Go with the Flo

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ANTHONY

Newark, New Jersey marked another big milestone June 13 from a celebrity-turned-housing developer when Shaquille O’Neal returned to his hometown to give the residents an update about “Shaq Tower 2,” reports patch.com. Shaq was among those present, who included Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and NJ Gov. Phil Murphy at a topping-off ceremony for 777 McCarter, which officials say is the “largest 80/20 mixed income project in New Jersey.” It will also house a penthouse apartment that will become the new home of the NBA Hall of Famer, who is partnering with Boraie Development on the project. “When I first met Mayor Ras Baraka, we talked about restoring my favorite city to its past glory,” said O’Neal.

On June 12, Jennifer Hudson joined the elite group of 17 entertainers in the history of Hollywood to become an EGOT. Hudson picked up her final qualifying award at the 2022 Tony Awards as co-producer of “A Strange Loop” which won Best Musical. JHud is only the second Black woman to receive an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award and the third Black person. Whoopi Goldberg first earned the distinction in 2002, followed by John Legend in 2018. Hudson is also the first American Idol contestant to become an EGOT. Her new talk show debuts in the fall.

Aspire TV recently premiered a new music series “London Love” to celebrate Black Music Month. The weekly television program will feature live, previously recorded performances and exclusive interviews from some of the hottest artists in music including Usher, Cee Lo Green, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jason DeRulo and A$AP Rocky. The series will air Saturdays and Sundays throughout the month of June exclusively on Aspire TV.

Former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett’s directorial debut, “B-Boy Blues,” the film adaptation of James Earl Hardy’s best-selling novel, held a private screening film premiere on June 8 at Silverspot Cinema in Atlanta with a room filled with nearly 200 LGBTQ influencers, community organizations and cast and crew. Following the premiere was a Q&A hosted by Dr. Daniel Black with the cast, Smollett, James Earl Hardy and Mona Scott-Young. “B-Boy Blues” is available now on BET+. Celebrities who attended included Kandi Burruss and Miss Lawrence.

March for Our Lives protestors take over Brooklyn Bridge

It is time to be rid of the “paralysis of analysis,” and do something to address the ongoing national pandemic of gun crime, demanded New York Attorney General Letitia James at the March for Our Lives rally in Downtown Brooklyn. Calling for the passage of comprehensive gun control laws, hundreds of chanting, poster-waving marchers took to the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, June 11. In the wake of the recent Buffalo and Ulvade, Texas mass shootings, there were hundreds of similar rallies from Washington, D.C. to Florida.