Bruno Mars, B.o.B and Janelle Monae shared the stage Sunday night (Feb 13) as they all performed at the 2011 Grammy Awards. This particular performance was unique because each of the artists assisted one another in their respective songs.

Janelle sang background during B.o.B and Bruno’s “Nothing On You” before the trio transitioned into Bruno’s solo hit “Grenade.” Then, Janelle Monae took over the stage with a performance of her song “Cold War” with Bruno Mars bangin’ on the drums and B.o.B rockin’ it out on the guitar in the background.

Look below for the performances!

Apparently, Prince is VERY picky when it comes down to who gets to chill with him in VIP!

In fact, the Purple One is so picky that he (allegedly) didn’t even want Sean “Diddy” Combs hanging out with him in his private area at a recent industry event.

Peep the details below:

Earlier this week, the music legend and the Hip-Hop mogul were sitting in VIP booths adjacent to each other as they watched Janelle Monae performed as the guest of honor at Essence’s Black Women in Music event at the Playhouse nightclub in Los Angeles.

(Sidenote: Janelle Monae, who is signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy record label, is also good friends with Prince, and performed as an opening act for one of the singer’s recent concerts at Madison Square Garden in NYC.)

According to a source at the Essence event, as Janelle Monae hit the stage, Diddy (who co-hosted the bash) and Prince both stood, and that’s when Diddy proceeded to approach Prince (who had a velvet rope surrounding his VIP area) and gave him a quick handshake and a hug. And that was that.

The insider at the event told the NY Daily News that “You could see that Diddy wanted to hang out, but Prince was very cold. He didn’t have his security take down the velvet rope,” so that Diddy could actually sit down and join Prince’s private party.

Eventually, our source adds, Diddy returned to his table and “his Ciroc,”a reference to the brand of vodka that the hip-hop tycoon shills.

Prince’s camp declined to comment for this story, so it’s unclear why the fuchsia-loving funkster gave Diddy the cold shoulder. According to one music-industry insider, though, Diddy “isn’t Prince’s kind of guy,”says the source. “He’s a lot of flash and dash, and very bragadocious. Prince, believe it or not, is real down to earth. He isn’t about all that flossing.”

Despite Prince’s outrageous fashion and lyrics, the pomp and precision of his Garden gigs show that like James Brown before him, he is one of the hardest-working men in showbiz. Combs works hard too, though mostly at self-promotion.

Diddy’s spokeswoman responded: “There is absolutely no truth to this,” added that the two men “greeted each other.”

Source: NY Daily News

Well if both Prince’s AND Diddy’s people say there’s no beef, there’s no beef. But why the cold shoulder here lately, Prince?

Your thoughts?

Janelle Monae was in London this past Sunday (Dec 5) giving a concert at Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

The “Tightrope” singer was rocking her usual hair style and wearing her dance shoes. From the looks of it, it was an energetic performance as we always expect with Miss Monae!

More pics below!

The 2010 Soul Train Awards were held Wednesday night (Nov 10) in Atlanta Georgia, and Black Star Power was in full effect on the purple carpet!

Faith Evans, Chilli (and her new man?), Ginuwine & his wife Sole, Chrisette Michele, hosts Terrence Howard & Taraji P. Henson, Eric Benet, Bobby Valentino, Jeremih, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled and more walked down the purple carpet and posed for pics before making their way into Atlanta’s Cobb Energy Center for the show, presented by BET and Centric.

Check out 25+ pictures from the Soul Train Awards red carpet below!!

The 2010 Soul Train Awards are set to air on TV on November 28th. Check your local listings for details…

Rapper T.I. attended a special screening for his new movie “Takers” Sunday (Aug 15) at the Regal E-Walk in New York City.

Actor Quinton Aaron proudly showed off his birthday cake as he celebrated turning 26 years old at Pinz Bowling Alley in Los Angeles.

UK singer Alexandra Burke hit the stage and performed at Radio City Live! in Liverpool, England in the UK.

The always eccentric singer Janelle Monae wore her usual black/white tuxedo-style attire as she performed at the 2010 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, held in San Francisco, CA at the Golden Gate Park.

R&B singers Mary J. Blige and John Legend hung out backstage during The Apollo in the Hamptons at The Creeks in East Hampton, New York Saturday afternoon (Aug 14).

Anthony Anderson stopped for a pic with DJ D-Nice at the actor/comedian’s birthday party at Promenade in New York City.

Actor Pooch Hall and former NBA player Rick Fox hit up the HAX Foundation’s John Wooden Memorial Celebrity Basketball Game in Los Angeles.

And Nick Cannon was spotted on the 1′s and 2′s deejaying for a party at Webster Hall in New York City.

