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Posts published in “Entertainment”

Tina Turner Poses for Vogue Germany Cover, Singer's First Time Gracing Glossy

By goodblacknews on March 11, 2013

tina turner vogue cover

The cover says it all: “Simply The Best!”  This April 2013 issue of Vogue marks Tina Turner’s first time gracing the iconic fashion magazine.  The legendary singer is seen rocking her signature honey blonde-highlighted hair, a silky navy blouse and what appears to be a black skirt for Vogue’s German edition, which was shot by Claudia Knoepfel and Stefan Indlekofer and styled by Nicola Knels.
Turner is 73 years old and looks like she just stepped on the stage at the “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1970 to perform “Proud Mary.”  Fashionista.com points out that the age-defying beauty might be the oldest Vogue cover star ever–snagging the title from Meryl Streep who covered American Vogue last year at the age of 62.  Either way, we’re just thrilled to see the Queen of Rock-n-Roll in all her glory. 
article by Julee Wilson via huffingtonpost.com
 
 

France’s Baby Dance Battle Features 6-Year-Old Dance Phenom B-Girl Terra (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on March 10, 2013

baby bgirls and boys battle2013
The Hip-Hop community has influenced dance culture consistently for over 30 years and some of the best moves have been gleaned from the Eighties and are still celebrated in competition today.  If you see a dance battle, nine times out of ten, break dancing will be a part of the show.
France puts on an annual dance battle called  Chelles Battle Pro.  The competition took place Saturday and the baby with the most swag and skill of the B-Boy crew The Soul Mavericks, was the electrifying 6-year-old dance phenom, Terra.
She broke it down with every difficult move from the hesistant crawl, to headstands with hops, and endless spins holding her leg, all with bold bravado that should’ve sent her opponent running off the stage with his tail between his legs.  According to Digital Journal, she joined the all male dance crew last year along with her 8-year-old sister Eddie. Check her out for yourself.  You won’t believe her explosive character and moves.  You will be shocked that she didn’t win the competition.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5hQ-qOtPLU&w=560&h=315]
article by J.C. Brooks via eurthisnthat.com

Eighteen Year-Old S.M.I.L.E. CEO Chosen As Newest CoverGirl

By goodblacknews on March 10, 2013

alexis harris next covergirl
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres announced that the newest CoverGirl model is 18-year-old Alexis Harris (pictured) on her show last Thursday.  Harris won the honor, along with a $20,000 award, in CoverGirl’s model search. During a mock press conference on the show, DeGeneres brought out Harris’ family to see her entry video, which featured her mother independently raising both her and her three brothers.
Despite growing up without a Father, Harris still managed to reach admirable heights. She is the founder and CEO of the S.M.I.L.E. Movement (Students Making Impacts In Lives Every Day), a nationwide student support system that pushes young people to enact change in their communities.  And if her words are any indication, this is only the beginning for the University Of Texas-San Antonio student. “We’re going to use the money to give back to different local organizations: Haven for Hope, different groups locally,” Harris said about how she plans on using the grant money.
Harris’ first project as a CoverGirl will be appearing with DeGeneres in a campaign shoot next month. Those pictures will appear in a future People Magazine issue.
article by Hannington Dia via newsone.com

Oprah Winfrey Named Harvard College Commencement Speaker for 2013

By goodblacknews on March 8, 2013
Oprah WInfrey
Courtesy of Harpo, Inc. (Photograph by Cliff Watts/Oprah Winfrey)
OPRAH WINFREY, the first African-American woman to become a billionaire, has built an empire with her oratorical gifts and ability to engage with people of all ranks and backgrounds. Now she will share words of wisdom with the Class of 2013 and other Harvard graduates, their families, and alumni by serving as principal speaker at Harvard’s 362nd Commencement, the University announced today.
“I was taught to read at an early age,” Winfrey told the Academy of Achievement in 2011. “By the time I was three, I was reciting speeches in the church. They’d put me up on the program, and say, ‘Little Mistress Winfrey will render a recitation.’”
In what was called “a transformative moment for the television business” by The New York Times, Winfrey made history in May 2011 by ending the Emmy Award-winning Oprah Winfrey Show to start her own cable channel (OWN, short for the Oprah Winfrey Network)—the first time a talk-show host has created an entire channel. “I’m not going away, I’m just changing,” she said to the Times. “I’m just creating another platform for myself, which eventually will be wider and broader than what I have now.” In January 2013, for example, OWN received widespread attention when Lance Armstrong chose Winfrey as his confidant for a confessional interview about his long-denied use of performance-enhancing drugs. (Winfrey’s original, nationally syndicated show ran for 24 seasons, tackling topics such as divorce, sexual abuse, and philanthropic issues, and featuring exclusive interviews with celebrities and world leaders alike. It drew an audience of more than 40 million viewers a week in the United States and reached 150 countries around the world.)

