Celebrity Coverage
The pandemic has pushed SiR into a dangerous addiction. This is how he won
SiR photographed by Ro.lexx
When the Covid-19 pandemic began to uproot life as we knew it in 2020, the psychological impact of seeing industries and the world around us change almost overnight was maddening for many individuals. As the opioid crisis continues, the variety of fatal overdoses amongst Black men and ladies has virtually skyrocketed. According to American Psychological Associationin 2020, there was a 213 percent increase within the fatal overdose death rate, at 54.1 per 100,000 black men. Sir Darryl Farris, higher generally known as Grammy-nominated singer SiR, was almost certainly one of those men after combating drug addiction after the dust settled on his third album, while also combating depression, anxiety, isolation, relationship along with his wife, triggering aspects for many individuals who struggled with addiction through the pandemic.
“I turned to self-medication and drinking until it got to the point where I was completely addicted and not functioning as well as I could,” he told SiR during our conversation from his home via Zoom.

Now, having been clean and sober for over a yr and in a happier place along with his family, the Inglewood native has finally been capable of share his story from that point, starting in 2020, on his recent album, appropriately titled . Given his two Grammy nominations for “Best R&B Performance” and “Best R&B Song” for himself, and Alex Isley’s guest appearance on Robert Glasper’s “Back To Love,” the urgency for this album is to spark a conversation about addiction as well amongst those that suffer but lack the language and platform to discuss it, making this his most sensitive album yet.
“The crazy thing is that in all this time I actually have never stopped working on music, and this album is the culmination of that. I had a hard time making the album. [In 2020] we had some free time and worked, but more often than not I wasn’t fit,” SiR explained. “But I’m happy to say that these experiences shaped this album. “I am unable to say I’m sorry because my tragedies at all times turn into testimonies because I’m blessed.”
Mentioned testimonies akin to the title track “Heavy” and the one “Karma” featuring Isaiah Rashad underscore the depth of his confusion. SiR explains that the “Karma” theme refers to things he was out of balance with, akin to honesty and his relationship.
“[Karma] Have I tried to be honest with what I know? Every action has an equal or opposite reaction and I know you get what you give. ”, many people don’t understand this issue, that’s what I want to say. It talks about the person I was,” he told SiR.
Being isolated at the peak of the pandemic and compelled to, as he describes it, “deal with myself” was a huge boost for him as he watched those around him fall dangerously unwell with a virus that nobody knew how to navigate. In addition to anxiously watching the music industry transform and are available to a halt around him, his wife was pregnant on the time. And though he had access to more cash than he knew what to do with, he was practically a modern-day Atlus, carrying the world on his shoulders. The weight became an excessive amount of for him and to manage, he turned to drugs and alcohol.
The turning point for him was the moment when he needed to undergo surgery in 2020 and, as a part of his pre-surgery routine, the doctor asked him to write down down a chosen drug, which he didn’t wish to reveal, amongst other harmful substances he was taking before the procedure. anesthesia was administered. The doctor listed the names of the drugs with confusion within the eyes of his wife, who was next to him. Forced to take a stand where he needed to truthfully admit his drug abuse, his wife told the whole family, which led to a crisis intervention at home.
SiR’s problems with addiction were so deep that he was almost oblivious to the world around him, as many legendary black creators akin to Michael K. Williams, DMX and Shock G of Digital Underground died of drug overdoses, some related to the growing the prevalence of fentanyl. spiked with hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. He was “too high to care” whether he lived or died.
“My mind was kind of open [death] at one point because I was so deeply addicted that if I died this way, this is what would happen. It is what it is. I was pushing my body to the edge,” he told SiR.
Much just like the legendary D’Angelo, whom he effortlessly streamed on “See No Evil,” he gained a huge amount of weight during his battle with addiction, continually bloated and swollen. His blood pressure and cholesterol were uncontrolled.
“The pandemic has been hard on everyone and it just affected me more than a few other people, that’s all. However, I don’t feel special. They go through shit every day,” SiR said humbly.

