8 • June 30, 2022 - July 6, 2022
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS G O W I T H T H
Go With The Flo FLO
ANTHONY As Sean “Diddy” Combs received the Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award on June 26 at the 2022 BET Awards in Los Angeles, the rap mogul paid tribute to the late Kim Porter, the mother of three of his children, Christian, D’Lila Star and Jessie James Combs, and his stepson, Quincy Brown. Diddy gave several shout-outs to the model, who died unexpectedly of lobar pneumonia in 2018 at age 47. After several starstudded performances that paid homage to his career, Puffy played an old video clip of Porter telling him, “Congratulations Puffy, you’re a star. I can’t tell you how proud I am. From Harlem to Hollywood, that’s a long journey…you work so hard and I’ve watched you, your blood sweat and tears, and you’ve arrived.” Diddy ended his speech with, “I love you Kim.” Combs also donated $1 million to his alma mater Howard University and another $1 million to former NFL/MLB player Deion Sanders’ Jackson State University, where he is currently the coach of the football team. Speaking of the BET Awards, three months after Will Smith’s fiasco at the Academy Awards, the self-disgraced Oscar winner is still picking up awards. At the BET Awards, Smith once again won Best Actor for his role as Serena and Venus Williams’ father, Richard Williams, in the film “King Richard.” However, Smith chose
to stay out of the limelight and was not in attendance. Meanwhile, the evening’s host, Taraji P. Henson’s “Empire” castmate, Jussie Smollett, did opt to attend the ceremony, which caused a stir on social media. Word on the curb is Usher celebrated his friend and mentor, L.A. Reid, turning 66 years old, by giving him a new Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet. This gesture was truly monumental because the music mogul gave Usher a Porsche when the crooner released his hit, “You Make Me Wanna” in 1997, on his and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds’ La Face Record label. Held June 25, the birthday party, which was called “Bel Air Backyard Barbecue,” included guests such as T.I. and Jeezy. Celebrate good times this summer as Robert Kool Bell, founder of the Grammy Award winning Kool and the Gang, will host the third annual Kool Kids Foundation Golf Tournament. The event will take place on Tuesday, July 12, at the Cedar Hill Golf & Country Club, in Livingston, New Jersey. Celebrities, athletes and entertainers attending this star-studded golf outing include former NY Giants O.J. Anderson (co-chair of the event) and Rodney Hampton, Rev Run, former NY Knicks Charles Oakley and John Starks, Chris Tucker, Ja Rule and Ken Griffey Sr.
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Welcome to the International African Arts Festival 2022 By OLAYEMI ODESANYA Special to the AmNews
As the Fourth of July comes back around, so does the 51-year-old International African Arts Festival (IAAFestival) Tagged “Eddembe,” meaning ‘Freedom,’ in the Luganda language of the Buganda People in Uganda. “It is the oldest, longest-running multi-day celebration of African culture in this country,” said Según Shabaka, board chair and festival coordinator, on InceptionFM.com’s Back to Basics radio show. This year again the inspiration is having the community celebrate African culture, music, clothing, arts, song and dance. “It is a celebration of the best of African culture, Pan-African culture—that means continental, diasporian culture, and you’ll see it in many areas of artistic expression—music, dance, poetry fashion, just a whole array of different presentations,” said Shabaka. The International African Arts Festival, founded in 1971, will take place at Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn from Friday, July 1 to Monday, July 4, 2022, rain or shine (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.).Thandiswa, the popular double platinum South African musician, is headlining this year’s festival, along with Trinidadian AfroSoca artist Olatunji; The Jazz of a Tribe Called
Quest featuring Dashill Smith and Malcolm-Jamal Warner; R&B sensation Lyfe Jennings; and Oshun. Other headliners are saxophonist Mike Phillips,
siRa, The Shaka Tonge Experience, and others. Thandiswa, Olatunji, ADH, and MKSAD will also perform at LIBATION, the kick-off performance for
(Nayaba Arinde photos)
dancers from the legendary Maimouna Keita School of African Dance (MKSAD), and ADH. Other performers include the groups Alura, Taifa Bartz, Nubian Messengers, Pit-
the festival. LIBATION is Saturday, June 4, 2022 (5 p.m. to 10 p.m.) at NYC College of Technology (300 Jay Street, downtown Brooklyn). Economic and political power
go hand in hand, said Shabaka. There will be more than 200 vendors from all over Africa, the Caribbean, America, and Europe. “We have to really think about our economic state. Most of the institutions we work in today are pretty much modern slave plantations. We are enriching and empowering other people. Festivals, Amsterdam News—these are African-controlled/inspired institutions, so we have to support them. Our vendors, they are African inspired, creative artists, producers of things that we need to support them.” Shakaba quoted the cultural nationalist theory of the Kawaida philosophy of creativity as a weapon harnessing the collective consciousness in order to “move in the same direction as a people and a community.” “The total African experience,” Shabaka said, “the festival is a healing, a reuniting of family, reunion of African people…We need those healthy experiences in our own space.” From the “psychological to the cultural, to the political to the economic, and the spiritual order.” “We need each other like we need our next breath,” said the world traveler Dr. Segun Shabaka. Details: www.IAAFfestival.org
Go Africa Carnival 2022 By NOSAYABA ODESANYA Special to the AmNews
(Dr. Samuel Jones and Kenny Beach photo)
Need plans for the summer of 2022, where you can enjoy the weather, mingle with colleagues and share traditional aspects of Black culture? Well look no further, Go Africa Carnival is the highlight of the summer. On July 16, 2022, Go Africa Carnival will take place on 116th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (7th Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (8th Avenue) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Go Africa Carnival will be celebrating
African, African American and Caribbean cultures in the form of fashion, dance, art and music. The themes for this year’s carnival are modern, original, unique and free. From the creator of Go African Carnival, this upcoming event is now in its sixth year and is continuously growing. The Go Africa Network Inc is a 501(C)(3) which is a non-profit organization that focuses on development, education, cultural and trade initiatives for Africa. In celebration of African and African diaspora culture, the Spirit
of New York City and the USA presents this year’s Go Africa Carnival 2022. Drinks will be served so remember to bring your ID, and don’t forget your wallet at home. You wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to be able to try all of the different cuisine that will be available at once. This event will feature more than 60 vendors selling cuisine, fashion and art. This is truly an event you would not want to miss. For more information about registration to be a vendor or an artist, please visit GoAfricaCarnival.org.
