Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Who is Antoin Rezko?

Who is Antonio Tony Rezco, we know him s Tony Rezco. He was born into a prominent Catholic family.[1] After graduating from high school there, Rezko moved to Chicago and earned an undergraduate and a master's degree in civil engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in the late 1970s. He joined an engineering company, designing nuclear power plants, then left to design roads for the state Transportation Department, making $21,590 in his first year there. Soon after beginning his career as a civil engineer, Rezko started investing in real estate and fast-food restaurants—including the first Subway in Chicago.



Many of these properties were in lower-income African American neighborhoods.[1] Antoin "Tony" Rezko we know him as Tony Rezko. Rezko was born in 1955 in [4] Then, meeting Jabir Herbert Muhammad, former manager of heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and son of the late Nation of Islam leader, Elijah Muhammad, he was asked in 1983 to support the successful mayoral candidacy of Harold Washington.



J. H. Muhammad's company, Crucial Concessions, which Rezko went to work for in 1984, won a food contract at the Lake Michigan beaches and in many South Side parks after Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Rezko put together endorsement deals for Ali, became the executive director of the Muhammad Ali Foundation, and traveled the world with Ali for five years.[1] In 1997, Crucial opened two Panda Express Restaurants at O'Hare, under the city's minority set-aside program. It lost those franchises in 2005, on the grounds that J. H. Muhammad was merely a front for Rezko, who had been appointed trustee of J.H. Muhammad's affairs in the early 1990s because of the latter's failing health. In March 2008 Muhammad sued Rezko, alleging that he had been swindled out of his home and business interests.[4][5][3] In January 1989, Rezko and Daniel Mahru, CEO of a firm which leased ice makers to bars, hotels and restaurants and a former attorney, founded a real-estate development and restaurant holding corporation called Rezmar Corporation. Between 1989 and 1998, Rezmar made deals to rehab 30 buildings, a total of 1,025 apartments, expending more than $100 million from the city, state and federal governments and in bank loans. Rezko and Mahru weren't responsible for any government or bank loans or the $50 million in federal tax credits they got to rehab the buildings. Rezmar put just $100 into each project and got a 1% stake as the general partner in charge of hiring the architect, contractor, and the company that would manage the buildings, screen tenants and make repairs, Chicago Property Management, also owned by Rezko and Mahru. It also got upfront development fees of at least $6.9 million in all. Under its deals with the Chicago Equity Fund, Rezmar promised to cover all operating losses in any building for seven years, but had no obligation after that, although the tax credits they sold could be recovered by the Federal government from the holders if the projects did not survive for fifteen years or more.[3] By 1998 the company had a net worth of US$34 million,[6][7] and it then turned to purchasing old factories and parcels of land in gentrifying areas of Chicago and turning them into upscale condominium complexes.[3][8] Rezko was named "Entrepreneur of the Decade" by the Arab-American Business and Professional Association.[9] Rezko's investment in restaurant food chains had started with a chain of Panda Express Chinese restaurants. In 1998, Rezko opened his first chain of Papa John's Pizza restaurants in Chicago and by 2002, he had twenty-six stores in Chicago, at least fifteen in Wisconsin, and seven in Detroit, part of the financing for these stores was through GE Capital.[2] By 2001, Rezko began to fall behind on his franchise payments and loans and he transferred the franchises to several business associates. In 2006, during a lawsuit with Papa John's over his franchise fees, Rezko renamed his Papa John's restaurants to Papa Tony's.[9] Rezko also had a lien filed against his home after losing a civil lawsuit to GE Capital.[2] As his business ventures began failing, Rezko entered into several partnership with Iraqi-born business executive Nadhmi Auchi, including a massive 2005 real estate development project on Chicago's South Loop whose value was pegged by an observer familiar with the deal at $130.5 million.[10] It was failure to disclose a $3.5m loan from Auchi that would lead to his imprisonment in 2008. He was (born 1955 in Aleppo, Syria) is an American political fundraiser, restaurateur, and real estate developer in Chicago, Illinois convicted on several counts of fraud and bribery in 2008. Rezko has been involved in fundraising for local Illinois Democratic and Republican politicians since the 1980s. After becoming a major contributor to Rod Blagojevich's successful gubernatorial election, Rezko assisted Blagojevich in setting up the state's first Democratic administration in 20 years. Rezko was able to have business associates appointed onto several state boards. Rezko and several others were indicted on federal charges in October 2006, for using their connections to the state boards to demand kickbacks from businesses that wanted to do business with the state. While the others pleaded guilty to the charges, Rezko pleaded not guilty and was found guilty of 16 of the 24 charges filed against him.
[2][3]




