Willow Smith First In Star-Studded Family To Achieve A Billion Music Streams
The 2015 track was released simultaneously as the second and final single of her debut album "Ardipithecus."
Willow Smith is the first member of her A-list family to achieve achieve one billion Spotify streams, thanks to her hit song “…Wait a Minute!”
The 2015 track was released simultaneously as the second and final single of her debut album Ardipithecus.
In celebration of his daughter’s accomplishment, Will Smith shared a photo of Willow’s Spotify Artists profile, complete with the 1 billion streams and counting for the song.
“@willowsmith is the first person in the family to have a song with a BILLION streams,” captioned the proud dad. Willow is his only daughter and youngest of three.
Willow commented below her father’s congratulatory post, stating, “love u daddy,” alongside a heart emoji. The 23-year-old is the younger of Smith and wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s two kids; her older brother is a fellow musician who goes by his first name, Jaden. Will has another son., Trey, by his first wife.
Willow now belongs to the famed billions club, a part of the cohort of successful artists such as The Weeknd, Drake, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift. Spotify also has a playlist deemed “Billions club” which features the hit songs that have crossed the significant finish line.
However, the honor should not come as a surprise to fans, as music runs in one of Black Hollywood’s most famous families. The patriarch himself got his start as a rapper, receiving the first-ever Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 1989 as part of rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. He later performed as a solo artist.
Pinkett-Smith also has a background in the music scene, with her daughter’s alt-rock style potentially stemming from her own experience as lead singer of nu metal band Wicked Wisdom. Jaden, on the other hand, has taken after his father’s footsteps with his dive into rap.
Willow boasts 12.3 million monthly listeners on the app, with her second biggest hit, “Meet Me At Our Spot” with The Anxiety and Tyler Cole, reaching over 500 million streams.
After Contract Buyout, NBA Star Kyle Lowry Expected To Sign With Hometown 76ers
Kyle Lowry has agreed to a contract buyout, clearing the way for him to play for his hometown Philadelphia 76ers.
After coming to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the trade that sent Terry Rozier and a first round pick to Miami, NBA star Kyle Lowry has agreed to a contract buyout, clearing the way for him to play for his hometown Philadelphia 76ers.
As CBS Sportsreported, since the Hornets are currently rebuilding, so they didn’t see a need to retain Lowry, an 18-year veteran. The 76ers are not. In 2021, the tem pursued him at the trade deadline, but couldn’t secure a deal.
A hype video featuring Lowry, who played his high school ball in Philly before going on to a decorated college basketball career at Villanova has been making the rounds on Twitter/X. Fittingly, the video opens up with Skylar Grey’s version of “I’m Coming Home” while featuring highlights from Lowry’s high school games and a shot of the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers’ home court.
Kyle Lowry hype video to announce he’s coming home to Philadelphia #Sixers
The Sixers, currently without the services of MVP candidate Joel Embiid due to a knee surgery, are hoping the recent acquisitions of Buddy Hield and Lowry can help keep them afloat in the Eastern conference while they wait for their franchise player to return.
Though Lowry, 37, is well past his prime, he should be able to provide defense and leadership to the team’s second unit. Despite only averaging 8.5 points on the season, his lowest total since 2011, he remains an efficient shooter, posting a three-point percentage of 38.5% for the Miami Heat.
The move also reunites Lowry with head coach Nick Nurse, with whom he won an NBA championship in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors. According to NBC Sports Philadelphia, Lowry has great respect for Nurse. “Nick was the (Raptors assistant coach) I shot with, worked out with; he was in the system when I first got here,” he told reporters in 2022.
“So me and him had a great relationship prior to him even being the head coach,” Lowry added. “We always had this same type of mantra about winning…and trying to be innovative. Nick’s a friend of mine, and we got closer and closer. And as the years went on, we trusted each other more and more.”
It remains to be seen exactly how much playing time Lowry will get. The team also has Cameron Payne and Terquavion Smith, who is signed on a two-way deal, which gives the team more flexibility in using Lowry.
Martin Lawrence Flexes His Strength For Shannon Sharpe In Oikos Super Bowl Commercial
This is Martin Lawrence's first-ever Super Bowl commercial.
