By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
Muni Long, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox (of Song of the Year “Made For Me”), Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Robert “Kool” Bell, Grandmaster Flash, Suzanne de Passe (Motown Productions’ first Black female president), and other music industry visionaries are being honored June 2 at the inaugural ICE (Imperial Crown of Excellence) Medal of Honor celebration in Atlanta.
“We are thrilled to launch the ICE Medal of Honor and to recognize these outstanding individuals who have made an enduring mark on the world through their art and creativity,” said Black American Music Association Chairman Michael Mauldin, who will serve as an honorary host along with L.A. Reid and Chaka Zulu. “This celebration is a testament to the power of Black American music in shaping culture and inspiring generations.”
As Atlanta is the host city, there will also be special recognition given to Mayor Andre Dickens, as well as a tribute to two of the south’s most recent fallen soldiers, industry vet Clay Evans and Dungeon Family hit maker Rico Wade. For more info, visit: BamAssociation.org.
AT THE MOVIES: A feature that generated a great deal of buzz at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival is hitting domestic theaters this weekend.
Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book,” “Lord of the Rings”) is director and star of “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” a riveting art house western with a familiar cadre of supporting actors including Garret Dillahunt (“Fear the Walking Dead”), Ray McKinnon (“Mayans M.C.”), W. Earl Brown (“The Mandalorian”), and Danny Huston (“Yellowstone”) with newcomer Solly McLeod (“Tom Jones”) as a hiss-worthy bully despite looking like a buff Seth Rogan.
With all that testosterone on board, it is Vicky Krieps (of M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old”) who steals the show as an independent frontier woman forced to hold things together after her man leaves to fight for the Union in the Civil War. She was a worthy winner of the festival’s prestigious TIFF Tribute Award for Performance, guiding our emotions until the film’s poetic conclusion.
TASTY QUIP: “Well, the only thing I want to say about that whole scenario is that I want to give both of them a shout-out for raising the bar as far as lyrics, as far as song-making and writing because the writing has been upped since the confrontation or whatever you call it, whatever they went through. Those are my nephews. I’m not in the middle of it. I support both of them and that’s personal business, not my business.” – SNOOP DOGG to “Entertainment Tonight” on the feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar
CLIPPETTES: May 31 has Cécile McLorin Salvant & Silvana Estrada at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Sweet Baby J’ai at LACMA, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony at The Saban Theatre, Sarah McLachlan at the Hollywood Bowl, Cosmic Vibrations with Dwight Trible at the World Stage, Arturo Sandoval & The L.A. All-Stars beginning two nights at Catalina Jazz Club, and the Newport Beach Jazz Festival kicking off three days of music with Babyface, Norman Brown, Avery Sunshine, Brian Culbertson, Damien Escobar, Marion Meadows & Althea Rene, Jarrod Lawson, Peter White, Jazz Funk Soul (Jeff Lorber, Everette Harp, Paul Jackson Jr.), Average White Band (on their final tour), and more …
Famed South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley, CEO of the Dodgers Foundation Nichol T. Whiteman, and Beautyblender founder Rea Ann Silva will be honored at the 15th annual Women of Excellence Awards Luncheon and fashion show on June 1 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Nischelle Turner (“Entertainment Tonight”) will host the event with appearances by actresses Vanessa Simmons, and Javicia Leslie; “Real Housewives” Cynthia Bailey, Jo De La Rosa and Annemarie Wiley; Cedric the Entertainer; and singer and songwriter Erica Campbell who will perform …
The evening also brings Jeffrey Osborne, Boney James, and Jody Watley to the Greek Theater, as Natalie Merchant hits Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Cosmopolitan hosts Hasan Minhaj, Jeff Kashiwa plays Spaghettini’s, and the two-day Outloud Music Festival gets started at West Hollywood Park with Janelle Monae, Kylie Minogue, Keke Palmer, Big Freedia, Diplo, and others …
MGM+’s “Godfather of Harlem” starring Forest Whitaker as gangster Bumpy Johnson has found its Frank Lucas for season four in Emmy Award winner Rome Flynn (“The Bold and the Beautiful,” “How to Get Away With Murder”). He’ll play the role of the rival kingpin portrayed by Denzel Washington in the 2007 feature film “American Gangster” …
On June 2 at noon, The Debbie Allen Dance Academy hosts the second annual Free Community Block Party on Washington Boulevard from Western Avenue to Gramercy Place. Also that date, Sean Paul’s Greatest Hits Tour arrives at The Palladium …
Willow visits Amoeba Hollywood on June 4 at 5 p.m. to play a special live set celebrating her new album, “empathogen” …
Some 50 years after her Broadway debut as the original Dorothy in “The Wiz,” Grammy Award winner Stephanie Mills announced she is returning to those stages in the Tony Award-winning musical “Hadestown.” Her run begins July 2 at the Walter Kerr Theatre …
The Grammy Museum’s Hip-Hop Block Party will be held June 6 with dynamic dance showcases lead by Leslie “Big Lez” Segar and Richard “Swoop” Whitebear, a cutting-edge fashion show featuring Cross Colours and the Black Design Collective, a photo gallery, live performances and more …
Also that evening, Bobby Lyle plays Vibrato Grill, and “Super Freak: The Rick James Story” starring Stokely (the Mint Condition lead singer who won 2024 NAACP Theatre Awards Trailblazer for his portrayal) begins a run at the Pantages Theatre through June 8.
