Latest news with #AliciaKeys
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tragedy as US comedian Ray Dejon dies just days before he was set to star in comedy roast for his 64th birthday
US comedian Ray Dejon has tragically died just days before he was set to star in a comedy roast for his birthday. The comedian passed away on Monday at the age of 63, just one day before his 64th birthday. Just days before, Ray had shared a video announcing he was holding a comedy roast at 275 BK comedy club in Brooklyn, New York City, on Wednesday to celebrate his birthday. Ray interviewed music icons such as Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys and opened Brooklyn's first black owned comedy venue, the Laffaholics Comedy Club. Video director Ralph McDaniels announced the tragic news that Ray had died on Monday, as he wrote: 'I am sad to announce the passing of our Video Music Box family @raydejon. 'My condolences to his entire family. Ray Dejon will be missed.' The comedian passed away on Monday at the age of 63, just one day before his 64th birthday Ray's sister Evelyn Delacruz shared her shock at his sudden passing, writing on Monday: 'Thank you everyone for reaching out me and my siblings and his children and family just ask for privacy at this devastating time. 'We will let everyone know when services will be held. We are all completely heart broken His birthday is tomorrow. 'Sleep in paradise my beautiful brother Ray DeJon Ray DeJon Jr.' Tributes poured out for the comedian, who was hailed a 'true giant' on the NYC comedy scene. Friends wrote: 'Damn man! Ray you'll be missed. A part of our cloth. May the universe welcome you with open arms. Condolences to your family,'; 'Big loss. My guy Ray! Peaceful journey,'; 'I have no words. RIP Ray! Thank you for all the stage time and for putting so many of us on!'; 'Can't believe today we lost our friend Ray DeJon. Thank you for your friendship and always giving everyone a chance on stage. Rest in peace, my friend.' A fan page called Comedy In Harlem shared an emotional tribute, writing: 'New York City lost a true giant. Ray's sister Evelyn Delacruz shared her shock at his sudden passing, writing on Monday: 'Thank you everyone for reaching out me and my siblings and his children and family just ask for privacy at this devastating time' 'Ray DeJon wasn't just a promoter — he was a connector of people, a champion of comedy, and a pillar in our community. 'From the stages of legendary clubs to the streets of every borough, Ray brought energy, laughter, and love wherever he went. 'He gave countless artists their first shot, and his legacy will live on in every mic check, every joke, and every room filled with laughter. 'To lose someone like Ray is to lose a heartbeat of this city. He was a great guy, a loyal friend, and a legend whose spirit can never be replaced. 'Our thoughts and deepest prayers go out to his family, loved ones, and the entire comedy community. Tributes poured out for the comedian, who was hailed a 'true giant' on the NYC comedy scene 'Rest easy, King. You will never be forgotten. Sleep well, Ray DeJon.' Ray reportedly had survived a stroke in the past and had beat addiction, according to Industry Rules. The comedian spoke about how one side of his body was left paralysed following his stroke - but medication had helped him start to regain movement and feeling. Off-stage, he's also worked with young adults on issues such as substance abuse and domestic violence.
Egypt Independent
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
Tech promised virtual reality would revolutionize entertainment. That moment might finally be closer than we think.
