90s Child Star Files Lawsuit Against Parents

Many remember Rae'Ven Kelly as a young Anna Mae Bullock (long before she became Tina Turner) in the 1993 biopic "What's Love Got to Do with It?"  These days, the married 31-year-old actress has enjoyed a career that includes "A Time to Kill", " Hannah Montana", "Preacher's Kid" and many other credits.  However, it's her personal life that has experienced turmoil in recent.

Over the summer, she and her husband experienced abuse from law enforcement.  Before this, the veteran actress and her preacher husband Sean Dinwoodie filed a $1Million dollar lawsuit against her parents on the grounds of fraud, defamation, and breach of fiduciary duty.  Courtesy of Maya Hotblaze and Courthouse News Service.

Musical Tribute to Kashif

Once again, I have no words for the loss of lives in the past 12 months.  From the famous to those looking to make change in their communities #blacklives As you can see, Kashif (who also produced under the pseudonym Michael Jones)made hits for many pop and R&B artists, including a young Whitney Houston.  If you can ever get around to seeing his episode of Unsung, this brother made an incredible transformation from hardship growing up to becoming one of music's most respected producers.  Kashif also authored one of the most honest books about being in the music industry.

 

Wayback Wed z...New Wave Edition

 A lot of people think of Adam ant, Duran Duran and pet shop boys but no one could do New Wave jams like Black folks.  Not being racist but think in terms of vocal quality and trying to keep a certain beat while being radio-friendly.  Andre Cymone, bootsy Collins and Cameo had serious alt-soul years before fishbone and the Bus Boys.  Got my brain percolating now, so I'm gonna be digging in the month of September.

The Real Story Behind Talk to Me

If you saw this incredible movie starring the underrated Don Cheadle, then you probably wondered if he was real (I know...duh, but I'm from the West Coast.  His show didn't air here).  Anyway, a Petey Greene documentary, narrated by Cheadle, debuted last month.

Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Green is available for download at Amazon and Google Play

Wayback Weds Last Call for Something Silly

Yeah, first week back in class (on-campus) and it's kicking my chunky butt royally.  So, MC Brains was on my brain.  Had a list of older stuff but this is kind of fun.  One thing about it, at least it goes back to a time when hip-hop was fun and not  - 

• violent 
• misogynist
• anti-Black/Brown
• anti-Semitic
• wack

...and not only did the video dancers have real moves but they didn't look like a bad science experiment. *Drops mic*

Can John Legend Help Save How Blacks Are Portrayed on Film?

 As you know, Southside with You (the Barack and Michelle love story) is now in nationwide release.  Its Executive Producer is recording artist/emerging media mogul John Legend and the reviews have been decent.  However, this is not his first foray into screen, as he is also one of three EPs behind the WGN smash series Underground.  This period piece about slavery has also been renewed for a second season.

So after years of Tyler Perry and Wayans Bros entertainment styles waning (slightly), does this mean that America gets to see more uplifting content in regard to black history with emphasis on triumphant moments?  I hope so.

I still appreciate the simplicity of straight-to-DVD/Aspire/BET/TVOne movies with a small budget and new faces, or those that were once popular (I see you, Robin Givens) but now are more humbled, I want to see something new.

Will John Legend come to the rescue again?  According to Rhymes with Snitch, a series about Black Wall Street is currently in development.  Here are some more facts, for those who are unaware of this period in history.

Way back Wednesday...still on silly

 Classes barely started and I'm getting my @ss kicked already. But I'm not tripping. Any of you old enough to remember the ABC trifecta (Happy days, Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy) know this disco hit wasn't part of the line-up but as a kid in the late 70s, it was funny as hell to listen while doing the spank or a little popping.