Years before her Emmy-winning TV career, Quinta Brunson was inspired by a FOX 29 meteorologist

If West Philly native Quinta Brunson never became an Emmy-winning actor, writer, and TV producer, chances are she would still be a recognizable name and a much beloved face on the small screen.

During Tuesday’s appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark, the creator and star of Abbott Elementary said her childhood dream was to follow the footsteps of longtime Fox 29 meteorologist Sue Serio.

“I did see myself becoming someone on screen. I wanted to become a weather person. There was a weather person in Philadelphia I loved, named Sue Serio. I thought she was the bee’s knees,” Brunson said.

South Jersey’s own Kelly Ripa, cohost of the long-running ABC talk show and Camden County native, instantly recognized Serio.

“You know she’s like a legend,” Brunson said, “and I wanted to be her.”

Since joining the Fox 29 News team as a weather anchor in 1997, Serio has been a fixture on Philadelphia TV screens. For decades, she has endured blizzards, thunderstorms, and the wild winds at the Jersey Shore to deliver weather reports.

Inside the studio, Serio has shared the green screen with famous actors to local children, supporting various nonprofits and going on to inspire a young Brunson.

“Imagine my surprise when I found out that the amazing Quinta Brunson — that’s right, the creator and star of [Abbott Elementary] shouted my out this morning on [Live with Kelly and Mark] !!!!! Thank you for the kind words [Quinta Brunson]. I would love to meet you next time you’re in Philly," Serio wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday.

Recognizing Brunson’s dream to be a “weather person,” Ripa and her husband and cohost Mark Consuelos directed the show’s producers to pull down a weather map for Brunson to flex her meteorology muscles.

Brunson then walked over to the digital screen, and leaned into her extraordinary sketch and improv skills. Within seconds, she transformed into a veteran meteorologist — broadcast voice, transitional phrases, and all.

“So, today in New York you might want to grab a jacket at 9 a.m. It’s going to be a little bit chilly. But don’t worry, at 3 p.m. it’s getting all the way up to 52,” she said, “But don’t get too excited though because at 7 p.m. it’s going to drop to 48. And you know what that means — You’re going to want to put that jacket back on.”

“At 9 p.m., you should be in, watching the playoffs so you don’t have to worry about it being cold. That’s the weather,” Brunson said at the end of her bit.

Along with displaying her weather anchor chops, Brunson also hinted at the season finale episode of Abbott Elementary‘s fifth season that airs on Wednesday night. The school’s teachers end up going on a trip to Florida, where they are informed that a new superintendent plans to shut down the school.

As for season six, Brunson said she hoped to shoot at Philly institutions that are particularly important to her. Her hope is to film inside Independence Hall or City Hall, but she said the chances may be slim.

“I feel like legally we shouldn’t be allowed to shoot there,” she said.

No harm in trying, we say. And there’s always the Fox 29 green screen if that doesn’t work out.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

Tired of X, rapper Meek Mill now has a LinkedIn account. We tried to find out why.

We’re not the only ones updating our LinkedIn profiles, scrolling through workaversary posts, and flying through “easy-apply” applications.

Last week, Grammy-nominated artist Meek Mill joined LinkedIn, and has already shaken up things on the world’s largest professional networking platform.

The “Dreams and Nightmares” rapper and North Philly native said he’s done with the saturation of AI bots, deepfake slop, and “gossip people” on X.

“We basically in a deep matrix trapped between Instagram, x …, TikTok, snap, etc. we have millions of fans, we can’t even get real data on them, that’s where the bots live, free to control narrative,” Meek tweeted.

So, he decided to join … LinkedIn?

That’s a surprise and perhaps bit of a disappointment for anyone who has followed his unhinged and unintentionally hilarious tweets, including his memorable rap beefs with the likes of Cassidy, Wale, and Drake. But the Dream Chaser Records CEO said he’s ready to showcase his “true potential.”

And he thinks LinkedIn is the perfect platform to do that.

“For too long, others have spoken on my behalf, but now I am taking the reins and speaking for myself, supported by a strong team,” Meek wrote in his first LinkedIn post, last week. “I will be posting more content and business ideas to demonstrate the strength of the brand and my process.”

In his bio, the rapper wrote he’s “looking to build out and make business connections that’s aligned with meek mill, dream chasers & bikelife brand.” He added that he’s looking to connect with criminal justice reform advocates, and that he’s “nice at creating tech ideas.”

From the looks of it, those connections are already happening.

Since joining the platform, the rapper, born Robert Rihmeek Williams, has made posts looking to explore business partnerships and collaborations with music labels, AI programmers, and video game developers.

Meek’s recent foray into LinkedIn, and his calls for business collabs and partnerships, comes months after he announced his musical independence and broke away from recording labels.

In a June 2025 appearance on Philly-based content creator Raud‘s stream, Meek talked about only receiving 13% of his earnings for the first 13 years of his career. Now, as an independent artist, he said he’s getting 100% but keeping an open mind about future partnerships.

“I’m about to do something else, something they’ve never seen before. I’ll talk about it when we do it,” he said during the stream.

Maybe that explains the LinkedIn pivot.

He is the cofounder of the nonprofit Reform Alliance, which launched in January 2019. Through it, Meek has advocated for legislation and policy changes around parole and probation laws. The inspiration, as he explained in a LinkedIn post, was the wrongful conviction of a childhood friend who, according to Meek, was sentenced to 20-40 years for a crime he never committed, and was released only three years ago.

