Nearly Naked Nelly Pics!

So as we were surfing the web for shirtless pictures of Nelly fun, these wonderfully sweet eye candy flicks featuring Nelly in his presumed second round of Sean John underwear advertisements came up courtesy of Necole Bitchie. And unlike the first round, Nelly is giving a little… more. No disrespect Ashanti, but Nelly is like a top shelf Moscato in these pictures - a delicious treat after an indulgent dinner (because we know you dipped into those left overs). Don’t worry, there’s always tomorrow to start anew. Hey, maybe Nelly’s abs will also inspire those crunches.   

Happy Thanksgiving Ladies & Lads!

Despite the difficult times the entire world is undergoing, we have many things to be thankful for! So the staff has compiled a list of slightly random entities that bring us joy. First, Martini Pink would like to thank each and every reader who has taken the time to view, comment, email, encourage or discourage (hey, that only makes us stronger) our movement. We love women’s lifestyle in all its amazing and sometimes not so amazing facets and we appreciate that with your uber busy lives, you take the time out to visit us.

Secondly, we make no bones about our political leaning, so we’re thankful for America’s courage, dedication and collective movement in electing Barack Obama into office. In the words of the phenomenal Sade, we never thought we’d see the day.

Thirdly, our good men. It’s a no brainer that we appreciate the women in our lives. That is what we do. But we are also thankful to the men that love us unconditionally - through thick and thin from our brothers to our fathers to our husbands.

And the list goes on (in no particular order):

4) Toni Morrison and her new tome A Mercy. Appreciation is not the word as we hang on each word the nobel laureate scripts.

5) BlackFriday.info so that we know where to catch steals and deals as we be mindful of our spending this season.

6) Facebook. No matter how crazed we got trying to sort out our social networking sites, facebook has definitely brought us closer to friends and colleagues of the past.

7) Stonehaven 2005 Dry Reisling on a warm November night. It’s rare that we turn our nose away from a great glass of wine but this Reisling is frightfully amazing. The deliciously crisp taste will force you to savor before sabatoging.

Babies. Besides the fact that they smell so wonderful and look like they taste like a delicious cupcake, babes our the rejuvenation of our souls and we’re so thankful for them entering into our world. 

9) Pets. For some of the staff it is cats, others, it is dogs. Either way, we understand and appreciated the loyalty and undying love of our furkids.

10) Good Holiday Loving. Take what you will from that.

A “Complex” Keri Hilson: Sizzle of Fizzle?

Even with “Energy” previously revving up the countdown and her assisted vocals on Nas’ ”Hero” make a nice little dent on the music scene, Keri Hilson’s debut In a Perfect World has been pushed back…again. Thankfully the Atlanta peach has her beauty to push her through until the album drops some time next year. Keri’s good looks have taken her from magazine to magazine and most recently the petite singer lands at Complex with some playfully hot pictures (see below).

In the meantime, Keri recorded “Turning Me On” with Lil’ Wayne and the use of vocoder (we feel we need to warn you) and you can see that video on the front page! And in the interest of preempting possible shock, yes Wayne does incorporate the lyric “my ice is albino white/I hope your vagina tight” into his verse right around 2:18. Keri will be joining the Lil’ Wayne ”I Am Music” tour which kicks off on Decemeber 14th in M.I.A.-yo and features Keyshia Cole, T-Pain, and Gym Class Heroes.

I Am Music Tour dates:

· 12/14 - Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena
· 12/18 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
· 12/19 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
· 12/21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre
· 12/22 - Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre
· 12/23 - Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
· 12/26 - Detroit, MI @ Joe Louis Arena
· 12/27 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
· 12/28 - Philadelphia, PA @ Susquehanna Bank Center
· 12/29 - Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum
· 12/30 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
· 12/31 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
· 1/2 - Charlotte, NC @ Bobcat Arena
· 1/3 - Hampton, VA @ Hampton Coliseum
· 1/4 - Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
· 1/8 - St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena
· 1/9 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
· 1/11 - New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena
· 1/14 - Montreal, CAN @ Bell Centre
· 1/15 - Toronto, CAN @ Air Canada Centre
· 1/16 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
· 1/17 - Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Center
· 1/18 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Boardwalk Hall
· 1/19 - Worcester, MA @ DCU Center

Birthday Spotlight: Jean Grae

One of the most underated rhyme slayers of current times, Jean Grae is a South-African born hip-hop lyricist celebrating her birthday November 27. The daughter of jazz musicians studied at New York’s Laguardia School of Music & Art before busting onto the underground scene in the mid-90s. Jean was a part of the group Natural Resource before it disbanded in 1998 and she embarked on a solo career. In 2002 she released the underground classic Attack of the Attacking Things which was followed by The Bootleg of the Bootleg EP which was then followed by This Week, The Orchestral Files, Jeanius, and he Evil Jeanius. In September rumors that Jean was retiring circulated but friend and collaborator Talib Kweli squashed the misinformation. Here is Jean at Central Park Summer Stage.

Beyonce Tops the Charts & Makes Plans for Inauguration!

For the third time in a row, Beyonce will top the Billboard Charts. According to Soundscan numbers that were released Wednesday, Beyonce’s I Am… Sasha Fierce has moved 482,000 units. That means next week Beyonce will hold the number one spot. And it is well deserved considering how much that woman works. Shoot, I tried to do the “Single Ladies…” choreography yesterday and nearly passed out after 90 seconds. I digress.

