As we saw last week, Beyonce and Jay-Z have been in Paris, for reasons unknown. I think part of their visit was so that Beyonce could be photographed for some fashion magazine, but for the most part, Bey and Jay have just been getting pap’d, happily. Considering they historically don’t enjoy being pap’d – especially when they’re together – I tend to think Beyonce is just gearing up to promote her album, and it helps to have some goodwill.
Another theory – Beyonce and Jay are in the general area of London, because one or both of them was invited to perform in some capacity at the royal wedding. That’s what some of the British tabloids are saying, although the rumor just got shut down. It wouldn’t be impossible – Prince William is said to enjoy Jay, Beyonce and Kanye West. But William wouldn’t book them for his wedding, would he?
Anyway, these are some photos from Beyonce and Jay’s Paris tour. The pics of Beyonce is the fuchsia and black number are from her magazine shoot. Everything else is just Bey’s sketchy style. The polka-dotted Mad Men-inspired number is especially hideous, and whatever is happening to Bey’s sideboob in the black jumpsuit is just WRONG.
MediaTakeOut, not the most reliable source, is reporting that Beyonce and Jay-Z are separating after nearly two years of marriage. Beyonce went stag to the Grammy Awards and was seated next to her very dear sycophantic friend Gwyneth Paltrow. She was just seen on Saturday at an event with Jay-Z, though. According to MediaTakeOut, they’re arguing over whether to have kids and have decided to live on separate coasts for a while. If this is true, that won’t help.
MediaTakeOut.com just received some BLOCKBUSTER news . . . from a person close to Jay Z. Jay Z and Beyonce are taking what our snitch calls a “trial separation.”
According to our snitch the couple has been at odds for the last year. The insider explains,”The biggest thing [they argue about] is about kids, [Jay Z] wants them and Beyonce doesn’t. It’s all about her career, and she doesn’t want to slow down.”
Jigga is so animate about having kids, that MediaTakeOut.com learned he just ENTERED A LEASE to a Los Angeles mansion – without his wife!!! The insider claims, “For now [Jay Z's] going to be staying in LA. Beyonce will be in NY. . . The hope is that with the time apart, the couple will decide to either have kids, or go their separate ways.”
WOW. And we have SECONDARY confirmation of what our insider is claiming. According to multiple [CELEBRITY] guests on Saturday’s RocNation lunch, there was “definitely something wrong” between Jay Z and Beyonce. As one celeb puts it, “They didn’t even look each other in the eye.”
The staff here at MediaTakeOut.com are HUGE fans of Jay Z and Beyonce. We really hope Jigga changes his mind and works things out with wifey. . . .
I could see Jay-Z and Beyonce at odds over when and whether to start a family. He’s said it’s a priority, she’s either said it’s not or made some kind of hint that she’s trying and it’s not working yet. It’s hard to tell, but she’s probably not pregnant as US reported in October or she would be showing by now. If this is true, these two are going to keep it under wraps for as long as possible. As it is, this is MediaTakeOut so it could be complete crap.
Photos are from June, September and October of last year. Credit: WENN.com
All I really wanted for Christmas was Michael Fassbinder (DONE! I got Fish Tank on Christmas Eve!) and seasons 1-4 of The Closer (BOO! Did not get). So, my Christmas was a mixed bag – I got to sleep a lot and eat rich, buttery mashed potatoes and my mom’s famous corn (she adds sugar!), but Santa was a big bitch and didn’t bring me everything that I wanted. Maybe I had been naughty…? Maybe Santa/Michael Fassbender needs to give me a spanking…?
Anyway, I bring this up because Beyonce’s Christmas was a lot better than mine. It was a lot better than all of our Christmases put together, honestly. And I’m petty, so I kind of hate Beyonce for all of the cool stuff she got:
Beyonce got some sweet gifts yesterday. Her husband, Jay-Z, was spotted shopping at Hermes’ plush Madison Avenue boutique on Christmas Eve.
A spy reports, “Jay was in a private room of Hermes doing last-minute shopping. He had a guard standing watch outside. He spent $350,000 on Birkin bags, among other things.”
The buying binge took so long, Jay-Z missed his scheduled lunch at Nello, prompting the restaurateur to deliver his food to the store. Jay-Z has plenty to spend — he’s getting $1 million to perform at the opening of the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino in Vegas on New Year’s Eve. His rep declined to comment.
