Entertainment

NEW YORK (AP) — NBC News opened the new year Tuesday by appointing Hoda Kotb as co-anchor of the “Today” show’s first two hours with Savannah Guthrie, replacing Matt Lauer following his firing on sexual misconduct charges in late November. Kotb, 53, will continue to co-host the show’s fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford. It…

Read More

By Bernard Mc Ghee associated press They made music that inspired legions of fans. Rock ‘n’ roll founding fathers Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, rockers Tom Petty and Greg Allman, grunge icon Chris Cornell, country superstar Glen Campbell and jazz great Al Jarreau were among the notable figures who died in 2017, leaving a void…

Read More

By Kam Williams Best Big Budget Black Films 1. Mudbound 2. Everything, Everything 3. The Fate of the Furious 4. Get Out 5. Girls Trip 6. Hitman’s Bodyguard 7. Roman J. Israel, Esq. 8. xXx: Return of Xander Cage 9. Detroit 10. Marshall Best Independent Black Films 1. A Question of Faith 2. Crown Heights…

Read More

ABOVE PHOTO:  Katt Williams Interview with Kam Williams Legendary stand-up comedian, actor and rapper Katt Williams has enjoyed an impressive career seeded with thousands of stage shows in sold-out arenas, a laundry list of starring roles on the small screen and memorable performances in major box office hits. The film “Father Figures” marks the eagerly-anticipated…

Read More

ABOVE PHOTO:  Cary Lamb Jr. By Kharisma McIlwaine Percussionists can create sounds using any and everything available. And that’s exactly what performers have been doing in the physical theater production of “Stomp” since its inception in Brighton, UK in 1991. Over the past 20 plus years, “Stomp” has played to sell out crowds all over…

Read More

Mercury News Bay Area hip-hop star Pam Warren, who was better known as Pam the Funkstress, has reportedly died at the age of 51 from organ failure. Warren was an influential DJ who spun for Prince and was a longtime member of The Coup, the politically charged East Bay hip-hop duo also featuring Boots Riley….

Read More

ABOVE PHOTO:  From left to right Adrianna Hicks, Carla R. Stewart, SUN writer Kharisma McIlwaine and Carrie Compere. (Photo courtesy: Kharisma McIlwaine)   By Kharisma McIlwaine What’s better than a midday lunch break? A midday lunch break spent with some of the dynamic ladies that make up the cast of “The Color Purple”’s North American…

Read More

ABOVE PHOTO:  William ‘Mr. C’ Carney By Steve Bryant Last Wednesday,  (Dec. 14,) the Philadelphia jazz community lost one of its stalwarts when drummer, bandleader, producer, and cultural activist William “Mr. C” Carney passed away at the age of 92.  For more than half a century, “Mr. C” has served as a practitioner, historian, and…

Read More

Diddy, Steph Curry and Colin Kaepernick expressed interest in buying the team associated press CHARLOTTE, N.C.  — The stunning news of the rare opportunity to purchase an NFL team has quickly garnered the attention of sports figures, business investors and politicians alike. Amid reports of sexual and racial remarks made by Carolina Panthers owner and…

Read More

ABOVE PHOTO:  Ta-Nehisi Coates associated press NEW YORK — Ta-Nehisi Coates has had enough. The influential author and journalist has deleted his widely followed Twitter account, writing “peace, y’all. I’m out.” Coates had had a contentious exchange with Cornel West, author of “Race Matters.” West had recently called Coates’ views on race simplistic and defeatist….

Read More