Whats Buzzing in the Streets – Page 45

Donate to a Teenage Story receive perks!

Hi independent movie lovers and welcome to Street Line. We are excited to announce our 10th featured movie titled a Teenage Story starring some of your favorite hip hop legends and social media friends.

A Teenage Story is a forgiveness movie. Todays youth are faced with many problems and need help with everyday living. Writer Vera Edwards and and Director Ricardo will bring to the screen a phenomenal movie dealing with three generations of hip hop. The plot itself will leave you in awe. We have finished casting but we need your help. Your donations can help us place the movie In a bigger theater.

With different campaigns out there it is difficult to ask for donations, thats why we are asking it here on our website.

We would like to feed our actors and place a Teenage Story in the theater. We are asking for donations. No donations are too small.

We’ve have set a list of donations incentives that you will receive.

Package A Donate $1 to $5 receive a Thank you shoutout on our website in our Whats buzzing in the streets section at the end of our articles. This can be seen with other names listed Only once. Actually we are thanking you in advance now. Thank you!

Package B Donate $10 receive Package A receive one raffle ticket for a chance to try to win a mini replica hand held game Only 2 available . You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live.

Package C Donate $20 receive package A and three raffle tickets for a chance to win a replica game console that has over 500 games inside. Only 3 available You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live.

Package D Donate $25 receive package A and one movie ticket for the premiere of a teenage story on selected date, we are not responsible for your transportation to and from the premiere also receive one raffle ticket for package B. Ticket is non transferable. You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live.

Package E Donate $30 receive Package A and receive one ticket for the premiere on selected date and five raffle tickets for a chance to win a watch and ear phones that connects to your cell phone for your wireless pleasure. Only 4 available. You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live.

Package F Donate $40 receive one movie ticket package A and five raffle tickets for a chance to win a mini camera with accessories. Only 1 available. You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live.

Package G Donate $50 receive package A and five raffle tickets for a chance to win a Numark DJ2GO2. Only One available. You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live.

Package H Donate $75 receive one movie ticket for selected date and receive package A receive five raffle tickets for a chance to win a real 1971 poster from the movie a teenage story. Only 1 available. You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live.

Package I Donate $100 receive package A and two movie ticket and ten raffle tickets for a chance to win a 1971 authentic poster from the movie. You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live.

Package J Donate $250 receive package A and two movie tickets and your name on the movie credits in the thank you sections of the credits.

Package K Donate $300 receive package A and two movie tickets your name on the movie credits in the thank you section of the credits. Also win five raffles for a chance to win a mid size vintage portable radio. Only 2 available. You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live.

Package L Donate $500 receive package A and two movie tickets your name on the credits in the thank you section of the credits. Also five raffles for a chance to win a Vintage Boombox Magnavox D8443 Power Player. You don’t have to be available for raffle leave your email and you will receive your ticket number raffle via email the raffle will be live on social media to be announced, If you win you must pay for postage and handling where ever you live. Only 3 available

Now that you’ve read and viewed all the incentives, please send donations to our cash app In the description place the package letter. Cash app us @$streetlinevideo

or PayPa us @ paypal.me/streetlinevideo In the description place the package letter.

Thank you Street Line

Idris Elba

Idrissa Akuna Elba OBE (September 6, 1972) is an English actor, writer, producer, musician, DJ, rapper, and singer. He is known for roles including Stringer Bell in the HBO series The Wire, DCI John Luther in the BBC One series Luther, and Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). He has been nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film, winning one, and was nominated five times for a Prime time Emmy Award.

Elba appeared in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster (2007) and Prometheus (2012). Elba portrayed Heimdall in Thor (2011) and its sequels Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017), as well as Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). He also starred in Pacific Rim (2013), Beasts of No Nation (2015), for which he received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor, and Molly’s Game (2017). In 2016, he voiced Chief Bogo in Zootopia, Shere Khan in the live action/CGI adaptation of The Jungle Book, Fluke in Finding Dory, and played the role of Krall in Star Trek Beyond. He made his directorial debut in 2018 with an adaptation of the 1992 novel Yardie by Victor Headley.

In addition to his acting work, Elba performs as a DJ under the moniker DJ Big Driis (or Big Driis the Londoner) and as an R&B musician. In 2016, he was named in the Time 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World. As of May 2019, his films have grossed over $9.8 billion at the global box office, including over $3.6 billion in North America, where he is one of the top 20 highest-grossing actors

Idrissa Akuna Elba, an only child, was born on September 6, 1972 in Hackney, London. His paternal grandfather, Moses, was a sailor and a policeman. His father, Winston, was a Sierra Leonean who worked at Ford Dagenham, and his mother, Eve, was Ghanaian. Elba’s parents were married in Sierra Leone and later moved to London. Elba was brought up in Hackney and East Ham, and shortened his first name to “Idris” at school in Canning Town, where he first became involved in acting. He credits The Stage with giving him his first big break; having seen an advertisement for a play in a newspaper, Elba auditioned and met his first agent while performing in the role. In 1986, he began helping an uncle with his wedding DJ business; within a year, he had started his own DJ company with some of his friends.

