RK (AP) — Nicki Minaj’s New York City concert featured usual suspects like her mentor Lil Wayne and label mate Drake, but it was another guest appearance that was really striking: rapper Foxy Brown.

Brown joined Minaj onstage Tuesday night at the Roseland Ballroom. Before she took the stage, Minaj said she wanted to introduce “the female rapper who influenced me the most.”

As Brown entered, the crowd of nearly 3,000 roared. She performed three songs from her last album, 2001′s “Broken Silence.”

“‘Broken Silence’ changed my life,” Minaj said. “I always loved Foxy. When she put out ‘Broken Silence,’ I knew she was an innovator.”

The Queens-based Minaj added that although Brown is “crazy sometimes,” she’s also ahead of her time.

Minaj, who has dominated as music’s top female rapper since 2009, has had a longstanding beef with fellow rapper Lil Kim, though the drama between the two ladies has since dwindled. Brown, too, had battles with Lil Kim in the past.

“There aren’t any other female rappers who have opened doors for me than you,” Minaj said, looking to Brown and quickly adding: “You and Lauryn (Hill).”

Brown, the Brooklyn-born feisty rapper, has released three successful albums, but she’s seen her career wane after criminal charges on a probation violation led to time behind bars. But Brown said she’s returning to music, thanks to Minaj.

“I’m coming back,” Brown yelled. “My sister’s making sure. I’m coming back.”

Tuesday’s free show for Pepsi was to replace Minaj’s canceled appearance at Hot 97 Summer Jam 2012 in June.

The rapper performed more than two dozen songs as the venue transformed from a hip-hop vibe — as she performed rap hits like “Beez in the Trap” and “Did It on ‘Em” — to a pulsating, Euro-flavored nightclub as Minaj sang the pop smashes “Starships,” ”Pound the Alarm” and “Turn Me On.”

The 29-year-old rapper changed outfits four times — including three wig changes — during the two-hour show. She also sang a line from Beyonce’s hit “Sweet Dreams.”

“I bruised my vocal chords,” Minaj told the crowd, then gave a shout-out to her doctor in the crowd.

___

Online:

http://www.mypinkfriday.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michelle Obama is teasing Olympic champion Gabby Douglas about eating fast food to celebrate her achievements.

The first lady, an advocate of healthy eating, and Douglas taped an appearance together Monday for NBC's "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.

When Douglas was asked how she marked her stellar Olympic showing, the 16-year-old gymnast said she "splurged" on a McDonalds' sandwich.

Mrs. Obama responded, "You're setting me back, Gabby," which drew a "Sorry!" from the athlete.

According to a partial NBC transcript, Mrs. Obama also used her "Tonight" appearance to praise her husband's healthcare overhaul law.

During the just-ended London Olympics, Douglas became the third straight U.S. athlete and first African-American to win the all-around title. She and her teammates gave the U.S. its first Olympic title in women's gymnastics since 199

Rapper T.I. talks to Showbiz Tonight's A.J. Hammer about his comments regarding the gay community.

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Video streaming by Ustream

http://247music365.com/?p=14038  

www.toballerz.net

Carrying the torch

Strong bloodlines fuel Dawson in attempt to keep city of New Haven on boxing map

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Nov. 2^nd, 2011) – Carrying the Dawson name in the heart of New Haven, Conn., can be a burden unto itself, but super middleweight boxer Rick Dawson has finally found a happy medium between the pressure of living up to high expectations and the motivation to carve out his own identity.

The older brother of former light heavyweight world champion “Bad” Chad Dawson, Rick Dawson (4-0, 1 KO) will fight for the first time in six months Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011 when he faces Queens native Borngod Washington (2-9) on the undercard of “November Reign,” presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports in association with Global Boxing. The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

“I’m ready!” said the elder Dawson, who hasn’t fought since beating Odias Dumezil in May. “I definitely didn’t want that layoff, but my body feels refreshed.”

