Conversations

Host AJ (@crimsonPEARL) chats with female entrepreneur Alice Foy about her experience in event production and how she started her own production company, Jane Ella Productions. With her company Digital Jane and podcast The World is Her Office, Foy’s goal is to create spaces for Black women to thrive.

AJ (@crimsonPEARL) chats with Season One winner of FOX's The Four: Battle to Stardom, Evvie McKinney, about her newly released music, co-written with Meghan Trainor. Signed with Motown/Capitol CMG records, Evvie McKinney describes her inspirational new single "Bring the Whole Hood" as the kind of uplifting tune we need. Evvie also shares what she's been up to in quarantine, how she wants to be "a new wave" of inspirational music and hope - particularly to our youth right now.

Become a fly on the wall and listen to our BHL hosts have "Conversations" with some of Hollywood's biggest talent. Guests range from musicians to actors to TV personalities. The setting is welcoming and engaging, which allows the conversations to flow naturally and dig into otherwise unexplored subjects.

Singer, songwriter, and humanitarian Etana is a powerhouse vocalist and Grammy Award, nominee. More than a decade after her debut as a reggae artist, she is now a recognized and respected entertainer in her native Jamaica and becoming more famous worldwide. Born Shauna McKenzie, the young talent migrated to the United States for the opportunity and briefly pursued a pop music career before rediscovering her roots as an adult and adopting the moniker Etana, “The Strong One” in Swahili. The return home spurred the evolution of her sound and is evident in her body of work expressed as the fusion of folk, soul, jazz, and reggae. Etana taps into the likes of Marcia Griffiths, Etta James, and Miriam Makeba for harnessing a deeply emotional sound and she is the modern embodiment of their influence. In 2008 Etana debuted the album The Strong One featuring various musicians and producers. The project reached the #12 spot on the Reggae Billboard chart, and consecutively released singles released by VP Records helped to introduce the spirited singer to the world. Lyrical hits “Warrior Love” and “I Am Not Afraid” made a lasting impression, as did “Free” and “Happy Heart” from the second album Free Expressions, notably a repeat Reggae Billboard chart climber. Not to be outdone, she released her fourth album I Rise to much acclaim, nabbing the #1 spot on the iconic chart, marking the first female artist out of Jamaica to earn such a designation seventeen years. Fast forward to 2018, Etana was nominated for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards for Reggae Forever in the Best Reggae Album category. The project was co-produced by Etana and the distinction by The Recording Academy marked the first time in over twenty years that a woman was designated that bracket. In 2019 she released the eight-track EP Dimensions, her latest full-length album Gemini is scheduled for a Summer 2020 debut, with multiple singles dropping leading up to the main event.

In the Tradition of comedians who have made the transition from the stage to the screen, such as Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby, Multi talented Guy Tori has made the leap to comedic actor with great success. Guy has been seen on BET’s ComicView, Comedy Central’s premium blend, showtime at the Apollo and Russell Simmons: DEF comedy jam where he made his standup debut to a national audience. Guy also hosted the enormously successful 52 city comedy tour the Kings of Comedy, which grossed over $37M. He created a unique concept called Fat Comedy Tuesdays which was a weekly showcase for up-and-coming comedians. This evolved into a weekly spotlight at the Comedy Store on the Sunset strip and title the Guy Tori show where Guy hosts and produces a comedy showcase featuring an improv comedy troupe. This event was regularly attended by the comedy a list including Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker and Chris Rock. While attending Southeast Missouri State University, Guy had a curious desire to pursue a career in entertainment. Once in Los Angeles, he landed a job as a production assistant on the Fox comedy Martin. His quick wit captured the attention of the shows writers, producers and eventually the show star Martin Lawrence. Guy became a contributing writer to the series and had a subsequent writing stance on sitcoms such as Minor Adjustments and The St. Louis native also received critical claim for his work on the small screen starring in the NBC mini-series the 70s, the HBO movie introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and the UPN drama The Strip. He hosted BET‘s sports talk show Baller, with four-time NBA world champion John Sally and three-time NFL pro bowler Hugh Douglas. Guy has made guest appearances on television series including Blind Justice, The Shield, One On One, X-Files and NYPD Blue. He also supplied his voice on the animated Nickelodeon series as told by Ginger. Guy has appeared in such feature films as Funny Money, opposite Chevy Chase, Penelope Ann Miller and Chris McDonald, the Last Stand, starring Anthony Anderson, Darren Henson, Kevin Hart and written and directed by Russ Parr, Dead and Deader, opposite Dean Cain and Susan Ward, and the independent thriller Slow Burn, opposite Ray Liotta, Taye Diggs, LL Cool J and Mekhi Phifer. Guy has also appeared with Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear and Eva Mendes in the 20th century fox film, Stuck On You, and his other film credits include Runaway Jury, Don’t Say A Word, Pearl Harbor, Life, The Animal and most notably American History X. Guy is currently performing in comedy clubs across the country, and resides in Los Angeles.

HELPFUL LINKS: Website - http://blackhollywoodlive.com Follow us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/bhlonline Merch - http://shop.spreadshirt.com/BlackHollywoodLive/ ABOUT BLACK HOLLYWOOD LIVE: Black Hollywood Live is the world's first online broadcast news network with programming and content dedicated to African American entertainment news. The network features long form, in-depth celebrity interviews, smart commentary and discussion as well as news and inside information. The network was created by producer Keven Undergaro. Black Hollywood Live had guests from shows/films like 12 Years A Slave, The Butler, America's Got Talent, The Game, Chicago Fire, Believe, Hannibal, Suits, Parks and Recreation, Dallas Buyers Club, Real Husbands of Hollywood, The Best Man Holiday, The View, Shameless, Basketball Wives, Being Mary Jane, Scandal, Single Ladies and many more. Notable guests on the network include: host Wayne Brady, The View's Sherri Shepherd, Late Night's Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyer and others.