Janet 'Unsure' About Def Jam, Talks Tour with LL Cool J and Label Future

With the 'Rockwitchu' Tour's kickoff next week, Janet Jackson shed some light on her situation with Def Jam Wednesday, stating she is 'unsure' about working with them again.

After the label reportedly pulled the plug on any future promotion or videos for Jackson's latest effort "Discipline" earlier this year, the "Rockwitchu" singer has serious doubts about her future with the label. "I don't know what the future holds between the two of us. I can't say if we'll be working with them in the future" Jackson said during a press conference Wednesday.

With her recording future in turmoil, Jackson has placed all of her time and energy into the "Rockwitchu" tour which kicks off next Wednesday. "This show is all for the fans, they tell me what they'd like to hear, what they'd like to see, what they want. And this is what I'm trying to give them." 

Calling the tour "two hours of dance" on a stage set that has "a taste of the future" Jackson promises to run through songs that span her entire career in addition to sharing the stage with LL Cool J. The "Ladies Love Cool James" star was recently revealed as the supporting act for Jackson's tour which runs through the October 22nd. LL Cool J will perform a mix of classic hits and new songs from the recently released "Exit 13" album featuring the hit single "Baby."

For fans who are unable to make the show or who would like to have a copy to add to their DVD collection, Jackson says she is in talks to produce a DVD and possible television airing. "We've been talking about something for TV, also a DVD."

In related news, Jackson is eyeing new U.S. tour dates and a possible tour in Europe, Asia, Australia and Russia which will be announced soon. "It hasn't been etched in stone. It's still being put together. People will hear about it in a little while" Jackson told Billboard earlier this week.

Jackson's Rockwitchu Tour kicks off Wednesday in Vancouver, BC.

Uncompromisingly Righteous

Today's Scripture

“The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]” (Psalm 92:12 AMP).

Today's Word from Joel and Victoria

God desires that you thrive and flourish in all things. He wants to prosper everything you set your hand to. The word “flourish” means to grow or achieve success; to be in a state of activity; to reach a height of development or influence. We are created to live fruitful, productive, and influential lives. The key is to remain uncompromisingly righteous. What does that mean? Righteousness is about being in right standing with God. It’s about receiving His forgiveness and making the necessary adjustments to align yourself with His Word. When you are uncompromisingly righteous, God’s Word is your final authority. You seek Him in everything you do and make Him a part of your everyday life.

Remember, God’s plans are for your good. He has plans to prosper you and give you a future and a hope. He’s a rewarder of those who seek after Him. As you open your heart and allow Him to cover you with His righteousness, you will flourish and find success in every area of your life. 

A Prayer for Today

Heavenly Father, I humbly come before You giving You all that I am. I choose Your Word and Your righteousness today. Thank You for your promise for a long, fruitful, and productive life to Your glory. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 

Clothed in Righteousness

Today's Scripture

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).

Today's Word from Joel and Victoria

Have you thought much about what you are wearing today? You probably took time this morning to select the right clothes and shoes in the natural, but have you thought about what are you wearing spiritually and emotionally? Just like wearing a coat, we can take off wrong attitudes, emotional heaviness, guilt and shame. We can exchange our garments of sin and failure for His garments of salvation and righteousness. Notice that this verse doesn’t say you have to make the robe of righteousness before you put it on. It doesn’t say you have to work really hard in order to earn righteousness. No, it’s His righteousness that He gives as a gift to us when we accept what Jesus did for us.

If you are wearing heaviness, guilt, condemnation or shame today, receive His forgiveness and allow Him to cleanse you and clothe you with His garments of salvation and His robe of righteousness. Today is a new day, and you can have a new beginning by simply opening your heart to Him. 

A Prayer for Today

, thank You for the gift of salvation through Your Son, Jesus. I open my heart to You and receive all You have for me. I choose to take off my old garments of sin and failure so I can be clothed in Your righteousness. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 




Star Jones New Man....is she doing it for the media.

How to walk off the belly fat

Sure, you know walking is good exercise. But here's some­thing you might not realize: You can give your waistline (and other body parts) a serious trimming by tweaking that walk around the block.

The three women below each walked off at least 35 pounds, much of it around the middle, using one of these secret weapons: plyometrics, hills, or intervals. The strategies also strengthened their legs more quickly than plain old walking sessions, so they could walk longer and faster to burn more calories.

After six weeks of walking four to six times a week, you will feel stronger and look slimmer where it counts. Health.com: Walk a little, live a lot (longer)

Secret weapon: Plyometrics

Adding bounding, jumping, and skipping moves (called plyometrics) to your walk is a fun way to spike the intensity. You'll burn up to twice as many calories --and significantly more belly fat -- per minute than you would just walking at a moderate pace.

"These moves vary the walking pattern your body has grown accustomed to, so you engage different muscle fibers," says Joy Prouty, veteran Florida-based trainer and American College of Sports Medicine-certified health-fitness director. "And that helps shape and define your body." Health.com: Walk this way

It worked for Claire Jefferson-Glipa, 31, of Riverside, California.

Adding one-minute bursts of plyo­metrics to the Stroller Strides classes she leads each week -- along with making healthy changes in her eating habits --helped Jefferson-Glipa drop 36 pounds in just nine months. "It's so exciting that my clothes are looser," she says.

Make it work for you

Try this workout from Prouty, gradually adding more plyo­metrics as your fitness level improves. It can be done either outside or on the treadmill (just be sure to step off the machine to do the plyometrics moves).

• 1. Walk 15 minutes, building to a moderate pace.