So, too, does his mind, which often races a thousand miles a minute when Dawson’s inside the ring. As the older brother of a world champion, there’s pressure for Dawson to carry on the tradition of excellence, and sometimes that pressure forces him into bad habits he’s tried desperately to avoid.

“Wherever I go, people expect a lot from me because [Chad Dawson] is my brother,” Dawson said. “That sometimes plays into my thinking in the ring. You’re out there trying to look a certain way. Sometimes you find yourself not even thinking about the fight. You’re thinking about the crowd.

“People want to compare me to my brother, but I just have to focus on me, Rick Dawson, as a boxer. I have to carve my own path because he’s not in the ring with me when I’m fighting and I’m not in the ring when he’s fighting.”

The six-month layoff between fights might’ve helped Dawson reach that delicate balance. Working with head trainer Brian Clark, Dawson has focused primarily on increasing his endurance.

“It’s a lot of sprinting,” Dawson said. “We work for four minutes, take a one-minute break, then go for another four minutes, and so on and so forth. We do that for an hour. It’s hard at first, but you eventually get used to it. It involves a lot of sprinting, and it helps your stamina. That’s what we’re working toward.

“It’s a lot of different things I haven’t done before, so my body feels different.”

From a mental standpoint, the key for Dawson is to “let his hands go” and be more active from start to finish. With a limited amateur background, he admits he’s still learning on the job.

“Sometimes, the mental aspect plays into it,” Dawson said. “Sometimes, I am thinking a lot in the ring and overthinking things instead of just reacting. That’s what I’ve been working on with Brian.

“We’re almost there. It’s a process. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’ll be there soon. Trust me.”

While he still hopes to form his own identity among boxing fans in New Haven, Dawson admits there are perks to being the brother of a championship fighter, especially since Chad Dawson’s success provides the motivation the elder Dawson needs to keep chasing his own championship dreams.

“Maybe I can get there one day, too,” Dawson said. “To see him come home with the success he’s had, that’s what I would like to emulate. He’s my little brother, but that’s where I want to be.

“I’ve got a pretty big following around here – a lot of fans,” Dawson continued. “I appreciate all of their support. It’s hard to make this a career without fan support. I’ve got a lot of people behind me, so now I’ve got to do my part.”

The main event will feature the highly-anticipated 12-round WBC International heavyweight title bout between undefeated champion Mariusz Wach (25-0, 13 KOs) of North Bergen, N.J., and former world champion Oliver McCall (56-11, 37 KOs).

“November Reign” will also feature a 10-round North American Boxing Federation (NABF) and North American Boxing Organization (NABO) middleweight title bout between current NABO champion Patrick Majewski (17-0, 11 KOs) of Atlantic City, N.J., and challenger Jose Miguel Torres (22-5, 19 KOs) of Miami, Fla. Majewski won the NABO title with a unanimous-decision victory over Marcus Upshaw in June. Originally from Magangue, Colombia, the 32-year-old Torres has won two of his last three fights.

Four months after beating Derrick Findley at Mohegan Sun to capture the WBC U.S. National Boxing Council (USNBC) middleweight title, Elvin Ayala (24-5-1, 11 KOs) of New Haven will face veteran Juan Astorga (15-7-1, 10 KOs) of Thornton, Colo., in a 10-round non-title bout. Each of Astorga’s last four wins have come by knockout while Ayala has won four consecutive bouts dating back to February. 

The undercard also includes a battle of unbeatens between New Haven’s Edwin Soto (7-0-1, 3 KOs) and Diego Pereira (6-0, 2 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I., in a six-round bout. Junior featherweight Josh Crespo (0-0-1) will battle newcomer Nate Green of New Haven in a four-round bout.

