Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 1-1-19

Entertainment
Fabolous Spends Over $100K On Christmas Gifts
Russell Simmons Reportedly
Wants Rape Case Dismissed,
Says He's Pro-#MeToo
Fabolous has spent six fig- ures so far on presents for fam- ily and friends this holiday season, Page Six has learned.
“I don’t put a money amount on Christmas — I just want to show people that they are spe- cialtome,”hetoldusatA Fabolous Way Foundation Toy Drive at Red Rabbit, with owner Richie Hosein. “But, it is safe to say I have spent over $100,000.”
He added that shopping is difficult because he’s busy.
“For me now, the problem is giving people the right gift. It becomes impersonal a little bit ... you might have to have an assistant do it. I don’t really get as involved, except with my kids. My kids make a list, and I make sure that they get it — but, for the team, it’s a bit hard to be personal with it because I have so much going on.”
Russell Simmons report- edly said that since he is a sup- porter of the #MeToo movement, there is no way that he could have sexually as- saulted one of the women ac- cusing him.
According to a report from The Blast, the entertain- ment entrepreneur is hoping to get one of his rape cases dropped; a Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against him after ac- cusing him of a sexual assault in 1988.
"Simmons explains he is a well-known entrepreneur and civil rights activist who 'fully embraces the #MeToo move- ment' and the 'critical impor- tance of creating safe spaces for women to thrive and lead
FABOLOUS
Jay-Z Helped Lil Wayne With His Taxes
"It’s important to note that Us — unlike Get Out is not about race," director Jordan Peele explained to Shadow and Act at an Us trailer-view- ing presentation in New York City last week. "It is a horror film. I dedicated a lot of myself to creating new horror mythol- ogy and new monsters. I think that monsters and stories about monsters are one of our best ways of getting at deeper truths and facing our fears in society. It was very important to me to have a Black family at the center of a horror film."
The Us trailer opens warmly enough. A Black family — a mother, father, son and daugh- ter travel along a country road with Luniz's 1995 hip-hop classic “I Got 5 On It” blasting from the radio. The father, Gabe (Winston Duke) sits in the driver's seat rapping along to the music as the
RUSSELL SIMMONS
in every facet of our society.' Last year, he attempted to launch a #NotMe campaign in order to defend himself from
sexual assault allegations.
Shrouded In Darkness:
The Trailer For Jordan Peele's 'Us'
Redefines Horror Mythology
Lil Wayne has been through plenty of ups and downs this year, but he cred- its Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz for helping him get through it all. On the Hov end of things, Weezy credits the rap legend for helping him out with his taxes.
During the final show of his
I Ain't Shit Without You Tour,
which took place in Chicago Sunday night (Dec. 23), Weezy hit the stage to per- form hits like "Uproar"off Tha Carter V and more. Before he brought the Swizz Beatz pro- duced hit to life on stage, Wayne took the time to thank the Poison beat maker for giv- ing him enough beats to live off of and TIDAL co-founder Jay- Z for helping him out during a time when he felt like he was "really down."
"There's people like Jay-Z," Lil Wayne began. "He helped me out when I was really, re- ally, really down. Really, really, really down. There's people like Swizz Beatz who's gonna send me every single beat he
A Scene from ‘Us’
JAY-Z
make and wants me to rap on every single one until I got my situation straight. He don't want me to talk about it. He don't want me to tell nobody." Continuing on with that thought, Weezy speaks on the way Hova helped him with his financial situation, though he doesn't offer many details.
"Jay don't want me to tell nobody," Wayne said in his thank you speech. "That man helped me with my tax. He's a real friend y'all
mother, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o), turns toward the backseat eagerly trying to get her young children (Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex) to engage with the clas- sic song. The kids, of course, are less than impressed.
So what is Us really about? At its core, Peele explained, "It is about something that I
feel has become an undeniable truth. That is the simple fact that we are our own worst ene- mies." Instead of examining the monsters that invade out nightmares, Peele is redefin- ing the horror mythology by turning it on its head and forc- ing us to look inward -- at the fears that have haunted us throughout our lifetimes.
Michelle Williams And Bobby Brown To Guest Star On BET Drama ‘American Soul’
BET just added a few more heavy hitters to its upcoming drama, American Soul.
Based on the life and career of Soul Train creator Don Cornelius, American Soul re- cently added Grammy Award winners Bobby Brown and Michelle Williams to its al- ready packed lineup.
According to Deadline, Williams will play Diana Ross, “who Cornelius is courting her to appear on his new show, but she hasn’t quite decided if she will accept his offer yet.” Brown will guest star as singer Rufus Thomas, who is best known for his hit, “Do the Funky Chicken.”
‘American Soul’ scene
In addition to Williams and Brown, American Soul has also cast singer K. Michelle, who’ll appear as Martha Reeves of Martha and The Vandellas; Bobby
Brown Story star Gabrielle Dennis, who’ll play Tina Turner; and Hit the Floor heartthrob McKinley Freeman, who’ll guest star as Ike Turner.
PAGE 16 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2019