R&B singer turned Author Raz B is releasing damning details about the personal lives of his peers.
Raz B, the dude with gay issues is back with a vengeance.
In a new book, among others, he’s calling out Bow Wow, Chris Brown and Ray J as being gay, according to a PRLog press release
“This Boy’s Life”, a tell-all book by the former B2k member is on course to rock the music world. Set to be released through a small publisher Corona Sky Productions.
Raz, born DeMario Thornton, plans to “expose” many of his peers’ personal life. Today, excerpts of the book leaked online.
In chapter 4 Thornton spoke about his time in B2k:
“There were no girls; there were no breaks, and absolutely NO meat. Our diet was so strict that I remember passing out during rehearsals because of our heavily restricted diet.” Thornton goes on to say, “More important than the food was girls. Girls were not allowed to even have our number. Chris(Stokes) would say that girls were a distraction, but in reality, it was just for his own sexual desires.”
Raz B has accused former manager and first cousin Chris Stokes of molesting him and many others affiliated with his management firm. Thornton goes heavily into the molestation:
“Chris was gay- he tried his best to hide his sexual appetite from his family, but we knew. Chris would make us (members of B2k) go into rooms and have oral and sometimes anal sex. He often time would take pictures of us engaging in sex acts. To this day, I think he still has those images.”
“Me and Boog (Jarell Houston, known as J. Boog) resisted the most. Fizz and Omari (Omarion) however seemed a lot easier to take advantage of. I suspect it was because Fizz was so much younger and Omari was just gay.”
Raz also spoke on his peers stating:
“Ray J was cool at first. I was under the impression that he wanted to help me. But just like with Whitney (Houston) he was just looking for someone to use. Ray J said that he was mad about how Chris did us and other artist, but Ray J just wanted airtime.” He went on to say, “Ray J made a diss song about Chris being gay, but that’s the kettle calling the pot black.”
Hip hop artist Bow Wow also was on Raz’s radar:
“Bow Wow was younger than all of us, but the record company figured his affiliation with us (B2k) would be great. I didn’t see it for myself but I was told by Fizz that Bow Wow and he got involved with each other. I didn’t put a lot of stock in it then. It would be a few years until I realize that Fizz wasn’t lying. In 2005 Bow Wow and Omari became ‘inseparable.’ It wasn’t until rumors forced Bow Wow to end the relationships. The gay talk was hurting Bow Wow’s business.”
Perhaps the most interesting leak was about R&B singer Chris Brown. In 2011, Chris Brown and Raz were embroiled in a nasty feud via twitter. Chris Brown accused Raz of being gay and Raz responded by outing him.
“They say you never know who knows who. Chris Brown didn’t think about that when he attacked me online. I have a friend that’s very close to Chris’ camp who told me that Chris was involved with an up and coming songwriter Andre Merritt. So when Chris started going in calling people ‘gay’ and ‘fags’ I just dropped Andre Merritt’s name. I knew it was true when he decided to shut up.”
Raz is currently touring in China but is expected to return Stateside in August. He plans to begin promoting his book at The Wendy Williams show, according to the press release.
Usher Talks Big Theater Debut and New Music
Usher certainly showed up and showed out for his one night only appearance in the off-Broadway show, “Fuerza Bruta.”
The singer worked his butt off to give his audience a real show as the play’s lead, “Running Man,” and even gave a preview to his June 12 album “Looking 4 Myself.”
So just like any other show, the singer had to be conditioned to dance. But he also had to add some running, jumping and tumbling for his part on stage.
He shared in a interview with MTV his new found appreciation for theater, saying it gives a visual to his music.
“It’s not often that you’re able to give somewhat of a visual or an emotional kind of basis of what your songs mean,” he said. “A lot of times we’re running thorough life and were trying to find ourselves, and I feel like that was somewhat of what the messaging was with the show, but it was really artistic.
“This is more artistic an album than I’ve had in history and I felt like, yeah, it would be a physical challenge, yeah it would be a lot for me, but [I want to] at least try it,” he added. “There are many times I’d seen the show and I’d only hoped that I would make it happen. It looked it really hard, they made it look easy, but it was obviously hard. But, of course, I’ve been training and it came at a perfect time.”
