Today is Prince’s birthday, and in spite of all the years of musical enjoyment he’s provided I’m kind of mad at him right now. The first fit of anger is toward the fact that he’s fifty-two years old and looks so silky smooth. The second is because the old fogey won’t let any of his videos stay on YouTube for more than a few weeks. It’s super annoying and kind of mean! I should be able to drum up any Prince video I want to, don’t you think?

I was just talking about the song “Diamonds and Pearls,” with…

I don’t usually start with something I hate, but as you’ve surely heard by now hip-hop legend Guru is having serious health issues and is in the hospital after a string of crises involving a heart attack, asthma attack, and coma. As if the unfortunate nature of these events isn’t enough, the internet is abuzz with accusations that his producer Solar (or “Superproducer Solar,” as he prefers to be called) is blocking the family’s access to Guru, didn’t even notify them that he’d been hospitalized for nearly a month before he went into a coma, and is currently making key…

A few days ago Dj Stylus shared this video on Facebook and I haven’t been able to shake it since. He quipped, “I’m surprised that I saw this before Thembi, aka the mistress of all things obscure and Negronian.” Yeah thanks, but courtesy of this video I’ve developed a mild phobia related to brown leather and fringes. I’d never seen Fox’s Celebrity Duets let alone this performance, but there is so much squatting and doing-the-most-ness on the part of Alphonso Ribero that Chaka Khan’s trademark extraness is almost a mere distraction. Just watch

Have you checked out Songza Sets yet? A Set is a collection of 12 songs based on a topic or theme, and I just guest-curated “Babyface Made R&B.” I had a weird sort of “non-sexual, sing-songs-to-me-with-your-ol’-curl-havin’-self” crush on him back in the day so I had a blast! Have a listen and let me know what you think.

Whenever I see Christopher “Kid” Reid on VH-1 or in a random commercial I ask “where is Play?” Play is the one I had a crush on, the one who was *really* cute, and, frankly, more than 50% of the Kid N’ Play equation. Although I missed them on the Mo’Nique show I’d previously heard that Play (Christopher Martin) married and divorced Shari Headley of Coming To America fame, almost died in a car accident, and became a born-again Christian. Whatevas, I just wanna see Blade Brown do that dance and hear some nice clean buddy rap…

People always ask me, “Thembi, how do you find this stuff?” Well, this week I’m going to walk you through the process because there is no reason why a perfectly sane woman such as myself should be asking any questions about Corey Johnson. Please bear with me as I take you through the tragically painful journey of discovering all there is to know about this person.

Everyone who is anyone has a Christmas album, but in a rush to take advantage of our holiday cheer (i.e. trick us into buying bad music just because its Christmas-y) some artists have to cut corners on the cover art. Here are 10 prime examples of such ridiculousness.

10. “Naughty or Nice” – 3LW

The gall of 3LW to release a Christmas album at all (let alone with only two members, one of which is wearing a Christmas fur bra top)

When recording artist Santogold changed her name to Santigold I wasn’t really paying attention. I heard something about there being another artist who already had that name and kept it moving. But did you know that the man behind the name change is a tragically weird infomercial/jeweler/musician from the 1980’s? He brought legal action against Santi for infringement, saying that by her use of the name Santogold she was “crushing [his] hopes of continuing his music and acting career.” Really? ‘Cause I ain’t never heard

I don’t know who all has been anticipating H-Town’s comeback, especially since lead singer Dino died tragically in 2003. Oh, and that when Dino passed, H-Town was actually about to release their FOURTH album since their 1993 debut Fever For Da Flavor (yes, that is the one that had the ever-embarrassing “Knockin’ Da Boots,” on it). Since I don’t remember being excited about albums number two or three, I have to assume that H-Town still has a sturdy fan base that’s waiting to hear some fresh new love-makin’ music from the Houston Boys. But someone decided it would be a…

I’ve been thinking a lot about what qualities I find attractive in the opposite sex and realized that above all else dudes who remind me of Gerald Levert have an automatic edge. This oldies tribute performance by Levert and Boyz II Men from the 1992 NAACP awards will have to do for today, though.