"Fast and Furious' Franchise Star, Tyrese Gibson, Loses Mother to Covid-19 Complications

@tyrese/ Instagram

While others were celebrating the loves of their life this past Valentine’s Day, actor Tyrese Gibson took to Instagram to share the loss of one of his with the world.

In a solemn video posted on the site, the 43-year-old “Fast and Furious” movie franchise star mourned the loss of his mother Priscilla Murray, who died on Monday after being hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia the previous week.

"On behalf of my family and everyone who ever spent anytime praying for my mother, this is the saddest moment of my life," Gibson captioned the clip. "My sweet Valentine just passed away."

The video features the actor holding his unresponsive mother’s hand.

"Rest in peace mom," he says with tears in his voice. "You fought, mom. You fought. Oh my god, I'm so sorry this happened, mom, Jesus."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by TYRESE (@tyrese)

Gibson added, "I'm gonna hold your hand for the rest of my life, OK? Everywhere I go, I'm gonna hold your hand the way you held my hand when I was a kid."

The heartbreaking scene was the end of a sad and short saga that begin on Feb. 7 when Gibson shared that his mother was hospitalized and asked his fans to pray for her.

"My mother is in a coma, in ICU, with Pneumonia and she caught Covid they got her so sedated she can't breathe or even eat on her own," he explained in an Instagram post. "This has been going on all week I haven't posted [I'm doing it this time cause I feel helpless this is my cry for help."

"Please guys praise you pray and even write out the prayers in the comments so that me and my family can read and be encouraged," Gibson said. "I feel helpless and need my prayer warriors to cover my mother please please keep her father God she's got so much more to do…"

Despite being clearly deep in mourning Gibson expressed thanks to jazz artist Kenny G. The legendary saxophonist played "Forever in Love" during an Instagram Live for Gibson and his mom while in the hospital.

"Dear @kennyg I will never ever forget what you did for our beloved mother you sent her into the heavens with the perfect melody………." he wrote. "I am going to watch this clip over and over and remember that you sent her into the heavens on the sweetest Melodies…."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by TYRESE (@tyrese)

Beyoncé Biopic Ballad 'Be Alive' Earns Singer First Oscar Nomination

Kristopher Harris via Wikimedia Commons

Music megastar Beyoncé has 28 Grammy Awards, more than any other performer in history, and tied with legendary producer Quincy Jones for the most overall — but Tuesday the 40-year-old singer found a new frontier to conquer.

Her song, "Be Alive," which she co-wrote with songwriter Dixon for the Will Smith-led biopic "King Richard" about the life of Venus and Serena Williams' father, Richard Williams, earned the artist her first Academy Award nomination.

The nomination was one of six Oscar nods for the movie announced by actor-comedian Leslie Jordan and actor, CEO and producer Tracee Ellis Ross Tuesday via a global live stream as they revealed the nominees for the 94th edition of the Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Will Smith as Richard Williams.

The moment may have been bittersweet for Beyoncé, whose husband Jay-Z didn't make the cut in the same category with "Guns Go Bang," from the black cowboy Netflix epic “The Harder They Fall," but it was well deserved according to the daughter of the film's subject Serena Williams.

 

"When the film came out, there was no other person that could do this song except for Beyoncé. I feel like we've had a similar path in our lives. We've trained since an early age to reach a goal," the tennis pro shared while on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" in November, about approaching Beyoncé, whom she's collaborated with before about doing the original song for the movie. "For us it was really only one answer, and she embraced that. There was no doubt in her mind that it belonged to her as well. The original song is amazing, and I love it."

Check out the video below for the complete list of nominations or go to oscars.com.

  

Kanye West Documentary 'Jeen-Yuhs' to Debut on Big Screen Ahead of Netflix Release

Courtesy of Netflix

Act 1 of “Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy,” the controversial upcoming Netflix three-part documentary about rapper Kanye West’s rise to fame is getting a theatrical release.

Feb. 10, a week before its Feb. 16 debut on the streaming service kicks off a three-week event centered around the documentary’s three parts, fans will have a chance to see the opening arc — focused on the artist's early years — in more than 1,100 theaters across the nation.

Filmmakers Clarence "Coodie" Simmons and Chike Ozah praised Netflix for working with them to share it in theatres.

"As filmmakers, it's a blessing to have our work presented on the big screen," they said in a statement announcing the news Friday.

