“No, I do not have HIV, I do not have AIDS,” she begins.”But the real reason I’m making this video is not only to clear the rumor, but to let you know that not only is it disrespectful to me, but to people who do have it and know people who have it. It is something that is very serious and deadly.”

Watch the full clip below.

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The Urban Daily caught up with the singer/actress while she was in New York City promoting  the “Fight HIV Your Way” contest.  During our conversation, Sheryl Lee Ralph shared stories of how she feels about sex education in schools, how the attitude towards HIV/AIDS has changed, and how she approached the sex talk with her children.

TUD:December 1st is World AIDS Day. Didn’t you write an open letter about World AIDS Day recently?

Sheryl Lee Ralph: Oh my goodness, did you actually read it?

Of course! That’s my job.

Oh, wow! Thank you. Now I really give you points. Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate that. You know folks don’t read anymore. You send them information and they haven’t got a clue. People come up and they’re supposed to be working with you and they have no idea what you’ve done. I find it really fascinating. So I really rate you for reading.

Thank you. Why has AIDS awareness become such a big part of your mission in entertainment? Why choose that cause?

It’s so interesting that thirty years ago as an original company member of Dreamgirls on Broadway, I stood witness to what I call “The Ugly Time in America.” I saw my friends literally drop dead. They got sick and they died. There was no dying process, not like the one we’ve become used to. They just got sick and died and it was awful because I saw them die under stigma, shame, and silence. I saw people who could’ve helped turn their backs on AIDS victims and act as if they didn’t know any AIDS victims. I thought, “This is horrible that we, the people who say, ‘We will do unto others as we would have them do unto us,’ found it so easy to ignore our friends and people who suffered.” That’s when I made up my mind to, as a young woman, that we have got to do better.

I remember clearly thirty years ago, people told me to shut up. They told me not to talk about it. They said, “People will not like you.” I couldn’t understand this. I said, “How can we just be quiet in a time like this?!” Now, some thirty years later, people are asking, “Why are you suddenly involved in this?” They just don’t realize I’ve been doing this for a long time. It may have fallen on deaf ears over the past thirty years, but I’ve been doing it for a long time. My Divas Simply Singing is the longest consecutive running musical AIDS benefit in the country.
Sheryl Lee Ralph At 2009 Divas Simply Sing

How do you feel the attitude towards HIV/AIDS has changed within those thirty years? There are still a lot of people who are ignorant about it.

To tell you the truth, I’m shocked, as I travel across this country, at how little people know or don’t want to know about HIV/AIDS. There are a lot of people who don’t know that HIV is one thing and AIDS is another. Those people just think it’s one big old alphabet of a disease. Some still want to hold on to the myth that it’s a gay disease of little consequence to the general population. People don’t even want to admit that the number one way to contract HIV/AIDS is through heterosexual sex.

I’m even shocked at the number of people who can’t even say the word ‘sex’ out loud. People act as if others don’t have it. They always say, “Young people are not having a lot of sex.” They always say, “Old people aren’t having a lot of sex.” Trust me, they are having sex. Teenagers are having sex as well as old people. Cialis and Viagra changed everything.

What are your thoughts on sex education in schools? Do you believe that schools should teach abstinence or safe sex?

They should teach everything! It’s school! That is where you give children all of the information. You teach them about safe sex. You teach them about abstinence. There is nothing wrong with having a complete, age appropriate conversation. I cannot believe that my generation may very well have been the last one to have sex education in schools that was truly the complete and total package. I mean what are we doing? Are we in the future, but acting like it’s The Dark Ages? You can’t have lyrics in music where every time you turn on the radio you fee like you’re being sexually abused and turn around and act like people aren’t having sex. Come on!

You integrate things about AIDS awareness into a lot of the work you do like Divas Simply Singing, A lot of people know you as Dee from Moesha. How come there was never a blatant spotlight put on AIDS awareness when you were on the show?

Yes there was! How’d you miss that episode? We talked about everything on that show. We talked about HIV/AIDS, birth control, smoking weed, and we talked about young boys having stiffys in the middle of the night. You missed it.

I must have because the sex episode I remember was when Dee found out about Moesha’s birth control. I’ll have to go watch them again. Anyway, how did you come up with the concept of “Divas Simply Singing” instead of another type of benefit event?

I love that question. Thank you for asking it. I figured if we had a subject that was so important, like HIV/AIDS, what could I do to grab people’s attention. I figured you need a woman with big hair and an even bigger attitude. You need a woman who can wear the lipstick and the lashes to get on the stage and belt out a big song. A woman like that could get on the stage and say,“Look at me!” and have people actually look at them and listen to what they were saying. That’s how I came up with the concept; a light, a mic, and a diva simply singing.

