Sanaa Lathan may be currently winning over fans left and right with her FOX crime drama, ‘Shots Fired,’ but that hasn’t stopped the actress from continuing to add notches to her extensive movie resume.  The newest entry will come via ‘American Assassin’ – a film adaptation of author Vince Flynn‘s bestseller of the same name.

Directed by Michael Cuesta and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Nick Wechsler, the film:

“…follows the rise of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) intent on starting a World War in the Middle East.” [source]

Get into its explosive trailer inside:

(more…)

Even a year after his untimely death, fans continue to give Prince a royal sendoff, reports indicate.

The legendary singer/songwriter, who passed away on April 21, 2016, not only set a number of sales records the week after his death, but even more well into the year.  In fact, Nielsen Music now reports 8-time Grammy winner sold more albums in 2016 than any other artist (including the previously purported top-seller Adele).

Details inside:

(more…)

Frank Ocean is in a giving mood.

Continuing the stream of fresh music, the eclectic singer debuted new song ‘Lens’ this weekend during his Blonded 004 Beats 1 series on Apple Music.

It follows the crooner’s premiere of new numbers ‘Chanel’ and ‘Biking,’ both of which arrive after the release of recent projects ‘Endless’ and ‘Blonde.’

What are you waiting for? Listen to new Frank below…

And as if that wasn’t enough, another version of the track featuring Travis Scott was unwrapped too…

*****************

Credit to Ocean for not disappearing after the polarizing response to his recent album.

As for this tracks, the autotune does grate a little in the first but the Scott assisted version will be garnering ample replays here at TGJ.

Sonically soothing, it reminds of what we’ve come to know and love from Frank.

Sure we’d have much preferred he tied all this solid material together into an LP, rather than the uneventful effort he turned in last year. But, new music is new music and we’re not complaining. At all.

Your thoughts?

From The Vault honors Pop Queen Janet Jackson this week again. Today’s pick is her 2001 record-breaking comeback effort, ‘All For You.’

The title-track of Janet’s seventh studio album, ‘All For You’ is yet another Jackson/Jam/Lewis creation. Based on a sample of Change’s ‘Glow Of Love’ and chosen as the album’s first single, it was significantly more upbeat and colorful than what could be found on the trio’s previous effort ‘The Velvet Rope’.

Back in 2001, the single made history in the US for being the first song to be added to every Pop, Rhythmic and Urban format within its first week of release. It was to the point that MTV even dubbed Janet “The Queen Of Radio”… which if you know your Janet History is quite ironic.

It spent 7 weeks atop of the Billboard Hot 100, hit #1 in Canada and reached the Top 5 in the UK, France and Australia among many other countries.

If ‘All For You’ was such a home-run, it had a lot to do with its Dave Meyers-directed video. A noticeably slimmer Jackson can be seen dancing around a two-dimensional Los Angeles after spotting a cutie on the subway.

The visual was nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards including Best Choreography and Video Of The Year.

[Sidenote : how epic is THAT dance-break?]

The ‘All For You’ era saw Janet celebrating single life after being married for over a decade … and subtly dragging her ex along the way.

With the superstar currently going through her third divorce, we’re clearly not the only ones wondering if a new music project will document the falling out of her marriage and give us insight on her new life as a single mother.

After all, there are so many chapters that haven’t been told yet, and we know the world is eager to hear them.

Your thoughts?

Cop a gander of Kelly Rowland!

The R&B chanteuse looks lush a-front of The Sun Herald’s Sunday Life Magazine.

Ms. Kelly covers the publication in promotion of her stint on The Voice Australia, on which she’s serving as a coach.

Talking to interviewer Cosima Marriner about her life goals, the 36-year-old said:

“I want to be a great wife, I want to be a great mother, but I want to be a great me to myself.”

The feature arrives following confirmation from Rowland that her fifth studio album will be hitting stores this year.

Peep more pics below…

Your thoughts?

Yet again Kendrick Lamar gives his fans and competitors another reason to say “damn.”

The Grammy-winning rapper, whose latest album, ‘Damn,’ was released on April 14th, was projected to top the Billboard 200 with an impressive 485,000 units moved.  If the prediction remained true it would give his set the honor of being in second place for the year’s best first week sales (second to Drake‘s ‘More Life’).