Just think, $350,000 worth of Hermes loot… and that’s just what we know about. He probably also “splurged” on some diamond and ruby booty appliqués and a solid gold accordion. But seriously, if someone gave me $350,000 worth of Hermes crap for Christmas, I would pretty much do whatever he/she wanted. Do you think Bey is like that? Probably not. She probably bitched at Jay for getting her the wrong color Birkin. Ugh.
Beyonce, supposedly still 29, has allegedly given her husband Jay-Z the most expensive car in the entire world for his 41st birthday last Saturday. The Bugati Veyron Grand Sport costs $2 million dollars and it can’t even go under water, double as a boat, or fly (photos at the end of the post). In fact there’s a car that goes under water that isn’t offered yet, but will probably be cheaper than this. The good news is that this story originated in The Sun, and could be completely made up. It’s hard to fathom anyone dropping two million dollars on a freaking car no matter how rich and flashy they are.
Beyonce Knowles showed just how much she loves her husband Jay-Z by reportedly presenting him with a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, on his birthday. The rap mogul turned 41 on Dec. 4 and to celebrate, The Sun reports his better half bought him one of the world’s fastest and most expensive production cars ever built.
The Veyron Grand Sport is powered by a 16.4-liter engine that produces 1,000 horsepower with a top speed of 253 mph and a 0-60 mph time of just 2.7 seconds. And the price for all that speed and power: a cool $2 million.
Beyonce can certainly afford it. According to Forbes, she made $87 million this year. Jay-Z is no slouch in the earnings department either, he has a business empire and a fortune estimated at $450 million.
The Veyron will add to Jay-Z’s impressive car collection which according to The Sun includes a Maybach 62S, Ferrari F430 Spider and a Pagani Zonda Roadster.
Let’s hope this story is fake, but if it’s not it definitely stands in contrast to the recent news that Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is going to give away most of his $6.9 billion fortune to charity. And the dude drives a Honda Fit. Now that impresses me way more than a $2 million dollar car.
A few days ago, we heard the hot new single for the fall, “Whip My Hair” by Willow Smith. Willow is the nine-year-old daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. She has an older brother, Jaden, who is the next big thing in Hollywood (thanks to the success of The Karate Kid), and now Willow is poised to become the next huge pop sensation, because, as was the rumor a few days ago, Jay-Z ended up signing Willow to his Roc Nation label. That means she’ll probably be putting out her first album next year, maybe. Honestly, imagine if Justin Bieber and Rihanna had a love child, a little girl who dressed like a mini-Gaga. Yeah… Willow is going to be HUGE.
It’s always nice to see the music industry make room for a talented newcomer. On Wednesday, the Roc Nation entertainment company announced that it had signed a recording deal with the 9-year-old pop singer Willow Smith, whose debut single, “Whip My Hair,” has become a viral sensation after hitting the Web earlier this week.
In a news release, Roc Nation said that Willow Smith, who is the sister of the “Karate Kid” actor Jaden Smith and – oh, yes – the daughter of the superstars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, will shoot her debut video in Los Angeles later this month.
Jay-Z, the Roc Nation founder and president, said in a statement, “It’s rare to find an artist with such innate talent and creativity at such a young age. Willow is about to embark on an incredible journey and we look forward to joining her as she grows in all aspects of her career.”
In a interview Wednesday morning with Ryan Seacrest, Willow Smith assured the host that she is truly 9 years old (“You could look at my birth certificate, or you could ask my mom,” she said) and admitted that math was her most challenging subject in school.
If it was another little girl, I would be wringing my hands in worry for the possible traps and eventual self-destructive path this whole thing would lead to. But I have faith in Will and Jada as parents, I really do. They seem to be very focused on protecting and nuturing their kids while still letting them find who they are as artists. Or whatever. That was kind of an Oprah-fart, wasn’t it? Ha! I was trying to say that I’m not worried, I guess.
Once again, here’s Willow’s song “Whip My Hair”. Once again, I don’t think it’s bad at all. For a pop song, you know? It’s better than most of the crap Rihanna puts out, seriously.