CNN — Virtual reality was supposed to transform entertainment. At least, that was the expectation roughly a decade ago with the arrival of the Oculus Rift, the first virtual reality (VR) headset that many believed would push VR into the mainstream. In 2025, the industry has failed to deliver on that promise. But tech and entertainment giants alike believe that moment could be closer than ever. The evidence is there. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Meta is in talks with Disney, A24 and other entertainment companies to produce immersive content for its Quest VR headsets. Apple announced an update to its Vision Pro headset in June, enabling users to share content with other headsets — ideal for watching movies together in 3-D. Earlier this year, Apple also launched an immersive Metallica concert for the Vision Pro and announced in July it's readying its first upgrade to boost the Vision Pro's performance. Taken together, this signals that tech and media behemoths are still betting that consumers will be willing to spend hundreds, if not thousands, to experience concerts, movies and sporting events beyond the confines of a traditional screen. A chicken-and-the-egg paradox In the 10-plus years since Oculus debuted the Rift, headset manufacturers have produced lighter, more powerful devices. Meanwhile, companies are finally warming to the idea of another medium for storytelling. Tech companies have a history of flirting with VR projects aimed at mainstream users. In June, Meta offered live virtual rinkside tickets to Stanley Cup games, echoing previous NBA and WNBA offerings. Headset owners have attended virtual concerts for years, including Apple's immersive Alicia Keys session and Meta's Blackpink show. Disney even launched a Disney+ app for Apple's Vision Pro on Day 1 in 2024. But these have been pilots to gauge interest, not long-term investments. Historically, headsets have been trapped in a chicken-and-egg paradox: to woo entertainment content, they need mass adoption; but to reach that scale, headsets need premium content. The technology must also be comfortable, powerful and popular enough to gain mass appeal. For Sarah Malkin, director of entertainment content for Meta's VR division Reality Labs, that cycle is already being broken. 'I think the 'it moment' is when you are regularly engaging in experiences in mixed reality that are super complementary and part of your integrated life,' Malkin told CNN. 'To me, that's already happening.' Global shipments of augmented reality (AR) and VR headsets increased by around 10% in 2024 to 7.5 million and nearly 30.8% to 3.4 million in the US, according to IDC, a global market intelligence and data company. Although IDC predicts shipments around the world will tumble this year due to delayed product launches, it expects a massive rebound in 2026 with worldwide shipments surging 98.5% to 11.3 million. However, the results haven't always lived up to the hype. Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse has cost Meta $46 billion over three years. Reality Labs, the company's VR division, posted $4.2 billion in operating loss and just $412 million in sales in Q1, down from the previous quarter. But tech giants continue to experiment with the technology. Meta invested $3.5 billion in eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica SA to bolster its AI spectacle gambit, according to Bloomberg. (A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the report.) Snap recently said it plans to launch new augmented reality spectacles next year, and Google continues to work with partners like Xreal and Samsung on upcoming headsets and glasses that run on its new Android XR software. Samsung will be among the first to launch such a device with its upcoming Project Moohan headset. Attendees photograph Samsung's Project Moohan mixed-reality headsets with Google at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California, on January 22, 2025. Michaela Vatcheva/Bloomberg/Getty Images A young boy plays with Meta Quest 2 all-in-one VR headset during a festival of video games and other digital entertainment in Zaragoza, Spain, on October 15, 2023. Nano Calvo/VW Pics/UniversalWith more sophisticated hardware and a budding content portfolio, Bertrand Nepveu, a former Vision Pro contributor and partner at Triptyq Capital, said wider adoption is crucial. 'It's still early, but there's no technical limitation right now, it's more (that) we need people to invest because you need a critical mass,' Nepveu told CNN. A paradigm shift in content Although big names like James Cameron and Sabrina Carpenter are already beginning to explore VR, immersive storytelling has yet to gain that crucial widespread popularity. Slow growth can be partially attributed to incorrect assumptions by studios. 'You can't just take the flat version of what you put on Disney+ or Netflix or Amazon, and just throw that up,' Jenna Seiden, an industry consultant and adviser who has worked with Skydance Media, Niantic, CAA, and Xbox, told CNN. 'You need to build natively so the audience is going to have a different experience per platform.' While creating media for virtual and mixed reality may seem like a departure from developing content for 2-D screens, Seiden says the secret to success is a tactic media companies are already familiar with: exclusivity. 'You look at the creation of HBO (Max), you look at the creation of Apple TV+, they grew their audiences based on exclusives, that's why you went to them,' Seiden said. 