After supporting roles in hit films like “Think Like A Man”, Terrence J proves with his latest film “The Perfect Match” that he can carry a film as a leading man. The film blends together elements from classic romantic comedy films “Boomerang” and “The Brothers”, serving as both homage to both the films and the black romantic comedy genre.
HBO celebrated the life and musical legacy of music legend Mavis Staples at the NYC premiere of their documentary Mavis! last night (February 24th) at the Florence Gould Hall.
Grammy Award winner Kendrick Lamar hasn’t forgotten where he came from, bringing students from his former high school along with him to Monday’s (February 15th) 58th annual Grammy Award ceremony.
Select students from Compton’s Centennial High School, got VIP treatment courtesy of Reebok Classic in which the students got to spend time with Lamar before the Grammy Award ceremony getting the chance to have a Q&A session with the Compton bred rapper. The students also had the opportunity to walk the red carpet before the ceremony as well as attend the ceremony to watch Kendrick perform and receive numerous awards.The students captured their journey from Compton to the Grammys which, included their candid moments with Kendrick, through a series of pictures and videos.
The students were chosen based upon displaying characteristics that were present in a young school aged Kendrick, as well as exemplifying characteristics that Reebook Classic promotes such as having the courage to express who they are and a willingness to stand out from the crowd.
Kendrick received 11 Grammy nominations and took home five awards at the ceremony. Lamar and his crew also wore white Reebook Classics when they hit the stage to perform “The Blacker Berry” and “Alright,” from his Grammy nominated album To Pimp A Butterfly.
On Friday (February 12th), Grammy Award winning superstar Rihanna and Puma debuted their Fenty By Rihanna first season collection at New York Fashion Week. The collection consists of footwear, apparel and accessories for both women and men.
Rihanna drew inspiration for the collection from current Japanese street culture and tradition for the first full season. The superstar became Puma’s Ambassador and Creative Director in December 2014.
Before hitting the runway Rihanna told the Associated Press backstage, “I think design is a part of being creative. I enjoy creating and expressing the crazy things going on in my mind through something that people can see and that is tangible. That is the best part, being able to express yourself.”
“Fashion to me was just one of those things that came naturally,” Rihanna added. “I enjoy discovering it — all the different styles, finishes, fabrics, silhouettes. It’s not easy, but it doesn’t feel like work.”
Aside from Rihanna, those in attendance included Foxy Brown, Naomi Campbell, Edward Enniful, Sofia Richie, Chris Rock, Travis $cott, Jaelen Strong, SZA, Young Thug, Pete Wentz, Anna Wintour, as well as models Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid, and Stella Maxwell.
The Fenty By Puma collection will be available in retail stores in September 2016.
On Wednesday (February 10th) Harlem non-profit independent film production foundation Imagenation hosted their annual Revolution Awards ceremony at the SVA Theater, honoring black excellence and achievement in film, media and activism. This year’s honorees included Oscar nominated ‘Selma’ director Ava Duvernay, actor/author/motivational speaker Hill Harper, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry, and The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira. 103.7 FM on-air personality Tony Bello was in attendance as host, and radio personality Sway Calloway and renowned psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere were also in attendance. Honoree Ava Duvernay wasn’t at the ceremony to accept her award, but accepted via a special videotaped message.
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Before the awards were presented to the honorees, a special screening on Tommy Oliver’s film “1982” was shown. The film shows the effects of a family struggling with one member’s drug addiction. We spoke to Oliver about what can black filmmakers do to promote black history and culture in film Oliver said, “I think for me it goes back to something that Du Bois said years ago is the idea of the Talented Ten. If you are fortunate enough, lucky enough creative enough, smart enough to achieve success that’s it’s important to give back to the remaining ninety percent and help them achieve success as well, that also includes telling stories that are important and that are uplifting. For me it’s about doing all that I can to make a positive impact”.
The Super Bowl fun started hours before the North Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos hit the field at Levi Stadium in San Franciso as a who’s who in entertainment hit the city in celebration of the big game over the weekend.
Kicking off the Super Bowl weekend MGM Grand presented Leather & Laces 13th Annual Two-Night Mega Party which was hosted by Jeremy Piven and Emmanuelle Chriqui. The party which was sponsored by Monster Energy and Medea Vodka along with Sushi Confidential, Sqor.com, 99.7 Now, Bauers Transportation and Mymojo.com had a guestlist which included Chuy Bravo, James Hall, JJ Stokes, James Anderson, Sam Barrington, Johnny Gill, Carissa Rosario and Charles Woodson during the first night and Alessandra Ambrosio and Emily Ratajkowski were on hand to host the second night’s celebration of Leather & Lace, while Shaquille O’Neil, Andrew Sendejo, Adrian Ross, Daryl Johnson, and Cage The Elephant were in attendance.
