Janet Jackson and Daddy Yankee perform for 30,000 people in Harlem; LisaRaye criticize for ending engagement | VIDEO

QUICK TAKES

It’s official. Tamar Braxton has confirmed she’s NO LONGER with her ex, Vincent Hubert. Also, they quietly sold their L.A. property for $9.25 million, much less than the original asking price and even less than the $10.5 million they paid to buy it in 2012. They also paid their former nanny $213,431.37 from a judgment she won relating to unpaid wages.

The beef between Nicki Minaj and her ex-boo, Safaree, has gotten so loud that MTV beefed up its Video Music Awards security.

ESPN has decided to not televise the National Anthem during NFL Games.

Jesse Williams went before a judge to get his child support payments lowered, but the Judge in the case said no way. So, thus far, the Grey’s Anatomy actor will continue to pay his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee the court-ordered $50K for his two children. OUCH!

Bossip is reporting that Lauryn Hill’s NJ mansion is in foreclosure because a nearly $1 million tax bill has gone unpaid.

Pop star Janet Jackson performed before 30,000 adoring fans in front of the State Office Building in Harlem for Harlem Week.

And, we end this Quick Takes segment with condolences to the family and friends of two icons, Kofi Annan and Aretha Franklin. Annan was the first Black person to serve as UN Secretary-General, and the first officeholder to be elected from the UN staff itself. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul, was not only a pop singer but a cultural icon that helped to bridge the racial divide with her music. Franklin’s first hit, “Respect,” immediately became an anthem of the African-American civil rights movement and later other movements. In addition to Franklin’s 20 Grammy Awards, she was the first woman to receive a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame award. She performed at the White House for several presidents and received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George Bush in 2005. Thank you, Aretha, for your life-long contributions to the world.

WHAT’S POPPIN – CULTURE

The culture of taping everything. In the last few weeks, we have learned that Omarosa Manigault Newman has perhaps, hours of tape from her time in the White House. And, we already know that Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, has hours of recorded telephone conversations with Donald Trump.

WHAT’S POPPIN –RELATIONSHIPS

Recently, LisaRaye McCoy got engaged to Anthony B. on the television show, The Proposal. A month after a 2nd proposal at her home with family and friends, LisaRaye has called off the wedding. During a Facebook Live, LisaRaye said she's glad she did the show, and that she did the show because she was "lonely" and wanted to find a companion. LisaRaye then went on to say that she wants a man that's "equally yoked."

Soon after that comment, some on the Facebook Live started calling her a gold-digger because in effect, she considered Anthony B’s net worth to be too low.

Q. Is it fair to call LisaRaye a gold digger?

WHAT’S POPPIN – HEALTH

Southwest Airlines has joined the list of airlines to crack down on “Emotional Support Animals” flying with passengers.

The airline is limiting the ESAs to dogs and cats, so no, you can’t bring your pet peacock or kangaroo, and claim they are emotional support animals.

Q. As one who travels by plane often, do you welcome this announcement? Do wish the NYC Transit would do the same?

WHAT’S POPPIN – RELATIONSHIPS

Refinery29 posted an article, What Happened When I Moved in With A Casual Fling. A woman’s roommate unexpectedly moved from their rent-stabilized NYC SoHo apartment, so she now had to find a new roommate or a new apartment, and a guy she had been dating for six weeks became her new roommate. They broke up for financial reasons and both moved on with their lives. Lo and behold, a few years later they are both financially stable, living in L.A. and married with children.

Q. This story went well, rather fairytale like. Do you think this happens more than we know?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Our Quote of the Week is:

“Kindness comes back like a boomerang by those who are kind. Perhaps its return takes years. Perhaps the kindness returns from a different direction. But, it will return. It is never lost.”

This is a quote attributed to John Marks Templeton and was posted by Denise Hurley.

If you would like for us to shine a light on a quote, hit us up on our Facebook page or on LinkedIn.

