Kennedy Center
Issa Rae has canceled her sold-out show at the Kennedy Center following Donald Trump’s board takeover, with the actress calling the president’s actions an “infringement on the values” of the cultural organization.
In a statement posted to Instagram Stories on Thursday (Feb. 13), Rae thanked fans for buying tickets to her event titled “An Evening With Issa Rae” before writing, “Unfortunately, due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all backgrounds through all mediums, I’ve decided to cancel my appearance at this venue.”
Noting that all tickets would be refunded, the producer added, “Thank you so much for understanding, and I hope to see you soon.”
Rae’s announcement comes shortly after Trump gutted much of the Kennedy Center’s historically nonpartisan board of trustees and appointed his own supporters in their places. Naming himself chairman, the twice-impeached POTUS also fired the institution’s longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter; the board has replaced her with interim president Richard Grenell, who served as ambassador to Germany during Trump’s first term in the White House.
The Barbie actress is just one of multiple people in the entertainment industry distancing themselves from the Kennedy Center amid the changes. Ben Folds has left his position as adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, while Shonda Rhimes has resigned as treasurer of the center’s board.
Philadelphia rock band Low Cut Connie has also followed Rae’s lead, with frontman Adam Weiner announcing Wednesday that the group would be pulling out of its scheduled March 19 concert at the iconic Washington, D.C., venue. “Our little rock n roll act stands for diversity, inclusion and truth-telling,” the musician wrote in a message announcing the cancelation on Instagram. “Maybe my career will suffer from this decision, but my soul will be the better for it.”
Trump first announced his plans to overhaul the Kennedy Center leadership team last Friday (Feb. 7), writing on Truth Social, “I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
Specifically condemning the center’s inclusion of drag shows in its past programming, the politician added that performances “targeting our children” will come to an end under his supervision. “The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation,” he concluded. “For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”
President Donald Trump was elected chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., he announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Wednesday (Feb. 12). He replaces financier David M. Rubenstein as chair.
Deborah F. Rutter, who had served as president of the Kennedy Center since 2014, was subsequently fired from her position. Rutter had announced last month that she intended to step down at the end of 2025.
Trump’s Truth Social post read: “President Donald J. Trump was just unanimously elected Chairman of the Board of the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The President stated, ‘It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!’”
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On Monday, Trump posted on social media that he would appoint Richard Grenell, who was ambassador to Germany during the first Trump administration, as the center’s interim executive director, saying that he “shares my Vision for a GOLDEN AGE of American Arts and Culture” and would make sure there was no more “ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA.”
On Wednesday, shortly after Trump was elected chairman, singer and songwriter Ben Folds said he would resign his post as an adviser to the National Symphony Orchestra, which is overseen by the Kennedy Center. “Given developments at the Kennedy Center, effective today I am resigning as artistic adviser to the N.S.O. Not for me,” Folds wrote on Instagram.
The Kennedy Center oversees the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Washington National Opera, in addition to presenting theatrical shows, the Kennedy Center Honors and more.
In his first term as president, Trump broke with precedent by not attending the annual Kennedy Center Honors, something all previous presidents had done since the honors program began in 1978, minus rare cases when they were called away by urgent events. Trump also was a frequent critic of the Center’s programming.
“At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday (Feb. 7).
He continued: “I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP! Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP. The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”
Trump’s social media reference to “Drag Shows” appeared to be a reference to a show the center hosted last year called “Dragtastic Dress-up,” which was aimed at LGBTQ+ youth.
The Center has in recent days scrubbed its site of references to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Trump has been highly critical of such programs.
The Kennedy Center has historically been run by bipartisan boards. On Monday (Feb. 10), the Trump administration officially removed 18 board members who had been appointed by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The members removed include some of Biden’s closest aides — Karine Jean-Pierre, the former White House press secretary, and political strategist Mike Donilon — as well as artists including Grammy and Oscar winner Jon Batiste.
The board is now entirely comprised of Trump appointees, including the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles; Dan Scavino, a longtime Trump aide; and Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance.
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President Donald Trump continues to push his agenda to make America great again, and the MAGA acronym is becoming far more than a catchy slogan under the current administration. In a recent post on his Truth Social network, President Donald Trump wants to reshape the programming of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., claiming that the venue is promoting entertainment that doesn’t fit his MAGA vision.
