u/AcanthocephalaFun851

Did you know several real-life family members were a part of the new A Different World that connects us back to the original show?

1. Jasmine Guy's daughter, Imani Duckett, plays Teedra (she is in several funny/cute scenes). She lives in the dorm with the other girls.

2. Debbie Allen's son, Norman Nixon Jr., plays Professor Baptiste

3. Cree Summer's brother, Rainbow Sun, plays Amir's parole officer Larry

4. Alijah Kai (Haggins)'s real-life mother, Tichina Arnold, plays the mother of her character Rashida

Freda Charcilia Payne is an American singer and actress. Payne is best known for her career in music during the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. Her most popular record is her 1970 hit single "Band of Gold". Payne was also an actress in musicals and film as well as the host of a TV talk show.[4]Payne is the older sister of Scherrie Payne, a former singer with the American vocal group the Supremes. She also acted on Living Single.

Sanaa McCoy Lathan is an American actress. She is the daughter of actress Eleanor McCoy and film director Stan Lathan. Her career began after she appeared in the shows In the House, Family Matters, NYPD Blue, and Moesha. Lathan later garnered further prominence after starring in the 1998 superhero film Blade, which followed with film roles in The Best Man(1999), Love & Basketball (2000), Disappearing Acts (2000), and Brown Sugar (2002).

In 2004, Lathan's performance in the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sunearned her a nomination at the Tony Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Following this, she played the role of Alexa "Lex" Woods in the film Alien vs. Predator. In 2008, she landed a leading role in the film The Family That Preys by Tyler Perry. Lathan returned to theatre work in 2010, starring in the all-black performance of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre in London.[3]

She reprised her role as Robyn in the Christmas-themed sequel of The Best Man, in The Best Man Holiday (2013). In 2022, she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, for her work on the television series Succession.[4]

As a voice actress, from (2009 to 2013), she voiced Donna Tubbs in The Cleveland Show and in all concurrent and subsequent Family Guyappearances, as well as Catwoman on Harley Quinn. Her other notable film credits include Out of Time (2003), Something New (2006), Wonderful World (2009), Contagion (2011), Repentance (2013), The Perfect Guy(2015), and Now You See Me 2 (2016). Lathan also made her directorial debut with the film On the Come Up in 2022.

HIs real name is Antonio Hardy. He is best known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hip-hop. Rolling Stone ranked his song "Ain't No Half-Steppin'" 25th on its list of The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time, calling him "a master wordsmith of rap's ... golden age and a huge influence on a generation of MCs."

In high school, Kane met Mister Cee, who later played an integral role in Kane's career as his DJ.^([3]) In 1984, Kane became friends with Biz Markie, and he co-wrote some of Biz's best-known lyrics.^([4])^([5]) Both became members of the Queens-based Juice Crew, a collective headed by producer Marley Marl. Kane signed with Tyrone Williams's and Len Fichtelberg's Cold Chillin' Records label in 1987 and debuted the same year with the 12" single "Raw". The name Big Daddy Kane came from a variation on Caine, David Carradine's character on the TV show Kung Fu, and the character Big Daddy played by Vincent Price in the 1963 film Beach Party.^([6])

Kane is known for his ability to syncopate over fast beats. Despite his asthma,^([4]) he is a pioneer of fast rhyming. His sense of style is renowned and set a number of late-1980s and early-1990s hip hop trends (high-top fades hairstyles, velour suits, and four-finger rings). The backronym "King Asiatic Nobody's Equal" is often applied to his moniker.

In 1988, Kane released his debut album, Long Live the Kane, which featured the hit "Ain't No Half Steppin'". In 1989, he released his second album and biggest hit to date, It's a Big Daddy Thing, which included 1970s sample throwbacks like "Smooth Operator" and the Teddy Riley-produced track "I Get the Job Done". He also had a verse on the Marley Marl-produced track "The Symphony" (1988), which included Juice Crew members Craig G, Masta Ace, and Kool G Rap.

