Ms. Perry's Free Press Page 11


lanuiarvl-_71 '2nno01


 JILL SCOTT EXPECTING
 By simply walking on stage to promote her
 new HBO series "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective
 Agency" at the Television Critics Association
 conference last week, star Jill Scott revealed she
 is six months pregnant with her first child.
 The film, due to premiere on the network in
 S March, is based on the best-selling novels by
 Alexander McCall Smith and was filmed entire-
 ly on location in Botswana.
 Still, the actress, who is engaged to drummer Lil' John Roberts, says
 she's glad she went through with the plans to film. "My doctors gave me
a clean bill of health and said you can do this, so I did it."
 Scott, 36, is a three-time Grammy Award winner and was previously
seen on the big screen in Tyler Perry's 2007 film "Why Did I Get
Married?"
LIL WAYNE TURNS ESPN RED CARPET REPORTER
ESPN The Magazine has hired rap star Lil
Wayne to cover red carpet arrivals for ESPN's
5th annual NEXT Big Weekend, which kicks -
off at 9 p.m. on Jan. 30 as part of Super Bowl "
weekend in Tampa.
 The private, V.I.P. event is designed to
highlight what is next in sports, technology,
and lifestyle and from ESPN.
 Wyclef Jean has been booked to perform, .
while celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson and
guest DJ/ESPN Analyst Marcellus "Dat /
Dude" Wiley will make special appearances ., i ."
 Lil Wayne is already working for ESPN the Magazine as a blogger for
the publication's Web site and periodically comments about sports on the
24-hour sports network.
 'ELECTRIC COMPANY'
 i GETS EXTREME RAP
 MAKEOVER
 PBS has announced it will infuse hip hop
 into a makeover of its 70s children's series
 "The Electric Company" in an attempt to
 .-" "* i connect with a new generation of viewers.
 Known for utilizing sketch comedy, ani-
 mation and songs to help elementary
 school youth learn and develop literary
 skills, the original "Electric Company"
 premiered two years after "Sesame Street"
as a follow-up to the iconic children series in 1971.
 The new version will ditch the use of sketch comedy and instead incor-
porate narrative threads that run throughout each show. The threads will
include jokes, singing and dancing while teaching five vocabulary words
per episode.
 In addition, stories from the new "Electric Company" will focus on a
 group of four kids who have superpowers that allow them to manipulate
 words and help one another as well as stop the Pranksters, a rival group of
 neighborhood bad guys.
 The new Electric Company will premiere Jan. 19 on PBS Kids Go.


BET's Latest Reailty Show "Harlem Heights"


 Focuses on New Twist Black Professionals


LOS ANGELES Viewers might
not recognize Brooke Crittendon,
one of the eight African-American
professionals starring on BET's new
reality series "Harlem Heights," but
they've probably heard of her ex-
fianc6, rapper Kanye West.
 Crittendon, who works at MTV
and is no stranger to the reality
genre, said the reason she put her
life in front of the camera has a lot
to do with feeling misunderstood as
a famous person's other half.
"Because I played the background
to the person I was dating, I had to
go through people saying things
about me or assuming who I was,"
Crittendon told TV writers here. "I
just wanted to let people know who
I am and what I really do. I'm not
just this person's girlfriend."
 "Harlem Heights," premiering
March 2 on BET, captures the
"young, black and fabulous crowd"
of one of New York's most famous
neighborhoods. The cast includes a
lifestyle editor for the basketball
publication Dime magazine, an
aspiring actress, a fashionista, a
young man contemplating a career
in politics and even a young dad.

 Motown 50t
 DETROIT A who's who of
 Motown alumni returned to famed
 Studio A ofHitsville USA this week
 to officially kick off a year-long
 celebration of the label's 50th
 anniversary.
 The Four Tops' Abdul "Duke"
 Fakir was joined by other Detroit-
 based Motown artists, including
 Bobby Rogers of the Miracles,
 Rosalind Ashford of Martha & the
 Vandellas and Rare Earth's Gil
 Bridges, Funk Brothers Uriel Jones,
 Ivy Joe Hunter and Dennis Coffey,
 producer/arrangers Paul Riser and
 Johnny Allen, Motown manners
 coach Maxine Powell and song-
 writer Melvin Moore.
 Many will spend the week work-
 ing as celebrity docents at the
 Motown Historical Museum,
 housed in the company's original


It's a group of friends moving out of
college and into the working world.
"This show isn't 'The Hills,' said
BET president Loretha Jones. "The
cast was friends before, so their
relationships are natural and they
allowed us to follow them in such a
way that they were unconcerned
with the cameras being there, and
let us capture the real interactions."
 Jones also said that unlike some
other reality shows about twen-
tysomethings, "Harlem Heights"
would explore not only emotional
drama, but also professional drama
and the excitement and celebrations
of last year's historical election
night.
 Participant Pierre Downing, who
works for a nonprofit organization
that does community development
in Harlem, said that "Harlem
Heights" will change the face of
young black America, because he
and his castmates aren't just ath-
letes, rappers or media moguls.
 "Here you have college graduates
 obtaining a higher level of success
 and that needs to be shown," said
Downing. "All of us are here today
to show America we have a voice
and need to be recognized."


 "Harlem Heights" creators Kurt
Williamson and Randolph Sturrup
said they chose the upper West Side
not only because of its history, but
its future.
 "People are naturally drawn to
New York and when you add the
layer of Harlem, there's a certain
interest and intrigue in that," said
Williamson.
 "And with Harlem currently


redefining itself," Sturrup said, "it
parallels what our cast is going
through in their lives."
"This influx of young, urban black
professionals that are really trying
to do it are creating a resurrection
of a new Harlem. There's a new
Harlem renaissance," said
Downing. "[Harlem] is our true
ninth character."


h Anniversary Festivities Off and Running


Duke Fakir of the Four Tops, left, with Maxine Powell, formerly in
charge of artist development.
Hitsville Headquarters in midtown Words series.
Detroit, as part of an In Their Own "Fifty years is a wonderful anniver-


sary," Fakir told Billboard.com.
"You've got to give credit to the
songs, but of course you've got to
give credit to (Motown founder)
Berry Gordy for the vision. He had
the whole vision, and he made it
come true. It's just great to be part
of that legacy and still be alive to
talk about it."
 Gordy did not attend the kickoff
event but sent a message that was
ready by Robin Tenrry, his grand-
niece and CEO of the Motown
museum. Gordy said he was "hon-
ored" by the celebration and noted
that, "Motown music was for every-
body, and it grew out of love. It has
spread around the world and has
become part of the culture and con-
sciousness in all seven continents,
and it all started right lere."


Castmember Ashlei and a friend Dawn


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