“Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem, has been sung at every Super Bowl since 2021, when Alicia Keys performed the song.

This year, at Super Bowl LX, Coco Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

So, who is Coco Jones? 

Coco Jones is a Grammy Award-winning R&B artist. In 2024, she was nominated for 5 Grammys and won one award for Best R&B Performance for her platinum-certified song “ICU.” She earned two more Grammy nominations in 2025 and was nominated for Best R&B Album at this year’s award show.

The artist’s father, Mike Jones, is a former pro football player. Jones was an NFL linebacker who played for the New England Patriots, St. Louis Rams, and Tennessee Titans.

If you’re not familiar with Coco Jones as an R&B artist, she might look familiar to you if you watched the Peacock series Bel-Air. Jones is the actor who played Hillary Banks on the drama that reimagined the Will Smith sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. As a child actor, she was also a well-known Disney Channel star, appearing in So Random!, Good Luck Charlie, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Let It Shine.

By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 hour ago

With rent prices spiraling out of control, the average person has to figure out how to be thrifty enough to survive in this brutal economy if they want to maintain a comfortable quality of life. Personally, I freelance full time because it allows me to work from home and keep a flexible schedule. That lifestyle choice lets me stay home with my kids, saving a ton of money on child care. I’m also saving hand over fist on car maintenance and fuel costs because I don’t have a commute. In a past life, I remember dropping about 10 grand a year just getting to and from an office setting that made me miserable, so I don’t do that anymore, and my wallet thanks me for it.

Most importantly, I like staying home so I can actually enjoy what my rent pays for. I’ll stand in the vacant corner of the living room that we don’t quite know what to do with yet, simply because we’re paying for every single square inch and might as well use it. When my wife asks what I’m doing, I tell her I’m getting my money’s worth and enjoying my rent. While this behavior sounds a little silly, it’s nothing compared to what’s uncovered in the 2024 documentary, Secret Mall Apartment.

It’s Exactly What It Sounds like

If you’re wondering what Secret Mall Apartment is about, there’s no need to read between the lines. It’s about a collective of Rhode Island-based artists, led by Michael Townsend, who secretly lived inside the Providence Place shopping mall for four years without being discovered. What began as a creative solution to displacement ultimately became a long term, living art installation and a quiet protest against gentrification. Along the way, the documentary also makes a strong case for using art as a way to reclaim your life, which might be exactly the kind of inspiration you’re looking for right now.

It all started in 2003, when Michael Townsend and his friends Colin Bliss, Adrian Valdez Young, Andrew Oesch, Greta Scheing, James Mercer, Emily Ustach, and Jay Zehngebot needed a new base of operations after the dilapidated Eagle Square district, which functioned as a creative hub for local artists, was leveled to make way for the sprawling shopping center. Providence Place mall was never exactly welcomed by longtime residents, largely because it was seen as a development that would drive up costs and push lower income families out of the area.

While reluctantly wandering through the mall to see what all the hype was about, Townsend discovered a chunk of unutilized space where several structures intersected. That discovery sparked the idea to slowly transform it into a hidden apartment. With the help of his friends, they turned the space into a modest but functional living area of roughly 750 square feet. Using a Pentax Optio camera, they documented the entire process, from sneaking furniture into the space to tapping electricity from a nearby store. They even hauled in dozens of cinder blocks to construct their own wall and a locking door, all without drawing attention from security.

Technically Theft And Trespassing, But Also A Living Art Installment

Townsend was eventually discovered, cited for trespassing, and evicted from the secret mall apartment in 2007. Even so, it’s hard not to admire the initiative behind the whole thing. As the documentary makes clear, Townsend is the kind of person who sees art in everything, and transforming the space was simply another creative challenge. While living inside the mall, the group continued to work on ambitious projects under the radar, including contributing to an elaborate 9/11 memorial in New York City and creating large scale tape murals at children’s hospitals, more often than not working tirelessly for free.

Between these demanding projects, the group returned to their secret mall apartment to talk shop, plan their next ideas, and unwind by playing video games, watching TV, and simply having a place to exist without paying rent. The stunt itself is impressive, but it also functioned as a pointed commentary on gentrification. Providence Place was a massive development designed primarily for tourists rather than locals. After the construction of the 1.4 million square foot mall displaced a thriving underground art community, Townsend felt reclaiming 750 unused square feet was a fitting way to push back.

Secret Mall Apartment is a satisfying watch because the apartment represents more than just a clever place to live. It stands for reclaiming autonomy through unconventional means and tells a genuinely inspiring story about eight people who followed a strange idea because it felt like their calling at the time. Every person who lived in the secret mall apartment still works in the arts today. Meanwhile, the mall itself is currently under state receivership, which feels like an ironic footnote in a story about creativity outlasting corporate progress.

If you’re looking for a feel-good documentary that might spark something in your own creative life, or if you’re just looking for some thrifty interior decorating tips, you can stream Secret Mall Apartment on Netflix.

Game, set, sip! Odell Beckham Jr., Kane Brown, Terrell Owens, Estelle, and more celebs headed to Cîroc Athletic Club at M Ranch, a private estate established in 1919, in Napa Valley, California on Feb. 6 to debut its inaugural Super Bowl pickleball tournament.

Celebrity pickleball coach Matt Manasse, who has trained Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Kelly Rowland, Will Ferrell, and Emma Watson, hosted the day’s matches, with Owens stepping onto the court to compete.

Between rallies, guests recharged with Leisure Well experiences, including IV drips and B12 shots from Recovery Suite and massages by Hyperice.

Throughout the day, attendees embraced wine-country living by sipping Cîroc vodka specialty cocktails, crafted from fine French grapes and distilled using a cold fermentation process, as they soaked in vineyard views across the property’s 12 acres.

Inside the home, partygoers browsed curated artwork by Gordon Parks, courtesy of Jenkins Johnson Gallery, before making their way to an outside stand to grab custom Cîroc pullovers, windbreakers, disposable cameras, and travel bags.

As golden hour faded into evening, DJ Millie kept the energy high with a live set, before guests enjoyed a performance by IDL and a dinner by Chef Kwame Onwuachi, followed by dessert and cupcakes to go.

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