Meek also expressed an interest in making a documentary, building a clothing brand, and establishing his own beverage company.

LinkedIn users have commented on his posts.

“Very inspiring Mr Mill, I have followed your career rather closely and look forward to seeing your impact on the platform. I strongly believe you can certainly make a difference in the community and strengthen the culture,” one LinkedIn user wrote.

“I’ll automate your whole business for you Meek give me a dm,” another user commented.

He has replied with a “let’s work” to several of these comments, but clarified on Monday, “Please ensure you have a proven track record.”

Seemingly, Mill’s not the only artist to have made the jump to LinkedIn. Last week, a profile claiming to be Claire Boucher, the birth name of Canadian singer-songwriter Grimes, also appeared on the platform.

Even on the new platform, Meek hasn’t abandoned his old social media ways of bringing folks to task.

In a Sunday post, he called out an unnamed group in Albany, N.Y. who he claims has mounted “a noticeable smear campaign against my name.” But, he insisted, he wants to “focus on the positive. I am eager to collaborate with tech and marketing companies to elevate my brand to new heights.”

As Meek gets used to the lay of the land on LinkedIn, he hasn’t forgotten his X account.

On Saturday, he wrote a post on X describing the connections he’s made on LinkedIn before issuing a caveat: “... I don’t want the gossip people to follow me to LinkedIn just business...”

Meek’s plans include everything from a documentary chronicling the DVD era, to implementing AI courses in public schools and underserved communities, to finding a “long term meek mill supporter” who’s invested in a future tech startup.

He even added a music collaboration with J. Cole to his wish-list.

“I need j Cole on my project wassup bro let’s get it in the studio!!!!!,” he wrote.

Meek said he’s been using AI platforms like Claude to organize his music and business verticals, all thanks to “some tech youngbull” he met on LinkedIn who gave him a template to use.

“It’s moving my business forward at a high rate!” he explained on X.

Beyond his calls for partnership, Meek also hinted at a possible project this summer. And that nothing, not even “algorithms,” are going to “stop the soul” in his music from reaching his listeners, he said.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

Justin Nagtalon aka El Toro, a beloved sticker artist and muralist, has died at 43

If you walk around Philly, there’s a high chance you’ve been smiled at by a Filipino water buffalo drawn on an USPS sticker label; be it in the back room of the South Street bar Tattooed Mom, on a newsstand on 15th and Walnut Streets, or stuck on street signs, buildings, cement barricades, and lamp posts around the city.

The buffalo and its creator are named El Toro, the pseudonym used by sticker artist Justin Nagtalon, who passed away at the age of 43 on March 7. The cause, confirmed by the family, was a heart attack.

Through a career that spanned more than 20 years, Nagtalon left a trail of multi-colored stickers across Philadelphia. With street artist Bob Will Reign, Nagtalon’s iterations of the two-legged buffalo brought the New York City and Western European culture of sticker art to Philly’s street corners.

In 2021, he shed his pseudonym and went from drawing on postage labels to turning the walls of restaurants like Baby’s Kusina + Market, Manong, and Tabachoy into his canvas. He also created the logo for WHYY’s Art Outside podcast series, and was commissioned to create an official game day poster for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025.

His art inspired a generation of street artists to create sticker art and slap them onto surfaces all over Philly, “My heart hurts,” Nagtalon’s mother Jennifer wrote to The Inquirer in a text message. “[He was] such a loving husband ... a loving brother to his big sister and to his younger brother. A fun uncle to his nephews and nieces. Most of all, a very sweet and loving son to me.”

The joyous buffalo he created two decades ago was reflective of the artist himself, a man who is remembered for his radiant smile, vast imagination, and playful personality.

As a child growing up in in Quezon City, Philippines, Nagtalon spent days scribbling in his black moleskin notebook. By the time he was 7, he filled pages with hand-drawn images, using markers he stole from his older sister, Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos.

“Whenever I would attend one of his shows, I used to joke with him and say, ‘OK, you did good. I’m not mad at you for stealing my markers anymore,’” said Nagtalon-Ramos.

When Nagtalon was 10, he, with the rest of his family, moved from the Philippines to join their mother in Paterson, N.J., where she was recruited to fulfill a nurse shortage. Nagtalon’s father worked for the Bureau of Fisheries.

While the move was a significant cultural shift, Nagtalon found comfort in watching 1980s cartoons such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, ThunderCats, and The Simpsons, and reading comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.

Those early interests inspired the friendly alter ego, El Toro, later in Nagtalon’s life.

“All of my core interests are because of my brother,” Jethro David “JD” Nagtalon, Justin Nagtalon’s brother, said. “He’s the one that influenced me with cartoons, anime, and certain art that I like. He got me into skateboarding, too. We both skateboarded, badly. But we skateboarded badly together.”

While his sister followed his mother’s career footsteps, Nagtalon opted for a career in the arts. In 2001, he enrolled at the former Art Institute of Philadelphia to study graphic designing.

In a 2020 interview with Streets Dept, Nagtalon said he developed an interest in graffiti while growing up in New Jersey. He started writing graffiti in college, but soon focused his attention on sticker art after discovering the fast-rising European scene in the early days of the Internet.

“He found his medium. He just wanted to spread love and happiness and positivity through the world,” JD Nagtalon said.