Elba left school in 1988, and won a place in the National Youth Music Theatre thanks to a £1,500 Prince’s Trust grant. His first acting role was in Crimewatch murder reconstructions and in 1994 appeared in a BBC children’s drama called The Boot Street Band. To support himself between roles in Crimewatch reconstructions, he worked in jobs such as tyre-fitting, cold call advertising sales, and working night shifts at Ford Dagenham. He was working in nightclubs, under the DJ nickname “Big Driis”, aged nineteen, but began auditioning for television roles in his early twenties.

In 1995, Elba landed his first significant role on a series called Bramwell, a medical drama set in 1890s England. He played a central character in an episode of Season 1, an African petty thief named Charlie Carter, who lost his (white) wife to childbirth and had to figure out how to support his newborn daughter. His first named role arrived earlier in 1995, when he was cast as a gigolo on the “Sex” episode of Absolutely Fabulous. Many supporting roles on British television followed, including series such as The Bill and The Ruth Rendell Mysteries. He joined the cast of the soap opera Family Affairs[10] and went on to appear on the television serial Ultraviolet and later on Dangerfield. He decided to move to New York City soon after. He returned to England occasionally for a television role, such as a part in one of the Inspector Lynley Mysteries. In 2001, Elba played Achilles in a stage production of Troilus and Cressida in New York City.

After a supporting turn on a 2001 episode of Law & Order, Elba landed a starring role on the 2002 HBO drama series The Wire. From 2002 to 2004, Elba portrayed Russell “Stringer” Bell in the series, perhaps his best-known role in the United States. In 2005, he portrayed Captain Augustin Muganza in Sometimes in April, an HBO film about the Rwandan Genocide. Elba appeared on the 2007 BET special Black Men: The Truth. He appeared as Charlie Gotso on The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, filmed in Botswana. The series premiered on 23 March 2008, Easter Sunday, on BBC One, receiving a high 6.3 million viewers and 27% of the audience share.

In January 2009, it was reported by Variety that Elba would portray Charles Miner, a new rival to Dunder Mifflin regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) for NBC’s The Office. Elba appeared in a six-episode story arc later in the 2009 season as well as the season finale. In September 2009, he signed a deal to star as the lead role on the six-part BBC television series Luther, which aired in May 2010. He appeared on Showtime’s The Big C in 2010. At the 69th Golden Globe Awards telecast on 15 January 2012, Elba won the Award for Best Actor in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for his role on the BBC crime thriller series Luther.

Elba has been married three times: first to Hanne “Kim” Nørgaard (from 1999 to 2003) and then to Sonya Nicole Hamlin (for four months in 2006). He has two children: a daughter with Kim named Isan (born 2002), who resides with Nørgaard in Atlanta, Georgia, and a son named Winston (born 2014) with ex-girlfriend Naiyana Garth. Elba became engaged to Sabrina Dhowre on 10 February 2018, during a screening of his film Yardie at an East London cinema; the pair have been dating since early 2017. They wed on 26 April 2019, in Marrakesh.

Elba states that he is spiritual but not religious. Elba is an avid supporter of Arsenal F.C. In 2015, as part of his Discovery Channel miniseries Idris Elba: No Limits, Elba broke the course record land speed “Flying Mile” for the Pendine Sands.

The Prince’s Trust, a UK youth charity founded by Prince Charles in 1976, which Elba credits with helping to start his career, appointed him as their anti-crime ambassador in April 2009. Elba voiced support for a vote to remain in the European Union for the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.

Sylvester

Sylvester James, Jr. (September 6, 1947 – December 16, 1988), who used the stage name of Sylvester, was an American singer-songwriter. Primarily active in the genres of disco, rhythm and blues, and soul, he was known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and hit disco singles in the late 1970s. He represents the transgressive nonconforming gender expression identity that has become a hallmark of both LGBTQ studies and queer studies of the performativity of gender itself. See also Willi Ninja.

Born in Watts, Los Angeles, to a middle-class African-American family, Sylvester developed a love of singing through the gospel choir of his Pentecostal church. Leaving the church after the congregation expressed disapproval of his homosexuality, he found friendship among a group of black cross-dressers and transgender women who called themselves The Disquotays. Moving to San Francisco in 1970 at the age of 22, Sylvester embraced the counterculture and joined the avant-garde drag troupe The Cockettes, producing solo segments of their shows which were heavily influenced by female blues and jazz singers like Billie Holiday and Josephine Baker. During the Cockettes’ critically panned tour of New York City, Sylvester left them to pursue his career elsewhere. He came to front Sylvester and his Hot Band, a rock act that released two commercially unsuccessful albums on Blue Thumb Records in 1973 before disbanding.

