EURweb |
JANET LAUNCHES PLEASURE PRINCPLE LINGERIE: Line is a collabo with Australian designer Bruno Schiavi.
*Janet Jackson says she hopes to have her brand new Pleasure Principle lingerie line in stores by the end of November, which is one month before the launch of her "Discipline" tour in Vancouver.
According to "Access Hollywood," the singer has partnered with Australian fashion designer Bruno Schiavi for the line of intimates, named after the 1987 hit single from her album, "Control."
“The collection has been carefully created with some of the finest laces from around the world. You will see a lot of satin and lace combined and rich colors such as burgundy and beige, silver and peach as well as your classic black and white,” Jackson tells host Nancy O'Dell. ”It makes you feel incredible and offers variety as diverse as the women who will wear it.”
The first collection of Pleasure Principle offers 14 designs across a combination of bra styles from balconettes, demi cups to full coverage. Sizes will range from 32A to 44G.
The line will be Jackson and Schiavi’s first domestic lingerie collection with plans to have product in stores as early as November 2008 across America, with Australia, Japan and Europe to follow.
REP. STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES DIES AFTER ANEURYSM: Ohio congresswoman suffered brain hemorrhage Tuesday night. She was 58.
*U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress, died Wednesday after suffering an aneurysm while driving her car. She was 58.
The congresswoman died at 6:12 p.m. after suffering a brain hemorrhage that caused an aneurysm that burst and left her with limited brain function, spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said.
"Throughout the course of the day and into this evening, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones' medical condition declined," Sheil said in a statement from the congresswoman's family and the Cleveland Clinic, where she was hospitalized.
The liberal Democrat had been driving erratically through Cleveland Heights Tuesday night; her vehicle crossing from the northbound lanes across the southbound lanes, according to a statement from police.
An officer pulled a cruiser across the roadway to warn oncoming traffic. The officer reached her vehicle and found Tubbs Jones in medical distress, the statement said.
Tubbs Jones, elected in 1998, was one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's most vocal supporters during the primaries and was to be a superdelegate at next week's Democratic National Convention in Denver.
She represented the heavily Democratic 11th District and chaired the ethics committee in the House. She was the first black woman to serve on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, where she opposed President Bush's tax cuts and his efforts to create personal accounts within Social Security.
DMX SHOPPING SECOND REALITY SHOW: Jailed rapper looking for network to air series about his legal drama.
*As he sits in a Miami jail awaiting a hearing, DMX's camp released a statement announcing his newest venture, a reality show that will chronicle his numerous legal problems.
Titled "DMX: This Life of Mine," the series will feature the rapper attempting to rehabilitate himself, while trying to avoid prison time for pending charges of possessing drug paraphernalia, possessing marijuana, animal cruelty charges and theft, for allegedly giving a fake name when he was treated at a Scottsdale hospital earlier this year, reports Allhiphop.com.
“In many ways, my life has been an open book,” DMX told the Web site in a statement. “[But] I haven’t always been the one writing the story. With this show; however, people will get to see and hear with their own eyes and ears what really goes on in my life and I think they’ll come to understand me a little bit better with each episode.”
Shot in the Arizona desert, cameras follow DMX as he reevaluates his life, discusses his parentless childhood, and reveals his battle with depression and thoughts of suicide.
"DMX: This Life of Mine" is being produced in conjunction with Phoenix, Arizona based After Platinum Entertainment. CEO Ernie Romero said they have yet to find a network, but several have already expressed interest in airing the six-episode series.
“After watching this show, people will come to realize that despite all the stories and all the rumors about me, despite how well they may think they know me, there is another side to DMX that they have never seen and hopefully, it will make people question what they see and hear about me in the future,” said DMX.
The rapper previously starred in his own reality show for BET, titled "The Soul of a Man," which chronicled his life and legal problems.
ARETHA RECORDS FIRST CHRISTMAS CD: Queen of Soul's holiday album to include classic and contemporary favorites.
*Aretha Franklin will apply her heavenly voice to an array of holiday songs for a new album to be released Oct. 14 via DMI Records.
"This Christmas Aretha," the singer's first-ever Christmas album, will include classic holiday material as well as contemporary favorites. A press release says the listener will be taken "on a journey of Franklin's musical evolution, featuring songs infused with her trademark gospel, soul, R&B, and classical styles."
"Aretha Franklin is a living legend who makes an impact on fans worldwide with every performance and every album," said DMI founder, Tena Clark. "Having been privileged to work with Aretha, I know the passion she brings to every project, and I am committed to making her first-ever holiday album a special experience for her and her fans."
DMB PERFORMS HOURS AFTER SAX PLAYER DIES: Dave Matthews breaks news to the crowd during powerful three-hour set.
