Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant goes to Danielle Jones

Danielle Jones took what she described as a "creative risk" during the talent portion of "The Ascension to the Throne" – the 2013 Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant hosted by the Nu Eta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

With violin comfortably in place, Jones played a violin dubstep (a genre of electronic dance music) piece by Lindsey Sterling.

"It pushed me out of my comfort zone to first play a solo, and then to memorize the music," said Jones of Rhodes College.

The gamble paid off, helping Jones emerge from five "Nubian Princesses" to secure the title of Miss Black and Gold Scholarship at the pageant held in Christian Brothers' University Theatre last Sunday (April 7).

Cancer survivor Tracy Randall sings ‘It Feels Good (To Be Alive)’

Lavish Records artist Tracy Randall isn't supposed to be here.

In 2006, Randall – a graduate of The LeMoyne-Owen College – was diagnosed with acute blastic leukemia. After aggressive rounds of chemo and radiation therapy, his doctors gave up and in February 2007 told him to go home and prepare to die.

"The doctor told me to get my affairs in order because he didn't know if I had 3 months or 6 months to live," Randall recalls. He left the office that cold, rainy afternoon and started walking.

Kam’s Kapsules: Weekly previews - 04/10/2013

For movies opening April 12, 2013

BIG BUDGET FILMS

"42" (PG-13 for epithets, ethnic slurs and mature themes) Civil rights drama chronicling Jackie Robinson's (Chad Boseman) historic breaking of baseball's color barrier in 1947 upon being signed to a major league contract by the Brooklyn Dodgers' general manager, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford). With Nicole Beharie, John C. McGinley and Lucas Black.

"Scary Movie 5" (PG-13 for profanity, drug use, cartoon violence and crude humor) Latest installment of the horror spoof franchise revolves around a happily-married couple (Ashley Tisdale and Simon Rex) with a newborn who suddenly find themselves stalked by a diabolical demon. Ensemble cast includes Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Mike Tyson, Terry Crews, Bow Wow, Katt Williams, Heather Locklear, Darrell Hammond and Jasmine Guy.

Brad Paisley and LL Cool J team up for ‘Accidental Racist’

Brad Paisley and LL Cool J broach sensitive topics in their new collaboration, "Accidental Racist," and it's left some critics hoping the entire song was an accident.

The track is part of Paisley's new album, "Wheelhouse," and was sparked by the reaction the country star said he received after he wore a shirt with the Confederate flag on it to showcase his adoration for the band Alabama.

"I was called a racist on Twitter for that," Paisley told The Tennessean. "That was the beginning of this song: Me thinking, 'Am I a racist? Is that all it takes?'"

Top ten DVD Iist - April 9, 2013

"Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read"

"Orchestra of Exiles"

"In Another Country"

"The Last Flight of Peter Ginz"

"Maigret – Set Seven"

Halle Berry joins Michael Kors to fight hunger

Halle Berry now is an activist on behalf of hungry children. (Photo: CNN/
Edward M. Pio Roda)

by Betsy Anderson
CNN

Hollywood movies and high-fashion runways may seem a world away from a discussion
about feeding the hungry, but Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry is joining designer
Michael Kors in his work with the United Nations World Food Programme to fight
hunger.

In an interview with CNN’s Alina Cho, the pregnant actress said that being a mother
inspired her to act on behalf of hungry children because hunger often starts in the womb.

“Especially now, being a pregnant woman and already having a child ... it’s so important
what happens to the baby while they're in utero. And the first 1,000 days is fundamental,”
said Berry, who’s showing only a small baby bump.

Lawmakers ask why Beyoncé and Jay-Z went to Cuba

by Kevin Liptak
CNN

Two Republican lawmakers are asking a government agency to look into a recent trip
to Cuba by Beyoncé and Jay-Z, suggesting the superstar couple violated restrictions on
travel to the communist island.

“Despite the clear prohibition against tourism in Cuba, numerous press reports described
the couple’s trip as tourism, and the Castro regime touted it as such in its propaganda,”
Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, both of Florida, wrote in the letter to
the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z were photographed in Havana last week, apparently celebrating
their fifth wedding anniversary on the island. While Cuba was a popular getaway for
Americans in the 1950s, spending money there was outlawed after Fidel Castro took
power in 1959.

Snoop debuts new reggae sound with ‘No Guns Allowed’

No longer Snoop D-O-Double G, Snoop Lion is gearing up to release his twelfth studio album in May entitled "Reincarnated". In case you missed it, after a "pilgrimage" to Jamaica, Snoop found spiritual enlightenment, converted to Rastafarianism and changed his name to Snoop Lion. His new, reggae sound is all about peace and love, not smoking and women. Fans can look forward to tracks featuring Chris Brown, Drake and Rita Ora.

In an interview with Q Magazine, Snoop explains his transformation, acknowledging that his music has an effect on people especially young people. He says it was time for him to grow up.

When you reach the pinnacle, you finally wake up, put aside childish ways and want to do something positive. You can affect people. You have kids and you understand what life is about. At 40 most men decide to live wild and crazy because they've been so conservative all along. Me, I've been living wild my whole life!

Kam’s Kapsules: Weekly previews - 04/04/2013

For movies opening April 5, 2013

BIG BUDGET FILMS

"Evil Dead" (R for profanity, sexuality, graphic violence and gratuitous gore) Grisly remake of the Sam Raimi horror classic revolving around five friends who unwittingly arouse a dormant demon they stumble upon while vacationing at a cabin in the woods. Ensemble cast featuring Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore.

Tyler Perry has done it again!

This weekend, I got a chance to catch Tyler Perry's latest film, "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor." Looks like I wasn't the only one. It turned out to be a pretty big hit at the box office.

Despite coming in at number 3, it still managed to pull in about $22 million, roughly $2 million dollars more than it took to make the film. If it continues to do this well, it will be the highest grossing film he has produced or directed that he did not star in. That's good considering that his highest grossing films are usually the ones where he as Madea.

In this round, Perry didn't deviate too far from his formula. He included an unspoken message in the movie, as he always does, although it did not come off as preachy like most of his films.

Is the worst of Reality TV over?

By now, surely you've been privy to the many discussions, petitions and open complaining over the image of black women on reality TV. There's been an ongoing discussion about this topic ever since Omarosa Manigault stiletto-heel-clicked into Donald Trump's boardroom for "The Apprentice" in 2004. Either she, the producers or both milked the "Angry Black Woman" shtick for all it was worth.

The deafening roar of backlash against reality TV seemed to be at a fevered pitch by the time Flavor Flav, Tiffany "New York" Pollard and the rest of the casts from "Flavor of Love" (and all its spinoffs) hit the air. But no, there was more ruckus to make over the stereotypes played out by a long list of women who called themselves "wives" – whether they were married or not – and "ladies" trying to navigate hip-hop and love, but not in that order of priority. Between the bullying, bottle throwing and club brawls, it got bad. Really bad.

Harrison Ford: The ‘42’ interview

Born in Chicago on July 13, 1942, Harrison Ford was a late bloomer who only developed an interest in acting during his senior year of college. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked as carpenter for almost a decade while struggling trying to launch his showbiz career.

He was finally discovered in 1973 while installing cabinets in the home of George Lucas. The director cast him in "American Graffiti," which in turn, led to his landing the iconic character Hans Solo in "Star Wars," and the rest, as they say, is cinematic history.

Here, the Oscar-nominated thespian (for "Witness") talks about his latest outing opposite Chad Boseman as Brooklyn Dodgers' general manager Branch Rickey in "42," a biopic about Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in baseball.