Focusing on a solo career, Sylvester signed a recording contract with Harvey Fuqua of Fantasy Records and obtained three new backing singers in the form of Martha Wash, Izora Rhodes – the “Two Tons O’ Fun” – and Jeanie Tracy. His first solo album, Sylvester (1977), was a moderate success. This was followed with the acclaimed disco album Step II (1978), which spawned the singles “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and “Dance (Disco Heat)”, both of which were hits in the U.S. and Europe. Distancing himself from the disco genre, he recorded four more albums – including a live album – with Fantasy Records. After leaving this label, he signed to Megatone Records, the dance-oriented company founded by friend and collaborator Patrick Cowley, where he recorded four more albums, including the Cowley penned hit Hi-NRG track “Do Ya Wanna Funk.” An activist who campaigned against the spread of HIV/AIDS, Sylvester died from complications arising from the virus in 1988, leaving all future royalties from his work to San Francisco-based HIV/AIDS charities.

During the late 1970s, Sylvester gained the moniker of the “Queen of Disco” and during his life he attained particular recognition in San Francisco, where he was awarded the key to the city. In 2005, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame, while his life has been recorded in a biography and made the subject of both a documentary and a musical.

Bobby Brown

Robert Barisford “Bobby” Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer and actor. Brown started his career as founder and one of the frontmen of the R&B and pop group New Edition, from its inception in 1978 until his forced exit from the group in 1985 following a period of misbehavior and rebellious behavior on his part. Starting a solo career, he became a hit success with his second album in 1988, Don’t Be Cruel, which spawned a number of hit singles including the self-penned “My Prerogative”, and the Grammy Award-winning “Every Little Step” which became his signature hit. Brown had a string of top ten hits on various Billboard charts between 1986 and 1993. Brown is noted as a pioneer of new jack swing, a fusion of R&B. He returned to the group for a reunion album and tour from 1996-1997, and has returned with all six members for another stint since 2005.

From 1992 to 2007 Brown was married to the late American singer Whitney Houston (1963–2012), with whom he had a child, late Bobbi Kristina Brown (1993–2015). The couple starred in the reality show Being Bobby Brown.

Brown was born in Boston, Massachusetts as one of six children of Carole Elizabeth (née Williams), a substitute teacher, and Herbert James Brown, a construction worker. Brown grew up in Roxbury’s Orchard Park Projects. Brown’s first taste of being onstage occurred at age three when one of his childhood idols, James Brown, performed in Boston. This performance had sparked a dream of becoming a singer. Brown joined the church choir, where he recognized and developed his singing abilities.

New Edition was founded by 9-year-old Brown and childhood friends Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell, Travis Pettus, and Corey Rackley who all knew each other growing up in the Orchard Park Projects in Boston. However, Rackley left the group early and good friend Ralph Tresvant joined the group at the suggestion of Bell who sang with Tresvant as a duo. Brown was also familiar with Tresvant since they were kids. Travis Pettus would also leave the group and they became a quartet of Bell, Tresvant, Bivins, and Brown. In 1982, they became a quintet when their manager Brooke Payne insisted on bringing in his nephew Ronnie DeVoe, to complete the group. After performing in several talent shows in the Boston areas in 1982, they won a deal with Maurice Starr’s label and released their debut album, Candy Girl. The title track became an instant million-seller in which Brown sung co-lead alongside Bell and Tresvant. Brown’s first full lead vocal performance was on the New Edition ballad, “Jealous Girl”, which was a minor hit when it charted in 1983. The group became pop sensations with their self-titled sophomore release. The album included the crossover hits “Cool It Now” and “Mr. Telephone Man”, which Brown also co-led.

Despite the group’s success, however, Brown felt the group was never rightfully paid the money they felt they had earned from their success, later saying “the most I saw from all the tours and all of the records we sold was $500 and a VCR.” Brown also allegedly grew jealous of the attention given to fellow New Edition member Ralph Tresvant and during some of their tour performances, would often step out of his position and perform out of turn, performing seductively and singing, which caused hiccups from the group’s management team. Brown was featured on two more New Edition albums before leaving the group in early 1986. Brown later said he felt that the group’s management treated them “like little slaves by people who were only interested in money and power, and not in the welfare of New Edition.” A little controversy arose over how Brown got kicked out. Some say Brown asked to be let out of New Edition but a VH-1 Behind the Music documentary on the group claimed Brown was voted out by the group via their management team, with the members, most prominently Tresvant and Bivins, against the decision.

Following his exit, Brown signed a contract with his former group’s label, MCA, which had earlier promised Brown a solo deal if he had decided to leave New Edition and also signed with manager Steven Machat, who also worked with New Edition. The label released his debut album, King of Stage, in 1986. Brown had a number-one R&B hit with the ballad “Girlfriend”, but the album failed to perform well.