If your folks want to make a donation, they can go to The Diva Foundation’s website and get their doggone t-shirt. Buy a DVD while you’re there. We need the help, baby. Tell them to come on.

At this past Divas Simply Singing, you reunited with Loretta Devine and Jennifer Holiday on stage. Was this the first time you did so since doing Dreamgirls on Broadway?

No, that was the second or third time. You know I have a way of bringing people together. We are like sisters. We are dysfunctional, but we love each other. I may pull your wig off, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you. So I’ve gotten us together on several occasions and we just have the greatest time together. We may cry and fight, but we definitely love each other.

Aren’t you doing a one woman show called Sometimes I Cry.

See that. You really do read! I’ve been performing my one woman show which I perform all around the world. The show happened because ten or twelve years ago, I started hearing so many stories from women surrounding HIV/AIDS. Nobody was telling these stories. It was 2002 and the disease had just taken a turn and I was like, “Whoa!”

I remember specifically, in the summer of 2002, the rate of women infected with HIV/AIDS was beginning to match the rate of men and nobody was talking about it. It was as if it was on nobody else’s radar. I had made up my mind to do something about it. I wanted to bring light to these women’s fight and that’s when I sat down and wrote Sometimes I Cry. It’s all about real women’s real stories surrounding the disease.

As a parent, how did you approach the topic of sex and HIV/AIDS awareness with your children?

I just talked about it. I talked about safe and appropriate sex. I talked about what is the right thing and what is the wrong thing. Don’t let people touch you and you don’t touch anybody else. Your stuff is private and their stuff is private. When the dogs start doing that action, that is how they have puppies. You’ve got to figure out these answers because when kids ask you, you can’t say, “Oh well, we don’t want to have that conversation with you.” Be ready to talk to your children.

I spoke so much about it with my son that when he went away to college, he sent me a picture of him with a condom taped to his forehead and he had typed in, “Uh, what is this for again, Mommy? LOL” You got to have these conversations with your kids and you’ve got to be in a place where your kids feel comfortable enough to come talk to you about these things.

Do find that parents are more uncomfortable talking about sex than their children are?

I know for a fact that mine were. I was a freshman at Rutgers University and I came home and said to my mother, “Why didn’t you talk to me about sex?!” My mother responded in her thick Jamaican accent, “Because I didn’t think you needed to know.” So was I supposed to be pushed out there to learn on my own? You talk to your children first because if you don’t somebody else will and that is not the conversation you want them to have.

I noticed you write a blog for The Huffington Post. Do you write a piece for them every year for World AIDS Day?

Boy, you really do read. I like you. Every year I do something to raise up the memory of my friends because anybody that can help you with your wig, weave, and wardrobe problems deserve to be remembered. In fact, I’ve got a book coming out in March of 2012 published by Simon & Schuster. It’s called “Redefining Diva.” It’s a memoir which gives the reader lessons I’ve learned through the experiences in my life. I talk about HIV/AIDS awareness in there also.

Do you have any suggestions for those who want to become part of HIV/AIDS awareness. How do they mix AIDS education, activism, and the arts?

I’m glad you asked me that because I’m involved in a wonderful project called Fight HIV Your Way. This is a project developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb. It’s another way to add the arts into the good fight against AIDS. The way the contest works is people send in photos or essays of how HIV/AIDS has affected their lives. This year, the prize is to come to New York City and watch a performance of the show, Home, choreographed by Rennie Harris. The show was inspired by the submissions to Fight HIV Your Way. So the best way to mix the arts, activism, and AIDS awarness is to take a picture. Maybe next year, they will be here in New York City. Infected or affected, we each have a story to tell surrounding this disease.

For more information on Sheryl Lee Ralph’s work and charitable endeavors, visit The Diva Foundation’s website. To find out more about the mission of Fight HIV Your Way, head over to their site.

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Now Tha Based God returns with a musical message to his fans, “I Got AIDS.” The song is featured on his upcoming mixtape, BasedGod Velli.

On the song he raps, “I was worried about gettin her pregnant/not knowing she had full blown AIDS and she sexin…”

Lil B posted the following message under the song on his Youtube channel:

PLEASE EVERYONE I MADE THIS TO INFORM EVERYONE THAT I LOVE AND RESPECT AND EVERYONE THAT LISTENS TO MY MUSIC AND LOVES BASED TO PLEASE GET TESTED AND PROTECT YOURSELF AND PARTNERS
AND BE SAFE,
I WANT YOU TO NO IF YOU HAVE SEX YOU ARE AT RISK
PLEASE USE CONDOMS AND HAVE SAFE SEX,
PLEASE I LOVE YOU,
IF YOU CARE ABOUT ME UPLOAD A VIDEO OF YOU GOING TO GET TESTED AND SEND TO ME I WILL ALSO UPLOAD A VIDEO OF ME GETTING TESTED,
I LOVE YOU AND IF YOU ARE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE NO (KNOW) YOU HAVE SUPPORT – Lil B

If anything Lil B gets points for timing, as World AIDS Day is coming up on December 1st. But following up an “I’m Gay” message with an “I Got AIDS” message can be problematic, reinforcing dated stereotypes that HIV is only a “gay” disease.  According to CDC data, heterosexual contact was responsible for over 12,000 HIV diagnoses in 2009, with more than half of them being women. Have you been tested?

