In Top 5, Chris Rock shows that he is a man that can juggle many hats. He wrote, directed, and starred in this latest comedy. The film included a star studded cast filled with many well-known comedians and actors such as Whoopi Goldberg, Adam Sandler, Cedric the Entertainer and Tracy Morgan.
Chris Rock plays Andre Allen, a comedian turned actor who finds that he has been typecast in the film industry. He gets to a point where he is fed up with his “comedic” image so he stars in a more thought-provoking film that isn’t received well by fans or critics. Andre crosses paths with Chelsea Brown, a young reporter played by Rosario Dawson who he agrees to let interview him for The New York Times. During the time they spend together they develop a strong connection which causes Andre to reconnect with his comedic roots.
Top Five isn’t your typical comedy. Although the movie is humorous, it included many subliminal messages regarding politics, stereotypes, and the double standards regarding race in the film industry.
The highly anticipated series Empire premiered last night on Fox. The show introduces us to Lucious Lyon (played by Terrence Howard), the head of Empire Entertainment. Lucious is aware that his business is not as profitable as it once was due to the changes in the music industry over the years. As he looks for other financial opportunities to keep his empire secure, he discovers that he has ALS and has an estimated 3 years or less to live. This is where the plot thickens. Lucious has to appoint someone to take over the business so he turns to his three sons to see which one can step up and fill his shoes. The brothers are as different as night and day. Hakeem and Jamal are both music artists and the oldest brother Andre chose to avoid the celebrity lifestyle altogether. Hakeem is young and reckless but Lucious makes it a priority to manage his youngest son’s career in an attempt to turn him into a mega star that will bring more money to his empire. Jamal is a very talented artist as well but because of his homosexual lifestyle, his dad looks upon him as the “black sheep” of the family. The oldest son is seemingly well rounded and responsible; however his lack of affiliation to the entertainment industry causes his dad to question his leadership.
Taraji P. Henson’s character Cookie ignites the show. The first episode shows her being released from jail after serving 17 years for selling drugs. When she gets out, she finds out a lot has changed with the empire she helped to establish, her 3 sons, and the man she once loved. She is back to remind Lucious that she sacrificed years of her life to help build the business and she wants her piece of the pie. The competition to take over the throne is in full throttle! Will the love of money and power cause a split in the family? We shall see.
It was also great to see Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard unite on the screen again. Ironically Terrence Howard’s character looked like he stepped out of a scene from Hustle and Flow. Henson and Howard co-starred in the 2005 film.
Actor Nate Parker recently released a short film titled AmeriCAN in light of the domino effect of young black men being killed at the hands of law enforcement officers. Let me just add how much I love Nate Parker; not just as an actor, but also as a person and the role he chose to take on as an activist fighting for justice. I watched the 14 minute film yesterday and it packed a powerful message in such a short time span. Any person regardless of their race can learn something from this film. It shines light on the subconscious perceptions we have of one another. It also addresses the lack of empathy people tend to have for someone that is not similar to them. We have to learn to change the way we view each other and it starts with how we view ourselves. Check out the film here.
I’m very off and on when it comes to having a favorite music artist these days, mainly because most artists aren’t consistent with the type of music they put out, or either they’re not consistent with the image of themselves they portrayed when they first arrived on the music scene. But I guess in an ever-changing music industry it’s difficult to be successful without losing or changing something about yourself or your music to appeal to what the mainstream wants.
Big Krit is an artist that is an exception in my opinion. I found out about KRIT around 2009 or 2010 and I’ve been rocking with him ever since. Being from the south I was drawn to his southern and soulful sound and his lyrical content. He has been referred to as a certified mind f*cker because of his story telling ability, word play and creative metaphors. Every time I listen to his music I catch something that I missed the previous time. His music speaks to me and it’s memorable unlike a lot of music now that is hot for a minute then you eventually forget about it. The advantage KRIT has over a lot of artist is his ability to produce and create his own music and beats, giving him full control over the quality of his work. His fan base has been largely underground, but he has stated many times that he doesn’t have a desire to take the mainstream route. I think that’s what most fans including myself love about him the most; his authenticity.
