Kirk Fraser’s “Without Bias“ at 8 p.m. Tuesday - a World Series off day! - in which he looks back at the death of Len Bias in June of 1986.
As Michael Wilbon correctly points out in the film, it is difficult for anyone over 70 or under 25 to understand the magnitude of the story at the time.
But for those of us in and around Bias’ generation, few sports deaths have been as shocking and sobering.
The publicity for the film suggests important new ground in the story is broken here. I’m not so sure about that.
Its strength is that it gathers a staggeringly thorough array of talking heads who know the story best - including Bias’ family and the men who were with him on that fateful night.
Solange was dropped from Interscope/Geffen Records. There has been a few rumors of it back in April, but was swiftly denied by the Knowles camp.
BV Buzz can officially report that Solange Knowles is no longer signed to Interscope/Geffen Records.
BV Buzz’s previous story, back in April, caused a firestorm of backlash from both Solange and her father/manager, Mathew Knowles.
At the time, Knowles sent over this unedited statement: “Our joint venture with Music World and Interscope/Geffen/A&M is very much in placed for Solange. It’s very disappointing in recent days the amount of false statements in the marketplace from Solange being drop to me accused of being Kelly Rowland’s father.”
Additionally, Solange took to Twitter to blast this columnist by writing: “Ren and Stimpy “you stooppid idioots part 19? lol. Today, April 7, 09 I am still on Music World/Geffen/ Interscope records…”
Denials aside, BV Buzz has learned that the label parted ways with Solange around May.
“They just waited for the buzz to die down and quietly ended their relationship with her,” a source close to the label told us.
Though Solange has been currently recording new music for her third solo CD, that music is being recorded independently as she has yet to ink a new deal with another label.
BV Buzz reached out to Music World Entertainment for a new comment on this story – though since they lied once, I’m sure they’ll lie again.
Here’s what they had to say: “Solange felt it necessary to go with a smaller, independent label that focuses more on the alternative genre, one that reflects her music style and artistry. Solange is working on a new album and the label will be announced shortly. The relationship with Interscope is excellent and the current album, ‘Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams’ is still being worked through the Music World/ Interscope joint venture with consistent weekly sales.”
Getting drop could be one of the reasons Solange cut her hair off. Some say that women tend to cut there hair as a sign of rebirth and new independence.
Rihanna is breaking her silence. I kind of figured she eventually had to come out with what happen at some point and find the timing pretty interesting for her to do so. Not only is she schedule releases, but so is Chris Brown.
Watch video preview below:
Posted under Chris Brown, Rihanna by Kato on Saturday 31 October 2009 at 11:26 am
Why You Should Watch: The songstress reaches new heights (literally) in the video for the first official single off her upcoming album ‘The Element of Freedom.’
The date of October 27th is now officially known as “I Will Graduate Day” in New York City! Mayor Bloomberg made the proclamation at the 4th annual Stay in School pep rally hosted by the Entertainers 4 Education Alliance at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. Many entertainers and athletes came out to encourage NYC’s youth, including Russell Simmons, NBA legend John Starks and R&B sensation Keri Hilson (in photo above).
Keri Hilson took the stage to discuss the importance of attendance and being on time for school: “Show up even when you don’t feel like it.” Keri talked about the entertainment business and how her education is a key factor in not getting taken advantage of. “You have to read contracts, documents, and oversee your finances, much of what I learned in school prepared me to manage my affairs today.”
The Alliance was created by former Roc-A-Fella records publicist Tonya Lewis, who used her event planning and publicist skills, along with her industry contacts to create the organization. She shares about the importance of creating her foundation: “New York State has the highest dropout rate for Black and Hispanic students of any state in the nation, when I read these statistics I am motivated to continue to get the youth to view education as necessary. When the youth hear someone they admire express the importance of education it can be life changing. We are also very appreciative of every speaker, performer, sponsor and volunteer who help us make this event possible year after year.” Learn more about Tonya Lewis and visit the website at http://www.e4ea.org/.
In an interview, Jay-Z responds to Beanie Sigel’s rant by basically saying, “Beanie had a record deal, a record label, and a clothing line. What more can you do for a person. If that’s not pushing a person then…”
Beanie Sigel gets detailed on why he went in on Jay-Z. “Hov ain’t push us like 50 Cent did with G-Unit” + The Rocafella Break Up (Dame was flossin too much. spending company’s money)
Ludacris kicked off his foundation’s festivities on Friday at the National Press Club, and on Saturday, he hosted the Ludacris Foundation’s 6th annual benefit dinner.