Before landing on El Toro, which was inspired by Carabao, a swamp-type water buffalo native to the Philippines, Nagtalon told Streets Dept that his stickers featured “weirder characters.” He even considered adopting a “poop monster” before settling on the cartoon water buffalo.

“Every time I saw one, I felt like I was a kid again,” said Conrad Benner, the founder and editor of the art blog Streets Dept and a friend to Nagtalon.

‘You were naturally happy to be around him’

By the time they met at the Art Institute, long-time friend Andrew Witter said Nagtalon’s artistic ambitions were in full bloom.

Witter recalled the two of them listening to MF Doom and playing Need for Speed: Underground on the Playstation 2. As early as 2003, Witter recalled, Nagtalon was putting up stickers throughout the city, Witter said.

“It was the path he wanted to take, and he never stopped,” he said.

Witter and fellow sticker artist Dana Williams watched as El Toro went from being one of Nagtalon’s many doodles, to a recognizable symbol of a burgeoning street art movement in Philadelphia. .

Williams called Nagtalon the “bigger visionary.”

“He saw the forest for the trees, as they say,” he said.

With frequent collaborator Bob Will Reign, Nagtalon forged connections with local gallerists, and soon drew the attention of early art sites such as Robots Will Kill (RWK).

ChrisRWK, who launched the site to spotlight underground artists, said Nagtalon and Bob “revolutionized the sticker scene” in Philadelphia.

Nagtalon worked anonymously for most of his arts career and collaborated with early sticker artists like Ticky 33, Underwater Pirates, and Noségo. He also played a significant role in transforming Tattooed Mom into an epicenter for street art. Not only by contributing his own work, but by connecting owner Robert Perry to other artists.

Nagtalon, ChrisRWK said, “was always smiling, and he had a positive feeling or attitude to any situation. You were naturally happy to be around him.”

‘I’m no longer afraid of who I am’

Nagtalon met his wife Amanda Benson outside of Good Dog Bar in 2007. Benson said he flashed an “adorable smile,” which made her walk toward him.

And “that’s when [Nagtalon] said he panicked,” she joked.

The two bonded over their love for vinyl toys, pop-surrealist artwork, and First Friday events in Old City. A year before they met, Benson had attended an art show that featured the work of El Toro. On their first date, she noticed his tattoo and asked if he was the man behind El Toro. He said yes with no hesitation.

Five years later, in 2012, they were married at the Valley Green Inn along the Wissahickon Creek. The couple then took a cross-country roadtrip and moved to Los Angeles.

There, Benson said, Nagtalon drew El Toro nearly every day.

Benson and Nagtalon moved back to Philly in February 2021 to be closer to friends and family.

Upon his return, Nagtalon decided to shed his anonymity and reveal his true identity.

He initially hesitated, fearing his “illegal” graffiti practices would result in an arrest, but he wanted a more formidable presence in the city’s street art scene. He also wanted his nieces and nephews to be proud of the legacy he had carved out.

“I’m no longer afraid of who I am. And I think that’s it’s such a big leap to connect, and also to understand my art more,” Nagtalon said in a 2023 interview on WHYY’s Art Outside. “I think bridging that gap before wasn’t important. But now it is. And I think I have a lot more things to say because of it.”

While they didn’t have children of their own, Benson said her late husband loved kids, and spoiled his nieces and nephews.

Nagtalon’s nephew Leo Ramos, 21, said he and his sister Leilani looked forward to playing video games, riding bikes, and baking cookies with their Uncle Justin on all the holidays.

“You didn’t really think about those moments that we had growing up in the moment,” said Leilani, 19. “And then when you realize that person is gone, those memories suddenly flood back into your mind. And for me, they were all very sweet and vivid memories.”

It was Leo who rushed to his uncle’s home in Philadelphia on March 7, after receiving an emergency call from his mother. Nagtalon was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead from a heart attack.

Nagtalon-Ramos said her brother’s death, and the call she made to her son Leo, were eerily similar to the one she received from Nagtalon when their father died at age 44, also from a heart attack.

“I’m really going to miss his youthfulness,” Nagtalon-Ramos said. “I’m going to miss his interactions with my children. I’m going to miss that playful side of him. And I’ll really miss how he interacted with the world.”

JD said he’s going to miss their hilarious phone calls, shared Instagram posts, and the time they spent with one another.

“He was the happiest and most living person I ever met,” he said.

With Nagtalon’s passing, Bob Will Reign said he had lost his “partner in crime.”

He plans to continue posting stickers across Philly’s street corners as a way to carry on his friend’s legacy, both as El Toro and the kind-hearted soul he first met more than 20 years ago.

Dozens of Philadelphia street artists took to social media to post Nagtalon’s stickers, past El Toro collabs, and their photos with the beloved sticker artist. Others have made their own renditions of Nagtalon’s iconic character to honor him and his work.

“It’s been incredible to see the outpouring of grief, but also the support that’s been in his direction,” Benson said. “I just want to thank the people who have reached out. I’m so grateful for it.”

El Toro sightings on her walks, Benson said, will always remind her of the “joyful, playful, and hilarious” man she fell in love with nearly 20 years ago.

No public memorial is planned at this time. A Meal Train to support Benson was started by Nagtalon’s friends.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

Jalen Hurts doesn’t have much time to meet his Drexel look-alike

For years, Jalen Hurts’ face has been on TV screens and Philadelphia billboards. His unshakable cool and dashing good looks have drawn brand deals and a growing base of admirers.

