America's Next Top Mogul: Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks announces a new show for the CW

When Tyra Banks became a youth correspondent on the Oprah Winfrey Show nearly 10 years ago, whispers began that she was being molded as the next Oprah Winfrey. Some snickered, wondering how the Victoria's Secret model would ever reach such lofty heights.

Fast forward to now and at 33, Tyra Banks is one of the hottest commodities in both daytime and primetime television with her properties The Tyra Banks Show and America's Next Top Model.

Now Tyra is set to add another show to her Bankable Productions line-up: A currently untiltled project from the producers of Top Model and Project Runway. The project is being described as The Devil Wears Prada meets The Assistant and is scheduled to premiere on the CW Network this summer.

Ruby Dee snags SAG

Cate Blanchett, eat your heart out!

Ruby Dee, still astonishing at 83, snagged the Best Supporting Actress Screen Actors Guild Award for her amazing portrayal of "Mama Lucas" in American Gangster. The SAG Awards are often an early indicator of Academy Awards success. We've got our fingers crossed.

Saturday Soul: The Funky Lyn Collins

It's getting funky in here!

If you're an old-school hip-hop head, you will definitely recognize Lyn Collins' voice; the infectious sampled backing of Rob Base's 1987 hit, It Takes Two.

A Soul/Funk legend, Collins gained fame as a part of James Brown's Soul Revue of the early 70s. Along with vocalists Marva Whitney and Vicki Anderson, she became one of the Godmothers of Soul and an integral influence of early rap music.

Here's Lyn Collins, aka "The Female Preacher," performing Never Gonna Give You Up on Souuuul Train. Check for the Godfather himself behind her, leading the band in one sharp 70s suit.

Collins passed in 2005 and Brown in 2007 but their music never dies.

The Listening: New Music From Badu

After over a decade in the industry, Erykah Badu manages to stay as cutting-edge as the day she entered it.

Badu's latest, the Madlib-produced, Healer, may be just the thing for what's ailing the feeble music scene right now.

Download "The Healer."

Oboy, Obama!

"Change is coming to America." -- Barack Obama

Watch Obama's historic--and moving--acceptance speech:

related reading: Obama wins Iowa as candidate for change (CNN)

They've Got Next: Four of the Hottest New Voices of '08

From The Cocoa Lounge



ESTELLE

//sounds like: Lauryn Hill, Floetry

For the past 5 years, British singer/emcee, Estelle, has slowly been establishing herself as a formidable presence on the UK music scene, but has remained relatively unknown by mainstream American audiences... that is until now. Recent developments may just transcend the sassy talent to a revered household name--namely signing with John Legend's newly formed Homeschool Records. Her newest project finds Estelle working with producer-heavyweights Will.I.Am, Swizz Beats, Mark Ronson (the dynamo behind Amy Winehouse)and Wyclef Jean. Her first single, "Just a Touch: Wait A Minute," is an upbeat thumper that stays in rotation on our playlist.

See Estelle performing "Just A Touch." (Live)



MUFFY

//sounds like: Kelis, Roxanne Shante, J*Davey

We know very little about the lively entity who assumes the handle "Muffy" but her souped-up, hyper-colorful flair is sure to catch fire soon. Besides resembling Monica's long-lost twin sister, Muffy, like fellow new artists, the Cool Kids, is reinventing the 80s and putting the fun back into R&B/Hip Hop music. With an already strong web-presence, Muffy may be on track to becoming an internet-marketing Itgirl, much like 2007's Girls of Summer sensation, Janelle Monae.

Visit Muffy on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/muffymommy



JOI STARR

//sounds like: Jazmine Sullivan, Shareefa

If you've placed your peepers on any Kanye West performance as of late, you've more than likely already been exposed to Joi Starr, Kanye's stylish background singer. It's a tough job finding limelight amongst Kanye West's loveable stage antics, but Joi Starr always manages to hold her on. Besides singing backup for Kanye, Joi has lent her syrupy vocals to projects for Ghostface Killah and recorded several solo tracks of her own, including the catchy "What I Want." If Joi Starr manages to pocket a few solid West productions for her debut, there's no limit to how bright this Starr can shine.

See Joi Starr in action: Kanye West, "I Wonder" (Live).



Nikki Jean

//sounds like: Amel Larrieux meets Feist.

We practically crashed our iTunes replaying Nikki Jean's "Sunshine," last year. Her light, airy approach to singing, is part Rock, part Hip Hop with a whole lotta Niki in between. Jean, who's been gaining a strong following of indie music lovers as the lead singer of post-genre band Nouveau Riche, has upped her visibility this year with collaborations on Lupe Fiasco's critically acclaimed, The Cool. Besides being a band front woman, and highly anticipated solo artist, Nikki Jean has been an avid daily video blogger. See her video journals here.

Give Nikki Jean a listen on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thenikkijeanproject

The Cocoa Lounge's Best of 2007

From The Cocoa Lounge

Happy 2008!

In the spirit of New Yearness, we'd like to celebrate the occasion by looking back over the passing year at just a few of our fave Cocoa Lounge posts. From Legends, to Look-alikes, and Imus to Idols, the year 2007 was full of muy memorable moments:

They've Got Next: Four of the Hottest New Voices of '07

The Black Model Museum [#003]: The Beauty Dynasty

Don't Worry, Be Nappy!

