INSTANT CLASSIC: Aziz Ansari talks about R. Kelly on Kimmel

You must watch this... all the way to the end.

Aziz Ansari Discusses R. Kelly on Kimmel from Aziz Ansari

That may be the best talk show segment... ever.

Alicia Keys performs the Drake-penned Unthinkable (I'm Ready)!

Drake makes his official debut as an R&B writer & producer with his placement on Alicia Keys' Element of Freedom. She starts out a little shaky on this performance, but brings it home in the end and looks AMAZING doing so.

SEXYBLACK EXCLUSIVE: The A-Team...

What do you think, is this plan gonna come together?...

SEXYBLACK SCHOOL: Uptown Records -- Jodeci, Mary J. Blige & Puff

"It's a Lifestyle Thing" (feature on Uptown Records)

There you have it, Diddy's REAL influence on Urban Music started way before Biggie...

SEXYBLACK CONTEST!!!: GRAMMY PICKS!!!

So my first attempt to post the Grammy polls successfully failed.  So to make up for that, I have decided to turn the Grammy Poll Post into SEXYBLACK'S SUGAR BEATS first contest!

All you have to do is answer the poll questions that have been posted at the bottom of this page.  While doing that, send me an email here and tell me your name, what your picks are, and if you would like to be on SEXYBLACK SUGAR BEATS blog feed list (so you don't miss a single SEXY post) and what email address you would prefer to receive your updates.

The one of you that gets them ALL right (if there's more than one) will be entered in a draw to receive a SEXYBLACK SUPERPRIZE.  ALL answers must be correct and the winner will be announced after February 1, 2010.  You can vote as many times as you'd like, but you can only enter the contest once.

Tell your friends, get on this.  If all goes well, there will be many more contests to come.

SEXYBLACK

SEXYBLACK EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK: Elevations -- Coming Soon!!!...

Christopher Morgan, Personal Style Consultant, is bringing his impeccable taste and style to the masses with his new endeavor, Elevations.  There is a website coming soon, but the good people at Elevations have provided SEXYBLACK'S SUGAR BEATS with this Exclusive Sneak Preview of what you can expect when it's time for you or someone you know to Elevate their game.  Check it out!

In the meantime, if you have any questions, or would like to inquire about Elevations services, please email them here.

Gilbert Arenas -- Misunderstood? (Interesting read)...

It's too late for Arenas to get serious

Bruce Arthur, National Post Published: Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Related Topics

It wasn't the real guns that got Gilbert Arenas suspended indefinitely on Wednesday. Well, it was, and it wasn't. Bringing four unloaded guns into the Washington Wizards locker room, putting three of them on a teammate's chair as a joke - that's as far as we know, anyway - that was dumb. Like, five-years-in-prison dumb, if everything goes wrong in court.

But the reason the NBA came down on Arenas like a vengeful god - an indefinite suspension, without pay, and threats of something more punitive than that - was that Arenas just wouldn't take his problems seriously. His Twitter account went from silence to sideshow. The joker joked away, saying of the NBA commissioner, "[David] Stern is mean." He apologized in a sombre statement, then two days later said "If I really did something wrong, I would feel remorse in what I did, but I didn't do anything."

THROWBACK PERFORMANCE OF THE MONTH (with meaning): Boyz II Men -- Please Don't Go

Sometimes when it gets to much, you just have to go back to the beginning, and ask yourself "When it gets close to the end, who's hand do I want to be holding?"

Boyz II Men - Please don't go

"The Beatles got it right..., love's not that complicated, sometimes it's just about... 'I wanna hold your hand.'"

What I'm trying to say, is that sometimes, it gets hard, it gets crazy, it gets complicated... but if we clear all that away, we can choose to press the RESET button and choose to take that same leap of faith that got us as far as we got in the first place (when we knew nothing or very little about each other and nothing was guaranteed -- we just didn't want to be apart from that special person).  Forgiveness is a miracle we can all perform, a gift we can all give.  Because when it's all said and done, we're better together, aren't we?... Aren't we?

BET.com's 10 BEST Songs of the Decade

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  Beyonce -- Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) -- Now, no doubt this was a HUGE song, but a song of the decade... maybe, JUST maybe.  It was one of the most different songs of the last 12 months, that is for sure, and it did take a lot of chances, but there were a lot of tracks like that over the last 10 years.
  
  
  
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  Kanye West -- Jesus Walks -- I agree with this one.  In no other contemporary Hip Hop track was spirituality so prominently discussed -- the good and the bad of it.  This song made us think about the world we live in and was even bold enough to have some poignant commentary on the music industry that (eventually) brought it to us.  This was an important track.
  
  
  
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  Rihanna -- Umbrella (feat. Jay-Z) -- One of the catchiest, if not THE catchiest song of the decade.  Sometimes it's all about the hooks and the presentation and this song took radio, tv, and the internet by storm.  It is unapologetic, the beat is strong, and it is unforgettable.  It is the song that made Rihanna an international superstar.
  
  
  

SEXYBLACK FOLLOWER'S FAVORITE SINGLE OF THE YEAR IS...

According to SEXYBLACK'S SUGAR BEATS followers, the hottest urban single of the year, is, deservedly, Maxwell's triumphant, Pretty Wings.  Artists who choose to take eight years off need to make a significant impact to reclaim their place, and Maxwell's single, followed by the good, but less popular, Bad Habits, have returned him to prominence among the R&B elite.  Although the album wasn't as solid, I can't wait for his next offering expected later this year.  Thanks for your votes, everyone.  And keep checking for a few new polls coming soon.