Flavor Flav Looking at Jail Time for Not Paying Child Support
Flavor Flav is back in the news again.
This time the Public Enemy hype man is facing allegations that he has failed to pay over $111,000 in child support to a woman who gave birth to three of his seven children.
Flavor Flav, 53, whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr. faces a 180 day jail sentence for the charge if he fails to pay up. A magistrate in Albany County, NY called for the sentence and for his license to be revoked after a hearing.
“It was declared a willful violation,” an official said.
Stars of Appropriate Adult are big winners at TV Baftas
Dominic West and Emily Watson were among the big winners at the TV Bafta Awards, winning for their powerful performances in Fred West drama Appropriate Adult.
Coronation Street has won the best soap and continuing drama award, beating last year's winner EastEnders.
Andrew Scott won the best supporting actor for Sherlock, in which he plays Sherlock's arch nemesis Moriarty.
In winning the award he beat co-star Martin Freeman, who won it last year.
Speaking before the ceremony, Benedict Cumberbatch - who plays Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series - said he was "keeping his fingers crossed for both Andrew and Martin", but added "I hope Andrew gets to share the glory that Martin had last year."
Cumberbatch missed out in the best actor category to Dominic West, who played serial killer Fred West in the ITV drama.
Watson, who collected best actress, played the volunteer companion to Fred West Janet Leach.
'Tabloid driven'
She said: "It was such a disturbing place to go. In my speech I was very overwhelmed I forgot to thank Janet Leach, she gave very generously to us.
"The public perception of the West case is a tabloid-driven view and then I read the script and it was a very intelligent piece full of integrity.
"It's a deep abyss right in the middle of our society."
Collecting his award, Dominic West said: "I hope she has had some closure and we have honoured the suffering she endured and the suffering of all the West's victims, living and dead."
Appropriate Adult also saw Monica Dolan win best supporting actress for her portrayal of Rosemary West.
But it lost out in the best mini-series category to This is England '88, written by Shane Meadows.
During the event both artist and presenter Rolf Harris and Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat received special awards.
Harris was presented with a Bafta fellowship recognising his "outstanding and exceptional contribution to television".
Rolf Harris says he was humbled by his Bafta fellowship
Harris told BBC News: "It's unbelievable for a start, it's very humbling and thrilling. I can't tell you how exciting it was when they asked if I would accept the award."
Receiving his award, Moffat said he owed a great deal to "the two best things the British have ever given to the world: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who".
Speaking backstage Moffat, who is head writer on Doctor Who and co-creator of Sherlock, also said he was delighted Andrew Scott had won the best supporting actor award.
"In the first series he was only Moriarty in the last scene, and he became a star from the last scene. It takes an extraordinary powerful actor to do that."
The Great British Bake Off, which pits amateur cooks against each other, won the best feature category.
Presenter Mel Giedroyc said backstage: "We never realised there could be such drama in a quiche. It's a gentle show - it's not about trauma and backstories."
New category reality and constructed factual was won by The Young Apprentice.
The best entertainment show went to Graham Norton for The Graham Norton Show. He was unable to collect the award himself as he was travelling back from Azerbaijan after presenting the Eurovision Song Contest.
The comedy performance awards went to Jennifer Saunders for Absolutely Fabulous, and Darren Boyd for Spy.
The International category was won by Danish political drama Borgen, shown on BBC Four, which beat Danish police drama The Killing, US comedy Modern Family and Australian drama The Slap.
And viewers voted for the audience award category which was won by Celebrity Juice.
Heat pull away from Celts in Eastern finals opener
The way LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are rolling right now, one bad quarter is hardly too much for the Miami Heat to overcome.
And with that, the Heat are three wins away from another trip to the NBA Finals.
