The All-Star game took place on Valentine’s Day at the Dallas, Texas stadium (the new and biggest basketball stadium with about 90,000 seats). The goal of this stadium was to be the biggest stadium that allows the most viewers per game. It was a great pick for the All-Star game this past weekend, which was filled to capacity. Among the thousands of fans were many popular celebrities. If you were watching the All-Star game, you may have seen some A-Listers like Gabrielle Union, hip hop artist Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, Sean Diddy Combs and Spike Lee, among others. Even Kobe Bryant was sitting on the sidelines — he was supposed to be in the All-Star game, but he ended up getting his foot injured, during a prior game.

Some of the All-Star players that made it include Lebron James, Jason Kidd, Dirk Norwitzki, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Dwight Howard, among others. The West Coast was leading the game in the beginning, but the East soon caught up, tying them twice. During the fourth quarter, they were tied up. The last couple of seconds ticked by as they continued to foul one another, and finally the East Coast took the title. Dwayne Wade was granted MVP, with 28 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds. Not bad at all. The All-Star game was the final event of a great All-Star weekend. On Friday, it was the celebrity game and Rookie vs. Sophomore game. Then on Saturday it was the slam dunk contest, three point contest, horse and two other challenges.

Eighty-one artists have come together to remake Michael Jackson’s “We are the World”. The purpose of the remake isn’t only for its iconic status, but for the symbolism of the song and for the Haitian relief fund. The celebrities that have come together are looking to raise more money for the devastation that has occurred in Haiti. This sounds like an awesome thing to many, but not so hot to some — such as Jay-Z, who didn’t want any part in the remake. He even went as far as saying that he loves the song and that it’s like “Thriller”, and never wants to see it touched. He also said that he’s a fan of music and knows the plight and everything that’s going on in Haiti — he applauds the efforts, but believes that some things are just untouchable.

Some of the artists that are associated with the Michael Jackson remake include, Pink, Wyclef Jean, Vince Vaughn, Justing Beiber, Keri Hilson, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, Robin Thicke, Kanye West, Celine Dion, Akon, Rob Thomas, Jason Mraz, Toni Braxton, Barbara Streisand, Nichole Richie, Usher, Busta Rhymes and Miley Cyrus, among a whole bunch of others. The track has a more Southern hip hop kick to it. Michael Jackson recorded the original track about 25 years ago for the African famine relief. Back then, a great connection was made for human kind, so the hopes for this remake is to have the same effect.

There are plenty of celebrities that are teaming up with charities and even starting their out foundations to help the large amount of Haitian individuals and families that are in need. The devastating scale 7 earthquake that hit the small island’s capital, Port-Au-Prince, on January 12th has left the country in peril. Then 49 aftershocks at 4.5 or lower levels took place afterward. Then on January 20th, another earthquake hit Haiti at a 6.1 magnitude, so you can imagine all of the chaos that has been taking place there. The palace (similar to the White House in America) was completely destroyed, along with hundreds of other buildings in the capitol. Millions of Haitians are left homeless and just as many are starving and extremely thirsty. Aid has been coming in to assist the devastated Haitians, but a whole lot more will be needed.

Celebrities like Rihanna and Jay-Z will be participating in the “Hope for Haiti” organization that was created by George Clooney. It is the largest benefit and is located in three locations, L.A., NY and London. There will be a London telethon that will feature performances by Bono from U2 and ColdPlay. They will be performing a Haiti tribute called “Haiti Mon Amour”, which was produced by Hip Hop artist Swizz Beatz. George Clooney will be in L.A. hosting a segment of the program, which will feature Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera and Taylor Swift. Then, of course, Wyclef Jean has his foundation called Yele Haiti, which is an organization that was created solely for the people of Haiti. In NY, Wyclef will be hosting the segment that will feature other artists like Shakira, Jennifer Huhson and Bruce Springsteen.

We’ve heard those words before,”I’m going into retirement”, from sooo many different hip hop artists, such as Jay-Z, Master P, Eminem and so forth. But for some reason, they just can’t leave the game alone. They all come back one or two years later with a debut album. Jay-Z is by far the worst, if you ask me. He has retired like 4 times, but just keeps coming back. I don’t and won’t believe it anymore if he says it again. Now, it just seems like a big publicity stunt to get people to buy their CDs because it’s the last time they will hear from them.

