Talented and Handsome, Robin Thicke

Robin Thicke was born in Los Angeles to Different Strokes’ Alan Thicke and vocalist Gloria Loring. Destined for greatness, Robin self-taught himself how to play the piano at the tender age of twelve. By the time he was sixteen, Thicke was writing and producing songs for the likes of Brian McKnight, Brandy, and Color Me Badd. What is more, Robin had written and produced songs for more than twenty platinum and gold albums including but not limited to Pink, Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, and Marc Anthony, just to name a few. Shortly thereafter, Robin Thicke was signed to Interscope records and quickly made his acquaintance with Andre Harrell who was former the Uptown Records CEO and mentor to many artists such as Sean “Diddy” Combs and Mary J. Blige. From there on, grew a creative working relationship between the two where Robin’s debut and critically acclaimed album, A Beautiful World was born and released under the alias, Thicke in 2003. 

Dwight Arrington Myers AKA Heavy D

Most of you know him as Heavy D, but to close friends and love ones, he was just simply known as Dwight Arrington Myers.  Born in Mandeville, Jamaica on May 24, 1967, Heavy D at a very young age, and his family relocated to Mount Vernon, New York.  Destined for greatness, Dwight became affiliated with rap music at its inception, and what is more, started making his own demonstration (demo) tapes in junior high school.  Subsequently, he formed a group by the name of The Boyz with fellow high school friends:  DJ Eddie F, Trouble T-Roy, and G-Wiz.  After fortunately reaching their demo tape to Def Jam Executive, Andre’ Harrell who was in the process of establishing Uptown Records, Heavy D and The Boyz were the first Uptown artists in 1986.  Commendably, in 1987 Heavy D and The Boyz released their debut album entitled, Living Large.  Singles Mr. Big Stuff and The Overweight Lover’s in the House are the two hits that really established Heavy D as a rap icon in the eyes of rap fans.  His image was definitely a massive one and on the map now.

Business to Family, Winfrey and Pinkett-Smith Emphasizes a Vision and a Plan

Oprah Winfrey is an Entertainment Executive. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Harpo (Oprah’s name spelled backwards) Productions, Incorporated. According to the article, Academy of Achievement: Oprah Winfrey (2010), at the tender age of 17, Oprah was offered an on-air job at WVOL in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1976, she became a co-anchor on Baltimore, Maryland’s WJZ-TV News. While in Baltimore, Oprah co-hosted a talk show, People Are Talking, in addition to her being an anchor. 

This show was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show, which expedited to being the number one nationally syndicated talk show. Climbing the entertainment broadcasting ladder, Oprah Winfrey received numerous of awards for The Oprah Winfrey Show in its first year, specifically, the Broadcaster of the Year award. Winfrey was the youngest person to be granted this award. Not only did Oprah dominate the broadcasting side of entertainment, she also made a name for herself in film. Oprah became a Golden Globe and Oscar Award nominee for portraying the role as Sophia in the 1985 movie, The Color Purple. If this was not enough, Ms. Winfrey demanded her place as a businesswoman and entrepreneur in 1986 by founding her own production company, Harpo 

Productions, Incorporated. Time Magazine also named Oprah as one of the “100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century” in 2004. With that being said, Oprah has been measured as the highest-paid television performer, America’s self-made richest woman, the 20^th century’s richest African American, and “the most powerful woman in the world” (Forbes, 2004-2011).

Keith Sweat Formerly Known As John Crier

Near the infamous Apollo Theater, Keith Sweat was born in Harlem, New York on July 22, 1961 to Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Juanita Crier as John Crier.  Working as Macy’s clerk while pursuing his Communications degree from City College of New York, Sweat was on his way to stardom.  Although Keith worked in the New York Stock Exchange after earning his degree in 1983, he continued his venture in the world of entertainment as well.

