Oprah’s been catching a lot of heat for her comments about the “path to God” and her new-age teachings….do you think she denounces Christianity in this video or are people over analyzing this way too much.

Occasionally you get a chance to see celebrities when they are not in character….Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child were like two school girls in this video…notice how they are in an “undisclosed location” and this video was filmed and posted on the same day that Jay-Z and Beyonce supposedly got married….Kelly was cool but Michelle sounded like she was drunk.

Many celebrities came out to support Muhammad Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night XIV in Scottsdale, Arizona this past weekend. The event was held to raise money for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson’s Center and tickets ranged from $2,000 - $3,500 per person….in other words you betta be ballin’!

Check out the rest of the photos

Look at Whitney ….I guess she’s showing her “goodies” now that Bobby’s out the picture.

American Idol’s Jordan Sparks…nice smile, nice personality, nice voice…..but I’m not convinced she’s a star yet.

I guess Kevin Costner still knows how to play “Body Guard”

Shaq needs some lotion on those knuckles…and didn’t he and Shaunie (wife) file for divorce

The dollar just ain’t what it used to be since Bush has been in office and if you’re saying what I’m saying about gasoline prices….”this is the highest price I’ve ever paid to fill up my car”…then you are right on the money as gasoline prices rose again to a record high of $3.32 per gallon according to AAA.

Lets put somethings in perspective:

• Gasoline prices are at an all-time high
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• The housing market is in a downward slump with no relief in sight
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• In March over 80,000 jobs were cut in the US…highest amount in 5 years
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• Food prices increased 4% in 2007 and is expect to increase another 4% this year…highest increases since 1990
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• Oyea….did I mention that we are still at war!
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Our President may not want to admit it…but it sounds like we’re in a recession to me!

Tunette from Texas asked:

What’s up with the rap game? Sales are at a record low. No one’s buying albums anymore… a lot of rappers aren’t even doing albums anymore… all I see are a couple of hot singles, a lot of ring tones and too many mix tapes… what do you think the problem is? Is it just bootlegging music from the internet or is there something more to it? I remember a time where people bought two copies of a Tupac CD, one to listen to in the car or in the house and one to keep sealed and stored away… are those memories that are meant to just remain in our past or what?

JohnJohnSaid:

I think you speak for at least 90% of hip-hop fans around the world. So many are asking what happened and how can we fix it. There are probably 10 major issues I can point out in regards to rap but, for the sake of time, I’m going to focus on one issue in particular. Record sales are down across all music genres, but I believe rap is struggling more than other genres because of talent or the lack thereof. Let’s be honest, rap today is probably the one art form where you can have little or no talent and still have your music played all over the world thru television, internet and radio.

A lot of artists speak about being on “the grind” and how their hustle has created their success. I’m all for hard work and sacrifice but there is something to be said about having talent. For instance you could be the hardest working person in the world but without talent you couldn’t be a top selling country singer, you couldn’t be an elite professional athlete, you couldn’t be an award winning author or dancer. But in hip-hop, not only could you make it in the industry with little or no talent; you can win awards and be considered among the best at what you do.

Think about this, we watch our favorite sporting events because professional athletes have gifts and talents that we respect and admire. We pay to see our favorite actor or actress on the big screen because he or she has gifts or talents that we enjoy and appreciate. How can I respect and admire a rapper when my nephew can rap just as well or better than the artist on the radio. There is a fundamental flaw in the hip-hop system that rewards mediocrity. There are many artists that can release a hit single with a “tight beat”, but you can’t expect people to continue to love and support an artist based on one song. An artist should be measured by his or her complete body of work.

So to answer your question, things will get worse before they get better. The good news is, just like all bad things, this cycle in hip-hop will pass. I believe that the day will come when hip-hop listeners will no longer tolerate mediocre artists, and rappers won’t be able to hide behind a “tight beat”. Only then will we see a change. But don’t worry; the storm of change is coming and you can tell everybody that JohnJohnSaidIt.

If you have a question you would like to ask me, please feel free to send it to and I will pick at least one question per week to answer.