Entertainment

[caption id="attachment_970" align="aligncenter" width="251" caption="BET Awards '06: Partners At Every Stage"][/caption] This post is really a quick congratulations to King B and Young Hov on expecting their first child. I tend not to swerve into gossip blog lanes but I couldn't help notice how fast the attention came away from Kim Humphries' recent wedding! When it comes to big news, the biggest entertainer since the incomparable Michael Jackson (yeah, I said it long before her husband did-click here) runs the celebrity media world! With one embrace of her bump in her gorgeous red gown on their black carpet, Beyoncé turned the VMAs into...

30 August, 2011 /

Nickolas 'Nick' Ashford 1941-2011 Anger bubbled inside me upon learning that one of the world's seminal soul and pop music voices was silenced by throat cancer at the age of 70 on August 22, 2011. Nickolas 'Nick' Ashford truly wrote the words that made the whole world fall in love. And I was literally pissed off that the same disease who claimed the earthly life of my mother had taken also taken his. And then, I had to take a moment and rethink my reaction. Nick Ashford spent his life providing everyone within the reach of his pen, the sound of his voice--with...

25 August, 2011 /

[caption id="attachment_952" align="aligncenter" width="768" caption="Radio host, show producer/engineer and media maven. Cherry's at the top of her game!"][/caption]   Cherry Martinez made an indelible first impression on me as a jock in Los Angeles in the '90s. Her playful but assertive voice cut through the airwaves because she didn't have an 'L.A.' accent. A proud representative of Honduras educated in Boston, (Emerson College degree in Communications), Cherry is much more than another voice on the air; she commands the boards as she holds down the 10pm-2am slot on New York's Power 105.1. After reconnecting with her on Twitter a decade later, I...

03 August, 2011 /

Rest In Power, Master Teacher Gil Scott-Heron Artist * Poet * Activist * Musician * Author 1949-2011 Gil Scott-Heron was called home Friday, May 27, 2011. An iconic creative spirit who left an indelible mark on Black music and indeed the entire world, you'll read obits about his public accomplishments and contributions. He is indeed a revolutionary. He is the Godfather of Spoken Word. But this piece is about what this amazing Master Teacher taught me during the three years I worked on his behalf. Gil's music used to pump at full volume in my home. My parents and he went to Lincoln University, and his...

29 May, 2011 /

[caption id="attachment_921" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Hubbard: Making moves on and off screen."][/caption] You may have gotten to know Erica’s work from teen dance flick Save The Last Dance, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, or the ABC Family hit Lincoln Heights, where she stars as Cassie Sutton. Ms. Hubbard transitioned seamlessly from drama to comedy on Let’s Stay Together, the first original scripted sitcom undertaken by BET. Her character Kita may be sexy, single and a tad bit country, but don’t sleep on the actor in the role. She’s globetrotting and giving back with her own non-profit which supports urban youth with scholarships—with...

31 March, 2011 /

[caption id="attachment_910" align="aligncenter" width="145" caption="T-pain, Akon, Ja, Fif, Drake. All inspired by this man."][/caption]   Nathaniel “Nate Dogg” Hale 1969-2011 On March 15, 2011 Nathaniel D. Hale, professionally known as Nate Dogg, transitioned from a world upon which he left an indelible mark. Before Ja Rule, before 50 Cent, and long before T-Pain, Akon, or Drake were dabbling in the hook game, there was Tha Homie Nate, co-founding member of 213. The East Coast and Midwest probably know his crossover hits best: obviously the monster smash “Regulate” performed with Warren G, huge songs from Snoop Dogg’s debut Doggystyle like “It Ain’t No Fun” and classic album...

17 March, 2011 /

An offensive, incendiary ad went up in Manhattan this week targeting the wombs of Black women. I was not alone in my anger at the ad; media personality and recording artist Free shared my upset. She invited me to provide some analysis on the ad to take the discussion on twitter beyond the emotional reactions the ad sparked. Below is what she posted at Freesworld.com. I'd love to get your thoughts here as well. Here's the ad: [caption id="attachment_903" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="No, your eyes do not deceive you."][/caption] **** Free, I have been in advertising and marketing communications for over 12 years. As a writer...

24 February, 2011 /

Welcome to 2011, Dreamers! I want to thank you personally for making my blog a healthy, successful adventure in thought provocation all year long. I am especially grateful because I don't blog daily or even weekly, but when I do, you are all there to read and share which means you respect quality over quantity. Here's how the blog did in 2010, thanks to you: Special shouts to media superstar Angela Yee, rap icon Lil' Kim and fine artist Kara Walker for being among the highest searching people on my blog. Another highlight was my review of Tyler Perry's For Colored...

03 January, 2011 /

Yeah, I said it. So much talk about who will wear the proverbial white glove now that the King of Pop has passed on. And with the release of Michael, Jackson's first posthumous studio album this week, it really does beg the question: to whom does the torch belong? [caption id="attachment_883" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="He Is Legend"][/caption] Not surprisingly, men are always mentioned: Chris Brown. Usher. Ne-Yo. It never occurred to our chauvinist entertainment world that it could even be a woman. But I am here to tell you right now: after seeing the newly released I AM: World Tour DVD/CD concert film on the...

16 December, 2010 /

Like many Black women of my and the generation before mine, Ntozake Shange's classic work For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the RainbowIs Enuf changed my life as a young girl. I was captivated by the book and wowed by the stage adaptation of the choreopoem. I had never heard poetry performed that way on stage before. Seeing girls and ladies who looked and sounded like the ones in my family, and indeed, like me, complete with wrapped heads and flowing skirts rocked my world. [caption id="attachment_855" align="aligncenter" width="80" caption="Read this if you haven't already. "][/caption] Fast forward to the...

