What do you do when you don't get a lot of screen time on the most ratchet of reality shows? Well, you start giving interviews, of course! At least, that's what Rashidah Ali is doing!
The Love & Hip Hop star wasn't featured often this season unless she was arguing with her friend Tahiry Jose. The pals had quite a blow-up over Tahiry's "modeling" career and her crappy attitude as one of Rashidah's bridesmaids. Doesn't she want to be featured in Shaunie O'Neal'sspecial on Rashidah's wedding?
Well, that certainly didn't take long, did it? Basketball Wives creator and star Shaunie O'Neal is finally opening up about her pal Evelyn Lozada's bun in the oven. I guess we can all just stop pretending that Carl Crawford "may be" the father, right?
You knew it wouldn't take long for ol' Nostrils to get back in the press. I mean, what else is she going to talk about…her potential spin-off with Rashidah Ali?
Apparently, its only on Bravo when stars get turned down for televised weddings (sorry Gretchen Rossi!), but on any other network the acquaintances of barely featured reality stars can have their walk down the aisle shoved down the viewers' throats. Well, technically I guess we don't have to watch…but we all know I can't pass up train wreck television!
I honestly don't know what to think about Love & Hip Hop. First I loved it, then I was "eh," and now I keep switching up which cast members I like and which ones annoy the poo out of me. Can you guess who was getting on my nerves during the recent hip hop shenanigans?
Last night's episode begins with Olivia Longott meetingErica Menaso Erica can apologize (is that what she's attempting?) for her behavior at Yandy's party the following evening. She hadn't planned on being so confrontational. Of course, then Erica starts going off on Liv for not doing a favor for Rich Dollaz and making the record with her. Erica is sick of watching Rich do everything for Olivia when she gives him nothing in return…nothing but a paycheck! Does Erica understand what it means to be a manager? She then starts warning Liv that her friendship with Rich is faltering, but Olivia assures Erica that they've been best friends for years, and that isn't going to change. Huffy that she can't change Olivia's mind about the song by just trying to talk over her, Erica storms away. So much for that apology, right?
Jen Bayer heads into the studio to visit with her friend Raqi Thunda. Raqi is Muslim, and she would like to get a woman's perspective on Consequence's religion. Jen has considered converting, but she wants their son to be able to experience Christmas and Easter. Raqi is flabbergasted that the pair didn't discuss their religious differences before having a child together, and Jen is in tears over the thought that she'll never bake Christmas cookies with Caden.
I'm still not sure how I feel about this new group VH1 has pulled together for the new season of Love & Hip Hop. Some seem incredibly boring, while others (cough, coughErica Mena) are too over the top. Speaking of, Erica was still keeping it classy on last night's episode. She's meeting with Lore'l to discuss they're beef from last week. Erica doesn't like how she ganged up with Rich Dollaz. Lore'l doesn't understand why Erica is so proud of her craziness. Erica tries to pretend that the record was Lore'l's idea, and then she claims to have asked Lore'l to make her relevant.
Consequence is a practicing Muslim, and he and Jen Bayer are raising Caden to be Muslim, but Jen isn't sure she's ready to jump on board. Cons wants the family to pray together, and Jen hopes that they can expose Caden to some of the Christian traditions she participated in as a child. Religion is very important to Cons, and he is counting on Jen to start learning about Islam and his spirituality.
Yandy Smith's little Amir is so precious. Mendeecees and Yandy discuss their relationship, and he is proud of himself for curing his wandering eye. He wants to be a family man now. Mendeecees wants the family to move to a bigger place, but Yandy doesn't want to move because her mom lives upstairs. She thinks her living situation is stable, and Mendeecees has been anything but until recently. Yandy wants to make sure that they are on the right track before they take that next step.
Okay, I'll be honest. I didn't think I'd grow to like this new group on Love & Hip Hop. I certainly didn't fathom that I'd start changing my tune during the second episode…but I did. I'm still iffy about Raqi Thunda, but I like Rashidah Ali. Joe Budden and Tahiry Jose are going to bring the drama
When we last left the new crew, Tahiry and Raqi were involved in some behavior unbecoming of a pool party…unless your on a VH1 reality show. So, they totally fit right in, I'd say. Tahiry heads to Rashidah's house to vent to her friend about the situation. Rashidah is floored to hear that Tahiry went to Joe's pool party, and she's even more floored to hear that Raqi was there. Rashidah considers her to be "IP"…or Industry What the fab 90's rap song OPP was about. Classy. Tahiry admits to blacking out during her altercation with Raqi, and Rashidah accuses her friend of "dumbing down" for Joe. I like this chick. She calls it like it is! Tahiry thinks that something is off with Joe, and she's worried about him.
We are introduced to Jen Bayer, better known as Jen the Pen. She's a hip hop gossip blogger and has a radio show. She is dating rapper Consequence, who is the self-proclaimed best ghost writers in the history of rap. They've been together for five years and have a baby boy. He has an impressive resume as he's written with tiny rapper Kanye West, Diddy, and Beyonce. Jen meets her friend Winter Ramos (who made a brief appearance at that fateful pool party) at Consequence's sound check. She is Fab's assistant, but she worked with (and slept with) a slew of famous name rappers. Jen shares with Winter that she's ready to go back to work after the baby. Winter has recently written a tell-all about her experience in the music industry. She's put a lot of controversial details in her book, but she's not worried about any backlash.
Oh gracious! I wasn't even a minute in to watching last night's premiere of the original Love & Hip Hop when I realized it had gone by way of Atlanta. It's over stylized and filmed as if it's rap video, not a reality show. It's going to be a long season. I'll be honest, it was hard to keep up with all the drama, but I think it's going to be eventful…and I think we saw it all on L&HHA with just a different cast of characters.
As the episode starts, we're introduced to Tahiry Jose who claims to be a video vixen, model, and actress. Right now, she's also a waitress. However, even she knows that she's most famous for being Joe Budden's ex-girlfriend. She left their five year relationship because Joe wasn't handling his business properly. Joe loves being in the public eye, and he gained quite a following when he would post videos of Tahiry on You Tube. He misses Tahiry and hopes that the two can work on developing a strong friendship. The pair is meeting for lunch, and two things are evident: he likes riling her up, and Tahiry isn't a fan of Joe's shenanigans. Tahiry wonders why Joe so desperately needs to be friends with her…can't he share all his life stories with his new lady? Joe just wants to keep Tahiry on a string for when he needs her. The lunch ends with Tahiry screaming at him and shoving the table so hard that her sangria topples. I have to hand it to that one extra playing the role of restaurant patron number two had the acting sense to appear shocked at the couple's tirade while all the other extras just ate their free lunches and pretended like nothing was happening.
Basketball Wives star and producer Shaunie O'Neal certainly surrounds herself with some classy people, I'd say. You know what they say though, birds of a feather and all that jazz!
The show has been plagued with lawsuits since its inception, but they usually involve peripheral players. Yet another legal entanglement surrounding the show has been settled as well, and it involves Shaunie's friend and "celebrity shoe consultant" Rashidah Ali. Rashidah was featured on a few early episodes of the series as a pal of Shaunie. Rashindah was sued for $10 million after allegedly cutting a man in the face with a box cutter. What is it with these women and their box cutters? Paging Kenya Bell…
