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‘American Idol’ Singer Stands Up For Gospel

Rhodell Lewis — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:48:44 +0000

VIA: Entertainment Weekly

Whether he’s facing the judges or facing down an American Idol exit interview, Jermaine Sellers is never at a loss for words. He talked happily about his eclectic fashion choices, his outsized personality, why he confused Idol associate music director Michael Orland for a certain King of Pop, and who was always on his mind when he was performing on stage.

EW: Hi, Jermaine — how’s your morning been so far?
JERMAINE SELLERS: [Laughs] I feel like God brought me from a mighty long way, you know? I’m here right now. It’s sad that I had to go home so soon, but I just feel like things happen for a reason.

You were also known for what you said off stage, as Ryan pointed out last night. Did you feel like the producers emphasized that more for you?
No. I feel like I had to stand up for the Gospel singers that are out there. We stand in that [Idol audition] line just like everybody else does, and we never seem to make it this far. I was standing in the gap for a lot of the Gospel singers, the singers who can do the riffs, who have the range. You never get a chance to really see them. I felt like even though the judges were saying pull back more, I felt like if I pulled back anymore I wouldn’t be representing my fellow Gospel singers. I felt like I would just be singing the song without it being sang, you know?

Did you mend fences with Michael Orland, the Idol music director who was leading the band that day?
You know, the reason why that night [of the Top 24 boys] that I said “Michael who?” I was thinking that I sang Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” [during that Hollywood Week performance]. I was like, “Wait, are y’all about to say Michael Jackson rose from the dead or something?” That’s why I said it like that. But Michael [Orland] is really cool. I have nothing bad to say about him. Him, Dorian [Holley, music director], Miss Byrd [vocal coach Debra Byrd] — I call her Mama Byrd — they were all there for us. The training that they gave us prepared us for the platform that we’re about to go to.

Especially Mama Byrd. I love that lady. She saved me. There were many nights where I was like, “Mama Byrd, I don’t know what to do. I feel like crying right now. They keep telling me to pull back, and I can’t pull back no more, because if I pull back I won’t be singing. It won’t be me.” And she said, “Well, baby, all I can tell you is go out there and sing. Sing like you at church, like you’re singing to God.”

Your faith is clearly really important to you.
Whenever I sing, I don’t even see the judges. I don’t see them until I’m done with the song. I always imagine God on the cross, and basically everything that he went through. This is just my test right now, this is me going through my trial. So now I’ve gotta get judged afterwards — you know, how they judged Jesus. That’s how I looked at it. I threw the Christian thing out there a lot, because there’s a lot of people who don’t give God the credit for us even making it that far. If it wasn’t for Him, we wouldn’t have even made it to the show, period, you know?

So what’s next for you?
Of course, I want to act. I definitely want to do what the Kirk Franklins, the Mary Marys, the BeBe Winans [did]. I would say more so what BeBe and CeCe did, many years ago. They crossed over. At the time, it was Video Soul with Donnie Simpson [on BET] where their videos were being played. Songs like “Heaven.” Stuff like that, the contemporary crossover music, to where you can see my songs on MTV. Just something that’s going to inspire somebody and let them know that I made it this far, you can make it too.

Read the full interview here.

VIDEO: Oscar Veterans Shower Gabourey Sidibe With Advice

Rhodell Lewis — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:00:27 +0000

Acting veterans had words of wisdom for “Precious” star Gabourey Sidibe. Alfre Woodard, Viola Davis, and other prominent Oscar winning and nominated women gathered Wednesday night and advised Gaby how to handle awards day jitters.

Watch the video:

Viola said, “Have fun. Do not take it seriously because at the end of the day when the awards are over and the red carpet rolls up, you have to go back to being an actor and you’re going to be an actor a whole lot longer than you’re going to be at the Academy Awards.”

Taraji P. Henson, who was nominated last year for her role in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’ offered, “Just enjoy the ride…Write everything down. Keep a journal.”

Gabourey Sidibe doesn’t mind exclusion from Vanity Fair cover

Pro-Bible Ad Campaign Running Nationally On Fox, MSNBC

Rhodell Lewis — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:14:56 +0000

VIA: The Christian Post

A national media campaign to promote the authority of the Bible began running commercials on Fox News, FoxNews.com and MSNBC.com on Monday.

The “I Am Not Ashamed” campaign, organized by apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis, will run commercials from March 1 to April 25 featuring individuals from different backgrounds, nationalities, ages and cultures saying they are not ashamed of the Gospel.

Organizers hope to convey the message that despite physical differences, people around the world hold in common a respect and appreciation for the relevance of God’s word in today’s world.