*The Dave Matthews Band took the stage at LA's Staples Center Tuesday just hours after learning that their saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, had died of complications from an ATV crash two months ago on his Virginia farm.
"We got some bad news today," Matthews told the crowd, according to the Orange County Register. The hushed audience learned Moore had died earlier that afternoon at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles. "(He) gave up his ghost today," Matthews said, "and we will miss him forever."
The Dave Matthews Band was able to play through pain and give the crowd a nearly three-hour performance. "That Matthews and his mates were able to soldier on so valiantly with an often profoundly moving and largely unsentimental performance wasn't just admirable – it was downright astonishing," wrote reviewer Ben Wener. "What's more, it spoke to the inexplicable but immense healing power of live music."
Moore, 46, had recently returned to his home in Los Angeles from his farm in Charlottesville, VA to begin rehabilitation.
ISAAC HAYES AIRPORT? NOT SO FAST: Congressman floated idea during memorial; Memphis officials say it's unlikely.
*A congressman had his hopes up too high when suggesting at Isaac Hayes' memorial service Monday that Memphis International Airport could be changed to honor the late soul musician.
Wild applause from the gathered mourners followed the suggestion by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, but airport officials said a name change is unlikely.
Airport board chairman Arnold Perl told The Commercial Appeal newspaper that Memphis is one of the most respected and recognized brands in the world. According to the Associated Press, Perl said Hayes was a great ambassador for Memphis, but the current airport name best serves the city's needs.
Cohen said Tuesday he would draft a letter to the Airport Authority formally making the suggestion to change the airport name.
BOBBY BROWN SUED BY DIVORCE ATTORNEYS: Singer accused of failing to pay more than $90,000 in legal fees.
*While Bobby Brown is on the CMT channel trying to get his country on with Marcia Brady, his former divorce attorneys have filed a lawsuit against the entertainer claiming they're owed $90,217 in unpaid legal fees.
Phillips, Lerner, Lauzon & Jamra say Brown signed a contract stipulating that in the event of a dispute over fees stemming from his divorce from Whitney Houston, he would submit to binding arbitration to resolve the matter.
The lawyers claimed to have notified Brown on numerous occasions, most recently in a letter dated June 29, that he was past due in paying the balance, including interest. But attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.
The suit, filed Aug. 15 in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks a court order forcing the reality star to enter into binding arbitration with either the Beverly Hills or Los Angeles bar association to settle the bill.
TERRENCE HOWARD'S GAME CUT FROM ALMAS: Actor tried to holla at his co-presenter, prompting producers to reshoot awkward segment.
*Gossip blogger Janet Charlton wrote Wednesday that Terrence Howard was flirting so shamelessly with his co-presenter at the ALMA awards that producers were forced to reshoot the entire segment.
According to Charlton, the actor and Mexican actress Angelica Vale were supposed to exchange small talk and simply read the teleprompter before announcing the nominees and winner of the category.
Instead, Howard made things awkward by "flirting and asking her questions that got her blushing and flustered," wrote Charlton. "He ended up adlibbing that he'd like her phone number. They eventually got around to presenting the award, but shortly after that the producers, citing 'technical difficulties,' insisted on reshooting the presentation.
"They spoke to Terrence backstage and on his second try he stuck to the script verbatim. No flirting."
The edited version will air when the show is broadcast Sept. 12 on ABC.
PRINCE INVITES JANELLE MONAE INTO HIS LIMO: His Royal Badness rolls up to Viper Room after her set and summons her to a chat.
*Prince showed up to Janelle Monae's show Tuesday night at L.A.'s Viper Room, but he never stepped foot inside the club.
According to E! Online, his limo pulled up an hour late and just sat outside, where Monae eventually joined him in the back seat. The meeting was said to be completely platonic.
A source said Prince is a huge Janelle Monae fan and just wanted to give her some "career advice."
Meanwhile, E! Online's Marc Malkin wrote: "I'm told on Monday night a bunch of folks headed to Prince's house after Monáe's show with Raphael Saadiq at the Roxy. The little get-together also included one of Prince's signature living-room jam sessions."
Among those who were seen at Monáe's two club gigs this week were Sean "Diddy" Combs (he signed her to his Bad Boy Records), Eddie Murphy, and Ne-Yo. Monáe has been touring in support of her new album, "Metropolis: The Chase Suite."
DAMON DASH SUED OVER TWO NYC CONDOS: Bank says mogul owes more than $78,000 in mortgage payments on the Tribeca apartments.
*Damon Dash is being sued by a bank for failing to send monthly payments on a mortgage totaling $7.3 million for two Tribeca apartments, reports the New York Daily News.
