By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
Fantasia, Sherri Shepherd, the Isley Brothers, Misty Copeland, Glynn Turman, Courtney B. Vance, Nia Long, and Jane Fonda are among the group of entertainment professionals selected to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by the selection panel of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Also chosen from among hundreds of nominations to the committee were actors Emilio Estevez, Jessica Chastain, and Colin Farrell; directors Bill Duke and John Carpenter; and recording artists Busta Rhymes, WAR, The B-52s, Green Day and posthumously Prince.
Dates have not been scheduled for these star ceremonies yet, but they are usually announced 10 days prior to the dedication. For a complete list of recipients and more details, visit walkoffame.com.
TICKET WATCH: That postponed Miseducation Anniversary reunion tour (due to vocal strain) of Ms. Lauryn Hill & The Fugees is back on with special guest YG Marley. Tickets for the 21-date jaunt, with a Sept. 17 stop at the Hollywood Bowl, go on sale June 28 at LiveNation.com. $2 from each ticket sold will go to the MLH Fund to benefit a list of local and worldwide organizations in the realms of mental health, women’s wellness, community small business development and education throughout the diaspora.
Also going on sale at AmericanDogwood.com are tickets to Shaboozey’s first headlining Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going Tour with an Oct. 14 date at the Fonda Theatre. The 29-year-old Black country artist has risen to prominence through his “A Bar Song” vocals on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album.
SPOTLIGHT: The Grammy Museum, in conjunction with their current “Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit,” hosts an exclusive early album listening of “The Auditorium, Vol. 1” followed by a conversation between its creators Common and Pete Rock discussing this first full-length collaboration. It goes down July 1 at 7 p.m.
This rare product of one producer and one MC only has a few featured guests who were chosen with requisite mindfulness. “I’m only going to work with people who are going to elevate the song,” says Common. To that end, his superstar boo Jennifer Hudson adds her voice, as does Bilal, with a few bars added by De La Soul’s Posdnuos.
SO SAYS HE: “As a Black man in the criminal justice system, I felt anger, I felt sadness, hurt, surprise. When they snatched me up out of my apartment in handcuffs, I didn’t feel like all that. I didn’t feel like Jonathan Majors, Mr. Creed, Mr. Kang; I felt like a little scared, weak boy, despite the support and evidence that was in my favor, I knew s–t was bad. And it was bad because of who I was and what I am. This is what happens to Black people all too often.” – JONATHAN MAJORS upon receiving the Perseverance Award at the Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards
CLIPPETTES: BETX Fan Fest Day 1 at the Convention Center commences on June 28, from noon to 9 p.m. with immersive villages, screenings, celebrity meet and greets, and performances from Koryn Hawthorne, Marsha Ambrosius, That Girl Lay Lay, Nle Choppa, Lady London, Flo Milli and more. In addition, there are BET Experiences of Cardi B, Gunna, Davido, and Sexyy Red at Crypto.com Arena, Chris Spencer & Friends featuring Tiffany Haddish at the Miracle Theater, and Adam Blackstone at The Sun Rose …
The evening also finds Jazz at LACMA presenting Sharon Marie Cline, CupcakKe at Vermont Hollywood, YG at The Palladium, Michael Blackson at The Improv, Grace Potter at The Troubadour, Jean Deaux at the Peppermint Club, The Bacon Brothers at the Coach House, and Pete Escovedo & The Family kicking off a two-night stand at Catalina Jazz Club …
Executive producer Vivica A. Fox announced to People that she has hired former embattled “Empire” star Jussie Smollett to direct and co-star with her in “The Lost Holliday” because “Everyone deserves a second chance.” …
June 29 has BETX Fan Fest Day 2 at the Convention Center with performances by Tanner Addell, Saucy Santana, Hunxho, Doechii, and others …
Later, Roots Picnic: Hip-Hop is the Love of My Life comes to the Hollywood Bowl with The Roots, Queen Latifah, Common, Digable Planets, Arrested Development, The Pharcyde, and Black Sheep …
That night also finds Chicano Batman at the Forum, the Chris Potter Trio featuring Kendrick Scott and Matt Brewer at The Nimoy, Lindsey Webster and Mindi Abair at Spaghettini’s, and Destinie Lynn at The Hotel Café …
Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Tiffany Pollard, the reality TV star launched on Flavor Flav’s “Flavor of Love” series as Miss New York, is debuting as a DJ for the Planet Pride Festival …
Speaking of Flav, the Public Enemy hype man got Ice Cube to reveal that he is optimistic that another “Friday” movie is possible now that his guy Mike DeLuca (who greenlit Cube’s New Line films “Friday,” “All About The Benjamins,” and “Players Club”) is running Warner Bros …
In conjunction with the special exhibition, Mickalene Thomas: All About Love, The Broad is throwing its first comedy night co-curated and hosted by Chaunté Wayans on June 30. The stellar lineup includes L.A.’s LouLou Gonzales, Zainab Johnson, Nicky Paris, Irene Tu, and Tarek Ziad …
Atlanta has put in a $2 million bid to attract the Sundance Film Festival. Since the biggest complaints about the venerable Park City, Utah, showcase has been the freezing weather, difficult accessibility and high transportation costs, what’s not to like about this? …
Acclaimed emcee Rapsody visits Amoeba Hollywood on July 2, from 5 to 9 p.m. to celebrate her new album, “Please Don’t Cry” with a free live performance and LP signing …
Also, the three-night July Fourth Fireworks Spectacular with Harry Connick Jr. and the LA Phil begins at the Hollywood Bowl.
