Grammy-nominated singer Kelis talks about the freeing process of her new CD with journalist Tavis Smiley.
The full interview airs Friday, June 18th, on PBS’ The Tavis Smiley Show.

Kelis will also be performing her new single “4th of July” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tomorrow night.

Flesh Tone drops Stateside June 21.

In a revealing interview with PBS moderator Tavis Smiley on Monday, music legend Prince revealed that he was cured of a serious childhood health condition — after a close encounter with an angel.

“I’ve never spoken about this before, but I was born epileptic. I used to have seizures when I was young,” Prince told Tavis on Night One of his two-part interview event. “My mother told me one day I walked into her and said mom I’m not going to be sick anymore, and she said ‘why?’ and I said; ‘an angel told me so.’”

Legendary singer/songwriter/producer Prince will appear in a candid interview with PBS moderator Tavis Smiley this Monday, April 27. (Check Your Local Listings For Showtimes.)

In these video clips taken from next weekend’s broadcast, the Lotus Flower star discusses childhood teasing, his latest releases, and the current state of the music industry.

Nas on Tavis Smiley-August 14, 2008

Disco queen Donna Summer promoted her new album, Crayons, in stores now, on The Tavis Smiley Show on Tuesday.

Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige promoted their “Heart of the City” Tour on Tavis Smiley’s PBS talk show on Thursday.

Tavis Smiley is leaving the Tom Joyner Morning Show. The PBS television personality made the announcement on Friday morning installment of the TJMS. The commentator has been with the show since 1996. According to scathing reports from the Rumor Mill, Tavis is walking following severe fan backlash over his so-called ‘Barack Bashing” commentaries. Tavis came under fire in February when he publicly criticized presidental hopeful Barack Obama’s failure to attend Smiley’s annual State of the Black Union Conference in New Orleans.

Tavis attempts to clear up the rumors about his Tom Joyner exit in this press statement:

There is no way to put into words the love and respect that Tom Joyner and I have for each other, or the love affair that I’ve had with TJMS listeners for almost 12 years now.

I look forward to continuing the dialogue on Tuesday and in the coming months. www.tavistalks.com

First Aretha Franklin and now Tavis Smiley. What’s up with egos in Black America this week? Still hot on the campaign trail toward the White House. Democratic candidate Barack Obama recently turned down an opportunity to appear at Tavis Smiley’s “State of the Black Union 2008″ Conference in New Orleans on February 23th. Senator Obama did, however, offer for his wife, Michelle Obama, to appear in his appearance. Tavis declined to allow Mrs. Obama to attend the conference.

“Just as we would have declined had Hillary Clinton offered Bill Clinton, had John McCain offered Cindy McCain, had Mike Huckabee suggested Janet Huckabee,” Tavis says.