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Thirteen-Time Grammy Winner Babyface and Six-Time Hip Hop Award Winner Busta Rhymes Join 2025 Apollo Spring Benefit Honoring Music Legend Clive Davis
Benefit Marks Last Fundraiser in the Apollo Theater Before Historic Renovations. Teyana Taylor to Receive Inaugural Innovator Award
New York, NY–May 19, 2025 – Thirteen-time Grammy-Winner Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds will join Grammy-winning, multiplatinum recording artist Monica to present music legend CliveDavis with the Apollo Theatre’s special Legacy Award honor at the 2025 Apollo Spring Benefit on June 4 at 7:00 PM. The Apollo simultaneously announced that six-time hip-hop Award winner, Busta Rhymes all headline a special performance tribute to Davis featuring Deborah Cox, Shosahna Bean, and others.
The widely anticipated event– the last before the globally renewed 91-year-old theatre’s historic renovation –will also feature the induction of Davis into the Apollo’s Walk of Fame by Gamma Co-Founder, Larry Jackson and iconic music executive, L.A. Reid, as well as the presentation of the inaugural Innovator Award to multi-talented singer, songwriter, actor and director, Teyana Taylor.
Clive Davis is being recognized by The Apollo for his pivotal role shaping the careers of many of contemporary music’s most iconic Black artists. With a career spanning over six decades, Davis visionary leadership and unwavering belief in talent, equality and bridging gaps between audiences have left and indelible mark on the soundtrack of our lives.
“It’s a deeply meaningful moment,” said Michelle Ebanks, President & CEO of The Apollo. “To see visionary leaders and legendary artist unite on the stage–honoring the remarkable work of Clive Davis, the ingenious spirit of Teyana Taylor, and the iconic legacy of The Apollo. It will be a powerful celebration of music’s transformative influence on culture and boundless creativity that shapes our world.”
From the earliest days at Columbia Records, through his groundbreaking work at Arista and J Records, and currently, as Sony Music Entertainment’s Worldwide Creative Director, Davis has consistently championed Black artists. His keen ear and deep respect for artistry have helped launch, elevate or reenergize the careers of such legends as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Earth, Wind & Fire, Miles Davis, Dionne Warwick, Usher, Gamble & Huff, Ray Parker, Jr., Jennifer Hudson, Herbie Hancock, Fantasia, Toni Braxton, Outkast and TLC, among many others.
Davis has a special personal connection to “Babyface” Edmonds and Larry Jackson. In 1989, Edmonds cofounded Laface Records with L.A Reid through a major joint venture with Davis’ for Arista Records. The record label was a catalyst for Atlanta’s burgeoning music industry, signing renowned global artist such as Usher, TLC, Toni Braxton, and more. Davis mentored Jackson which culminated in his driving critical A&R work for RCA Music Group and Sony Music that propelled the superstardom of Santana, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin,Dionne Warwick and many more.
Other performances throughout the evening will include an opening sequence from Martha Redbone and Grammy-winning singer Avery Sunshine, tributes to the late and great Richard Parsons featuring 8x Grammy nominee, The Baylor Project, and other special features from 4x Tony nominated director and choreographer, Camile A. Brown & Dancers. D-Nice will return to DJ the Spring Benefit’s official after party.
This year’s Spring Benefit will be The Apollos final fundraiser before embarking on the first full-scale renovation in its 90-year history. The renovation marks a new chapter for the iconic theater – continuing to honor its rich legacy while bringing forward the new enhanced audience experiences.
All proceeds will support the non-profit organization’s year-round, world-class artistic, education, and community programs, as well as its commitment to articulating and projecting the African American narrative using arts and culture and creating a 21st century performing arts canon.
The Spring Benefit begins with red carpet arrivals at 4:30pm, Clive Davis’ induction ceremony at 5:30PM, followed by the Benefit concert and awards ceremony at 7:00 PM.
Watch for upcoming announcements as the Apollo unveils a thrilling line -up of special honorees and performers. Visit www.ApolloTheatre.org for more information. To purchase benefit tickets, make a donation, or for more information, visit https://www.apollotheatre.org/benefit-2025.
For exclusive photos, updates and more use hashtag #ApolloSpringBenefit and follow The Apollo:
About The Apollo
The legendary Apollo –the soul of American culture –plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artist and launching legends. Since its founding, The Apollo has served as a center of innovation and creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York,and the world. In 2024, The Apollo opened The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theatre,making the first ever expansion in its 90-year history. The Apollo also has plans to renovate its Historic Theater. For more information about The Apollo visit www.ApolloTheatre.org.
With music at its core. The Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at The Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The non-profit Apollo is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend The Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations.
Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, The Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artist working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres–including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at The Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R. D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Jazmine Sullivan, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari, and The Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For More information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.
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Alexis Hunter Guests On “If These Walls Could Talk” With Hosts Wendy Stuart and Tym Moss Wednesday, June 11th, 2025

Who else but hosts Wendy Stuart and Tym Moss could “spill the tea” on their weekly show “If These Walls Could Talk” live from Pangea Restaurant on the Lower Eastside of NYC, with their unique style of honest, and emotional interviews, sharing the fascinating backstory of celebrities, entertainers, recording artists, writers and artists and bringing their audience along for a fantastic ride.
Alexis Hunter will be a featured guest on “If These Walls Could Talk” with hosts Wendy Stuart and Tym Moss on Wednesday, June 11th, 2025 at 2 PM ET live from the infamous Pangea Restaurant.

Wendy Stuart is an author, celebrity interviewer, model, actor, filmmaker and along with If These Walls Could Talk she hosts TriVersity Talk, a weekly web series with featured guests discussing their lives, activism and pressing issues in the LGBTQ Community.
Tym Moss is a popular NYC singer, actor, and radio/tv host who recently starred in the hit indie film “JUNK” to critical acclaim.
Joi Lansing may have been the last of Hollywood’s blonde bombshells, but she was also victim to its vile, indeed murderous system of control. With Joi Lansing: A Body to Die For, author Alexis Hunter, herself a victim of studio “indentured servitude” and Lansing’s partner and spouse during the starlet’s final years, offers the tell-all now available in a new, frank edition set for these post- #MeToo years, and just in time for the tenth anniversary of marriage equality. More so, the author is currently in talks with enthusiastic producers to cast this vital story as a film or mini-series.

Hunter, a quiet activist over decades for the rights of women and the LGBTQ community, was forced–like far too many–to endure a hidden life during her years with the noted sex symbol. “I had to pose as her little sister”, Hunter explained, “and was given the name Rachel Lansing” to explain their shared life. It is rare that such a romance can exist amidst the seductive yet destructive climate of Hollywood. Indeed, the pair forged a lasting relationship cut brutally short by the encroaching cancer Joi developed following years of breast- and buttocks- enhancement injections by a rabidly profit-mad industry. Told with a still palpable love by the author, the book places the reader into the heart of a relationship that couldn’t have known it was destined for such a meager shelf life. Joi Lansing, actress and vocalist, was the tragic biproduct of male-led business thriving on the distorted body imagery of women, particularly in the time of #BeverlyKills, which we apparently are not as far removed from as we’d thought. The book is a must-read as our society re-evaluates whether or not we’ve done all we can to assure this tragedy doesn’t happen again. As Hunter states in this unfortunately timeless tale, “Joi died for beauty”.
Watch Alexis Hunter on “If These Walls Could Talk” with hosts Wendy Stuart and Tym Moss on YouTube here:
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