Rapper Rick Ross and Lira Mercer engagement is on again; Spike Lee puts Hollywood on blast; Patti Pies flying off the shelves

In this episode of What's The 411, the panel of Kizzy Cox, Onika McLean, and Courtney Rashon are talking about Rick Ross; Spike Lee; Lee Daniels; French President Francois Hollande's response to the attack on Paris; and Real Housewives of Atlanta's cast member, Cynthia Bailey.

What's Poppin'

Entertainment and Lifestyle mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, while promoting his upcoming album at Hot 97 in New York, told the audience that President Obama should unapologetically spend billions on black people. We helped him get elected and like other constituencies we should be rewarded and so far the president hasn't done enough. Puff Daddy made sure it was known that he wasn't "going after Obama" but that he believed the President should give "nice parting gifts" to Black people before he leaves the White House.

A follow-on story regarding President Obama is, "It's raining Men!!!" Obama, Obama, Obama! President Obama is giving a huge Christmas gift to over 6,000 families. He has signed an executive order that will free nonviolent inmates that have been sentenced under harsh drugs laws imposed after America lost its war on drugs in the late 80s and 90s. In a letter written to one inmate, President Obama said "you have shown that you deserve a second chance, what you do with this chance is up to you.

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Film and TV producer, Lee Daniels, may be close to a legal settlement. The "Empire" TV series co-creator and filmmaker may have come to terms with actor Sean Penn's lawyers regarding his statement about actor Terrence Howard's alleged spousal abuse by bringing up Sean Penn's name in a manner that implied that Penn abused women.

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R&B legend Patti LaBelle's sweet potato pies have been sold exclusively at Walmart for weeks but this past weekend they were flying off the shelves after a video from Patti LaBelle fan James Wright Chanel went mega-viral!

The video snagged nearly 7 million online views because of its funny and raucous review of the pie.

After just one bite Chanel, who is also a singer, began singing a Patti song and said, "I turned into Patti after eating this" and he continued eating and singing Patti songs in-between bites of pie.

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Rapper Rick Ross and exotic dancer Lira "Galore" Mercer are back together. The engagement is on again and the happy couple posted a pic on Instagram where Lira stated that they were going through a rough patch in their relationship, but it's now all good! Lira is sporting her engagement ring again. If you recall Rick Ross called it quits because pictures surfaced on social media showing Lira sitting naked on a well-known rapper's lap during her days as an exotic dancer. Will they get to the altar?

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Filmmaker Spike Lee has once again put Hollywood on blast.

"Everybody in here probably voted for Obama but when I go to offices, I see no black folks except for the brother man at the security who checks my name off the list as I go into the studio," the director said while receiving an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' seventh annual Governors Awards. "So we can talk 'yabba yabba yabba' but we need to have some serious discussion about diversity and get some flavor up in this. This industry is so behind sports it's ridiculous.

"It's easier to be the president of the United States as a black person than be the head of a studio," he continued. "Honestly, it's easier to be president of the United States than the head of a studio or head of network".

Lee urged Hollywood executives to take a closer look at the people around them.

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Rapper Benzino and his wife, Althea Heart, are having trouble in paradise. According to Hello Beautiful, Althea insisted that Benzino stay away from her and the baby while at the hospital. She even made Benzino sign the birth certificate in the room next door. And, she also ordered her mother out of the room! Whoa!

Could Althea's behavior be a symptom of post-partum depression?

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FAB411: Caring for Curly & Coily Hair - by Courtney Rashon

Curly and coily hair can get wild, tangled, dry, and unruly at times. Here are 7 products that will help you maintain and manage your curls and keep them looking good and poppin' all day:

1. Miss Jessie's curly meringue
2. Kinky-Curly Original Curling Custard
3. WonderCurl Get Set Jelly
4. Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie for thick curly hair
5. Curl Junkie Curls in a bottle hair styling solution
6. Matrix Biolage Curl Defining Elixer
7. Spiral Solutions Curl Enhancing Jelly

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ON THE CARPET: MAINSTREAM MEDIA - by Kizzy Cox