Martin Lawrence is bringing his comedic chops to the Super Bowl in a commercial with NFL player turned popular podcaster Shannon Sharpe. The duo will be featured in an advertisement for Oikos yogurt.
In Lawrence’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial, titled “Hold My Oikos,” he and Sharpe debate what to do about their golf cart that was driven into the lake. The ad was released on Oikos’ YouTube account ahead of football’s biggest night.
In the 30-second snippet, Lawrence displays his unlikely strength against the very muscular Sharpe, as he lifts the golf cart out the lake, all with the help of the brand’s “protein-packed” yogurt. Of their debut together on screen, Lawrence spoke on Sharpe’s more reserved demeanor off-screen, as well as his professionalism, different from his vibrant persona as a media personality.
“Shannon’s very quiet, and if you talk to him between takes, he’ll communicate with you and everything, but when it’s time to shoot, he’s very focused, and he goes into his work,” said Lawrence, Essence reports. “That’s the good thing about Shannon because I’m a lot like that as well. I don’t talk too much before I start my acting or whatever I’m doing. But he’s a lot of fun and has a lot of knowledge.”
As Sharpe continues to make waves with his new interview podcast, Club Shay Shay, Lawrence has his own projects. “Well, you can expect Bad Boys 4 on June 14th,” he said. “And this one has a chance to be the best one of them all. Then, I’m going to be heading out for a tour at some point.”
While no further details have been made regarding Lawrence’s new tour, viewers can expect to see him joke around with Sharpe in the new commercial during the Feb. 11 game.
Texas Mother Arrested By SWAT Team After Allegedly Attempting To Put Child In Oven
Lul Top also allegedly threatened to cut off one child's tongue while holding up a knife to their tongue.
An Allen, Texas, woman was arrested following a SWAT raid at her home, during which she attempted to place one of her children inside the oven.
NBC 5 obtained a search warrant affidavit. Officers investigated allegations that Lul Top was being abusive to her six children. According to jail records, the 36-year-old mother is facing six charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon stemming from the arrest.
According to authorities, Top retreated to and barricaded herself in the attic of her home when officers arrived to serve the arrest warrant on Monday, February 5. Following nearly two hours of negotiations and attempts to contact Top, police used chemical agents. She surrendered at approximately 10:50 a.m.
According to neighbors, police were familiar with Top’s home and were often called to the residence, but things escalated when the SWAT team appeared. The affidavit states that in January, Top used a piece of wood taken from the door frame to assault her husband, causing bodily injury. According to the children, Top drinks a lot of alcoholic beverages, and often enlists them to help her find them. One child alleged Top held up a knife to another child’s tongue, threatening to cut it off. Another said that Top tried to put her inside the oven while it was still on.
“The sweetest kids ever,” neighbor William Whitney told NBC 5. “It’s unfathomable. I don’t know how a parent could do that to their kids. If what they are saying is true was happening then I am so happy for the kids to get them out of that situation because it could have been a lot worse.”
According to court records, Top denied having ever caused harm to her children. Court documents indicate that Top’s husband filed for a protective order against her in early February. A hearing on that order is set for the week of Feb. 17. It is currently unknown whether or not Top has obtained or been assigned an attorney. She is currently being held in the Allen County Jail on a $600,000 bond.
Ozzy Osbourne Blasts Kanye West’s Sampling Of Black Sabbath, Issues Cease-And-Desist Order
West played the sample at an album release party on Feb. 8, despite allegedly not receiving Osbourne’s permission to use the sample.
Rock star and former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne says he denied Kanye West permission to use a live recording of the group’s song “Iron Man” played at the U.S. Festival in 1983. As The Hill reported, Osbourne claimed on Twitter/X that his denial of West’s request to sample the song was driven by the rapper’s history of antisemitic remarks.
Osbourne wrote, “KANYE WEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF ‘IRON MAN’ FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY.” Osbourne made his point even clearer, writing, “HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM LISTENING PARTY LAST NIGHT. I WANT NO ASSOCIATION WITH THIS MAN!”
Osbourne went on to send West a cease-and-desist order.
