Category: Whats Buzzing in the Streets

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, director, and producer. He has received three Golden Globe awards, a Tony Award, and two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for the historical war drama film Glory (1989) and Best Actor for his role as a corrupt cop in the crime thriller Training Day (2001).Washington has received much critical acclaim for his film work since the 1980s, coming straight out of the Negro Ensemble Company with his portrayal of Peterson in “A Soldier’s Play” written by the famz, Pulitzer Prize Winner, Charles Fuller; including his portrayals of real-life figures such as South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in Cry Freedom (1987), Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X in Malcolm X (1992), boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter in The Hurricane (1999), football coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans (2000), poet and educator Melvin B. Tolson in The Great Debaters (2007), and drug kingpin Frank Lucas in American Gangster (2007). He has been a featured actor in the films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and has been a frequent collaborator of directors Spike Lee, Antoine Fuqua and Tony Scott. In 2016, Washington was selected as the recipient for the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.In 2002, Washington made his directorial debut with the biographical film Antwone Fisher.His second directorial effort was The Great Debaters, released in 2007. Washington’s third directorial effort, Fences, in which he also starred, was released on December 16, 2016, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr., was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He has an older sister, Lorice, and a younger brother. His father, Virginia-born Reverend Denzel Washington, was an ordained Pentecostal minister, who worked for the Water Department and at a local department store. His mother, Lennis, a beauty parlor owner, was born in Georgia and raised in Harlem.Washington was not allowed to watch movies by his parents, who divorced when he was fourteen. As a youth, he went through a rebellious stage, and several of his friends went to prison. His mother responded to his behavioral problems by sending him to preparatory school.Washington later enrolled at Fordham University, where he discovered acting and earned a degree in journalism, while studying at Fordham, he came to prominence at the Negro Ensemble Company playing “Peterson” in the Pulitzer Prize winning play ‘A Soldier’s Play.” His first film role was in the 1975 made-for-television movie, “Wilma.” His big break came when he starred in the television hospital drama, “St. Elsewhere.” He was one of a few actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run.In 1983, Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson, whom he met on the set of his first screen role. The couple has four children, John David, who signed a football contract with the St. Louis Rams after playing college ball at Morehouse, Katia, Olivia and Malcolm. In 1995, the couple renewed their wedding vows in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating.Washington is known globally for his acting ability; in 1987, after appearing in several minor theatrical films and stage roles, Washington starred as South African anti-apartheid campaigner Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough’s “Cry Freedom,” a role for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1989, Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a defiant, self-possessed slave in the film “Glory,” in 1992.He was nominated as Best Actor in a Leading Role in “Malcolm X.” In 1999, he was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role, “Hurricane.” In 2001, Washington won Best Actor in a Leading Role in “Training Day.” Other film credits include “John and Antwone Fisher” (2002), “Out of Time” (2003), “Man on Fire” (2004), “The Manchurian Candidate” (2004), “Inside Man” (2006), “Deja Vu” (2006), “American Gangster,” and “The Great Debaters” (2007).On May 18, 1991, Washington was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Fordham University, for having “impressively succeeded in exploring the edge of his multifaceted talent”. In 2011, he donated $2 million to Fordham for an endowed chair of the theater department, as well as US$250,000 to establish a theater-specific scholarship at the school. He also received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Morehouse College on May 20, 2007 and an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania on May 16, 2011.In 2008, Washington visited Israel with a delegation of African-American artists in honor of the state’s 60th birthday.[60] In 2010, he visited Israel again to meet with his friend, head of the Messianic Jews’ congregation in Haifa.In April 2014, Washington presented at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Easter Bonnet Competition with Bryan Cranston, Idina Menzel and Fran Drescher, after raising donations at his Broadway show A Raisin in the Sun.He has currently been directing and executive producing. His last project was for Netflix, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

Written by Dianne Washington