I, like many people around the world was appalled and saddened by the senseless terrorist attacks that injured hundreds and killed 129 people in Paris. ISIS like Al Qaeda before is a terrible scourge and threatens freedom in many parts of the world. In light of that, I thought the wall-to-wall coverage the attacks received was appropriate and warranted. BUT, it bothers me that the same attention is not brought to terrorist acts that happen when the victims are black and brown and are in locations outside of the Western world. When terrorists killed a few dozen people in Paris who worked at Charlie Ebdo earlier this year, it also received extensive coverage, as it should have. However, what about the Kenyan massacre where Al Shabob killed 147 students at a Kenyan University back in April. Where was the extensive coverage? Kenyans are also our allies against terrorism. There is no ongoing Civil War in Kenya, which would make these types of attacks commonplace. The casualties in Kenya were also innocent victims--young college students. And yet, little coverage was given.

Racism works very subtly; so subtly sometimes we don't see it happening, but racism isn't just about what we see it's also about what we don't see. Thousands upon thousands have also been killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Syria is being torn apart by war but those victims are brown and a world away. True we can't always control what images get shown to us or what the media chooses to cover but in the age of social media WE ALL HAVE THE POWER to drive narratives, when we do the media will have no choice but to follow.

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Reality TV Recap

The Real Housewives of Potomac, Maryland

The Real Housewives franchise has added two more cities. The Real Housewives of Dallas and The Real Housewives of Potomac, Maryland; is airing on Bravo in January 2016. The Housewives of Potomac will feature wealthy African American women who reside in a sophisticated community. It will also include Courtney Rashon's friend, Charisse-Jackson Jordan, who is the socialite wife of former NBA coach Eddie Jordan, who is now the basketball coach at Rutgers University.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta

The What's The 411 panel is sick of Peter's treatment of his wife Cynthia Bailey. They believe that it is time for Cynthia Bailey to kick Peter to the curb. Do you agree?

Untying The Knot

What in the hell is a "Hall Pass"?!, asks Onika McLean.

I know you guys remember Tiny and Toya - well just in case you don't, Toya Wright is the mother of Lil' Wayne's oldest daughter. Toya and her estranged husband, Mickey "Memphitz" Wright are joining the reality TV show, Untying The Knot. When the couple sat down to discuss the particulars of their relationship, the mediation lawyer asked Mickey, "do you cheat on your wife?" Mickey responded, "No - not without "a Hall Pass".

Can you imagine, Toya gives her husband a hall pass 8 times a year where he can be with other women no questions asked?

Would you give your husband or wife a hall pass?

VIDEO DISCUSSION: Rapper Rick Ross and exotic dancer Lira "Galore" Mercer are back together

Rick Ross and Lira Mercer's engagement is on again. The happy couple posted a pic on Instagram with a statement from Lira that they were going through a rough patch in their relationship, but it's now all good!

Lira is sporting her engagement ring again. If you recall Rick Ross called it quits because pictures surfaced on social media showing Lira sitting naked on a well-known rapper's lap during her days as an exotic dancer.

Will they get to the altar?

Rapper reportedly seen rocking Lira's engagement ring on Snapchat

Rapper Rick Ross and fiancée, Lira "Galore" Mercer, have called it quits after a two-month engagement.

It appears that Rick Ross ended the engagement after pictures surfaced on social media showing Lira sitting naked on a well-known rapper's lap during her days as an exotic dancer.

Reportedly, Ross told Mercer to pack up and leave his Atlanta mansion and he was seen rocking her engagement ring on his pinky on SnapChat.

VIDEO DISCUSSION: 50 Cent Selling T-Shirts featuring Rick Ross Man Boobs on the Internet

50 Cent takes a swipe at Rick Ross; Dr. Ben Carson defends himself against the media; Halle Berry exes get grimy; Bob Marley making lots of dough; and more

In the What's Poppin' segment of What's The 411, the panel of Kizzy Cox, Onika McLean, and Courtney Rashon, are talking about 50 Cent taking a swipe at Rick Ross by selling T-shirts on the Internet featuring Ross' man boobs. Speaking of Rick Ross, his engagement to exotic dancer Lira Mercer is on again. Dr. Ben Carson is calling out the media for its lack of fairness. Actress Halle Berry's exes are delving into what Sean "Diddy" Combs calls "bitchassness"; and that the United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in seven cases brought against Obamacare.