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During a segment about giving out condoms to help reduce the spread of AIDS in Haiti Cipha “joked” that he didn’t have to worry about HIV because he didn’t “mess with Haitian women.” The remark incurred numerous angry calls to the station and angry emails online. The DJ apologized but community leaders were not satisfied and a press conference was held outside of the station.

The following statement was released by the station in response to the incident:

“Emmis Communications’ HOT 97 today announced a three-part plan to address a recent comment made on-air by DJ Cipha Sounds.

First, the station announced that DJ Cipha Sounds has been suspended indefinitely.

Second, Cipha will immediately undertake sensitivity training focused on the Haitian community and specifically, the challenges the Haitian community has faced in terms of the HIV epidemic.

Finally, HOT 97 announced it will work with local community leaders to utilize the influence of HOT 97 to increase awareness of HIV and community programs to address the HIV epidemic.

“Cipha made an immediate public apology and recognizes his insensitivity and the negative impact his comments have on all Haitians,” said Alex Cameron, SVP/Market Manager of Emmis-New York. “The Haitian community is an important part of our listenership whom we respect and value.  The suspension is an indication of the importance we place on delivering a product that respects our Haitian audience.  It’s a very regrettable and unfortunate circumstance for all involved and particularly because we know this is not the nature of this young man who has been an advocate of the Haitian community and a big part of our fundraising efforts for Haiti. He is committed to working with the Haitian community to make a difference and turn this negative incident into an opportunity for increased learning and awareness.”

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First the Tsunami song and now this. Hot 97 DJ Cipha Sounds has the New York radio station in hot water after making an on-air comment that has local leaders and members of the Haitian community fuming, and calling for him to be fired.

The popular deejay, whose real name is Luis Diaz, enraged listeners when he said on Friday morning, “The reason I’m HIV negative is because I don’t mess with Haitian girls.”

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Previously known as “Patient Zeta” Burts told the L.A. times that he tested HIV-positive in October at the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation in Sherman Oaks after working in both gay and straight porn.

“AIM likes to state that testing is enough. That’s completely false,” he said, noting that in the months before he tested positive for HIV, he had also contracted chlamydia, gonorrhea and herpes.

“It’s very dangerous,” he said of adult film work. “It should be required that you wear a condom on the set.”

WATCH THE VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE

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When a video surfaced of Keith Murray ranting about fighting Tupac Shakur in the House of Blues I breathed a sigh of relief. I’m not condoning Murray’s  violence, I just think that anyone whose led the kind of life Murray has  should be allowed to vent every once in a while. It’s for all of our sakes. Trust me.

In 2003 I interviewed Keith Murray for The Source magazine when he was promoting his Def Jam debut He’s Keith Murray. It was one of his first interviews after serving three years for an assault conviction in Connecticut. In our conversation he revealed some pretty heart-breaking facts about his life that lead me to believe that Keith was just “working it out” that night on the street and the cameras just happened to be rolling.

We very easily could have been watching a video of Keith actually fighting someone, or worse, so here are 5 reasons I don’t think we should judge him.

1.Dear Momma

Murray’s appetite for destruction is in his DNA. His late mother Darlene used to steal clothing to fund her drug habit. She contracted HIV from intravenous drug use and when the family home burned down in 1992, the soot from the debris wreaked havoc on her weakened immune system and killed her. His aunt was murdered in Central Park three years before this.

2.Father Disfigures

His father, a former X-Ray technician, was a heavy drinker and died of cirrhosis before Keith’s freshman year of high school. His stepfather, a Jamaican-born drug dealer kept him in the criminal life style.

3. Sisterly Love
His youngest sister Christina contracted HIV from their mother and died at 15 on Feb 27, 1998. Murray went to Prison 6 months later. He wrote a song dedicated to her on his album, He’s Keith Murray.

4. Self Defense

Keith caught his first bid a week before Senior year finals. “My moms was coming from the store and this dude that bought drugs from us kept approaching her. I got up on him and I cut him from his ear to his neck. I did six months with five years of probation. I served the six in a dorm in Riverhead.”

5. Innocence Lost
Murray was convicted in 1997 and sentenced to five years in prison for assault in a CT night club. After serving three years he still maintained his innocence. “They found me guilty, naturally, because of my history. Once you go to trial, they bring up your past. I’m your No. 1 candidate to split a nigga wig but I ain’t do it.”

