New this week: John Legend, 'Serpent Queen' and 'Pinocchio'
This weekโs new entertainment releases include fresh music from John Legend and Kane Brown, Samantha Morton stars as the 16th-century queen Catherine de Medici in an edgy Starz series and a race between two upcoming โPinocchioโ films begins with Robert Zemeckisโ adaptation.
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Chloe, Shahidi, Cordae part of Disney EP honoring Black life
Disney is celebrating this yearโs Juneteenth with a new EP about the Black experience featuring actor and activist Yara Shahidi, Chloe Bailey of Chloe x Halle and rapper YBN Cordae, who is donating his proceeds to students attending historically Black colleges and universities.
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PJ Morton 1st artist in residence at Dillard University
Morton is the first artist in residence at a historically Black private university in New Orleans. Dillard University announced that Morton will teach master classes in songwriting, music publishing, studio production and talent management during the 2021-22 academic year. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)NEW ORLEANS โ Grammy-winning musician PJ Morton is the first artist in residence at Dillard University, a historically Black private university in New Orleans. โIโm so excited to be partnering with Dillard University. His most recent project, โGospel According to PJ,โ is a Grammy nominee for this yearโs best gospel album.
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Inaugural event to celebrate resiliency of Black Americans
Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris campaigns for Democratic U.S. Senate challengers the Rev. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is slated to speak at Tuesday's event, โWe Are One,โ which will also honor the historic nature of her being the first Black and South Asian woman to become U.S. vice president. Black voters nationwide helped deliver Bidenโs presidency, overwhelmingly supporting him from the start of his White House bid. The event will pay homage to the legacy of the nationโs historically Black colleges and universities, as well as Black sororities and fraternities. It'll be hosted by Terrence J and feature Leslie Jones, DJ D-Nice, and Black cultural icons such as Frankie Beverly, The OโJays, and Rapsody.
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Inaugural event to celebrate resiliency of Black Americans
Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris campaigns for Democratic U.S. Senate challengers the Rev. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is slated to speak at the event, โWe Are One,โ which will also honor the historic nature of her being the first Black and South Asian woman to become U.S. vice president. Black voters nationwide helped deliver Bidenโs presidency, overwhelmingly supporting him from the start of his White House bid. The event will pay homage to the legacy of the nationโs historically Black colleges and universities, as well as Black sororities and fraternities. It'll be hosted by Terrence J and feature Leslie Jones, DJ D-Nice, and Black cultural icons such as Frankie Beverly, The OโJays, and Rapsody.
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YouTube announces lineup for discussions on racial justice
LOS ANGELES โ Mark Cuban, Anthony Anderson and Skylar Diggins-Smith will take part in a series of panel discussions on YouTube that are focused on racial justice. Common and Keke Palmer return as hosts of the forum, which will include sports figures, entertainers and activists. Diggins-Smith will appear on panel with reporter Jemele Hill and activist Harry Edwards about athletesโ impact on todayโs political movement. โIt is so important that we keep a dialogue about racial justice going beyond any particular moment,โ Palmer said. โI want to encourage my peers to continue to have thoughtful and powerful conversations that will lead us to change.
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Stevie Wonder releases 2 new songs, gives health update
Wonder released two new songs Tuesday reflecting the current times that he hopes inspires change. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK โ Stevie Wonder released two new songs Tuesday reflecting the current times that he hopes inspires change. Wonder said he started writing โWhere Is Our Love Songโ when he was 18. Itโs just a hard break.โAll proceeds from โWhere Is Our Love Songโ โ which features Grammy-winning guitarist Gary Clark Jr. โ will benefit Feeding America. You see color, donโt act like you donโt see color, you do.
