Entertainment

James Kennedy’s Quotes About the Ups and Downs of His Sobriety Journey on January 26, 2024 at 11:56 pm Us Weekly

Published

2 years ago

January 27, 2024

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

James Kennedy has not shied away from discussing his successes — and his failures — on the journey to staying sober.

Bravo viewers were introduced to Kennedy when he joined Vanderpump Rules in 2015. After starting out as a busser at Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant SUR, Kennedy quickly got wrapped up in plenty of drama on screen.

Kennedy was often on the outs with his costars — from a tumultuous relationship with Kristen Doute to his feud with Jax Taylor and questionable comments about numerous costars — and his relationship with alcohol didn’t help. After Vanderpump fired Kennedy numerous times, he made an effort to address his substance abuse issues.

In July 2020, Kennedy announced that he celebrated one year of sobriety. The professional DJ later admitted that he was “California sober” because marijuana helped him to no longer use alcohol.

“It helped me quit the alcohol for good, you know what I mean? I will quit weed also when the time comes,” he said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in October 2021. “I don’t feel like I should quit right now, you know? There’s no point.”

Kennedy added: “It doesn’t harm me. It doesn’t, like, affect my life in a negative way. So, why quit?”

After his high-profile split from Rachel “Raquel” Leviss, Kennedy confirmed he started drinking again, saying on a February 2023 episode of Vanderpump Rules, “I learned a lot from not drinking those two years.”

Kennedy considered cutting out alcohol after meeting now-girlfriend Ally Lewber. Before season 11 of Vanderpump Rules started airing in January 2024, Lewber said in an interview with Bravo that Kennedy “changed the most” over the years.

“James, he’s in therapy, he’s sober, I’m really proud of him,” she gushed that same month.

Keep reading to see Kennedy’s candid quotes about sobriety:

Quitting Drinking

Kennedy exclusively told Us Weekly about the benefits of getting sober, sharing in August 2019, “I am 10 weeks [sober] this Friday. It’s been really good. Everything’s beautiful. I’ve been focusing on my sobriety and it’s been going really well. … [My] music has been just so good lately. I haven’t been procrastinating on s—t.”

Making a Change

Mindy Small/Getty Images

During an appearance on WWHL in March 2020, Kennedy credited Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for helping him.

“Because of all the drinking I was doing and stuff, I was really hiding away from my true emotions and just blaming whatever I wanted to get out the easy way,” he explained. ”I’m going onto nine months sober. I haven’t had a drink in nearly nine months, and I just feel completely different.”

Kennedy continued: “I’ve really taken hold of my life and try to change it for the better and change our relationship for the better. I know I should be doing this for me, but I’m also doing it for my relationship with Raquel.”

Celebrating a Milestone

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

“Hey everyone just wanted to let you all know I’ve made it to my one year sober today. Letting go of drinking was the best decision I ever made and I’m going strong. I don’t miss the booze …… I don’t miss the feeling …. I’m so grateful for everything now and life has become more beautiful in many ways,” Kennedy captioned an Instagram post in July 2020. “Thank you to my rock @raquelleviss for getting me here I couldn’t of done this without you my love. and thank you all for the support this past year.”

Proud of the Steps He Took

Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for MTV

Ahead of his two-year anniversary, Kennedy reflected on the lessons he learned while maintaining his sobriety.

“It’s gratitude. It’s the feeling of being so thankful for my sobriety. I wake up every day thanking God that I’ve got it,” he told E! News in May 2021. “My life has just gotten so much better from quitting drinking. I’m never hungover, I’m able to focus on my music so much more. My relationships and friendships are excelling. When I see these amazing things happening right before my eyes, why would I want to go back?”

Kennedy admitted he had to deal with a feeling of “missing out,” adding, “I got over that, in the first six months I was still struggling with the whole, ‘Well, everyone else is getting to go out and have fun but I don’t.’ When I got over that hump and I realized I’m actually able to have just as much fun, if not more, than everyone else drinking.”

