Established in 2010 by Oscar Hernandez and
presented by his company OSCIA Production the "Celestial Awards of Excellence" honors those with outstanding accomplishments
of excellence that have contributed positively to our society. Recently the 2017 "Celestial Awards of Excellence"
was held at the Alex Theatre in Los Angeles hosted by actor Oba Babatunde. Awards ranged from entertainment, medical, education,
community service and other areas of expertise. When I asked Emmy Award winning model/actress/sports
broadcaster Jayne Kennedy ("The NFL Today," "Greatest Sports Legends") what excellence meant to her she
said, "When you find something you are passionate about and you do not let anything get in the way...you never stop." Young actor Hunter Payton (CBS' "Criminal Minds") said excellence to him meant, "Doing the best you personally
can do. For me it's how far you can push yourself to do things and how far you are willing to go for a certain thing because
excellence is an arbitrary word that many people have many definitions of." Those honored included
Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr. (Roots) with the "Lifetime Achievement Award;" Founder of "The Medgar
& ... Read the full June
23, 2017 column...>
"Journey to Love" by Eunice Moseley now Available at Barnes and Nobles.
NEWS
ASCAP to Honor Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
June 22, 2017 at the ASCAP R&S Music Awards withn the 'ASCAP Voice of Music Award
(Los Angeles, CA) - ASCAP, the American
Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers will honor legendary songwriting and music production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry
Lewis with the illustrious "ASCAP Voice of Music Award" at its 30th annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards on Thursday,
June 22, 2017 at The Beverly Wilshire Hotel. This prestigious award comes on the heels of Jam and Lewis's induction to the
Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 15th. The Grammy-winning duo and owners of Flyte Tyme Productions are responsible for an
impressive body of work that includes chart-topping Pop hits such as Janet Jackson's "When I Think Of You," and
"Miss You Much;" Mariah Carey's "Thank God I Found You;" George Michael's "Monkey;" Boyz II
Men's "On Bended Knee;" Mary J Blige's "No More Drama;" and Usher's "U Remind Me."
Motown Gospel
Re-Releases CeCe Winans Certified-Gold Album 'Throne Room'
(Nashville, TN) - Motown Gospel re-release CeCe Winans' popular
and iconic album, "Throne Room," on all digital platforms. The 10x Grammy Award winner offers a commemorative
‘Gold Edition' of the groundbreaking worship album. "Throne Room Gold Editio"n will include an exclusive unreleased
rendition of "Blessed Assurance," inspired by her 2015 Kennedy Center Honors tribute to legendary actress Cicely
Tyson.
VIDEO CLIP OF THE
WEEK
The
Pulse of Entertainment covered some of the red carpet arrivals for the 2017 Celestial Awards of Excellence held at the Alex
Theatre in Los Angeles and interviewed Jayne Kennedy (Emmy winner actress/sports announcer); Art Evans (Die Hard2); Hunter
Payton ("Criminal Minds"); Hayley Gripp (CSI: Las Vegas), and more about what excellence means to them. Watch see
some of the interviews below!
(New York, NY) - Nigerian
Afrobeats star Rayce takes a giant step forward toward a banner year as Shanachie Entertainment is set to release his U.S.
CD debut, "African Juice," September 1, 2017, in conjunction with Rayce's Nigerian label Jebon International.
Shanachie has already released one single "Wetin Dey" which as a special re-mix
featuring a guest vocal from fellow Afrobeats superstar Davido and now they have just issued his follow up single "Show
Man." Rayce, who has scored such hits as "Roll," "21 Love," "Jack Sparrow" and "Wetin
Dey," and has collaborated with such major Afrobeats stars as D'Banj ( a founder of the genre) and Davido, brings his
triple-threat talent to his productions as a singer, songwriter and producer.
Afrobeats is not the "Afrobeat" of Fela but a new mash-up of Reggae Dancehall, Hip-Hop, soca and West African
beats. Drake's "One Dance," featuring Nigerian Afrobeats star WizKid, rode an Afrobeats groove and Alicia Keys'
"In Common" sported Afrobeats inflections which became explicit on an 'Afrobeats' re-mix (SwizzBeats is reportedly
a fan of the style). American and Caribbean artists such as Chris Brown, Sean Paul, Busy Signal and Machel Mavado have all
guest on Afrobeats hits and Ghanian-American producer Nana Kwabena Tuffuor produced Jidenna's smash hit "Classic Man."
With Africa-consciousness in vogue once again, impacting the fashion world as well as the music world, a dynamic dialogue
between a new generation in America, the
Caribbean and Africa are coming to the fore. Rayce is from the Edo State
Midwest part of Nigeria. He was born in Lagos in 1983 and raised there. He began making music as a drummer in church but soon
quite naturally evolved to singing, songwriting and producing as well as playing. In 2011, he scored a breakthrough hit with
the infectious "Roll," which he has followed with such hits as "Wetin Dey" (the re-mix featuring Davido),
"Shiki-Shiki" (with Afrobeats pioneer D'Banj), "Just Like That," "Tetela," "Jack Sparrow,"
"21 Love," "Tested OK" and his current single hit "One For Me" and more.
(New York, NY) -
Caribbean and Africa are coming to the fore. Rayce is from the Edo State
Midwest part of Nigeria. He was born in Lagos in 1983 and raised there. He began making music as a drummer in church but soon
quite naturally evolved to singing, songwriting and producing as well as playing. In 2011, he scored a breakthrough hit with
the infectious "Roll," which he has followed with such hits as "Wetin Dey" (the re-mix featuring Davido),
"Shiki-Shiki" (with Afrobeats pioneer D'Banj), "Just Like That," "Tetela," "Jack Sparrow,"
"21 Love," "Tested OK" and his current single hit "One For Me" and more.