New dad Jay-Z partied in style as he made his first public appearance since the birth of his daughter Blue Ivy Carter Wednesday night (Jan 18) at the relaunch of his 40/40 nightclub in New York City.

Of course his wife (and new mom) Beyonce stayed at home with their newborn daughter, but there were plenty of other celebs who showed up to party, including Swizz Beatz, Ashanti, Russell Simmons, Kevin Liles, producer Rico Love, supermodel Selita Ebanks, filmmaker Spike Lee, record executive Steve Stoute, and many others.

Even Warren Buffett — the THIRD RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD worth around $50 billion — partied with Jay-Z and his industry friends, and was even spotted throwing up the “Roc” sign. (That sh*t cray!)

According to various reports, Jay-Z laid on a champagne tower made of 350 handmade gold Armand de Brignac bottles that stretched from floor to ceiling, and was topped with a stork carrying a baby.

“All that preparation must have been thirsty work – judging from the champagne tower Jay laid on. Nothing like that has ever been created before,” an anonymous source said. “It was a bit [over the top] but he’s [crazy] about his daughter. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her. You’d expect nothing less from the richest man in rap.”

Sounds like everyone had a great time!

Check out over 20+ photos below:

Taylor Lautner is NOT “Out & Proud” and DOES NOT have a People Magazine cover story claiming so.

The “Twilight” star unfortunately fell victim to Internet pranksters who thought it would be funny to Photoshop his picture into a phony People Magazine cover with the headline: “Taylor Lautner: Out & Proud.”

“Tired of rumors, the Twilight star opens up about his decision to finally come out,” the faux cover, dated January 7th 2012, read, quoting Lautner as saying, “I’m more liberated, and happier than I’ve ever been.”

Due to Lautner’s fame and the fact that “Twilight” is the hottest thing out right now, the cover quickly went viral and had a lot of people seriously believing that the actor was gay and had a big cover story to match. (Even though there was no link to ANY article on People.com)

The cover looked so real that even Russell Simmons fell for it, tweeting, “proud of Taylor Lautner for his bravery and courage.” After he found out the cover was a fake, he deleted his original tweet and quickly followed up with another one: “Disappointed that people would joke about someone coming out about their sexuality. Let Taylor Lautner be whoever he wants to be.”

A rep for People Magazine confirmed to Gossip Cop that the cover is “absolutely fake” and was the work of a clever graphic artist.

But not “that” clever.

Gossip Cop points out that the blue sidebar (on the right, under “Exclusive Photos!”) was jacked from a May 2006 People cover. And if you really look at it, you see a sub-headline that reads “Brad & Angelina in Africa.”

Brad Pitt does not look like that anymore, and neither does now 6-year-old Zahara. In that picture, taken in 2006 when Brad and Angelina Jolie adopted Zahara, she is only 1 years old and Brad’s head is shaved.

Still, the fact that even Russell Simmons thought the cover was real, and even tweeted it about it to his 1.1 million followers, proves that the majority of people are pretty gullible and will basically believe anything you tell them without researching the facts for themselves first.

Google does exist for a reason folks…

Jay-Z came under fire last week after it was discovered that although the rapper/entrepreneur’s Rocawear clothing line’s new “Occupy Wall Street” inspired T-shirts were produced in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement, they wouldn’t be donating any proceeds to the cause.

“The ‘Occupy All Streets’ T-shirt was created in support of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement,” a Rocawear spokeswoman said in a statement. “Occupy All Streets is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street … At this time, we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement.”

Jay-Z was photographed backstage with Russell Simmons at a recent concert wearing an “Occupy All Streets” shirt, and everyone appreciated that he was supporting the protest movement.

Now after receiving tons of backlash, the shirts, originally priced at $22, have suddenly been removed from Rocawear.com with no explanation from the company.

Before the t-shirts were pulled … TMZ spoke with Grim, one of the leaders of the Occupy movement, who told us, “Jay-Z, as talented as he is, has the political sensibility of a hood rat and is a scrotum. To attempt to profit off of the first important social moment of 50 years with an overpriced piece of cotton is an insult to the fight for economic civil rights known as #occupywallstreet.”

UPDATE: Global Grind was able to speak with someone at Rocawear, and a rep explained to them that contrary to the media reports, the “Occupy All Streets” t-shirts have not been pulled.

The 2011 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was taped in New York City at the Lexington Avenue Armory Wednesday night (Nov 9) for a TV special that will air on CBS later this month.

The pink carpet featured appearances from various celebs like TV personality Lala Anthony, R&B singer Maxwell, Hip-Hop mogul and philanthropist Russell Simmons, actor Cuba Gooding Jr., model Tyson Beckford and Maroon 5 front-man Adam Levine.

Supermodels Chanel Iman and Miranda Kerr looked absolutely stunning as they ripped the runway, showing off the brand’s newest and sexiest styles of lingerie, with Kerr walking down the runway wearing the $2.5 million diamond-studded bra designed by London Jewelers.

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show airs Tuesday, November 29th at 10 pm ET on CBS.

Beyonce gave folks a peek-a-boo at her tiny baby bump in this long, black side-belly exposing dress as she attended the Tory Burch flagship store opening, held in conjunction with the New York Fashion Week festivities.

Paula Patton, Estelle, Serena Williams and more also came out to help Tory Burch open up his new Madison Avenue store Tuesday night (Sep 13).

Check out the pics below:

Eva Marcille attended the “Hair Battle Spectacular” Season 2 premiere at Ricky’s Revolver Salon in New York City last night (Mon. Aug 15).

