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February 16, 2018 No Comments  

Black Panther Pride

(Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted in a while. A long while. When you plan to take a 6 month blogger break then boom…Black Panther. This movie, these characters, this feeling of pride that has spread like wildfire among our community…this movement, is something I simply can’t sit out for.

I’m not seeing the movie until Monday morning because I literally could not find a show that fit my schedule before then. You guys snatched those tickets up faster than ice water in a dessert lol. But even the inconvenience of having to wait makes me smile because its evidence of the showing up and showing out that we’re doing for a film that is so very worthy of the response.

Black Panther is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The flick features a black superhero (Chadwick Boseman), a mostly black cast (Michael B. Jordan, Lupita N’Yongo, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker), and was conducted by a black director (Ryan Coogler). #MelaninMagic is in full effect.

Wakanda, the African country where the film is set, is fictitious but very much indicative of very real countries that reside on the continent. The struggle to change the perception of Africa from an impoverished violent place to the culturally rich land that it is has been long standing. The film’s star, Chadwick Boseman, shared his view on the subject with CNN.

“Having studied at Howard [a historically black university in Washington D.C.] and having various different experiences within our culture, I knew it was an opportunity to pull from real things, real achievements, real African culture and place it in this movie to make it real.” Boseman said. “If anybody believes that Africa didn’t have an empire, didn’t have architecture, didn’t have art, didn’t have science, you see it in this movie.”

The outpouring of support the film is receiving from African-Americans is something that has become quite significant for a community that has championed for proper representation in film and in media and entertainment as a whole. I liken the effect to what was felt around the world when Barack Obama became the first black President. Seeing is indeed believing. Michael B. Jordan expects to be seeing a few new costumes ideas in October. He told CNN:

“I can’t wait for Halloween to see everyone dressing up as the Dora Milaje [the female special forces in the film], Black Panther and Killmonger [the super villain Jordan portrays].”

Mr. Jordan is making big projections for a movie that has only been in the theaters for a few hours but for some reason I think he’s right.

Have you seen Black Panther yet? What did you think of the film?

August 29, 2017 No Comments  

[VIDEO] New OWN Series Highlights “Black Love”

Next month the hubbs and I will be celebrating 9 years of marriage. Yaye us! lol. Through it’s ups and downs love is an amazing thing. However, coming across authentic examples of real love on the tube is hard to come by. Auntie Oprah is looking to change that with new OWN original series “Black Love”.

The show, which premiere’s tonight, will take a stab at giving the “behind the scenes” of long term relationships as well as some still in the honeymoon phase, through first hand accounts from the couples themselves.

Tia and Cory Hardwick, Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin, Flex and Shanice, and a few others will shed light on how they got together and how they’ve kept the fire burning in their relationships. Check out the extended trailer below.

“Black Love” premieres tonight, August 29th at 10/9c on OWN. In the meantime, you can check out a few clips here.

September 28, 2016 No Comments  

Fall 2016 Television Preview: Versailles, Insecure & More

Some of my favorite television programs are on break. No Games of Thrones, Power, The Last Ship or Underground until well into 2017. So I’ve been looking for some new shows to watch and it looks like I’ve lucked up. There’s some promising TV coming our way that might just satisfy our appetites and fill the void of much needed daily drama, comedy and intensity. Check out a few of the series’ I’ll be checking out this Fall and into the new year below.


VERSAILLES

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Versailles. If you’re a “period” buff Ovation is premiering a new series just for you. Set in 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world – Versailles. However, his lack of budget, affairs and political intrigues make things a bit complicated. The king begins to show his viciousness as secrets are revealed and politics and war are maneuvered through, revealing Versailles in all its glory and brutality.

The 10 episode series starring George Blagden will premiere on Ovation October 1st at 10PM ET. The story of Versailles is one of depth and layers but you can get a little bit of drama now by checking out the trailer below.


INSECURE

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Insecure. I’m a huge fan of the “regular smegular girl” that is Issa Rae and was thrilled to see that she would be starring alongside another one of my faves, Jay Ellis, in HBO’s Insecure.  The half-hour comedy series delves into the friendship, experiences and tribulations of two black women. Created and executive produced by Issa Rae, this eight-episode series looks to be filled with awkward, vulnerable and relatable moments.

