Like Beyonce, we did not attend the grand re-opening of Jay-Z‘s 40/40 Club in Times Square last night. (Was Beyonce tending to Blue Ivy, or did she have more important things to do, like catch the season premiere of American Idol? We’ll never know…)

But of course there was a plethora of celebrity at the soiree to make up for Queen Bey’s absence. Of course, proud papa Jay was on hand, as was Renee Graziano from Mob Wives, Spike Lee, Selita Ebanks, Ashanti, Russell Simmons, basically this place was a who’s who of who’s hot. Yes, we just implied that Warren Buffett, who was also there, is hot. Check out our gallery below featuring all of Jay-Z’s nearest and dearest, and a few VH1 stars who snagged an invite, too.


[Photos: Getty Images]

There might not be anyone who is as endearing, fashionable, and well-connected as La La Vasquez. Yes, she’s a humble “basketball wife,” but she’s spent years as a radio DJ and later a VJ at MTV, and she’s now an actress and style icon in her own right. Basically she’s done it all, worn it all, and hung out with some amazingly cool people at the same time. As a tribute to her evolving style and her lasting friendships in show business, we’ve created a mega-gallery of La La through the years, from her early days at MTV where she was a jeans and t-shirt gal, to her Full Court Wedding, to today, where she can hold her own at Fashion Week with the best of the best, like her pals Beyonce, Russell Simmons, Kelly Rowland, and of course, Po and Dice.


[Photos: Getty Images]

Beyonce Live 4 Intimate Nights

If you haven’t already caught the scoop, Beyoncé has an affinity for numbers; specifically, the number four. Front and center at last night’s second of “4 Intimate Nights with Beyoncé” at Roseland Ballroom (the first of which took place on Sunday, the FOURteenth), the lady of the hour took the stage to break down the numerological fondness and dazzle superfans and music industry elite alike. Because she usually performs for audiences ten times the size of the 2,500 capacity venue, tickets for this coveted concert series were a hot commodity, and with VIPs like Diddy, Russell Simmons, Ne-Yo, and The-Dream looking on the balcony, a ravenous crowd chanted the singer’s name repeatedly before the show’s 10 p.m. start time. Homegirl has unwavering disciples, and as we were soon reminded, she deserves each and every one of them.

The well-rehearsed, ninety-minute show —whose setlist was identical to Sunday night’s show—began with Beyoncé narrating the initial chapters of her career’s autobiography. From militaristic practice sessions at nine-years-old with the initial members of Destiny’s Child to securing their deal with Columbia Records in 1995, Bey’ ran through the timeline of her passionate path, stitching performance snippets into the fabric of her tales. Cut-down, crowd-pleasing hits like “Bills, Bills Bills,” “Say My Name,” and “Independent Women Part I” perpetuated a roar of approval that crescendoed when the introduction to “Survivor” was liberated by the diva’s all-female band. “With a lot of success comes a lot of negativity,” admitted the star as she launched into the female-empowerment anthem, graciously crediting her former cohorts Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams while also justifying the song’s endurance-focused sentiments.

There is often calm after a tumultuous storm, however, and once Beyoncé was finished discussing the uneven footing of her early days as an artist, she shared with the audience how powerful it was when she finally “found love.” Right on cue, the opening notes to the then-new couple’s very public relationship confirmation, Jay-Z’s “’03 Bonnie and Clyde,” hit our nostalgic radars, and as you might imagine, the crowd lost their minds. Before transitioning into a quick Dreamgirls story, Bey’ also performed her other Hov-centric hit, “Crazy in Love,” graduating from a slower, re-worked, funk version of the song into the full, familiar rendition, showcasing the video’s stomping strut that we all know and love. By also revisiting other iconic choreography that fans relentlessly study and mimic throughout the show, Bey’ managed to create a sea of “Single Ladies” hand-twirling and, once she got to the material from 4, lots of attempts at her “Run The World (Girls)” stankyleg-riverdancing.

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Blinged-out, blissed-out hip-hop honcho Russell Simmons recently found himself with a little less ice after someone stole a suitcase filled with jewels from his Bleecker Street apartment in New York. Apparently, a Simmons associate left the case unattended for 30 minutes and returned to find it gone.

We don’t know who did it, but a certain iced-out ex-wife of Simmons’ has been looking a little more fabulous lately…

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How many times can one couple announce their divorce? We’ve lost count, but we’re guessing Kimora Lee Simmons and her super-mogul ex-hubby Russell have done it, oh, a gazillion times, including today. We get it! You guys split up! Didn’t this happen in like 2006? Aren’t you both busy getting pregnant and doing yoga with your new (and might we add, much hotter) significant others? Earlier this month, Kimora said, “I’m in the paper every single week – that I had a fight with my ex-husband, or that I was mad at one of his girlfriends, or that I’m pregnant, or that I demand Fiji water … Lies upon lies upon lies.”

Oh Kimora. Admit it – you like being in the paper every week. Are we the only ones who suspect that the divorce reports pop back up every time our girl needs some publicity? Or were ya’ll too busy buying her new perfume – which launched last week – to notice?

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