Eastern Savings Bank says the rap mogul skipped his monthly payments of $78,504 for both condos from January to August. He's also accused of owing more than $10,000 in late fees for the cross-mortgage that covers both properties.
The bank says it will take back the two properties (in the Sugar Warehouse on Laight St. and in the Atlanta on North Moore St.), if Dash doesn't come up with the money.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, cites numerous judgments against Dash in which he was ordered to pay more than $2 million in New York state taxes, more than $100,000 in federal taxes and $95,000 in unpaid rent to the landlord of the W.39th St. building that houses Damon Dash Enterprises.
NO 'FAST AND 'FURIOUS 4' TYRESE: Plus, Vin Diesel to direct 20-minute prequel to upcoming fourth installment.
*Tyrese told the Web site Movies Online that he was unable to make an appearance in the forthcoming "Fast and Furious" because he has prior commitments to shoot "Transformers 2."
"You know, my man [director] Justin Lin was fighting tooth and nail to try to get me in on the 'Fast and the Furious 4' but it just didn't work out," said the actor, who starred in the second film in the franchise, "2 Fast 2 Furious."
"The timing of my filming 'Transformers' and what they were doing, it just didn't work out," he said. "So it was just supposed to be a small piece, kind of like what Vin did for the third one, but there is going to be a 5 because you've got Vin Diesel coming back. It's going to definitely re-spark the franchise so hopefully it'll set up a small little piece for your boy to get back in there. Because '2 Fast 2 Furious' was the most successful one of all of them."
Meanwhile, Diesel tells ComingSoon.net that he is directing a 20-minute prequel to the upcoming "Fast and Furious," which is set to open June 5, 2009, via Universal Pictures.
Diesel will star in the short along with Michelle Rodriguez, reprising her role as Letty, and Sung Kang returning as Han. Diesel didn't specify the media format for the film (big screen, television, online, etc).
In "Fast and Furious," fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto (Diesel) reignites his feud with agent Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker). But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmaneuver him.
DEXTER KING SUES HIS SIBLINGS: Lawsuit claims MLK III and Bernice used center without permission.
*The children of Martin Luther King Jr. continue their legal sparring over the direction of the King Center for Nonviolent Change, founded by their late mother, Coretta Scott King.
Dexter King, the center's chairman, filed a lawsuit Monday against his brother and sister, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, accusing them of establishing foundations in direct competition with The King Center, reports the Associated Press.
The lawsuit also states that King III used the center without permission to meet with then-presidential candidate John Edwards in January 2008.
In July, King III and Bernice King sued their brother in an attempt to force him to open the books of their father's estate.
'OFFICE' STAR PLEADS GUILTY TO DRUG CHARGES: Judge allows actor Craig Robinson to enter rehab program.
*Craig Robinson, a cast member on NBC's "The Office," pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Los Angeles court to a felony count of possession of ecstasy, reports People.com.
"The judge allowed him to enter a drug-diversion program," said L.A. District Attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison. "If he completes counseling and stays clean for 18 months, the case will be dismissed."
One felony charge of methamphetamine possession and a misdemeanor charge of being under the influence were dismissed.
The 36-year-old, who plays warehouse supervisor Darryl Philbin on the sitcom, was pulled over for a traffic violation in Culver City, Calif., on June 29, and officers discovered drugs in his car.
The actor's attorney, Blair Berk, said in a statement: "Mr. Robinson really appreciates and takes seriously the opportunity which has been given to him by the court and the prosecution to have all of the charges against him dismissed, upon successful completion of counseling."
MICHAEL MOORE SUGGESTS VP FOR OBAMA: Filmmaker writes open letter stating the case for Caroline Kennedy.
*Filmmaker Michael Moore is begging Caroline Kennedy to throw her hat in the ring as a potential vice president for Barack Obama, should he win the election in November.
The daughter and only surviving child of former president John F. Kennedy currently heads Obama's VP search committee. In an open letter to Kennedy via his blog, Moore says that she – and not frontrunners Tim Kaine, Joe Biden or Evan Bayh – would be the perfect choice.
Moore wrote: "What Obama needs is a vice presidential candidate who is NOT a professional politician, but someone who is well-known and beloved by people across the political spectrum; someone who, like Obama, spoke out against the war; someone who has a good and generous heart, who will be cheered by the rest of the world; someone whom we've known and loved and admired all our lives and who has dedicated her life to public service and to the greater good for all.
"That person, Caroline, is you. I cannot think of a more winning ticket than one that reads: 'OBAMA-KENNEDY.'"
Click here to read Moore's entire open letter: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=226.