He concluded: “It was like a lightbulb went off in my head and it’s just an amazing thing. Like I walk into a room now with people drinking everywhere and I’m just so f—king happy I don’t, you know? I’m just so thankful and I feel so good about it. I can still be the life of the party, I can still be my charismatic self and I still end up chatting even more than most people do to drink, they drink just to get more chatty. But I’ve never needed that and I never really realized that I didn’t need alcohol until I quit it. So being able to maintain the sobriety has thankfully been the easiest part of it.”

Trying California Sobriety

According to Kennedy, being “California sober” meant he still smoked marijuana daily and used edibles

“It’s wild and it’s a blessing. I thank God every day for my sobriety, honestly,” he said on WWHL in October 2021. “Cutting out alcohol was the best decision I’ve ever made, thanks to [Raquel]. … It’s just f—king amazing. I wake up every morning never hungover, just ready for life. And I know that sounds cliché, but it’s honestly so good.”

Reflecting on His Decision

Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Wheels

In December 2021, Kennedy and Leviss announced their split after five years of dating. Kennedy discussed how his relationship with Leviss influenced his life while filming the season 9 reunion, which aired one month later.

“This is not a product of me f–king up my life, Tom. This is a product of the truth. The second she said, ‘We are not soulmates.’ For me, that was a f–king enlightenment. I realized that we loved each other but we are not in love with each other anymore. She has made her decision. Her parents have always hated me. It has never been easy,” he told Tom Sandoval. “Even becoming the man that quit drinking and changed his whole f–king lifestyle for this relationship [wasn’t enough]. It wasn’t enough. I still have these anger issues, and I am never doing this again.”

Walking His Choice Back

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

“After two and a half years of not a single drop, I decided to drink again, have a couple drinks. After Raquel left, I thought I was getting married, I was engaged, do you know what I mean? After all I did to better myself, it still clearly wasn’t enough,” Kennedy during the season 10 premiere of Vanderpump Rules, which aired in January 2023. “And quite frankly, it was a new f–king year. It was 2022, you know, what am I doing? I’m f–king James Kennedy. Like, let me live.”

In a separate conversation with Leviss, Kennedy said he got sober because of her, adding, “If I am gonna quit again, it will be for me next time and not an ultimatum in a relationship.”

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images James Kennedy has not shied away from discussing his successes — and his failures — on the journey to staying sober. Bravo viewers were introduced to Kennedy when he joined Vanderpump Rules in 2015. After starting out as a busser at Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant SUR, Kennedy quickly got wrapped up in plenty

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Entertainment

Jay-Z Locked In Tyla. The Industry Is Shaking.

Published

2 days ago

July 3, 2026

Bolanle Media Staff

By Bolanle Media | July 2, 2026

Photo: Tyla at the 2026 Met Gala in custom Valentino — days before making the biggest business move of her career.

There are career moves, and then there are statements. Tyla just made a statement that will be studied in music business classrooms for years.

The South African superstar — born Tyla Laura Seethal, 24 years old, and already the proud owner of two Grammy Awards — has officially signed a multi-million dollar global deal with Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s powerhouse entertainment company, walking away from Epic Records to align herself with the most influential roster in the music business. The signing was confirmed across social media with a major digital announcement this week, and the reaction from industry insiders was immediate — shock, admiration, and the quiet acknowledgment that someone just changed the trajectory of African music forever.

From “Water” to a Global Phenomenon

Let’s not forget where this all started. In 2023, a 21-year-old from Johannesburg released a song called “Water” that nobody could quite categorize and everybody needed to hear. Within weeks, it had sparked one of the most viral TikTok dance challenges of the decade, charted simultaneously across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Africa, and earned Tyla a Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance — the first year that category even existed.

That win wasn’t just personal. It was a signal. African music — Afrobeats, Amapiano, and now what Tyla herself calls A*Pop — was no longer knocking at the door of the global mainstream. It had walked through it. And Tyla had handed it the key.

