Showing Out

Chali 2na might be a little late on releasing the first video off his freshly released studio album Fish Outta Water, but that doesn’t mean that our demand for it has diminished at all. In the video for “International,” the former Jurassic 5 frontman heads to Kingston, Jamaica for this Jason Goldwatch-directed clip, which features Beenie Man rapping alongside the bass-toned lyricist. “International” also proves that these two are for da kidz, as they get down with a group of local tykes and have fun under the sun with them. And while his album might be called Fish Outta Water, Chali 2na has no qualms about diving into the ocean and chilling under a waterfall, which he does for a good portion of the clip. Regardless of it makes sense or not, it’s fun and fresh. Watch and enjoy.

Every decade or so, basketball sees a player with the potential to take the game beyond its limits. Dr. J, Michael Jordan, Shaq and Kobe Bryant are some of the superhuman players that paved the way for the current generation of ballers, with LeBron James leading the pack as a player with the potential to move basketball to an entirely new realm. But with all of James’ accolades and a career that’s been scrutinized since he was playing for his high school team, it’s easy to lose sight of his humble beginnings – especially when he consistently proves just how superior his abilities are. More Than a Game, a documentary that hits select theaters this Friday, shows that despite how far James has come, he couldn’t have gotten there without the help of his high school team, which serves as the focus of this inspirational documentary.

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If you don’t yet know about Black Dynamite, you have some homework to do. We’ve shared our love for this modern day blaxploitation film, one that pays homage to the classics by emulating almost every plot convention, camera style and vernacular of those films. In the above clip, characters Black Firecracker TNT and Ebony Explosion head over to Black Dynamite’s dojo to get back at him for sticking a cork in their plan to push drugs to the community. Black Dynamite, which hits theaters October 16th, stars Michael Jai White, who also developed the story with Byron Minns. The film features guest appearances from Arsenio Hall, Brian McKnight, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Nicole Sullivan and a bevy of others - and it’s not to be missed.

Remember that weird and pretty wack version of the “UMC” video directed by Hype Williams? You know, the one where Common gets backed by a robot? Well, here’s an alternate version of the video directed by Lil’ X (or Katt Brown?) that never got released. And can we just say that this version is much, much better than the Hype version? In this one, dancers do their thing in front of futuristic light patterns, all while the camera alternates from focusing on Common’s grill (it’s not a pretty sight) to Pharrell doing his weird hook duties on a split-screen. There are a thousand things that might be wrong with this, but let’s be real here: Hype’s version had 1,001 problems. Anyone with an aesthetic eye would know that.

Philly’s own The Roots might just be the most consistently under-appreciated group in all of hip-hop. But that doesn’t discourage them from keeping on, with the video for “How I Got Over” serving as the latest to hit the net. The title track off their forthcoming album, “How I Got Over” gets a gritty street visual to accompany the jam, with Black Thought walking down the street rocking a hoodie as clips of a dude rolling through the neighborhood in his wheelchair. Though the wheelchair guy is pretty much the focus of the video, you have to watch carefully to see cameo appearances from the rest of the Roots crew, with band leader ?uestlove coming in at the end as he holds an umbrella over his famous coif. Yes, it’s a slow-moving video, but it’s The Roots. Show them some respect and watch the whole thing.

This kind of just fell out of thin air. Though we knew that there were writers attached to pen the script for the fourth Beverly Hills Cop flick, we didn’t realize that there was much more to it than just that. According to Screenrant, director Brett Ratner stated that the film is a “huge priority” for Paramount, going on to discuss how product integration will help shape this film. Most notably, Ratner was talking about how he was shopping around the opportunity for an auto maker to have their whip featured in the film, which pretty much encapsulates the future of the film industry’s relationship with brand integration. Though there’s no other word on when we can expect the film to begin production, it gives us hope to know that Eddie Murphy will engage himself in something other than crappy child-targeting movies. Because Lord knows we need more of those.

It’s not really considered classy to sue foundations, especially when they’re trying to do good in the world. But the Michael Jackson Estate has a problem with the fact that the Heal the World Foundation took its name from one of MJ’s biggest hits. The lawsuit states that the Foundation has been wrongfully giving the impression that they got permission from MJ to use trademarks and websites to solicit donations from visitors. Admittedly, it’s a bit sketchy that the Foundation trademarked the name in 2008 and also tried to trademark terms like ”Thriller,” ”Neverland” and ”King of Pop,” all of which the Jackson estate tried to trademark itself. And yes, it’s shady that they also feature pictures of MJ on their website. But when they’re committed to “improv[ing] the condition of all mankind,” you’ve got to cut them some slack. Perhaps just a simple “take down anything likening your foundation to MJ” would suffice. But what do we know.

For the past two weeks, Jay-Z has reigned supreme on the Billboard Album Charts and sold over 700,000 copies of his latest opus The Blueprint 3. But after a few weeks of being Billboard’s head honcho, Jigga man has been dethroned by none other than Pearl Jam, whose latest album Backspacer is expected to open at number one with 190,294 copies sold. Hov gets bumped back to number two with 130,085 sold, drastically outpacing the number three debut from Three Days Grace, whose Life Starts Now opens with 83,913 sold. Meanwhile, Whitney and Miley Cyrus hold down four and five with I Look to You and Time of Our Lives selling 62,857 and 60,583 copies, respectively. Way down the charts, Sean Kingston’s sophomore album Tomorrow thuds at number 42 with only 13,424 sold, barely outpacing Lil’ Boosie who sold 13,298 copies of Superbad: The Return of Boosie in its second week on the chart. Ouch.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are pretty much the biggest power couple in Hollywood, especially for a pair that doesn’t really collaborate on business too often. But the Smiths are teaming up to host the forthcoming Nobel Peace Prize Concert, being held in Oslo, Norway on December 11th. The concert is set to feature performances from Wyclef Jean, Toby Keith, Donna Summer, Luis Fonsi and Amadou & Mariam, taking place the day after the prize is awarded to its recipient (the winner will be announced on October 9th). ”The opportunity to recognize the laureate’s contributions to the world peace movement will be an awe-inspiring experience,” said the Smiths of their participation. ”We are both humbled and honored to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert this year.” What’s next for the Smiths? Our guess: Will Smith for president. Just saying.

This is some interesting stuff. With all the television shows about ghosts and spirits, the A&E-owned BIO channel is about to premiere their newest show Celebrity Ghost Stories, debuting on the channel on October 3rd at 10 PM. Though the premise of the show is pretty basic, it features a slew of celebrities sharing their experiences with the paranormal, with the first episode touting one of David Carradine’s last interviews as he reflects on his experience with the other world. Other celebrities on the show include Nia Long, Ernie Hudson, Joan Rivers, Tom Arnold, Debi Mazar, Scott Baio, Gina Gershon, Traci Lords and Carrie Fisher, with a whole smattering of others lined up to appear on the show. The only thing that could make this better would be if the show featured the celebrities reenacting their encounters. We can dream, can’t we?