By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Husband and Wife team Darnell and Alyssa Gilet are not just business partners, they’re gamemakers. The couple always loved hosting game nights at their house, and one day, Alyssa decided to design her own Black pop culture trivia game for their friends to […]
Category: ENTERTAINMENT
Posted inTV and Film
Apple TV+ to release ‘Emancipation’ with Will Smith, months after actor’s physical assault of fellow comedian
By Jake Coyle, The Associated Press After holding it in limbo following Will Smith’s assault of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March, Apple will release the actor’s next big project, “Emancipation,” this December. In the fallout of Smith’s smack of the comedian, the fate of “Emancipation” — a $120 million runaway slave thriller […]
Posted inENTERTAINMENT
Chrisette Michele punctuates ‘Black Excellence’ at NNPA Leadership Awards
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent, @StacyBrownMedia Grammy winner Chrisette Michele sent the packed house home buzzing following her dazzling performance to conclude the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Annual Leadership Reception at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. Belting out a string of hits and crowd favorites, Michele crooned and teased the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Four-time Grammy-nominated artist Oleta Adams to perform at The Weinberg Center
By Beverly Richards, Special to the AFRO Q: Tell me about your musical upbringing and how it influenced your sound. A: My great-uncle raised me, and he was a Southern Baptist minister. So, of course I was raised in the church, and I learned a lot about leading choirs because I was the accompanist from […]
Posted inBaltimore News
‘Our Town’ opens at Center Stage in Baltimore
By Beverly Richards, Special to the AFRO Located in the heartbeat of Baltimore, play lovers united to see Stevie Walker-Webb’s contemporary take on the American classic, “Our Town,” by Thornton Wilder. The play focuses on community and how we live this life connected, “two-by-two.” That sense of community hits you immediately when you enter Center […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Till Debuts at 2022 New York Film Festival
by Dwight Brown, NNPA News Wire Film Critic “Hardly a moment goes by when I don’t think about Emmett and the lessons a son can teach a mother.” Quoted from Mamie Till-Mobley. Emmett Till, a black teen, was murdered by racists in Money, Mississippi on April 28th in 1955. Writer/director Chinonye Chukwu (Clemency) and cowriters […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Emory University offers 1st ever course on Tyler Perry
By AFRO Staff Madea is going to school this fall. Emory University’s Oxford College, based in Georgia, is currently offering a course based on Tyler Perry’s body of work, including his most-known character, “Madea,” and his impact on the entertainment industry. It is the first college course of its kind in the country, according to […]
Posted inWord In Black
Books by Black authors to add to your 2022 reading list
By Word In Black Malcolm X once said that “I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity” — and at Word In Black, we agree. With book bans sweeping the nation, we’re reminded of how our ancestors fought and died for the right to read. Nowadays, due to inequities in […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Rihanna to headline 2023 Super Bowl halftime show
By Jake Coyle, The Associated Press Rihanna will take center stage at February’s Super Bowl halftime show. The singer, who declined to perform in the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show out of solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, will headline the 2023 Super Bowl, the NFL announced Sunday along with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and Apple Music. Rihanna […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Maryland Public Television honors life and legacy of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass with separate films
By Grace Kpetemey, Special to the AFRO and Alexis Taylor, AFRO News Editor The courage, strength and legacy of abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass will be on full display this month. Two separate PBS documentaries, co-produced by Maryland Public Television and Firelight Films, will premier in the beginning of October. In January of this […]
Posted inMusic
Gangsta’s Paradise’ rapper Coolio dies at age 59
By Jonathan Landrum Jr. and Andrew Dalton, AP Entertainment Writers Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died Sept. 28 at age 59, his manager said. Coolio died at the Los Angeles home of a friend, longtime manager Jarez Posey told The […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Realm Pictures International’s ‘Steal Away’ commits 10 percent of box office profits to HBCUs
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Los Angeles native Stephen Blake gained his fascination with film when he was just 9 years old. His uncle gifted him an 8mm movie camera, and he immediately began creating short films, casting his sisters and neighbors as the main characters. Eventually, his […]
