Scandal Premiere Date and more

"Scandal" will debut Thursday, April 5, after "Grey's Anatomy."

Kerry Washington left and Judy Smith at ABC Press conference Jan. 10, 2012

Judy Smith assumes you can separate truth from fiction.

A former NBC spokeswoman and current crisis manager who has counted among her clients Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, Smith is both the executive producer of and the inspiration for Scandal, a new ABC series from Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes. The show revolves around Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), who in the pilot represents the president in a sex scandal.

Is Smith, who has spent some time herself in the White House, worried that people will think Olivia is more closely based on Smith than she is?

She says she is not. "What they've done is done a terrific job in dramatizing that in a very dramatic setting," she says.

Related posts
Shonda Rhimes on why TV has so few African-American leads

See ALL of our posts about Scandal by clicking the show logo below

Shonda Rhimes Speaks on Diversity in Television

Shonda Rhimes on why TV has so few African-American leads
Tim Molloy
Reuters
8:20 PM CST, January 10, 2012

Jan 10 (TheWrap.com) - Why does network television have so few African-American lead actors? The team behind ABC's "Scandal," the only current network series with an African-American lead, has a few ideas.

Kerry Washington

Creator Shonda Rhimes (pictured left), who cast Kerry Washington (pictured right) as a Washington, D.C., crisis PR expert, said the country has been ready for African-American leads for years. She referenced Diahann Carroll's lead turn on "Julia" more than four decades ago. The problem, she said, is that "people have failed to cast the actors that they should have been casting."

Rhimes and the cast spoke during a panel Tuesday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour.

After decades of African-Americans leading some of television's biggest shows -- including "The Cosby Show" -- series have increasingly featured African-American actors only in multi-racial casts that appeal to as many demographics as possible.

Laurence Fishburne was the key character on "CSI" before he departed at the end of last season, but even his show was an ensemble. NBC's "Undercovers," with two African-American leads, was quickly canceled last season.

Columbus Short

"Scandal" co-star Columbus Short (pictured left) said minorities have been marginalized on television, and that he hopes Washington's work on "Scandal" will encourage more colorblind casting.

"I think there's a way people want to perceive people of color," he said. "This is what they are, this is how they work, this is how we accept them. Which is a completely gross overassumption of people. And I think this show... tells the story of people. It has nothing to do with color."

ABC announced Tuesday that "Scandal" will debut Thursday, April 5, after the Rhimes-produced "Grey's Anatomy."


(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

CLICK the graphic below to see all of our blog posts about diversity at our parent blog the

'Nother Brother Entertainment blog

Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. - Cool Black Review

Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. by Cheo Hodari Coker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



While this book veers off into digressions on the history of crack and long details of ancillary stories like the founding of Death Row Records, it is still an excellent book for specifically the reasons the author stated at the beginning. No conspiracy theories just the REAL culminated from taped interviews with Biggie himself and the friends & family of Biggie.

The early chapters do indeed veer off too much into the history of Brooklyn and such, but do contain the info about Biggie’s childhood and everything before he became a rapper and thought he might have a career as a recording artist.

Each chapter from Chapter Four until the end of the book is great and only stumbles in the last chapter (Chapter 10: 'Who Shot Ya?') with all — and I mean ALL of the people suspected of the Biggie murder. The people named and their possible link to murder was extremely hard to follow.

Perhaps the BEST chapter was Chapter 5: ‘What's Beef?’ It really detailed the circumstances and environment in which, as I stated in my Status Update—
November 29, 1994. A Tuesday, a robbery, an event that would change hip hop forever...the night of the Quad Studios shooting of Tupac Shakur.
— Nov 12, 2011 03:57am

I also liked how each chapter was titled as a line from or name of a Biggie song. In order the chapters were:
Chapter 1: ‘Dolly My Baby’
Chapter 2: ‘Things Done Changed’
Chapter 3: ‘It Was All a Dream’
Chapter 4: ‘Gimmie the Loot (I'm a Bad Boy)’
Chapter 5: ‘What's Beef?’
Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems'
Chapter 7: ‘One More Chance (The Remix)’
Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'
Chapter 9: 'The Long Kiss Goodnight'
Chapter 10: 'Who Shot Ya?'
Epilogue: 'Sky's the Limit'
"If You Don't Know...Now You Know" A Discography

