street line – Street Line Video

Double Dutch Extravaganza at School I.S. 219: A Thrilling Tournament Unveiled

On Saturday, November 18th In the heart of the South Bronx In a celebration of athleticism, precision, and team spirit, Headed by Jamal Turner and State Rep. Erica Martin. School I.S. 219 AKA X148 Charles Drew Education Campus hosted its much-anticipated Double Dutch Tournament. Set to unfold in the heart of the school’s vibrant community, this event promised to showcase the incredible talent and skills of participating students ranging from places like Connecticut, Washington D.C to Boston Massachusetts to our neighbors in Newark, Jersey City in New Jersey, Brooklyn, and Albany as well as parents, spectators, devoted double dutch enthusiasts and the community as a whole. Students have been diligently practicing their routines, mastering intricate footwork and synchronized jumps, in preparation for this exhilarating competition.

As teams from different grades and backgrounds come together, the Double Dutch Tournament becomes a melting pot of diversity, fostering unity and collaboration. Beyond the ropes, the event serves as a platform for students to showcase their dedication, perseverance, and the unyielding spirit of sportsmanship. The entire school community was ready to cheer on the grades from kindergarten all the way up to 12th grade. As they weaved through the ropes with grace and precision, transforming the gymnasium into a stage for the dazzling athleticism of School I.S. 219’s Double Dutch competition. The kids were given a fantastic viewing from one of the founding members of the Fantastic Four.

History shows us that the sport has roots that date back to 1973, where dutch settlers bought the sport to New Amsterdam now New York. The sport is played with two long jump ropes swung in opposite directions so that they cross each other.

Throughout the evening the cheers from the audience and other participants raved and cheered supporting each and every individual that participated. Resulting in an event that bought on the hard work of the participants and left everyone a winner. Handing out Trophy’s, ribbons and certificates. On their downtime participants and coaches were seen free styling and supporting their students with flashy moves and delivering an all around spectacle. An event the South Bronx was proud to host and looks forward to hosting many more and supporting the obvious comeback of the competitive sport of Double Dutch.

Written By Don Anthony.

Director Vera Edwards honored with Citation

Vera Edwards (March 4, 1966) is an American director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. Born and raised in the South Bronx, New York City, Edwards began her career as an author and then graduated to write, direct, and produce television shows on a cable channel called Bronxnet. The show was titled “Street Line.” It was an entertainment show that not only showed what was happening in the streets, but showed celebrities as well as up-and-coming artists, dance, hip-hop, businesses, current events, and politics. The show revolutionized the urban community. In 2009, Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero (director of photography) received several Beta Awards for their contributions to television.

In 2011 Edwards published her first book titled “BAND OF GOLD,” which was written by Vera Edwards herself. This was the start of her writing career which jumped started her in the direction of making movies.

One of the first female independent multimedia film director and producer in the Bronx, Edwards has captured the essence of urban life by utilizing members of the community by taking real-life experience and turning it into art. She has become a true pioneer in hip-hop culture and urban day living.

Edwards wrote, produced, and directed with her son Ricardo Cordero her first underground independent feature film, Chicken (2013); The film was an urban drama. The entire cast was first-time actors. The film received worldwide praise from parents, children, teens, and several educational institutions ranging from different fields of study that implemented different story elements into their own syllabuses. It was a scripted reality show at its finest. Chicken showcased unfortunate realism that many individuals face in urban communities even to this day. The movie Chicken sold-out not only at the theaters but also sold out as DVDs in stores. It became one of the most sought out underground urban movies till this day.

Her second film was a romantic love story titled “Waiting for 4 Mr. Wright” (2015), which won a Bronxnet Beta Award. It too had first-time actors, Anabel Castillo, and Hip-Hop artist, Mighty Mike C (Michael Clee), from the legendary hip-hop group, The Fearless 4. The film received a standing ovation which was played at the iconic Mist Theater in Harlem, New York; It also was a DVD hit.

This was followed in 2015 by Edwards’s first novella “Perate,” a movie drama that starred Artie Cordel and hip-hop legend Wilfredo “Tito” Dones, of the legendary group The Fearless 4. It was a challenge for Edwards to write and produce the life of a Hispanic dysfunctional family. Her daughter Bobbi Cordero(writer) helped create the movie, which won Edwards another Beta Award. The movie Perate also played in the iconic Mist Theater in Harlem, New York City.