MICHAEL VICK'S HOME WON'T SELL: Jailed QB makes legal moves to unload property and pay off creditors.
*Not even imprisoned NFL quarterback Michael Vick is immune to today's real estate slump. His Sugarloaf home is still on the market, and the athlete needs it to move quickly so he can fund his bankruptcy case and pay off his creditors.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution cited court documents filed Monday showing that Vick seeks to retain a new real estate company – Braselton-based Funari Reality. His home, located at 2927 Darlington Run in Duluth, had been up for sale with the Waters Reality Group for $4.5 million.
Vick is said to have “substantial equity” in the home and a mortgage for $2,850,000, according to court documents. The sale of the property “would provide [Vick’s] estate with the opportunity to generate revenues for the benefit of the estate and its creditors,” according to the documents.
Funari Reality would be entitled to a four percent commission on the sale of the home, $180,000 if it sells for the asking price, according to the AJC.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback is currently in federal prison on felony charges related to dogfighting.
LATIFAH TO CHAIR URBANWORLD FILM FEST: Screenings to include 'Secret Life of Bees' on closing night.
*The Urbanworld Film Festival, presented by BET Networks, announced that Academy Award-nominated actress Queen Latifah will serve as Honorary Chair of this year's festival.
Dedicated to the exhibition of independent and mainstream cinema by and about people of color, Urbanworld also announced it will screen 85 films at this year's festival in New York City from Sept. 10-14. All festival screenings will be held at the AMC Loews 34th Street Theaters.
The 2008 slate will culminate in the special closing night screening of "The Secret Life of Bees," followed by a Q&A with talent from the film including Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo ("Hotel Rwanda"), and screenwriter/director Gina Prince-Bythewood ("Love & Basketball").
"I am thrilled to be the honorary chair of the Urbanworld Film Festival this year," said Queen Latifah. "It is an important and exciting festival and the perfect place to showcase my new film The Secret Life of Bees."
The five-day festival includes feature, documentary, and short film screenings, as well as panel discussions, live staged screenplay readings and the celebrated Actor's Spotlight, featuring Queen Latifah and to be aired on BET, with previous honorees including Vondie Curtis Hall, Samuel L. Jackson, Billy Dee Williams and Rosie Perez.
For more information about the 2008 Urbanworld Film Festival presented by BET Networks, please visit or http://www.urbanworld.org/ or http://www.bet.com/urbanworld.
DISNEY'S CORBIN BLEU ON ALBUM #2: 'HSM' star in the studio working on pop/rock/R&B follow up.
*Corbin Bleu, the bushy-haired actor in Disney's "High School Musical" franchise, says he's working on a new solo album to follow up his 2007 debut, "Another Side."
"There will be a lot of differences with the second album," Bleu, 19, tells Billboard.com of the project, due in February via Hollywood. "First of all, it's just more personal. I'm involved in every aspect of the writing.
As far as the direction of the music, it's very different. I wanted this album to have something that was a little bit of rock, a little bit of R&B and a little bit of pop."
"The R&B has wonderful rhythms and beats," he continues. "I'm a dancer, and when I perform live I love to dance. So I have to make sure it has that nice kicking bass. The pop sound is to make it a little bit more now, and when it comes to the rock, it makes it very live feeling, very instrumental. I listen to a lot of music like classic rock, alternative, hip-hop, classical, jazz, whatever. So I'm very musical and like to be able to incorporate that into my music as well."
Meanwhile, "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" will be released in theaters on Oct. 24, and Bleu says the musical numbers will be larger than life.
"(Director) Kenny Ortega, when he has a bigger budget, he's going to go for it," Bleu says. "So we have really huge numbers and a lot of different dance genres including cha-cha-cha and breakdancing. We even have a Bob Fosse tribute. Zac (Efron) and I have a really cool duet called 'The Boys are Back.'"
'BUILD THE DREAM RADIOTHON' ADDS SYNDIE STARS: Harvey, Banks, Joyner and Baisden join the fundraiser for King Memorial.
*Steve Harvey, Doug Banks, Tom Joyner, and Michael Baisden have been added to an all-star ensemble of celebrities for the Clear Channel “Build the Dream” Radiothon on Thursday, Aug. 28.
The effort, held on the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington and the "I Have a Dream" speech, will be held to raise money for the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial to be built on the National Mall in Washington.
“We are honored to have such a renowned group of personalities join forces in our campaign to honor Dr. King,” said Doc Wynter, SVP, Urban Programming for Clear Channel Radio. “The support of these additional celebrities in conjunction with 36 Clear Channel stations nationwide takes us one step closer to reaching the Memorial Foundation’s fundraising goals.”