But off TV and beyond the billboards, if you’ve spotted “Hurts” at a Sansom Street dive or on Drexel’s campus in recent years, chances are you ran into Drexel lacrosse midfielder Ronnie Gunter, the Minnesota native who recently went viral for his close resemblance of the two-time Pro Bowler.

In an Instagram video shared by user wooder_ice on Tuesday, Gunter, 22, is seen being approached by 16 people who mistake him for the NFC Championship-winning QB. The video, originally posted by Gunter’s girlfriend, Emma Carpenter, amassed over 160,000 views on Instagram as of Wednesday morning.

Gunter has drawn Hurts comparisons since his sophomore year at Drexel. And while the stares and photo requests can be annoying at times, he has playfully welcomed the attention.

Their shared likeness, however, does not just stop at the goatee and 6-foot-1 frame. Gunter, who played his last lacrosse game for Drexel in May, has some NFL connections too. His cousin David Boston and uncle Michael Gunter played in the league, and another uncle, Byron Boston, was an NFL referee.

We talked to Gunter about going viral, juggling Vikings and Eagles fandom, and his desire to meet Hurts in person for a Spider-Man meme moment.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

First things first, do you think you look like Jalen Hurts?

I can see where the comparison comes from, especially when I put our pictures side by side. But personally, I feel like we look different enough from each other. But some people are fully convinced I’m him. Like we’re actually twins, it’s crazy.

Since you grew up as a Minnesota Vikings fan, was it weird getting compared to the Eagles star?

When I was graduating high school, my friends and family said, “You better not be an Eagles fan.” But it grows on you, especially when your home team is losing. It’s hard not to be a part of [the Eagles fandom].

I fell in love with the Eagles the first time I stepped into the city. I get the “Nobody likes us, we don’t care.” And I think Philly will always be a part of me when I eventually move on.

Did you think the video would go as viral?

I thought about it. I was waiting for someone to repost it and say, “Oh my god, Jalen Hurts was just here,” just because so many people have come up to me and told me, “Has anyone ever said you look like Jalen Hurts?”

My girlfriend was like, “I want to make a video of this,” and I was like, “Sounds good.” She made the video and posted it, and we both thought it would go decently viral. But not as much as it did. But here we are.

How do you feel about the comparisons?

I think it’s funny. And I mean, he’s not a bad guy to be compared to. He’s one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, so I appreciate it. It’s an awesome comparison to be mistaken for that guy. I think it’s awesome.

Has anybody asked you to sign an autograph?

No, never an autograph. There’s been multiple instances where I’ve taken pictures with people. Some of them will do it just to fake out their friends, or other people actually believe that I am him. When I hang out with friends, I get it so much that by the end of the night I just play into it like, “Yep, I’m him.” It’s pretty funny because so many random people come up to me and I can finish their sentences for them.

Does it ever get annoying?

Sometimes it can get a little annoying, but other than that it’s pretty awesome. Especially being in Philly, everyone thinks Jalen Hurts is [at] wherever they’re hanging out. You can see people do double takes, then confirm with their friends and then realize, “Why would Jalen Hurts be anywhere I am right now?” I have always had a good spirit about it, and I don’t ever think it will get old. It’s still awesome because he’s such an inspirational person to get compared to.

I want to manifest you both meeting. It’ll be like the Spider-Man meme.

Me too. I’ve been getting compared to him since roughly the end of my sophomore year. I have gotten nowhere close to meeting him. I’m graduating next week and heading back to Minnesota. [So] I have like a week and a half to meet this guy, so hopefully we can get a side by side next to each other sometime soon.

You’re not going to act like the Drake look-a-likes who walk around wearing OVO hoodies, are you?

No, no, no. I’m going to obviously do me. I get some comments where people are like, “He’s trying to even dress like Jalen Hurts.” No, that’s just how I dress. I’m just out here trying to have a good time.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

Keke Palmer Gets Raw On 'Just Keke': How The Multi-Hyphenate Reclaimed Her Narrative & Entered Her "Awareness Era"

Keke Palmer has made the evolution from child star to Hollywood empress look seamless. Whether it’s on set of a blockbuster movie, along the red carpet, or in the podcasting space, the actress, author, and entertainment mogul has remained the same Keke she’s always been.

For more than two decades, Palmer has been steadfast in her pursuits and intentional with her public image. She’s taken on bigger and more mature roles as an actress and launched KeyTV, a Los Angeles-based digital network that produces scripted and non-scripted shows starring other industry talents. As she’s expanded her horizons and ping-ponged from one big budget project to the next, she hasn't taken her sights off music.

Palmer has continuously poured into her music career. Beginning with 2007’s So Uncool to her newest release, Just Keke, the pop and R&B singer has gradually found her artistic footing. With the release of her latest album, Palmer has  shed the immeasurable weight of perfection that she carried for so long on her shoulders. 

Palmer has effectively abandoned the charismatic Hollywood persona reflected in her TV and movie roles and hilarious viral quips. Rather than disguise her anger, confliction, or heartbreak harbored since her last project, 2023's Big Boss, Palmer shed her previous "mask" in exchange for a mirror. Just Keke reflects the most authentic parts of Palmer's Hollywood star and Lauren, the girl from Harvey, Illinois who’s outgrown the small talk, lingering hangovers, and romantic drama. 

