If there is a celebrity who is equally inspirational as he is controversial, it’s Akon. Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam, famously known as Akon, was born in 1973 to Senegalese immigrants Kine Thiam and Mor Thiam in St. Louis, Missouri. After his birth, his family relocated to Senegal where they lived until he was seven.…
Chadwick Boseman has had the chance to play some pretty legendary figures in his acting career. He was Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get on Up, and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall. He will likely soon be best known, though, for playing T’Challa/Black Panther. His first turn as the superhero was in 2016’s Captain…
Halloween celebrations in Africa are a completely foreign concept. Were it not for globalization, many Africans would not even know of the celebrations of All Hallows’ Eve. In Africa so far, no country has earmarked October 31st to recognize Halloween. Foreign envoys from the West, however, mark the day with festivities at their embassies,…
This year, you can expect to see a lot of trick or treaters dressed as Princess Leia, Wonder Woman, and characters from Beauty and the Beast. These costumes have all been favorites for years but they are especially popular this year, in light of Carrie Fisher’s death and the huge popularity of the live-action films.…
Fats Domino, the legend of boogie-woogie piano and one of the fathers of rock and roll, has passed away at age 89. Without Fats Domino, there may have been no Beatles or the genre of ska. A huge number of artists were influenced by this legend of rock and roll, from Elvis Presley to Robert Plant. Antoine…
After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, the film Mudbound has been receiving much attention, critical acclaim and plenty of Oscar buzz. In fact, there is already talk that the film may bring home at least a few awards. Some have already suggested that director Dee Rees could potentially win the award…
Weddings are expensive but some people take the expense of a wedding to another level with all kinds of bling and extravagance. Not surprisingly, when Gucci Mane married Keyshia Ka’oir this week, the ceremony was all kinds of lavish. In fact, they spent a cool $1.7 million on the big day. Or rather, BET did.…
The 2017 Soul Train Award nominees have been announced. The list includes several artists that just came from a successful night at the BET Hip Hop Awards such as Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B. It’s also full of other fan favorites like Bruno Mars, Solange, and Chance the Rapper. Solange leads with seven nominations while…
Star Trek has a long history of diversity, the original TV series had television’s first interracial kiss and the show consistently showed progressive attitudes around race and gender. It was particularly important and revolutionary, Devon Maloney writes, for people of color who were “seeing faces like their own on television, in un-caricatured roles, for the…
Cardi B had a huge night at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards, a feather in her cap after a year full of big successes. Born Belcalis Almanzar, the 25-year-old rapper from New York with Dominican heritage had an unusual path to stardom. She was a stripper who became a viral Instagram star. That got…