TASTY QUIP: “As an actor, you learn to distance your own ego from that machine a bit. Otherwise it’s gonna eat you alive. By and large, yeah, there was this collective disappointment in Indian country that the big one didn’t come through. But then there was also just a collective celebration that it had gotten that far. Which is what it was supposed to be about anyway.” – Golden Globe winner LILY GLADSTONE (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) to The Independent on losing out on the Best Actress Oscar. Her latest movie “Fancy Dance,” about indigenous women on the run, is now playing on Apple TV+
TC ON TV: June 28 – “Family Empire: Houston” (OWN): An all-new docu-series follows five sister cousins (Nicole, Jermeshia, Lakeisha, Jaquita and Monay) who are working to safeguard their family’s generational wealth by operating the largest Black-owned reality estate firm in Houston, Texas. “Roots of Comedy with Jesus Trejo” (PBS): Eeland Stribling, Tatanka Means
June 30 – “2024 BET Awards” (BET): Will Smith is set to introduce a new song at the Taraji P. Henson-hosted ceremony that will honor Usher with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Performers this year will include GloRilla, Ice Spice, Latto, Muni Long, Tyla and Victoria Monét. “The Chi” (SHO): The disappointing sixth season concludes with death looming on Thanksgiving. “Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie” (NGC/Hulu): Born and raised fishing the waterways of New Orleans, the actor explores the growing rumors that shark encounters may be on the rise in the Gulf of Mexico. “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Andy Cohen’s 15th anniversary special. “Caresha For Real” (BET): City Girls’ Caresha Brownlee aka Yung Miami gets her own reality show.
July 1 – “Outrageous Love with NeNe Leakes” (Lifetime): The former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star captures the trials, triumphs and tribulations of real couples with hidden cameras and gives her personal insight alongside the action.
July 2 – “Clipped” (FX on Hulu): The season’s guiltiest pleasure comes to an end. “Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution” (PBS): Concludes showing how disco fell victim to a violent backlash and how it came back stronger. “Password” (NBC): Wiz Khalifa vs. Jimmy Fallon
July 3 – “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” (Netflix): Yet another franchise return for Eddie Murphy who has started doing voice work for a fifth “Shrek” and a spinoff Donkey film. “Hope in the Water” (PBS): The series ends looking at the demand on wild fisheries and how creative approaches to diversifying our seafood diets are already rewriting menus worldwide.
July 4 – “Space Cadet” (Netflix): Emma Roberts and Gabrielle Union are featured in this movie placing a Florida party girl into the NASA space program. “Barbecue Showdown” (Food): The third season brings back Michelle Buteau (“Survival of the Thickest”) to host and L.A. BBQ king Kevin Bludso to judge. “Macy’s 4th of July Spectacular” (NBC): Zuri Hall (“Access Hollywood”) and singer Mickey Guyton host The War and Treaty, Puerto Rican star Luis Fonsi (“Despacito”) and more.
END QUOTE: “Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.” – JAMES BALDWIN
As featured in the Los Angeles Wave and Independent, Tasty Clips is one of the leading entertainment columns in the nation, serving nearly one million weekly readers. Bill Vaughan may be reached attastyclips@yahoo.com, via Twitter @tastyclips, or Instagram @tasty_clips.
