Urban Daypop Archives

John Legend is set to lead the cast on NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. The musician and actor will be taking on the titular role of Jesus in a remake of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera, set to be broadcast live from Brooklyn, New York next Easter, April 1st. NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt said: “We’re all overjoyed to have world-class musical artist and producer John Legend starring as Jesus.”  Legend added: “I’m thrilled to join the cast of this production of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. It’s such a powerful, meaningful musical and I’m humbled to be part of this performance.”

Essence magazine will honor Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott at a pre-Grammy event next year. In their announcement, Essence said “Missy Elliot’s career as a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer and dancer is one that has inspired popular culture for over two decades. Essence is proud to announce the Grammy award-winning entertainment icon as our 2018 Black Women In Music honoree.” The event will take place on January 25, 2018, three days before the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.

Hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs said he hopes to buy the Carolina Panthers so he can sign Colin Kaepernick after the team’s current owner announced he will sell the franchise amid sexual misconduct allegations. “I would like to buy the @Panthers. Spread the word. Retweet!” Combs wrote on Twitter Sunday evening, noting that he could become the NFL’s first majority African-American owner. “There are no majority African-American NFL owners. Let’s make history.”  Diddy’s interest in buying the Panthers comes after its current owner, Jerry Richardson, decided to sell the team following sexual and racist misconduct accusations.

Will Smith hasn’t dropped a full-length, solo studio project since 2005’s Lost and Found, and Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff released Code Red, their fifth and last studio album together, all the way back in 1993.  When asked about the prospect of releasing new music with Jeff, Smith said, “I’ve been getting hyped about it. It [has] been a minute. I’ve been full in the actor’s mind so me and Jeff start going out a little bit in the last six-to-eight months [and] we’ve been doing something.” 

Nelly was recently cleared of a sexual assault lawsuit that was filed against him, and now just days after being cleared, Nelly’s legal team announced he intends to file a lawsuit.  Nelly was arrested for allegedly raping a woman in Washington state in early October. The unidentified woman told authorities the assault occurred on the rapper’s tour bus after one of his concerts, however Nelly was later released without being charged.  As a result of his name being tarnished by these allegations, Nelly is planning to file a lawsuit against his accuser. “Nelly has suffered very real damage to his reputation. He has incurred economic loss and painfully has watched his family suffer,” said his attorney. “As a result, Nelly is planning to proceed with litigation as the first step in restoring his reputation.”