Singer Janelle Monae gets up close and personal (and naked, “D’angelo style”) in her newest music video release for her latest single “Cold War.” Wendy Morgan, the director behind the clip, says that Monae recorded the video in just one take:

“The ‘Cold War’ music video was filmed in the black box auditorium at The Palace of the Dogs sanitarium. This is the complete first take. This performance is unaltered and unencumbered, as those of us in attendance on that day experienced it.”

“Cold War” is lifted from Janelle Monae’s debut studio album The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III), which is in stores now.

Check out her new music video below:

Diddy and all of his artists cover the August/September 2010 issue of VIBE Magazine, also known as the “JUICE” issue! Janelle Monae, Rick Ross and Sean John himself are holding down the front of the mag while Dawn Richard and Kalenna (from Dirty Money), along with Cassie and Red Cafe are holding down the flip side.

In the issue, Mr. Combs discusses being flattered by comments from Dr. Dre about his skills as a producer, how he felt about that guy from Nightline NBC grilling him about buying his son an expensive car, and what he thought about Lil Kim dissing Nicki Minaj.

The issue hits newsstands August 16th, but in the meantime, peep an excerpt from Diddy’s interview below:

Dr. Dre said that the last beat that floored him was “All About the Benjamins.” How does that make you feel?
It’s humbling. I was in the studio with Dre the other day. He started working on a record for me. Watching him as a producer is watching greatness. We had a lot of similar traits. It was like looking in the mirror. He would ask questions like, “How you feel about this?” People don’t really understand true producers want to know how you feel about things. We are some of the most observant people on the planet.

What happened during the Martin Bashir interview on Nightline?
There were times in the interview when I had to give him an ultimatum. The questions weren’t being handled the right way. In hindsight, when I saw him I shouldn’t had done the interview because I know the style of interview that he does . . . The whole thing about giving a Maybach to my son, that’s really like a racist question. You don’t ask White people what they buy their kids. And they buy ‘em Porsches and convertible Bentleys and it ain’t no question. It’s really a racist question and put things back in perspective with money and the way that people still look at you. And I’m not saying that consciously he’s a racist. But he probably don’t even realize that he would not ask Steve Jobs that. He would be like Steve Jobs has that money and that’s the gift his kid is supposed to get.

Are the comments from Lil’ Kim about Nicki disheartening?
When I heard her say what she said, it didn’t really affect me. I didn’t get mad at her or anything like that. I knew how she felt. I ain’t agree with it. But also I know the motivation. I know that people say, “Oh, he’s trying to get a new Lil’ Kim.” I guess people will see in time. Yeah, Nicki’s had flavored wigs on, but besides that it ain’t even the same approach to the writing.

Your thoughts?

The 2010 ESPY Awards were held yesterday (Wed. Jul 14) in Los Angeles, CA. And celebs like Amber Rose, Mario (who brought along his new girlfriend Dez), Terrell Owens, Chris Bosh, Kenyon Martin, Hank Baskett & Kendra Wilkinson, Zac Efron and more all walked the red carpet before making their way into the Nokia Theater L.A. Live for the ESPYs, which, hosted by sports network ESPN, honors the best athletes and teams in the world of sports. Reggie Bush also attended the Espys Wednesday evening, but chose not to arrive to the show with his rumored new girlfriend Amber Rose, who made her presence known on the red carpet with a bright yellow dress.

The 2010 Espys also featured a performance from singer Janelle Monae, who also participated in a funny skit with actor/comedian Will Ferrell (equipped with one of those loud, annoying vuvuzelas). Check out 20+ pictures from the 2010 Espy Awards in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live below and when you continue reading…

B.o.B and Lupe Fiasco lend some bars to the remix for singer Janelle Monae‘s latest single “Tightrope.” and accompanying music video. Janelle also shows off her versatility by rapping a few bars herself! She even tries to make her unique dance moves a little more gangster. We see you, Janelle!

Peep the newly released “Tightrope (Wondamix)” video below…

Michael Strahan and his fiancee Nicole Murphy hung out with NYC club promoter Noel Ashman (pictured to the left) last night (Wed. Jun 30) at Noel Ashman’s birthday party at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge.

Fresh off of her big appearance/performance at the 2010 BET Awards in Los Angeles this past Sunday night, singer Janelle Monae performed at the Hoxton Bar in London, England Thursday evening (Jul 1).

NFL player Devin Thomas, who recently starred as Fantasia‘s leading guy in her new “Bittersweet” music video, and singer Wynter Gordon attended Honey Magazine’s The Hive Spot at Animazing Gallery Wednesday (Jun 30) in New York City. You might remember Wynter as the girl who sang the hook on rapper Flo Rida’s Summer 2009 single “Sugar,” and Devin Thomas is a Wide Receiver for the Washington Redskins.

R&B singer John Legend and his girlfriend Christine Teigen hit up the Edeyo Foundation’s 3rd anniversary fundraiser at The Bowery Hotel in New York City.