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New this week: Patty Smyth, 'The Right Stuff' and 'Time'
Hereโs a collection curated by The Associated Pressโ entertainment journalists of whatโs arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. โ AP Film Writer Lindsey BahrMUSICโ Jay-Zโs Roc Nation entertainment company has curated an album focused on social justice to be released Friday. โ Itโs taken nearly three decades but Scandal rocker Patty Smyth is releasing her first album of original material on Friday. Fans of that show will find similar style, cars, clothes and alpha male energy in โThe Right Stuff,โ an eight-part series based on Tom Wolfe's book. The show, about demon-hunting brothers Dean and Sam Winchester (Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki), debuted the same year as YouTube.
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New this week: 'Enola Holmes,' Public Enemy and Bonnaroo
Hereโs a collection curated by The Associated Pressโ entertainment journalists of whatโs arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. MOVIESโ โEnola Holmesโ: Itโs somewhat fitting that โStranger Thingsโ breakout Millie Bobby Brown gets her first starring role in a Netflix film, โEnola Holmes,โ coming to the streamer Wednesday. โ The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was supposed to take place in June in Tennessee but was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. This week, though, the festival is launching Virtual ROO-ALITY, a three-night live broadcast featuring new performances as well as content from the Bonnaroo archive. The two-hour film will be available at 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday at pbs.org/frontline and on YouTube at 9 p.m. EDT.
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Beyoncs message, epic performances stand out at BET Awards
In this video grab issued Sunday, June 28, 2020, by BET, Beyonce accepts the humanitarian award during the BET Awards. The singer dedicated her award to the Black Lives Matter movement, and encouraged activists to continue to push forward. DaBaby rapped a verse from the Black Lives Matter remix of his hit song Rockstar with Roddy Ricch at the awards. While holding a baseball bat, DaBaby then stood on a stage behind a group of people who had their fists raised high while others held Black Lives Matter signs. During the performance, video clips were shown of the national protests over the deaths of unarmed Black people including Floyd, Arbery and Taylor.
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BET Awards highlight Black voices as artists went political
The BET Awards served as an extension of the voices of Black people protesting in the streets about the inequalities Black people face daily, as artists used their performances to highlight the Black Lives Matter movement, civil rights and the lives of those lost because of police officers, including George Floyd. The BET Awards kicked off with Black artists rapping and singing anthems about the Black experience and fighting for equal rights. Nipseyโs family, we love you.โThe BET Awards, one of the first awards shows to air virtually, featured performances that were sharp with artsy stage production, giving extra life to the songs being performed. โI used to watch the BET Awards all the time thinking, โOne day thatโs going to be me going up there accepting my awardโ โ and now it is.โThough the BET Awards are technically about handing out trophies, the awards were an afterthought. Beyoncรฉ won the BET HER award for โBrown Skin Girl,โ shared with daughter Blue Ivy Carter as well as Wizkid and Saint JHN.
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New this week: Neil Young, 'Miss Juneteenth,' Padma Lakshmi
Peoplesโ film will debut Friday on-demand on Juneteenth, the annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. โMiss Juneteenthโ isnโt about that history but the contemporary African American struggle to remain in the middle class. โ AP Film Writer Jake CoyleMUSICBob Dylan: Itโs been eight years since the legend Bob Dylan released an album of original material. Neil Young: Neil Young also has a new album out on Friday, though he finished it 45 years ago. And two days later on Fatherโs Day, Legend will host the variety special โJohn Legend and Family: A Bigger Love Fatherโs Dayโ (ABC, 8 p.m. EDT).
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APโs top albums of 2019: Ari Lennox, Summer Walker, Anitta
(Republic Records via AP)NEW YORK, NY โ The top 10 albums of the year by Associated Press Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu:1. A nomination โ or eight โ isnโt necessary for any real music fan to realize how outstanding, soulful and poignant Lennoxโs debut album is. Lennoxโs โShea Butter Babyโ is the best album of the year, no matter if awards shows think differently, including you, the Soul Train Music Awards. Summer Walker, โOver Itโ: Summer Walkerโs debut album is perfect, as she spits matter-of-fact lyrics over some beats that borrow from classic โ90s R&B hits including Usher, Destinyโs Child and 702. But even when sheโs not sampling a song, Walker can hold her own, delivering a flawless album thatโs easy to obsess over.