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Jonathan Majors
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Hollywood has had its eye on Jonathan Majors as a star on the rise since his stellar turn in “The Last Black Man In San Francisco” in 2019. But 2020 was his year with roles in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” and in the lead role of Atticus in HBO’s “Lovecraft Country”. Majors’ future is looking bright as he joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe for “Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania” as Kang The Conqueror. If that’s not enough to cement his star status, he’ll join the A-list ensemble cast of the revenge Western “The Harder They Fall” with Idris Elba, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Zazie Beetz, and Lakeith Stanfield.
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Saweetie
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Saweetie has a repertoire of catchy singles but it’s her empowering 2021 anthem with Doja Cat that’s earning her even more fans. “Best Friends” is an ode to girl power that the 27-year-old with the rapper telling ET Canada, “I hear two girls empowering one another. I hear two girls having fun. I hear two girls just being bosses together.” It’s the latest tease ahead of her debut album Pretty B*tch Music due later this year.
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Demi Singleton & Saniyya Sidney
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Meet the young stars who will play tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams in the upcoming biopic “King Richard” which chronicles the rise of the athletes to sports superstars under the coaching of their father Richard (Will Smith). Fourteen-year-old Singleton already has a Broadway career behind her while Sidney, 15, earned raves for her performance in the vampire series “The Passage”. “King Richard” will allow both young stars showcase their talents in a big way.
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Brittney Spencer
Kt Sura
Aspiring singer-songwriter Brittney Spencer is one of a handful of Black and biracial artists like Mickey Guyton breaking into country music with the release of her debut EP "Compassion" in 2020. Inspired by her love of The Chicks at age 15, Spencer is gaining some major fans after releasing a cover of The Highwomen that racked up over 120,000 views on Twitter. Maren Morris and Amanda Shires invited Spencer to sing with them once the pandemic is under control.
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Eli Goree
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One of the hottest rising stars south of the border is Canadian Eli Goree. No stranger to the small screen, the actor has slowly been making a name for himself with roles on “Riverdale”, “Ballers” and “The 100”, but it’s his turn as Cassius Clay in Regina King’s “One Night In Miami” that is earning him some well-deserved attention. Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video Canada, when the film premiered at TIFF, King couldn’t stop gushing about Goree to ET Canada: “I got to literally watch him transform his body, watch it happen with the way he walked, the dialect. It was just a joy to witness and also a ‘phew thank God. Right choice’.”
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Amorphous
Courtesy Amorphous
Twenty-two-year-old recent Jimir Reece Davis is a musical mash-up genius better known by the name Amorphous. His clever beats blending Rihanna (his idol) and Luther Vandross or Ariana Grande and Alicia Keys have earned him praise far and wide from Issa Rae, Chloe x Halle, John Legend, Kehlani and even MC Hammer. A film school graduate, Davis has also combined his love of movies and music by creating two documentaries – one of Aaliyah and another on Rihanna, which Riri herself has watched. But his most famous fan might be Oprah Winfrey who, after one of his tweets about needing a new laptop caught her attention, replied by sending him a new MacBook. “My pleasure to help you bring us into 2021 dancing,” she tweeted back to him. Fat Joe dropped the single “Sunshine” featuring Amorphous’ remix which is still going strong for the up-and-coming artist who promises plenty of exciting remixes in 2021.
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Nija Charles
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At age 23, Nija Charles is one of music’s most sought-after songwriters. She’s written tracks for Beyonce, Maroon 5, Cardi B, Meek Mill and Megan Thee Stallion. 2020 was a big year for Charles who co-wrote Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s dance hit “Rain On Me.” Next up for Charles is to focus on her own musical career , releasing music under her own name while still penning hits for music’s biggest stars.
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Nia DaCosta
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2020 should have been writer/director Nia DaCosta’s big year as the director of “Candyman”. The return of Tony Todd’s horror icon in the rebooted film has had horror fans salivating for a while now as the Jordan Peele-produced film has seen its release date shift to 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic. Despite the push back, DaCosta’s future is looking even brighter: she’s been tapped to direct “Captain Marvel 2”, becoming the first Black female director to join the MCU.
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Bree Runway
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Get ready to hear the name Bree Runway everywhere in 2021. She’s earned praise from artists like Cardi B and Doja Cat and collaborated with Missy Elliott all before releasing her debut album last year. The British-born singer even performed for Michelle Obama as a student. Growing up listening to Missy, Britney, and Lil Kim as well as Freddie Mercury and David Bowie, Bree’s sound is a genre-bending throwback to the early 2000s.
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Elsa Majimbo
Elsa Majimbo
The pandemic left us all in need of a good laugh. Enter Kenyan comedian Elsa Majimbo whose Instagram videos have made her the breakout star of lockdown. The short monologues feature a chip-snacking, sunglass-wearing Majimbo delivering indifferent remarks on everything from finding a boyfriend, advice for her future children and the pandemic itself – relishing her alone time, not missing anyone, and ignoring phone calls. "You know I won't pick up, but you call. What is this audacity?" a typical monologue goes, punctuated by her laugh as she pops a chip in her mouth and slides her sunnies on. Big things are coming her way after she was named E! People’s Choice Awards African Social Star of 2020 and signed a deal with Comedy Central.
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LB Spiffy
Justin Abernethy
Young Toronto rapper LB Spiffy has steadily been on the rise over the past number of years in his hometown community of Jane and Finch to international recognition after his music was used in a video on gaming channel NBA2K: Reels, garnering millions of views. His music has caught the attention of Drake and Kylie Jenner, all before his debut EP drops later this year.
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Thuso Mbedu
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Steve McQueen’s new Amazon Original series “The Underground Railroad” cast Thuso Mbedu – an International Emmy-nominated teen actress - as its main character. Poised to make her international breakout in hotly-anticipated drama, the upcoming series follows Mbedu’s Cora, a runaway slave who makes an incredible discovery while searching for the Underground Railroad. McQueen definitely has an eye for talent after casting Michael Fassbender in one of the actor’s first major roles in his debut feature “Hunger” and catapulted Lupita Nyong’o to an Oscar and stardom with her debut role in “12 Years A Slave”. One only needs to check out his “Small Axe” collection of short films to find even more rising stars.
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Willie Jones
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Willie Jones is bringing country music to a new audience as part of the rise of Black country music singers. Breaking down barrier by bringing hip hop and R&B influences to country, Jones has been on the radar for a while but his 2021 debut album Right Now is steadily earning buzz thanks to the stand-out track “American Dream”. The track has earned praise for reflecting on what it is like to be a Black man in America today and tackling racism and police brutality in a way rarely heard in patriotic country music.
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Javicia Leslie
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Actress Javicia Leslie is breaking down barriers as the first-ever Black actress to play Batwoman. Taking over the role on Showcase’s “Batwoman” from Ruby Rose for season 2, Leslie’s bound to become an even bigger star in 2021.
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Kt Sura
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Courtesy Amorphous
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Elsa Majimbo
Justin Abernethy
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