Terrence Howard's new sidelight

We liked it better when he was preachifying on "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp."

Oscar nominee Terrence Howard is out flogging his first record, "Shine Through It," just about everywhere these days. "The View!" "The Today Show!" "Late Show with David Letterman!" Doesn't this guy sleep?

We kind of wish he would. Not sure we'd go this far, but can't exactly call ourselves fans of his new all-in endeavor (he wore just about every hat in the making-of this record). His voice has been described as "a scratchier Seal" -- is that a good thing? -- but any project reeking of smooth jazz sends us running for the door.

Decide for yourselves -- watch the video here.

And as for the source of "Pimp" -- candidates for Most Genuinely Thrilled and Not Afraid to Happy Dance Oscar Winners Ever -- the guys from Three 6 Mafia found themselves in the middle of quite a kerfuffle last night at the House of Blues in WeHo. Fights, arrests, injuries, oh my! Calm down, folks. How about some nice laid-back Terrence Howard music? Yeah, that should work.