Big Daddy Kane in 1998

In 1990, Big Daddy Kane was featured as a guest rapper on Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet, on the song "Burn Hollywood Burn", in which he discussed the depiction of African-American characters particularly in the Jim Crow Era. Big Daddy Kane also referenced Aunt Jemima as an example of how Black women were characterized and given low-status roles, with the lyrics "And Black women in this profession / As for playing a lawyer, out of the question / For what they play Aunt Jemima is the perfect term".^([7])

Big Daddy Kane appeared on Patti LaBelle's 1991 effort "Burnin'". He provided the rap chorus to the single "Feels Like Another One". He also appeared on the video release "Live in New York".

He contributed the song "'Nuff Respect" to the soundtrack of Ernest Dickerson's feature film debut Juice, which starred Omar Epps and Tupac Shakur, further demonstrating his fast lyrical delivery.

In 1991, Kane won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his performance on the Quincy Jones collaborative track "Back on the Block" from the album of the same name.

As an actor, he debuted in Mario Van Peebles's 1993 western Posse, and appeared in Robert Townsend's 1993 film The Meteor Man. He also posed for Playgirl and Madonna's book Sex during the 1990s.

During the early 1990s, a then-unknown Jay-Z toured with Kane, and Kane helped him early in his career. Ice-T said: "I actually met Jay-Z with Kane. Kane brought Jay-Z over to my house."^([8]) Kane has said that Jay-Z "wasn't a hypeman, he basically made cameo appearances on stage. When I would leave the stage to go change outfits, I would bring out Jay-Z and Positive K and let them freestyle until I came back to the stage."^([9]) Jay-Z was also featured on Big Daddy Kane's track "Show & Prove" from Daddy's Home (1994) and in the video.^([10])

In 1996, Kane recorded with MC Hammer and Tupac Shakur on the song "Too Late Playa" (along with Danny Boy) originally meant for Hammer's unreleased album Too Tight, as well as recording with Shakur on the unreleased song "Wherever U R (Sho' Shot)".^([11]) He was said to be close to signing with Death Row East that year, but decided not to after Shakur was killed in September.^([12]) In 1997, Kane teamed up with Frankie Cutlass on his single "The Cypher Part 3" and some of Marley Marl Juice Crew veterans. In 1998, he released his final solo album to date, Veteranz' Day. It received mixed reviews and did not sell well, but Kane did not give up rapping.

In 2000, Big Daddy Kane appeared on Tony Touch's "The Piece Maker" mixtape alongside Kool G Rap and KRS-One. A rejuvenated Kane occasionally collaborated with a variety of hip-hop artists, including A Tribe Called Quest, Jurassic 5, Little Brother, and DJ Babu of the Beat Junkies. He released two singles, the Alchemist-produced "The Man, The Icon", and the DJ Premier-produced "Any Type of Way" (on which he discusses urban collapse in post-9/11 New York City ("Giuliani got New York lookin' like it's Amistad") and the erosion of the middle class.

Big Daddy Kane appeared on the trip hop group Morcheeba's 2003 single "What's Your Name".

In 2005, Big Daddy Kane was honored during the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. After a medley of hits performed by T.I., Black Thought, and Common, he came out to perform "Warm It Up, Kane" with his old dancers, Scoob and Scrap. Kane and Kool G Rap can both be seen briefly in Dave Chappelle's Block Party.

In 2006, he appeared as a guest MC on the track "Get Wild Off This", produced by the Stanton Warriors for their Stanton Sessions Vol. 2 breaks mix. He also appeared alongside the Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, Busta Rhymes, and Q-Tip in a segment of the 2006 Summer Jam concert (June 7, 2006), as part of an initiative by Busta Rhymes to honor the legacy of New York City hip-hop.

In 2007, a new track, "BK Mentality", was released on the mixtape compilation Official Joints. Kane also appeared on Joell Ortiz's The Brick: Bodega Chronicles mixtape.

Big Daddy Kane made a cameo in the 2008 video for "Game's Pain" by The Game. The video also featured Raekwon, Three 6 Mafia and Ice Cube. Kane also appeared on the remix of "Don't Touch Me" by Busta Rhymes. Also in 2009, Kane played the role of Clay in the film Just Another Day. The film follows two rappers, one poor and young, one older and successful, through a day in their lives.