Brown laid low for more than a year working on his follow-up album. With the help of Machat and an MCA representative, Louil Silas, Brown began working with some of the top R&B producers and songwriters including Babyface, Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Teddy Riley. The producers helped to compose what became Brown’s most successful solo album to date, Don’t Be Cruel. Released in 1988, the album launched five top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including the number-one single, the self-penned “My Prerogative”, which became, along with “Every Little Step” and the title track, signature hits for the performer. After topping both the pop and R&B charts, album sales eventually would reach twelve million copies worldwide making it the best-selling album of 1989. In February 1990, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the album’s third single ″Every Little Step″. Don’t Be Cruel also garnered Brown two American Music Awards, a Soul Train Music Award and a People’s Choice Award.

In 1989, Brown contributed two songs to the soundtrack of Ghostbusters II, and he also had a cameo role in the film. Leading off the soundtrack album, “On Our Own” became another top ten single for the singer, peaking at number two. The same year, a remix compilation, Dance! Ya Know It, was released and found fans in the United Kingdom, where Brown had a fan base and had major success. Brown ventured on a 120-day world tour to promote the Don’t Be Cruel project in 1988. The tour became a success with Brown’s former group New Edition sometimes opening for him. The tour lasted into spring 1991, but not without Brown gaining notoriety for simulating sexual acts onstage, which got him in trouble with the law. In 1990, Bobby performed Tap Into My Heart at the 1990 MTV Awards and Brown was supposed to release the album Mystical Magic but it was shelved for unknown reasons and never saw the light of day. In 1990, Brown was featured on the #1 hit “She Ain’t Worth It” by Glenn Medeiros making it his second #1 hit on the pop chart. Brown stayed busy and, in 1991, he collaborated with New Edition member and friend, Ralph Tresvant in the song “Stone Cold Gentleman”, which was a top 5 R&B hit and also hop on the remix to Babyface song “Tender Lover” that same year.

Brown’s next album, Bobby, wouldn’t arrive until 1992. Released during the final days of the new jack swing era, an era that Brown had dominated, the album did become a success, selling more than 3 million copies and spawning several hits including “Humpin’ Around”, “Get Away” and “Good Enough”. However, the sales of Bobby didn’t match its predecessor. Some of that may have to do with Brown deciding not to continue his career as he was now married to his famous wife, Whitney Houston, who with Brown, contributed a UK hit with their duet, “Something in Common”, from the Bobby album. Brown would release his fourth solo album, Forever, in 1997. Due to lack of promotion and Brown’s desire to write and produce most of the tracks, the album tanked and the album’s only single, “Feeling Inside”, was not successful.

Prior to the release of Forever, Brown had been in negotiations with rapper Tupac Shakur to sign with Shakur’s new label Makaveli Records or with the proposed label Death Row East. However, Shakur died before that could take place. Leaving MCA following Forever, Brown laid low for several years, re-emerging in 2001 on The Benzino Project, and in 2002, when he was featured in a duet with rapper Ja Rule on the song “Thug Lovin'”. Brown was signed to Murder Inc. Records, but Murder Inc. began dissolving, so Brown’s tenure with them was brief. In 2006, Brown appeared adding vocals to Damian Marley’s song “Beautiful” on Marley’s album, Welcome to Jamrock. In 2010, Brown was featured in a duet with singer Macy Gray on the song “Real Love” off Gray’s The Sellout. Gray explained to Essence about the project, saying “actually he came to the studio, since he doesn’t live far, and knocked out his recording in two hours. We’re friends and his one-year-old son is my godson. His fiancée is one of my best friends in the whole world. I met Bobby a long time ago, but we really got to know each other through her.”

On June 5, 2012, Brown released his fifth album, The Masterpiece. The album debuted at #41 on the R&B album chart.

Brown made his first reunited appearance with New Edition at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. Their performance later sparked the recording of Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Word to the Mutha!” in 1991; on which Brown, Ralph Tresvant and later NE member Johnny Gill were included. A full-fledged reunion occurred with the 1996 release of the album, Home Again. Brown contributed lead vocals on two hit singles, “Hit Me Off” and “You Don’t Have to Worry”. However, a subsequent 1997 tour to support the album led to problems between Brown and the other New Edition members. Brown later admitted that he was struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism during the tour.

In 2005, at the BET 25th anniversary special, Brown again reunited with New Edition to a receptive audience. In 2008, Brown, Ralph Tresvant, and Johnny Gill then formed a splinter group, Heads of State, to compete with Bell Biv DeVoe. At the 2009 BET Awards, following the death of the group’s idol Michael Jackson, the six New Edition members again reunited to perform a medley of Jackson 5 hits in honor of Jackson. This sparked rumors of another full-fledged New Edition reunion, which was confirmed the following year. As of 2016, Brown and New Edition continue to perform together.