Insecure premiers on HBO on October 9th at 10:30PM ET. Watch the trailer below for a few pre-premiere laughs.


AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE

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American Housewife. Katie Otto, a confident, unapologetic wife and mother of three, raises her not so perfect family in a wealthy suburb in Connecticut filled with flawless families; a far cry from her own. Katie is dead set on “keeping it real” and not allowing her environment to deter her from raising her children with old-fashioned values, even if her methods appear unconventional. But we all know that sometimes keeping it real can go all the way wrong.

American Housewife premieres on ABC on October 11th at 8:30PM ET. Catch some of the tug of war between Katie and her bougie neighbors in the trailer below.


MONEY. POWER. RESPECT.

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Money. Power. Respect. If your TV fix is reality shows then you’ve probably had your fill of the limelight celebrities, housewives etc. that we see ALL THE TIME. If you’re looking for some behind-the-scenes reality, WE TV’s new reality series might be for you. Money. Power. Respect. focuses on the people who turn artists into stars. The new series will follow the lives of six high-powered female entertainment attorneys who use the tricks of their legal training to get Money, Power and Respect in their personal & professional lives.

Money. Power. Respect airs on October 13th at 10PM ET on WE TV. Watch a sneak peek below.


SHOTS FIRED

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Shots Fired. FOX isn’t airing this show until 2017 but it looks too good not to share anyway. Shots Fired is a compelling drama that focuses on the aftermath of racially charged shootings in a small Southern town. The timely series follows Ashe Bell (Sanaa Lathan) through a media storm that sets off when an African-American cop kills a white teenager.

There is no air date just yet, but the trailer will give you an emotional look at art imitating life in this intense drama.

Have I missed any new must-see TV series? Feel free to share and chime into the chatter.

June 27, 2016 1 Comment  

Beyonce & Kendrick Give Us Life with “Freedom”, Jesse Williams Takes Us to School AND Church & More at the 2016 BET Awards

Whenever Beyonce’ drops an album a new era begins so when she dropped “Lemonade” in April everybody got in “Formation”. BET is no exception. The network’s 16th annual awards show began with Beyonce’ serving a tall glass of fierceness as she and rapper Kendrick Lamar opened the show with her song “Freedom”. The two delivered the powerful performance dripping with black pride in ankle deep water with flames dancing in the background. It was our second favorite moment of the night.

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Just as chatworthy as Lemonade’s debut in April, was the shocking and untimely death of Prince. Billboard was the first to honor the musical icon at their 24th awards show back in May but some were not satisfied with what Billboard put together for an artist with the history of Prince Nelson Rogers. BET threw shade, promising to do better. And they did, littering their show with tributes from start to finish. From Bilal and Erykah Badu to Maxwell to Jennifer Hudson to Janelle Monae, the purple one’s impact was reflected through the artists he’s inspired throughout his decades long career. But none compared to Prince’s protege, Sheila E., taking the stage in an energetic and emotional performance to honor the man who introduced her to the world.

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Our absolute favorite moment of the night was actor/activist Jessie Williams’ speech after being presented with this year’s Humanitarian Award. The actor is known for his outspokenness against racism and inequality. Last night was no different.

“This award is not for me. This is for the real organizers all over the country, the activist, the civil rights attorneys, the struggling parents, the families, the teachers, the students that are realizing that a system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do. It’s kinda basic mathematics: the more we learn about who we are and how we got here the more we will mobilize.

This award is also for the black women in particular who have spent their lives nurturing everyone before themselves — we can and will do better for you.

Now, what we’ve been doing is looking at the data and we know that police somehow manage to de-escalate, disarm and not kill white people every day. So what’s going to happen is we’re going to have equal rights and justice in our own country or we will restructure their function and ours. [Standing ovation.]

I got more, y’all. Yesterday would have been young Tamir Rice’s 14th birthday so I don’t want to hear any more about how far we’ve come when paid public servants can pull a drive-by on a 12-year-old playing alone in a park in broad daylight, killing him on television, and then going home to make a sandwich.