Jay-Z is the cover boy for the new issue of Rolling Stone, and they declare him “The King of America”. Can I just say something? He’s not King of America. I like Jay and everything, probably more than most – I find him funny, charming and full of the right kind of ‘tude. But he’s not The King of America. Not even the Fake America that the conservatives allude to. But still, the interview excerpts are interesting. Jay sends some love to indie rock, which he says “has this rebellion thing that hip-hop is missing now.” Also, he can’t spell “faux pas” which I found endearing.
He’s had more Number One albums than Elvis Presley. He hangs with Barack Obama at the White House. And he’s riding high after leaving his longtime label Def Jam to work a $150 million deal with Live Nation, delivering some of his best live performances ever. At the age of 40, Jay-Z qualifies as an elder statesman of hip-hop, a fact that’s more remarkable considering other rap peers have hung up the mike to pursue careers in Hollywood. So how does he run the game?
In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, contributing editor Mark Binelli goes one-on-one with the New York legend, watching Jay-Z try on a new suit in his sprawling Manhattan office and tagging along to the Four Seasons, where the rapper goofs by mispronouncing actor Kelsey Grammer’s name at a watch auction (after calling the Frasier star “Chelsea,” he asks Binelli how to spell “faux pas”).
It seems the man who made his name rhyming about hustling and hos in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects is actually more comfortable around an unlikely new crowd: indie rockers. “I love the energy coming out indie rock right now,” he says, name-checking Grizzly Bear. “It has this rebellion thing that hip-hop is missing now, the thing that made hip-hop hip-hop.”
While Jay is notoriously private about his life with wife Beyoncé, Binelli gets the rapper to let down his guard, and Jay reveals his superstar better half vetoed a piece of artwork he’d bought for their 8,000-square-foot Tribeca penthouse. The black-and-white Laurie Simmons photograph in question depicted “a noirishly lit pistol with a pair of women’s legs emerging from the handle… Beyoncé sent it back and had it replaced with a similar Simmons piece, only depicting a perfume bottle instead of a gun.” Binelli also encourages Jay to open up about his biggest challenges as president of Def Jam (the most frustrating meeting? “Honestly? All of them”) and his one and only experience in therapy, when as Binelli writes, “The psychiatrist gave him tea that made him sleepy and asked him questions like, ‘Who are your best friends?’ ”
Find out why Jay isn’t trying to lure pal LeBron James to the Nets and why he thinks many rappers have failed to age gracefully in our new issue, on sale at newsstands now.
Jay might want to give therapy another try. I’m not saying he sounds crazy or anything, but he does sound a little neurotic, right? Not to stereotype, but neurosis is in the air in New York, maybe that’s it. Still, Jay might benefit from therapy if he found someone he really liked. I also loved the story about Beyonce and the art work. I love them together so much. He even took Bey to watch the French Open:
M.I.A. has a new interview in Complex Magazine to promote her new album (the one with the ginger-holocaust song). There’s only one part of the interview that’s being widely circulated (at MTV and Bossip), but the full online interview is pretty good. I just skimmed it, but M.I.A. is an interesting woman. She’s just come off a hiatus from her career, having gotten married to Ben Bronfman, the son of Warner Music Group CEO and billionaire Edgar Bronfman Jr. Oh, she had a baby too – if you married the son of a billionaire, wouldn’t you get knocked up in a hurry too? Anyway, the biggest quotes are about Jay-Z and Nas. Ruh-roh.
M.I.A. has shared her thoughts on the difference between Jay-Z and Nas in a recent interview.
The rapper/singer explained that both of the rap stars took different routes to success.
She told Complex Magazine: “Jay became the biggest representation of rap music who’s still alive, started dating Beyoncé, everything was so much bigger and better with Jay-Z. I hope people don’t think that that wins.”
“The fact that Nas didn’t become all this sort of stuff changes people’s perception about the music and the work he achieved in his lifetime. I don’t wanna say Jay-Z sold out, but I just feel like we have to wait another 10 years to see what happens.”
“Jay-Z’s ambition was to become like Frank Sinatra, a household name all over the planet, and own a casino in Vegas and stuff like that. And I think Nas was really sticking to knowledge. I still think the biggest point about hip-hop is in there somewhere, what happens to those two artists.”
