Source: Shareif Ziyadat / Getty Dave Chappelle has spent decades as one of comedy’s top minds having conquered film, cable television, and the stage. For his talents, the Washington, D.C. region native will be awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor later this year. NPR reports : The stand-up comic, actor, producer and director joins a prestigious group of comedians to receive the award. Among them are Carol Burnett, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart and Richard Pryor — who won the very first Twain Prize in 1998. “Dave is one of the truly original voices in comedy — the definition of a creative artist,” Matthew Winer, director of comedy and special programming at the Kennedy Center, said to NPR. “He’s a modern day sociologist, skewering stereotypes, defying boundaries and showing us that laughter can be a way to contextualize issues that we struggle to understand.” “Dave is the embodiment of Mark Twain’s observation that ‘against the assault of humor, nothing can stand,’ ” Deborah F. Rutter, president of the Kennedy Center, said in a prepared statement. “For three decades, Dave has challenged us to see hot-button issues from his entirely original yet relatable perspective.” Chappelle will return to Washington on Oct. 27 of this year in a ceremony at the Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts. The actual broadcast of the event will air in Jan. 2020. — Photo: Getty
Stokley Williams , Lead Singer of the “Baddest Band In The Land,” Stokely has set out on his own with a new album on the way. But what is the legacy of Mint Condition ? Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit Also, Stokely talks about the moment he knew their classic “Pretty Brown Eyes (Breaking My Heart)” was going to be the hit it became, the album cut “ Someone To Lov e ,” Prince and more! More Episodes Of Voices Voices: John Legend Talks New Single, “Preach” and Nipsey Hussle Voices: K-Ci From Jodeci Looks Back On The Making Of Classics “Forever My Lady” & “The Show, The After Party, The Hotel” Voices: Robin Thicke “That’s What Love Can Do”
Demand for more answers have grown after an April officer-involved shooting in Hugo, Oklahoma that left three children injured. Officers Billy Jenkins and Chad Allen were identified as the two offers who attempted to apprehend 21-year-old William Smith who was wanted in connection to an armed robbery of a Pizza Hut. Jenkins and Allen opened fire on a vehicle they believed Smith was in, striking three children who were sitting in the backseat. “What happened between the contact with him and when police fired, we’re still trying to put that together,” Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations spokeswoman Brook Arbeitman said . “The OSBI is still investigating whether he fired at police and whether he was armed.” Smith was arrested on a robbery warrant. “My 4-year-old daughter was shot in the head, and she has a bullet in her brain, and my 5-year-old has a skull fracture,” the children’s mother Olivia Hill told local affiliate KFOR . “My 1-year-old baby has gunshot wounds on her face. My 2-year-old wasn’t touched with any bullets.” Police say they began shooting after Smith attempted to run them over with his vehicle. However, this claim is being disputed as both officers were in plain clothes and that Smith could not identify them as police. It is also suggested by the community that the officers in question could have moved out of the way instead of opening fire on a vehicle, unaware if there were children inside. “If you don’t know if someone is law enforcement or not, it changes things,” family attorney Damaria Solomon-Simmons told The Free Thought Project . “I don’t know what happened, but that’s concerning to me.” The three children who were shot were all released from the hospital but will continue to deal with a lot of “emotional pain” per Simmons.
