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Exclusive: Artists First has signed actor Neil Brown Jr. for management.

Brown most recently was seen starring in the seventh and final season of the CBS series Seal Team. The actor has starred on 114 episodes.

He also had a large recurring role in the HBO series Insecure opposite co-creator and star Issa Rae.

Previously, Brown appeared alongside Elijah Wood in BBC’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

On the feature side, the Orlando native can next be seen starring opposite Nicky Whelan in the independent feature Last Night in Rozzie. He played a lead role in the indie City of Lies, opposite Johnny Depp, as well as a supporting role in in Netflix’s Naked opposite Marlon Wayans and Regina Hall.

Previously, Brown played DJ Yella in Universal’s Straight Outta Compton, about the emergence of rap group N.W.A in the mid 1980s; the movie grossed more than $201 million worldwide.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced the 26 nominees for induction at the June 12, 2025, awards gala in New York City. Songwriters are eligible 20 years after their first significant commercial release of a song. Members will vote for six winners — three songwriters and three performing songwriters — until midnight on the east coast on December 22, 2024. Who do you think deserves to enter the Song Hall?

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Walter Afanasieff

Key songs in the Afanasieff catalog include: “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” “Hero,” “License to Kill,” “Love Will Survive,” “One Sweet Day”

Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan

Key songs in the Barri/Sloan catalog include: “Secret Agent Man,” “Eve Of Destruction,” “Where Were You When I Needed You,” “You Baby,” “Can I Get to Know You”

Mike Chapman

Key songs in the Chapman catalog include: “The Best,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” “Ballroom Blitz,...

Janet Jackson, Eminem, N.W.A, George Clinton, Boy George, Sheryl Crow and Sonny Curtis — an original member of Buddy Holly’s Crickets who went on to compose the theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show (“Love Is All Around”) — are among the 2025 nominees announced Tuesday for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. See the full list below.

Eligible Hall of Fame voting members will have until midnight Et on December 22 to turn in ballots, with their choices of up to three nominees in each of the songwriter and performing songwriter categories. The winning nominees will be inducted at the 2025 Induction & Awards Gala in New York City.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating “the exceptional work and lives of composers and lyricists who make an indelible impact creating music around the world.” A songwriter with a catalog of notable songs qualifies for induction...

Eminem, N.W.A, Janet Jackson, and Alanis Morissette are among the finalists for the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s class of 2025.

Other nominees include Mike Love of The Beach Boys, Sheryl Crow, George Clinton, Boy George, The Doobie Brothers, Steve Winwood, Bryan Adams, Tommy James, and Walter Afanasieff. The full list of nominees can be found below.

A total of six inductees will be chosen: three from the songwriters category, and three from the performing songwriters category. They’ll be honored during a ceremony held in New York City in June 2025.

Artists become eligible for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame 20 years after their first significant commercial release of a song.

Last year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees included R.E.M., Steely Dan, Timbaland, and Dean Pitchford. During the induction ceremony, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck, and Bill Berry reunited for their first performance together in 15 years.

Lakeith Stanfield made his feature debut just over a decade ago, but in the years since, he's put together a career that would be notable for an actor working in Hollywood twice as long. He's made a name for himself on both television and the big screen, working in a variety of different genres and with exciting up-and-coming directors. With his penetrating stare and off-kilter sense of humor, Stanfield is an undeniably distinctive screen presence, and he's becoming one of the most fascinating actors of his generation. Over the course of his career, he's also gathered a collection of accolades, including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2021 for his work in "Judas and the Black Messiah."

Although almost all of his performances are noteworthy in one way or another, there are a few that stand out as the best of the best. Here, we've assembled the most interesting...

Straight Outta Compton mixes fact and fiction, creating a more cinematic experience. Ice Cube really did smash a Priority Records office after they failed to fulfill their promise. While some events were accurate, the movie took liberties with the band's story for dramatic effect.

The 2015 movie about the notorious hip-hop group, N.W.A., brought their incredible true story to the big screen and the dramatic biopic left many wondering how accurate is Straight Outta Compton. Directed by F. Gary Gray, the director behind films like Friday, The Negotiator, and Set It Off, the film shows the origins of N.W.A. while diving into the personal lives of Eazy-e, Dr. Dre, Mc Ren, DJ Yella, and rapper turned actor Ice Cube. Like most biopics, Straight Outta Compton mixes facts with fiction to create a more cinematic experience.

