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Young Al. B Sure, Quincy “IQ” Brown,  is not happy with his dead beat dad and decided to take action by blogging and accompanying the piece with a song, A Letter to My Father, Al. B Sure:

A Letter To My Father

I’ve been inspired throughout my life by special circumstances and unique experiences.  Foremost, I grew up with a family that injected me with unconditional love and enduring confidence.  This is my foundation … the family holidays and celebrations with my maternal lineage … supportive smiles in audiences at school programs … guiding hands to complete homework and special projects in the wee hours of the morning (click to continue)

April 17, 2009

'AMERICAN VIOLET' BLOOMS IN THEATERS True story of bogus Texas drug raid victim Regina Kelley opens this weekend.
By Kenya M. Yarbrough
*In November 2000, 20 residents of Hearne, TX were rounded up and arrested on drug distribution charges. While on the surface, the raid seemed to be a triumph in the war on drugs, with 20 criminals behind bars. In reality, the event was an attack on African Americans in the small town of 5,000 people.

KESHIA KNIGHT PULLIAM DRAWS OXYGEN: Cosby Kid to star in reality show about life with live-in boyfriend.
*Cameras for the Oxygen network will follow Keshia Knight Pulliam and her live-in boyfriend for a new reality series titled "Keshia and Kaseem," to debut in the coming months.

OPRAH IS FINALLY ON TWITTER: Talk show host to send first tweet during today's 'Friday's Live' show.
*Oprah Winfrey has finally set up a Twitter account, and will send her first message, or "tweet," during today's "Friday's Live" broadcast with guest Ashton Kutcher, who has been described as the "King of Twitter."

NOW AT 'EUR THIS N THAT' BLOG: Detroit Couple Cremate Their Child 'To Save Funeral Costs.'
*One of the most vile acts of non-human behavior has happened in Detroit with two animals disguised as human parents. Animals may even be disgusted with us for saying that because they have more respect for life than these low lifes.

BRANDY LANDS ABC COMEDY PILOT: Singer to join cast of 'This Little Piggy.'
*R&B singer-actress Brandy will return to series television in the ABC pilot "This Little Piggy."

FREEMAN, JONES IN ACTORS HALL OF FAME: Talent among 15 selected for 2009 class; Streep, DeNiro, Dench also inducted.
*Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones join Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro and Dame Judi Dench as part of the 15 film veterans chosen for this year's Actors Hall of Fame.

NBA NABS KANYE'S 'AMAZING' FOR PROMO: New music video promoting 2009 playoffs features clips of Kobe, LeBron and others. (Video)
*The National Basketball Association has borrowed Kanye West's latest single, "Amazing" for a new music video promo featuring memorable moments from past playoff games.

WHOOPI BATTLES FEAR OF FLYING: 'View' co-host took a flight to London earlier this month, now plans to surprise daughter on West Coast.
*Whoopi Goldberg took her first airplane ride in more than a decade last month when she flew to London to promote the musical version of her movie "Sister Act," of which she owns a small piece.

FANTASIA TO STAR IN REALITY SHOW: 'Idol' champ books series commitment from VH1.
*Former "American Idol" star Fantasia Barrino has signed on to join VH1's slate of reality programming for 2010.

FIRST BO'BAMA BOOK DUE NEXT WEEK: Virginia publisher rushes to put out first book on First Dog.
*Bo just made his official debut as First Dog on Tuesday, and already a book about the little Portie is finished and en route to book stores.

SNOOP DOGG GETS WAXED: Rapper to be immortalized by Las Vegas Madame Tu'sizzles. (Photo)
*On Monday, Snoop Dogg will become the first living rapper and third MC in history to be immortalized in a wax statue at Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas.

MICHAEL VICK BACK IN KANSAS CELL: QB returns to federal prison after VA field trip.
*Jailed NFL star Michael Vick is back in his old cell in Kansas following a trip to Virginia for his bankruptcy case.

ISIAH THOMAS TO FORGO 1ST YEAR OF FIU SALARY: School's new basketball coach more interested in repairing his image.
*Isiah Thomas says he will not accept a salary in his first season as head coach of the Florida International University basketball team, and will instead donate the money back to the school's athletic department.

LIL JON GETS MILEY CYRUS' NUMBER: Producer somehow ends up with teen star's old cell phone digits.
*Lil Jon knew something was fishy about his new cell phone number when he got a text that read, "Congratulations on Teen Vogue!"

NATE DOGG NO LONGER ALLEGED STALKER: Criminal charges dropped against singer over incident with wife.
*Criminal charges were dropped Wednesday against gangsta-crooner Nate Dogg, who was accused of stalking and threatening his estranged wife.

