I haven’t done one of these lists since last year, so I decided it was time to do one for the current year. This go ’round, I’m focusing on the fresh face hotties of prime time television.

1. Sendhil Ramamurthy - Best known for playing Indian genecist Mohinder Suresh on the NBC television show Heroes, Ramamurthy is a former Tufts University pre-med major. He became interested in acting during his junior year of college and switched career goals. And although I am sure he would have made one fine doctor, I, for one, am glad that we get to see him every week on Heroes. He can be my Hero any day.

2. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers - This Irish actor/model is the face of Versace’s men’s collection of Autumn/Winter 2006 and Spring 2007 and also the face of the new Hugo Boss men’s fragrance. Not only an actor and pretty face, Jonathan is also an accomplished singer. You will get to see more of this man in action when he stars in the new Showtime series, The Tudors, as young Henry VIII.

3. Eddie Steeples - Most of you remember Eddie as the Rubberband Man from the OfficeMax commercials, but did you know that Eddie is also a writer, producer, director, rapper and visual artist as well? People magazine has listed Eddie as one of their Sexiest Men Alive in the category of Hot Up and Comers. And I’m not one to argue with them. Brotha man is fine! You can catch Mr. Steeples every week as the character of Darnell Turner aka Crab Man on NBC’s My Name is Earl.

4. Scott Elrod - This former model is the latest member to be added to the cast of ABC’s Men In Trees. He plays Cash, the new love interest of Anne Heche’s character, Marin. Still a fairly new face to Hollywood, so there’s not much of a bio on this man, but who needs one when you look this good?

5. Jose Pablo Cantillo - Born and raised in Terre Haute, IN, Jose discovered his passion for acting while majoring in business at Indiana University. After graduating, he headed to New York to further his theatrical training at the prestigious Atlantic Theater Company and Barrow Group Schools. While in New York, he performed in off-Broadway plays and soon got his first television appearance on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. You can see Jose in action every week when his series, Standoff, returns in March on Fox.

Have you ever seen the MTV reality series, Made? The series follows teens who wish to be made into singers, dancers, athletes, models, etc. MTV sets them up with a Made Coach, usually an expert or celebrity in the field in which the teen wants to be made.

And when I was a youth, I wanted to be a dancer. So if I were approached by the Made staff at MTV, I would have wished to be made into an Alvin Ailey dancer. I took dance classes from ages 6-19. I was fascinated with Judith Jamison (a Soror I might add) and longed to be under her tutelage at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

So I pose this question to you……………..If given the opportunity, what would you like to be made as?

It’s been a minute since I’ve done one of these lists, but seeing as how the 2006 VH1 Hip-Hop Honors will be airing next week, I figured I’d honor a few of the conscious cuties of hip hop. And as always, these are my choices:

1. Common - This Windy City brotha first caught my eye with the release of his debut album, Can I Borrow A Dollar? But it was his album, Resurrection, which dropped the single, I Used To Love H.E.R. that kept me wanting more of H.I.M. Many albums later, I’m still a fan. Look for Common to release his 7th album, Finding Forever, in March of 2007 with appearances from D’Angelo and production work by Kanye West, Dr. Dre and the late J Dilla. Also Common will make his big screen debut in the film, Smokin’ Aces, in early 2007.

2. Black Thought - Born Tariq Trotter and better known as the MC and co-founder of The Roots, Black Thought is probably one of the most political rappers in the game today. With or without locs, I luvs me some Tariq! At one point, Black Thought was set to release a solo album, but the album was shelved due to The Roots departure from MCA. But be on the lookout for a project in the future called Dangerous Thoughts with Black and Danger Mouse, who is one half of Gnarles Barkley. But in the meantime and in between time, check out Black Thought on The Roots latest album, Game Theory.

3. Ali Shaheed Muhammad - While most sistas were diggin’ on Q-Tip, I was diggin’ on Ali Shaheed Muhammad, the DJ and member of A Tribe Called Quest. After ATCQ disbanded, Ali went on to form the group Lucy Pearl with Raphael Saadiq and Dawn Robinson, who was later replaced with Joi. And in 2004, Ali went released a solo album called, Shaheedullah and Stereotypes, which is actually a pretty good album. It’s a mix of Hip Hop and R&B. Check it out if you’re looking for something different.

4. Talib Kweli - His name means student of truth in Arabic, so you know this brotha is bad! Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good. Talib was one half of the rap duo, Black Star, which also featured Mos Def. After releasing 2 critically acclaimed solo albums, Talib is set to drop another gem on November 7, 2006 entitled Eardrum, with apperances from Jadakiss, Raekwon, Lloyd Banks, Musiq, Rakim, Sizzla and UGK. Producers will include Hi-Tek, Kwame (yes, the Polka Dot Kid himself), Rick Rubin, Kanye West and DJ Khalil.

5. Pharoahe Monch - I first noticed Pharoahe as a member of the hip hop group, Organized Konfusion in the early 90’s. Pharoahe was a bit on the chubby side back then, but I didn’t care, there was something about him that made me take notice. Was it the gap in between his teeth? Could be, but I think it was his rhyme style that made me stop and pause. When he returned as a solo artist in the late 90’s, Pharoahe was no longer chubby, but a slim and slightly buffed rapper. He was still rockin’ the gap toothed smile, and that made me love him even more. Pharoahe had marginal success with his debut album, Internal Affairs, but it was his single Simon Says from that same album which sampled a Godzilla beat, that got major airplay. Pharoahe is set to drop his sophomore album entitled, Desire, on November 28, 2006.