Hot News Mix: Kevin G’s All Grown Up, Aziz’s Dad is Ready for His Close-Up and More

All you sucka emcees ain’t got nothin’ on me: We first wrote about actor Rajiv Surendra (best known for playing the teenage Kevin G in 2004’s Mean Girls) earlier this year when we highlighted his extraordinary calligraphy skills. Surendra’s back in the spotlight this week after doing this electrifying photo spread with photographer Charles Quiles. Click on the link to see the rest of the series. (Buzzfeed)

Aziz Ansari’s Dad Almost Had a ‘Parks and Rec’ Cameo: Comedian Aziz Ansari’s new comedy special is out on Netflix today and he’s been on the talk show circuit all week promoting it. On Wednesday Ansari told Jimmy Fallon about how his real-life father was briefly cast as Tom Haverford’s dad on Parks and Recreation. Watch the segment below:

A look inside Pakistan’s gay community: The Daily Beast examines what life is like for Pakistan’s gays. The site profiles Assad Khan, an openly gay actor and fashion designer who moved to the conservative city of Peshawar to be closer to his partner, an officer in the army. Khan and several others interviewed say they are hopeful and that attitudes are slowly changing (The Daily Beast)

The sad story of Wilmeth Sidat-Singh: The must-read of the week is this Dave McKenna piece on the 1930s-era college football star Wilmeth Sidat-Singh. While a 1937 Washington Post story described Sidat-Singh as “”the only Hindu basketball player in the United States” — he’d later switch to football — the truth was much more complicated. Born Wilmeth Webb to African American parents, he was later adopted by his West Indian stepfather. After a local newspaper outed Sidat-Singh as black, the University of Maryland threatened to cancel a game with Syracuse unless his was benched. Over three quarters of a century later, with Sidat-Singh’s family in attendance, the University of Maryland is set to apologize for this historical wrong. (Deadspin)

Lakshmi Gandhi is a co-founder and editor of The Aerogram. Find her on Twitter at @LakshmiGandhi.