Bill Cosby and Morehouse Host Event Honoring Ray Charles

Bill Cosby and a host of other celebrities showed up for a tribute gala honoring legendary singer Ray Charles. The event was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on September 29th 2004.

Singer Stevie Wonder and a host of other famous musicians entertained the attendees by performing many songs made popular by Charles. All proceeds earned by the benefit are going to fund the Ray Charles Performing Art Center and student scholarships at Morehouse College. Ray Charles supported Morehouse in the past with a $2 million dollar donation that went to fund the center in his name.

Other attendees to the event included comedian Chris Tucker, Quincy Jones, Brian McKnight, and actor Jamie Foxx who is starring in an upcoming movie depicting the life of Ray Charles.

Ray Charles died of acute liver failure in June 2004 at age 73. He recently worked on a CD release which features Norah Jones, Sir Elton and Johnny Mathis.

Click Here For Pics From The Event

Other Links
Official Movie Website For ‘Ray’

First Ever BET Comedy Awards

Steve Harvey, Tracee Ellis Ross, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, and many others gathered last night for final rehearsals before the first Annual BET Comedy Awards. The show is the latest launch from BET (Black Entertainment Television) which already airs a very well produced music awards program.

Some of the categories/nominees include:
Outstanding Comedy Series
- The Bernie Mac Show
- My Wife and Kids
- Girlfriends
- Wanda Sykes Show
- The Parkers
- That’s So Raven
- The George Lopez Show

Outstanding Comedy Variety Series
- Chappelle’s Show
- MadTV
- Club ComicView
- Coming to the Stage
- The Jamie Kennedy Experiment

Outstanding Box-Office Movie
- Barbershop 2
- Bringing Down the House
- Deliver Us From Eva
- White Chicks
- Head of State

The first annual BET Comedy Awards are set to air tonight, Sept. 28 2004, and will be hosted by comedian Steve Harvey.

“Shark Tale” Makes New York Premiere

Actors Will Smith, Robert De Niro, and a host of other A-List celebrities were on hand for the “Shark Tale” premiere at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater on September 27, 2004 in New York City.

The event was dubbed “Sharkspeare in the Park” because it was held at the theater that is the traditional site of the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park plays. The “Shark Tale” premiere also marks the first time ever that a movie has screened at the landmark stage venue.

The movie revolves around a character named Oscar (played by Will Smith), a bottom-feeding fish who sees an opportunity to be well known when the son of the shark Mafia leader is killed. Oscar takes the credit by convincing everyone that he’s responsible for removing this bad guy from the underwater society, but soon finds that being known as someone who killed a member of the Mob can have serious consequences.

“Shark Tale” features voice-overs from cast of popular celebrities including Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, Martin Scorsese, Peter Falk, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore, Doug E. Doug, and Ziggy Marley.

Also equally impressive is the film’s soundtrack, which features such artists as Christina Aguilera, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith, Justin Timberlake, Ziggy Marley, Sean Paul, JoJo, D12, Ludacris, India.Arie, and others.

The soundtrack was released on September 21 on DreamWorks/Geffen Records.

“Shark Tale” opens nationwide on October 1, 2004.

Review: T-Mobile Sidekick II

Haven’t heard of the T-Mobile Sidekick? If not, chances are that you’ve seen it on television or had its branding subliminally transferred to your brain via one of many chart topping Hip Hop songs. The staff at UrbanMecca.com reviews one of the most anticipated cell phone releases in recent times. The T-Mobile Sidekick II made its official public debut on September 22nd, 2004. Excited customers stood in line for hours early Tuesday morning to be one of the first to buy the T-Mobile® Sidekick II™ at a special pre-sale event in Santa Monica California.

The T-Mobile Sidekick II is the latest release from a new wave of hand-held smartphones aimed at consolidating many day-to-day features offered in both cell phones and more traditional palm pilots and PDAs. Owning a Sidekick is almost like having a laptop computer in your pocket. This little gadget has it all.

The Sidekick was made hugely popular with African American consumers because of its big adoption by the entertainment and celebrity communities. Many actors, recording artists, and sports figures swear by their Sidekick units. “Without the T-Mobile Sidekick, I wouldn’t know how to function on a day-to-day basis,” says popular actor and recording artist Nick Cannon. “It keeps the business tight”. The unit is also being molded into the fabric of the Hip Hop community via many name drops in chart topping songs. Platinum selling recording artist Twista states in his popular song ‘So Sexy’ that when he sees an attractive female…he has “gotta put her numbers on my sidekick fast”. The device has also received candids on numerous music videos, reality shows, and can be seen in the hands of the hip in Hollywood.

The T-Mobile Sidekick II, is 25 percent slimmer than the popular original model. At the same time, it added muscle with a fully integrated camera, and flash, to capture those you-had-to-be there moments; enhanced phone sound quality and functionality such as a speakerphone; and enhanced battery life to give customers approximately 4.5 hours of talk time. The biggest upgrade that we noticed was the hugely improved uptime over the previous model in regards to staying connected during phone calls and to AOL Instant Messenger. We literally left our unit signed on for 24 hours straight and it never lost connection (or reconnected immediately without us knowing it).

To sum, the T-Mobile Sidekick II, features very stunning improvements over the previous models and is a good purchase for anyone looking for an all-in-one very fun and useful phone.

Roy Jones Jr. Loses Second Fight In A Row

Roy Jones jr., once dubbed as the ‘pound for pound’ best fighter in the sport of boxing, was knocked out for a second consecutive time during a title match on September 25th in Memphis, Tennessee. The match was stopped in the 9th round when Glen Johnson, the current light heavy weight champion, landed a stunning blow that sent Jones jr. crashing to the canvas.

