Songs, Movies & Moments: January 2022

A Look at Entertainment

by T.J. Moore –

Amid rumors about Letitia Wright’s status regarding the upcoming Black Panther sequel, new reports confirm that Wright will reprise her role as Shuri in the highly anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

According to The Hollywood Reporter’s “Heat Vision” newsletter, the follow-up to the Oscar-winning Black Panther will resume production in Atlanta this month. Production for this film was shut down after Wright sustained injuries while filming a stunt on set in Boston.

Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams recently released her first children’s book, Stacey’s Extraordinary Words. In the book, which is geared toward children ages 4-8, a young Stacey was entered in a spelling bee thanks to her teacher. While Stacey is excited to compete, she becomes nervous; she’s not thrilled to go against her opponent Jake, who is known to antagonize classmates. While preparing for the contest, Stacey goes from determined to doubtful, but ultimately she faces her fears and takes the stage.

Abrams isn’t new to writing books. The politician penned several romance novels under the pen name Selena Montgomery and also published two nonfiction books.

Rapper Saweetie has recently been snagged by MAC Cosmetics to be the face of its Challenge Accepted campaign to show that MAC’s products work just as hard to keep you looking flawless and fabulous.

“I’ve always been about my hustle, making goals and executing them,” Saweetie said in a press release.

“Being an icon to me is thinking outside the box and stepping outside of your comfort zone, so this campaign about being up for a challenge is right up my alley. I was so honored to partner with a legend like Cher and a brand I’ve always loved, like MAC. It was the perfect fit. MAC Lipgloss has always been my favorite go-to lipgloss—I’ve been using it for as long as I can remember. Cher’s regal energy is so contagious, so being alongside her in Challenge Accepted has been an unforgettable experience.”

Alongside Cher, Saweetie and MAC are calling for makeup lovers to put MAC’s high-quality products to the test in situations that are known to leave you with a ruined look. Using the hashtag #MACChallengeAccepted, upload photos in your best MAC look, showing that your look lasted regardless of how hot, cold, or sweaty things got.

Actress Tessa Thompson opened up recently about her desire for Black women to be more diversely represented in film and the Oscar buzz surrounding her role in the Netflix film Passing in her latest interview with Harper’s Baazaar.

Released on Netflix in October, Passing is a black-and-white film, based on a 1929 novel by Nelia Larson, in which Thompson stars in the lead role as Irene Redfield. The movie highlights the dynamics between race, identity, infidelity, domesticity, and repressed sexuality as Redfield and Clare Kendra (played by Ruth Negga), two biracial women, reunite in Harlem during the Renaissance.

“Lensing an experience like that, we’ve seen it time and time again in film iconography… and it’s always a white female protagonist,” Thompson said. “For me, with the choices that I make in my career, I always ask: ‘Where do we not get to be as Black women. I hope Passing makes more room to be able to look at the interior life of a Black woman for her own sake. We have not so far been afforded that much space for nuance and ambiguity.”