'I think that model is very familiar to entertainment companies, and they can go to their board saying, 'Hey, this is how platforms grow, with exclusive content.'' That's what makes live virtual sports an easy way to break down extended reality (XR) barriers for audiences. Paul Raphaël, co-founder of Felix & Paul, said sports can be easily adapted for immersive platforms using 180-degree cameras. Audiences experience VR e-sports games at the 2025 Jingxi E-sports Festival in Beijing, China on June 28, 2025. CFOTO/'You already have quite a few events and sports being broadcast, whether it's live or asynchronous,' Raphaël said. 'As the audience grows, it's a really straightforward path to create the content or to broadcast the content.' For Hollywood, the possibility of a new major distribution platform couldn't come at a better time. In today's fracturing media environment — shaken by streaming, the collapse of the cable bundle, and post-Covid box office woes — a new medium could be a crucial selling point, especially for entertainment boards looking for a new revenue vein. Jack Davis, co-founder of CryptTV, said headsets might provide a much-needed pipeline for premium content. 'As gigantic structural changes happen in TV and film, the industry is going to need to replace those things in the aggregate,' Davis said. 'This could be one of the only formats that premium entertainment actually seems like it makes sense (for) the user base.' Budgetary and content hurdles Over the past decade, investment in VR has been eclipsed by more pressing innovations, including self-driving cars and AI. Although it's difficult to determine how that has directly impacted XR investment, funding data from Crunchbase, a predictive company intelligence solution, shows that backing for AI and self-driving has steadily increased, rising from $39.96 billion in 2019 to $105.36 billion by 2025. Meanwhile, XR funding has experienced more erratic behavior — reaching a peak of $4.087 billion in 2021 but dropping to $347.69 million by 2025. Things were much the same in the venture capital world, where the number of global VR deals has also dropped in recent years. PitchBook, which examines private equity and VC deals, notes that 2019 was the largest year for VC deals in VR in the last decade, recording $6.43 billion in deals worldwide. That was significantly smaller than the $57.084 billion from AI-focused venture capitalists that year. In 2025, VR VCs have fallen to only $3.61 billion in global deals while AI VCs have grown to $130.89 billion. But Nepveu said that's changing. 'Now that AI is more understood, you know what it's good for, what it's not capable of, the budgets now are going back into XR,' Nepveu claimed. People stand in line to purchase the Apple Vision Pro headset at the Fifth Avenue Apple store on February 02, 2024 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Still, tech giants investing in the development of mixed reality headsets face a daunting challenge that extends beyond the entertainment available. They need to convince consumers that the devices are both worth paying for and putting on their faces. That's partially why Apple emphasized the Vision Pro as a spatial computing tool, focusing on work and productivity rather than just 2-D and 3-D entertainment capabilities. Still, even a decade later, experts can't seem to agree on exactly when VR will have its breakout moment. Nepveu said it could happen any day. Raphaël expected one or two years. Davis suggested three to seven. Seiden said five to 10. Raphaël, however, believes 2-D content may soon feel as dated as pre-Technicolor entertainment. 'Content, the way it is consumed today, is going to be much like we think of black and white movies, where, if a film isn't immersive, it doesn't lose its value, but it becomes something of another era,' Raphaël said.
Egypt Independent
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
Tech promised virtual reality would revolutionize entertainment. That moment might finally be closer than we think.
CNN — Virtual reality was supposed to transform entertainment. At least, that was the expectation roughly a decade ago with the arrival of the Oculus Rift, the first virtual reality (VR) headset that many believed would push VR into the mainstream. In 2025, the industry has failed to deliver on that promise. But tech and entertainment giants alike believe that moment could be closer than ever. The evidence is there. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Meta is in talks with Disney, A24 and other entertainment companies to produce immersive content for its Quest VR headsets. Apple announced an update to its Vision Pro headset in June, enabling users to share content with other headsets — ideal for watching movies together in 3-D. Earlier this year, Apple also launched an immersive Metallica concert for the Vision Pro and announced in July it's readying its first upgrade to boost the Vision Pro's performance. Taken together, this signals that tech and media behemoths are still betting that consumers will be willing to spend hundreds, if not thousands, to experience concerts, movies and sporting events beyond the confines of a traditional screen. A chicken-and-the-egg paradox In the 10-plus years since Oculus debuted the Rift, headset manufacturers have produced lighter, more powerful devices. Meanwhile, companies are finally warming to the idea of another medium for storytelling. Tech companies have a history of flirting