Heavy FilesLolita Files, the best-selling novelist of ‘Scenes from a Sistah’ and ‘Blind Ambition,’ recently released ‘sex.lies.murder.fame,’ a page-turner that exposes the inner workings of the publishing and music worlds. “After nearly a decade in the publishing business, I've seen all kinds of things, from writers desperate for a book deal to megalomaniacal heads of imprints who squash the careers and dreams of others just because they can,” the Ft. Lauderdale native revealed to Black Voices over the weekend. “Add to that the fact that this is ‘the Age of Rewarding Bad Behavior,’ and you've got a story just begging to be told.”
Paralleling the book’s storyline, a multi-tiered marketing campaign is underway including a promotional soundtrack featuring newcomer
Silena Murrell, a Universal Records artist whose debut single, the
Scott Storch-produced "I Like My Man Hard," will hit airwaves this month. According to a HarperCollins spokesperson this effort marks the first time that the launch of a signed urban music artist has coincided with the launch of a novel. Murrell will join Files at various stops on her book tour, which kicks off in Fort Bragg, NC on Feb. 18.”We thought it would be fun and highly synergistic to replicate some of the things in the real world that are laid out in the book,” Files explained. “Since the story cuts across various fronts of the entertainment world, we decided to employ [them] in our presentation efforts.” Files’ last book ‘Child of God,’ has been optioned by
Kanye West , to be made into a film. “I love his work and the way he thinks, so I was pretty pleased about it.”
Diplomatic Stance Cam'ron, who was reportedly shot in Washington, DC last October, is taking shots at hip-hop kingpin
Jay-Z with a seven minute diss track, titled "You Got It," which hit the streets last week. In the song, the former Roc-A-Fella rapper and leader of The Diplomats accuses the recently crowned Def Jam Records President of stealing the empire that he and ex-partner
Dame Dash built. He also reportedly refers to Jay-Z as a 'Pretty Ho,' and calls the 36-year-old rapper out for referring to himself as an “80s baby.” For Diplomat member
Juelz Santana, who is still currently on the Def Jam roster, business is business. "There is no situation," he told Black Voices on Thursday, when asked about the potential rap beef. "Cam is a grown man. He’s a strong man. He’s a confident man. Men do what they want to do... Everyone knows what it is with me. I’m just on a label. {With] Cam, we family." Santana, 22, currently appears on the chart-topping
Chris Brown single "Run It." His latest album "What the Game's Been Missing" hit stores in November and has been certified gold. When reached for comment this morning, a Def Jam spokesperson told Black Voices: “Obviously, Cam'ron has a new album coming soon."
Gossett, Harper, Elise Honored Louis Gossett, Jr.,
Jim Brown,
Hill Harper,
Kimberly Elise and the Honorable
Mervyn M. Dymally will be honored at the 14th Annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival in Los Angeles on Feb. 18. Billing itself as the “largest Black history month event in the U.S.,” the festival will be held from Feb 9 through Feb.20 at Los Angeles’s Magic Johnson Theaters and Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. Founded in 1992 by
Ayuko Babu, the PAFF is dedicated to the promotion of cultural and racial tolerance and understanding through the exhibition of film, art and creative expression. The PAFF will feature panel discussions, industry workshops, seminars, film showcases and a fine arts show.
Power Moves‘Essence’ magazine’s Vice President and Associate Publisher of Sales,
Barbara Britton, is resigning after a 17-year tenure to head her own company. Britton's yet to be titled new venture will be a multicultural marketing firm focused on the African-American market. “I’m excited about this next chapter of my career,” Britton said in a statement. “My new firm is designed to provide insight to those corporations seeking to tap into the vast resources of the multicultural consumer market.” The magazine will be her first client and she'll continue to be listed on the masthead as Publishing Advisor, representing the ‘Essence’ brand within the advertising community, at marketing events and industry-wide.
