Wyclef Jean is one of the world’s most recognizable stars, performing before sold-out audiences, selling more than 50 million records in a 20-year career. His music is an eclectic mix, rooted in his Haitian DNA. Known primarily as a hip hop artist, he has a gift for guitar that reminds many of Jimi Hendrix.

“I came from Haiti. English is not my first language. I came to the land of the free, the land of the opportunities. I made somethin’ of myself,” Wyclef told Pelley.

Asked what he thinks would have happened had he never left Haiti, he said, “I think about that all the time. I always think ‘Why you, Clef? There’s close to ten million people in that place. Why you?’”

He comes from a country both beautiful and destitute. The average Haitian lives on less than $300 a year. Half the people scratch out a meager living on the land. The others are packed into cities like the capital, Port-au-Prince.

To most Haitians, he’s the living incarnation of their dream, someone who got out, struck it rich, but didn’t forget where he came from.

“These kids, they could identify with me, ’cause they say, ‘He looks like us, and he talks our language,’” says Jean.

Harris endeared such characters to readers who were otherwise unfamiliar with them, using themes and backdrops familiar to urban professionals, conditioned by their upbringings, their church leaders or their friends to condemn and criticize homosexuality in the African-American community. A proud Razorback cheerleader at the University of Arkansas who struggled with his own sexuality before becoming a pioneer of gay black fiction, Harris died Thursday at age 54 while promoting his latest book in Los Angeles.

Publicist Laura Gilmore said Harris died Thursday night after being stricken at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, and a cause of death had not been determined. She said Harris, who lived in Atlanta, fell ill on a train to Los Angeles a few days ago and blacked out for a few minutes, but seemed fine after that.

An improbable and inspirational success story, Harris worked for a decade as an IBM executive before taking up writing, selling the novel “Invisible Life” from his car as he visited salons and beauty parlors around Atlanta. He had unprecedented success for an openly gay black author and his strength as a romance writer led some to call him the “male Terry McMillan.”

In 15 years, Harris became the genre’s most successful author, penning 11 titles, ten of them New York Times bestsellers. More than four million of his books are in print.

Source: AP

Since 2003, concerts have been presented by 46664 in South Africa, Spain, Norway and England, before New York City this year. This was the first one Mr. Mandela could not attend, because he no longer travels outside South Africa. Now Mr. Mandela’s admirers hope to see his birthday, July 18, become an internationally recognized Mandela Day: “Not a holiday,” Mr. Mandela admonished on video, but “a day dedicated to service.”

His call for volunteerism has a theme song, “With My Own Two Hands,” which was written by Ben Harper and was performed on Saturday by a South African singer, Chris Chameleon, and a Senegalese one, Baaba Maal.

Pressing the case, and calling on the audience to devote time to unselfish deeds, were Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, among other actors.

Stevie Wonder concluded the show, flanked by all the other performers, exulting in his own “Happy Birthday” — a song that once supported the creation of the Martin Luther King’s Birthday holiday, now repurposed.

Source: NYT

Bill Cosby at this point in his career is not just internationally famous; he has become an icon in the black community as a successful, inspiring individual who did not let his color get in the way making his mark on society. So when this highly recognizable and well-loved entertainer came out two years ago with a tirade against the black community, citing hip hop and the language associated with it as part of the problem with today’s black youth, people paid attention. His rant, delivered at a NAACP event honoring the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education caused quite a stir.

As founder of Def Jam Records Russell Simmons aptly put it, “pointing the finger may not be helpful — we still have more struggle as a society and more work to do to reform it.” (Debate Continues as Cosby Again Criticizes Black Youths, by Hamil L. Harris, Washington Post)

True, there is in fact a negative connotation to some of the language in hip hop, but conversely this same language has been adopted and assimilated into modern culture. How can you have politicians, parents and critics lambasting the same language that is used to market anything from cell phones to Subway sandwiches? As the oft misquoted line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet states, “Ah there’s the rub.”

Many in the hip hop world would tell you that language of hip hop is the language of the street — the lexicon of the day-to-day struggle in urban life.