Is Jay-Z a sellout? Yes, maybe, of course, not really, something like that. Personally, I think Jay-Z has “sold out” in a relatively minor way – it’s not like he’s out shilling Pro-Active or something. Jay’s a smart businessman, and that’s one of the reasons he appeals to me, at least. Plus, girls who marry sons of billionaires shouldn’t pontificate on keepin’ it real, I think.
Photos courtesy of Complex (more photos in the slideshow).
Media Takeout seems to be the first one reporting this news: Beyonce Knowles is pregnant. Allegedly. No one has confirmed anything, but Media Takeout claims to have a “ROCK SOLID source”. And considering the CAPS, I’m thinking the “source” is totes Kanye “KING OF CAPS” West. Also, considering the sheer number of legit media outlets running with the story within a matter of minutes, I’d say that at the very least, this report might have legs. ALLEGEDLY. Here you go:
March 25, 2010. It’s been a long time waiting . . . but now it’s finally happened. MediaTakeOut.com just learned from a ROCK SOLID source that legendary singer Beyonce and her hip hop mogul husband Jay Z are expecting their first child together.
According to our source Beyonce is doing fine and resting (for now), but she’s expected to continue working throughout her pregnancy. And we’re also told that Jay Z is EXTREMELY happy to be having his first child with Bey.
We and the entire MediaTakeOut.com staff want to wish the happy couple CONGRATS!!!
Well, if it’s true, congrats and God bless. When Jay-Z spoke to Gotham Maglate last year, he said that “baby-making” was his top priority, BUT in one of Beyonce’s last interviews (to Allure in February), she once again put off the idea of babies, telling the magazine “I definitely want to have a child, but I know from my nephew it’s a lot. I hope that those things will just happen naturally. I still haven’t had time to relax.” So is she relaxed? I don’t know. I’m still thinking that perhaps Media Takeout got some names mixed up and this whole thing is about Beyonce’s dad’s new baby, perhaps? Now I’m just being negative. If Big B is knocked up, good for her. Maybe she’ll take a break!
UPDATE: For what it’s worth, Gossip Cop has an unnamed source who is denying Big B’s pregnancy. Still no official word either way from anyone’s rep though.
Lindsay Lohan isn’t the only star to give an extensive interview to The Sun this weekend. Jay-Z, arguably one of the biggest musical acts in the world, sat down for a long, highly political interview with The Sun. Sidenote: What gives? The Sun is a crappy rag. Why all the love? Back on topic: I think Jay’s point is that he wants to reach the British people and tell them they’ve got to stand up and be heard and have their votes counted. Which is a bit rich, because Britain consistently has a higher voter participation rate than America. In 2008, American voter participation barely cracked 60%. So… no American should ever give England a voting-rights lecture. Ever.
But Jay-Z isn’t just going with a Get Out the Vote message. Oh, no. He’s also trying to convince the British that they need “new blood” and that there’s a reason “People are calling it Broken Britain.” Um, once again, Jay – if Britain is “broken” than America has been smashed, pissed on and set on fire. Here’s more:
HE helped get the first black man into the White House – and now JAY-Z reckons he knows how to fix Broken Britain too. The power to bring change, he says, in in our own hands. The US rapper who picked up a Brit for Best International Male Solo Artist on Tuesday tells The Sun in an exclusive interview that change will only come if people use their vote at the next election.
However, he reckons neither GORDON BROWN nor DAVID CAMERON have the charisma of PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. Jay-Z said: “Everyone needs new blood once in a while. And Britain needs it to shake up the country. People are calling it Broken Britain, so there’s obviously a problem.”
“Someone needs to reinvigorate and galvanise the country and give it something to believe in. That means a leader with charisma to get the youth out to vote. The rise of the BNP is also a problem. Power is dangerous in the hands of the wrong person and it’s up to the people to get them out of there – which goes back to voting.”
“We have to use that power. We can’t just sit back and not vote – that’s dangerous. I’ve never met Brown or Cameron but Britain needs to look at America and Obama to see how he did it. He connected with the young and gave them something to believe in. He made references to rap and let the kids know they were accepted. Before Obama, people in my neighbourhood were disillusioned. They thought nothing would happen no matter who was in office. But Obama changed that and really connected with people. He heard us and so we voted. Britain needs a leader who can do the same, who understands the youth and deals with their needs and what they have to say.”
