ROUND UP: CELEB STEROID SCANDAL / RAPPER GIVES AWAY FREE TICKETS TO AFRICA / BLACK BOOK SITES JOIN FORCES
Monday, January 14, 2008
Apparently, steroid use isn’t limited to athletes.
The Times Union of Albany cited unnamed sources in a Sunday report that R&B music star Mary J. Blige, rap musicians 50 Cent, Timbaland and Wyclef Jean, and award-winning author and producer Tyler Perry may have received or used performance enhancing drugs.
Mary J. Blige has slammed reports linking her to a steroid investigation, insisting she has never taken the performance-enhancing drug. Albany County District Attorney David Soares named the celebrities who featured in his investigation on Sunday.
The singer’s spokeswoman, Karynne Tencer, tells the New York Daily News, “Mary J. Blige has never taken any performance-enhancing illegal steroids.” [READ MORE ON THE SCANDAL]
Rapper Gives Away Free Tickets to Africa

GAHD Inc., which represents rap artist GAHD, who made history by incorporating himself and offering shares to fans, is rewarding roundtrips to Africa to fans that download the artist’s music.
GAHD, a North Carolina native who left Atlanta, Georgia several years ago and relocated to Zimbabwe, has been funding trips to Africa for people for a number of years now. Since fans ask him about Africa a lot after hearing the topic in his music, GAHD came up with the idea to offer them tickets in promotion of his upcoming album, From the Shadows, slated to be released in February.
GAHD is back in the United States finishing the album and capitalizing off of the buzz being created by his new single, “Joy After Pain”, that’s spreading across the nation. In the meantime, fans are going to GAHD’s website, gahdinc.com, and downloading music they love while simultaneously gaining an opportunity to travel to the Motherland.
Three Largest Black Book Sites Join Forces to Promote Black Literature
AALBC.com, Cushcity.com and MosaicBooks.com, the three largest and most established web sites focusing on black literature, announced today that they have joined forces to offer comprehensive online book promotion options to self-published authors and small publishing firms.
Together, the three web sites have over 30 years of combined online presence and over 4 million page views per month. Each site brings different strengths to the venture.
AALBC.com, founded by Troy Johnson of Harlem, N.Y. in 1998, is now the largest website dedicated to promoting books by and about African Americans.
Cushcity.com, co-founded by Willie and Gwen Richardson of Houston, Tex. in 1998, is the world’s largest African-American Internet retailer with over 20,000 products online, including books, DVDs, Greek products, calendars and art.
MosaicBooks.com, founded by Ron Kavanaugh of the Bronx, NY, in 1996, was the first site created to showcase African-American literature. It recently celebrated its 10th anniversary online.
“This effort brings unprecedented exposure to millions of African-American book readers worldwide,” says Johnson. “I am pleased to work with Cushcity and MosaicBooks to bring African-American authors and consumers together.”
The three sites will initially offer self-published authors and small presses simultaneous, prominent placement on each of the three sites’ home pages. There are also plans to expand these coordinated services in the future to include e-blasts and other marketing opportunities for authors.
The announcement comes on the heels of recent news reports highlighting the growth in the number of African-American titles published annually and the resultant increase in book sales revenue. Based upon book sales figures for 2006 released by the American Association of Publishers, African Americans spend about $1 billion of the estimated $24 billion spent in the U.S. annually on books.









108 Comments
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76.
Ms. AKA
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
@ BLK DDS: A Piece of Cake” By Cupcake Brown was excellent. So inspirational for those that think that they cannot do any better or a product of their environment.
77.
HDIZZLE
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
SESAMESTREET
Your prime motherfucking example of what I’m talking about when I mention hypocrits who think reading that article is doing “their part” in making you culturally identified and even relatively smart, when you were stupid colorstruck whore from the motherfuckin gitty yup.
Your the same dumb dumb that would have everybody in the CL chat box believe you had irish leniage way back in your family when the closest your black ass ever got to having Irish in you is drinking a a damn Guinness. You don’t even admit to being black and you want to try to act brad new in here trick please.
