Entertainment
‘Homecoming’ Star Weaves Real HBCU Experience Into Character — Andscape
actor Gefry Maja found her character, Simone Hicks, caught up in a love triangle at the top of the CW series’ second season, sparking heated debate on social media. Now, viewers know her answer, and her decision is a central storyline throughout the show’s third and final season, which premiered Monday night.
Maya, a graduate of Clark Atlanta University, got her start as a recurring character on the CW sister series before starring in its own spinoff, which is about at Bridston University, a fictional historically black college in Atlanta. The campus serves because the backdrop for the show as Maya’s character navigates young maturity as a mother and student-athlete, and Maya’s time as an HBCU student helped her portrayal, she said.
On Friday, Andscape spoke with the Los Angeles native in regards to the show’s final season, Simone’s love triangle, and the impact of a TV series set at an HBCU.
What is it like being an HBCU student in real life and playing one on the show?
It’s very coincidental. … In this life that all of us undergo, there are specific things that we do with none expectation that they are actually going to occur. So I feel that having the ability to play an HBCU student from LA was just my thing. It was all the time a part of my goal, and I’m grateful that I had a showrunner like Little Carrollwho saw that in me and gave me the chance to play that role in a way that was reflective of little girls who appear like me, come from similar backgrounds, and just allowed me to honor the undeniable fact that these stories really do matter. … I consider that is my purpose, which is to inform stories.
To what extent is your personality reflected in Simone?
The humanity aspect of acting, basically, is to bring just a little little bit of yourself to the role, regardless of what it’s. I feel most of (Simone’s) personality, by way of the silliness and the little South Central LA moments, though she’s from Beverly Hills. It just would not feel right to not play her that way. Because, again, do not get me incorrect: black is black. So you possibly can be from Beverly Hills, but you could have aunts and cousins who live in Crenshaw or somewhere – it doesn’t matter. I just knew I desired to bring just a little little bit of my L.A. upbringing to the character and really to any character I play. … I just need to be authentic, so I needed to bring my South Central roots to this little Beverly Hills girl.
Season two ends on a cliffhanger, with Simone deciding between two suitors. Will the love triangle be resolved this season?
Absolutely, and I feel it resolves in a way that is more for Simone than for anyone else. And I feel like I’m not saying much because there’s a lot happening for her this season. But I feel by way of love, I feel it resolves for her. That’s a very powerful a part of this puzzle, her and her decision for herself.
What’s it wish to play a task in a love triangle?
Simone had more suitors than I ever had in my life and I’m not mad at her for that. I feel especially with girls, allow them to live, allow them to have their alternative. In retrospect, at my age and at this stage in life, I feel you should not put all of your eggs in a single basket because truthfully, you only do not know. Whether it is a man or a job, life is about living and experiencing, so I all the time encourage women to explore life in all the pieces it has to supply.
What can viewers expect from Simone this season?
I might say resilience because I feel like while you’re younger and also you undergo so lots of the trials and tribulations of life, we do not take a look at it as something that happens to us, but relatively it happens to us. … When you are capable of change your perspective … and you are able to have a look at it through the lens of growth and maturation and evolution, and really give up to life and all the pieces that it has to give you, whether it’s good and higher and different, I feel you only have a unique perspective on coming out of the hearth.
I feel Simone will certainly experience numerous things that may help her grow as an individual, as a girl, as a mom, as an athlete. Simone has so many roles to play. But I feel numerous it’s her resilience within the face of adversity, and it was really beautiful to play this season. … I do know individuals are so invested in Simone and this love triangle since it’s a lot fun. We want the women to win, but at the identical time, life happens, and when life hits you, it changes you. It changes you. … It was really refreshing to play a more nuanced, grounded version of her this season.
What do you think that How will the image of HBCUs impact future generations of scholars?
I feel the impact will just be more visibility and more opportunity to see yourself. One thing I’ll say is just being in business so long as I even have my purpose, that is starting to vary. I consider that this wasn’t a chance that was only for me and my dreams and my purpose and my work. It was really a chance for generations of youngsters who need to go to a historically black college or university, who need to learn more in regards to the legacy, who need to act, who need to play tennis, who need to be a featured character or who need to tell stories. So I feel that chance is incredibly necessary. But I feel the impact is a blessing. … I’m grateful that I can take a look at my art, in all the pieces that I create, as something that is just beyond me. I’m glad that I can serve a generation in that way, so I hope that it inspires people to simply do what they need to do and pursue what they need to pursue.
How necessary was it for the show to portray the problems that took place on HBCU campuses?
As Black people, we’ve a responsibility that we do not necessarily ask for, but we’ve a responsibility to reflect truth, authenticity, resilience, elevation, art, culture, and history. … It’s just too necessary due to how we impact other people, not only our own people, but literally the world. Black culture is all over the place on the planet. … That’s why it is so necessary that history is taken out of colleges. You cannot erase history after which sit here and have fun other cultures and histories because, again, all of that’s in the material of this world, of this country. … We have to offer credit to who deserves credit. And you understand, Black people, that is how we move, that is how we work. So it deserves that quantity of visibility and time and education because … we’re real individuals with real impact and we matter.
