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A star-filled recap of the 2022 Grammys
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“REVOLT BLACK NEWS Weekly” aired on Friday (Apr. 8) to discuss former rapper Dr. Moses “Shyne” Barrow’s transformation from hip hop to politics, how the Biden administration is failing the Black community, why Black consumers should support Black businesses and highlights from the 2022 Grammy Awards ceremony.
Neima Abdulahi hosted the episode, titled “Biden’s $32 Billion Police Deal, Shyne – The Hip Hop Head of State, and Getting Black to Business.” She was joined by former rapper Hon. Dr. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, activist Hawk Newsome, CEO of The Black Upstart Kezia M. Williams and law student A.B. Burns-Tucker. REVOLT Entertainment Correspondent Kennedy Rue McCullough also caught up with Saweetie, Jordin Sparks, John Legend, MC Lyte, Lucky Daye and many more on the 2022 Grammy Awards red carpet.
Abdulahi opened the show by discussing the Biden administration’s $3.2 billion proposal to address issues surrounding law enforcement.
On Mar. 1, President Joe Biden gave a State of the Union Address and said, “The issue is not to defund the police, it’s to fund the police.” His remarks have drawn criticism and angered some members of the Black community. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) fired back at the president in a tweet that read, “All our country has done is given more funding to police. The result? 2021 set a record for fatal police shootings. Defund the police. Invest in our communities.”
A.B. Burns-Tucker, a student at Southwestern Law School, explained to REVOLT that, “Some people don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods and sometimes it’s because of the police. They’re afraid of being harassed by the police and being criminalized for one reason or another.”
Monteria Robinson also disclosed that she no longer feels safe after Atlanta police officers shot her son, 26-year-old son Jamarion, nearly 80 times on Aug. 5, 2016.
“I can’t sleep, but who could sleep after something like that? I feel like I’m in a nightmare, and I just want to wake up,” she expressed to “REVOLT BLACK NEWS Weekly.”
Political strategist Dontaye Carter added that President Biden has not followed through on some of the promises he made to the Black community while he was on the campaign trail in 2020. “Candidate Biden told us that Black lives matter. He told us that he was going to work in the best interest of Black Americans and he hasn’t,” Carter stated.
Activist Hawk Newsome told Abdulahi that President Biden has not abandoned the Black community because he “was never with us.”
“Black people were stupid enough to fall for it — the same political lies, the same shenanigans that democrats have used on us for so long. He actually implemented them again successfully, and now we just see ourselves being left behind. We fought really hard to defund the police and Joe Biden was all for it to get elected, but now he’s backtracking like a lot of other politicians,” he said.
Next, Abdulahi spoke with former rapper Moses “Shyne” Barrow about his journey from being a hip hop star to currently serving as the leader of the United Democratic Party in his native country Belize.
Shyne tells Abdulahi that he has his eyes set on becoming the Caribbean country’s next prime minister. “Me being the leader of the United Democratic Party puts me in the position for the next general elections to be the next prime minister of the country — once our political party wins 16 seats in the house of representatives,” he noted.
During the show he explained that his interest in activism began when he produced his first album.
“If you listen to the intro of ‘Dear America ,’ I was talking about all of the ills in society that impacted a young African-American or brown minority,” he said. “I always felt like equity was important, and I’ve always felt that everyone should have access to the dream of humanity and the dream of whatever society you’re apart of. So, my entire life I’ve been preparing for where I’m at right now, which is making an impact.”
Switching gears a bit, Abdulahi hosted a round table discussion spotlighting Black-owned businesses with three Black female entrepreneurs: Founder of the Village Market Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon, CEO of The Black Upstart Kezia M. Williams and entrepreneur Sevyn Buffins.
Hallmon said it is important that members of the Black community “shift” their way of thinking in order to help grow Black-owned corporations.
“It’s shifting our consciousness to not buying Black as a reaction but shifting our consciousness to the lifestyle. Find a Black-owned company that you can replace with things that you’re using every single day, and that’s how it becomes continuous and not just a reaction,” she explained.
Williams weighed in and said, “When we witnessed the public execution of individuals like George Floyd, people responded by buying Black. However, people were buying in response to a protest. The question becomes have we made buying Black habitual? Do we wake up every single day and ask ourselves when we need something or want something, ‘Can a Black-owned business provide that product or service?’” she asked.
Later in the show, REVOLT Entertainment Correspondent Kennedy Rue McCullough traveled to Las Vegas and captured moments from the 2022 Grammy Awards. She caught up with singer John Legend, MC Lyte, Jimmie Allen, Saweetie, Jordin Sparks, Lucky Daye and many more on the red carpet.
This year, John Legend was honored with the Global Impact Award during the Grammys’ Black Music Collective event. He told REVOLT, “I’m just happy that the Black Music Collective exists and that we can celebrate our music and our role in popular music.”
McCullough spoke with rapper Saweetie who was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rap Song for her collaboration with Doja Cat on “Best Friend.” Although the 28-year-old left the awards show empty-handed, she shared some words of encouragement with REVOLT’s viewers.
“Anyone who feels like giving up, if you’re working hard, just know that it’s going to pay off. Keep your prayers with God ‘cause God got you baby,” she insisted.
Watch a 2022 Grammy Awards clip up top. Plus, be sure to catch the next episode of “REVOLT BLACK NEWS Weekly” on Friday, April 15, 2022 at 5 p.m. ET on REVOLT’s app.