It is a big move for the movie, chronicling over 20 years of West’s career and highlighting his progression from rapper to businessman and eventually presidential candidate. In January, two days ahead of the film’s anticipated premiere at the virtual Sundance Film Festival, the mercurial artist demanded final cut approval over the documentary.

"I'm going to say this kindly for the last time. I must get final edit and approval on this doc before it releases on Netflix,” the 44-year-old rapper wrote in an Instagram post.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)

West continued, "Open the edit room immediately so I can be in charge of my own image. Thank you in advance."

In response, Simmons and Ozah told the New York Post, "We're still trying to work things out with Kanye and his team." Later the duo confirmed to Variety that West’s demands would not be met.

Tickets are on sale online at jeen-yuhs-tickets.com. A new trailer for the documentary was also released and can be seen below.

Oscar-Winning Actress Regina King's Only Child, Ian Alexander Jr., Dies at 26

Photo Credit @desdune Instagram

After several news outlets broke the story Saturday morning, Oscar-winning actress Regina King confirmed that her son, Ian Alexander Jr., died by suicide Wednesday on his 26th birthday.

"Our family is devastated at the deepest level by the loss of Ian," King said in a statement provided by her representative.

"He is such a bright light who cared so deeply about the happiness of others. Our family asks for respectful consideration during this private time. Thank you."

A musician and DJ, Alexander is the son of Ian Alexander Sr. and King who were married in 1997 and together 10 years before divorcing.

The younger Alexander performed under the name “desduné,” according to his Instagram page. His most recent single, "Green Eyes," was released on Jan. 7.

Sidney Poitier, trailblazer who broke barriers for Black actors, dies at 94

Sir Sidney Poitier, the trailblazing Bahamian-American actor, director, philanthropist and activist whose work helped reshape the way Hollywood portrayed Black men, has died at the age of 94.

The Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fred Mitchell, confirmed the news of Poitier's passing after local outlets broke the story. No cause of death was given.

Poitier’s best known career achievement came in 1964, when he became the first Black man to win a best actor Oscar for his depiction of an ex-serviceman who helps East German nuns build a chapel in “Lilies of the Field.”

His 71-year career was filled with awards and accolades — including a Grammy, two Golden Globe Awards and a British Academy Film Award — and defined by his refusal to accept roles that reduced Black men to the negative stereotypes that prevailed in much of film, even in the Civil Rights era.

BREAKING: Beloved Bahamian actor and former ambassador Sir Sidney Poitier has died. He was 94. A Broadway play about the trailblazing career of the visionary actor was announced last month. Sir Sidney's death was confirmed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell. pic.twitter.com/WVJFlog3tC

— Eyewitness News Bahamas (@ewnewsbahamas) January 7, 2022

Indeed, in 1967, considered to be the peak of his commercial career as an actor when he was one of Hollywood’s biggest draws, Poitier lent his powerful presence to three iconic films that addressed race relations in new and powerful ways. “To Sir With Love,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” and “In the Heat of the Night,” showcased his versatility as an actor and presented some of the most compelling and nuanced studies of a Black man committed to celluloid at that point.

The son of tomato farmers and the youngest of seven children, Poitier was automatically granted US citizenship after being born several months premature in Miami while his parents were visiting in February 1927.
After spending his childhood in Bahamas, he moved to America when he was 15 to live with an older brother in Miami. After departing Florida for New York, he earned his first lead film role a year later in 1955’s “Blackboard Jungle.”

In addition to being a great actor, Poitier was a competent director. His biggest success behind the camera came in 1980 when he helmed the Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder comedy “Stir Crazy.” Other directing credits for Poitier include: “Porgy and Bess” (1959), “Paris Blues” (1961), “A Patch of Blue” (1965), “Sneakers” (1992) and “The Jackal” (1997).

In 1997 he was named ambassador to Japan by the Bahamas, a position which he held until 2007.

Poitier is survived by six children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He married his first wife, Juanita Hardy, in 1950. They had four daughters before divorcing in 1965. He married his second wife, Canadian actor Joanna Shimkus, in 1976 and spent the rest of his life with her. They had two daughters.

Last January, Arizona State University announced The New American Film School in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts would be named in his honor.

JAY-Z Says There's 'Not a Chance in Hell' an Artist Could Beat Him in a Verzuz Battle

Photograph by Mason Poole. Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.

Billionaire businessman and rap icon Jay-Z has nothing but smoke for anyone suggesting he entertain a battle on Verzuz, the music platform that rocketed to popularity mid-pandemic pitting artists in head-to-head competition with their contemporaries.