In October 2006, Rezko was indicted along with businessman Stuart Levine on charges of wire fraud, bribery, money laundering, and attempted extortion as a result of a federal investigation known as "Operation Board Games".[11][12] Levine was once a top Republican fundraiser who had switched loyalty in recent years. [13] Rezko and Levine were charged with attempting to extort millions of dollars from businesses seeking to do business with the Illinois Teachers Retirement System Board and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board from 2002 to 2004. Levine pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Rezko and others. While the charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, Levine expects to receive about a 5-1/2 year sentence in return for his testimony.[14] The case was prosecuted by Patrick Fitzgerald.
Rezko pleaded not guilty, and the trial related to his charges from Operation Board Games began on March 6, 2008.[15] He was jailed shortly before the trial began when he received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Lebanon. Rezko had told the court that he had no access to money from overseas. Ten weeks into the trial, on April 18, Judge Amy St. Eve released Rezko, after friends and relatives put up 30 properties valued at about $8.5 million to secure his bond. Prosecutors opposed the motion for release, saying that Rezko was a flight risk.[16] On May 6, both the prosecution and the defense rested their cases. Government prosecutors spent 8 weeks presenting their case. Rezko’s lawyer, Joseph J. Duffy, chose not to present any witnesses, saying that he did not believe that the prosecution had proven the charges.[17] Prosecutors contended that they had shown Rezko's "corrupt use of his power and influence" to gain benefits for himself and his friends. Duffy argued that the prosecution had exaggerated Rezko's influence in state government, and attacked Levine's credibility as a witness.[18]
The case went to the jury on May 13 and after three weeks of deliberation, the jury found Rezko guilty of six counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, two counts of corrupt solicitation, and two counts of money laundering, but found him not guilty on three counts of wire and mail fraud, one count of attempted extortion, and four counts of corrupt solicitation.[19] According to CBS News the "high-profile federal trial provided an unusually detailed glimpse of the pay-to-play politics that has made Illinois infamous."[20]




While the jury was deliberating on the Board Games trial, an arrest warrant was issued in Las Vegas for passing bad checks in two casinos and failing to pay $450,000 in gambling debts that were accrued between March and July of 2006.[21] Another casino had also filed a civil complaint for a total of $331,000 in 2006 and was given a judgment of default in 2007.[21]
Rezko is also under indictment, along with a business associate, for wire fraud related to the alleged sale of his pizza business to a straw buyer at an inflated price in order to obtain millions of dollars in loans from GE Capital.[22] Rezko has plead not guilty to these charges and the trial is scheduled to begin in 2009.[23]


Rezko's relationship with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his family were at the root of the federal corruption case which led to Rezko's conviction.[2] Rezko donated $117,652 to Blagojevich's campaigns,[4] and is credited by the prosecutor in his trial with having delivered bundled contributions totalling almost $1.44 million.[24] Since 1997, Blagojevich's wife, Patricia, has made at least $38,000 acting as Rezko's real-estate agent on several of his company's property acquisitions. When Blagojevich won the Illinois gubernatorial election in 2002, Rezko assisted Blagojevich in setting up the state's first Democratic administration in twenty years.[2] Rezko recommended many of his business associates and their relatives for positions within state government, three of whom were appointed to the state board that oversees hospital projects. the state's development board was run by another former Rezko business associate. Rezko and Republican fundraiser Stuart Levine were charged in a 24-count federal indictment for allegedly using Rezko's influence with public officials to demand millions of dollars in kickbacks from companies that wanted to do business with the state.[2][4] Levine pled guilty and served as the chief witness against Rezko at trial. Levine and several other witnesses implicated Blagojevich in the schemes, although the governor has not been charged with any crimes.[25][26]

Monday, October 6, 2008

Who is William Ayers?