In 2015-2018, Edwards directed her first web series that started out as a small pitch that led to a bigger series of its own name and a powerful relationship drama, “Rodent,” starring Seven and Antoinette “Toni Styles” Vereen. This was a drama that identified with personal relationships amongst friends and family. The web series had twists and turns. Rodent was in high demand on the internet but ended abruptly because of ‘unsettling’ events created only amongst actors based off their newfound popularity that was developed from the success of the Rodent series.

In 2016, Edwards produced and directed “PPRESSED,” based on the everyday life of battle rappers. The movie starred Karine “Sho-Time” Thornton and Michael Deering (Mikey D) from the legendary group, “Main Source.” Since its success and debut, it has become the anthem and blueprint of videography used in today’s hip-hop rap culture within television and feature digital movie format.

Edwards wrote, produced, and directed “A Teenage Story” (2020) starring LA Sunshine (Lamar Hill), from the legendary group The Treacherous 3, DJ and creator of scratch, Grandwizard Theodore (Theodore Livingston), Stevie D (Stevie Lundy), from the legendary Force Mds and first-time actor Justin Hines. The movie was shot during the COVID pandemic and was set for the theaters, but due to the worldwide COVID restriction lock-downs, the 1:49-minute movie was released on YouTube and generated over 800,000 views.

When asked in a recent interview on the podcast “SHO-TIME TV PODCAST,” the interviewer asked Edwards “How were you able to create so many hit movies in such a short time,” Edwards replied” I couldn’t have done it without my son Ricardo Cordero. He is an excellent cameraman. He and I work great together, I know him, and he knows me. He knows my vision. I leave all the camera work to him, and he makes it happen. I think he is the best director of photography I know. To be able to create and share time as a mother and son is priceless. I enjoy those moments”.

On March 26, 2023, Edwards was honored with a Citation by Senator Cordell Cleare for her work with the community as a Film director.

Jaguar Wright

Jacquelyn Suzette Wright (born May 17, 1977), better known by her stage name, Jaguar Wright, is an American R&B and neo soul singer and songwriter. She is part of the Okayplayer collective. She started her career as an intern with various record labels. Wright has performed and collaborated alongside rap acts such as The Roots, Jay-Z, and Blackalicious.
Wright was brought to the attention of hip-hop group The Roots in 1998, which eventually led to her going to tour with them. She later appeared as a back-up singer for Jay-Z in 2001, and appeared in a Coca-Cola advert as part of the brand’s “Nu Soul” campaign. She has released two solo albums to date: Denials, Delusions & Decisions in 2002, and Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul in 2005. Wright also recorded an album entitled. And Your Point Is? which was due for release in 2003 on MCA Records (who also distributed her debut), before the label folded. However, many of the tracks recorded for that album later appeared on Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul. In 2007, two new songs appeared on her MySpace profile. One was a live version of new song “Sometimes”, the other a cover of “Let’s Do It Again”. A further two new songs surfaced in 2009, “Beautiful” and “Surely Shawty”, although neither saw an official release. She has toured every year since her debut album was released. In March 2008, she toured Europe with Bahamadia and Hezekiah for the “Philly Sounds” tour. Wright did not perform any new material on the tour, but did live cover versions of Cherrelle’s “Saturday Love” and Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)”. During the tour, Wright announced that she was in the process of writing a novel, and working on a third album. No release dates have been confirmed for either as yet. In 2008, she supplied backing vocals for Al Green’s album Lay It Down. In January 2011, Jaguar Wright toured Europe with Lady Alma on the “Philly Sounds 2011” tour. She revealed that she was working on a third album, due out in the summer of 2011, the lead single from the new album to be called “Switch”. In the summer of 2012, she assembled a “rock & soul band” of seasoned Philadelphia musicians called The W.E. ft. Jaguar Wright.

Written by Dianne Washington

Director Vera Edwards

Vera Edwards is an award-winning American independent film director/producer/and author. Born and raised in the South Bronx, Edwards took her life experience and applied it to film. She and her son Ricardo Cordero began their Journey as visual storytellers by gathering independent artist from the streets and giving them a platform to express their talent by allowing them to further their careers as actors.