What followed was a whirlwind two years of sold-out shows, magazine covers, red carpet domination, and a growing reputation as one of the most stylistically fearless artists on the planet. She attended the 2026 Met Gala — her third consecutive appearance — wearing a custom Valentino gown dripping in diamond chains with a sweeping teal skirt, styled by the legendary Law Roach, with beauty by Pat McGrath. The look was breathtaking. But it was also strategic. Every Met Gala appearance, every fashion moment, every carefully placed interview has been building toward exactly this: the infrastructure to match the vision.

What Roc Nation Actually Means

To understand why this deal matters, you have to understand what Roc Nation actually is — because it is not simply a record label.

Founded by Jay-Z in 2008, Roc Nation is a full-service entertainment company with divisions spanning artist management, touring, brand partnerships, film and television, sports management, and philanthropy. Its roster has included Rihanna, Alicia Keys, J. Cole, Big Sean, Lil Uzi Vert, and Megan Thee Stallion — artists who didn’t just sell records, but built multi-decade cultural empires that extended into fashion, film, business, and beyond. The through-line isn’t genre. It’s scale.

For Tyla specifically, the Roc Nation deal unlocks a completely different level of access. We’re talking about premium budgets for music videos and live production, top-tier brand partnership pipelines with luxury and lifestyle companies, film and television placement relationships that most artists spend a decade trying to build, and the kind of media weight that gets you on the cover of Vogue, Time, and Billboard in the same calendar year. Roc Nation doesn’t just manage artists — it engineers icons.

On the African music side, Tyla joins fellow Roc Nation signee Ayra Starr, the Nigerian pop star who inked her deal in 2025, deepening the label’s clear and deliberate strategic investment in African pop as the next dominant global genre. Jay-Z is not betting on a trend. He is betting on a generation.

The Album That Could Rewrite the Playbook

The timing of this signing is not accidental — it is surgical.

Tyla’s highly anticipated sophomore album, A*POP, is officially set to drop July 24, 2026, just three weeks away — a 14-track project that she has described as unapologetic, globally ambitious, and deeply rooted in her South African identity while simultaneously reaching for something universal. The lead single “She Did It Again” features Swedish pop titan Zara Larsson, a collaboration that announces in no uncertain terms that Tyla is not staying in any lane she didn’t build herself.

With Roc Nation’s full machine now behind the album rollout — promotional infrastructure, media relationships, tour routing, brand activations — A*POP arrives with a runway that Epic Records simply could not have provided at this scale. The industry is already paying attention. For music supervisors, film and TV executives, brand marketers, and entertainment investors reading this right now — put A*POP on your radar immediately. This is the kind of release that shapes culture, not just charts.

The Bigger Picture Nobody Is Talking About

Here is what gets lost in the excitement of a big announcement: the systemic significance of what Tyla just did.

The music industry’s historical relationship with African artists has been, at best, transactional — major labels slow to invest, quick to cash in on a viral moment, and consistently reluctant to build the kind of long-term infrastructure that turns an artist into a brand. Tyla has navigated that system with remarkable intelligence, refusing to be reduced to a trend, building her artistic identity on her own terms, and now — at 24 — arriving at the negotiating table with enough leverage to choose Roc Nation on her terms.

That matters. Not just for Tyla, but for every African artist watching this unfold from Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Cape Town, and Houston. It is proof that the path from regional phenomenon to global superstar is not only possible — it is being paved right now, in real time, by a young woman from Johannesburg who refused to shrink.

For media companies, content platforms, entertainment executives, and brand strategists operating in the African diaspora space — this is your data point. African pop is not a niche. It is not a trend. It is not a moment. It is a movement, and Tyla just secured the most powerful co-sign available in the global music business to lead it.

Watch this space. Very closely.