Source: Johnny Louis/WENN.com / WENN via NewsOne.com : For critics of hip-hop, Nipsey Hussle ’s recent murder was probably emblematic of how rappers are expected to die — young and Black. But while a handful of notable rappers have indeed had their lives cut short at an early age from senseless gun violence, many of the genre’s voices have gone on to grow older without being shot to death. But street life isn’t the only thing threatening the lives of rappers, as shown by hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow , who was reportedly set to undergo his second heart procedure. He joined a growing list of other aging rappers who have suffered from health issues. The 59-year-old’s wife released a statement on Monday saying her husband’s aortic artery repair procedure was not as successful as they previously thought and that Kurtis Blow required open heart surgery, HipHopDX reported . Text “RICKEY” to 71007 to join the Rickey Smiley Morning Show mobile club for exclusive news. ( Terms and conditions ). “Kurtis got a bad CT. The aorta has dissected and it looks like he needs to go back to surgery,” a statement from Kurtis Blow’s wife said. “He’s back in ICU and they’re discussing surgery immediately. Emergency open heart surgery.” It was just last week when Kurtis Blow announced in an Instagram post that he was scheduled to undergo a medical procedure on his heart in Los Angeles. He followed that up with a post saying that his surgery was “a tremendous success” before announcing Sunday that he had begun physical therapy yesterday and occupational therapy and was “ on my way to a full recovery 100%.” Hey everyone- I started physical therapy yesterday and occupational therapy today. I am on my way to recovery 100%. Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes. I love you all and I will be back really… https://t.co/L92VL7b56q — Kurtis Blow (@KurtisBlow1) May 5, 2019 It was unclear what changed in between then and Monday when his wife released her statement. In an Instagram post last week, he said he was “preparing for an aortic artery repair procedure.” It was supposed to “stabilize the artery from further damage caused by the hematoma I contacted from my recent travels to China,” he wrote on May 1. Hematoma has been defined by Merriam-Webster as “a mass of usually clotted blood that forms in a tissue, organ, or body space as a result of a broken blood vessel. Sign Up For Our Newsletter! Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit While rap music is a relatively young genre and typically associated with young people, Kurtis Blow’s grave condition was shining a light on the health issues that aging rappers were increasingly facing. The fact that most rappers, especially the pioneers, are Black and brown only exacerbates that reality since statistics show that African Americans are disproportionately affected by chronic health conditions. That was especially true when it comes to the heart. Rapper Craig Mack died last year at the age of 47 from congestive heart failure. Pioneering DJ Lovebug Starski also died last year following a heart attack. He was 57 years old. Hip-hop singer Nate Dogg died in 2011 after suffering a series of strokes in the years leading up to his death. He was 41. Cancer has also targeted rappers. Just last week it was reported that Bushwick Bill of the Geto Boys had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, a condition that has all but amounted to a death sentence for Black men in particular. He is 52 years old. GURU of Gang Starr died from cancer in 2010 at the age of 48 and Adam “MCA” Yauch from the Beastie Boys died from cancer in 2012. Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest died from complications from diabetes at the age of 47. Obviously, these ailments don’t only affect rappers, as shown last week’s death of filmmaker John Singleton at the age of 51 following complications from a stroke he had recently suffered. But, like with everybody else, as rappers get older, these health concerns will likely become more pronounced in their lives. ALSO TRENDING ON RICKEYSMILEYMORNINGSHOW.COM : RHOA Star Eva Marcille Is Pregnant With Baby No. 3! [PHOTOS] New Evidence Surfaces In Brittney Taylor’s Case Against Remy Ma Nipsey Hussle’s Sister’s Guardianship Request Over Niece Denied By Judge Follow @TheRSMS
