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Lin-Manuel Miranda and playwright Eisa Davis talk to Lauryn Hill about their concept music album, Warriors

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NEW YORK (AP) — Most New Yorkers, Lin Manuel Miranda argues, answer the next query: When was the primary time you watched “Warriors”?

“I saw it when I was 4, an unsupervised teenager. My friend’s older brother had a VHS tape. There were no adults around,” he told the Associated Press. “Everything you’re afraid of as a New Yorker, growing up in the city, is in that movie.”

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The 1979 cult classic follows a street gang that moves from the Bronx to their Coney Island turf on an all-out assault. The group is wrongly accused of murdering one other gang leader, Cyrus of the Gramercy Riffs, who’s in search of peace.

October 18 Miranda — in her first full musical after “Hamilton” — and award-winning actor and playwright Eisa Davis will release “Warriors”, a musical concept album inspired by the film, with some significant changes.

Lauryn Hill is their Cyrus, and their Warriors gang is made up entirely of ladies, played by Kenita Miller, Sasha Hutchings, Phillipa Soo, Aneesa Folds, Amber Gray, Gizel Jiménez, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Julia Harriman.

It’s not a one-to-one story, and it’s definitely not an easy gender swap. “My sense of New York, which I think really comes out in this album and was sparked in the movie Warriors, is a real dream of unity and peace,” Davis says. “And that was something I really felt we could relate to.”

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The interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

AP: How did this project come about?

MIRANDA: It was a movie that lived in my brain before I even began forming memories. And then a friend from college sent me an email in 2009 after “On the Heights” got here out. He was working as an assistant to one in every of the producers of the movie, Larry Gordon, and he said, “‘Warriors’ the musical, what do you think about that?” And I wrote him an in depth email about how that may never work. But he got me in, just by asking the query. And so, , years had passed and I had just finished my first show on “Hamilton,” and I believed, “What do I want to do next?” And “Warriors” was already there, like he raised his hand and said, “You’ve been thinking lowly of me since 2009.”

I noticed in a short time that I wanted to write this with someone, and someone smarter and cooler than me. I believed of Eisa. Eisa and I actually have been friends for “Passing Strangely” and “In the Heights” were on Broadway the identical season in 2009, but we had never really worked on anything together before. And so in early 2022, I took her to the basement Drama Book Store and he said, “Warriors? A musical?”

She had never seen the movie, and I had seen it too over and over. So we form of met one another halfway and began writing seriously.

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AP: Why an album?

MIRANDA: The proven fact that it is so intensely visual for you, once you listen to it, it’s like, “Why an album?” Most of us cannot afford to watch that much theater growing up. … And even the forged albums that I loved growing up, I never saw those shows. … But I listened to those forged albums and connected the dots and created the show in my head. … There’s an important tradition of musicals that started off as concept albums. I believe of “Jesus Christ Superstar” what I consider to be the gold standard. “Evita” even recently “Hadestown” which is one in every of my favorite recent shows, began its life as a song series.

And I used to be really curious should you could even tell that story. Because I believe the toughest thing for me about adapting an motion movie right into a musical is that the motion sequences and the songs are fighting for a similar space. So what do you do? Doing it as an album, you’ll be able to musicalize those things in loads of ways. There are times once we’re stretching out time and isolating a moment, and there are occasions once you hear the music and, like, you are hitting the sound effects.

The second thing that was really exciting was the chance to delve into the secrets of writing music by being within the studio with talented musicians and working with a producer. Musical theatre writers work in a extremely specific way, where we sit in a room by ourselves and then we try it on actors and we get it back and we try it again. And I wanted to improvise with musicians.

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DAVIS: I also think it has to do with our aesthetic being more pop—a hybrid of pop and musical theater. … For something as iconic as that movie, it is a shorter path to making an album.

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It’s also a extremely exciting narrative challenge to see how we are able to actually tell a complete story on this sung way, with these small scenes.

AP: What did the gender swap of a number of the principal characters make possible?

MIRANDA: It was a coin flip that made me think, “I think I understand why this might be interesting to write about.”