This will likely be the last season What was your initial response to the news of the series’ cancellation?
I’m really happy with this season, and though our fate is what it’s, I discussed it before: it’s about quality, not quantity. And I feel the standard of the work that we have done over the course of three seasons has affected people.
My character, being a recurring guest (on ), I didn’t know in the event that they would get attached to that version of that world, especially coming down from the heights that they still are. He’s still doing an astronomical job of celebrating the culture and giving back to the youngsters and families that actually love the show. I didn’t know what we were going to do, and it exceeded my expectations. So I feel how we began and definitely how we ended is rooted in something much greater than how long we have been on the show.
Entertainment
Angelina Jolie’s disturbing performance in new interview sparks criticism Years after health problems caused her face to sag
Angelina Jolie promotes her next film, “Maria”, in which she plays the role of the famous opera singer Maria Callas.
However, for some fans, the press was more about Jolie’s health and appearance than her work in film.
On November 21, Jolie sat down with Michael Strahan for an interview on “Good Morning America” to discuss her fear of using her real voice to sing opera for the role and the enjoyment of motherhood. However, in the course of the chat, some fans claimed they noticed Jolie’s face looked different than usual.
One person was cited by Express US for this story he said“It looks rough.”
Another commentator on Page Six he wrote“Ok, I just read that her face looks different because she stated that she developed hypertension and Bell’s palsy, a condition that she said caused her face to droop to one side. I assumed she looked like she had a stroke, in order that explains it.
Debates about Jolie’s sickly appearance erupted when fans noticed visibly large veins on her arms during separate red carpet appearances. Even those that knew her health were still shocked and anxious by her photos.
Jolie first revealed that she had the disease in 2017. In an interview with Vanity Fair she said he said she discovered she had hypertension and Bell’s palsy in 2016, the identical yr she filed for divorce from Brad Pitt.
So when she was diagnosed with the disease, she said she wasn’t sure what could have caused it. “I can’t tell if it’s menopause or if it’s just the year,” said Jolie, then 42. “Sometimes women in families put themselves last until it manifests itself in their own health.”
However, she also said that she is trying to pay more attention to her health. “I actually feel more like a woman because I make wise choices, I put my family first and I am responsible for my life and health. I think that’s what makes a woman complete.”
Last yr, the “Maleficent” star opened up again about her condition, revealing that it was caused by the stress of ending her relationship with Pitt.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, she said he said“My body reacts very strongly to stress. My blood sugar levels go up and down. Six months before the divorce, I suddenly developed Bell’s palsy.
According to National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke“Bell’s palsy is a neurological disorder that causes paralysis or weakness on one side of the face. It occurs when one in every of the nerves that control the facial muscles becomes damaged or stops working properly, which may cause the facial muscles to droop or sag.
Entertainment
“The Honorable Shyne” is a hit. This is why I wanted to tell this story. — Andlandscape
One of the primary reasons Andscape culture author Justin Tinsley and I were tapped to co-executive produce was our backgrounds as music journalists. The documentary chronicling Moses “Shyne” Barrow’s rise to fame, imprisonment, and re-emergence as a political leader suits firmly into our wheelhouse, as his best rap years got here within the early 2000s – right at the center of our hip-hop fandom. I donated my time helping with the documentary, which was a top ten show in its debut week on Huluas a likelihood to help tell the story of hip-hop. I got here away from the project with an understanding of a man in conflict, at odds with himself and his past, and wanting to forge a path forward.
Shyne’s story illustrates the American dream: a poor black immigrant comes to America and from nowhere becomes one in all the largest rap stars. It is also a story about how the American criminal justice system and music industry chew up and spit out so many young Black people. To carelessly follow Shyne’s story is to consider him as just one other young black man who fell into a bad situation and never recovered. After all, his rap profession was effectively derailed when in 2001 he was sentenced to ten years in prison for the 1999 shooting at Club New York in Manhattan. But what inspired me about Shyne’s story was his refusal to let this devastation define him.
In 2021, I hung out in New Orleans with former No Limit rapper McKinley “Mac” Phipps, who had just been released from prison after spending 21 years in prison for a murder he denied committing. As I listened to Shyne’s story, I considered Mac. Both were avatars of a system that tested rap as much because it tested individual men. Mac’s story was about how hip-hop lyrics may be used to accuse someone within the face of overwhelming evidence of their innocence. Similarly, Shyne’s trial created a sensation about hip-hop’s relationship to violence in a city hungry for head on a plate.
Both Shyne and Mac emerged from prison as completely different people than once they entered. In Mac’s case, it was the period of time he spent at home, during which he transformed from a teenage rapper into a man after 20 years spent in confinement. For Shyne, his transformation got here from faith when he converted to Orthodox Judaism in prison. When I have a look at people like Shyne and Mac, I wonder how they’ll survive being locked in a cage, and their answers are inspiring.
While Shyne’s rap stories are what drew me to this project, it’s his journey as a man that makes me proud to help tell his story. And we actually get to see that journey after he raps the ultimate bars of his rap profession.