OPENING THIS WEEK: Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
By Kam Williams
17 Again (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and teen partying) Time-travel comedy about a miserable, middle-aged man (Zac Efron) stuck in a bad marriage and going nowhere in a dead-end job who gets a new lease on life when he is miraculously turned into a teenager after falling into a river.

MILEY'S DADDY NOT HAPPY WITH JAMIE FOXX: Billy Ray Cyrus says, 'If I said those things about his daughter he might not find it so comedic.’
*Billy Ray Cyrus has responded to the controversial comments about his daughter made by Oscar winner Jamie Foxx on his Sirius satellite radio
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Theodore, which means gift from God, was the name Ida Geraldine Epps said the Lord placed in her spirit after she learned that she and her husband, Jesse Pendergrass, would finally have a baby after suffering through six miscarriages.

The world would come to know him as Teddy Pendergrass, a balladeer of seduction and sensuality, or more affectionately "Teddy Bear." But at the height of superstardom, an intimate dance with death would change his life so dramatically that even sixteen years later, he said his story would be "very difficult and very painful" to tell.

Many years have passed since that fateful evening when the award winning singer severely injured his spine and partially severed his spinal cord as a result of the brakes on his Rolls Royce failing. And many years have passed since he was scrutinized and subject to all sorts of rumors about his transsexual passenger.

No amount of time could erase the anguish evidently ingrained in his soul as he explained why he finally decided to write his tell-all autobiography, Truly Blessed (G.P. Putnam's Sons; $23.96).

Within the past 48 years, he has soared to heights and plummeted to depths that people would never begin to fully comprehend.

"For something as traumatic as I had suffered, who would really understand my fall?" he asked himself all the while knowing, he had to tell his true story.

"God saved my life," said Pendergrass. "I've come full circle, a couple of times. So maybe I can help inspire somebody else to get through their hard times, not because I'm trying to be inspirational. I'm just trying to live my life. But I think there is a higher purpose, so I decided to let it all out."

Recalling the tragic evening of March 18, 1982 for his autobiography would be easy compared to learning to live with the life altering events that night would ultimately bring.

Only eight days before his 32nd birthday, Pendergrass was home in Gladwyne, an affluent suburb of Philadelphia, for a little rest and relaxation before preparing for a photo shoot, commercial, and HBO special. He had decided to hang out with his friend, Yvette, at the Elan, a popular club in Philadelphia.

He relates in the book that after socializing for a while, a woman approached Pendergrass and reminded him that they had met before at his 30th birthday party. She joined them. As the evening progressed, Yvette reminded Pendergrass she had to be home early. Not wanting to be rude, he asked the woman to ride with him to take Yvette home. The fatal accident occurred after leaving Yvette's home.

"I braked to slow the car but it didn't respond," wrote Pendergrass. "I braked again. Nothing. Then we hit the metal guardrail. After that I remember my head hitting the ceiling of the car. Then a terrifying blur before the car came to a sudden violent stop. (Only much later did I learn that after striking the guard rail, the car crossed the oncoming northbound lanes, and sideswiped one tree before plowing into a second.)"

Prior to the disaster, he had gotten the car serviced for the same problem he had the night of the accident and trusted that it had been fixed. He filed a lawsuit against Rolls Royce that was settled out of court while he was in the hospital.

The next time Pendergrass was fully conscious would be eight days later on his 32nd birthday. Life as he once knew it, had changed forever.

After learning he would never be able to move or feel sensation below his chest, grasp objects normally, and be wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life, it had been impossible for him to disclose exactly how he felt.

He had endured learning to live as a quadriplegic, but had not mentally accepted that he could not walk. Not being able to live life as he had known it for 32 years would be a challenge that would eventually lead him to contemplate suicide.

"I got to the point where I wanted to take my own life," he said.

For years after his accident he had suffered from insomnia and was prescribed sleeping pills. One night he begged his wife, Karen, to help him die by taking all of the pills. The night was too painful for him to want to recall. He simply said, "We cried. And decided that wouldn't be the best thing to do."

After trying everything from prayer to an herbologist, his psyche would not budge from its deeply rooted state of depression. As a last measure, his exceptional psychotherapist, Dr. Dan Gottleib, prescribed a funeral.

"I had a sheet over my face," he said. "People were giving eulogies and talking about me as though I had gone. It helped me turn my life around. I didn't want to be dead. I took away the option to die, and knew I had to live."

And so it began, his new life--from surgery, to physical therapy, to psychotherapy, to depression, over and over again.