VIDEO CONVERSATION: Nicki Minaj says she is retiring and the Barbz says not so fast; is there a Real Housewives of Chicago on the drawing board?

In this episode of What's The 411's Quick Takes, award-winning journalist, Kizzy Cox, and; comedian Onika McLean are talking about Demi Lovato’s Instagram post of a picture of herself exposing cellulite with the caption, Cellulit! and Mike Johnson of Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise fame’s positive response.

R. Kelly is now in the general population and his trial for sexual misconduct is set to start on April 27, 2020; meanwhile, Harvey Weinstein’s trial date is set for January 6, 2020.

What is a 50 Cent story without a feud with someone? This time, 50 is feuding with Paris Jackson over his belief that singer/songwriter Chris Brown is better than Michael Jackson. 

Popular actress Rosie Perez, who is from Brooklyn, will receive the Latinavator Award from John Leguizamo’s NGL Collective. 

Nicki Minaj says she is retiring to start a family and many say they will believe it when they see it.

The US House of Representative’s Judiciary Committee will begin a Congressional Impeachment Probe/Inquiry into Donald Trump’s unconstitutional and alleged illegal activities.

And, rumor has it that Bravo producer Andy Cohen is considering a “Real Housewives” show for the Midwest, Real Housewives of Chicago.

WATCH VIDEO: Is Drake dating a teenager? Nicki and Cardi, can’t we all just get along? Chadwick Boseman shows up big time, and; an interview with Nabate Isles

In the Quick Takes section of this episode of What’s The 411, award-winning journalist, Kizzy Cox, and comedian Onika McLean are talking about Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Tamar and Vince, Chadwick Boseman's visit to St. Jude's Hospital, Kenya Barris' new deal with Netflix, hip-hop icon, Drake, was spotted in a Washington, DC restaurant with 18-year-old model, Bella Harris, and how Nike's stock price shows the people are embracing the company's moves, even actress Jenifer Lewis wore blinged out Nike gear on the red carpet at the 2018 Emmy Awards show.

Additionally, the episode includes an interview with Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and composer, Nabate Isles, talking about his debut album, Eclectic Excursions.

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.

Digital Album Streaming: a beautiful boost or plummeting pitfall? Well it depends on how you use it

The first half of 2018 has seen album releases from the likes of J. Cole, Nipsey Hussle, Tory Lanez, Nas, Kanye West, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z; all with various rollout plans to the lack thereof. Nicki Minaj announced her album, Queen, in May for a June release. Beyoncé and Jay-Z released Everything is Love seemingly out of nowhere, and then there were albums that dropped under an executive producer who didn't seem to give much notification to the artists themselves, cough. (I'm talking about... yes, you guessed it! Kanye West.)

Digital streaming of music has given both the artist and consumer a one-stop shop. Artists no longer need to advertise on billboards, bus signs or conjure up elaborate marketing plans. Music executives no longer have to announce albums and songs months in advanced and retail stores are not stocked to capacity with copies of physical CDs needed to match shopper consumption. Depending on the caliber of artist that you are, you don't even need to bait your audience into wanting your album with pre-released singles. All you have to do is make sure it's available on all streaming platforms on the day that you say it will be. Or, you don't even need to say a day.

I'm guilty of crediting Queen Bey for bringing the art of the hasty release into the genre of R&B and Hip Hop. Many people, like me, forget that it was actually her husband, Sean Carter, who started the trend. Released on July 4, 2013, Magna Carta Holy Grail took to listeners ears after only being announced two weeks prior in a subtle commercial for Samsung that premiered during the NBA Finals.

VIDEO featuring Jay-Z promoting Magna Carta Holy Grail

"All these other things have been introduced to the world -- the internet and all this technology, and all these things. How do we operate within all that? We don't have any rules; everyone's trying to figure it out... that's why the internet's like the wild, Wild West. We need to write the new rules for what's going on right now... The one thing I wanted to do was have that fireplace or radio moment... I wanted everyone to hear the album at one time."

Unfortunately, Samsung lost out on the ordeal when the app they paid for to stream Jay's album crashed and the project was almost instantaneously available on other digital streaming platforms. Nonetheless, the attempt was seen.