As I stated at the beginning, a lot of interviews occurred with the people close to Biggie, but curiously, while Biggie’s mom Voletta Wallace is interviewed extensively as is his inner circle there are little to no interviews with “Biggie’s women”. There are interviews with his children’s moms, but none with his “dalliances” specifically Charli Baltimore and Lil Kim. Of course they are mentioned and referenced quotes from other interviews, but not anything specific for this book.

While an interesting life, Biggie WAS only 24 when he was murdered, TWENTY FOUR! There isn’t a lot of life story there to tell, but the essence of what lead to his success and eventual death are the most potent parts of the book. If you are a fan of hip hop in general, the book intricately details what is was like on one side of the East Coast/West Coast feud. The book is so thoroughly detailed (and sourced) it could be used for a college course on hip hop.

View all my BOOK reviews
___________________________________________________________

ADDENDUM

Promotion poster

The author of this book Cheo Hodari Coker co-wrote the screenplay (with

Reggie Rock Bythewood) for the 2009 film Notorious, the biopic of the Notorious B.I.G. (poster pictured left)

As a filmmaker I understand the portions of the film that were changed from not exactly how they occurred in real life (as recounted through interviews in the book of course). I also think the director George Tillman, Jr. did a good job at conveying some major stories in the book to film. From the real locations of the street in New York, to the real Quad Studios etc. I even watched the Quad Studios scene in the movie again RIGHT AFTER I read about it in the book and it was pretty much spot on. Major props to him for that.

 You can read my review of the film Notorious here

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: Personally I don’t think this feud was really hyped all that much by the media. To me this seemed personal on a street tip. You know “word on the street” type stuff. Frankly these street types don’t really read or watch the news so I don’t see the relevancy in that argument.

Cool Black's Mad Updates:

Since I like to use the also use the Goodreads website to keep track/notes on what I’m reading electronically, I also updated this book more than any other I’ve read thus far. Below is a copy of ALL my updates in chronological order.

• Page 9 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Just finished the FOREWORD by Biggie friend Bönz Malone and the INTRODUCTION by author Cheo Hodari Coker, who explains in true Biggie style about what you will & WON'T find in this book. No conspiracy theories just the REAL culminated from taped interviews with Biggie himself and the friends & family of Biggie in truth Christopher Latore Wallace, ALL listed & credited at the end of the book. Mad props 2 him 4 that. 

— Oct 29, 2011 02:54am 

• Page 25 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Just finished Chapter 1 "Dolly My Baby". In it the author recounts Biggie's mom Ms. Wallace flight from Jamaica and even the setting environ of Brooklyn back in the same time period I was born there (cool! Biggie was born 8 months after I was). He goes on to recount Biggie's early childhood and his desire to escape the harsh control his mother placed on him to keep him safe from the streets. 

— Nov 01, 2011 01:16pm 

• Page 71 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Just finished Chapter 3 "It Was All a Dream" and the book is not what I thought it would be, at least thus far. More on that later. (in the NEXT update)

— Nov 03, 2011 02:06am 

• Page 73 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

About to start Chapter 4 "Gimmie The Loot (I'm a Bad Boy), but so far the book  digresses  widely what is supposed to be the subject Notorious B.I.G. Through well researched data, the author recounts the history of Brooklyn, the history of hip hop, the history of crack, the history of Def Jam Records, the history of Uptown Records & the history of Sean "Puffy" Combs w/ some Biggie sprinkled in there. It's supplemental, but too much details away from what is supposed to be the main subject.  

—Nov 03, 2011 05:34am 

• Page 95 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

In the middle of Chapter 4 "Gimmie the Loot: (I'm a Bad Boy)" which starts off STRONG w/ Biggie's start w/ Puffy when he was w/ Uptown Records and everything that happened after that into the formation of Bad Boy Records. Now it has veered off again into the formation of Death Row Records. To tell this story you need background, but the author spends an inordinate amount of time on the ancillary background stories. 