Cruiserweight Jose Torres (0-1) of Springfield, Mass., will face Francwa Russell of Chicago in a four-round bout in Russell’s pro debut; junior welterweight Christian Lao (2-1, 1 KO) of New Haven will face Antonio Chaves Fernandez (0-5) of Brockton, Mass., in a four-round bout; Artur Szpilka (7-0, 5 KOs) of Wieliczka, Poland, will battle heavyweight David Saulsberry (7-3, 7 KOs) of Greenville, Ky., in a six-round bout; and Hartford welterweight Javier Flores (5-0, 5 KOs) will face Bryan Abraham (5-9-2, 5 KOs) of Schenectady, N.Y., in a six-round bout. Super featherweight Kamil Laszczyk (4-0, 3 KOs) of North Bergen will face Chris Montoya Jr. (2-4, 1 KO) of Salt Lake City in a four-round bout.

All $105 ringside tickets for “November Reign” are sold out, but tickets are still available at $65 and $40 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254 or Ticketmaster at 1.800.745.3000. Fans can also purchase tickets online at www.cesboxing.com, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Mohegan Sun Box Office.

For more information on “November Reign,” visit www.cesboxing.com or www.mohegansun.com. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the first bout scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

– CES –

Contacts:

Michael Parente, Classic Entertainment & Sports, (401) 263-4990 or michael@cesboxing.com.

Justin Leslie, Mohegan Sun, (860) 862-4106 or jleslie@mohegansun.com.

Kasia Niedzwiecka, Global Boxing Promotions, (201) 348-3149 or kasia@globalboxing.com.    

Hopkins Setting The Bar High

New light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins, who made history Saturday by outpointing Jean Pascal in their rematch to become the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a world title at age 46, is wasting no time setting up his first defense.

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, Hopkins' promoter, and Gary Shaw, who promotes mandatory challenger and former titleholder Chad Dawson, began negotiating the fight on Wednesday, they both told ESPN.com

"We said we would both get on the phone with HBO on Monday and try to lock in a date. We basically have our deal done. We agreed to a split (of the revenue) and we agreed to a deal in concept."

Dawson outpointed former titlist Adrian Diaconu on Saturday's undercard to earn the title shot against whomever won the main event. That was Hopkins, who Dawson has been chasing for the past couple of years.

Dawson's only defeat came last August in Montreal via an 11th-round technical decision to Pascal. Dawson had the contractual option for a rematch in the event he lost, but Pascal was allowed to first take an interim bout. He took it against Hopkins in December and they fought to the draw.

In order to allow Pascal and Hopkins to fight again, Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs) and Shaw stepped aside. But under the terms of the deal, Dawson, 28, of New Haven, Conn., was guaranteed a fight with the winner as long as he won his undercard fight with Diaconu

Those hurdles are clear now and the camps are working on the fight, which would take place in the fall at a site to be determined.

"The reason why the (Hopkins-Pascal) rematch happened is because Gary and Chad were supportive," Schaefer said. "They could have made a stink about it but they didn't. It was a very tricky negotiation in order to get Bernard the rematch with Pascal. Now Dawson deserves his shot.

"Gary and me had conversations before to work things out so Bernard could get the rematch with Pascal. All of those discussions should make it easy to get things into motion and get the fight between Bernard and Dawson done. I am very positive it will happen. It's the fight Bernard wants and the fight Chad wants. So Gary and me are talking about it."

Schaefer said several sites are interested in hosting the bout.

"I got a call (Wednesday) from (a venue in) Las Vegas and they are interested. (Thursday) I had lunch with the people from the Staples Center (in Los Angeles) and they are interested as well," Schaefer said. "I have talked to (Pascal promoter) Yvon Michel about going back to Canada. Atlantic City is interested as well. There is a tremendous buzz about Bernard Hopkins after he did what he did. The big rating HBO did means millions of people saw Bernard in one of his best performances. People want to see Bernard back."

HBO reported this week that the live telecast of Hopkins-Pascal II drew 1.8 million viewers, making it the network's most-watched fight since the 2009 heavyweight title bout between Vitali Klitschko and Cristobal Arreola.

Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KOs), now in his second reign as light heavyweight champion, is enjoying a victory lap after going to Pascal's hometown of Montreal and scoring the historical victory. He is visiting ESPN headquarters in Bristol on Friday to make various appearances, including as the studio guest for ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."