During a surprise appearance Tuesday on Alicia Keys’ Twitter Space, celebrating her new album "Keys," the artist made it clear that there would be no battle for him because any opponent would be outclassed.

“Ain’t nobody that can stand on that stage with me. I ain’t gonna lie, no disrespect. Everyone’s amazing, they’ve done what they’ve done. No one can stand on that stage with me. I'm just telling you guys the real... there’s not a shot," replied Hov to Genius’ Rob Markman when asked who might be able to go toe-to-toe with him on the Verzuz stage.

Jay-Z said as much while talking with Alicia Keys and Rob Markman on Twitter Spaces as the group discussed the R&B icon’s latest album, Keys.

Jay-Z on never doing a #VERZUZ battle “There’s not a chance anyone can stand on that stage with me” on @TwitterSpaces w/@aliciakeys @Genius @RobMarkman @Kozza @sc pic.twitter.com/Wh6IEdZfKQ

— 🎄jordan (@JustJordan_925) December 22, 2021

He followed up with a reference to his "Grammy Family Freestyle," a cypher made in an appearance on New York's Hot 97 in 2006, considered by many to be one of the best freestyles ever, to illustrate the disparity between himself and other rappers.

"You got to stand in front of the ‘Grammy Family Freestyle’ live? No one has ever even seen me perform that. You got to stand in front of that? That ain’t never going to happen,” Jay added.

Most other artists espousing such sentiment might come off as cocky, but the Brooklyn-born rapper may have the resume to back up such a weighty statement. Beginning with 1996's "Reasonable Doubt" his discography is littered with cultural touchstones and classics. He has also received the most Grammy Awards (23) ever awarded to a rapper.

In recent weeks he landed on the 94th Academy Award shortlists for Best Original Song for his work on "Guns Go Bang" from Netflix's The Harder They Fall, which he performed and wrote with Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi (the film's director, Jeymes Samuel, was also a co-writer). If the 52-year-old becomes an Oscar nominee, it could mark the first time in the award's history a husband and wife have competed against each other in the same category. His wife Beyoncé is also on the shortlists for her song "Be Alive" from the Warner Bros. movie "King Richard." There are 13 other songs on the shortlists.

Easter Egg in Black Cowboy Movie "The Harder They Fall" a Tribute to Chadwick Boseman

Photo Credit: Netflix 

Rufus Buck (Idris Elba, center) escapes custody on a train with

the help of his gang associates Treacherous Trudy (Regina King)

and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield) in “The Harder They Fall.”

"The Harder They Fall," the black-led western taking a fresh look at the genre is making a lot of noise on and off the screen for Netflix.

Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at 87%, the movie which dropped Wednesday on Netflix following a limited theatrical run, has drawn high praise from critics, has a banging soundtrack and got co-producer Jay-Z to join Instagram — even if it was only temporary.

It certainly looks like director Jeymes Samuel has found the formula for success, though with talented
stars like Idris Elba, Regina King, LaKeith Stanfield and Jonathan Majors driving the action on the screen and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jay-Z adding his clout to the soundtrack — the prospects of failure may have been somewhat lessened. 

Anytime you're dealing with a new take on a genre, especially one that involves race, America's not so politically correct path on the matter and redefining who and what people are and can be, using a mix of history and fantasy, the pressure is immense. Samuel's ability to rise above it and blend those elements into an empowering, educational and perhaps most of all fun piece of film is to be applauded.

And while the movie does an adept job of horning the past of black cowboys, albeit in a fictional framework, it is easy to connect the passions and problems that drive the protagonists with those Black people still are dealing with today.

So, it is only appropriate that in a nodding wink to the audience, almost too easy to miss if you're not looking for it, the film pays homage to the late Chadwick Boseman. The "Black Panther" star died in 2020 of colon cancer at the age of 43, and the filmmakers made sure the Disney/Netflix star was not forgotten.

The Twitter account for Strong Black Lead, Netflix's division dedicated to advancing Black stories, creators, and experiences, tweeted about the tribute:

Our favorite trivia from #TheHarderTheyFall might be the fact that the train is named after our forever king, Chadwick Aaron Boseman.

 Our favorite trivia from #TheHarderTheyFall might be the fact that the train is named after our forever king, Chadwick Aaron Boseman. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/wahEALnftR

— Strong Black Lead (@strongblacklead) November 3, 2021