Released on June 20, Just Keke is Palmer’s rawest musical project to date. The album, and accompanying visual album, explores Palmer’s family life, her journey as a new mother, and her very public breakup. Throughout the album, she addresses her contentious split with Darius Jackson, and how her seconds-long dance with Usher at his Las Vegas residency in July 2023 placed an irreparable wedge between them. Rather than address it on social media, Palmer was compelled to put it to wax. 

Along with the pain of heartbreak, Palmer swats down the rumors and misconceptions that circulate online, and illuminates how motherhood and her recent experiences have made her an even firmer protector and believer in her future aspirations. GRAMMY.com spoke to the multihyphenate about her musical journey, how her role in an upcoming Boots Riley movie inspired her to get back into the studio, Issa Rae’s advice to go "Off Script," the honor of being memed, and her hopes to take her son, Leo, on tour for the album. 

The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Between movies, TV shows and your podcast, how do you have time for music, especially a new album?

The conversation always leads you, meaning I don’t always have something to say for an album. I feel like in order to put an album out, you have to have a topic. A lot of the other things I do are collaborative projects, so it’s somebody else's words or it’s a role, or even hosting is just a curiosity of life. 

But with [Just Keke], it’s like me putting all of my thoughts together — everything that I feel like I’ve learned or I want to reflect from society. It really guides me. Once I feel that feeling, then I make the time to put that project together. Otherwise, I kind of allow myself to keep living until that itch comes back. 

You even recorded Just Keke while filming a new film. What was that balancing act like?

It was something I needed because, as I said, that itch came back. I was working on this project for a while, and I was working on [the Boots Riley film, I Love Boosters]. I think being in that energy I was like, I think I’m ready. I should start trying to get my words out. 

Every night after I was on set, or on the weekend before I went back to start my week, Tayla Parx and Ispent about four days working on the project. And it just gave me that break that I needed. Sometimes when I’m doing one thing for a long time — whether it be a TV show, a movie, or my podcast — I need to mix it up. I needed to do something different, and it happened to be music. I was also ready to tell my story for this time period of my life. 

It’s been two years since Big Boss. How was your approach different this go around?

Well, I think I'm a way different person, and my conversation is different with myself. People say this is my most personal album, and I agree. Not because I was being fake on the other ones, but because anytime that you are deeper with yourself, it just changes the way you speak and communicate with others. It’s like a lived experience that just evolved me in a way that I didn’t even know I could evolve to. It just opened up a different perspective for me that you hear in the music.

This album was a peeling back of the layers and showing the world an insight into the life of Keke the entertainer, and Lauren the person. Were there any moments you thought might have been a bit too close to the chest?

Yes, and that’s the reason why I wanted to work with Tayla on the project because she was somebody that I trusted; not just because she’s so skilled, but because she cares about me. 

My [relationship] with my audience is communal. I’m a Black girl, I’m a Black millennial, and I’m a young person — I take all that seriously. That’s how my parents raised me with my platform. But at the end of the day, I’m a human being. People saw me, in the most public way, go through a very human experience. So, as a person and as an artist, not to address [the public breakup] would be a halt in my growth as a person. I didn’t want to exploit myself, but I wanted to talk about how this has impacted me… how the relationship impacted the way I perceive myself, and all the other ways that I needed to grow and heal.

It was kind of the inciting incident that allowed that barrier of feeling, that weight of perfection to kind of crumble. 

You dug deep on "My Confession." Was there a moment where you thought, Damn, maybe I went too far?

There absolutely was. And by the way, we went through that with every song, damn near. From "Off Script" to "Misunderstood" and "Expose." We went through that multiple times, but definitely with "My Confession," especially with the family line. I was thinking, Well, how much can I say? How were we going to say it?

The way [Tayla] produces projects, it’s not just what I’m saying. It’s also how I’m saying it, the inflections and the vibe. You really get to tap into the energy of how I feel that I’m confessing. I’m truly getting this s— off my chest that I need to get off, and it hurts to get it off my chest because I’m not trying to make nobody look crazy or look bad, but it’s part of my life. And I need to own my truth. 

It was very much a back and forth type of thing where I’m thinking, Damn, is this too messy? But music is your diary. Music is a big, deep expression for any artist that’s trying to be true. Again, it wasn’t that other projects I wasn’t trying to be honest. I didn’t have these experiences to realize that. The music went further on Just Keke because I further as a person. 

How would you define this new personal or artistic era you’re in?

I think this is like an awareness era; a true observational era in moving from just being the performer to also presenting to my audience that I'm the architect. Like, this is what Keke Palmer the brand is going to be talking about this season. 

With Just Keke, it’s clear that I’m talking about fragmentation, integration, and what it means to be a product. I’m talking about becoming who you are in front of the world. I'm talking about your love life and your love story not turning out the way that you want it. But I'm doing it with artistic awareness, while I also take you through the journey as the business and the creative person behind it. I put this together to transmute my personal experience, but in an art form. I’m taking off the mask, so to speak, and saying, "Hey, this is what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, and how I’m doing it." 

In another interview, you said this album was about, "Turning your mask into a mirror." Break that down for me.

I call my fans my miracles. I never called them anything before because it always felt kind of strange to me. But then after this experience, I was just sitting with myself and looking at my life, I thought, They’re my miracles. They saw it in me before I saw it for myself. 

And we’re reflecting each other back to one another. Anytime you get memed, it’s because people see themselves in you, and that’s the biggest and greatest honor. I think I have a unique relationship with my generation. I feel mirrored by them, and they feel mirrored by me. I think that’s really special because that means they see the truth. 