Edwards and her son formed Street Line Video an underground media video production team for unsung talent. Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero have recorded major celebrities on and off stage such as Babyface, Charlie Wilson, Nikki Minaj, New Edition, The Ojays, Millie Jackson, Kurtis Blow Rick Ross just to name a few. She states after filming so many celebrities and helping them retain themselves in the music industry it was time that her son an herself needed to embark on creating history for themselves. She then wrote her first novel Band of Gold, which was one of the urban communities best selling books, you can get it free on Amazon. Edwards stated it was the book that she wanted to turn into a movie drama. Readers requested more of her work that's when She learned that our stories need to be told. So she then decided to shoot her own movies to generate her audience and followers, because of the high demand of her first novel Band of Gold Edwards wrote scripts for her son to shoot and edit and distribute across the world.

Edwards has had several Independent films that played in the theater such as Chick-en, Waiting 4 Mr. Wright starring Michael Clee from The Fearless 4, a their first novella titled Perate starring Tito from the 1980s group The fearless four. All three of these movies won Beta awards and had sold out shows. Edwards also has a soap opera title "Rodent" the Urban Soap opera which was released as a web series which was a drama and a battle rap movie titled PPRESSED starring Karine Sho-time Thornton and Mikey D (Michael Deering) of the Legendary 90s hip hop rap group Main Source. These movies met all kinds of genre in all types of countries. Which made the two web series a download hit.

Edwards latest work a pandemic movie titled a teenage story starring La Sunshine from the 1980s hip hop rap group The treacherous three, Grandwizard Theodore creator of DJ scratch and Stevie D from the 1980s r&b group The Force Mds was aired during the lock-down of the COVID 19 pandemic. The pandemic had the whole world staying in the house for a year and a half 2020 and a portion of 2021. The movie a teenage story was released on youtube for free and generated over 800,000 views. Not bad for and independent full featured movie. Since the pandemic has been lifted somewhat Edwards has started working on a new up-and-coming movie tv drama for the 2023 fall tv line up (now in production). She guarantees her audience will love this one. All movies can be viewed and seen all over the world. Edwards and her son Ricardo Cordero said they will continue to work as a directors and pride themselves by continuing to promote artist who couldn't receive a fair chance in the entertainment world. You can watch all of their movie on youtube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-wMxedqsYlGlg2HezxvWmA

Street Line needs your help!

Please click the go fund me link below and help us purchase a new camera. Thanks for caring and sharing.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/gjayu-we-need-a-new-camera?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

Actor Karine “Sho-time”Thornton and Director Ricardo Cordero

Hi all and welcome to Street Line. We are and independent video team that create content for all. We just released a beautiful movie titled “A Teenage Story” during the pandemic which is doing well on the you-tube platform. Clickthe link to view for free https://youtu.be/UWBWmpBHIxE .

Recently we were shooting a video and our camera failed : ( . Because we are in the second wave of the pandemic the service station were backed up. By the time the store reached or number the price to fix the camera will be up to $1,500. Our three year warranty ran out so for that price quoted we decided to purchase a new one for about $3,000.

This is where you come in. We are asking for donations so we can complete our movie “PPRESSED 2 This movie is a continuation from the highly claimed movie “PPRESSED” which is now streaming for free on various sites. By donating this will help us purchase a new camera. This is the upgrade we need. Any amount will do. We are so forever grateful.

We are looking to begin shooting “PPRESSED 2″ in May 2021. The pandemic should be over by that time. If not the summer of 2021

You can watch all of our featured movies by clicking our verified link https://streetlinevideo.com/

Please show your support by sharing and liking our videos.

Thank you,
Your friends at Street Line

Ricardo Cordero

Rapper on the Rise Vaygez Blakk

On February 10th, there was a shift in Hip Hop. The bar heavy project of Vaygez Blakk titled “Bar Queen” was released on all streaming platforms. Vaygez is a Harlem bred Female MC. The difference between Blakk and other female MCs of this era and some of the past is that, even though she is easy on the eyes, she doesn’t use or misuse her assets to get attention in the music game. She bodies a few stages “I personally witnessed “ she’s been cipher tested a few times once on shade 45’s Lord Sear Show amongst some other heavy spitters and not only did she hold her own but she shined like the diamond she is.

Her voice is distinct, not as heavy as Foxy Brown but not as light as Nicki Minaj but believe she has the versatility and skill to be mentioned with these two Female MCs known to spit heavy bars within this male dominated sport. Her project showcases her ability to rap. Bar Queen is constructed of ten songs with only one feature which is totally unheard of now of days where Artists have co signs and featured heavy projects to try and get other artists’ fan base to ride the wave. However Vaygez opted to keep the ball in a Mamba Mentality. She didn’t disappoint, this project was equal to Kobe rookie season where he exceeded expectations but you knew there was more untapped potential.

