After selling 60 million records and winning
six Grammys, Toni Braxton is ready for the change.
The "Un-Break My Heart" singer and reality star is retiring from her music
career and looking to transition into acting full time, reports theGrio. "For
what I do I have to love it. I have to feel that excitement and it's gone," says
the 45-year-old. "I'm just not going to do any albums anymore; maybe touring
occasionally here and there because I love performing, but not as much as I did
in the past. But no new projects."

Braxton turned to acting several years ago,
after being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus, starring in her own
reality show, Braxton Family Values, and
enjoying two successful turns on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast and Aida. Now, Braxton is ready for more.

"I would
like to play a lesbian," she said. "I don't know why. And do a whole make-out
scene and the whole thing; just something completely different than people would
expect from me. Not a lipstick lesbian, either."

Her new focus on acting, she added, was partly
to get away from reality television. "I hate to have 'reality star' behind my
name," she adds. "That's just not what I wanted to be when I grew up."

Beyoncé to Perform at Essence Festival and BET Experience 2013

2013 is turning out to be the year of Beyoncé.

After an
electrifying performance at the Super Bowl that fans are still talking about,
Bey announces she'll thrill audiences again this summer with two headlining
performances. First, Mrs. Carter will take the stage in Los Angeles at the BET Experience 2013, a three-day
extravaganza also featuring R. Kelly, Miguel, Kendrick Lamar and others. Bey will
kick off the show, which takes place at mega-venue L.A. Live on June 28.

In July,
the pop icon will return to New Orleans to participate in the Essence
Festival, joining Jill Scott, Maxwell and Brandy to name a few. “We are
incredibly excited to welcome Beyoncé back to the 2013 Essence Festival lineup. She is truly the
ultimate Essence woman,” said Essence
Communications President Michelle
Ebanks.

Fans craving even more Beyoncé can look forward
to the release of her documentary Life Is
but a Dream, this month on HBO along with a new album and the Mrs. Carter
world tour later this year.

Donald Trump Blasts Beyoncé for Suggestive
Super Bowl Show

Beyoncé’s Super Bowl performance is
still causing noise in celebrity circles. This time, Donald Trump is weighing into the
critiques surrounding Bey’s half-time stage show.

Calling into the Howard Stern Show to discuss a variety of
topics, Trump got into dialogue about lip-syncing and was led into the issue of
Beyoncé. The real estate mogul was more disturbed by the pop icon’s
suggestive dancing.

“When Beyoncé was thrusting her hips forward
in a very suggestive manner,” Trump commented, “if someone else would have done
that it would have been a national scandal. I thought it was ridiculous… I
thought it was not appropriate.…”

But Trump also noticed that what he
perceived as scandalous wasn’t by most viewers and the rest of country. “There’s
been no mention of it,” he concluded. “So, obviously, it must not have been so
bad. She gets a pass.”

While Beyoncé’s show didn’t cause the uproar
of Janet Jackson’s breast-gate, her
performance wasn’t flawless enough to escape the media and Web brouhaha about
everything from her Destiny’s Child reunion to rumors her
electricity use caused the infamous blackout.

J. Cole Releases Truly Yours EP

In the words of J. Cole, "The wait is over." The Roc
Nation rapper has kept his fans in limbo since the delay of his sophomore album,
Born Sinner. Back in November, Cole
announced that the album would drop January 28, but that date was scrapped for a
yet to be revealed official release date. So to settle the nerves of those
disappointed fans, he released a free EP today, a 5-song peace offering of
material that did not make the final cut of Born Sinner.

Cole says he had about four albums worth of
music so decided to share some of the extra tracks. In a letter posted to his website, he explains
that the songs are "in their raw form, no polish.. just a lot of my soul.."
while thanking his fans for their patience.

Cole also reveals that his first single will
in fact drop sometime this week, so everyone can stay tuned to see what Simba
will bring to the game next.

Kobe Bryant Takes Stand Against Anti-Gay Tweets

Apparently Kobe Bryant has truly learned from his
brief moment of anti-gay infamy. Two years after issuing an apology for hurling
the f-word at a referee, the NBA star
corrected one of his Twitter followers for using the word “gay” in a
derogatory manner.

Over the weekend, Bryant received a tweet from
@pooke09 saying that he wanted to “make out in bed” with him. Afterward, another
follower, @PacSmoove, tweeted the response: “You’re gay.”

Immediately, the Lakers forward intervened in
the growing anti-gay dialogue, tweeting: “Just letting you know@PacSmoove
@pookeo9 that using ‘your gay’ as a way to put someone down ain’t ok! #notcool
delete that out ur vocab.”

After Bryant hurled the anti-gay f-bomb at a
referee in April 2011, he was fined $10,000. His well publicized moment wasn’t
lost on @pookeo9, who replied: “Come on Kobe...you called a ref a F*****. Don't
preach, just win.” To which Bryant shot back: “Exactly! That wasn't cool and was
ignorant on my part. I own it and learn from it and expect the same from
others.” Now if only this kind of sensitivity could spread to other professional
athletes.

Police Chief in Chris Brown Probation Case Resigns

The scandal surrounding the validity of Chris Brown’s community service work just
took an interesting turn.

TMZ is reporting
that Bryan Norwood, Chief of the Probation Department in Richmond, Virginia, has
reached a "mutual agreement" with the Mayor of Richmond to leave his post.
Norwood has been at the center of the controversy in Brown's probation case
because he was in charge of overseeing the community work the singer performed
in Richmond. The veteran officer signed off on the hours of work that are now
being questioned by the Los Angeles County D.A.'s office.

L.A. prosecutors are arguing that the singer falsified records of his community labor,
which is a violation of his probation for the 2009 assault of Rihanna. Norwood’s role in the case has
come under scrutiny after it was revealed that he took personal responsibility
for overseeing Brown’s hours. He even wrote a letter to the court confirming
that the music star completed his service