On Wednesday in Hopkins' hometown of Philadelphia, mayor Michael Nutter will honor him with a noon public ceremony at the famous "Rocky" statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Even though Hopkins has been busy making the media rounds since breaking George Foreman's record as the oldest fighter to win a title, he also was thinking about the impending fight with Dawson.

"I have to honor my agreement with Chad first," he said of potential fights. "It's me and him next."

Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com. Follow him

Hopkins Setting The Bar High

New light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins, who made history Saturday by outpointing Jean Pascal in their rematch to become the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a world title at age 46, is wasting no time setting up his first defense.

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, Hopkins' promoter, and Gary Shaw, who promotes mandatory challenger and former titleholder Chad Dawson, began negotiating the fight on Wednesday, they both told ESPN.com

"We said we would both get on the phone with HBO on Monday and try to lock in a date. We basically have our deal done. We agreed to a split (of the revenue) and we agreed to a deal in concept."

Dawson outpointed former titlist Adrian Diaconu on Saturday's undercard to earn the title shot against whomever won the main event. That was Hopkins, who Dawson has been chasing for the past couple of years.

Dawson's only defeat came last August in Montreal via an 11th-round technical decision to Pascal. Dawson had the contractual option for a rematch in the event he lost, but Pascal was allowed to first take an interim bout. He took it against Hopkins in December and they fought to the draw.

In order to allow Pascal and Hopkins to fight again, Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs) and Shaw stepped aside. But under the terms of the deal, Dawson, 28, of New Haven, Conn., was guaranteed a fight with the winner as long as he won his undercard fight with Diaconu

Those hurdles are clear now and the camps are working on the fight, which would take place in the fall at a site to be determined.

"The reason why the (Hopkins-Pascal) rematch happened is because Gary and Chad were supportive," Schaefer said. "They could have made a stink about it but they didn't. It was a very tricky negotiation in order to get Bernard the rematch with Pascal. Now Dawson deserves his shot.

"Gary and me had conversations before to work things out so Bernard could get the rematch with Pascal. All of those discussions should make it easy to get things into motion and get the fight between Bernard and Dawson done. I am very positive it will happen. It's the fight Bernard wants and the fight Chad wants. So Gary and me are talking about it."

Schaefer said several sites are interested in hosting the bout.

"I got a call (Wednesday) from (a venue in) Las Vegas and they are interested. (Thursday) I had lunch with the people from the Staples Center (in Los Angeles) and they are interested as well," Schaefer said. "I have talked to (Pascal promoter) Yvon Michel about going back to Canada. Atlantic City is interested as well. There is a tremendous buzz about Bernard Hopkins after he did what he did. The big rating HBO did means millions of people saw Bernard in one of his best performances. People want to see Bernard back."

HBO reported this week that the live telecast of Hopkins-Pascal II drew 1.8 million viewers, making it the network's most-watched fight since the 2009 heavyweight title bout between Vitali Klitschko and Cristobal Arreola.

Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KOs), now in his second reign as light heavyweight champion, is enjoying a victory lap after going to Pascal's hometown of Montreal and scoring the historical victory. He is visiting ESPN headquarters in Bristol on Friday to make various appearances, including as the studio guest for ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."

On Wednesday in Hopkins' hometown of Philadelphia, mayor Michael Nutter will honor him with a noon public ceremony at the famous "Rocky" statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Even though Hopkins has been busy making the media rounds since breaking George Foreman's record as the oldest fighter to win a title, he also was thinking about the impending fight with Dawson.

"I have to honor my agreement with Chad first," he said of potential fights. "It's me and him next."

Dan Rafael covers boxing for ESPN.com. Follow him

MONTREAL -- The last time Chad Dawson fought at the Bell Centre, he suffered his first career loss. He returned to the ring for the first time since that defeat to easily outbox fellow former light heavyweight titlist Adrian Diaconu on Saturday night.