Vaygez Blakk starts off with Say Dat which sets the tone for the entire project. As the project moves forward you can begin to get lost in her wordplay and that slick Harlem talk all Harlemites are known for. There is truthfully not one “wack” song on Bar Queen and I’m sure as you take a listen in your AirPods or you blast it from your vehicle’s speakers you’ll find a favorite or two.

As I zoned out twice to the entire album, once from start to finish and secondly on shuffle as i do to get a real feel for the work. I found myself replaying Chikko, In The Zone and Everything. If there is one caveat of the project it is more leaning towards my personal preference of wanting to hear her put together a few more concept guided songs, however I’m sure she has those in her bag. I recommend this project, so do yourself a favor and stream or download BAR QUEEN from VAYGEZ BLAKK, you won’t be disappointed.

Note: this write up was not paid for or bartered for a favorable review.Sky’S View by David “D HOP” Hopper

Tina Turner

Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock, November 25, 1939) is an American-Swiss singer and actress. Originally from the United States, she became a Swiss citizen in 2013. Turner rose to prominence as a duo with her then-husband Ike Turner before reinventing herself as a solo performer. One of the best-selling recording artists of all time, she has been referred to as The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll and has sold more than 200 million records worldwide. Turner is noted for her energetic stage presence, powerful vocals, career longevity, and trademark legs.

She began her career in 1958 as a featured singer with Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm, recording under the name “Little Ann” on “Boxtop.” Her introduction to the public as Tina Turner began in 1960 as a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue with the hit single “A Fool In Love.” Success followed with a string of notable hits, including “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” (1961), “River Deep – Mountain High” (1966), the Grammy-winning “Proud Mary” (1971), and “Nutbush City Limits” (1973). In her autobiography, I, Tina: My Life Story (1986), Turner revealed that she had subjected to domestic violence prior to their 1976 split and subsequent 1978 divorce. Raised a Baptist, she became an adherent of Nichiren Buddhism in 1973, crediting the spiritual chant of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo with helping her to endure during difficult times. After her separation from Ike Turner, she rebuilt her career through live performances.

In the 1980s, Turner launched a major comeback as a solo artist. The 1983 single “Let’s Stay Together” was followed by the 1984 release of her fifth solo album, Private Dancer, which became a worldwide success. The album contained the song “What’s Love Got to Do with It”; becoming Turner’s biggest hit and winning four Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year.[6] Turner’s solo success continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s with multi-platinum albums and hit singles. In 1993, What’s Love Got to Do with It, a biographical film adapted from Turner’s autobiography, was released along with an accompanying soundtrack album. In 2008, Turner returned from semi-retirement to embark on her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour; the tour became one of the highest-selling ticketed shows of all time. Turner has also garnered success acting in films such as the 1975 rock musical Tommy, the 1985 action film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and the 1993 film Last Action Hero.

Turner has won 12 Grammy Awards; those awards include eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Rolling Stone ranked Turner 63rd on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time and 17th on its list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. Turner has her own stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Ike Turner in 1991. Turner is a 2005 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.

Born Anna Mae Bullock, near Brownsville, TN, she began singing as a teen and joined Ike Turner’s touring show as an 18-year-old backup vocalist. Just two years later, she was the star of the show, the attention-grabbing focal point for an incredibly smooth-running soul revue headed by Ike and his Kings of Rhythm. The couple began hitting the charts in 1960 with “A Fool in Love,” and notched charting singles throughout the 1960s such as “River Deep-Mountain High” and in 1971 with “Proud Mary.”

Frustrated by Ike’s increasingly irrational behavior, though, Tina walked out just three years later. Turner converted to Buddhism in 1974 to help her conquer her troubling marriage to Ike Turner. Turner has credited Buddhism with giving her the courage to leave Ike and to find peace. Since then she has been acknowledged as one of the world’s most popular entertainers, biggest-selling music artists of all time, and the most successful female rock artist ever. She had record sales of nearly 200 million copies worldwide and sold more concert tickets than any other solo performer in music’s history.