Glen Johnson surprisingly exploded on Jones jr. from the start of the match in round one. Roy Jones jr. found himself constantly on the ropes defending an on-going barrage of attacks from Johnson. Many thought that Johnson was going to tire out and couldn’t maintain the awesome pace that he started which obviously threw Jones jr. off of his normal routine. The champ not only kept up a strong momentum but also ended the fight with a devastating blow which laid the challenger, Jones jr., out flat on the canvas in the 9th round. Johnson was also in the lead on all judge scorecards when the fight was stopped.

This loss possibly knocks out any chances of seeing a Jones-Tarver III which many boxing fans were hoping to see even before this comeback fight. Antonio Tarver, who was the first boxer to ever knock out Jones jr., was amongst the attendees for this match.

Roy Jones jr. is 35 years old and has been fighting for roughly 25 years according to his trainer. His trainer also stated that any plans for retirement would be discussed privately between him and Jones jr. Glen Johnson stated that he is ready for his next fight and would take on any challengers.

Indy Film Explores African American Views On Homosexuality

Sundance award winning movie “Brother to Brother” made it’s New York premiere at the Studio Museum on September 23, 2004.

About The Film:
“Brother to Brother” explores a chance encounter between a young, black, gay artist and a forgotten figure from the Harlem Renaissance. The film journeys back to the old, magical, and artistic Harlem of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston who are also portrayed as characters in the movie. The main character of the story finds inspiration and solidarity in another generation’s similar struggles with racism, homophobia, and stereotypes within his own ethnic group. “Brother to Brother” has opened to much acclaim in various film circles and has received very high marks from the black gay community. The film stars Anthony Mackie (popularly known from his role in 8 Mile and most recently in the Spike Lee Joint…She Hate Me), Roger Robinson, Larry Gilliard Jr., and Aunjanue Ellis (Sistah Girl from Undercover Brother).

The film’s writer, Rodney Evans, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Brown University in Modern Culture and Media/Film Production and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from The California Institute of the Arts in Film Production. He received the coveted Independent Feature Project’s ‘Gordon Parks Award for Screenwriting’ for his excellent work on writing the story. The film opens in select theaters later in October.

Chip and Kim Win The Amazing Race

They ran, they hiked, they crossed miles and crossed 72,000 miles of terrain for the grand prize. The results are in and Chip and Kim McAllister beat out three other couples to win CBS’s Amazing Race for a $1 million dollar grand prize.

The couple resides in Coto de Caza, California and has been married for over 25 years. Kim is the owner of a technology recruitment firm and Chip owns a web technology company. Aside from winning the Amazing race, Kim stated that her proudest accomplishment is marrying Chip and having their three children, Elon, Phillip III and Kristen while Chip’s second biggest accomplishment, next to marrying his wife, was finishing college at age 38. After winning the race, Chip stated that this accomplishment “makes us even stronger to know that nothing is impossible.”

The Amazing Race, co-produced by Hollywood big wig Jerry Bruckheimer, appears on CBS and holds the crown as the most popular reality show on television. The program took home an Emmy for the second year in a row for Best Reality Show.

Visit the official Amazing Race 5th Season’s Website

Lawyer: Rosa Parks has dementia, can’t testify

African American Ad Mogul Tom Burrell, Receives McDonald’s 365Black Award

Tom Burrell, founder and chairman emeritus of one of the nation’s leading African-American-owned full-service communications agencies, has received the prestigious McDonald’s(R) 365 Black(TM) Award. Developed in 2003, McDonald’s 365Black Awards are part of the company’s 365Black initiative, which recognizes the contributions and accomplishments of African-Americans year-round.

Burrell received the honor Sept. 17, at McDonald’s Second Annual 365Black Awards Gala: An Evening of Legends & Legacies. McDonald’s 365Black Awards also went to McDonald’s owner/operator Reggie Webb and Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr.

“Burrell is the agency it is today because of McDonald’s and other companies that had the foresight to see the value of target marketing long before it became trendy,” Tom Burrell said. “McDonald’s took the lead, and other progressive companies followed.”

Burrell’s advertising career began with a copywriter position with Wade Advertising. He moved to Leo Burnett, Foote Cone & Belding in London, and Needham Harper & Steers before starting his own agency in 1971. Mr. Burrell has received numerous awards, including the Albert Lasker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Advertising, University of Missouri School of Journalism Medal for Distinguished Service and Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil.

“It’s always an honor to recognize and show appreciation to those who have been so instrumental in shaping American history around the world and within the McDonald’s family,” said Mike Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, McDonald’s USA. “McDonald’s is committed to communicating the pride, achievement and heritage of the African-American communities we have been so privileged to serve for many years.”

Today, Burrell is a full-service marketing communications company with offices in Chicago and Atlanta. In business for more than 30 years, Burrell is a leader in understanding and motivating consumer behavior in the African- American and Yurban(R) markets. The agency’s client roster includes McDonald’s, P&G, Toyota, General Mills, Verizon, Sears, Marriott, and others. For more information, visit www.burrell.com.

Contact:
Burrell
Kelly Williams, 312-297-9716
kdwilliams@burrell.com

Hotel Workers Prepare For Strike

WASHINGTON – SEPTEMBER 15: Kweisi Mfume, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, speaks at a press conference held by Unite Here!, a union representing thousands of hotel and restaurant workers September 15, 2004 in Washington, D.C. Hotel workers in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington voted to authorize a strike with the hopes that it would pressure their employers into signing contracts. (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

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