The 2018 Bounce Trumpet Awards were held on Saturday, January 20, 2018 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta. The prestigious annual event celebrating African-American achievements and contributions will air exclusively on Bounce on Sunday, February 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

larenz tate and erica ash host the 2018 trumpet awards

The evening’s festivities were hosted by actors Larenz Tate and Erica Ash as celebrities, notable and esteemed guests from far and wide gathered to honor the outstanding accomplishments of African Americans and those who have succeeded against great odds and inspired success in others.

Memorable moments and highlights of the event included:

• A rousing musical tribute to So So Def Recordings Founder and honoree Jermaine Dupri which included performances by Anthony Hamilton, Bow Wow, Xscape and a surprise appearance by Ludacristhat brought the house down. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms joined for the presentation.
• A crowd-pleasing tribute to honoree group Cameo featuring Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, Carl Thomas, Stokley Williams, Bilal and Mr. Talkboxx performing a medley of Cameo hits including “Single Life,” “Sparkle,” “She’s Strange,” “Rigor Mortis,” “Word Up!” and “Candy.” CeeLo Green presented the group their Lifetime Achievement Award and then joined in for the closing number.
• Thrilling performances by Arrested Development, Michel’le and Major.
• Estelle, V. Bozeman and We’ McDonald with a powerful rendition of “Conqueror” to open the show.
• Sir the Baptist performing “Heaven” joined by Keke Wyatt, Donald Lawrence and the Kevin Lemon & Higher Calling choir.
• Honoree Rhyon Brown lighting up the stage with an energetic performance of her hit single “After Party.”
• Angie Stone, Lamman Rucker, Omar Gooding and Angell Conwell appearing as presenters, and more.

The 2018 Honorees were: Jermaine Dupri, the GRAMMY® Award-winning record producer, songwriter, and hip-hop artist who received The Music Innovation Award; Founder of Sundial Brands and new owner of Essence Communications Richelieu Dennis recognized with The Entrepreneur Award; Activist and National Co-Chair of the Women’s March Tamika Mallory who received The Impact Award; 13-year old social activist and author behind the #1000BlackGirlBooks Marley Dias who was presented with The Trailblazer Award; Nuclear Engineer and Inventor Dr. Lonnie Johnson receiving The Innovator Award; Actress, singer and dancer Rhyon Brown who was given The Rising Star Award presented by McDonald’s and legendary American soul-influenced funk group Cameo being honored with The Lifetime Achievement Award.

Founded in 1992 by American Civil Rights leader Xernona Clayton, The Trumpet Awards were acquired by Bounce in 2016. The list of prestigious honorees over its 26-year history includes Muhammad Ali, Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Halle Berry, Stevie Wonder, The African-American Women of the United States Congress, Steve Harvey, Martin Luther King III, Janelle Monáe and Spike Lee. Visit www.trumpetawards.com for more information.

 Check out a few pictures from the night below:

Fat shaming is a term we seem to hear more and more about, especially when this past month with Quantasia Sharpton, the woman who alleges Usher had sex with her without disclosing he has herpes.

Usher and Quantasia Sharpton

Sadly, Quantasia’s allegations are being missed not because of the fans’ loyalty to Usher, but because most people do not believe a woman of her size can pull a man as attractive as Usher. Well we are here to tell you that you are WRONG! Not only do big girls pull men, but some very attractive ones at that. The truth is that love exists in every size and when you try to exclude someone from being loved simply because of their weight it is YOU who has the problem.

We scoured the internet to find some couples that prove everyone deserves love no matter their size. Check them out below

Mzznaki Tetteh and her fiance, Kojo Prince

Mzznaki Tetteh, a nurse from Ghana, faced fat shaming last year when internet trolls mocked her engagement photos. Mzznaki remained “#unbothered” and walked down the aisle with her man. It looks like she had the last laugh.

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This life we live is all about growth and for one web star that is happening exponentially! We all know Rahim Brazil as one of the actors and resident hotties of About Him: Freshman Year, but as we have mentioned in a previous interview the man has a knack for being talented at just about anything. Well now, the web star has donned two new hats–director and showrunner–with a brand new series he also wrote himself, Twisted!

Twisted is not only the brainchild of Rahim Brazil, but is now a highly anticipated web series set to debut this fall on DreamHouseTV! Check out the extended trailer Rahim’s production company, Big Dreams Productions, recently released below!

Rahim, Rahim, you can truly do anything! This trailer is nothing short of awesome. It is definitely riveting and keeps you in suspense. Most importantly, it makes us want to see more–a lot more! We see a number of new faces and a few familiar ones in 7th & Love stars, Martel Star and D.J. Gibson, and About Him Season 2: The Revolution and Raising Eli’s Chris June (that boy stays BOOKED!)

We were able to get a behind the scenes peek at the show and we have to tell you that these actors are WORKING. Each of them are talented and are bringing their A-game on set. We are definitely giving this our stamp approval before it debuts–and not because we love ourselves a good web series–but because we love a great one. We feel that even though this is Rahim’s directorial debut he will knock it out the park. You heard it here first, Twisted will leave you squirming for more!

Congratulations to Rahim and his amazing cast! We will be tuning. All you make sure you do too! Happy viewing!

Check out a few behind the scenes photos below!

Written By: Michael “Hey Mikey” Fanning

Follow me on Twitter/IG @HeyMikeyATL