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1-11 of 11
- He was known as The Overweight Lover, The Heavster, and Most Affectionately, Heavy D. Penned as one of the most likable people in Hip-Hop, he lived a life that was not only positive and enlightening as a performer, but also as a father and a friend. Be Inspired is a documentary chronicling the prolific life and career of Dwight "Heavy D" Myers.
- Born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, Naturi Naughton grew up with her older brother, mother and father in a loving, happy household with strong family values. Naturi's talent was recognized when she was 13-years old and asked to try out for the girl group 3LW. As the group shot to stardom, label and management fought to decide on the group's identity - something they thought Naturi's voice and image didn't fit as to what should be the lead. From her controversial portrayal of Lil Kim in Notorious to her current role on Power, Naturi has proven to be a triple threat entertainer - all the while remaining as grounded, family oriented and as true to herself as the girl from East Orange, New Jersey.
- Raised in Chicago, LisaRaye McCoy grew up with her mother and father in a life of seeming luxury. It wasn't until her father was murdered and she left Chicago that she saw what hardships her mother had to endure. Struggling with depression and his loss after his murder she attempted to take her own life. Knowing that something had to change and not believing that Chicago had anything to offer her anymore, LisaRaye took her newborn daughter to LA to make it as an actress. It wasn't long before she had established herself as one of the top booked music video girls and landed her first movie with Ice Cube making her a household name - Players Club. Today she is focusing on her businesses - following in her fathers footsteps and establishing that we haven't seen the last of LisaRaye McCoy just yet.
- Raised on two coasts, Nick Cannon grew up balancing the gangs of San Diego with his father's ministry in North Carolina. Eager to escape the risk of the streets, he recognized his call to entertainment at an early age and spoke his success quickly into existence. Embracing an early achieved bubblegum persona, he works behind the scenes creating opportunities and jobs for comedians and entertainers - his largest success is Wild N Out for MTV and his influence and talent reaching much farther than he is given credit for.
- Born Milton Terrence Howery, Lil Rel grew up on the West Side of Chicago with two brothers and both parents; something that he said greatly shaped his childhood. His mom showed unwavering support, even after she was diagnosed with cancer, passing away too quickly after. Rel never wavered in his belief that God had prophesied greatness for him, and that his time would come. He soon found himself at a Hollywood party with Jordan Peele, leading to his break out role in Get Out. From there his career has skyrocketed and his focus is on creating opportunities for his community to grow within the industry in this phase two of life.
- Fantasia grew up in a big family that focused heavily on singing, especially in the family band with daily rehearsals. Butting heads with her dad, she dropped out of high school and moved out, leaving the church. Becoming a young teenage mother solidified her relationship with God, her grandmother helped her to re-join the church and move back home with her family. It was by chance that her neighborhood pushed her to try out for, and win, American Idol. Launching a new business "Rock Soul" centering on the focus that she wants to take with her career and her music, Fantasia is ready to give back and take control of her voice once again.
- Jermaine Dupri's career started as a 12 year old dancer when he landed a gig as the opening act for a 50 city Fresh Fest Tour during hip-hop's Golden Era. He quickly went on to become a successful record producer by the age of 16. Developing new artists such as Kris Kross, (early) TLC, Xscape, Da Brat, Usher, and Lil Bow Wow owe much of their success to the penmanship and guidance of Dupri. Never giving up on his hustle, his Atlanta based empire So So Def just reached its 25 year anniversary milestone. Looking back on his accolades, Jermaine Dupri earned the right to be talked among the greatest songwriters of all time.
- Born to a 15-year-old young single mom in Camden, New Jersey. An identical twin, Tasha Smith narrowly escaped a life distracted by drugs, violence, alcohol and the wrong type of men. After dropping out of high school at 14-years-old, a miraculous test of faith when her grandfather passed away led her to a relationship with God once more. She moved to LA and worked on breaking in to stand up comedy while moonlighting as a stripper before she got her first big break. The urge to direct led Tasha to self-produce and direct her first short film, she has since moved on to episodic and feature length directing - established herself as a well-respected director in the entertainment industry.
- Born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Tami Roman and her mom fled to Los Angeles to escape Tami's childhood sexual and physical abuse. Instead of providing a refuge, LA led to further hardships and struggles as she and her mom found themselves homeless and Tami plagued by abuse, kidnap and rape. With the help and strength of her mom, she landed herself as a cast member on The Real World LA. This was her first television experience and introduced Tami to the world of entertainment. She found herself the topic of controversy as fellow cast mate was kicked off the show and she was the first person to have an abortion on TV. Attending a New York celebrity party she met her future husband Kenny Anderson, it wasn't until he invited her to a game that she realized he played for the NBA. After two daughters and a 7-year marriage Kenny was exposed with a history of cheating and thanks to the support of her mom, they divorced and she started a new life. Despite the hardships that life threw her way, Tami was always able to get though with the help and support of her mom. When her fell ill and passed away suddenly it caused her to contemplate reality, God and suicide. With the help of family and friends she was able to push through and is now a celebrated reality TV star and budding comic.
- Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas - Kirk Franklin was raised by his aunt Gertrude after his mom and dad abandoned him. It was there that he discovered his love for music through the church, as Gertrude made it a priority for him to take piano lessons - a gift passed on from her late husband. Kirk first experienced real success with his choir that he composed and aptly named, The Family. It was when he had the opportunity to work with an up and coming group, God's Property, that success really took off with the Jimmy Iovine inspired remix to Stomp. Always one to remain true to his testimony, he received backlash once more for vocalizing his addiction to pornography. With the faith and support of his family he remains true to his spiritual journey and to inspire faith through his music and his testimony.
- Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Shaffer was raised by a single mother in a household filled with strong women role models that would serve as the inspiration for some of his biggest hits. With a father who was often abusing toward him and his mother, and then soon absent, Ne-Yo found out early on how important being a strong father figure would be to his future kids. Taking opportunities as a songwriter he was able to build a career before landing a record deal with Columbia Records - disagreeing with how they handled his career he left, resigned to songwriting before he was signed to Def Jam by L.A. Reid and could thrive as the artist he wanted to be.