One of the most coveted natural talents is the gift of a dictinctive voice, and Loretta Devine’s high-pitched, breathy voice has just that kind of distinction I wish I was born with. She got her start in Broadway musicals, most…

Bern Nadette Stanis. She was one of my first Fresh Black Girls and I have called out her extraness in the past. The thing about Thelma is that she rarely got the chance to really show her stuff,…

My sister is getting married next year so my mother and I have been helping her get everything all organized. The resultant mother-daughter-daughter trio is what made me think of the Fields Girls – Chip, Kim, and Alexis Fields. All…

Tisha Campbell is a perfect example of black entertainers not getting the praise that they deserve. As a veteran in the industry and one of the few triple threat entertainers of any color, Tisha should have an armful of Emmys…

Imagine having spent the majority of your short life watching your father campaign to be the first black president of the United States. Malia and Sasha Obama, at the ages of 10 and 7, are simply used to it by…

As evidenced by this Philadelphia mural, if there is anyone who deserves major sweatage it’s Patti LaBelle. What makes her freshest is the fact that she has made it her business to do everything under the sun, and in the…

I wish that I could account for as many bingo squares in the scratch-off lotto ticket version as I can in Non-Threatening Black Male‘s brilliant “Blipster Bingo.” That kind of money would get my phone turned back on. Hat…

While Blogger was holding my blog hostage I kept referring to it as “my baby,” a label that was met with a whole bunch of funny looks from my friends. By Sunday morning the scene below started running through my…

I was in the middle of FBG’ing someone else when I heard that Edie Huggins, a Philadelphia institution and pretty spectacular lady, passed away today at the age of 72. She was the the first black female on the news…

After the meaningless nonsense of the past few days, in fact, past few years, I’ve finally accepted that Black Love is in a bit of trouble. I ADORE Black Love itself – as corny as it may sound, there’s…

Why is it that almost every black sitcom has had at least one “talent showcase” episode, while such episodes on mainstream sitcoms have been few and far between? I’ve certainly never seen anyone seriously throwing on costumes to sing and dance on Friends or Seinfeld, and the “talent showcase” in black sitcoms certainly pre-dates reality shows like American Idol. Ever since I learned that “coonery” is one of the search terms that has brought people to WWTD, I’ve been thinking a lot about our tendency to cut a rug and start up some showtime just for its own sake. I believe that random talent showcasing on black sitcoms is due to two factors: first, black sitcoms have so many multi-talented performers that can do more than just act.

The other night I was watching What’s Love Got To Do With It?, a favorite of mine since high school. After over 20 viewings, every nuance of Angela Bassett’s performance still impresses me. In fact, if Angela Bassett were white…

For the first time, a friend of mine has inspired me to celebrate her freshness because she has realized the dreams of so many of us in like a quarter of a lifetime and is just getting started. It wasn’t…

Regina King is a perfect example of how black entertainers are simply not given their due – after over 20 years in the industry and roles in several big movies she still hasn’t headlined a film. Today I saw the…

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