What's The 411 correspondent and beauty expert, Courtney Rashon, details the colors that are trending for Fall 2015 in the FAB411 segment.

In the What's The 411Business segment, Stephen Witt, CEO and Founder, Kings County Politics, tells us why he started his digital magazine and goes into detail about his most recent novel, The Street Singer: A Tale of Sex, Money, and Power in a Changing Brooklyn.

In Caribbean Cook-up, What's The 411 host, Kizzy Cox, informs us that the late great reggae artist, Bob Marley, is the best-selling Caribbean artist of all time. Marley also ranks as the fourth highest selling artist this year.

The Reality TV Recap zooms in on the relationship between former model Janice Dickinson and rapper Joe Budden on Couples Therapy (and they are not a couple). Rapper Benzino and his wife Althea will surface on Marriage Bootcamp next season along with Honey Boo Boo's mother Mama June and her significant other. 

President Obama nominates Eric Fanning an openly gay man for Secretary of the Army; The Americas fall in love with Pope Francis

In What's The 411 Episode 64, the panel of host Kizzy Cox and correspondents Courtney Rashon and Onika McLean are talking about Pope Francis' visit to New York City; the upcoming Roots remake, featuring Forest Whitaker, Anna Paquin, Derek Luke, and Anika Noni Rose; rapper Rick Ross' engagement to Instagram socialite Lira Galore; uber marketing executive Steve Stoute's engagement to Carol's Daughter sales executive, Lauren Branche; reviews of actor Idris Elba's "singing" skills; Kanye West's Yeezy Collection at 2016 S/S New York Fashion Week; President Obama's nomination of Eric Fanning, an openly gay man, to serve as Secretary of the Army; New York plans to outlaw the sale of K2; and 20 Restaurants receive an F grade for their use of antibiotics in their meats. In the Reality TV Recap, they look at Married to Medicine and the Kardashian tech ventures that are estimated to generate millions of dollars; and the Stockton California police and the school officials at MacArthur High School in Texas get called on the carpet.

QUICK TAKES

KIZZY: More A-list stars have joined the cast of the Roots remake! Forest Whitaker will be playing Fiddler, a mentor to Kunta Kinte, Derek Luke will be playing Silla Ba Dibba the military officer who trained the Mandinka teens to become powerful warriors and Anika Noni Rose will be playing my namesake Kizzy, Kunta Kinte's daughter who "maintains her family pride and warrior spirit!" The 8-hour miniseries will air on A&E.

COURTNEY: Rapper Rick Ross is engaged to former stripper turned Instagram socialite, Lira Galore. The ring is huge and Galore posted a picture on Snapchat with the caption "YES". Congrats to the newly engaged couple.

ONIKA: Marketing guru Steve Stoute has wed! It was a true "Pretty Woman" story. Lauren Branche was a young and beautiful enterprising sales rep from Carol's Daughter and Steve was her latest pitch! She didn't get the deal but in the end she got the guy! Best wishes to the lovely and wealthy couple! Oh by the way! Nas, Kanye and Maxwell performed. And Jay and Bey were in attendance.

COURTNEY: According to the Guardian, handsome and talented actor Idris Elba should stick to acting instead of singing. Elba recorded and released a new song and the reviews have not been so great. Elba, recorded a verse on a remix of Skepta's grime track "Shutdown," which references his characters Stringer Bell on "The Wire," Detective John Luther, and Nelson Mandela. However, that remix has over 1 million plays on SoundCloud and was number one on the Billboard charts. With over a million plays and tens of thousands "likes," Elba's voice can't be all that bad.

COURTNEY: Rapper Kanye West revealed his second Yeezy Collection 2016 during New York Fashion Week. The crowd was filled to the max and included celebs Common, Lorde, Debbie Harry, Courtney Love and of course, the Kardashian sisters. North West was seated in the front row with her mom. Reportedly, the show was organized and less chaotic and started on time, as opposed to last year's show.