A print ad campaign will also run in USA Today during that period. The print ad will quote specific Bible verses that address hot-button issues today. Issues that will be addressed include abortion, marriage and religion in the public square.

Local churches are also encouraged to join the campaign by sponsoring billboards in their area that include the link to the I Am Not Ashamed website.

The theme of the campaign, “I Am Not Ashamed,” is inspired by the verses found in Romans 1:16: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jews, then for the Gentile.”

Read the full story here.

VIDEO: White House Welcomes Drumline As President Obama Strengthens HBCUs

Rhodell Lewis — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:43:52 +0000

VIA: JackandJillPolitics.com

Last Friday afternoon as Black History Month drew to a close, President Barack Obama signed an executive order intended to strengthen the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. While every president since Carter has sought to help HBCUs, there’s something special about a black president supporting black higher education.

Teaching slaves how to read and write was once illegal in the United States, in an attempt to clip our wings and narrow our minds. It didn’t work and think how far-sighted it was after the Civil War to launch universities that could provide illiterate slaves and the children of slaves education.

President Obama gave a shoutout not only to contemporary educators and legislators during his speech, but also Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Thurgood Marshall, Oprah Winfrey and Martin Luther King — all products of HBCUs.

Read more here.

Check out footage of Virginia State University’s marching band performing at the White House below:

Yolanda Adams Discusses New Book, Reflects On Career

Rhodell Lewis — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:32:29 +0000

VIA: Charlotte Observer

During a recent stop in Charlotte for the CIAA basketball tournament, gospel star and author Yolanda Adams, host of the “Yolanda Adams Morning Show,” sat down to talk to the Charlotte Observer about her career.

Q. Tell us about your new book.

Yolanda Adams: The book is called “The Points of Power.” It’s about discovering joy and purpose in your life. A lot of people want to know, “How can you smile? We know what you you’ve gone through in your life.” Well, hey, I’ve made it through. … You will always make it through if you keep God first, definitely. And then if you have a game plan. The game plan is, never give up.

Q. Are we back in the (recording) studio?

No. We’re promoting the book right now and the radio show. … Hopefully, we’re going to have something by September, at least a single by September.

Q. Where do you see the future of gospel music?

I think gospel music is here to stay. I don’t think it’s limited to the church or just the four walls of the church. I think everybody needs inspiration; we all need encouragement. There will always be things like Haiti, (the 9-11 attacks), things that move us closers to our faith.

Q. With all the projects you have going on, how do you manage your time?

I do just that: manage it. … (Laughs) I have some great people with me. … So, to the busy moms and busy dads out there, time management, but make sure you have great people working with you to make sure your dreams are accomplished.

New 3-CD Set Explores Diversity Of Postwar Gospel Music

Rhodell Lewis — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:14:52 +0000

VIA: National Public Radio

Fire in My Bones: Raw, Rare and Otherworldly African-American Gospel is a new three-CD set that explores the diversity of postwar gospel music. Across 80 songs spanning six decades, the collection ranges from scratchy field recordings to intricate vocal harmonies to snappy adaptations of rock ‘n’ roll rhythms. The different styles of gospel are also at the heart of Born Again Funk, the latest installment in the Good God! series which highlights gospel’s collision with funk music of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Fire in My Bones is a sprawling attempt to touch on black gospel’s myriad forms from 1944 through 2007. Clocking in at nearly four hours, the set has no obvious chronological, geographical or topical structure. It can go from Oakland’s Sister Mathews, backed only by a blues guitar, belting out “Stand By Me” in 1948; and then advance to 1973 and Brooklyn’s Nathaniel Rivers, singing “The Wicked Shall Cease From Troubling” over a warbling organ; then slide down to South Carolina in 1963 with an a cappella rendition of “That’s Alright” by Laura Rivers. Even as the compilation jumps eras, cities and sensibilities, gospel’s core elements become illuminated — especially the power of repetition.

Born Again Funk hones in on small, independent-label gospel records, most of them recorded around Chicago during the 1970s.

Read the full article here.

Roslyn M. Brock Youngest Board Chairman Of The NAACP

Rhodell Lewis — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:23:16 +0000

The NAACP elected a health care executive as its youngest board chairman Saturday, continuing a youth movement for the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. Roslyn M. Brock, 44, was chosen to succeed Julian Bond. She had been vice chairman since 2001 and a member of the NAACP for 25 years.

Brock works for Bon Secours Health Systems in Maryland as vice president for advocacy and government relations, and spent 10 years working on health issues for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She joins Benjamin Todd Jealous, the 37-year-old CEO of the NAACP, as leader of the 500,000-member organization.