Follow @bolanlemedia on Instagram for real-time music, film, and entertainment industry news. Read more at bolanlemedia.com

Entertainment

DJ Shinski Brings AfriqueFest To Life

Published

3 weeks ago

June 16, 2026

Bolanle Media Staff

AfriqueFest: Pan-African Musical Experience — World Cup Edition is set to take over Noto Houston on Sunday, June 28, bringing together East, South, and West African sounds in one immersive celebration of music, culture, and connection. Presented by Experience Noir and Bolanle Media, the event is designed as a cinematic night for the culture, blending global energy with Houston nightlife in a way that feels elevated, intentional, and deeply rooted in African creativity.

Spotlight on DJ Shinski

At the heart of this year’s experience is DJ Shinski. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya and now based in Houston, DJ Shinski has built an international name off high-energy sets that move effortlessly across Afrobeats, Amapiano, hip‑hop, dancehall, reggae, and electronic sounds.

He has also become Africa’s most‑subscribed DJ on YouTube, crossing the 2‑million‑subscriber mark and turning his mixes into a global destination for music lovers.

DJ Shinski’s style is precise but unpredictable: one moment it’s classic Afrobeats, the next it’s East African anthems, then a run of throwback hip‑hop or R&B that still feels fresh. That ability to read a room and connect multiple worlds in a single set is exactly why AfriqueFest is building so much of the night’s energy around him.

At AfriqueFest, DJ Shinski helps drive the Safari Grooves segment, representing East and Central Africa from 4 PM to 6 PM. Expect a journey that moves from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Addis, and beyond, all filtered through his signature “vibes on vibes” approach behind the decks.

DJ Tunez and the rest of the night

Supporting that energy, DJ Tunez leads the Gold Coast Beats chapter from 8 PM to 10 PM, bringing his own Nigerian‑American Afrobeats pedigree to the stage. Together with the Diamond Rhythms segment (South) and a curated roster of DJs, the night stretches across the continent in three distinct musical chapters, all connected by a single dance floor.

Hosted by @chris_gone_crazy, @kingdrewwskyy, @roselynomaka, and @samsnewleaf, AfriqueFest is positioned as more than a party—it’s a celebration of sound, style, and Pan‑African identity in Houston, with DJ Shinski anchoring the experience from the moment doors open.

Brought to you by Bolanle Media & Experience Noir

Brought to you by Bolanle Media and Experience Noir, this World Cup edition of AfriqueFest is crafted as a night where global DJs, storytellers, and music lovers collide and create a shared cultural memory. With DJ Shinski front and center—and DJ Tunez helping close the night—guests can expect a show that reflects both the future of African nightlife and the power of the diaspora to create unforgettable live moments.

If you want to experience DJ Shinski live at AfriqueFest, now is the time to lock in your spot. Purchase your tickets now at AfriqueFest.com and get ready for a night of music, movement, and culture at Noto Houston.

Entertainment

STREAMING PREMIERE · JUNE 13, 2026

Published

3 weeks ago

June 13, 2026

Bolanle Media Staff

Laughter Meets Inspiration: Our Ladies Show Lands on The Roku Channel

A bold new sketch comedy series for women premieres June 13 across the U.S., U.K., and Canada — arriving on the back of a festival-winning run that has critics and audiences already paying attention.

It isn’t every day a brand-new comedy arrives already wearing a row of trophies. Our Ladies Show does. The seven-episode inspirational sketch comedy series — created, written by, and starring Christin Jezak — begins streaming on The Roku Channel on Friday, June 13, 2026, available free to viewers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

Produced in partnership with global media services leader Encompass Digital Media, the series sets out to do something rare in today’s streaming landscape: make women laugh out loud and leave them lifted. In a media moment crowded with noise and cynicism, Our Ladies Show is a deliberate counterweight — comedy with a conscience, built for women of every age and background.