Because Straight Outta Compton mixes fact and fiction, it does leave the audience with a lot of questions.

Tupac Shakur's appearance in Straight Outta Compton is brief but impactful, with two actors portraying him: Marcc Rose and Darris Love. Marcc Rose, who plays Tupac on screen, closely resembles the rapper with his eyes, eyebrows, and posture, while Darris Love provides his vocals. Marcc Rose portrayed Tupac in another project, Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G., but his performance was limited in showing the rapper's personality.

The celebrated rapper Tupac appears in one scene in Straight Outta Compton, but he's played by two actors. Straight Outta Compton is an underrated musical biopic that sadly didn't leave as much of a mark as maybe it should have. Released in 2015, the same year as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World, Inside Out, and many other celebrated movies, it was always going to be difficult for Straight Outta Compton to make waves. That's unfortunate because...

Ice Cube said he never expected to be onstage accepting a gilded gramophone with his fellow N.W.A members, but that’s what happened Saturday when he, Mc-Ren, DJ Yella and the mother and son of late rapper Eazy-e received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy at the Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards.

“My man, Dr. Dre, is not here. He wanted to make sure I let you know he’s not hating. He a billionaire. He got shit to do,” Cube said to laughter and applause. He thanked Dre for his “brilliance,...

When Straight Outta Compton first blew up on the screen during the summer of 2015, the fascination with the crew dubbed the World's Most Dangerous Group was revived. The film tells the true story of the N.W.A. rap group that emerged from the city's tough streets in Compton, California. The rap group that was led by Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Eazy-e (Jason Mitchell), Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), Mc Ren (Aldis Hodge), and DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.) began in the late 1980s and revolutionized gangsta-rap and hip-hop with their honest tales of police brutality and their lives in the streets. Their music even brought interest to the city of Compton, with many curious to see just how dangerous the neighborhoods were because of how N.W.A. made them seem. And as someone who has grown up in South Los Angeles all her life, yes, this group, along with other now-notable actors,...

The Grammys have announced the music legends who will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards on February 3 at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony taking place at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The 2024 Grammy Awards will follow on February 4.

Laurie Anderson will be honored for her “groundbreaking works that span the worlds of art, theater, experimental music, and technology,” as the Grammy announcement states.

The gospel group The Clark Sisters are “credited for helping to bring gospel music to the mainstream” and “are considered pioneers of contemporary gospel.”

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Gladys Knight has seven competitive Grammys and “has enjoyed number-one hits in pop, gospel, R&b and adult contemporary, and has triumphed in film, television and live performance.”

N.W.A. — the pioneering rap group made up of Eazy-e, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, and Mc-Ren — “developed a new sound, which brought in many of the loud,...

Avant-garde composer-performer Laurie Anderson, R&b icon Gladys Knight, groundbreaking rap group N.W.A, disco queen Donna Summer and country legend Tammy Wynette are among this year’s Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award honorees, the academy announced today.

Also included on the list: gospel vocal group The Clark Sisters and, in the non-performing categories, Peter Asher, the longtime, prolific producer of such artists as Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor; hip hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc; and entertainment attorney Joel Katz. Those three will receive Trustee Awards.

Technical Grammy Award honorees are Tom Kobayashi and Tom Scott, while “Refugee,” written by K’naan, Steve McEwan, and Gerald Eaton (a.k.a. Jarvis Church), is being honored with the Best Song For Social Change Award.

“The Academy is honored to pay tribute to this year’s Special Merit Award recipients — a remarkable group of creators and industry professionals whose impact resonates with generations worldwide,...

Vertical Entertainment has landed North American rights to “The Doc,” a documentary about a rap legend whose life and career was upended after a near-fatal accident.

The Doc, a hip-hop lyricist and producer who wrote for Nwa and Dr. Dre, was involved in a 1989 car crash that took his voice. “The Doc,” directed Dave Caplan, picks up 30 years later as he considers a dangerous experimental surgery that could restore his vocal cords.