On Saturday afternoon Pepsi hosted their Black History Month celebration event #theRecipein partnership with the NFL highlighting players, celebrities and local champions for their achievements on and off the field. The brunch was hosted by Terrence J, Angela Simmons and featured a live performance from Miguel and DJ D-Nice.Special guests in attendance included T.I., DJ Envy, Legendary Damon and Karen Civil. Guests were also able to go online and take #TheRecipe quiz and share their personalized recipe cards on social media.
Meanwhile also taking place in San Francisco was the sixth annual DIRECTV Super Saturday Night at Pier 70 co-hosted by Mark Cuban’s AXS TV featuring a performance by the six-time Grammy Award-winning band, Red Hot Chili Peppers and special guests Run DMC, plus surprise performance by DJ Snoopadelic. Run DMC opened the show with their classic hits “It’s Tricky,” “Walk This Way,” and many more. The Red Hot Chili Peppers performed over an hour set with “Californication,” “By The Way,” “Otherside,” “Under The Bridge,” and “Can’t Stop” among other hits. Among those in attendance included: Reggie Bush, Alicia Keys, Liam Hemsworth, Kate Hudson, Julianne Hough and Nick Jonas.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – FEBRUARY 06: Recording artists Joseph Simmons (L) and Darryl McDaniels of RunD.M.C. perform onstage during the DirecTV and Pepsi Super Saturday Night featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers at Pier 70 on February 6, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for DirecTV)
DIRECTV Super Saturday Night closed out three nights of live concert performances, with Dave Matthews Band performing at DIRECTV’s Super Thursday Night and Pharrell Williams at Pepsi’s Friday Night Live.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back returning to the big screen in the sequel to the 2014 summer blockbuster. The leads from the 2014 film Megan Fox who portrayed April O’Neil, as well The Turtles Alan Ritchson (Raphael), Noel Fisher (Michelangelo), Pete Ploszek (Leonardo), and Jeremy Howard (Donatello), will reprise their roles in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out of the Shadows. Michael Bay returns to produce alongside his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form with Galen Walker and Scott Mednick also producing. The film is based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman and is directed by David Green.
Joining the cast is Tyler Perry who will play Baxter Stockman, Academy Award nominated actress Laura Linney as Chief Rebecca Vincent, Brian Tee as Shredder, WWE World Heavy Weight Champion Stephen “Sheamus” Farrelly as Rocksteady and Gary Anthony William as Bebop.
The film hits theaters on June 3rd. Check out the film’s latest trailer below which was unveiled during the Superbowl and gives a first look at the super villain Krang:
As basketball fans gear up for the All Star Game in Toronto , Nike and Jordan Brand will celebrate the game by providing Nike+ members with the ultimate Nike INC. All-Star experience in the US and Canada.
SNKRS XPRESS welcomes Nike+ members to experience the power of Nike and Jordan by offering a specially curated selection of footwear which includes the Nike Air Force 1 Flyknit, Air Jordan XXX, Jordan Cement IV, Kobe 11 Royalty and several surprise drops. To secure a seat on the SNKRS XPRESS, members can register at nike.com/snkrsxpress. Also between February 11th and February 14th, SNKRS XPRESS Stations will also pop-up in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
Chicago (11AM – 8PM)
669 North Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
Los Angeles (10AM – 7PM)
395 Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica, CA 90401
New York City (11AM – 7PM)
120 Wooster St.
Unit C
New York, NY 10012
In celebrating Black History Month, Macy’s locations in nine cities are hosting panel discussions with black celebrities in art, music, film, television, literature, culinary arts and journalism throughout the month of February.
Macy’s recently kicked off the first of eight panel discussions on Wednesday (February 3rd) in New York City in which Grammy Award winner Monica, Actor, author and Former 106 & Park Host Terrence J, and actress Jurnee Smollett-Bell (who stars in upcoming show Underground) were on hand to participate.
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Essence Fashion Editor Joiee Thorpe served as moderator during the panel discussion where Monica, Jurnee and Terrence talked about a variety of topics including their personal influences and overcoming obstacles and giving inspirational words of advice. “God blessed all of us with something in us that’s great, it’s just up to us to tap into what it is find out what we’re passionate about and use your passion in order to become that success that you want to be,” Terrence J told the attendees as inspiration to follow their dreams and goals.
Those in attendance were also given the opportunity to ask the three celebrities questions during a Q&A, and also had the opportunity to pose for pictures with the stars during a post discussion meet and greet. Attendees also had the opportunity to win tickets to see the Brooklyn Nets vs the Charlotte Hornets.
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Following Wednesday’s kickoff event Macy’s will hold Black History Month panel discussions in Chicago, Philadelphia, Aventura, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington D.C. Other celebrities who are participating include Taye Diggs, Chef G. Garvin, sports reporter Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, Black Girls Rock! founder Beverly Bond and social activist Eunique Jones Gibson and illustrator Shane Evans.
Exclusive: Jurnee Smollett-Bell Talks New Series ‘Underground’
Jurnee Smollett-Bell whose career in film and television spans over twenty years, is returning to television in the leading role in the upcoming WGN America series “Underground” a gritty drama about the Underground Railroad premiering on March 9th.