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and one of his many lady friends, actress Melissa George, hit up the Somaly Mam Foundation Social Life Magazine August issue release party in Watermill, New York Saturday evening (Aug 13).

DJ Pauly D was the man of the hour Saturday night at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas as the “Jersey Shore” star spun a set for their “A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Enchanted Lingerie Masquerade” party.

Pauly D, who currently opens for Britney Spears for her “Femme Fatale” Tour, is also working out a deal to sign with Hip-Hop collective G-Unit. But right now, he’s enjoying the perks of being an opening act for Britney Spears.

Nick Cannon DJ’d his own set down the street at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Vegas Saturday night too.

R&B singer Cee-Lo Green performed during Macy’s Glamorama at the Chicago Theater Friday night (Aug 12).

Actress Zoe Kravitz posed with her mom Lisa Bonet and her stepdad, actor Jason Momoa, as the trio arrived at the premiere of Lionsgate Films’ latest release “Conan The Barbarian” Thursday (Aug 11) in L.A.

And Lisa and Jason couldn’t keep their hands (or lips) off each other…

Pro basketball player Dwight Howard laughed it up with “106 & Park” host Rocsi Diaz while making appearance on the BET show Thursday.

Recording artist Jordin Sparks showed her face at the WWE and The Creative Coalitions “Be a Star” SummerSlam Kickoff Party in Los Angeles Thursday evening.

Snooki blew kisses on the red carpet of the YRB Magazine Summer Issue cover celebration last Wednesday night (Aug 10) at District 36 in New York City.

And R&B/Pop singer Jason Derulo posed for photos at a preview party for his new album “Future History” at the James Hotel in New York City. “Future History” hits stores next month (Sep 27).

Continuing her AOL Summer Run, supermodel Heidi Klum was spotted doing some yoga with her friend, Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons, Tuesday afternoon (Jul 12) at Riverbank State Park in New York City. The pair looked to be in extreme focus as they meditated and stretched to keep their bodies toned and fit.

Check out the pics!

Bobby Brown almost caused a scene at DJ Cassidy’s birthday party in New York Wednesday night (Jul 6) after he pulled a waitress by her pony tail when she walked away from him when he was talking to her.

The R&B bad boy got into the altercation with the catering staffer just before hitting the stage with his 80′s group New Edition at DJ Cassidy’s celebrity-filled 30th birthday celebration onboard the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier.

“During the band’s sound check earlier that evening, Bobby was talking to one of the waitresses, but she walked away from the conversation before he was finished talking. Then Bobby pulled her ponytail. She complained to her bosses, and Intrepid security called event organizers,” a source told the NY Post’s gossip column Page Six.

When Bobby B and his crew finished performing and returned to continue partying for the event, “security spoke to Bobby’s management and the situation was resolved,” the source said.

Reps for Brown confirmed the incident, saying it was all a misunderstanding. “It wasn’t anything detrimental or anything,” a rep said. “He did it in a playful way and it was fine. It was a misunderstanding. Everything was fine; no one had any issues.”

Other celebs in the building included rapper/producer Swizz Beatz, New York Knicks player Carmelo Anthony, male model Tyson Beckford, Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons and more.

Check out 10+ pics from the party below:

Rapper Bow Wow recently penned an open letter via his website to his fans and shared that he indeed is a proud father of a beautiful baby girl. He also explained the highs and lows of growing up fast in an even faster entertainment industry and how trying to keep up led him to having suicidal thoughts.

Moved by his genuineness, Russell Simmons decided to call the “Marco Polo” rapper and congratulate him on his openness, new attitude and growth as a young man.

Read what Bow Wow said to Uncle Rush below:

On opening up in his letter:
I’m so used to the media and everybody talking about the bad stuff or the stuff that is really not that important that shouldn’t be out there for fans to see rather than focus on the things that really matter. I just woke up and felt a certain way and felt like the world was on me…like it was a secret everybody was asking me and I just felt like ok, it’s either now or never. I wrote it from the heart so when everybody accepted it – you know when you retweeted it – I couldn’t believe it! I was like ‘Oh man this is crazy!’

On having suicidal thoughts:
The suicide thoughts just really came because I think earlier I was exposed to so much Uncle Russ to the point to where I kinda felt like it ruined my adulthood. When I was younger I wish I listened to everybody that was older telling me “don’t do that just yet you should wait” or “don’t go to the club yet you should really wait until your 21 or you got nothing to look forward to.” So that’s what happened, for me being around Jermaine and everybody so young I was around EVERYTHING. So by the time I got 18, I was really 26 (laughs) and I didn’t wanna go to the club no more. When I got 20, I was like “Ok now I’m ready to get married.” Now I feel like I’m 40! So the older I got, I just noticed [I was different than] my friends…I was like “I can’t really hang with y’all” because they’d go to the club and I’ve done all that when I was 14. So it made me realize like “what am I here for? What am I living to do?”

On his daughter:
I just got so stressed out because I felt like I did everything too fast and it didn’t leave me with nothing to look forward to. Now that I have my daughter I don’t even have those thoughts no more. Because now it’s like I got something to live for, I got more movies to go get, more records to go make because I gotta go hard for her now. So now I do have a purpose. So it took for me to have a dark period and pray to God that it’s all gone and now it’s a whole other ballgame. I’m just focused and it’s just me coming out being clean about my situation. It’s just a whole new outlook on life! It’s dope!