But, in a turn of events expected by everyone, ‘Damn’ exceeded expectations by a handsome sum near the end of its first full tracking week, .  The new figure not only ensured K.Dot’s third tenancy of the #1 spot on album charts, but now places Drake behind him on the “year’s best first week sales” tally.

More inside:

(more…)

Joseline Hernandez, the star of the well-produced Reality TV drama ‘Love & Hip Hop Atlanta’ painted the city of Atlanta into her playground hours ago when she celebrated her birthday with a grand party.

Joined by her common law husband Stevie J, the Puerto-Rican influencer threw the event at Buckhead‘s Gold Room and celebrated with guests as she continues to pull in stellar ratings from the aforementioned ‘Atlanta’ with the help of newcomers Jessica Dime and the mononymous Tommie.

Your thoughts?

Guess which entertainer stepped out and shared this snap of himself enjoying downtime with his girlfriend hours ago.

Hint: The Southern gentleman picks up a reported $1.9 million a year and, when he isn’t rocking stadiums with his unmatched skills, can be found rubbing shoulders with some of Pop’s more influential purveyors.

Still unsure?

Our mystery man’s identity below…

It’s Odell Beckham Jr!

The 24-year-old athlete made his way to Six Flags hours ago with his new love interest after enjoying all Coachella had to offer him last weekend!

Beckham plays for the New York Giants and was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Hit the play button on the video to learn more about him!

Who did you think it was?

Despite efforts to push pill-popping soul numbing party purveyors to the masses, the music industry continues to soar highest when it backs acts who offer real stories and substance.

Today, it is reminded of this fact with the news of Kendrick Lamar‘s first week sales with his new LP ‘DAMN‘.

With 610,000 units moved in its opening week, the set occupies the top spot on the Billboard 200 and outperforms the 505,000 units Drake moved with ‘More Life’ and breaks Ed Sheeran’s record for the best-selling first week of the year.

Where his numbers sit without streams?

362,000.

Your thoughts?

As reported, Beyonce enjoyed Easter with her family.

And now Queen Bey is inviting the masses into their celebration.

Fresh from hitting 100 million followers on Instagram, the superstar singer took to the platform to share a flipbook of pics from their fun-filled gathering.

Daughter Blue Ivy is seen playing with Kelly Rowland‘s son Titan Jewell, while Bey does the same with her bestie Kelly and mom Tina Knowles-Lawson.

Clearly keen to chronicle her pregnancy with twins, see more from the fierce ‘Formation’ singer below…

A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on

Too cute!

Your thoughts?

Guess which influencer shared this snap with the millions who follow his social media accounts this week?

Hint: The ladies man has close ties, familial and professional, to a number of Pop’s brightest stars.

These include Nicki Minaj, Diddy, Lil Kim, Biggie Smalls, Drake and the now defunct Danity Kane.

Think you know who our mystery athlete is?

It’s Justin Combs! Diddy’s first-born son!

A post shared by Justin Dior Combs (@princejdc) on

The promising athlete/social media influencer shared the snap above with his Instagram followers recently as he continues to serve as an ambassador for his father’s Circoc empire.

Who did you think it was?

Lil Mama‘s position as a multi-hyphenate star continues to see her soar above critics who made the mistake of writing her off.

This year, following her performance in the TLC biopic, she is to front the gripping Falicia Blakely Story.

The movie drops in September 2017 and sees TV One and Mama team up to tell the story of a teenage girl named Falicia trying to find safety in a dangerous world but finds herself caught in the web of dangerous predator.

Lies, betrayal, abuse and murder follow.

Joining her in the movie is Floyd Mayweather Jnr, Tami Roman, Lil Zane and ‘Formation‘ performer Big Freedia.

‘Shadow and Act’ adds:

The screenplay is executive produced and written by industry veteran Cas Sigers-Beedles, who previously wrote and executive produced the TV One movies Welcome to the Family and “Girlfriends Getaway” 1 &2.

Click here to learn more about Falicia’s story.

Your thoughts?

**