Brown made his acting debut with a cameo appearance in the 1989 film, Ghostbusters II, playing the Mayor’s doorman. The following year, he appeared in the HBO kids show, Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme playing all three characters of Three Blind Mice. In 1995, he made another guest appearance in the film, Panther, and had a major role in the Martin Lawrence film, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. Brown made other guest appearances in the films, Two Can Play That Game, Gang of Roses, Nora’s Hair Salon and Go for Broke.

In 2005, Brown signed a deal with Bravo to overlook the direction of the reality series, Being Bobby Brown, but it was said that he had to convince producers that his then-wife Whitney Houston would appear on the show. Houston later told Oprah Winfrey that she agreed to do it because she “loved him” and “did whatever he asked because I was his wife.” The show lasted one season but received bad reviews in the duration of its run, leading to a fallout in both singers’ careers. The show ended in 2006 after Houston refused to appear in a second season of the show. The couple divorced soon after.

In June 2007, Brown took part in the ITV television series “24 hours with…”, a chat show format as celebrity and interviewer spend an intense 24 hours locked in a room together. The show’s host, Jamie Campbell, asked Brown questions about his career and private life, and infamously joked about making “sexual moves” towards the singer. Brown was furious and threatened to beat Campbell up live on air. Brown’s later tenures in reality shows included appearances on Real Husbands of Hollywood, Celebrity Fit Club and Gone Country.

Brown has seven children. His eldest, Landon, was born circa 1986 to Melika Williams. With girlfriend Kim Ward, whom he met circa 1980, he had daughter La’Princia (born 1989) and son Bobby Jr. (born c. 1992). Brown and Ward’s on-and-off 14-year relationship ended in 1991, after two-months-pregnant Ward found out Brown was engaged.

Brown first met Whitney Houston at the Soul Train Music Awards in 1989. They began a close friendship after Houston invited 20-year-old Brown to her 26th birthday party in August 1989. Their friendship developed into a romance in 1991. In April 1992, Brown proposed marriage to Houston and the couple married at Houston’s estate on July 18, 1992. On March 4, 1993 their daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown was born. Houston and Brown later collaborated on the hit single “Something in Common”, which included their daughter at the end of the video.

Throughout their 14-year marriage, Houston and Brown went through periods of infidelity, domestic violence, and drug use. Their personal issues became comedy fodder for talk shows and sketch comedy shows, most notably MadTV, where they were satirized as abusive drug addicts. Aries Spears portrayed Brown as a jealous, verbally abusive former pop star who openly bristles at his wife’s (Debra Wilson) iconic reputation and popularity. In 2005, the couple participated in the reality show Being Bobby Brown, which scrutinized their personal life even more thoroughly. In September 2006, Houston filed for legal separation; the divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston receiving custody of their then-14-year-old daughter.

In 1995, Brown was with Steven Sealy when Sealy was targeted in a drive-by shooting. Sealy, the boyfriend of Brown’s sister, was killed and Brown was unharmed. The shooter John Tibbs took a plea agreement in 2001.

On May 31, 2009 Brown had son Cassius with his partner of two years, manager Alicia Etheredge. Brown and Etheredge became engaged in May 2010, when Brown proposed during a performance at the Funk Fest in Jacksonville, Florida. The couple married in June 2012 in Hawaii and together have since added two daughters to the family. On July 9, 2015 Alicia Etheredge-Brown gave birth to Bodhi Jameson Rein Brown. The couple’s third child, daughter Hendrix Estelle Sheba Brown, was born on July 21, 2016.

Brown’s parents, Carole and Herbert Brown, died within a year of each other, Carole in 2011 and Herbert “Pops” in January 2012.

Following the death of his ex-wife Houston in February 2012, six days after his 43rd birthday, he struggled to perform at a New Edition show, shouting “I love you, Whitney” in tears. Brown then excused himself from the stage and New Edition canceled the remainder of the show. Brown was invited to appear at Houston’s memorial service in New Jersey but left before the service began. In an interview given to The Today Show in May 2012, Brown said security was the reason he and his family left Houston’s service; Brown stated that he loved Houston’s family and told Matt Lauer that he had spent “14 beautiful years” with Houston as his wife. He also denied rumors that he introduced Houston to narcotics. Along with Clive Davis, Ray J, and others, Brown has been accused of contributing to the singer’s death.

In January 2015, Brown’s daughter with Houston, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was found unconscious in her bathtub at her residence in Roswell, Georgia. The 21-year-old was rushed into North Fulton Hospital where she was placed on a ventilator and was placed under a medically induced coma to stop the swelling of her brain. It was later reported her brain activity was “low”. Brown rushed to his daughter’s side and released a statement to the press requesting them to respect the family’s privacy. She was later transferred to Emory University Hospital. After no significant brain function doctors concluded it would be unlikely to occur, Bobbi Kristina was removed from the ventilator and put in the care of Hospice in Duluth, Georgia. She died there on July 26, 2015 at age 22.

