Lee Daniels’ PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH’ BY SAPPHIRE is a vibrant, honest and resoundingly hopeful film about the human capacity to grow and overcome.

Set in Harlem in 1987, it is the story of Claireece "Precious" Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a sixteen-year-old African-American girl born into a life no one would want. She’s pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother (Mo’Nique), a poisonously angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is a place of chaos, and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and an awful secret: she can neither read nor write.

Precious may sometimes be down, but she is never out. Beneath her impassive expression is a watchful, curious young woman with an inchoate but unshakeable sense that other possibilities exist for her. Threatened with expulsion, Precious is offered the chance to transfer to an alternative school, Each One/Teach One. Precious doesn’t know the meaning of "alternative," but her instincts tell her this is the chance she has been waiting for. In the literacy workshop taught by the patient yet firm Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins a journey that will lead her from darkness, pain and powerlessness to light, love and self-determination.

Tamela Mann’s "The Master Plan" gospel CD will be released nationwide this coming Tuesday, November 3. Following up Tamela’s 2004 "Gotta Keep Movin" and "The Live Experience," which spawned a Top 20 Billboard Gospel chart hit and 2008 Stellar Award nominations for Female Vocalist of the Year and Contemporary Female Artist of the Year, Tamela releases her sophomore solo CD to both music and television fans across the country. Tamela, who also co-stars in Tyler Perry’s "Meet The Browns" on TBS playing Cora Simmons; and husband David Mann, who plays her on-screen father, Mr. Brown, will co-present for the Gospel category on the November 3 taping of the upcoming Soul Train Awards, scheduled to simulcast on Centric and BET on November 29 at 9:00 p.m. EST. The new season of "Meet The Browns" will also begin airing on November 4.

"The Master Plan" was produced by Grammy Award winning Myron Butler (Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams); and Terrell Carter, and features a more contemporary urban/R&B twist to traditional gospel music. As co-writer on "I Trust In You," "Here I Am," "Anything For You" and "In Him," Tamela also performs a stirring new arrangement of "The Lord’s Prayer." Starting her music career in 1999 as lead singer of the multi-Grammy award winning Kirk Franklin & The Family; and currently on the #1 rated television show for black audiences, "Meet The Browns," Tamela, for the first time, releases a collection of gospel songs in which she makes her debut as a co-writer.

Prior to Tamela’s solo recording debut with "Gotta Keep Movin’"and the CD/DVD "The Live Experience," as a member of Kirk Franklin and The Family, Tamela was the featured soloist on the Grammy-nominated "Song of the Year" – "Lean On Me," which featured Mary J. Blige, Crystal Lewis, R. Kelly and Bono . "Father Can You Hear Me" and "Take It To Jesus" are also included on the soundtrack album of " Diary Of A Mad Black Woman ." Tamela, whose Cora Simmons role on "Meet The Browns’" television series originated from her role in the movie "Meet The Browns," has also starred in other Tyler Perry" hit films "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and " Madea Goes To Jail "; and his plays "I Can Do Bad All By Myself," "Madea’s Family Reunion" and "Madea’s Class Reunion."

Know the 10 Commandments?  Can you recite them in order in 20 seconds or less?  Well then you’re on your way to becoming $20,000 richer. 

Marketing expert Darrel Rundus has created a contest where the only requirement is to name the Ten Commandments of God, in order, in 20 seconds or less.

According to World Net Daily, Rundus, a self-made millionaire, will dial telephone numbers of people who have signed up online on his Ten And Win website, giving each person, in the order they are randomly selected, an opportunity to recite the Ten Commandments in 20 seconds or less.

The first successful contestant gets the $20,000 prize. Rundus will make the random calls on Friday, Nov. 13. He said he will continue taking entries for the competition until that date.

