Beyonce: Dance For You



f*ck fear

FEAR SUCKS!

BEING AFRAID BLOWS!

Robin Thicke: Love After War

kick and push and coast

Girl & Chocolate Trailer from Crailtap on Vimeo.

head over (atwoods)

vocalize this.

AWARD-WINNING, MUSIC PRODUCER IN SEARCH OF A VOCALIST. PLEASE SEND INQUIRIES TO DUPPANDSWAT@GMAIL.COM.

and this lil vita cried all the way home

come on, vita.

what's up with the faux fur, one-shoulder thingy?

and, why all the grinding on the couch?

and, where you been?

ehhh.....you can go back!

you ain't doing it right.....

paint the pain away.....

->i have the opportunity to do a great deed.

-->you see, my sister is a physician assistant and she specializes in pediatric abuse cases--particularly, those of the sexual nature.

--->i was given the go ahead to paint murals on the walls of her exam and consultation rooms.

---->beyond excited am i.

----->all i know is that i want to paint.

------>and, i hope that whatever i paint coddles her patients into talking.

------->we're talking infants to year, seventeen.

-------->again, i pray that whatever i paint pushes her patients to purge the pain. 

--------->and, regarding the cases of the infants, i find great assurance knowing that she will find the physical evidence and speak for them.

---------->i can't wait to paint!

#lotusflowerbomb

love the song.

hate the design in miguel's head.

love the song.

 

Nicki Minaj: Til the World Ends

Video Provided by DatPiff.com

Luda: Badaboom

Ludacris- "Badaboom" by GlobalGrind

damn, luda.....

why you gotta go and do that for, huh?

big sean, drake, what you got?

 

ehh whatever, i'm just saying

i don't know what has come over me but i gotta get this out.....

bad boys drive me crazy but good boys are boring. at least that's what mary says. and, to a certain degree, i agree. i want a dude with a future and a past. a dude that aint perfect. who has a few battle scars--physically and emotionally. a dude who understands my worth. a dude who sees other beauties but never, never, never, never, never, never touches. i mean cause, hell, i aint blind but i wont ever disrespect either. i'm so not a cheater. a dude who is down and goes down. who doesn't have a problem cooking and cleaning. who isn't glued to the tv, xbox, or other. who likes holding hands and being tickled. who understands my quirks and outbursts. who is driven by faith and experience. who is fine as all outdoors. i want a dude that takes care of business. who can appreciate my affinity for hip hop (and other genres) and will jump right on in if i start beat boxing. a dude who is fly and confident. energetic. honest. opinionated. a beast. intelligent. spiritual. motivated. a dude who makes my heart skip a beat and panties melt (wait, for those who know me....well, never mind). 

it's not like i'm asking too much....am i? cause i can keep going.....

that i dabble in

now usually i don't do this but uhhhh....
here ya go....

i'm presently working on:
1) another play---The AMEN Corner. Spirit Square. January 2012. costume design.
2) painting a doctor's clinic in winston next week. murals, etc.
3) 719 Media photo shoot. end of the month.
4) The RedPump/Red Tie Affair. Dec. 1st.
5) scouting locations for......
6) scouting locations for.....
7) Negotiating design contract with.....
8) Round2 of REVOLT. Re:Public. Dec. 14th
9) finalizing tees for BushBroads
10) an event that will highlight NC artists.... NIL coming soon!

planning, evolving, growing, doing.....

love lost.

have you ever had the pleasure of meeting someone 

have you ever had the pleasure of getting to know someone

have you ever had the pleasure of loving someone

have you ever had the displeasure of realizing they're not ready

Footwork

Isabel Marant's sneakers.

just in time for Spring 2012...

 Photo Credit: HighSnobette

THE Affair

The 3rd Annual Red Pump/Red Tie Affair will take place on Thursday December 1, 2011 (World AIDS Day) at the Harvey B. Gantt Center (551 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC) from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. Red Pump/Red Tie allows attendees to get together and support a great cause, all while having a great time and looking fabulous.

You are invited to take part in supporting this gala for a great cause. The AIDS epidemic is alive and well, this event is our way of helping to get the right information out there for the public and to raise awareness. We have the power to change our world; let's join together and do it. A portion of the proceeds from the 2011 Red Pump/Red Tie Affair will be donated to RAIN for all of the great work they do in our community. You can purchase your tickets at http://2011redpumpredtieaffair.eventbrite.com.