On support from his good friend, Tyrese:
Even Tyrese, who’s a good friend of mine, called me and was like “man, you don’t even know what you just did.” He said “you just made my week because you’re the first young African-American, you know you’re the youngest one in the game right now with a kid, you have a chance to have every male your age and younger who has kids now…you can make them step up and become better men.” So when he told me that, I was like “WOW.” I didn’t even think about that and I never had my father in my life…ever! So this just makes me want to step up and just go harder even more and give her everything my father never gave.

[Global Grind]

Mary J. Blige hosted her 2nd Annual Mary J. Blige Honors Concert to benefit her FFAWN (Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now) last night (Sun. May 1) at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

Singers Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Jill Scott were among the many celebrities who, in addition to actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Kerry Washington, came out to support Mary J. and her cause.

Check out 10+ pics below:

Kimora Lee Simmons, her new husband Djimon Hounsou, and her ex husband Russell Simmons were all one big happy family as they took their kids out this past Sunday (Apr 24) to the White House for the Annual Easter Egg Roll in Washington, D.C. Ming Lee and Aoki Lee (Kimora’s daughters with Russell) and their baby brother Kenzo Lee (Kimora’s son with Djimon) looked adorable in their Sunday’s best as they made their way onto the White House lawn with their parents.

Check out pics of the Simmons-Hounsou fam below:

The 2nd Annual Steve Harvey Foundation Gala took place on Monday night (Apr 4) at New York’s Cipriani Wall Street. The comedian, on behalf his foundation, honored Tyler Perry, Chris Rock and his wife Malaak Rock and others at the annual charity event.

Some of the stars who attended the ceremony were Russell Simmons and his niece Angela Simmons, music exec. Antonio “LA Reid,” Denzel Washington’s wife Pauletta, Gayle King, actor Boris Kodjoe and more. The event, hosted by Steve Harvey and Sherri Shepherd (from “The View”), ended up raising $600,000 for the Steve Harvey Mentoring Weekend for Young Men.

Check out the pics below:

First it was Kanye …. now Chris Brown can find support in Russell Simmons. Yesterday, the Hip-Hop mogul took to his site GlobalGrind.com and spoke on how Brown is no different from any other young star plagued by instant fame.

“Chris is suffering from the same thing as almost every young star has gone through, including the Disney kids. And, having lost control, some of these young artists, sometimes, do an unspeakable thing at a moment of time. And they pay the price. But, as I and my team have said repeatedly on my site GlobalGrind.com, what’s not fair is artists paying the price of the sins in their young lives for the rest of their lives. Again, and again, and again. “

Simmons believes it’s time for everyone to stop holding the past against against Chris…..and finally give him a break.

“I’m just saying, give this man a break. I spoke to him last night for a long time and I know how good of a young man he is. He’s having the same type of struggles that all those other Disney kids have and all the other people who have instant fame… And because of that one regretful incident, no one will give him a break.” (Source)

We’re glad somebody out there understands where Breezy is coming from….

Thoughts?

Immediately following the dinner, Chris Brown took his shirt off and headed over to NYC’s Webster Hall where the official Album Release Party was held. Brown looked very happy, despite the trouble he encountered earlier that morning behind the scenes of “Good Morning America,” as he danced with scantily clad women and posed for pictures with R&B singer Lloyd.

Meanwhile, Hits Daily Double is predicting that Chris Brown is on track to have his first #1 album in the history of his career! According to early sales predictions, the numbers show that Brown could sell anywhere from 200K to 300K copies of “F.A.M.E.” this week, which would land the album in the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart next week.

Check out 15+ pics of Chris Brown celebrating his album release in NYC below:

Bill Cosby don’t take no mess! Apparently, he and Russell Simmons have been beefing since 2009 when Cosby launched his “State of Emergency” campaign calling for the clean up of hip-hop lyrics. Simmons let it be known that he opposed Cosby’s campaign against Hip-Hop, but more recently at the Jackie Robinson Annual Awards Dinner, Uncle Rush tried to apologize … and Mr. Huxtable did NOT wanna hear it!

In a blog post written on Global Grind (Simmons’ website), he writes:

“I wanted to find him to apologize, to tell him I was sorry about my statements and to tell him that I loved him.”

The Def Jam co-founder goes on to explain how when he went to personally apologize to Mr. Cosby, the 73-year-old actor/comedian sharply responded with: “Get the f**k out my face!”

But that wasn’t the end of their encounter. Later during the evening, Bill purposely nudged his shoulder when they crossed paths again, Russell recalls.

“[Bill Cosby's] next move was straight up old school pre b-boy hood shit. He walked by me and bumped me with his shoulder as I walked offstage after presenting my award to Sean Combs, who was honored at the event . . . I then loved him even more.”

WOW! Bill Cosby is a real triple O-G! (LMAO)

Peep Russell Simmons’ full blog post below (we did you a favor and highlighted the good sh*t):

He was staying off the stage, although I had seen him as Master of Ceremonies all night. He was not present as I stood on stage prepared to give Sean Combs the “Renaissance Man Of The Decade, ” his well-deserved award, at the annual Jackie Robinson foundation event. Sean had delivered from Broadway to Hollywood to music to fashion to liquor and countless other industries plus done so much social, political and philanthropic work in his young career. He has been a true role model to me.

So there I was about to give the man of the hour his award but still I wondered where Bill Cosby was, the evening’s MC. I knew I had once said he was too judgmental of black folks and especially rappers, but I also knew for sure that he had dedicated his life to the betterment of our people and I have come to understand his feelings that we and the next generation had let him down. We didn’t march through the doors he, Harry Belafonte and the Civil Rights movement opened. When I look back, I feel remorse for judging him. And it has been a source of a “rap beef” for years. He has been critical of the poets but I have maintained that the entertainment, especially most of the poets, are simple reflections of cultures of truth. Anyhow, I wanted to find him to apologize and tell him I was sorry about my statements and to tell him that I loved him. Suddenly I turned and he was behind the curtain and I said, “I love you” and he responded on some real hip-hop, “Get the f**k out my face!”

