Fab actress Taraji P. Henson posed for the February 2011 issue of "UPSCALE" Magazine where she dishes on motherhood, playing a bad girl acting in Think Like A Man, and the challenges she faces as a Black actress. Deets inside…..

Think Like A Man star Taraji P. Henson covers "UPSCALE" and dishes in the magazine about the VERY public snub she received from TV Guide last year, playing a bad girl on film, and the challenges she faces as a mom and actress.  Here are the highlights….

On being a mom first, actress second:

“This Hollywood thing? It’s my job. That’s it. I love it and I worked hard for it. But it by no means defines who I am. When I go home, my family and friends say, ‘I liked your movie. Now can you go was your dishes please?”

On speaking up and not apologetic about the TV Guide incident that snubbed her from the “Person Of Interest” cover story:

“I just stated a fact. And the people spoke. And then CBS pulled the whole cover. I get that all the time. Sometimes I admit I feel like, ‘Can I catch a break?’ That wasn’t the first time it’s happened and it won’t be the last. This was just one time I chose to speak on it.”

On facing fully forward and looking for new challenges:

“Hollywood keeps trying to tell me that black women can’t open a film. I will absolutely prove them wrong before my career is done. I want to stretch my acting muscle and do something completely different. I’d love to play a man. Sounds weird, but I want to do something that make me work hard. Call me kooky, but I always want to go outside my comfort zone.”

On playing a bad girl for the first time in the upcoming ‘Think Like A Man’ film:

“You’ve never seen me play this girl. She’s a bitch. And she’s the pretty girl in the film. I wanted this role so bad. I told the casting folks,’if you don’t let me get that role, I don’t need to be in this movie at all.’ They were thinking about casting a white girl for the role and I said, ‘No. I can do this.’ And then of course, when it’s time to start filming, I freaked out. I said, wait’ Maybe I should play the baby-momma instead….[LOL] I was scared because it’s so different than anything I’ve ever done.”

Looking good Taraji!

The final votes are in for the 2011 PopCrush Music Awards, and while some winners were expected due to their massively successful years, there were a few winners that surprised us. To refresh your memory, the PopCrush Music Awards are entirely fan-voted, with each reader being able to cast their individual vote in 10 different categories.

As a whole, most of the categories for the 2011 PopCrush Awards were directly related to music. There was the highly sought after Album of the Year distinction, as well as Song of the Year, Video of the Year, and Best Live Performer. Looking back at these categories, it’s clear that 2011 was a huge year for the leading ladies of pop music, with artists like Lady Gaga, Adele, Britney Spears, Rihanna and Katy Perry dominating the polls.

While many of the fan votes went to widely-known singers like Gaga and Justin Bieber, there were some fresh faces on the polls, as well. The nominees in the Best New Artist category were made up of newcomers like Jessie J, Dev and J. Cole, while the noms in the Best Cover Song of the Year category consisted of viral video stars (like ‘Super Bass’ princess Sophia Grace Brownlee) and up-and-coming singer and songwriters.

There were also a few categories that had nothing to do with music, but more with an artists’ image in the public eye. In the Biggest Headline of the Year category, fans could vote on what they deemed as the most-talked-about new story of the year. Also, fans could vote on which celeb they thought was the Best Humanitarian, and also which pop artist had the Best Magazine Cover of 2011.

To see all of the winners, start clicking through via the blue button below.

See the 2011 PopCrush Music Awards Winners

Is Beyonce trying to ward off rumors of her going into labor by posting her top 10 fave songs of 2011 on her official website?  Maybe…maybe not.  Either way, she’s got an interesting list of tracks she just couldn’t get enough of this year.

Check it inside…

With her top 10 fave songs of the year–including her "sister" Kelly Rowland, Rihanna, a few Lil Wayne tracks, and of course, her hubby Jay-Z‘s biggest track of the year–being mostly dance tracks, it’s no surprise Beyonce was chosen as an aide to First Lady Michelle Obama‘s Let’s Move campaign.  And she threw in a bit of sentimental tracks with Adele and James Blake.

Check it:

Big Sean featuring Nicki Minaj— "Dance (A$ $ )"

Future —"Tony Montana"

Jay Z & Kanye West—"Ni**as in Paris"

Kelly Rowland—"Motivation"

Adele— "Someone Like You"

Drake—"The Motto"

Rihanna— "Man Down"

Justin Bieber and Chris Brown—"Look At Me Now"

James Blake—"The Wilhelm Scream"

Frank Ocean—"Novacane"
 

Don’t act like you don’t put "Dance A$ $ " on 100 when that ish comes on.  Loves it!

What were your fave songs of 2011?