As a child, Brown was diagnosed with ADD and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder in his early thirties. Brown said that his drug of choice was marijuana and that he had developed alcoholism at an early age. Following his marriage to Houston, Brown became heavily involved in drug use. By the mid-1990s, he was not only addicted to cocaine and crack, but also heroin, which he often smoked along with marijuana. He and Houston would often smoke cocaine-laced marijuana in blunts. Following his separation and later divorce from Houston, Brown stopped using cocaine, crack and heroin though he admitted he still drinks but not as much as he did in his younger years.

During his tours, Brown would often be arrested and cited for lewd and lascivious content after simulating sex acts with random female audience members that he would bring onstage. Brown’s legal problems grew serious as he was arrested for several offenses over the years including drug possession, driving under the influence, and driving while intoxicated. In a now-infamous 1996 arrest while in Florida, during a high-speed police chase, he crashed his wife’s Mitsubishi, and would be later cited for resisting arrest after he yelled expletives at officers and allegedly performing public urination in the back of one of the squad cars.

In late 2003, Brown was arrested for misdemeanor battery, allegedly for striking Houston while shouting epithets. In February 2004, Brown was arrested and jailed in Georgia on a parole violation related to a previous drunk driving conviction. In June 2004, Brown was sentenced to 90 days in prison for missing three months of child-support payments. That sentence was immediately suspended after Brown made back payments totaling about $15,000.

On March 26, 2012, Brown was arrested for DUI after being pulled over for allegedly using a cell phone while driving.

On August 14, 2012, Brown was undergoing treatment in rehab for alcohol addiction.

On October 24, 2012, Bobby Brown was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol for the second time this year.

On February 26, 2013, Bobby Brown plead no contest to suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was sentenced to a 55-day jail sentence and had until March 20, 2013 to report to Los Angeles County Jail. He was also ordered to attend three Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week until he goes to jail and to complete an 18-month alcohol program as part of his probation.

On March 21, 2013, Bobby Brown was released from jail after serving nine hours of his 56-day jail sentence.

In January of 2017, New Edition got their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after 33 years in the business.

Robin Harris

Robin Harris was born on this date in 1953. He was an African American comedian and actor.

He was born in Chicago, where his father was a welder and his mother a factory seamstress. In 1961, the family moved to Los Angeles where he attended Manual Arts High School. A track star, Harris got a scholarship and attended Ottawa University in Kansas. It was during this time that Harris began to hone his craft of comedy. He worked for Hughes Aircraft, a rental car company, and Security Pacific Bank to pay his bills. In 1980, he debuted at Los Angeles’ Comedy Store with little response.

1985 was his year. As the master of ceremonies at the Comedy Act Theater, his “old school” brand of humor began to gain him a mainstream following. A large-eyed stand-up churlish brand of humor and quick put-downs were his trademark. Harris made a promising feature debut playing a smart-ass bartender in “I’m Gonna Get You Sucka” (1988). A very sensitive man and a professional, Harris continued with Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” (1989), where he really stood out. As Sweet Dick Willie, Harris served as part of the neighborhood “Greek chorus” that commented on the events of an increasingly tense day.

From there, Harris had a perfect platform as Pop, the no-nonsense, quick-witted father of Kid in “House Party” (1990). He followed up later that year with a small turn as a jazz club MC in “Mo’ Better Blues.”

Early in 1990, Harris was keeping a very tight schedule, which demanded much travel and long hours. He had respiratory problems and often nodded off during the day.

Arriving in his hometown for an appearance at the Chicago’s Regal Theater, he failed to meet friends the day after. His mother found him dead at his hotel on March 18, 1990.

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music, dance and fashion along with his publicized personal life made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.

The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5, and began his solo career in 1971. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. His music videos, including those of “Beat It”, “Billie Jean”, and “Thriller” from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. The popularity of these videos helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Jackson’s 1987 album Bad spawned the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Bad”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Man in the Mirror”, and “Dirty Diana”, becoming the first album to have five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. He continued to innovate with videos such as “Black or White” and “Scream” throughout the 1990s, and forged a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous artists of various music genres.

Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, with estimated sales of 65 million copies worldwide. Jackson’s other albums, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world’s best-selling albums. He is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame as the only dancer from pop and rock music. His other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records, 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 26 American Music Awards—more than any other artist—including the “Artist of the Century” and “Artist of the 1980s”, 13 number-one singles in the United States during his solo career,—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and estimated sales of over 350 million records worldwide. Jackson has won hundreds of awards, making him the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music. He became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when “Love Never Felt So Good” reached number nine on May 21, 2014. Jackson traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism, and, in 2000, the Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.