William Charles "Bill" Ayers (born 26 December 1944). Ayers grew up in Glen Ellyn, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. He attended public schools there until his second year in high school, when he transferred to Lake Forest Academy, a small prep school.[2] Ayers earned an A.B. from the University of Michigan in American Studies in 1968. (His father, mother and older brother had preceded him there.)[2] He is the son of Thomas G. Ayers, former Chairman and CEO of Commonwealth Edison (1973 to 1980), Chicago philanthropist and the namesake of the Thomas G. Ayers College of Commerce and Industry. Ayers is known for the radical nature of his activism in the 1960s and 1970s as well as his current work in education reform, curriculum, and instruction. In 1969 he cofounded the violent radical left organization Weather Underground which was active during the 1960s and 1970s.



In 1970 Ayers was called "a national leader"[27] of the Weatherman organization and "one of the chief theoreticians of the Weathermen".[28] The Weathermen were initially part of the Revolutionary Youth Movement (RYM) within the SDS, splitting from the RYM's Maoists by claiming there was no time to build a vanguard party and that revolutionary war against the United States government and the capitalist system should begin immediately. Ayers participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, the United States Capitol building in 1971, and The Pentagon in 1972, as he noted in his 2001 book, Fugitive Days. Because of a water leak caused by the Pentagon bombing, aerial bombardments during the Vietnam War had to be halted for several days. Ayers writes: Although the bomb that rocked the Pentagon was itsy-bitsy - weighing close to two pounds - it caused 'tens of thousands of dollars' of damage. The operation cost under $500, and no one was killed or even hurt. [13] While underground, he and fellow member Bernardine Dohrn married, and the two remained fugitives together, changing identities, jobs and locations. By 1976 or 1977, with federal charges against both fugitives dropped due to prosecutorial misconduct (see COINTELPRO), Ayers was ready to turn himself in to authorities, but Dohrn remained reluctant until after she gave birth to two sons, one born in 1977, the other in 1980. "He was sweet and patient, as he always is, to let me come to my senses on my own", she later said.[2] The couple turned themselves in in 1980. Ayers and Dohrn later became legal guardians to the son of former Weathermen David Gilbert and Kathy Boudin after the boy's parents were convicted and sent to prison for their part in the Brinks Robbery of 1981.[14]

And here is how Ayers characterized himself and the longtime radical comrades to whom he was speaking:"Even though we think of ourselves as political, we weren’t politicians. We were people who had a moral vision of what was possible. And when we talk, for example, about health care, about peace, we’re talking a language of ethics, not a language of instrumentalism or opportunism, or what we might get. So we have to speak in a language that’s large and generous and encompassing. And then we have to act."





Ayers worked with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in shaping the city's school reform program,[40] and was one of three co-authors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge grant proposal that in 1995 won $49.2 million over five years for public school reform.[41] Since 1999 he has served on the board of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, an anti-poverty, philanthropic foundation established as the Woods Charitable Fund in 1941.[42]



Ayers is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education. His interests include teaching for social justice, urban educational reform, narrative and interpretive research, children in trouble with the law, and related issues.href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers#cite_note-UIC-38">[39] He began his career in primary education while an undergraduate, teaching at the Children’s Community School (CCS), a project founded by a group of students and based on the Summerhill method of education. After leaving the underground, he earned an M.Ed from Bank Street College in Early Childhood Education (1984), an M.Ed from Teachers College, Columbia University in Early Childhood Education (1987) and an Ed.D from Columbia University in Curriculum and Instruction (1987). He has edited and written many books and articles on education theory, policy and practice, and has appeared on many panels and symposia.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Who is CHRIS GARDNER





