Common and N.E.R.D. On paper, this sounds like 2 different shows. In reality, Pharrell’s click and Common share a common thread of coloring outside the lines: Common as a virtuosic lyricist who isn’t afraid to break the rules — be it the rules of rap or fashion; N.E.R.D. as an adventurous band in an environment that rewards conformity.

On the heels of Common’s upcoming album, produced entirely by Pharrell, their paths merged at the Houston Verizon Theater if only for one night. Opening acts N.E.R.D. (Chad was missing in action) delivered a thoroughly exciting and energetic performance, while headliner Common turned in a mellow, female-friendly, and surprisingly short set. Pharrell came back on stage and helped Common close out the show with a stunning rendition of “Gladiator,” off Common’s new album.

Here’s a photo account of the show. (more…)

In true MTV fashion, the 2008 VMA was borderline boring. How am I supposed to be entertained when Britney is sober, Kanye’s singing his heart out, and all the rockers are voting for Obama? Blah. If you slept through most of last night’s award show (like Rihanna above), you can always turn to these photos for the entertainment that VMA failed to provide.
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Here’s Ciara rocking her birthday suit on the cover of VIBE’s October issue. Now you know why Game wants her as part of the prize package for that Madden bout.

Go ahead and peep one more nsfw pic after the gap. You know you want to.
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“Life changing” is how Kanye simply described his experience at last night’s Democratic convention. Proceed for pictures of Kanye with Michelle Obama and Joe Biden, as well as a few other Kodak moments from the convention.
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Nas brought his Jones Experience Tour to Houston a couple days ago. Inasmuch as I wanted to go see Nasir live, I couldn’t make it down there for reasons absolutely beyond my control. Long story. Anyhow, peep some fresh pictures from the show, courtesy of Indmix.com.
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Their lip gloss is poppin’, it’s poppin’. [Pic via: Alltheparties.com]

Eskay has some pics from Statik Selektah’s “To The Top (Stick To The Script)” video shoot. “To The Top” is just plain gorgeous, one of the illest collaborative tracks of the year. I can’t wait to see what the video looks like. Feast your eyes on shots from the video shoot, for now. (more…)

In case you couldn’t tell, that’s Ice T and Coco getting freaky on stage.
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