Courtesy photo
By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
A trio of prominent artists who have taken sabbaticals from the entertainment industry are returning in projects aimed at pushing new perceptions.
Will Smith, the 56-year-old actor (“Bad Boys”) and rapper aka “The Fresh Prince,” has dropped his first album in 20 years.
Titled “Based on a True Story,” it has guest turns by his former partner DJ Jazzy Jeff, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, his son Jaden Smith, and Kanye West’s Sunday Service Choir.
In addition, Smith is launching a European tour in England on Aug. 24 and is rumored to be the next subject of a Netflix comedy roast, which last skewered NFL great Tom Brady.
Also returning this week with new music is 77-year-old rock icon Carlos Santana.
“I’m always driven by passion, emotion and inner instinct,” says the legendary guitarist about “Sentient” out March 28. “When I first heard these tracks floating around in the house, I said, ‘Why don’t we put these all in one place?'”
And so here is where you will find his out-of-the-vault recordings with Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Smokey Robinson, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC, and his drumming wife Cindy Blackman Santana.
After facing harassment charges from her former dancers, four-time Grammy winner Lizzo (“Truth Hurts,” “About Damn Time”) went underground. During that period, she committed to losing over 100 pounds and writing more personal songs for her upcoming fifth studio album “Love In Real Life.”
Now comes news that she will star as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a famed gospel singer considered the “Godmother of Rock and Roll” for a biopic to be produced by Forest Whitaker’s Significant Productions (“Godfather of Harlem”). A director and casting should be announced in the coming weeks for the Amazon MGM Studios movie.
TICKET WATCH: The electrifying Leon Bridges and Charley Crockett (the Black guitarist/ vocalist considered the next big thing in country music) are teaming for nationwide concerts with a June 5 date set at the Hollywood Bowl. Tickets for “The Crooner & The Cowboy Tour” go on sale at 10 a.m., March 28 via Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
STAGE NOTES: Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, on the red carpet for the opening of Broadway’s “Othello” starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, told the Hollywood Reporter that that there have “absolutely” already been talks about adapting the play into a film. Whether Gyllenhaal will be able to reprise his role of Iago remains to be seen.
After a successful run at LA’s Geffen Playhouse, “Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole,” starring Dulé Hill (“Psych,” “The West Wing”) as the legendary artist, is headed to a New York Theater Workshop engagement spanning April 30–June 15. The play with music is next slated to be adapted as a movie to star half of its playwrighting team — Colman Domingo.
TASTY QUIP: “So what’s up, America? I decided that I’m no longer a Black man, no longer a person of color. … We just all walk around like, I’m not a Black man. I’m a non-white man.” – MALIK YOBA (“New York Undercover,” “The Last O.G.“) on IG
CLIPPETTES: Tobe Nwigwe’s Home Is Where The Hood Is Tour comes to The Wiltern March 28 as husband and wife singing duo Johnnyswim take the stage of Anaheim’s House of Blues …
YouTube Theater hosts Billboard’s Women in Music 2025 on March 29 with Doechii, Erykah Badu, GloRilla, Gracie Abrams, Meghan Trainor, Muni Long, Tyla and more …
Legendary keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock is in concert March 30 at Walt Disney Concert Hall while reggae star Yellowman plays The Venice West …
The previously postponed Afro Bowie — A Progressive Birthday Celebration of the Musical Vision of David Bowie — will take place on March 31 at the Teragram Ballroom with a lineup including drummer Omar Hakim, Vernon Reid & Corey Glover of Living Colour, Fishbone’s Norwood Fisher, saxophonist Azar Lawrence, vocalists Dwight Trible, Georgia Anne Muldrow & Kat Dyson and more with special guest Moby …
The April 1 free We [Heart] LA concert at the Hollywood Bowl has added Christina Aquilera to the bill which boasts Gerald Clayton, Gustavo Dudamel leading the LA Phil and others …
The date also finds jazzmen Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Marcus Gilmore at The Orpheum; comedy with Margaret Cho at the Clive Davis Theater and Jon Lovitz at Vibrato Grill & Jazz; and singer Corinne Bailey Rae at the House Of Blues Anaheim (moving the next night to the Orpheum Theatre) …
Daytime talk show “Sherri,” starring Sherri Shepherd, has been renewed for a fourth season. This news has been out shadowed since the host revealed she was confronted on the “Othello” red carpet by an unnamed celebrity (reputed to be Nia Long) that had her blood boiling as she waited in the ladies room for her to come in …
The Dorothy Chandler Pavillion will house the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater April 2–6.