• 2. Do 30 High-Knee Steps forward (alternating legs); skip for 30 seconds, then walk at a moderate pace for one minute.

• 3. Do 15 Traveling Lateral Squats (turn and move sideways as you squat) in slow motion, followed by five Squat Jumps (squat slightly, then swing arms up as you jump). Knee problems? Rise up on your toes instead of jumping.

• 4. Walk at a moderate pace for 10 minutes.

• 5. Repeat step 2.

• 6. Walk for five minutes at a moderate pace, then five minutes at a slow pace to cool down.

Secret weapon: Hills

To triple the number of calories you burn, go to where it's hilly, Prouty says. Walking on hills can burn tons of calories and fat, so you'll work that stomach pooch off faster than you would on flat terrain. Uphill walks are great for strengthening and shaping your lower half -- plus, you'll feel stronger and go faster on level ground. Health.com: Tips if you don't have time to walk

It worked for Robyn Kammerer, 33, of Rowayton, Connecticut.

Kammerer dropped 50 postpregnancy pounds in four months by eating healthier and walking every day on the hills near her home. "If I'm out of breath at the top of one of these killer hills," she says, "I remind myself that I can now wear skirts that haven't fit in years."

Make it work for you

Start by changing your walking routine: Twice a week, replace 25 percent of your flat route with short or gradual hills. (New to walking? Start with 20-minute walks that include five minutes of hills.) After two weeks, seek out longer or steeper hills, and add 10 percent more climbing each week. Your goal is to do between one-half and two-thirds of your workout on hills.

Live in a flat area? Substitute this treadmill climb: After a 10-minute warm-up, gradually increase the incline from 0 to 2 percent for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, gradually decrease the incline in the same amount of time, finishing with 5 to 10 minutes of flat walking. Each week or two, increase the incline by 1 percent.

Secret weapon: Intervals

Alternating moderately paced walking with short, faster-paced intervals lets you amp up your walk without tiring yourself out. You'll also dump stomach weight more quickly and torch more calories than you would on a steady-paced walk. By peppering in a 30-minute walk with 10 one-minute speed bursts, for example, you can nearly double your calorie burn. Health.com: The ultimate walk-it-off plan

It worked for Virginia Cox, 42, of Belmont, Massachusetts.

Doing 15 miles' worth of interval walking a week (plus cutting down on starchy foods and sweet treats) helped Cox shed 45 pounds of baby weight in just six months. "I look and feel great because of walking," Cox says. "Plus, I now fit into the jeans that I wore when I was in my 20s." An unexpected bonus: She's sleeping much better, too.

Make it work for you

Warm up at an easy pace, then walk at a moderate pace for 10 minutes; increase speed for one minute, Prouty says. Do another 3 minutes at a moderate pace; repeat one or two times, then do 10 moderately-paced minutes.

As you get stronger, add more intervals, aiming to alternate 1-minute speed bursts with one minute of moderate walking.

Mentality Makeover

Today's Scripture

“…Love others as you love yourself” (Galatians 5:14).

Today's Word from Joel and Victoria

What you believe about yourself—your self-esteem, your sense of value, your sense of worth—sets the limits for your life. It sets the limits for your ability to love others the way God intends. The problem that many people have today is they don’t really even like themselves. They constantly focus on their faults and shortcomings and then wonder why they don’t enjoy life or have any enthusiasm or why their relationships aren’t working. Understand that you cannot be negative toward yourself and expect to live a positive, faith-filled life. In order to love yourself so that you can love others, you have to have a mentality makeover. If you’ll get your thinking corrected and start thinking like a champion, like a child of the Most High God, like you’ve been crowned with favor, you’ll be amazed at what will happen. When you change your mentality and allow thoughts of faith and victory to fill your heart and mind, that faith and victory will spill over onto the people around you. When you love yourself the way God loves you, that love will pour out on others as well. As you live and love the way God intends, you will find peace, joy, and victory in every area of your life! 

A Prayer for Today

Heavenly Father, I open my heart to You today and ask that You help me see myself and others the way You do. Fill me with Your love and confidence so I can love others the way You intend. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 

 

Ne-Yo Awarded $700,000 In Lawsuit Over R. Kelly Tour

Ne-Yo was awarded a $700,000 judgment by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge recently, stemming from a lawsuit filed earlier this year after he was dropped from an R. Kelly tour in late 2007.

In the lawsuit, the singer (real name: Shaffer Smith) claimed he was dropped because the reaction he received from both the crowds and the press were "more favorable" than Kelly was receiving, an allegation the singer vehemently denied.

Kelly was not named in the suit, instead Ne-Yo sued the tour's promoter, Georgia-based Rowe Entertainment Inc.

Following the singer's departure from the tour, the company issued a statement saying, "It was decided that in the best interest of all involved, since I was unable to receive the fully executed contract, I had no other alternative but to release Ne-Yo from the tour. From a business perspective, it would have been extremely difficult for me to continue under this cloud of uncertainty."

Rowe Entertainment never answered the lawsuit, according to the Associated Press, and last week Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey ordered the company to pay Ne-Yo and his touring company $700,320.

Ne-Yo claimed in the suit that the lack of signatures shouldn't have been an issue because all the material terms were agreed upon orally.

"The parties understood that the oral agreement was binding and would be binding even if a formal written agreement was never executed," the lawsuit read.

He claims he hired musicians, dancers, security and other personnel, conducted rehearsals and did promotions, while Lowe used his name, voice and likeness for print, radio and television ads to promote the tour.

In other Ne-Yo news, the singer is gearing up for the release of his upcoming album, Year Of The Gentleman. The album is slated for release September 16.