Who is CHRIS GARDNER? He us a Self-made Millionaire, Author of "The Pursuit of Happyness"Christopher Gardner is president and CEO of the Chicago-based brokerage firm Gardner Rich & Co., which he founded in 1987. Prior to launching his own firm, Mr. Gardner worked for several prestigious Wall Street firms. He landed his first job in the securities industry in 1981 with Dean Witter Reynolds, coming out of their training program. Later, he spent four years with Bear Stearns & Co., where he became a top earner. A self-made multi-millionaire, Gardner is intent on giving back to the communities where he conducts business because he has never forgotten his humble beginnings or the odds he has surmounted. Christopher Gardner’s accomplishments are extraordinary on their own merit, but are all the more astonishing because of the unimaginable obstacles he encountered on the road to success.
Always hard working and tenacious, a series of circumstances in the early 1980’s left Gardner homeless in San Francisco and the sole guardian of his toddler son. Unwilling to give up Chris Jr. or his dream of financial independence, Gardner started at the very bottom of the financial industry ladder and pulled his way up, often spending his nights in a church shelter or a bathroom at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in Oakland. The amazing story of Gardner’s life was published as an autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness, by Amistad/Harper Collins on May 23, 2006, and is the subject of a movie with the same title starring Will Smith as Gardner to be released by Columbia Pictures in December 2006.Born February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Gardner never knew his father. He lived with his mother, Bettye Jean Gardner, and her family and, when necessary, in foster homes. Despite a life of hardship and emotional scarring, he always had supreme love and admiration for his mother, who was a trained schoolteacher. His mother taught him some of the greatest lessons of his life, which he follows to this day. When Gardner told her he wanted to be the great jazz trumpeter Miles Davis she said, "Son, there's only one Miles Davis and he got that job. So you have to do something else.” He understood from that day forward that his job was to be Chris Gardner – whatever that entailed. Bettye Jean also taught him that in spite of where he came from, he could attain whatever goals he set for himself by saying, “If you want to, one day you could make a million dollars.” Gardner believed this to be fact, and it allowed him to persevere through the years when he and his son were struggling for survival and a better life.Straight out of high school, Gardner enlisted in the Navy, just like his uncles, his role models, had done previously. After the military, Gardner went to San Francisco and took a job as a medical supply salesman. Then he reached a turning point in his life. In a parking lot, he met a man driving a red Ferrari. "He was looking for a parking space. I said, 'You can have mine, but I gotta ask you two questions.' The two questions were: What do you do? And how do you do that? Turns out this guy was a stockbroker and he was making $80,000 a month." That pivotal encounter gave Gardner a clear career goal, but he still needed a way into the world of high finance. Without experience, connections, a degree, or pedigree, Gardner began knocking on doors, applying for training programs at brokerages, even though it meant he would have to live on next to nothing while he learned. When he was finally accepted into a program, he left his job in medical sales. But his plans collapsed when the man who offered him the training slot was fired, and Gardner had no job to go back to. Things got worse. He was put in jail for $1,200 in parking violations that he couldn't pay. Chris Jr.’s mother left and Gardner, despite his circumstances, fought to keep his son because, as he says, "I made up my mind as a young kid that when I had children, my children were gonna know who their father was." Although he managed to enter a training program at Dean Witter Reynolds, Gardner’s meager stipend as a trainee meant he, like so many working poor in America, had a job but couldn't make ends meet. Chris’s co-workers never knew he spent his evenings trying to arrange day care, find food and a safe place for him and his son to sleep. After spending nights in a locked bathroom at an Oakland subway station, Gardner persuaded Rev. Cecil Williams, founder of a new shelter program for homeless women at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, to let him and Chris Jr. stay at the shelter. Gardner passed his licensing exam in 1981 on the first try. He arrived early, stayed late and worked the phones day after day to lure new clients. He and Chris Jr. got an apartment, and in 1983 he joined Bear, Stearns & Company. After becoming a top producer, first in San Francisco and later in New York, Gardner left in 1987 to establish Gardner Rich & Company, Inc., an institutional brokerage firm specializing in the execution of debt, equity and derivative products transactions. With a network of offices in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, GRC has grown by focusing on its commitment to provide quality service and excellent trade executions for clients. The firm executes trades for some of the nations largest institutions, public pension plans and unions. Under Mr. Gardner's directions, GRC has adopted a "give back to the community" program. The Company donates 10% or more of the company's earnings toward school and educational projects in the communities it serves.Chris Gardner’s remarkable story of struggle, faith, entrepreneurialism, and fatherly devotion has catapulted him beyond the notoriety he has found on Wall Street. He has been featured on CBS’ Evening News with Dan Rather, twice on ABC’s 20/20, as well as being the subject of profiles in newspapers and national magazines.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Who is Eve Jihan Jeffers



Eve Jihan Jeffers is known to the world as Eve. Eve was born November 10, 1978i in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Julia Wilch-Jeffers, a publishing company supervisor, and Jerry Jeffers, a chemical plant supervisor.[2] She adopted the name Gangsta in high school as part of an all-female group called EDGP (pronounced Egypt), and went solo as Eve of Destruction.