— Nov 05, 2011 09:36am 

Actually still pg 95 & this section in Chapter 4 "Gimmie the Loot (I'm a Bad Boy)" starts off "The Chronic hit the rap world like a 10-megaton bomb on December 15, 1992." 

— Nov 06, 2011 01:25am 

• Page 98 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

WHOA, WHOA, WHOAH! BOTH rappers on 'Gimmie the Loot' was Biggie doing a separate voice? Gotta put this book down RIGHT NOW and listen to the song. "Right now gee?" Motherf... 

— Nov 06, 2011 01:39am 

• Page 109 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

"Just the mention of her name made Wallace smile sheepishly" THIS is the page where the author explains how Biggie met Faith Evans. 

— Nov 06, 2011 01:48am 

• Page 117 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Finally finished the BEST chapter in the book thus far- Chapter 4: Gimmie the Loot (I'm a Bad Boy). The chapter chronicled Puffy's rise & fall @ Uptown Records, the start of Bad Boy Records, the recording of 'Ready to Die', the meeting & marriage with Faith Evans, the success of 'Ready to Die, the hovering of Suge Knight and @ the end hanging with someone he was tight with for over a year - Tupac Shakur. 

— Nov 06, 2011 02:21am 

• Page 126 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

WOW, as indicated Chapter 5: "What's Beef?" starts of STRONG with how Biggie met 2Pac, how their friendship formed and dovetailed into details of the sexual assault 2Pac was accused of. I've heard about it, but only peripherally, never read the details. WOW. 

• Page 138 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Just finished another great chapter & here is what I learned in Chapter 5: "What's Beef?" Most paramount: Be careful who you associate yourself with. Tupac was paranoid as hell after he was arrested on a rape charge, buying a "spy microphone" to record conversations with women (sexual consent with groupies) and any other conversation he deemed worthy. (CONT) 

— Nov 12, 2011 03:44am 

• Page 139 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

More of I learned in Chapter 5: "What's Beef?" (CONTD  2 of 3) Tupac was also BROKE while on trial for rape (November 1994). He couldn't get film work because no one would insure him. He couldn't get TV work because no network would sanction it. He was taking "chump change" to appear on other people's records (the reason he was @ Quad studios that fateful night) (CONT) 

— Nov 12, 2011 03:55am 

• Page 140 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

More of I learned in Chapter 5: "What's Beef?" (CONTD  3 of 3) November 29, 1994. A Tuesday, a robbery, an event that would change hip hop forever...the night of the Quad Studios shooting of Tupac Shakur. 

— Nov 12, 2011 03:57am 

• Page 142 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' Starting off great recounting the success of 'Ready to Die'. Biggie wanted 'Machine Gun Funk' to be his lead single, but Puffy wanted radio friendly singles like 'Juicy' (which eventually was the 1st single) More on that later. 

— Nov 13, 2011 05:14am 

• Page 150 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' You wanna know how 2 friends could go to being bitter rivals? 1 is having career highs flossing in videos with fancy clothes, beautiful women. At the same exact time, the other is in jail on a rape charge, can't afford the $1.4 million dollar bail because all of his money is going to lawyers, having rectal searches before AND after meetings with said lawyer stewing on bitterness. 

— Nov 13, 2011 06:03am 

• Page 183 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' " 'Hit 'Em Up' was perhaps the most scathing battle rhyme ever committed to tape" (Summer of '96) I couldn't agree more! In my "Afros talk": If'n there is I ain't be heard none. ("I ain't be got no weapon" Hollywood Shuffle) THIS is the page where the author describes Biggie's reaction. 

— Nov 20, 2011 03:19am 

• Page 192 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' these pages starting with 190 describing the night of Tupac's shooting and ending with "Tupac Amaru Shakur drifted into permanent sleep on Friday, September 13, 1996, just after 4 P.M. He was 25 years old." 

