Singer, songwriter, poet and actress Jill Scott is a woman of many looks. From her various hairstyles to versatile fashion styles, this dynamic soul artist always keeps it fresh. Kicking off the 16th season of VH1 Storytellers, Jill Scott shows us a few of the outfits she’ll be wearing during her highly anticipated performance (video above, complete photo gallery below!). Since Jilly from Philly is performing her music in a theatrical theme, her different characters need the appropriate look to match. For example, Banji is the eccentric, “ghetto” girl, one whose attire is “handmade” and consists of cut-up jeans and a black t-shirt with bouffant shoulders. “Most girls from hood, we make our own stuff,” said Scott. “So we add things and change things to make it fit us.” She tops this look off with a perfect black wedge sneaker.

Another character that Jill Scott will be bringing to life is the Woman Getting Married, who sports a pretty turquoise leopard print blouse to accompany her soft, sweet and genuine personality. Adding some stiletto spice to the look are the nude Betsey Johnson’s with a patterned clunky heel. “They’re high, but they’re comfortable,” she says about the shoes. As we women know, having the two is a rarity.

In Scott’s world of theatrics, the Smart Chick is a plain jane wearing a blue and white buttoned down blouse. “She’s normally very controlled,” explains the musician. If you’re wondering what Scott will wear with all of the tops, she’s keeping it simple with a pair of cut up blue jeans. “When you get a jean for a larger girl, you have to have them tailored for you,” she instructs. “Tailoring is indeed everything.” What Scott likes to call the Earthy, Honest Girl will wear a flowy flowery shirt with lots of natural colors. And the “honest” girl hair do is a short black mushroom cut. “This is my honest moment,” she says.

Scott says she doesn’t have a philosophy for choosing what she’s going to wear for the day or for a show, but feeling comfortable and looking good is key. What woman doesn’t want to look good? Comfort is usually an added bonus. “If I feel really ugly or unhappy, sometimes I’ll choose bright colors so they’ll make me feel good. Yellows, pinks, light blues and orange. I just want to feel good all the time if I can. And colors and hairstyles and all that kind of helps out.”

Tune in to Jill Scott’s episode of VH1 Storytellers next week to find out how each look was paired with a song from Jill’s amazing discography. VH1 Storytellers airs Monday, May 21 at 11:00 P.M. ET/PT.

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[Photo Credit: Colin Gray/VH1]

We’re still bummed about the untimely death of Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys. Luckily we found this adorable video of three kids paying tribute to MCA through a reenactment of the group’s popular 1994 video to “Sabotage.” Posted on Vimeo by James Winter, he added the with brief description, “Worked on this with the wife, kids and our nephew over the past week to pay tribute to Adam “MCA” Yauch,” we’re assuming the parents were the masterminds behind this idea as the kids aren’t quite old enough to be die hard fans of the hip-hop group. Not only are the kids cute as a button in wigs and fake mustaches, they pull off the kiddie version of “Sabotage” like pros.

Their rendition of the Beastie Boys’ original video has stark similarities. From the rolling over the car scene to the almost empty briefcase to the gambling scene toward the end to falling off the roof the building. It’s similar enough to understand the concept, but the tribute is still their own, with necessary props and nuances to make it age appropriate but something adults can still enjoy. Instead of packages of white substances in the briefcase there was only one bag of Pop Rocks candy; and the game Connect Four was used for the gambling scene. The kids played their roles until the very end, which must’ve been slightly challenging as there were parts that were laugh out loud funny. Of all the fan and actual tributes we’ve seen, this one tops the list. We think MCA would be proud.

Beastie Boys – Sabotage / MCA tribute [Vimeo]

Sold out shows don’t mean a hill of beans to the Indonesian police who will not grant Lady Gaga a permit for her June 3rd “Born This Way Ball” concert. We thought it was nearly impossible to dislike the world class superstar. Boy were we wrong. According to the AP, lawmakers and conservative hard-liners protested Gaga’s upcoming show because “her sexy clothes and dance moves will corrupt the youth.” Under pressure the national police spokesman, Boy Rafli Amar, denied the permit. What in the world did they do when Madonna was at her prime? Madonna’s unapologetic sex appeal makes Lady Gaga look like Taylor Swift.