The Late Miss Vesta Williams

The music world suffered a great loss on Thursday, September 22, 2011, when news spread that Rhythm & Blues singer, songwriter, and actress, Vesta Williams passed away.  Vesta, best known for her powerful voice and 1980’s hit song, Congratulations, was found dead in her California hotel room.  Sources from law enforcement told TMZ that multiple bottles of prescription pills were found in Vesta’s hotel room and that some were even empty.  Williams’ death is being called a suicide or an accidental death.  Although several rumors circulated that Vesta was 48 years of age and some, 53, reports have confirmed that she was only 48 years old.  Toxicology reports could take up to six weeks to disclose results; therefore, the coroner will not be sure if Vesta’s unexpected death was drug related or not until that time.  One of Vesta’s closest friends, Jackee Harry, tweeted her condolences in regards to Williams’ sudden death.  “…just received truly devastating news: R&B great, and my friend of many yrs, Vesta Williams (@vest4u), has passed away. #RIPVesta.”

Music & Film Industry Mogul, Eric ‘Jamie Foxx’ Bishop

Biography

Jamie Foxx is often described as a triple threat for his versatility as an actor, musician and comedian. Born Eric Bishop, Foxx was raised by his grandparents in Terrell, Texas.  He had a special connection with his grandmother Esther Tally, who he affectionately called, “Granny.”  It was his “Granny” who recognized his gift to perform and introduced him to the piano. By fifteen, he was serving as musical director and choir leader at Terrell’s New Hope Baptist Church. Not only was he a gifted musician, but also a star athlete at Terrell High school setting records in football and track. It was music that took this well-rounded young man to California when he received a classical piano scholarship to U.S. International University in San Diego.

TNT Network Puts a ThoRN in the Series, HawthoRNe

Synopsis
Jada Pinkett Smith plays Christina Hawthorne who is a compassionate and headstrong Chief Nursing Officer heading up a group of dedicated nurses at Richmond Trinity Hospital and eventually becomes the Chief Operating Officer (COO).  If you or someone you love is sick and is in the hospital, Christina is the type of nurse that you want on your side because she fights for her patients and refuses to let them get lost in the shuffle.

Entertainment Attorney, Kamel L. King

Entertainment Attorney, Kamel King is a native of Jackson, MS, is licensed to practice in Mississippi, and works at Frascogna Courtney, PLLC’s Jackson, MS office.  After receiving a full academic scholarship, he attended American University in Washington, DC and Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS.  Mr. King graduated from Tougaloo College with honors receiving his bachelor’s degree in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations.  Kamel decided to further his education when he was accepted to Mississippi College School of Law (MSCOL) where he was President of the MSCOL Entertainment and Sports Law Club for two years.  Kamel not only focused on his education, he also managed quite a few regional artists and music producers’ careers.  He did this while he studied a variety of intellectual property courses like that of copyrights, unfair competition, consumer law, trademarks, and patent law.  Upon graduating from MCSOL in the spring of 2006, Kamel King successfully passed the Mississippi Bar and was admitted into the Mississippi State Bar several months later.

Intellectual Property: A Triple Threat

Threat #1

LimeWire went through some serious legal issues because of copyright infringement, according to the article, Translate “Peer-to-Peer” to “Fear-to-Peer”.  Recently LimeWire reached a settlement of $105 million after being found liable for copyright infringement.  LimeWire is a popular online file sharing service with almost 50 millions subscribers, as of 2009.  This music storehouse basically played a third party role in this litigation, but was a party, nonetheless.  The issue came about through LimeWire’s peer-to-peer network.  Whereas some of the content shared was done by public domain, according to the article, Translate “Peer-to-Peer” to “Fear-to-Peer”, LimeWire provided the software and services that allowed the exchange to occur.  This is mainly how the issue came about. 

She Has Gone ABOVE & BEYONCE’

Born September 4, 1981 in Houston, TX to a record manager father and costumer designer mother, Beyonce’ Giselle Knowles was destined to have a successful career in entertainment.  Although Beyonce’ initially pursued dance, her distinctive voice was noticed while singing in a church choir.  At the tender age of eleven, Beyonce’ was chosen to be a part of an all-girl group (six members) named Girl Time.  Girl 

Time competed on Star Search, but lost causing her father to quit his job and manage the group full time.  In hopes of encouraging his daughter not to give up on her dreams, Mr. Matthew Knowles turned the six-member group into a quartet and renamed them Destiny’s Child.  After having many No.1 hit singles and albums over the years, the group officially disbanded in 2005. Although Destiny’s Child had reached its destiny, the best was yet to come for Ms. Beyonce’ Knowles.  Upon Destiny’s Child disbandment, Beyonce’s career was just taking off to a place that was ABOVE and BEYOND that of the typical solo artist.