Disney Animation Crowns First Black Princess

Cocoa Lounge NOW: The Hollywood BBF

Cocoa Lounge NOW: Bezemymailan

Separated at Birth?

Coccoa Lounge Legends [#003]: Kara Walker

America the (Not-So) Beautiful: Model, Gerren Taylor Speaks On The Ugly Side of Fashion

The Cocoa Lounge Remembers: Calvin Lockhart

Coming Soon: The Secret Life of Bees

Now this bit of production news is just the bees knees: How excited are we that Love & Basketball director, Gina Prince-Bythewood, is attached to not only direct but has adapted Sue Monk Kidd's best-selling novel, "The Secret Life of Bees" for the big screen?

Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson and Sophie Okonedo will star and Dakota Fanning and Alicia Keys are in final negotiations.

"Bees," a drama set in the Southern U.S. in the 1960s, centers on teenager Lily Owens (Fanning) and her friend Rosaleen (Hudson) who flee their hometown to escape their harsh upbringing and seek to uncover the mysteries of Lily's late mother. Along the way, they encounter three beekeeping sisters (Latifah, Okonedo, Keys) who take the pair in to their South Carolina home. --Reuters

For the past several years, Black female directors have been noticeably MIA from the big screen. But with Angela Robinson (Herbie, D.E.B.S) continuing to helm projects and Kasi Lemmon's recent return with the Petey Greene story, Talk to Me, thankfully, things are starting to look up again!

Cocoa Lounge NOW: 8 of The Most Powerful Black Women in Entertainment

The Hollywood Reporter recently announced its 16th Annual, Power 100 Women in Entertainment List:

When the Hollywood Reporter pulished its first Women in Entertainment special issue on Dec. 8, 1992, only one woman headed the motion picture division of a studio--Sherry Lansing...Fifteen years after our first report, it's almost commonplace to see women seated at the head of the table in film and television, as well as shepherding production studios, agencies and cable networks. In fact, this year's Power 100 features more women with titles of president and chairman than in any of the previous special issues we've published.

Of the 100 buiness-savvy, female power-players listed, a solid 8% were African American women, a good sign, as black women are comfortably filling executive chairs in and outside of the entertainment industry. Enough of our gushing...
Without further adu, and in no particular order, meet 8 of the Most Powerful Black Women in Entertainment:

• Vanessa Morrison, President, Fox Animation


• Lorrie Bartlett, Partner, The Gersh Agency


• Christina Norman, President, MTV


• Tracey Edmonds, President and COO, Our Stories Films


• Nina Shaw, Founding Partner, Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano


• Debra Lee, Chairman And CEO, BET


• Sylvia Rhone, President, Universal Motown Records


• Oprah Winfrey, Chairman, Harpo Inc.

Fresh Face [#015]: Muhsinah

She has "muse" in her name, so it comes as no surprise that Muhsinah's tapped into a rich source of inspiration for her debut CD, Day.Break.

We've been having the "Where are all the female producers?" discussion for years around these parts. Outside of Missy Elliott, you could (literally) count the number of female Hip Hop/Soul arrangers/composers/producers on one hand--practically one finger, even.

Muhsinah is like a seasoned steak to the malnourished soul game; A refreshingly fresh independent, who pushes soul music so far forward, it warrants its own genre: "Progressive Future Soul." And on top of being a producing wunderkind, she's also crossed 'classically trained pianist' and 'formidable vocal talent' off of her list of things-to-accomplish by the age of 24.

With a sound that is like Georgia Anne Muldrow meets someone you've never been formally introduced to, we look forward to more of what Muhsinah has to offer this galaxy.

Check out her independent video: "Construction" below.

Iman Sashays Onto TV's 'Runway'

Hold on to your chemise, Heidi Klum! Iman joins the growing list of über-models turned television stars as host of Project Runway Canada, the latest installment of the popular Project Runway franchise.

Iman puts her own stamp on the Canadian version with a no-nonsense approach to judging contestants' designs. But as any model knows, measuring up is a tough job, especially when another (Klum) has worn the 'Runway' look so well.

Does Project Runway Canada measure up to its American predecessor? You be the judge:



Wanna see more episodes? Iman's Runway airs on Canada's Slice network. If you're outside of Canada, don't bother checking your local listings, we recommend scouring youtube instead.

Coming Soon: The 'Bolden' The Beautiful

Two upcoming period pieces have us all eyes and ears: one's an indie biopic, the other is an early award-season contender filled with entertainment heavyweights.



Fantastic Four: Four Guys We love alum, Anthony Mackie, is known for generating heat around these parts, but Bolden!, his latest project, is full of its own sparks.

Audiences have been patiently waiting for Mackie to get his Denzel on; to land a role that transforms an actor from 'good' to 'critically-acclaimed.' That role, we hear, comes in the portrayal of Buddy Bolden, a giant in rag-time music, and early father of jazz.



The film also features three notable up and coming actresses: The Bolden women. Yaani King, Karimah Westbrook and Milauna Jemai, all young dramatic actresses, who are gaining their stripes through strong television appearances on popular shows like CSI, Without a Trace and Law & Order.



And what can we say about The Great Debaters that hasn't already been uttered? With names like Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey to headline the credits, this film is destined for a little award-season attention. And young Jurnee Smollett, an acting powerhouse since Eve's Bayou, is already being lauded for Supporting
Actress consideration by MGM.

We here at the Lounge can't wait to feast our eyes on these when they finally grace the silver screen.