with VR projects aimed at mainstream users. In June, Meta offered live virtual rinkside tickets to Stanley Cup games, echoing previous NBA and WNBA offerings. Headset owners have attended virtual concerts for years, including Apple's immersive Alicia Keys session and Meta's Blackpink show. Disney even launched a Disney+ app for Apple's Vision Pro on Day 1 in 2024. But these have been pilots to gauge interest, not long-term investments. Historically, headsets have been trapped in a chicken-and-egg paradox: to woo entertainment content, they need mass adoption; but to reach that scale, headsets need premium content. The technology must also be comfortable, powerful and popular enough to gain mass appeal. For Sarah Malkin, director of entertainment content for Meta's VR division Reality Labs, that cycle is already being broken. 'I think the 'it moment' is when you are regularly engaging in experiences in mixed reality that are super complementary and part of your integrated life,' Malkin told CNN. 'To me, that's already happening.' Global shipments of augmented reality (AR) and VR headsets increased by around 10% in 2024 to 7.5 million and nearly 30.8% to 3.4 million in the US, according to IDC, a global market intelligence and data company. Although IDC predicts shipments around the world will tumble this year due to delayed product launches, it expects a massive rebound in 2026 with worldwide shipments surging 98.5% to 11.3 million. However, the results haven't always lived up to the hype. Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse has cost Meta $46 billion over three years. Reality Labs, the company's VR division, posted $4.2 billion in operating loss and just $412 million in sales in Q1, down from the previous quarter. But tech giants continue to experiment with the technology. Meta invested $3.5 billion in eyewear manufacturer EssilorLuxottica SA to bolster its AI spectacle gambit, according to Bloomberg. (A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the report.) Snap recently said it plans to launch new augmented reality spectacles next year, and Google continues to work with partners like Xreal and Samsung on upcoming headsets and glasses that run on its new Android XR software. Samsung will be among the first to launch such a device with its upcoming Project Moohan headset. Attendees photograph Samsung's Project Moohan mixed-reality headsets with Google at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Jose, California, on January 22, 2025. Michaela Vatcheva/Bloomberg/Getty Images A young boy plays with Meta Quest 2 all-in-one VR headset during a festival of video games and other digital entertainment in Zaragoza, Spain, on October 15, 2023. Nano Calvo/VW Pics/UniversalWith more sophisticated hardware and a budding content portfolio, Bertrand Nepveu, a former Vision Pro contributor and partner at Triptyq Capital, said wider adoption is crucial. 'It's still early, but there's no technical limitation right now, it's more (that) we need people to invest because you need a critical mass,' Nepveu told CNN. A paradigm shift in content Although big names like James Cameron and Sabrina Carpenter are already beginning to explore VR, immersive storytelling has yet to gain that crucial widespread popularity. Slow growth can be partially attributed to incorrect assumptions by studios. 'You can't just take the flat version of what you put on Disney+ or Netflix or Amazon, and just throw that up,' Jenna Seiden, an industry consultant and adviser who has worked with Skydance Media, Niantic, CAA, and Xbox, told CNN. 'You need to build natively so the audience is going to have a different experience per platform.' While creating media for virtual and mixed reality may seem like a departure from developing content for 2-D screens, Seiden says the secret to success is a tactic media companies are already familiar with: exclusivity. 'You look at the creation of HBO (Max), you look at the creation of Apple TV+, they grew their audiences based on exclusives, that's why you went to them,' Seiden said. 'I think that model is very familiar to entertainment companies, and they can go to their board saying, 'Hey, this is how platforms grow, with exclusive content.'' That's what makes live virtual sports an easy way to break down extended reality (XR) barriers for audiences. Paul Raphaël, co-founder of Felix & Paul, said sports can be easily adapted for immersive platforms using 180-degree cameras. Audiences experience VR e-sports games at the 2025 Jingxi E-sports Festival in Beijing, China on June 28, 2025. CFOTO/'You already have quite a few events and sports being broadcast, whether it's live or asynchronous,' Raphaël said. 'As the audience grows, it's a really straightforward path to create the content or to broadcast the content.' For Hollywood, the possibility of a new major distribution platform couldn't come at a better time. In today's fracturing media environment — shaken by streaming, the collapse of the cable bundle, and post-Covid box office woes — a new medium could be a crucial selling point, especially for entertainment boards looking for a new revenue vein. Jack Davis, co-founder of CryptTV, said headsets might provide a much-needed pipeline for premium content. 'As gigantic structural changes happen in TV and film, the industry is going to need to replace those things in the aggregate,' Davis said. 