Raz-B is dealing with an unexpected loss. The singer has announced that his son, Astro Monte Thornton, has passed away at 3 months.
According to reports, a source close to the singer and his wife, Mona Li, revealed that their son passed away earlier this week and that the death was unexpected. No details of Astro’s death have been released. The couple also have a daughter, Versai Carter Thornton.
A spokesperson for the family said in a statement, “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the unexpected passing of Astro Monte Thornton, beloved son of Mona and De’Mario ‘Raz B’ Thornton of the R&B supergroup B2K. The family asks for privacy as they navigate this difficult time. They truly appreciate your love and support.”
Back in June, Raz-B shared photos of him spending time with his family as well as sharing footage of Astro’s birth. “Living in the moment, so this is a day late. We thank you for all you do!” the caption read. “Thank you for your love, commitment, and generosity for us and those you care for. Thank you for protecting us, being our safest place and our forever hero!”
For two weeks in August, residents in Gary, Indiana, were without power and had limited to no resources.
The devastation had received little media attention, but work was still underway to help those in need. Houston native and rapper Trae Tha Truth recounted his firsthand experience helping the people of Gary, Indiana.
“It’s been very, very impactful on me, as far as just understanding that there are a lot of people out there who truly need help. There are a lot of people who feel lost and forgotten,” Truth told Unapologetically Eclectic. “You see situations where the light company and some of the agencies aren’t necessarily trying to help them the way they need. But the good thing is they have a great mayor, a great community, and a lot of people coming together to make things happen. You have people like Reverend Boone of Tree of Life and just people from all around different areas coming together to help.”
Truth, alongside his nonprofit organization, Angel By Nature, and his relief ranch, Relief Gang, has had boots on the ground since day one. “I was there when everything first happened, and even since I’ve left, I work on it daily. I had to leave, but I’m going back,” he explained.
“I communicate with people there every day. We’re working on getting different things done, and I’m just staying in communication with everybody daily.” He added, “once the cameras are gone and the attention is gone, people tend to leave. And then the community gets forgotten and I don’t want that to happen.”
Although, this has been a devastating time for Gary, Indiana, the residents were happy to see people like Trae Tha Truth there helping out.
“For that moment, nobody was thinking about how bad their house was or everything they were dealing with,” he said. “We were bringing the right energy and giving them an opportunity to breathe a little. People were just happy to see help coming.”
Bishop Odestress McCoy Jr., and his wife, First Lady Mary Ann McCoy, who lives in a neighboring town of Hammond, Indiana, have been providing families with care packages from their food pantry.
“We’ve given away food, products from Amazon, clothes, and more, ” Bishop McCoy said. He also stated that because of how many people were affected by the storm, they unfortunately were forced to cut back on giving out supplies because they were running low during that time.
“We had to cut back from one week to two weeks and now it’s once a month. It’s devastating but we’re grateful that other communities, churches, and people have stepped up and assisted with this,” the Bishop continued.
First Lady McCoy added that the city of Gary looked like something she’s never seen before. “People were walking around, and it was so dark that you couldn’t see your hand in front of you.”
Trae Tha Truth wasn’t the only one providing for the people. Social media sensation Keith Lee and his family also had boots on the ground, gave out care packages to multiple families, and urged his followers to do what they could to help.
Since then, power has been restored, but help is still needed, and ways you can help. You can follow Trae Tha Truth’s organizations: Angel By Nature and Relief Gang.
Issa Rae drops a bombshell regarding the upcoming Insecure 10 -Year Anniversary Tour.
The actress, along with her co-stars, announced that the tour to celebrate the show’s success has been canceled. Rae kicks off the video by thanking fans for their ongoing support, then turns to co-stars Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, and Natasha Rothwell, and then to the show’s showrunner, Prentice Penny, and they announce the cancellation.
She revealed that the cancellation came about due to everyone’s work schedules clashing with the tour dates. In July, Rae announced that the tour would start on September 10 in Philadelphia and conclude on October 8th in Inglewood, California.
Although the tour is canceled, a celebration show will still take place in Inglewood, California, on October 8th with the cast of the hit show.
Insecure premiered on HBO on October 9, 2016. It was created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore. After running for five seasons, the show ended on December 26, 2021.