Rundus told WND he was distressed that Americans readily can recite a list of 10 stores, 10 sports teams, even 10 beers, but most can’t recite the Ten Commandments. You can sign-up for the contest at http://www.tenandwin.com

James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award: Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC’s

Thomas A Dorsey Notable Achievement Award: Mississippi Mass Choir

Dr. Bobby Jones Legend Award: Edwin Hawkins

Artist of the Year
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Kierra Sheard – Bold Right Life
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Song of the Year
"Back II Eden" – Donald Lawrence, The Law of Confession Part 1
"I Am Souled Out"- Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir, Souled Out
"God in Me" – Mary Mary, The Sound
"How I Got Over" – Vickie Winans, How I Got Over

Male Vocalist of the Year
Israel Houghton – The Power of One
Philip Carter – Songs from the Storm
Smokie Norful – Smokie Norful Live
Stephen Hurd – Times of Refreshing

Female Vocalist of the Year
Crystal Aikin – Crystal Aikin
Kierra Sheard – Bold Right Life
Niyoki – Rest
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Group/Duo of the Year
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers – Just The Beginning
Lisa Knowles & The Brown Singers – Experience The Evolution
Mary Mary – The Sound

New Artist of the Year
CoCo McMillan – I’ve Been Delivered
Crystal Aikin – Crystal Aikin
Kim Ruff – Ready To Live
Shari Addison – Shari Addison

CD of the Year
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Smokie Norful – Smokie Norful Live
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Choir of the Year
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Joe Leavell & St. Stephen Temple Choir – God Is Able
Malcolm Williams & Great Faith – In Your Glory
Philip Carter & SOV – Songs from the Storm

Producer of the Year
Donald Lawrence & Daniel Weatherspoon for The Law of Confession Part 1
Philip Carter and Michael Smith for Songs from the Storm
Troy Sneed, Derrieux Edgecombe and Titus Robertson for In Due Season
Vickie Winans for How I Got Over

Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year
5AM Praise – The Beginning
Christopher Page & The Dream Keeper’s Ensemble – A Page From My Heart
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Mary Mary – The Sound

Traditional Group/Duo of the Year
Endurance – The Best of Endurance and More
Greg O’Quin & iPraize – After The Storm
Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC’s – Fall On Me
Lisa Knowles & The Brown Singers – Experience The Evolution

Contemporary Male of the Year
Darwin Hobbs – Free
Earl Bynum – Open My Heart
Smokie Norful – Smokie Norful Live
Troy Sneed – In Due Season

Traditional Male of the Year
Bishop Paul S. Morton – Cry Your Last Tear
Donnie McClurkin – We All Are One (Live in Detroit)
Malcolm Williams – In Your Glory
Philip Carter – Songs from the Storm

Contemporary Female of the Year
Crystal Aikin – Crystal Aikin
Kim Burrell – No Ways Tired
Kierra Sheard – Bold Right Life
Kim Ruff – Ready To Live

Traditional Female of the Year
Dorothy Norwood – 50 Years: It’s Been Worth It All
Dottie Peoples – Do It!
Shari Addison – Shari Addison
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Contemporary CD of the Year
Crystal Aikin – Crystal Aikin
Donald Lawrence – The Law of Confession Part 1
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Kierra Sheard – Bold Right Life

Traditional CD of the Year
Bishop Paul S. Morton & The FGBCF Mass Choir – Cry Your Last Tear
Malcolm Williams & Great Faith – In Your Glory
Philip Carter & SOV – Songs from the Storm
Shari Addison – Shari Addison

Urban/ Inspirational Single / Performance of the Year
"Let the Word Do the Work" – Donald Lawrence & Company, The Law of Confession Part 1
"God in Me" – Mary Mary, The Sound
"Joy" – Niyoki, Rest
"How I Got Over" – Vickie Winans, How I Got Over

Music Video of the Year
Dr. Bobby Jones presents Renee Spearman & Prez – Dr. Bobby Jones presents Renee Spearman & Prez
Gerald Hinton – I’m On My Way
Niyoki – Joy/Rest
Vickie Winans – How I Got Over

Contemporary Choir of the Year
Earl Bynum Ministries – Open My Heart
Hezekiah Walker and Love Fellowship Choir – Souled Out
Mike McCoy & Voices United – Continue to Continue
New Direction – Destiny

