The Living Legends Foundation announces its 2023 Annual Awards Gala and dinner. This year’s event celebrates 50 years of hip-hop and will be held on Friday, October 6th at Taglyn Cultural Complex in Hollywood, California. The honorees this year include Walt “Baby” Love, syndicated air personality, Gospel Traxx, who will be presented with the Ray Harris Lifetime Achievement Award; Ed Lover, syndicated air personality of The Ed Lover Show with Monie Love, who will receive the Jerry Boulding Radio Award; Lionel Ridenour, founder and CEO of Anchor Promotions, will be presented with the Music Executive Award; Tracey Jordan, partner of Lazin/Jordan Productions, will receive the Mike Bernardo Female Executive Award; Rocky Bucano, executive director of the Universal Hip Hop Museum, will be presented with the Hip Hop Visionary Award; Nelson George, author and filmmaker, will receive the Media Icon Award; Vernon Brown, Esq., founder of V. Brown & Company, will be presented with the Entertainment Advocate Award; and Shanti Das, former music executive and founder of Silence The Shame, will receive the A.D. Washington Chairman’s Award.

David C. Linton, chairman of the Living Legends Foundation made a statement about the acknowledgment of hip-hop’s 50 years. 

“This year is particularly special because, in addition to our annual awards ceremony, we are also celebrating 50 years of hip-hop. We are the first generation of music executives to help break and recognize hip-hop as a global music art form. Most of our board and advisory members were responsible for signing many of today’s hip-hop legends and icons to recording contracts and record label imprint deals, ultimately creating the phenomenon known to the world as ‘hip-hop culture.’ Additionally, for the past three to four decades, many of our board members have guided the careers of these legends and icons via management, marketing, radio promotions, publicity, sales, and A&R.”  

Lady B, an on-air personality for  Classix 107.9 in Philadelphia had this to say: 

“I am honored to be a Dinner Chairperson for the Living Legends Foundation’s 2023 Awards Gala. As an original hip-hop pioneer with the distinction of having the first rap record recorded by a female, I appreciate that the foundation pays tribute to the people behind the scenes who worked tirelessly in all genres of Black music. I’m thrilled that we will be able to celebrate the career achievements of all of the honorees.”

The dinner and gala will be a time to honor hip-hop and the award recipients and also to raise money for the foundation. For more information about The Living Legends Foundation check out livinglegendsfoundation.com.

Alicia Keys’ original HELL’s KITCHEN musical is coming to the New York Public Theater in the fall. Keys wrote new music for the production based on her life in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in New York City. Playwright Kristoffer Diaz,  choreographer Camille A. Brown, director Michael Greif and musical supervisor Adam Blackstone all worked on the show. Seventeen-year-old Ali is the main character who is seeking her dream of stardom and falls in love with a drummer. Ali and her mother address issues of race and growing up in the chaos of New York City.

The cast of HELL’S KITCHEN will include Shoshana Bean (Jersey), Chad Carstarphen (Ray/Ensemble), Reid Clarke (Ensemble), Chloe Davis (Ensemble), Nico DeJesus (Ensemble), Brandon Victor Dixon (Davis), Timothy L. Edwards  (Ensemble), Badia Farha (Understudy), Vanessa Ferguson (Tiny/Ensemble), David A. Guzman (Ensemble), Crystal Monee Hall (Crystal/Ensemble), Gianna Harris (Understudy), Chris Lee (Knuck), Jackie Leon (Jessica/Ensemble), Kecia Lewis (Miss Liza Jane), Raechelle Manalo (Ensemble), Maleah Joi Moon (Ali), Onyxx Noel (Understudy), Sarah Parker (Ensemble), William Roberson (Understudy), Niki Saludez (Ensemble), Mariand Torres (Maria/Ensemble), Donna Vivino (Understudy), and Lamont Walker II (Riq).

HELL’s KITCHEN runs from October 24-December 10th. Public Theater Supporter Plus tickets go on sale June 13th and Public Theater Support tickets go on sale June 15th. Full-price single tickets will be available on July 18th. For more information check out publictheater.org.

Tyler, The Creator’s  Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival returns this year in November at Dodger Stadium. Advance passes go on sale today with the option of GA, VIP and Super VIP packages. The merchandise and levels of access include dedicated entry lanes, exclusive food and viewing areas, keychains, water bottles, shoes and a bike. All of the passes include carnival rides but games tickets are sold separately, It’s been four years since the last Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival and Tyler has released two albums, been on multiple tours, won a couple of Grammys and launched his GOLF le FLEUR line of merchandise.He released the deluxe edition of CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale earlier this year. The lineup for the carnival which takes place November 11th and 12th will be announced soon but the limited advanced passes are available at www.campfloggnaw.com. Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, Mac Miller, SZA, Solange, A$AP Rocky and Ms. Lauryn Hill are some of the artists who have performed at past carnivals. 

Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge’s Jazz Is Dead label is releasing a Tony Allen album. Allen, who passed in 2020, was the innovative drummer who helped Fela Kuti created the Afrobeat genre. Their work together added a new vocabulary to the world of rhythm. Younge and Muhammad were lucky enough to work with Allen on new music. Younge says, 

“First of all, to be able to work with somebody that helped pioneer the sound of a new genre, a genre that is kind of sort of an international style of funk, which is Afrobeat; it’s Black American music going back to it’s birthplace, Africa. Tony Allen represents that foundation. When I got the chance to work with this legend, I wanted to create an album that harkened back to the dawn of this music. This album focuses on early to mid-’70s African funk. I wanted to pull a lot of that out of Tony.”

Allen was always musically adventurous and it went beyond the creation of Afrobeat. When his days of working with Fela ended he continued to collaborate with various musicians. He shared his musical instincts with French pop stars Sebastien Tellier and Charlotte Gainsbourg on their famous “La Ritournelle” single and 5:55 album. Damon Albarn created the bands Rocket Juice and the Moon and The Good, the Bad and the Queen with Allen. Techno pioneer Jeff Mills worked with Allen on the Tomorrow Comes The Harvest EP. Detroit rapper Danny Brown and London rapper Skepta collaborated with Allen on the posthumous album There Is No End. 

The Jazz Is Dead album is another look inside Allen’s vision of rhythm with Muhammad and Younge’s energy in the studio. Tony Allen JID018 comes out on July 7th.