African American Singer

May 14 2013

Tour began in April

Pop music superstar Beyoncé is indeed irreplaceable, postponing a scheduled show Tuesday in Belgium because of “dehydration and exhaustion,” her representatives said.

Taking her doctors’ advice, Beyoncé won’t perform Tuesday night in Antwerp and is “awaiting word” before deciding what to do about a second Belgium show set for Wednesday, according to a statement from her camp.

Apr 15 2013

Performed “1901” and “Ignition”

The rumor blowing up Saturday was that Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival could feature a surprise appearance by electronica icons Daft Punk. According to the Twitterverse, it would probably take place during the set of headliners Phoenix.

But when the special guest finally materialized on the main stage, it wasn’t Daft Punk, it was R. Kelly. Yes, that R. Kelly.

Mar 26 2013

Down her last $1,000 in cash, owes $10.7 million

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Dionne Warwick, one of the most recognizable pop voices of the 1960s, filed for bankruptcy last week citing more than $10 million in tax debt dating back to 1991.

Warwick, 72, made hits out of many Burt Bacharach and Hal David songs and won five Grammys in a 50-year career. The singer is down her last $1,000 in cash and only owns furniture and clothing worth $1,500, according to the Chapter 7 filing in New Jersey.

Mar 20 2013

Drunken driving conviction

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Deputies handcuffed singer Bobby Brown and led him from a courtroom to a jail cell Wednesday morning, as Whitney Houston's ex-husband began serving time for a drunken driving conviction.

Although the judge sentenced Brown to 55 days behind bars for his second conviction in a year for driving under the influence, he will likely be free in eight or nine days, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Mar 19 2013

Complications from H1N1 flu virus

Bobbie Smith, who as a member of the Spinners sang lead on such hits as “I’ll Be Around” and “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” has died. He was 76.

Smith died Saturday of complications of pneumonia and the H1N1 flu virus, according to a statement from Nat Burgess, the Spinners’ manager.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.