Big Daddy Kane performing at Hip Hop Kemp in 2013

Big Daddy Kane appears on one track on MA Doom: Son of Yvonne—the collaboration between MF Doom and former Juice Crew member Masta Ace. As of 2013, Kane was recruited by New York City power group Lifted Crew and R&B singer Showtyme to form a band called "Las Supper". Its album Back to the Future was released on March 26, 2013.

On November 24, 2014, Big Daddy Kane discussed his upbringing, childhood influences, relationships, sexual experiences, and Madonna's 1992 book Sex in an interview on the Dr. Zoe Today show.^([13]) In 2016, he was featured on Tito Jackson's single "Get It Baby" and appeared in the documentary Hip-Hop Evolution.^([14])

In June 2020, Kane released the single "Enough", about police brutality.^([15]) In June 2026, he announced he was completing a new and final album, Curtain Call

An upcoming Snoop Dogg biopic is apparently coming. Michael Archer II aka Swayvo Twain has been cast to play Notorious B.I.G. He is an up-and-coming rapper.

The film which will be called, Snoop, is officially scheduled for a theatrical release for August 6, 2027. The film will be produced by Universal Pictures and Snoop's own Death Row Pictures.

There WERE Black artists being played on MTV in the early years. Not many. Yet, they were being played.

Here's the twist: there was criticism because most of the Black artists were not American. They were Caribbean or British.

This is the definitive list of Black music artists played on MTV BEFORE Michael Jackson (in approximate order of their first appearance on MTV): Grace Jones, Musical Youth, Eddy Grant, Donna Summer, Herbie Hancock, Tina Turner, and Prince.

Grace Jones is considered to be THE FIRST solo Black artist to be played on MTV. Her first video on MTV would have premiered around late 1981. Jones is not always recognized as she should be for how much of a pioneer she was in more ways than one.

Yet, she was not played in heavy rotation. The only ones who proceed her were a British band called The Specials that included Black members.

Here is the other twist...though there was Black artists already being played on MTV it was usually later in the day. They didn't get the peak hours.

The truth is that Michael wasn't played much either at first. It took about two months for his music to really take off at MTV.

His record label fought with MTV because they were displeased. Michael's promotion team went into overdrive. Billie Jean premiered on MTV in March 1983. He was heavily promoted until "Billie Jean" video finally started to climb up the charts.

Once Michael became the huge star with the sales of the Thriller album the media switched up a bit on the truth. It sounded better to say Michael Jackson was the first Black artist played on MTV. Major media institutions and online sites still spread this misinformation.

The truth: he was NOT the first Black artist played on MTV, but he was the first played in *heavy rotation*. This is the distinction.

As iconic as Michael became - facts do matter- and it does matter to tell the full story. His own PR team admitted they 'fudged' the truth for promotional purposes. It just sounded better to say he was 'the first' and it caught on. The people who were around at the time knew the truth, but they were hoping to plant the seeds early on so future generations would not know the truth.

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The truth still matters and the real story is way more fascinating. It's interesting because of the list of people who were already being played even though they were not played often. It shows that there was always talent. I think sometimes there is a misconception that there was no Black talent before Michael came along (as an adult solo artist). This is not true at all. There was always plenty of very talented Black artists - they just didn't have the proper mediums to showcase their talent.

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What happened in the early days for Black artists on MTV:

Herbie Hancock was still mostly known for being a jazz artist. He was also not even IN his first video on MTV so if you didn't know who he was, you wouldn't know he was Black. Yes, this was 'convenient'.

Donna Summer was very popular but she was also 'disco' and disco was about to start fading away.

Tina Turner was still new at trying to get the attention of the younger audience who watched MTV.

Prince was still so new and figuring out how to utilize the new medium.

The other artists were not American and the rules for them were a bit different. Most of their music were more reggae-inspired.

However, no one can deny Michael WAS the first to be heavily promoted enough for people to really care that Black American artists MATTERED, could become mainstream, and appeal to those beyond the R&B/disco audience.

MTV vs BET for Black artists

BET (Black Entertainment Television). BET was launched in January 1980 but wasn't a full-time channel until 1982. This means there were no music videos (as we think of them now) being played until a bit later. Also, BET didn't just cater to specific Black artists and definitely not only ones that were British or Caribbean.

This is why BET was important and necessary.