For more information: www.theredpumpproject.org 

Man of the YEAR: HOV

They're waiting for him at the gallery. They're lined up in the foyer, as if for inspection. Ealan Wingate, who runs the place, nutty-professorial in a bow tie and blazer, stands with some gallery staffers, young women in heels and complicated blouses, their demeanor poised and professional, their eyes flashing OMG, OMG as the gallery doors open to let in the hard fall wind off the Hudson and also Shawn Corey Carter, better known from the Marcy Houses to Marrakech as Jay-Z. He's wearing Timberlands, just-this-side-of-baggy jeans, a plain dark blue hoodie, and a look of regal amusement. Like, For me? He shakes everybody's hand, introduces himself as "Jay."

Jay is among the first rappers to name-drop his contemporary-art holdings in the same you-ain't-up-on-this tone that other MCs employ when discussing their watches. He shouts out art-world superdealer Larry Gagosian in his verse on "That's My Bitch," from Watch the Throne, the collaborative album he and Kanye West released a few months ago. So we're at one of Larry's places, the warehouse-sized Gagosian Gallery on West 24th Street.

Wingate leads us into the main room, which currently houses Junction/Cycle, two mammoth sculptures by he-man minimalist Richard Serra (who happens to live around the corner from Jay in Tribeca). Curving walls of rust-brown steel cut the gallery into canyons. Wingate says we're supposed to walk through them and think about memory, so we do; it's kind of like an existential corn maze. Jay is clearly impressed by the sheer scale Serra's working on, but he doesn't linger. It's not until Wingate takes us into a side room and shows us a big Cy Twombly triptych that I see him actually stopped short by what he's looking at.

The Twombly is all scrawl and half-erasure, violent like a bus window keyed by an army of scratch-taggers, if scratch-taggers bombed public transit with the names of Greek heroes like AGAMEMNON and AJAX and ODYSSEUS and JASON. Also—and once Wingate points this out to us, it's hard to see anything else—there are a lot of exuberantly crude drawings of vaginas and balloon-animalish dicks.

Jay digs this one. It reminds him more than a little of the Basquiats he collects, the ones he's referring to on the Throne track "Illest Motherfucker Alive" when he rhymes House like a museum with see 'em when I'm peein' with Usually, you have this much taste, you European. (Classic Jay: culturedness as swag, class snobbery brushed off like so much shoulder dirt, and a relatability-enhancing reference to taking a piss just like a regular dude, all in the space of three lines.)

He stands ten feet back from the Twombly, and for a long minute nobody says anything and the wind rattles the gallery's windows and he briefly ceases to be the focus of everybody's attention.

"You hear that silence right there?" he finally says, laughing. "That's art workin'."

Photo Credit: GQ

Read More http://www.gq.com/moty/2011/jay-z-gq-men-of-the-year-issue#ixzz1dh4xVTIv

TPain ft Wiz & Lily: 5 O'Clock

Take Care

GQ sat down with Drake and, although a snippet, enjoy:

GQ: You announced the title of this album, Take Care, with us back in December. What does it mean?
Drake: No one has actually asked me that yet. I came up with the name when I was on a bus in Birmingham, England, going to a show. “Take Care” is this thing we use in passing conversation to dismiss bullshit like, “Oh, you couldn’t make it on time? Oh, take care, take care.” We’ve always used that and then I really took so much care making this album. I knew I was going to go home and take longer than six months, I knew that I was literally going to take care of making this project and be attentive, be clear, be immersed in it. “Take Care” worked.

GQ: On to something a little lighter. We’re GQ, so we have to ask: What’s up with the sweaters?
Drake: [laughs] Now, this I have been asked about several times.

GQ: Do you have a favorite?
Drake: Yes, I do. It’s a toss-up between three sweaters. I’d say one would be obviously the OVO Owl Sweater. I can wear it repetitively and no one calls me out on it. I have a cashmere Hermes sweater that I love. Lastly, any of my Missoni sweaters. I don’t give a fuck what anybody says about my Missoni sweaters! Fuck you, if you don’t like my sweater! [Editor's note: A middle-aged couple sitting next to us sharply turn their heads.] It’s funny because people only talk about me and sweaters because I don’t give them anything else to talk about. I live in Canada, so any dirt I do you’ll never see because we don’t have the paparazzi up there! It’s the stupidest thing, man, but I’ll embrace it. Hopefully Missoni hollers at me and we get a sweater line popping!

