Arts & Entertainment
Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” Dominates Critics Choice Documentary Awards
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Paras Griffin / Getty Questlove’s cinematic labor of love, Summer Of Soul, was a smash hit at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards, winning in all of the categories it was nominated in including best documentary feature. The awards were held on Sunday night (November 14) in Brooklyn, N.Y., and hosted by comedian Roy Wood Jr., marking the first time it was held with a live audience since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Related Stories Summer of Soul, which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, explores the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969. The highly acclaimed film features footage that was forgotten and unseen for over 50 years from the entire festival which includes performances from Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, and Sly and The Fam...
Netflix CEO Admits He ‘Screwed Up’ With His Dismissive Response Dave Chappelle Criticism
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Lester Cohen / Courtesy of Netflix No matter how one feels about comedy icon Dave Chappelle and his latest Netflix stand-up special The Closer, there’s one thing objective people should be able to agree on from both a business and human standpoint: The response to the backlash by Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos was trash. As previously reported, when viewers called The Closer out for transphobic and otherwise derogatory remarks made by Chappelle, and many were demanding the special be pulled from the platform, Sarandos sent out an internal memo to Netflix employees stating that “We don’t allow titles (on) Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line.” Related Stories “I recognize, however, t...
Damon Wayans Says Dave Chappelle Has “Freed The Slaves” Of Comedy, And, Well…Meh
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: FayesVision/WENN.com / WENN By now you’ve caught wind of the controversy over Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix stand-up special The Closer. Audiences both love and hate the special—just as they have the last several in his series of Netflix stand-ups—as some believe he’s been a welcome punch in the gut to what they consider to be out-of-control “cancel culture,” while others believe Chappelle is actively harming LGBTQ people, and particularly trans people, by crafting a dangerous narrative around the existence of a marginalized group he is not a part of. Critics called for Chappelle’s latest to be removed from the Netflix platform—just as some did after his special before it, Sticks & Stones—and Netflix, of course, declined to and, instead, defended th...
Lies And Lawsuits: The Demise Of Ozy Media Explained
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Noam Galai / Getty Ozy Media, a media and entertainment company founded by ex-MSNBC host Carlos Watson and company COO Samir Rao, is starting to look more and more like the Fyre Festival of media platforms. News continues to unfold about the company closing its doors while allegedly leaving investors stuck like Chuck after putting millions into an idea that seemingly turned into a flop. In fact, one investor, LifeLine Legacy Holdings—a money management company based in Beverly Hills, California, with a client list that includes NFL player Marshon Lattimore and actress and TV/film producer Issa Rae—filed a lawsuit on Monday claiming Ozy Media “engaged in fraudulent, deceptive and illegal conduct,” in claiming to have a much larger audience and way more clo...
Why Some NBA Players Are So Hesitant To Get Vaccinated: In Their Own Words
NewsOne Featured Video CLOSE Source: Steven Ryan / Getty The anti-vaccine hysteria is now sweeping through the NBA like a fast-break layup. A number of basketball players like Kyrie Irving and Jonathan Issac have shared their controversial opinions about receiving a jab of the COVID-19 vaccine. Huge consequences could loom for Irving, in particular, whose ability to play in upcoming games for the Brooklyn Nets remains uncertain. The NBA star missed out on Media day at the Barclays center on Sept. 27 because he wasn’t fully vaccinated. Irving, who virtually spoke to reporters over Zoom, declined to further comment on his vaccination status. “Living in this public sphere, there’s a lot of questions about what’s going on in the world of Kyrie,” he said explained. “I would love to just keep th...
David Alan Grier Cracks Up Tony Awards Crowd With Audra McDonald Shoutout
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: CBS Photo Archive / Getty On a night where Broadway celebrated its return with the 74th annual Tony Awards ceremony, David Alan Grier started the night off with some genuine humor towards host Audra McDonald as he accepted his first-ever award. The veteran TV and film actor began the evening’s festivities when he won the Tony for Best Performance By a Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Sergeant Waters in A Soldier’s Play, the captivating tale about Black soldiers on a military base during World War II which won a Pulitzer Prize before being converted into a play. Grier took the stage decked out in a black tuxedo jacket and vibrant plaid pants and began his acceptance speech with a playful jab at McDonald: “Audra, I finally won one of these, too!” Mc...