John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor.Prior to the release of Legend’s debut album, he collaborated with already established artists. At various points in his career, Legend has sung in Magnetic Man’s “Getting Nowhere,” Kanye West’s “Blame Game,” on Slum Village’s “Selfish,” and Dilated Peoples’ “This Way”. Other collaborative appearances include Jay-Z’s “Encore”, backing vocals on Alicia Keys’ 2003 song “You Don’t Know My Name,” the Kanye West remix of Britney Spears’ “Me Against the Music,” and Fort Minor’s “High Road”. Legend played piano on Lauryn Hill’s “Everything Is Everything”.For his solo work, he earned a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single with “All of Me” in 2013. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2015 for writing the song “Glory” from the film Selma. He has also won ten Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In 2007, Legend received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2017, Legend received a Tony Award for co-producing Jitney for the Broadway stage.Legend was born on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio. He is one of four children of Phyllis Elaine (née Lloyd), a seamstress, and Ronald Lamar Stephens, a factory worker and former National Guardsman. Throughout his childhood, Legend was home-schooled on and off by his mother. At the age of four, he performed with his church choir. He began playing the piano at age seven. At the age of 12, Legend attended Springfield North High School, from which he graduated salutatorian of his class four years later. According to Legend, he was offered admission to Harvard University and scholarships to Georgetown University and Morehouse College. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English with an emphasis on African-American literature.While in college, Legend served as president and musical director of a co-ed jazz and pop a cappella group called Counterparts. His lead vocals on the group’s recording of Joan Osborne’s “One of Us” (written by Eric Bazilian of The Hooters) received critical acclaim, landing the song on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate a Cappella compilation CD. Legend was also a member of the prestigious senior societies Sphinx Senior Society and Onyx Senior Honor Society while an undergraduate at Penn. While in college, Legend was introduced to Lauryn Hill by a friend. Hill hired him to play piano on “Everything Is Everything”, a song from her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.During this period, he began to hold a number of shows around Philadelphia, eventually expanding his audience base to New York, Boston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. He graduated from college in 1999, and thereafter began producing, writing, and recording his own music. He released two albums independently; his self-titled demo (2000) and Live at Jimmy’s Uptown (2001), which he sold at his shows. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Legend began working as a management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. He subsequently began working on his demo and began sending his work to various record labels.In 2001, Devo Springsteen introduced Legend to then up-and-coming hip-hop artist Kanye West; Legend was hired to sing during the hooks of West’s music. After signing to West’s label, he chose his stage name from an idea that was given to him by poet J. Ivy, due to what he perceived as an “old-school sound”. J. Ivy stated, “I heard your music and it reminds me of that music from the old school. You sound like one of the legends. As a matter of fact, that’s what I’m going to call you from now on! I’m going to call you John Legend.” After J. Ivy continued to call him by the new moniker “John Legend,” others quickly caught on, including Kanye West. Despite Legend’s reluctance to change his stage name, he eventually announced his new artist name as John Legend.Legend released his debut album, Get Lifted, on GOOD Music in December 2004. It featured production by Kanye West, Dave Tozer, and will.i.am, and debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200, selling 116,000 copies in its first week. It went on to sell 540,300 copies in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA. An international success, Get Lifted also reached number one of the Norwegian Albums Chart and peaked within the top ten in the Netherlands and Sweden, resulting in worldwide sales of 850,000 copies. Critically acclaimed, it won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and earned Legend another two nominal awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Altogether, the album produced four singles, including debut single “Used to Love U,” which entered the top 30 of the New Zealand and UK Singles Chart, and Grammy Award-winning “Ordinary People” which peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. John Legend also co-wrote Janet Jackson’s “I Want You”, which was certified platinum and received a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.A highly sought after collaborator, Legend was featured on several records the following years. He appeared on albums by Fort Minor, Sérgio Mendes, Jay Z, Mary J. Blige, The Black Eyed Peas, Stephen Colbert, Rich Boy, MSTRKRFT, Chemistry, and Fergie, among others. Legend also tentatively worked with Michael Jackson on a future album for which he had written one song. In August 2006, Legend appeared in an episode of Sesame Street. He performed a song entitled “It Feels Good When You Sing a Song”, a duet with Hoots the Owl. He also performed during the pregame show of Super Bowl XL in Detroit and the halftime show