Mary Mary, Dru Hill, Tevin Campbell and The Whispers Among This Year's Black Music Honors Award Winners

Singer and actress LeToya Luckett host the seventh annual Black

Music Honors award show alongside comedian DeRay Davis

May19.

Fans of old-school hip-hop, R&B and gospel music are in for a treat this May.

The seventh annual edition of the Black Music Honors award show will feature a lineup studded with some of the mediums’ biggest stars from the past.

Among this year’s honorees is R&B supergroup Dru Hill, former teen idol Tevin Campbell and groundbreaking gospel duo Mary Mary.

Singer and actress LeToya Luckett will host the show — whose mission is to pay homage to “the legendary African-American artists who have influenced and made significant musical contributions to African-American culture and American music worldwide,” alongside Comedian DeRay Davis.

The two-hour ceremony will be taped live on May 19 in Georgia’s Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta and is scheduled to be broadcast via national syndication from June 4 to July 3. It will also air on Bounce TV on June 25 as part of the network’s Black Music Month programming.

“We are more than excited to return to in-person taping for the first time in nearly three years with a live audience,” Don Jackson, the founder and executive producer of the awards, said in a statement. “The pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the music industry and we’re honored to celebrate, commemorate and honor music trailblazers who have paved the way for the next generation of music and culture.”

Dru Hill is scheduled to receive the Urban Music Icon Award. The group first rose to prominence in the 1990s with their effortless blend of hip-hop, soul and gospel music. Over its long career the group has produced seven Top 40 hits.

Campbell will be honored with the R&B Icon Award. The “Can We Talk” singer is a five-time Grammy nominee. Mary Mary will be presented with the Gospel Icon Award while NAACP Image Award-Winning Singer Karyn White will also be recognized with the Soul Music Award.

Singer-Songwriter Keri Hilson, the driving creative force behind two Billboard 200 albums and 10 Hot 100 hits, will take home the Music and Songwriter Icon Award. The Legends Award will go to The Whispers who have released 16 Billboard 200 albums and 12 Hot 100 hit songs over the span of their nearly 60 years of performing.

For more information about Black Music Honors or to purchase tickets for the live-taping event click here.

Andrew Woolfolk, Longtime Saxophonist For Earth, Wind & Fire, Dead At 71

The man who provided the signature sound for some of Earth, Wind & Fire's biggest hits is no more.

Andrew Woolfolk, a longtime saxophonist for the group, whose work on the soprano and tenor sax were core elements of some of EWF's biggest hits — including "September," Boogie Wonderland" and "Shining Star," passed away earlier in the week. He was 71.

Bandmate Philip Bailey, the falsetto-voiced singer who often shared lead vocalist duties with group founder Maurice White, announced the news on Instagram Monday.

“I met him in high school, and we quickly became friends and band mates,” wrote Bailey. “We lost him today, after being ill of over six years. He has transitioned on to the forever, from this land of the dying to the land of the living.”

A native of Denver, Colorado, Woolfolk joined the band in 1972. Officially a member from 1973 to 1985, and again from 1987 to 1993, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the group in 2000. He is also a member of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Philip J. Bailey (@philipbaileyewf)

In addition to his work with EWF Woolfolk had a prolific body of work.

He played saxophone on Bailey's 1984 Grammy-nominated album "The Wonders of His Love", as well as Bailey's 1986 Grammy-winning album "Triumph." Woolfolk also played on Phil Collin's 1996 album "Dance Into the Light," and collaborated with other artists like Deniece Williams and the English jazz-funk band Level 42.

Bailey closed his post: "Great memories. Great Talent. Funny. Competitive. Quick witted. And always styling. Booski… I’ll see you on the other side, my friend.”

It was another huge loss for fans of the group and its innovative and ever-evolving sound. EWF founder White, the baritone that played off Bailey's falsetto on some of the band's biggest hits, died on February 4, 2016, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

Kevin Hart Launches Global Multi-Platform Company HARTBEAT With $100 Million Investment

HARTBEAT’s Chief Content Officer Bryan Smiley, Chairman Kevin Hart, CEO Thai Randolph and Chief Distribution Officer Jeff Clanagan.

Kevin Hart is laughing all the way to the bank.

The stand-up comedian turned movie star has proven he has what it takes to shine in the business world as well.

Tuesday, he announced, thanks to a $100 million investment from private equity firm Abry Partners, the expansion of his already formidable media empire.

The new venture, born of a merger of his two current production companies, Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions, will simply be called HARTBEAT.

'"The creation of HARTBEAT and our capital raise with Abry represent a new era in comedy," said Hart in a statement released by the company about the deal. 

"This all started out with a mission to keep the world laughing together, and I'm so proud our teams have delivered on that, putting in the hard work to build the most innovative and inclusive comedic storytelling company."

The new company is reportedly valued at over $650 million. Abry's minority stake in it equates to about 15%. Hart will act as chairman. The existing leadership team from both entities will continue to oversee day-to-day operations. Thai Randolph, who had been the chief operating officer of both Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions, was named chief executive.

HARTBEAT will use the investment to grow existing brands, produce new content and grow its team.

"At HARTBEAT, we're building an end-to-end entertainment enterprise that creates, markets and distributes the most culturally relevant IP and experiences in comedy and beyond. The merger and capital raise help us further scale and invest in the future of comedic entertainment, creating more high demand content and experiences at the intersection of comedy and culture," Randolph stated.

Abry Partners partner Nicolas Massard will be joining the HARTBEAT board as part of the deal. NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock, which took an equity stake in Laugh Out Loud in 2020, will remain a shareholder.

The company has 60 projects in various stages of development across various platforms, and in addition to a first-look deal with Peacock, boasts several other strategic multi-year partnerships. HARTBEAT has a film deal with Netflix, a partnership with SiriusXM, and a deal with Audible in partnership with multimedia star Charlamagne Tha God.

Upcoming projects for the company include "Me Time," a Netflix movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Regina Hall, "Storytown" on HBOMax and an Apple TV+ documentary, "#1 on the Call Sheet."