I just got out of “Hamilton”, Gamergate took place online. … The anonymous web trolls were just saying, “I don’t think women should be in video games. Here’s her f—— home address.” And that form of act, the chaos of deciding to destabilize someone’s life and then going back to the pc, the very first thing that went through my mind was Luther shooting Cyrus and pointing on the Warriors and saying, “They did this.” And now the Warriors have the remainder of the night where every gang thinks they broke the truce and are fighting for their lives due to actions of 1 person with a gun. I made that connection and I believed, “Well, if the Warriors are women, how does that change the narrative?” It complicates it in a extremely compelling way at every point.

DAVIS: I believe it is so necessary to think about this – this can be a group of ladies that nobody believes. Everyone is accusing you falsely, as Lin says, and what are you doing? What are you trying to do?

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And after all, the best way we divide it’s that there’s each this drive home, but there’s also still the likelihood (of peace). And so getting back to that dream of peace is so crucial.

But I also think it was really necessary to proceed down that path and make certain that ladies didn’t just step in and do the male stuff.

AP: How did you get there? Lauryn Hill on board? She’s a really fitting Cyrus.

DAVIS: She symbolizes that, right? If she wanted to, she could exit and tell everybody to stop fighting, and people would listen, because that is what Ms. Lauryn Hill has done along with her artistry and authority for all these years. And it was her way. We had to have her, what I mean? There was no plan B, no plan B in any respect.

MIRANDA: I contacted her manager a little bit over a 12 months ago and said, “I’m working on it.” She said, “Lauren is a huge fan of Hamilton, so send us what you have in mind.” Eisa and I rigorously wrote our letter and just stayed in contact along with her manager for a complete 12 months, never having a plan B, texting one another, until in the future we had a Dropbox file with all these harmonies.

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AP: Are there any ambitions for theatrical adaptation? Or a movie?

MIRANDA: We haven’t any cinematic ambitions on this regard. … We created our musical love letter to a movie that already exists. We hope that once you listen to this album, you imagine the story and the way it happens.

If there’s a world for stage life, like a stage adaptation of this album, that may be very exciting to explore. And should you imagine something really unbelievable, we now have created a really difficult problem for ourselves.

___

The Cast of “Warriors”

CYRUS: Lauryn Hill

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COCHISE: Kenita Miller

COWGIRL: Sasha Hutchings

FOX: Phillipa Soo

CLEON: Aneesa is folding

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AJAZ: Amber Grey

REMBRANDT: Gizel Jiménez

SWAN: Jasmine Cephas Jones

MERCY: Julia Harriman

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com

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The shocking commitment of Larsa Pippen towards a new younger man lights a furious warning a year after parting from his son Michael Jordan

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Lars Pippen knows find out how to make boys from basketball in love.

The star “The Real Housewives of Miami” is in a relationship with the previous international basketball player Jeff Cobym, and he already has several necessary intentions after only 4 months of dates. On Sunday, May 4, Coby, a graduate of the University of Columbia, who played in Pro Ball mainly in Spain and Latin America after graduation, and happily shared the plans to marry Pippen within the near future, and even revealed their alleged wedding date.

New Boo Jeff cobym Larsa Pippen pronounces wedding plans (photo: @BardarsapiPiPen/Instagram, @JC40A3/Twitter)

They each walked through the noisy part of Miami TMZ paparazzi. Initially, they ignored the crew and walked on – so long as Cobby suddenly shouted over his shoulder: “We got married in November 2025!” Then he quickly improved the year to 2026.

Cameramnik was falling back to ask the previous Ivy League player to repeat himself and met with the reply “Let’s get married”. Lars, who remained mute during interaction, suddenly checked out Coby, after which raised her hand to her face and closed her eyes with seemingly embarrassment.

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But he continued: “Let’s get married. It will be a beautiful marriage. November 2025.”

Another person paparazzi asked Coby: “Are you proposing now?” He replied: “I can’t tell you when I’m going to propose.”

The new couple met in January through the tenth anniversary of Bash to the DBC Fitness gym David Alexander. According to TMZIt was Alexander who played in Matchmaker between them, and so they quickly became exclusive.

Fans commented In the news under the Baller Alert post.