 PHOTO OF THE WEEK:

Our Photo of the Week is a photo of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at the wedding of 2Chainz and Kesha Ward this past weekend in Miami.

Sunnie, Tali, and Bunni Ray of Blushhh Music are bringing Old School Back

The newest group from Mathew Knowles' Music World Entertainment is more than a girl group they are a hip-hop trio consisting of rappers Sunnie and Bunni Ray, and vocalist, Tali, better known as Blushhh Music.

What's The 411 had an opportunity to talk exclusively with Blushhh Music about how the group came together; their raponizing art form; the people who influenced them; meeting Mathew Knowles; and Kelly Rowland's impact on Tali; and their first single, Old School Back, which can be purchased on iTunes.

How Blushhh Music Came Together

We all like to know how groups come together. So starting from the beginning, it all started with the help of digital technology. More specifically, Blushhh Music came together with the help of social media.

Group member Sunnie was part of a duo searching for a singer to complete the group. During an Internet search of singers in Houston, she found Tali on Facebook. Fortunately for Tali, she branded herself well with a profile name on Facebook, TaliBestSingerlastname. Additionally, Tali's photos represented her well and the way she responded to the inquiry were the icing on the cake that gave her an invite to audition to be part of the group.

Five years later, the original group of Sunnie, Tali, and another rapper met Mathew Knowles at a showcase and were signed to an artist development contract. Two months into the contract, the other rapper dropped out and consequently there was a need to find another group member. Sunnie and Tali found Bunni Ray on Instagram. Mr. Knowles gave Sunnie and Tali complete creative control over the selection of Bunni Ray, because, at the end of the day, it was their "sisterhood" that was important.

So, can these ladies sing and rap? Well, in a word, yes! They gave us a taste of their "raponizing" aka a Capella rapping harmony.

Musical Influences

In music, everyone is influenced by someone. As a trio, Blushhh Music's sound is their own. However, as individuals, you can hear their influences.

Growing up, Sunnie's musical influences were MC Lyte, Lauren Hill, Tupac, and Queen Latifah. Fast forward, her current influences are Drake, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole.

As a vocalist, Tali's influences come from the R&B/Pop side of the ledger. Michael Jackson's, "You are Not Alone," is the first song she sang at 3-years-old. Like many kids who were influenced by their parents' musical preferences, Tali followed her mother's path and became a fan of Janet Jackson and The Jacksons. Tali later became a fan of Destiny's Child, Sade, Shakira, and Selena. Since she has been raponizing, Tali's hip-hop influences include NWA, Bone Thugs n' Harmony, and Chance The Rapper.

Just listening to Bunni Ray, you can tell her influences are Left Eye (TLC), DaBrat, and Lil' Kim. What is surprising is that she is influenced by modern day Kanye West and the Flatbush Zombies. With What's The 411 being based in Brooklyn, shout out to the Flatbush Zombies! If we had known in advance of the interview, perhaps we could have arranged a meetup!

Blushhh Music's Defining Fashion Style

What's The 411 host and beauty expert, Courtney Rashon, is always focused on beauty and style. Courtney says when she first saw Blushhh Music, she saw their style as glam hip-hop, "Destiny's Child meets TLC, meets like a Run DMC."

"We do match, as you can see," responded Sunnie. "We're big on matching."

Their look is cohesive, a tip they learned from Mathew Knowles. When people see them, they should know that they are in a group even if they are not standing right next to each other.

Although there is cohesiveness, "we do have individual things about ourselves that you're always going to notice, Sunnie continued. "You're always going to notice Sunnie with the braids and a hat. Tali with the big blond hair."

"Artistic," Bunni Ray chimed in. "...she's super artsy with what she wears."

"I'm likely to draw on something or rip it up," added Tali.

"It is never going to be how she bought it in the store," says Bunni Ray.

Tali, who has a sexy style of her own, says that Bunni Ray brings the sex appeal, with Bunni Ray, "you're going to see thighs and boobs, you're going to see, sex appeal," said Tali with a finger snap.

