Hovi Baby takes his talents to HBO Jay Z’s Appears On Real Time With Bill Maher Prior to premiering the video for “Picasso Baby,” JAY Z appeared on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher to discuss a bevy of topics ranging from music, the mogul’s disagreement with Harry Belafonte, and politics. The Brooklyn-bred lyricist candidly expressed his opinions on things like police presence in inner city Black communities political pundits. Read more at: Hip Hop Wired
Everyone dreams of living without consequences like these famously-teflon celebs who all have the cheat code to do whatever they want without tarnishing their brand, facing widespread backlash or losing fans. No matter how much you try to HATE them, you can’t, because they’re God’s faves . Here are ten beloved celebs who can do NO WRONG (no matter WHAT they do). Take a look. Continue reading →
Wealth-flaunting zillionaire Jay-Z recently sparked widespread debate when he said his mere presence is charity in response to Civil Rights icon Harry Belafonte’s challenge to be more socially-responsible/charitable. It’s true that celebs don’t owe us anything but what makes Hov (who destroyed a $400K Maybach in a video) believe he’s above doing more for the poor? Here are the ten most charitable celebs in the world. Take a look. Continue reading →
Veteran actor Harry Belafonte has always been an activist, most notably marching with Martin Luther King Jr. and putting a celebrity face on the civil…
Actor Harry Belafonte Criticizes President Obama And African-American Celebrities For Lack Of Social Responsiblity Iconic actor Harry Belafonte is speaking out on what he feels is a lack of social and political activism among the “elite” members of the African-American community including Jay-Z, Beyonce and even the President himself. “The power in many societies has become almost absolute,” Belafonte told the Tinseltown industry outlet. “What we did during the Bush period, what we still continue to do, even with Barack Obama, is the continuency of not changing the paradigm, of not changing the view. We still have laws that encourage torture, we did not change Guantanamo, we have laws that allow the police to arrest you at any time, not having to tell you why, and take you wherever they want. This kind of capitalism is taking us to the doorstep of [a] Fourth Reich, I think.” Belafonte, along with entertainers such as Sidney Poitier and Josephine Baker, are part of an older guard of African-Americans in the public eye for whom it was as important to be politically active as it was to be wealthy and watched. Belafonte’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement are numerous — including financially assisting Dr. Martin Luther King, who considered Belafonte to be a close confidante. He is dismayed that today’s African-American celebrities do not in his opinion reflect the same level of dedication. Belafonte even believes that at least one white star could teach black luminaries a thing or two about social awareness. “I think one of the great abuses of this modern time is that we should have had such high-profile artists, powerful celebrities. But they have turned their back on social responsibility,” he accused. “That goes for Jay-Z and Beyoncé, for example. Give me Bruce Springsteen, and now you’re talking. I really think he is black.” Jay-Z has been vocal in his support of President Obama’s support of marriage equality. Beyoncé has also publicly endorsed Frank Ocean’s revelation that his first love was a man. Aside from these instances, it is difficult to name cases in which high-profile black celebrities have spoken out on political issues. We can name few more black celebs that have spoken out publicly about social and political issues but, does Mr. Belafonte have a point? Or is there just a generational disconnect between methods used to generate social and political awareness now and then? Source
“Like It Is” Host, Award-Winning Journalist Gil Noble Passes Away This is another huge loss of yet another legend this week. Gil Noble, the longtime host of WABC-TV’s groundbreaking public affairs program “Like It Is,” on which he interviewed such notables as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Jesse Jackson, died Thursday at age 80. The television station announced the death of the Emmy Award-winning journalist, who had a debilitating stroke last summer, on its website. “Gil Noble’s life and work had a profound effect on our society and culture,” WABC-TV President and General Manager Dave Davis said. “His contributions are a part of history and will be remembered for years to come.” Noble, who was black, joined WABC-TV as a reporter in 1967 and anchored the station’s weekend newscasts the following year. Also in 1968, he became host of “Like It Is,” which focused on issues concerning African-Americans. He was equally as comfortable interviewing heads of state such as Mandela or Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe as he was interviewing entertainers such as Harry Belafonte and Bill Cosby or sports icons such as Ali or Arthur Ashe. Noble also created documentaries on luminaries such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Charlie Parker. U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, a friend, said Noble’s legacy “will continue as a trailblazer for African-Americans in journalism.” “For over forty years he was perhaps the nation’s most important black journalist, bringing the struggle for civil rights and black equality into the homes of millions of Americans,” Rangel said. Noble was the recipient of seven Emmy awards and received a lifetime achievement award from the National Association of Black Journalists. He also received five honorary doctorates and was cited with more than 650 awards from various community groups. He had a passion for jazz and was a member of the board of directors of The Jazz Foundation of America. He is survived by his wife, Jean, and five children. Funeral services haven’t yet been announced. Condolences to the Noble family. We are mourning his death along with so many others, as we continue to celebrate his legacy! R.I.P. Gil Source WENN More On Bossip! Happy 4th Anniversary BeyBey And Hubby Hov: A Stroll Down Memory Lane Of The Couple’s Most Romantic Moments [Photos] Celebrity Cribs: Lil Weezy Is Sellin’ His Louisiana Glass And Chrome Home For $1.7 Milli Rihanna’s Bangin’ Spread For Elle Magazine Is Out…Plus She Talks About Breezy And Kids New Music: Kanye West Featuring DJ Khaled And DJ Pharris “Theraflu” (Talks Amber Rose, Wiz Khalifa, And Being In LOVE With Kimmy Cakes!)