Def Jam Records exec. Kevin Liles stopped for a quick picture as he relaxed at the Def Jam Rapstar Video Game Launch at the Palais De Tokyo in Paris, France.

Actress Eva Longoria helped LG present their new refrigerator at “Mercado de San Miguel” in Madrid, Spain.

And Nas and Damien Marley, still heavily promoting their joint album project Distant Relatives, were spotted performing live on stage in concert at the Zenith de Paris in Paris, France Monday night (Jun 28).

Paying homage to legendary R&B singer Prince, newcomer (and Bad Boy Records recording artist) Janelle Monae hit the stage and performed one of Prince’s hit songs “Let’s Go Crazy.” After her very animated performance, Jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding took to the stage and sang “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” which was followed by a performance from R&B singer Alicia Keys who performed “I Adore” and surprised everyone (including Prince) when her pregnant self climbed on top of the piano to finish off the performance. Last (but most certain not least) came R&B legend Patti Labelle who sang “Purple Rain” and kicked her high-heels off at the end of her act. (After Labelle kicked off her shoes Prince went up, grabbed one and held it in the air for all to see)

Once Patti Labelle wrapped up her tribute performance, Prince was then presented with his “Lifetime Achievement Award” by Patti and Chaka Khan. Peep 10+ pics of everyone below, and check out the video footage when you continue reading…

JANELLE MONAE – “LET’S GO CRAZY”

ESPERANZA SPALDING – “IF I WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND”

PATTI LABELLE – “PURPLE RAIN”

PRINCE ACCEPTING HIS “LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD”

Songwriters were honored Friday night (Jun 25) during the 23rd Annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, which was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. R&B singer Ne-Yo, along with the songwriting/production team Christopher “Tricky” Stewart and Terius “The Dream” Nash, were presented with the night’s top honor: “Songwriter of the Year,” while rapper Dr. Dre was honored with the “Founders Award,” which was presented to him by his good friend Eminem.

Other celebrities and honorees at Friday night’s ASCAP awards were Jermaine Dupri, his artist Dondria, singer Janelle Monae, rapper Gucci Mane (who performed during the show) and more. Even Ron Artest from the Los Angeles Lakers made a random appearance at the 2010 ASCAP awards.

Check out 10+ pics from the 23rd Annual ASCAP Awards below…

Looks like Diddy has decided to go back to the “Bad Boy Family” concept now that he has brought the label to Interscope and added a few new artists to his circle.

The new “family” includes Rick Ross, Cassie, Red Cafe, Dirty Money, Janelle, and Aasim. What’s strange about all of this is that Rick Ross, who is currently being managed by Diddy, is a part of the family, but yet he is still signed to Def Jam. **scratches head**

Anyway… continue reading to check out a recent interview with the entire family:

Mary J. Blige and her husband Kendu Isaacs attended amfAR’s Cinema Against AIDS 2010 Benefit Gala at the Hotel du Cap in Antibes, France Thursday night (May 20).

Naomi Campbell and her billionaire boyfriend Vladimir Doronin were also also spotted at the amfAR event.

Young model Chanel Iman was seen at the Express 30th Anniversary Party at Eyebeam in New York City.

America’s Next Top Model Cycle 8 winner Jaslene Gonzalez attended the Dream Big Gala to raise awareness for the fight against Canavan Disease in children at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers in New York.

Singer Shontelle Layne was on hand for the launch party celebrating the opening of the United Nude Shoe Brand’s U.S. flagship store in New York City.

Rapper/actor LL Cool J hit up the CBS Upfront presentation Wednesday (May 19) at Damrosch Park at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

Sisters Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, along with their friend Malika Haqq, were spotted courtside at the Staples Center in Los Angeles as the Lakers took on the Phoenix Suns during Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs. Khloe is married to LA Laker Lamar Odom.

John Legend and his girlfriend Christine Teigen posed for pics on the red carpet of the Cherry Lane Music Publishing 10th Anniversary celebration at Brooklyn Bowl in New York City. And John treated the guests to a performance.

M.I.A. hung out with the Head of Adult Swim Mike Lazzo at the Adult Swim 2010 Upfront at Gotham Hall in NYC.

And singer Janelle Monae performed at the release party for her new album ArchAndroid at the Highline Ballroom in New York City Tuesday night (May 18).

Hip-Hop mogul Diddy paid a visit to the “Late Show with David Letterman” yesterday (Tues. May 18) and was seen with his entourage, including his rumored girlfriend Cassie and his Bad Boy recording artist Janelle Monae, outside of the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, where the late-night CBS show is taped. Janelle was there to promote her new album The ArchAndroid, which hit stores Tuesday, and she also performed her single “Tight Rope.”

Check out a few pics of Diddy and his crew being shielded from the rain with the help of a few umbrella handlers as they make their way into the Ed Sullivan Theater ahead of an appearance on David Letterman below:

And continue reading for Janelle Monae’s “Tight Rope” performance…