The victory, in his first fight with Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, was a pivotal one for Dawson. In addition to bouncing back from an 11th-round technical decision loss to champion Jean Pascal last August, he earned a mandatory shot at the winner of Saturday night's main event rematch between Pascal and Bernard Hopkins, who battled to a draw in a December light heavyweight championship fight.

That draw paved the way for Saturday's main fight and ultimately forced Dawson to step aside from the rematch clause he had with Pascal in the contract for their fight because HBO preferred to buy Pascal-Hopkins II before Pascal-Dawson II.

Part of the deal to allow Pascal-Hopkins II to take place was the contractual guarantee that Dawson would get the winner next. Now Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs) has that fight, after winning 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112. ESPN.com also had it for Dawson, 117-111.

"The next fight is an exciting fight. I will be ready for either one," Dawson said before Pascal-Hopkins began. "I obviously want revenge on Jean, but I want Bernard, too. It was a catch-22. I am happy to be back in the ring and get the ring rust off. Next time I will be 100 percent better

After Dawson's loss to Pascal, who mostly dominated until the fight went to a technical decision after an accidental head-butt opened a bad cut over Dawson's right eye, he cut ties with trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and went to work with Steward.

Steward is the latest in a long line of trainers for Dawson, who had also run through Floyd Mayweather Sr., Dan Birmingham and John Scully.

"I felt good, but I made it hard on myself," said Dawson, of New Haven, Conn. "I've been with Emanuel for the past 7-8 weeks, and it takes time to get used to a new trainer. I knew I won the fight. I outthrew him and outlanded him. I wasn't nervous at all about coming to his hometown

Diaconu (27-3, 15 KOs), a native of Romania now living in Montreal who lost two title bouts to Pascal, was once supposed to face Dawson in a mandatory 2007 title fight. But Dawson vacated an alphabet belt rather than face him after Diaconu's handlers won a purse bid and planned to bring the fight to Romania.

Dawson was in control for most of Saturday's fight. He is taller, longer and quicker than Diaconu and he used all of those attributes to his advantage.

Dawson hurt Diaconu with a left hand near the end of the second round and with a right hook near the end of the fifth round.

By the sixth, Dawson was opening up with combinations against the shorter Diaconu. But Diaconu is a bull and continued to come forward despite his face showing lumps and redness from eating so many shots.

In the ninth, Diaconu had his best round, hurting Dawson with a combination and wobbling him. But Dawson quickly got himself together. Diaconu made a hard charge in the 12th round, hurting Dawson again with a right hand, but it was not enough.

"Dawson was really well prepared. It was a strategic fight," Diaconu said. "It was hard to touch Dawson. I tried hard, but he was just too hard to hit. I hit him sometimes, but not enough."

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter @danrafaelespn

Sean Combs just announced a new name change.

The Bad Boy CEO had been under the weather recently and was forced to cancel a couple of concert dates. So to celebrate his return to good health Combs has decided to call himself "Swag" for a week

You feeling it or no?

Connecticut Against The World part 4, DVD release Party June 5, 2011 at The Treehouse 1450 Barnum Avenue, Bpt, CT. Performances and cypha with some of CTs hottest artists.

Barry Reese, better known as rapper Cassidy has been arrested for probation violation. He is also a suspect in a murder and two attempted murders in Philadelphia according to NorthJersey.com

The arrest took place Saturday (May 14) in Hackensack, New Jersey after police there were tipped off by Philadelphia authorities that Reese had outstanding warrants.

Philly police had warned their New Jersey counterparts that they should consider Cassidy "armed and dangerous,” and that this was a “high-risk warrant." Reese was arrested without incident after leaving a local convenience store.

This isn't Reese's first run-in with the law. In 2006 he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a Philly shooting case, and he was sentenced to 11 and a half to 23 months in jail

BlackTree TV - Los Angeles) Tyler Perry made the news this week as he opens his movie Madea Big Happy Family, his 6th movie featuring the popular character