VIDEO CONVERSATION: FATi, The New Queen of AfroPop

FATi, the new Queen of Afropop, is on a mission and she gives us the deets when she sits down with What’s The 411’s host, the award-winning journalist, Kizzy Cox, and comedian Onika McLean.

FATi takes us on her career voyage starting with giving up her “day job” with the thought of showcasing her talents on Broadway to going back home to Abidjan to structure her singing career to performing before 500,000 people at a concert in Nairobi, Kenya, and more.

FATi is not the typical newbie in the recording industry, as her father, helped her to understand early in the process that she needs to be more than a singer and take control of her product. He’s also quick to remind her when necessary that "you got to be about your business."

When FATi arrived in Nairobi, Kenya to perform at a benefit with her uncle, Robert “Kool” Bell, to find 500,000 people in the audience, she showed her vulnerability, as she suffered a serious case of stage-fright. And, FATi’s mother immediately took on the Cher character in the movie, Moonstruck, to set her straight. Needless to say, FATi rebounded quickly and performed to rave reviews.

Coming from a tight-knit family, everyone is on board with supporting FATi’s dream; in fact, her brother is her manager. And, FATi is having a great time while living her dream. She’s still looking forward to performing on Broadway and would love to perform with Akon, Missy Elliot, T Savage, and Shekhinah (South Africa) to name a few.

FATi knows everything is about timing, and she’s willing to stay focused, and continue to do the work, so she will be ready for greater opportunities.

MUSIC VIDEO: FATi Performs Her Latest Song, QUEEN

This is a story that gives real meaning the phrase: Truth is Stranger than Fiction.

Here goes: A British manufacturer of high-end men's shoes struggles to survive. In an increasingly disposable society, customers are less interested in shoes guaranteed to last them for years. In a chance encounter, the factory owner's son, Charlie Price, meets a drag queen named Lola who convinces Charlie that there is a real market for women's shoes – made for men!

Charlie and Lola create a partnership, and the shop that once made footwear for elite Englishmen switches gears. It still makes shoes for men but for men with a different style of dress – no pun intended.

This production begins as a mildly interesting story set in a factory in decline. The dialogue is routine and frankly, I am starting to not expect very much. Then on the stage arrives Wayne Brady as Lola! This play takes off. It's like a football team waiting for a few plays to bring in their star quarterback.

This is a Wayne Brady that you probably haven't seen before. He's had his own television program, The Wayne Brady Show, and he currently hosts, Let's Make a Deal. But here, he absolutely owns the role of Lola. It's not just his exceptional singing and dancing, it's the complete presentation. The dresses and wigs turn him into a stunning individual; however, his thin, unattractive, typical black man's legs do serve to undermine his overall appearance (I can say that because I too have thin, unattractive black men's legs!).

The night I saw Kinky Boots, Charlie Price was played by the understudy, Ross Lekites. Andy Kelso is usually in that role. However, Ross was excellent, his timing, singing, acting were as if he were the lead performer.

The music and lyrics are by Cyndi Lauper (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun), and its direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell.

The set was modest but more than adequate for the storyline.

The bottom line is put on your shoes, boots, or whatever you wear and get down to The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, at 302 West 45th Street and see Kinky Boots.

HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME is the Broadway musical based on the lyrics of the legendary rap artist, poet, and actor, TUPAC SHAKUR.

If you're looking for the Tupac story, this is not the one. HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME is a social commentary on the plight of black men, particularly those from low-income communities. Tupac's lyrics and music undergirds the story.

When Tupac was alive he was revered by many and reviled by some. In HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME, you get to see that Tupac Shakur was a rebel with a cause and HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME amplifies his message magnificently.

The principal cast members of HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME are: Saul Williams; Christopher Jackson; Saycon Sengbloh; Ben Thompson; John Earl Jelks; Joshua Boone; Dyllon Burnside; and Tonya Pinkins.

Kudos to director Kenny Leon. From the lead characters to the supporting cast and chorus, they bring their "A" game; you feel their passion and emotions. You will care about some of the characters, and dislike and feel sorry for others.

In HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME, as in real life, we meet young men who are seeking guidance for ways to navigate the world. They are looking for direction from their peers and from older people whose navigational compass should be intact but has gone awry. This is evidenced by examples of the misguided use of sexuality and bravado masquerading as real manhood.

The music will have you at times wanting to dance in the aisles. If you're a purist and want to hear the lyrics as much as the music, well you might be disappointed on that score. The sound system periodically precludes you from hearing the clarity of the singer's voice.

As good as the production of HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME is, there is one element missing.

Star power.

Sure, Broadway has transformed many unknowns into stars. However, when you have a production built on the music of a larger than life figure, the production deserves star power.

The book could have been written with a cameo appearance by a rapper that has street cred that we don't see or hear from every day. There are several rappers that fit this bill and any one of them would have gladly taken on the role. Hey for that matter, a long-standing hip-hop radio personality would have also worked and they could have helped with the marketing. Just ask the founders of FUBU and other urban clothing lines.

As for marketing, I'm still amazed at the number of people who don't know about HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME. It's clear that there were missed opportunities and marketing miscues unless of course, the producers were just trying to reach the traditional Broadway theater audience. The HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME logo is very unappealing. Although HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME is not Tupac's biography, it is a perception of his life through his music. Consequently, the red carpet opening should have featured high-profile friends of Pac and those who worked with him and held him in high esteem, such as Jada Pinkett Smith, Snoop Lion, Malik Yoba, and director John Singleton; not to mention various hip-hop and urban radio and TV personalities, as well as influencers within the New York City urban community.

HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME makes a profound statement and it would be sad if it were to leave the Broadway scene too soon because the marketing plan doesn't match the level of intensity coming from the cast and musicians.

Moreover, the legacy of Tupac Shakur deserves better.

HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME!

WATCH VIDEO: Sardi's Bestows Caricature Upon Academy Award-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr.

What's The 411TV was in the house for the unveiling of a Sardi's caricature for Academy award-winning actor, Cuba Gooding Jr.

Cuba Gooding Jr was joined by Sardi's president Max Klimavicius and cast members of the Broadway production, THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL.

On the stage at Stephen Sondheim Theatre, Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful tells the story of an elderly woman, Carrie Watts (Cicely Tyson) yearning to return to the days of her young adulthood, where things were happier and simpler. Not being able to actually return to those days, she seeks the next best thing: returning to Bountiful where those days were spent.

At this point in her life she lives in Houston with her son, Ludie (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and his wife, Jessie Mae (Vanessa Williams). Poor Ludie constantly tries to keep peace between the two women in his life. Jessie Mae hates her mother-in-law's hymn singing and snooping while Carrie finds her son's wife to be demanding and pampered. And Ludie and Jessie Mae will have none of this nonsensical notion of visiting Bountiful.

Knowing that her son and daughter-in-law will never escort her there, Carrie decides to take off on her own, and with the help of kind strangers, she heads to Bountiful with her family in hot pursuit.

The story of an old woman wanting to return to her hometown is not in itself an interesting tale. But with the excellent writing of Horton Foote and the lively characters he creates, this story blossoms into a thoroughly fascinating adventure.

He takes the age-old conflict of the battling mother and daughter-in-law with the son caught in the middle and spins it into something entertaining and almost original. Foote's script would be nothing but words on a page without the exceptional performers to give them life. And Tyson, Williams and Gooding do just that.

In the earlier scene, the three characters interact in their apartment with each participating in the development and telling of this story. But once Carrie takes off to Bountiful this becomes Cicely Tyson's play and she is outstanding! Dancing and singing and carrying this play like Atlas with the world on his shoulders. This production is further enhanced by a superb set, which while modest compared some of the more elaborate Broadway settings, the backdrop serves this story well, supporting but not overwhelming it.

At this point, it's a cliché to say: Take this trip to Bountiful; but it is nevertheless true. It'll be worth your time and money.

The Trip to Bountiful is about two hours in length.

WATCH VIDEO: Martha Reeves

What's The 411TV correspondent and Motown historian, Chuck Whaley, gives us a little bit of insight into the history of Motown when he interviews the legendary singer, Martha Reeves.

As Motown aficionados know, Martha Reeves was the lead singer of the legendary Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.

If you know anything about Motown, you know that one of the Vandellas hit singles that has lived on to this day is DANCING IN THE STREET. And, if you listen very closely, you can hear it playing in the background.

At the end of the interview, you can also hear Ms. Reeves give a shout out to Chuck's daughter, Crystal.

VIDEO INTERVIEW: ALIA JONES-HARVEY

What's The 411's A Salute to Black Broadway Honors Broadway's Finest

In 2006, Alia Jones-Harvey produced Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for Broadway.

"As lead producers, which is a distinction that Stephen Byrd my producing partner and I are proud to have, we develop the concept, we go after the financing, but then we hire the director we put together the entire company, bringing on the general manger, the company manager, the accountants, the lawyers, so it's really putting together the entire company from the ground up for each production that we do," said Alia Jones-Harvey in describing the role of the lead producers.

Lead producers can get involved with hiring the director and cast and Alia Jones-Harvey and Stephen Byrd were very hands-on with both productions.

"It is our prerogative to be very hands-on in that respect with our current production A Street Car Named Desire and even our last production. We were very honored to work with Debbie Allen on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof..."

As a lead producer of Broadway productions, going in Alia Jones-Harvey thought her sole focus would always be on the money, but something happened to change her mind with her first Broadway production, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

"My mindset was to make money for the investors and then I walked into the room with James Earl Jones and thought this is incredible. I don't believe two months ago I was supporting hedge funds, doing financial statements and investor relations for my hedge fund clients and today I am in a room with James Earl Jones talking about our vision for the first African-American production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway."

Then there is the extra pressure in remaking a classic Broadway production with an all Black cast.

"...there is an added pressure because what we hope for in the mix of audience that we bring to a show like this are the diehard Tennessee Williams fans that know every word that expect a certain interpretation and so we hope to please them as much as a new audience member who has never seen Tennessee Williams but enjoys one of the cast members or is a fan of the cast members."

In commenting about the future, Alia Jones-Harvey would like to produce more Broadway productions.

"I would love to continue to bring other plays to Broadway. There is always a financial consideration and for us as producers we are constantly reaching out for new opportunities to fund classic works. We're looking at more classic works right now that we might do in the future and also looking at what additional life Street Car will have."

Regarding receiving a A Salute to Black Broadway Vanguard Award from What's The 411TV, "I am really honored and it's especially wonderful for me to get a Vanguard Award because I have always looked at myself as someone who would take the path that had not been followed so I feel like this is symbolic of that and I am very honored."

VIDEO: Heather Headley discloses her feelings about winning a Tony Award, and what she learned about studio recording

In this interview, award-winning singer/actress Heather Headley sits with What's The 411 correspondent Amelia Moore for a wide-ranging interview.

Seated in a record company conference room, The Lion King actress talks about life in her native Trinidad, family, winning a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway production, Aida, embracing her priorities of self first, then her art, working with music icons Jimmy Jam (James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III), Terry Lewis, and Gordon Chambers; and a whole lot more.