Will stage theatergoers be
treated to love, peace and soul on the Great White Way? They will if Magic
Johnson gets his way.

The entrepreneur’s latest
business venture is producing a Broadway musical about Don
Cornelius and the groundbreaking television show Soul Train.

Johnson and his business partners bought the rights to Soul Train,
which ran from 1971 to 2006, last year for several million dollars.

The plans are to construct a musical storyline around the dynamic and
memorable soul dance music. The Soul Train musical would be similar to
Broadway shows like Green Day’s American Idiot and Mamma
Mia, which highlighted the music of ABBA.

While insiders first speculated there could be rights issues over the use
of music by various artists featured in the show’s episodes, including that of
James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Michael
Jackson and many others, people close to the project were confident that
wouldn’t be a problem.

The shocking
and sudden suicide death of Cornelius in February sparked a renewed interest
in the Soul Train brand. In addition to the musical, talks of a film or
TV show have reportedly been discussed.

Cornelius, a former radio host, started Soul Train in Chicago with
only $400 dollars and grew it into a multimillion-dollar franchise, which went
on to change the face of Black music, its artists and how African-American
culture was perceived around the world.

No word yet on when the Soul Train musical will hit the stage.

Jay-Z might be married to the hottest singer, but the
rapper recently revealed that he has a secret celebrity crush and it's on
someone other than Beyoncé. During a recent interview with Essence, Nia Long said she caught up
with Jay at an event where the 41-year-old actress complimented him on his
career.

“I saw him at a party and I complimented him on his long run in
music,” she said. “But he turned it around and asked me: ‘How does it feel to be
every boy from the hood’s fantasy girlfriend for 20 years?’ It made me laugh, I
hadn’t really thought about it.”

Well Jay-Z's crush, Nia Long, is dating
Ime Udoka and has a child with the basketball player, but
we don't think the rapper's love life has turned out half bad
either.


50 Cent Supports Frank Ocean, Gay Marriage

50 Cent has built a successful
music career and business empire as one of hip hop's most authentic and reliable
tough guys, but when it comes to same sex marriage and the decision of an artist
to publicly identify as homosexual, the G-Unit general is more empathetic
advocate than belligerent bully. In a recent interview with MTV UK, Fif said he
supports Frank Ocean's choice to reveal a past love affair with a man and issued a stern dismissal of
those who might now be prejudiced against the emerging singer.

"Anyone
that has an issue with Frank Ocean is an idiot," 50 said. "I think Frank Ocean
is a talented artist, I think he's created material that made me know his name,
that impressed me, with things he said on a song like 'Novacane.' I could care
less about what his personal preference is in his bedroom."

Ocean made
the announcement about his sexuality shortly before the digital release of his debut album Channel Orange,
which 50 acknowledged as a risky move with high stakes.

"It could be
revolutionary, or it could be a tragedy," he said, adding that he didn't know
how things would end up for the 24-year-old singer. "The results of how popular
it is now will say how cool or uncool it is to be [out] in the open... the more
successful that project is now, it's gonna leave people in a position where they
can actually say 'Look, I'm gay.'"

As for his personal evolution on the
topic of gay rights, a subject that has historically been a subject of
controversy in hip hop as well as the wider African-American community, Fif
pointed to President Barack Obama as a key influence.

"Obama is
for same sex marriage," he said, referring to the President's announcement on
the issue in May. "When the President is saying that, who am I to go the other
way? It's cool."

Blige and Carey Among Names Considered for American Idol Judges

With the departure of judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez
from American Idol, the void left finds Aretha Franklin publicly lobbying
for the job and Fox scouting other pop veterans to fill the judgeship slots.

A week after performing at the
Essence Music Festival, the Queen of Soul admitted to CNN that she was interested in becoming a judge
on Idol, saying she’s been a long-time fan of the show.

While Fox would not comment on Franklin’s offer, names such as Mary J. Blige and Mariah
Carey were being tossed around as possible judges. Looking to high-powered
pop figures would be an obvious choice for the talent-show series, which has
been losing viewers in its 11th season.

And in recruiting iconic
talent from the pop world, Idol would be keeping up with its competitor,
The X Factor, which recently hired Britney Spears and Demi
Lovato after the firing of judges Paula Abdul and the Pussycat
Dolls’ Nicole Scherzinger.

The day after Tyler, 56, announced he was leaving Idol to
concentrate on his job as front man for Aerosmith, Lopez, 42, said she was also
leaving the show.

Laila Ali Completes First Triathlon in NYC

(Photo: NY Daily News)

Laila Ali might have a
Super Middleweight Champion title under her belt, but the former boxer still has
challenges the rest of us can relate to. Not only does she reveal that she'd
been struggling to shed the last of her baby weight, but she recently took on
the New York City triathlon, which involves a 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run,
and admitted that training for it wasn't easy.

"I have always
incorporated running into my workouts, but not swimming and biking," she tells
the Huffington Post.

To prepare, Ali worked
out around her California home by biking and running on the road and swimming at
a local center. "Sometimes I focused on distance or time and other times I did
interval or brick training."

Not only would completing this past
weekend's event, which she did in just six minutes over her target time, be a
badge of honor for Muhammad Ali's daughter, but she hoped the training
would also help her shed the rest of her baby weight.

"I gained about 40
pounds with my second pregnancy. I have gotten most of the weight off but the
last 10 is a challenge because I live to eat!" she says. "I figured all the
running and swimming would get the last bit off."

To help her stay on
track with her goals, Ali adds that she makes fitness a part of her life, creates short and
long-term goals and gets right back on if she falls off.

DMX Hospitalized After Four-Wheeler Accident

DMX is in a South Carolina hospital recovering from an ATV accident on
Saturday [July 14] that left him with a concussion and a bruised rear end.

In an interview with TMZ, X confirmed that he was injured in a crash, but is doing
well. The Ruff Ryders rapper told the celebrity gossip site that he was riding
the vehicle down a hill when it flipped over and he fortunately landed on his
backside. DMX said he didn’t remember what might have caused the crash, but was
being treated for a concussion.

While this has been a year free
of arrests for the troubled rap star, he has spent considerable time in the
hospital. In January he was rushed to the emergency room for food poisoning after eating some bad shellfish.

Still, in between his hospital stays X has been working hard at his music as
he released his free EP The Weigh In in May and is working on a new album
for possible release in 2013.