Aspects of Jackson’s personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the civil case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his comeback concert series, “This Is It,” Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician, Conrad Murray, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson’s death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and a live broadcast of his public memorial service was viewed around the world. Forbes ranks Jackson as the top-earning dead celebrity, a title held for a sixth consecutive year, with $115 million in earnings.

Larry Graham

Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bass guitar player and singer, both with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station. He is credited with the invention of the slapping technique, which radically expanded the tonal palette of the bass, although he himself refers to the technique as “thumpin’ and pluckin’. “

Born in Beaumont, Texas, to successful musicians, Graham played bass in the highly successful and influential funk band Sly and the Family Stone from 1966 to 1972. It is said that he pioneered the art of slap-pop playing on the electric bass, in part to provide percussive and rhythmic elements in addition to the notes of the bass line when his mother’s band lacked a drummer; the slap of the thumb being used to emulate a bass drum and the pop of the index or middle finger as a snare drum. This style has become archetypal of modern funk. Slap-pop playing couples a percussive thumb-slapping technique of the lower strings with an aggressive finger-snap of the higher strings, often in rhythmic alternation. The slap and pop technique incorporates a large ratio of muted or “dead” notes to normal notes, which adds to the rhythmic effect.

This “slap” bass style was later used by such artists as Bootsy Collins (P-Funk), Bernard Edwards (Chic), Louis Johnson, Mark King, Keni Burke, Victor Wooten, Kim Clarke of Defunkt, Marcus Miller, and Stanley Clarke.

After Sly and the Family Stone, Graham formed his own band, Graham Central Station. The name is a pun on Grand Central Station, the train station located in Manhattan, New York City. Graham Central Station had several hits in the 1970s, including “Hair”.

In the mid-1970s, Larry Graham worked with Betty Davis, the second ex-wife of jazz legend Miles Davis. Betty Davis’ band included members of the Tower of Power horns and the Pointer Sisters, and she recorded three albums to critical acclaim but limited commercial success.

In 1975, Graham became a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Eventually, he was credited with introducing Prince to the faith. In the early 1980s, Graham recorded five solo albums and had several solo hits on the R&B charts. His biggest hit was “One in a Million You”, a crossover hit, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980.

He reformed Graham Central Station in the early 1990s and performed with the band for several years during which they released two live albums. One was recorded in Japan in 1992, and the other, recorded in London in 1996, had only 1000 copies printed and was exclusively sold at concerts.

In 1998, he recorded a solo album under the name Graham Central Station, GCS 2000. It was a collaboration between Larry Graham and Prince. While Graham wrote all the songs, except one co-written by Prince, the album was co-arranged and co-produced by Prince, and most of the instruments and vocals were recorded by both Graham and Prince. Graham also played bass on tours with Prince from 1997 to 2000. He appeared in Prince’s 1998 VHS Beautiful Strange and 1999 DVD Rave Un2 the Year 2000. He has since appeared with Prince at various international venues.

Graham and Graham Central Station performed internationally with a world tour in 2010 and the “Funk Around The World” international tour in 2011. He appeared as a special guest at Jim James’ “Rock N’ Soul Dance Party Superjam” at the 2013 Bonnaroo Music Festival.

Graham is the father of singer-songwriter and producer Darric Graham. He is also the uncle of Canadian rapper and actor Aubrey Drake Graham, better known as Drake.

Viola Davis

Viola Davis (born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. Having won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award, she is the first black actor to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2017.

Born in St. Matthews, South Carolina, Davis began her acting career in Central Falls, Rhode Island, starring in minor theater productions. After graduating from the Julliard School in 1993, she won an Obie Award in 1999 for her performance as Ruby McCollum in Everybody’s Ruby. She played minor roles in several films and television series in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Tonya in August Wilson’s King Hedley II in 2001. Davis’s film breakthrough came in 2008, when her role as a troubled mother in Doubt earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Greater success came to Davis in the 2010s. She won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for playing Rose Maxson in the revival of August Wilson’s play Fences. For starring as a 1960s housemaid in the comedy-drama The Help (2011), Davis received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won a SAG Award. In 2014, Davis began playing lawyer Annalise Keating in the ABC television drama series How to Get Away with Murder, and in 2015, she became the first black woman to win the Prime time Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. In 2016, Davis played Amanda Waller in the superhero film Suicide Squad and reprised the role of Maxson in the film adaptation of Fences, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She went on to receive a BAFTA nomination for starring in the heist film Widows (2018).

Davis and her husband, Julius Tennon, are founders of production company, JuVee Productions. Davis is also widely recognized for her advocacy and support of human rights and equal rights for women and women of color. She identifies as a feminist.