Listeners will be directed to the Memorial Foundation’s Web site www.mlkradiothon.org and to (800) MLK-1386 to make a donation and learn more. All funds raised from the campaign will go towards the Memorial. All donations are tax deductible.
As previously reported, celebrity participants include: Aretha Franklin, Samuel L. Jackson, Musiq Soulchild, Nia Long, Ice Cube, Stephanie Mills, Cedric The Entertainer, General Colin Powell, Tavis Smiley, Al Roker, and Soledad O'Brien.
For a list of participating nationwide Clear Channel Radio stations, please refer t “Celebrities, Athletes, Politicians Join Forces in Clear Channel Radio’s Radiothon for Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial” at www.clearchannel.com/Radio/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=2245.
ITTY BITTY BITS: LisaRaye's bruises; Obama's bad rap?; Chicago's Sir Miles Davis Academy; Ced's 'Buffalo' sets a date.
*Actress LisaRaye shows the bruises she allegedly endured during a fight last week with her husband, Turks & Caicos Island Premier Michael Misick, in a slide show featured at Essence.com. Click here to view:
http://www.essence.com/essence/photogallery/0,14168,1833841,00.html
*Rappers have been dropping Barack Obama's name into rhymes left and right, but will the hip hop industry's warm embrace scare off mainstream voters? "[Rappers] need to be super quiet on Barack,'" Scarface tells MTV.com, or critics will "smash on him because of what somebody else said." Read MTV's entire article here:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1593139/20080819/jay_z.jhtml
*An official ribbon cutting of the new "Sir Miles Davis Academy" in Chicago will be held Tuesday (Aug. 26) at 6740 S. Paulina. The day-long event kicks off at 11 a.m. and includes speeches about the cultural significance of the school; a presentation to the Miles Davis Family, and an inaugural tour of the building. Live music performances and refreshments will be served for parents and the community. Meanwhile, Davis' "Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition" will be released on Sept. 30.
*The Broadway revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo, starring Cedric the Entertainer and John Leguizamo, is now confirmed to start performances on Oct. 31, with an opening set for Nov. 17. The drama, set in a Chicago pawnshop, tells the story of a trio of small-time crooks who come to blows over a plan to steal a valuable buffalo nickel. The play premiered off-Broadway in 1976 and won the 1977 Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play.
JOSEPH C. PHILLIPS: Why Obama Can’t Win
*In spite of fawning media coverage, an unpopular Republican president and economic challenges, Democrat Barack Obama has not managed to build a very substantive lead over his Republican rival John McCain. Recent polls show McCain closing the distance in key states and one national poll even had the Republican candidate with a slight lead. There are those that have of late attributed Obama’s lackluster polling to race. It happens that they are correct.
But then Barack Obama’s presidential run has always been about race. It has not, however, been about race as we most often envision it, as part and parcel of race-“ism”. Most Americans are tired of race and are looking to move beyond it in a concrete way. Obama’s polling numbers have not stalled because he has hit the glass ceiling of white supremacy. Barack has struggled because Americans no longer view him as a candidate that can transcend race. Many have, in fact, come to see him as ardently willing to manipulate race in order to gain a political advantage. Rather than representing a different kind of politician, he then appears to be not so different from any number of liberal Black politicians that have graced the political stage.
The polls have not moved because he is off message.
The Democratic senator’s enormous celebrity was not achieved through any perceived brilliance in the areas of economics or foreign policy. The excitement of Obama was the potential to realize a vision of an America that finally lives up to her promise. A promise that is impossible so long as we are stratified by color and class consciousness. What Americans believed in was his ability to bring us one step closer to the embodiment of our national motto “E Pluribus Unum” – out of many one.
The irony is that Obama needs race; without it, the emperor has few clothes. For 40% of voters, his decidedly thin resume and new liberal policies are of little consequence. The trick is in convincing 11% of voters in the middle that he can indeed provide change they can believe in.
Happily for Obama, civil rights initiatives in Colorado, Nebraska and Arizona represent an opportunity for the Illinois senator to get both back on message and on the road to victory.
These ballot initiatives would ban preferences based on race, ethnicity, and sex in the state’s public contracting, education (including university admissions), and employment programs. Obama’s support of these initiatives would be a positive signal to those voters in the middle that the vision that launched him into national prominence is in fact a deeply held conviction; that he is committed to the idea of racial non-discrimination and that his vision of an America moving beyond the old conversations about race.
Recent polling by Peter Brown, the assistant director of the respected Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, suggests that Obama’s continued support for racial preferences will hurt him in these states as well as the battleground states of Virginia and Michigan, which passed a similar measure two years ago.