'This could be one of the only formats that premium entertainment actually seems like it makes sense (for) the user base.' Budgetary and content hurdles Over the past decade, investment in VR has been eclipsed by more pressing innovations, including self-driving cars and AI. Although it's difficult to determine how that has directly impacted XR investment, funding data from Crunchbase, a predictive company intelligence solution, shows that backing for AI and self-driving has steadily increased, rising from $39.96 billion in 2019 to $105.36 billion by 2025. Meanwhile, XR funding has experienced more erratic behavior — reaching a peak of $4.087 billion in 2021 but dropping to $347.69 million by 2025. Things were much the same in the venture capital world, where the number of global VR deals has also dropped in recent years. PitchBook, which examines private equity and VC deals, notes that 2019 was the largest year for VC deals in VR in the last decade, recording $6.43 billion in deals worldwide. That was significantly smaller than the $57.084 billion from AI-focused venture capitalists that year. In 2025, VR VCs have fallen to only $3.61 billion in global deals while AI VCs have grown to $130.89 billion. But Nepveu said that's changing. 'Now that AI is more understood, you know what it's good for, what it's not capable of, the budgets now are going back into XR,' Nepveu claimed. People stand in line to purchase the Apple Vision Pro headset at the Fifth Avenue Apple store on February 02, 2024 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Still, tech giants investing in the development of mixed reality headsets face a daunting challenge that extends beyond the entertainment available. They need to convince consumers that the devices are both worth paying for and putting on their faces. That's partially why Apple emphasized the Vision Pro as a spatial computing tool, focusing on work and productivity rather than just 2-D and 3-D entertainment capabilities. Still, even a decade later, experts can't seem to agree on exactly when VR will have its breakout moment. Nepveu said it could happen any day. Raphaël expected one or two years. Davis suggested three to seven. Seiden said five to 10. Raphaël, however, believes 2-D content may soon feel as dated as pre-Technicolor entertainment. 'Content, the way it is consumed today, is going to be much like we think of black and white movies, where, if a film isn't immersive, it doesn't lose its value, but it becomes something of another era,' Raphaël said.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mia puts the surreal side of the Renaissance in the spotlight this summer
Mia puts the surreal side of the Renaissance in the spotlight this summer originally appeared on Bring Me The News. There's plenty of abstraction and surreality in the galleries of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), including some work in the new "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys' exhibit. However, the surreal is coming for the Renaissance this summer. the Mia opens "The Weirdening of the Renaissance" on Saturday, June 14, exploring "the strange, the surreal, and the sublime" from a period of European art that is more often associated with realism. 'This exhibition takes us to the wonderfully weird world of artists freed from narrow ideas of Renaissance propriety,' said Tom Rassieur, John E. Andrus III Curator of Prints and Drawings at Mia. 'It's a reminder that the Renaissance wasn't just a rebirth of old ideas — it was also a hotbed of innovation, imagination, and strangeness.' The exhibit showcases how artists "manipulated perspective, distorted figures, and turned away from purely representational imagery," the Mia says. It'll include infrequently seen engravings, woodcuts, and etchings from the museum's collection. "The Weirdening of the Renaissance" will be on display in the Mia's Gallery 344 through Nov. 30, and it's free to story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
UAE Moments
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- UAE Moments
Daily Affirmation for June 30, 2025 to Kickstart Your Vibe
✨ Today's Affirmation: 'I speak kindly to myself because my inner voice shapes my world.' 💫 Vibe Check: Been mentally roasting yourself for every awkward thing you said since 2018? Feel like your inner critic is on a caffeine high? Yep, we see you. And it's time to change the tone. Today's sky whispers this: You become what you repeat. So let's stop doom-scrolling our own flaws and start hyping ourselves like a best friend would. 🧘♀️ Why This Works: Your inner voice isn't just background noise — it sets the tempo for your day, your energy, and your decisions. Speaking with self-compassion rewires the way you see everything. It's not just cute — it's transformative. 🌿 Your Mini Mission: Shift the dialogue and soften your self-talk with these small-but-mighty moves: – Say out loud: 'I wouldn't talk to a friend like this — so I won't talk to me like this either.' – Write one compliment to yourself and stick it on your mirror. – Catch one negative thought today and flip it — even a little. 🎧 Power Up Playlist: Let these self-love anthems turn up the volume on your inner hype squad: – 'Good as Hell' – Lizzo – 'Confident' – Demi Lovato – 'Who Says' – Selena Gomez – 'Flowers' – Miley Cyrus – 'Girl on Fire' – Alicia Keys 🔮 Bonus Energy Tip: Keep rose quartz close today. It's the crystal of radical self-love — gentle, forgiving, and perfect for quieting that internal bully. Hold it when the spiral starts and repeat: 'I am enough exactly as I am — and I choose words that reflect that.'