Rick James

Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson Jr. February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004) was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his teen years. He was in a number of various bands and groups before entering the U.S. Navy to avoid being drafted in the early 1960s. In 1965, James deserted to Toronto, Canada, where he formed the rock band the Mynah Birds, who eventually signed a recording deal with Motown Records in 1966. James’s career with the group halted after military authorities discovered his whereabouts and eventually convicted James on a one-year prison term related to the draft charges. After being released, James moved to California where he started a variety of rock and funk groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

After forming the Stone City Band in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977, James finally found success as a recording artist after signing with Motown’s Gordy Records, releasing the album, Come Get It!, in April 1978. It’s from this album where the hits “You & I” and “Mary Jane”, were released, helping the album go platinum and selling over two million records. This was followed with three more successful album releases. James released his most successful album, Street Songs, in 1981, which included career-defining hits such as “Give It to Me Baby” and “Super Freak”, the latter song becoming his biggest crossover single, mixing elements of funk, disco, rock and new wave. James was also known for his soulful ballads such as “Fire & Desire” and “Ebony Eyes”. In addition, James also had a successful career as a songwriter and producer for other artists including Teena Marie, the Mary Jane Girls, the Temptations, Eddie Murphy and Smokey Robinson.

James’s mainstream success had peaked by the release of his album Glow in 1985 and his appearance on the popular TV show, The A-Team. James’s subsequent releases failed to sell as well as their predecessors. Rapper MC Hammer sampled James’s “Super Freak” for his 1990 hit, “U Can’t Touch This”, and James became the 1991 recipient of a Best R&B Song Grammy for composing the song. James’s career was hampered by his drug addiction by the early 1990s. In 1993, James was convicted for two separate instances of kidnapping and torturing two different women while under the influence of crack cocaine, resulting in a three-year sentence at Folsom State Prison. James was released on parole in 1996 and released the album, Urban Rapsody, in 1997. James’s health problems halted his career again after a mild stroke during a concert in 1998 and he announced a semi-retirement.

In 2004, James’s career returned to the mainstream after he appeared in an episode of Chappelle’s Show, in a Charlie Murphy True Hollywood Stories-style segment that satirized James’s wild lifestyle, resulting in renewed interest in James’s music and that year he returned to perform on the road. James died later that year from heart failure at age 56.

Paul Mooney

Paul Gladney (born August 4, 1941), better known by the stage name Paul Mooney, is an American comedian, writer, social critic, and television and film actor. He is best known for his appearances on Chappelle’s Show and as a writer for comedian Richard Pryor.

Mooney was born in 1941 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and moved to Oakland, California, seven years later. His parents are George Gladney and LaVoya Ealy. Mooney was raised primarily by his grandmother Aimay Ealy, known among the family as “Mama”. Ealy coined the nickname “Mooney” after the original Scarface (1932) actor Paul Muni.

Mooney became a ringmaster with the Gatti-Charles Circus. During his stint as ringmaster, he always found himself writing comedy and telling jokes, which later helped Mooney land his first professional work as a writer for Richard Pryor.

Mooney wrote some of Pryor’s routines for his appearance on Saturday Night Live, co-wrote his material for the Live on the Sunset Strip, Bicentennial Nigger, and Is It Something I Said albums, and Pryor’s film Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. As the head writer for The Richard Pryor Show, he gave many young comics, such as Robin Williams, Sandra Bernhard, Marsha Warfield, John Witherspoon, and Tim Reid, their first break into show business.

Mooney also wrote for Redd Foxx’s Sanford and Son and Good Times, acted in several cult classics including Which Way Is Up?, Bustin’ Loose, Hollywood Shuffle, and portrayed singer/songwriter Sam Cooke in The Buddy Holly Story.

He was the head writer for the first year of Fox’s In Living Color, inspiring the character Homey D. Clown, played by Damon Wayans. Mooney later went on to play Wayans’ father in the Spike Lee film Bamboozled as the comedian Junebug.

Mooney initially appeared in the sketches “Ask a Black Dude” and “Mooney at the Movies” on Comedy Central’s Chappelle’s Show. He later appeared as Negrodamus, an African American version of Nostradamus. As Negrodamus, Mooney ad-libbed the “answers to life’s most unsolvable mysteries” such as “Why do white people love Wayne Brady?” (Answer: “Because Wayne Brady makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X.”) Mooney was planning to reprise his role as Negrodamus in the third season of the Chappelle’s Show, before Dave Chappelle left the show due to stress, and it ended suddenly.

In 2006, Paul Mooney hosted the BET tribute to Black History Month titled 25 Most @#%! Moments in Black History. In this show, he narrated some of the most shameful incidents involving African Americans since 1980. The top 25 moments included incidents involving Marion Barry, Terrell Owens, Wilson Goode, Michael Jackson, Flavor Flav, Whitney Houston, and Tupac Shakur.

In 2007, Mooney released his first book, the memoir Black is the New White.

In November 2014, Paul’s brother announced that Mooney has prostate cancer. Mooney still continues to tour, performing his stand-up comedy act.