GQ: People talk a lot of shit, anything you wish they’d stop saying?
Drake: That’s tough. I wish that we lived in a time and a generation where people would stop viewing my honesty as overly emotional. People always act like I spend my life crying in a dark room. I don’t, I’m good. I’m a man. I want to be remembered as an artist that gave you a piece of me, as opposed to some surface bullshit. I don’t think people realize that we die, we leave here, and either they forget about you or remember you. And how they remember you is up to you. I just want to be remembered as a poet that was open and honest because I wake up every morning and I’m me.

To read more, visit http://www.gq.com/entertainment/music/201111/drake-take-care-interview-gq

and she's not a size 2

and, she's not a size 2!

#nuffsaid

#kudos

woooooooooooooosah!

1) do you remember the time?
2) is Dr. Conrad Murray going to make it in jail?
3) what would you do with $35million?
4) do fish get hiccups?
5) what makes the world go round?
6) why are you here?
7) what's love got to do with it?
8) i sing all the time but probably shouldn't
9) make me laugh
10) when i was young, i think i got one too many spankings
11) pain is good, sometimes
12) do you count sheep?
13) pleasure is bad, sometimes
14) if i ruled the world.....
15) where is lauryn hill?
16) f*ck that, where is waldo?
17) i want to blow your mind
18) will you let me?
19) 2+2 does not = 4 in my world... yeh, don't ask
20) i see the good in you
21) last night was almost all bad...
22) surround yourself with smiling people
23) when was the last time you wet the bed? lol
24) i love me some country folk
25) and cooking
26) you have the right and responsibility to be an individual
27) get to know me before you judge
28) or not..... you can hate on me! *shoulder shrug*
29) i want a teacup 'something' named marley
30) FFF= f*ck 'foney' folk
31) i miss my grandmother
32) i'm ready to move again
33) maybe atlanta
34) perhaps LA
35) NY was hella dope!
36) our love affair will continue soon
37) i miss my hair... *hurry and grow back, i've got styles to create*
38) i hate the word, 'diva'
39) i'm going to write the perfect verse
40) i've got a past and a future
41) my present is a present
42) i know a little bit
43) i'm hungry and food can't satisfy
44) WWJD?
45) i want to live uncensored
46) to thine self be true
47) *thrift store junkie*
48) can i get some?
49) .....ain't nothing but a gangsta party....
50) get out the way.
51) have you been hugged today? no? *gasp* here, take this!

Introducing the C-String

for those of you who aren't ready to go commando, here is another option---the c-string!

??????????????

Photo Credit: HighSnobette

TI f Big KRIT: I'm Flexing

Telling A Story

Marie Thumerelle and Sophie Toulouse - Telling a Story from mb! by Mercedes-Benz on Vimeo.

FTLOH

Theater reviews: For the Love of Harlem and Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure
Posted by Perry Tannenbaum on Fri, Nov 4, 2011 at 5:33 PM

While the arts were poppin’ all over the Center City last weekend, Sue and I contented ourselves with the new CPCC Theatre production of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure over at Halton Theatre. Then with Sue safely escaped to Greensboro the following afternoon, I ventured boldly into the Uptown among the freeloaders — oops, I meant the arts lovers — to see a matinee performance of On Q’s new For the Love of Harlem at Spirit Square while it was still in previews.

You will witness outstanding performances at both places if you follow in my footsteps this weekend, with or without your magnifying glass. I only wish the authors of the two scripts, Steven Dietz for the Arthur Conan Doyle adaptation and our own Jermaine Nakia Lee for original musical, had not been so eager to poach on each other’s customary domains. Dietz’s Adventure is a tad too action-packed and visceral, while Lee’s Harlem is far too cerebral.

That’s largely because we’re instantly spoiled by the huge dazzling splash of the opening number, Lee’s title piece. All hands — and feet — are on deck, coming at us in waves of ensemble singing and dancing, fueled by a hot sextet led by trombonist/arranger Tyrone Jefferson. We gladly dole out additional credit to Jefferson for his musical direction as the vocal soloists vie with the solo instrumentalists up in the balcony of the reconfigured Duke Energy Theatre, but the crowning touches here are from the dancers choreographed by La’Tanya Johnson. The overall impact, stage directed by Sidney Horton, aspires to nothing less than the exhausting, anthemic splendor of “42nd Street.” And it resoundingly succeeds.