— Nov 20, 2011 04:17am 

• Page 197 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Jus finished, finally finished Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' & WOW! It details "the intricate plot" of the East Coast/West Coast beef w/ the "major & minor figures" involved, ending with the crazy car crash that injured Biggie's leg. Another GREAT chapter. 

— Nov 20, 2011 04:55am 

• Page 213 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Started Chapter 7: One More Chance (The Remix). It details Biggie's stint in rehab, for his crushed leg, and the beginning of the recording of 'Life After Death'. 

— Nov 25, 2011 04:36am 

• Page 217 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Just finished Chapter 7: One More Chance (The Remix). It finished telling the story of the recording sessions of 'Life After Death' with interviews with the producers involved and ends on the talk of the heavy promotion coming up. The chapter ends with these 2 sentences. "But in order to make the plan work certain things had to happen. First of all, Wallace had to go back to Cali." 

— Nov 26, 2011 10:24pm 

• Page 220 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Starting Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'. Biggie is in California & while he's there he's doing major promotion & the 1st video for 'Life After Death'. 

— Nov 27, 2011 03:12am 

• Page 226 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

As stated on this page of Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You' : "With Tupac dead and Suge Knight off the streets, Bad Boy was making its presence known—in Los Angeles recording studios, in the clubs on Sunset Boulevard, and on local radio stations. The message being sent wasn't subtle—while our enemies fall, we stand tall." 

— Nov 27, 2011 03:25am 

• Page 232 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'. At this point in the chapter, they JUST finished shooting the 'Hypnotize' video and the ridiculousness you witnessed on screen doesn't compare to the behind the scenes ridiculousness. 

— Nov 27, 2011 03:45am 

• Page 239 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'. 

The chapter just stated how the last things Biggie recorded were the guest verses on 'Victory' and 'All About The Benjamins' IMO some the illest rhymes he EVER spit. THIS page starts recounting that fateful night @ the Petersen Automotive Museum. 

— Nov 27, 2011 04:15am 

• Page 245 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

WOW! Just finished Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'. The last pages of the chapter details much of Biggie's last hours and ends on the phone call to Biggie's mother Voletta Wallace, to try to state what was just stated on the previous page: "Christopher George Letore Wallace was dead. It was 1:15 A.M. He was 24 years old." 

— Nov 27, 2011 04:35am

• Page 253 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Given how the the last chapter ended, Chapter 9:'The Long Kiss Goodnight' starts off GANGBUSTERS! Reactions coast to coast from fans, the hip hop artists who were there, Biggie's inner circle, Puffy and the "morgue of moms". The gathering of Biggie's mom Voletta and the moms of his children, Jan and Faith gathered to identify his body in the morgue. 

— Nov 27, 2011 09:09am 

• Page 258 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

This section of Chapter 9:'The Long Kiss Goodnight' details Biggie's funeral and final procession through Brooklyn in great detail down to "Lying in a velvet-lined coffin made of beautifully polished mahogany, Wallace was dressed in a white suit with a matching derby—an outfit worthy of his status as a man of respect." 

— Nov 27, 2011 02:08pm 

• Page 265 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Just finished Chapter 9:'The Long Kiss Goodnight' and the rest of the the chapter details the recording of 'I'll Be Missing You', the song and video, the release and chart success of 'Life After Death' (10 Million copies by 2000), the 1997 MTV Awards performance with Sting and ends with the somber filming of the video for 'Mo' Money, Mo' Problems' with Biggie's Mom & daughter on the set. 

— Nov 27, 2011 02:37pm 

Page 285 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

 WOW Just finished the last official chapter in the book Chapter 10: 'Who Shot Ya?' and what lies wherein is a dizzying array of suspects and informants. The story presented is worthy of Oliver Stone's 'JFK'. The written account is rather confusing and in bad need of a power point or something to connect all the dots. Interesting and intriguing information, just confusing as hell. 

— Nov 27, 2011 09:07pm 

Page 299 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Just finished the Epilogue: 'Sky's The Limit'. It basically had newer interviews with Biggie's mom as she was with Biggie's kids as they were swimming in the pool @ the house Biggie started building for her before he died. Plus interviews with DJ Première & Lil Cease. The chapter ends with some nice thoughts from long time Biggie friend Hubert Sams. "It wasn't his time, man," Sams says. "It just wasn't his time." 

