By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
Anyone who’s followed Judith Hill’s story will recognize “Letters from a Black Widow” as one jaw-dropper of an album title. The tabloid-coined phrase “Black Widow” arose after the overdose deaths of her two star-making collaborators, Michael Jackson and Prince.
It became a term of abuse that internet trolls hurled at the celebrated artist, driving conspiracy theories and shame campaigns — trauma that nearly ended a career that includes a Grammy for her role in the Oscar-winning documentary film “20 Feet from Stardom.”
“For years the Black Widow was such a dark presence in my life that was too looming and intimidating to even talk about,” Hill says.
But a year into the pandemic, she had time and space for a momentous reckoning.
“Being forced to stop allowed me to reach a deeper place, to really marinate and figure out what’s at my core, what I really needed to talk about. I found I had the courage and strength to face all this — to be authentic to my core, to dive into the whole experience, and turn an ocean of darkness into expressive fire.”
Hill will discuss her life coming of age as a mixed-race child of bohemian California, and the process of creating her latest work described as “an album-length soul/funk/gospel passion play” with The Music Times’ Lyndsey Parker at the Grammy Museum, June 11 to be followed by a performance.
RESPECT: The American Cinematheque honors “the first Black action hero” with Richard Roundtree: A Retrospective running June 8 and 14 at the Los Feliz 3 Theater. Among the films being shown are “Shaft,” “Shaft’s Big Score,” “Once Upon A Time … When We Were Colored,” and “Q: The Winged Serpent.”
Roundtree, who died last October, has two films scheduled to be released this year: the comedy short “Swedish Erotica” and the Sundance hit “Thelma” starring 94-year-old June Squibb to open in theaters June 21.
BLACK MUSIC MONTH: Rotation, the hip-hop and R&B brand from Amazon Music, is recognizing the month with “Forever the Influence,” a robust schedule of livestreams, video content and programming aimed at honoring Black artists whose music has pushed boundaries and defined culture.
As part of the new initiative, an unforgettable City Sessions concert with Grammy-winner, Golden Globe-winner, and Academy Award-nominee Andra Day will broadcast live from the Warwick on June 7. The multiplatinum powerhouse vocalist will include songs off her critically acclaimed new album on Warner Records, “Cassandra (cherith)” for the performance available to stream on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and Prime Video starting at 6 p.m.
The African American Film Critics Association and the Grammy Museum are sponsoring a Black Music Month Celebration June 8 from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at the museum’s L.A. Live headquarters with Emmy-winning director and producer Lisa Cortés presenting a screening of her documentary “Little Richard: I Am Everything” and a discussion with Dyana Williams (who co-founded Black Music Month along with Kenny Gamble and Ed Wright) and music industry executive Phylicia Fant.
RED CARPET WALK: Walt Disney & Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” has its Hollywood premiere on June 10 at the El Capitan Theatre with the voice cast of Amy Poehler, Ayo Edebiri, Yvette Nicole Brown, Flea, Ron Funches and Diane Lane expected.
TASTY QUIP: “I realized that I don’t have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect and beautiful journey of my life.” – KERRY WASHINGTON
CLIPPETTES: Butterfly Black, featuring Grammy winning bassist Ben Williams and Emmy winner Syndee Winters, herald the release of their debut album “Blackpop” on June 7 at Hotel Café with special guest Aliyah Niambi …
Also that evening, Jazz at LACMA presents the Teodross Avery Quartet, Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Deuces Wild Tour with special guests Little Feat comes to the Greek Theatre (also on June 9), and the run of “Super Freak: The Rick James Story” plays its last two evenings at the Pantages …
Comic legend Marsha Warfield headlines The Pride Show at the Bourbon Room June 8, as Janet Jackson comes to the Kia Forum (also June 9 at the Honda Center), and Soulnic Live celebrates the 40th anniversary of house music with a free event at Grand Performances featuring DJs and a performance by Tortured Soul …
“Best Friends” Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata team up June 8 at Largo, while the Rev, Shawn Amos is at The Broad Stage, and Hunxho is at The Novo …
In addition that date, the World Stage celebrates its 35th year Founders’ Day Celebration on June 11 with Pat Prescott hosting performances by David Murray and Kahil El Zabar, Joyner Lucas with Daz & Millyz are at The Novo, and Tiny Desk Contest On The Road 2024 makes a stop at the Lodge Room …
Vampire Weekend performs at the Hollywood Bowl on June 12 …
Gospel star Tye Tribbett & Friends bring Only One Night Tho June 13 to The Wiltern while infamous rapper Kodak Black goes on at The Novo, and Rachel Z with Omar Hakim and Jonathan Toscano play Sam First.
