*The Coca-Cola Presents the 2006 Essence Music Festival announced the addition of a star-studded old school reunion, Doug E. Fresh and The Pioneers of Hip-Hop, to the Festival's line-up of main-stage performances on Sunday, July 2nd at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The old school reunion show will feature Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Sugar Hill Gang, MC Lyte, Biz Markie, Whodini and Dana Dane. Other performers on July 2nd will include Chris Brown, Jaheim, New Edition and Bobby Brown, and Steve Harvey. Meanwhile, Diddy and Friends will not perform at the Festival due to a scheduling conflict. Tickets $45, ($56, $67, $72, $83, and $110) are on sale at ticketmaster.com, (800) 488-5252 or (713) 629-3700 in Houston. For more information, log on to www.essence.com.
*The National Black Arts Festival's (NBAF) 10-day summer run will return to Atlanta July 14-23 and explores the dance, music, film, theater, visual arts and literary arts of the African Diaspora. This year's spotlight, South Africa and the American South, brings together the style, culture and artistic achievements of these areas of the world. For this year's Legends Celebration, Grammy Award-nominated composer/musician/poet Hannibal Lokumbe continues his series of compositions documenting the lives of civil rights icons with the world premiere of "A Great and Shining Light." For complete details about NABF programming and ticketing information, please visit www.nbaf.org.
*The Hip-Hop Theater Festival is currently in New York City for its sixth annual event, June 20-24, featuring the New York premiere of “Live from the Front” by Jerry Quickley as directed by “Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk's” Reg E. Gaines among other works. The event "unites the best of emerging and established hip hop artists from around the country in an arena that stretches the limits of theater, dance, spoken word and live music." Performances will take place at The Public Theatre, New York Theater Workshop, Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater's Joan Weill Center for Dance and more. Tickets can be purchased by calling (866) 811-4111. For more details and a complete schedule of events, visit www.hiphoptheaterfest.org.
*"Confessions of a Thug," a groundbreaking, hip-hop musical chronicling the life of a college-educated street hustler, is set to premiere in New York Friday (June 23) at the Urbanworld Vibe Film Festival. The film features performances by The Lady of Rage (Robyn Allen), J.T. Money and 11 musical performances by Daron "South Boy" Fordham. In addition to "Confessions of a Thug," the 2006 Urbanworld Vibe Film Festival will screen over 60 new features, documentaries, shorts, and music videos. For more information about the film, visit http://www.confessionsofathug.com or visit the film festival's Web site, http://www.urbanworld.com, for ticket information.
*The Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement Coalition has started a series of “Meet and Greets” in Brooklyn, NY to both introduce community residents to the proposed $3.5 billion, Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards project and to elicit additional feedback. The site includes a new Nets arena, up to 6,860 units of affordable and market-rate housing and at least 606,000 square feet of office space, 247,000 square feet of retail space, and 165,000 square feet of hotel space. The CBA will bring a host of benefits to the area, including jobs, business opportunities and affordable housing. The event was attended by several Housing Authority Tenant Association presidents and tenants as well as other community leaders and residents. Public housing residents receive preference in all aspects of the CBA, including jobs, business opportunities and housing. Future Meet & Greets are planned to occur regularly in the ensuing months.