It takes at least two things to make a terrific documentary: A great subject and a light but deft touch. Susanne Rostock’s Sing Your Song , which traces the career of Harry Belafonte with a specific focus on the singer and actor’s social activism, certainly has the former — it’s the latter that’s lacking. But if nothing else, Sing Your Song works as a testament to Belafonte’s drive and dedication to causes well outside the usual goals of simply making money. If you don’t know much about Belafonte beyond the fact that he was that great-looking guy who had a hit in the ’50s with “The Banana Boat Song,” Rostock’s documentary is as good a place as any to start. Sing Your Song is simply conceived and constructed: Rostock (making her directing debut, though she’s been editing documentaries for years) uses on-camera interviews with Belafonte, as well as voice-over narration, to frame a selection of television and news clips and still photographs. The story doesn’t need much embellishment: Belafonte was born in Harlem in 1927, though he spent a portion of his childhood with his grandmother, in Jamaica. He served in the Navy during World War II, and afterward became involved, along with his friend Sidney Poitier, with the American Negro Theater. Belafonte also studied acting at the New School, along with Poitier, Marlon Brando, Walter Matthau and Bernie Schwartz (the last better known as Tony Curtis). He began singing in clubs in New York in the early 1950s. And when he saw Huddie Ledbetter on stage one evening, he was inspired to start researching folk music himself, not just purely American folk music, but that of other countries as well — his 1956 album Calypso was the first LP to sell more than 1 million copies. ( Sing Your Song includes a TV clip of ’50s talk-show host Steve Allen passing one framed gold record after another into Belafonte’s arms.) Belafonte appears to have become a social activist without even knowing it, inspiring outrage in an extremely segregated America without even trying. In Robert Rossen’s 1957 Island in the Sun, his character’s romance with a white woman (played by Joan Fontaine) spurred controversy, though it also boosted ticket sales. Racism was still a huge problem — perhaps even a bigger problem — in 1968, when Petula Clark, performing on television with Belafonte, dared to take his arm. The outcry from advertisers and the public was deafening. Sing Your Song suggests that all of these experiences helped shape Belafonte’s political sensibility, goading him into action instead of just accepting injustice. Rostock includes interviews with significant figures of the civil rights movement, among them Julian Bond, who explains how much it meant to see Belafonte on television in the 1950s: “You’d call your neighbor – ‘Colored on TV!’ It was so rare.” And Belafonte himself explains how he became drawn to the civil rights cause: Martin Luther King Jr. set up a meeting with him, assuring him it wouldn’t take long. Four hours later, Belafonte emerged, ready to do anything necessary to get the point across to the rest of the nation. Sing Your Song is most potent in dealing with Belafonte’s activism during the ’50s and ’60s, becoming murkier and more disorganized when Rostock heads into the Watergate era. It’s not that Belafonte’s work became less visible or less significant at that point, but Rostock presents those years as a blurry laundry list, whirring from Belafonte’s efforts to end hunger in Ethiopia to his anti-Apartheid activities to his involvement in the turmoil in Haiti in the mid-1990s. By the last third, Sing Your Song begins to feel more like a promotional film — promoting activism, if nothing else — than a well-rounded portrait. Still, it’s valuable for both the vintage footage Rostock has collected and for the observations provided by Belafonte, who is as charming, handsome and persuasive in his mid-80s as he ever was. When he speaks about his recent efforts to end gang violence in Los Angeles, he says, “I’m still looking to fix these things I thought we fixed 50 years ago.” Retirement, apparently, isn’t an option. Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
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