ONIKA: IN MEMORIAM: Prolific writer and author, Jackie Collins, passed away from the effects of breast cancer. Collins battled breast cancer in private for more than six years -- revealing she did not want a wave of public sympathy or to be defined by her illness. In a wide-ranging and emotional interview just six days before her death, the 77-year-old best-selling writer told PEOPLE's Elizabeth Leonard exactly why she chose to keep her diagnosis a secret from family and friends. She told only her children -- Tracy, Tiffany and Rory.

Collins wants on her gravestone: "She Gave a Great Deal of People a Great Deal of Pleasure"

WHAT'S POPPIN'

President Obama Nominates Eric Fanning to be Secretary of the Army

In the U.S. military, if you ask now, who cares if they tell! President Obama certainly isn't acting like a lame duck! He is going out of this last call of duty with a bang! Actually, bang, bang, bang! Lol, said What's The 411 correspondent Onika McLean.

Eric Fanning has been nominated to become the first openly gay Secretary of the Army! At Ease Please! In a story reported by Fox News- Mr. Fanning who was an official at the Pentagon has been serving as Undersecretary of the Army since February! Obama says that Fanning brings a wealth of knowledge to the position and he is confident that he will do an amazing job!

Personally, I think President Obama has sat down with God himself and is strategically planning to change America to truly be a free democracy! Go Jesus and Mr. President!

#AskOnika

5 Things Women Can Do During Football Season

What's The 411 correspondent Onika McLean names 5 Things Women Can Do During Football Season.

Football season is upon us and I don't give a rat's ass about football. However, there are a lot of football widows out there whining and complaining because they just don't know what to do. So, to the football widows, here are a few things you can do to occupy your time while your boo thang is watching the game:

1- go to the spa
2- go shopping
3- read a book
4- download Bumble and see all the hot guys/girls you could be dating that doesn't have the same affinity for football as the person on the sofa eating the hot wings and;
5- go on Facebook and follow What's The 411TV and talk to me- I'm available Sunday, Monday, and Thursdays!

#AskOnika

Pope Francis Lifts Spirits in New York City

New York City is feeling a bit holier if you ask me! Although Pope Francis has left the building, New Yorkers are still on a spiritual high because of his presence. The same can be said of those living in Cuba, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia. Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Church's first Latin American Pope, touched the hearts of so many because through his speeches he showed he is in touch with the issues that they care about. Throughout the Pope's visit, he spoke about mercy, forgiveness, and the role of the Church, including his visit to a prison in Philadelphia.

What's The 411 correspondent Onika McLean said, "I am liking this Pope! When Pope Francis was questioned about Gay people, he said 'who am I to Judge'. You're the Pope! God is supposed to be next in line, if you're not judging, neither am I."
#AskOnika

UNDER THE RADAR

New York Attempts to Ban Sale of K2

ONIKA: While other states are legalizing marijuana, New York is introducing a bill to ban the sale of K2. K2 is synthetic marijuana being sold at your local corner store. The irony is that instead of getting a mellow high from smoking K2, there are reports of numerous strokes, heart attacks, and deaths.

20 Restaurants Receive an F for Routine Antibiotic Use in Meats

COURTNEY: On the lifestyle tip, Nacole Jones hit us up with this story on Facebook. Twenty (20) restaurants received F grades for routine antibiotics in their meat supply from according to the "Chain Reaction" report by Friends of the Earth, the Natural Resources Defense Council and four other consumer interest, public health and environmental organizations.

Chipotle and Panera Bread fared best, with both receiving As. Those restaurants are the only two that report serving a majority of their meat from animals raised without regular use of antibiotics, the report said.

Chick-fil-A received a grade of B, but it is a leader in transitioning away from antibiotics in its food supply with third party verification.

Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's received Cs. Subway, Wendy's, Burger King, Denny's, Domino's and Starbucks all received F's, but got at least one point.

Other restaurants that received Fs and earned ZERO out of 36 possible points are: Olive Garden, Papa John's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, Applebee's, Sonic, Chili's, Jack in the Box, Arby's, Dairy Queen, IHOP, Outback and Little Caesars.

