Musicians
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The Grammy-nominated album, All Hail the Queen, by Queen Latifah has been selected for preservation at the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
The National Recording Registry aims to preserve music that “reflects our nation’s diverse culture.” Select recordings are added to the vast collection as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.
This week, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden named 25 recordings as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.
“The National Recording Registry preserves our history through recorded sound and reflects our nation’s diverse culture,” Hayden said in a statement. “The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come, and we welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts or recorded sounds we should preserve next. We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”
In addition to the Queen’s debut album, this year’s list features selections by other powerful women as well. Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” and Mariah Carey’s seminal “All I Want for Christmas,” is also on the list. The Academy Award-winning song, “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” by the late Irene Cara was also selected in the 2023 class.
Queen Latifah was only 19 when she released her debut album, All Hail the Queen. The album was released on Tommy Boy Records and featured the hit singles, “Ladies First,” and “Come Into My House.” The album has been heralded for its woman-centric flow and positivity. In the statement, the Library of Congress noted that the album was celebrated for its ability to “cross genres including reggae, hip-hop, house and jazz — while also opening opportunities for other female rappers.” The album reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Recently, Latifah took to the stage at the Daisy Experience to honor the life and legacy of Dave Jolicoeur aka Trugoy The Dove of De La Soul.
Even more recently, the Queen was presented with a bouquet of roses at Usher’s Las Vegas residency show. Per the Huffington Post, the “Confessions” singer wrote in a now-deleted Instagram story, “Giving the queen her flowers.”
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Former B2K lead singer Omarion, who has his own successful solo career, is about to take on a new challenge. According to Deadline, the 38-year-old will soon star in “Involved” a dramedy based on his own life coming to the AMC Network-owned streaming service, Allblk (formerly the Urban Movie Channel).
The streaming site is also holding a national casting call for the series co-lead, which will be taking place at the 27th Annual American Black Film Festival, June 14-18 in Miami Beach.
According to the report, Omarion will play a singer named OB Sharp who has been a boyband superstar since childhood. Now on the verge of a worldwide tour, he secretly wants to leave the group to be a more present dad and have a better co-parenting relationship with his child’s mother, who lives in his guesthouse with her new boyfriend.
Actor Lance Gross (House of Payne) will serve as the celebrity reader for the casting call for the role of 31-year-old Shayla Williams who plays OB’s ex-girlfriend.
To further complicate matters, OB gets into a romantic entanglement with Maya—one of his best friends and still has to deal with Shayla, mother of his daughter as well as a myriad of business ventures and drama.
“Just like multi-hyphenated entertainers Jamie Foxx, Martin Lawrence and Will Smith who all have influenced and inspired me and a whole culture, Involved is intended to inspire, shift and impact the culture of American society’s thinking and understanding of special family dynamics. There is no better way for us to learn about and observe these cultural diversities than through the medium of entertainment,” Omarion told Deadline.
He will exec produce the series alongside co-creators Tommy Morgan Jr., Kevin G. Boyd and Deji LaRay. The pilot is being written by Kevin G. Boyd and directed by Bentley Kyle Evans, who will serve as co-showrunners. Michelle Le Fleur will also exec produce alongside AllBlk’s SVP of Development & Production Nikki Love and the company’s general manager, Brett Dismuke.
Dismuke told Deadline, “Omarion is an expert storyteller across multiple mediums, and we could not be more excited to further our partnership by helping him bring this story to life on AllBlk. As a leader in programming by and for Black voices, we know our audience will appreciate such an intriguing and compelling story.”
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In an interview with Ari Melber on MSNBC, Erykah Badu talked about her 2008 song, “Master Teacher” which is often credited as most recently popularizing the term “woke.”
The song, which also featured Georgia Anne Muldrow, had a chorus that said, “I stay woke,” and the 52-year-old singer further explained her role in popularizing the phrase. “There’s a song on [New Amerykah Part One] called ‘Master Teacher,’ and in that song… the chorus is ‘I stay woke,’ so ‘stay woke’ was introduced to the world by this album,” the 52-year-old neo-soul icon said. “And I tweeted it about this group that was detained, Pussy Riot… In my tweet, I said ‘Free Pussy Riot…stay woke.’ After that, ‘woke’ took off.”