During her early years in Philadelphia, Eve's first musical interest was singing. She sang in many choirs and even made an all-female singing group (Dope Girl Posse or D.G.P.) with a manager. This group covered songs from En Vogue and Color Me Badd. After the group's manager saw the rap group ABC, they suggested that the group raps and Eve stuck with it. She then went on to form a rapping group.She also won a Grammy Award rapping. She has sold millions of albums during her musical career. Her first three albums have so far reached 7 million copies sold world wide. In 2003, she became the star of her own TV show, Eve, which lasted for 3 seasons. The rapper/singer/actress has also achieved success in fashion as she started a clothing line titled "Fetish." She ranked # 48 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women Of The Video Era" show list. On April 26, 2007, Eve was arrested due to suspicion of driving under the influence after she crashed her silver Maserati into a divider on Hollywood Boulevard. The crash happened at 2:45 a.m. and two other people were in the car at the time of the crash. Eve was visibly upset after getting out of the car. She was then transported to the Los Angeles County Correctional Facility and was held on $30,000 bail. She received a visit from actor Sean Penn while in jail and was let out later that morning. She was due back in court May 30, 2007. Eve has been told she must wear an alcohol-detecting ankle bracelet for 45 days after she pleaded no contest to drunk driving in a Los Angeles court. The rapper must also attend 10 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, a three-month alcohol education program and appear in court to verify that she is using the alcohol detection monitor.

Eve The First Lady of Ruff Ryders (1998-1999)
Eve first appeared on DJ Clue's The Professional, along with other Ruff Ryders' compilations. Her next single, "What Ya Want", featuring Nokio of Dru Hill, didn't do so well on the charts, so she collaborated with The Roots, Blackstreet and Janet Jackson, which further expanded her fan base. Her 1999 debut, Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady, was an unprecedented success, becoming the second hip-hop album by a woman to enter the Billboard 200 at #1 (the first was by Brooklyn rapper, Foxy Brown).

It is a known fact that Eve used to be a stripper before becoming a successful rapper.[3]


The follow-up to Let There Be Eve, Scorpion, was released in 2001. Its first single, "Who's That Girl" guaranteed the rapper first international success. The second single, "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (with Gwen Stefani of No Doubt) and produced by Dr. Dre, became a pop success, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and Scorpion eventually went platinum.

One of the record's strengths, cited in several reviews, was Eve's exploration of her singing voice in addition to her rapping skills. "I was a singer before I started rapping," Eve said in a Ruff Ryders press release, "so on this album I wanted my audience to hear more of my vocal skills".[4]



Eve's third album, Eve-Olution, was released in summer 2002 (see 2002 in music) and peaked at #6 on the Billboard 2003. In the meantime, the album's first single, "Gangsta Lovin'", with Alicia Keys, became another #2 hit. The second and final single, "Satisfaction", only saw moderate success again. Eve-Olution was a flop and became Eve's worst-selling album to date. Also that year she performed the entrance song "All Grown Up" for WWE personality Stephanie McMahon. Afterwards, Eve closed out 2003 by signing to UPN for a television show about a fashion designer titled, Eve, and a feature on Mary J. Blige's single, "Not Today".



In 2005, the rapper appeared on Gwen Stefani's top ten hit "Rich Girl", which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March. The same year, she appeared on the remix of Amerie's #1 U.S. R&B hit, "1 Thing" the Hitch soundtrack. Eve also was featured in Keyshia Cole's song Never as on the Barbershop 2: Back in Business Soundtrack and The Way It Is along with the official remix for Teairra Mari's second single No Daddy.

In 2007, she appeared on Kelly Rowland's single "Like This". The Punk Cabaret band One On None covered Eve's 1999 song "Love Is Blind". In July 2007, Eve made a guest appearance on Maroon 5's second single Wake Up Call on Live @ 45th at Night, it is unknown if this will be an official remix or if it will even be recorded.