at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.In October 2006, Legend’s second album, Once Again, was released. Legend co-wrote and co-produced the bulk of the album, which saw him reteaming with West and will.i.am but also spawned production from Raphael Saadiq, Craig Street, Sa-Ra, Eric Hudson, Devo Springsteen, Dave Tozer and Avenue. Released to major commercial success, it reached number three on the Billboard 200 and debuted on top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA, and reached gold status in Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. At the 2007 Grammy Awards ceremony, the song “Heaven” was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, while lead single “Save Room” received a nod in the Best Male Pop Vocal category. Legend won a second Grammy that year for “Family Affair,” a collaboration with Sly & The Family Stone, Joss Stone and Van Hunt, for the former’s Different Strokes by Different Folks album.In January 2008, Legend sang in a video for Barack Obama, produced by will.i.am called “Yes We Can”. The same year, Legend had a supporting, singing-only role in the 2008 movie Soul Men, where he plays the deceased lead singer of a fictitious soul group that includes Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac. In October, he released his third studio album, Evolver. Speaking about the reasons for calling the album Evolver, he stated: “I think people sometimes come to expect certain things from certain artists. They expect you to kind of stay in the same place you were at when you started out. Whereas I feel I want my career to be defined by the fact that I’m NOT gonna stay in the same place, and that I’m always gonna try new things and experiment. So, as I think this album represents a manifestation of that, I came up with the title ‘Evolver’.” The album was preceded by dance-pop-influenced uptempo single “Green Light” which featured rapper Andre 3000 of OutKast and became his highest-charting single since “Ordinary People”; it was also released for the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.In 2009, Legend performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Also in 2009, Legend and the Roots teamed up to record a collaborative album, Wake Up!, which was released on September 21, 2010. The first single released from the album was “Wake Up Everybody” featuring singer Melanie Fiona and rapper Common. In February 2011, Legend won three prizes at the 53rd Annual Grammy Music Awards. He was awarded Best R&B Song for “Shine”, while he and the Roots won Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “Hang On in There”. In March 2011, Legend and the Roots won two NAACP Image Awards – one for Outstanding Album (Wake Up!) and one for Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration.On July 5, 2011, songwriter Anthony Stokes filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against John Legend in United States District Court, in the District of New Jersey, alleging that Legend’s song “Maxine’s Interlude” from his 2006 album Once Again derives from Stokes’ demo “Where Are You Now”. Stokes claimed he gave Legend a demo of the song in 2004 following a concert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Legend denied the allegations, telling E! Online, “I never heard of his song until he sued me. I would never steal anyone’s song. We will fight it in court and we will prevail.” However, nearly 60,000 people took a TMZ.com poll that compared the two songs and 65% of voters believed that Legend’s “Maxine’s Interlude” is a rip-off of Stokes’ “Where Are You Now”. A year later, Legend confirmed that he settled the lawsuit with Stokes for an undisclosed amount.Also in 2011, Legend completed a 50-date tour as a guest for British soul band Sade. In the San Diego stop, Legend confirmed that he was working on his next studio album and played a new song called “Dreams”. Later, via his official website, he revealed the official title of the album to be Love in the Future, and debuted part of a new track called “Caught Up”. The album has been executive-produced by Legend himself, along with Kanye West and Dave Tozer – the same team who worked on Legend’s previous albums Get Lifted and Once Again. Legend has stated that his intention for the record was “To make a modern soul album – to flip that classic feel into a modern context.”Legend was granted an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Howard University at the 144th Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 12, 2012. Legend was a judge on the ABC music show Duets along with Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thicke. Legend’s spot was originally for Lionel Richie but he had to leave the show due to a scheduling conflict. Duets debuted on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at 8/7c.He released his fourth studio album, Love in the Future, on September 3, 2013, debuting number 4 on the Billboard 200, selling 68,000 copies in its first week. The album was nominated for Best R&B album at the 2014 Grammy Awards. Legend’s third single from the album, “All of Me”, became an international chart success, peaking the Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks and reaching the top of six national charts and the top ten in numerous other countries, becoming one of the best-selling digital singles of all time. It was ranked the third best-selling song in the United States and the United Kingdom during 2014. The song is a ballad dedicated to his wife, Chrissy