Daily News Feed 10.31.08

John Legend looks to reach stadium heights with CD
A platinum CD is hardly a disappointment, especially in these rocky times, when even veteran acts find it hard to crack the one-million mark. But John Legend admits to being slightly disappointed to the response to his last album, “Once Again.” It’s not that it was flop compared to his debut, “Get Lifted,” which also went platinum. And it’s not like he didn’t win accolades off of his sophomore CD: He earned a Grammy, and now has five to put on his mantle. But the retro-soul CD, while a critical and commercial success, didn’t have any true breakout hits, and didn’t grow his audience like he had hoped. (Continue Reading…)

Jennifer Hudson “Still in Shock” at Chicago Hotel
Jennifer Hudson has been holed up in a downtown Chicago hotel with loved ones and friends as she prepares to bury three family members. “She is still in shock,” a source tells E! News. “She hasn’t gone out much at all and has a lot of security around her.” Insiders say that Hudson checked into the Trump International Hotel & Tower on Oct. 24, the day her mother, Darnell Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were shot and killed in Donerson’s home and nephew Julian King was reported missing. Hudson had been in Florida when she received the news and immediately boarded a flight north. (Continue Reading…)

Cosby: Black Colleges Should Demand More from Alumni
Noted author and humorist Bill Cosby recently took historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to task for not making their alumni give back. Cosby was the keynote speaker during the Oct. 7th dinner session of the three-day, ”Straight Talk Symposium Securing the Financial Future of North Carolina HBCUs and Their Communities, sponsored by several foundations, including the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, the Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity & Inclusion Institute, and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Cosby chided Black university officials for begging their alumni to contribute to their institutions, saying instead that administrators should make them feel bad,and demand better support from past graduates to insure a good education for coming generations of students, The Wilmington Journal reported this week. Do things with pride, and a sense of history, Cosby told college presidents and administrators in attendance. How dare you, dare you, think that you’re not worthy to raise money for your school. (Continue Reading…)