I took it in stride but I wondered if he recognized the effect the heroin or crack epidemics had created. Or worse “the war on drugs” that became the war on poor black America, sending diseased kids to jail and educating them in criminal behavior then dumping them back as hardened criminals to poison the communities. Still today, the only factory giving out jobs in many urban cities is the corner drugstores and the education for those jobs is the street corner life. Or does he see the systematic white supremacist attitude that, although it may be subtle, is still a burden to many African Americans. I wondered if he understood what Elijah Muhammad said about the condition of some of black America; that some black men’s brains had been so tarnished or chained during slavery, Jim Crow and even now, that when the chains come off they still don’t move.

The debate about what happened to black America is ongoing and I am reminded of it everyday on the website I founded, GlobalGrind.com. Certainly if anyone knew their way out of suffering and into spiritual and economic freedom, they would take it. Still, I guess someone has to judge and someone has to hold out a liberal loving hand. Hopefully one day soon the decline in productivity by black men and the black community will turn around. It might take people like him and the president to analyze or at least mention the possible causes of the poverty mindset that exists in parts of our communities that are filled with hopelessness, violence and struggle.

Anyhow, I love Bill. His next move was straight up old school pre b-boy hood shit. He walked by me and bumped me with his shoulder as I walked off stage after presenting my award to Sean, just like the cool ass character in Let’s Do It Again. I then loved him even more. He’s from the same hood I’m from, just got a lucky break like me, cause I am those suffering men. And after that elbow, I knew he was too.

Let’s all discuss the real causes of the suffering and not point our finger at a few poets who are mere reflections of a reality that needs all of our attention.

Source: Global Grind

Gotta love that ol’ Heathcliff Huxtable. We we would pay big bucks to have seen this go down in person. #Classic!

Your thoughts?

Kim Kardashian and Lala Vazquez were seen around Lincoln Center hitting up various events for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2011 (also known as New York Fall Fashion Week) in New York City last night (Sat. Feb 12).

Peep more pics below!

Angela Simmons hung out with her rich uncle, Russell Simmons, and also kicked it with actress/TV personality Lala Vazquez Saturday at the Charlotte Ronson Fall 2011 Fashion show (presented by Diet Pepsi) at The Stage at Lincoln Center.

Actress Garcelle Beauvais was spotted Friday night (Feb 12) at the Lincoln Center attending the Rebecca Taylor Fall 2011 fashion show.

Gabrielle Union was seen at the Rebecca Taylor Fall 2011 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2011 at The Stage at Lincoln Center in New York City Thursday night (Feb 10).

And Eve ripped the runway Wednesday (Feb 9) at the Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection fashion show to kick-off NYFW 2011.

Your thoughts on the pics?

If nobody else does…….Russell Simmons has Kanye West’s back!

The Hip Hop mogul recently showed his support to Ye and the remarks he made about George W. Bush during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina telethon in an open letter on his website. Peep what Uncle Rush had to say below…

Dear Kanye,

I have early recollections of Damon Dash calling me and forcing me to put you on Def Poetry Jam.  I knew your record, “Through The Wire,” but I didn’t know much more.  When you took the stage on Def Poetry Jam that night, and spit those genuine, heartfelt words, I witnessed your specialness that Damon had emphatically told me about.

From that moment on, you became a poet who has inspired the poets.  I have proudly watched your career since then, and in case someone has missed the obvious, you are making a historical impact on music.  Your life story took a tough turn with the passing of your mother.  Although we grieved with you, we never really knew how much pain you were in.  We witnessed your moment at the MTV Music Awards and many of us dismissed it as, “oh that is just Kanye being Kanye.”  The hard part of all of this, is that we have all had moments in our lives that have been challenging, painful and hard to overcome, however most of us just hide our emotions and never deal with that inner-struggle that we face on a daily basis.  As an artist, Kanye, you have always looked inside for your inspiration…always exuding emotions that are in us, but that we never expose.  That is what artistry is about…to look inside for what is unique.  With your journey towards a higher level of consciousness, a journey that we all are on, you have shown through your art a commitment to greatness.

The thirty minute film you most recently made was beyond brilliant.  Brilliance is not a word that can even begin to describe your ability to paint vibrant, vivacious, colorful yet muted paintings of poetry, music, costume, art, design and most important, passion.  The passion you put into your new album is why I stayed up all those nights in the early 80′s trying to get DJs and radio stations to play our records.  I knew this day would come. Actually, maybe I didn’t know, but I really, really hoped it would.  I didn’t work this hard when I was your age to watch the culture go the wrong way.  And you, my friend, just took us to another level.  I am simply in awe.

With this power, as you know, comes great responsibility.  I am saying nothing you haven’t heard before.  When you spoke about President Bush during the Katrina telethon, it was not the particulars of your words that mattered, it was the essence of a feeling of the insensitivity towards our communities that many of us have felt for far too long.  It was the image of the President, our President, the President of the United States Of America, peering out the window of an airplane, as the people on the ground were drowning, that hurt us the most.  For centuries, our people have relentlessly tread water as hard as they could to stay afloat, and here we were, literally drowning, and it felt like the President was insensitive.  There is no need to apologize, Kanye.  You spoke from your heart and that is all we will ever ask from you.  Don’t be afraid of the press, as your art is your blueprint, thanks to Jay-Z, your big brother, we will always carry our destiny in our own hands.  You are are an artist whose art is masterful.  You are a servant to this world who no matter how hard it gets, keeps on giving.  Giving gifts that inspire us, challenge us and motivate us to be better family and friends.