Love And Hate
It’s hard to imagine a music culture that has evolved economically and culturally and has become so widely accepted to still suffer such censorship and harsh criticisms.

Love: Hip Hop group The Fugees won 5 grammys in 1999 essentially confirming what everybody knew all along — the music is not only popular but is also highly profitable.

Hate: Negative stereotypes and objectification of women dominate the lyrics of many popular hip hop songs and artists. Adding more ammunition to the hate revolver, The Rand Corporation recently did a study linking promiscuous sexual activity in teens to sex-laden (primarily hip hop songs) lyrics. (Rand Study Finds Adolescents Who Listen To A Great Deal of Music With Degrading Sexual Lyrics Have Sex Sooner, www.rand.org).

Love: As a recent Time.com article mentioned, the love affair between hip hop and advertisers continues to stay strong. In fact hip-hop’s power to direct tastes in everything from malt liquor to SUVs is constantly being wooed and courted by the advertising industry. (’Hip-Hop Nation ‘Is Exhibit a for America’s Latest Cultural Revolution, www.time.com)

Hate: Writer John McWhorter cites that the language of hip hop reinforces the same stereotypes that have hindered blacks in this country for decades by glorifying a “thuggish” adversarial stance that is the “proper” response to an allegedly racist, never changing white society that continues to oppress them. He firmly believes that this in essence, retards black success. (How Hip-Hop Holds Blacks Back, John H. McWhorter, The Manhattan Institute’s City Journal). For an example he cites several snippets from recent rap songs including this one from one of hip hop’s iconic figures, the late Tupac Shakur

gotta know how to shake the snakes, nigga,
‘Cause the police love to break a nigga,
Send him upstate ’cause they straight up hate the nigga.

For every positive someone can make a valid point for a negative aspect to this music. There is no right or wrong here. If you put both sides of this debate in a room you might as well make it a round room because that’s how the argument will go.

Breaking the circle
The language of hip hop isn’t going to change anytime soon. For every reference to the N word, guns and sex there are just as many references to empowerment, being strong and standing up for what you believe. Not everyone who plays a videogame shoots up a school. Not everyone who listens to hip hop will abuse women and join a gang. Understanding, interaction and communication is the key rather than focusing primarily on the negative aspects of hip hop.

It’s like being a part of that brotherly bond. And that’s the thing that feels good about it. It’s your people, and you hear other people using it, it’s kind of flattering, you know what I’m saying? Even if they don’t give the recognition like they are supposed to! It feels good to hear people out there ‘biting’ [using] your slang, basically. It’s communication, you know what I mean? It’s communication.” (Ameen, Oakland California youth talking about the impact of the language of hip hop to an NPR reporter).

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The Internet had it right, and Chappelle showed up close to 1 a.m. and began cracking jokes, Oregon Live reported.
But maybe the wayward comic didn’t realize just how popular he still is. The small sound system he brought with him made it impossible for most of those who gathered to actually hear his routine, in which thanked the crowd for showing and poked fun at what some of them were wearing (apparently, not much).

A stage was already in place for a free lunchtime concert series. He thanked Portland police for not arresting him, and told the crowd, “This has never happened in my entire career,” garnering a huge cheer. “I’m grateful everybody came out,” he said as quoted by Oregon Live.

It was unclear why the comedian, who has been mostly out of the spotlight since he declined a rich Comedy Central offer to continue doing “Chapelle’s Show” in 2005, was in Oregon.
But despite the sound problems, fans were happy he was there.

Source: NY Daily News

However, several looming questions hang over Jones’ head: Can Q rescue the brand name without assuming Vibe’s heavy load of debt? And what digital model will Vibe.com v. 2.0 run with?

Source: sfweekly.com

Clad all in white, a visibly distraught Janet remained strong as she fought back tears while addressing the audience.

“My entire family wanted to be here tonight but it was too painful,” she told the crowd — which included her father Joe Jackson — which cheered and stood on its feet. She then said her comments would be brief.

“To you, Michael is an icon,” Janet said. “To us, Michael is family. He will forever live in all of hearts.

“On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much.” She teared up toward the end of her comments.