I Am… Sasha Fierce is a double disc featuring songs that represent a personal Beyonce and her often seen stage alter-ego Sasha Fierce. With the phenomenal “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)” and “Like a Boy” videos already circulating, “Diva” should be the next clip we see from Jay-Z’s wife.

In other news, Barack Obama’s inauguration is a month and a half away and rumors are circulating that Beyonce, Jay-Z, Leona Lewis, Diddy and Mary J. Blige are all on the short list of possible performers. MTV will host and televise the event titled “Be The Change Inauguration Ball 2009″. This will undeniably be the biggest and splashiest inauguration ever. PBP.

Birthday Spotlight: Christina Applegate

Most known for playing our favorite teenage slut in the 80s-90s on the long running sitcom “Married With…Children”, Christina Applegate is one of few child actors who was able to break into a successful career as an adult. On November 25 she celebrates her birthday.

After “Married…” Christina  was in a slew of small film productions that soon led to bigger roles in movies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Employee of the Month, and Farce of the Penguins.

Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer in August of 2008 and after the surgery was determined to be cancer free.

Currently the Emmy winning actress stars in her own sitcom “Samantha Who?” and she’s slated to play a cancer stricten women in the upcoming movie Everything is Going to be Just Fine.

Pink Lover’s Gift Guide: Finger Paint

 

If you’re looking for something cute and sassy to stuff in your pink lover’s stocking this year - make no mistake, nail polish is the move. But be sure it’s the right nail polish. While Chanel and MAC have wonderful upscale lines of finger paint, Essie and Opi are truly a girl’s best friend.

Sephora offers Opi in a myriad of colors at just nine dollars each ($9.00)! While hues of pink (many, many, many variations) will put a smile on your passionate color lover’s face, we strongly recommend you throw in a Martini Pink crew favorite - the out of the ordinary, super shiny, sexy and glossy Caffeine Fix. It’s so rock star, pop star hot it’s been sold out in most stores that one of our trusty MP gals had to send in a picture. Good news, you can have Sephora email you when it’s available- so do try to get it online!

Music Mania

The last quarter is when it goes down. All the big music releases file out and into your holiday stockings. So with Beyonce’s I am… Sasha Fierce already on store shelves, other artists may follow suit without fear of being eclipsed. This is what we’re looking at for the rest of the year:

November 25

Kanye West 808s & Heartbreak – Maybe his fans will forgive him for this. An all autotune album? It is just too topical to us and we’re not digging the songs. But there are at least two gems - one of which is “Heartless” which you already knew. Meanwhile College Dropout (a guaranteed banger) is $4.99 on iTunes for a limited time.

Ludacris Theater of the Mind – Luda is one of the most underrated MC’s of our time. Since Incognegro he has delivered (albeit it not always female friendly) and grown as an artist into an actor. You can get Release Therapy on iTunes for 4.99 for a limited time. Check BET for a Theater of the Mind special the first two weeks of December.

December 2

Britney Spears Circus – This chic has had one hell of a year. And we rarely pass judgment (sike) but between the weight loss and the image revival, maybe Circus won’t be so much of a circus.

Cadillac Records – Music from the Motion Picture – Beyonce, Solange, Mos Def, Jeffrey Wright, Raphael Saadiq, and Nas perform covers and new soul songs on the two disc release.

December 9

Brandy – Human - She’s getting personal on this one.

Common – Universal Mind Control – and it is just that. You can’t go wrong purchasing this album for any true hip-hop loving individual. Common does what he does best- deliver authentic thought provoking rhymes - this time over beats produced mostly by Pharelle.

December 16

Keyshia Cole – A Different Me – She was able to resurrect Tupac for the first single “Playa Cardz Right” – so let’s see what she can do with this third album which also features Kanye, Nas and Monica.

B* “Diva”: New Vid/Forbes List/AMA’s Performance

Beyonce is rolling out another video from her recently released third solo album I Am… Sasha Fierce. Channeling her inner Mrs. Fierce, Beyonce donned some seriously stylish threads on set in Los Angeles this past week. She was shooting the video for her presumed next single “Diva” which is, if you somehow don’t know, a spicy uptempo girl anthem. See the flashy flicks below.

In other Beyonce news, she and her husband Jay-Z were named Hollywood’s Top-Earning Couple for bringing in 162 million in one year (June 2007-June 2008). Also on that list of 20 power couples was Will and Jada Smith (82 million) in second place, and David and Victoria Beckham (58 million) in third place. Who says there is a recession!!??

And of course Beyonce rocked the AMA’s Sunday night in Los Angeles with another mind-blowing, winded (for me at least) performance of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. Each time she begins that choreography I swear I wonder if I’m going to make it through.

Stay tuned because on Wednesday we’ll have numbers on units moved of I am… Sasha Fierce.

Photo Credit: Splash News

Brandy Speaks Out About Faking Her Marriage

With her Human album on the way (12/09/08), Brandy has decided to dish on things of the past. The R&B singer told UsMagazine exactly why she lied about being married six years ago. She was ashamed of what people would think of her, especially being a role model and a mere 22 at the time.

Now if you remember, in 2002, it came out that Brandy was secretly married to Robert Smith, supposedly the cousin of her long time producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. They went as far as to fake their marriage on the MTV special “Brandy: A Special Delivery”. Shortly after the two broke up and Robert went public about the fake marriage but Brandy stayed mum until now.

The whole story is featured in the current edition of USWeekly.

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