Brock said she plans to focus on pushing for policy changes to eliminate inequality, strengthening the relationship between the national and local NAACP branches and holding people accountable.

“It’s not always what someone is doing to us, but what we are doing for ourselves,” Brock said in an interview.

The departure of Bond, 70, after 10 years as board chairman marks a turning point for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Pepole.

Bond came of age in the segregated South, helped found the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and was on the front lines of the protests that led to the nation’s landmark civil rights laws. He is a symbol and icon of “the movement,” which was a defining experience for older generations.

Click here to read more…

Mary Mary, Smokie Norful Among Dove Award Nominees

Rhodell Lewis — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:53:21 +0000

VIA: GMC Life

The 41st annual GMA Dove Award nominees have been announced.

Nominees include Mary Mary for Artist of the Year; Hezekiah Walker & LFC for Group of the Year; Heather Headley for Female Vocalist of the Year; and Donnie McClurkin and Smokie Norful for Male Vocalist of the Year.

Click here to see a complete list of nominees.

Former NBA Star Jayson Williams Sentenced To 5 Years In Shooting

Rhodell Lewis — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:19:35 +0000

VIA: CNN.com

Former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for the fatal shooting of his limo driver in 2002.

Williams tearfully apologized to the family of Costas “Gus” Christofi during his sentencing hearing Tuesday morning.

“There’s not a day I wake up and I don’t feel sorry for what I did to Mr. Christofi,” Williams said.

He pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault in the 2002 shooting death of Christofi, a limo driver he had hired.

Under the plea deal, Williams could have been sentenced to anywhere from 18 months without the possibility of parole to five years in prison.

Williams, who turned 42 on Monday, appeared before Somerset County Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman.

After sentencing, he will be taken to the Central Reception and Assignment Facility in Trenton, New Jersey, said Corrections Department spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer. There, over the course of several weeks, he will be photographed, DNA samples will be taken, and he will be given medical, dental, psychological and educational evaluations, she said.

Only afterward will a decision be made about where to send him, she said.

Williams waived his right to appeal.

In return, the state changed the indictment from a charge of reckless manslaughter to a charge of aggravated assault by recklessly causing bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors said in January they would recommend Williams be sentenced to five years in prison on four charges of attempting to cover up the fatal shooting. A jury convicted him of those charges in 2004.

Read more here.

GALLERY AND VIDEO: Healthy Living 2010

Rhodell Lewis — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:06:24 +0000

Radio One Atlanta’s Healthy Living 2010 was held this past weekend at Word of Faith Cathedral in Austell. Lots of people turned out for the event, which included health screenings, panels and performances by Monica, Angie Stone and Dottie Peoples.

Check out photos and video from our Healthy Living 2010 event:

Winter Olympics Phenomenon: Shani Davis

Rhodell Lewis — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:18:21 +0000

VIA: ShaniDavis.Com

Shani Davis was born on Friday, August 13, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois. Raised by his mother on the city’s south side, he started roller-skating at local rinks at age two. By age three Shani was darting around the roller rink so fast that skate guards would chase him just to ask him to slow down. Seeming to become bored with roller-skating, at age six a coach suggested that Shani switch to ice skating. Shortly thereafter, his mother started working for an attorney, Fred Benjamin, whose son happened to be involved in speed skating at an elite level. It was at that time that Benjamin suggested that Shani give speed skating a try.

Shani joined the Evanston Speedskating Club at age six and within two months started competing locally. Though immediately taking to ice, at competitions Shani was generally more interested in running around with his competitors and playing video games than he was with competing. Nevertheless, by age 8 he was winning regional age-group competitions and began to hear about the Olympic ideal from his Northbrook competitors and friends. Shani’s mother encouraged him to participate and, in an effort to build his endurance, woke him most mornings to run a mile on a track close to their home. As there were — and still are — no speed skating clubs in inner city Chicago, at age 10 Shani and his mother moved to the far north side of the city to be closer to the Evanston rink.

Click here to read more on Shani Davis…

Watch Shani’s video blog dated 2/13/10:

2006 World Cup Interview:

Tyler Perry: The Rise Of An Entertainment Mogul

Rhodell Lewis — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:00:02 +0000

VIA: TYLERPERRY.COM

Tyler Perry is by all means, a Renaissance man. He’s an actor, director, screenwriter, producer and author. He is a true American success story.