James scored 32 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Wade scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and the Heat beat the Boston Celtics 93-79 on Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
"One down. And they still have an opportunity in Game 2 to accomplish what they want to," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, referring to how Boston can still grab home-court advantage by winning Game 2. "At times it was a strange game. Some good runs, both teams. We felt we could have played better and I'm sure they felt the same thing. But we found a way to grind it."
Shane Battier, playing in the conference finals for the first time, had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who wasted an early 11-point first-half lead, then gave up 35 second-quarter points before running away to break a halftime tie -- getting going with a 9-2 run early in the third.
Miami outrebounded the Celtics 48-33, blocked 11 shots and didn't trail at any time.
"A block is like a dunk," Wade said. "It gets your team going."
Kevin Garnett had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, which got 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Rajon Rondo and 12 points from Paul Pierce. Ray Allen shot just 1 for 7 from the floor for Boston, which was outscored by 10 in the first quarter and 11 in the third.
"On the road, you can't have two quarters of lulls," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Miami.
And while both sides would say there's a long way to go in this series, Game 1 winners have a decided edge in any best-of-seven, the conference final being no exception. In the most recent 10 postseasons, teams with 1-0 leads in conference finals have advanced 15 out of 20 times.
James and Wade scored 197 points in the final three games of Miami's second-round series with Indiana, all those games being Heat wins. The momentum carried over into Game 1 with the Celtics.
"We get a lot of the press, we get a lot of the headlines," James said. "But our teammates, they do everything to help us win ball games."
It's the third straight year the Heat and Celtics have met in the playoffs, and the third straight year James has seen his postseason path go through Boston -- the first of those matchups coming in 2010 in his final run with Cleveland.
Each of those came in the first or second rounds, not this close to the NBA Finals. And yes, the rivalry seems to be heating again.
"They're home, they're comfortable and when you're comfortable you do things like that," Garnett said, suggesting that Miami was showboating at times down the stretch. "We have to show them to take them out of their comfort zone. We've got to fight a lot harder."
Last season's Miami-Boston series ended with James scoring the final 10 points of Game 5, and the start of this year's matchup had him putting on another offensive display.
He had 13 points in the first quarter -- two more than the entire Celtics roster -- and Miami ran out to a 21-11 lead after the opening period. Garnett made three of his four shots in the quarter, while everyone else in Boston green was 2 for 16 from the floor.
"I thought they were ready to play," Rivers said. "I'm talking about Miami. I thought we kind of joined the game."
The 11 points matched the lowest output by any team in the opening quarter this postseason. The other team to manage that few was San Antonio, which then dropped 32 on the Los Angeles Clippers in the second quarter of their game on May 19.
The Celtics' response was even better.
Boston scored 35 in the second quarter, erasing what was an 11-point deficit early in the period by scoring 27 points in the final 8:46 of the half to pull into a 46-all tie. Rondo, Garnett and Pierce combined to score 23 points in the quarter, looking absolutely vintage, near-perfect offensive execution getting to Miami time and time again.
And the Celtics' comeback happened even while they got hit with three technical fouls in the second quarter, plus Allen missing four first-half free throws -- matching his career-worst for an entire game.
"We may never see that again," Rivers said.
In the end, it went down as merely a one-quarter lapse for Miami.
Another technical foul, this one on Rondo, came in the third quarter, likely born from frustration as the Heat started to roll again.
With the game tied at 50, Rondo missed three shots in a 31-second span early in the third, the last of those getting blocked by Battier -- who hit a 3-pointer 11 seconds later. It started a 9-2 Miami burst, including a touchdown pass from Wade to James -- Wade grabbed the rebound of a miss by Pierce, spun and delivered a 90-foot pass to the reigning MVP -- for an easy score.
"We knew at halftime we hadn't played our best basketball," James said. "So we just had to stop making the mental mistakes and start to play the way we're capable of playing."
And that's what happened.
Miami led by as many as 13 late in the third, before taking a 72-61 lead into the fourth. James scored 10 more in the third, Boston went cold again, shooting just 27 percent in the period, and Wade's left-handed bullet pass into the lane set up Joel Anthony for a dunk that pushed the Heat lead to 15 with 10:13 remaining.