As a performer, I always try to keep it on point. But whether it was at the Met Gala, when I said, "It’s your girl," or when I did Vanity Fair and I said, "Sorry, to that man," they saw the real person. Even though I was trying to be as perfect as I could, they already knew I wasn’t perfect. And that’s what they love about me. And for me, it’s about taking off the mask and owning being in front of the mirror. Being that mirror for them, and being that mirror for me. 

Within the last two years, you became a mother. How do you feel motherhood has inspired you creatively, or even beyond music?

Motherhood has just made me braver. I think that's spilled into everything that I do — the ability to just have the courage to say "no" and have boundaries. To be firm in times when I was it wasn’t as easy to do it myself, but I knew that my son was watching. I knew this was going to affect my son because it’s going to affect me. 

I think it’s hard sometimes for people to stand up for themselves, even for the most confident people you can think of. It can be tough, but when you have a child, it becomes so detrimental. The child needs you, so you become stronger, braver, and more loving to yourself simply because you need to be for the kid. That’s the biggest way my son has impacted my life. 

On the visual album, you honor R&B icons like Whitney Houston and Brandy. Do you see parts of yourself in them?

They’re commercial icons, but they’re also Black women. A lot of what we speak to is generally flattened, fetishized, or it becomes a mockery because of the nature of our society. When I looked at women like Brandy and Whitney, I saw myself in them and saw them trying to become who they are in front of the world. It was never enough; [even] when you’re trying to be perfect, trying to do everything right. 

I remember when Brandy first had her child, and people were shocked. And when people judged Whitney, too. I feel like it’s just a rite of passage when you decide to be somebody in front of the world. I just wanted to honor them because they deserve to be honored for who they are, not for who people wanted them to be. At the end of the day, that’s what I’m saying with Just Keke. Maybe I’m not perfect. Maybe I’m just misunderstood, and maybe I’m not everything you want me to be, but I’m doing my damn best. All I can be is Keke, just like Whitney could only be Whitney, and Brandy could only be Brandy. That’s what’s necessary as we encourage the next generation to come into their own. 

The album wasn’t just filled with heavy material. The song "Tea, Boo" is a fun, house-inspired record. How was it putting songs like those together for Just Keke?

"Tea, Boo" is obviously like my personality. I think all the songs speak to different vibes of me. But "Tea, Boo" is like, "Hey, we’re kicking back, having fun, and let’s make a moment." 

"Tea, Boo" was a lot of fun. We were in the studio, and I was literally asking for some tea. And I was like, "Okay, I have some tea, boo." And Mike, the guy who was in there writing with me, was like, "What’s tea-boo?" And I was like, "No, I’m saying tea, comma, boo." And he was like, "That’s a song." From there, we started working on this record, and it was so fun. I wrote it around the same time as my book, Master of Me, so I was in the early stages of getting back into music. I kept it in the tuck, and felt it was perfect for the album. 

You were gloating on "Ripples," and included your family in the vignette during the visual album. That had to have been a special moment.

I was showcasing the side of me I damn near forgot about myself because I was doing everything that I could to be Keke Palmer. But there’s Lauren Palmer inside that created that persona to be able to survive. But now, I don’t have to do it to survive. I can do it with intention. 

Aside from talking my s—, I also wanted to show what it means to build a legacy. To show this is what it means to play your role in your family, and to continue to do what you need to do at all costs. My family has supported me. I’ve supported them, and they won’t stop. That’s how we’re going to keep doing it. That’s how I was raised. My dad talked to me about [actors] Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, and I remember meeting Kyla Pratt for the first time. I was so nervous that I didn’t say anything. And he was like, "You need to always show respect to the people that put on before you." He was kind of checking me, even though I was starstruck. I think about that often because he was like, "You’re not in competition with each other." We are in support of one another, and we have to give each other flowers whenever we see each other. It’s like we all have ripples that we come from, so we have to pay respect to that."  

Will you have a tour for this album? And if so, will baby Leo be on board for the ride?

You know that baby Leo has to come. I literally can’t leave without baby Leo. I would love to figure out a way. I don’t know what my tour is going to be like because I definitely feel like it has to be its own shape. I’m a musician, but how I see myself as an artist is everything at once. I want to figure out what’s the best way to do that kind of show because it has to be very much Just Keke. But doing a show and doing a tour is definitely on my list. It’s been the main thing me and my team have been talking about.

– Grammy.com

Former UArts dance instructor could be deported due to school closure

With dreams of becoming an artist, Turkish-born dancer Su Güzey immigrated to the only U.S. city she had ever visited — Philadelphia.

Güzey, now 33, moved to Philly in 2021 after being accepted into UArts’ MFA in dance. While pursuing her master’s degree, she began teaching as an adjunct assistant professor in the dance program, and performing in university-funded productions to help boost her resumé. She volunteered for several local productions and performed at the Philadelphia Fringe Fest.

With the school’s unexpected closure in June, Güzey lost her job and faces a threat far greater than unemployment — deportation. “I’ve had challenges in my life, but I never felt freezing and full despair as if everything was going to go wrong,” said Güzey, who completed her master’s program while at UArts. “It triggers my nervous system in a way that I have never felt before. I don’t like this feeling.”

As former UArts students, staff, and faculty members protested, Güzey was rushing to submit job applications. She had 60 days to find another job in academia in order to maintain her visa status, an almost impossible task given how few academic appointments are made during the summer.