. @KANYEWEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF “IRON MAN” FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY. HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM…
West played the sample at an album release party on Feb. 8, despite allegedly not receiving Osbourne’s permission to use the sample. According to a report from Page Six, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife, said that “Kanye f—ked with the wrong Jew this time.” She added that Black Sabbath normally accepts requests for samples, but claimed Black Sabbath had a “special f—king occasion to say no” to Ye.
West has had very public instances of antisemitism, which cost the rapper numerous partnerships, such as when Adidas halted production of his popular Yeezy line.
West’s history of antisemitic remarks also prompted controversial talk show host Bill Maher not to air an interview he recorded with Ye during an appearance on Maher’s podcast, citing the rapper’s history of antisemitism.
“The problem, I think, is that he appeals mostly—of course he’s a rock star—to young people,” Maher told TMZ, according to Variety. “They don’t know much and they surely don’t know much about the Middle East or Jews. So the combination of Kanye out there — I feel like he was helpful for spreading the fertilizer, and I do mean fertilizer, for this idea that Israel and the Jews are the worst people in the world.”
“We were here for two hours,” he added. “By the way, we had an amazing, fun time. He’s a very charming antisemite. And by the way, he’s not the only one in America who feels that way. It’s not like the Jews are universally loved except for Kanye West. He’s a very charming antisemite. I’m not going to contribute to this.”
In an effort to counteract the damage, West issued an apology on Instagram in December written in Hebrew followed up by a 40-minute apology in January.
In the social media post, he wrote, “I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions, it was not my intention to hurt or disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused,” read West’s message, translated from Hebrew. “I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future.”
Survey: Majority Of Black Americans Feel ‘Somewhat Successful’
In terms of how they defined success, most of the survey's respondents listed the ability to provide for their family as an important factor.
According to the results of a new survey by the Pew Research Center, the majority of Black Americans feel somewhat successful in their life but continue to feel external financial pressure despite their stable incomes.
Pew researchers wrote in the release, “Most Black Americans (66%) consider themselves at least somewhat successful, a quarter (26%) of people surveyed characterized themselves as extremely or very successful.” They additionally found a correlation between those with higher grossing incomes and the latter category.
In terms of how they defined success, most respondents listed the ability to provide for their family as an important factor. Another prominent answer was “being happy.” Others included having leisure time and having stable material items such as real estate.
There was a distinction that Pew made in terms of gender, noting that, “Black women are more likely than Black men to say being debt-free, being able to pass down financial assets, and being able to retire early are essential to their definition of financial success.”
Pew continued, “Black adults with lower levels of family income are more likely than those with middle or upper incomes to say being debt-free and owning a business are essential. Far fewer see personal relationships having a significant role in success.”
The Pew survey found that the biggest support factors for being able to gain financial success are having supportive family members, good connections and mentors, and having a college degree.
Despite the majority of respondents feeling satisfied with their success, most Black adults reported feeling stressful financial pressures such as worrying about paying their bills, debt, rent, grocery shopping, healthcare, and even paying for retirement.
Ex-DEA Informant Sentenced To Life In Prison For Role In Assassination Of Haitian President
Jovenel Moïse, the president of Haiti, was killed in his home in 2021.
Joseph Vincent, a former informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), has been sentenced to life in prison by federal courts for his part in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
According to TheGuardian, Vincent admitted to aiding in the plot to kill Moïse while he was in his Port-au-Prince home. Vincent is one of 11 defendants being prosecuted for crimes ranging from supplying weapons and money to carry out the act, attending the assassination, and providing information on Moïse’s schedule and associates.
On the night of the attack, the assailants who entered Moïse’s home claimed to be DEA agents, but the agency confirmed that Vincent and another Haitian American involved were not acting on its behalf. Immediately afterward, nearby residents called authorities and reported hearing gunshots and seeing men dressed in all black fleeing the home.
“This was a well-orchestrated commando attack,” Bocchit Edmond, the Haitian ambassador to Washington. “They presented themselves as DEA agents, telling people they had come as part of a DEA operation.”
A video taken near the crime scene showed a man repeating into a megaphone, “DEA operation. Everybody stands down. DEA operation. Everybody back up, stand down.”
Moïse’s widow, the first lady Martine Marie Étienne Moïse, was injured during the assassination of her husband but recovered in time for the trials. She said in 2021 that the people who killed her husband “came to kill his dream, his vision, his ideology.”