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One person asked: “He can get them, why can’t he stop them?”

The second person wrote: “Good, so he will give up the name Scottie, please.”

This wouldn’t be Larsa for the primary time, when she was a lady, she was married to Chicago Bulls Scottie Pippen for 19 years and together she welcomed 4 children: Scotty Pippen Jr., 24, Preston Pippen, 21, Justin Pippen, 18 and 16-year-old Sophia Pippen. Larsa submitted a divorce application with Scottie in 2016, reconciled, but again submitted the applying in 2017 and finalized in December 2021.

Someone else in TMZ comments She criticized Larsa for her dating men who’re much younger than her because she is 31 years old and she or he is 50 years old.

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“He will meet with people Scottie Jr.

(From the left) Lars Pippen and her were: Scottie Pippen, Malik Beasley and Marcus Jordan. (Photos: @Larsapippen/Instagram, @ScottiepiPen/Instagram, @mbeasy5/Instagram: @heirmj523/Instagram)

Larsa was about 45 years old when she began to fulfill with 23-year-old Beasley.

The player Detroit Pistons had an affair with Larsa in 2020, when he was already married to a woman named Montana Yao. There were disputes in social media, and Yao calls him to cheat, and Lars claimed that Beasley was separated from Yao. Yao even submitted an application for separation. When Lars and Beasley finished all the things 4 months, he publicly apologized to Yao and returned together.

But from March 2025, Yao has filed for separation for the second time. Just a few weeks later – still in March – Beasley submitted a divorce application, and later confirmed that he saw the model on Instagram named Natalia Garibotto.

After this defeat with Beasley, Lars began to fulfill with Marcus Jordan, the second son of the NBA player Michael Jordan, who was a former colleague from Scotti’s team.

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Her and Jordan’s relationship began in 2022 and were together in July 2024. It was one other relationship during which Lars was condemned for the age difference. She was 48 years old and he was 32 years old. As for Cober, there have been conversations about wedding Between her and the previous basketball player of the university, but they never reached the engagement point before their relationship broke up.

Time will tell if Lars and what they really jump from the brooms.

(Tagstranslate) Larsa Pippen

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This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Why a’ja Wilson is bigger than just the next release of sneakers – and scape

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The recent Sneaker Nike A’one and the accompanying clothing line come for a very long time.

On the pitch, three -time awards and dominance of WNBA MVP and Las Vegas Aces are undeniable. Her attention to detail in every element of her game is that she flourished from the first skilled profession basket. Now she has set herself to the same success in the sneakers industry.

Early questions arose why the release lasted so long, but Nike left nothing. They spent almost two years in the trenches, ensuring that every aspect of the release was made at the highest level.

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Now this expectation pays off.

As the release date approached, and Scape talked to women specializing in sneakers, fashion, sport and culture about their feelings on the signature line, Nike marketing plan and the historical importance of A’ja Wilson’s release.


Star Las Vegas Aces A’ja Wilson is wearing Nike A’one “Pink A’ura”.

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The two -time WNBA master cooperated with the footwear designer Nike Ben Nethongome to create a’one for convenience and versatility. The silhouette has the Cushlon 3.0 central sole, which is a stronger base for response and smooth, cushioned landings. The pattern of adhesion on the outer sole allows the rims to make cuts and rotation without devoting precision.

A’ONES technical features are impressive, but personal data give the personality of shoes.

A’ONE finishes pay tribute to the pearl necklace, Grandma Wilson gave her as a toddler. Inspired by a pearl protecting a coat, the design has a robust, breathable upper part, Phylon middle carrier and a lightweight outer sole, which together sway cushion cushioning.

Illustration of technical elements of Nike A’ONE.

Other personal accents include a sentence from her 2021 essay Tribune And Celtic symbols at the back of the shoe language representing the names of parents, Roscoe and Eva Wilson.

The “Pink A’ura” version is a special color “before heating”, the term uses Nike to explain the color scheme or design theme in signatures and is related to a singular element of the story for the player. Pink A’ura is described as “flushing Leo energy and illuminates the pitch in her favorite color.” Another detail includes “A” of her signature, referring to her role “A1”.