Teigen, and was performed at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.In 2014, Legend paired with the rapper Common to write the song “Glory”, featured in the film Selma, which chronicled the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. The song won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song as well as the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Legend and Common performed “Glory” at the 87th Academy Awards on February 22, 2015.Legend was featured on Meghan Trainor’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” from her debut studio album, which reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. On February 1, 2015, he sang “America the Beautiful” in the opening ceremony of Super Bowl XLIX. He provided guest vocals on Kelly Clarkson’s song “Run Run Run” for her album Piece by Piece. He also co-wrote and provided vocals for French DJ David Guetta’s song “Listen”, as part of the album Listen.Legend released his new album Darkness and Light, with first single “Love Me Now,” on December 2, 2016 with songs featuring Chance the Rapper and Miguel.For the 2017 film Beauty and the Beast, Legend and Ariana Grande performed a duet on the title track, a remake of the 1991 original version sung by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson.Legend performed a benefit concert in Springfield, Ohio in 2005 in support of a tax levy for the Springfield City School District.In May 2007, Legend partnered with Tide laundry detergent to raise awareness about the need of families in St. Bernard Parish, (Chalmette, Louisiana), one of the most devastated areas hit by Hurricane Katrina; he spent a day folding laundry at the Tide “clean start” mobile laundromat and visited homes that Tide is helping to rebuild in that community. On July 7, 2007, Legend participated in the Live Earth concert in London, performing “Ordinary People”. After reading Professor Jeffrey Sachs’ book The End of Poverty, Legend started his Show Me Campaign in 2007. In this campaign, Legend called on his fans to help him in his initiative for residents in Bosaso Village, Somalia and non-profit organizations partnered with the campaign. Also in 2007, Legend was the spokesman for GQ magazine’s “Gentlemen’s Fund”, an initiative to raise support and awareness for five cornerstones essential to men: opportunity, health, education, environment, and justice.In October 2007, Legend became involved with a project sponsored by The Gap, a retail clothing store chain in the United States.In early 2008, he began touring with Alexus Ruffin and Professor Jeff Sachs of Columbia University’s Earth Institute to promote sustainable development as an achievable goal. Legend joined Sachs as a keynote speaker and performer at the inaugural Millennium Campus Conference. Legend then joined the Board of Advisors of the Millennium Campus Network (MCN), and has aided MCN programs through online support and funding fellowships for MCN summer interns through the Show Me Campaign. In 2009, Legend gave AIDS Service Center NYC permission to remix his song “If You’re Out There” to create a music video promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and testing.On January 22, 2010, he performed “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” on the Hope for Haiti Now telethon show. On September 8, 2010, John Legend joined the national board of Teach For America. Legend also sits on the boards of The Education Equality Project, the Harlem Village Academies, and Stand for Children. He serves on the Harlem Village Academies’ National Leadership Board. On September 9, 2010, he performed “Coming Home” on the Colbert Report as a tribute song for the end of combat operations in Iraq, and for the active troops and the veterans of the United States Armed Forces. In 2011, he contributed the track “Love I’ve Never Known” to the Red Hot Organization’s most recent album Red Hot+Rio 2. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 “Red Hot+Rio.” Proceeds from the album sales were donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues. On March 6, 2012, John Legend was appointed by the World Economic Forum to the Forum of Young Global Leaders. Later that year, Legend stopped by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for a surprise visit and acoustic performance as a part of Get Well Soon Tour. On June 1, 2013, Legend performed at Gucci’s global concert event in London whose campaign, “Chime For Change”, aims to raise awareness of women’s issues in education, health and justice. At a press conference before his performance, Legend identified himself as a feminist saying, “All men should be feminists. If men care about women’s rights the world will be a better place.”In 2016, Legend co-signed a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon calling for a more humane drug policy, along with people such as Richard Branson, Jane Fonda and George Shultz.Legend donated $500,000 to Springfield City School District to renovate an auditorium, which is named in his honor, within the Springfield Center of Innovation. He performed at the John Legend Theater on October 9, 2016.Legend met model Chrissy Teigen in 2007 when she starred in the music video for his song Stereo. After four years of dating, Legend became engaged to her in December 2011. They got married on September 14, 2013, in Como, Italy. The 2013 song “All of Me” was written and is dedicated to her; the music video was reportedly displayed at their wedding.