Tell Rekia Boyd how it’s so much better to live in 2012 than 1612 or 1712. Tell that to Eric Garner, Sandra Bland.

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The thing is though, all of us here are getting money, that alone isn’t going to stop this. Dedicating our lives to getting money just to give it right back to put someone’s brand on our body — when we spent centuries praying with brands on our bodies, and now we pray to get paid for brands on our bodies?

There has been no war that we have not fought and died on the front lines of. There is no job we haven’t done, there is no tax they haven’t levied against us, and we have paid all of them.

But freedom is always conditional here. ‘You’re free!’ they keeping telling us. But she would be alive if she hadn’t acted so… free.  Now, freedom is always coming in the hereafter, but the hereafter is a hustle: We want it now.

Let’s get a couple of things straight. The burden of the brutalized is not to comfort the bystander — that’s not our job so let’s stop with all that. If you have a critique for our resistance then you’d better have an established record, a critique of our oppression.

If you have no interest in equal rights for black people then do not make suggestions to those who do: sit down.

We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries, and we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil — black gold! — ghettoizing and demeaning our creations and stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit.

Just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real. Thank you.”

Other notable highlights of the show were a tribute to boxer/activist Muhammed Ali by Jamie Foxx and Ali’s daughter/boxer Laila Ali, Usher performing “No limit” wearing a jacket that read “Don’t Trump America” and Samuel L. Jackson receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.

During his speech, Jackson admitted that he hadn’t heard a speech like Jesse Williams’ since the 1960’s and thanked his accountants for making sure he paid his taxes so he attend the show.

Watch clips of our fave moments and see the full list of winners below.

 

Here’s the complete list of 2016 BET Award winners.

  • Best Male R&B/Pop Artist — Bryson Tiller
  • Best Female R&B/Pop Artist — Beyoncé
  • Best Actor — Michael B. Jordan
  • Best Actress — Taraji P. Henson
  • Best Movie — “Straight Outta Compton”
  • Best New Artist — Bryson Tiller
  • Video of the Year — Beyoncé, “Formation”
  • Best Male Hip-Hop Artist — Drake
  • Best Female Hip-Hop Artist — Nicki Minaj
  • Best Collaboration — Rihanna ft. Drake, “Work”
  • Best Group — Drake and Future
  • Best Gospel — Kirk Franklin
  • Youngsters Award — Amandla Stenberg
  • Centric Award — Beyoncé, “Formation”
  • Video Director of the Year — Director X
  • Dr. Bobby Jones Gospel Inspirational Award — Kirk Franklin
  • Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award — Beyoncé, “Formation”
  • Sportsman of the Year — Stephen Curry
  • Sportswoman of the Year — Serena Williams
  • Best International Act Africa — Wizkid (Nigeria)
  • Best International Act U.K. — Skepta
  • Humanitarian Award — Jesse Williams
  • Lifetime Achievement Award — Samuel L. Jackson
April 24, 2016 No Comments  

“Lemonade” is Beyonce’s Triumphant Ode to Black Women

Beyonce Lemonade

“Art is the unapologetic celebration of culture through self express.” – Beyonce 

Beyonce “shocked the world” when she dropped her self titled fifth album in the middle of a December night in 2013. There was an effortlessness and about her very first visual album. It seemed so effortless that I knew, even then, it wouldn’t be her last. For as many fans as she has, Beyonce lost a few of them when she made the decision to begin to assert her creative freedom. Beyonce seemed like an unborn baby. Her next album would be the birth.

Last night Queen Bey released her sixth body of work via an hour long HBO special. Like Beyonce, the album that she titled Lemonade is also a visual album. But for me, outside of her fearlessness, that’s where the comparisons end. As good as Lemonade is, it didn’t feel effortless at all. In fact, it seemed methodical. It felt like every single image and every single line was strategic and meant to send specific messages. Messages about love and betrayal, pain and healing, insecurity and confidence, imprisonment and freedom; emotions and feelings that through a naked eye only seemed to be directed at Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z.

