This week, Doechii showed how necessary it’s to always remember where you come from. After being nominated for 4 Grammy Awards earlier this month, the Florida-born rapper embarked on a special tour of her alma mater, Howard W. Blake High School, a performing arts high school positioned in Tampa.

“​I couldn’t perform in my hometown without returning to where it all began, Howard W. Blake High School,” she wrote on the web site Xsharing a video report from the assembly she organized for college kids of her alma mater.

When she got out of the automobile, the rapper was greeted by her school’s marching band and the Yellow Jackets dance team. While dancing together, Doechii thanked the scholars for his or her warm welcome, noting how “extremely talented” they were. As the rapper walked across the school campus to the assembly hall where the assembly was going down, she was met with cheers and applause from the scholars in attendance.

“I don’t feel very good when I come back. Thank you for accepting me like this,” she said. “I haven’t been to Tampa for a very long time and it’s really nice to be back at this theater.”

“I remember showing up to an audition for a choral program with no training or ability to read or compose music. “I remember my choir teacher asked me if I brought sheet music and all I had was the instrumental song ‘At Last’ from YouTube (Beyonce’s version, of course) and an aux chord,” she wrote in the post’s caption. “I was accepted into the program because of my talent and because my mentors saw the seed and watered it. Before I left performing arts school, I was writing and reading music. I’m more than ready for artistic independence!”

During the rally, the “Nissan Altima” rapper talked about moments when she felt like giving up.

“There was a point in my profession once I wanted to provide up. What modified it was being surrounded by individuals who were good to me and who I’m, and reaffirming the indisputable fact that I like music,” she said, answering a student’s question. “I believe whenever you’re a real musician, the music all the time follows you and you possibly can’t escape it, regardless of how hard you are trying.”

This 12 months, Doechii made her mark with the discharge of her third mixtape, “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” Design earned 4 Grammy nominationsmaking her probably the most nominated female rapper for the 2025 Grammy Awards.

For “future entertainment icons” who can have missed her talk, Doechii shared her top takeaways on X: “(T)use the resources which might be available to you without delay (because training costs (a lot) money whenever you become older, lol) , come to classes on time, practice at home when others are sleeping and cooperate with peers.

“You have a gift, hone it, use it and be proud of it,” she continued. “When opportunity meets preparation, A STAR IS BORN.”

Vamarr Hunter had no idea that baking was in his blood.

Sure, he loved eating baked sweets, which he frequently ate at Give Me Some Sugah, near his residence on Chicago’s South Side.

“Lemon bars. That was my catch” – Hunter he said ABC-7 in Chicago. “And chocolate chip cookies. And lemon cake.

The humble bakery felt like home, a feeling cultivated by owner Lenore Lindsey.

“You know, she interacts on a personal level,” he said.

He didn’t know the way deep his bond with Lindsey was. When Hunter was 35, he confirmed what he had long suspected – he was adopted.

Lindsey gave her son up for adoption when she was 17. She had never met him, or at the very least she thought so.

“I left the adoption open and said, you know, if he really wants to find me, he’ll be able to find me,” she said.

Hunter tracked down Lindsey using a genetic profile and genealogy. He was shocked to discover that his biological mother was practically a neighbor.

Lindsey was notified and agreed to meet. She called him from work.

The number appeared on his phone as “Give me some sugah.”

“And all I can think about is why,” Hunter said. “Why do I have ‘Give me some sugah’?” I didn’t order anything. And I still do not get it.

Then he hears his mother’s voice. They exchanged greetings “and then we started screaming,” Lindsey said. “And I started crying on that phone.”

“When I called him, the connection was immediate,” she continued. “I am unable to even explain it. It was as if all the things in my heart had just opened up.

The lost years faded away. Lindsey, who had serious health problems at the time, needed help. Hunter volunteered. He had never worked in a bakery before, but he quickly became accustomed to the family business.

“You can’t make up for lost time and days,” Hunter said. The only thing you’ll be able to do is make good use of the time you have got.”

Lindsey’s health improved and he or she returned to work at the bakery now run by her son.

“Man, I love, I love my mom,” he said. “I really like having a mom. Hmm, it was hard, a lot of hard Mother’s Days.

@nbcchicago For years, the Chicago native visited the South Shore bakery without knowing that the woman behind his favorite treats was his biological mother. A call from a known number ended with tears, hugs and a beautiful family reunion that was to follow. #familyreunion #heartwarming #feelgood #southshore #Chicago ♬ original audio – NBC Chicago

Lindsey credits her faith with blessings she never dreamed of.

“I love my son… and the fact that I have him now, in his later years, is, like I said, just, God,” she said. “God is love.”

Hunter recently met the sister he never knew. He has 4 children of his own.

When he retires, he hopes one in every of his children will take over the family business.

The heartwarming story sparked tons of loving responses from viewers, with many calling for corporations like Netflix and Hallmark to make a movie.

“Netflix: “SAVE THIS!!!” – one in every of them exclaimed TikTok user. “This must be a movie,” added one other. “She did what was right for her baby and it worked. She got him back. He got her back. Amazing,” wrote one other user.

This week, Halle Berry surprised fans with a significant twist. While attending Elie Saab’s “1001 Seasons” event in Saudi ArabiaBerry hit the runway in Saab’s iconic sheer, embroidered scarlet gown that she wore to the 2002 Academy Awards, where she was the primary black woman to win Best Actress.

Looking just as stunning within the dress 22 years later, the actress commemorated the moment on Instagram.

“There are moments in life that just happen and change our lives forever! “Winning the Oscar in my @eliesaabworld gown was one of those moments for me,” Berry captioned the post. “Thank you, Mr. Saab, for being part of the tapestry of my life, as we have been inextricably linked for 22 years now! It was my honor to celebrate you and your 1001 seasons. I wish you many more wonderful years of joy, creativity and sparkle!”

In 2002, Berry appeared on the Oscars in a Saab gown and a particular fairy cut. Fast forward twenty years and the one difference between then and now’s the elegant knot at the highest of the star.

The actress was then nominated for best actress for her role within the 2001 film “Monster’s Ball.” In addition to earning her first Oscar nomination and win, Berry admitted that it was a historic moment for Black Hollywood.

“This moment is so much more important than me,” she said during her acceptance speech. “This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne and Diahann Carroll. This is for the women who stand next to me; Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett and (and) Vivica Fox. And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of color who now has a chance because that door opened tonight.”

In 2023, Elie Saab’s dress was exhibited on the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles as a bit of Hollywood history. Sharing photos of the dress within the museum, Berry explained the impact of its placement.

“Not only this historic @eliesaabworld dress will remain under the professional care of the museum’s curators and conservators,” she wrote on Instagram. “But it will also be accessible to generations of people for whom the dress also matters, and it will forever be a reminder that anything is possible.”