Vertical will release the movie in theaters in the spring of 2023, following its world premiere at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

“The Doc is an incredible talent and visionary who helped usher the hip-hop movement into mainstream America,” Peter Jarowey, a partner at Vertical, said in a statement. “As his remarkable life is revealed on screen, it is like watching the history of hip-hop unfold before your very eyes as witnessed by industry legends who count him as a friend,...

Dr. Dre is reportedly still in the Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The legendary rapper/producer/entrepreneur suffered a brain aneurysm last week. Dre last updated fans five days ago on social media. "Thanks to my family, friends and fans for their interest and well wishes. I'm doing great and getting excellent care from my medical team," he said. "I will be out of the hospital and back home soon. Shout out to all the great medical professionals at Cedars. One Love!!"

Medical professionals at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are reportedly still running tests on Dr. Dre, aka Andre Romelle Young. Sources close to Dr. Dre say he's still in ICU as the doctors perform their tests and that he remains there as a precautionary measure. It is unclear what caused the aneurysm in the first place and the doctors are observing him in order to...

It seems like it’s harder than ever to keep up with the Kardashian-Jenners these days. Aside from Rob Kardashian’s major (and explicit) Instagram meltdown with his on-again, off-again girlfriend Blac Chyna, Khloé’s copyright woes with designer Destiney Bleu, and those blackface allegations leveled against Kim, Kendall and Kylie Jenner have also found themselves in the midst of a controversy that shows no signs of stopping just yet. The sisters have already experienced their fair share of drama in 2017, from Kendall’s divisive Pepsi campaign that was quickly pulled from airways to the allegations Kylie faced that she...

Monday was a good day for Ice Cube.

The rapper and actor was joined by family and friends as he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

Ice Cube’s star-studded ceremony included speeches from Boyz n the Hood director John Singleton and rapper Wc, and was attended by music and screen icons including N.W.A. band mates Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Mc Ren, as well as Xzibit, Big Boi, Russell Simmons and Martin Lawrence.

Speaking to the gathered crowd with Ice Cube by his side, Wc called the star “not...

Exclusive: Neil Brown Jr., who played N.W.A’s DJ Yella in Straight Outta Compton, is the latest to be cast in the Biggie-Tupac crime thriller LAbyrinth. He joins stars Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker in the film about disgraced Lapd detective Russell Poole (Depp), who teams with journalist Jack Jackson (Whitaker), both seeking redemption and determined to find the truth behind the murders of rap impresarios. Their relentless hunt threatens to crack the foundation of the…...

Ever since Straight Outta Compton became a box office sensation last year, there’s been no shortage of claims that there were many infamous N.W.A. tales omitted from the movie.

Most of them can be found in new book Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-e, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap â€. which offers an impressive and exhaustive look inside the real world of the pioneering group that brought gangsta rap to the masses.

Here, author Ben Westhoff discusses five pieces of the band’s history that you didn’t see in the film.

Jerry Heller’s family says he would have wanted the surviving members of N.W.A at his funeral, but they probably shouldn’t expect an appearance by Ice Cube. The rapper-slash-actor told Detroit’s 107.5 over the weekend that he had “no emotions” regarding the passing of Heller, who managed N.W.A for four years, on Saturday. “I didn’t have no emotions,” Cube said during the interview. “I’m glad I’m with DJ Yella, I’m glad I’m with Mc Ren today, it’s only right. “I ain’t gonna pop no champagne but I ain...

Happiest of muthafuckkkin’ birthdays to rapper/actor/writer-director Ice Cube, who turns 47 today. In this exclusive footage from the MTV archives, a 20-year-old Cube (posted up on his mother’s porch!) speaks to Kurt Loder about how the success of N.W.A has changed him, and clowns DJ Yella for buying a brick-size cell phone. Embedded from media.mtvnservices.com.

Happiest of muthafuckkkin’ birthdays to rapper/actor/writer-director Ice Cube, who turns 47 today. In this exclusive footage from the MTV archives, a 20-year-old Cube (posted up on his mother’s porch!) speaks to Kurt Loder about how the success of N.W.A has changed him, and clowns DJ Yella for buying a brick-size cell phone. Embedded from media.mtvnservices.com.

