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[…] taking action toward newfound revelations. This is the very thing that New Orleans-born and Oakland-raised singer Ledisi has implemented in her honorable tribute album for the legendary Nina Simone, entitled: “Ledisi Sings Nina.” This meticulously crafted seven-song project incorporates social and intimate elements from Simone’s previous work. “Ledisi Sings Nina,” an authentic collection, respectively encompasses […]

On Sunday May 29, 2016 at 7:00 pm, Elevated Places Arts will present Ozara Odé, Soul/Jazz Vocalist, in a tribute to Nina Simone. After sold out presentations in Atlanta and in Ozara’s hometown of Milwaukee, Elevated Places Arts will deliver their fourth installment of Ozara in The Key of Nina, a One-Woman Show depicting the […]

*Ever since the Nina Simone life story project was announced it’s been enshrouded in controversy. Chief of which is the casting of actress Zoe Saldana to play Simone. Well, also it’s no secret that the late, legendary singer’s daughter just downright hates Saldana as the choice to play her mother. Amid that testy background comes […]

*BET founder Robert L. Johnson, whose company RLJ Entertainment is distributing the Nina Simone biopic “Nina,” has released a statement defending Zoe Saldana after Simone’s estate tweeted their disapproval of her starring role. Below, the statement in its entirety: “Zoe Saldana delivers an exceptional and mesmerizing tribute to Nina Simone. She gave her heart and […]

*The Nina Simone estate and Sony are at it again. We’re talking business partners who just can ‘t seem to get along. It seems that 80 of Simone’s albums have been added to iTunes and other digital venues without authorization, according to court papers. Just when things seemed to be on the right track because […]

*Zoe Saldana has flipped-flopped over the years about race and her identity, and the Afro-Latina continues to defend herself against criticism against her Nina Simone role. Many objected to Saldana portraying Simone, arguing that the New York native was too light or not fully Black to portray the jazz legend. Simone’s transformation into Nina required […]

* Nina Simone’s childhood home in Tryon, North Carolina will be restored this spring courtesy of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The property was deemed a national treasure last year, and now, blavity.com reports that a group of New York-based artist-owners, Adam Pendleton, Rashid Johnson, Ellen Gallagher and Julie Mehretu, will spearhead  the project. […]

The late Nina Simone (left) will be played by Zoe Saldana (right) in ‘Nina’ *Ever since the Nina Simone biopic, “Nina,” was completed in 2013, folks have been waiting for a release date. Now we have an idea of when the film, with its controversial casting of Zoe Saldana, will see the light of day. […]

[…] by Patricia Arquette and Marc Benioff on February 25, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. *India.Arie has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the casting of Zoë Saldana as Nina Simone in the upcoming biographical film about her life. The 40-year-old, who portrayed Simone onscreen in a 2003 episode of “American Dreams,” has been vocal in her […]

[…] Simone?” Directed by Liz Garbus, the doc marks Netflix’s first commissioned original documentary. It will be released to the streaming service on June 26, and features interviews with Nina’s family, close friends and members of her band. The doc also features archival performance footage and never-before-seen interviews with the late singer. https://youtu.be/moOQXZxriKY The doc portrays an […]

Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone in “Nina” *The first trailer for Zoe Saldana‘s “Nina” has been released – just one day after the film’s official opening date of April 12 was announced. In the trailer, Saldana befriends Clifton Henderson (David Oyelowo), who becomes her manager and tries to keep the singer from drinking and smoking. He […]

[…] Netflix’s “What Happened, Miss Simone” Sundance world premiere with special performance by John Legend on January 22, 2015 in Park City Utah *Folks that caught the new Nina Simone documentary at the Sundance Film Festival were also treated to a post-film concert by Oscar nominee John Legend. After the credits rolled on “What Happened, Miss […]

*A documentary about Nina Simone deserves the movie theater experience – and luckily, that option will be available when the film premieres on Netflix this summer. As previously reported, the streaming service will offer “What Happened, Miss Simone?” beginning June 26. According to Billboard, the film will now open in theaters as well. Liz Garbus’ documentary, which includes previously […]

*After two years of lingering in limbo, the controversial Nina Simone film starring Zoe Saldana and David Oyelowo will be released in theaters, VOD and Digital HD on April 22, 2016. There is no trailer yet, but the first official post has been released and it has reignited the Twitterverse outrage over bi-racial Saldana being […]

[…] Wilson (L) and Valerie Simpson *Charlie Wilson, Valerie Simpson and Vernon Reid perform “Dance to the Music” in a tribute to Sly Stone, and Andra Day salutes Nina Simone with a performance of “Mississippi Goddam” as part of PBS’ “GRAMMY Salute to Music Legends 2017,” the second annual all-star concert spotlighting the Academy’s 2017 Special […]