Saturday, September 29, 2012

Red Carpet Q.and.A.: Reality TV Star/Entrepeneur GLORIA GOVAN

The Date: Tuesday, 9/13/2K11
The Locale: FRAMES  Bowling Lounge, New York City
The Event: Film launch for 'FASHION POLICE'

RG: What makes 'Basketball Wives: L.A.' unique compared to the Miami series from your perspective?

GG: 'Basketball Wives: L.A.' is unique in terms of having real drama, we all have kids, we're all entrepeneurs and very educated women. We're all different ages....There are women on the cast who are 40, so you get some different perspectives and different relationships.

RG: What can we anticipate from you in the near future?

GG: I'm launching an accessory line called 'Headbanger Accessories.' I'm also launching a vodka...I just invested in a rum called 'Hula Girl' and I am now the face of the drink. My fiancee Matt (Barnes, current NBA player) has a clothing line and my sister Laura is working on a clothing line as well. And also I'm writing a book, so there are so many different ventures that I am trying to reach out to and accomplish big things in the near future!

www.headbangeraccessories.com
www.hulagirlbeverages.com
www.twitter.com/GloGovan


Saturday, September 22, 2012

BLACK STREET's 1st Annual BLACK CELEBRATION Awards

On Monday, September 17, 2012 at the Carlton Hotel in New York City, BLACK STREET Founder and CEO Judith Jacques held her inaugural edition of the BLACK CELEBRATION Awards in Black-Tie fashion, celebrating the amazing achievements of African-American men and women that don't get the mainstream accolades that they deserve in various fields such as Education, Law, Politics and Medicine, just to name a few. Veteran actor/producer/activist/author Isaiah Washington, ESSENCE Magazine Editor-at-Large Mikki Taylor, Actress/Co-Founder of WEEN (Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network) Sabrina Thompson and Jean Alerte, CEO of public relations firm Alerte, Carter and Associates, all received special honors for their efforts in being the positive examples they have been and will continue to be within the Black community. Stacy NC Grant gave an incredible and memorable speech on Black Empowerment that ignited a joyous spark throughout the entire room!
Every single individual who was nominated, along with the ones who took home an award are all equally making a victorious difference in the African-American community through their hard work, dedication and unrelenting services to others. The amazing entertainment was provided by Courtney Porter, who beautifully sang the Black National Anthem 'Lift Every Voice,' Long Island's own Jeanette Berry, a very talented singer/songwriter who is also an educator, and CH2, who performed and sang the Sam Cooke classic song 'A Change Is Gonna Come.'  The entire evening was educational, uplifting and motivational on all levels! Big kudos go out to Judith for creating this special awards ceremony, and she said it best when she stated that the Black community is in dire need of more and more leaders during her closing speech, and I can definitely see BLACK STREET and the annual BLACK CELEBRATION Awards continuing to evolve to higher heights for years and years to come in creating those new leaders for the future and beyond with God's will! I also want to send a big kudos out to Yaya Rey, founder and CEO of  YA IndieGround House Management for extending the invitation to cover this groundbreaking event!

For the complete list of winners and nominees, log on to www.blackcelebrationwards.com, and to learn more about Judith's mission of showcasing the greatness within the African-American community, you can log on to www.blackstreetonline.com.


Saturday, September 15, 2012

Red Carpet Q.and.A.: Comedian/Actor GERALD KELLY

The Date: Tuesday, 4/12/2K11
The Locale: Times Square Arts Center, New York City
The Event: 'This Is 50' Comedy Show taping (50 Cent)

RG: Give me your thoughts on This Is 50 Comedy and Jack Thriller.

GK: First of all, I'm about about pioneership. 50 Cent is a pioneer - an iconic figure on the East Coast. He's the first rapper in the hip-hop biz from the East Coast besides Damon Dash to look out for comedians. I live in both New York City and Los Angeles....A lot of rappers have looked out for comedians like Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Ice-T....They've featured us in a lot of movies, TV shows and music videos for the extra exposure we needed. I'm proud of 50 for allowing my man Jack Thriller to have a platform and a venue. But I'm even more proud of Jack Thriller! The one thing I told him about moving to New York City from Atlanta is that there's a lot of haters and a lot of negativity. You can grind and hustle here in NYC, as you see what 50 and myself did, but Jack came here and he had a mission, saying 'Yo, I wanna come to NYC and meet 50, and let him know what I'm trying to do and get him on board with me.' So now, his dreams and aspirations are coming into fruition and reality.