What we'd call an L, Beyoncé followed suit with and turned into a W, a surprise release of her self-titled visual album that took the world by complete force. Beyoncé was exclusively available on iTunes for its first week, was accompanied by visuals for each track, earning Yonce' over 80,000 copies sold in the first three hours and ultimately a number one album debut. (Queen Bey also saw similar success with her release of Lemonade, accompanied by a full-length film where Hov's, iced tea, 4:44, debuted at number one with various short films to accompany each track. The most successful of which, "The Story of O.J.", reached over 70 million views.

But the ability of Beyonce and Jay-Z to make us look is due largely to the equity and caliber of artistry they've come to be known for, not just in the exclusivity of their work alone. As listeners and consumers, we have a solid expectation of the quality of work they'll deliver and therefore have no problem rushing to whatever medium they decide to release from.

However, many artists are not so privileged. Even prior to Beyonce's self-titled visual album release, Kanye West tested the waters with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy's 34-minute film, Runaway, amassing over 22 million views to this date, and decided to take that same triumphant energy and innovation into his February 14, 2016, release of The Life of Pablo. The result was not so great. The rollout of the album was plagued by constant title changes, routine Kanye twitter rants, and revised track lists. The only thing that seemed to be happening right was that West had a Yeezy Season 3 fashion show planned at Madison Square Garden where he would premiere the project for all those in attendance, right? Wrong. The album premiered three days later on Tidal, with alterations unheard of by the crowd in attendance at Madison Square Garden. Even months after the release, the album was still undergoing changes with its finalized version coming on April 1, 2016.

And now here we are. The Carters’ surprise release, Everything is Love, and Kanye West announcing and embarking on his executive delivery of five albums in five weeks. The results have been everywhere from successful to... not so much. Pusha T's Daytona soared in the midst of rap beef between himself and Drake. Ye was welcomed by a lukewarm reception, but still managing to debut at number one, while Kids See Ghosts featuring Ye and Kid Cudi was quietly released and debuted at number two while NASIR featuring Nas peaked at number five.

However, the rockiest rollout yet was Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E. The singer took to Big Boy's Neighborhood on Power 106 to explain that the album will be re-released due to label miscommunication and samples not being cleared in time. Acknowledging that songs on the album were literally cut short, as well as the label's mistake in setting a release date and listening experience all before the album samples were even cleared.

VIDEO: Teyana Taylor on Big Boy’s Neighborhood

Teyana has taken the public misstep like a champ, acknowledging the helpful critiques she's received from those who have listened thus far. A similar attitude is now generally required of artists in the digital age of album streaming, its boundless limits should remind artists to propel themselves into a new realm of creativity and innovation. Ultimately instilling in them the ability to embrace the body of work that they have while remembering, it’s not fully what you do but how you do it.

- Jadriena "Jade" Solomon

@24Jaded

Singer/songwriter, John Mayer, tried to shoot his shot on Twitter, with Nicki Minaj!

Meyer posted on Twitter:

"I spend an inordinate amount of time per day wondering if Nicki Minaj would like me or not."

It didn’t take long for Nikki Minaj to respond: Would my body be your wonderland? Referring to Meyer’s 2001 classic, "Your Body Is a Wonderland."

We’ll see what happens from here.

New York Fashion Week, Nicki Minaj, Megyn Kelly, Kevin Hart, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, and so much more in this episode of What’s The 411

This episode of What’s The 411’s consists of QUICK TAKES of topical news about John Legend and Chrissy Teigen; Jesse Jackson Jr.’s messy divorce; Megyn Kelly; Kevin Hart’s new product; Sloane Stephens winning the US OPEN; and of course, lively discussions about Usher’s legal team clapping back at allegations that Usher knowingly exposed people to the herpes virus; and singer-songwriter John Mayer trying to hit on hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj. In the spirit of New York Fashion Week, we feature the Elegance of Africa Fashion Show, along with a shout out to fashion stylist, June Ambrose in our photo of the week, which you can see on our website at www.whatsthe411.com. In the 411onBooks section, Troy Johnson, president and webmaster of AALBC.com; and Ruth Morrison, What’s The 411TV’s CEO and Executive Producer, give a shout out to Marcus Book Store in Oakland, California.

