Month: December 2020
Mega streaming service Spotify has confirmed that Mariah Carey broke the record for most streams in one day with her hit song, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” The company revealed that the song, which was recorded in 1994, was streamed 17.223 million times on Christmas Day. Carey took to Instagram to share the exciting news with her fans. “Grateful. Never taking this for granted. Appreciate you so much and praying for a healthy and blessed 2021 for us all,” she wrote. All we can say is — a great classic never dies. You go diva!
ABC has announced more performers for this year’s 49th annual “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” and the lineup is not what you may expect. Although Ryan Seacrest will return as the host, the usual pop infused list of performers have changed. R&B artists En Vogue, Brandy, Ella Mai, Billy Porter, Gloria Gaynor, Doja Cat and Andra Day have all been confirmed. The show is set to air on Thursday, Dec. 31 beginning at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
Rapper Lil Pump will no longer be able to fly JetBlue after a recent dispute over his face mask left a flight crew verbally assaulted and fearing safety concerns. According to reports, Pump was on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to L.A. when Pump removed his mask. When he was approached by the flight crew to put his mask back on, Pump started deliberately coughing and sneezing and became non-compliant. LAX was called to have police on standby, but it has not been confirmed if Pump was arrested. This isn’t the first time that Pump has been in the hot seat. In October, the “Gucci Gang” rapper received heavy criticism from his fanbase for supporting President Donald Trump’s political campaign. It was later revealed that he received a monetary supplement to rep the commander in chief.
Nick Cannon has welcomed his second child with girlfriend Brittany Bell. Cannon and Bell shared the news with their fans, along with a photo of their newborn daughter, whom they named “Powerful Queen Cannon.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brittany Bell (@missbbell) This is the second child for the couple and the fourth for Cannon, who shares 9-year-old twins Morocco and Moroccan with singer Mariah Carey.
Houston native and rap superstar Travis Scott gave back to his hometown Tuesday by hosting a toy drive for over 2,000 children. Scott’s nonprofit foundation, Cactus Jack, provided toys, food, fresh produce, Christmas trees, blankets, clothing and PPE supplies. The event was held at Sunnyside Park, in one of Houston’s most under-served communities. Kudos to Scott for always showing love to his H-Town family, and Happy Holidays to all.
The ‘Grande Dame’ of soul music, Dionne Warwick, is in the early stages of developing her biopic and she wants R&B Goddess Teyana Taylor to play her. Warwick, who recently joined social media, shared her biopic vision with her legion of Twitter followers and wrote that Taylor playing her would be the only option. “Now I really gotta know this: if I did a series, would you guys really watch? I want you to be honest now,” Warwick said in a video. This is a case for @netflix. Please don’t ask who I would cast to play me as it would obviously be @TEYANATAYLOR. pic.twitter.com/acGbBKGFfH — Dionne Warwick (@dionnewarwick) December 16, 2020 Netflix and Taylor, who were both tagged in the post, both responded with excitement about being included in the project. “When the LEGENDARY @therealdionnew had this moment w/ @netflix & they started jotting notes in their palm pilots…I was lookin at them likeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,” Teyana replied. “P.S. One thing about them doors…..They open.” Do you think Taylor would be a good Dionne? Drop your comments below.