RG: Give me your take on the current state of the Black comedy game as you see it.

GK: Right now, there's a void in Black comedy. We need a new 'Def Comedy Jam,' but we don't need it done by the same people; We need it done by somebody different - something fresh and new because there's new talent out there. My son Isiah Kelly is the youngest comedian in the country right now, and we are the first father/son stand-up comedy team in history!

RG: Give me your thoughts on the potential longevity of the talented, funny new crop of comics like Jack Thriller coming into the game, compared to the veterans like yourself that's been doing it consistently for years.

GK: It's all about creativity. You see how Jack Thriller works hard? You couldn't find 150 new comedians who work hard like Jack does. The key to success is when preparation meets hard work and determination. A lot of these young cats don't work hard like that. That's why it's easy for vets like Bruce Bruce, Earthquake, Adele Givens, Sommore, D.L. Hughley, Mike Epps and so on and so forth, still being relevant in a major way in the comedy game because a lot of the new jacks are not coming up with product - or are just not getting a break. I've been doing comedy for a long time....I've been on a lot of TV shows, a couple of B-list films such as 'Cookout 2,' 'Buzz House' with Wesley Johnathan and Faizon Love, but I'm still trying to get my big break and still grindin'. I realize that what God has for you - it's gonna be for you. Every up-and-coming comedian should look at Jack Thriller as an example and say 'Damn...This is what can happen if I'm determined and I work real hard!'

www.twitter.com/geraldkellynyla
www.twitter.com/isiahkelly


Saturday, September 8, 2012

Red Carpet Q.and.A: AMANDA SEALES (Formerly known as AMANDA DIVA)

The Date: Saturday, 3/24/2K12
The Locale: Helen Mills Theatre, New York City
The Event: Amanda's debut one-woman musical narrative 'Death Of The Diva.'

RG: How long did 'Death Of The Diva' take as far as you conceptualizing and putting it together to come to fruition as a stage play?

AS: I started thinking about it back in September of 2K11, then I wrote it the following month in October of the same year, and then me and my team put it up on November 21, 2K11. So it's been six months since it first popped in my head as something to do, and then, you know, it's just grown and evolved, and it's still growing and evolving, and if we get more money, it'll grow and evolve to an even bigger, better and tighter production! We're just hoping to be able to take it to as many places and to many people as possible.

RG: What's the most important message that you want to convey to our young women out there as far as how they are perceived in this current culture of mainstream popularity?

AS: There are a lot of messages with it, but I think one of the main messages is that you need to be aware of the negative images that are being put out, and not just accept everything as it's given to you, you know? And I think that a lot of us these days do that, unfortunately. We just have so many images coming at us in so many ways that we just go along with it, and take it as like 'Oh, that;s how things are supposed to be; That's what I'm supposed to be.' And our young women are being misled in that they are being given examples all day long of what NOT to be, but no one is presenting them in that fashion.

RG: Danica Patrick - I see her more as a fantastic race car driver, and she doesn't like to be perceived as just being pretty and sexy. Your thoughts on female athletes that are being looked at solely as eye candy, and being less credited for their actual talent.

AS: I just feel like that's happening in such an imbalance than the negative, that we don't even get to see that. I only see Danica in the 'GoDaddy.com' TV ads because they sponsor her. She's not being used as prevalently as she could be, partially because she isn't willing to just sell herself in a sexual manner. Alicia Sacramone is a gymnast who has gone to two summer Olympic games and has been on several World Championship teams. She posed in the 'Body' issue of ESPN magazine, and in those issues, they have you posing naked, and even though it's tasteful, it still exposes sexuality, and apparently USA Gymnastics was like ' Yeah, we can't have you on the team' because of that. So even the slightest misstep in that way is affecting folks in their lives, but the message that's put out there more prevalently is 'No - THIS is how you get poppin'.' as far as being exposed sexually.

RG: For those who want to check out 'Death Of The Diva,' how would you sell your amazing, one-woman musical narrative to the masses?

AS: In one sentence - The 'Death Of The Diva' is my challenging of the pop culture's portrayal of women, one hilarious character at a time. You're not going to come to the theater and get preached to; You are going to come to the theater and laugh your butt off, and leave the theater thinking!

www.amandaseales.com
www.deathofthediva.com