July 30, 2007

Viva Las Vegas

NBA superstar Chris Webber hosted his second annual Bada Bling Celebrity Weekend at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas recently. The weekend of festivities benefit the Chris Webbber Foundation, the Detroit Piston forward's nonprofit that works to create positive recreational and educational opportunities for youth.

Webber and his talented team, among them Full Bloom Marketing's Tiaka Hurst and Ronda Penrice, organized one of the better celebrity weekends that I've attended. Activities included a poker tournament, celebrity golf challenge, a formal soiree and plenty of off-the-hook parties.

Bada Bling brings together Hollywood stars, recording artists and sports figures. Among the celebrities on hand were Nas, Regina King ('Ray'), reality star Omarosa, Doug and Jackie Christie ('The Christie's'), Laz Alonso ('Stomp The Yard'), Gabrielle Union ('Daddy's Little Girls'), Tamiko Nash (Miss California 2006), comics Guy and Joe Torry, Rochelle Aytes ('Madea's Family Reunion'), Salt-N-Pepa deejay Spindarella, Gary Sturgis ('Daddy's Little Girls'), April Woodard ('Inside Edition'), comedian Finesse Mitchell ('Saturday Night Live'), Mari Morrow ('How To Be a Player'), DJ Clue, singer/actress Drew Sidora, MTV vee-jay Sway, caterer Nikki Shaw ('The Next Food Network Star'), Carl Anthony Payne ('Martin'), Nicci Gilbert of Brownstone, rapper Talib Kweli and TNT sports anchor Kenny Smith.

The athletes who participated included Richard Hamilton (Detroit Pistons), track legend Jackie Joyner Kersee, Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors), NBA great Moses Malone, Leon Powe (Boston Celtics), boxer Zab Judah, Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons), NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shavlik Randolph (Philadelphia 76ers), Shaun Livingston (Los Angeles Clippers), NFL star Marcellus Wiley, retired NBA star Charles Oakley, Bobby Jackson (New Orleans Hornets), Matt Barnes (Golden State Warriors), Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons), boxer Sugar Shane Mosely, Joakim Noah (Chicago Bulls), Dale Davis (Detroit Pistons), Ricky Davis (Minnesota Timberwolves), Steven Jackson (St. Louis Rams), retired WNBA player Ruthie Bolton, Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks), retired hoops star Mateen Cleaves, Damon Stoudamire (Memphis Grizzlies), LA Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw and retired NBA player Henry Turner. Yamma Brown (daughter of the late James Brown) and notable bloggers William McCray ('Obnoxious: The Column') and Natasha Eubanks ('Young, Black & Fabulous') attended the events as well.

This year's welcome party was deejayed by Biz Markie and featured performances by Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick. The formal soiree, which included a celebrity auction, was hosted by Mark Curry and Charlie Murphy and featured performances by Howard Hewett, Raphael Saadiq and The Isley Brothers.

Saadiq turned the place out with his concert show that featured a medley of songs he had written for Bilal ("Soul Sista"), Angie Stone ("Brotha"), Total ("Kissing You"), and D'Angelo ("Lady"/"Untitled (How Does It Feel)"). Here's some footage of Saadiq's performance at Bada Bling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-GRNW-cUG8

Murphy, a former regular on the 'Dave Chappelle Show,' was a terrible host. His performance proved that he's no standup comic, but rather a comedic actor who needs to stay in his lane. His attempt to deliver a joke about the tsunami and a retarded hippopotamus stalled mid-way through and the brother of Eddie Murphy blamed it on "the bad weed he smoked backstage." I was told by a Las Vegas radio talent that Murphy did a standup show there a few weeks ago and was nearly booed offstage.