TASTY QUIP: “I went down and we handled it. My lawyers are taking care of it. It is what it is. It was funny because I was going to a friend’s house, they were moving and asked me to take some stuff. I did and got pulled, got stopped. And the crazy thing was, they let me go. And it was a year later that I get a phone call that said there was a warrant for my arrest. So I went down. Fifty-seven years, I’ve never seen the inside of a jail cell.” – DARIUS RUCKER to “Today” on Tennessee charges of simple possession and registration law violations last year
TC ON TV: May 31 – “How To Ruin Love” (Netflix): In this South African sitcom, a suspicious woman ruins her boyfriend’s surprise proposal and must win him back. “The Great Lillian Hall” (HBO): Jessica Lange stars as a beloved Broadway star struggling to make her next opening night while fighting confusion and forgetfulness. With Jesse Williams, Kathy Bates, and Pierce Brosnan. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC): Maya Rudolph, Jacob Batalon
June 2 – “Delicious Miss Brown” (Food): Kardea Brown kicks off a 10th season of recipes with “It’s Always Sunny in Charleston.”
June 3 – “Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color” (NGC/Hulu/Disney+) Idris Elba and Sam Pollard are executive producers of this landmark four-part series shedding light on the immense contributions of over eight million individuals who fought heroically for the Allied forces and whose stories have largely gone untold. “I.S.S.” (Paramount+): Ariana DuBose stars in this gripping sci-fi thriller about an international space station project gone awry after war breaks out on Earth. “The View” (ABC): Jodie Turner-Smith
June 4 – “Marlon Wayans: Good Grief” (Prime): A very personal performance at the iconic Apollo Theater in Harlem, where comedy meets therapy as Marlon works through his grief after recently losing both of his parents. “Clipped” (FX on Hulu): A limited series on the scandal that hit the L.A. Clippers in 2013 starring Ed O’Neill as team owner Donald Sterling, Laurence Fishburne as coach Doc Rivers, Clifton Davis as Elgin Baylor and J. Alphonse Nicholson (“P-Valley”) as Chris Paul. “Let The Canary Sing” (Paramount+): A documentary about the journey of the iconic performer/activist Cyndi Lauper with observations from Billy Porter, Patti LaBelle, and Boy George. “Jo Koy: Live from Brooklyn” (Netflix): The comedian takes on energy vampires, mumble rap and emoji flirting. “Star Wars: The Acolyte” (Disney+): The thrilling, live-action series featuring Amandla Stenberg, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Carrie-Anne Moss, launches with the first two episodes. “BET News Presents” (BET): “What’s At Stake: 2024 Election Roundtable”
June 6 – “Counsel Culture” (Prime/Freevee): Nick Cannon hosts this talk show, which seeks to help destigmatize topics around male mental health. Co-hosts include Howie Mandel, Lamar Odom, Ne-Yo, Ray-J, August Alsina, and more. “Incision” (BET+): Brandee Evans (“P-Valley”) stars as a medical resident who adopts a new identity to infiltrate an illegal organ harvesting ring responsible for her sister’s demise. “Makeup V Breakup” (AllBlk): This dramedy follows the lives of several individuals that reside in New York City and their trials and tribulations with millennial dating. “Am I Ok?” (MAX): Dakota Johnson, Kiersey Clemons, and Jermaine Fowler are featured in this film about friendships tested. “Kelly Clarkson” (Syn): CeCe Winans
END QUOTE: “Sometimes the best things are right in front of you; it just takes some time to see them.” – Legendary singer GLADYS KNIGHT who celebrates turning 80 this week.
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.