After leaving Ike Turner in 1976, and divorcing him in 1978, Turner didn’t get into a serious relationship again until she met a German record executive named Erwin Bach while at Heathrow Airport in London in 1985. After a year, they started dating and have been living together ever since. Bach is 17 years younger than Turner.

Turner’s world tour Break Every Rule Tour had record- breaking ticket sales and was attended by over 4 million fans. Turner also beat out The Rolling Stones by touring Europe during her sold out Foreign Affair Tour in 1990 and playing to 4 million people in just six months. Her 1996 Wildest Dreams Tour was performed to 3.5 million fans.

In 2000, she launched her Twenty Four Seven Tour that packed stadiums all over the world. It was the highest grossing tour of the year, and is the 5th biggest grossing tour in America ever. Her success and contributions to the rock music genre have garnered her title, “The Queen of Rock & Roll.”

She is known for her overpowering and energetic stage presence, powerful vocals, ground-breaking concerts. She was listed on Rolling Stone’s list, “The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time.” Turner is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and she is also represented in the Grammy Hall of Fame by two of her recordings: “River Deep – Mountain High” (1999) and “Proud Mary” (2003).

Turner has won eight Grammy Awards. In February 2008, at age 68, Turner performed together with Beyoncé at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. In addition, she picked up a Grammy as a featured artist on River: The Joni Letters. On April 29, 2008, Turner announced that she would embark on her Tina: Live in Concert Tour on October 1 in Kansas City, MO, at the Sprint Center. Turner is the mother of two sons and adopted Ike Turner’s two children from other relationships.

Turner has lived in Europe since the mid-1980s, having moved to London in 1986 before settling in Switzerland later that decade. In 1996, she began building a villa outside Nice, France, which was completed by 2000. Turner now divides her time between Switzerland, England, and France and has recently applied for full Swiss citizenship.

Turner revealed in her 2018 memoir Tina Turner: My Love Story that she had suffered life-threatening illnesses. In 2013, three weeks after her wedding to Erwin Bach, she suffered a stroke and had to learn to walk again. In 2016, she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. Turner opted for homeopathic remedies to treat her high blood pressure that resulted in damage to her kidneys and eventual kidney failure. Her chances of receiving a kidney were low, and she was urged to start dialysis. She considered assisted suicide and signed up to be a member of Exit, but Bach offered to donate a kidney for her transplant. Turner had kidney transplant surgery on April 7, 2017.

Lorraine Hansberry

On this day, in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York City with Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil in the lead roles. The play ran for 530 performances, becoming the longest running Broadway play written by an African-American. This was also the first Broadway drama written and directed by an African-American woman. In 1961 ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ was made into a movie, again starring Sidney Poitier as the chauffeur Walter Younger. Hansberry’s landmark career was cut short when she died of cancer in 1965 at the age of 34.

Written by Dianne Washington

Wanda Sykes

Wanda Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on The Chris Rock Show, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America. She is also known for her role as Barb Baran on CBS’ The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–10) and for appearances on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm (2001–11).

Aside from her television appearances, Sykes has also had a career in film, appearing in Monster-in-Law (2005), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), Evan Almighty (2007) and License to Wed (2007), as well as voicing characters in the animated films Over the Hedge (2006), Barnyard (2006), Brother Bear 2 (2006), Rio (2011), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and Ice Age: Collision Course (2016).

Sykes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and raised in the Washington, D.C., area. Her mother, Marion Louise (née Peoples), worked as a banker, and her father, Harry Ellsworth Sykes, was a US Army colonel employed at the Pentagon. Sykes attended Arundel High School in Gambrills, Maryland, and went on to graduate from Hampton University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. After college, her first job was as a contracting specialist at the National Security Agency (NSA), where she worked for five years.

Sykes’ family history was researched for an episode of the 2012 PBS genealogy program Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr. Her ancestry was traced back to a 1683 court case involving her paternal ninth great-grandmother Elizabeth Banks, a free white woman and indentured servant, who gave birth to a biracial child, Mary Banks, fathered by a slave, who inherited her mother’s free status. According to historian Ira Berlin, a specialist in the history of American slavery, the Sykes family history is “the only such case that I know of in which it is possible to trace a black family rooted in freedom from the late 17th century to the present.

Not completely satisfied with her role with the NSA, Sykes began her stand-up career at a Coors Light Super Talent Showcase in Washington, DC, where she performed for the first time in front of a live audience in 1987.