And The 2011 B.E.T. OMG Award Goes To…Ms. Kelly Rowland

The much anticipated 11^th annual BET Awards aired at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, June 26, 2011 and was hosted by the hysterical and crazy comedian, Kevin Hart.  This year’s awards show was centered around who would Rock The Mic.  Everyone’s pre-show vote was Chris Brown and as expected, he did rock the mic with a killer performance.  However, viewers were not quite ready for what was yet to hit the stage.

Bringing More Recognition to Mississippi, It’s Michael Robinson

Back Story

Michael Robinson, affectionately referred to as Mike Rob is a native of Jackson, MS.  He is also the 10-year manager of Jackson’s very own recording group, Compozitionz.  Mike Rob became affiliated with the entertainment industry in 1989 when Derrick Martin (D’Mar) welcomed him into the band Full Circle, later renamed Infiniti.  Infiniti had the opportunity to record a demo and tour for six weeks with Jackson’s very own Dorothy Moore.  Determined to gain exposure, Infiniti traveled on this tour with absolutely no air conditioning.  However, this did not deter the group from this great experience.  Mike stated that although they returned home from the tour with less money than they left with, the exposure was priceless.  The group continued to perform at all types of local events for a while, but after not having much luck with being signed to a record label, the group eventually went their separate ways.  Not fully believing his own talents, Mike took a hiatus for a while.  However, in 2000 opportunity came knocking at his door. 

HELLO-ERR!! It's Tyler Perry Studi-ERRS (TPS)

Tyler Perry Studios (TPS) is an American film production studio founded by an American actor, director, playwright, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter, Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry, Jr.) in Atlanta, GA.  “The entire facility is 60 acres…30 of them are in development and the other 30 are a part of our future development”, stated Mr. Perry.  Tyler Perry started his studios from a vision lead by divine intervention.  He expressed that early on he went to the facility and turned away because he felt that it was too big.  However, that same night, Mr. Perry had a bout with insomnia and got back up and went back to the facility.  He spoke to this divine intervention saying, “…if this is meant for me, give me a sign and make it plain.”  As Tyler looked at the gate surrounding the premises, he began to see Bible scriptures and he knew at that moment that this was meant for him.  From then on, Tyler Perry Studios was born and Perry stated that he never looked back since then.  According to an interview Tyler had with Mo’Nique on The Mo’Nique Show, he chose Atlanta, GA as oppose to Hollywood because Atlanta is like home for him, individuals are honest, and these characteristics are important to him.

Historical Malaco Records, May Be History?

Malaco Records is an independent record label that is not only established in Jackson, MS, but is also near and dear to the heart of Jackson, MS.  It was founded in 1962 by Tommy Couch, Mitchell Malouf, and Wolf Stephenson and was originally a booking agency.  However, Malaco welcomed a recording studio in its facility in 1967.  Jackson, MS is proud to have such a historical establishment on its grounds.

TED.com Talk – Robert Gupta: Music is Medicine, Music is Sanity

Robert Gupta is a violinist with the LA Philharmonic and is also a 2010 TED Fellow.  According to TED.com, Gupta received his master’s in music from Yale University and was afforded the grand opportunity to obtain the extraordinaire, Nathaniel Ayers, schizophrenic musician featured in The Soloist, as his violin instructor.  In this TED talk, Robert inspires his audience through speaking about how music has such an influence; how music is medicine, sanity, and changes people.  He does this through elaborating on Nathaniel Ayers’ life, how Nathaniel influenced the life of Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times columnist and his own personal experiences with Nathaniel Ayers.

National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)

According to www.ncta.com, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association formerly entitled the National Cable Television Association is the largest principal trade association of the cable industry in the United States. Its current President and Chief Executive Officer is Kyle McSlarrow.  NCTA with a Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code of 8611 was established in 1952 and is based in Washington, DC.  Its mission is to provide its members with a strong national presence by providing a single, unified voice on issues affecting the cable and telecommunications industry.  NCTA represents cable operators that serve 90-plus percent of the nation’s cable television homes and 200-plus cable program networks. The association also serves equipment suppliers and other services in the cable industry.  Now what is more interesting is that NCTA brings in $10 million - $49.9 million annually in sales.

