FELA! A Fitting Close To Black History Month Fox Theatre – Atlanta, GA, USA By Stefanie Newell I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the musical Fela! starring Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams. The musical based on the life of late Nigerian music pioneer Fela Kuti is a three time Tony Award winning play produced [...]

      BET Hip Hop Awards: Game On   Atlanta Civic Center – Atlanta, GA, USA By Stefanie Newell The third annual BET Hip Hop Awards took place at the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The show aired on Thursday, October 23rd and was hosted by singer T-Pain. The original host, comedian Katt [...]

The 7th Annual Hoodie Awards MGM’s Mandalay Bay – Las Vegas, NV, USA By Stefanie Newell  Fans of the Steve Harvey morning show converged on Las Vegas for the 7th annual Hoodie Awards. The awards took place at MGM’s Mandalay Bay and is the brainchild of Steve Harvey and television/radio producer Rushion McDonald. The award [...]

The New Jack Swing Tour By Stefanie Newell I had a ball last night at the Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana. It was the New Jack Swing Tour and all the heavyweights from the New Jack Swing era were there. After 7 had an incredible performance, their live vocals were even better than their recorded [...]

Phunk Phenomenon – Brian White Family Stone By Stefanie Newell Coming to theatres November 11th is The Family Stone starring one of UnRated Magazine’s favorites Brian White, alongside an ensemble cast of acting heavyweights. Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, and Sarah Jessica Parker star in The Family Stone described as a comic story about the [...]

BET Hip Hop Awards 2006 – Welcome to Atlanta! By Stefanie Newell The first ever BET Hip-Hop Awards took place at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA this past weekend. The show is set to air on Wednesday, November 15th and was hosted by comedian Katt Williams. The Hip Hop stars had ATL on [...]

Drew Sidora : Chi-Town Princess A very special interview with Chicago’s very own Drew Sidora Originally published in 2006 By Stefanie Newell Photos by Adam Bielawski Drew Sidora anyone? You might have heard the name. If you haven’t you will! Drew Sidora is an emerging Chicago R&B singer gaining fans alike with her vocal prowess and dancing [...]

Johnta Austin by Stefanie Newell Originally published in 2006. Jermaine Dupri was in Chicago at Joe’s Sports Bar on August 8th , showcasing the talents of his new artist Johnta Austin. Johnta will soon be releasing his debut single “Turn It Up” on Jermaine’s SoSo Def/Virgin debut “Ocean Drive”. Johnta like many of the newer [...]

Interview with Jimmie Reign by Stefanie Newell In an industry that’s saturated with female singers, there may be a few that stand out from the crowd and gains notoriety. One such person who is gaining fans alike is singer/songwriter Jimmie Reign who hails from the Bay area that has brought us such famed rappers as [...]

The Tate Bros. Foundation, NFP A Celebrity Weekend of Fun By Stefanie Newell The Tate Bros. Foundation, NFP is having their annual charity event to raise awareness of Sickle Cell this Labor Day (Sept. 3rd) here in Chicago. The foundation, which has been in existence since 2000, was created to assist and provide funds for [...]

Jodeci: Interview by Stefanie Newell By Stefanie Newell Article originally published in 2005 The 1990′s garnered many R&B groups. During an era dominated by New Jack Swing, Jodeci married R&B soul and Hip Hop to create a sound that is timeless even till this day. “Forever My Lady,” Jodeci’s first album introduced us to two [...]

Anger Management Tour 2005 July 11, 2005 – Tweeter Center Chicago – Tinley Park, IL - Eminem, 50 Cent, and Lil Jon By Stefanie Newell Photos by Adam Bielawski For those of you in need of rehab, the Anger Management Tour has stormed Chicago only to cure all you anger heads of your anger management issues. [...]