She continued to hone her talents at local venues while at the NSA until 1992, when she moved to New York City. One of her early tv appearances was Russell Simmons original Def Comedy Jam in the early 90s, where she shared the stage with Adele Givens, JB Smoove, DL Hughley, Bernie Mac, & Bill Bellamy. Working for the Hal Leonard publishing house, she edited a book entitled Polyrhythms – The Musician’s Guide, by Peter Magadini. Her first big break came when opening for Chris Rock at Caroline’s Comedy Club.

In 1997, she joined the writing team on The Chris Rock Show and also made many appearances on the show. The writing team was nominated for four Emmys, and in 1999, won for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special.

Since that time, she has appeared in such films as Pootie Tang and on TV shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm. In 2003, she starred in her own short-lived Fox network sitcom, Wanda at Large. The same year, Sykes appeared in an hour-long Comedy Central special, Tongue Untied. That network also ranked her No. 70 on its list of the 100 greatest all-time stand ups. She served as a correspondent for HBO’s Inside the NFL, hosted Comedy Central’s popular show Premium Blend, and voiced a recurring character named Gladys on Comedy Central’s puppet show Crank Yankers. She also had a short-lived show on Comedy Central called Wanda Does It.

In addition to her film and television work, she is also an author. She wrote Yeah, I Said It, a book of humorous observations on various topics, published in September 2004.

In 2006, she landed a recurring role as Barb, opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus, on the sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine; she became a series regular during the series’ third season in 2008. She also guest starred in the Will & Grace episode “Buy, Buy Baby” in 2006. She provided voices for the 2006 films Over the Hedge, Barnyard, and Brother Bear 2. She had a part in My Super Ex-Girlfriend and after playing in Evan Almighty, had a bit part in License to Wed. Sykes’ first HBO Comedy Special, entitled Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired, premiered on October 14, 2006; it was nominated for a 2007 Emmy Award. In 2008, she performed as part of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Tour for LGBT rights.

In October 2008, Wanda Sykes appeared in a television ad for the Think Before You Speak Campaign, an advertising campaign by GLSEN aimed at curbing homophobic slang in youth communities. In the 30-second spot, she uses humor to scold a teenager for saying “that’s so gay” when he really means “that is so bad”.

In March 2009, it was announced that Sykes would be the host of a new late-night talk show on Saturdays on Fox, The Wanda Sykes Show which was scheduled to premiere November 7, 2009. In April 2009, she was named in Out magazine’s “Annual Power 50 List”, landing at number 35.

In May 2009, Sykes was the featured entertainer for the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, becoming both the first African American woman and the first openly LGBT person to get the role. Cedric the Entertainer had been the first African American to become the featured entertainer in 2005. At this event, Sykes made controversial headlines as she responded to conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s comments regarding President Barack Obama. Limbaugh, in reference to Obama’s presidential agenda, had said “I hope he fails”. In response, Sykes quipped: “I hope his [Limbaugh’s] kidneys fail, how ’bout that? Needs a little waterboarding, that’s what he needs.”

Her second comedy special, Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me premiered on HBO in October 2009. November 2009 saw the premier of The Wanda Sykes Show, which starts with a monologue and continues with a panel discussion in a similar format to Bill Maher’s shows Real Time with Bill Maher and Politically Incorrect.

She appeared as Miss Hannigan in a professional theatre production of Annie at The Media Theatre in Media, PA, a suburb 25 minutes southwest of Philadelphia. Her first appearance in a musical, she played the role from November 23 – December 12, 2010, and again from January 12–23, 2011. She voices the Witch in the Bubble Guppies episode “Bubble Puppy’s Fin-tastic Fairlytale Adventure”.

In 2012, Sykes role the voice of Granny in Ice Age: Continental Drift, and In 2016, she was returned voice of Granny in Ice Age: Collision Course from the Blue Sky Studios’ “Ice Age movies”.

In May 2013, Sykes was a featured entertainer at Olivia Travel’s 40th anniversary Music & Comedy Festival in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

In 2013, Sykes appeared in eight episodes of Amazon’s Alpha House, a political comedy series written by Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau. Sykes plays Rosalyn DuPeche, a Democratic Senator from Illinois and the next door neighbor of four Republican senators living together in a house on Capitol Hill. Sykes also appeared in Season Two, which became available in October 2014. The series was canceled after the second season.