[edit] Here I Am (2009)
Eve will release her fourth album in January 2009. Those rumored to be involved with the album are Timbaland, Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz and Scott Storch. Slated to make guest appearances are Adam Levine, Sean Paul, Swizz Beatz, Shakira, and possibly Gwen Stefani.[5]

The first single "Tambourine" from Here I Am was released in April 2007. The second single was "Give It to You" featuring Sean Paul, a reggae-influenced breezy mid-tempo song[6] Eve has stated that the third single may be a song called "All Night Long". This song is an 80s-pop influenced song that Eve sings rather than raps.[7] "All Night Long" was produced by Pharrell and finds Eve singing, something the rapper had previously been reluctant to undertake despite persuasion from her label.

"Pharrell made me sing a whole song. I finally got up the nerve [but] I feel like I was bullied into it," she jokes. "But it's one of my favorite songs on the album. I was really stressed about it but it was fun to do. I consider myself somebody who can maybe hold a note on a good day. I sang hooks before, which is super easy, but I had to get out of my comfort zones."
She will embark across Australia on her Here I Am Tour in early 2008 near the 2008 MTV Australian Video Music Awards where she will also be performing and appearing.

An insider review of "All Night Long" said:

"Very different than Eve's usual style. It sounds like an '80s pop song. She tries out her singing skills here and she succeeds. They are no crazy, over the top vocals, but she sings much better than most so called songstress' today. The beat is pretty much good, and the lyrics are above average, but the chorus gets repitive (Make it last all night long/baby baby all night long). This should be the third single"[8]
Reggae artist Sizzla is also featured on a song and Eve is currently lining up another reggae cameo. "I listen to reggae all the time. It's always been my favorite music because of the melodies," she says. "I also listen to a lot of Brazilian music [and] a little bit of rock, so I wanted to bring all those elements, along with hip-hop".[9]

Swizz Beats said that Eve's Here I Am — despite constant push-backs — isn't dead. They're going back in the lab, and Swizz will produce some if not the entire project. "It ain't over until it's out," he said. "Everybody wants the best for her. We just regrouping and starting back. It wasn't too many follow-ups that can follow up after Tambourine...You get those type of records ... I'm sorry to make those type of records, but sh--, they're hard to follow up. I'mma get back to doing the [whole] album thing," he added. "It eliminates the problem of what we go through. I let the artist use who they wanna use, this and that, it's crazy. The following up [to the songs I produce], sh-- becomes hard. It's a formula and sound the people are looking for and want. When you get all these different producers, it messes up the formula."[10]


Acting (2004-present)
Eve appeared in XXX with Vin Diesel, both Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back in Business with Ice Cube, The Cookout with Queen Latifah and Meagan Good, and The Woodsman with Kevin Bacon in mid 2004. She also voiced Major Jones in the video game XIII. She also voiced one of the villains of the short-lived Spiderman cartoon on MTV.

In 2003, Eve starred in the UPN television sitcom, Eve, as a fashion designer named Shelly. The show lasted three seasons until it was cancelled May 2006. Eve appeared on Wisin Y Yandel's Reggaeton Album "Wisin vs. Yandel: Los Extraterrestres".

She is currently appearing in the nostalgic drama Flashbacks of a Fool alongside current James Bond actor Daniel Craig.




Discography

Albums





1999: Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady


2001: Scorpion



2002: Eve-Olution
Unreleased: Here I Am

Top-ten hits
Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap UK Album
2001 "Who's That Girl?" 47 16 5 6 Scorpion
"Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (featuring Gwen Stefani) 2 6 10 4
2002 "Gangsta Lovin'" (featuring Alicia Keys) 2 2 2 6 Eve-Olution
2004 "Rich Girl" (Gwen Stefani featuring Eve) 7 78 — 4 Love.Angel.Music.Baby
2007 "Like This" (Kelly Rowland featuring Eve) 30 7 — 4 Ms. Kelly
2007 "Tambourine" (featuring Swizz Beatz) 37 17 10 18 Here I Am










Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2002 Barbershop Terri Jones
XXx J.J.
2003 -
2006 Eve Shelley Tv Series - Lead Role
2003 Third Watch Yvette Powel Television drama (Episode - Second Chances)
Spider-Man: The New Animated Series Cheyenne Tate/The Talon Voice Role (Episode - Keeping Secrets)
XIII Major Jones Voice Role
2004 The Woodsman Mary-Kay
Barbershop 2: Back in Business Terri Jones
One on One Ida (Episode - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Hip Hop World)
The Cookout Becky
2008 Flashbacks of a Fool Ophelia Franklin
Ego Denise (in production)


Awards and nominations
American Music Awards
2003, Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)
Black Reel Awards
2005, Best Actress (Independent): The Woodsman (Nominated)
Grammy Awards
2003, Best Female Rap Solo Performance: "Satisfaction" (Nominated)
2002, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" w/ Gwen Stefani (Winner)
2002, Best Rap Album: Scorpion (Nominated)
Image Awards

2005, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series: "Eve" (Nominated)
2004, Outstanding Music Duo or Group (with Mary J. Blige) (Nominated)
2003, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Barbershop (Nominated)
Lady of Soul Awards
2001, Best Music Video: "Who's That Girl" (Nominated)
2000, Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist: "Gotta Man" (Nominated)
2000, Best R&B/Soul Female Solo Album of the Year: Let There Be Light (Nominated)
2000, Best Music Video: "Love Is Blind" (Nominated)
MTV Movie Awards
2003, Best Female Breakthrough Performance: Barbershop (Nominated)
MTV Video Music Awards
2007, Best Choreography: "Tambourine" (Nominee)
2001, Best Female Video: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with Gwen Stefani (Winner)
2001, Viewer's Choice: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with Gwen Stefani (Nominated)
2001, Best Hip-Hop Video: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with Gwen Stefani (Nominated)
2000, Best Rap Video: "Love Is Blind" (Nominated)
MOBO Awards
2001, Best Hip-Hop Act (Nominated)
Soul Train Awards
2000, Best New R&B/Soul or Rap Artist: "Gotta Man" (Nominated)
2000, Best Music Video: "Hot Boyz" with Missy Elliott, Nas, & Lil' Mo (Nominated)

Friday, September 5, 2008

Who is Nicole Deannae Alexander?

Who is Nicole Deannae Alexander? The entertainment and American reality TV world knows her as "Hoopz". Hoopz is a well known model and actress. She was a show contestant best known for winning the VH1 reality television shows Flavor of Love and I Love Money. She received her nickname, Hoopz, on Flavor of Love. 




Nicole Alexander  was born July 12, 1983 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. After a 10-episode nationally televised competition. Alexander is of African American and Italian descent.She was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Romulus, Michigan, and graduated from Woodhaven High School in Brownstown, MI, where she was a star basketball player and athlete. Prior to acting, she worked with her uncle demolishing and rebuilding houses.

At the age of 22 she auditioned for Flavor of Love. Alexander eventually won after almost two months of living with the other contestants.

She has also appeared on MTV's "Wild 'N Out." She was a guest judge in season 3 during E-40's guest appearance.

As of 2007, Alexander continues to model in calendars, magazines, and for modeling agencies EyeCandy Modeling & Titanium Girlz. She has also appeared in videos such as Will Smith's "Party Starter" & Lil' Keke's "Chunk Up The Deuce", and Maddi Madd Holla Back, and is the celebrity supporter of the "East Kentucky Miners" a basketball team located in Pikeville, Kentucky

Alexander was the winner of the first season of Flavor of Love.[1]
In 2008, Alexander also was a contestant on the VH1 reality show, I Love Money. After defeating Joshua "Whiteboy" Gallander at the final challenge, she was named the $250,000 winner.



Alexander lives in Louisville, Tennessee. She has previously dated James "Boo" Jackson, the CBA ALL-Star from the East Kentucky Miners.[2] She is dating the Boston Celtics center Shaquille O'Neal, and reportedly got a marriage proposal from the basketball star while having dinner with friends in St. Louis.[3]































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Monday, September 1, 2008

Tiffany Pollard




Who is TiffanyPollard? You probably know her by her tv name of Newyork. Tiffany was born January 6, 1982 in New York. She [2] is a reality television contestant, best known for VH1's Flavor of Love and I Love New York. Pollard was given the nickname "New York" by Flavor Flav during the first season of Flavor of Love; she is, to television viewers, better known by her nickname than her given name. She is also known colloquially by her self-proclaimed nickname the "HBIC (Head Bitch In Charge)",[3] which she exclaimed in the series Flavor of Love in an attempt to taunt her fellow competitors.[4]




