Entertainment Television vet Kenan Thompson hosted the 74th annual Emmy Awards that aired last night. He went from a kid star on Nickelodeon, to a cast member on Saturday Nght Live, to now hosting the Emmys and recently he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As a kid who used to watch him, from All That, Kenan & Kel,Good Burger, and Saturday Night Live; I am so proud of him!
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Kenan also brought out our fav, his friend Kel Mitchell
People.com
Here’s a slight recap (of what we care about) of the winners from last night.
Sheryl Lee Ralph won for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy” for her role as Barbara Howard in Abbott Elementary.
Quinta Brunson won her FIRST Emmy for “Outstanding Writing For a Comedy Series” for the hilarious show Abbott Elementary.
Lee Jung-jae won his first Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Squid Game.
Entertainment Weekly
Zendaya won her second Emmy for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series” for her role as Rue in Euphoria.
Credit: People
Julia Garner won her second Emmy for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series” for her role as Ruth Langmore in Ozark. She was also nominated for her role in Inventing Anna. Ms. Julia been on fire this year!!
credit: People
Jerrod Carmichael won his first Emmy for “Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special” for his special Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel.
Yahoo News
Lastly, Ms. Lizzo won her first Emmy for “Outstanding Competition Program” for Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.
Who Magazine
Congratulations to all the winners. Who were you excited to see win? Who do you think should’ve won?
The Chi wrapped another great season this past weekend airing its season 5 finale. Each season never ceases to amaze its viewers. Each character’s storyline ended how some of us wanted it to end and not.
Emmett, Tiff and Kiesha
Credit: Alexis Renee Celebrity Myxer
In episode 1 Tiff, played by Hannaha Hall, made it clear that she didn’t want to be married to Emmett anymore, so she moved out and in with her supplier Rob, played by Iman Shumpert. For a mother to move in with a semi-random man with her child is impetuous. She jumped from one relationship to the next and it seems she did so out of hurt. Yes, Emmett cheated on Tiff for the duration of their relationship, but he was too late on getting his act together.
Alexis Renee Celebrity Myxer
Emmett, played by Jacob Latimore, gets closer to Kiesha, played by Birgundi Baker, on a deeper level this season. He’s had a past sexual relationship with her and to be exact, Season 1, episode 1 started out with them having sex and here we are 4 seasons later episode 1, he’s having wet dreams about her and essentially ends up being in a relationship with her.
Tiff grows jealous of Emmett being a better man to Kiesha than he was to her. It seems that Emmett needed just one more chance to prove himself to Tiff but she was over it (at the time). After throwing herself at Emmett and getting rejected, Tiff decided to kickback. In the end, they all come to an understanding and even attend EJ’s (Emmett & Tiff’s son) parent-teacher conference. What a happy ending!
TV Acute
Trigg
Alexis Renee Celebrity Myxer
Trigg, played by Luke James, went from being a street dude to a City Council Candidate. The season starts out with him setting up a proposal to his girlfriend Imani but she ended up standing him up due to a viral video coming out of him beating up the neighborhood nuisance Bakari.
MEAWW
With Bakari being misguided and being Ronnie’s killer in season 4, Trigg decides to take him in, with Shad persuading him. While running for council, Douda helps him get “the look” which included a fake girlfriend. While having the eye candy on his arm, he meets a transgender woman named Fatima, played by L’lerrét Jazelle. Trigg struggles with having a fake image but wants to keep his personal life with Fatima private until he wins the election. In the end, he confesses to the public that his image was a lie and that he has a new woman in his life. The supporters respect him for his honesty. Another happy ending story.
Shad
Chicago Tribune
Not only is Jason Weaver, played by Shad, a monumental actor in the industry, but the transition of his character is inspiring. He’s introduced to the show in Season 4 when he’s released from prison. He struggled with adjusting to society and even getting a job. In season 5, he works at the Non-Profit-ROCK and he even offers advice to the knuckleheads causing a disturbance in the community. To see him shine and even meet a woman that likes him for his genuine personality and reformed attitude is simply amazing. Go Shad!
