Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 5-22-20

Entertainment
Diddy Says He Can't Handle Andre Harrell's Death
ANDRE HARRELL AND DIDDY
Diddy is speaking out on the death of his mentor, Andre Harrell, who dis- covered him decades ago and put him on a trajectory to fame -- and his farewell may well bring a tear to your eye.
The Bad Boy honcho posted a video Monday (May 11) showing a speech he gave earlier this year after winning an Industry Icon Award at a Pre-Grammys Gala -- where he also called out the lack of diversity in the music biz -- but this time ... he high- lighted his words for Andre.
The remarks are quite moving -- Puffy recounts how Andre took him under his wing, showed him the ins and outs of the game, and simply rolled the dice and took a chance on him. He said he owes a lot of his suc- cess to the man -- and made sure he knew it.
Diddy worked as an in- tern at Harrell's Uptown Records and moved up the ladder to eventually become a talent director, where he was overseeing the develop- ment of some big-time stars. Eventually, Diddy and Up-
town parted ways ... and the rest is history.
In an accompanying cap- tion, Diddy writes ... "I hon- estly still can’t believe it. I’ve got to give myself the reality of this in doses. Because I can’t even handle this. I hope to God that you are all blessed to have someone in your life that loves you and believes in you like this man believed in me.... I’m going to miss him so much. I can’t even imagine life without Dre. God bless @gianni, @onealmcknight and the rest of the family."
He finished by saying, "LOVE YOU FOREVER @an- dreharrell !!!!!!!!!!"
Andre -- who founded Uptown Records and signed several mega R&B artists to his label back in the late '80s and early '90s -- passed away over the weekend. His family told media outlets that his cause of death was heart fail- ure. He was only 59.
He received countless tributes from all over Holly- wood, but it was Diddy peo- ple wanted to hear from ... and now, they have.
Doja Cat And Nicki Minaj’s ‘Say So’ Tops Megan Thee Stallion And Beyonce For
No. 1 On The Hot 100
DOJA CAT AND NICKI MINAJ
The anticipation for the re- veal of who will top this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart has been has intense as it has been in a while.
The reason is that it looked like it would be a hotly disputed contest between Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” (thanks in part to the new Beyonce remix of the song) and Doja Cat’s “Say So” (which was also boosted by a remix, featuring Nicki Minaj). Now, the lead- ers on the May 16-dated Hot 100 chart have been revealed, and Doja and Minaj’s tune came out on top.
Cynthia Bailey Slams Rumors She’s Exiting RHOA: ‘I Have No Plans To Leave’
CYNTHIA BAILEY
Cynthia Bailey has slammed rumors that she will not be returning for Season 13 of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
The former model recently addressed the matter to The Shade Room, telling the out- let: “I have no plans to leave RHOA at this time,” Bailey confirmed. “Every year there are rumors saying that I am getting fired, or not returning. I’ve been a peach holder con- sistently for 10 years now. I love my cast, and my Bravo family. I am looking forward to next season.”
Bailey also noted that she’s still in negotiations with Bravo about her new contract.
Incense, Tea And Healing: How Erykah Badu And Jill Scott Showed Up And Showed Sisterhood
JILL SCOTT AND ERYKAH BADU
Vibe of the Year award goes to Miss Jill Scott and Erykah Badu for blessing this side of the universe with a gloriously historic night.
On Saturday, May 9, these ladies took to social media as the inaugural women’s Verzuz battle on In- stagram Live, peaking around 725K viewers. How- ever, like most, this for me didn’t feel like a battle in the traditional sense, but rather a congregating of god-sparks, supplying Mother Earth’s in- habitants with medicine for
the soul.
One viewer commented,
“This is silk,” and I don’t think there is a better way to sum up the night in three words. This community soul session was not just a re- union between two jugger- nauts, two planets, two Orishas or two goddesses, but rather an enormous show of spiritual force intended to uplift our souls and our heavy hearts. Without a doubt, this was emphatically, the best moment of the new world order.
Nick Cannon Opens Vegan Soul Food Eatery In L.A.
Nick Cannon has teamed with plant-based Chef Velvet to open a vegan soul food restaurant in Los Angeles.
The duo have opened The VTree Hollywood inside Ya- mashiro, a popular Japanese restaurant located in the Hol- lywood Hills.
The eatery opened late last month and has been serving “soulFULL plant- based cuisine” for takeout and delivery due to the coro- navirus outbreak, per livekindly.co. The outlet also notes that the “restaurant’s rotating menu features clas- sic, southern-inspired dishes made with organic ingredi- ents, such as BBQ Ribz, Cajun Shrimp, Original Fried Drumsticks, and Chic’n and Waffles.”
Shortly after opening on April 30, the restaurant sold
NICK CANNON
out completely, the report states.
“LA, thank you! Thank you for completely selling us out. Thank you for your [pa- tience], thank you for your encouraging words, and thank you for your support,” The VTree Hollywood wrote on Instagram following its opening.
Adding: “We do not take it for granted that you choose to support our business.... again, thank you!”
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