Source: Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com / WENN via NewsOne.com : Nipsey Hussle was fatally shot on March 31 and more than a month later there it was still unclear whether he knew his alleged killer, Eric Holder. Hussle’s team has begun addressing the reports. Text “RICKEY” to 71007 to join the Rickey Smiley Morning Show mobile club for exclusive news. ( Terms and conditions ). A video has surfaced claiming that Hussle was seen hugging Holder months before the shooting. View this post on Instagram #Breaking: ALLEGED video of #NipseyHussle hugging his murderer #EricHolder months before the shooting occurred Can’t trust anyone. (Update: Nipsey’s team just released a statement declaring that it isn’t Eric Holder in this video) #RapMarathon A post shared by RapMarathon (@rapmarathon) on May 6, 2019 at 10:24am PDT Rapper B.G. Knocc Out also said that Holder was signed to Nipsey’s record label and he “met him a couple times.” Hussle’s team was shutting down both of those reports, according to XXL . The rap news outlet reported that a source said “Nipsey is embracing Flacco, who is NOT Eric Holder.” In addition, the source reportedly said that “Nipsey’s camp says the only members of the rapper’s All Money In label are Cuzzy, Jstone, Cobby, BH, PacMan and Killa Twan, and Holder was never among that group.” SEE ALSO: Suspect Eric Holder Charged With Nipsey Hussle’s Murder Holder was a failed rapper whose street name was Shitty Cuz. He has become public enemy No. 1 in Los Angeles, where Nipsey was literally giving back to his community. The 29-year-old was arrested on April 2. He was found in Bellflower, California, which is located in southeast Los Angeles. He has been charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He is facing life in prison. #BREAKING : The suspect in the shooting death of musician Nipsey Hussle has been captured in Bellflower, authorities say. pic.twitter.com/5P9ItJM3kH — CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) April 2, 2019 Herman Douglas, Nipsey business partner and the last person to see him alive, told the Los Angeles Times, “Me and Nipsey was talking, and the dude that shot him (Eric Holder), he came and shook our hands. Said he was a rapper and this old bulls**t. Shook our hands, the dude went and got his burger. He left.” Sign Up For Our Newsletter! Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit Douglas said he went inside the Marathon Clothing store to get some food, which is when 29-year-old Holder returned. “So, I might have left Nipsey’s side maybe three seconds,” Douglas said. “I left him maybe, approximately three seconds that I had left Nipsey and the dude came and shot him.” He said Douglas there was “no motive.” Los Angeles police Chief Michel Moore implied there was a feud between Hussle and Holder. He “declined to elaborate on the feud between the two, saying he didn’t want to jeopardize any potential prosecution, but he said the suspect approached Nipsey and others multiple times, engaging them in conversation,” CNN.com reported. Moore did say the dispute does not appear gang-related. Rest in power, Nipsey Hussle. [ione_media_gallery src=”https://rickeysmileymorningshow.com” id=”1990824″ overlay=”true”] ALSO TRENDING ON RICKEYSMILEYMORNINGSHOW.COM : Nipsey Hussle’s Marathon Clothing Store Closes Its Doors James Harden Wears Nipsey Hussle Chain in Post-Game Conference Nipsey Hussle Was Part-Owner of a Las Vegas Resort & Casino, Business Partner Reveals Follow @TheRSMS
We know that R. Kelly can’t seem to stay out of Legal trouble after it seems like “Surviving R. Kelly” completely tarnished his whole livelihood. Things haven’t been the same for the singer since the docuseries premiered on Lifetime. Stemming from those allegations a series of charges from the Cook’s County state attorney have rained on R. Kelly parade. Chicago has a alleged sex tapes of R. Kelly having sex with minors. While he is battling mulitple sexual charges. A women named Heather Williams claims that R. Kelly sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old. Source: Cook County Department of Corrections / Cook County Department of Corrections The Singer found himself serving two stints in Jail on the alledge sexual charges and then for owing thousands of dollars to his ex wife Andrea Kelly. Someone paid the money to get him out of jail and he’s been a free man since…However he still owes his ex Andrea $20,000 dollars a month for backed child support… Well he went to court today and made the justice system very happy…He paid Andrea a whopping $62,000 in backed child support. As good as that might feel for the singer…He’s still behind $32,000! Andrea also requested that he pay for their daughters college fees. R Kelly’s lawyers are asking for proof of enrollment.
Source: Nagina Lane / iOne Digital Meagan Good’s longtime struggle with her eyebrows isn’t new to us because, like many of us, we’ve gone through it with her. Something as simple as eye browns makes a big difference on your face and if you’ve struggled with scare hair there, you understand why Meagan Good opted for a brow transplant. Following a 90s trend, The Intruder actress began plucking her eyebrows until they eventually stopped growing back. Good then tried tattooing, which worked for a while. But after years of the tattoo method, she noticed over time the lines began to spread. “The lines weren’t as defined,” she revealed. Always seeking the latest eyebrow innovation, she tried microblading. “That was fine too, but as I got older I realized that my face looked a little harsher and more tired when I had them that way.” Leading her to Dr. Champagne, a hair restoration surgeon, who transformed her one tattooed brows into the