Relief for some of the workers on the domestic front line is on the way courtesy of Morris Day. The artist has put together a lineup of beloved touring bands for Funk Corona! — a live streaming and pay per view performance special airing at 6 p.m. July 10.
Hosted by comedian Sheryl Underwood (of CBS’ “The Talk”), the featured acts consist of Morris Day and the Time, along with Cameo, Ready 4 The World, Original Mary Jane Girls Maxi and Cheri and more for the concert available on cable, satellite and digital Pay Per View for a suggested retail price of $19.99 via iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH, PayPerViewLiveEvents.com or FITE.TV and its app.
The vision for the show came to Day while seeing all the confirmed cases and confirmed deaths from COVID-19 on CNN one early morning.
He explains: “I was watching how the nurses and doctors on the front line were risking their own lives day in and day out, without proper PPE and lack of rest. All in the name of saving the lives of our loved ones. So, at that moment, I decide I would do my part. I hopped up and said F%#K Corona!”
“Then the light bulb went off and I said wait, ‘Funk Corona!’ A concert extravaganza of some of the biggest and most legendary funk bands in the game would come together to raise money for the workers on the front line, so that they have proper safety equipment to continue to do the remarkable job they are already doing for America. That’s what ‘Funk Corona’ is all about.”
The event, with proceeds benefitting DirectRelief.org and NFL Super Bowl champion Von Miller’s charity VonSacksCovid.org, will be streamed live with all artists socially distancing and wearing appropriate personal protection.
TASTY QUIP: “We can get into trouble when we rely on imaginary characters to save us. … I have joked at times that part of how we got into the situation we’re in now is that we had a reality television character swoop into an election and people thought that he could save the day.” – KERRY WASHINGTON addressing those who have asked how “Olivia Pope” (of “Scandal”) would respond to the pandemic on the new podcast “Hollywood, the Sequel”
SPOTLIGHT: She’s like a summer storm. Her range is frightening and wonderful to watch,” says Whoopi Goldberg about Olympia Dukakis, the theatre legend and Academy Award-winning actress (for 1987’s “Moonstruck”), in the illuminating new documentary “Olympia.”
The feature, produced and directed by Harry Mavromichalis, has its national live streaming premiere screening and panel conversation at 5 p.m. July 9; prior to its virtual cinema debut the following day. Visit: www.olympiathefilm.com/ for details.
TASTY QUIP: “For your birthday, I offer you a challenge, sir. Pull your ass up with 20 of your records, sit across from me, and get this work, man. But, I understand if you don’t want to answer to that challenge. Because last time you got challenged, Kanye West dusted your ass off, so, you might not wanna do that.” – T.I. on Twitter challenging 50 Cent to a Verzuz battle
CLIPPETTES: Two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight,” “Green Book”) will star as pioneering heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson in an HBO limited series called “Unruly” to be produced and written by award-winning playwright Dominque Morisseau (“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations”) …
“The Breakfast Club” radio co-host and author Charlamagne Tha God is getting a new weekly talk show on Comedy Central to premiere prior to the presidential elections …
WNYC and The Public Theater are bringing Free Shakespeare in the Park to the airwaves with “William Shakespeare’s Richard II,” a serialized radio broadcast over four nights (at 5 p.m. July 13-16) starring André Holland, Phylicia Rashad, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Estelle Parsons. The production, conceived and directed by Saheem Ali, will stream nationwide at WNYC.org …
HBO Max has ordered a 12-episode season of the all-new, 2D animated series, “Young Love,” based on the characters introduced in the Academy Award-winning short film, “Hair Love” from Oscar winner Matthew A. Cherry and Sony Pictures Animation.
TASTY QUIP: “Yo somebody passed T.I. the weed they gave Smokey in ‘Friday.’ LOL.” – 50 CENT on Twitter responding to T.I.’s Verzuz challenge.