Tyler Perry’s inspirational journey from the hard streets of New Orleans to the heights of Hollywood’s A-list is the stuff of American legend. Born into poverty and raised in a household scarred by abuse, Tyler fought from a young age to find the strength, faith and perseverance that would later form the foundations of his much-acclaimed plays, films, books and shows.It was a simple piece of advice from Oprah Winfrey that set Tyler’s career in motion.

Encouraged to keep a diary of his daily thoughts and experiences, Tyler began writing a series of soul-searching letters to himself-letters full of pain, forgiveness, and, in time, a healing catharsis. The letters inspired a musical, I KNOW I’VE BEEN CHANGED, and in 1992 Tyler gathered his life’s savings and set off for Atlanta in hopes of staging it for sold out crowds. He spent all the money but the people never came, and Tyler once again came face to face with the poverty that had plagued his youth. He spent months sleeping in seedy motels and his car but his faith-in God and, in turn, himself-only got stronger. He forged a powerful relationship with the church, and he kept writing.

In 1998 his perseverance paid off and a promoter booked I KNOW I’VE BEEN CHANGED for a limited run at a local church-turned-theatre. This time the community came out in droves, and soon the musical moved to Atlanta’s prestigious Fox Theatre. Tyler Perry never looked back.I KNOW I’VE BEEN CHANGED was a poignant story of failure and redemption, and it resounded with urban audiences who identified with its themes and exalted in its spirit. In Tyler they’d found a voice for their longings, and an outlet for their entertainment, and so began an incredible run of eight plays in as many years, including WOMAN THOU ART LOOSED!, a celebrated collaboration with the prominent Dallas pastor T.D. Jakes.

But if audiences were buoyed by Tyler’s faith, they were bowled over by his humor. No way around it: the man was plain funny. Nowhere was this more in evidence than in 2000’s I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF, which marked the first appearance of the now-legendary Madea. A God-fearing, gun-toting, pot-smoking, loud-mouthed grandmother, Madea was played by Perry himself. Madea was such a resounding success, she soon spawned a series of plays-MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION (2002), MADEA’S CLASS REUNION (2003) and MADEA GOES TO JAIL (2005)- and set the stage for Tyler’s jump to the big screen.

In early 2005, Tyler’s first feature film, DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN, debuted at #1 nationwide. By the end of its first weekend in theatres, two things had happened: the film had earned $22 million, and Tyler Perry-writer, actor, and producer-had become a superstar. Tyler’s ensuing films, MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION, DADDY LITTLE GIRLS, WHY DID I GET MARRIED?, MEET THE BROWNS, and THE FAMILY THAT PREYS have all met with massive critical and commercial success, delighting audiences across America and around the world. His most recent film, MADEA GOES TO JAIL, spent two weeks at the top of the box office and ultimately went on to gross more than $90 million.2006 saw the publication of Tyler’s first book, DON’T MAKE A BLACK WOMAN TAKE OFF HER EARRINGS: MADEA’S UNINHIBITED COMMENTARIES ON LIFE AND LOVE, which shot to the top of the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list and remained there for eight weeks. It went on to claim Quill Book Awards for both “Humor” and “Book of the Year” (an unheard-of feat for a first-time author), and spread Tyler Perry’s unique brand of inspirational entertainment to a devoted new audience. It is a brand that is quickly becoming an empire.

Read Tyler’s entire bio and more at TylerPerry.com.

Enjoy this interview with Tyler as he speaks with CBN about his rise to fame, relationships and marriage.

New Film Sheds Light On Dr. Ben Chavis And Civil Rights Movement

Rhodell Lewis — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:41:09 +0000

VIA: AccessAtlanta

The civil rights movement and its aftermath continue to create bonds, tying together the people who experienced or witnessed racial injustice.

It’s true for Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Timothy B. Tyson and Jeb Stuart.

Last week, film director Stuart’s “Blood Done Sign My Name” opened the Pan African Film and Arts Festival in Los Angeles, and it is set for wider release Friday. It tells the story of the 1970 murder of Henry “Dickie” Marrow in Oxford, N.C., and the unrest that follows, including a boycott of white-owned businesses led by Chavis, Marrow’s cousin. Then a young high school teacher and civil rights organizer, Chavis is co-chair of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network and former head of the NAACP.

“It’s not a movie that is easily told,” Stuart said. “It’s not an apology for white sins. It’s a story of heroes bonded by a particular story.”

The film is based on Tyson’s memoir of the same title and stars Rick Schroder and Nate Parker (from “The Great Debaters). Tyson, now a visiting professor at Duke University, was 10 at the time of Marrow’s murder, the son of a progressive minister who tried to bring about change in his congregation. Stuart said he felt an instant connection when he read the memoir in 2006.