She also referenced how Haiti had been destabilized by the event, with “violence from street gangs and vigilantes prevalent, and communities fighting back with bloody reprisals of their own.”
Sports Legend Bo Jackson Wins $21 Million Extortion Lawsuit Against Family Members
According to the lawsuit, Jackson feared for his safety and the safety of his family as the result of his niece and nephew’s actions.
Bo Jackson, who remains the only athlete to ever be named to the NFL and MLB all-star teams, won $21 million in a civil suit against his niece and nephew. The lawsuit was filed in April 2023, and alleged that Jackson’s nephew, Thomas Lee Anderson, and his niece, Erica M. Anderson Ross, attempted to extort Jackson for $20 million using extortion and harassment.
As ESPN reported, the judge’s Feb. 2 decision included a permanent protective order barring the pair from contacting or contacting either Jackson or his immediate family members. They also must stay at least 500 yards away from the Heisman Trophy winner and remove any content on social media they posted about Jackson.
The 61-year-old Jackson alleged that the conduct from his family members began in 2022 and included threatening messages and social media posts, false public allegations that painted him in a negative light, and the public disclosure of private information that was intended to cause him emotional distress. Jackson said Thomas Anderson posted on Facebook that he would release photos, texts, and medical records in order to “show America” that he wasn’t playing around, according to the lawsuit.
Jackson alleged that his niece and nephew enlisted the help of an Atlanta attorney to demand $20 million in exchange for stopping their campaign. Jackson said that the pair threatened to show up at a restaurant near the home of Jackson and to disrupt a charity event he hosted in Auburn in April as a way to harass and intimidate him.
According to the lawsuit, Jackson feared for his safety and the safety of his family as the result of his niece and nephew’s actions. The suit sought unspecified damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy, as well as a civil conspiracy claim and a protective order due to the stalking Jackson claimed to have experienced. The court determined that there was no legitimate reason for the siblings’ actions and their flagrant disregard for the cease and desist letter that Jackson’s attorneys sent to the pair.
Judge Jason D. Marbut, Cobb County Superior Court Judge, said in his court order that neither the siblings nor their attorneys were able to challenge Jackson’s claims successfully, nor did they participate in the case following a May 2023 hearing during which they agreed to abide by a temporary protective order. The judge determined that Jackson’s niece and nephew were in default, meaning they accepted all of his claims as true, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Marbut wrote in his decision, “Reasonable people would find defendants’ behavior extreme and outrageous,” Marbutt explained. “The court saw evidence that an attorney representing defendants claimed his clients’ conduct would cease for the sum of $20 million.”
Jackson’s attorneys, Robert Ingram and David Conley, celebrated the decision with a news release on Feb. 5, “Unfortunately for those attempting to extort 20 million dollars from Jackson and his family, Bo still hits back hard.”
Forgotten Burial Grounds Of Enslaved People Receiving More Attention Nationwide
According to one expert, many cemeteries have been displaced or erased by urban development, especially cemeteries where Black people were buried.
The burial grounds of enslaved people have become something that more and more people are paying attention to.
When Rachel Peric and Nadine Chapman discovered a plantation gravesite in Montgomery County, Maryland, that the county had largely ignored, they decided to ensure the community learned about it. Their attempts to get the site recognized led to a series of lectures from the Chevy Chase Historical Society that highlighted the history of the Chevy Chase area. The first of those lectures focused on the Rollingwood Burial Ground for Enslaved People, which is the burial ground Peric and Chapman rediscovered. Renata Lisowski, director of the society’s Archive and Research Center, told NPR that many cemeteries, especially those where Black people were buried, have been displaced or erased by urban development.
“For one, there were no headstones put in place in the 19th century for enslaved people,” Lisowski explained. Then there are the “known unknowns.” “We don’t have their names. They didn’t record the names of enslaved people in the census. They only record the individual’s sex and their age,” said Lisowski.
Peric and Chapman are among a growing number of people trying to bring attention to grave sites for formerly enslaved African Americans.
In 2020, after Pastor Michelle Thomas’ 16-year-old son, Fitz, died in a drowning accident, she laid him to rest in a cemetery she had been fighting to restore: the Slave Cemetery, located on the Belmont Plantation. Thomas told NPR, “My son is the first African American person who was born free to be buried in this cemetery. He brings the message of freedom to the ancestors that eventually, we made it to the other side.”