Tiffany was the girl you love to hate on the Flavor of Love (Season 1).
Pollard clashed with virtually all of the contestants in both seasons, including:
Thela "Rain" Brown
Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander
Chandra "Deelishis" Davis
Larissa "Bootz" Aurora
Becky "Buckwild" Johnson
Heather "Krazy" Crawford
Brooke "Pumkin" Thompson
Schatar "Hottie" Taylor
Leilene "Smiley" Ondrade
Shay "Buckeey" Johnson
Mieko "Cherry" Smith
Saaphyri Windsor
Although these feuds were, in general, nothing more than screaming matches, an incident in the penultimate episode of season one led to violence. After her elimination, an outraged Brooke Thompson spat on Pollard after the two had exchanged words. Pollard vowed to "whoop Pumkin's ass", and attempted to do so at the season one reunion. However, in another VH1 special, "New York" and "Pumkin" were shown making up at a club. Meanwhile, the final two contestants journeyed to Mexico where Flavor Flav chose Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander to be his mate.

After his relationship did not work out with Alexander, Flavor Flav chose to do a second season of his dating show, and invited Pollard to participate nearly halfway through the season. She agreed, but was once again eliminated, finally severing her romantic connection with Flavor Flav. Pollard verbally fought with Flav in the season finale, asking why he had brought her back only to be ultimately eliminated. However, the two announced on the Flavor of Love: After the Lovin reunion show that aired October 28, 2006, that they would remain friends.
In the reunion of the second season, contestants "Bootz", "Deelishis", "Buckeey", "Buckwild", and Saaphyri attempted to physically attack "New York". Numerous security guards protected Pollard keeping the other contestants from harming her. All the contestants, except "Deelishis", who had won the second season, and Saaphyri were then asked to leave the reunion.

In October of 2006, Pollard announced plans for her own dating show entitled, I Love New York, which premiered on January 8, 2007, on VH1. The series followed the same theme as Flavor of Love, where contestants competed for her affections. In the show's finale, which aired on April 2, 2007, the man she chose, Patrick "Tango" Hunter, proposed to her, and after slight hesitation, she agreed to marry him. However, after watching the show himself, Tango was offended by the comments made about his mother, and he broke off the engagement on the reunion show. Thus, New York was left alone again.




In April 2007, VH1 announced plans for a second season of I Love New York shooting in July 2007. The second season maintains the same premise as the first season of I Love New York, in addition to an online casting process by fans. A special, I Love New York 2: Casting Special aired on VH1 allowing viewers to see potential contestants' casting videos and are given the opportunity to vote at VH1's official website.
Another special, I Love New York 2: Casting Special 2, aired on October 1, 2007 to reveal the contestants chosen by fans.[5]I Love New York 2 premiered October 8, 2007 on VH1.
In the finale of I Love New York 2, contestant "Tailor Made" (real name George Weisgerber) proposed to Pollard, but was turned down. During the I Love New York 2 reunion special, "Tailor Made" proposed a second time and Pollard accepted.[6][7]


Main article: New York Goes To Hollywood
New York Goes to Hollywood began airing on August 4, 2008. The reality show, consisting of ten 30-minute episodes, follows New York as she moves to Hollywood and attempts to become a legitimate actress. The show focuses primarily on her attempts to become a serious actress by securing an agent and an acting coach and going on auditions. In the third episode New York is offered a chance to film a commercial for a Japanese energy drink. There is also some focus on her attempts to consolidate her personal life with her professional ambitions. The series debuted to high ratings with 1.7 million views beating I Want to Work for Diddy, its lead-in show, in ratings.




After watching Newyork goes to Hollywood, you will find yourself glued to the tube in awe. The things that this lady does proves one thing, that she may be the next cash cow for VH1. I kept wondering what was she going to do next, and before I knew it the show was over... I really like the show I will give it a 3 stars.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Who is Luigi "Geno" Auriemma?

W ho is  Luigi   " Geno "   Auriemma? The college basketball world recognizes him as the most successfull division 1  college bas...