In the above clip, Johnny Gill crashes The Arsenio Hall Show after the titular host tries to throw down a couple of verses of his 1990 hit “Rub You The Right Way.” The freestyled version of “Rub” that Gill subsequently throws down is so grin-inducing that I had to share it with all of you. Sometimes, the blogging impulse can really be that pure! [YouTube via Kate Silver]

In addition to honoring the memory of Michael Jackson and allowing Beyonce to sing “Ave Maria” and sport song wedding-worthy finery, the BET Awards, held last night in Los Angeles, doled out a few trophies! B picked up one for “Single Ladies,” and another went to host Jamie Foxx for his Autotuned-out “Blame It,” which you have to admit is some synergy worthy of MuchMusic. The O’Jays were also given a Lifetime Achievement honor, which they capped off with the above performance. Full list of winners after the jump.


• Male R&B Artist: Ne-Yo.
• Female R&B Artist: Beyonce.
• Group: Day 26.
• Collaboration: “Blame It,” Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain.
• Male Hip Hop Artist: Lil Wayne.
• Female Hip Hop Artist: M.I.A.
• New Artist: Keri Hilson.
• Gospel Artist: Mary Mary.
• Video of the Year: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” Beyonce.
• Video Director of the Year: Benny Boom.
• Actor: Will Smith.
• Actress: Taraji P. Henson.
• Female Athlete: Serena Williams.
• Male Athlete: LeBron James.
• Centric Award: Jazmine Sullivan.
• Viewer’s Choice Award: “Live Your Life,” T.I.
• Humanitarians of the Year: Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean.
• Lifetime Achievement Award: O’Jays.


And here’s another O’Jays-honoring performance from the night:





Tevin Campbell!


BET Awards 09 [Official site]
BET Awards ’09 O’Jays [YouTube]
Tevin Campbell, Trey Songz, Tyrese & Johnny Gill OJays Tribute – BET Awards 09 [YouTube]

Sadly, I didn’t line up a flight to New York City in time to see Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant‘s Heads of State show at the Nokia Theater last night, but Rich Juzwiak of the consistently awesome blog FourFour provided a full report, including two video clips. Really, by now you should have already opened the link in a new tab, but if it takes a little more to seal the deal: One of the clips is of Bobby Brown performing “Roni.” I don’t know what else I can tell you. [FourFour]

Sadly, I didn’t line up a flight to New York City in time to see Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant‘s Heads of State show at the Nokia Theater last night, but Rich Juzwiak of the consistently awesome blog FourFour provided a full report, including two video clips. Really, by now you should have already opened the link in a new tab, but if it takes a little more to seal the deal: One of the clips is of Bobby Brown performing “Roni.” I don’t know what else I can tell you. [FourFour]

Maybe there are a ton of Christmas-themed mixtapes out there, but Soulful Christmas by DJ Smooth Denali (spectacular name, by the way) is the first one I’ve stumbled upon. While not every track is exactly a winner (Joe’s take on Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” adds little to the appeal of the original), the disc strikes an entertaining balance for those people who want to hear Christmas music, but are wary of tuning into their local 24-hour holiday hits station (“If we don’t play a Carpenters track each hour, call in and win $100!”). A sampling of the tracks featured in the mix—complete with confusing, YouTube-user-generated visuals—fter the cut.

Johnny Gill, “Give Love On Christmas”:

Mary J. Blige, “Someday At Christmas”:

Toni Braxton and Whitney Houston, “Grownup Christmas List”:

R. Kelly, “World Christmas”:

Mixtapes [DJ Smooth Denali]