Queen of Disco Donna Summer Dies by Bobbi Booker
 Special to the NNPA from the Philadelphia Tribune In this May 21, 2008 photo, Donna Summer performs during the finale of “American Idol” at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Summer, the Queen of Disco who ruled the dance floors with anthems like “Last Dance,” “Love to Love You Baby” and “Bad Girl,” has died. Her family announced her death in a statement Thur ...

Men In Black 3 By Dwight Brown
 NNPA Film Critic Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men In Black 3 It’s been ten years since Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones donned their black suits, cool sunglasses and glib hipness to play Agent J and Agent—the good guys who try to save the world from weird looking aliens. Should they have left well enough alone?  Have they harmed their legacy?  Yes and maybe. Boris the Anim ...

By Kimberly Roberts Special to the NNPA from the Philadelphia Tribune Eddie Levert’s recently released “Eddie Levert: I Still Have It,” is his first solo album in a career that spans more than 50 years.—SUBMITTED PHOTO One of the defining voices of the Golden Age of R&B is the O’Jays’ Eddie Levert and the iconic soul singer recently released “Eddie Levert: I Still Have It,” his first solo album in a car ...

By Kam Williams Special to the NNPA from the Call & Post Actor Michael Ealy (The Dreamer) After finding his breakout screen role as Ricky Nash in Barbershop and Barbershop 2, Michael rapidly rose through the ranks as one of Hollywood’s emerging young actors Born in Silver Spring, Maryland on August 3, 1973, Michael Ealy majored in English at the University of Maryland before heading to New York City whe ...

By Linda Tarrant-Reid Special to the NNPA from The Westchester County Press Two giants of journalism died recently, days apart, leaving a deep void in the coverage of significant stories that speak to the history of a people and the corruption of the system. Gil Noble was the producer/host of the iconic, long-running, award-winning public affairs program “Like It Is,” which aired on the ABC affiliate, WABC- ...

Firefighters were called to battle a four-alarm fire at the Tyler Perry studios in Atlanta on Tuesday night. Nearly 100 firefighters came to the scene, according to officials. There is no word on what caused the fire, and no reported injuries. The studios are over 200,000 square feet in size, containing five sound stages, a post production facility, a back lot, a 400-seat theater and much more. President Ba ...

By Dwight Brown NNPA Film Critic   When we think of music icons that died tragically and way too early, Michael Jackson, John Lennon and, more recently, Whitney Houston, come to mind. But let’s not forget Bob Marley. He brought reggae music to the world, was a social activist and lived a controversial life that rivals any of the aforementioned. His legacy is on view in this thoroughly revealing documen ...

By: Shaneka Smith   The collaborate efforts of AfterSchool Matters, DMI Youth CanProject V.O.I.C.E. and Studio 5090 provided 30 local teens from Michele Clarke, Christ the King, Chicago Academy for Advanced Technology and other Westside schools the opportunity to visit WGCI Studio through Project V.O.I.C.E program. Program instructors Clarence Clayton and Valencia Lake describe Project V.O.I.C.E as an ...

Basketball Hall of Fame player Isiah Thomas was fired on Friday by Florida International University, after his teams went 26-65 in his three seasons as head coach. Thomas told ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz he was stunned by the firing. “This is the most surprising thing that has happened to me in basketball,” Thomas said. “I never been fired before for basketball reasons. This is the first time. “When I ...

Special to the NNPA Burger King pulled a commercial starring R&B singer Mary J. Blige following controversy over her appearance and the context of the food advertised. The fast-food chain said it discontinued the commercial April 3 due to music licensing concerns, not because of the widespread criticism it received from African-Americans, according to the Associated Press. The ad was released the week o ...