The Indonesia performance would have been the biggest of Gaga’s Asian tour with 52,000 fans filling Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno stadium seats. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world with 240 million people. Local conservatives felt the explicit nature of Gaga’s show would compromise the nation’s moral fiber, according to the AP. If her music or performance can jeopardize 52,000 people’s moral fiber, they may have a bigger problem than Lady Gaga. As if putting a stop to the singer’s concert wasn’t heartbreaking enough, those who purchased tickets may or may not be refunded. When you’ve been banned from a country, you have officially made it.

Indonesia yanks Gaga gig, says she’ll corrupt kids [AP.org]

[Photo: Getty Images]

When Jay-Z rapped “MJ at Summer Jam, Obama on the text” on “On to the Next One,” he wasn’t really joking. He really does have it like that. Recently the rapper slash mogul told CNN’s Poppy Harlow he agreed with President Obama’s decision to affirm his belief that same-sex couples should be able to marry. When asked about homosexuals not being able to marry he said, “I’ve always thought [of] it as something that’s still holding the country back. What people do in their own homes is their business,” he added. “It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination, plain and simple.”

In the thick of election season Obama announced his support of same-sex couples having the legal right to marry. His announcement has drawn criticism from both the right and left. As someone who heavily backed Obama in 2008, Hova made it clear he still has the president’s back. Although the criticism has been loud, Jay-Z said it’s not about gaining or losing votes, it’s the right thing to do. “It’s really not about votes, it’s about people,” he said. “Whether it cost him votes or not I think it’s the right thing to do, as a human being.” POW! Jay may have professed his support of the President and gay rights, but according to CNN.com he had nothing to say about Mitt Romney saying he didn’t want to “talk about the man.”

Yesterday Jay-Z announced the Budweiser Made In America festival he will be curating and headlining in Philadelphia. Hopefully, if all goes as planned, next week we will learn of the lineup he’s selected. Fatherhood looks mighty swell on Hov.

Jay-Z still has Obama’s back [CNN.com]

[Photo: Getty Images]

When other high schoolers were sneaking on the phone at the wee hours of the morning to talk to their crush, Rye Rye was touring with M.I.A. After DJ Blaqstarr discovered the young rapper at the age of 15, they collaborated on “Shake It To The Ground,” a youthful dance track that caught the attention of M.I.A. only months later. Now, 21, the Baltimore, MD rapper has released her debut album Go! Pop! Bang! that was four years in the making. To appreciate Rye Rye’s music one must understand the oftentimes disparate state of her hometown. Then one must consider the city’s definitive musical sound unique to that place and its natives. The arts was a way for the young funky teen to express herself outside of the confines of the housing projects she grew up in. As much as Rye Rye is a rapper, she’s a dancer. And the latter inspires the sound of Go! Pop! Bang! more than the expected hardened environment she grew up in.

Her first single, “Boom Boom” (video below), is a perfect indication of what to expect from the album. It’s about partying, boys and having a bloody good time. The whole point is not to take herself too seriously. Over the video game beat, Rye Rye raps in her semi-fast, edgy tone about wanting a guy in her room. Tracks like “DNA” featuring Porcelain Black, “New Thing,” “Dance” and “Hardcore Girls” are where her Baltimore club influence is most dominant — a mix of house, D.C. go-go and techno-electro. On “Crazy Bitch,” she teamed up with Akon in a more concept driven track where the beat is slightly slower than the usual uptempo beat. With the help of Akon she pokes fun at being considered the “crazy bitch” in the relationship. “Sunshine” and “Bang” both feature M.I.A. and have the bombastic drum beat M.I.A. tends to love on her own tracks. Both records offer that distinctive voice that only an M.I.A. feature can add. Her rhymes in “Bang” slow the listener down from the natural inclination to dance to actually listen to her rhymes. “Never Will Be Mine” featuring Robyn is one of the slower tracks on the record but still manages to keep the light fun mood of the rest of the album.

The M.I.A. protege is the first artist to sign to her idols N.E.E.T. Recordings label (a division of Interscope Records). Classifying Go! Pop! Bang! into one genre would do the album a disservice. Obviously hip-hop, but it’s so much more. The pop, techno and house is all there, and just as prevalent as the rap. The newcomer is carving her own lane. There’s no sign of a Lil’ Kim or Nicki or Lauryn Hill influence, and that’s ok. She’s a young woman making music authentic to her and her experiences. And a large part of that authenticity is her upbringing in Baltimore. Rye Rye’s creativity is refreshing. The music is high energy and all about having a blast. She’s not trying to be overtly sexy or posture as some hard female version of a gangster. That’s what makes her captivating, her fearlessness to go against the grain. And with the gritty, exuberant, uptempo Go! Pop! Bang!, Rye Rye will soar in own her very own lane.