Keep on, Kanye.  Keep on.  We love you.  We cherish you.  And we will always have your back.

Thoughts?

Hip-Hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs threw an M&M’s Green Party Tuesday night (Jul 27) in New York City to honor Ms. Green – America’s favorite M&M’s character at M&M’s “Party Like Diddy” Meet & Greet at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.

Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap and Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas pose in the VIP Bacardi Room at their after party at Muzik nightclub in Toronto, Canada.

The cast of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” (L-R): Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Vinny Guadagnino, Jenni “J-WOW” Farley and Angelina “Jolie” Pivarnick got the rare (and questionable) opportunity to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday morning (Jul 27) in NYC.

Looks like they just let ANYBODY walk up there and ring that bell these days, SMH…

Actress turned TV personality Whoopi Goldberg was honored by Gray Line New York’s Ride of Fame Campaign Monday (Jul 26) in New York City and was presented with her very own custom sightseeing bus.

Dru Hill paid a visit to BET studios in New York City to record an episode of 106 & Park.

Model Amber Rose, pictured here with Jill Zarin from the Real Housewives of New York City, hit up the opening day of the 2010 Mercedez-Benz Polo Challenge at Blue Star Jets Field in Bridgehampton, New York Saturday afternoon (Jul 24).

Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys were unsuccessful in their attempts at being pictured together Saturday evening as they attended Russell Simmons‘ 11th Annual Art for Life benefit party at the mogul’s East Hampton Estate in New York.

The pair even brought along Swizzy’s oldest son Prince Nassir.

And Miami Heat newcomer LeBron James threw up the Roc (or the “Illuminati pyramid” depending on who you ask) as he hosted a party at TAO Las Vegas at the Ventian Hotel and Casino in Nevada.

R&B singer Kelly Rowland posed for pics on the red carpet as she and other celebrities celebrated the opening of Target’s brand new East Harlem store Tuesday (Jul 20) in New York City. This marks Target’s first location in Manhattan.

Other celebs at the store opening were Adrienne Bailon, Tyson Beckford, Russell Simmons, Selita Ebanks and more. Check out a few pics of everyone at the Target store grand opening in East Harlem, NYC below…

Russell Simmons launched his NOH8 milkshake in honor of the 40th LA Pride Anniversary at Milions of Milkshakes over the weekend (Sat. Jun 12) in West Hollywood, CA.

Kelly Rowland posed for pictures at the AXE Lounge in Southampton, New York Friday (Jun 11) to promote the release of her new single “Commander.”

Singers Maxwell and Erykah Badu performed in concert at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.

R&B singer Usher posed backstage with his award for “2010 Celebrity Fragrance of the Year” at the 2010 Fifi Awards at the New York State Armory in New York.

Kim Kardashian chilled with Randy Jackson at the 38th Annual Fifi Awards.

Actress Jada Pinkett-Smith spoke on stage last Wednesday (Jun 9) at the 2010 CMT Music Awards in Nashville, TN.

Singer Taylor Swift also attended the 2010 CMT Music Awards in Nashville. The young country music sensation presented an award with Faith Hill during the show.

And country singer Carrie Underwood was spotted posing with her awards at the 2010 CMT Music Awards Press Room. Underwood won the “Video of the Year” and the “CMT Performance of the Year” awards, two of the biggest honors of the evening.

Singer Robin Thicke attended (and performed at) the Simon G. Jewelry “Summer Soiree” event benefiting Global Green U.S.A. at the Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas Saturday night (Jun 5).

Rapper Jay-Z took to the stage to perform at the Rock Am Ring concert festival Friday evening (Jun 4) in Nuerburg, Germany.

Singer Miley Cyrus hit the stage Saturday night (Jun 5) in London and performed at G-A-Y, a popular UK nightclub.

Mario Lopez and his girlfriend Courtney Mazza attended the Chicago Healthy Living Challenge sponsored by Celsius at the Chicago Navy Pier Saturday afternoon in Chicago.

Singer Shakira performed on stage Saturday night during the Rock in Rio Madrid Festival in Spain.

Kim Kardashian showed off her new magazine cover as she attended Shape Magazine’s 2nd annual “Bikini Body Tour” in Santa Monica, CA Saturday.

Rocker Pete Wentz celebrated his birthday with his wife, singer Ashlee Simpson, at his bar Angels & Kings LA Saturday night. The Fall Out Boy bassist turned 31.

R&B singers Maxwell and Jill Scott performed live in concert for their tour at the Oracle Arena in Oakdale, California Saturday.

Rapper Common performed at the “Only the Brave” Block Party Friday (Jun 4) in Paris, France.

Pop sensation Justin Bieber posed for pictures with the Stanley Cup before performing on NBC’s “Today Show” Friday morning.

Russell Simmons (pictured with CNN‘s Soledad O’Brien) atended the 7th Annual Wayuu Taya Foundation Gala Thursday night (Jun 3) in New York City.

Actor/comedian Anthony Anderson and Sandra “Pepa” Denton hit up New York Giant Justin Tuck’s Celebrity Billiards Tournament at Slate in NYC Thursday.

Rapper Drake dropped by Fuse Studios in New York City Thursday to record an appearance on “Fuse Top 20 Countdown.”

