The Weekend Entertainment Recap: February 6th
The Recording Academy held the second annual Black Music Collective ceremony that honored rappers Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Lil Wayne and Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone. The event was held at the Hollywood Palladium and attended by guests such as Swizz Beatz, Lil’ Kim, Lucky Daye and Joey Bada$$. The Black Music Collective was established in 2020 by the Recording Academy and is designed to be “a hub for power players in Black music, across all genres.” Honorees and attendees were treated to a festive meal inspired by the artists. The menu featured the “Carter III (Triple C’s)” (cornbread with crab and caviar); “Up in Smoke” (free range chicken with truffle BBQ sauce and pineapple); “California Love” (crispy cauliflower with BBQ miso glaze and benne) and “Sock It 2 Me” (chocolate wavy waffle with roasted plantain gelato).
Although Memphis rapper GloRilla was not a Black Music Collective honoree, she did receive her flowers from XXL. GloRilla won the 2023 XXL Female Rapper of the Year Award. Big Glo was nominated up against the likes of Cardi B, Latto, Megan Thee Stallion, Coi Leray, Nicki Minaj and Doja Cat. Artists and industry experts including Lil Bibby, Peter Rosenberg, Jadakiss, Future and Method Man serve on the XXL Awards board that is responsible for selecting award-winners.
While GloRilla and the rap legends were being honored, Netflix had social media users in an uproar. The streaming giant has been announcing plans to crack down on password sharing for months but this week the company temporarily posted new information to its help center. The update has since been deleted by Netflix but it suggested how it plans to identify account-sharing abuse. One target of the new policy seemed to be college kids who use their families’ at-home logins. However, a trial in Peru, Costa Rica and Chile allowed subscribers to cover up to two people outside of the primary location for $2.99 a month. An official U.S. launch is expected to come in March.
Social media users regathered themselves from the Netflix controversy just in time for the annual Roc Nation Brunch. Roc Nation’s Pre-Grammy Brunch has become a popular event for the culture’s biggest names to attend and this year’s guest list was star-studded as usual. Artists from different genres as well as music executives were in attendance for the festivities. Of course, the Carters were fashionably in attendance in addition to Kelly Rowland, Tems, Miguel, Lil Kim, G-Herbo, Offset, DJ Khaled, Lil Uzi Vert and many more. Attendees were in for a night of champagne, fine dining, dancing and star power.
One celebrity not in attendance at the Roc Nation Brunch was football player Antonio Brown. The former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver was busy making claims against a former teammate, James Harrison and alleged that he wore an illegal helmet responsible for causing Brown’s Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Brown held an Instagram live and stated: “I wanted to tell you guys that I think James Harrison gave me CTE. James Harrison had an illegal helmet for over 20 years in the NFL, and he hit me one time. And, ever since he hit me, I’ve been super aggressive. So blame James Harrison for my CTE.” CTE is a brain condition that researchers have determined is caused by repeated blows to the head. Harrison subliminally addressed the claims with humor on social media.
The weekend ended on a high note for acclaimed actress Viola Davis after she earned the coveted EGOT status following her Grammy win on Sunday. This status is reserved for individuals who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony over their career. The 57-year-old actress earned her first Grammy for her audiobook, “Finding Me: A Memoir” and has already earned the other three awards. Only 18 people have achieved this status and Davis is the fourth Black person to do so. She joins fellow talents Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend and most recently, Jennifer Hudson.
