Urban Thought Collective

NELLY NAKED ON BILLBOARDS ACROSS AMERICA
In case you haven’t heard, fine ass Nelly will be the new body, I mean, spokesman for Sean John Underwear for the upcoming fall collection.

Whew….I’m drooling as I type this. I for one am excited to see that 12-pack plastered everywhere I walk. Damn that man has been drinking milk.

Yeah I got excited back in the day looking at Marky Mark (Wahlberg) in his Calvin’s and that 12-pack, so let’s just say…I lovessss a man who can rock that lil’ muscular V at the hip line (y’all know what & where I’m talking about). Yeah, it’s my turn to be a lil’ sexist and view these men as objects. Aaaahhh, let the tables turn! Ladies..give Nelly a round of applause & two snaps in a circle as you drool in your cubicle.

Back in the day, Puff (sorry I don’t know him as Diddy), has featured such celebrity models as Dwayne Wade, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Wayne, Penelope Cruz, Cassie, and Lauren London. But Nelly will be the brand’s first ever spokes model.

Puff says, “I have known Nelly for many years and I really admire his work. To me, Nelly is the quintessential definition of the Sean John man. He has the attitude, the swagger, and most of all the physique that our customers can both aspire and relate to. And let’s be honest, all of the ladies out there are going to be thanking us for this campaign. The images are so strong; they speak for themselves. We are truly excited to welcome Nelly into the Sean John family.”

Shot by Randee St. Nicholas, (who directed the Whitney Houston, “I’m Every Woman video, which I danced/co-choreographed) the photos feature Nelly in both interior and exterior shots at a modern home overlooking Los Angeles. Hot damn Nelly! And hi-five to you Ashanti for stroking the washboard on a regular!

WHAT DO FOXY BROWN & LIL KIM HAVE IN COMMON?
Oh lawd, it never ends…every week someone has got their hand in their pockets. Right or wrong, I’m exhausted from trying to keep count. Anyhoo, here’s the scoop:

A New York publisher is suing Foxy Brown and Lil’ Kim, saying they were paid advances for books they never delivered. The big dawg publishing company of Simon & Schuster Inc. says Foxy was paid $75,000 in 2005 to deliver an autobiography called “Broken Silence” by February 2006; and Lil’ Kim was paid $40,000 in 2003 for a novel due June 2004. So I ask you, why the hell are we just hearing about this in 2008? Why weren’t lawsuits filed for Foxy March 1, 2006 & for Kim July 1, 2005; the day after their due dates? These statutes of limitations last for decades sometimes.

After signing the deals, both women were imprisoned for several months. Lil’ Kim went to prison in 2005 for lying about a shooting, and Brown in 2007 for violating probation arising from a fight with two manicurists.

Now I get Kim going in around all of her drama, but truly they could have given her an extension to deliver the goods especially with the entire prison scoop. Or, couldn’t she have finished Vol.1 and done the sequel behind bars? In Foxy’s case, her book was like a year past due.

Foxy’s attorney says she hasn’t seen the lawsuit and can’t comment and of course Lil’ Kim’s attorney wasn’t racing to return the calls.

DID TRICK DADDY LEAK THE RICK ROSS 5-0 PHOTOS?
After much uproar surrounding Rick Ross’ past as a correctional officer, in which fellow Miami rapper Trick Daddy was accused of behind the leak of the photos, Trick has finally shut the press up by saying, “We don’t deal with rap beef down here,” “That’s not in our character. That’s not something we do. We’re the only city that ever gets compared to other people’s entire states. Whoever put my name in this is really attacking all of us.”

After the leak of the photos, Rick Ross was told by an interviewer that Trick Daddy had accused him of working as a prison guard, in which Ross responded by called Trick a “sucka” and says “he don’t f*** with him … come see me.”

Now regardless of Rick shutting down his boy Trick’s antics, Trick Daddy says there is no beef between the two of them.

“I told Ross he needs to have better people around him,” “He needs better publicists, so that he can avoid even being asked those type of funny questions. I been in this game for thirteen years, and anybody who’s ever listened to my music knows Trick Daddy is very smart. I know when somebody’s trying to use me and pull me into some sh**. But the people doing this need to understand what their words can do too. When you start talking about beef, and creating [situations] between people from the same hood, you gotta realize that that beef sh** can end with one man in jail and another man gone.”

At the end of all this hype, who cares if he had a legit job and dipped to the other side; he’s still making hot records and his kids and family can deal with the example he is setting and legacy he wants to leave behind. We are responsible for teaching our own families the difference, not Rick Ross. Nevertheless, TheSmokingGun.com got more ammunition to prove that the photos and background check on Ross as a C.O was on the up & up.

And by the way, Rick also revealed that he and Foxy Brown were no longer an item. Personally I want him to keep making the hot joints and get on the Subway sandwich diet. No one should ever be allowed to disrespect a wife beater that way!

Big Lez has interviewed everyone from Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. to Mary J. Blige and Tom Cruise. She was host of and producer of BET’s landmark show “Rap City” and has enjoyed an extensive tenure in radio as co-host of The Steve Harvey Morning Show in Los Angeles, plus stints at New York’s WQHT/Hot 97, Atlanta’s WAOK/V103, LA’s Big Boy Morning Show at KPWR/Power 106 and Sirius Satellite Radio. Currently, Lez is partnered with DVA Media + Marketing as producer and host of the syndicated urban radio report, “The Urban Eye,” which launches nationwide this summer.