Hot IceAs he prepares for the release of his latest album ('Laugh Now, Cry Later'), hip-hop superstar
Ice Cube is riding the wave of success of
'Black.White.' the groundbreaking reality series that made history as the FX Network's highest rated debut. Cube, (
nee O’Shea Jackson) who’s starred in both the 'Friday' and
'Barbershop' franchises, serves as executive producer of the show where two families from different ethnic and geographical backgrounds go undercover (and under heavy make-up) as the opposite race. "I always looked at a show like this, when I first got involved in it, as a way for us to talk about and deal with the subtleties of racism and the layers of it and not just the [Ku Klux] Klan man or the black power fist type of stuff," Cube told Black Voices. "But all the stuff that’s in between."
"I thought that this was a show that would not only able to do that but be able to do it well in an interesting and provocative way," he added. "I just thought it would be a good show."
Regarded as one of the more pivotal figures in rap history,
Cube -- who began his career in the late 1980s with the notorious West Coast gangsta rap outfit
N.W.A. – was one of the first rappers to transition into film with his star turn in
John Singleton's Academy Award nominated in 1991. While he admitted to being shocked that Memphis-based rap trio
Three 6 Mafia snagged a coveted trophy at last week’s Oscar ceremony, he said “it’s always good to be recognized."
His new CD will be released June 6, independently via his own Lench Mob Records. Cube, who was a longtime recording artist on Priority Records (which dissolved under Capitol Records), said it was time to put his money where his mouth is. "I decided to not go through that system because I had been in that system so long, throughout my whole career," the 37-year-old father of four. "To me it’s just much more interesting to do it this way and I can really, really protect the record and work the record and do it how I want to do it and not fall into some record company program or their kind of factory type mentality, assembly line type stuff."
Let the ‘Good Times’ RollThe legendary TV sitcom
'Good Times' will have special honors bestowed upon it when the TV Land network pays homage during the fourth annual TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV. Hosted by 'Will & Grace' star
Megan Mullaly, the awards are set to tape March 19, at The Barker Hangar in Los Angeles, and will air on TV Land and Nick at Night March 22, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. According to a spokesperson for the network, the Norman Lear-created sitcom—which gave an unflinching look into family life in a Chicago housing projects-- will receive the Impact Award given to a show that offered both entertainment and enlightenment, always striving for both humor and humanity, with comedy that reflected reality. The series premiered on CBS Feb. 1, 1974 and starred
Esther Rolle, John Amos, Jimmy Walker, Bernadette Stanis, Ralph Carter, Johnny Brown and
Ja’net DuBois. Other popular shows –now running in various degrees of syndication – honored during the ceremony will be 'Cheers,' 'Batman,' and 'Dallas.' In an interactive effort, the network has also asked viewers to log on to the network's Emmy-winning website to vote for a variety of fun categories including “Favorite Singing Sibling," "Coolest Crime Fighting Team" and "Favorite Dream Sequence," with the winners to be announced and presented at the show.
'Top Model' Expose PlannedThe cover will be blown off of
Tyra Banks' wildly popular 'dramality' series 'America’s Next Top Model' when the E! True Hollywood Story debuts a 90-minute segment March 26, at 8:00 PM ET/PT. According to a network spokesperson, the expose will feature exclusive interviews with show judges
Nigel Barker, Janice Dickinson, Nole Marin, Jay Manuel and
J. Alexander. Also in the line-up are interviews with 19 contestants, including past winners
Adrienne Curry, Eva Pigford and
Naima Mora. Extreme photo shoots, catfights, sexual escapades, near shark attacks and detention in foreign countries will be featured. "They all love me when I'm saying you know, you're going to be the 14," Banks says on the special, "and then when I send them home, they start hating me."
Miles of HonorLate jazz icon
Miles Davis
will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame March 13, at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria hotel during the organization’s 21st annual ceremony. “[We] are proud and honored,” Davis’ nephew
Vince Wilburn, Jr. said. "We acknowledge the uniqueness of a Jazz musician being admitted into Rock & Roll’s elite club. It is especially noteworthy and meaningful to the family that this honor is being bestowed on Miles as we celebrate his 80th birthday (May 26) this year." As the sole Jazz inductee of the 2006 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he will be honored alongside
Black Sabbath, Blondie, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the
Sex Pistols. Metallica, Sting, Kid Rock, Shirley Manson and Herbie Hancock are among the special guests scheduled to induct this year’s honorees. The show will also feature a New Orleans tribute with
Buckwheat Zydeco, Allen Toussaint and
Elvis Costello, along with a tribute to
Wilson Pickett performed by
Solomon Burke, Leela James and
Marc Broussard. VH1 will broadcast the ceremony March 21, at 9:00 p.m ET/PT.