Jada and Darnell
Erica Vain
I LOVE Jada and Darnell. To hear the story of them being high school sweethearts; having a baby and drifting apart, to becoming friends again and lovers; is remarkable. If you remember in past seasons, Darnell, played by Rolando Boyce, has had many wives and many children; I’m sure it’ll get brought back up in the upcoming seasons. Jada, played by Yolanda Ross, was a cougar to a young man named Sway, not too far from Emmett’s age. Yes, it was nice of Sway to be by Jada’s side during her battle with cancer, but’s let face it, they were never going to last. He probably wanted children and she was probably done with children, hell she’s a grandmother to 3 boys. If Darnell wouldn’t come back into the picture, there would’ve been another reason for her and Sway breaking up. I’m here for the rekindled relationship/marriage between Jada and Darnell.
Jake and Jemma
The-now teenagers are halfway through high school and the topic of life after high school becomes a big topic of discussion, especially since Jemma, played by Judae’a Brown, is pregnant with Jake’s baby. Jemma initially wants to get rid of the baby but Jake, played by Michael Epps, wants to keep it because he never had a father growing up. Jemma eventually changes her mind and tells her father about the pregnancy and he supports her decision.
Side Note: I love Jemma and her father’s relationship. She’s so honest with him and unapologetic when it comes to her thoughts and feelings, and her father receives it so well.
Jemma takes an interest in Myesha’s, played by Genesis Denise Hale, rap career and wants to be her manager. Just when things were going great, Jemma loses her baby while at Myesha’s show due to gunshots and a fight caused by Bakari. After healing, Jemma decides to take a gap year after high school to manage Myesha’s rap career. Her father is on board if she is successful with it.
Wherever-I-Look
Douda
Distractify
Douda, played by Curtiss Cook, doesn’t know what he wants to do. Does he want to be a good guy and live a clean life with Tracy? Does he want to continue to live the street life and still have one foot in the door with the political
Kevin
Last but not least Kevin, played by Alex Hibbert. Kevin used to be an integral part of the show. He witnessed a murder, dealt with PTSD, shot a man, experienced his father dying, his mom got re-married AND his sister was kidnapped, abused, and had a baby. Lil Kev has been through a lot and with that, he smokes often and prefers to play video games. Playing video games is making him so much money that he wants to get emancipated and move out. Kevin says he feels trapped but it seems to viewers that he has plenty of freedom at this point since things in his home life have been lax.
Are we surprised that The Chi has been renewed for a 6th season? I’m not.
Let me know your thought on this season and who’s your favorite character?
HBO’s new show Rap Sh!t is a bop! It’s about two women with different personalities trying to make it as respectable rappers in Miami, Florida. The show was created by actress, producer, Golden Globe nominee & Emmy nominee, NAACP winner AND Insecure creator Issa Rae. (I had to give sis her flowers).
Here are some facts about the show:
1. The City Girls Are Co-Executive Producers
Rap Sh!t is loosely based on the lives of City Girls JT and Yung Miami. Being that the show is inspired by them, they are listed as co-executive producers on it, as well as their managers.
2. Mia is an artist in real life
Mia, played by KaMillion, is a Florida rapper in real life and goes by the name KaMillion
3. Duke is a St. Louis native
Duke, played by Jonica Booth is from Da Lou, woot woot! She is also know for starring season 12 of Bad Girls Club
Tell-Tale TB
4. Jay Ellis directed Episode 10 “Something For the Road“
Jay Ellis, who plays Lawrence in the show Insecure directed the last episode of the first season.
5. Recurring Insecure Characters
Issa blessed us with two rememberable characters from the Insecure series, Dro and Tasha. Dro, play by Sarunas Jackson, was Mollys side dude and married friend. Tasha, played by Dominique Perry, was Lawrence’s first fling after him and Issa broke up. In Rap Sh!t, she plays Mia’s shady friend who doesn’t like Shawna at all because she’s different; she has a semi-recurring role. Sarunas only appeared in the first episode for 2 minutes.
Fun Fact, Dominique and Sarunas have a beauty baby girl together in real life!