First Mother's Day for Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Janet Jackson, Lawsuits Mounting Against Fyre Festival organizers

Rapper Remy Ma Says She's Moving on from Nicki Minaj

Rapper Remy Ma was on The Real and she says the feud with Nicki Minaj is over, but in announcing that the feud is over, Remy took another swipe:

“The dust has settled. Some people don’t get that the dust has settled. But I can understand. It’s kinda hard to see the dust settling when you’re in the grave under the dirt.”

Rihanna Comes For Nicki Minaj Over False Met Gala Best-Dressed List

It seems like everyone is coming after Nicki Minaj, pop star, Rihanna, smacked down Nicki Minaj for posting on her Instagram account fake Met Gala best-dressed lists that included her on the lists. Nicki pulled the posts once she realized they were fake.

Nicki Minaj to the Rescue

It seems like the world is coming for Nicki Minaj’s edges. However, with an act of kindness and generosity, Nicki finally gets a break and is rising above it all. A Nicki Minaj fan reached out to Nicki on Instagram for help with her education expenses. Nicki said she would help her if she saw all A’s; the fan received the financial help and others came out the woodwork. Now Nicki plans to create an educational fund to help students in need.

Carson Huey-You Graduates from College at Age 14

Fourteen-year-old Carson Huey-You became the youngest person ever to graduate from Texas Christian University (TCU). Get this, he majored in physics and double minored in Math and Chinese.

Celebrity First Mother's Day

Actress Jurnee Smollett-Bell and pop star Janet Jackson were among the celebrity moms celebrating their first Mother’s Day.

More Lawsuits Against Fyre Festival Organizers

The lawsuits against the organizers of the Fyre Festival keep piling up. A recent case filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court alleges that the festival’s co-founders Ja Rule (née Jeffrey Atkins) and Billy McFarland have defaulted on their $3 million loan to New York–based EHL Funding LLC, which put up the funds.

Robert F. Smith donated $20 million to National African American Museum; Kanye West joins Instagram, Nicki Minaj uses Twitter to find girlfriend for her brother, Tinder lets you swipe and chat

In this episode of What's The 411, the panel of Kizzy Cox, Courtney Rashon, and Sydney Wayman are talking about:

• Nicki Minaj took to Twitter to give notice that her brother needs a new girlfriend

• Uber is requiring its drivers to check in with face time before picking up a passenger

• The Magnificent Seven starring Denzel Washington debuted at No.1 with just over $35 million

• Strut, a new reality TV show about a transgender modeling agency, executive produced by Whoopi Goldberg, debuted on Oxygen

• Tinder's new app will let you swipe while you chat

• Kanye West has a verified Twitter account, but it doesn't look like he's using it

• Robert F. Smith, a Black billionaire donated $20 million to the new National Museum of African American History and Culture, in addition to Oprah Winfrey

• 100 Oakland student musicians took a knee during the National Anthem at an Oakland A's game

• Geode-inspired lips are a hit on Instagram; will it make it to the street?

Caribbean Cook-up

Dance teacher and fitness guru Shola Roberts is Kizzy Cox's guest in the Caribbean Cook-up segment

411 Social

Jasmine Blake and Nicole Okeke, members of the What's The 411 social media team, gave feedback on the Teyana Taylor and #TeacherBae stories, as well as shout outs to people who commented on the stories on the What's The 411TV Facebook and Instagram pages.

Nicole: Shout out to our followers who commented on our Instagram post with the hashtag "TeacherBae." That photo has got a lot of you talking and we were surprised to find out that everyone who commented had no problem with her clothing. So, thanks to Dana Sorrentino for commenting on the Teacher Bae story on Facebook.

Jasmine: And, shout out to ilove_charlie_peter, im_just_evette , and Jimswinger on Instagram for their comments on the "Teacher Bae" story. So keep those comments coming at WhatsThe411TV on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

In Memoriam

Actor Bill Nunn, best known as Radio Raheem in the Spike Lee movie, Do The Right Thing, passed away after a battle with leukemia. He was just a few weeks short of his 63rd birthday.