WOW! Beyoncé and Jay-Z are sharing their world in a way we’ve never seen before. The happy parents debuted photos of their newborn daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, and don’t even front…the baby is adorable : )

I also think it’s a nice change that the Carters eschewed the whole tabloid bidding war tackiness, instead choosing to post the photos on the Blue Ivy’s own tumblr page, lol. (Do you think tumblr had to come up off something though?)

Check out more super cute photos of hip hop’s first family: Jay-Z holding his daughter, close-ups of Blue Ivy’s face and more…
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Beyoncé made her first public appearance since giving birth to Baby Blue Ivy Carter on Feb. 7, 2012! Beyoncé joined hubby Jay-Z at the after-party for his United Way Carnegie Hall charity concert. Are you even surprised that she looked completely flawless less than one month after having a baby? I’m not.

The lighting and the background, plus the fact that we know all the styling credits of her outfit, point to these photos being more planned than impromptu but no matter, fans have all been eager for a glimpse of Mrs. Carter. She’s curvier than her standard “promo-weight” and glows with that new-mom confidence : )
Beyoncé’s dress is by Temperly, jewelry by her pal Lorraine Schwartz, clutch by Alexander McQueen and embroidered shoes by Louboutin…

But Beyoncé had her baby on her mind tonight…
She paid tribute to her daughter with her manicure, of course!

Check out Beyonce’s amazing post-baby figure…
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(The Hunger Games: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Lenny Kravitz looking like they got dressed in a goth sex shop.)

Huzzah! If you only care about the latest “Stay Scheming” freestyle, just keep scrolling to the next post…because this one is personal!
You already know I’m a huge nerdy retainer-wearing buffpuff-exfoliating comp-notebook-doodling security-blanket-carrying superfan of The Hunger Games book series. Basically, it’s about a future world where the country’s evil dictatorship forces kids from poor areas into a yearly deathmatch to earn food. If you ever saw the very twisted Japanese movie Battle Royale, it’s somewhat similar…but with more sci-fi and, aww, triangle teen romance!

I’ve been closely tracking the progress of the first movie in the trilogy for months. But with some skepticism. (Why is the “girl on fire” dress so lame? Why does those horrible fighting uniforms look like outlet UnderArmour? Why does the set look like a bad WB pilot? Why the hell is Lenny Kravitz in this? And most of all, for the love of Team Jacob, don’t you guys see how much money Twilight made? Put a little effort into this thing!)

But with the movie release on March 23rd, there’s a new trailer I can sink my teeth into! (and pick apart like a dingo on a rotting carcass)

Watch Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are Alright), Liam Hemsworth (um, Thor’s little brother and Miley Cyrus’ boyfriend)….
In The Hunger Games trailer…
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After all the highs and one particular low in 2011, it’s only right that Rick Ross celebrate his birthday with lots of pomp and circumstance…and famous people…and sparklers! And white satin.
If you weren’t lucky enough to get into Miami’s Club Amnesia to party with Rawse, MMG’s DreFilms put together a slick 6-minute recap of Ross with Styles P, Jadakiss, Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose, French Montana, Diddy, Sway, my buddy Rahman, Cassie, DJ Khaled and more…
But the highlight was when Dr. Dre gave his new work-bestie a shockingly generous birthday gift: an iced-out Hublot watch!

Which reminded me of another recent token of bromance affection….
Didn’t Floyd Mayweather give 50 Cent that very same watch too?

TWINSIES!
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“Your base tan’s lookin’ nice. I’m hoping to get there myself this season.”

I’ve been trying to escape something horrible awful hurl-inducing that infected my eyes the other day….but to no avail. I’m talking about those photos of Christina Aguilera singing at Etta James’ memorial service. It wasn’t her weird bank teller skirt suit, or her inappropriate Frederick’s of Hollywood bustier. Or her aggressive thighnees. And I fully admit that she rocked her rendition of Etta’s “At Last.” But as much as we all keep telling ourselves that Xtina had an unfortunate “spraytan” malfunction…my twisted brain just keeps poking holes in that explanation for what my eyes can’t un-see.

The only thing that has helped to distract me today….a new trailer for the upcoming season of HBO’s Eastbound & Down, which kicks off Feb 19. Kenny Powers is back from Mexico, he’s got a new baseball team, he’s back with his woman, his “manager” is still mentally challenged….but Kenny’s got a new bestie, Shane, played by Jason Sudeikis! This is a new macho side of simpy Jason that we rarely see on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. I bet Shane is the one who bagged Olivia Wilde.

But soon, my mind will drift back to the horror of Xtina’s inner-leg condensation. And Misery loves company….
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(photoshop via EgoTrip’s video montage)

Let us quickly recap the season of Common vs. Drake Beef thus far:

Common dates Serena Williams. Drake dates Serena Williams. Common is down with Kanye. Drake is down with Young Money. Common spits subliminals at Drake on “Sweet.” Drake makes subliminal outburst onstage in Cali. Common admits to Drake subliminal disses on the song “Sweet”. Drake spits subliminal lyrics in “Stay Scheming.” Common disses Drake by name on “Stay Scheming” remake. Common tells interviewers the beef is just normal “hip hop competitiveness” and that he’s done….