Pierce was 5 for 18. Rondo shot 8 of 20. Ray Allen was 1 for 7 from the floor and 3 for 7 from the foul line -- missing four free throws for just the third time in his 1,270 career regular-season and playoff games.
"We kept fighting," Rondo said. "It wasn't pretty. We missed four or five layups, a bunch of free throws. That being said, we were tied at halftime but we just didn't come out with the right mindset in the second half."
Miami did and takes a 1-0 lead into Game 2 as its reward. But James said he knows Boston is far from done.
"I look at them as a top opponent, as a top contender and a competitive group ... a championship-caliber team," James said.
England v West Indies: Hosts wrap up victory to clinch series win
England swept to a nine-wicket victory over West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge to wrap up the series with a game to spare.
Marlon Samuels added a defiant 76 not out to his first-innings century as West Indies limped from overnight 61-6 to 165 all out, setting England a slender target of 108.
But under more Nottingham sunshine the England opening pair of Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook first saw off the new ball and then prospered under little pressure from a dispirited opposition.
Strauss perished for 45 with just 19 needed but Cook, who finished 43 not out, and Jonathan Trott eased England home, the winning runs coming half an hour after tea when Trott tickled Samuels fine for four.
The four-day win, allied to the five-wicket victory at Lord's a week ago, means England go to Edgbaston next week with an unassailable lead in the three-match rubber.
It is England's seventh series win on the bounce at home, and their sixth in seven against West Indies.
For the chastened tourists it extends their series winless streak in this country to 24 years, and means they have won just one of their last 25 Tests against England.
Samuels was the lone obstruction to England's seemingly inevitable progress once he had lost overnight partner Darren Sammy for 25, to Tim Bresnan's fourth lbw of the innings.
Kemar Roach went in the same fashion to James Anderson before Samuels launched a late assault on the England bowling.
Graeme Swann had Shane Shillingford caught by Anderson at slip for a 22-ball duck but was then smashed for two mighty straight sixes by the phlegmatic Samuels.
Ravi Rampaul edged to third slip to end the fun and leave Samuels with an aggregate score in the match of 193.
Roach again found real pace in his opening spell as England began their pursuit.
But, with the pitch remaining as true as it had been on the first three days, Strauss and Cook chipped away at the modest target in unhurried fashion.
In doing so they became the third most prolific opening pair in Test history after Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, and Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer.
Strauss was clearly irritated to push a gentle loosener from Samuels down Darren Bravo's throat at cover, but he has still been England's best batsman in the series.
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The match had been won and lost late on Sunday when Bresnan's spell of 3-10 blew the West Indies' fragile top order apart.
Bresnan finished with 4-37, and there was at last reward for Anderson's excellence with 4-43 from 20 overs.
Sterner tests will come later this summer with the arrival of South Africa and their much-vaunted pace attack.
For now, Strauss and England are successfully putting their difficult winter behind them, their number one world ranking secure for at least another three months.
Lazio captain arrested in match-fixing investigation
The captain of Lazio has been arrested by police investigating claims of match-fixing.
Midfielder Stefano Mauri, 32, was held along with former Genoa midfielder Omar Milanetto, police said.
Juventus coach Antonio Conte, who just led the club to the Serie A title in his first season in charge, is among those being questioned by police.
Officers also visited Italy's pre-Euro 2012 training camp to question left-back Domenico Criscito, 25.
Police are searching more than 30 homes, including those of players, trainers and administrators of clubs in Serie A, Serie B and lower divisions.
Five people were also arrested in Hungary on suspicion of being part of an illegal international betting ring.
Police said Conte was being investigated on suspicion of sporting fraud and fraudulent association over allegations concerning a match between his previous club Siena and Novara in April 2011.
However Conte's lawyer, Antonio De Rencis, said: "Conte's reaction is that of someone who is completely innocent and strongly determined to prove his total innocence."
Later on Monday Italian football federation vice president Demetrio Albertini announced that Cristico, a former Genoa and Juventus defender who is now at Zenit St Petersburg in Russia, would not be selected for Euro 2012 'in order to clear his name'.
