Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 11-20-18

Entertainment
Comcast To Add Two Networks Geared Toward African-American Viewers In 2019
Hip-Hop Dominates Pandora’s Top Thumbed 100 Tracks Of 2018
PANDORA HIP HOP THUMBS UP 2018
According to Deadline, Comcast’s Xfinity has a plan to appeal to African-American households. The mega-corpo- ration announced the creation of Afro and Cleo TV, two net- works that will provide pro- gramming geared toward this demographic. Cleo TV will fea- ture programming for “Gen X women of color,” while Afro will serve as a hub for Nolly- wood films and other enter- tainment attractions.
The entities are also being billed as “two African-Ameri- can majority-owned” outlets
COMCAST
that’ll take shape at the top of
2019. Afro and Cleo TV are also part of Comcast’s goal to establish 10 diverse networks next year. Out of the 10, there are eight that will be majorly controlled by executives of color.
Currently, BET, TV One, Re- volt, OWN and others continue to produce content for black audiences. That push for more programs is some- thing BET’s head of program- ming, Connie Orlando, believes will provide new grounds for more networks to sprout.
Janelle Monae To Be Honored With Trailblazer Award At Billboard’s Women In Music
Pandora has been spending the last year crunching the numbers for a very successful year in hip-hop and R&B. Tak- ing time to compile a list of the Top 100 thumbed up tracks on the streaming platform, Pan- dora has officially released their “Thumbed Hundreds” playlist.
This year, out of the 5.7 bil- lion thumbed up tracks from Pandora, hip-hop has unmis- takably dominated the playlist. Led by this year’s heavy hitters Drake, Cardi B and Post Malone, hip-hop and R&B artists have claimed over 70 spots on the playlist– includ- ing the top 10 positions.
Drake sits at the top of the list, with his No. 1 debut and 8 times platinum track, “God’s
Plan.” Released on Jan. 19 as a part of his Scary Hours EP, the track was later placed on the rap star’s double-disc studio album, Scorpion.
Aside from “God’s Plan,” four other tracks off Scor- pion also landed a spot on the Top 100, including “Nice For What,” “In My Feelings,” “Nonstop,” and “I’m Upset,” sitting at No. 4, 5, 33 and 45 (respectively).
Trailing behind Drake is Bronx femcee Cardi B, who appears on the list a total of 11 times (as opposed to Drake’s 9). Invasion of Privacy’s “I Like It” with Bad Bunny and J Balvin takes the No. 2 posi- tion on the list, followed by Post Malone’s “Psycho” at No. 3.
Janelle Monae will be honored with the coveted Trail- blazer Award at Billboard’s up- coming Women In Music ceremony. The 13th annual event will take place on Dec. 6 in New York City.
“Janelle Monáe’s insatiable drive to incorporate new, un- told stories into her artistic projects — while synthesizing classic funk, soul, R&B, jazz, hip-hop and rock — makes her a truly unique voice,” said Bill- board’s editorial director Jason Lipshutz in a statement. “Popular music is
JANELLE MONAE
more interesting today because
Janelle Monáe is part of it.” Per Billboard, “The Trail- blazer Award is awarded to a fe- male artist who acts as a music industry pioneer by using her platform to spotlight unheard voices and break ground for fu- ture generations of perform- ers.” Throughout her time in the spotlight, the Wondaland Records musician has contin- ued to redefine what it means to be a Black woman in music, and her devotion to bringing aware- ness to social causes has also aided in bringing attention to
her ground-breaking work.
Lil Jon Officially Opens Second School In Eastern Ghana
Lil Jon has followed through on his promise and opened his second school with organization Pencils of Promise in Ghana.
On Nov. 13, Pencils of Prom- ise confirmed the opening of Mafi Atitekpo DA Primary School in Mafi Atitekpo, Ghana. The opening of Mafi Attitekpo DA Primary School is a part of a continued effort between the 47-year-old rapper and PoP. In Oct. 2017, Lil Jon an- nounced the opening of Abo- mayaw D.A. Kindergarten, a learning facility located in the same Eastern Ghanan village.
The super producer also shared his joy over the school in a statement.
“Last year [October of 2017] I went with my family to open up my first Pencils of Promise school in Ghana, and now to have over 300 kids already en-
LIL JON
rolled in my second school there is incredible!” he said. “It’s been really fulfilling to see the impact these schools have made on so many of these chil- dren’s and families’ futures.”
According to AOL, Mafi
Atitekpo DA officially opened it’s doors in July and has since been operating with approxi- mately 313 children enrolled.
Lil Jon has donated a total of $70,000 to help fund the de- velopment of both schools.
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