Page 30 - Florida Sentinel 6-17-22

Entertainment
Kevin Liles Launches Rap
Dave Chappelle Show In Buffalo Will Benefit Families Of Mass Shooting Victims
Music On Trial Petition, Amid
Young Thug Rico Indictment
Comedian Dave Chap- pelle, who booked a last- minute show in Buffalo Sunday, announced on stage he had done so to honor the victims of the racially moti- vated attack at a supermarket where a gunman killed 10 peo- ple.
“He said, and I’m paraphras- ing, (he) came here to Buffalo to recognize the victims and for these families,” said Kevin Sweeney, director of market- ing and communications for
Shea’s Performing Arts Cen- ter, the 3,019-seat venue that hosted Sunday's event.
At the end of the perform- ance, Chappelle said family members of the victims were in the audience at his invita- tion and that he was donating proceeds from ticket sales to them.
Facebook commenters in at- tendance described it as "a very emotional, yet funny night,” “on point” and “seri- ously inspiring.”
Music executive Kevin Liles has started a petition in the hopes that the use of lyrics within hip hop music will be decriminalized now that pros- ecutors attempting to cite them as confessions to crimes in courtrooms across the country.
The “Rap Music On Trial: Protect Black Art” petition states that the practice of using rap lyrics on trial is not only a “violation of First Amendment protections for speech and creative expres- sion,” it also “ punishes al- ready marginalized communities and silences their stories of family, strug- gle, survival, and triumph.”
With a goal of 5,000 signa- tures, the petition comes on the heels of the Atlanta Rack- eteeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in- volving rapper Young Thug, Gunna, and several artists under his Young Stoner Life Records who are facing more than 50 allegations.
According to ABC News, lyrics from “Anybody” and
DAVE CHAPPELLE
KEVIN LILES
tracks from YSL’s 2020 com- pilation album, like “Slime Language 2,” “Take it to Trial,” “Ski,” and “Slatty,” will be used as evidence. This line from the 2021 song “Slime Sh*t” has been referenced by prosecutors: “I killed his man in front of his momma.”
Bonds for Young Thug and Gunna have both been denied.
Jennifer Hudson Achieves EGOT Status With Big Tony Awards Win
Jennifer Hudson has just joined an elite category of per- formers who have achieved one of the most coveted acronyms in all of entertain- ment.
She had to wait through the entirety of the Tony Awards ceremony to find out if she was going to join that lofty crew, but it all came together when "A Strange Loop" won for Best Musical.
Hudson is one of several
JENNIFER HUDSON
producers for the show, but there is no limit to how many producers can win the award, as noted by TheWrap.
With this victory, Hudson earns the coveted EGOT, which stands for wins at each of the Emmys, Grammys, Os- cars, and Tonys. She'd previ- ously won the Oscar in 2007 for her work in "Dreamgirls," and a Daytime Emmy in 2021 for producting the animated film "Baba Yaga."
Dwayne Johnson Brings His Mother
To Tears After Buying Her A House:
Dwayne Johnson just sur- prised his mom with a new home.
On Saturday, the Jungle Cruise actor shared a couple of clips of his mother, Ata John- son, taking a tour of her new house that he purchased for her as a gift.
"Love you mom and sur- prise," he began the lengthy In- stagram caption. "When I was a little boy, I hated when my mom would cry ~ these days, I'll happily take her tears of joy."
Explaining to his followers the situation, he wrote, "I sur- prised my mom and bought
DWAYNE JOHNSON AND HIS MOM ATA JOHNSON
'Enjoy Your New Home Mom'
her a new home."
"Took me and my design
team 8 weeks to get it ready, where she could walk thru her
front door for the very first time and everything she saw was brand new and a total sur- prise," he said.
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