Shyne got here to the film wanting to discuss his lowest moments – the time after his release from prison in 2009, when he lashed out, frustrated at seeing a latest crop of rap stars emerge within the void left by his absence. He was rudderless. As rudderless as anyone may be who has lost a decade to a prison system that wanted to destroy him. And much more, since it was closed when the superstar’s fame was on the tip of his fingers.
The raspy-voiced rapper could have let these mishaps define him, but that is where Shyne’s story resonates with everyone, whether or not they’re a rap fan or not. Shyne’s second act, the one through which he finds purpose in community and family, where he uses his innate charisma and true genius to turn out to be a political leader and motivational speaker.
I cannot discuss Shyne’s reappearance without mentioning Sean “Diddy” Combs. Combs, the disgraced hip-hop mogul who signed Shyne to his label Bad Boy Records and helped launch his profession, is the elephant within the room throughout the documentary and in Shyne’s life. So lots of the artists who emerged under Diddy – from G Depp and Mase to The Notorious BIG – suffered terrible consequences. Shyne’s name was all the time on the list because he spent ten years in prison. And yet, Shyne’s approach to healing and moving forward is as inspiring as his ability to overcome what he sees because the sabotage of his life and profession.
These are lessons I didn’t expect to learn from the stories in regards to the hip-hop star from my childhood. These are inspiring moments that can be of interest to those that haven’t yet turn out to be inquisitive about the Brooklyn, or somewhat Belizean, rapper featured within the documentary. These are the points that make me proud to be a a part of telling Shyne’s story.
Entertainment
Kendrick Lamar Releases Surprise Album ‘GNX’; group chats are going crazy
There are few things more exciting than receiving an infinite barrage of text messages at the very same time in numerous group chats. This normally implies that something vital has happened in popular culture. Well, the exact same thing happened about noon on November 22, within the yr of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, higher often called Kendrick Lamar, released the album “GNX”, nod towards Buick Grand National Regal GNXa rare muscle automobile released in 1987 – which also happens to be the yr Kendrick was born.
“GNX” is coming to the tip of what has been a banner yr for Kendrick Lamar. From epic diss records geared toward Drake, to creating the largest song of his profession (and a Drake diss track) on “Not Like Us”, to the “Pop Out” concert streaming live to tell the tale Amazon Prime, Kendrick won this yr. He even received seven Grammy nominations, mostly for “Not Like Us.” And this victory will proceed in the brand new yr. In September, it was announced that Kendrick would stay Super Bowl 2025 headliner will happen in New Orleans. This announcement sparked some controversy and comments from several New Orleans legends similar to Juvenile and most notably Lil Wayne, who felt disrespected; Kendrick immediately refers to this topic within the opening song of the album (all stylized in lower case), “wacced out murals”.
The thing is, Kendrick didn’t sleep for many of 2024. And then, while the remaining of us were minding our own business, listening to other albums that had just dropped, like Ice Cube’s “Man Down,” I began receiving text after text… and I knew that would only mean that something vital happened.
At this point in my life (and possibly even yours), Kendrick Lamar releases are a drop-everything-and-listen event. I immediately went to the streaming service, launched “GNX” and pressed “Play”.
I need to admit that the primary time I heard the album I used to be a bit confused. Kendrick has probably never been more popular or famous; if there was ever a time to drag a Kanye West and release his own version of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” – an album largely produced as Kanye’s best and most representative of Kanye’s greatness – now could be the time. “GNX” has a far more modern West Coast vibe and is certainly more for his die-hard fans than anyone who just began gaining attention due to his beef with Drake. Maybe that was the purpose; possibly not.
Either way, I can imagine that folks whose favorite lines are “OV-Ho” won’t be immediately thrilled. I wasn’t immediately blown away (though very amused by how sensitive Kendrick is to what people say about him on social media, well, everyone), but as is all the time the case with Kendrick albums, repeated listens are likely to correct any immediate monotony that I even have about his projects. For example, now that I’ve listened to it just a few times, I can not wait to listen to black college bands playing “tv off” style, which seems like a cousin of “Not Like Us.” The Shoot, Bayou Classic, which also takes place yearly in New Orleans on Thanksgiving Day, stands out as the first time we hear a band playing “TV off.”
Since the album didn’t come out long enough to be reviewed, group chats and social media were abuzz with immediate reactions. This is the a part of music releases I really like, where everyone seems to be listening to the identical thing, offering premature takes that will not even delay the following day. I’m not different; I’m sure I’ll say something about this album that can sound silly by Monday. Shoot, I can have already done it. But that is what happens when great artists release music. We spend time with others after which we refer to them, analyze them, criticize them, praise them, destroy them and let all our prejudices fly free. Love it.
It’s value noting that certainly one of Drake’s diss tracks that did not appear during last summer’s fracas was titled “The Heart Part 6,” and was an apparent try to usurp Kendrick’s pre-album practice of removing a non-album song titled “The Heart.” Well, Kendrick has a song on his recent album called, you guessed it, “The Heart, Pt. 6,” which I feel will probably be released soon Drake. Good job, Kenny.
Argue.
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