Sykes was married to record producer Dave Hall from 1991 to 1998. In November 2008, she publicly came out as a lesbian while at a same-sex marriage rally in Las Vegas regarding Proposition 8. A month earlier, Sykes had married her partner Alex Niedbalski, a French woman, whom she had met in 2006. The couple also became parents on April 27, 2009, when Alex gave birth to a pair of fraternal twins, daughter Olivia Lou and son Lucas Claude.

Sykes only came out to her conservative mother Marion and father Harry when she was 40, who both initially had difficulty accepting her homosexuality. They declined to attend her wedding with Alex, which led to a brief period of estrangement; they have since reconciled with Sykes and are now proud grandparents to the couple’s children.

During a September 19, 2011, appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Sykes announced that she had been diagnosed earlier in the year with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Although DCIS is a non-invasive “stage zero breast cancer”, Sykes had elected to have a bilateral mastectomy in order to lower her chances of getting breast cancer.

Sykes splits time living in both Los Angeles and Media, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.

Sykes publicly expressed being devastated when California voters passed state Proposition 8. She said: “with the legislation that they passed, I can’t sit by and just watch. I just can’t do it.” She has continued to be active in same-sex marriage issues hosting events and emceeing fundraisers. She has also worked with PETA on promoting dog anti-chaining legislation in her home state.

She has been an outspoken supporter of Detroit’s Ruth Ellis Center after the organization’s staff sent Sykes a letter asking her to visit during her 2010 tour’s stop in Detroit.

Written by Dianne Washington

Erykah Badu

Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), better known by her stage name Erykah Badu is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, record producer, activist and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre. She is known as the “First Lady of Neo-Soul” or the “Queen of Neo-Soul”.

Early in her career, Badu was recognizable for wearing very large and colorful headwraps. For her musical sensibilities, she has often been compared to jazz great Billie Holiday. She was a core member of the Soulquarians, and is also an actress having appeared in a number of films playing a range of supporting roles in movies such as Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules and House of D. She also speaks at length in the documentaries Before the Music Dies and “The Black Power Mixtapes”

Erykah Badu was born Erica Abi Wright in Dallas, Texas on February 26, 1971. Her mother raised her, her brother (Jabbada), and her sister (Nayrok) alone after their father, William Wright Jr., deserted the family early in their lives. To provide for her family, the children’s grandmother often helped looking after them while Erykah’s mother, Kolleen Maria Gipson (Wright), performed as an actress in theatrical productions. Influenced by her mother, Erykah had her first taste of show business at the age of 4, singing and dancing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre. Erykah Badu was the owner of Focal point in Dallas, Texas.

By the age of 14, Erykah was free-styling for a local radio station alongside such talent as Roy Hargrove. In her early youth, she decided to change the spelling of her name from Erica to Erykah, as she firmly believed her original name to be her slave name. The term ‘kah’ signifies the inner self. Badu is her favorite jazz scat sound and is also an African name for the 10th born child used for the Akan people in Ghana.

Upon graduating from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Badu went on to study theater at the historically black college Grambling State University. Concentrating on music full-time, she left the university in 1993 before graduating and took on several minimum wage jobs to support herself. She taught drama and dance to children at the South Dallas Cultural Center. Working and touring with her cousin, Robert “Free” Bradford, she recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg, who set Badu up to record a duet with D’Angelo, “Your Precious Love,” and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal Imperial Records.

After 10 years as a vegetarian, Badu became a vegan in 2006: “Vegan food is soul food in its truest form. Soul food means to feed the soul. And to me, your soul is your intent. If your intent is pure, you are pure.” Badu splits her time between Dallas, Texas and Fort Greene, New York.

In 1995, Badu became involved with rapper André 3000 of OutKast, with whom she had her first child, a son named Seven Sirius Benjamin, on November 18, 1997. Their relationship ended sometime in 1999. Their relationship inspired André 3000 to write the song “Ms. Jackson”.

In 2000, Badu was in a romantic relationship with fellow Soulquarian Common; their relationship ended in 2002. On July 5, 2004, Badu gave birth to a daughter, Puma Sabti Curry; Puma’s father is West Coast rapper The D.O.C., originally from Dallas. On February 1, 2009, Badu gave birth to her third child, a girl named Mars Merkaba Thedford, with her boyfriend of five years, rapper Jay Electronica.

Written by Dianne Washington