The Ludacris Foundation honored Kevin Liles (far right), Debra Lee of BET, Quincy Jones (2nd from left), and Congresswoman Maxine Waters at its 6th annual benefit dinner, Saturday, October 24th at the Ronald Regan Building. Also pictured is Shaka Zulu (left) and Roberta Shields (Luda’s Mom - center), President of the Ludacris Foundation.
The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.
After Academy Award nominated actress Taraji P. Henson served as grand marshall for Howard Homecomings parade last week, she gave back to the DC community in a different way. The actress hosted ‘A Write to Revolution,’ a fundraiser benefiting the international non-profit, Art Creates Life at the Washington Plaza Hotel. Henson serves as Art Creates Life’s national spokesperson, and was joined by actor Lamman Rucker, WJLA’s Cynee Simpson and singer John Forte at the event.
The movement, “A Write To Revolution,” is a fight against illiteracy in urban America and the African Diaspora. This event launched Art Creates Life’s initiative to galvanize community members to stop and take action, to help a child or adult learn to read and write. All funds raised from the event will support programming in three D.C. schools, as well as their annual trip to Senegal, West Africa to participate in a literacy support project. For more information, visit http://www.artcreateslife.org/.
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys took to the field to perform their Big Apple anthem ‘Empire State of Mind’ before Game 2 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies in the Bronx on Thursday night. And, as promised, Hova kept it clean for the Bronx Bombers’ fans while his entire band supported the hometown team and donned Yankee jerseys.
Harvard students will be able to watch the “The Wire” for class credit next year.
At a panel last night, stars of the HBO hit series joined Harvard professors in discussing the applications of the show—which depicts the struggles of urban life in Baltimore—in understanding and combating real urban social issues.
“‘The Wire’ has done more to enhance our understanding of the systemic urban inequality that constrains the lives of the poor than any published study” Sociology Professor William J. Wilson said.
African American studies chair Professor Evelyn B. Higginbotham said that there would be a new course in which Wilson will use “The Wire” as a case study for poverty in America.
“I’m going to do whatever I need to do to get into that class. I’m excited,” said Martin A. Kessler ’13.
Attendee Sarah V. Chace ’80, who is also a fan of the show, said she already uses “The Wire” as a case study in a class on community leadership she teaches at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven. She said she came to the event to hear more about how other academics and the actors view the role of “The Wire” in depicting urban life.
The show’s enthusiastic fan base contributed to the excitement surrounding the sold-out event, which was sponsored by the African American Studies Department and two local charitable organizations, the Boston Foundation and the Ella J. Baker House.
“It’s probably the best form of media I’ve ever seen, TV or film,” said Brian D. Goldstein ’04, who now studies at the Graduate School of Design.
Panelists encouraged audience members to internalize these harsh realities of the real world problems that the show depicts and actively work to solve them.
“Everything we’re doing to make the world a better place is really for our kids,” said actor Michael K. Williams, who played stick-up artist Omar Little on the show. “Our kids are dying in huge numbers. It’s the real wire.”
Sonja Sohn, who portrayed detective Kima Greggs, described the work of Rewired for Change, the non-profit she started with other cast members to help at-risk youth in the areas of Baltimore depicted in “The Wire.”
She encouraged audience members to make similar changes in the communities they learn about through “The Wire” and the new Harvard course.
“Become a part of these communities. These circumstances will not change if you do nothing,” Sohn said. “Get it moving. Get it popping. Get up off your butt and do something.”
NBC’s big hope to replace “ER” has been placed on life support.
The network has decided not to order any additional episodes of its new big-budget action medical series “Trauma,” which featured Derek Luke in the role of a paramedic.
Ratings for the drama have stalled since its season premiere, but it showed a small ratings uptick this week against CBS repeats, prompting the network to book the series for three more weeks.
“Trauma” will now finish production on its original 13-episode order before unplugging the machine, so to speak.
The Associated Press’s Sandy Cohen asks the question, “Could ‘Michael Jackson’s This Is It’ win an Oscar?” citing the rousing praise from critics who say the film restores Jackson’s reputation as a world-class entertainer.
The movie comes too late in the year to be considered for a documentary Oscar, but the film about the late King of Pop’s preparations for a series of comeback concerts could qualify for other Hollywood honors, including the Academy Award for best picture.
With the best-picture slate expanded to 10 films this year rather than the traditional five, “This Is It” could find itself among the contenders, according to Variety’sexecutive editor Steven Gaydos.
