Month: January 2023

Following her beyond iconic baby reveal on SNL, loads of fans excitedly became unofficial aunties to Keke Palmer’s incoming bundle of joy. Now, we can collectively swoon over the carousel post Palmer’s boyfriend Darius Daulton Jackson posted to Instagram, featuring a sweet ultrasound photo of their baby.

“To 2022, thank you for giving me a family,” Daulton captioned the Instagram post, which also included photos of the happy couple sharing a smooch on the beach. Palmer even shared a celebratory year-end Instagram post of her own, showing the very pregnant 29-year-old resting surrounded by nature. “This baby moving thing is weirdddddd,” she said in the caption, referencing a selfie showing an uncomfortable look on her face. “Everything that’s going to come is already in motion. all i have to do is enjoy. be grateful and reap the benefits of those that came before me, all the sacrifices, all the prayers and all the power to be intentional and at EASE.”

Back in December, Palmer made her hosting debut on SNL–the perfect opportunity to make her big announcement. “There’s some rumors going around, people have been in my comments saying, ‘Keke’s having a baby, Keke’s pregnant,’ and I wanna set the record straight — I am!” she joyfully proclaimed, before flashing her growing bump. “I was trying so hard to keep it on the down-low ’cause I got a lot of stuff going on,” she went on. “You know, people kept coming up to me, ‘Congratulations,’ and I’m like, ‘Shh, can y’all stop? I got a liquor sponsorship on the line.’”

While no due date has been announced, we can safely bet on baby Palmer (or Jackson) arriving in 2023.

Vic Mensa (and his dad) are bringing clear water to their homeland.

Born Victor Kwesi Mensah, the Chicago-made rapper and creative remembers his roots, capitalizing on his success and resources to bring a better quality of life for his fellow Ghanaians through access to clean water. Mensa visited his ancestral village alongside his father who was born in Ghana and heads a non-profit called Let Them Drink Water, and bore witness to the community’s severe water contamination issue. The pair decided to develop a solution, by building a new Borehole — a manual pump which provide clean water, but are unfortunately rare across Africa. After one successful borehole that brought access to water for hundreds of thousands, Mensa decided to build two more in nearby villages.

“We’re building 3 Boreholes in different communities in Ghana to provide clean drinking water; the first being the Asokore Zongo in Koforidua where my family lives, which is already built. The other locations are a nearby community called Efiduase and then our ancestral village in the Volta Region Amedzope,” Mensa said in a statement. “Most people in communities like this in Ghana experience constant water borne diseases.”

To help fund the boreholes that can cost up to $15,000 each to build, Mensa partnered with the Black Star Line Festival taking place in Accra Ghana on Jan. 6. The festival will feature performances from Mensa, Chance the Rapper, Erykah Badu, T-Pain, Jeremih, Sarkodie, Tobe Nwigwe, Asakaa Boys and M.anifest. “This festival is about connecting Black people of the globe,” he told TMZ in an interview. “Beyond all of those colonial boundaries. It’s something that has been on my mind for a long time.”

Following his death in May at age 24, YSL rapper Lil Keed’s cause of death was revealed to have stemmed from eosinophilia, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner.

Eosinophilia is a rare condition in which the number of eosinophils — a type of white blood cell — is greatly increased, according to cancer.gov. TMZ reported that Lil Keed complained to friends about stomach pains in the days preceding his death. He was eventually hospitalized one evening due to the severe pain, with reports that his liver and kidney began to fail, suffering a seizure on his way to the hospital. Hours later, the budding rapper died.

“He had been sick in bed for 4 days with complaints of stomach and back pains,” the coroner’s report reads, per People. “His brother noted that the decedent’s eyes were jaundiced and drove him to the hospital in a private vehicle.”

The Atlanta-born rapper was one of seven children and brother to fellow rapper LilGotit, who took to Instagram following Keed’s death in the spring. “Can’t believe I seened u die today bro I did all my cries I know what u want me to do and that’s go hard for Mama Daddy Our Brothers Naychur and Whiteboy,” Gotit wrote in a post alongside a photo of the siblings.