Credit: Married Celebs
6. Shawna READ the Industry
Shawna, played by Aida Oscan, was a conscious rapper but in order to “win” she dummied down her raps and appearance to her seen in the industry.
In episode 3, when her and Mia were talking at the bar of the Plymouth hotel, she explained that there’s a formula when you’re a female artist in the industry, which get your body done, make a song about it, then people will start caring about your music. She added that everyone looks the same and every female rapper’s success is tied to a man that wants to have sex with them. She brought up the point that Biggie made Lil Kim his side chick then tossed her; then Big Fendi did it to Nicki.
I’m hoping this gets picked up for a second season because it shows the perspective of a female artist trying to come up in the industry.
I know it’s been a whole year and some change since I’ve posted content on here and not only that, since I’ve posted something personal. I wanted to give you an update on where I’ve been and where the future lies for Danii Gold.
If you’ve been living under a rock or don’t follow me on my socials, I’m a new mommy to a handsome, sweet, energetic, fearless baby boy named Xaylen. He’s 1 years-old now (not so much a baby anymore).
1 year photos; Lindsey Tyler Photography1 year photos; Lindsey Tyler Photography1 year photos; Lindsey Tyler PhotographyMommy and son; Lindsey Tyler Photography
To say that I’ve been busy and focused on him would be an understatement. Motherhood is truly a journey filled with ups and downs. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve googled symptoms and questions in the past 16 months lol. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ve probably been wondering…(or not)
The Pregnancy:
Honestly, it wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t have morning sickness, nausea, anything. My only complaint was getting up every 2 hours in the middle of the night to use the bathroom but of course, that comes with the pregnancy lol. Towards the end, I didn’t experience contractions, just some kicking in my ribs from time to time.
Maternity Shoot; Lindsey Tyler PhotographyMaternity Shoot; Lindsey Tyler PhotographyThe night before the C-Section; Lindsey Tyler Photography
Due to my son being so big, I had a scheduled c-section a week before my due date. On April 15th, I was blessed with a 9lb 13ounce baby boy. If I would’ve waited until my due date, he would have absolutely been 10 EASILY.
Postpartum & Breastfeeding:
Everything was and still is new. As you know, you don’t get a manual from the hospital, family, or friends on how to be a mother. It’s literally a learn-as-you-go experience. Of course, if you’re unsure about things you ask around and even Google questions and facts. I definitely sought for answers for everything. On top of all that, I was breastfeeding– well 40% breastfeeding and 60% supplementing with liquid formula. Since I wasn’t producing enough milk, my baby needed to eat so formula it was. While getting adjusted to motherhood, I would forget to eat. In order to produce enough milk, you need to A) Have your baby latch on and/or B) Pump, and C)….EAT. I was doing half the work and expecting a full result. I was stressing out and my emotions were getting the best of me. BREASTFEEDING IS NOT FOR THE WEAK.
Eventually, after about 4-5 months, I decided to close the boob shop and only give my son formula. That lifted a weigh off my shoulders but knowing what I know now, I would do it again with my next child and try to tough it out a little longer.
What About the website and Podcast?
During this transition into Motherhood, I put Danii Gold, the site and Podcast, in the back seat and started a new podcast with my cousin and best friend titled Black Millennial Mamas. This podcast was benefitual at the time because I was the new mom out the bunch and was detailing my experiences in real time, all while getting advice from my cousin who has 8 year-old twin boys and a 2 year old daughter; and my best friend has a son who’s 6 months older than my son.
I feel like my passion shfted because my main goal was/is to provide for my son. At my day job, I started out as a full time, 6 month temp with potential to become permanent. After those 6 months I was offered a part-time permanent part-time, which I was grateful for because I knew eventually I would become a full time permanent employee. After 6 months, God came thru for your girl, a position opened up and I took it. I knew that I needed something solid and whatever “passions” and “hobbies” I had on the side that weren’t making me money, I needed to pause it; and that’s what I did with my site and The Danii Gold Podcast.