A Show Built Around Real Life — and Real Laughs

Each of the seven episodes opens with a monologue from one of the cast members introducing the theme, then rolls into three or more sketches that hit the subject from every comedic angle. The series tackles the things women actually carry: holding grudges, comparison, beauty, patience, gift giving, the importance of community, and dealing with anxiety.

The comedy comes from a place of warmth rather than mockery — a “laugh at ourselves” spirit that runs through a gallery of unforgettable characters: a nosey neighbor, an overwhelmed mom, relentlessly optimistic flight attendants, beauty pageant winners past their prime, and a crew of unruly campers with a counselor who simply cannot hold it together.

Then the show does something most sketch series don’t. In the final segment of every episode, the cast gathers in a living-room setting and invites the audience in — sharing real inspiration drawn from the theme, the sketches, and their own personal stories. It’s the moment the laughter turns into something that stays with you.

The Women Behind the Show

Our Ladies Show brings together three performers with serious range:

Christin Jezak — creator, writer, and star (Miracle at Manchester, Raising Hope, Jimmy Kimmel Live!)
Hillary Hawkins — (Primal, Nick Jr.’s Play Along, Gullah Gullah Island)
Sarah Hernandez — (Nefarious, Unplanned, House of Payne)

“In a world with so much division and depression, I hope women of all ages and backgrounds will watch this show, laugh, be reminded of how beautiful, unique, and loved they are, and remember how much we need each other.”— Christin Jezak, Creator & Star

Already a Festival Favorite

The series’ recurring long-form sketch, Neighborhood Watch, didn’t arrive quietly. Originally released as a web series and revamped for Our Ladies Show with new footage, sound, and music, it has been sweeping the festival circuit:

🏆 Best Webseries — 2026 New Media Film Festival (Los Angeles)
🏆 Best Web/TV Series — Paris Film Awards
🏆 Best Web Series — Dallas Movie Awards
🏅 Additional wins at the London Movie Awards, Florence Film Awards, and Hollywood Gold Awards
🎬 Official Selection — 2026 Harvard Divinity School Film Fest
⭐ Finalist — Houston Comedy Film Festival
📣 Three nominations — 2025 Content Christian Media Conference, including Best Actress in a TV and Web Series nods for both Christin Jezak and Sarah Hernandez

Where and When to Watch

Our Ladies Show premieres Friday, June 13, 2026, streaming on The Roku Channel — the home of premium and free entertainment — in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. All seven episodes deliver the series’ signature blend of sharp sketch comedy and genuine encouragement.

Watch the trailer now on your platform of choice:

For more information, visit www.ourladiesshow.com and follow @ourladiesshow on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

About Christin Jezak

Christin Jezak has worked for over 15 years in the entertainment industry. She created and stars in Our Ladies Show and the award-winning web series Neighborhood Watch. She produced the EWTN TV program For the Sake of the Gospel and the all-women web series Ladies Keepin’ It Real, played Dr. Sam in Miracle at Manchester (starring Dean Cain, Daniel Roebuck, and Eddie McClintock), and voices Agnes in the podcast Confessions of a Catholic Single. She held a lead role in a short film for NTT Data directed by Academy Award–winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, has co-starred on Raising Hope, and appeared in Jimmy Kimmel sketches and a Grubhub Super Bowl commercial.

About The Roku Channel

Roku pioneered streaming on TV and is the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by hours streamed (Hypothesis Group, Dec. 2025). The Roku Channel is the home of premium and free entertainment, alongside Roku’s Howdy and Frndly TV services. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About Encompass Digital Media

Encompass Digital Media is a global managed services company — technology-driven, software-defined, and people-powered. Trusted by world-leading broadcasters, networks, sports rights-holders, and OTT platforms, it processes over 25,000 hours of content daily, serves 850 channels to 84 countries, distributes over 243,000 live events annually, and reaches 400 million radio listeners weekly worldwide. Learn more at www.encompass.tv.

Media & Interview Requests: To interview creator Christin Jezak or the cast, contact Christin at cjezak@p2ptheatre.com.