Problems – Tauheed Epps, Aubrey Graham, Kendrick Lamar, Rakim Mayers & Noah Shebib, songwriters (ASAP Rocky Featuring Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar)

Holy Grail – Shawn Carter, Terius Nash, J. Harmon, Timothy Mosley, Justin Timberlake & Ernest Wilson, songwriters (Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl & Krist Novoselic, songwriters) (Jay Z Featuring Justin Timberlake)

New Slaves – Christopher Breaux, Ben Bronfman, Mike Dean, Louis Johnson, Malik Jones, Elon Rutberg, Sakiya Sandifer, Che Smith, Kanye West & Cydell Young, songwriters (Anna Adamis & Gabor Presser, songwriters) (Kanye West)

Started From The Bottom – W. Coleman, Aubrey Graham & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Bruno Sanfilippo, songwriter) (Drake)

Thrift Shop – Ben Haggerty & Ryan Lewis, songwriters (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Wanz)

Best Rap Album

Nothing Was The Same – Drake

Magna Carta…Holy Grail – Jay Z

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City – Kendrick Lamar

The Heist – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Yeezus – Kanye West

The Brothers... 2

With the success of The Best Man sequel, The Best Man Holiday, I think we are about to start seeing a lot of familiar faces and sequels on the big screen! Rumor has it actors, Bill Bellamy, Shemar Moore, D.L. Hughley, and Morris Chestnut, are signing on right now for the 2001 sequel for ”The Brothers.” Bill Bellamy posted the photo (above) along with the caption: “#LADIES THE BROTHERS 2 THE BOYS ARE BACK!! You ready?? Lol.

There has been no official announcement about the sequel from the possible director or distributor. Bill Bellamy will be on the Tom Joyner Morning Show very soon to talk about it! Hopefully its true because the 13 year old original is a classic and grossed $30 million nationwide.
Sidenote: It wild to say the film grossed 30 mil as a positive when The Best Man Holiday made that on its opening night.

Christmas Jingle Singles: 2013 R&B Christmas Singles

Singles: 

Singer-songwriter/Eva Marcille’s future baby daddy, Kevin McCall adds to the list of R&B singers holiday tracks this holiday season with “Merry Little Christmas (Without You). 



Neyo’s Compund record label protégé RaVaughn adds to lonely lovers Christmas mixtape for this year lol with Just Another Holiday.



[Side Note: These two Christmas singles are okay, but what happened to Christmas songs that actually sound like Christmas songs… I mean can I hear a few light bells in background or something?! I’m not saying they have to be all upbeat and jolly. Some of my favorites are Johnny Gill’s ”Give Love On Christmas Day” and The Emotions’ ”What Do The Lonely Do.” But I digress, judge them for yourselves.]

H to the Izzo V to Egan

Jay-Z is going on VEGAN …for a 22 day challenge!

Jay-Z wrote on his Life and Times website:

Psychologists have said it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. On the 22nd day, you’ve found the way. 

On December 3rd, one day before my 44th birthday I will embark on a 22 Days challenge to go completely vegan, or as I prefer to call it, plant-based!! This all began a few months back when a good friend and vegan challenged me to embrace a “plant-based breakfast” everyday. It was surprisingly easier on me than I thought… 

Why now? There’s something spiritual to me about it being my 44th birthday and the serendipity behind the number of days in this challenge; 22 (2+2=4) coupled with the fact that the challenge ends on Christmas day…It just feels right! 

So you can call it a spiritual and physical cleanse. I will post my progress… Any professional vegans out there that have any great food spots please help out! Please ha. I don’t know what happens after Christmas. A semi-vegan, a full plant-based diet? Or just a spiritual and physical challenge? We’ll see… 

Best of luck and health!

P.S. B is also joining me.

I wish Jay and B the best of luck.

[Side Note: Rich vegans come a dime a dozen. It's the broke vegans who have my utmost respect.]