And rapper Game also paid a visit to “Fuse Top 20 Countdown” in New York.

International singer Usher was spotted over in Paris, France Tuesday afternoon (Jun 1) at the Hyatt Vendome hotel promoting his new album Raymond v. Raymond, which has so far peaked at 51 on the French Albums Chart. Over here in the U.S., Raymond v. Raymond, the sixth album from the R&B singer, sold over 329,000 copies in its first week and peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. His international hit “OMG” (featuring Black Eyed Peas front man Will.i.am) is being well received both here in the States and all over the world. So does this mean Usher’s back? Sure does sound like it!

Singer Ciara attended the closing of Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is Present” event, hosted by Givenchy at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Actress Zoe Saldana posed backstage at the 2010 Crystal + Lucy Awards: A New Era at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, California.

Gucci Mane recorded an episode of BET’s 106 & Park in New York. His new music video premiered this week.

Destiny’s Child alum Letoya Luckett was seen on the red carpet of the premiere of her new movie “Killers” in Hollywood. She has a supporting role in the new film. Meanwhile, her other movie, “The Preacher’s Kid,” recently went to DVD.

Actor Ashton Kutcher and his wife, actress Demi Moore, were also spotted on the red carpet of the “Killers” movie premiere in Hollywood.

Over in Beverly Hills, legendary singer Natalie Cole and R&B/Neo-Soul artist Ledisi attended the Society of Singers annual tribute gala.

Actor/rapper Common posed on the red carpet of LA Times Magazine’s “Rock & Style: A Night of Music & Fashion” event in Hollywood.

Rapper The Game hosted a breakfast at The Pink Teacup in NYC.

UK singer Taio Cruz (who achieved success in the US with his hit single “Break Your Heart”) took this picture with Def Jam CEO L.A. Reid and rapper Ludacris at the party celebrating the U.S. release of his new album hosted by Z100 and MySpace Music at the Canal Room in New York.

Two of the Kardashian girls (Kourtney and Kim) attended the 94th Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon (May 30) in Indiana.

And Model Jessica White and Russell Simmons were on hand for the 2010 Angel Wings Foundation Dinner at Georgica Sunday evening in Wainscott, New York.

R&B singer Ciara was one of many celebrities who showed up Wednesday night (May 19) at the Maxim Magazine Hot 100 Party at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.

Kanye’s girl Amber Rose (without Kanye, as usual lately), Tila Tequila, Mario and more were also spotted at the event. And rapper/producer Jermaine Dupri provided guests with tunes as the DJ for the evening.

Check out 10+ pictures from the Maxim Hot 100 Party in LA below…

It looks like Russell Simmons has a new woman! The hip-hop mogul/philanthropist locked lips with his new lady, model Heidi Allende, as the pair attended the 2010 SESAC New York Music Awards at the IAC Building Wednesday (May 12) in New York City.

Rapper/producer Swizz Beatz, a recipient of the Inspiration Award, also attended the event and brought along his 3-year-old son Kasseem Dean Jr. as his guest for the evening. Other celebs at the ceremony were singer Estelle and Russell Simmons’ niece Angela Simmons.

Check out 15+ pictures below…

Actress Rosario Dawson and philanthropist/entrepreneur Russell Simmons kicked it at Kastel for Rosario’s 31st birthday party at the Trump Soho Hotel last Thursday night (May 6) in New York City. Model Selita Ebanks was also in the building for the shindig. Check out a few pics below…

Mary J. Blige and Russell Simmons paid a visit to New York City’s P.S. 165 yesterday afternoon (Tues. May 4) and spoke to students and volunteers at the official launch Bounty‘s new “Clean Difference at New York City Schools with Bounty” program. Bounty is teaming up with dozens of local NYC-area volunteers from the HandsOn Network and Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation in an effort to unite 1,000 volunteers to improve learning environments for 30 public schools across the entire country from now through June.

Mary J. Blige and Russell Simmons, a co-founder of Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, led the team of community volunteers in tackling everything from cleaning the cafeteria and auditorium to brightening up school grounds with a fresh coat of paint. Intended to inspire continued creativity in classroom, Rush’s teaching artist volunteers will also create a special mural at the school.

The program, announced by Gabrielle Union in Washington, D.C. on April 20, encourages local community volunteers to join Bounty in its commitment to transform the learning environments of schools across the country by getting them “Bounty clean.”

The Bounty “Make a Clean Difference” program will take place at 30 public schools in the following cities from April through June: Atlanta; GA; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Cincinnati, OH; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Minneapolis, MN; New York, NY; Seattle, WA; and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/bounty.

EARTH TIMES

Check out a few pics of MJB and Rush, along with Mary J’s husband Kendu Isaacs, lending a helping hand to P.S. 165 in NYC below…

Tons of Hollywood celebrities came out to the Costume Institute Gala Benefit to celebrate the opening of the “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identiy” exhibition at The Metropolitan Musem of Art Monday night (May 3) in New York City.

Some of the celebs who attended the event and walked the red carpet were Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Diddy, Russell Simmons, Oprah, Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, Whoopi Goldberg, Naomi Campbell and more.

Check out 20+ pictures of celebrities at the Annual Metropolitan Musem of Art Costume Gala below and when you continue reading…

Famous fashion designer Donatella Versace hosted the Art of Elsyium’s “Bright Lights” with Versus charity bash at Milk Studios in New York City Friday night (Apr 30) and brought out a few famous faces including Janet Jackson, Russell Simmons, Naomi Campbell, Joy Bryant, Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen and singer Estelle, who later treated the evening’s guests to a performance.