Traditional Choir of the Year
Bishop Paul S. Morton & The FGBCF Mass Choir – Cry Your Last Tear
Joe Leavell & St. Stephen Temple Choir – God Is Able
Malcolm Williams & Great Faith – In Your Glory
Philip Carter & SOV – Songs from the Storm

Special Event CD of the Year
Dorothy Norwood – 50 Years: It’s Been Worth It All
Endurance – The Best of Endurance and More
Reverend Timothy Wright – The Godfather of Gospel
The Clark Sisters, J. Moss & Kierra Sheard – Silky Soul Music: A Tribute to Maze

Instrumental CD of the Year
Ben Tankard – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
Daniel Weatherspoon – Official
Derrick Scott – The Seed of Kenaniah, The Total Experience
Mel Holder – Music Book Vol. 1

Rap/Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year
Da’ T.R.U.T.H. – The Big Picture
Dooney Da Priest – Pull Your Pants Up!
Lecrae – Rebel
Papa San – Higher Heights

Children’s Performance of the Year
Eva Sabiniano feat. Alex Duncan – Born to Praise CD-2
Pure N Heart (Children’s Choir) – Pure-N-Heart Live
Rev. Dr. Emory Andrews & Oxon Hill High School Choir – Amazing
The Velazquez Family Singers – Family & Friends

Quartet of the Year
Endurance, The Best of Endurance & More – SCCME Records
Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC’s, Fall On Me – MCG Records
Lisa Knowles & The Brown Singers – Experience The Evolution
The Soul Stirrers – A Soul Stirring Reunion

Recorded Music Package of the Year
Chris Fieldman for Deitrick Haddon – Revealed
Denise Trotman for Donald Lawrence – The Confession Part 1
Lucretia Knight for Vickie Winans – How I Got Over
Sam Noerr, BOERHAUS for Israel Houghton – The Power of One

Praise & Worship CD of the Year
Israel Houghton – The Power of One
Kathy Taylor – Live: The Worship Experience
Micah Stampley – Ransomed
Stephen Hurd – Times of Refreshing

Atlanta, GA – Closing out a remarkable year in music, Ann Nesby , the two-time Grammy award winning former lead vocalist to the Sounds of Blackness readies the release of her latest musical offering ‘Ann Nesby’s a Soulful Christmas’ for the 2009 holiday season.

‘Soulful Christmas’ released on Nesby’s It’s Time Child Records in association with Tyscot Records follows her acclaimed The Lula Lee Project album which debuted at #13 on Billboard’s Top Gospel album chart and #57 respectively on the R&B chart this year.

Spending the summer promoting The Lula Lee Project , she taped ‘Soulful Christmas’ with a live band at the Gospel Music Channel studios in Atlanta in front of a live studio audience.

"I wanted to be used by God to help them usher in the masses into the holiday season," says Nesby who excitingly marks this as her first ever Christmas show collection.

‘Soulful Christmas’ highlights a few of the most noted holiday anthems sung only as Ann Nesby could deliver – "Jesus, What a Wonderful Child" leads the musical montage setting the tone for cheerful yuletide, the classically melodic "Silent Night " finds an appropriate spot on this Christmas set, to her holiday staple from the Sounds of Blackness, "Soul Holiday," featuring Grammy award winning songwriter/singer Big Jim Wright, musical director of the new hit BET late night talk show the Mo’Nique Show.

Nesby also revisits a few of her other popular inspirational tunes from Sounds of Blackness and her own solo musical repertoire to round out ‘Soulful Christmas’ – "I Believe," "Going All the Way," "So Much Joy," to her recent radio single, "I Found a Place."

‘Ann Nesby’s a Soulful Christmas’ DVD will arrive in stores November 3, 2009 . To promote ‘Soulful Christmas,’ The Gospel Music Channel will air Nesby’s holiday special air nationally on Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 8pm with an encore at 11pm . The Gospel Music Channel will re-air the TV special through the end of December.

Tyler Perry to Spike Lee: “I would love to read that to my fan base.”