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The word woke has most recently been used by the GOP as a buzzword for any part of the liberal agenda from teaching Black history to protecting LGBTQ rights.
But, when asked directly what Badu thinks conservatives mean when they use the word, she said plainly, “I think they mean ‘Black,’” the singer said. “It’s just another way to say ‘thug’ or something else, right?”
She also noted, “It is what it is. It doesn’t belong to us anymore, and once something goes out into the world, it takes a life of its own. It has an energy of its own.”
The term woke has found its way into the mainstream lexicon with Republicans using it daily to describe almost anything that they disagree with. The most significant legislative action was the passage of the Stop WOKE Act signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022. The legislation restricts how racism and other parts of history can be taught in schools and workplaces. It even includes language that is supposed to prevent white students from “feeling bad” about actual American History.
The act is behind the banning of several books in the state as well as sanitized versions of Black historical facts like Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
While the popular and eclectic singer may have brought the term back to the forefront of American culture, social and culture historians note that the phrase can be traced back to as far as the 1930s.
According to MadameNoire, American folk legend Huddie Michael Ledbetter (aka Lead Belly) coined the term during an interview discussing his hit song “Scottsboro Boys,” according to NewsOne. In the 1938 interview, Belly urged Black people to stay vigilant when traveling through Alabama to avoid racial tension.
African American author Melvin Kelley also used the phrase in a New York Times essay where he examined Black language and idioms as a pushback against white supremacy called, “If You’re Woke You Dig It.”
The most recent use and retaliation against the phrase originated in 2020 during national protests against the police state in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin.
Badu said in the interview that the true meaning of the expression belongs to the people who created it.
“It means being aware, being in alignment with nature,” the Grammy-winning singer added. “It’s not only in the political arena. That means with your health, that means in your relationships, that means in your home, that means in your car, that means in your sleep.”
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The long-running Pride festival in Los Angeles, California will have two superstar headliners this year – Megan Thee Stallion and Mariah Carey.
The organizers of Pride In The Park announced on Tuesday (March 28th) that the R&B legend and the Hip-Hop star will be the featured headliners for the flagship event for Southern California’s LGBTQ+ community.
Carey shared the flyer for the festival on her Twitter account with fans, writing: “I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of LA Pride 2023! I am happy to be back in person celebrating with the LGBTQIA+ community here in Southern California and throughout all of the lands!!! Let’s come together to celebrate love, inclusion, and Pride.”
“I can’t wait to headline LA Pride in the Park and celebrate the phenomenal LGBTQIA+ community,” Megan Thee Stallion said when contacted by the press. “This incredible event advocates for diversity, inclusivity, and equality, so I’m honored to perform and have a blast with all of the Hotties in attendance.”
“Having two women of color headline the event was very intentional,” said Gerald Garth, the board president of L.A. Pride. “Both have been groundbreaking in their own rights by centering women’s empowerment. Mariah’s been a fan favorite among the LGBT community for decades, and she’s been a great friend and supporter, and Megan is the same.” Other performers at the festival have yet to be announced.
The festival will take place in Los Angeles State Historic Park in the Chinatown neighborhood from June 9th to June 11th with Megan Thee Stallion as the headliner for the 9th, and Carey as the headliner on the 10th. The festival precedes the annual Los Angeles Pride Parade that will take place in Hollywood on the 11th, which is a Sunday.
It returns after a bit of turbulence, with the 50th-anniversary edition of the festival having to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions about the commitment to racial and gender inclusiveness by the Christopher Street West Association, L.A. Pride’s parent group, also led to two separate festivals being held last year – one in West Hollywood and the other in Chinatown.
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The LAPD is reportedly investigating the theft of a car from outside the home of singer and billionaire entrepreneur, Rihanna.
According to TMZ, a 2012 Audi sedan was stolen from outside of the Los Angeles-area home late last week when the driver allegedly ran inside for something leaving the car running and the keys inside. The report notes that the driver believes that someone jumped in and drove off with it.
The incident marks the second time that LAPD has been out to the five-bedroom, seven-bathroom estate in Beverly Hills this month.
The gossip site previously reported that a man showed up at the Bajan singer’s home earlier this month with plans to propose to her. According to TMZ, because the man had broken no laws, he was released and asked not to return.
In 2018, a man was arrested after spending at least a day inside the residence while Rihanna was away. The man later claimed he was there to have sex with the singer.