Check out 10+ pictures of everyone below…

Right after the 82nd Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles came the 2010 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, hosted by Graydon Carter at Sunset Tower Sunday night (Mar 7). Some of the celebrities in attendance for the big shindig were Amber Rose (without Kanye — where they do that at??), Lenny Kravitz and his daughter Zoe, Gabby Sidibe, Jennifer Hudson, Common, Robin Thicke and Paula Patton. Check out 20+ pictures of the folks mentioned and then some below and when you continue reading…

Here are some of the last set of pictures from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City…

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and actress/model Veronica Webb were spotted chatting it up at the Isaac Mizrahi Fall/Winter 2010 Fashion Show at the Tent Thursday (Feb 18).

Singer Justin Timberlake and his girlfriend actress Jessica Biel sat together at the Paris68 fashion show Thursday at Milk Studios.

Actresses Naomi Watts and Kerry Washington stopped for a quick picture at the Calvin Klein fashion show at 205 West 39th St. Thursday.

Designer Tommy Hilfiger and actress Rosario Dawson shared a toast backstage at the Tommy Hilfiger Fall/Winter 2010 Fashion Show Thursday (Feb 18).

And Singer Estelle and designer Jeremy Scott posed for pictures backstage at the Jeremy Scott fashion show Wednesday afternoon (Feb 17). Estelle was also spotted at both the William Rast and the Alexandre Herchovitch Fall/Winter 2010 Fashion Shows on Wednesday.

Also spotted at the Jeremy Scott fashion show Wednesday was singer Santigold. She too posed for a pic with the fashion designer backstage at his show at Milk Studios in New York City.

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Athletes and celebrities alike hit up the Exclusive Fabulous 23 Dinner hosted by Jordan Brand during All-Star Weekend 2010 in Dallas, TX Friday night (Feb 12).

Some of the guests in the building were Denver Nuggets basketball player Carmelo Anthony, his fiancee Lala Vazquez, rapper Bun B, Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade, Michael Jordan himself and more. R&B singer/songwriter Robin Thicke served as entertainment for the evening. More pics below and when you continue reading…

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Award winning music producer/record executive Clive Davis held his annual pre-Grammy bash Saturday night (Jan 30) at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California, and a good number of the entertainment industry’s elite were in attendance.

Rihanna, Ciara, Usher, Katy Perry, Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, Maxwell, Jennifer Hudson and the Black Eyed Peas are just a few names of the many celebrities who attended and/or performed at the big event, held every year right before the Grammy Awards.

Continue reading for a ton of pictures!

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Over 83 million people tuned in last Friday night (Jan 22) to catch the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, which aired live and commercial-free on several major networks and was also streamed real-time online. The effort was spearheaded by MTV Networks, actor George Clooney and rapper/singer Wyclef Jean (who is from Haiti himself) in an effort to raise awareness and relief for the troubled country of Haiti, who suffered a massive earthquake earlier this month. According to recent numbers, over $61 million in pledges were made by members of the general public. Organizers will continue to take contributions for the next six months.

Celebrities who helped out by either performing or taking phone calls from pledges (or both) included Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono from U2, Taylor Swift, Denzel Washington, Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson and tons more. Continue reading for more pictures and click here to peep the performances if you missed them last week.

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Well known philanthropist and successful entrepreneur Russell Simmons attended a Haiti Disaster Relief Fundraiser at SPiN in New York City last night (Wed. Jan 20).

Other celebrities who showed their faces to support the country Haiti were Aubrey O’Day, supermodel Selita Ebanks and more. Pics of celebs on the red carpet for the Haiti Disaster Relief benefit below…

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Celebrities showed up to Harlem Lanes in New York City Tuesday night (Jan 19) to raise funds for the relief efforts over in the troubled country of Haiti.

Folks like Angie Martinez, DJ Enuff, Russell Simmons, Ja Rule and more all made use of their bowling skills at the “Strike Out the Violence” celebrity bowling event for New York Peace Week. 100% of the proceeds from the event went straight to Wyclef Jean‘s yele Haiti Foundation and Doctors Without Borders. More pics of everyone having fun and getting their bowl on below…

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Scott Stapp (from the popular 90′s band Creed) and his wife Jaclyn, pictured above with Russell Simmons, attended the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation’s “Kiss My Art” event Wednesday (Dec 2) at the Mondrian Miami in Miami Beach, FL. More pics below…

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Sorry about the big gap in updates today, we had some biz to handle … just like these celebrities we caught on the scene handling their business this past Tuesday! Rapper Wale visited Fuse Studios in New York City Tuesday (Nov 10) to appear on Fuse TV’s “Hip Hop Shop” to promote his new album Attention Deficit, which dropped that day. In a series of tweets following his debut album’s launch, the D.C. born emcee said that each song on his album tells a story:

“On the train, bumpin’ my album,” he wrote. “I feel like telling y’all facts about Attention Deficit. Why not? There’s a story behind every song. On ‘Mama Told Me,’ I had something stuck in my teeth. At the beginning you can hear me making this weird noise tryin’ to get it out.” (Warning: Once you know that fact, that’s the only think you can hear.)

A few minutes later, he added that producer Mark Ronson actually encouraged Wale to tone down the lyrics of “90210,” where he skewers Paris Hilton (among others). “I admit i was too mean on that,” he wrote. Finally, he said that the album’s best track almost fell by the wayside. “‘Contemplate’ almost didn’t make the album. Jay-Z was a writer on the song sampled and we couldn’t reach him until the last minute.”

