The next Alicia Keys woman power anthem is here. Off of the upcoming Elements of Freedom album which hits stores just in time for Christmas on December 15th. Via: TSS

Alicia Keys drops “The Element Of Freedom” on December 15. Jay-Z makes an appearance on the track  Empire State of Mind Part 2, the sequel will feature a new verse from Hova.

After all the anticipation the official “Empire State of Mind” video is finally here. If the World Series makes its way back to New York no doubt they will be playing this video at Yankee Stadium. Via: TRU & OnSmash

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys make good on their promise to perform at the World Series in New York. They sang the current Yankees playoff anthem “Empire State of Mind” before Game 2. Guess they were a good luck charm since the Yanks tied the series 1-1. No word yet if Freeway will be performing in Philly for Game 3. Via: TSS

Despite the rumors, the sequel to Smokin Aces will not star Common or Alicia Keys. In fact, the sequel will not even have a theatrical release as Universal Pictures will be releasing Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassin’s Ball straight-to-DVD. In its defense the movie was always planned as a straight-to-DVD. Trailer still looks theatrical quality though and definitely some of the signature sex and violence that we have come to expect. Movie hits stores January 19, 2010.

The New York Yankees have invited Jay-Z and Alicia Keys to perform “Empire State of Mind” for Game One of the World Series this Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. The performance will be part of the Pre-Game events on the field before the Yankees and Phillies battle it out.

“Thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee,” an excited Jay-Z said of the pending performance in an interview on Monday.

Hopefully this doesn’t mean Jay-Z is going to try and buy ownership of the Yankees and move them to Brooklyn as well. The Yankees have been using “Empire State of Mind” as their theme song throughout the playoffs. Unfortunatley 98% of Yankees fans who can afford to go to the World Series have no idea who Jay-Z is.

Alicia gets sexed up in this new promo pic for her upcoming album “The Element of Freedom.” Will be interesting to see if any of her females fans have been turned off by her homewrecking activities. By the way…interesting spikey jeans. Would hate to get kneed in the groin with those.

The latest single from Alicia Keys’ upcoming album “The Element of Freedom” which hits stores December 1st.

Alicia Keys x AK Worldwide. In this interview with the Associated Press, Alicia Keys talks strictly business as she announced the launch of her business company AK Worldwide (not to be mistaken with Prestige Worldwide…bonus points for those who know what I’m talkin bout). Under AK Worldwide Keys will be launching her own jewelry line called The Barber’s Daughters which includes inspiring messages engraved in each piece as shown below. The other part of AK Worldwide will be Keys’ first venture into the online space with the launch of IAMSUPERWOMAN.COM. The site will focus on bringing positive messages to the blogosphere.

“I felt there’s a missing piece in the blog world that allows you to have a really, inspiring positive experience. We don’t have to tear each other down to have a good time… It really calls out to all those brilliant,  amazing, fantastic women every day that are doing their thing and need kind of a community to support each other.”

The site will be launched December 1st with her next album. Pretty safe to say it’s going to be heavy on the whole “woman power” angle. With the launch of AK Worldwide though it’s clear Keys is thinking beyond the music and finally beginning to see establish herself as a brand. She also still maintains her film production company with Disney called Big Pita, Little Pita Productions. See pics of Alicia Keys’ jewelry collection after the jump. Via: RapRadar

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We are teaming up with our friends over at Fox Searchlight and will be hosting a little contest here to win The Secret Life of Bees on DVD. This one is for all the ladies out there, but fellas you can enter too (since I know you are gonna win the DVD for your woman and say you bought it for her). All you have to do is submit your name and e-mail in our comments section. All information will remain private.

The DVD comes out next Tuesday on Feb 3rd and we will pick three random winners and notify you by e-mail. And well…if you don’t win then go and buy the DVD!

So enter now! Once again, just leave your name in the comments section of this entry and fill out your e-mail in the “Email” box below “Name” and we will choose three random winners by next Tuesday the 3rd when the DVD hits stores. Good luck!