Since everybody and their cat has thrown out their Best whatever lists of 2011….we decided to do a round-up of the round-ups.  Check out our fave Year In Reviews from the fab worlds of entertainment, tech, fashion, trainwrecks, foolywang and more inside…

To ease your annoyance–and overwhelmingness–with hundreds of "Best _____ of 2011" lists flooding the web, we’ve compiled our own Best Of The "Best Of 2011" list. Click the titles to read each list.  Check it:

In no particular order (but the first one is funny as all hell):

1. Auto Correct Fails: Damn You Auto Correct’s 11 Most Awkward SNAFUs Of 2011 (Huff Post TECH) — OMG.
2. Cheating Scandals of the Year (Us Weekly) — Will & Jada Smith top this one for us.
3. Winning! 11 People Who Had the Best Year Ever (VIBE) — Jay-Z & Kanye are just having fun for a living at this point.
4. Fashionistas of the Year (Fashion Bomb Daily) — We’re co-signing all 5 of these ladies.
5. Top Political Fails of 2011 (The Root) — That dude Herman…
6. Top 10 Celebrity Power Couples of 2011 (Rolling Out) – Lamar Odom better thank his lucky stars since he only made this list because of his pimp of a mother-in-law.
7. World’s top destinations for 2011 (CNN) — Weird that Hawaii didn’t make this list.  We all know celebs love jetting to that state to escape their hard lives of pampering and making millions.
8. Pop Culture Fails of 2011 (The Root) — WHY the foolery Tyler (Perry AND the Creator)?  WHYYYYY?
9. 28 Hottest, Grossest And Completely TMI Celeb TwitPics Of 2011 (The FAB Life) — This is where our innocent girl crush on Jordin Sparks began.
10. Over and Out! The Year’s Biggest Breakups (People) — Not sure if we’re happy…or offended…by the lack of black folks on this list.  Kobe, Tyra, Deion, Vivica, HELLO?!
11. Sexiest Men of 2011 (People) — We’re just here for Idris & Jason Momoa TBH.
12. In Memoriam: Stars We Lost In 2011 (MTV)
13. Top 5 Naughty Celebrities (The Urban Daily) — The name "Casey Anthony" can still incite a riot.
14. VH1′s Biggest On Screen Rivals (VH1) — Did they really leave off Kimbella & Chrissy Lampkin?  Oh…
15. 50 Best iPhone Apps of 2011 (TIME) — How Words With Friends didn’t make it is beyond me.  But everything else gets a thumbs up.
16. Top 10 Films of 2011 (BlackFilm) — Clearly, we need to catch this Pariah before the year is out.
17. Hip Hop’s Best Shorties (MTV) — Ha! @ Chelsea Handler making the list.
18. Worst Dressed Celebrities of 2011 (Stylist) — Cheers, Ms. Minaj.
19. Top 10 Hip Hop Fights (Urban Daily) — Ray J and his Little Red Riding Hoodie still has us cracking up.
20. Top 5 controversial pregnancies (not just from 2011) (Rolling Out) — Beyonce.  ‘Nuf said.
21. 2011: The Year in First Lady Style (ESSENCE) — We’re so not worthy.
22. The 10 Black (Movie Star) Breakouts of 2011 (BlackFilm) — It’s about time Kevin Hart got his due.
23. Rihanna’s BEST Twitter Comebacks (BuzzFeed) — And let’s not forget THIS little nugget either…
24. The Top 10 Best Live Television Performances of 2011 (VIBE) — Only Chris Brown could make this list for what happened before, during, AND after his TV performance.
25. BEST YBF WEDDINGS OF 2011 (TheYBF.com) –Yeah, we chose ourselves.  Why?  Because we love a good wedding ’round these parts–so we only trust ourselves to show as many as possible from this year.
26. Year-In-Music Compilation (Billboard) — The most comprehensive list of the top artists, songs, charts, and genres from 2011.  Of course, Adele reigns supreme in most categories.  Rightfully so.
27. Khia’s ABC’s (Khia’s Facebook) — What’s a list without Ms. Neck & Back’s Best ABC’s for the year–where she goes in on ANY and EVERYBODY?
28. The Top 10 Catchiest Hooks of 2011 (XXL) — Racks on rack on raaaacks….
29. The 20 Best Summer Beach Body Moments of 2011 (Global Grind) — We LOVED that even mommies like Mel B and Alicia Keys weren’t scared to flaunt it too.

What and who are your faves from the lists?

Rappers Rick Ross and Big Sean cover "THE SOURCE" Magazine’s end of the year issue. Get deets about the articles inside………

Rapper Rick Ross rocks a luxurious yellow fur coat for the cover of The Source‘s upcoming end of year issue.  And as "The Man Of The Year" Rick talks about his near fatal health condition.

“I went and seen an actual neurologist to tell me what was really going on. My condition was basically extreme exhaustion,” says the boss, “…it was a real eye-opener for me.”

Also on the flipside……

Rapper Big Sean also features on the cover of the double issue. The rapper was dubbed  "Rookie Of The Year" and talks openly about his breakout year inside.  

Pick up your copy today…………

BONUS:

Fat Joe (or should we say Slim Jim) and Chris Breezy hit the exotic beaches of southern Cali in a new Colin Tilley-directed clip called "Another Round." Watch it above………..