There was SO many more Black artists out there that just wasn't getting the same media attention. BET created a level playing field that hadn't existed before for ALL Black artists whether you were a gospel artist, jazz musician or a rapper.

Therefore, though BET launched first - they didn't start playing music videos until after MTV did. It's hard to know what the first video that was played on BET was but research says it was Prince's When Doves Cry in 1984.

This is more of the story of how politics and money and public relations and record companies have the final say on who gets their music out and HOW they promote certain Black artists. It's not to tear down anyone or change your opinion of any specific musical artist.

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EDIT: I want to give a shout out to The Bus Boys (thank you u/Marty-G70 for including the name I couldn't figure out). The Bus Boys were the first Black American group that had a video on MTV. They are often overlooked. They were the first Black group (and they were American) and then after that it was Musical Youth.

Annette Leslie Jones is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She was a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2014 to 2019, and hosted the ABC game show Supermarket Sweep. She has also been a featured performer at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and the Aspen Comedy Festival. In 2010, her one-hour comedy special, Problem Child, was broadcast on Showtime. Jones starred in Ghostbusters (2016) as Patty Tolan. In 2017 and 2018, Jones was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Saturday Night Live.

Notable work
Former Saturday Night Live cast member and writer
Ghostbusters(2016)
Coming 2 America(2021)
Good Burger 2(2023)

She is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress. She began her career as a dancer in the 1980s, and was a choreographer for Whitney Houston's world tours from 1988 to 1992.

During the 1990s, Alexander appeared in a number of films, including CB4(1993), What's Love Got to Do with It(1993), Sugar Hill (1994), and There's Something About Mary (1998). She starred as Catherine Duke in the NBCsitcom NewsRadio from 1995 to 1998. She also had a major recurring role in the NBC medical drama ER (1995–2001) as Jackie Robbins, sister to Dr. Peter Benton. Alexander also received critical acclaim for her leading performance in the HBO miniseries The Corner in 2000.

From 2002 to 2009, Alexander starred as Dr. Alexx Woods in the CBS police procedural series CSI: Miami. From 2010 to 2013, she starred as LaDonna Batiste-Williams in the HBO drama Treme.[2] Later in 2013, she joined the cast of the ABC drama Scandal as Maya Lewis, Olivia Pope's mother, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Awardnomination in 2015. Alexander also received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for playing Bessie Smith's sister Viola in the 2015 HBO film Bessie.

Taral is Gorgeous at 51.

She was in A Bronx Tale, Subway Stories,Belly, The Salon, and several other films.

India.Arie blew up on the scene with a song people weren’t prepared for. It was a song called “Video”. It was 2001.

She was essentially saying….”I don’t look like certain other women but I love myself!” She let dark skin women with natural hair know their value.

It was a much needed anthem.

This is what she became known for. Messages of empowerment.❤️

Her single from the first album Acoustic Soul earned her four Grammy nominations in 2002 including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

She may not have consistently had the same commercial success as others, but she has been very consistent in her core messages about loving who you are AS you are ☀️and Black love. 🖤💕

Her notable songs are:

Video
I Am Not My Hair 💇🏾‍♀️
Heart of the Matter
Yellow 💛
Brown Skin 🤎
Steady Love
The Truth
Crazy
Ready for Love
I Am Light 💡
Private Party
Little Things
Good morning 🌞
Strength, Courage, and Wisdom

All of her albums:

Acoustic Soul (2001)
Voyage to India (2002)
Testimony: Volume 1: Life & Relationship (2006)
Testimony: Volume 2: Love & Politics (2009)
SongVersation (2013)
Worthy (2019)

Dear White People was a satire about the experiences of Black students at a fictional, predominantly white Ivy League institution called Winchester University.

If you watched the series on Netflix when the 4 seasons originally were released between 2017-2021, do you think the themes are still relevant in 2026?

What were your overall thoughts on the series?

Was it what you expected?

What have you thought of the careers of these ladies?

Kaepernick’s new memoir, The Perilous Fight, will not be available at Target when it is released Sept. 15. Kaepernick continues to stand with the Black community to hold Target accountable by boycotting them.

The store had also previously pulled children’s books about him because of his controversial activism.