ON THE CARPET

On The Carpet: Stockton, California Police

Courtney Rashon calls several Stockton, California police officers on the carpet. They are currently under investigation and scrutiny after a video surfaced showing nine cops beating and arresting a Black teenager for jaywalking. A police officer was going to write the teen a ticket, but instead grabbed the young boy and pulled out his baton. The teen was trying to catch a bus when he was approached and beaten. Witnesses say the teen was hit by the officer several times before back-up came. The officer then told the teen to stop resisting after the teen was punched by the officer and reportedly, the teen was not resisting in any way.

On The Carpet: MacArthur High School in Texas

Kizzy Cox calls the school officials at MacArthur High School in Texas and the police on the carpet. First school officials at MacArthur High School for having14 year-old Ahmed Mohamed arrested for bringing a clock to school that he built himself because they thought it was a bomb. The teen was handcuffed and questioned by 5 police officers for 1 1/2 hours without being allowed to call his parents, the school didn't alert his parents either it was only after the police called that his father even knew he'd been arrested! Even though the police found no evidence of wrongdoing he was then suspended by the school for 3 days! Ahmed said "I felt like I was a criminal," "I felt like I was a terrorist. I felt like all the names I was called, just because of my race and my religion" Let's be real can we imagine this same scenario happening if he'd been a young white boy? No we can't. We've criminalized being Muslim and brown in this country even though the vast majority of school attacks have been conducted by white people. Luckily for Ahmed, plenty of people heard about his case including none other than our president Barack Obama who invited Ahmed to the White House! Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg also tweeted his support and invited him to his headquarters saying ""Having the skill and ambition to build something cool should lead to applause, not arrest. The future belongs to people like Ahmed." MIT also invited Ahmed to their campus which the teen is excited about. In the meantime he is transferring schools.

REALITY TV RECAP

Married to Medicine Update

COURTNEY: While on vacation, Married to Medicine reality star, Dr. Heavenly, got into a heated verbal disagreement with Jill Connors who is married to one of the doctors. Jill told Dr. Heavenly that her husband Dr. John Connors told Heavenly's husband F**k you when that was a total lie. Heavenly got to the bottom of the story and addressed Jill, where they got into a heated debate.

According to TMZ, Jill went berserk on her husband after he accused her of cheating. Dr. Connors got a restraining order on Jill after she was arrested for attacking him. Dr. John also got everything including their Atlanta house, her car and custody of their three children and withdrew 250k from their joint account. She currently is penniless and filing for divorce.

Kardashian Tech Venture Raking in Millions

ONIKA: The Kardashian Family is at it again. All of the Kardashian girls released an app this week. They stand to make 32,000,000.00 the first year. Baby sister Kylie's app is doing the best so far! Hats off to Kris Jenner- she puts them girls to work- literally.

IN THE PIPELINE

ONIKA: Mary J. Blige and Tamar Braxton will begin touring this October! Check out LiveNation for show dates and ticket information.

KIZZY: Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington is bringing all 10 of August Wilson's about black life in America during the 20th century to HBO! The 10 plays are known as the Century Cycle because they take place during each decade from 1900-1990. Denzel starred in Fences alongside Tony award-winning actress Viola Davis on Broadway and will take on the role again when he directs the production for HBO next spring. Kudos!

COURTNEY: According to Deadline.com, Ice Cube is set to star in a remake of the Christmas Carol movie, called Humbug. The script, which was the subject of a bidding war between four studios, will hit theaters in 2017.

Kizzy: This just in from Sandy Harper, the woman who is always in the know, high school students can join Cooper-Hewitt for the Teen Design Event of the Year!

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is hosting its 10th annual Teen Design Fair in New York City, where teens talk with top designers working in the fields of fashion, product design, architecture, graphic design, and more!

The winners of the 2015 National Design Awards and designers from leading companies will be available to answer questions about possible careers paths, discuss the challenges designers face in the studio, and share what they love about their work.

The 10th annual Teen Design Fair will be held on Tuesday, October 13, at 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Museum of the American Indian, One Bowling Green (in lower Manhattan near Battery Park).