“Would You Release New Music If You Were Me?”: Chrisette Michele Responds To Kanye Comparisons And Cancel Culture
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Marcus Ingram / Getty Every time Kanye West finds (or puts) himself in the news and trending on social media—usually behind some controversial comment he made or tweeted and, of course, when he drops a new album—anti-hypocrisy and misogynoir Twitter comes through with a fresh discussion about the curious career demise of singer Chrisette Michele. There are a lot of different arguments here. Some say if Kanye was never “canceled” after all the MAGA-fied Trump-humping and disrespecting of the ancestors he’s done, then Michele should never have been “canceled” for performing Donald Trump’s inauguration. (I put “canceled” in quotes because I don’t believe “cancel culture” is an actual thing for various reasons, but that’s a post for another day.) Some argue t...
Jay-Z’s Made In America 2021 Coming Soon, Here Are 7 Of Our Favorite Moments Of MIA’s Past
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz83 In 2012, Hip-Hop legend and business mogul Jay-Z brought the Made In America music festival to Philadelphia, Pa., and every year since, the colossal musical extravaganza has brought us some of the biggest names across genres and has headlined artists who define the current culture. This month on Sept. 4 and 5 (aka Labor Day Weekend), the festival will be celebrating its 10th year with an exciting lineup of artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Moneybagg Yo, Griselda, Roddy Ricch and, of course, the show’s headliners Justin Bieber and Lil Baby. So, in honor of 2021 being set to cap off a decade of breathtaking performances and cultural celebration, we have compiled 7 of the best Made In America moments that have take...
Bronner Bros. Postpone 75th Annual Beauty Show In New Orleans Due To Delta Rise
NewsOne Featured Video Source: Paras Griffin / Getty Following the lead of the New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Bronner Bros. International Beauty Show has been postponed. Given the rise of the delta variant in New Orleans, show organizers believed it was more important to health and safety than moving forward with the 75th Anniversary show. “With the Delta Variant wreaking havoc on our population, we do not feel that It Is safe to host the 18,000-20,000 visitors our show was on track to bring to New Orleans,” read the statement In part. A statement on the Bronner Bros. website reiterated the commitment to the health and safety of participants, exhibitors, attendees, and industry partners. While we have taken all precautions to host a safe and amazing show, we...
Happy Birthday, Whitney Houston! 12 Times She Stole Our Hearts
NewsOne Featured Video Whitney Houston performs in Las Vegas for the 2004 World Music Awards. | Source: Kevin Winter / Getty UPDATED: 10:00 a.m. ET, Aug. 9, 2021 NewsOne remembers Whitney Houston on Monday, Aug. 9, on what would have been the superstar with the mellifluous voice’s 58th birthday. And now that Whitney has gone to glory, here we share the special moments that punctuated the career of a legend. We love you, Whitney, and you will always be in our hearts! MORE: Black Women Icons We Lost Too Soon 1) Whitney’s talent came from a long line of singers: Whitney’s mom is gospel singer Cissy Houston; her cousins are singing icon Dionne Warwick and soul singer Dee Dee Warwick; her godmother is ’60s pop star Darlene Love; and the “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin is her honorary auntie. Wh...
In Fight for Freedom And Equality, Lil Nas X Raises Money For Bail Fund
NewsOne Featured Video Source: Bennett Raglin / Getty Lil Nas X keeps raising the stakes with each new single. The “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” star paired his latest release with the Bail X Fund, a fundraiser for The Bail Project, a national organization committed to ending cash bail. An anthem for the underdogs, “Industry Baby,” is set in the fictitious Montero State Prison. A prelude video to “Industry Baby” had Lil Nas X again playing multiple characters, being sentenced in connection with the Nike lawsuit. The YouTube video includes a donation banner for donations directly on that platform. As of Friday evening, the YouTube fundraiser raised close to $30,000 for the Bail X Fund. [embedded content] In a statement on The Bail Project’s fundraising page, Lil N...
VH1’s ‘Black Ink Crew: New York’ Announces Official Return In April
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: VH1 / VH1 Black Ink Harlem may have closed indefinitely but that’s not stopping the rowdy VH1 collective from setting it off this spring. Get ready for a whole lot of hollering and carrying on when the newest season of Black Ink Crew premieres on Monday, April 19. The group reconvenes in Brooklyn after the COVID-19 quarantine, in hopes of setting up shop while managing the drama of their personal lives. Not sure how deep Ceaser is willing to dive into his life at home after a very public beef that recently went down between himself, his daughter and his latest girlfriend. Either way, the rest of the crew is on hand to tackle their share of mess. Donna and Alex are now engaged and Ted (TED!) is married and working on music. Puma’s being held to the t...