Faced with the fact that many other Black people combating similar issues weren’t so fortunate, he recalled a time in rehab when he watched Documentary about Amy Winehouse. Learning about his documented struggles with addiction played a role in motivating him to recuperate and get to a higher place before he hit the statistics.
“Nobody knew what the hell was flawed until it was too late. [Amy] there have been so many eyes on her, she was so loved and had a lot support, but they couldn’t save her from addiction. And that is the one thing I’m grateful for, that I discovered it at the precise time. I am unable to count on anyone if I’m not willing to assist myself. I made a personal decision that I desired to see a change in myself before I could ask for help,” she told SiR.
After several rehabilitation attempts, SiR realized that, other than the religious points, many of the 12 steps didn’t work for him, so he did rehabilitation “his own way.” However, he says that therapy was top-of-the-line things he did to recuperate because he was capable of discover the foundation of his problems, which were relationship problems, attempting to balance SiR, a sultry R&B singer, with Daryl, a family man. He admitted that he began to make mistakes that he tried to forgive himself.
As the “Karma” singer went into recovery mode, he also underwent a physical health transformation that saved his life. From his days as a salesman at Bally Total Fitness, he was at all times a little bit of a gym rat, but struggled along with his weight-reduction plan, being a ‘foodie’. He finally sought help from a dietitian and started researching one of the best ways to eat higher to look and feel higher. These days, she typically eats foods akin to salmon, zucchini, spinach, chicken, sweet potatoes, brown rice and quinoa, consuming 190 grams of protein per day. He has also began cutting sugary and overly salty junk food off his plate, although he is currently gaining weight.
Since his recovery, he has taken higher care of his mental and physical health, prioritizing it as much as his profession, truthfully admitting that as he spent more time specializing in this and attempting to please others, his well-being took a backseat. The strategy of painstaking rebuilding after almost losing all the things has ultimately made SiR stronger in every way.

“The pressure I used to be under shaped the way in which I take a look at people, the way in which I take a look at myself. I used to be humiliated as hell. I feel far more confident and assured in what I actually have to say and how I implement my intentions. I’m glad that before I released this album and did all these items, I went deeper into myself. I went to my place and took care of myself,” he told SiR.
All of this led to the 2024 Grammy Awards, a historic day for his label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) as he not only experienced his first nomination, but additionally watched his friend and labelmate SZA win three Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song with with the song “Snooze” Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Ghost In The Machine” and best progressive R&B album for . That was probably the most special thing in regards to the whole night for him.
“I got here to TDE right after her and Zay [Isaiah Rashad] has been signed. I just remember seeing them where Rayvon and Doechii began. We all began from the underside. We all undergo these stages to see her go – I went to her first signing, waited in line and surprised everyone. I actually have at all times admired her work ethic, not to say her talent and sweetness. For me, SZA is a 10 out of 10. I’m a big fan and I hope we are able to work together soon,” he said.
He says that now that he’s in a significantly better place, he hopes that his and SZA’s paths will cross again and that the time will probably be right for each of them.
Forgiving himself for his mistakes was some of the vital lessons he learned and therapy. Thanks to his recovery and recent music, he is on a higher path to recovery.
“I had a long year of tears, crying and therapy sessions. I definitely forgave myself today. And I have to forgive myself all the time because the pain doesn’t go away,” she told SiR. “These are scars, so they take time to heal. I still forgive myself.”
Celebrity Coverage
The most elegant moments of beautiful Billie Holiday – essence
William Gottlieb/Redferns
When Billie Holiday entered the stage, not only her voice turned her head – it was her presence. Known as Lady Day, she embodied the timeless type of beauty that cannot be reproduced – only worship. More than an icon of jazz, Holiday was a plan: her appearance, its mastery and its unrestricted elegance are still inspired by generations of black women who understand that beauty concerns the soul, as in style.
In the Nineteen Forties, the singer was known for wearing a deep, dark lipstick, which made her hair decorated with gardenia relatively more. Her eyebrows have contained throughout the least times been thrown out and eyelashes? Flirts, feathery and unforgettable. Sometimes she liked to take care of cool and canopy with packaging, contained throughout the least times emanating this sort of glam. In 1939, she added to the photo session, gardens in full bloom-nevertheless it surely’s eyelashes and it is a soft look, to which we’re still attracted.
Quickly until 1947, when the legend hit the stage on the Downbeat Club Manhattan. No foundation, no powder – just daring lipstick, natural leather and star power.
Until 1957, Billie modified every little thing to her performance to Newport Jazz Festival, leaving Gardenias behind, but keeping a characteristic red lip. And because of all this she never avoided the camera. New head shots, latest corners – because my love is contained throughout the least times in style.
In honor of the late icon we rejoice some of the most unforgettable moments of beauty Billie Holiday.
