To qualify, the film must complete a seven-day run in Los Angeles County and filmmakers would need to “submit the proper paperwork,” said Leslie Unger, spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which puts on the Oscars. The movie could also be considered in other categories such as sound, she said.
Sony, which paid $60 million for the global film rights, plans to keep “This Is It” in theaters for just over two weeks. The studio did not respond to an e-mail from Cohen seeking comment about whether it planned to submit the film in any of the Oscar categories.
Earlier this year Sheldon Jackson Lee, affectionately known as Spike Lee, was in Detroit for the 14th Annual Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs conference and was interviewed by Ed Gordon on the film industry and his career for the “Our World” TV show.
He has always been very outspoken with his ideas and opinions in race relations and politics and this time is no different. He has a body of work that is more impressive than any other black filmmaker, yet he can’t get the draw of, a sayyyyyy, Tyler Perry.
The question on the table remains, “What is it in Perry’s formula that is different than Spike’s?” Gordon put it out there that the imagery African Americans are flocking to see, Tyler Perry’s, is not in any way reflective of let’s sayyyyyyyyyyyyy a Spike Lee. Spike’s take on the image of Black America on film is a “complex subject,” said Lee. He told Gordon that everyone should be able to express themselves however they want, but while we can do better than what we’re doing with image, the people are who make or break our image.
And yes, these are the comments that infuriated Tyler Perry on last weekend’s “60 Minutes” program.
Actor Clifton Powell, probably most notably known from movies such as Ray, Next Friday, Friday After Next, The Gospel, Menace II Society, and my personal favorite, Dead Presidents, is also in the currently released DVD Jazz In The Diamond District.
In the clip below, Powell shares a poweful and emotion interview with WKYS’s EZ Street about his life growing up in the Mayfair/Parkside area of Washington, DC (the same place my parents grew up I might add), and getting into the arts, to include the Duke Ellington School of Arts (where I went, I might also add).
I personally have to say that I first caught attention to Clifton Powell’s work in the television series ‘Roc’ and ‘South Central.’
Click the audio arrow below to listen to the interview:
Two of Michael Jackson’s brothers, Marlon and Jackie, had nothing but shining compliments for “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” after the film’s sparkling Los Angeles premiere. But, they said, the documentary was also a reminder that they had lost their beloved brother.
“It was fantastic. It was amazing. It’s a bittersweet moment for us, ’cause you know [we experienced] the passing of our brother,” Jackie said. “But at the same token, I wanted to see Michael do his thing. It was electrifying.”
Jackie went on to say that judging by the response in the Nokia Theatre, where the premiere was held, the audience loved the film as well. He thinks it reminded them all how talented Jackson was when he was up on stage.
“They loved it,” he said. “It was his final rehearsal. He was working with his band, his background singers and he was teaching them steps, the moves. It was great to see him in action.”
Marlon said his brother would have been happy to see that his fans got the chance to see MJ create his This Is It concerts. “I think he would have appreciated the fans across the globe [getting the opportunity to] respect his work, appreciate his work,” he said. “That’s all we want people to do is appreciate what we do.”
The brothers also addressed why their mother, Katherine, and their sisters haven’t yet screened “This Is It”: “Because it’s hard for them to see it right now,” Jackie explained.
“Everybody’s different, so you might want to give a little more time,” Marlon added. “But they’re going to see it, and if it’s never, then it’s never, but we respect that.”
Jackson’s three children, Prince, Blanket and Paris, also need more time before they see the film, their uncles said, denying the rumors that the children had a private screening of the film. “They’re going to see it on their own time,” Jackie said. “It’s already been arranged.”
DJ Jazzy Jeff had an interesting relationship with the late King of Pop. The Philadelphia turntablist’s A Touch of Jazz production company worked with Michael Jackson on “Butterflies,” a slow-jam top-40 hit from his last solo effort, 2001’s Invincible. The song was originally intended for British soul duo Floetry, but when MJ’s camp got wind of the number, Jackson decided he had to have the track for himself.
So he called Jeff.