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A’ja Wilson poses for a selfie with young girls during a pop-up pop-up Nike in Tamp, Florida.

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“I am excited from it, especially knowing the album she has in WNBA and how he likes to combine athletics with fashion. He is probably one of the best-dressed people in WNBA,” he said Ashley HallCreator of the content from Philadelphia and co -host Only table who previously worked with Nike and Fenta. Hall is not going to rim, but she likes the figure and colours, believing that the living pink was “a really good idea on her part and her favorite color.”

The color construction has also caught the attention of the recent Host Seattle Storm Kayce Crescent. “I love that she dropped a pink pair first, because it wasn’t like the colors of her band,” she said. Kirihara was a fashion and sneaker, who hosted the events of NBA and WNBA, before she brought her management Storm.

“It seems to me that this is quite a cult dropping of the first characteristic sneakers in colors, which probably not many people expected,” she said.

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Debut colours a’one is not an accident. The former debutant of the 12 months WNBA put her hands on every aspect of the project and was surprised by how often the team put it off during this process. “In fact, they look at me:” What do you desire to sell? You have a pen to your notebook. What do you desire to do? ” – she said . This is the reason why A’ones tell their story so professionally.

“As for the shoes of every athlete, I really want to feel that they are in the shoe,” said Taja “TJ” Keasal, host Sneaker Talks with TJ. She read Wilson’s book and believes that having more intimate knowledge about the Golden Olympic medalist makes the tennisian more unique.

“Her parents were turned on. Certainly her grandmother is turned on. I just love that the shoes attract so many of them, who makes A’ja, a’ja, to the shoe,” she said. “We don’t have to guess. We don’t have to wonder. It is extremely designed by it.”


View of the NIKE window before heating during the final 4 NCAA women in 2025. On April 3 in Tamp, Florida.

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Nike marketing plan on this trip before heatingwhich consisted of stores popping up throughout March and April in Las Vegas, Tampa, Florida, and Columbia, Karolina, where she appeared at the University of South Carolina. In each location, Sneakerheads could buy a shoe before a wider retail version. It could appear obvious to revive the family hero to the debut of her characteristic line, but more enthusiasm has been added to release.

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Olivia Irick is from South Carolina, who attended a jumping window in her family state. She waited in the queue for 3 hours to get some of the first pairs of A’one, having fun with the event that released a big selection of Sneakerheads and Wilson fans.

“(To see) people camping and lining up around the block, because these shoes were simply something beautiful for (witness), especially (a woman) with their own characteristic shoes,” said Irick. “It was a good time for the city’s culture and sneakers.” Wilson participated in the event, signed posters for youngsters and took pictures with fans.

Irick proudly raised her couple A’ONES during the video interview with Andcape.

“I am not a pink girl, but because of who A’ja is, what she brought to hit the game and South Carolina, I wore this shoe several times,” she said. “I think I’m a pink girl now.”

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A’ja Wilson (Center) poses with young girls who participated in the events of Nike’s a’one Pre-Heat Event in Columbia, sc.

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Nike “did a good job to hear his athletes and hear the consumer.” Sports reporter and ESPN analyst Monica McNutt said. He believes that the company has not neglected any details when it was time to release.

“Speaking of intentional implementation, Sheryl Swiopes and A’ja Wilson Connection It is not an event – she said. “Sheryl Swoopes was the first woman who got a characteristic shoe for Nike and I feel that the first woman who had a characteristic shoe, dot. And in lots of respects Nike was part of the creation of history and part of culture.”

McNutt said that she didn’t query Nike’s involvement in the former three -time WNBA MVP. He believes that the company has learned from earlier outlets and used them as a chance to develop at a time when women’s basketball continues the incredible growth in the mainstream.

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Actress Issa Rae (left) and A’ja Wilson (on the right) you’ll be able to see a set of Wilson clothing by Nike.

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Nike will release the A’one accompanying clothing line. The line covers Hoodie impersonated by SateenA’Symmetrical one -legged sleeve and a relaxed slide in the same pink shade as a’one. Hoodie sweatshirt honors a mother who didn’t want the superstar to wear masks at the airport.