Working With Mathew Knowles

What's The 411 host Onika McLean asked the question that many people want to know.

"How's it working with him (Mr. Knowles)...tell us something we don't know."

"He's not as intimidating as he looks; he's not as mean. We thought he hated us. Oh, he don't like us; I didn't even want to sing," responded Tali.

"If he's hard on you, it is because you have potential," added Sunnie.

"If he tells you that you're good, you might want to work," Tali said.

"Because you're never done growing," Sunnie continued. "Even with his daughter, he says all the time, Beyonce, every show, she's looking at something to improve. Every show, he's looking at something to improve. If you ever feel satisfied, and there's nothing in your mind that you feel you should work on, then he says you should just stop it here because you're not going to prosper. "

"He's funny," said Tali. "He's very funny, he has jokes, so smart. He knows what punch lines to say, what to make the topic of the day. Watch this be the headline because I said it."

"He's a marketing a genius." Sunni interrupted.

Kelly Rowland Makes a Great Impression on Blushhh Music

Aside from Mr. Knowles, who is the most interesting person that they have met since they became a group, Onika asked Blushhh Music

"Kelly Rowland!," Tali responded without hesitation. "Kelly Rowland to me; she played a big part when I was growing up period, in my high school days. When Sunni found me, I was telling Sunni about it, so Sunni was like, okay, okay. So when we got signed with Mr. Knowles, it was weird. So we just had the Atlanta Car Show, the car and bike show that we did, and she (Kelly Rowland) has June's Diary and they were there and they performed. So we got to meet Kelly, and when she saw us across the room, she ran over to us, and she was like 'hey I'm so happy to see you, great job.' So I finally got a chance to introduce her, and they were like, 'hey I heard so much about you.' She's just so sweet. She took a picture with us. She gave us great advice and that is something that we just took with us. It was like meeting the entire Destiny's Child group. It's really like we are Music Entertainment World family.

The Wrap-up

In answering Onika's question regarding what each member of the group would like for the audience to know about the group, Tali didn't hesitate to swoop in before Sunnie and say "original," which is Sunnie's line. After a laugh, Tali told Sunnie to "steal" her line, and she obliged.

"Always be you because no one can be you better than you in the words of Tali," offered Sunnie.

These ladies are so talented, humble, and focused!

Download Old School Back by Blushhh Music on iTunes and follow Blushhh Music on all social media at @BlushhhMusic.

MC Lyte, Missy Elliott, Destiny's Child, Left Eye, Kanye West, and the Flatbush Zombies are among the musical influences of Blushhh Music

In music, everyone is influenced by someone. As a trio, Blushhh Music's sound is their own. However, as individuals, you can hear their musical influences.

Growing up, Sunnie's influences were MC Lyte, Lauryn Hill, Tupac, and Queen Latifah. Fast forward, her current influences are Drake, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole.

As a vocalist, Tali's influences come from the R&B/Pop side of the ledger. Michael Jackson's "You are Not Alone" was the first song she sang at 3-years-old. Like many kids who were influenced by their parents' musical preferences, Tali followed her mother's path and became a fan of Janet Jackson and The Jacksons. Tali later became a fan of Destiny's Child, Sade, Shakira, and Selena. Since she has been

Since Tali has been raponizing, Tali's hip-hop influences include NWA, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and Chance The Rapper.

Check out this video, Blushhh Music gives a sample of raponizing.

Just listening to Bunni Ray, you can tell her influences are Left Eye (TLC), DaBrat, and Lil' Kim. What is surprising is that she is influenced by modern day Kanye West and the Flatbush Zombies.

In their debut single, Old School Back, Blushhh Music's musical influences are on display, but in a way that is distinctly their own.

We got a little taste of Blushhh Music's raponizing, which is a blend of rapping with a Capella harmonizing.

Pick up Blushhh Music's debut single, Old School Back, on iTunes and follow these ladies on social media @BlushhhMusic