Hot 97’s Summer Jam XX Recap

On Sunday, June 2, I witnessed my first HOT 97 Summer Jam and please believe me when I say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Along the 2-mile walk from where the Port Authority bus dropped me off in MetLife Stadium to the press entrance, I walked past a huge parade filled with people from all types of backgrounds.

Hip-hop heads gathered as one in the parking lot, celebrating like it was a major summer holiday--tailgating and barbecuing food; they were really getting ready for a great night.

Summer Jam was too good on paper. It gave us good music and a decent show, but it felt too much like a high school performance—safe, organized and fluent. Don't get me wrong, safety and organization are great attributes for a concert, particularly one the size of Hot 97 Summer Jam. However, we all wanted to see more than the ordinary production; i.e., last-minute surprises and performances outside the box.

It was evident that some fans left Summer Jam XX disappointed and here are 10 reasons why:

1. Joe Budden did a great job kicking off Summer Jam, but bringing out Tank was the highlight of his performance. (Not really a disappointment about Tank, I just love Tank.)

Joe Budden

2. Miguel performed a relevant performance by bringing out Mariah Carey and J. Cole, but I wanted him to do more like jumping into the crowd to make up for the 2013 Billboard Awards.

Miguel

J-Cole

3. Chris Brown's performance was way too long. Although he electrified some of the women in the audience, he shifted the momentum of the crowd starting off his set with Beautiful People. That was a huge mistake! Summer Jam equals Hip Hop, not Pop. We wanted to hear Look At Me Now first. He could've preserved his opening act for the BET Awards coming up in a few weeks. Breezy's vocals were on point though, but he should've just gone before Miguel.

Chris-Brown

4. There was the 'almost' highlight of the night when Fabolous brought Lil Kim onto the stage. At the end of the duo's performance, Fab appeared to have been introducing another female artist, who many rumored to be Foxy Brown, but didn't. Ebro of Hot 97 claimed that Foxy showed up late, while other bloggers said she couldn't find her earpiece. Nonetheless, Foxy should've been on that stage!!!!!

Lil-Kim and Fabolous

5. Now on to Nicki Minaj. 2 Chainz's performance with Nicki Minaj was way too short. First off, Nicki skipped out on Summer Jam last year, so why not SHUT the stage down this year with a song of your own? Nicki--How can you come out for 1.5 minutes, then just bounce like that?

Nikki-Minaj and 2-Chainz 

6. Okay, back to Foxy. All night, Hot 97's DJ's and personalities were teasing who was backstage. Rosenberg alluded to the fact that women were going to dominate Summer Jam, but that never happened. 

I may have been the only one daydreaming, but I was hoping Foxy, Lil Kim and Nicki would all be on the stage at one time. I'm still dreaming....

7. Kendrick Lamar was by far the best performer at Summer Stage, but he should've brought out Jay-Z. When word got around that Beyonce and Jay-Z were in the building, everyone was pretty much convinced that the royal couple was going to hit the stage. Well, that didn't happen either. Seriously, this was the 20th anniversary of Summer Jam, Hov could have rapped his verse to B**** Don't Kill My Vibe?

Kendrick-Lamar

8. Everyone seemed to have been upset that Papoose took the stage, but he was actually the highlight of the night. I don't know why he felt the need to say "Free Remy Ma," because no one cared.

9. I respect WuTang for their contributions to hip-hop, but for the generation that I witnessed in the crowd, they seemed far less interested. I think they would've been a better closing act.

Wu-Tang 1 resized 500x333

10. French Montana, the headliner of Summer Jam closed out the five-hour concert and was probably on stage for less than ten minutes (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it was brief.) The highlight of his set was when fellow rap artists Rick Ross and Lil Wayne ran out and performed the hit single, Pop That. The crowd went crazy, of course. But moments later, the lights came on and Summer Jam was over, just like that. Fans exited the stadium in a somber mood, and so did I. Personally, I rode the bus home still wishing that Foxy and Jay would've graced the stage. Maybe it's just the Brooklyn sentimentality in me.

French Montana, Lil-Wayne, and Rick-Ross

But, until next time...