TC ON TV: July 10 – “Greyhound” (Apple TV+): The Tom Hanks-led World War II movie is now premiering on this streaming service. “Greatness Code” (Apple TV+): LeBron James with business partner Maverick Carter, Michael Strahan and Tom Brady are executive producers of this short-form documentary series spotlighting untold stories from the greatest athletes in the world. “The Old Guard” (Netflix): Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Love and Basketball,” “The Secret Life of Bees”) directs this graphic novel based action-thriller starring Charlize Theron, Chiwetel Ejiofor and KiKi Layne (“If Beale Street Could Talk”). “American Masters” (PBS): Lorraine Toussaint (“Selma”) and Julianna Margulies (“The Good Wife”) narrate “Unladylike2020,” a special compiling animated shorts of pioneering women such as Black opera singer Sissieretta Jones and aviator Bessie Coleman.
July 11 – “Unfiltered” (Nick): Comedian and actor Jay Pharoah (“Saturday Night Live,” “2 Minutes of Fame”) hosts this remotely produced six-episode game show which features panelists who must guess the identities of virtually disguised celebrity guests. Think “The Masked Singer’ without music and an audience.
July 12 – “Celebrity Family Feud” (ABC): NFL Hall of Famers including Michael Irvin and Cris Carter take on a team of NFL rising stars including Darius Leonard, the Indianapolis Colts linebacker who made headlines last month after being racially profiled and kicked out of a South Carolina Chipotle’s. “Hightown” (Starz): In advance of the first season finale, the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama with the strong multi-cultural casting of Monica Raymund, Amaury Nolasco, Atkins Estimond, Dohn Norwood and James Badge Dale has been renewed. “P-Valley” (Starz): Creator and showrunner Katori Hall (“The Mountaintop,” “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”) presents this hour-long series offering an unapologetic look at the lives of strip club dancers working down in the Mississippi Delta. Brandee Evans (“The Bobby Brown Story”), Nicco Annan (“This is Us”), Shannon Thornton (“Power”) and J. Alphonse Nicholson (“Chicago P.D.”) are regulars with guest appearances by Isaiah Washington, Loretta Devine and “The Haves and the Have Nots” heartthrob Tyler Lepley.
July 13 – “Celebrity Call Center” (E!): Based on the ground-breaking U.K. series of the same name, ordinary people receive advice from their favorite celebrities (like Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker, Nick Cannon, Vivica A Fox, Nene Leakes and Loni Love) on fun, lighthearted and relatable topics.
July 15 – “Brave New World” (Peacock): NBC’s new streaming service is launched with the series premiere of this new version of Aldous Huxley‘s ground-breaking sci-fi novel. Alden Ehrenreich (“Solo: A Star Wars Story”), Jessica Brown Findlay (“Downton Abbey”), Demi Moore (“Ghost”), Hannah John-Kamen (“Ant Man and The Wasp”) and Kylie Bunbury (“Pitch“) round out the cast. “Psych 2: Lassie Come Home” (Peacock): James Roday and Dulé Hill reprise their roles from the hit USA series for this new movie returning them to their old stomping grounds.
July 16 – “Fatal Affair” (Netflix): Nia Long and Omar Epps (last together in 1999’s “In Too Deep”) star with Stephen Bishop in this thriller about a couple terrorized by a stalker. “30 Rock: A One Time Special” (NBC): Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan reunite with the rest of the cast of the original series for this event. “To Tell The Truth” (ABC): Ashanti, Michael Ealy, Sherri Shepherd and Gary Cole play.
TASTY QUIP: “”The amount of misogyny from most of men in rap and music is infuriating. We need to abolish that s—t, too. Y’all can’t wait to call women every b*tch, hoe, discuss violent acts against women, etc for clout in rap, rock, and throughout music history. Misogyny has NEVER been OK, yet it has become normalized. Women didn’t create misogyny, y’all did. SO YOU DO THE WORK to ABOLISH IT.” – JANELLE MONAE on Twitter
As featured in the Los Angeles Wave and Independent, Tasty Clips is one of the leading entertainment columns in the nation, serving nearly one million weekly readers. Bill Vaughan may be reached at tastyclips@yahoo.com, via Twitter @tastyclips, or Instagram @tasty_clips.
