Entertainment Shorts

Brooks, Hinds to be sentenced March 12

Dantay Brooks, son of dancehall star Mavado, and Andre Hinds are to be sentenced March 12.

Brooks and Hinds were convicted in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston on Wednesday for the June 2018 murder of Lorenzo Thomas.

They were also found guilty of illegal possession of firearm, shooting with intent, and arson.

According to a press release issued by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, during the 12-day trial which began on January 11, prosecutors presented evidence that Brooks and Hinds were among five men who entered Thomas’ house and shot him before pushing his father into another room.

Fourteen witnesses were called, including the victim’s father, who was the prosecution’s main witness. He testified that he watched helplessly as his offspring was shot multiple times.

The father’s testimony also included gruesome details of how the killers attempted to sever his son’s head before torching his house.

Veteran calypsonian singer Singing Sandra dies at 64

Sandra Des Vignes Millington, the veteran calypsonian known as’ Singing Sandra’, has died. She was 64.

Calling the For Whom the Bell Tolls singer a “national icon”, Randall Mitchell, Trinidad and Tobago’s minister of tourism, culture and the arts, said he was sad to hear of the famed singer’s passing.

“For decades, Singing Sandra, a former two-time Calypso Monarch, not only entertained national and international audiences with her many calypsos, but she was seen as an educator via her songs,” said Mitchell in a statement.

He hailed Singing Sandra as a feminist icon, adding that her contributions made the twin-island republic a “richer nation”.

“Long before the ‘Time’s Up’ and the ‘Me Too’ movements took root, Singing Sandra embraced the women’s movement and provided our women with the rallying call to ‘die with their dignity’,” he said. “Singing Sandra was true to her word, and as we mourn her passing, the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago in general, and the cultural fraternity, in particular, will always be thankful for her contribution which has made us a richer nation.”

Queen Latifah ‘stoked’ to land post-Super Bowl slot for show

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Queen Latifah thrives on going big. From writing and rapping at the start of her career to being an Oscar-nominated actress to producing, she has upended expectations for years.

Her latest chapter comes in the new CBS series, The Equalizer, as the first black woman to portray the role in the franchise.

The show débuts February 7 in the coveted timeslot following the Super Bowl, typically the year’s most-watched programme. The series settles into its regular Sunday night slot on February 14.

The football game offers the potential of a huge lead-in audience to introduce Latifah as Robyn McCall, an ex-CIA officer who uses her skills to defend those who can’t help themselves while pursuing her own redemption. Her co-stars include Chris Noth, Lorraine Toussaint and Adam Goldberg.