So finally it must come down to race – not the ethnicity of either candidate, but their willingness to transcend old conversations of race in this country. McCain has not only avoided the use of race, but endorsed the initiatives signaling his vision of one America indivisible by race. Conversely, Obama has used the race card – tired and dog eared as it is – with abandon. At the same time, his support of preferences based on race belies the nobility of his speech and the vision that made him a star.
If he is, in fact, not going to move the nation beyond race, well, a majority of Americans are going to pull the lever for someone that has served honorably and that promises not to try and shake things up too much. There are simply not enough new liberals to push Obama over the top. The further from his vision of one America he drifts, the more difficult it will be for him to win.
The election then is John McCain’s to lose. Time will tell if the old man realizes it before November.
Joseph C. Phillips is the author of “He Talk Like A White Boy” available wherever books are sold.
THE ROBERTSON TREATMENT: (American’s Premiere Urban Lifestyle Column): Black Men Revealed:
Provocative television talk show explores the issues values that are important to African American men.
*The television industry has been woefully negligent in offering programming giving Black men a voice on their day-to-day lives, so it’s very refreshing to see TV One fill the gap with the talk show, “Black Men Revealed”. Hosted by ESPN2’s “First Take” pundits, former NFL player Ryan Stewart, and his big brother Doug, the weekly roundtable provides a platform for black men to express their opinions on a wide range of issues from politics to pop culture. Much life “barber shop” talk, the show presents an intimate forum where black men can be transparent about their thoughts and beliefs. Featuring dialogue that is provocative, insightful and thoroughly engaging, “Black Men Reveled” is must watch television. To give you a preview of the show, we’ve asked Doug and Ryan to share with us their views on a number of topical hot-button issues. Enjoy!
President Barack Obama?
Doug: It’s inspirational. Whenever I think about Barack, I think about the in a little over 40 years ago folks were marching for the right to do average, everyday things. So to see that a Black man have a legitimate chance to be the President of this country is incredible. There are still a lot of issues out there for us to be truly equal, but his candidacy shows that if you put your mind to something, you can be anything. He is a man with a lot intestinal fortitude, a lot of smarts and moxie to be president. It’s incredible to see such a contrast in our lifetime.
Is he black enough?
Doug: Well that has yet to be seen. On our show my brother and I have had some big arguments about the subject. I think that it’s something that will be talked about throughout the election season and, if he’s elected, throughout his presidency. He’s half white so is he straddling the fence? If he gets in office will the interest of the black community be a high priority for him? Even as he runs for president, some of the commercials he’s currently running don’t have any black people in them at all, so what does that mean? That’s question that Black Americans need to consider. He’s going to get my vote, but I do worry that in trying to please everybody how the black community might be affected negatively.
Ryan: Life is a game that has to be played, and the better you play it, the better the results. Barack is a black man at center stage right now, which means he has to balance a delicate situation that has to be played properly. He’s not going to be able to do and say everything that people may want him to say, so we have to sit tight and hope that if he gets in office that we are not forgotten.
Black Male/Female Relations
Ryan: I recently got married, so I think that the people who want to get connected are doing it. I have a buddy who I hang out with all the time who is looking for love but doesn’t plan on getting married. He’s afraid of several different things and wants to remain a bachelor. Nowadays a big segment of our society finds hat acceptable, so the pressure is not the way it once was for folks to seek out or remain in committed relationships.
Doug: It’s so easy now to get a divorce and people are definitely exercising that option. There are a lot of factors as to why relationships have reached this plateau. In the black community, in a city like Atlanta the man to woman ratio is ridiculous; it’s like 8 women to 1 dude, but it’s not just isolated here, it’s everywhere. It’s a sad picture of where the Black community is today.
What has caused this shift of values in the Black community?
Doug: I definitely think it all goes back to several factors starting with broken homes, lack of jobs and poverty in general within our community has created a mindset where being a single parent is the norm in the black community. There are so many reasons for why our community is the way it is, and there is not just one solution for making things better. The way of life today is totally different than what once existed in the black community. You don’t see the husband and wife family unit among our people like you do in other communities, and I find that very disturbing. The type of breakdown taking place in the black community is at a critical point and it is those topics that we’re going to address with Black Men Revealed.
What are your thoughts about the Olympics being held in China?
Doug: I would be concerned if I were an athlete going over there. The Chinese government is into a lot of things; some that are good and some that aren’t so positive. We all remember what happened in Munich in ’72, and with so many people protesting the situation in Tibet and Darfur, the Games will probably be subject to lots of protest. We will just have to hope for the best.
Ryan: I don’t want there to be harm and I don’t want the Olympic stage to be used for people to voice and show their political agendas at the expense of the spirit of the Games and what they stand for; so I’m just praying for the best.