brows she rocks today. View this post on Instagram My eyebrows are finally coming along after my #EyebrowTransplant ! This has been such an eyebrow evolution journey lol, but finally starting to come full circle Eyebrows like a real little girl . No, but seriously after destroying my eyebrows at age 19, I'm over the moon with these results thus far. Special thanks to my guy, eyebrow specialist @DrJasonChampagne . And thank you to @DrJasonDiamond #Salute ! A post shared by @ meagangood on Apr 17, 2018 at 2:57am PDT Good found out about the procedure through Amber Rose. “I actually saw Amber Rose had got a transplant,” she revealed. “So I researched the doctor. I went and met with him, saw a bunch of before and after pictures I was like, ‘this is life.’” Explaining how it works, she said, “They take out like a small portion of the back of your hair, sew it back up. And then they take that little portion of hair, and it’s kinda like when men are losing their hair, it’s the same thing, put in your brows. But this guy, Dr Champagne is amazing because he specializes in brow shape for your face.” Despite its bloody appearance, Good says it wasn’t painful. “I was like sitting in the surgery and I was like, ‘Let me see what that looks like.’ But he was like, ‘No, I don’t think you should see with it open.’ I was like, ‘Just let me see. And he let me see and and I was like, ‘Oh, this is crazy. This is really cool.” Meagan has seemingly become the brow spokesperson for Dr. Champagne. In an interview with our sister site MadameNoire, Good opened up about her role in The Intruder and being celibate until marrying her husband Devon Franklin. RELATED STORIES: ‘The Intruder’ EXCLUSIVE Clip: Charlie Isn’t So Nice Anymore Michael Ealy & Meagan Good On Protecting Black Women In ‘The Intruder’
Source: Jim Smeal / Getty Beyonce ’s #BeforeILetGoChallenge has been sweeping the internet ever since she released her Netflix documentary and album full of her Coachella performances, where she remixed Frankie Beverly and Maze’s classic “Before I Let Go” single. SEE ALSO: Here’s What’s New And Black On Netflix This Month Everybody from our friends and news anchors to actors and musicians took part in Bey’s challenge hoping to be featured on her Instagram stories. Though the hype has died down a bit, Beyonce’s father, Mathew Knowles, joined the wave and recorded his own version. SEE ALSO: Atlanta News Anchor Goes Off To Beyoncé’s “Before I Let Go” [VIDEO] “You know I had to get in on the fun,” he wrote on Instagram. Watch him two-step it out below… View this post on Instagram You know I had to get in on the fun! • • • #beforeiletgochallenge #beforeiletgo #beyonce #homecoming #omegapsiphi #beychella #istillgotit #musicworld A post shared by Mathew Knowles, Ph.D (@mrmathewknowles) on May 7, 2019 at 4:51pm PDT Text “RICKEY” to 71007 to join the Rickey Smiley Morning Show mobile club for exclusive news. ( Terms and conditions ). Sign Up For Our Newsletter! Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit ALSO TRENDING ON RICKEYSMILEYMORNINGSHOW.COM : RHOA Star Eva Marcille Is Pregnant With Baby No. 3! [PHOTOS] New Evidence Surfaces In Brittney Taylor’s Case Against Remy Ma Nipsey Hussle’s Sister’s Guardianship Request Over Niece Denied By Judge Follow @TheRSMS
via NewsOne.com : G entrifiers have been trying to whitewash Black communities all over the country for decades now. However, one store in Washington, D.C., has unwittingly caused an uprising and now residents in the nation’s capital are fighting back in the best way ever. The Save Chocolate City Protest took place at the historic northwest Washington intersection of 14th and U streets Tuesday night and reportedly had more than 3,000 people in attendance . Text “RICKEY” to 71007 to join the Rickey Smiley Morning Show mobile club for exclusive news. ( Terms and conditions ). #MOECHELLA was classic. Three thousand people singing Pretty Girls #DontMuteDC ( via @BackyardBand ) pic.twitter.com/lNljH31ifI — DC Maryland Virginia (@DMVFollowers) May 8, 2019 Dubbed Moechella — a name that combined the Coachella music festival with “ Moe ,” a pronoun for a friend exclusively used in D.C. — the gathering invited people to demonstrate against gentrifiers who have been fighting the city’s native go-go music. D.C.’s paling population was most recently exemplified by a tone-deaf white man who wondered aloud on live TV why Howard University couldn’t just relocate to make room for other people who look like him. View of the latest #DontMuteDC rally ( from 15th & U NW). GoGo keeps on playing . pic.twitter.com/BEsjFL4snF — Molly Mitchell (@mollyemitchell) May 8, 2019 Situations like that united Black D.C. Tuesday night for Moechella. See Also: Gentrified D.C. Tries To Whitewash Chocolate City By Targeting Go-Go Music In case you missed it, a Metro PCS store in the historically Black Shaw neighborhood has been playing go-go music without any complaint for nearly a quarter of a century. But that all changed in March when T-Mobile, Metro PCS’ parent company, ordered an end to the musical tradition. An online petition to keep the store playing its go-go-music was nearing its goal of 10,000 signatures. Sign Up For Our Newsletter! Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit That complaint silenced the music for several days. The hashtag #Don’tMuteDC went viral and there were protests with some local lawmakers joining. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau , who represents Shaw, wrote a letter to T-Mobile’s senior vice president for government affairs outlining the city’s history and go-go’s place in it, the Post said. Mayor Muriel Bowser added her voice to the protest. I’m with you #DontMuteDC Sign the petition: https://t.co/NOhSrDvqky Celebrate DC & Go-Go on Emancipation Day this Saturday: https://t.co/ALN6uKbzCl pic.twitter.com/ZYikLZG0BE — Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) April 9, 2019 By April 10, T-Mobile yielded to the increasing pressure and authorized the Metro PCS store to turn the music back on, the Washington Post reported. John Legere , chief executive of T-Mobile U.S., tweeted his support for the longstanding tradition to continue. I’ve looked into this issue myself and the music should NOT stop in D.C.! @TMobile and @MetroByTMobile are proud to be part of the Shaw community – the music will go on and our dealer will work with the neighbors to compromise volume. https://t.co/qXvwzmc24E — John Legere (@JohnLegere) April 10, 2019 Go-go music, typically described as funky percussion-based instrumentation, is many times compared to a junkyard band (in fact, one of the top go-go groups is called Junk Yard Band ). Protesters feared that the muting of the speakers outside the mobile phone store was just a first step in a larger attack on their culture. Here’s the scene outside Central Communications in Shaw, minutes after @JohnLegere announced the store could turn its go-go back on. Music going, cars honking in support, #DC residents dancing around cameras lining the sidewalk. #DontMuteDC pic.twitter.com/shmN9RZ1FX — Marissa J. Lang (@Marissa_Jae) April 10, 2019 ALSO TRENDING ON RICKEYSMILEYMORNINGSHOW.COM : RHOA Star Eva Marcille Is Pregnant With Baby No. 3! [PHOTOS] New Evidence Surfaces In Brittney Taylor’s Case Against Remy Ma Nipsey Hussle’s Sister’s Guardianship Request Over Niece Denied By Judge Follow @TheRSMS
Source: Ian West – PA Images / Getty Last month, MadameNoire.com wrote about the brilliance of comedian and actress Mo’Nique in the Adidas commercials , featuring Donald Glover ’s latest collection. It was clear from the series of commercials that the two seemed to have a good rapport with one another. And it showed in the final product. Recently, during an interview with Complex , Mo’Nique shared how beautiful and rare the experience was. Text “RICKEY” to 71007 to join the Rickey Smiley Morning Show mobile club for exclusive news. ( Terms and conditions ). When Complex asked her how she came to be cast in the commercials, she said: “Well, Fam Rothstein, who is one of Donald Glover’s teammates, and a sister named Sylvia, they called and spoke to my husband, who everybody knows is my manager,” she said. “They spoke to Sydney, and when I say it was a beautiful negotiation? It was the way it’s supposed to be done. It was professional people dealing with professional people, and we made something beautiful. I wish every deal and every phone call could be the one that came in from Fam Rothstein and Sister Sylvia. I wish they could be that way because it makes it so much easier.” Sign Up For Our Newsletter! Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit Mo’Nique said that her experience with Glover and his team was one of the few times where she can recall being respected as she should in this business. “I remember at the end of the shoot, I asked Donald if could I talk to him and his team, and it was one of those moments that brought tears to my eyes to say to those brothers, ‘This is how it’s supposed to be,’” she said. “And to treat a Black woman with such respect and honor, that for me goes down in my history book, to say there are still those out there that treat us with the respect we’re supposed to be treated with. They’re still out there and I know it seems like we got to dig deep, but dammit his name is Donald Glover.” This admission is bittersweet to read. Considering all of the Black men Mo’Nique has worked with throughout the course of her career, it’s a shame that this business deal sticks out in her head as one of the few times she was respected properly as a Black woman. Thankfully, Glover and his team were not only able to see her talent, they were able to respect her worth as an artist and a Black woman. Kudos to him. Hopefully, this type of treatment will become the norm for Mo’Nique and other Black women artists like her. SEE ALSO: You Won’t Believe How Good Mo’Nique Looks Now [PHOTOS] SEE ALSO: Donald Glover Cries On Stage At Coachella After Emotional Speech About Losing His Father, Nipsey Hussle & More [VIDEO] Follow @TheRSMS
