::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

  Donald Lawrence, Sir the Baptist, Kanye West and Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing Receive Top Honors The 20 most-performed Gospel songs were also announced NEW YORK, NY (June 7, 2021)  –  BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.)  is proud to celebrate the  2021 BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards , honoring some of today’s legendary and rising Gospel music luminaries. The Gospel  Song of the Year ,  Songwriter of the Year ,  Publisher of the Year  and the 20 most-performed songs of the previous year were announced today on BMI.com and across the company’s social media platforms. In tribute to this inspiring generation of Gospel songwriters, BMI created a special page featuring uplifting performances and first-hand accounts of the songwriting process behind some of the award-winning songs, as well as special messages from the winners. To view this exclusive content and more, visit   https://www.bmi.com/trailblazers2021 . “It is always an ho...

Joel Olsteen will host Kanye West at his Lakewood Mega-Church in Houston this Sunday. West accepted an invitation from Pastor Joe Olsteen to discuss his journey to faith in an interview during the 11:00 a.m. service. Kanye released his gospel-inspired album "Jesus is King" on Oct. 25 and had been spreading the gospel with his choir on at his Calabassas home, on the street and at other churches and venues around the country. Weekly 50,000 people attend the Lakewood service with millions more watching the international broadcast. West's conversation has been to subject of the churched an unchurched alike, somewhat blighted by skepticism from the past. It is not known whether the choir will perform. Kanye's "Jeuss Is King" album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Christian and Gospel charts.

ARTICLE SUMMARY Kanye West surprises Howard University student with a pop-up of his Sunday Service during Homecoming weekend. Some people were not comfortable with him being there, thinking that he has a warped mentality about Black issues. Ye later performed in a scheduled event on the campus of George Washington University at Lisner Auditorium. He revealed that he got saved and converted to Christianity earlier this year. (The Slice): People have been wondering if Kanye West is exploiting Christianity with the "Sunday Service" concerts he is  taking around the country.  The rapper provided an answer during performances in Washington, DC on Saturday.  Ever since the first public "Sunday Service" at Coachella in the Spring of 2019, where over-priced merchandise was sold (2 pairs of socks were priced at $50) and his entire choir wore his clothing brand, his intentions to . Performing his timeless classic “Jesus Walks” f...

Opinion By Mona Austin (THE SLICE): I'm still a little confused about the mix up with the album drop -- whether Kanye  intended to release the album "Yhandi" and replace it with his gospel project or just decided to release "Jesus Is King" instead, which still isn't out officially. It was suppose to come out on September 29.   It is rumored that he is tweaking the record.  Someone attending a listening party for the album put a clip on You Tube that has been removed. Fans are irked. Nonetheless, the new album and his very public relationship with Christ prompted this write-up. The grandson of a preacher, Kanye West was raised in church. He won his first Grammy for BEST RAP SONG OF THE YEAR for "Jesus Walks," which would fit easily in the Holy Hip Hop genre today. That song was on his first album, "College Dropout," and the year was 2005. Lyrics in the song suggested the he had a yearning for the powers that be in music to...

During a visit to the White House last Thursday, Kanye West left the impression that his out-of-control behavior was due to a lack of "male energy" as he trumpeted his support for Pres. Donald Trump, who is viewed as a threat by the majority of African Americans. It may come as a surprise to know that Wests' maternal grandfather, Portwood Williams, Sr. was a well-known Civil Rights leader from Oklahoma City who led a tight-knit Christian family. His late mother, Dr. Donda West and her father were very close, which she wrote about in "Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar.” "Some would say it was blasphemous the way Grandmother Williams worshiped her husband, the way my dad worshiped me, and the way I worship Kanye. But I just call it plain-old heartfelt, couldn't-help-it-if-you-tried-to love,” Donda West wrote. "In my family there is a legacy of that kind of love. And there was no shortage of that in our household...

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE EXTENDED TMZ RANT FOR CONTEXT TO THIS ARTICLE Rapper Kanye West once stated Pres. George Bush does not care about black people and from the sound of things, neither does he. In an appearance in the TMZ newsroom on Tuesday, West said: "When you hear about slavery for 400 years that sound like a choice . . . I like the word prison because slavery goes too direct to the idea of blacks. . ."  This statement upset TMZ producer Van Lathan to the point that he challenged West's thinking head on telling the rapper he has "morphed into something unreal." Yeezy has made a habit of being controversial at the most inappropriate times.   West made the statement about Bush, then president, in 2005 because he had not given any personal attention to Hurricane Katrina victims. He jumped on stage and interrupted Taylor Swift's VMA acceptance speech in 2009, claiming she did not deserve the video of the year award, Beyonce did. This time Wes...

buzzz worthy. . . Kanye West  has been named the best dressed man in fashion by GQ for the second year in a row. The ‘Monster’ rapper came out at the top of the audience-voted poll to find the most stylish male celebrity of the past twelve months. West dominated the poll by finishing with 54% of the vote on December 29 ahead of his closest competitor, model Lucky Blue Smith. Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian-West encouraged fans to vote for her husband in the GQ poll by telling her 38.4 million Twitter followers: “You can vote unlimited times so keep voting!” Upon finding out that Kanye had indeed won the Stylish Man title, Kim tweeted: “YOU DID IT GUYS!!!!! KANYE WON!!! THANK YOU FOR VOTING!” Kanye West  is  currently working on the follow-up to 2013’s ‘Yeezus’ LP.

buzzz worthy. . .#VWA #Votewithauthority #kanye By Mona Austin Looking ahead at 2016 election, as a nation, the last thing America needs to do is enter an election year with a capricious attitude toward voting. In 2015, however, there were several outliers contributing to voter apathy that may make people think twice about heading to the polls. There are enough political distractions already First, fictitious candidate "Deeznuts" was mockingly listed on the ballot and got 9% of the vote in a North Carolina primary poll.  Then, in a mic-dropping moment while accepting the Vangaurd Award Kanye West announced he is running for president in 2020 on the 2015 VMAs. As he stood gazing over the crowd they chanted "Yeezus" as if West is a god.  His actions may have been motivated by politically inexperienced business mogul Donald Trump gaining momentum as a Republican candidate or the hit of weed he admitted to smoking before the show (#feelinghimself ).  Either wa...

buzzz worthy. . . The 2012 Grammy Award nominations were announced Wednesday night in a live telecast on CBS hosted by LL Cool J.  Kanye West lead the list of nominees with seven nods, followed by Bruno Mars, Foos and  "Rolling in the Deep" Star Adele with 6.   In R&B, Ledisi was nominated for 3 Grammys including R&B Song of the Year. As usual there were some shockers that made the list, but the media was all a chatter about who did not get nominated.  "Born this Way" by Lady Gaga was not nominated for song of the year, after she debuted it in such a massive way at last year's Grammys.  However, Gaga did make the Album of the YEar category fro Even thought Kanye West has the most nods, his name is incognito in the Song of the Year" category.  Taylor Swift was also denied a spot for "Song of the Year."  In Gospel, Sunday Best newbie Leandria Johnson was nominated for Best Performance, surprisongly because her alb...