Once upon a time (i.e. this past spring), Spike Lee Called Out Tyler Perry:

“Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is “coonery” and buffoonery. I know it’s making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better. … I am a huge basketball fan, and when I watch the games on TNT, I see these two ads for these two shows (Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne”) and I am scratching my head. … We got a Black president and we going back to Mantan Moreland and Sleep ‘n’ Eat?”

Spike goes on to say:

“We’ve had this discussion back and forth. When John Singleton [made “Boyz in the Hood”], people came out to see it. But when he did “Rosewood,” nobody showed up. So a lot of this is on us! You vote with your pocketbook, your wallet. You vote with your time sitting in front of the idiot box, and [Tyler Perry] has a huge audience. We shouldn’t think that Tyler Perry is going to make the same film that I am going to make, or that John Singleton or my cousin Malcolm Lee [would make]. As African Americans, we’re not one monolithic group so there is room for all of that. But at the same time, for me, the imaging is troubling and it harkens back to “Amos n’ Andy.””

TP responded to Lee on “60 Minutes” by saying:

“You know, that pisses me off. It really does. Because it’s so insulting. It’s attitudes like that that make Hollywood think that these people do not exist and that’s why there’s no material speaking to them. I would love to read that to my fan base. [The characters are] disarming, charming, make-you-laugh bait so I can slap Madea in something and talk about God, love, faith, forgiveness, family, any of those things.”

Sadly, this is just one more internal debate amongst African Americans being hashed out on a national platform and it’s almost impossible not to take sides given our history in this country. Alas, what’s done is done, and the battle wages on.

Spike’s commitment to uplifting the Black community throughout his accomplished career is unquestionable. Upon reflecting on his catalogue of work, it’s also pretty evident that he’s a proponent for progress in general as he strives to present stories that deal with a myriad of themes from coming-of-age (Crooklyn) and homosexuality (She Hate Me). Within each film, he manages to capture the intricacies of every day life, but always with the African American audience in mind.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that Tyler aims to uplift our community as well, covering subject matters that affect many Black Americans with humor and hope. We’ve all witnessed the evolution of his Spike Lee’s film career over the past 2 decades. Perhaps in another 15 years or so, Perry’s body of work will show that he is, in fact, not in the business of ‘holding us back.’ Some of his recent films have been absent of the alleged “coonery” of which Lee speaks. “Why Did I Get Married” is a prime example free of minstrel-like imagery.

Many are inclined to focus on the debate between these two dynamic gentlemen, but a large portion of the contention belongs to the big film studios. If they didn’t back and distribute Perry’s films (or any films accused of perpetuating stereotypes) this debate would not exist.

Sure, many cringe when they see Madea pull a gun out from under her dress or the eye popping of that fellow from “Meet the Blacks/Browns,” but many of us find that stuff pretty hilarious too. Is it possible that both Perry and Lee only differ in the manner in which they present similar ideals or is this a case of “progress vs. regress”? To echo Lee’s initial statement, every artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors. But like the saying goes, “with great power, comes great responsibility.”

So what do you think? – Buffonery, or not buffonery: that is the question.

Written By: Sky Obercam – Clutch Magazine

Mary Mary’s Tina Campbell gave birth to a baby boy Tuesday, Oct. 20th.

According to GospelFlava.com, Campbell and her husband, Soul Seekers member Teddy Campbell, welcomed TJ into the world weighing seven pounds.

This is the third child for the couple.

Campbell’s sister and group partner, Erica, has announced that she is three months pregnant with her second child.

She is married to producer Warren Campbell.

The reunion of BeBe & CeCe Winans is the cover story in this week’s Jet magazine. In the interview with Jet Senior Editor Clarence Waldron, the duo known for R&B and gospel crossover hits such as "Addictive Love" and "I’ll take You There", discuss the death of their father, and what took them so long to record again after a 15 year hiatus.

Another powerful story is the companion article entitled "Gospel Vs. Inspirational: Is There A Difference?"

In this piece, gospel heavyweights such as Bryan Wilson, Shirley Caesar, Donald Lawrence, Vickie Winans and others debate what defines gospel music and separates it from inspirational music.

Media Contact:
Bill Carpenter at (202) 506-5051 or carpbil@aol.com