Juno Award

• BROOKHAVEN, Ga., Feb. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The City of Brookhaven is thrilled to announce music acts +Live+ and Barenaked Ladies as the concert headliners for the 2024 Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival, taking place Saturday and Sunday, March 23-24, at Blackburn Park, 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road in Brookhaven.
• “Once again the Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival proves why it’s one of the biggest concert events in the state,” says former Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst, who remains involved with the festival.
• The Brookhaven Cherry Blossom 5K will take place on Saturday, March 16.
• For more information about the Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival, visit BrookHavenGA.gov/Festival , and Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @BrookCherryFest.

• Abdul's spirit of compassion aligns perfectly with the Hollywood Christmas Parade, a cherished tradition that has been spreading holiday cheer and fostering community spirit for an incredible 91 years.
• As Grand Marshal, he will lead the parade in a grand procession of Hollywood celebrities, vintage movie cars, award-winning bands, larger-than-life character balloons, and vibrant floats.
• The Hollywood Christmas Parade, presented by Associated Television International in partnership with The City of Los Angeles, will air in primetime on The CW on December 15, 2023.
• After several national tours, Paula enjoyed her Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl Las Vegas residency in 2019.

• Some historians say hip-hop culture all started at a party one hot August night in the South Bronx in 1973.
• Soon hip-hop culture and rap music became a global phenomenon — leading to this year marking the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.

Social and political power of hip-hop

• Scholars of hip-hop and popular culture, such as Tricia Rose and Richard Iton, have highlighted the important social and political power of hip-hop.
• For example, Iton examines how through extra-political means, such as mass movements, uprisings and protests, Black people both today and historically have used popular culture and art to ignite calls for social and political change.

Connecting people, exposing issues

• Young people have been using hip-hop in their respective communities to shed light on important social issues and demand change.
• Youth all over the world are using hip-hop both as the means and the fuel to fight for social and political change.

Speaking up

• There are many Indigenous artists using rap music to engage in Indigenous resurgence as well as speak up about colonialism and racism.
• Their music video for “I Can’t Remember My Name,” intersperses footage of performers stripping off western suits and people in traditional regalia dancing.

Forging hybrid identities, outlets for stress

• In Toronto, several organizations offer after-school hip-hop programming in order to support young people in finding positive outlets for stress.
• For example, RISE Edutainment offers Black youth a community to use art as a way to understand systemic inequality.

A classic: ‘Jamaican Funk Canadian style’

To mark this momentous anniversary in hip-hop history, special events have been popping up including concerts and festivals. The Juno Awards 2023 celebrated this anniversary by showcasing some of the talented rappers north of the border including the first Canadian MC to sign an American record label, Michie Mee, playing her hit classic, “Jamaican Funk Canadian Style.”

Positively impacting young people

Over the last 50 years, hip-hop has been positively impacting young people who identify with its messaging and find comfort and solidarity in the community it creates. This culture has grown and spread over the last half-century and shows no signs of stopping. Hip-hop’s message of empowerment and the platform it provides to marginalized communities means we can expect another transformative 50 years ahead.

• KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Andrews McMeel Publishing (AMP) is pleased to announce the upcoming debut poetry release Words of a Goat Princess from Grammy-nominated and JUNO-award winning singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez.
• Words of a Goat Princess will be published in the US in October 2023.
• "We are thrilled to be publishing Words of a Goat Princess by Jessie Reyez," said Kirsty Melville, President and Publisher of Andrews McMeel Publishing.
• Jessie Reyez is a multi-platinum and award-winning recording artist, songwriter, and live performer who was born in Toronto, Canada to Colombian immigrants and raised between both worlds.