And you think becuase you skip over an article about a musician for something with he word “AFRICA” in it you know something SIT CHO DUMBASS DOWN. I bet you thought you were doign you part by buying Kanye’s album in stead of 50’s, pshht just stupid.
78.
puzykhat
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
what about all these white hollywood actors and actresses they better be next too…i never seen someone lose baby fat so soon after delivery there is something behind that…but watch how nothing comes into light about that…its a conspiracy.
79.
HDIZZLE
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
SANAA
Yeah, carcinogenic, can you speak from experience on what it effects, you know something I don’t know.
80.
Ms. AKA
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
OH let me clarify…as previously stated from my post…. Hydrocortisone is not lethal you can buy that over the counter or precribed by a physcian in a greater strength.
Acutane is for acne is a steroid. That clears your skin. It works wonders.
People get steroid injection in their spine or joints. That is not lethal either.
The steroid injection as “Clear” or other performance enhancing drugs are linked to those diseases and fatalities as I mentioned before.
Never, Never, use Any form of steroids if you are nursing, pregnant, or think that you may be pregnant…
81.
tia
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
im gonna start off addressing the positive because it would be stupid for me to overlook it……what Gahd is doing is very generous…i mean hes not givin out tickets to miami or new york…he givin out tickets to AFRICA!! wow thats big and interestin,whoever gets to go better take full advantage of the opportunity….obviously dude is pullin in some other earnings if he can do all that lol
on to the negative,50 i believe,timberland i wholeheartedly believe….maybe even wyclef……but mary???…..tyler perry???? i dont think so…i just refuse to believe it….if they are what the hell for???…..i dont get it
82.
a.k.a. new yorker
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
timb uses them. i highly doubt mary uses them. but timb does b/c he was never that muscular
83.
ThinkAboutIt
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
Good look for GAHD and the literacy campaign.
That steriods thing is just silly - even if 50 cent, Tyler Perry and MJB used steriods, since they don’t belong to a union or profession that prohibits them, what’s the penalty?
84.
MercedesDelano
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
I Don’t know who the hell GAHD is, but he is sexy as hell!!!!!
85.
ThinkAboutIt
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
I just checked his site, and GAHD’s music is not bad…. he also is giving people an opportunity to “invest” in his business — not a bad strategy. Worth checking out.
86.
Olivia
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
—I heard about this going to work this morning on Tom Joyner. Like they said… “Madea on Steroids”….. the next Tyler Perry play!
—It must be nice to not have anything to do but name people who can be brought to shame. There are a lot of people that may or may not have taken steroids. FYI, there are a lot of birth control pills, skin pills, and sinus meds that have steroids (they’re just called something else). I had been taking this med. for my acne when I was in high school and I would’ve never known it had steroids in it if my mother wasnt a nurse & didnt look the stuff up. (((Arent there more important issues going on in the US… in the world… besides this)))
— Ooops, I guess I better not type too much. Next thing you know, they might say since I typed an entire paragraph, it was because of steriods! GeeeeZ!
Good Nite!
87.
Karee
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
cocaine isn’t a steroid but has been used by Mary and i’m sure 50 too
Timbaland and Dr. Dre definitely look like they have used steroids
88.
BOI_WONDER 585
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
I’M A MARY FANATIC AND I AM SURE SHE WOULD NOT F*** WITH NO STEROIDS. ALTHOUGH, I THINK MY GIRL MAY HAVE GOT HER BOOBS DONE. LOVE YA MARY!!!!
89.
Emma V's Great- Grandaughter
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
Why are people using steriods?
Giving free tickets to Africa is a nice idea.
90.
lelony
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
mary and timbo didnt do nothing
91.
lelony
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
neither did perry
92.
Qtpie1978
Monday, January 14, 2008 /
I’m having a really hard time seeing Timberland in a sex symbol type of light.. Perhaps I should try a lil harder–haha
93.