It is unclear if she was home during the last two incidents.
The Fenty Beauty leader is currently expecting her second child with rapper A$AP Rocky the couple has a son who will turn 1 in May.
According to The New York Post, Rihanna’s massive Beverly Hills home features amenities like a bonus room, breakfast room, cabana, a center hall, gym, media room, and a walk-in closet. Other features include a den/office space and a separate guest house. The house is close to that of Beatles legend, Paul McCartney.
The singer performed at both this year’s Super Bowl and the 95th Academy Awards where she performed “Lift Me Up,” from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. The song was nominated for Original Song and serves as Rihanna’s first Oscar nomination. Ultimately, “Lift Me Up,” lost to “Naatu Naatu” from the hit Telugu-language film RRR, which made history by becoming the first Indian film song to win an Oscar, according to BBC.
It’s been over seven years since Rihanna dropped a full-length studio album. However, she told British Vogue earlier this year that the wait may soon be over. “I want it to be this year,” she told the magazine. “Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos.”
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In the ultimate lesson in the power of manifestation, Yo Gotti and Angela Simmons are officially a couple.
After declaring their new relationship with a black-tie photoshoot, Angela Simmons recently wrote in an Instagram Story that she is “Happier than I ever been,” adding a flurrying heart emoji, per Complex.
Both Simmons and Gotti shared the romantic images on New Year’s Eve igniting social media who recounted the couple’s origins with Gotti’s hit single, “Down in the DM,” where he declared his affection for the fashionista.
“And I just followed Angela (Simmons) / Boy, I got a crush on Angela Simmons / They like, ‘Damn Gotti, you bold’ / F**k it, I’m gon’ let the world know (goals),” he rapped.
The CMG label boss also sent Simmons a shout-out in 2017, “Passed my number to Angela / I thought I had her / Her n***a cuffed her, married, it made me madder/ I respect it, I’m moving on, but the truth is I want her badder / Maybe me sayin’ her name made him move faster,” he rapped on “Save It For Me.”
The song was released not long after Simmons got engaged to Sutton Tennyson with whom she shares a son. Tennyson was tragically murdered in 2018.
Since, Simmons has gone on to star in the hit VH1 series Growing Up Hip Hop where she talks about her life as one of the five children of Run-DMC co-founder, Run Simmons. While Gotti has been running his successful CMG imprint which is home to Blac Youngsta, BlocBoy JB, Moneybagg Yo, 42 Dugg, EST Gee, Mozzy, Big Boogie, Lil Poppa, Lehla Samia and GloRilla.
According to social media posts, the romance hasn’t ended with cute photos. The couple has shared videos of them in Paris and Dubai over the past few days.
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The reggae world is in shock as Jo Mersa Marley, the grandson of the legendary Bob Marley has been reported dead at the age of 31.
According to reports, a representative for the young singer confirmed his passing to Rolling Stone. This was after Kingston, Jamaica-based journalist Abka Fitz-Henley first reported on the passing via his Twitter account, stating that Marley had passed away in the U.S. after being “found unresponsive in a vehicle.” He leaves behind a wife and daughter.
WZPP, a South Florida radio station, would report on the “Burn It Down” singer’s death in a post on Instagram stating that it was due to an asthma attack without adding further details. Marley’s representative did not provide further comment when first contacted by the press.
The grandson of Bob and Rita Marley and son of Stephen Marley, Jo Mersa was born Joseph Marley March 12 in Kingston, Jamaica. He moved to Florida during his high school years and studied audio engineering at Miami Dade College. He made his musical debut in 2010 on the song “My Girl,” a collaborative track with his cousin, Daniel Bambaataa Marley. He would go on to release an EP entitled Comfortable in 2014 and release his debut album Eternal in 2021.
In an interview with Rolling Stone at the time of his debut, the young Marley spoke about his iconic grandfather and family legacy. “I am one of the new generation of Marleys, but I am still experimenting at the same time,” he said, adding: “My plan is to do something new with my roots.”
In another interview with the outlet Reggaeville in 2021, he would talk further about that impact. “We always hear those reflections, speaking about those things, about the role that he played not only as family member and father, but also in the world and the impact he had on the Reggae community and the Reggae culture, the roots, bringing forward the message of Rastafari and love, over all love.”