By Lisa Snowden-McCray, Special to the AFRO Musician Abdu Ali, who was born and raised in Baltimore (and goes by the nonbinary pronoun they), makes music that has roots in Baltimore club but then extrapolates into something else – channeling elements of gospel, punk, and rap. Ali released their first mixtape in 2012 and has released […]
Category: ENTERTAINMENT
Posted inAfro Briefs, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, National News, NEWS, TV and Film
Charlamagne’s ‘Rape Sex’ Joke Incites Furious Discussion
By Vance Brinkley, Special to the AFRO While Charlamagne Tha God continues to dominate pop culture as a co-host of “The Breakfast Club,” his reputation as a controversial figure has made several headlines. Unfortunately, these past few weeks he’s apparently stirred up yet another conversation–but one that will make you cringe. Earlier this week, MadameNoire published […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, TV and Film
Octavia Spencer and LeBron James to Produce `Madame CJ Walker’
By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com Academy Award-winning actress Octavia Spencer is teaming up with NBA superstar and world champion LeBron James to bring the mythic life of Madame C.J. Walker to the small screen via Netflix. According to Variety, Spencer will star in an eight-episode series for Netflix, based on the book On Our Ground […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, Music
Jermaine Dupri Announces So So Def 25th Anniversary Tour
By The Associated Press Rap mogul Jermaine Dupri will celebrate his groundbreaking record label So So Def with a multi-city anniversary concert tour. Dupri told The Associated Press on Monday that The So So Def 25th Anniversary Cultural Curren$y tour will feature himself, Xscape, Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Bow Wow, Anthony Hamilton, Bone Crusher, Youngbloodz, […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, Music, National News
Black Journalists Upset after TV Station’s Use of Insensitive Photo
By Micha Green, AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor, mgreen@afro.com Black media organizations are calling out a Bay area television station after posting a controversial photograph of Nia Wilson, the 18-year-old who was brutally stabbed to death at a train station in Oakland, California on July 22. Wilson’s death immediately made headlines when police say a White male, now […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ENTERTAINMENT, NEWS, Prince George's County News
Summer Film Camp Lights The Way For Young Filmmakers
By Mark F. Gray, Special to the AFRO Janice Murphy remembers what it was like to miss out on summer camp when she was growing up. After her parents divorced the family couldn’t afford the extracurricular opportunities that expose children to culture and can lead to an appreciation for the fine arts. Now the organization she […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, LIFE & STYLE, NEWS, Travel, Washington D.C. News
Former Slave Holding Mansion Now Home to Black Artists
By Hamzat Sani, Special to the AFRO About 20 miles south of Washington, D.C. lies an old plantation which once housed slaves that has been transformed into a home for some of the most innovative Black makers and artists the DMV has to offer. Makers In The Mansion: Stories of A Transformed African American Community at […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, Baltimore News, ENTERTAINMENT, NEWS
Baltimore African Art Exhibit Aims to Subvert Beauty
By J. K. Schmid, Special to the AFRO Subverting Beauty: African Anti-Aesthetics, which recently opened at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), uses a new 750-foot rotating space to expand the definition of African art. The BMA boasts 2,500 African pieces in its vast vault. Long on display in the African Art exhibit, and the passage […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT
Navia Robinson Learns from the Best as She Makes Her Own Hollywood Moves
By Nadine Matthews, Special to the AFRO At an early age, Navia Robinson has already gotten the opportunity to learn from two actresses with longevity. One of Robinson’s first jobs at the age of 9 was working with Gabrielle Union in the popular series “Being Mary Jane.” Robinson played D’Asia, Mary Jane’s niece. “It was single […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, Books, BUSINESS, ENTERTAINMENT, Media, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
Bookstore Solid State Books Opens in Historic H Street
By Hamzat Sani, Special to the AFRO When Jake Cumsky-Whitlock decided to open Solid State Books he knew he wanted a store that could serve as a third space that would intellectually feed the District’s book ravenous crowd but he also knew that he wanted it to be in a community that was diverse enough […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, TV and Film
‘Equalizer 2’ Squeaks Past ‘Mamma Mia 2’ and Takes Top Spot
By LINDSEY BAHR, AP Film Writer In the battle of two very different sequels at the box office this weekend, Denzel Washington’s action pic “The Equalizer 2” has narrowly won out over the ABBA jukebox musical “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.” Studios on Sunday estimate that the R-rated Denzel Washington joint grossed $35.8 million […]
Posted inArts & Culture, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, D.C. Community, ENTERTAINMENT, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
D.C. Mayor Launches Summer Concert Series at Marvin Gaye Park
By Lenore T. Adkins/Special to the AFRO True to its name, Marvin Gaye Park is playing host to a concert series this summer that has three dates lined up . The free series, presented by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, kicks off every third Saturday of the month all summer, so plan to hit the park […]