Lakesha
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
@19 You know what Dr. Dre was big as hell at the Awards, I totally forgot about him. Great Memory!!!!
94.
BKNY
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
Add Janet Jackson’s name too! Human growth hormone and that steroid together cause weight loss FAST and give that chiseled appearance—Janet’s stomach has been too chiseled for a woman her age FOR A LONG TIME! She has almost a male appearance to her abs…..unlike Britney in her heyday and Fergie….those girls have tight stomachs but not ripped or cut like JJ had! She was definitely using it her last album…..it is why her face was so drawn and HARD! It will give a woman the appearance of male muscles if used for a long time and in high doses, but the abdominal muscles are the first ones to be “ripped”or hardened then the arms and legs in a woman….men are able to have all over muscle developement on this combination but for women, that look of steel abs comes about first,then the arms and legs get hard and over muscular later.
A lot of old Ballet dancers used Human growth hormone since the 60’s to build muscle and rebound from injury….it is an old combination. But it will harden a woman’s face like Janet last year….for sure!
50 and TImb….yeah, I can see them using the steroids. All those muscles on both of them! Anna Nicole Smith reportedly lost her weight on the same combo….not Trimspa! Wyclef–he looked pumped up and muscular last time I saw him on TV…..thought he was just working out.
They all better be careful—that growth hormone can cause some wicked diabetes!
95.
yes
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
gahd’s kinda cute
96.
Ms. AKA
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
To All Concrete Loop Staff:
I am so proud that you allowed Mr. Dakar to post the politics on this site. We all are thirsty to learn, share, and connect to our political candidate. This open forum has been a catharsis for everyone. I enjoy your website even more now that we have entertainment ,music and politics all on one site. Excellent! If you are interested in posting about medicine or diseases please let me know I will be glad to share and inform my Brothers and Sisters about health issues… Have you ever thought about doing radio/tv?
Ms. AKA
97.
Ms She
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
Now 50 and Timbo I can say … OK
But MJB… WTF…… Please tell me how she would benefit. Not saying that it is definitely not true, but I am having a hard time believing that part of it. Not to mention , I really don’t care. It does not change my opinion of any of them. I still DO NOT like 50, love Timbo’s productions, and faithful fan of MJB. Growing Pains is the ish!
98.
Jamie872006
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
THEY TO LEAVE MARY AND THEM ALONE THEY JUST TROUBLES IN THEIR LIVES
99.
Aries
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
This story sounds just ridiculous!!!! I would really like to know why Tyler Perry and Mary would need to take steroids. Is there another reason why people take steroids other than gaining muscle and momentum. Please let me know lol TRUE Timbaland looks a little suspect but damn the man could be hitting the gym. I dont know im going to need a little more proof on this whole thing
100.
blk dds
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
#47 -
I’m a fast reader, but yes, it’s a page-turner. I highly recommend it.
101.
Pisces Princess
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
this is crazy I dont know what to believe whyyy r these peolpe on drugs. Mary ohh come on ANd Tyler Perry what is he doin with the steroids?
102.
cassandre
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
lol mary doesnt use steroid beyoncita does and its well known but since she is white dont nobody will say it out loud
103.
ANTHONY ANDERSON
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
SHE SOUNDS A MESS
104.
Jamie
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
Wow I’m loving GHAD’s single Joy and Pain (mainly because I love the original by Frankie Beverly and Maze). I might invest in his stock to.
105.
mai03
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 /
Thanks CL for the info on the websites! I never heard of any of them. I am a aspiring childrens book writer so thank you so much…I’m going to check into them pronto!
106.
Don't Argue With Me It's Just An Opinion
Thursday, January 17, 2008 /
Stevie Wonder can see that 50 cent takes steriods
107.
Im the only polar bear up in this bitch
Friday, January 18, 2008 /
Even if they r on steroids, so what? Its not like they are athletes, so they aren’t ‘cheating’.
108.
lets gett it poppin
Monday, July 21, 2008 /
y would a woman take steriods woman dont have dicks
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