I don’t know why, but I always thought that Shaq and Shaunie O’Neal would get back together although they’ve been apart for a while now. Maybe because their names are so unique yet sound similar…But I guess I was wrong because Shaq’s ex-wife and one of the executive producers of VH-1’s Basketball Wives, Basketball Wives LA and Baller Wives, Shaunie O’Neal announced on Instagram that she and Pastor Keion Henderson are a couple in addition to wishing him, “Happy Birthday.” Henderson is founder, CEO and senior pastor of The Lighthouse Church & Ministries, a church community headquartered in Houston, Texas. According to the website, founded in 2009, the Lighthouse Church encompasses five campuses and 30 ministries, as one of the fastest growing churches in the nation with over 12,000 members and climbing, welcoming 800,000 unique weekly viewers worldwide. See the post below…
In more Ciara news, since I shared with you that Ciara is on Maverick City Music’s album “Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition” on Wednesday, apparently Russell Wilson surprised Ciara with a fifth wedding anniversary getaway to Venice, Italy! See an excerpt of the ESSENCE article “Russell Wilson Surprised Ciara With A Romantic Getaway To Venice For Their Five-Year Anniversary” by Victoria Uwumarogie followed by a few photographs from the trip!
Ciara and Russell Wilson are celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary today (July 6) and what better way to do it than living it up in Italy?
The celeb power couple jetted off to Venice to take in the the sights and sounds of the northern city. It all happened, according to Ci Ci, after Russell told her “Pack your bags….We’re going to Italy.” They enjoyed fine Italian dining (including a variety of delicious pastas), did some shopping for souvenirs (parasol shopping for Sienna), rode in a gondola where an accordion player and singer serenaded them, and stopped at a glassmaker’s shop to get a heart made to commemorate their anniversary.
As there are no roads, only canals and footpaths, they took a luxurious boat everywhere and dressed to the nines (including Russell in his Good Man Brand brand, made in Italy) for just about every outing. The latter choice made sense as photogs were following them across the city and they also had their own personal photographer in tow throughout the trip. See more HERE.
A few things: I wonder what it’s like to have a personal photographer capturing your every moment? It’s hard to imagine that five years has passed by. It seems like yesterday that I wrote, “The Top 10 Christian Clichés to Congratulate Christian Couple Russell Wilson & Ciara on Getting Engaged!!!” I truly love that they flaunt their love in such an extravagant way because we need examples of married black couples loving each other…
Last month, in celebration of Juneteenth, Billboard Music Award-winning music collective Maverick City Music released their newest project, Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition. The new album is a dual-side feature consisting of a live produced gospel A-Side and a Rap/R&B/Pop produced B-Side. Jubilee features a wide range of guest artists, including heavy-hitters from gospel, R&B, Pop and Rap: Ciara, Rapsody, Tamar Braxton, Jonathan McReynolds, Israel Houghton, Jekalyn Carr, and more. As with other Maverick City Music releases, the collective continues to impress as the new album Peaked at #1 on Apple iTunes. The collective currently claims 4 No.1 spots on Billboard’s Christian/Gospel charts – Gospel Digital Song Sales, Top Christian Albums, Gospel Streaming Songs, Top Gospel Albums, Christian/Gospel charts – solidifying Maverick City Music’s impact on the music industry.
“I am a huge fan of Maverick City Music so it was an honor to be asked to be part of the song “On and on.” We love praising and worshiping to their songs in our house with our kiddos. The mission for the song is to inspire, encourage, and spread the love so it was really special to be part of this project, especially in celebration of Juneteenth as the date became recognized as a national holiday,” said Ciara.
“These lessons that I’ve learned in this year about my struggles and hardships make me feel so much closer and connected to my ancestors and guides…Being a close child of God I understand that one of my responsibilities is to always give God the glory and praise that he is due FIRST….I’m always so glad to do so. Thank you to @maverickcitymusic for having me a part of this project,” said Tamar Braxton.
“All humanity should celebrate defeating the odds and upholding the truth that we are all made with infinite worth and deserve the freedom to be all we are called to be. This album is a soundtrack to that celebration,” said Lecrae.
Maverick City Music recently made headlines for their Top Gospel Album Billboard Music Award win for the April 2020 release of Maverick City Vol. 3 Part 1. The group earned double nods in the category and was also a finalist for Top Gospel Artist. Their newest release Old Church Basement, a collab album with Elevation Worship, broke streaming records at both Apple Music and Spotify. On Apple Music, the group set a new worldwide record for the most first-day streams for a Christian and Gospel album, and on Spotify, the album broke the U.S. record for the most streams in a day for an album by a Christian group and was No. 4 out of all U.S. albums its first weekend of release.
This upcoming fall, Maverick City Music will embark on its first-ever tour and the shows will feature electrifying performances with collective members Dante Bowe, Chandler Moore, Naomi Raine, Joe L. Barnes, Aaron Moses and special guests, including Lecrae, on certain dates. The group recently added 13 more tour dates after selling out their original 11. The new dates are set in even larger venues, including the Barclays Center in NYC and TD Garden in Boston. Learn more about the tour and tickets: https://tourlink.to/maverickcitytour