Jemal Countess, Getty Images

Bad news for Beyonce: The R&B queen failed to chart within the Top 10 this year, for the first time since Destiny’s Child began racking up hits in 1998. Then again, she shouldn’t feel too bummed about it — she’s been charting in Billboard’s upper echelons for an incredible 12 consecutive years, and with her Bey-by on the way, she has much to celebrate. And, as Yahoo! notes, this is merely an interruption to Beyonce’s winning streak, not an end to it – we’re sure that she’ll be back on top in 2012.

It wasn’t Beyonce’s best year, even though her album ’4? was hailed for its artistic cohesion and unexpectedly alt influences. ‘4? didn’t pack much potential for hit singles, with first offering ‘Run the World (Girls)’ peaking at a lackluster No. 29 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, followed by ‘Best Thing I Never Had’ only climbing to No. 16 — her highest chart success this year. Even if she currently has three tracks on the Hot 100, with ‘Party‘ at No. 57, ‘Countdown‘ at No. 91, and ‘Love On Top‘ at No. 94, this pales in comparison to some of her earlier smashes.

But with so many other accolades to be thankful for, Bey can’t be too pressed over this — and she’s said publicly that she’s not concerned with chart success and has made critical acclaim her top priority. It seems to be working — ’4? was one of our top albums of 2011!

Neil Mockford / Kevin Winter / Rabbani and Solimene Photography, Getty Images

As the Twitterverse is always buzzing, we realize that keeping up with all your favorite star’s Twitter timelines can be overwhelming. Especially those who are known for tweeting just a bit too much (we’re looking at you, Lea Michele.)

Some of the best tweets from 2011 include Adam Levine‘s solo date, Weird Al‘s new measurement of time and Mark Hoppus‘ supreme fathering skills. Others were pop star’s absolutely hilarious responses to fans like a couple of tweets from Rihanna and Adam Lambert.

We got some keen observations and musings from stars like Lily Allen, Big Boi and Wale. Not to mention extremely random thoughts, dreams and anecdotes from Patrick Stump, Joe Jonas, Jay Sean and much more!

Please enjoy (we know we did!), our list of the Best Tweets of 2011 by clicking the button below!

Check Out All the Best Tweets of 2011

Frank Ocean, one of the music industry’s breakout talents off 2011, gets super stylish for the December 2011 issue of "L’Uomo Vogue." In the issue he addresses his fantastic year and writing style. Get the deets inside…..

In the December issue "L’Uomo Vogue" Frank Ocean, a member of the Odd Future collective, dishes on his writing technique and his fabulous career in the industry and what will change once he is president.

On being called an R&B artist:

“I’ll usually cringe at the R&B label. Because it’s like calling it urban…and what the fuck is urban music?”

On working with Kanye and Jay, as well as writing music for Beyoncé:

"Career-wise, this year feels like a montage scene in a movie."

On politics:

“My generation just doesn’t have the best taste in leadership. And weak leadership means little to no cohesion. If there’s no cohesion, there’s no real chance for effective protest or politics. Obviously, looking at Occupy Wall Street, there are a few in our bunch who still give a damn enough to rally and shout. This will change once I’m elected President.”

On changing his name from Christopher "Lonny" Breaux to Christopher Frank Ocean:

"It was like a middle finger to my slave name"

See his photos here:

Photos via Nabil

Earlier today, The White House released the Obamas’ official family portrait.  See the photo inside…

On Sunday December 11, President Obama, along with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10, posed for photographer Pete Souza in the Oval Office.  The offical family photo was released earlier today and shows the first family clasping hands and smiling.

Their previous official portrait, below, was taken in the Green Room in 2009 by Annie Leibovitz.

Last night, Robert Griffin III, a quarterback for Baylor University, was awarded the 2011 Heisman Trophy. A feat not often accomplished by black college players.  Get the deets on this talented and smart YBF man inside…..

After grabbing 405 first-place votes, Robert Griffin III became the first Baylor University player to win the Heisman Trophy last night. He said,

"This is unbelievably believable. It’s unbelievable because in the moment we’re all amazed when great things happen. But it’s believable because great things don’t happen without hard work. The great [Baylor] coach Art Briles always says great things only come with great effort. We’ve certainly worked for this. That’s right — everybody associated with Baylor University has a reason to celebrate tonight."

And the folks at Baylor are certainly happy since this has been their best football season since 1994.

USAToday said,

"Griffin had a superhero of a season. He led the No. 16 Bears (9-3) to their most wins in 25 years and their second consecutive bowl game after a 16-year postseason drought. He also brought one of the Big 12′s most downtrodden programs into national prominence. Before RG3, the Bears were at or near the bottom of the Big 12 standings most years and never had a winning record in the league. In one of the greatest seasons in school history, the Bears beat Oklahoma for the first time ever and finished with an emphatic victory over Texas."

And Robert is more than a good athlete, he’s smart too. He made the honor roll every semester and finished his degree in political science in three years! And if that isn’t sexy enough, he’s getting his master’s degree in communications in the spring and applying to Baylor law school.

So what about going pro? The son of two army sergeants (he was born in Japan and moved several places before settling in Texas) said, "If the NFL comes knocking, I’m pretty sure you’re answering that door."

Watch Robert’s acceptance speech here:

Congrats!