Intuition. “You can taste the dishonesty. It’s all over your breath.”

Denial. “I tried to change, closed my mouth more, tried to be soft, prettier, less awake.”

Anger. “Who the f*ck do you think I am? You ain’t married to no average bitch boy”….“If you try this shit again, you gon lose your wife.

Apathy. “Ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks”…”suck my balls pause”

Emptiness. “She sleeps all day, dreams of you in both worlds…Grief, sedated by orgasm. Orgasm heightened by grief.”

Accountability. “Did he bend your reflection? Did he make you forget your own name? Did he convince you he was a god? Did you get on your knees daily? “

Reformation. “Why do you deny yourself heaven? Why do you consider yourself undeserving? Why are you afraid of love? You think it’s not possible for someone like you. But you are the love of my life.”

Forgiveness. “Now that reconciliation is possible, if we’re gonna heal, let it be glorious.”

Resurrection. “It’s time to listen, it’s time to fight.”

Hope. “I break chains all by myself. I’mma keep running cause winners don’t quit on themselves.”

Redemption. “My grandma said, nothing real can be threatened. True love brought salvation back into me. With every tear came redemption and my torturer became my remedy. So we’re gonna heal, we’re gonna start again.”

The masses are attempting to connect the dots between the elevator fight between Beyonce’s sister Solange and Jay-Z which was rumored to have been about some sort of affair between the rapper and designer Rachel Roy. After the special aired, Roy added fuel to the already doused fire with this Instagram post.

Rachel Roy IG Post

The post has been deleted, but the BeyHive is on attack in Roy’s comments and the questions remained unanswered. Did Jay-Z cheat on Beyonce? Would Bey really put her marital issues on front street this way? Are the Carter’s divorcing? Maybe…maybe not. But this album is about more that Beyonce and Jay-Z. This album is also about strength and vulnerability, anger and forgiveness,  courage and triumph; emotions that the world seem to believe can not healthily co-exist in the heart and soul of a black woman. From a rumored cheated on Beyonce and the labeled “angry black woman” Michelle Obama to the mothers of boys who have had to bury their sons at the hand of those who are supposed to protect, black women have taken lemons and found a way to make lemonade. That is what this album is about.

As far as the album’s success, the jury is still out how well it will do on the charts. But one person who is proud of Beyonce’s message of healing and hope is her mother, Tina Lawson, who herself made lemonade after being served the sour lemon of infidelity from her former husband and Beyonce’s father Matthew Knowles.

 

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Lemonade the film and Lemonade the album are both available exclusively on Tidal.

April 16, 2016 No Comments  

Beyonce Teases HBO Special “Lemonade”

beyonce-project-lemonade

It’s been more than 2 months since Beyonce dropped her single “Formation” and made national news with the controversial performance of the song at Super Bowl 50. Rumors of an album have been whirling while fans wait for more from Queen Bey. There’s finally more. A video teaser released today hints at an HBO special entitled “Lemonade”.

According to an alleged album track list released earlier this year, “Lemonade” (or “Lemonade Taste”) is to feature Adele.

beyonce-formation-track-list-leaked

I guess we’ll just have to wait for even more until next week when the HBO special airs on April 23rd at 9pm. In the meantime, watch the teaser below.

April 1, 2016 No Comments  

Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer & Janelle Monae Portray Historical Black Women in “Hidden Figures”

HiddenFigures

Next year’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration for many will probably include a visit to the movie theater. FOX 2000 Pictures is set to release “Hidden Figures”, a film about a group of black women in the 1960’s who provided NASA with important data needed to launch the program’s first successful space missions. The film that will star Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, follows Katherine Johnson (Henson), a brilliant black mathematician who, along with her colleagues Dorothy Vaughn (Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Monae), collectively known as “human computers” as they assist in the successful launch and safe return of astronaut John Glenn into space. 