Janet’s thoughts led into a profound, almost gospel performance of “I’ll Be There” by show host Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo. The song — one of the Jackson 5’s biggest hits — was a #1 hit single upon its original release in 1970 and again when covered by Mariah Carey for “MTV Unplugged” in 1992. On Sunday night, it was rendered quietly, with the duo accompanied only by a pianist. The performance was a strikingly different way to end an awards show, which usually conclude with big, rousing finales. It gave the show a dignified ending that perfectly suited the nature of the Jackson tribute.

Source: MTV

“His passing will be grieved far beyond that of any other singer, composer, producer, dancer and choreographer, in the history of the world. Indeed, in my very firmest, personal, belief there will never, ever, be another Michael Jackson!”

Don Cornelius, host of the show “Soul Train”

Michael Jackson has died at age 50 after being rushed to UCLA Medical Center, NBC News has confirmed.

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told the L.A. Times that Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home and CPR was performed.

TMZ.com reported that he may have suffered cardiac arrest.

Jackson had been due to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer, whose hits included “Thriller” and “Billie Jean,” had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months.

Working with the CRP Future Pilot Flight School in Dallas, American and comedian Steve Harvey have put together an event this weekend to promote aviation among young African American men. Harvey is coming in Saturday to talk to about 100 African American guys about aviation and African Americans who participated in aviation.

According to organizers of this weekend’s event, the 100 men who will participate in the Steve Harvey Mentoring Weekend were picked from more than 1,000 applicants.

In particular, the young men will hear about the Tuskegee Airmen, the group of African American aviators who distinguished themselves in World War II. Nearly 1,000 were trained at the Tuskegee, Ala., Army Air Field between 1941 and 1946.

The youths will get to look at various military aircraft. They’ll also meet David Harris, a pilot who in 1964 was the first African American to fly for American Airlines. Harris retired from American in 1994.

Source: dallasnews.com

The above-mentioned program will be launched on June 20, 2009 between 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm at Cincinnati’s Fountain Square. This inaugural event is part of the Youth Summit segment of the Gillette Civil Rights Game Weekend, and will feature numerous baseball-related events and presentations by MLB officials. Activities included are; “batting and pitching cages, baserunning contests, wiffle ball games and demonstrations with current Cincinnati Reds Brandon Phillips and Jerry Hairston, Jr., former Reds outfielder Eric Davis and former All-Star and current MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds”. Following the “Wanna Play?” event will be the annual Civil Rights Game between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ball Park.

The intention of the event is to inform and highlight everything that is great about the game of baseball, while teaching the young fans the role that baseball played in the Civil Rights movement.

Source: mlb.com

“Man Gone Down” scooped the 100,000-euro ($140,000) International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, beating off competition from 145 titles nominated by public libraries from 41 countries.

The unnamed first person narrator, once a promising Harvard student and now an impoverished construction worker in Brooklyn, is married to a white woman with whom he has three children.

He is “not fallen but standing on the precipice”, according to the IMPAC judges’ citation. “It is a story of the American Dream gone awry, about what it’s like to feel preprogrammed to fail in life and the urge to escape that sentence,” the book’s U.S. publisher Grove Atlantic says on its website.

Thomas, whose novel was nominated for the prize by the National Library Service of Barbados, said the American Dream can be variously defined, but the credit crisis has certainly pushed African Americans even further from it.

“One of the things I hope are taken away from reading the book is there are different American dreams,” Thomas told Reuters. “One being materialism which this narrator does not really have, it’s more the African American striving for freedom,” he said in an interview.

Source: Reuters

“In front of my friends, we listened to Biggie Smalls and Tupac,” she recently recalled, sliding into a stage whisper. “I never told anybody that at home I was listening to the Dixie Chicks.”

Toussaint’s crush on country began on her family’s summer road trips, when that high, lonesome sound was all their station wagon’s radio could dial in. Once back home, the teenager kept quiet about the passion she felt would ostracize her, and country music was a cultural curse made worse by the fact that Toussaint was a promising pop singer, performing alongside a young Jennifer Hudson.