Written by Dianne Washington

Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner (December 21, 1959 – September 21, 1998), also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete. She is considered the fastest woman of all time based on the fact that the world records she set in 1988 for both the 100 m and 200 m still stand and have yet to be seriously challenged. During the late 1980s she became a popular figure in international track and field because of her record-setting performances and flashy personal style. She died in her sleep as the result of an epileptic seizure in 1998 at the age of 38. She attended California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).Griffith was born in Los Angeles, California, one of eleven children born to Robert and Florence Griffith. The family lived in Littlerock, California before Florence Griffith moved with her children to the Jordan Downs public housing complex located in the Watts section of Los Angeles.When Griffith was in elementary school, she joined the Sugar Ray Robinson Organization, running in track meets on weekends. She won the Jesse Owens National Youth Games two years in a row, at the ages of 14 and 15. Griffith ran track at Jordan High School in Los Angeles. Showing an early interest in fashion, Griffith persuaded the members of the track team to wear tights with their uniforms. As a high school senior in 1978, she finished sixth at the CIF California State Meet behind future teammates Alice Brown and Pam Marshall. Nevertheless, by the time Griffith graduated from Jordan High School in 1978, she set high school records in sprinting and long jump.Griffith attended the California State University at Northridge, and was on the track team coached by Bob Kersee. This team, which included Brown and Jeanette Bolden, won the national championship during Griffith’s first year of college. However, Griffith had to drop out to support her family, taking a job as a bank teller. Kersee found financial aid for Griffith and she returned to college in 1980, this time at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) where Kersee was working as a coach.Brown, Bolden, and Griffith qualified for the 100-meter final at the trials for the 1980 Summer Olympics (with Brown winning and Griffith finishing last in the final). Griffith also ran the 200 meters, narrowly finishing fourth, a foot out of a qualifying position. However, the U.S. Government had already decided to boycott those Olympic Games mooting those results. In 1983, Griffith graduated from UCLA with her bachelor’s degree in psychology.She came out of semi-retirement in track to dominate the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Griffith-Joyner’s record-breaking performances there were motivated in part by a second-place finish at the 1987 World Championship Games. In the 1988 Seoul Games, she won gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and in the 400-meter relay. For these accomplishments, she received the Jesse Owens Award, given to the year’s top track and field athlete, and the Sullivan Award, given to the year’s most outstanding amateur athlete.Griffith-Joyner earned the nickname “Flo-Jo” for her blazing speed. She was famous for her flashy one-legged uniforms as well as her long and extravagantly painted fingernails. She retired from track in 1989 to devote more time to endorsement activities, modeling, writing, and coaching her husband. President Bill Clinton appointed Griffith-Joyner co-chairperson of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1993. Florence Griffith-Joyner died of an apparent heart seizure in 1998. To many, she represented the embodiment of a new ideal for American women.She seemed to possess a perfect combination of strength and beauty. She also had an exemplary record of community service for which she won the 1989 Harvard Foundation Award for outstanding contributions to society.Griffith’s nickname among family was “Dee Dee”.She was briefly engaged to hurdler Greg Foster. In 1987, Griffith married 1984 Olympic triple jump champion Al Joyner, whom Griffith had first met at the 1980 Olympic Trials. Through her marriage to Joyner she was sister-in-law to track and field athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Griffith Joyner and Joyner had one daughter together, born November 15, 1990.On September 21, 1998, Griffith Joyner died in her sleep at home in the Canyon Crest neighborhood of Mission Viejo, California, at the age of 38. The unexpected death was investigated by the sheriff-coroner’s office, which announced on September 22 that the cause of death was suffocation during a severe epileptic seizure. She was also found to have had a cavernous hemangioma, a congenital vascular brain abnormality that made Joyner subject to seizures. According to a family attorney, she had suffered a tonic–clonic seizure in 1990, and had also been treated for seizures in 1993 and 1994.According to the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner’s office, the only drugs in her system when she died were small amounts of two common over-the-counter drugs, acetominophen (Tylenol) and Benadryl.

