An industry veteran with over 30 years in Hollywood, Salli has been featured in over 20 major motion pictures and starred opposite a number of Hollywood’s top actors, including Samuel L. Jackson in The Great White Hype, Denzel Washington in Antwone Fisher, and Will Smith in I Am Legend. She recently directed several episodes of OWN’s hit show “Queen Sugar,” starring her husband Dondre, and can currently be seen in the Freeform show “Stitchers.”

 

Other honorees included Ozzie & Will Areu (, president & Vice President of Tyler Perry Studios, actresses Tichina Arnold , Teyonah Parris  and Donna Lowry, veteran broadcast journalist and 20-year BWFN board member.

Additionally, four college students were awarded with scholarships during the luncheon. Danielle Boyd (New York University),  Atiara Brown (Atlanta Technical College), Sarah Griffin (Atlanta Technical College) and Ariel Jones (Louisiana State University) were among the honorees.

Side Note: I truly enjoyed spending the afternoon with the BWFN.  The media team was treated with royalty as  we were invited to sit and enjoy the luncheon and awards program.  Special thanks to Saptosa of 135th Street Agency for the special invite.

Click through the gallery for more pics of the red carpet with special guest Atlanta City Councilman Ceasar Mitchell, actress Terri Vaughn and more!

RobinLori: “What were some of the things you learned about your dad after the series that you didn’t know before?”

Lil Meech: “Wow, it was a lot.  I talk to my dad everyday… and we talk about all different sorts of things and he has always told me about his life and things that he’s been through in his life. When I got the role… it was different talks. Now it was the talks of him being 17, 16 years old… a little boy.  I had to go back to the little boy he was back in Detroit when him and his brother and sister was growing up in poverty.  He just wanted his story to be told.. portrayed correctly.  Like me and Randy use to talk all the time… him and Randy use to talk all the time and Randy perfectly wrote the words no better.  I feel like it couldn’t have been no better than him talking to my dad and my dad talking to me… talking to Di Vinci and the rest of the cast… i feel like we made it real and true. We all made it natural, we all came natural and we all were comfortable because we all tied into our real life to what the story was about.” 

“My dad was just so proud. Even though he can’t see anything right now he’ proud that we got his story across.  That’s good enough for him… he don’t even have to see it. He already knows just from us telling him and us staying good about it… he know what we did was right. So I believe he’s gonna be so happy with the outcome and what everybody did.  Everything was amazing… the whole cast, the crew… down to the PAs and just everybody did their job.”

Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory, Jr., is an American actor who was born on April 22, 2000 in Miami, Florida. He is the only son of Demetrious Flenory, Sr., “Big Meech” from Detroit, Michigan. He attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas from 2018-2019. A natural born entertainer, Demetrius soon turned to acting and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career. After years of working with private acting coaches honing his craft, he landed his first big role as the lead character on the STARZ Lionsgate series, “BMF,” where he portrays his father Big Meech.

“Playing this role “Is a dream come true for me.” – LIL MEECH

PLOT:

“BMF” is inspired by the true story of two brothers who rose from the decaying streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980s and gave birth to one of the most influential crime families in this country. Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory’s charismatic leadership, Terry “Southwest T” Flenory’s business acumen and the fraternal partnership’s vision beyond the drug trade and into the world of hip-hop would render the brothers iconic on a global level. Their unwavering belief in family loyalty would be the cornerstone of their partnership and the crux of their eventual estrangement. This is a story about love, kinship and capitalism in the pursuit of the American dream.

Executive Producer: Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson

Showrunner, Executive Producer & Writer Randy Huggins

Tasha Smith is set to direct multiple episodes and executive produce.

Terri Kopp, Anthony Wilson and Anne Clements also serve as executive producers on the series.

“BMF” is produced through Jackson’s G-Unit Film and Television in association with Lionsgate Television for STARZ.

BMF premieres September 26th on STARZ and internationally on STARZPLAY

Join the conversation with #BMFStarz and #STARZ

 

 

Now check him out in this classic video with gospel legend Tremaine Hawkins!  Sang Stevie!!

 

And then THIS happened… my sister met one her favorite GLEEbies… AMBER RILEY!!  Amber did an amazing retention of “Total Praise” with an impromptu choir as some of the guest joined together to make MAGIC!!  Unfortunately, I missed it.  UGH!!  I had to step out for a few minutes…  but guess what?!??!  We still have it!! Witness all the love shared for the art of “good ole gospel music”.

Fe was so tickled with her selfie 

 

Sending a huge shout out to my twin for holding it down for me and snapping these awesome iPhone pics of Stevie, my delicious plate filled with fried fish, chicken & waffles & hot sauce (LOL). Special thanks to Allied for the gospel brunch invite.  It was the perfect event on a perfect Palm Sunday. 

 

Here’s a few “celebrities in attendance” pics by Arnold Turner/Allied Moxy

 

 

 

From executive producers Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Marc Platt, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron comes NBC’s next live musical spectacular, the groundbreaking rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” starring John Legend, Alice Cooper and Sara Bareilles.

Story:

Set during the final week of Jesus’ life, the story is told from the perspective of infamous betrayer Judas Iscariot. As more and more followers flock to Jesus, Judas grows concerned that Jesus is becoming arrogant and losing sight of his principles. So when Jesus attacks the money changers in a temple, Judas finally turns on his teacher, setting both on a path to tragedy. Originally conceived as a concept album that hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, the show eventually made its way to the stage in 1971 and garnered five Tony nominations in addition to winning a Drama Desk Award for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Now this globally celebrated classic comes to NBC in 2018 for a one-of-a-kind live staging on Easter Sunday that’s sure to amaze with jaw-dropping spectacle and an all-star cast of beloved recording artists.

Take a FIRST LOOK and be sure to tune in April 1st Easter Sunday!