Official Synopsis:
Starring Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson and Dakota Fanning. Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother’s past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters, Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping.

Smokin’ Aces, the shoot em up action film that showcased Common’s bad-assness and Alicia Keys’ hotness is officially going to have a prequel. The director and writer¬†of the first film, Joe Carnahan, wrote in his blog yesterday “Finally, some actual ‘Smokin Aces’ news. Universal has officially greenlit the prequel and we are underway. Cameos will abound. Trust me.”

The original plans were for this prequel to be a direct-to-DVD with a plot based on the crazed Tremor Brothers. Those plans were pulled and it was thought the project was dead…until now. New rumors have it that the prequel will concentrate on either Common’s carachter as Sir Ivey or Alicia Keys who was Georgia Sykes and that it will be positioned as an urban action flick. It’s all rumors at this point but at least we know a prequel is definitely coming out. I sure wouldn’t mind seeing more of Alicia in those tight leather pants though.

Bow Wow, Ludacris, Diddy and now Alicia Keys. Just a couple of the recent high profile music artists who want to take a break from music to focus on their acting careers. “No, I need a break, dammit,” Keys told NY Daily News when asked if she’s working on her next album. Instead she is focusing on her newest movie The Secret Life of Bees which comes out this Friday and is based on the best-selling book.

“I just fell in love with it. It’s a beautiful story, one not often told about this time in the civil rights movement,” said Keys. “I just felt you knew the people in that book.” Keys first stepped into the Hollywood spotlight in the 2006 action film Smokin’ Aces followed by The Nanny Diaries. She followed that up by securing a multi-million dollar film production deal with Disney under the Big Pita, Little Pita Productions name. Two films are currently planned for production under her deal which are Catfish and Bell Book and Candle and are due for a 2009 and 2010 release date.

Here is the music video to the Alicia Keys and Jack White song “Anotehr Way to Die” which of course is the new theme song for the upcoming James Bond movie Quantum of Solace.

Jack White and Alicia Keys recently finished the theme song to the next James Bond film “Quantum of Solace.” The theme song, called “Another Way to Die” is now availble here and has been met with mixed reviews. Alicia Keys recently met with the press in Toronto just moments before she recorded the song. Excerpts from the interview as follows:

What do you think of the film title?

Alicia Keys: Poetically, it’s fantastic but I think when you actually try to break it down, it might be one of those things that you’re not quite sure what it means. I have a vision where it’s lost in time. ‘Quantum of Solace’ is a dope title but I have no idea what it means.

Did you write the song?

Alicia Keys: Yes, myself and Jack. But Jack really took the lead on that and it was kind of cool because I am a big fan of his music obviously and of The White Stripes, so it was cool to kind of walk in and put my flava on something he really vibed up. He’s a big, big Bond fan. He’s like, ‘Do you remember this character from….’ and I would stop him half way and say no.

What’s the name of the song and have you seen the film?

Alicia Keys: It’s called ‘Another Way to Die.’ And I did see the movie. I saw it four days ago. It’s ‘off the chain.’

You’re used to creating a song based on your experience, so is it a challenge to base a song from a film, in which what James Bond is going through? Do you put yourself in a different frame of mind when doing this?

Alicia Keys: It is interesting. When you create a song for a movie, it’s a different situation. In this one, with Jack taking the lead, it was cool because you get to see the movie for the song to come in. He was able to incorporate feelings into the song. It was an interesting process. For me, it was cool because I was able to come in and put my style in on something I hadn’t really created. When I had done songs for films in the past, it is about capturing that moment. Sometimes, it’s easier than others.

Does it work in the Monty Norman theme? Like McCarthy did years ago, he worked in the ten famous Bond notes.

Alicia Keys: Yes! It has the essence. You will definitely feel the essence. It’s right in the beginning of the movie starts with this crazy car chase scene and it’s bananas and once you reveal this reveal, it starts with the song and it’s just perfect. Perfect. So, it’s not as good as ‘The Secret Life of Bees,’ but I enjoyed it. (Source)