In one of his frequent Truth Social posts, President Trump railed against the Kennedy Center’s programming, highlighting in his rant that the institution has moved from its intended goal of showcasing American exceptionalism in so many words.
From Truth Social:
At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP! Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP. The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!
Following that post, President Trump posted an AI-rendered image of himself as a composer leading an orchestra at the Kennedy Center.
The Kennedy Center responded to President Trump’s missive with a statement of their own:
Throughout our history, the Kennedy Center has enjoyed strong support from members of [C]ongress and their staffs—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Since our doors opened [in 1971], we have had a collaborative relationship with every presidential administration. Since that time, the Kennedy Center has had a bi-partisan board of trustees that has supported the arts in a non-partisan fashion.
While we are a living memorial to President Kennedy, we are also a unique public-private partnership. The Center is supported by federal annual appropriations for the upkeep and maintenance of the building as a federal memorial, or approximately 16% of the total operating budget. Support for the Center’s artistic programming comes from ticket sales, donations, rental income, and other revenue sources.
The Kennedy Center is aware of the post made recently by POTUS on social media. We have received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees. We are aware that some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration.
Per the Center’s governance established by Congress in 1958, the chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the Center’s board members. There is nothing in the Center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board.
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Photo: Getty
Deborah F. Rutter, who has served as president of the Kennedy Center since 2014, has announced her decision to step down at the end of this year. The Center’s board of trustees has formed a search committee to identify her successor.
“After more than 10 extraordinary years in Washington, D.C., collaborating with some of the most phenomenal artists, cultural leaders, diplomats, philanthropists, volunteers, and administrators, I have come to believe it is time to pass the torch,” Rutter said in a statement.
“Deborah’s visionary leadership has transformed the Kennedy Center,” said Kennedy Center board chairman David M. Rubenstein (who will continue to lead the board through September 2026, the Center announced in November). “Her legacy will be the Center’s increased relevance, visibility, and physical footprint.”
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Throughout her tenure, Rutter has expanded programming to represent the diversity of arts in America, most notably introducing hip-hop culture and social impact as two central areas of programming.
Under Rutter’s leadership, the Kennedy Center has grown its operating budget (expenses) to $268 million. Earned revenues have grown to $125 million, in addition to $95 million in contributed funds; $45 million in federal appropriations for the operation, maintenance and improvement of the memorial; and a $4 million draw from the endowment in fiscal year 2024.
In her first year, Rutter broke ground on a transformative arts facility and first-ever campus expansion, the REACH. After successfully delivering on a $250 million capital campaign raised entirely through private contributions, the REACH opened in September 2019.
As part of the Center’s 50th anniversary season, Rutter oversaw the development of “Arts & Ideals: President John F. Kennedy,” an immersive, permanent 7,500 square-foot exhibit exploring President Kennedy’s connection to arts and culture. Since its opening in September 2022, the JFK exhibit has welcomed nearly 1 million visitors.
Programs that evolved under Rutter’s leadership include Sound Health (Network), a collaboration with artistic advisor Renée Fleming exploring the neurological and health benefits of music. In 2024, the Center introduced its new Arts & Wellbeing series, reflecting the full spectrum of the arts and their impact on mind, body, and soul. This spring, the Kennedy Center will present “Earth to Space: Arts Breaking the Sky,” which will explore humans’ ambitions to navigate space.
The Kennedy Center serves as the home to the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and Washington National Opera (WNO). With more than 2,000 performances each year — and two major televised awards shows, the Kennedy Center Honors and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor — the Center attracts 1.5 million ticketholders and more than 2 million visitors annually. Rutter has also guided the Center’s global network of more than 40 education initiatives, making it the nation’s largest provider of arts education by reaching more than 2.1 million individuals. She is also credited with landing Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda as the NSO’s music director in 2016.
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Source: Nicholas Hunt / Getty
Queen Latifah will be the master of ceremonies for one of the most prestigious events in entertainment. She has been slotted to host the 47th Kennedy Center Honors.
As reported by Deadline the Newark, N.J., native will lend her talents for the upcoming awards show. On Monday (Nov. 25), the cultural institution announced that the “Ladies First” performer will be returning to the stage but this time as the host. Last year at the 46th edition, she was celebrated for her lifetime artistic achievements. This time, she will help shine a much needed spotlight on several influential creatives, including filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather), Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and Jazz musician Arturo Sandoval. Additionally, the Apollo Theater will also be celebrated during its 90- year anniversary.