Güzey still doesn’t know if she will be forced to uproot her life in Philadelphia, leaving her home in Fishtown, her career and friendships behind.

“I don’t want to generalize people’s experience when they are migrating from home, but the feeling of home is something you desperately seek,” Güzey said. “It’s not a space that you create. People make a home for you, and the people I’ve met have made Philly home for me.”

Even though the UArts’ dance program is moving to Vermont’s Bennington College the program’s new incarnation will have no full-time faculty but will use a roster of part-timers and visiting artists. With no full-time academic job on the horizon, Güzey is pursuing an O-1 nonimmigrant visa, commonly referred to as an “artist visa,” which could grant her an extended stay in the country.

“It’s just very complicated, and the place I’m in now is because I have looked at possible routes to stay, and this is the only one,” she said.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, O-1 visas are given to an individual “who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics ... and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.”

Güzey is confident she fits the bill. The only issue is funding.

She needs $5,000 to pay lawyer fees and submit her petition, an astronomical sum for a recently laid-off immigrant artist who’s been struggling to find paid gigs.

To fundraise, two of Güzey’s friends encouraged her to start a GoFundMe campaign, which has raised over $3,000.

“It’s beautiful to see [the support], and it proved my point that I found a home,” she said. “The support and care are undeniable.”

Her friend Jim Anderson, a graphic designer who creates under the name GRIMGRIMGRIM, said it’s “disappointing” to see artists like Güzey have to go to these measures because UArts shuttered its doors. He fears other creatives, too, will continue to be abandoned.

“It’s insanely f — d up,” Anderson said. “I don’t think people really realize the weight of it. The city wants to promote itself as some sort of cultural hub, but yet, they are helping kick people out that want to do good stuff here.”

Güzey said she and her lawyer are handling procedures as best they can, but “everything depends on how well the immigration office is going to respond,” she said. “At this point, we don’t know, and we have so much evidence based on my past experiences in the field. But again, it all depends on how they are going to see it.”

She doesn’t know whether it’s hope or stubbornness, but Güzey said she’s beyond the anxiety-ridden phase. She’s prepared for a more positive outcome, instead of the “bumpy road of pain” she’s been on the past two months.

“I don’t have any more anxiety attacks,” she said. “I have the strength to work on these things more and to fight for my rights. I deserve to stay here, and I have the skills and the experience to offer something to the arts community.”

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

A ‘bald baby’ JD Vance mural has popped up in Fishtown

Last week, a mural of U.S. Vice President JD Vance debuted on the side wall of Fishtown restaurant Sulimay’s.

The image is one of many memes of Vance that have been circulating on the internet. The images include Minion Vance, Shrek Vance, and even one where he appears as the Las Vegas sphere.

The Fishtown mural shows a wide-eyed, chubbier version of the vice president’s face but with a bald head, often referred to as the “bald baby” or “baby Vance” meme.

Videos of the mural have amassed millions of views on social media. On Sunday, TikTok user Paige Weinman posted a video of the mural that’s gained 900,000 likes and nearly 3 million views.

The bottom right of the mural reads “FUBARPAC,” an acronym for F–ed Up Beyond All Recognition/Repair. PAC is a political action committee.

Jack Inacker, a Philly native and founder of FUBAR PAC — self-defined as a “veteran-led Democratic opposition, waging a ruthless year-round campaign against MAGA cowards and their allies” — is the brain behind the Fishtown mural.

After months of exchanging Vance memes with a friend, Inacker decided to project the images against a prominent wall for Philadelphians to see. After further thought, he decided a painting would draw even more attention.

He made a post in the Philadelphia subreddit, asking if he could use someone’s wall for the project. Among the three users that responded, Inacker said Sulimay’s was the “perfect” fit.

Sulimay’s owner Chad Todd said he backed Inacker’s idea to highlight how “deplorable” both President Donald Trump and Vice President Vance have been since being sworn into office in January.

“No moral person can support what they’re doing,” Todd said. “I’ll take any opportunity to bring attention to it.”

Last Friday, Inacker brought along a projector, a handful of Sharpies, about $200 worth of paint from Lowe’s, and an artist friend.

They began by tracing over a projected image, then filling it with color until the piece was finished 12 hours later. Fishtown residents stopped by to lend a hand, Inacker said. Some suggested touch-ups, like adding eyeliner.

While the muralized meme of Vance is largely seen as something comical, Inacker said its purpose is to forge community and shed light on the Trump administration’s crippling federal financial cuts.

“Painting a meme on the side of a building is dumb bulls—, right?” Inacker said. “It’s fun to do with your friends, but I wanted to figure out a way to transform that into some meaningful action as well.”

In a TikTok posted Monday, Inacker showed a time-lapse of the mural’s creation. The clips were overlaid with references to Vance’s stance on cuts to foreign aid, the increased cost of Medicaid, and the lives impacted by Trump and Vance’s decisions.

Inacker plans to place a small plaque at the bottom of the mural with a QR code that directs people to a voter registration form.

He loves that the mural serves as a photo opp, but he wants it to become a resource and inspire people to think about political issues in their own way.

“I want to make sure that the barrier to entry to politics is really low, that more folks can get involved, and they don’t have to do serious things all the time,” he said. “They can have a party together to paint their own JD.”

With the mural, Fishtown joins somewhat of a global movement as altered images of Vance have become an international fixture.