“O” GETS PERSONAL: “When I was around 48 years old, I thought I was dying and went from doctor to doctor trying to understand why my heart was racing, and did not receive any answers until I picked up a book and read how heart palpitations can be a symptom indicating a change is coming to your body. This show starts the revolution of answers for millions of women throughout this country. We discuss what you need to know to best advocate for yourself when it comes to mental health, sleep, weight, sex and your brain so we can ultimately see how freeing menopause can be in your life, with the best yet to come.” – OPRAH WINFREY on her special “The Menopause Revolution” airing on ABC March 31 and Disney+ & Hulu afterward
TC ON TV: March 28 – “Number One on the Call Sheet” (Apple TV+): A two-part documentary on the joys and challenges of being a Black actor with insights from Denzel Washington, Idris Elba, Tiffany Haddish, Morgan Freeman, Cynthia Erivo, Eddie Murphy and Michael B. Jordan among many others. It comes from producers Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart and Reginald Hudlin who directs with Shola Lynch. “Fight For Glory: 2024 World Series” (Apple TV+): An all-access three-part documentary from executive producers Derek Jeter, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard capturing defining moments of the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the New York Yankees. “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip” (Disney+): A family comedy with Eva Longoria and Cheech Marin.
March 29 – “Wife Stalker” (Lifetime): Executive producer and star Keshia Knight Pulliam portrays a wife and mother who must protect her husband (Traí Byers) and family from a predatory home wrecker (Grace Byers). Yes, these are the same Byers who met on “Empire” and got hitched.
March 30 – “Mobland” (Paramount+): This global organized crime series from Guy Ritchie features a star-studded cast, including Tom Hardy (“Venom” franchise), Pierce Brosnan (“Die Another Day”), and Helen Mirren (“1923”). “$100,000 Pyramid” (ABC): Jaleel White, Rocsi Diaz
March 31 – “Truelove” (Acorn): Clarke Peters (“The Wire,” “Da 5 Bloods”) stars in this drama about a group of old friends reunited at a funeral who make a fanciful drunken pact that morphs into a shocking reality. “Kelly Clarkson” (Syn): Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Jack Black
April 1 – “The View” (ABC): Elie Mystal “Finding Your Roots” (PBS): Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the long-lost roots of actor Sheryl Lee Ralph and historian Lonnie Bunch — two African Americans whose ancestors broke boundaries and forged families as they moved from slavery to freedom.
April 2 – “Tamron Hall” (Syn): Deborah Roberts “Nature” (PBS): Katavi National Park in southern Tanzania is a remote wilderness. Here, filmmakers capture a once-in-a-lifetime event — a severe drought followed by heavy rains that tests the survival skills of all those that call it home.
April 3 – “The Bondsman” (Prime): Kevin Bacon stars in this horror comedy as a murdered bounty hunter who’s back from the dead after being resurrected by the devil to trap and send back demons that have escaped from the prison of hell. “Pulse” (Netflix): Justina Machado (“One Day at a Time”) and Jesse T. Usher (“The Boys”) are featured in this new series about a group of ER residents navigating medical crises and personal drama amid a divisive allegation at their Miami hospital. “The View” (ABC): Michael B. Jordan, Audra McDonald, Laurence Fishburne “Savor The City” (TV1): A new food and travel series hosted by acclaimed chef, author, and TV personality Chef Jernard Wells.
END QUOTE: “It’s very important that people know that I really enjoy everything that has happened to me. And I tell my kids … you’re not going to be the tallest, fastest, prettiest, the best track runner, but you can be the nicest human being that someone has ever met in their life. And I just want to leave that legacy that being nice is a true treasure.” – “BIG” GEORGE FOREMAN (Boxing Champion and Entrepreneur – Rest In Power)
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 at tastyclips@yahoo.com, via Twitter @tastyclips, or Instagram @tasty_clips.
