[Amara La Negra ]: Things To Know About The 'Love & Hip Hop Miami' Star!!!

DANIELLE KWATENG-CLARK •Jan 10, 2018

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Amara La Negra 

Welcome to Tha’ Palace! Amara La Negra has officially been crowned the breakout star of Love & Hip Hop Miami.

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On the reality show, the 27-year-old singer introduces herself as a proud Afro-Latina Dominican with a ton of self-confidence. Born Dana Danelys De Los Santos, her storyline has her fighting for success in the music business without compromising her identity.

Below, learn more about the star who's shaking things up in Miami.

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She was raised in "Little DR."

Amara was raised in the Allapattah neighborhood of Miami. The town is known as "Little Dominican Republic," for its healthy Dominican population and cultural ties to the Caribbean country.

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As a child, she was a pageant girl.

Even as a child, Amara was a star, competing in children's pageants all over. She also participated in singing competitions, showing her beautiful voice range.

She runs a clothing line.

The 27-year-old heads her own clothing line called ALN. The brand sells bathing suits, hoodies and hats.

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She and her mother are super close.

On the show, Amara La Negra admits that not only does she bring her mother to business meetings, but on romantic dates as well. "My mom right, she is the one encouraging me to show my body," she says. "She comes out on dates with me —it's like a triple dating thing because she feels like she has to approve."

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Her mother is a cook in Miami.

Amara shared on Instagram that her mother still works as a cook in a local Miami restaurant. "I'm very proud to be her daughter," Amara said. "Everything I am is thanks to that lady! I would never be embarrassed that my mom is a cook!"

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She just signed a major record deal.

As reported by Billboard, Amara inked a multi-album record deal with Fast Life Entertainment Worldwide and BMG. Before signing the deal, her popular songs include "Asi," "Se Que Soy" and "Ayy."

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Her grind is real.

Amara got the attention of VH1 after years of running the festival circuit, performing on stages around the country and throughout Latin America. Evidence of this work shows the many performance videos she shares on Instagram and on Youtube.

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She creates upbeat, sexually-free music for all.

Amara's music promotes positivity, inclusiveness and owning one's sexual identity. Her biggest hit "Asi" is a fun video of her dancing in the street.

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Contributing Author: DANIELLE KWATENG-CLARK

Twitter: @thapalace

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[OH N0!]: 2 Women File Police Reports Accusing [Russell Simmons] Of Rape

by Justin Ivey •Jan 10, 2018

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Getty Images/Michael Tullberg

NEW YORK, NY – Welcome to Tha' Palace! Two alleged rape victims of Russell Simmons have filed criminal complaints against the Def Jam Recordings co-founder.

EXCLUSIVE: DENISE LASALLE DEAD at 78!

According to TMZ, Sherri Hines and an anonymous woman filed their respective reports with the NYPD in December. Hines claims she was raped in 1983 while the unidentified accuser says she was assaulted in 1991.

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Hines is one of the multiple women who have come forward with sexual assault allegationsagainst Simmons after he was first accused of rape by Keri Claussen Khalighi in November. Since then, a myriad of reports have emerged over the past two months accusing Simmons of varying degrees of sexual misconduct.

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During an appearance on Megyn Kelly Today, Hines described the alleged assault. According to TMZ’s law enforcement sources, her story falls in line with the report filed against Simmons.

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“It happened so fast that the next thing I know, my pants were down and he was having his way,” Hines told Kelly.

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Although Simmons’ accusers have hit double digits and many of them have said they were raped, the Hip Hop mogul has maintained his innocence. After being accused of rape in reports by the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times last month, Simmons vowed to defend himself and prove he’s not guilty.

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Contributing Writer: Justin Ivey

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[Forbes]: Reveals Their List Of Hip-Hop’s Future Moguls!

By rebecahjacobs Jan. 10, 2018

[Tha' Palace]: As we make our way into the new year, Forbes has recognized  hip-hop’s new class of moneymakers as part of its new Hip-Hop’s Future Moguls list, formerly known as Hip-Hop Cash Princes. Forbes renamed their original roundup to Hip-Hop Future Moguls as a push towards inclusivity and diversity, broadening this year’s criteria to include “age, ethnicity and gender,” which made the way for female artists to finally appear on the list, which is only right. 

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The entire roundup is below, which includes the usual suspects, along with some up-and-comers a lot of people might not have suspected from a huge list like this. The 10 artists all deserve these placements and have unique stories about how they’re making their way to the top–no 2 come-up stories are alike. 

RUSSELL SIMMONS: ACCUSED of  RAPE

Take a look at the young moguls making their way to super-stardom (according to Forbes) in 2018:

Cardi B

Post Malone

Tyler, The Creator

Playboi Carti

Dave East

Lizzo

Vic Mensa

Lil Pump

21 Savage

WondaGurl

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Those on the list aren’t there for just money, necessarily, but show promise in their ability to make a lasting name for themselves in the music industry. Some of these entires weren’t hard to predict, like Post Malone and 21 Savage, whose collaboration “Rockstar,” which held the Number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. Other, newer additions like Lizzo and Wondagurl might not have been expected by many, but it’s refreshing to see that such a notable publication is making a name for fresher talent.

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Charlamagne Tha God, Universal Hip-Hop Museum president Rocky Bucano, and Forbes’ Zack O’Malley Greenburg and Natalie Robehmed picked this year’s class of Future Moguls.

HOLLYWOOD: Mary J. Blige [Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame]!!!!

Writer:rebecahjacobs

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[TOP STORY]: Denise LaSalle, R&B Singer and Songwriter, Dies at 78!