TC ON TV: June 7 – “Queenie” (Hulu): Based on the best-selling novel by Candice Carty-Williams, Dionne Brown stars as a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in south London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” (Hulu): Plunges us into the heart of the 70s, in Paris, Monaco and Rome, to follow the formidable blossoming of this complex and iconic personality of Parisian couture. “Hit Man” (Netflix): A sexy thriller (scoring 97% on Rotten Tomatoes) catapulting Glen Powell (“Top Gun: Maverick”) to stardom. “The 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards” (CBS): Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner of “Entertainment Tonight” return to host the ceremony from the Westin Bonaventure honoring Rolanda Watts and A Martinez, among others. “Friday Night Vibes” (TBS): Tonight’s double feature has Denzel Washington in “Déjà Vu” followed by son John David Washington in “Tenet” “Power Book II: Ghost” (Starz): The fourth season premieres.
June 8 – “Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter” (IFC/AMC+): “Drama Actors” features discussions with David Oyelowo, Jon Hamm, Clive Owen and more.
June 9 – “Delicious Miss Brown” (Food): “Family Sunday Funday” “2024 LA Pride Parade” (Hulu): The livestream. “Billboard Latin Women in Music” (Telemundo): Honoring Gloria Estefan, Camila Cabello, Karol G, Kali Uchis, Ana Bárbara, Ángela Aguilar and Kany García.
June 10 – “Origin” (Hulu): Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste” comes to streaming. It stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as the author. “Kelly Clarkson” (Syn): Colman Domingo “Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color” (NGC): Back-to-back episodes on “Dunkirk” and the “Battle of the Bulge” conclude the mini-series.
June 11 – “How Music Got Free” (Paramount+): From executive producers Marshall “Eminem” Mathers, LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Paul Rosenberg and Steve Stoute comes the fascinating, and often funny, inside story of the technology-driven, file sharing disruption that changed music during the late 90s and early 2000s. Narrated by Method Man, the series features interviews with 50 Cent, Timbaland, Jimmy Iovine, Rocsi Diaz, Rhymefest and more. “Keith Robinson: Different Strokes” (Netflix): From trying to order Popeyes after his stroke to popping Viagra on a plane, the revered comedian who stole the show at Kevin Hart’s Kennedy Center Honors, gets real in this hilarious stand-up special. “The View” (ABC): Questlove “Kelly Clarkson” (Syn): Aisha Tyler, Jo Koy “30 For 30” (ESPN): Ismail Al-Amin’s “False Positive” tells the story of track athlete Harry “Butch” Reynolds and his accusation of taking steroids.
June 12 – “The View” (ABC): Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”)
June 13 – “Brats” (Hulu): Explores the cultural phenomenon of the young actors of the 1980s who were labeled the “Brat Pack.” “The Boys” (Prime): Fourth season premiere. “Bridgerton” (Netflix): The last part of the third season, which creator Shonda Rhimes says brought her to rare tears, arrives. “The Dirty D” (Peacock): Drugs, money, sex and drama swirl around inside one of Detroit’s hottest nightclubs, run by a shady power couple who employ conniving bottle girls.
END QUOTE: “If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.” – MARVIN GAYE
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.
