Go with the Flo

FLO

ANTHONY

On Wednesday, April 20, the longest running actor and comedian from “Saturday Night Live,” Kenan Thompson returns to New York City for the 11th season of his comedy competition tour series Kenan Thompson’s Ultimate Comedy Experience with a comedy showcase that will be held at the Gotham Comedy Club on West 23rd Street. The event will be hosted by the NYC 2019 Ultimate Comedy Experience winner Matt Friend. Emmy award winning TV producer Gyllian Carter, comedy writer and television producer Marc Lupis and PIX11 news correspondent Ayana Harry will be the VIP judges for this competition. Kenan joins his producing partner, Cherie Chiles-Buchanan as they search for the funniest young people in the country. The finale showcase will take place on the big stage at Caroline’s in NYC on May 15.

According to E! News, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were spotted arriving at Grantley Adams International airport in her home country of Barbados on April 15. This was the first sighting of the expectant couple since rumors accusing the Harlem rapper of cheating on Rihanna with Fenty shoe designer, Amina Muaddi, swirled through the blogosphere on April 14, after a tweet went viral. Muaddi quickly shut down the speculation, calling the “malicious rumor” an “unfounded lie.” Soon after, fashion influencer, Louis Pisano, who sent out the tweet that caused all the commotion, posted a formal apology, that read “to all parties I involved with my actions and for my reckless tweets.”

Tongues are wagging that dean of the Friars Club, attorney Arthur Aidala will present actor Tracy Morgan with the Icon Award at the Friars Club Gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on May 26. Meanwhile, according to reports the OG star was spotted at the New York Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Center on April 16. The show, which resumed for the first time since 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, runs through April 23.

Husband and wife acting team Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance made a big splash in the Big Apple the week of April 12. First, Vance hosted a screening of his new AMC drama, “61st Street.” Then, on April 13, the couple hosted Jazz at Lincoln Center’s annual gala, Body + Soul: American Rises Through The Arts. In a pre-recorded video, Michelle Obama presented JALC’s Ed Bradley Award for Leadership to Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation, while Spike Lee presented musician Terrence Blanchard the JALC Award for Artistic Excellence. The JALC orchestra with Wynton Marsalis provided the evening’s entertainment. Lastly, April 14, Bassett was on the red carpet for the opening night of Laurence Fishburne’s new Broadway show, “American Buffalo.”

Mural unveiled for Twin Parks North West residents

(Ross Figlerski photos)

Donating laundry cards to affected residents on Southern Blvd., Bronx Clean Rite presented the unveiling of a mural to Twin Parks North West residents whose relatives perished in a fire this past January.

Present at the event amongst locals were the artists Tats Cru, Clean Rite center management, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, and food from The Hip Hop Food Truck.

List of names included in the mural: Sera Janneh, Seydou Toureh, Haowa Mahamadou, Issatou Jabbie, Haji Jawara, Haja Dukureh, Haji Dukureh, Mustapha Dukureh, Mariam Dukureh, Fatoumata Dukureh, Fatoumata Drammeh, Fatoumala Drammeh, Nyumaaisha Drammeh, Muhammed Drammeh, and Ousmane Konteh.

Laundry Capital/Clean Rite commissioned the mural and it was painted by the Tats Cru: Hector “Nicer” Nazario, Wilfredo “Bio” Feliciano, and Sotero “BG183” Ortiz.

On Jan. 9, at Site 4 of Twin Parks North West, a 19-story public housing building in the Bronx, a fire killed 17 residents and displaced hundreds more in the city’s worst fire disaster in 30 years.

“This mural will create awareness for the victims of the fire and add color to the neighborhood,” said Nazario. Tats Cru artists have painted murals throughout New York City since the 1980s. “But it’s not very often that we do murals like this on laundromats,” he said.

Laundry Capital owner Alex Weiss said, “We want to honor the lives that were lost in that terrible tragedy by ensuring their memory will live on forever as a permanent staple of the Bronx community.”