Neil Brown Jr., who played DJ Yella in Straight Outta Compton, has signed with Don Buchwald & Associates for representation in all areas. Brown was cast this week in BBC America series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. He next will be seen in Iraq War drama Sand Castle opposite Henry Cavill and Nicholas Hoult. His other credits include features Fast & Furious and Battle Los Angeles. He recurred on Suits and appeared most recently in CSI: Cyber and NCIS: Los Angeles…...

Coachella attendees took a trip back in time on Saturday, when Ice Cube invited all the surviving members of N.W.A. onstage during his Coachella performance. First joined by Mc Ren and DJ Yella for "Straight Outta Compton" - the song from which last year's hit biopic got its name - Ice Cube later welcomed Dr. Dre to the stage to perform both Tupac's famous "California Love," and his Snoop Dogg collaboration "Still D.R.E." Eazy-e died in 1995, but his son, rapper Lil Eazy-e was on hand to honor his legacy, performingg "Boyz-n-the-Hood" with Ice Cube, according to Rolling Stone.

Coachella attendees took a trip back in time on Saturday, when Ice Cube invited all the surviving members of N.W.A. onstage during his Coachella performance. First joined by Mc Ren and DJ Yella for "Straight Outta Compton" - the song from which last year's hit biopic got its name - Ice Cube later welcomed Dr. Dre to the stage to perform both Tupac's famous "California Love," and his Snoop Dogg collaboration "Still D.R.E." Eazy-e died in 1995, but his son, rapper Lil Eazy-e was on hand to honor his legacy, performingg "Boyz-n-the-Hood" with Ice Cube, according to Rolling Stone.

Ice Cube finally gave N.W.A. fans what they wanted ... bringing out Dr. Dre at Coachella and completing the group's reunion. Cube performed his second set in two weeks at the music festival Saturday ... you'll remember, fans were pissed after Dre was a no-show last weekend even though Mc Ren and DJ Yella made appearances.  We're told Dre shyed away from performing Nwa songs ... but still got the crowd going for "California Love" and "Still D.

During his performance at Coachella on April 16, rapper Ice Cube was joined by his co-founding N.W.A members Mc Ren and DJ Yella. Rappers and fellow musicians, Snoop Dogg and Common also joined Cube. Rap Group N.W.A Reunites At Coachella The two rappers joined Ice Cube during their most famous hits, “Fuck Tha Police” and “Straight […]

The post Ice Cube Reunites With N.W.A Mc Ren And DJ Yella At Coachella [Watch Video] appeared first on uInterview.

Coachella was the place for music Saturday, with an awesome lineup. Axl, O'Shea Jackson, Ice Cube, Zedd, Kesha, Snoop, Skrillex and lots of others performers hit the stage .. and no one failed to please.   Btw ... Nwa was not fully there ... DJ Yella and Mc Ren joined Cube for "Straight Outta Compton," and "F the Police," but Dre was a no show.  Read more...

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony is usually an embarrassing thing, fashion-wise. But that wasn’t the case for N.W.A members Mc Ren, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and DJ Yella, maybe the first people in the history of the awards to get the clothes right. Rock stars try to respect the supposed importance of the ceremony by wearing something nice, while also showing that they’re still rock ‘n’ roll after all these years by wearing something supposedly rebellious. You get a jumble of leather pants and loud jackets, T-shirts and crazy hats and ironic ties...

When the members of N.W.A. were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday night, they used the opportunity to pay tribute to one of their departed members and strike back at their critics. Fellow Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar delivered a heartfelt introduction before Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, D.J. Yella and Mc Ren took the stage to accept their induction. They were the only inductees of the night who didn't perform. "I felt like each and everyone of them was black superhereoes from where I come from," said the "King Kunta" artist at the ceremony held at...

When the members of N.W.A. were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday night, they used the opportunity to pay tribute to one of their departed members and strike back at their critics. Fellow Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar delivered a heartfelt introduction before Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, D.J. Yella and Mc Ren took the stage to accept their induction. They were the only inductees of the night who didn't perform. "I felt like each and everyone of them was black superhereoes from where I come from," said the "King Kunta" artist at the ceremony held at...