SOURCE

We also grabbed some new pictures of Kimora Lee, Taylor Swift, Russell Simmons, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Adam Lambert and more out and about handling their business too! Kimora attended the 2009 Emery Awards, which also doubled as the 30th anniversary of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, at Cipriani Wall Street Tuesday (Nov 10) in New York City. She also spoke at the event. // And young country music singer Taylor Swift attended the 57th annual BMI Country Awards in Nashville the same day.

Continue reading to check out the rest of the pictures and click on each thumbnail for more info!

Some people just ain’t got NO RESPECT!! (LOL)

The “rappa ternt sanga” we all know as T-Pain hit up the Australian premiere of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” wearing a shirt with those infamous leaked pictures of Cassie’s tits.

How rude???

We also have new pictures of Rev. Run, Russell Simmons, Alicia Keys and more at various events throughout the past few days. Continue reading to check out all of the pictures and make sure you click each thumbnail for more info!

Director Spike Lee and his daughter Satchel and his son Jackson attended the Michael Jackson “This Is It” movie premiere at the Regal E-Walk Tuesday night (Oct 27) in New York City.

Other celebrities at the big premiere in NYC were Ice T, Coco, Russell Simmons and more. Continue reading for the rest of the photos!

In an effort to motivate New York’s youth to stay in school, big names like Russell Simmons, Keri Hilson and Jim Jones participated in the 4th annual “Stay in School” pep rally & concert Tuesday night (Oct 27) in New York City.

Russell Simmons’ nephew JoJo Simmons and Bad Boy recording artist Donnie Klang were also in the building for the event, sponsored by Verizon Wireless and NYC’s premiere hip-hop station Hot 97. Continue reading for a few more pictures.

Actor and part-time DJ Idris Elba sat in the front row of the audience Wednesday (Oct 14) at a fashion show displaying Russell Simmons‘ new line for his Argyle Couture clothing brand at the Eden Hotel Roc Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. The show was held in conjunction with Rock Fashion Week in Miami. Dennis Rodman‘s weird azz showed his face at the fashion show too.

Famous designer Tommy Hilfiger, his wife Dee Ocleppo and actress Rosario Dawson posed for a group picture on the red carpet at the Tommy Hilfiger Spring 2010 Men’s & Women’s Collection fashion show at Bryant Park in New York City Thursday (Sep 17). The event was held during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 2009, also known as “New York Fashion Week” or NYFW for short.

Other celebrities at the event were hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, country music/pop singer Taylor Swift and fashion model Chanel Iman.

Famous fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger hosted a party celebrating the opening of his Fifth Avenue Global Flagship store at his storefront in New York City Thursday night (Sep 17) during the 2009 New York Fashion Week festivities.

Above he’s pictured with his daughters Elizabeth and Ally, singer Alicia Keys, his wife Dee Ocleppo and rapper/producer Swizz Beatz. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons also attended the event.

Singer Estelle and actress/model Eva Marcille posed for a pic together on the red carpet of the Casio G-Shock “Shock the World 2009″ event at Cipriani Wall Street Wednesday (Aug 5) in New York City. Other celebs who hit up Casio G-Shock’s celebration of 26 years in business were Ashanti, Russell Simmons, Adrienne Bailon and more.

Continue reading for the rest of the pics!

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Russell Simmons hosted the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation’s 10th Anniversary Art for Life Benefit at his East Hampton Estate Saturday (Jul 18) in East Hampton, New York. He’s pictured above with his two daughters Ming Lee and Aoki Lee. Tila Tequila, Star Jones, Vanessa Williams and others also hit up the event.

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Successful entrepreneur and philanthropist Russell Simmons is featured on the July 6th – 13th cover of JET magazine along with his young daughters Aoki Lee (6) and Ming Lee (9).

Russell Simmons can’t stop talking about his little girls. Jet magazine caught up with the busy hip-hop mogul as he was preparing to attend yet another business meeting in New York. But he made plenty of time to talk about his No. 1 priority – daughters Ming Lee, 9, and Aoki Lee, 6, his children with ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons. “I am with them as much as possible,” he tells Jet. (p. 36)

Pick up the issue, on stands now!

Supermodel Jessica White celebrated her 25th birthday with a party at Mr. West Monday (Jun 22) in New York City. The celebrity guest list included the likes of Russell Simmons, his new girlfriend (French model Noemie Lenoir), Fabolous and Adrienne Bailon. Continue reading for all of the pics from the shindig.

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Philanthropist/entrepreneur Russell Simmons, along with actresses Vivica A. Fox and Gabrielle Union, posed for a pic at the Children Uniting Nations’ 4th Annual National Conference, held at The House Capitol Building Tuesday (Jun 9) in Washington, D.C. The woman on the far left is the organization’s founder Daphna Ziman. Actor/singer Terrence Howard attended the event as well and also performed at the National Conference’s Gala at the U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Room later on in the evening. Continue reading for the rest of the photos.

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Rapper Lil Mama an philanthropist Russell Simmons posed for a photo together on the red carpet of the 6th Annual Do Something Awards at The Apollo Theater Thursday (June 4) evening in New York City. Other celebrities at the event include: Usher, Corbin Bleu, Akon and more. Continue reading for more pics from the event!

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Beyonce and her mom Tina Knowles decided to get dougied up in all black Thursday night at the NYC premiere of Bey’s new “Obsessed” movie. The film also features acting from co-stars Idris Elba and Ali Larter, who both hit up the movie’s premiere at the School of Visual Arts. The event was hosted by the Cinema Society and MCM. Continue reading for more pics!

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