Rising Gas Prices
Ryan: It doesn’t have to be this way… The rising price of gas is a very big problem, especially for folks who live in sprawling metropolis like Atlanta, Los Angeles and other places. It’s a really big deal even for folks like us who make good livings. I use to drive an SUV, but recently made the decision to buy a more economical car. The situation has gotten drastic and it’s time for the government to do something about it. When I was in high school, I can remember when gas was 0.99 a gallon, so what’s going on right now is unbelievable to me. The high price of gas is what the candidates need to be talking about, and hopefully if Barack can get into office he can do something about this situation.
Out of Control Athletes
Doug: It’s all about education and a lot of these guys have entered into situations where they are the first in their family to go to college or deal with big sums of money. So they don’t have any examples to follow and provide them with guidance.
Ryan: The money, fame and celebrity can become like a drug. I’m not a shame to admit that I made a lot of mistakes and blew a lot of the money that I made as a professional athlete. I had great examples growing up, but still made missteps during my career, so imagine how difficult it is if you come from a background without any support system in place.
A new episode of Black Men Revealed premieres every Sunday at 10pm.
Gil Robertson IV
BEST BETS: Music Notes – Tim Collins “Fade”
As summer fades into fall I’ve been fortunate to be introduced to several notable new releases that I will share over the next few weeks with RTSC readers. This week I want to tell you about the new CD “Fade” from Vibraphonist, Pianist and Drummer, Tim Collins. In case you don’t know (I didn’t) a vibraphonist plays a mallet instrument similar in appearance to a piano, but is in fact, a member of the percussionist family. Anyway, with “Fade”, Collins demonstrates why he’s a musician to keep an eye on. The new CD features the standout tracks “Rise, Set Fall,” “Cave Dweller,” Dear Old Friend,” “Mystified” and “Joy Ride”. Perfect for those warm summer nights out! Pick up a copy now. www. Timcollinsmusic.com
AUTOMOTIVE SPIN will return in the next edition of the Robertson Treatment.
Ciao!
Be on the lookout for my new book, “Family Affair: The Black Community on Race in America,” in stores January ’09!
Visit www.robertsontreatment.com
Copyright 2008
BETWEEN THE LINES: Race, Religion and Politics: Trying To Fix The Presidency
Anthony Asadullah Samad
*The most interesting thing that one comes away with in the “made for television” civil discussion at Rick Warren's church is that race escapes neither politics nor religion, and ageism doesn't really play role in determining intellectual qualification of the Presidency. When it comes to Barack Obama, everybody has a call on what Barack is, or is not. When it comes to John McCain, a good bedtime story is all you need to arrest concerns about your real capacity. To try to assess Presidential candidates in the context of a religious “civility” conversation with both candidates is a new twist--a new attempt to try and move the conversation away from the ideologues and the Christian fundamentalist. But was Rick Warren--a non-traditional, non-denominationalist preacher, who just coincidentally has a 20,000 member congregation and sold 35 million books--the proper one to play moral authority in such a critical juncture in American politics? His reach certainly got the candidates' attention. His format, a highly questionable “one on one” interview, designed to possess the sense of integrity of getting to the real issues of faith and service, certainly got Warren twice as much face time as either candidate. And his intent to civilize the conversation was certainly suspect from the outset. Somebody had to try and fix the broken process for President of the United States.
The premise that a “conversation” would somehow eliminate, at best--marginalize, at worst, the partisan bickering and relativist analysis, was a pipe dream. Let's call it what is really was, a pander to the so-called “Christian” vote to have a debate on morals and values. Questions about personal moral failures, definitions of faith and the presence of evil are fine, but they fall short of the country's moral failures, manipulation of faith and acts of evil. The fact that the church “conversation” did not raise questions about the true reasons for the war (U.S. favoritism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when they were supposed to be neutral mediators of the conflict) and violence in our own society is telling about where the church really stands. To portend that the only questions that are important to the faith community are related to abortion, stem cell research and the moral turpitude of the candidates is dismissive of the real moral crisis in this country. That is then to say that the church can look past American imperialism AND American racism and expect candidates to walk lockstep with the church. This is where the lines on the separation of church and state become blurred, and the guise of faith (being a “believer”) juxtaposes the political process. The base that Rick Warren represents isn't even the core of the so-called religious right. Christian “fundamentalist” tend to be Midwestern Methodists and Southern Baptists. That's what makes up the “Bible Belt” of America. It is the Christian “right” that tends to look past America's historical moral faults and silently affirm the socio-political status quo's desire to maintain the social construct as it is--disparities and all.