— Dec 01, 2011 02:45pm 

Page 302 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Starting "If You Don't Know...Now You Know" An extensive, and I mean EXTENSIVE, Biggie Discography by Chairman Mao. It starts with his 1991 demo "Blind Alley Freestyle"; "Guaranteed Raw"; "Don't Love No Ho". The demo that got him in 'The Source's' "Unsigned Hype" column. 

— Dec 02, 2011 11:02am 

Page 308 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

THIS is the page where Chairman Mao starts to talk about READY TO DIE. Before this he talked about AND listed all, and I MEAN ALL, the singles, promo and otherwise, Biggie appeared on.
— Dec 03, 2011 03:03am 

Page 318 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

On this page of "If You Don't Know...Now You Know" Discography by Chairman Mao. Mao starts talking about LIFE AFTER DEATH the 1997 double album. Haven't started reading what he said yet, but thus far Mao is taking NO shorts when describing the various tracks calling out any other weak/wack MCs on callabo tracks and such. LOL 

— Dec 03, 2011 03:27am 

Page 324 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

On this page of "If You Don't Know...Now You Know" Discography by Chairman Mao. Mao states about the 1997 album BORN AGAIN: "The premise of this posthumous album—collecting unheard or old but forgotten Biggie vocals, and retooling them alongside new tracks and guests—was flawed from the jump." I couldn't agree more. I'll probably say such (more) later. — Dec 03, 2011 03:43am 

-Ok here are my comments on BORN AGAIN. Like Chairman Mao stated, it was just a bad idea. It seemed like an obvious attempt to cash in on Biggie’s posthumous legacy. I was never going to buy that album and only downloaded that single with Eminem ‘Dead Wrong’. Unfortunately the posthumous scavenging didn’t stop with 1999’s BORN AGAIN. There was 2005’s ‘DUETS: THE FINAL CHAPTER’. I can’t be mad at Puffy because the executor of his estate, his mom Voletta, co-signed everything. So if she’s happy with it, who am I to say anything.  — Dec 05, 2011 09:52 AM 

Page 331 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

WOW, Chairman Mao went ALL IN in "If You Don't Know...Now You Know" Discography. Mao called out all the ridiculous posthumous Biggie releases & gave props to some of the, actually the very few, gems in the bunch. He states: "Nearly seven years after his death, the very rhymes that introduced Biggie Smalls to much of the world are still being tapped for inspiration. If that's not being ahead of your time, what is?" — Dec 03, 2011 04:06am 

Page 334 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Trying to finish this book so starting 'Brooklyn's Finest' Videography by Ralph Daniels where he talks about then lists all the videos Biggie appeared in. — Dec 03, 2011 04:15am 

Page 339 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. 

Even though there's ACKNOWLEDGENTS (pp. 346) from the publisher Editorial Director Rob Kenner, Vibe books, page 339 is the actual end of the book ending with the AUTHOR'S NOTE and the obligatory ABOUT THE AUTHOR—CHEO HODARI COKER. The rest of the book is ALL the credits for the many, many sources. Major props to him for including that. — Dec 03, 2011 04:40am 

Beyoncé & Jay-Z's Baby Finally Arrives

Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby, Blue Ivy, gets welcomed by celebs on Twitter
By Camille Mann

(CBS) After much anticipation and a slew of rumors, Beyonce and Jay-Z (pictured left) welcomed their baby girl, Blue Ivy Carter, over the weekend in New York City, according to reports.

The Grammy-winning singer checked into Lenox Hill Hopsital, on Manhattan's Upper East Side, on Saturday night under the name "Ingrid Jackson," but it didn't take friends and fans too long to catch on sending the Twittersphere into a frenzy.

Even celebrities joined in, welcoming the music power couple's first child.

"Welcome to the world princess Carter!" Rihanna, who is under Jay-Z record label, tweeted. "Love Aunty Rih."

"Welcome to the world Blue! We love you already," actress and good friend of the couple, Gwyneth Paltrow, wrote.