Written by Dianne Washington

Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer, songwriter, producer, and comedian. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film Ray. The same year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the crime film Collateral. As of spring 2017, Foxx serves as host and executive producer of the new Fox game show Beat Shazam.Other acting roles include Staff Sergeant Sykes in Jarhead (2005), record executive Curtis Taylor, Jr. in Dreamgirls (2006), Detective Ricardo Tubbs in the 2006 film adaptation of TV series Miami Vice, the title role in the film Django Unchained (2012), the supervillain Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and gangster Bats / Leon Jefferson III in Baby Driver (2017). Foxx also starred in the 1990-94 sketch comedy show In Living Color and his own television show from 1996 to 2001, the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, in which he played Jamie King, Jr. Foxx also starred in the 2014 film Annie, in which he played Will Mellor.Foxx is also a Grammy Award-winning musician, producing four albums which have charted in the top ten of the US Billboard 200: Unpredictable (2005), which topped the chart, Intuition (2008), Best Night of My Life (2010), and Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses (2015).Foxx was born in Terrell, Texas. He is the son of Louise Annette Talley Dixon and Darrell Bishop; his father sometimes worked as a stockbroker, and changed his name to Shahid Abdula after converting to Islam. Shortly after his birth, Foxx was adopted and raised by his mother’s adoptive parents, Esther Marie (Nelson), a domestic worker and nursery operator, and Mark Talley, a yard worker. He has had little contact with his birth parents, who were not part of his upbringing. Foxx was raised in the black quarter of Terrell, at the time a racially segregated community. As a teenager, he was a part-time pianist and choir leader in Terrell’s New Hope Baptist Church, and had a strict Baptist upbringing.Foxx began playing the piano when he was five years old. As a second grader, he was so talented in telling jokes that his teacher used him as a reward. If the class behaved, Foxx would tell them jokes. Foxx attended Terrell High School, where he received top grades, played basketball and football as quarterback, and had an ambition to play for the Dallas Cowboys. He was the first player in the school’s history to pass for more than 1,000 yards. He also sang in a band called Leather and Lace. After completing high school, Foxx received a scholarship to United States International University, where he studied classical music and composition. He has often acknowledged his grandmother’s influence in his life as one of the greatest reasons for his success.Foxx first told jokes at a comedy club’s open mic night in 1989, after accepting a girlfriend’s dare. When he found that female comedians were often called first to perform, he changed his name to Jamie Foxx, feeling that it was a name ambiguous enough to disallow any biases. He chose his surname as a tribute to the black comedian Redd Foxx. Foxx joined the cast of In Living Color in 1991, where his recurrent character Wanda also shared a name with Redd’s friend and co-worker, LaWanda Page. Following a recurring role in the comedy-drama sitcom Roc, Foxx went on to star in his own sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show, from 1996 to 2001.Foxx made his film debut in the 1992 comedy Toys. His first dramatic role came in Oliver Stone’s 1999 film Any Given Sunday, where he was cast as a hard-partying American football player, partly because of his own football background. In 2001, Foxx starred opposite Will Smith in Michael Mann’s biographical drama Ali. Three years later, Foxx played taxi driver Max Durocher in the film Collateral alongside Tom Cruise, for which he received outstanding reviews and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.In 1994, Foxx released an album (on the Fox record label) entitled Peep This, which was not commercially successful. In 2003, Foxx made a cameo in Benzino’s music video for “Would You”, which features LisaRaye McCoy and Mario Winans.In 2003, Foxx featured on the rapper Twista’s song, “Slow Jamz”, together with Kanye West, which reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #3 on the UK Singles chart. His second collaboration with Kanye West, “Gold Digger,” in which Foxx sang the Ray Charles-influenced “I Got a Woman” hook, then went straight to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining there for 10 weeks. In 2005, Foxx featured on the single “Georgia” by Atlanta rappers Ludacris and Field Mob, which sampled Ray Charles’ hit “Georgia on My Mind”.Foxx would also portray Ray Charles in the biographical film Ray (2004), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor[ and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Foxx is the second male in history to receive two acting Oscar nominations in the same year for two different movies, Collateral and Ray (the only other male actor to