A tough act to follow as Lee continues his homage to the Harlem Renaissance. We adjourn to the chambers of novelist/critic/editor Wallace Thurman, where we meet Richard Bruce Nugent, Zora Neale Hurston, Aaron Bruce, Langston Hughes, and Countee Cullen. These literary and visual artists sing about themselves as the “Niggerati,” a term coined by Hurston in response to the scorn directed at their clique by a white Gotham critic. It’s another showstopping number, on a smaller scale than “Love of Harlem,” and there’s also a promise that we’ll be steered back in a jazzy direction when we behold the great Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith, slumped on a chair in a drunken stupor, though she’s scheduled to perform that night.

Lee would have done well to pay heed to Arthur Laurents’ book for West Side Story, where every excuse to break into dance is embraced — even if it means choreographing street fights or setting up a war council between two gangs during a high school hop. We do follow Bessie to the club, but her big scene is in her dressing room as she and blues great Alberta Hunter bicker about the advisability of keeping their homoerotic liaisons hush-hush. A delightfully soused intro to Smith’s signature “Tain’t Nobody’s Business” spices up her brief scene behind the mic, but nobody kicks up their heels on the dance floor.

Instead we find ourselves in the salon of arts patroness A’Lelia Walker as Nugent’s paintings go on exhibit. Or back to Niggerati HQ for Countee Cullen to continue wooing Langston Hughes. Or Hunter’s apartment, where Alberta repulses the ambitions of her lover, Lottie Tyler. Other curable maladies in the script include detours into academic symposium prose when the Renaissance notables expound their manifestos and Lee’s tendency to write his scenes so that they look like mere set-ups for his songs.

Lee also indulged his predilection toward writing soul ballads two or three more times than necessary instead of trying to pen more blues cookers like Alberta Hunter’s “This Worried Song” — or the Ellingtonia played by the sextet during scene changes. Closing Act 1 with “What’s Wrong?” and opening Act 2 with “To Thine Own Self Be True,” Lee has not only slowed the action and the music to a virtual standstill, he has strayed from sounds that feel right for the Jazz Age.

But my, my, my — how this exemplary cast delivers on the score they’re given! Sheretta Ivey torches the title tune before she settles into the role of Zora Neale Hurston to do more of the same on “There’s Always Something,” and Sharlatta Marlin is pure cussedness as Bessie Smith. After sharing the lead vocal with Ivey on “Love of Harlem,” Tony Massey wrings all the goodness out of “To Thine Own Self” as Nugent, and Tim Bradley proves to be a fairly sensational vocalist as Thurman with “Stimulation” and “Niggerati in You.”

I’d estimate that Leshae Stukes ventures a full octave above her useful range in the hilarious “Dark Tower,” delivered with appropriately towering confidence. The troubled gays are equally impeccable if not as funny, Briana Smith and Ruby Edwards as Alberta Hunter and Lottie Tyler, Marchand Dekarlos and Justin Moore as Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes. Rounding out the cast, Vincent Robinson turns Aaron Douglas into a Bohemian scamp, duetting effectively with Ivey on “There’s Always Something.”

Lee ramps up his heavy artillery at the end. After the sizzling Ivey goes visionary on us in “On the Other Side,” a doo-wop dirge for Thurman, the whole ensemble re-gathers for “Unusual Love,” the best of Lee’s soul pieces, with one last marvelous chart from Jefferson. By this time, we know that we’ll be getting more than searing solos, righteous backup, and another dousing of Johnson’s choreography. After his showstopping exploits in “Love of Harlem” and at A’Lelia’s soiree, tap dancing prodigy Roderick Phifer-Pitts must come out for one last devastating cameo.

Aided by the resources of 1510 Antiques, Quentin Talley’s set design markedly raises his company’s standards, but you may be even more dazzled by Davita Galloway’s costuming. Warts and all, For the Love of Harlem outclassed many of the shows I saw at the National Black Theatre Festival back in August. It would make a fine first impression for Charlotte when NBTF returns to Winston-Salem in 2013.

Credit: http://clclt.com/theclog/archives/2011/11/04/theater-reviews-for-the-love-of-harlem-and-sherlock-holmes-the-final-adventure

Big Sean ft. Minaj: Dance

LMFAO: Sexy and I Know IT

#REVOLT

just a few pics.... on the hunt for more....
REVOLT. RevolutionEgo. Re:Public.

FTLOH

'FOR THE LOVE OF HARLEM'

Now playing through Saturday, November 12th @ Spirit Square

The Harlem Renaissance, also called the New Negro Movement, flourished in Harlem, N.Y., in the 1920s and 1930s. It was a dynamic time characterized by innovations in art, literature, music, poetry, theater and dance.