“It was funny, because [the guy that connected the call] was like, ‘Mike heard the song and he loves it,’ ” Jeff told MTV News. “And, you know, anytime you heard anything about Mike, you’re kind of like, ‘Whatever.’ I was mad, ’cause I was the only one in the room. So I answer the phone, and he was like, ‘Jeff, I got Mike on the phone.’ And Mike was like, ‘Hey, Jazzy, I just want to let you know I need this song, man.’ And I was just standing there like, ‘OK.’ And I hung up the phone and went into the room with everyone. I told them I just got off the phone with Michael Jackson and he wants the song. Everyone was just like [skeptically], ‘Ohhhh-kay.’ ”
The DJ, who recently put out the Michael Jackson mixtape He’s the King, I’m the DJ, understood the sentiment completely. Years earlier, when he and Will Smith were active as DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, he had a similar feeling of disbelief over an MJ call.
“I’ve had some bad experiences with Mike on the phone, ’cause I actually hung up on Mike in the studio once,” Jeff explained. “I walked in, and Will was in the studio on the phone, and I didn’t know who he was talking to. He was like, ‘Hold on — say what’s up to Jeff.’ And when I grabbed the phone, he said it was Michael Jackson.”
Jeff hung up, to Smith’s chagrin.
“Will just had a blank look, like, ‘Dude, you hung up on Michael Jackson,’ ” Jeff recalled, laughing. “I apologized [when he called back], and Mike told me, ‘You know, I get it all the time. It’s OK.’ ”
MJ didn’t hold it against Jeff when the two eventually worked together. Jeff said his time in the studio with Jackson was a unique experience. The superstar singer took three days to complete “Butterflies,” Jeff recalled. He would only work for one hour a day after warming up his voice for one hour prior to the studio session.
The DJ said he had never seen anyone go to those lengths to achieve a peak performance, but after the first day, the shock of MJ being in the studio wore off. Jeff described the gloved star as “cool.”
“By the second day, everything was normal and he was cracking jokes,” Jeff said.
Ralph Carter:
Date of Birth
30 May 1961, New York, New York, USA
Nominated for Broadway’s 1974 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for “Raisin.”
Ralph released a record, “Extra Extra,” that was a minor hit in the mid-1970’s.
Like other TV child stars, Ralph’s on-camera career fell away after his popular show’s cancellation, unable to transition into adult roles.
Had an 80s singing nightclub act and performed mainly as a baritone balladeer performing in such NY clubs as Sweetwater’s.
Showed up on an episode of “E! True Hollywood Story” (age 40+) for the story behind his landmark sitcom sporting a mustache.
On June 28, 2006, Carter appeared at the BET Awards in a mini-”Good Times” reunion, joining former cast members Jimmie Walker (J.J.), BernNadette Stanis (Thelma) and Janet Jackson (Penny).
At the height of his “Good Times” (1974) run, Carter was groomed for teen-idol singing status. Mercury Records produced Carter’s one and only release — the 1975 “Young And In Love”. Ralph’s two singles were “Extra Extra (Read All About it)” and “When You’re Young And In Love.” He also sang on a couple of his TV show’s episodes.
For his work in the 1973 musical “Raisin”, Carter won the Theatre World Award was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor in a Musical. That same season he also appeared in “Dude”, for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Performer, “Via Galactica” (both of which were short-lived) and “The Karl Marx Play”, which performed off-Broadway. Prior to this he came in as a replacement in the Broadway musical “The Me Nobody Knows” in 1971 at the age of 10.
In 2005 he appeared in the cast of “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death” for the Classical Theatre of Harlem company.
Best known as a juvenile player on 70s TV with his portrayal of spunky activist son Michael, the youngest sibling in the Evans household, on the popular sitcom “Good Times” (1974).
The Muslim Brotherhood In Egypt is a political organization that once included Sayyid Qutb, the man who inspired Al-Qaeda. It was founded to promote Islamic law, oppress women etc. And now it wants to keep Beyonce out of Egypt! according to Gawker.com.
Bey is scheduled to perform her first ever concert in the ancient land of Khemet and pyramids on November 6. But apparently a crazy and reportedly dangerous Islamist MP named Hamdi Hassan, from a gang called The Muslim Brotherhood In Egypt, wants regulators to mount up and get her permission to perform revoked.
“The government is trying to make people indulge in sin and licentiousness to cover up the other crimes it is committing against them,” said Hassan in parliament….Not exactly sure what he means but I can only deduce that they don’t want no big booty half naked women coming over there and tainting the minds of their women and children.
Right now the extremists are just verbally condemning the performance but if I were Beyonce and her camp I would probably PROCEED WITH CAUTION because those crazy islamic extremist mother jokers over there don’t play.
Showed up on an episode of “E! True Hollywood Story” (age 40+) for the story behind his landmark sitcom sporting a mustache.
