I’ve been posting so many serious articles recently that I thought I’d give you all a break by posting a few entertainment articles. The first in my entertainment series is the singer/dancer, Usher.

I’ve never been a fan of his but he has been in the news lately because of the fact that he is dating a woman named Tameka Foster. She is nine years his senior and left her husband and three children to be with Usher—for whom she had worked as a stylist. She claims to be pregnant by him at this time.

Usher’s mother apparently was not thrilled with the union, voiced her opinion and was fired by Usher—replaced with Tameka as his manager.Usher has been running all over the place, from radio station to media outlets, to yell from the rooftops that he wants his fans to know that all rumors about Tameka are false and that rumors about him firing all who tried to warn him about Tameka are false, and so on.He was scheduled to marry Ms. Foster on Saturday, July 28th. However…the National Enquirer sort of threw a monkey wrench in those plans. And before you write off the publication, remember that the NE is sometimes wrong but it’s not always wrong:

“Poor Usher has no idea who he’s marrying,” said Valencia Foster (Tameka’s half sister). “He’s a wonderful guy, but Tameka is giving him a big time snow job.”

The family met for a “getting to know the in-laws” dinner in Tameka’s hometown of Oakland, Calif., on July 7 as the couple finalized plans for a July 28 wedding.

Valencia, 49, explained that Usher led a prayer before dinner, then turned to her and said:

“You know all the family secrets, tell me about them.” Before I could say a word, Tameka kicked me so hard under the table she almost put a hole in my leg,” Valencia said.

“Then she pulled me aside and whispered: “‘Don’t tell him anything.’”

Tameka, fleeing from a troubled home life, moved in with Valencia when she was 11. “She arrived with $14 in food stamps in her purse,” Valencia re-called. “She turned out to be a nightmare.”

By 14, she had become involved with a married drug dealer five years older than her, Valencia says.

“I banned him from the house, but four years later she was pregnant with his baby when his car was ambushed and he was riddled with bullets. Tameka missed being with him in the car by minutes.”

Court records show that Tameka has been arrested twice. In 1991, she served 20 days in the Los Angeles County Jail for petty theft and was placed on probation for two years. Records indicate she had previously served jail time.

An earlier arrest in Alameda County, Calif., involved “some kind of welfare fraud, and she was sentenced to perform community service,” said Valencia.

Tameka, Usher’s former wardrobe stylist, has three children and is expecting the singer’s baby in the fall. Usher, 28, recently shocked fans by reportedly firing his manager/mother and replacing her with Tameka.

The 36-year-old bride asked her father, John Foster, to give her away at the wedding in the Hampton’s, the tony New York enclave. But Tameka threatened to ban her mom from the ceremony, because she had lost her false teeth!

“Tameka told her: ‘You’re not coming to my wedding without teeth,’” Valencia said.

“I asked her why she didn’t buy her mother a new set, and she told me: ‘Let her get her own (bleeping) teeth- she didn’t take care of me when I was young.’”

Valencia says Tameka’s mom bought the new teeth herself, and she believes one day Usher will discover the truth about his new bride. “Usher is so much in love he’s under her spell,” she said. “But he’s going to find out she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Source
Usher has submitted the following press release:

“It was announced today that the wedding ceremony for Usher Raymond, IV and Tameka Foster was canceled. No additional information will be given regarding the circumstances of the cancellation, but we hope the privacy of this matter will be respected.” Source

And for those of you who need a little more convincing, look at the image at the top of this article. It’s a copy of one of her arrests.

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UPDATE (8/5/07):  Appears he has gone on and tied the knot:  Source