Fellow rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs also joined in, tweeting, "Congrats to Jay and B! And many more!"

Music mogul Russell Simmons added, "Congrats to my good friends Beyonce and Jay-Z."

The singer's sister, musician Solange Knowles, also took to Twitter to welcome her baby niece.

"The most beautiful girl in the world," she tweeted.

Beyonce and Jay-Z have not spoken out about their daughter, but there has been some speculation that the couple derived the name from the roman numeral for four, "IV," because of the significance of the number four in their lives, reports People magazine (posted below)

Beyonce's birthday is Sept. 4, Jay-Z's is Dec. 4, and the two married on April 4 in 2008.

Baby Blue Ivy: What's In a Name?
BY JESSICA HERNDON
People magazine

Monday January 09, 2012 07:45 AM EST

Beyoncé and Jay-Z's baby girl Blue Ivy Carter arrived Saturday, and while little girls are customarily pretty in pink, this baby is also being surrounded by touches of blue.

This was the case over the holidays, when, in anticipation of the baby's birth, the parents-to-be sent pals blue Christmas gifts, a source tells PEOPLE.

Sources and fans suggest the couple chose the name "Ivy" because of the number 4 or Roman numeral IV, which is significant in Beyoncé and Jay-Z's relationship.

Beyoncé's birthday is Sept. 4, while Jay-Z's is Dec. 4; the two married on April 4 in 2008; they reportedly have matching "IV" tattoos on their wedding fingers; and Beyoncé named her latest album 4.

And the significance of the baby's first name, Blue? Well, Jay-Z has three albums with the word "blueprint" in their titles: The Blueprint was released in 2001; The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, in 2002; and The Blueprint 3, in 2009.

In lyrics, Jay-Z has rarely been coy about proclaiming himself the best rapper ever. "I'm the Blueprint, I'm like the map for 'em," he said in "A Star Is Born," from The Blueprint 3.

Fans have also chimed in on the name. "Blueprint was the hottest album ever sold by Jay-Z! their child's name makes a lot of sense!" Tweeted @kisssmyDIAMONDS

And Tweeted @omgitsralph: "There's a meaning in Ivy Blue. IVy = a roman numeral for 4 which is Beyoncé's favorite number and BLUE for Jay-Z's Blueprint albums. Wow."

Perhaps at some point the parents will make clear why they chose the name.

Until then, there's one thing the family is clear about, as proud aunt Solange declared on Twitter on Sunday. Blue Ivy, she said, is "the most beautiful girl in the world."

CLICK the button to see all of our blog posts about Beyoncé

CLICK the button to see all of our blog posts about Jay-Z

Watch the Throne - The Cool Black Review

Watch the Throne album cover

Let me say that it took me a while to even check out this album by rap superstars Jay-Z & Kanye West I WAS NOT crazy (cray?) about the first two released tracks.


Watch the Throne was originally envisioned as a five track ep and then Kanye announced in October 2010 that this was going to be a full album. After I heard those first two singles I thought this album may be a “cash grab” to capitalize on their superstar status and or some sort of vanity project.

Following Kanye's announcement via his Twitter account, "H•A•M" was officially released as a digital download on January 11, 2011. On July 20, 2011 "OTIS" was premiered on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and subsequently leaked to the Internet.

As I stated, I wasn’t feeling EITHER of those tracks."H•A•M" was just "W•A•M" and the “W” stands for “Wack”. The only good thing about the song was the hook.

I thought their next single “OTIS” was gotdamn ridiculous when I first heard it. I could not hear what the heck Jay-Z & Kanye were saying over the overpowering Otis Redding vocals. The Otis Redding vocals are still overpowering, but I've gotten used to them & can now decipher what they are rapping about.

Ok that was the first tracks released, but when I finally listened to the album my first impressions were to quote a friend of mine, "not to be funny" this is more of a Kanye West album featuring Jay-Z. Whether by intent or design, Kanye seems to outshine Jay on every song.  Maybe Jay-Z is at the point in his career where he CAN just step back. Let’s also be clear that Kanye’s rap skills have finally arrived. I think what made My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy such a masterpiece (yeah I thought it was masterpiece) was that his rap skills have vastly improved. Dude is like a real MC now.