Kennedy Center to Host Hip Hop Festival in 2014

By goodblacknews on March 6, 2013
Rapper Nas attends Moet Rose Lounge Presents Nas' Life Is Good at Bagatelle on July 17, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Moet Rose)

Rapper Nas attends Moet Rose Lounge Presents Nas’ Life Is Good at Bagatelle on July 17, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Moet Rose)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hip-hop artists including rappers Nas and Somalia-born K’naan will take center stage in an unexpected place next year: as part of next season at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
The center announced Tuesday that its 2013-2014 season would include the weeklong festival “One Mic: Hip-Hop Culture Worldwide.” It will also feature an international theater festival featuring works from at least 10 different nations and new American works in theater, opera and music.
The center is one of the nation’s busiest performing arts centers, with more than 2,000 performances scheduled.  The 2014 hip-hop festival will open with Nas rapping with musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra Pops playing music from his classic debut album “Illmatic.”  The festival will also feature Puerto Rican musicians Calle 13 and a graffiti exhibition.
Copyright 2013 article by Brett Zongker, The Associated Press via thegrio.com

Quincy Jones Creates Music Ed Application "Playground Sessions"

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2013
Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones wants to improve our children’s music education and so the famed composer-producer has partnered up with app creator Chris Vance to launch Playground Sessions. The application will teach users how to read and play piano music with tutorials from pianist David Sides. Adults and children will receive real-time feedback as they attempt to master any of the 70 popular songs from artists like Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry included in the program.  There’s “such a need for this,” Jones said. “The concept is brand new. I have been praying for this for a long time. It has a learning concept similar to Rosetta Stone. I’m blown away by this.”

Jones also added that children in the United States are behind other kids when it comes to music education and that Playground Sessions will give them an edge. Jones’ alma mater, Garfield High School in Seattle, will be one of the first to introduce the app to its students.
article by Dorkys Ramos via bet.com

R.I.P. Cleotha Staples of the Staples Singers

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2013

 
APphoto_Obit-Cleotha Staples
Cleotha ”Cleedi” Staples (pictured), the eldest member of the famed soul/gospel group, The Staple Singers, passed away on Feb. 21 of causes related to Alzheimer’s disease. The performer had battled the disease for over a decade, according to Philly.com.  She was 78.  Cleotha was born in Drew, Miss., on April 11, 1934 to Roebuck “Pops” Staples and his wife Oceola. She was soon followed by siblings Pervis, Yvonne, Mavis and Cynthia.
After relocating to Chicago in search of better employment opportunities, Cleotha’s father managed to work a few manual labor jobs while Oceola toiled at a hotel stint overnight. Pops began to teach his children gospel songs in order to keep them entertained during the evenings while their mother worked. Pops’ sister Katie enjoyed her brother and his family’s singing so much that she invited them to sing at her church one Sunday morning in 1948. Congregants loved what they heard and begged for three encores.  This event marked the beginning of the Staples family’s professional singing career.
The Staple Singers “Respect Yourself” On Soul Train: 
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X-UPmTAWMg&w=420&h=315]

Top Moments In Black History: Bob Johnson Becomes 1st African-American Billionaire

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2013

bob johnson billionaire

This Black History Month, NewsOne takes a look back at the top African-American moments from 2000 to 2012. Some will make you happy while others will undoubtedly make you angry and/or sad. Either way, here’s to the last 12 years of our living history. Enjoy!

Moment: Bob Johnson Becomes First  African-American Billionaire
Bob Johnson, founder and former chairman and executive chief officer of Black Entertainment Television (BET), is noted as the first African-American billionaire. Johnson built the BET network and brand with ex-wife, Shelia Johnson, and then later took the company public.
After buying back all of the publicly traded stock, Johnson sold BET to Viacom for $3 billion. The move landed Johnson in “Forbes” magazine as the first Black American to be listed as one of the world’s top earners.
Another of Johnson’s many business achievements is becoming the first principal owner of a North American major-league sports franchise. The Charlotte Bobcats and its WNBA counterpart, the Sting, were owned primarily by Johnson’s investment group, which included former NBA superstar Michael Jordan. Johnson continues to make waves in the business world with his RLJ Companies brand and media investments.
article by D.L. Chandler via newsone.com

R.I.P. Former Temptations Member Otis "Damon" Harris

By goodblacknews on February 25, 2013
The Temptations in 1972 (L to R): Richard Street, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, Dennis Edwards and Damon Harris. (Photo: Getty Images)
Otis “Damon” Harris, a former member of the Temptations, died at age 62 on Monday (February 18), according to the Baltimore Sun. The singer passed away at Baltimore’s Joseph Richey Hospice following a 14-year battle with prostate cancer which a family spokeman told the Sun had greatly worsened last summer.

Born in 1950, Harris joined Motown hitmakers The Temptations at age 21 in 1971 after a stint in a Temptations cover band called the Young Tempts with high school friends. The young musician, who sang lead on the Temptations’ Grammy-winning Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” in 1972, was in the group until 1975.
Harris went on to release two albums with his childhood friends in the group Impact, which produced the singles “Happy Man” and “Give A Broken Heart A Break.” Harris followed his time in Impact with a solo album, 1978’s “Silk,” before choosing to leave the music industry.   
During his later years, he was an activist for the group Stand Up to Cancer and his own Damon Harris Cancer Foundation, encouraging men to receive regular cancer screenings, as he himself had delayed in seeing a doctor prior to his cancer diagnosis.
article by Chris Payne via billboard.com

Whitney Young Documentary On PBS Tells Story Of Unsung Civil Rights Leader

By goodblacknews on February 24, 2013

 Whitney Young Documentary

WASHINGTON — Just before the March on Washington in 1963, President John F. Kennedy summoned six top civil rights leaders to the White House to talk about his fears that civil rights legislation he was moving through Congress might be undermined if the march turned violent.
Whitney Young Jr. cut through the president’s uncertainty with three questions: “President Kennedy, which side are you on? Are you on the side of George Wallace of Alabama? Or are you on the side of justice?”  One of those leaders, John Lewis, later a longtime congressman from Georgia, tells the story of Young’s boldness in “The Powerbroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights,” a documentary airing during Black History Month on the PBS series “Independent Lens” and shown in some community theaters.