Every decade has its time in the spotlight and this season is all about the 90s, and celebrity couple – Big Sean and Jhene Aiko, -are paying homage to the classic era in their latest video. The couple recreated five of the 90s biggest movies in the music video for their new song “Body Language.” Let’s just say that box braids, baggy jeans and Black excellence was not on short supply! Jhene and Sean gave their best Poetic Justice, Waiting to Exhale, Love Jones and Best Man impressions and created a viral frenzy on social media. “Love to these classic black films (and more) for being timeless and still inspiring me to this day! Body Language video was just us paying homage #PoeticJustice #LoveJones #TheBestMan #WaitingToExhale,” Big Sean tweeted. Sean and Aiko have been an on- and off- again couple for the past four years and have featured each other on various music projects, but this new collab has Black twitter calling them the “couple of the culture.” Love to these classic black films (and more) for being timeless and still inspiring me to this day! Body Language video was just us paying homage ✊🏾 #PoeticJustice #LoveJones #TheBestMan #WaitingToExhale pic.twitter.com/uemMwAZhnV — Sean Don (@BigSean) December 17, 2020
It has been three years since the 90s R&B girl group, Xscape, announced that they were in talks with networks to develop a made-for-television biopic, but it was delayed due to network negotiations and other setbacks. But the wait may soon be over! In a recent interview with the Jasmine Brand, Xscape member LaTocha Scott revealed that the biopic is finally in the works and they have even started casting the main characters. “We’re making sure that the people that are getting involved is who we want to be involved with this, because when you do a life story that’s it. You can’t go back and change anything, you can’t go erase anything, so we just want to make sure it’s done right,” said Scott. Scott said the group members have been very hands-on with the casting process. “We’ve already kind of talked about who we want to play the roles of each and every one of us,” Scott explained. Scott said group member Tameka “Tiny” Harris has cast her daughter, R&B singer Zonnique, to portray her, and Scott’s sister and group member Tamika Scott has cast her rapper daughter, Young Niya, to play her. The biggest surprise to the casting lineup is actress Naturi Naughton, who would play Scott. “Naturi from the show ‘Power’ – everyone says ‘Oh my gosh, you guys look alike.’ Plus she can sing. I talked to her at BET Her when we had to perform that night, and she was like ‘I would love to.’ So we’re kind of just making sure the people who we bring in to play us really does the part,” Scott shared. It is unknown at this time who will play Grammy Award Winning singer-songwriter and Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burrus, but fans have hinted at singer Summer Walker. The group has yet to announce the official release date or trailer, but R&B music lovers can’t wait to learn all the backstage drama behind the So So Def legends.
Local black-owned businesses teamed up with schools from the Acres Homes area Friday to fulfill Christmas wishes of those hardest hit by the pandemic. Booker T. Washington High School, MC Williams Middle School and Ernest McGowen Sr. Elementary selected nearly two dozen families from the STEM UP Urban Perspective program to participate in this year’s Christmas giveaway. “This was our second year doing the event, but this year we wanted to open it up to more families because of the hardships that so many have faced due to the pandemic,” said event organizer, Dr. Lakeisha “KiKi” Menifee. “Some of the students have lost parents due to COVID-19 and are experiencing homelessness due to family job loss and other issues.” Each family was adopted by a local black-owned business and surprised with their Christmas gifts during an unveiling at the historic Houston Forward Times Newspaper headquarters. “When Dr. KiKi reached out to us we were honored to be a part of such a great cause,” said Forward Times Publisher Karen Carter Richards. “We reached out to a number of local businesses and organizations who jumped at the chance to spread some Christmas cheer.” Businesses included; AG Media Agency, Bayou Beat News, Lamik Beauty, Hodges Communications Group LLC, Grubido, Doss Couture, Unity National Bank, TAS Realty and Alibaster INC. “Community partnerships are very important to us at Unity National Bank, said Unity National Bank, V.P. of Business Development, Sheri Lawal-Price. “It is the foundation of who we are and this event was a great opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to the community and the small businesses that serve.” Prior to the unveiling, the participating students participated in a rocket launch to Santa at MC Williams Middle School. The students spent the day building rockets with their families and writing their Christmas wishes to Santa. The wishes were attached to the rocket and launched. The students were not aware that their wishes would be seen and that the businesses would help to make their Christmas wishes come true. “This was a true blessing,” said Rickie Bradford, a father of eight and youth pastor who has been laid off due to COVID-19. “We have a large family and it’s hard right now. The kids will be happy to see all of the gifts and to have something to open.”
DALLAS, Texas – Fans are still mourning the death of rapper Mo3, but his family may soon get the justice they are hoping for. Kewon Dontrell White, 22, has been charged with murder and prohibited person in possession of a firearm for the Nov. 11 shooting death of the “Mop Wit It” rapper. The Dallas Police Department announced Thursday that White is believed to be the man seen shooting the rapper on surveillance video in broad daylight on the I-35 freeway bridge. White has been remanded to the FBI. According to police, an anonymous tip led them to White’s whereabouts.