Jay-Z – real name Shawn Carter – is a close friend of the President and worked on his election campaign, holding several free concerts to help his campaign register voters.
Despite a recent backlash against Obama, the 40-year-old music mogul believes his first year as President has been successful, stressing the importance of his healthcare plans.
He says: “Obama’s meeting a lot of resistance but I think he’s doing fine. We all knew the job he was taking on. He may have been dealt the worst hand ever in American politics. What I admire about him is he’s taken it on head-on. Who can say no to healthcare with a clear conscience?”
“Britain has a National Health Service to be proud of but in America, people have lost people in their lives because they didn’t have the proper healthcare. A friend of mine who is 41 just went to the doctor for the first time to get a check-up. That was the first time in his life he could afford health insurance. It shouldn’t be happening.”
“Making music is my love. It’s not arduous, not a task, and it’s not a job. I’m making music, touring the world and playing in front of people. It’s unreal. Britain is like my second home. I have a real connection here with the place and the people. I like Britain’s honesty, and the sarcasm – my sense of humor is dry so it blends well.”
Ugh. Yeah. I usually like Jay a lot, but I found this interview very sanctimonious. Maybe he didn’t really say this stuff – it doesn’t really sound like him, you know? Beyond that, Jay also appeared on Jonathan Ross’s BBC show, and he told/joked with Ross that he (Jay) was the was the one to invent Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” dance. EW raved about this interview clip, but I thought it was terribly dull:
This is Rihanna on Saturday night, at Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy party. Last year, it was after Clive’s party that Chris Brown beat the hell out of Rihanna – so many media outlets ran stories about Rihanna – One Year Later. Personally, if everyone was going to be writing about me and I knew it, I would try not to look like a puffy Poodle. But that’s just me.
Maybe Rihanna thought everyone was going to be talking about her, but at the actual party, Rihanna’s thunder got stolen by none other than Barbara Streisand. Gatecrasher has more:
Barbra Streisand’s happy days are here again: The legendary songstress was all the talk Saturday night at Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party at the Beverly Hilton in L.A.
Although Rihanna — who had her scary altercation with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown right after Davis’ 2009 event — arrived at the bash all smiles and in an outlandish turquoise number, the 67-year-old Babs stole the show.
“It’s rare for Barbra to show up to pre-Grammy parties, so this was a huge surprise,” a music insider tells us. “No one could stop talking about her being there. Everyone thought that all eyes would be on Rihanna, but no one could care less after Barbra showed up.”
The reason for her presence was twofold: The fete celebrated Universal Music bigwig Doug Morris, a longtime pal of Streisand’s, and we hear she’s about to make a big return to the pop music scene.
On the heels of her No. 1 album “Love Is the Answer,” which was released in September, Streisand (above with Davis) is rumored to have signed up for Quincy Jones’ highly anticipated rendition of “We Are the World.”
The famous producer would only hint that she’d be joining, but he did confirm that he’s aiming to record the track this week. While Babs is sure to be the headlining name on it (all proceeds will go toward the relief effort in Haiti), Jones confirmed that Smokey Robinson will lend his vocals, and dropped another hint — that fans may get to hear the crooning of wacky songstress Lady Gaga.
But not even that name, nor a little diva-esque moment from Mary J. Blige, could detract much from the Babs buzz.
Blige made a scene when, ironically, she was about to perform “No More Drama” for the A-list crowd. While Jane Fonda (who’s dating veteran music producer Richard Perry), Jon Bon Jovi and Leonardo DiCaprio watched, Blige reportedly told her musicians to stop and angrily demanded, “Can we get the right music for Mary J. Blige?”
Performers who seemed a little more graced by Streisand’s presence included Jennifer Hudson, who performed “People” and “The Way We Were” in the legend’s honor.
This has nothing to do with the Clive Davis party, but some people were wondering if the little boy that Jay-Z and Rihanna brought up when they won a Grammy was their love child. For real? My first theory was that it was some relative of Jay-Z’s or Beyonce’s, and my second theory was that this was the ever-gossiped about alleged lovechild Jay had with some random woman several years ago. Anyway, it turns out the kid is Beyonce’s nephew Julez, the son of Solange. Julez and Jay seem tight, so that was really sweet and cool of Jay to bring him up.