Queen Latifah shared her enthusiasm in an Instagram post. “I am so excited to share that I will be returning to the Kennedy Center Honors this year,” the caption read. The accompanying visual is a snippet of her 2023 interview with Nate Burleson on CBS Mornings. According to their website, “The Kennedy Center Honors recognizes and celebrates individuals whose unique contributions have shaped the way we see ourselves, each other and our world. Recipients have each had an impact on the rich tapestry of American life and culture through the performing arts.”
The 47th Kennedy Center Honors will be broadcasted Sunday (Dec. 22), from 8:30-11:00 p.m., ET/PT on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.
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D-Nice entertained the masses during the height of the pandemic with his popular “Club Quarantine” DJ sets on Instagram Live and now he’s bringing that energy to the Nation’s Capital. This coming weekend, D-Nice will host a three-day event at the Kennedy Center featuring top names in comedy and music.
DJ D-Nice and the Club Quarantine Live Residency kicks off on Friday, October 6 with the CQ Comedy Showcase hosted by Royale Watkins and music from DJ Clark Kent. The showcase will feature Chris Spencer, Michael Che, Sherri Shepherd, Gina Yashere, Zainab Johnson, and Flex Alexander.
The following evening (October 7), Club Quarantine Live with D-Nice will feature the likes of MC Lyte, Kem, Muni Long, Machel Montano, Jadakiss, Camp Lo, Vin Rock of Naughty By Nature fame, Tracie Spencer, Shancie, and Frédéric Yonnet. Chris Spencer will serve as the host with Igmar Thomas and the Revive Big Band will help out with the background tunes.
Wrapping up the three-day weekend is CQ Praise & Worship on Sunday (October 8) with Hezekiah Walker, Anthony Brown and group therAPy, Tim Bowman Jr., Maranda Curtis & Faithy City Music, Mali Music, Jules Juda, J.J. Hairston, Virtue, and Charles Jenkins.
“The lineup we’ve prepared is nothing short of breathtaking. This opportunity has left me overflowing with emotions, and I can hardly contain my excitement for the Club Quarantine Live Residency at the Kennedy Center and the phenomenal community of artists that will be participating as part of it,” D-Nice shared in a press release statement. “It is a special curation encompassing the incredible sounds of hip-hop, R&B, gospel, soca, jazz, and comedy. We invite audiences and our CQ Fam to join us and get ready for an unforgettable experience that will touch your soul and make you dance with joy. Together, we’ll continue to create magical moments that will last a lifetime.”
For tickets to the Club Quarantine Live Residency, please follow this link.
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Photo: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty
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Source: Michael Buckner / Getty / MC Lyte
As we approach the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop, it’s hard to think of women as just contributors to Hip-Hop when really the truth is that Hip-Hop would likely not have become a global force without women.
Even the often-told story of Kool Herc’s first hip-hop party in the South Bronx at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue on August 11, 1973, came about as the result of his sister Cindy Campbell’s idea to throw a back-to-school party.
Early on, women in Hip-Hop decided they wouldn’t be relegated to the background or as support to the men rocking the mic. There were B-girls deejaying, influencing fashion, dance, art, and battle rapping – loud and up-front.
The pioneers came out bold – Roxanne Shante, Lisa Lee, MC Sha-Rock, Wanda Dee, Debbie D., Sweet Tee, Mercedes Ladies, The Sequence, and the list goes on to today with young emcees like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B. Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice, Scar Lip, DreamDoll, Mumu Fresh and more.
This Sunday, June 4, at 8 p.m. MC Lyte will be hosting for the second year “I AM Woman” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in celebration of women in Hip-Hop. This year artists performing will include Rapsody, Kash Doll, Bahamadia, Mama Sol, and of course, MC Lyte – the first solo female rapper to release a full album.
We talked to MC Lyte about the 50th anniversary and what Hip-Hop would have looked like without women.
What does it feel like to witness this 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop? You’ve been an emcee since you were 12.
MC Lyte: It feels invigorating. It feels like there’s room and space. I feel like we’re at a crossroads. It feels like the importance of where and when you entered hip hop doesn’t matter. We all contributed. Period.
There’s no reason to identify people as old-school or new-school. The importance of the 50th is that it started 50 years ago, and it’s still going. So everybody’s participation is important whether it started it or helped to maintain it, or helped to propel it into other areas. I’m excited to be a part of anything that has lasted 50 years. Everybody has their own relationship to Hip-Hop – it’s almost like a person. We do know that it has inspired all of us in one way or another.
