by Maya Carpenter 

Erykah Badu

Badu With a View!

Grammy-Award winner Erykah Badu is making headlines with the music video to her hit single, “Window Seat,” as she stripped away her clothes while walking a downtown Dallas street in the infamous grassy knoll in Dallas, Texas—the site of President Kennedy’s assassination, according to The Washington Post. The song is in her sixth album New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh).

According to EURweb.com, Dallas police are considering whether or not to charge her with indecent exposure. The neo-soul singer told AOL Black Voices how she felt about stripping nude in the first place. “I was petrified while shooting this video, but liberation began to set in. I conquered many fears in that few moments. I am [grateful],” she said.

The Cost of a Mid-Life Crisis

Matthew Knowles

Looks like Matthew Knowles, father and manager of superstar Beyoncé, has fathered a baby boy with his alleged mistress. The baby was born February 4. According to TMZ, a DNA test is a match, and now both parties are currently negotiating a settlement for child support.

The mother is, supposedly, a one-time Interscope Records staffer. She claims she had an 18-month affair with Knowles. Last December, it was confirmed that Matthew and Tina Knowles, the parents of Beyoncé and Solange, are in the process of finalizing a divorce.

According to AOL BV, the baby’s mother filed a paternity suit last October against the 59-year-old. A judge temporarily ordered Knowles to make $8,200-a-month child-support payments, as well as 100 percent of uninsured medical costs.

Tia Mowry, Pooch Hall, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Hosea Chanchez, Brittany Daniel, and Coby Bell star in The Game.

In the Game Again!

For those of you who miss CW’s short-lived sitcom The Game, there is good news: the show is set to return this year. According to AOL Black Voices, Black Entertainment Television has struck a deal with “The Game’s parent company, Paramount, to develop new episodes of the popular series.

The CW canceled the show last May, when the cast contracts weren’t optioned and ultimately expired on June 30, 2009. The show’s stars include Tia Mowry, Pooch Hall, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Hosea Chanchez, Brittany Daniel, and Coby Bell.

Zoe Saldana

Back in the Saddle Again

Zoe Saldana is riding on stardom, but she has said that Hollywood hasn’t forgotten that she is a person of color. According to EURweb.com, The Dominican-born actress says Hollywood is still as racist as ever, only in subtle ways. “When they say, ‘We want to go white,’ they have a very smooth way of saying it, and the recent one is the word ‘traditional,’” she told EURweb.com. The 31-year-old said she’s grateful to Avatar director James Cameron because he thought her look was perfect for the lead role of Neytiri—despite the fact that the character is blue and nine feet tall!

Being the Natural YOU!

Attention natural-hair tress-wearing ladies and gentlemen, if you are addicted to Miss Jessie’s hair-care products, you will be happy to know you don’t have to order products online: they are now being sold at Target (free plug!). The products hit the shelves on March 28.

Miss Jessie’s has an array of curl-defining products that will keep your hair moisturized and curly without chemicals.
Also now available at Target is the Jane Carter Solution. Jane Carter’s products also give nutrients and moisture to different textures of hair. In addition, some of the products are specifically made for certain styles such as twisting and roller-setting.

Kanye Goes from Tunes to ’Toons

We all know Kanye West loves the spotlight and tends to remain there. The last time he ruffled a few feathers was at last September’s MTV Video Music Awards when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. According to Vibe.com, West is now preparing to guest-star in two episodes of the FOX cartoon series The Cleveland Show, a spin-off of the Family Guy.

He will play a character named Kenny West who has a rap battle with Cleveland Brown Jr. and Academy-Award nominee Taraji P. Henson, who will voice West’s girlfriend’s character. In addition, his character is broke and is struggling in the music business. The first two episodes are set to air May 2, 2010.

Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry on the Move Again

Tyler Perry is working on another film, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, based on Ntozake Shange’s award-winning 1975 play. The film is scheduled to shoot in June in New York with a possible winter 2010/2011 release date, according to AOL BV. It will consist of a series of poems performed by a cast of nameless women, known only by color, and dealing with such subjects as love, abandonment, rape, and abortion.

Perry’s cast includes Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, Loretta Devine, and Macy Gray. Elise and Carey are the only two that were on his initial cast wish list, which included Beyoncé Halle Berry,and Oprah Winfrey.

“Making a film of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf is a dream come true for me,” Perry told AOL BV about the project. As previously reported by AOL BV, For Colored Girls will be the first project for 34th Street Films, Perry’s new production company, which is housed at Lionsgate.

Perry’s most recent film, Why Did I Get Married Too?, is already heading to number one status.