Chicago soul singer Ty Stone has been impersonating his idol, James Brown since he was a child. “When I was a kid I went and saw him in concert and it was an amazing and exciting show,” recalls Stone. “Whenever you’d see him in town it was like an army. The band was tight and organized and it was like going to a circus. It was very exciting and James would suck you in.” TY STONE AS “THE GODFATHER OF SOUL” JAMES BROWN (Photos by Rossano P. Stewart) That excitement and reverence for the Godfather of Soul and his stage presence is why Stone decided to start doing “The Return of James Brown Tribute” show about five years ago. “James Brown is an art form. Everyone is doing the Beetles and Elvis tribute shows but no one is doing James Brown. He is an icon. A lot of the young singers today are sampling his music and a lot of young kids have forgotten that. Someone needs to represent that.”
This week I visited the Galaxy Lounge and Entertainment Center in Homewood, Doc’s in Shadyside, Savoy Restaurant and Lounge in the Strip District, CJ’s in the Strip District, Capri’s in East Liberty and Club Obsessionz in the Strip District My first stop was at Club Obsessionz in the Strip District where Leslie held a birthday celebration with family, friends and great food. Thanks for the invite because I had a great time. Birthday girl Leslie and family had a great time at Club Obsessionz in the Strip District.
Friday 15 Gallery Crawl The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Department of Education and Community Engagement presents the Gallery Crawl from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Cultural District. Attendees will be able to visit 21 participating venues of cutting edge exhibitions, live bands, dance, DJs and more. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 412-456-6666 or visit www.pgharts.org.
by Gail Choice For New Pittsburgh Courier (NNPA)—What do champions do when they discover that things are not going as planned or hoped? They regroup and come out fighting. Oprah Winfrey is just that kind of champion. Winfrey has acknowledged that launching her own cable channel has been more difficult than she expected. And she plans to devote herself to overhauling OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, and spending more time in Los Angeles where the headquarters of OWN is located. OPRAH WINFREY
(NNPA)—More than a decade after Sean “Diddy” Combs' legal woes surfaced after a shooting at a New York nightclub, the hip-hop mogul has settled all civil actions filed against him. The New York Post recently reported that Diddy, his former artist Jamal “Shyne” Barrow and the now-defunct nightclub struck a deal with the three club-goers who were harmed in the bar fight in 1999, according to court records. P. DIDDY
by J.H. Muhammad For New Pittsburgh Courier (NNPA)—At a glance, people may look at Steve Harvey and his accomplishments and possibly only see him as an entertainer. On television, he is the host of one of the longest airing game shows of all time, Family Feud, and also The Steve Harvey Project. On the radio, his syndicated show, The Steve Harvey Morning Show, reaches millions of listeners daily. On the road, he recently started a comedy and gospel tour with local Grammy award winning gospel artist, Kirk Franklin. He is also a best-selling author and comedy icon. STEVE HARVEY
Life is a struggle. From the moment the doctor smacks your behind and you gasp your first breath til the moment you gasp out your last, you have to work hard to get where you live, what you own, how you move and who you move with. As you’ll read in “Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness to Freedom” by Dr. Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, LLD (with Ken Klonsky), the aftermath of the battle can sometimes lead to a better life for the warrior.
(NNPA)—Dear Gwendolyn: I met my fiancé when my son was only 10 years old. After we dated for a year, he moved in and brought with him his son. I didn’t like the idea at first, but when in love, you follow your heart and not your mind. His son was older than my son and had a larger body build. He immediately wanted to fight my child. When I brought this to the attention of my fiancé, he said, “They’re just boys.” Recently I asked my fiancé to move and he refused. Gwendolyn, how can I get him and his son out of my house?—Rita
The next generation of a cappella groups graced the stage of the Kaufmann Center in the Hill District in celebration of this year’s Juneteenth Festival, which was produced in partnership with the Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Juneteenth is the yearly celebration to remember the end of slavery in the United States. During the Civil War, even though the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, most slaves were not officially freed until the end of the war in 1865, and there were many more that did not find out until months after that, especially in Texas. COMMITTED (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)
This week I visited Stage AE on the North Shore, the Northside Elks in the Hill District, Kenny’s Place in the Hill District, Savoy Restaurant and Lounge in the Strip District and Club Obsessionz in the Strip District. My first stop was at Stage AE on the North Shore where Promo West Productions presented Bootsy Collins—Tha Funk Capital of the World. This concert was off the hook and it’s an event that Pittsburgh hasn’t seen in years. The legendary funk master, Bootsy Collins performing live at Stage AE on the North Shore.