March 8, 2016 1 Comment  

New WGN Series “Underground” Chronicles Slaves’ Attempt at Freedom

Underground, Season 1, Episode 105 Photo Credit: /Sony Pictures Television

Underground, Season 1, Episode 105
Photo Credit: /Sony Pictures Television

Believe it or not, there are people (even some Black people), who don’t understand how and why racism still exists in 2016. Just as many are confused with its origins and are out of touch with the history of the physical enslavement of Black people. Misha Green and Joe Pokaski have created an original drama about slavery; chronicling the efforts of blacksmith, Noah, as he organizes a small group of his fellow slaves and crafts a plan of escape and freedom. Underground, executive produced by John Legend, will premier on Wednesday, March 9th at 10:00pm ET/PT on WGN.

March 7, 2016 No Comments  

Patti LaBelle, Lee Daniels, L.A. Reid & More Celebrated at BET Honors

BET Honors 2016

Awards season is coming to a close, but not before BET payed tribute to “black excellence” in Washington, DC at this year’s BET Honors. The 2016 honorees were Lee Daniels (Television and Film Award), Mellody Hobson (Award for Corporate Citizen), Patti LaBelle (Award for Musical Arts), L.A. Reid (Award for Excellence in Entertainment) and Eric Holder (Public Service Award).  

February 23, 2016 No Comments  

Yara Shahidi Talks About the Importance of Black Images with The Fader

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When you’re young, it’s so easy to be self centered and focused on trivial things. But figuring out who and what you are and how you want to impact the world at a young age is what separates the girls from the young women. Yara Shahidi is definitely a young woman. The activist and Black-ish star  talked with The Fader about being selective when choosing roles, empowering black girls and her commitment to the positive portrayal of people of color. Check out a few excerpts below.

February 5, 2016 No Comments  

Dej Loaf, Tinashe, Halsey & Lion Babe Join Mac’s “Future Forward” Campaign

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[Photo: Billboard]

DejLoaf and Tinashe are among the ladies who are apart of the Mac Cosmetics “Future Forward” ongoing series of collaborations and campaigns that spotlight newer talent who are making waves within the music industry. They along with Halsey and Lion Babe’s Jillian Hervey will be among the first to debut their products on a rolling basis beginning in March.

January 28, 2016 No Comments  

Tyra Banks Becomes A Mom After Struggling with Fertility Issues

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Supermodel, mogul and flat out fierce are titles that a lot of women would like to boast. Tyra Banks has been blessed enough to carry each one, but the title she has looked forward to being called for years is mommy. During an episode of her show FabLife, Ty-Ty shared her frustration with conceiving children and her journey to motherhood.

January 6, 2016 No Comments  

WE TV Reality Show to Expose Challenges of “Growing Up Hip Hop”

he cast of “Growing Up Hip Hop” with panel discussion moderator Ebony Steele, center. (Photos by Terry Shropshire for Atlanta Daily World and Real Times Media).

The cast of “Growing Up Hip Hop” with Ebony Steele (center). Photo by Terry Shropshire)

Following your dreams and finding your way in the world is not an easy feat to begin with, but imagine trying to do that in the shadow of a famously successful parent. WE TV’s new reality show “Growing Up Hip Hop” will show just how difficult that can be. The show follows the offspring of several hip hop pioneers as they try to make their own mark in the industry while stepping out of the family shadow and finding success on their own.

January 2, 2016 No Comments  

Celebs Get Selfie Happy with “Ty-Lite” iPhone Case by Beyonce’s Stylist Ty Hunter

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Have you noticed your favorite celebs stepping their selfie games up? You have Ty Hunter to thank. Beyonce’s stylist turned entrepreneur has invented a phone case with built-in LED lights to help with those all important selfies. The case has three lighting settings, “warm” for a glossy effect, “cool” for outdoor lighting, and “brilliant” for that extra glam. Ty dished on the new case to Glamour Magazine.

December 18, 2015 No Comments  

Lifetime is Producing Another Biopic, “Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart”

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For the first time since they’ve started this era of biopics, Lifetime is producing the biopic of someone who is still alive. The network is producing the story of singer Toni Braxton. Unlike Lifetime’s previous biopics for songstresses Aaliyah and Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton is an executive producer for the film so we can bet on it being told accurately from Toni’s point of view. “Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart” will chart the singer’s rise to fame, including her financial, health and marital struggles.

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