Being a fellow Mississippian, I feel like KRIT is someone who I know personally and have watched grow over the years. Just like many artists he started off struggling to make it in the industry and even when he got in the door, it was a challenge and still is a challenge for others to take him serious and recognize his undeniable talent. Two weeks ago he dropped his second album Cadillactica and with the overwhelming positive reaction from fans and even the naysayers, people can’t help but to “Pay Attention” to the rising MC. I’m so proud of my country cousin and I think the best is yet to come for him. Shine on KRIT!
I wrote my first piece on Big Krit two years ago. You can check it out here. Dear Justin
Try Again, the title of a hit track by the late singer Aaliyah ironically also describes the internet reactions from many of the fans who watched the movie that premiered on Lifetime Saturday night. As an Aaliyah fan, I was very disappointed by what I saw, but based on all of the controversy surrounding the movie from the beginning of filming, I didn’t have high expectations for the film.
I just don’t know where to begin with everything that went wrong with the movie. A huge issue that a lot of the fans had was the casting choices for the film. Originally Disney star Zendaya Coleman was cast to play Aaliyah. She caught hell from outraged fans who felt she looked nothing like the late star. Of course the race card was brought up and the media twisted the story to imply that fans felt that Zendaya wasn’t “black enough” to play Aaliyah despite her being biracial. I shared the sentiments of most fans who felt it was Zendaya’s lack of resemblance to Aaliyah rather than her skin complexion that was the problem. They just didn’t look anything alike. Alexandra Shipp, another young star who is also biracial eventually snagged the role after Zendaya decided to pull out of the movie. Zendaya explained that her decision had nothing to do with Aaliyah’s outraged fans but more to do with the shady production of the movie itself.
Aaliyah (left) Zendaya Coleman (right)
Aaliyah (left) Alexandra Shipp (right)
Chattrisse Dolabaille (top left) was cast to play Missy Elliot (top right) and Izaak Smith (bottom left) was cast to play Timbaland (bottom right)
That brings me to the next issue I had with the movie. The family of Aaliyah stated years ago that they didn’t want a movie to be made about her life, so they had no involvement with the Lifetime movie production. Because of this producers weren’t able to gain access to the music rights of Aaliyah which is why the movie contained no original music. That fact alone was the set up for a movie doomed for failure. With no input from family and friends, the writers based the movie solely off of a book about Aaliyah titled Aaliyah: More Than a Woman which was written in 2001. Additional details in the movie were just fabrications of what the private star’s life was probably like. How can you accurately portray the life of a person without any input from the people who were a part of her life? The movie wasn’t even worthy enough to be called a biopic. I think Aaliyah fans were cheated because nothing about the movie embodied Aaliyah. Her mannerisms, style, persona, and sound were recreated. It was a bootleg version of the original Aaliyah and nothing about the movie felt authentic.
When gossip queen Wendy Williams jumped on board as an executive producer for the movie I knew things would only get worse. Wendy was adamant about shining light on the alleged relationship between the R&B star and singer/producer R. Kelly. When she was only 15 it was rumored that Aaliyah and at the time a 28 year old R. Kelly secretly wed. Besides a discovered marriage certificate, the matter was never addressed or publicized by either Kelly or Aaliyah who both denied the rumors. To focus so much of the movie on the alleged relationship was just disrespectful to the family, friends, and fans of Aaliyah. I think the movie did more harm than good to her image.
Honestly I think it would have been better if a movie was never made; if you’re not going to tell the story right, don’t tell it at all. There has been talk that another big screen movie is in the works about the star’s life but I think it’s unnecessary at this point. The only reason I would want to see another Aaliyah movie is just so a more accurate portrayal of her life could be shown. Just let fans remember the image they had of Aaliyah, and for those who want more insight into who exactly the R&B princess was, there are enough interview clips and music on the internet to give a clearer picture than what the movie depicted.
RIP Baby Girl
“It’s hard to say what I want my legacy to be when I’m long gone. I want people to remember me as a full on entertainer and a good person.” ~Aaliyah
The internet memes and commentary throughout the movie from fans were hilarious. Music producer and friend to Aaliyah, Timbaland even jumped on instagram to post his thoughts about the movie that he referred to as some bull sh#t! Check out some highlights below.