Just when R&B seemed to be dying an unfortunate death, leave it to R. Kelly to resuscitate the genre in a blink of an eye. Soulful and gentle, “Feelin’ Single” incites the urge to dance coolly across the floor. Like “Step In the Name of Love,” “Feelin’ Single” has an infectious softness about it that makes one forget all their worries. His voice is flawless on every note executing perfect harmonies on the hook. Light, fun and disco infused, the self-proclaimed King of R&B does the classic sultry combination like no other.

The timing for the track is perfect as cuffing season (when people find a winter beau to stay warm) ends, and summer fast approaches. Warm weather breeds the yearning for the benefits of being single. Well, for some. Feeling played by his girl the Pied Piper has a solution to deal with her late night hours– “hit the club and take somebody home with me.” This is the second single from his upcoming album Write Me Back, a follow-up to 2010′s Love Letter. A master of evoking something, anything within the listener, this track channels a bit of what makes Stevie Wonder great. It makes you feel the music. “Feelin’ Single” never felt so good.

[Photo: Getty Images]

Way back when, in late 2010, we were tasked with music supervising a brand new series set to premiere in January, 2011. The series was called Mob Wives, and to be honest, we were a little afraid. Ok, a lot afraid. But we knew it was going to be good, as the characters were undeniably compelling. The women’s rich histories, blended with their tough-as-nails personalities, all set against the NYC backdrop was going to produce nothing less than riveting television.

One afternoon, when we were sitting in a listening session for the new Raphael Saadiq record (and his song “Good Man” specifically), it struck us. This was the type of music that would define and help edify the story lines in this brand new series. Retro Soul/Blues were genres coming back with a vengeance and Raphael was the first of many great artists we would find to create the defining soundtrack to the series. Plan B, Charles Bradley, Fitz and the Tantrums, Mayer Hawthorne, Pauline, Eliza Doolittle, Sola Rosa, Aloe Blacc, Graffiti 6, Maverick Sabre, Lee Fields and the Expressions, Gary Clark, Jr. , and of course the theme song, “The Big Bang” by Rock Mafia, were just few of the artists we placed throughout the first two seasons of Mob Wives.

Cut to the present when it was time to consider the music for the finale episode of Mob Wives Season 2 and a wacky thought presented itself: since all the bands and artists we used thus far harken back to times gone by, why not try to get seminal songs from legendary artists from the 1960s and 1970s that inspired their sound? Sure, it was quite possibly a pipe dream, but we thought we’d give it the old college try. As the cut came together, we brainstormed some of the signature artists who could be the proverbial cherry-on-top to our big finale idea. The Four Tops‘ “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”, which at the time of it’s release reached #1 on the R&B charts and the Billboard Hot 100, seemed like a perfect fit around the Drita/Karen reconciliation. We could see its potential to provide the scene with an epic feel–something the producers really wanted. Imagine our excitement when we discovered we could actually get the song! At that point we were beyond inspired and we discovered The Impressions‘ “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”, another Billboard #1 hit on the R&B charts, as another signature track that would work well for the party arrival scene at Del Monico’s. It has a dramatic vibe that sets the stage for possible conflict among the women (specifically Drita and Ramona). And lastly, we came across Buddy Miles‘ “We Got to Live Together” to open the show, as it provides the right lyrical and musical foreshadowing for the finale. Will conflict resolve? Will it not? Either way, the women will to have to work together in the best way they possibly can as they are bonded by a lifestyle that only they can understand.

So we worked backward in more ways than one with Mob Wives‘ music. We started with new artists that had a throwback style, ultimately mining a wealth of possibilities from some of the biggest R&B artists from decades past. The Four Tops’ “Reach Out” sparked ideas for the two other big scenes that could benefit from the great music of that era. It was a memorable experience for us, as we learned a lot about these amazing artists from the past in our research (Buddy Miles was in Jimi Hendrix‘s band, for example). We’ll be looking and listening a lot more from this golden age of R&B…and who knows? Perhaps you’ll be hearing more of these legendary artists next season. It turns out that the music supervision mobsters like to keep secrets, too.