Like many black women, Kirihara sleeps with silk pillowcases to guard his hair, so with a hood with a sweatshirt with Satk it could appear a small detail to others, but “makes a huge difference.” He thinks he represents more than just something to wear.

“There is a story behind this. And I love it. I think they are drugs because many people want to match things. They want to combine a outfit that is associated with it,” she said.

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Tionna DenceceLover, the writer of the texts and content creator, believes that offering Calm Slide is a win for the three -time defensive player of the 12 months WNBA.

“I like the fact that he has a slide,” Denice said. “Some people may not want a sneaker, but they may want a slide. So he gives people options, even if they are not athletes.”

He also loves a hoodie.

“She is such a black girl. It’s so cultural. It’s also for other women. That’s what I loved in the line. Yes, it is a cultural matter, but other women can understand it,” she said.

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Irick agreed.

“I regret that they didn’t have it in a jumping window, but I definitely wanted a shoe sweatshirt,” she said. “This is the one I go the most. But I also have a few slides. It has become my way out.”

Keasal also loves so as to add an identical calm slide. “This coordination,” she said. “People may think that this is not such a great contract, but it can (can) increase someone’s confidence.”


The first female athlete Nike, Sheryl Swiopes, Toasta a’ja Wilson in honor of her collection A’ONE.

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For many, the characteristic A’ja Wilson line means something much apart from hard wood. WNBA built his success at the back of black women. However, before the initial announcement of Wilson’s shoe in May last 12 months, Candace Parker was the last black player of WNBA, who received the sneaker’s line.

It was 15 years ago.

Wilson’s popularity coincides with increased league visibility. A’ONE edition is not only paying arrears; This proves that perseverance pays off.

Denice asked if this independent would have the same impact. She mentioned how WNBA players “once they had to go abroad” to earn money, “which means you had to love it, right?” He feels that the league and the sneakers industry as a complete are waiting for somebody like A’ja Wilson, whose quite a few awards speak for themselves.

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“I feel that its basic base of fans and fans in WNBA or people who support basketball (they would be there). Is this a place where it is now five years ago? Probably not. I think that time is everything. This is the perfect time to spend a shoe. It is the perfect time to celebrate WNBA,” she said.

“Now is the perfect time. It’s the perfect time for WNBA, because we see it (we blow up),” she said. “It’s a perfect time for her because her career will come from here.”

Hall agreed.

“I think that thanks to her achievements I think it is very late,” she said. “I really hope he gets the moment he deserves.”

Keasal repeated sentiments.

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“I don’t think it can be disappeared or challenge what it means now,” she said. “We see this increase in women’s basketball. You also see that her number one player in the world is also at the forefront. And I think that this means a lot only in terms of representation, because she represents a lot.”

Sneaker Nike A’ONE, a clothing collection and a quiet slide shall be available in chosen retail sellers on May 6.

Garfield Hylton is an expert journalist, spirit and a digital storyteller. When he doesn’t write essays, he is working at the gym on a jump in order that young boys don’t escape from the pitch.


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This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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Ici: Criticism of BBL Erykah Badu and more – Essence

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ICEM: Criticism of BBL Erykah Badu and more

Michael Buckner/Billboard via Getty Images

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Beauty might be two things: fashionable or undefined. And sometimes each. Over the past week, the makeup looks for a long time, it exceeded trends together. Meanwhile, a single hair trend cannot even be attached.

For example Red lip This is a alternative of makeup, which turned out to be probably the most timeless appearance of beauty. Just take a look at the Cat and Tracee Ellis Ross. Naja connected it with the overgrown high top Grace Jones and deeply embedded French ends, and Ross selected a rather lighter red nail and a skillful roll.

While the lips have turn into Rouge, the hair became dishonest with trends difficult to define. Solange, seen in wet wet braids this week, creativity directed a birthday session for Ari Lennox. Her uncertain wig went with a pink, junk manicure. To finish the week, Erykah Badu participated within the Billboard Music Awards within the critic of BBL culture. In other words, she shook the overalls expanding the body, the red lip and intentionally messy wing when she received the icon award.

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If you missed this, take a look at the 9 best beauty moments from the week.

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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