A Male Dominated Industry: Women’s Fruition In Entertainment

In general dialogue, why is humanity referred to as man?  There is also WOman.  Furthermore, why are women objectified when it comes to entertainment, and portrayed as beings that are meant to be seen and not heard?  James Brown sang it best!  “This is a man’s world, but it wouldn’t be nothing, without a woman or a girl.”  Entertainment is a multi-million dollar industry that has been known to be a male dominated industry.  The likes of Aaron Spelling, Michael Jackson, Kelsey Grammer, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, and Bill Cosby, just to name a few, have dominated the many different aspects of the entertainment industry.  According to the article, Women, Sexism, & Hollywood: A Look At The Numbers, “Women don’t feel marginalized, but the fact remains, the most powerful positions on most shows are usually occupied by men.”  In my opinion, this is quite unfortunate.  However, over the decades, women have managed to break through the doors of male domination with dynamic creative strength demanding a place in the entertainment industry.  During this post, you will learn about the fruition of prosperous women such as Oprah Winfrey, Sylvia Rhone, and Mara Brock Akil.  Additionally, the thoughts of such women, especially that of the African American descent, express that acts of sexism, racism, and lack of creative freedom are some of the obstacles that women unfortunately face in the entertainment industry.

Oldies, But Goodies: The Evolution of Music

From the likes of The Temptations to Boyz II Men, The Manhattans to Jocedi, The Supremes to SWV, Labelle to TLC, The O’Jays to H-Town, The Marvelettes to Xscape, The Jackson 5 to Men At Large, and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas to En Vogue, they all illustrate the parents and offspring of music.  Over the decades, music has definitely evolved.  When I turn on the radio, very rarely do I hear the infamous and harmonious sounds and styles of such groups.  The mainstream rotation is flooded with the likes of Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Lil Boosie, Waka Flocka, and Drake, just to name a few.  Even the brand of rap music has changed, and in my opinion, not for the better.  I will admit that I sometimes enjoy listening to rap music from the 80’s and 90’s as oppose to the rap music of today.  However, this is my opinion and preference.  What is your opinion and preference?  I have to listen to a bunch of nonsense on the radio before I can hear something worth enjoying.  What has happened?  Old school music was not solely about making money, but it also truly meant something in the process.  However, now it seems that any and every thing is put to a beat, and money is all that matters.  This is the reason why I do not listen to the radio as much, not the regular stations anyways. 

Does The Music You Listen To Define Who You Are? Are You Stereotyped Based On Your Preference?

Often times, we as people feed into the stereotypes.  For example, you are a thug if you enjoy rap music or promiscuous if you enjoy sexually explicit music or even religious if you enjoy gospel music.  However, the situation could be the complete opposite.  For instance, there are some corporate professionals who may love rap, but how would you know they enjoy such unless they shared that information with you or you have heard them listening to such?  The outside world may stereotype these professionals as individuals who listen to classical music or something of the conservative genre.  Does it mean that those who do not prefer conservative music are less of a professional?  The same goes for a person who is always listening to gospel music.  This person is stereotyped as being a religious or a “good” person.  However, what if you ran into this person at a Luther Vandross concert or Betty Wright concert, or even a P.Diddy concert?  Does this mean that they are any less of a “good” person?

Does What You Post On Social Networks Matter?

Please be careful about what you post online.  After all, it is the WORLD WIDE WEB!  People fail to realize what 'www' means.  I have seen so many news stories on the Today's Show about how many employers do not hire candidates due to their facebook or twitter pages.  I have even seen stories of people going to jail for things they have stated or posted on social networks. I have also seen so many stories about youth committing suicide from being bullied because they trusted posting photos "in privacy" via inboxes, but somehow they were released.  My mother always told me, "Never post or write something you do not want to be read or seen, because as long as it is in writing or put on public sites such as emails, social sites, etc., it can be and most likely WILL be read or seen."
I take this advice to heart, and with my aspiring to be in the entertainment industry, this advice should be at the top of my list of priorities to abide by.  However, you do not have to be venturing through the world of entertainment to monitor what you post.  You should do this whether you are in grade school, college, your career, and in every day life.  Have fun, yes, but be tasteful.