PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM: Joelatinum and Pascalle83
Chaka Khan is 60 and fabulous. The legendary R&B singer celebrated her 60th birthday over the weekend in Miami and performed at the Florida AIDS Walk.
Dropping it like it was hot! At 60! Werk! Watch a short clip of Chaka performing "Ain't Nobody" AFTER THE JUMP ...
Continue reading "PHOTOS, VIDEO: Chaka Khan at Florida AIDS Walk" »
A very emotional moment on the Coppin State University campus in Baltimore, which celebrated its homecoming over the weekend ...
British soul singer and songwriter Marsha Ambrosius performed a concert at the historically black university. Between sets, a student told Marsha that "Far Away" was her favorite song because of its amazing music video. "My boyfriend committed suicide last December and I've never discussed this," the student said.
Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...
"Far Away"—preview and download at iTunes—is the second single from Late Nights & Early Mornings, which drops tomorrow. The video presents two Black gay men in love, and explores homophobia, gay bashing and LGBT youth suicide in the black community. The video has gone viral and after a recent appearance on BET's 106 & Park, it's created major awareness among Black youth.
Ambrosius and the fan continued their conversation on YouTube. "This was the most difficult performance to get thru to date. I'm so happy she shared her story," Marsha wrote.
07Shenanigans responded, "You have no idea how that made me feel. ... Thank you for not only touching my life but also my heart."
It's a very touching moment. And a brilliant example of how our issues can be framed for a wider audience.
Marsha Ambrosius also performs "Hope She Cheats on You" and a beautiful rendition of Chaka Khan's "Sweet Thing." Watch all the performaces AFTER THE JUMP ...
Continue reading "WATCH: Fan Shares Story of BF's Suicide with Marsha Ambrosius" »
NYS no-fault divorce law applicable to same-sex couples.
Chaka Khan and Martha Wash to headline Oakland Pride.
Nick Cannon to become a baby's daddy?
Club Turk Baths, "one of San Francisco’s first gay bathhouses as well as
one of its last", soon to become a doggy day-care hotel.
Wanted: Ebonics translators. The Drug Enforcement Agency is looking to "hire 9 translators fluent in 'ebonics' to help monitor, transcribe and translate conversations recorded in drug investigations." No shitznit?
Department of Justice files an amicus brief and opposes a New York school
district's attempt to dismiss a former student's anti-gay-bias lawsuit.
Notre Dame QB stands up for equality and gay rights.
Taylor Lautner launches into diva mode.
California legislature passes resolution urging DOMA repeal.
Marvin and Marvin. JLS boybander Marvin Hume strikes a pose with the cartoon Martian ... and once again demonstrates his impressive oral skills.
Haiti's electoral council: Wyclef Jean cannot appeal his exclusion from the presidential ballot.
Michigan ends ban on HIV positive inmates serving food.
POZ interviews Dr. Nnemdi Kamanu Elias, the new interim head of the agency in charge of fighting HIV/AIDS in Washington, DC, "which has the highest HIV rate in the country."
Towleroad posts a thoughtful interview with John Amaechi, who reflects on coming out after leaving the NBA. "I keep in touch with some [players], most don’t keep in touch and made it clear that they didn’t want people to think they were gay, some are gay and think I am too under [much] scrutiny to be associated with without the risk that they are outed." Amaechi was also asked if he ever had any kind of relationship with a NBA player. Amaechi responded: "Not romantic."
Funk and R&B powerhouse Chaka Khan just released her first studio album in a decade—a collection of killer, vintage Rufus-style tracks called Funk This. (Listen and download the free MP3 of "Disrespectful" with a special intro and greeting to Rod 2.0 readers. Fierce, no?) The legendary singer-songwriter now adds "Broadway musical" to her ever-expanding skill set. On January 9, the singer-songwriter joins the cast of The Color Purple as the fearless Sofia, the role immortalized by Oprah Winfrey in the now-classic film.
Khan tells The New York Times, "I am Sofia. We’re so much alike. Her fundamental application to life is the same emotionally. She’s one of the [pioneers] of women’s liberation and the first non-slave black woman who wasn’t a slave to anybody. I’m like that. I’d rather be dead."
The singer-songwriter says film director Steven Spielberg approached her for the role of nightclub singer Shug Avery, but she refused the part because she couldn't identify with the character. "I did know girls like that, who lost count of [the men] they’d been with. I was raised Catholic, and I was very Catholicized sexually. I had more hangups."
Speaking of Chaka Khan's sexuality: The topic was probably too risque for the Times to explore in detail, but, Out.com's Shana Naomi Krochmal picks up where they left off. Chaka talks about "unlearning" that Catholic repression and previously having lesbian relationships in an interview in the current Out. "Sex is "not a real big thing", she admits. "If men could be more like women, I would definitely be more interested in them. A lot of men are denying their feminine side, which I think is their loss. When a woman meets a man who understands her, who gets her because he feels it too—I can't think of anything more beautiful than that."
