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Tracy Chapman Wins $450K Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Nicki Minaj
A years-long dispute is finally over—and it didn’t even have to go through the court trial process! According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tracy Chapman has accepted Nicki Minaj’s offer to pay $450,000 for illicitly using Chapman’s “Baby Can I Hold You” in the rapper’s song, “Sorry.” Chapman filed a copyright infringement claim against the 38-year-old…
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Sundance 2021: A List of Black Movies to Watch While You’re in the (Virtual) White Mountains
I’m salty. As The Root’s Staff entertainment writer, one of the most exciting aspects of my job is being able to travel to a lot of cool places. In fact, the Sundance Film Festival typically kicks off the year of traveling shenanigans within my beat. In 2020, I flew to Park City, Utah to cover…
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Police Academy Franchise and Broadway Star Marion Ramsey Dead at 73
Marion Ramsey, who co-starred in the 1980s Police Academy franchise, has died at the age of 73. As Variety reports, the actress died in her Los Angeles home on Thursday. Roger Paul of Roger Paul Inc. (the agency that managed Ramsey) confirmed the actress had recently fallen ill, but no official cause of death has…
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Verzuz Is Returning to Its Origins, Y’all—With Its Performers in Separate Locations
Many people have been hoping that 2021 will be a reset from the dumpster fire that was 2020 (turns out, it’s kicking off as its own special kind of dumpster fire). Normally, every new year is a time to hit the reset button, an opportunity to refresh. Well, it looks like Verzuz is about that…
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Shonda Rhimes Called Trump an 'Ignorant Bitch Baby': How Black Hollywood Responded to the D.C. Dumpster Fire
Wednesday happened. January 6, 2021, happened. That really happened, y’all. I wanted to make sure that I—The Root’s staff entertainment writer who routinely deals in fiction—noted that this thing that seems to only happen in the movies…happened in real life (because to be fair, we can’t forget the attempted Michigan governor kidnapping plot from a…
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![Oh When It All, It All Falls Down [Updated]](https://assets-server.theroot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/25172106/xdp4hey4log2pbephq0h-1024x574.jpg)
Oh When It All, It All Falls Down [Updated]
Jesus Is King and He saves…but will he save Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s marriage? Page Six shook the table (that had already been flipped over, to be honest) when it reported that sources are saying “divorce is imminent” for the famous couple and that Kim has reportedly retained celebrity divorce attorney Laura Wasser. “They…
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Dr. Dre 'Doing Great' After Brain Aneurysm—Meanwhile, 4 Suspects Arrested for Attempting to Burglarize His Home During Hospitalization
The hip-hop industry experienced quite the scare on Tuesday, but it looks like everyone can breathe a sigh of relief at the moment. Yesterday afternoon, TMZ first reported that Dr. Dre, born Andre Young, had been admitted to the ICU in Los Angeles after suffering a brain aneurysm. The 55-year-old rapper-producer-turned-mogul was rushed to Cedars-Sinai…
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The Undoing's Noma Dumezweni Will Be Part of the Live-Action World of The Little Mermaid—as Brand New Character
The live-action world of The Little Mermaid just got a little bit bigger. Noma Dumezweni (The Undoing) has been cast in the upcoming Disney flick, per Deadline. The Little Mermaid will star Halle Bailey as Ariel and yes, we’re anxiously awaiting first-look images of what we expect to be a head filled with luscious red…
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![Welp, the 2021 Grammys Have Been Postponed [Updated]](https://assets-server.theroot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/25172145/hbpvnbbvwlsqgtnpu0p8-1024x576.jpg)
Welp, the 2021 Grammys Have Been Postponed [Updated]
If you have “Jan. 31” marked on your calendar (as I do, since it’s like, my job), then scratch it off. A rep has confirmed to Variety that the 63rd Grammy Awards have been postponed to a later date. There’s not an updated date yet, but sources told Variety the ceremony may be moved to…
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The Bachelor Is Making Black History—but Folks Are Wondering if It'll Actually Include Black Love
It’s 2021, and we kicked off the first full week on Monday night by getting to know the first-ever Black Bachelor. Introducing Matt James, the leading man of the 25th season of The Bachelor—a season the New York Post has referred to as “the horniest season yet.” Other than the usual Bachelor hoopla from existing…