The conversation was not about how to change America. It was about how the candidates would conform to America's values (implicit in the church's values). Who has the courage to call out America's warmongering? Wasn't it curious to you that a prominent faith leader, in a segment of society that traditionally promotes peace, never asked a question about peace (ending the war)? And as race is the 800 pound gorilla in the room that nobody wants to address; not in the polls, not in the media, not in the public discourse. Surely with an African American as his party's nominee (excuse me, “presumptive” nominee), the church can revisit the state of race relations in America with some degree of integrity and candor? Not a peep. Would discussing racial reconciliation of a 300 year old problem appear to give Obama some kind of unfair advantage? Well, it's even more unfair to pretend that race isn't the reason why the worse Republican Party in recent history is running even with the brightest thing to hit politics since JFK.
Be it the Presidency, or the campaign process, the church can't fix what it pretends not to see. But then as Rick Warren showed, with a pander in your pocket, it doesn't have to. The church plays blind like all of society and politicians just play safe.
Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D., is a national columnist, managing director of the Urban Issues Forum (www.urbanissuesforum.com) and author of the new book, Saving The Race: Empowerment Through Wisdom. He can be reached at www.AnthonySamad.com
THE PULSE OF ENTERTAINMENT: Award winning jazz guitarist Vernon Neilly releases CD tribute to Stevie Wonder
By Eunice Moseley
Award winning jazz guitarist Vernon Neilly releases CD tribute to Stevie Wonder
*Masterful is what comes to mind when I first heard the latest CD release from Smoothie Award winning jazz guitarist Vernon Neilly, “A Tribute to Stevie Wonder: Vernon Neilly and Friends” on Boosweet Records. The way the guitarist takes control of Stevie Wonders legendary hits and makes them his, is “masterful.”
“It was an idea I came up with,” Vernon Neilly explained to me. “Before I went ahead with it I contacted Greg Howell and Kiko Loureiro (progressive guitarists) and both were overwhelmed with the idea.”
The album is Vernon’s fourth on his Boosweet Records. The mood the album gives ranges from Jazz, Pop to Rock. Other instrumentalists featured on the album with Neilly include U-Nam, Juan Nelson, Michael Paulo and Miguel Mega (Braziliam guitarist).
“Stevie Wonder is a genius with an incredible awareness and sense of feeling. He is also a philanthropist,” Vernon points out.
Vernon said he left the choosing of Stevie’s songs up to the artist that are featured on this album. You will find covered Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie on Reggae Woman” recorded twice as Rock and Urban/Pop; “I Wish,” which has a Jazz-Fusion sound; “Superstition” Heavy Rock sound and vocals; “Sir Duke” has a Pop sound; “Isn’t She Lovely” has two versions - Urban/Pop and Smooth Jazz; “I was made to love you,” the first single off the album has a smooth Jazz feel as well; “Don’t You Worry about a Thing,” and “For Once in My Life” which has a Pop vibe and vocals.
“‘Isn’t She lovely’ has always been my favorite (Stevie Wonder song) and ‘Sir Duke’,” Vernon admits. “Years ago I did meet Stevie. I was playing behind him with Dionne Warwick on the soundtrack of “Woman in Red.”
Vernon has been in the music business for many many years and has worked with and toured with such artists as Norman Whitfield, Junior Walker, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, Warren G, Teena Marie, Howard Hewett, and recently Lloyd of the Inc. Records label (Murder Inc.). Vernon has also performed in many movies such as Walk Hard, Starsky and Hutch, and Along Came Polly.
The “Tribute to Stevie Wonder: Vernon Neilly and Friends” CD release can be found at CDBaby.com, Amazon.com and at Boosweet.com.
“At Boosweet.com it is only $5.99 and you also are entered into a drawing to win a signature guitar!” Vernon said.
Vernon has a signature handmade guitar from Tagima sold through his company Guitar Global (US and Asia) and he has signature guitar strings from Giannini called the Vernon Neilly Power Strings. Neilly also has international distribution for his label Boosweet Records and has apparel and merchandising companies all under his Boosweet Enterprises umbrella.
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in making new landscapes but in having new eyes." — Marcel Proust
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Aug. 21: Actor-filmmaker-writer Melvin Van Peebles is 76. Actor Clarence Williams III ("The Mod Squad") is 69. Actress Loretta Devine ("Boston Public") is 59. Singer Kelis is 29.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
AABoomers.com is for and about the savvy African-African Baby Boomer. It focuses on specific issues facing African-American Baby Boomers today, as well as celebrates their accomplishments (www.AABoomers.com).
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Aug. 21, Nat Turner, a brilliant minister, led the first slave revolt of magnitude in Southampton County, Virginia. Some 60 whites were killed before his capture on October 30. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
Click for the latest Obama - Political headlines
Share and Bookmark |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