 By Associated Press • Jan 10, 2018

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[Palace News]: Singer and songwriter Denise LaSalle, whose hit “Trapped by a Thing Called Love” topped the R&B charts in 1971, has died. She was 78.

Musician and producer Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, owner of Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and a close family friend of LaSalle’s, said Tuesday that the singer died in Jackson, Tennessee. Another family friend, Howard Rambsy, said she died Monday night at a hospital, surrounded by family.

Media outlets report LaSalle suffered from health issues in recent months that resulted in the amputation of her right leg after she suffered a fall.

RUSSELL SIMMONS: ACCUSED of  RAPE

Along with “Trapped by a Thing Called Love,” she is also well known for the song “Now Run and Tell That.” She had a string of successful singles in the 1970s and the early 1980s.

“She had a very unique voice,” said Mitchell, whose father, Willie Mitchell, recorded LaSalle at Hi Records.

LaSalle, a Mississippi native, founded the National Association for the Preservation of the Blues to bring more attention to the “soul/blues” style in 1986.

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She was a 2011 inductee in the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis. Her citation for that year notes her “bold and bawdy stage act.”

She was born Ora Denise Allen on a plantation in Sidon, Mississippi, plantation, and lived for a time in Belzoni as a child, the citation says. She took LaSalle as her stage name after she moved to Chicago in her teens and started singing R&B.

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LaSalle later sang blues as a recording artist for Mississippi-based Malaco records.

Contributing Author: Associated Press

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{Palace News}: Did Dallas Cops Really Pull Erykah Badu Over [Just Because They Were Fans]?

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If you spent your holiday looking at the internet, you may have seen a video that Erykah Badu posted to her Instagram on New Year’s Eve, in which the neo-soul icon was seemingly pulled over by a couple of giddy fanboys on the police department in her Dallas hometown. “Why are you pulling me over?” Badu asks in the clip, filming herself with a smartphone in the driver’s seat of a car. “Because I wanted to say hi,” a police officer answers with a bit of nervous laughter. Rather than being angry at this rude and probably illegal invasion of her privacy, Badu laughs as well.

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Blogs and news outlets including New York Daily News, New York Post, Essence, andThe Root picked up the video as news. “Erykah Badu Got Pulled Over By Police In Texas And The Reason Why Has Fans Concerned,” reads a headline from BET.com. That concern is understandable if you take the video at face value: Aside from the shady behavior of this particular cop, there’s also the eerily familiar setup of a black woman filming herself during a traffic stop, to say nothing of the long history of unwarranted police violence against black people in general.

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But should we really be taking the video at face value? For one thing, everything about it feels a little staged, from the officer’s ready admission that he had no real reason to stop her to Badu’s deadpan reaction. Also, it seems unlikely that a cop would recognize Badu behind the wheel with enough confidence to pull her over. Most importantly, there’s a second video in which Badu stands with the two officers in front of a house. She doesn’t exactly admit that the first video was a ruse, but she comes close. “We’re just having fun, New Year’s Eve,” she says. “I wasn’t harassed or anything.”

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Finally, there’s the fact that the Dallas Police Department responded to Badu’s house on a call about an alleged stalker and trespasser on the same night, as reported by a local ABC affiliate. Given the second video, my theory is that the responding officers were fans, and that Badu asked them to stage the first video as a joke, which the news media took a little too seriously. We’ve reached out to a DPD spokesperson for more information, and will update this post if we hear back.

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[Top Story]: R&B Legend Anita Baker Announces Farewell Concert Series!

Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Anita Baker has decided to retire from her iconic singing career after three decades.

Last year , she defused rumors of a final project in the works with a tweet,saying, “Lotta rumours out there. No Tour. No CD. #Retired #BeachBum #ThankUJesus along with a gift emoji and pictures of the beach."

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On New Year’s Day, though, Anita Baker announced the end of her soulful love songs.

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Her unique, towering voice has remained an influence in contemporary soul music, mixing jazz traditions and picking up several Grammy Awards throughout her career. The legendary singer has four No. 1 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums, including Rhythm of Love, Giving You the Best That I Got, My Everything and the platinum-selling Rapture.

“Sweet Love,” “Body & Soul,” and “Just Because” reached the top five of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and in 2012, she covered Tyrese’s 1999 hit “Lately,” which debuted in the top 10 of the Urban AC chart. 

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Baker will hold a Farewell Concert Series, set to begin in March. Although no tour dates have been released yet, Baker is set to headline New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this spring.

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Twitter felt her response was bittersweet. One user said, "We need to give Queen Anita Baker her flowers now!! She hasn’t been properly recognized for her contributions to us! And the perfect person to pay tribute is @tonibraxton cuz without Mother Baker, we may not have had a sound like Aunt Toni! #Legends."

[EXCLUSIVE]: Coachella Headliners

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[Branding]: Wu-Tang Clan Launch Their Own Rolling Papers

Christmas may be long gone, but Wu-Tang Clan just released the ultimate gift for cannabis enthusiasts: rolling papers. On Tuesday (Jan. 2), Wu-Tang Clan unveiled their Clan-inspired rolling papers in the group's signature colors, which are available exclusively online. 

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The packaging for the rolling papers features a black background with the group's signature logo plastered on the front in metallic gold. Wu-Tang opted for pure hemp papers that are made from 100 percent organic materials. Each booklet comes equipped with 32 sheets. Fans can purchase the four-pack for $3.99 or the box set, which retails for $42.99.

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To coincide with the launch of their rolling papers, Wu-Tang's RZA will take over New York's City Winery on Friday for a special performance. Wu-Tang Killa Beez and Inspectah Deck will also perform. Tickets for the event can be purchasedhere. 

Wu-Tang Clan rolling papers are available for purchase on Amazon.

[EXCLUSIVE]: Coachella Headliners

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