Is the Beyonce still considered the hottest chick in the game? While, Rihanna and the other wannabe’s try to emulate her, Forbes magazine just dropped its “Most Powerful Women List” and surprisingly Beyonce didn’t make the top 5. Sure, she and hubby Jay-Z may be at the top when it comes to raking in the dollars, but her “hottest chick in the game” title is in jeopardy of being revoked! The “Single Ladies” hitmaker, came in ninth place on Forbes’ list, while Lady Gaga is two steps ahead of her at No. 7. Now, the “hottest chick in the game” according to Forbes is First Lady O! President Obama’s wifey claims the No. 1 spot–beating Oprah Winfrey. Well, it does make sense that Michelle would be the most powerful woman. Um…her hubby is running our country.

We can’t but wonder…has Bey has lost her swag?

Jay-Z isn’t lying when he says he “runs this town”! Not only does he run the states, but it turns out dude runs Europe as well! Last Friday, while performing at Britain’s Isle of Wight festival, Jay-Z surprised fans by bringing out buddy Kanye West to perform their hit track “Run This Town” sans “Good Girl Gone Rated R” Rihanna.

Sidebar: Look at all those white hands. LOL!

A while back, we gave you guys a sneak peek at Kelly Rowland’s spread for South Africa’s Cosmopolitan magazine. Well, feast your eyes on Miss Rowland gracing the cover of the publication’s July issue. Kelly’s career is really on the come-up! And it seems like she actually has a shot at finally getting out of BFF Beyonce’s shadow.

Peep Kelly’s spread…

Kelly sure knows how to strike a pose!

A few onths after shaving off her locks opting for a clean look, Beyonce’s baby sis’ Solange switches her look up once again! This past weekend, while spinning on the 1′s and 2′s at TAO Beach in Las Vegas; Solange revealed her new au natural ‘do. Honestly, I like the new hair…just wish she would’ve ran a comb through it, but nonetheless I’m diggin’ it! Shout out to all the natural sistahs!

Is Solange STYLIN’ or WILDIN’?!

Last week, PaPa Knowles tried to put an end to rumors that Destiny’s Child plans to reunite. Well, MTV recently caught up with Kelly who also insists that the ladies of DC3 have no plans of hitting the studio anytime soon–especially now that she’s doing her solo thing. She says,

“I just released ‘Commander.’ I’m about to release a record, and I’m really just having fun in my own space. Destiny’s Child is a such a huge part of me. And Beyoncé and Michelle are such a huge part of me. We’re sisters, and I don’t expect anyone not to ask that question.”

So can we expect diva Beyonce and Michelle to collaborate with Kelly on her solo work in the near future?

“You know what? Anything can happen! As of right now, there is no Destiny’s Child collaboration.”

There really is no point of Destiny’s Child reuniting. A reunion would just slow down Kelly and Michelle’s solo careers as they’ll end up being overshadowed by Beyonce again.

]]> http://str8nyc.com/2010/06/11/kelly-rowland-squashes-dc3-reunion-rumors-collabo-w-beyonce/feed/ 1 http://str8nyc.com/2010/06/10/str8-exclusive-paula-campbells-future-is-bright/ http://str8nyc.com/2010/06/10/str8-exclusive-paula-campbells-future-is-bright/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:34:04 +0000 J'More http://str8nyc.com/?p=39041 Tweet

Born and raised in the gritty streets of Baltimore, the Queen of the DMV also known as Paula Campbell is a living testament that hard work does pay off. She may remind you of the Queen of Hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige or even Keyshia Cole, but don’t get it twisted–Paula’s story is completely different. Paula is no newbie to the game, as she’s been around for year and has worked with some of today’s biggest names from Kanye West to Ne-Yo. Her vocals can also be heard on Three Six Mafia’s Oscar winning song “Hard Out Here For A Pimp”. After a brief stint with Sony Records, Paula sought out the independent route and established her very own label Rublewood. Check out our exclusive interview with Paula Campbell–where she talks Beyonce, the state of R&B music, balancing motherhood and more.

Str8NYC: You’ve been singing for a while and you’re a songwriter as well; at what age did you realize you were just destined to be a singer?

PC: Honestly, I have never wanted to do anything but sing. I can remember back to when I was about four years old–I wanted to be a singer then. And I wrote my first song when I was seven.

Str8NYC: Wow! Do you remember the name of the song?

PC: Yep! It was called “Love” and it was about a little boy I had a crush on.

Str8NYC: Awww! Too cute! [Laughs]

Str8NYC: Who are your inspirations.

PC: Man, I have so many. But my musical inspirations of all time are definitely Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder and Prince.

Str8NYC: You’re hailed as the “Queen of the DMV”, so in five words or less tell me why you’re the “queen”.

PC: In five words?

Str8NYC: Yes.

PC: [Laughs] I’m strong. I’m intelligent. I’m responsible. I’m loyal. And I’m real.

Str8NYC: What sets you apart from all the other R&B chicks?

PC: First and foremost I don’t sound like any of them. Secondly, there’s a lane that’s wide open for me. I think B [Beyonce] is definitely more pop, but when you look and you see these other people [singers], I think people probably compare me more to Mary J. or Keyshia Cole–the female artist with the struggle and the story and that’s got a lot of hood in her. But what sets me aside from that is a completely different story. I’m not overly aggressive. I’m not in a state where I always gotta be hood. How can I word this and not sound like I’m dissing anybody? I fit in everywhere. How about that [laughs]!