Murray attended court-mandated anger management classes, but that didn’t stop him from assaulting a Def Jam staffer later on.  So let’s just be grateful he is just reminiscing on his fights instead of actually fighting folks now.

“My psychiatrist diagnosed me with post-childhood trauma and selective memory. All the things I’ve been through have traumatized me. It’s a miracle I’ve made it where I am without recognizing my issues.”

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SLANG EDITORIAL: The Death Of “Swagger”

On the 15th Anniversary of his death, Eazy-E’s son, Lil Eazy, opens up about what his father meant to him and to hip-hop.

My father’s legacy means everything to me, as well as my brother Derrick, and we’re continuing his legacy in music. Our father meant so much not just to us two, but what it means to the world, to the West Coast and especially our city, Compton, California.

Not only that but his impact is felt across the world, in Germany, France, Japan… Everywhere! He was and still is recognized as a legend in the music industry, laying the blueprint to being an artist/CEO.

My father contributed a big piece to hip-hop, which he doesn’t get a lot of credit for with the inspiration he gave to a lot of artist out now—from the old generation to the new, as well as producers, also giving them the freedom of speech in what they can say [in their music].

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Bottom line, without my pops you don’t have a lot of hip-hop icons people give respect and credit to—period.

Read the full letter at XXLmag.com

Okay this is a rumor from a website I don’t know. But a girl is claiming that Philadelphia rapper, Cassidy has HIV and gave it to her. Who knows she could be lying or she could’ve got it from someone else.  She has pictures with him that she posted online as well.

The girl’s name is Stephanie and here is what she had to say:

I have some important information about the rapper Cassidy that girls need to know. I met cassidy some time last summer at a concert he was doing in Philly. After the concert he invited me and my friends to play pool with him and his friends then we chilled at one of his homeboys house. The pictures are from this day we met. He wasnt anything less then a gentlemen that day so we exchanged numbers. We talked for a few months and saw each other when ever we could. It was usually at my apartment in Philly. A couple times I drove up and we met at a hotel in Hacknsack NJ. I was never able to go to his house because his babys mother and kids were there. The very 1st time we had sex he didn’t want to use a condom but I insisted. After a while we built up trust and he convinced me not to use one. The BIGGEST mistake of my life. I learned I contacted HIV from him.

When I confronted him about it he denied it but could not hide that he seemed very worreid and admitted to having unprotected sex with other girls he said they were clean. I found out later to from a friend of mine who knows a philly stripper named Porsha that he has unprotect sex with strippers and video hoes on a REGULAR BASES. Well that was the last time I spoke to him ofcourse. I am the biggest IDIOT in the world for trusting and believeing this dirty lying ass hole. I KNOW it was from Cassidy he is the only one i had sex with near the time and the ONLY one I did not use a condom with.

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After being let out of tool school early she laments, “So my scene got canceled today because my test didn’t come back in time. I was only doing a solo though LMAO. They’re protecting me from ME.”

She’s taking it in stride. Now if only the rest of us can be that disciplined! Do you demand blood tests before sex?? Speak on it!

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SEIU Local 32BJ, representing over 50,000 building service workers in New York, launched a Web site Monday to protest the former NBA basketball star’s use of non-union labor at a Brooklyn condominium building owned by his investment company.

The online site NoMagicHealthCare.org calls attention to workers at One Hanson Place, which was reopened this year following renovations and offers individual condo units for up to $1 million.

Prior to One Hanson Place’s conversion, the cleaning and maintenance workers in the building were 32BJ members earning area standard wages and benefits. The dozen workers currently receive individual health care coverage and are paid the union rate of $18.94 for porters and concierges and $20.19 for handymen. But they are being asked to pay $300 per family member for coverage, a benefit unionized luxury residential building workers in the city get as part of their contract.

The protesting union members plan to follow Johnson around with picket signs during his visit to New York this week as he makes various public appearances to promote a new book.

Meanwhile, Magic participated in a TSA (“Teen Service Announcement”) as an early and passionate supporter of @15, a new teen-led social change platform underwritten by Best Buy to give teens a voice and give them opportunities to direct the company’s philanthropy through the newly-created @15 Fund.

“There were all sorts of chances and times that I could have gotten into trouble, but instead of turning right, I turned left,” Johnson says in his online TSA. “You should dream high, because I’m a big believer that if you don’t dream it, you can’t become it. Life passes you by so fast. So, enjoy the moment. Enjoy the time.”

In addition to serving as the chairman and chief executive officer of Magic Johnson Enterprises (MJE), Johnson is currently vice president and part owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. A version of the @15 TSA will begin airing during Lakers games within the next month.