There was a sound glitch before The Isley Brothers hit the stage and Webber occupied the time by calling some of his celebrity friends to the microphone. Actress Tichina Arnold ('Everybody Hates Chris') became popular for singing alongside her best friend Tisha Campbell-Martin on 'Martin,' so it was a pleasant surprise to hear her sing an impromptu rendition of "God Bless The Child." Check out Tichina's performance of "God Bless the Child" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiXsY0h9gqE

Lil Mo also got some solo shine on the microphone. She told the crowd, "I'm gonna take yall to church real quick," before going into Martha Munizzi's song "Because of Who You Are." See the video of Lil' Mo's rendition of 'Because of Who You Are': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH2wki697pU

Mo changed into a casual outfit towards the end of the soiree because a light bulb fell from the ceiling into her glass of water and broke. She pretended to faint and almost pulled a Britney Spears, with her silver mini-dress almost exposing her baby-making machine as she laid across her chair. The pint-sized vocal powerhouse also confirmed to me that despite their April 2007 Sister 2 Sister cover story talking about their reconciliation, she and husband Al "Gus" Stone are officially splitting. The two are in the process of finalizing their divorce now.

'Deal or No Deal's' number-one briefcase model Claudia Jordan confirmed to me that is she single again -- she had been engaged to Olympic gold medal-winning track star Maurice Green for almost two years. Jordan also reiterated how disappointed she was with several online blogs who lifted personal pictures of her and Sean "Diddy" Combs from her MySpace page and fabricated that dating story. "I love the blogs, but some are more concerned with trashing people they may have never met just to generate water cooler talk versus actually getting to the bottom of a story and writing the truth," Jordan vented.

Jordan and reality show vixen Omarosa were apparently not pleased with some post-Bada Bling comments made about them about by blogger Eubanks on her 'Young Black & Fabulous' site. "I was very gracious to her when I met her and was disappointed by what she wrote about me. If so-called reporters want to put a spin on the truth, they are really going to miss out on real stories and future exclusives with entertainers because the business is real small and people start to talk," Jordan offered. "While I appreciate her saying I looked 'fab' at the event, her accusing me of trying to get with people was crazy. Trust that I've never, ever, had to chase guys!"

Omarosa, who is regularly dogged by Eubanks, was fed up by the blogger writing "Omarosa was there trying real hard to be seen." The star of 'The Apprentice' countered: "It became very obvious to me that this girl was a rat by the way she lingered around the poker table and stared blatantly at my breasts. She may be young and black, but fabulous she is not! If her blog is an extension of who she is, then it should be renamed: 'Mean, Bitter & Fugly.' With full-figured women on the come-up and celebrating their curves, Miss YBF set herself back, wearing, of all things, a yellow cow-print dress that showcased the rolls around her waist. While I do love many of the blogs, I don't like anybody who can dish it [but] can't take it! She strategically chose not to post the photo that we posed together for. I challenge her to post the picture we took together and let the viewers decide who is really 'young black and fabulous!'"

Webber's Bada Bling Celebrity Weekend raised thousands of dollars for his foundation. The celebrity weekend will return to Las Vegas for its third year next summer. For more details on the Chris Webber Foundation visit www.ChrisWebber.com.

Buzzworthy

Actress/comedienne Kym Whitley ('Fun with Dick and Jane') celebrated her recent birthday in Las Vegas with family and friends. The Hollywood talent had a birthday dinner at BOA Steakhouse in Caesar's Palace's Forum Shops before taking in shows by Toni Braxton and George Wallace. Braxton brought Whitley onstage during her show and serenaded her with "Happy Birthday."

Speaking of Braxton, the "Unbreak My Heart" singer has renewed her contract at The Flamingo Las Vegas and will continue performing her show 'Toni Braxton: Revealed' until at least February 2008. Braxton began the show in August of 2006 and this is the second time she's extended her contract. The six-time Grammy Award-winner was backed by her sisters Trina Braxton and Tamar Braxton in the show; however, Tamar has left the show to prepare for her forthcoming CD and has been replaced by one-time R. Kelly protégé Sparkle.

Congratulations are in order for actress Kim Fields. The 'Living Single' star got married on July 23 to her boyfriend, Broadway actor Christopher Morgan. The couple wed in a private ceremony that was officiated by Pastor Donnie McClurkin. Fields gave birth to a son, Sebastian Alexander Morgan, back in May.

Can't Say Names…

Is the legendary "Papa" going to be revealed in Karrine Steffans' follow-up tome, 'The Vixen Diaries?' That's the buzz in the literary world! Sources say that Steffans next book is being kept under lock and key so that the identity of the mystery rap personality is not disclosed until the book drops in September.