Rihanna has probably ran out of Fs to give about anyone having an opinion regarding her personal life. That didn’t keep hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons from coming to her defense on his website GlobalGrind.com. Our favorite bad girl has kept quiet thus far about the alleged shade Chris Brown threw her way in his freestyle over Kanye’s “Way Too Cold.” Shortly after 2Chainz’s “No Lie” featuring Drake dropped there was speculation on whether or not Drake was dissing the pop star when he rapped, “Then I f*cked her once and never f*cked again / She could have a Grammy, I still treat that ass like a nominee / Just need to know what that p*ssy like so one time, it’s fine with me.” Annoyed with the alleged attacks on Rihanna, on Mother’s Day Simmons tweeted, “Everyone needs to get off @rihanna’s d*ck…” with the link to a two paragraph post he wrote of the same title. In the letter Simmons calls out the double standard of rappers being able to sleep with a bunch of women without being called a h*, but a woman is scrutinized for her sexual liberation. Uncle Rush has a point, but this is all so…soap opera like.

In the post Simmons wrote: “There have been a lot of artists recently talking about “good girl gone bad,” Rihanna. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t see why everyone has their panties up in a bunch. It’s just that she is out there allegedly f*ckin’ the rockstars of her dreams and you out there f*ckin’ groupies. You can’t be mad that she was seen walking out of Ashton Kutcher’s house late one night, cause you know if you were seen walking out of Adriana Lima’s house late one night, you would be in the studio the next day rapping about it.” He continued on telling the rappers that his statements aren’t a diss, he’s just pro-Rihanna. “You all got 10 times as many girls as Rihanna has men, and you know that. I love you guys, and this certainly ain’t a diss, but I gotta keep it real.” And keep it real he did. (He must have forgotten to do yoga that day). Let’s just hope it all ends here and this isn’t made into a straight to TV hip-hopera.

Russell Simmons Comes To Rihanna’s Defense Against Chris Brown And Drake’s Disses [Idolator.com]

[Photo: Getty Images]

He’s Will Smith’s son, son! Of course Jaden Smith would be nice on the mic, but we didn’t imagine he’d have lyrical punchlines that put some of his peers twice his senior to shame. One can hear the adolescence in the pitch of his 13-year-old voice in the short video to “Give It To Em.” But what he lacks in baritone he makes up for in rhymes. When he raps, “Young, black with accessories, and I’m doing well never seen a penitentiary. ‘Cause they can’t sentence the greatest emcee they’ve ever seen. No I’m not but if you gon’ battle me you better be,” all of his youthfulness becomes a distant thought.

Smith exclusively released the black and white video to RyanSeacrest.com keeping information about his new musical project on lock and key. But according to RyanSeacrest.com, the youngster wrote the song himself. The Hollywood child actor joins his sister Willow Smith in embarking on a musical career while still maintaining his love for acting. At first listen we immediately thought of Diggy Simmons, not just for the obvious similarities– children of rappers and celebs, young and rich– moreso the two mirror each other in that as teens they have something to say worth listening to. He rides the beat well with a semi-fast flow. Jaden has a few bars. It doesn’t hurt that with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith as parents he has access to super producers and pretty much any artist he’d want on a collabo. Looks like Diggy has a little competition.

WORLD PREMIERE: Jaden Smith’s New Track ‘Give It To Em’ [VIDEO] [RyanSeacrest.com]

[Photo: Getty Images]

Arkansas native Kris Allen went from being a virtually unknown musician to a household name in the span of just four short months back in 2009 when he won the eighth season of American Idol. Despite selling over 1.7 million copies of his chart-topping single “Live Like We’re Dying,” Allen has managed to stay incredibly humble and down to earth, as evidenced by his participation in Starburst’s Music With The Masters series. Recently, he spent the day at hanging out with sixth, seventh and eighth grade students at Robert Frost Middle School in Los Angeles, where he performed a show in that school’s auditorium that benefited the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. In addition to his biggest hit to date, “Live Like You’re Dying,” he performed “The Vision Of Love,” the first single off his new album, Thank You Camellia, which will be released later this month.