"We are disappointed but we have to remain close to the player," Albertini said. "Arrests have been made today but until proven otherwise, we are talking about innocent people even though they are considered suspects.
"I know Domenico and he is incredulous. He is an extraordinary guy and he has already seen his lawyers this morning. It is a strange day for us.
"These are things that we would not like to have had to go through."
Monday's operation was part of a wider investigation which has already seen a number of arrests of current and former Italian players. In June last year, the Interior Ministry set up a special match-fixing task force in response to a number of high-profile cases.
Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci has also been linked to match-fixing in testimony from a probe in Bari, where he used to play, but is not under formal investigation and will go to the tournament in Ukraine and Poland.
Former Atalanta captain and Italy midfielder Cristiano Doni was banned for three-and-a-half years in August for his part in the 'Calcioscommesse' scandal involving Serie B matches last season. He was also arrested in December 2011 over match-fixing and betting allegations.
Atalanta, promoted from Serie B, were deducted six points in the top flight this season as a result of the scandal.
Former Lazio and Italy striker Giuseppe Signori was banned for five years and 15 other players were banned for between one and five years for their parts.
Mauri, who joined the Rome club from Udinese in 2006 and has 11 caps for Italy, made 16 league appearances last season as Lazio finished fourth in Serie A.
Milanetto, 36, signed for Serie B side Padova last summer after five years at Genoa and made 15 starts last season.
Three-weight world champion Johnny Tapia found dead
Three-weight world champion Johnny Tapia has died at the age of 45.
Tapia, whose career was marked by cocaine addiction, alcohol, depression and run-ins with the law, was found dead on Sunday in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He won the WBO super-flyweight title in 1994, two belts at bantamweight and the IBF featherweight belt in 2002.
Police spokesman Robert Gibbs said the death "did not appear to be suspicious".
His tragic start in life - both parents were murdered - several stints in jail and numerous rivalries garnered him a cult following in the sport.
Tapia was orphaned at eight when his mother was murdered in brutal circumstances and, despite his successes in the ring, trouble stalked him for the rest of his life.
Having been banned from boxing for three and a half years in the early 1990s because of his cocaine addiction, he beat Henry Martinez to become a world champion for the first time.
Tapia went 11 years unbeaten as a professional before Paulie Ayala defeated him in 1999 in The Ring magazine's Fight of the Year, taking his WBA bantamweight title. Tapia lost a rematch with Ayala in 2000.
In 2002 he beat Manuel Medina to secure the IBF featherweight crown and was good enough to take Mexican great Marco Antonio Barrera the distance later that same year.
In 2007, he was hospitalised after an apparent cocaine overdose. Several days later, his brother-in-law and his nephew were killed in a car accident on their way to Albuquerque to see the ailing boxer.
In his 2006 autobiography, Tapia described how he had been declared clinically dead five times, each time due to a drug overdose. He also survived shootings, a bus crash and a near-drowning.
Tapia last fought in June, outpointing Mauricio Pastrana. He finished with a 59-5-2 record.
Andy Murray ready for Tatsuma Ito in Paris
Britain's Andy Murray has dismissed concerns over his fitness ahead of Tuesday's meeting with Japan's Tatsuma Ito in the French Open first round.
Murray's encounter with the world number 68 is the fourth match on Court Suzanne Lenglen at around 16:00 BST.
The fourth seed has had a back problem since December but he told BBC Sport: "It's much better now, I'll be fine."
Heather Watson plays Elena Vesnina at 10:00 BST and Anne Keothavong v Melinda Czink is third on the same Court Six.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal opens his bid for a record seventh Roland Garros title against Simone Bolelli third on Court Phillipe Chatrier.
Serena Williams v Virginie Razzano is last on Chatrier, while the Lenglen action begins with Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova against Ashleigh Barty followed by Maria Sharapova v Alexandra Cadantu.
But the main focus for British fans is Murray , who resumes his search for a maiden Grand Slam title against Ito.
