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Salt-N-Pepa Talk Their New Biopic, How They Came Up With Their Stage Name and Advice for Up-and-Coming Artists
On Saturday, Lifetime will debut its latest original biopic about one of hip-hop’s most iconic duos—Salt-N-Pepa. Directed by Mario Van Peebles, Salt-N-Pepa tells the story of Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandra “Pepa” Denton, and Deidra DJ Spinderella” Roper as they push their way to the top of the charts, cementing themselves as one of the most…
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Dave Chappelle Tests Positive for COVID-19
Comedian Dave Chappelle has tested positive for COVID-19, The Root has learned. A rep for Chapelle confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday night, saying the Chappelle Show comic was now quarantining himself but hasn’t shown any symptoms of the virus. Chappelle had been performing in Austin, Texas this week, with shows starting…
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Megan Thee Stallion Corrects Fake News Story, Says Charges Against Tory Lanez Have Not Been Dropped
Despite what may be trending on Twitter right now, the charges against Daystar Peterson (aka Tory Lanez) as it relates to the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion have, in fact, not been dropped. Complex reports that a tweet appearing to show a screenshot of Los Angeles County court documents was put up by a blog,…
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Bridgerton, Sundance and Strange Fruit: Virtual Events to Help Wrap Up Your January
We made it, y’all! We’ve survived four crazy years of a Trump Presidency and now we can all go outside and bask in the glow that is the Biden administration. Actually—scratch that. We still can’t go outside (umm…hello, worldwide pandemic.) But we can still bask and we can still virtually attend some fun and informative…
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Celebrating America: Let’s Talk About the 2021 Inauguration Celebration, Shall We?
I know what the headline says, but we’re not actually gonna talk about the inauguration today—at least not the formalities of it. Why? Because by most accounts, it was a regular degular ceremony and went off without a hitch. I’m sorry—what was that? Oh, it wasn’t a regular degular ceremony? Because everyone was donning masks…
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Remember Me: Ledisi to Star in Upcoming Mahalia Jackson Biopic
Grammy-nominated artist Ledisi will once again be portraying legendary gospel great Mahalia Jackson, this time in an upcoming biopic, Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story. Deadline reports that the Pieces of Me artist, who first portrayed the gospel legend in 2014’s Selma, will star in the feature along with former Scandal star Columbus Short, who…
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Jazmine Sullivan, H.E.R. Set to Perform at 2021 Super Bowl LV
Grammy-nominated artists Jazmine Sullivan and H.E.R have been tapped to perform at this year’s Super Bowl LV in Tampa, Fla. Deadline reports that the “Pick Up Your Feelings” singer, alongside country singer Eric Church, will sing the National Anthem on Sunday, February 7 in Raymond James stadium. Additionally, H.E.R. will perform “America The Beautiful” right…
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How to Be an Antiracist Author Ibram X. Kendi Teams Up With Netflix to Create Three New Projects
Historian (and 2020 The Root 100 honoree) Dr. Ibram X. Kendi will partner with Netflix for a handful of antiracist-centered projects. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix, along with Roger Ross Williams (the first Black director to win an Oscar) and the iconic Mara Brock Akil, will adapt three of Kendi’s books, Stamped from the Beginning,…
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Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris to Be Escorted by Howard University’s Showtime Marching Band on Inauguration Day
It’s about to be a great day for the nation and a great day for HBCUs. According to a press release from Howard University, the illustrious HBCU’s marching band will participate in the 59th presidential inauguration parade, escorting fellow alum Kamala Harris as she makes her way to the Capitol. The Showtime Marching Band will…
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Love’s in Need of Equality: Stevie Wonder Calls on Biden-Harris to Form ‘Truth Commission’ to Address Racial Inequalities in Open Letter to MLK
On Monday, legendary artist Stevie Wonder posted a four-minute video message in an open letter to Dr. King. According to Variety, the video, which was posted to Wonder’s official Twitter account, shows the “Do I Do” singer speaking on the impact Dr. King had on his life all while airing out his grievances with the…