Take me back to the beginning. I know you were inspired by Salt-N-Pepa. You battled Roxanne Shante and Antoinette – which went on for years on Mr. Magic and Red Alert’s shows. Growing up in East Flatbush – how excited were you at the time about hip-hop?
When I first started in the area where I grew up in the ’90s, it was more about Caribbean music and rockers, reggae. At a block party in 1982, somebody played rap. Still, outside of that, my relationship with hip-hop started much earlier in Harlem with my older cousins playing cassette tapes and The Treacherous Three and the Cold Crush Brothers, Funky Four Plus one more, Sha- Rock, Kurtis Blow. My relationship started earlier on, but once I was able to procure a record deal and got my feet wet, Hip-Hop was all over the place. It was unstoppable. We went everywhere. It started in New York and sprouted out to New Jersey and Philly, Boston and Virginia, and Delaware. It was sort of like New York was the nucleus, and then it sort of bubbled out like a bomb.
How has Hip-Hop evolved as it relates to what’s going on in society now?
You have kids who are growing up who have known Hip-Hop since the day they stepped on the planet. They’ve never known a time without it – to see and feel it. I think Hip-Hop 50th gives everyone an opportunity to look back so they can see how this was built, who was involved prior to. Your favorite artist of today was inspired by someone else, and that person was inspired until we go back to the true roots and foundation of it all.
The way that its grown, Hip-Hop has become a respected format and genre of music, and not only that – we set trends. Fashion looks at what we do. Movies look at what we do. Sports and hip-hop go hand-in-hand. I don’t know if there’s a player that hits the court that doesn’t listen to Hip-Hop prior to getting there. During the game, you have a deejay playing music that’s encompassed in Hip-Hop.
You’ve written lyrics that were socially conscious, “Cram to Understand” and “Cappuccino,” how do you feel about the trajectory Hip-Hop has taken as it relates to lyricism?
I think it’s necessary to show the whole Diaspora of hip-hop and all of its nuances and genres. In the beginning, it was meant to reflect the communities that we’re from and speak to the communities that we’re from and give a glimpse of what’s happening in our communities to the world. It was necessary for an NWA, for a Naughty by Nature – necessary for Tupac. Listening to “Dear Mama” or “Keep Your Head Up.” – I haven’t really heard anything like that since. There are so many of those emcees that have come on the scene and moved Hip-Hop into a whole other direction. But it’s very necessary for the growth and the stretching that hip-hop has to do in order to stay alive.
How do you feel that women in particular – since the focus this weekend is on women in Hip-Hop – How do you think that Hip-Hop has survived because of women? What would the landscape have looked like if women weren’t in it?
If women weren’t in it, it would have been flat. Women give life. A woman who understands that that’s what her innate purpose is. Giving life in some sort of way – new thoughts, new concepts, new creations and I think we come from a place of truth and being able to nurture, teach, educate, and entertain.
I love where Hip-Hop is now because it’s not all for one person to do all things. It’s like being in a relationship where you’re expected to be everything – you couldn’t possibly be. That’s why your spouse needs friends. I think in Hip-Hop now, we have so many contributors now that one person can be one way. I remember when we came in, we had to have a song on the album that touched every aspect of Hip-Hop – it has now loosened up. When I put out an album, you had to have a socially conscious song, a party song, and a club song, and if you didn’t have an album that touched all of those things, then it wasn’t complete. That’s what NWA did. They did thematic records that allowed them to stay in one space for the whole album – you knew what you were getting.
Talk about the upcoming event at the Kennedy Center – “I Am Woman” – this is your second year honoring women in Hip-Hop.
We launched last year – Da Brat, Yo-Yo, Monie Love, Tierra Whack, Trina Remy Ma- we had some tremendous talent. We packed that bill, but we didn’t have a lot of time with each artist.
I think this year we will get to spend more time with the artists. – Bahamadia – representing Philly, Kash Doll from Detroit, and Mama Sol got a standing ovation last year, so she’s coming back representing Flint, Michigan. She will kick off our show.
It’s a celebration of women in Hip-Hop. I want to make sure with my platform that I shine my light on the women who make it what it is.
https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/hip-hop/2022-2023/mc-lyte-presents-i-am-woman/ June 4 at 8 p.m.
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Photo: Michael Buckner / Getty
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