"The back is feeling much better now," said Murray, 25. "It was just something that had been niggling for a lot of the year and obviously the more you play on it, it's going to get a little bit worse each time.
"I needed to take a break and let it settle down a little bit, but it feels better now. This time last year I twisted my ankle after my third round match, I was on crutches and had an MRI scan.
"No matter how sore my back is, it's much better than how my ankle was at this stage last year and I managed to have a good run, so hopefully it will be the same case this year."
Murray fell to Nadal in the semi-finals 12 months ago and this clay season has seen him reach the last eight in Monte Carlo and Barcelona before he withdrew from Madrid and lost to Richard Gasquet in Rome.
Ito, 24, lost his only previous meeting with a top-10 opponent and has made it past the first round at a Grand Slam just once.
"I don't know that much about him," Murray commented. "I played doubles against him last year in Tokyo. He's quite a flat hitter of the ball but I don't know him that well.
"I played well in Monte Carlo, had a good tournament there. In Barcelona I had the problems with my back. In Rome I played two decent matches and was starting to get back into it a little bit.
"I just need to make sure I'm ready and what's happened in the last few weeks is not going to make a difference once the tournament starts."
Looking ahead to his Roland Garros debut, Ito said of Murray: "He's a great tennis player. I'll try to do my best, be aggressive on every point.
"I played against him once before, in doubles. He has a good serve and is difficult to break. It's exciting for me.
"I would be famous if I won. I will try 100% and fight hard on every point."
With Elena Baltacha and Laura Robson eliminated on days one and two, British female hopes rest with Keothavong and Watson .
British number two Keothavong, who beat 116th-ranked Hungarian Czink in Copenhagen in April, said: "It gives me a bit of confidence but that was completely different - it was indoors on a fast court.
"She can play and has been around for a while, had a couple of big results in her career and it will be difficult."
Watson lost her only previous meeting with Vesnina, on the Charleston clay in 2010, and said: "It was a good experience but I'm a different player now, more experienced and confident in my game.
"I've been working on my serve a lot recently with my coach, trying to make it more powerful and more of a weapon. I'm doing what he tells me and it's been working."
Bahamas opposition leader promises to fight hard to become next government
Newly elected leader of the opposition Free National Movement Dr Hubert Minnis promised FNM delegates and supporters that he would work hard and fight even harder towards the FNM becoming the next government of The Bahamas.
Minnis said that despite the disappointing election loss, it was time for the FNM to “embark on a new day”.
“Our tasks are: To renew our party, revitalize our plans, rebuild confidence and return as the next government of this great Commonwealth,” he said on Saturday night in his acceptance speech.
Minnis was elected leader of the FNM unopposed at the party’s convention held on Saturday. He replaces former prime minister and party leader Hubert Ingraham, who announced his intention to step down after his party lost the May 7 general election.
Loretta Butler-Turner was elected deputy leader; Charles Maynard is the party’s new chairman; and Dr Duane Sands is the party’s new deputy chairman.
Minnis said the party could have communicated “earlier and better” the good work it had done while in office.
“Perhaps we could have in some ways spoken more directly to the hearts of our people,” he said. “And, we must be honest about our mistakes and be open to constructive criticism.”
Minnis said the FNM would be a “government-in-waiting, ready to “rescue The Bahamas from the disaster that is already emerging in the Christie administration”.
He reiterated that the FNM would not oppose “for the sake of opposing”.
“Our task as the opposition will be to remain ever vigilant in holding this government accountable, insisting on transparency and watching out for corruption,” said Minnis.
He said that the FNM in opposition would continue to promote its plans like the Back to the Island initiative and the development of a Native Food Market Over-the-Hill.
The FNM, said Minnis, would also carefully review and watch the government’s health care proposals in terms of responsible governance.
On the subject of crime, he said the opposition wants to work with the government to address the high level of criminal activity in the country.
“We have the unique ability to view governance from both sides of the aisle,” said Minnis. “We will be bipartisan in our goal to improve life for all Bahamians no matter one’s political persuasion.”
Courtesy of the Nassau Guardian