Str8NYC: Do you think R&B is dead?

PC: I do not believe that is dead. If you would’ve asked me maybe two years ago, I would’ve definitely said yeah, but I honestly believe that R&B is coming back around. If you look at the music that Mario is doing and even Trey Songz they’re going back to real R&B music. You know, Keyshia Cole is doing a great job! Jazmine Sullivan, oh my God! You know people are really singing real music with substance that tells stories and make sense.

Str8NYC: As a single mother, how do you manage family and work?

PC: I would probably say I don’t. I don’t really know a way to manage being a mother and an artist, you know what I mean? I’m always a mom first. Everything that comes or however God brings it to me is just the way I accept it. I always make sure I take time and put time in for my child and everything else is secondary. So put God first, my daughter second, my music and everything else.

Str8NYC: I first saw you perform at “DMV Helps Haiti” benefit concert where you were the only female on the bill and you really held your own. You sang “Ain’t Nobody Stupid” and I remember you saying Ne-Yo penned the track. How did that collaboration come about?

PC: I was actually signed to Ne-Yo for a short period of time after my deal with Sony [Records]. We’re still really, really good friends. But with “Ain’t Nobody Stupid”, they had all these kind of like pop songs for me. So Ne-Yo was like, “Yo I hear something different for Paula…there’s something deeper. She’s darker than this bubble gum music”. We got in the studio and started working. “Ain’t Nobody Stupid” was one of the first songs he did for me. It actually won a contest for Glamour magazine and Ciara directed the video. But by the time all of that was over, we never really promoted it.

Str8NYC: Who else have you worked with in the industry?

PC: I’ve worked with so many people! Steve Taylor, Rockwilder, Makeeba Riddick who’s also from Baltimore–gotta show love to her too! I hate it when I forget people. I’m so sorry [laughs]. I’ve worked with a lot of people.

Str8NYC: Who haven’t you worked with yet that you really want to work with?

PC: I would love, love, love to work with Missy [Elliott].

Str8NYC: Missy?

PC: Yes! I think I could do so much great work with Missy on the producing tip and writing. I would love to work with Missy! And I don’t know a female artist who would ever say and mean that they really didn’t want to work with B [Beyonce]. I would love to do something with Beyonce.

Str8NYC: Speaking of Beyonce, you’re not only a singer, but you’re also a writer. How do you feel about singers who take credit for songs that they haven’t even written?

PC: You know, I think it’s unfair. However, if you’re a new writer and nobody would know anything about you unless this multi-platinum selling artist sang your song, that’s kind of like your payment for basically giving you an outlet to put your music out there on a wholenother level.

Str8NYC: I see what you’re saying. But every song though?

PC: I think every song is a bit much. I’ll be completely honest. I think to ask for anybody’s publishing and you didn’t write the song that’s a bit much. But again, if I’m Joe Schmo out in North Carolina and nobody knows about me. But my pen is so sick and I just happen to get this song to Beyonce–who is going to take my song to the next level and once people know I did this song for Beyonce then I’ll be able to have leeway to do what I want to do…I mean can you really argue with it?

Str8NYC: True, that’s like catch 22.

PC: Definitely a catch 22!

Str8NYC: You’re a very pretty lady. If a guy wanted to holla at you, what would he have to do to get your attention or even a date?

PC: I don’t even know [laughs]. I would say just be himself. I appreciate genuine people and the guys that I’ve dated in my past most people are like, “Oh my God! You dated him?” [laughs]. I appreciate the innocence of it all. So when people come to you and they’re like 100% or you believe they’re 100% them flaws and all…I appreciate that. Because I know that if I can deal with that today, then two years from now I can deal with it as well.

DOWNLOAD/LISTEN–>> PAULA CAMPBELL- “DREAMMAKER” (THE STREET ALBUM)”

For more information on Paula Campbell check out these links!

www.paulacampbellplace.com

www.MySpace.com/PaulaCampbell

Twitter.com/PaulaCampbell

Rolling Stone Magazine has crowned Jay-Z the “King of America” as he graces the cover of the publication’s June 2010 issue set to hit newsstands June 24th. In the issue, Jay-Z talks wifey Beyonce, his buddy Lebron James, his biggest challenges while he was the president of Def Jam and what Hip-hop is lacking.  Check out this excerpt…

“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.”

Yesterday, the papz caught Hip-hop’s royal couple Jay-Z and Beyonce spending some boo time together in the city of love aka Paris. The two were spotted leaving the Meurice Palace where they were welcomed by a lot of flashing lights. Bey and Jay seemed a bit annoyed by all the attention they received, so they dipped with the quickness!

Looks like Bey and Jay have 99 problems and the paparazzi is one…

While you may be waiting for the ladies of Destiny’s Child to reunite, don’t hold your breath ’cause it’s never going to happen! Recently, word spread the net that former bandmates Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle were working on a new album. Well, Beyonce’s daddy and the group’s former manager Mathew Knowles has issued a statement in an attempt to squash the rumor. He says,

“Contrary to rumors online of a Destiny’s Child reunion, there are no plans for the group to reunite for a performance or album. The rumors are false. Destiny’s Child made an unprecedented impact in contemporary music, becoming one of the best-selling groups of all time. Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams have each moved on to successful solo careers. The members remain close, but will not reunite as a group.”

SMH @ PaPa Knowles straight up lying that the ladies “remain close”. Really?! They sure fooled me! When’s the last time you saw Kelly, Michelle and Beyonce together? *crickets*