Right now, I’m at the point where I don’t know if I still have 100% passion for the entertainment news industry; I may be leaning towards the Lifestyle and Motherhood content. Soooooo, what I’m doing is this: I’m going to bring Danii Gold back for a year, blog podcast, interviews, etc. If after a year I feel passionate and successful enough to continue, I will do so. If I don’t feel that passion anymore, it’ll probably be the last of “Danii Gold.”
So for now, enjoy the upcoming content on my social media pages, this site and interviews on the podcast AND make sure you subscribe, and follow my other podcast Black Millennial Mamas.
Jazmine Sullivan is a talented soul that is often overlooked because she doesn’t put out music as often…until now. She released her fourth album on Friday January 8 and it was everything–from honest to controversal to acceptance.
The album title is exactly what the songs are about, hoe tales & hoes escapades. The skits are the best parts of the album. Jazmine starts the song off with an intro of a night not memorable–drinking too much and going home with a random guy. It goes into woman explaining that men can’t handle women who own up to their shit and that women who do have the same reckless behavior as them. The perfect transition was “Pick Up Your Feelings.” Men seem to feel a kind of way when you “pull a you on you,” meaning you pulled a move that they normally would do, but you pull their move on them. Women have been taking back the control, men aren’t the only ones who can be “hoes” and have sex with whomever they want.
The next tale/skit was from singer Ari Lennox who bowed down to a man because he had good dick. She was willing to submit and accept unacceptable behavior all because he “put it down” in the bedroom; which transitions into the next song “Put It Down”. The record explains that you’ll do anything for a man because it has good dick, from giving him money to paying his rent, to tricking off on him period. Jazmine brought our good sis Ari in for “On it.” It’s about sitting on it and spitting on “it;” I’ll let y’all figure out what IT is, but the track was the BEST one on the album.
Another interesting tale/ skit was addressed and that was tricking; women tricking to get what they want even from their husband or a guy they are just having sex with. That song transitions into “Pricetags.”
“Rashida’s Tale” leads into a beautiful transition to “Lost Ones” which is about losing someone you loved and it being your fault. You want the individual back but you know it’s a lose cause.
Everyone can relate to “The Other Side”— working hard, never getting a break and wanting to be on the other side, the side of financial freedom. That may entail meeting a millionaire or a rapper who can buy you a booty, diamonds, cars, etc, but overall just wanting to live a life free of worrying about money.
The last track featuring H.E.R. titled “Girl Like Me” is about wanting to be enough for a man and hope that he doesn’t cheat. Instead, men cheat with hoes and in the end, the hoes be winning. Knowing that, it makes women want to turn into a “hoe” and leave their good girl behavior in the past, because their good girl ways doesn’t get them anywhere but cheated on.
Our sis Jazmine did THAT on this album and if she wasn’t on people’s radar before, she is now.
50 Cent and Courtney Kemp did the damn thing with this show. From beginning to end the show was an attention grabber. It shows the transformation of Tariq’s character from the original Power series to now.
Tariq, played by Michael Rainey Jr., somehow balanced going to school, doing Zeke’s homework, hustling to pay for a lawyer by creating an app and more. He lived a double life, working for the Tejada family and proving his loyalty to them all while keeping his personal life away from them. Tariq proved his wit by starting an app to sell drugs on and hiring his roommate/friend to help him. Tariq showed so much compassion by trying to get Tasha out of jail.
tvline.com
We were introduced to the Tejada family. Monet, played by Mary J. Blige is the mother and HBIC of the drug cartel. She is holding things down while her husband Lorenzo is locked up. She shows nothing but tough love when it comes to her three children and calling the shot when someone needs to be put down. She is not to be fucked with. In the last episode, she flat out said told Tasha that Tariq was hers now and she can’t have him back because he’s making them money. Monet even saved Tariq’s life before Tommy could get to him (yup, he’s back.) Monet cut off her own son and even threatened him because he was messing up the family business—but that’s how she raised him.
digitalspy.com
Zeke, Daniel Bellomy, is the Monet’s nephew who does a horrible acting job when he’s frustrated or scared–but he’s fine. He really doesn’t know too much about the family business. He just plays basketball and minds his business.