While researching county records in 2015 specifically to avoid building her church, Holy and Whole Life Changing Ministries, on burial grounds, Thomas discovered the Belmont Plantation listing. She also found that despite extensive listings, more was needed by the county to establish it as a place of historical significance. Thomas told NPR, “What was more deplorable is that information existed. All that paperwork existed, we just had no one that was interested or demanding that this history be told.”
In Florida, Antoinette Jackson, a professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida, created the African American Burial Ground and Remembering Project in 2020, which focused on forgotten or erased cemeteries in the Tampa Bay area. According to Jackson, that project was the progenitor to the Black Cemetery Network. Jackson told NPR, “I realized this was a national problem, and it wasn’t just the Tampa Bay area or the Florida area. It was national.”
The Black Cemetery Project has mapped out at least 140 burial sites across the country, stretching between Texas, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Vermont.
Jackson also told NPR that cemeteries are being discovered underneath all manner of modern amenities. “We’re finding cemeteries under housing complexes, under office buildings, parking lots,” said Jackson, adding that the lack of protection afforded Black cemeteries as a direct result of slavery is the ultimate culprit: “It directly impacted Black people’s ability to sustain the centers and the burial practices and sacred sites.”
Now things are changing, according to Jackson, because people are getting involved. “That is the big story,” Jackson said. “People are looking around where they live and go, ‘Wait a minute, I see that.’ And they start to research their own communities, looking at historical records, maps, land deeds.”
As for Chapman and Peric, their efforts will bear fruit later this year, after they selected a park in the neighborhood, with county approval, to honor the people buried in the Rollingwood cemetery. The duo is working with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission to place signage describing what happened at the cemetery. According to Chapman and Peric, the Rollingwood Burial Ground for Enslaved People will no longer be buried and forgotten history — the people who were laid to rest there will now be remembered forever.
Harlem Globetrotters Tap LSU Alum Alexis ‘The Show’ Morris For 2024 World Tour
Morris made her Globetrotter debut on Feb. 9 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Following a 2023 NCAA championship with Louisiana State University (LSU), standout point guard Alexis “The Show” Morris has taken her talents to the legendary Harlem Globetrotters for its 2024 World Tour.
Morris made her Globetrotter debut on Feb. 9 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts — the birthplace of basketball. According to LSU, the star athlete’s recent deal with the organization made her the seventh woman to join in the team’s 97-year history.
“I’m excited to join the Harlem Globetrotters and want to thank the leadership team for giving me an opportunity to grow my personal and professional career while playing the game I love,” Morris shared. Highlighting the Globetrotters’ “level of basketball and entertainment,” she embraced the challenge to carry on their legacy.
Globetrotters President Keith Dawkins hailed the signing: “The Harlem Globetrotters have a storied history of signing some of the world’s most accomplished and coveted talent…and now, Alexis Morris.” He cited stars from Wilt Chamberlain to Lynette Woodard amidst the expanding “global basketball landscape.” Signing Alexis “reflects our commitment to pursuing the best ballers from around the world,” Dawkins added.
Now part of the Globetrotters’ expanding women’s contingent, fans can expect exclusive content of her rookie journey with the team through ‘My Rookie Season’ on Harlem Globetrotters YouTube channel. Morris joins six other female standouts like Fatima “TNT” Lister redefining roles for women under the Globetrotters banner.
A dynamic scorer known for flash and vision, Morris averaged 15.2 points and 3.5 assists during her two seasons with LSU and 16.8 points and 3.8 assists to help lead the Tigers to its first national championship title. Morris was recently drafted into the WNBA by the Connecticut Sun before starting this season in Turkey’s professional league. Her unique path echoes Connie Hawkins’ Globetrotters fame preceding an NBA Hall of Fame induction.
Upcoming shows at popular New York venues like Barclays Center on Feb. 18 and Madison Square Garden on Feb. 24 will feature the Beaumont, Texas native alongside this year’s team of elite athletes.
Alexis Morris adds dynamic star power to a roster that will contribute to carrying this heritage franchise towards its 2026 centennial.