08 November, 2010 /

  When I met singer-songwriter and producer Abby Dobson, she was working on her debut album—and determined to finish it on her own terms. Her passion was palpable. I knew I wanted to learn more about her, and this led to me conduct an interview with her for Put Your Dreams First. Well, it’s several years later. The album is complete. And it is pure sonic bliss; warm and soft like cashmere, but at its foundation lies an insistent, undeniable power. As she prepares for the birth of her CD, I am elated to bring you closer to Abby Dobson in another...

04 November, 2010 /

Willow Smith has been in the game for a minute. She's appeared in a couple films and is now taking the music world by storm. Willow has captured the imagination of music listeners of all ages with her certified smash hit "Whip My Hair". The video debuts this week on BET during 106 & Park. Check it out here: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymKLymvwD2U&ob=av2e] No shots Rih Rih, but a nine year-old has managed to steal your thunder without baring so much as a midriff. As tweeted by poet Bassey Ikpi (my edits on the f -bomb): @BasseyworldLive: Somewhere Rhianna is poking the f*** out of a 9...

20 October, 2010 /

[caption id="attachment_802" align="aligncenter" width="405" caption="Ready to win? Make this the next book you read."][/caption] Looking for work? Ready to start your own business or go independent? Fresh out of school? Going back to school because you're out of work? Are you a creative ready to make money doing what you love instead of something just to pay your bills? Looking for the career mentor you never had? If you answered yes or maybe to any of these questions, it's time you Put Your Dreams First. Read the most comprehensive book on the market about the music, film, TV, and new media businesses. The book Chuck D hails as "new...

26 August, 2010 /

Meet Author of Put Your Dreams First: Handle Your [entertainment] Business Thembisa S. Mshaka FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2010 4-5:30pm Reading & Career Conversation Youth UpRising 8711 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, California 94605 6:30-8pm Reading & Signing With Special Guests from the book: Mykah Montgomery and Traci ‘Starchild’ Bartlow Marcus Bookstore 3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way Oakland, CA 94609 www.handleyourentertainmentbusiness.com community www.putyourdreamsfirst.com book site/trailer ...

19 August, 2010 /

  Anna Marie Wooldrige, PKA Abbey Lincoln 1930-2010 [caption id="attachment_768" align="aligncenter" width="132" caption="Natural Beauty: Abbey Lincoln"][/caption] I met my Abbey Lincoln through my parents. Well, not literally. My father introduced me to her heady mix of soaring and sobering vocal style by playing "Bird Alone" for me many years ago. I've loved her voice ever since. My mother introduced me to Abbey as an actress in the seminal film, Nothing But A Man, in which she starred as Josie. If you don't know this film, Netflix it and IMDB it. It is a classic story of race and relationships. Abbey Lincoln delivers a tour-de-force performance. But then,...

16 August, 2010 /

[caption id="attachment_762" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Living her dreams with music and on stage."][/caption] I’m gonna give it to you short and sweet: Avery Sunshine is a self-made woman. She’s an independent soul artist charting on Billboard by the sheer force of her will and the power of her voice. She’s a dramatic actor winning raves under the direction of Hollywood veteran Jasmine Guy in “I Dream the Musical”, now playing at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater. And she’s raising children as she grows her career—with a smile on her face and in her heart. AVERY*Sunshine is the album out now from this Sister Swan....

20 July, 2010 /

I am on record as being one who advocated for the forgiveness of the multi-talented, multi-platinum Chris Brown as far back as February 2009, when the most media and much of the public wanted to banish and boycott him forever. His missteps with the media in the aftermath turned the fury way up, as he looked far from remorseful—especially in contrast to Rihanna’s composed, deliberate testimony on 20/20. I understand the fury; I was furious about his assault of Rihanna on Grammy Night 2009 too. But this rigid, visceral approach to such a layered issue is neither humane nor realistic. Endless castigation does not...

29 June, 2010 /

Listen, I know Sex & the City 2 has people talking, but after seeing it (my review will come next week so all my busy ladies out there can see it because TRUST-- I got mad spoilers), I can tell you I want the momentum on Just Wright to live a good while longer. Not taking anything away from my dear friend Common on this piece. He does a foine job on his first foray into leading man territory--but my blog is about the ladies, especially those who deserve shine and don't get it. [caption id="attachment_734" align="aligncenter" width="94" caption="Seeing this billboard made me happy."][/caption] That typed,...

02 June, 2010 /

[caption id="attachment_723" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Editor, Director, Actor. Loren is a Triple Threat!"][/caption] Loren Lillian is the perfect woman to follow up my tribute to Lena Horne.  Like Lena, she only does work she's passionate about--and like Lena, who sang, acted and danced, Loren is also adept at more than one skill in the business: editing, directing, and acting. I've had the pleasure of working with Loren as an editor. She is as down-to-earth and gracious as she is gorgeous. Her editorial cutting skills are formidable; she can knock a promo out or labor over a feature, as she has with Haile Gerima's TEZA,...

14 May, 2010 /

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne 1917-2010 [caption id="attachment_708" align="aligncenter" width="97" caption="Lena Horne. The Mother of Black Hollywood"][/caption] Groundbreaking actor, dancer, and vocal stylist Lena Horne made her transition at the age of 92. Lena Horne, with her smoldering voice, lithe dancer's body, and flawless beauty, is the Mother of Black Hollywood: its glamour; its contradictions, its fighting spirit. Before Dorothy Dandridge, Lonnette McKee, Vanessa Williams, Halle Berry, or Paula Patton, there was Lena. If you are a woman of color in the business, and you elect to pursue a living performing on stage, using a microphone or appearing before a camera, you owe a debt...

10 May, 2010 /