Now, Lil Wayne is claiming that he will retire, but no time soon. His retirement plan says that he will stay in the game no longer than 8 more years.Wayne claims that he always said that he wouldn’t rap anymore after the age 35. Ha, he says that now. A lot of people agree that rappers and hip hoppers shouldn’t be old and should retire to allow new game to come into the industry. But Jay-Z being an old head, of course, doesn’t agree. He says that it shouldn’t be made easy for the youngsters coming into the hip hop game. If they want to be on top, they’re going to have to work hard for it. Heck, it wasn’t made easy for Jay. Back then, there wasn’t as much competition as there is now, even if a lot of them are low-level rappers. People like these stars because they make good club bangers. After Lil Wayne retires, he’s looking to own a basketball team.

As you may have all heard, Def Jam has been sold and taken over by none other than Jay-Z. Now, this may sound very nice, especially to all of you Jay-Z fans, but not everyone is feeling the same glory. KRS One, for instance, isn’t too thrilled about the news. He is known for always going against the system and big corporations that neglect and abuse the little people. So nothing is stopping him from targeting Def Jam. The record company was established by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin back in the day when hip hop was fresh and new. Today, KRS One complains that hip hop has been damaged and that the Jay-Z take over of Def Jam may down it some more. I guess he figures someone like Jay isn’t the solution to hip hop’s ordeal.

Def Jam is the father and mentor of a lot of artists in R&B, pop and rap. It brought and still is bringing out lots of artists and many of the same artists are still signed under their label. KRS One told XXL Magazine that Def Jam single-handedly destroyed hip hop. According to KRS, everything from the lyrics, commercialized music and one artist being played on the radio all day is all thanks to Def Jam. There’s really no competing with Def Jam, so everyone else had to respect what the record label was doing. Hip hop groups like X-Clan and Public Enemy used to be with Def Jam, which were also against the system and big corporations, now Def Jam is a big corporation — how ironic.

Since 1996, Jay-Z (also known as Sean Carter) has been taking the world by storm in all shapes and forms. He has practically dominated hip-hop and rap, easily dubbing himself as the “King of Hip Hop”. This year, he will be releasing his 11th (that’s right, 11th!) album called “J to the Z of Jay-Z”. His music grew into an empire that later became known as the record label we are all too familiar with, Rocafella. He and his buddy Damon Dash started it in the 90s, developing a more professional outlook in the hip-hop culture. Jay-Z stays doing big things and doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. He’s got his hands in just about everything, from his own music, producing new talent and even creating a clothing line. In 1999, Jay-Z and Damon Dash refined the rap game with Rocawear fashion.

Once again, Jay made big changes happen by showing the world that hip-hop can mature. Going from wearing throwback jerseys and baggy jeans to button-up shirts, slacks and suede shoes – Jigga was making the statement that he was a professional entrepreneur who had grown up. Pushing 40, Jigga transformed his wardrobe to suits and top hats that showed a more serious individual. Back when he was 30, he was afraid that he wouldn’t be taken seriously wearing the stereotypical hip-hop wear, so from then he began to change how he presented himself. In 2007, the Rocawear line has been sold for $204 million, but he is still invested in the brand and is in charge of product development, licensing and advertising.

Hip hop tours are poppin all over the globe. First, we have rumors that Keyshia Cole, Rihanna and Ciara will be touring together, so if you’re looking for a great R&B concert, you should definitely check out the dates and cities to for this show. No dates have been set yet, but keep an eye and ear out. Supposedly, Rihanna would like to team up with strong women for a “women empowerment” type tour. This trio would definitely empower the women in their concert crowds with their soulful voices and lyrics.

Rihanna has a live concert in Dubai coming up; yes it has been confirmed. There will be 25,000 tickets available for sale. No exact location has been set, but it may be in an outside arena…wouldn’t that be lovely?

Beyonce is also on tour, but has told interviewers that she is looking to wrap things up and take two years off to play the role of a wife to her husband Jay-Z, who is also on tour by the way. The two currently try to link their calendars together, so that they can schedule time together. B definitely misses her boo while on tour, so to help her feel better, she has Jay-Zs name written on the nails of her index, middle and ring fingers. This helps her to remember him and even makes her smile she says. Beyonce is really looking forward to starting a family and leading a somewhat normal life.