In June, a Norwegian tourist claimed he was denied U.S. entry at Newark Liberty International Airport because he had downloaded the bald baby meme on his phone. The Trump administration refuted his claim, saying he was denied because of “admitted drug use.”

Weinman said she was surprised by the interest her post generated, but not by the popularity of the mural itself.

“We were like, ‘Oh, if you’re going to deny travelers the ability to come into the country because of their political views, their sense of humor, or their private conversations, that’s something that really stands in opposition to American values.’ So, I can understand why that image really took off in general, and why so many people find it funny.”

Similar murals of Vance have popped up on the vice president’s recent England tour. Last week, a poster by the “Everyone Hates Elon” protest group displayed the same image of Vance on a billboard in Cheltenham, Oxfordshire.

Todd said he has no plans to remove the mural from the restaurant’s wall just yet.

“As long as the positivity continues, it will stay up,” he said. “But I really don’t want to look at that for the rest of the year. It’s slightly terrifying, and freaking out the kids is a concern.”

The story has been updated to include comments from Sulimay’s.

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

The 8 Seconds Rodeo makes its debut in ‘the grittiest and most soulful city’

Ivan McClellan has had two million pounds of dirt to fill Temple University’s Liacouras Center for a “radically Black rodeo” on Saturday, along with 15 bulls, six broncos, 10 sheep, and more than 20 horses.

It has been a decade since he first fell in love with the Black rodeo on a 105-degree day in Okmulgee, Okla. The Portland, Ore., native was photographing the Black cowboys and cowgirls from the grandstands of the Roy LeBlanc Invitational Rodeo.

As they rode in Timberland boots at a speed of 50 miles per hour, braids flowing behind them, and their starched T-shirts crunching as their arms rose in suspension, McClellan realized there was a story that needed more unearthing.

“I got obsessed with rodeo culture at that point,” he said.

Black cowboy culture has existed since the beginnings of the American South, but McClellan felt there was a story that history books widely overlooked. He wanted to spotlight Black cowboys of the past and the rodeo athletes of today, from America’s Great Plains to those in the country’s largest urban centers.

With every rodeo he attended, he made more images and forged new relationships with cowboys and organizers, who inspired him to start a Black rodeo show of his own.

In 2023, he founded 8 Seconds Rodeo to highlight the essence of Black cowboy life, offer Black athletes higher wages than they were accustomed to, and introduce the world of Black cowboy culture to those unfamiliar with its extensive history.

That first rodeo at the Portland Convention Center drew a sold-out crowd of 2,000 attendees for an “electric” all-Black rodeo experience.

“This is not a reclamation story,” McClellan said. “This is something that we’ve always done, and something we’ve always had as Black people. We’re putting a light on it and letting people know it’s part of our identity. If you put on cowboy boots and a hat, you’re just putting on your grandpa’s clothes, and it’s OK.”

After selling out shows on the West Coast, McClellan — who recently moved to Chester County — teamed up with local equestrian and longtime friend Erin “Concrete Cowgirl” Brown to merge Western-style rodeo with Philly’s urban cowboy culture.

With Brown as his tour guide, McClellan ventured to the original home of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, a famed institution for Black cowboys in the heart of North Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood.

For decades, Black horsemen have roamed the streets of Strawberry Mansion and the nearby lushes at Fairmount Park. Several Black-owned stables have populated the area throughout the 20th century, where lessons on horsemanship and urban cowboy history were shared among riders young and old.

Brown started visiting the Fletcher Street stable at age 6.

And when the story of Fletcher Street and the city’s Black cowboy tradition was made into Netflix’s 2021 film Concrete Cowboy, Brown served as a consultant.

“We’ve achieved a lot in Portland, but I wanted to go to the grittiest and most soulful city in the world to see what we could do,” he said. “We’re going to throw down, the athletes are going to compete at the highest of their abilities, and I’m most excited about the crowd because of the city’s history and vibe.”

Philly’s, McClellan said, is a cowboy culture you don’t see anywhere else in America, and he’s excited to integrate that urban riding culture into Saturday’s event.

“It’s just the swagger of the riders here,” he said. “It’s got a lot of hip-hop in it, and that’s definitely something that has inspired us.”

Brown, who will bear the Pan-African flag to kick off 8 Seconds Rodeo, said the show is a natural fit given the city’s unique history and the recent commercialization of the Black cowboy.

“It’s major,” Brown said. “Cowboy and urban horse culture has been a thing way before I was born, but it’s more mainstream now with Beyoncé and everything coming forth. But what other city to do it than Philadelphia? It’s one of the largest cities, so why not?”

The one-day experience in Philly will feature rodeo athletes from around the country competing in bull riding, barrel racing, and bareback bronco riding for a total of $60,000 in prize money. There will also be a community pre-show that will have line dancing, mechanical bull riding, and roping instructions from fellow rodeo vets, and sounds from Philly’s DJ Diamond Kutz.

“You didn’t get those Fashion Nova and Boot Barn boots to sit in your seat. Come out early for community,” McClellan joked.

This event isn’t just a one-off, McClellan said. 8 Seconds Rodeo is going to be a mainstay event, and one he hopes becomes a place of community and celebration for Black Philadelphians who are familiar and new to the world of rodeo.

“We’re not bringing a rodeo to Philly. We’re building a rodeo in Philly,” he said. “We’re an unapologetically Black cultural event, and this one is going to be an unapologetically Philly event.”

– The Philadelphia Inquirer