There are great songs like "No Church in the Wild" (featuring Frank Ocean), That's My Bitch and Made it in America (again featuring Frank Ocean), but my favorite tracks on the album are the back to back tracks "Lift Off" (featuring Beyoncé) produced by Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Mike Dean, with additional production by Q-Tip, Pharrell and Don Jazzy and the track "Niggas in Paris" produced by Hit-Boy, Kanye West, Mike Dean and Anthony Kilhoffer.

Those two songs work seamless together and alone. Perfect for an album. The Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks while may be Deluxe...were no Bonus, including the aforementioned "H•A•M" which still didn't grow on me, but has become tolerable. As for the rest of the album even the tracks that don’t work by themselves work in the complete album.

Having said that, this whole album is HOT! Even though I deplore it, I can admit when I’m wrong. I mean it happens so rarely that it takes me by surprise. LOL.

Below is which of the individual tracks I thought were HOT

1. "No Church in the Wild" (featuring Frank Ocean) HOT
2. "Lift Off" (featuring Beyoncé) HOT
3. "Niggas in Paris" HOT
4. "Otis" (featuring Otis Redding)  HOT
5. "Gotta Have It" warm
6. "New Day"
7. "That’s My Bitch" HOT
8. "Welcome to the Jungle"
9. "Who Gon Stop Me"
10. "Murder to Excellence" HOT
11. "Made in America" (featuring Frank Ocean) HOT
12. "Why I Love You" (featuring Mr Hudson) warm

Deluxe Edition Bonus tracks

13. "Illest Motherfucker Alive"
14. "H•A•M"
15. "Primetime"
16. "The Joy" (featuring Curtis Mayfield)

WATCH THE MULTIMEDIA

Below is a look at some of the inner workings captured during the Watch the Throne recording sessions of Jay-Z and Kanye West.

Watch the Throne Session Photos



Check out the first video from Watch the Throne, OTIS , a video that more than likely got me to like the song more and video that looks like a whole bunch of fun


Check out an excellent short film based on "No Church in the Wild" (featuring Frank Ocean) at our parent blog ‘Nother Brother Entertainment blog here

Read about the video for Niggas in Paris on the ‘Nother Brother Entertainment Facebook page here

Related posts-

For ALL of our posts about Watch the Throne click here

Read Jay-Z and Kanye-A Timeline of Partnership here

For ALL blog posts about Jay-Z click here

For ALL blog posts about Kanye West click here

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Jay-Z Holding New Fundraisers at Carnegie Hall

Jay-Z to raise money, perform at Carnegie Hall


By Mesfin Fekadu -Associated Press / December 9, 2011

NEW YORK—Jay-Z (pictured left) didn't graduate from high school, but he's encouraging others to value their education.

The rapper announced Thursday that he will perform two shows at New York's Carnegie Hall in February to benefit the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation and the United Way of New York City.

"Education is super important," Jay-Z said. "I don't have a high school diploma or a college diploma, but still for me to articulate, I had to have some form of schooling to articulate my thoughts."

The concerts will take place on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7. Tickets in the private sale will range from $500 to $2500.

The press conference announced Jay-Z as the first solo hip-hop artist to play at the famed venue, though Wylcef Jean performed there in 2001 with Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton and Whitney Houston.

"I feel like they bent the rules so that it could make sense for me right now, but I'll take it," Jay-Z said with a laugh.

Jay-Z says performing at Carnegie Hall is a big deal for hip-hop, and he's happy to bring the genre to greater heights.

"Any time that I get a chance to expand and broaden the reach of hip-hop is a great thing for me on a personal level," he said.

The Brooklyn-born performer said he's excited to influence his community in ways outside of music. He says going back to the Marcy Projects complex where he grew up remains a moving experience.

He says he got the same feeling when he recently went to Kanye West's old home in the South Side of Chicago.

"The inspiration and how happy the people were, it just makes you feel really good," he said.

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