Florida Sentinel Bulletin

Aretha Franklin has canceled a Detroit-area performance set for July 27, citing ongoing treatment.

The show at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston initially had been scheduled for June 22, but Franklin postponed it to later this month. Then, in a letter written by the Grammy-winning singer and distributed Friday by her publicist, Franklin says she was canceling the show “one last time” due to an unspecified ongoing treatment.

The 71-year-old Queen of Soul had announced in May that she was putting off scheduled performances in Chicago and Connecticut to undergo medical treatment.

Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys and John Mayer have volunteered their time to attend the second Global Citizen Festival in New York’s Central Park, and organizers hope you will, too.

Tickets are again free for the Sept. 28 event, but must be earned through acts meant to help end extreme poverty around the world. The festival is designed to coincide with the UN General Assembly meeting and put pressure on world leaders to address the needs of the world’s poor. Fans can earn points toward tickets through simple tasks like sending letters to political leaders or reposting information through social media.

Lauryn Hill finally checked into prison Tuesday.

The former Fugees star was booked into the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn., around 11:45 a.m. It is a minimum security facility and Hill will live in barracks-type housing. Hill will be housed with the general population.

Hill pleaded guilty to three charges of failing to pay $1.8 million for three tax years from 2005 to 2007. If her tax woes weren’t enough, the Grammy Award-winning singer was sued by her landlord after she allegedly stop paying rent on her New Jersey home.

In an effort to avoid jail time, Hill tried to convince a judge that she could pay off her debts faster if she were allowed to record music and perform; it didn’t work.

Many women are criticizing Essence Magazine’s decision to put Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on the cover of the August 2013 issue.

The cover article calls him one of the sexiest brothers in the world, but many are angry that he is being profiled by a Black women’s magazine, but yet “he doesn’t date Black women”.

Some are saying that if you google “Dwayne Johnson girlfriend,” you will never find a picture of him with a Black woman. Nearly all of the images are of white women, and some are asking: “Is he on the cover of Essence to celebrate Black women or to exploit them for their money?” Others are saying: “So what!! If he doesn’t date Black women, who cares?”

Inside the issue, “The Rock”, who is 41-years old, talks about what it means to take care of a woman.

He comments: “…When I say I’m going to take care of a woman, I don’t just mean physically or sexually or romantically. I’m going to take care of her emotionally and spiritually. I’m going to take care of her in all ways. I take a lot of pride in that today.”

Congratulations are in order for Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose. The couple made it official on Tuesday, July 8, and are now man and wife.

Wiz tweeted his wedding story: “Me and Amber got married. Weddings this fall. Thought I’d let yall know.”

Rap’s most publicly affectionate couple got together in secret two years ago. They welcomed a son in February and last week applied for a marriage license in L.A.

Wiz, however was calling Amber his “wife” long before he proposed and their mutual adoration for one another has never been called into question. “He’s beautiful, he’s perfection to me,” Amber gushed.

50 Cent has been known to go to war with words against rival rappers, but allegedly he aimed some vicious words towards his 16-year-old son.

A series of alleged text messages between the Queens rapper and his first born, Marquise, have been leaked publicly and reveals 50 disowning the teenager. From what can be assessed, The G Unit boss was angry at his son after driving an unknown distance to visit him in Atlanta and feeling ignored by the teen.

An excerpt of the text transcript:

50 Cent: I came to the front door then lights went off. What’s up?

Marquise: U lying u outside?

Marquise: Lol u fronting.

50 Cent: I saw you looking out the window good luck in life. Your gonna need it.

Marquise: Lol u fronting hard body now, how u going to see me when I’m in the basement lmao

Several texts fly between the pair, and it seems that Marquise is delighting in his father’s meltdown. 50 then texts, “You are your mothers son. I don’t have a son anymore.”

Kevin Hart’s new stand-up comedy film ‘Let Me Explain’ was a surprise smash at the box office and could potentially become the most successful film of its kind ever.

Hart, who has been on a winning streak following his hit film ‘Think Like a Man’ and popular BET series ‘Real Husbands of Hollywood’, already has one very successful stand up film under his belt; 2011s ‘Laugh at My Pain’.

But the performance of Let Me Explain is unprecedented. The film has already earned $7.4 million in ticket sales during its first two days of release, which nearly eclipsed the entire run of Laugh at My Pain. And Variety reports that Let Me Explain made $29 million by Sunday night. The movie achieved this feat while opening in 876 theaters.

In comparison, Disney’s The Lone Ranger (starring Johnny Depp) opened in 3,904 theaters and yet only grossed $5 million more than Hart’s low-budget comedy.

LOS ANGELES — No “Scandal” here, Kerry Washington is a newlywed.

The star of the TV series married professional football player, Nnamdi Asomugha last week. The 36-year-old actress and 31-year-old athlete were married June 24. One of Asomugha’s relatives performed the ceremony.

Besides starring in the ABC political thriller, Washington’s recent credits include the films “Peeples” and “Django Unchained.”

Singer Toni Braxton can finally put her bankruptcy troubles behind her after reportedly paying off $150,000 to settle her case.

The Unbreak My Heart hitmaker and reality show star filed for bankruptcy for a second time in 2010 amid allegations her debts had spiralled to between $10 million and $50 million. Braxton has bought back some of her personal property by paying monthly $5,000 installments for 15 months, and has also handed over $100,000 using earnings from gigs she performed overseas.

The R&B star is now expected to buy back the copyright on a collection of her songs for $20,000 when they go under the hammer at an auction on July15.