Bold Soul Sister"Most of us implode—we do drugs, we take it out on our kids, and we destroy our marriages because we don’t have that outlet,"
Jada Pinkett Smith reveals in the May issue of 'Essence.' "I can’t tell you how much stuff I’m working through on that stage.”
The six-time
'Essence' cover girl gives a provocative interview, opening up about her checkered past: ("I was doing drugs, drinking alcohol, and sleeping around. I was having a nervous breakdown…"); her love of heavy metal music ("I’m able to talk about things that are painful, talk about things that are frustrating, and then I leave it on the stage"); race relations ("It's been such an eye opener in terms of what I thought about white people and white men."); playing it up for the industry ("It's all smiles in my world … and sometimes there isn't anything to smile about."); and partnering with Carol's Daughter beauty product line ("To be a part of another African American woman's dream was just priceless to me.").
The top selling black women’s' magazine is celebrating its 36th anniversary with an issue themed Bold & Beautiful, celebrating 25 of the world’s most inspiring black women.
Oprah Winfrey, Robin Roberts, S. Epatha Merkerson, Raven-Symoné and
Sheila Bridges are some of the women chosen. "These are amazing women who are starting movements, effecting change and taking a stand," Editor
Angela Burt-Murray told Black Voices. "We put Jada on the cover because she's a bold and beautiful woman who has overcome so much in her life to become a successful actress, loving wife and mother and now a rock star."
“I’m a lot of things,” Pinkett Smith says. “We all are as women. And if I’m not allowed to be all those things, I lose that vibrancy and that light that makes me beautiful."
Back To BroadwayObba Babatunde returns to the Great White Way stepping into Billy Flynn's shoes in the hit Broadway musical
'Chicago,' starting April 17, and running through June 11.
"I am thrilled to be back on the Broadway stage," Babatunde told Black Voices. "It feels like I am coming home, back to the nest, a place where ‘what you see is what you get.’ Eight shows a week and no faking it. Each show, another chance to strut your stuff live and in color."
Although the Jamaica Queens, New York native originated the role in the original national touring company of the musical in 1997, Babatunde is best known for his Tony Award nominated turn as C.C. White in the original production of
'Dreamgirls.' The veteran actor, who has appeared recently in the movies 'The Manchurian Candidate and 'After the Sunset' is a star of UPN's sitcom 'Half & Half.'
On Broadway, Babatunde also performed in
Hal Prince's "Grind" and originated the role of
Jelly Roll Morton in the world premiere of "Jelly's Last Jam." "I also look forward to
seeing all my friends and sharing again in the great family of the Broadway gypsy," he added. "Babatunde's back and he's ready to rumble." Forthcoming roles include "Material Girls" with
Hillary Duff, and
Armand Mastroianni's 'The Celestine Prophecy.'
Tom Joyner Snags Queen, Chris Brown For ReunionQueen of Soul
Aretha Franklin, Chris Brown, Kirk Franklin, Ne-Yo and
Sinbad have been announced as performers at the 2006
Tom Joyner Family Reunion, which will be held at Walt Disney World August 31 through September 5. "This year will be bigger and better than ever," offered Tom Joyner, whose radio show airs in 115 markets nation-wide. "Every time we do this we make sure that there's something for everybody, and that it's unforgettable. This year, we're stepping it up as usual." Family Reunion activities will include comedy shows, musical entertainment geared for the whole family, a health fair and expo, seminars, and a family BBQ, among other activities.
African Film Fest In The Big Apple
The 13th Annual New York African Film Festival
(NYAFF) will kick off April 20, with a special panel discussion at the Apollo Theater of prominent filmmakers and intellectuals from the African Diaspora. The month-long event, co-presented by the African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) and the Film Society at Lincoln Center will feature an array of U.S. premieres of international films and highlight films about Africans facing rapid transition, their lives shaped by the effects of war, migration, HIV/AIDS, and subsequent xenophobia, displacement and reconciliation. "There is always a voiceover when it comes to Africa, explaining what is happening – but it is never the African voice," the festival’s founder and executive director
Mahen Bonetti told Black Voices. “That’s why our filmmakers are our national treasures. They are giving voice to our real experiences and that is vital.”
Highlights include
Zola Maseko's award winning, true to life 'Drum' starring
Taye Diggs, and the U.S. premiere of 'U-Carmen eKhayelitsha,' an adaptation of Bizet’s opera “Carmen” that won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear Award. "Africa is alive and hip and fun," added Bonetti. "Most people are shocked to know it. There is this perception that it’s backward, that women have no role. Post deconstruction it is a different place. It is alive."
Bonetti says the success of this year's Academy Award winning Best Foreign Film
'Tsotsi' will have a residual effect on the festival. "It's undeniable that it will have commercial impact," she said, "because we will reach those people who could never imagine that African films have that quality of talent and viability."
On The Road AgainNew Edition will embark on a 10-city national tour, kicking off April 28 in New York City. The tour, titled "Lincoln Presents … Spend the Night with New Edition" will feature
K-Ci & JoJo as openers, will visit Washington D.C. (April 29, April 30), Detroit (May 6), Cleveland (May 7), Atlanta (May 19), Oakland (May 20) and Los Angeles (May 21). "What we've designed this year is a program that fully engages our fans," New Edition member
Michael Bivins said.