“You’re supposed to be Mary J. Blige, a hip-hop queen,” her brother Mustafa Abdullah remembers telling Toussaint when she first informed him that her heart ached not for Nas but Nashville.

“No,” Abdullah pleaded with her, pointing out that the family had a musical pedigree to maintain: He works as a popular Chicago hip-hop DJ, and uncle Allen Toussaint is a well-known R&B pianist.

“You cannot do country music!”

But Toussaint couldn’t help it.

“I was dead-set: I’m not singing unless I’m singing country,” the now-30-year-old Toussaint said recently, wearing a cowboy hat, boots and a pearly grin.

Source: Chicago Tribune

The owner of the La Bella Wedding Chapel at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the former heavyweight champion and his bride, Lakiha Spicer, exchanged vows Saturday in a short, private ceremony.

Chapel owner Shawn Absher says the couple wed about 10 p.m. after arriving at the hotel from the Clark County marriage bureau in a chapel-owned limousine.

County marriage records in Las Vegas show the 42-year-old Tyson and 32-year-old Spicer got a marriage license about 30 minutes before their ceremony.

Tyson’s daughter Exodus died in May. The girl suffocated after she either slipped or put her head in the loop of a cord hanging under a treadmill’s console in her Phoenix home. Tyson’s agent, Harlan Werner, told the AP that Spicer is not Exodus’ mother.

Tyson and Spicer, a resident of suburban Henderson, asked for a simple ceremony with nothing special, Absher said.

“They just wanted to say the vows and be married,” he said. “It was very sincere.”

Tyson was previously married to actress Robin Givens in 1988 and Monica Turner in 1997.

His first marriage ended after one year after Givens filed for divorce and said in a nationally televised interview that she was afraid of Tyson. His marriage to Turner lasted five years.

Tyson and Spicer seemed very in love, Absher said.

“They were very heartwarming, and I think they really do love each other,” Absher said. “He seemed happy—and his life’s been up and down.”

Tyson last boxed competitively in 2005.

Source: Yahoo

Taylor died on Wednesday, according director of publicity for her record label, Alligator Records, which made the announcement. Known as “Queen of the Blues,” Taylor had her surgery on May 19 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and doctors had anticipated a full recovery.

Her last live performance was May 7 at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, where she was honored as Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year. After receiving the award, she performed her signature song, “Wang Dang Doodle.”

Source: eurweb.com

Until recently, mass-market books with romantic or sexual content by black writers have been lumped together under the label “African-American romance.” A look at the titles under that heading on Amazon.com reveals everything from suspense to erotica to family drama.

But as works under the “black romance” umbrella gain popularity, the book world has become more interested in collecting accurate sales data by subgenre, and promoting the works and writers that can bring in the bucks.

For the most popular authors of traditional romance, such as Brenda Jackson and Rochelle Alers, this means lucrative new book deals. For others, such as Mary B. Morrison and Carl Weber, it’s about taking their tales to Hollywood.

Perhaps most important, though least visible, the new attention means taking pains to specify the types of books within a category that still seems like a jumble to some publishers and book sellers.

Source: NY Daily News

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The suspended quarterback served 19 months in prison on the dogfighting conviction that capped one of the most astonishing falls in sports history — one that stole his wealth and popularity.

“Football is on the back burner for now,” said agent Joel Segal, who negotiated Vick’s 10-year, $130 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons but will be asking for substantially less if his tarnished client’s suspension is lifted by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Goodell, who suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007, reiterated at the NFL owners meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that he will review Vick’s status after his criminal case is completed.

Source: ESPN

Earlier this month, ABC announced that Aisha Tyler will host a “hybrid” daytime talk show TV pilot that includes political commentary, comedy segments and Internet interaction with fans via Facebook and Twitter. According to ABC sources, the pilot is being developed for syndication.
We previously reported that Mo’Nique will host the nightly talk/variety series, The Mo’Nique Show, scheduled to premiere late 2009 on BET.
In addition, The View co-host Sherri Shepherd will star in the Lifetime Television comedy pilot, Sherri, loosely based on her personal family experiences.

Source: stagetimemag.com