Celebrity Coverage
Hannah John -kamen on Thunderbolts* and always remains ready to get close – essence
Killer Action Role on television, science fiction Odyssey Outlaws and Hyper-Dystopian Stories are stuffed with the movie Hannah John-Kamen as a performer with strength in her emotional performance on the screen. A 35-yr-old English actress known for her roles in movies similar to Andas, just like the television program, Likeand is ready to bring her to her because she had large roles supporting in lots of successful franchises. He represents his role Ghost (Ava Starr) in Marvel. Directed by Jake Schreier, The Asterisk within the title of the film is an actual show Way Marvel, and the filmmaker intended to be this story to be the departure of Disney franchise and resign how very different it’s from the more shiny repertoire of Marvel’s movies.
“Jake’s lens of this film was very, tonally specific”, he describes John-Kamen through the conversation. “It was like creating an independent film in the Marvel universe – Jake had a level of sensitivity and nurturing this story.” Re-reembodiment John-Kamena Ava Starr as a spirit, a killer for employment, is a key paria of the newly formed group, which was later recognized within the film as Thunderbolts, the name developed by the character of David Harbor, Aleksiej Andreovitch (Red Guardian).

The family roots of John-Kamen reach her Nigerian father and Norwegian mother, who performed significantly different works as a criminal psychologist and fashion model. With her established experience in Performance’s art, she was able to introduce her history of upbringing in a house stuffed with beauty and brains in her roles on the screen. The English contractor doesn’t stop his roles on television and film and cooperated with the maestros cinema, similar to Steven Spielberg (), and now Jake Schreier. “It’s quite difficult, because when you filter abroad, you revolve with a time difference that is easier to say than to do,” says John-Kamen. “In this world it can be a lonely lifestyle that concerns the spirit, and I grounded, taking breath and seeing my loved ones, friends and hugging my dog.”

Florence Pugh leads as Yelena Belova, a self -sighted super agent who suffers from disturbing episodes that recreate memories of the past that persecute her. The unusual childhood injury Belova led her to becoming a one who acts probably the most alone. Belova and Starr are a fortress behind Anti Hero Alliance of the Thunderbolts. They are the one women in a six -person organization who meets with controversial forces. “He, very, controls himself, his body and making decisions very much,” the John-Kamen explores. “She is Fort Knox and is a lonely wolf.”

The unusual moments of the comedy from the forged, which incorporates Sebastian Stan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Pullman and many others, does so related and feel more human than OR. Without having shiny superpowers, which make up lightning, they’re forced to face their reality without pursuing fandoms and public support. In the film Arch Nemesis Thunderbolt is the vengeful figure of Louis-Dreyfus, Valentina Allegra de Fountaine-infiltrating director who tries to manipulate and remove the Marvel Hero team.

During the 2 -hour journey, which makes up the history of Thunderbolt’s origin, the audience experiences the way in which these qualified warriors are still fighting for the worst problems. Ava Starr remains under the radar for many of the film because he has more sequences than words. “Her guard is very elevated,” says John-Kamen. Ava Starr appears when Yelena Belova needs her most to save the world overtaken by darkness. The character of Lewis Pullman, Robert “Bob” Reynolds, is armed against Thunderbolts, and his arch symbolizes how our minds may be as powerful because the uncomfortable villain.

