TV One Access Celebrates Iconic African-American Entertainers Of The 1980s & Today

On the next “TV One Access,” host Tatyana Ali and correspondent Quddus rewind and fast-forward to evaluate the new millennium’s hottest acts and determine if they’ve got the flair, forte and staying power to rank among the greatest of all time. “Way Black Then And Right Now” is an hour-long special produced by TV One’s monthly entertainment news program, “TV One Access.” The special premieres Sunday, February 7, 2010 (check local listings) on cable’s TV One.

In honor of Black History Month, “TV One Access” is celebrating the most iconic African-American entertainers of the 1980s, along with a new generation of stars who are coming the closest to filling their legendary shoes. From the brilliance of Stevie Wonder to the genius of Oprah Winfrey and the masterminding of Bill Cosby, “TV One Access” reflects on the extraordinary talent that defined this era’s most accomplished and most memorable entertainers and how they’ve influenced today’s most promising young stars.

The “Musical Genius” of Stevie Wonder is timeless, and singer Alicia Keys is successfully following in his footsteps. The vocal force of Whitney Houston gave her the title of “The Voice” and protege Leona Lewis, whose idol is Houston, is well on her way. 1980s icon Tina Turner was coined the “The Mover and Shaker,” and solo artist Beyonce is also paving the way with her multi-faceted skills.

“The Queen of Talk” goes to none other than Oprah Winfrey, whose empire cannot be rivaled. Tyra Banks and Mo’Nique are both savvy businesswomen who are taking the right steps to follow Oprah’s path to success. “The Power Player” of the 1980s goes to Bill Cosby who built a multi-million dollar empire on his comedic skills and Nick Cannon seems poised to follow Cosby’s lead.

Model and singer Grace Jones was “The Risk Taker” of the 1980s and singer Rihanna has followed her lead by not being afraid to take risks with her music, appearance and cutting-edge fashion. Meanwhile, NBA great Magic Johnson was “The Game Changer” of the sports world and today, NBA star LeBron James is an icon in the making.

There are some legends that exist in a category all their own, such as Prince, who takes “The Artist” category to new levels and the late Michael Jackson, who can only be described as “The One And Only.”

Also, tune in to find out which stars embody categories such as “The King of Funk” and “The Hottest in Hip Hop.”

“Although the genius of Stevie Wonder, the brilliance of Bill Cosby and the almightiness of Oprah cannot be duplicated, we set out to predict which ‘New Hollywood’ players will come closest to filling their shoes,” Monique Chenault, Senior Producer of “TV One Access” said. “In the spirit of Black History Month, we are not only honoring the most iconic entertainers of the past era, we are also honoring the new generation of artists who are poised to make some history of their own.”