But does Drake see this as just rap battling? Will there be a rebuttal? Nahright’s Nation (a liner-noted friend of Drake’s) got an exclusive comment from Drake on the set of “The Zone” video:

Nation: So people want to know: will you respond to Common?
Drake: No. Because despite how it’s been worded by him that situation is not a “hip hop moment” or a “battle for the sake of musical integrity”…it’s a ploy for attention around the release of an album. More than anything it was just disappointing cause what kid isn’t a fan of what Common has done for our genre. A guy who made such an incredible career for himself based off expressing genuine feelings about life and love is now targeting me for sharing my story.

Oh. Dang.

After the jump, Drake explains why he took a shot at Kobe’s wealthy ex-wife on “Stay Scheming”….
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By the end of this week, M.I.A. will have been on American Idol (premiering Madonna’s “Give Me All Your Lovin’” video with her and Nicki Minaj), and at the halftime show of the Superbowl. How in the world can you possibly even pretend to be some kind of edgy anti-establishment fight-the-power “bad girl” at this point? But M.I.A. is still hanging onto her hipster metrocard, despite her billion-dollar baby, and upcoming hank-williams-jr astroturf status.

And just in time to confuse the Middle Americans who will be tuning in to watch “Madonner” between bites of cheesy bread on Sunday…M.I.A. drops “Bad Girls,” (via Pitchfork) the lead single for her upcoming 4th album. The song is produced by Danja (Timbaland’s “co”-producer) and sounds pretty much like you’d expect. It’s not horrible. It’s just disappointing.

“Bad Girls” sounds like Gwen Stefani adopting another new ethnicity, or Eve giving it another go with whoever Dr. Dre has locked in his basement, or Kreyshawn doing an Old Navy ad. Zzzz. But with all of the new things that M.I.A. has seen/been bought/been fed in the last few years of her interesting journey…I’d think she’d be able to pull up some of that rich girl rage and act out. (Like with that nutty “Born Free” video) We’ll see what happens with Friday’s “Bad Girl” video debut, also by “Born Free” director Romain Gavras. Will there be black humor and apocalyptic violence? Or just multi-culti kitsch and bad Islamic calligraphy fonts. Oh, wait…that’s already on the single art.

Listen to M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls”….after the jump
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I’m determined to get into HBO’s new horseracing drama Luck if it’s the last thing my brain can hold….because with dual creators like Michael Mann (Heat) and David Milch (Deadwood), I know there must be jewels being dropped….but after the confusing pilot episode, all I really keep thinking is….when is Game of Thrones coming back?

April 1, 2012 actually. And having read George R.R. Martin’s Clash of Kings, the sequel to Game of Thrones which is what this upcoming season is based on…I already know this is going to get intense.

But regardless of what lies ahead…how much do you want that little s–t King Joffrey Lannister to die? Even this child actor should get a Golden Globe for most annoying face. It’s amazing how this kid encompasses all of the “craven” bitchassness of the book’s character.

Sorry for the visceral reaction. It’s Monday and I’m pre-coffee. But guys, there will be lots of offal-eating Queen Daenerys for you being a bad-ass. And for me….more sad snowy Wall watching.

(French Montana backstage with Kanye West)

Back in Nov. of 2011, French Montana was being courted by Rick Ross, Def Jam, Diddy, and Kanye West….And at one point, French was confident enough that he would be the next member of GOOD Music, that he even hinted it to Angie Martinez. A a month later, French was up on 106 n Park with Diddy plotting the future of Bad Boy….so what happened? Like a line out of Cool Hand Luke…a failure to communicate, lol….
French explained the problem to Angie Martinez in this hilarious snippet:

Angie: “You and Kanye, I thought this was happening…”
French: “Yeah, we all big fans of Kanye, Jay-Z and everything. My thing was, I met up with him one time, and then I met up with him again. But it’s like…Kanye doesn’t have a phone. Let’s just put it out there like that. So, in order to get in contact with him, you have to email him. I mean you can’t tell me to do that. I don’t know how to use an email. So I guess me and him was never gonna talk? And I’m putting my career in your hands?…You know what I’m saying. But he’s definitely talented, I feel like if I had went there we would definitely have made history….”

Haha! One man refusing to be tethered to a phone. The other man refusing to adopt  “email.” I actually think it would make for an amazing social experiment. If you think about it, being disconnected is the most extravagant luxury of all. (ps: I think French is exaggerating about his lack of email skills. I mean I hope. Let us pray ; )

Listen to the rest of French’s interview with Angie Martinez after the jump.
They talk about his new found celebrity, what he thinks about Drake vs. Common, and what it was like to meet Rihanna…..
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It’s kind of a comeback….for the Grammy’s that is. After 7 years of rudderless, aimless, unmanned ceremony, the 2012 Grammy Awards will be hosted by LL Cool J. While most of us didn’t really notice, the awards have just used a stream of presenters and pre-presenters since 2005, when Queen Latifah was the last official host.
Does that mean that this year will be any less of a snore? Probably not. But LL is likeable, respected and mainstream enough to bridge all Grammy audiences.
Even though LL Cool J was part of the Grammy nomination show’s Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five tribute, his hosting gig probably has less to do with his status as a hip hop legend, and more to do with the fact that his TV show NCIS: Los Angeles helps to keep the old people network CBS on top of the ratings. The CBS is also the home of the Grammy telecast…which is also why the goth chick from NCIS always ends up awkwardly presenting an award.
But even if NARAS prefers Todd James, LL Cool J will always be hip hop, so it’s a win.

LL Cool J’s statement…and more Grammy details…
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