productplacementblog.com
One of Monet’s sons is Dru (Lovell Adams-Gray). He’s the the third in charge, next to his brother. He is gay and starts dealing with one of Zeke’s team mates. He doesn’t get his hands too dirty but he still handles family business. He is the calm before the storm (Cane). He gets shot by the plug but survives. Mama bear Monet gets her revenge and handles like a true HBIC.
tvfanatic.com
Diana is Monet’s only daughter (LaTonya Tonodeo) and has an odd role. Monet wants her to stay in the family business and not go to college to make something of herself and even play basketball. She has some street smarts and had some likings with Tariq and counted some money but that was really it. She legit plays the little sister and is around for watching purposes.
tvline.com
The craziest of Monet’s kids is Cane, played by the talented handsome Woody McClain. He is the killer, the muscle and the runner up to taking over the family business. He is crazy for sure amd is jealous when it came to Tariq sliding into the family business. He killed Monet’s lover and has attempted to kill Tariq on several occasions and even was kicked out by his family for his zealous behavior. His own daddy in prison even got him jumped for disrespecting his mother and disobeying her orders. It looks like he’s being replaced.
deadline.com
Now that you have the recap of the characters, here’s the season finale breakdown: Tasha agrees to name Tommy as Ghost’s killer so she can get released from prison. She was hesitant but she agrees and with that comes with Tommy’s return. He attempts to kill her several times. She agreed to be put in witness protection but really she wants to run away with Tariq. In addition to that, Tariq pays Tommy a visit and they all work together to get Tommy off Tasha’s back and off the hook since the feds find out that he’s in town. Once their work together was done, Tommy still attempts to seek Tasha, which pushed Tariq to put Tasha in witness protection while he stays where he’s at. While all this is going on, Tariq has a nosey teacher who finds out that he’s selling drugs and has been researching his story regarding his family background and wants to write a book about him. Once he tells Tariq and asks for his permission, Tariq is forced to kill him.
The series showed that Tariq is more like his father than he wants to be. He hustles, he lies, he’s not a cheater but he deals with a few women in a PG-13 kind of way, and he has a legitimate LLC to covers up his drug hustle. The fact that he’s doing all this to pay for Tasha’s lawyer Davis, played by the fine Method Man, for Tasha to get released from jail for a crime that Tariq committed shows that he definitely goes hard for his family, can’t say the same for Ghost.
What did y’all think of the season finale and the season overall?
Soul may just seem like an animated Disney Pixar movie but it’s more than just that. It touches on your personality and purpose in life, along with finding your spark.
Joe Gardner is a jazz teacher at a school and initially you’ll think that the movie is about music–hence soul. But it’s about your actual soul. He believes his purpose is to play music but after almost dying and living his dream, he wonders what his true niche is. While he is in “The Great Before” which is like a holding place to determine if he deserves to be back on earth, he has to mentor a soul named 22 who needs help finding her spark. She needs an “earth pass” in order to actually live life on earth. She’s had some of the best mentors and nothing appeased her, until she lived a day in a life on earth in Joe Gardner’s shoes by accident.
While 22 is on earth, she appreciates the simple things like eating a sucker while getting a hair cut and walking and touching nature. Since these are things Joe is used to, he tells 22 that those things don’t count as a spark. While she wants to stay on earth to truly figure out her spark, she has to return to the The Great Beyond with Joe so he could have his life back. She somehow received an earth pass but since she didn’t “find” out what her spark was, she gave her pass to Joe so he could have his life back.
He gives his pass to her in exchange for his own life and that good deed earned him a pass to get his life back and live out his dream of playing with a notable jazz player.
letterboxd.com
This movie has so many lessons:
Don’t knock someone’s spark or niche just because it seems nonrelevant, simple or boring to you
Sometimes your spark find you
The things that you’ve always wanted aren’t what they seem to be once you’re living it
The simple things make life what it is
Let’s not forget to mention that Joe was played Jamie Foxx, his mother was played by Phylicia Rashad, notable jazz player Dorothea Williams was played by THEE Angela Bassett, and soul 22 was played by Tina Fey. Talk about some heavy hitters!!
Danii Gold 