NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA // FRIDAY, JULY 4TH 2008 » So many celebs came out to support, perform and attend the 2008 Essence Music Festival this year on Independence Day. Rihanna, Chris Brown, Kanye West and J. Holiday all performed friday night at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and Louisiana Superdome. Solange, Bow Wow, Chris Paul, LeBron James, and more were all at the festival for the first day on the 4th. Check out more pics after the cut.

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Remember that post about Jermaine Dupri launching a new record label? Well, TAG Records was officially launched last night in L.A. at Kress, and celebrities like J. Holiday, Tichina Arnold, Slim Thug, and more came out to show their support. TAG Records is a joint-venture between Jermaine Dupri, Def Jam, and TAG Body Spray, where JD will take the executive position as president and will be responsible for developing the label’s musical talent, in addition to setting the creative vision of the New York-based company. Check out more flicks from the party after the cut.

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#1: SOULJA BOY

17-year-old rapper Soulja Boy has cranked his way all the way to the top of Forbes Magazine’s Hottest New Music Stars 2008 list. He shares the list with the likes of Sean Kingston (#2), J. Holiday (#4), Flo Rida (#5), Jordin Sparks (#7), and more. The list was populated by artists who had big hits in 2007. How were they determined, you ask? Check out the info below:

To compile a list of the hottest new stars of music, we examined several measures of popularity and success. To start off, we looked at the top searches and downloads on peer-to-peer networks during the past 12 months as measured by BigChampagne, as well as press mentions as measured by Factiva.

Then we looked at U.S. digital track downloads and album sales in 2007 and the first two months of 2008, as measured by Nielsen SoundScan. Finally, we took a look at “mastertone” ringtone sales during the same period, as measured by Nielsen RingScan (mastertones are ringtones that play a snippet of the actual recording of your favorite song). [ VIA FORBES » ]

#2: SEAN KINGSTON
#3: COLBIE CAILLAT
#4: J. HOLIDAY
#5: FLO RIDA
#6: PLIES
#7: JORDIN SPARKS
#8: HUEY
#9: HURRICANE CHRIS
#10: ONE REPUBLIC

Too bad a good 40 - 50% of this list probably won’t even be around in 2013!

PHOTOS: JOHNNY NUNEZ / WIRE IMAGE

Y’all know it’s that time of the year again. Spring Bling 2008, BET’s annual spring break celebration, was filmed this year in Riviera Beach, Florida. You already know this shit is gonna be on repeat for the next couple of months. So until that happens, maybe these flicks will hold you over!

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It has been confirmed by local news channel WMDT 47 in Salisbury, Maryland, R&B singer J.Holiday was arrested Thursday night after being pulled over on Route 50 for racing with another vehicle … and having some weed in the “back of his lac!” Sgt. Frank Russo said when the officers pulled J.Holiday (real name: Nahum Grymes) over, they picked up a strong odor resembling that of marijuana coming from the singer’s car, which led to a search of his vehicle. According to WMDT, a small amount of marijuana was found in the center console of the vehicle. Holiday and his passenger, George Jackson, both face charges of drug possession, while the driver of the other car, Rolland Wesley, faces traffic-related charges.

I’m still waiting on that mugshot to leak!

Sooner You Get To Love
Windows Media | Real Media

CRS - “US PLACERS” »

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Last week was the debut of a few nasty rumors. Supposedly Fantasia was pregnant, Soulja Boy’s mom had passed away, and J.Holiday had died in a plane crash (even though he’s on tour and riding a TOUR BUS). I would love to know where some of these ridiculous rumors start…

FANTASIA AND HER 6-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER ZION

According to a few sources, over the past 9 months Fantasia has been missing a few shows (50+ to be exact lol) due to exhaustion/being sick. Needless to say, the folks at Broadway weren’t happy. When the star doesn’t show, a stand-in fills in for them, and the people who attend the show are entitled to a refund. So they lose a lot of money when this happens. But anyhow, back to the rumor. Apparently the NY Post’s Michael Riedel added to the story stating that the American Idol winner was pregnanty with Young Dro’s baby, making it seem like that was the reason why she was missing all of the shows. Fantasia has since then come out and clarified all of the misconceptions with a statement:

It is true that she has missed some performances because she has gotten sick from time to time over the nine months, but doing eight shows a week is a lot so she missed a few.

Fantasia, who already has a 6-year-old daughter, Zion Quari, is scheduled to end her extended Broadway run as Miss Celie on January 6th. Chaka Khan and Bebe Winans join the cast as Sofia and Harpo on January 9th. Check out our clear up of the rest of the rumors after the jump! CONTINUE READING