“Tim Tyson is the son of a white Methodist minister in Oxford, and I was living in Gastonia, N.C., the son of a white Presbyterian minister. It wasn’t like a civil rights story of 1963 or ’64; 1970 was a different era. It almost felt like the dawn of a new age and yet we have a town [Oxford] that was completely segregated, “ Stuart recalled.

Oxford is a different place now according to Chavis, who still has a home there.

In 1971, he became known as a member of the Wilmington Ten and spent eight years in prison, convicted of inciting a crowd to burn down a grocery store in Wilmington, N.C. That conviction was overturned in 1980.

Chavis recently discussed “Blood Done Sign My Name” and why he believes race still matters.

Q: What do you say to young folks who think civil rights is ancient history?

A: Some people have this notion that we are post-civil rights or post-racial, [with] which I disagree. There are more economic and poverty related issues, but they are still racial. There are more minorities who are having foreclosures than anyone else. Look at who is incarcerated in Georgia or North Carolina. Look at high school dropout rates. It’s disproportionate.

Q: What would you like the message of the film to be?

A: Anger should be channeled into something constructive not destructive. I was angry that they killed Henry Marrow, but I decided to organize a movement that could affect real change and not just express my anger in some self-destructive way. We all have in our hands the power to change our circumstances but it requires some kind of participation. A movie like “Blood” serves as a reality check for young people.

Read more here.

Circus Zebra Caught After Wild Chase Around Atlanta

Rhodell Lewis — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:01:38 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

A zebra from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus escaped his handler and led police on a chase through downtown Atlanta Thursday afternoon.

The black-and-white striped animal was spotted all over town — in the parking lot near the Sam Nunn Federal Building, near Centennial Olympic Park, CNN and on the Downtown Connector. He was finally captured on the interstate near the Grady Curve. According to witnesses he was galloping between lanes of traffic on the Downtown Connector before his capture.

Daniel Nance saw a westbound zebra zipping down Alabama Street near MARTA’s Five Points station.

“All of a sudden a freaking zebra comes running down the street like a car. Five or six police cars were in hot pursuit. And a bunch of officers on foot. But then I got scared, thinking … what else is loose?” said a laughing Nance.

This isn’t the first time a zebra has been out on the highway in recent years. A young zebra was found stranded and injured on I-75 in Butts County in April 2008. Then a zebra who usually lives on a farm across from Oxford College’s Newton County campus was zebra-napped and deposited inside the college’s Seney Hall as part of a prank.

Read more here.

McEachern High School Football Star / Vanderbilt Recruit Killed

Rhodell Lewis — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:23:08 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

A McEachern High School football standout was killed early Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide at his family’s Powder Springs home.

The incident happened overnight on Woodcrest Drive, in a neighborhood off Brownsville Road just southwest of downtown Powder Springs.

Police identified the deceased as Rajaan Bennett, who earlier this month signed to play football in the fall at Vanderbilt University, and Clifton O’Neal Steger, a former boyfriend of Bennett’s mother and the suspected shooter, police say. Rajaan’s uncle, Taiwan Hunter, 32, is out of surgery at Atlanta Medical Center and listed in critical condition.

Steger, 39, died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, said Powder Springs Police spokesman Matt Boyd.

“I’m standing here in a daze,” Steger’s mother, Gladys Steger, told the AJC when reached by phone at her home in Milledgeville. She referred all questions to her niece, who would not give her name.

“He was dating someone in Atlanta,” the relative said. “We met her once.”

The suspect’s cousin would not say whether that woman was Narjaketha Bennett, mother of Rajaan.

Steger, who grew up in Detroit, worked as a carpenter, his cousin said. “There’s nothing much I can say about him,” she said.

Police were called to the Bennett’s home around 2:30 a.m. Thursday after a caller to 911 whispered they needed help.

Officers arrived about four minutes later, and “as they approached and knocked on the door, they heard several gunshots,” Powder Springs Police Maj. Charles Spann told the AJC.

Immediately after the four or five shots were fired, Narjaketha Bennett, 37, and Hunter ran from the house, police said.

The uncle had been struck by at least one gunshot, Boyd said. Shortly thereafter, two juveniles emerged from the home uninjured.

The Cobb County police SWAT team was called to the scene, and when officers entered the home, they found the bodies of Steger and 18-year-old Rajaan Bennett.

Bennett was a senior running back and captain of McEachern’s 2009 football team, rushing for 1,857 yards and 28 touchdowns on 236 carries as a senior.

He was an all-state running back in Class AAAAA and was number 25 on the AJC’s “Fab 50″ list of recruits published earlier this month. He also earned three letters in track.

Read more here.