achieve this feat being Al Pacino). In 2005, Foxx was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Foxx released his second studio album, Unpredictable, in December 2005. It debuted at #2, selling 598,000 copies in its first week, rising to #1 the following week and selling an additional 200,000 copies. To date, the album has sold 1.98 million copies in the United States, and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA. The album also charted on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at #9. Foxx became the fourth artist to have both won an Academy Award for an acting role and to have achieved a #1 album in the U.S, joining Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Barbra Streisand. Foxx’s first single from the album, the title track “Unpredictable” (featuring Ludacris), peaked in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 singles and also made the UK Top 20 singles chart; the track samples “Wildflower” by New Birth. The second US single from the album was “DJ Play a Love Song,” which reunited Foxx with Twista. In the UK, the second single was “Extravaganza”, which saw Foxx once again collaborate with Kanye West, although Foxx did not feature in the song’s music video.At the 2006 Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards, Foxx won Best Duet/Collaboration with Kanye West for “Gold Digger” and tied with Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You” for Video of the Year. On December 8, 2006, Foxx received four Grammy Award nominations, which included Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for Love Changes featuring Mary J. Blige, Best R&B Album for Unpredictable, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Georgia by Ludacris & Field Mob featuring Jamie Foxx, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Unpredictable featuring Ludacris.Following on from these successes, Foxx went on to appear in the box-office hits Jarhead, Miami Vice and Dreamgirls, which lifted his profile even higher as a bankable star in Hollywood.Foxx has two daughters: Corinne Bishop (born 1994) and Annalise (born August 2009). Corinne made her formal debut at the Bal des débutantes in November 2014 and was named Miss Golden Globe 2016 on November 18, 2015.In 2008, Foxx filmed a public service announcement for Do Something to promote food drives in local communities.Foxx has been involved in feuds with co-stars LL Cool J and Colin Farrell.On January 18, 2016, Foxx rescued a young man from a burning vehicle that crashed outside his home. The driver, Brett Kyle, was driving his truck “at a high rate of speed” when the truck left the road, traveled into a drainage ditch, and rolled over multiple times. Kyle was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.Foxx’s daughter, Corinne, co-starred with him in the second season of Beat Shazam on Fox Broadcasting Company in 2018. She replaced DJ October Gonzalez from the first season of the show.On 26th October 2020, Foxx announced via Instagram that his 36-year-old sister Deondra had died, stating “My heart is shattered into a million pieces…my beautiful loving sister Deondra has transitioned…I say transitioned because she will always be alive.”

Written by Dianne Washington

Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1957) is an American musician, composer, and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.Morris Day was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA as Morris Eugene Day. He is an actor, known for Purple Rain (1984), The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990) and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). He was previously married to Judith Jones, they have three children.In addition to his roles in Purple Rain (1984) and Graffiti Bridge (1990), Day also appeared in small parts in films such as Richard Pryor’s Moving (1988) and the Andrew Dice Clay film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990). Day’s presence on the screen decreased until, in 2001, he returned to film in Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, performing “Jungle Love” with The Time and dancing with the movie’s stars in the film’s coda, and being introduced emphatically by Jason Mewes’ character as “Morris Day and The motherfuckin’ Time!”.Day also appeared on the small screen in 1990 when he portrayed the character Lamarr on ABC’s short-lived sitcom New Attitude. He guest-starred on the sitcom Eve as a pimp who wanted Eve’s fashion boutique to design a flamboyant suit to match his witty personality, and appeared as himself in an episode on the series Moesha, attempting to file a lawsuit against Moesha’s ex-boyfriend Q, who used a sample from “The Oak Tree” without permission. He also appeared on 227 in the 80s.He appeared opposite James Avery and Matthew Stewart in a pilot called Heart & Soul produced by Quincy Jones. In 2018, Will Smith revealed that he auditioned on the spot for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with a script for a “failed Morris Day pilot” that Jones handed to him.

Written by Dianne Washington