Schreier’s approach to this film within the Marvel series was to enlarge greater than outside, removes all glamorous aesthetics that makes the heroes so aspirative. Even in Thunderbolts marketing, a wheat box standing in the course of the box is caught to satirize the trail of superheroes created within the Marvel cinema. Each anti -hero character stands in front of its own internal battles created by the trauma and wounded within the script by Eric Pearson. “We really laughed between shots,” Hannah warns me, talking in regards to the heavier features of the film. “I really created this beautiful family in this cast.”
In general, it is a story that follows wounded individuals who learn to treat. Along the way in which, they establish a family bond and support system. In 2025, when people can feel more disconnected, the narrative of Thunderbolts hits the home harder, watching the characters construct sufficient confidence and mental Harta to stand in themselves and their newly discovered friends. “I think that at the end of this movie I want you to hug a loved one or make sure someone feels safe and informed him that they do not have to boldly smile,” John-Kamen says.
Celebrity Coverage
Karen Pittman in the latest drama Netflix “Forever” – Essence
Karen Pittman during the thirty first Guild Actors Guild Awards. Photo: Maya Dehlin Spach
Karen Pittman is just too accustomed to prime quality content. From, to, she built a profession playing dynamic characters at the center of an intelligent, conscious society. But in the recent Netflix Pittman series, he enters the unknown territory – each skilled and emotional. Adapted by Mara Brock Akil and the performer produced by Regina King, the concert again imagines the iconic novel by Judah Blume from 1975 through a up to date lens, concentrating black love, family and growing pains of adolescence in America Pre -Floyd. This is a type of project that usually doesn’t come – and Pittman knew about it after the jump.
“I don’t have such a thing on my work on TV,” says Essence. “I did it in the theater, but not in this way with these colleagues.” When Akil turned to her regarding the role of Dawn Edwards-Reduer with a high power and fierce protective mother-she showed that the stars were leveled. “Not very often in your career, as an actress, people will allow you to break your mold and do something else,” he says. “And Mara is known for the concentration of black women. It meant to me.”
In the series Dawn is the mother of Justin, teenagers moving in the old flame, identity and independence. It is an effort that required Pittman to make use of his mother’s own instincts – but with restraint. “Dawn and I are two very, very different mothers,” he says with amusing. “But this level of cruelty in how it protects my children? I am completely adapted with it. There is no compromise for me in this way.” While Dawn emanates what Pittman calls “Razzle Dazzle” – a type of presence that makes people sit straight when he enters the room – she can be harsh, sensitive and struggles with the terrifying transition to permit her son to enter a situation that she will be able to’t control.

The series takes place in 2018, and sometimes the Nominee Actors Guild awards as “preliminary sketch”. Before Pandemia, before he calls for racial justice, the series records quiet fears that defined so many black households. “This is an uncertain place for a mother,” he explains. “Watching your child goes to the hostile world. This program reflects where we were as a country and why Dawn is so focused on the development of the Son.”
This helps that Pittman’s stars are Wood Harris, who plays Father Justin. Two actors divide not only skilled chemistry, but a typical language that reaches their roots. “We spoke smoothly with each other,” he says. “Wood was simply an ideal star-open gentleman, accessible and full of respect for work. Our heroes love deeply, and the conflict between them concerns noble problems, not a small drama. This made the scenes rich.”
The dream team doesn’t end there. Pittman lights up, saying that he’s directed by King, whose artistic instinct and private experience have added work. “Regina grew up in Los Angeles, she was the mother of her son at this age – there was such a large synergy,” he says. “He is the director of the actor, completely commanding, but also related to the crew in a way that made the whole set feel grounded.”
But this Akil, says Pittman, who built the foundation. “Mara could write for everyone, do everything – but she decides to warm up her work around us,” he says. “She is intended in a way that I have never experienced. We saw her influence by: – But this series gives us a different dimension of her vision. It is delicate. It is sharp. It is deep, deeply black.”
For Pittman, It’s greater than a brand new loan on her impressive CV – it is a type of return home. A probability to stretch, cooperation with creators that admires and tell a story that resonates at every level.
“This is one of those rare times in which work, people and message are consistent,” he says. “And when it happens, you jump.”