That dynamism is reflected in "For the Love of Harlem," a musical being presented by OnQ Productions at the Duke Energy Theatre in Spirit Square. Jermaine Nakia Lee wrote the book, lyrics and original songs in this loving tribute showcasing the formative years and intimate interconnections of some of the greatest artists of our time.

We are treated to the back story of the often-fractious but ultimately binding friendship among these people.

Beginning with an exuberant jazz number called "For the Love of Harlem," the stage bursts with life as the main cast is joined by five talented dancers. It's a terrific opener to the show and highlights the vibrancy of Harlem in this fertile creative period.

Gathering to create and carouse in the Harlem brownstone of novelist Wallace Thurman (Tim Bradley) are literary lions Langston Hughes (Justin Moore), Countee Cullen (Marchand DeKarlos), and Zora Neale Hurston (Sherretta Ivey). "Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith (Sharlata Marlin) is there in all her unapologetic glory, as are blues singer Alberta Hunter (Briana Smith), artist Aaron Douglas (Vincent Robinson) and playwright Richard Bruce Nugent (Tony Massey).

Bradley, as Thurman, is the life of the party and demonstrates his devilish nature in the R&B-inflected "Niggerati in You." (The deliberately ironic term was used by Thurman to describe his group as a slap in the face to Harlem's bourgeoisie.)

Many of the artists Lee features have complicated love lives, and this is explored in several of the songs. Most moving is "What's Wrong?"; a ballad sung passionately by Cullen (DeKarlos) as a lament to his friend Hughes (Moore). Cullen would like Hughes to be open with his sexuality and consider letting down his guard and becoming more than friends.

Lee explores the bisexuality of Bessie Smith (Marlin), who heatedly explains to Hunter (Smith) that her private life is just that in the smoky jazz "T'aint Nobody's Business." Later, Hunter is having her own romantic dilemma with her lover, Lottie Tyler (Ruby Edwards). Smith's and Edwards' voices blend beautifully on the heartbreaking blues ballad "This Worried Song."

Throwing some comic relief into all of this heartbreak is LeShea Stukes, a riot as socialites and arts patron A'Lelia Walker, heiress to the hair-care fortune of her mother, Madame C.J. Walker. Her soiree, in an antique-filled brownstone, is genteel and elegant - but when she favors her artistic guests with a solo, watch their decidedly non-genteel reactions.

"For the Love of Harlem" features an excellent live band, led by trombonist extraordinaire Tyrone Jefferson. Costumes, by Davita Galloway, are perfectly period and add a great deal of color and authenticity to the production.
The dialogue between the songs can get wordy - there's too much dry explication of the movement that doesn't seem conversational. Director Sidney Horton and all of the performers, though, have captured the magnetic draw and the spiritual audacity of Harlem.

Credit: Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/31/2738874/musical-revives-the-vibe-of-harlem.html#ixzz1cqwKJg4C

Book Review: Two Scraped Knees

Hey Davita,


I'm a very fast reader.  I finished it within 24 hours.  I loved it. Individuality at its best.  LOL


I love your writing style and your inclusion of your mothers journal entries ROCKED!  You were giving your audience more than your point of view.  


The pictures were really helpful.  They helped me imagine things as if I were right there.  It was as if I was there in the hospital room, in the holding cell, etc.


Are you planning on doing another book about your life?  I really think you'd be great doing a children's book geared towards ages 9-15.  


Your battle with Crohn's (sp) was amazing.  I was amazed by your strength. It seems your mother took it harder than you.  You were very resilient and determined not to let your illness get the best of you.  


I was in awe after finishing because I realized we both have so much in common.  I wasn't quite the "over achiever" but I was also gifted and for many years (even today) I feel I have to "dumb" myself down so that I won't come across as a know it all.  I was also teased because of my big (that's what THEY thought) lips and now everyone is paying to get them.  I was also an exotic dancer twice in my life.  I talk and laugh about it now because it was an experience for me.  


I would love to have you meet with my book club.  Maybe I could also get a group of kids together.  I will make it happen.  There's a young lady that comes to mind that I'd love to bring to the meeting when you decide to meet with us.  She's 15 and is bi-polar and she wants to learn to sew.  She lives in my neighborhood and her family doesn't encourage her enough.


KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!!  


Have you gotten your copy yet? www.createspace.com/3494473