G-Magazine Now

Tina Knowles Finally Divorces Matthew

Outside of Beyonce and Jay-Z and Will and Jada [Smith], Matthew and Tina Knowles, also known as the parents of singers Beyonce and Solange, have been the golden couple in urban music.  As the people who managed Beyonce's career to astronomical heights, this couple seemed like an unbreakable team...until now.  The couple, who has been married for 29 years, will be headed to divorce with more than $100 million at stake.

Check out this online court document below, courtesy of Bossip.com.  Tina filed for divorce in November.  To many insiders, this comes as no surprise since their joint sightings have been far fewer in the past couple years due to allegations of Matthews' philandering ways and use of drugs.

 

Whether their divorce becomes finalized or postponed, the Knowles' family will most likely continue their success as a unit.

Will Smith's Son Trains To Be A "Karate Kid"

Learning the moves of a true martial arts fighter, Will Smith's youngest son Jaden Smith is proving he has what it takes when he stars opposite Jackie Chan in a remake of the 1984 classic, The Karate Kid, due in theaters June 11.

"I trained every day for four months with Master Wu [the film's fight coordinator]," Jaden, 11, shares as he takes on his first leading role as an American boy named Dre Parker who moves to China. "We did a lot of stretching."

Jaden mastered front kicks and upper blocks through his hard work ethic and dedication, says Chan, 55, who plays maintenance man Mr. Han – an unlikely friend to Jaden's character. "He took the training very seriously. I was very impressed with him," he adds.

It seems like the Pinkett-Smith family will be the first Hollywood dynasty of African-Americans.

Jay-Z, Will & Jada Pinkett-Smith Invest Money On 'Fela!'

 

by Monica Herrera | Billboard magazine

Jay-Z, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have officially signed on as co-producers of Fela!, a new musical about Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti opening November 23 on Broadway. The news confirms weeks of speculation that the three would back the show.

 
Although a rep for Fela! did not say how large of an investment the celebrities are making, their endorsement alone gives Fela!'s profile a significant boost just a week before its premiere. "There's going to be an enormous incentive for people to investigate Fela when they know that Jay-Z and Will Smith are all rabid fans," Rikki Stein, Kuti's former co-manager and the executor of his estate, recently told Billboard. "It's a sign that the underground is moving overground."
 
Fela! will help find a larger audience for Kuti, who pioneered Afrobeat from the sounds of James Brown and West African high-life music, became a political icon in his native Nigeria and earned the admiration of everyone from Paul McCartney to the Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil before dying in 1997. Stein plans to capitalize on this exposure to cement his legacy as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
 
"I have an abiding regret that Fela never achieved the recognition he deserved during his lifetime," Stein says. "We have a long row to hoe in terms of general knowledge and acceptance."
 
In addition to greenlighting Fela!, Kuti's estate has licensed his catalog to the newly revived Knitting Factory Records. The well-timed deal will result in the reissue of Kuti's complete catalog -- 45 albums -- during the next 12 years.
 
"The industry always talks about who the next big legacy artist will be," says Ian Wheeler, label manager of Knitting Factory Records. "It should have been Fela years ago. We're really trying to bring a new audience around the world, and particularly in the U.S., to his music."
 
Up first is the October 27 release The Best of the Black President, a compilation of Kuti's best-known material. The set is being sold at previews of Fela! and at Felabrations, a series of Afrobeat DJ parties organized by Knitting Factory Records and its marketing partner, Giant Step.
 
"We're a conduit for raising awareness of Afrobeat," says DJ Rich Medina, who founded the Kuti tribute party Jump N' Funk in 2001 and headlined four of 18 Felabrations nationwide. "It's a way of helping the cause."
 
"The first thing we're doing is galvanizing the core base of Fela fans," Giant Step founder/CEO Maurice Bernstein says, "then using the messaging to make him relevant in a universal way. You can live in Detroit and understand what [the famous Kuti saying] 'Music is the weapon' means, just like you would Bob Marley's 'One Love' or Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On?' "
 
The first batch of reissues, to be distributed by Sony RED, arrive February 2, 2010: The '69 Los Angeles Sessions, Live With Ginger Baker, London Scene/Shakara, Rodoforofo Fight, Open & Close/Afrodisiac and Gentleman/Confusion. It's not only the first time Kuti's early London recordings with Koola Loobitos will be reissued but also the debut of his catalog on vinyl, which Knitting Factory hopes will attract a new generation of music collectors who listen to African-influenced bands like Vampire Weekend.
 
"Every day there are traces of new people discovering Fela's music," Wheeler says. "But there has never been a swell of activity around him like this."