Jume 30 - Keke Palmer: Renaissance Woman

We will end our June celebration (LGBT Pride month and Black Music month) with a look at Keke Palmer.  She will forever be little Akeelah from Akeelah and the Bee for me.  But this little talent has blossomed into one fierce little diva who is killing it in everything she touches and in everything she tries. She is way more than a triple threat. She has tried her hand on the big screen, the small screen, the stage, and the recording studio and she's nailed them all.

Let's start with the big screen.  Keke made her film debut in Barbershop 2: Back in Business.  The little actress was suddenly working alongside some of the big names like Queen Latifah and Ice Cube.  But it would be her second feature that would be her claim to fame.  America fell in love with her in the lead role as Akeelah, the young girl on a mission to win the National Spelling Bee.  Other staring roles for her include Madea's Family Reunion, Joyful Noise, and Winx Club: The Secret of the Lost Kingdom.  Television shows featuring Keke include Knights of the South Bronx, Jump In, Rag, and my personal favorite - Scream Queens. She would also play the role of Rozonda "Chili" Thomas in the VH1 biopic "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story. For her role in the Nickelodeon  show, True Jackson, VP, she earned $20,000 per episode making her the forth highest paid child star on television.  

In 2014, it was announced that Keke would be the first African-American to star at Cinderella on Broadway.  In October of 2015, she joined the cast of the Fox production of Grease Live.  In spite of all of this success as actress, music is her first love and her main calling.

Keke's first released album, So Uncool, draws influences from some of her pop favorites like Ciara, Janet Jackson, Brandy, and Whitney Houston.  In 2016 she released her a previously unreleased album she recorded at the age of 16 which she would call "Waited to Exhale." Please get into her video to "Wind Up" below . . .