Keed’s family has yet to comment publicly on the reported cause of death.

Keed signed to Young Thug’s YSL, an imprint of 300 Entertainment, in 2018. The rapper released two projects on the label, including his song “Nameless,” which peaked at No. 42 on Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Keed’s critically acclaimed 2019 debut album Long Live Mexico peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard 200. He was also featured on Young Thug’s Slime Language 2 album, which topped the Billboard 200 in 2021.

May 2022 was a tragic month for the YSL crew, with the arrests of Young Thug and rapper Gunna coming just days before Keed’s death. Keed himself was not among those named in the indictment.

Alba Egan, the genial public and talent relations executive who was instrumental in boosting the careers of Chayanne, Ricky Martin and Juan Gabriel, among many others, has died after a long struggle with kidney disease. Egan passed away at her Miami home on Sunday evening (Jan. 1).  She was 69.

A no-nonsense but cheerful woman, Egan — widely known as Albita — was easily identifiable by her signature bright red hair (which would later turn gray) as she helped some of Latin music’s biggest stars navigate the media. As one of the first women to head press and publicity divisions at major labels, Egan worked at BMG Latin, Sony Discos and EMI Latin in Miami, coordinating campaigns for artists ranging from Ricardo Montaner to Shakira. Egan, who was born in Cuba and immigrated to the U.S. as a child, at one point managed the career of beloved Mexican icon Gabriel, with whom she remained close until his death in 2016.

Many of Latin music’s most prominent publicists credit Egan with having opened major doors for them in their profession.

“She was one of the most beloved people in the music industry,” says publicist Marlene Maseda, founder and COO of Fusion 4 Media. “She was a pioneer who, with her originality and creativity, climbed to the peak of her profession in every label she worked with […] As a professional, she was one of the few who always helped others and who was genuinely happy for others’ success.”

Egan’s Facebook page was flooded with homage posts and anecdotes from people from all walks of the industry.

“She was a mentor to me and it surprised me to see that she was a mentor to so many,” wrote Nevarez Communications founder Mayna Nevarez, whose client list includes Daddy Yankee, recalling that Egan would often call to give her pointers after seeing her clients in the media.

“You always had the perfect word of advice, and sometimes, the perfect word to calm one down. I take your advice very deeply with me,” wrote Nini Veras, who reps Nicky Jam, among others.

“Elegant,” “generous,” “respect” and “loyalty” are the words that recur again and again in the many posts on Egan’s page.

“You were an icon in the music industry loved and respected by many…You always had a way with words and were giving out constant encouragement and kind compliments to your friends,” wrote Angela Rodríguez, founder of AR Entertainment.

Egan’s last job in the industry was as a talent booker at TV network America TV, closing an extraordinary professional arc that began in the 1980s and that covered multiple generations of artists and executives.

“We met in this amazing music industry world at the end of the 1980s, and since then, we were colleagues and competition, but always friends,” wrote Alvaro Rizo, the former president of EMI Colombia. “You only ever spoke sweet words and generous comments, and always, that broad smile.”

Egan’s funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days.

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Lizzo brought her Special tour to the comfort of her fans’ homes on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31), when Lizzo: Live in Concert hit HBO Max.

The Sam Wrench-directed show, which was filmed in November 2022 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., features special guests like Cardi B, Missy Elliot and SZA. To celebrate the moment when SZA appeared onstage to perform a remix of “Special,” Lizzo took to Instagram to honor their friendship.

“My actual sister. I could cry thinking about you right now. Nothing could make special more special than you @sza [red heart emoji],” Lizzo captioned a clip from the performance, in which the two are seen in a loving embrace. “A gift to the world,” SZA tells her Grammy winning bestie onstage. “Thanks so much for even being my friend. I love you. You’re special.”

Watch the full performance, as well as the rest of the show, in Lizzo: Live in Concert on HBO Max, which you can sign up for here. HBO Max has expanded to two subscription tiers: ad-supported and commercial free. HBO Max’s paid subscriptions start at $9.99 ($99.99 a year) for ad-supported streaming, or $14.99 ($99.99 a year) to watch ad free.