Urban Thought Collective

STOP BY & CHECK OUT YOUR GHURL AT…….. WWW.LESLIESEGAR.COM

$100 MILLION A YEAR DEAL FOR BEYONCE!!!
Not that any of us will be surprised, but Ms. Beyonce is about to become the wealthiest woman in all of entertainment. B’s Pops, Mathew Knowles, ain’t playing & is close to finalizing a ginormous deal that would have Beyonce become the mainstay at the Wynn Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Yes, Sasha Fierce would be the Wynn’s resident performer! And I hope you’re sitting down cause this deal is reportedly worth $500,000,000.00. Or $100 million a year for up to 5 years. Damn can a sista carry your bags, for a small fee (with lots of $0’s)?

YUNG JOC NO LONGER DOWN WITH BLOCK/BAD BOY ENTERTAINMENT
Well in the words of Yung Joc, here’s how his release from Block Entertainment went down:

Joc said, “I just got my release and one of the terms of the release was a defamation clause, so honestly, I can’t really talk about it too much. I’ve been released, severed the business ties. May God bless them and their regime, but I’m doing my own thing now. I’m actually in negotiations right now with a few labels. I just choose not to call out the different entities. Things are looking very good, God is very good. When I was going through this whole thing with the Bad Boy/Block situation, I didn’t know what the other side was going to be. I didn’t know if there was going to be light on the other end. I was hopeful, but it’s actually working out for the best. I ain’t mad. Nobody’s mad right now, everything is good.”

Young Joc continued by saying, “the type of deal that I’m doing, gives me all the freedom I need. I have control, leverage on budgets and everything just to say the least. Swagg Team Ent., that’s my label. I’m actually working on deals for that as well. Jive is actually the first to put a deal on the table. I learned to be a better artist. I learned how to be a better man. I learned how to conduct business in a positive manner, but I also learned it’s ok to get irate in certain situations to get your point across. You can use that as a last resort, or you can start off with that just to let people know that you’re not playing. Respect is definitely a major factor and is key in this. Those are just a few of the fundamentals that I learned throughout this whole situation.”

I love how he has maintained his professionalism, kept any bitterness out of the public and is pressing onward & upward. For that I wish him the best.

BEANIE SIGEL ANNOUNCES COMING TO G-UNIT WITH 50 CENT
Hate to say it, but I can’t keep up with Beanie Sigel’s incarceration schedule? One minute he’s in, the next he’s on tour, then he’s in a club cutting someone, then he’s back in the clink. Whew, I’m exhausted just typing this!

Anyhoo, the former Roc-A-Fella Records artist, Beanie Sigel, is on the outs with the label’s head Jay-Z. Did you catch the dis track he released last week?

Well, 50 Cent appeared on Philadelphia’s Power 99 radio station with Beanie Sigel, and made the announcement. “Beans is coming to G-Unit,” 50 said.

The deal is brand spankin’ new, and 50 revealed that he tried to sign the Broad Street Bully in the past, but Jay-Z blocked it. 50 claims that Beanie was so hot at the time, he was willing to drop some big money to get him.

“It was at least $800,000 at that point. At least, with the heat that was around him at that point,”50 explained. “I’ll tell you what I paid for Mobb Deep — that was at least $800,000 at that point. There’s no way Beanie Sigel wouldn’t have got that.”

At press time, it wasn’t clear if the deal was official yet, or if they were still ironing out the details. But one thing is clear, 50 is interested and Beans seems to be as well.

NEWS BLAST
***Beyonce’s TV Special is airing on Thanksgiving night. In concert and behind the scenes like never before. Beyonce will premiere a one hour special titled “I AM… Yours,” an exclusive look at her life both on and off stage on ABC & airs Thursday, November 26 at 9pm.

***”Diddy gets 50% of Ciroc profits. Ciroc volume sales climbed to 400,000 cases, from 60,000 cases in first half of 2007, the year that Diageo teamed up with Sean Combs . Diddy’s fellow rappers Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Jay-Z all have endorsement deals with liquor brands in the U.S., while Combs is “a true partner” and receives half the brand’s profits.” Strachan said.

Diageo’s Ciroc vodka, an equal-share venture with Combs, is set to release coconut and red-berry varieties in the U.S. Diageo bought a 50 percent stake for $900 million last year, plans to enter 15 new markets including Brazil and Australia.

***Michael Jackson ‘This Is It’ earns $101 million Halloween weekend, film gets an extended run and will run until at least Thanksgiving.

***Janet Jackson to sit down with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts to discuss death of her brother onWednesday, Nov. 18 at 10 p.m. The network is also set to announce that its upcoming five-episode series “Let’s Dance,” which features celebs re-enacting well-known dance routines – will launch on Monday, Nov. 23 at 9:30 p.m.

Big Lez has interviewed everyone from Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. to Mary J. Blige and Tom Cruise. She was host and producer of BET’s landmark show “Rap City” and has enjoyed an extensive tenure in radio as co-host on 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. Check out: www.myspace.com/BODIOGRAPHY