Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 8-17-18

Entertainment
Jay-Z and Beyonce Dedicate Detroit Concert To Aretha Franklin
The hip-hop world contin- ues to send prayers to music legend Aretha Franklin, who has reportedly fallen gravely ill. After receiving love from Missy Elliott, Juice Wrld and more, Jay- Z and Beyonce dedicated their On the Run Tour II concert in Detroit on Monday night (Aug. 13) to the Queen of Soul.
Beyonce kicked off her set with a short tribute to Franklin, telling the crowd, "This show is dedicated to Aretha Franklin. We love you and thank you." Opener DJ Khaled also made sure to show love to the singer, playing her hit song "Re- spect" as the Ford Field crowd sang along.
News of Franklin's health began to spread on
JAY-Z AND BEYONCE
Monday when Detroit's Local 4 news reporter Evrod Cas- simy confirmed the singer was ill. "I am so saddened to report that the Queen of Soul and my good friend, Aretha Franklin is gravely ill. I spoke with her family mem-
bers this morning. She is ask- ing for your prayers at this time," he tweeted.
CNN is also reporting that Franklin is in hospice care at her home. "She has a great family, she's surrounded by love, and the world is sending prayers. All further an- nouncements will be made by her family," Showbiz 411's Roger Friedman told the network.
Following the news of her health, members of the hip- hop community showed their love for the singer on Twitter. "My prayers are with Aretha Franklin & her family dur- ing this difficult time," tweeted Missy. "Prayers Up For The Queen Of Soul Aretha Franklin...Hope You Get Well!!!" wrote DJ Premier.
Travis Scott 'Astroworld' Album Goes Gold
Pregnant Reality Star, Lyric McHenry Found Dead Of Apparent Overdose
TRAVIS SCOTT
It was only a matter of time. A little over a week after its debut, Travis Scott's highly-anticipated album As- troworld has moved the equivalent of 500,000 units, certifying it as gold.
This comes as little sur- prise as the album also de- buted at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart on Friday (Aug. 10) after accumulat- ing 537,000 equivalent album units in just a week. The 17- track album was peppered with a number of big-name features such as Drake, 21 Savage, Migos, Frank Ocean and more—but it's no question that Travis brought his A-game and shone bright- est.
In an interview with Rolling Stone shortly after the album drop, Scott's long- time A&R Sickamore re- vealed that the artist was more motivated than ever
after he was snubbed for a Grammy nomination for his 2016 album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. "We went back and wanted to make an album that was undeniable. The Grammy snub was prob- ably the best thing that hap- pened to us. It gave us a chip on our shoulder," Sick- amore said.
Despite the album's unde- niable success, its rollout did not come without some con- troversy. Transgender icon Amanda Lepore spoke out after she was reportedly left off of the final version of the album cover, prompting the album's photographer, leg- endary artist David LaChappelle to speak out. Travis himself later is- sued a statement saying that it was in no way a slight and that he has "nothing but re- spect for the LGBTQ commu- nity."
Lyric McHenry,who starred on EJNYC, was found dead from an apparent over- dose on a sidewalk in New York on Tuesday.
According to reports, the 26-year-old pal of EJ John- son was 20 weeks pregnant and was discovered around 5 a.m. above the Major Deegan Expressway at Undercliff Ave. and Boscobel Place in Highbridge in the Bronx.
She was reportedly wear- ing only a pajama top and un-
LYRIC AND EJ JOHNSON
derwear and possessed a
small bag of cocaine when she was found alive, but un- conscious and unresponsive on the street. She died at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital and police have said they suspect she suffered an overdose. No obvious signs of trauma were observed.
The reality star was re- portedly celebrating her birthday on Monday night and posted several stories on her social media pages chron- icling her night on the town.
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