Ashley E – Page 4 – The Double Scoop

Jeanine Daniels: The Mafia Boss

For most of us there are two paths to choose from in life; the path working to make someone else’s dreams come true, or the path making your own dreams come true. The latter path is so rewarding and fulfilling but there are many sacrifices that will have to be made and several obstacles that you will encounter before you can reap the fruits of your labor. A lot of people can’t handle those obstacles and aren’t willing to make certain sacrifices to turn their dreams into a reality, so they do like most and settle for the unfulfilled 8 to 5 and glide their way through life on a conveyor belt. Jeanine Daniels, an upcoming producer, writer, and filmmaker chose to take the road less traveled and although she has run into a few road blocks on her journey, she wouldn’t trade the life of living out her dreams for a life with no purpose or passion. I was able to catch up with the “mafia boss” (a nickname giving to her by a former mentor because of her loyalty) for a brief interview about her aspiring career.

Ashley E: I always ask people are they happy. Would you say you’re happy at this point in your life and what is your definition of happiness?

JD: I’m not “not” happy, if that makes any sense. I know what I love to do, I know who I want to do it with, I know who I am and I know what I can do.

But sometimes, I have difficulty making them all connect. And that can be beyond frustrating. As an artist, I just want to charge right into the things I want to do. But that’s not the best solution… all the time. I think being happy is largely knowing how to navigate your life between the ups and downs while maintaining a calm composure and feeling confident. Once you can successfully learn to do that, happiness is a default. So, I’m learning to navigate, but I’m using a hellafied GPS. Once I can ditch the gps and use only my gut, I think I’ll reach true happiness.

Ashley E: I saw a post you put on Instagram about feeling like a failure because you weren’t where you thought you should be in life. I can totally relate to that feeling at this point in my life especially when it seems like everyone around you is progressing and you seem to be regressing or at a stand-still. It’s surprising that you would say you feel like a failure because people like me are inspired by you and look at you like a success. Do you still feel that way or do you look at it more like you took an alternate route in life compared to most?

JD: There’s always this moment when I’m standing in a circle and everyone is talking about their careers & lives with so much vigor; how they just remodeled their bathroom, how their kids did the funniest thing yesterday, or how they have to get their car radiator fixed. While I’m standing there trying to explain what a “content creator” is, and “no, I don’t work for a TV network necessarily” and “no, I don’t really get paid” and “no, it’s more like a show that lives on the internet”… and the corrections go on and on. Not to mention the fact that, I don’t have a bathroom to remodel because I live at home with my mom, I don’t have kids, or a husband, or boyfriend, or even someone I’m dating for that matter, and the radiator thing? Well, I don’t own a car, but my mom does allow me to drive her 93′ Toyota Paseo. The doors don’t lock and I have to use a club to secure it, and its smokes up when I drive more than 55 miles an hour, but hey, I’m driving right?

I’m not going to lie and say this stuff doesn’t get me down. But, I also remember when I was on the other side with a consistent check, driving a nice car, and stuck at a desk 40-60 hours a week making someone else’s dream come true…I was sitting around missing the sun and happy hour every day, wishing I could work on my own stuff. So whenever I’m having a pity party, which honestly does happen more than I’d like to admit, I usually have to really think about which life I’d rather have: broke and free or balling and stuck.

I’m learning to take the good with the bad. And it took me to pack up my huge downtown LA loft, give up my car, move home and starve to realize I rather do this and be an artist, than ball out in the matrix. At my core, I’m supposed be an artist. It helps that I know that I’m good at what I do, and I know I love what I do. I’m quirky, single, broke, living at home, but I get to do what I love every single gottdamn day.

Ashley E: Black and Sexy TV is an independent network that was started on you-tube with a small budget. It has produced some amazing content, built a large fan base and is continuing to grow. How did you end up teaming up with the founders Numa Perrier and Dennis Dortch and how do you feel about being associated with a business that has become so successful?

JD: I was a big fan of Mr. Dortch’s movie “A Good Day to be Black & Sexy”, and the moment I saw it, I knew I had to find him out and see what else he had stored in that genius brain of his. I soon met Ms. Perrier and Kofi Oliver (an original founding member of BSTV) and Mr. Ali. We all gravitated towards each other and there was a unique energy we had between us. We did historic stuff together: sold web series to TV; sold pilots; sold content directly to audiences; made our own movies; green lit our own productions; and controlled the production process from beginning to end. I am blessed to have been on the ground floor of a partnership that changed the course of what independent TV is becoming.

Ashley E: You have produced a few successful shows; one in particular is That Guy. The show is one of my favorites off of the Black and Sexy TV network. What I loved about it is how realistic it was. It was like watching everyday people going through real life situations. What inspired you to create a show like that and how were you able to create a show from a male’s perspective so well being that you are a female?

JD: Being the lone female in a group of guys has its pros and cons, but one strong pro is hearing all the stories. Black men, regular every day Black men, are often dismissed and neglected in storytelling about relationships. I can’t remember a show since Martin that accurately represents Black men and their views, told from their perspective, from beginning to end. And it has always bothered me. So after the success of The Couple, I knew I needed to produce another show, but I wanted it to be from the male perspective. I started thinking about the dudes I used to date, two kinds in particular, and bam, I had an idea for a show, and just ran with it. I used my life as the foundation and often talked to my homeboys to make sure things were accurate. As a female who hung around a lot of dudes and had insider information about their secrets and emotions, I was pretty positive I had a handle on keeping things realistic, which is a big deal for me. And Jeremy McBryde was often my sounding board to make sure my theories on male behavior were correct, which they were 92.7% of the time.

Ashley E: That Guy became really successful. You created 3 seasons and even produced a movie for the show which was your first feature film. Were you surprised by the show’s success and why did you decide not to continue the show?

JD: I was extremely surprised by the overwhelming support of the show and the die-hard fans. The first episode did poorly, like super poorly; the audience, women, hated it. They said it was vulgar, disrespectful; a bad representation of Black men, and BSTV should have been ashamed airing it. I was speechless. But Jeremy McBryde encouraged me to keep going because he knew it was a hit, even though I felt like I got stabbed in my beating heart. So I pressed on and the tides turned, and EVERYONE had a different attitude about it by the 3^rd episode. The success of the second season and the movie solidified that my vision was correct about THAT GUY. After the movie I had no intentions to continue with the franchise. I was ready to move on and create something fresh, different characters, new problems, other obstacles and resolutions. But after a business meeting it was decided that because it was our most popular show with the largest and most loyal audience, it would be best for the company to do another season to jump start our subscription service. I reluctantly agreed. During the filming of the 3^rd season there were a lot of changes that I wasn’t happy with and a lot of decisions were made that weren’t in the best interest of the series or my vision. Yaddah yaddah yaddah. I left the company.

Ashley E: I know you are no longer a part of Black and Sexy TV and have started your own production company called nine27 Entertainment. What made you decide to start your own company and what type of content do you plan on producing?

JD: I actually created nine27 Entertainment a while ago, I just never did anything with it. I was blindly focused on what the team was doing at BSTV and loss site of certain things that I wanted to accomplish creatively. I knew that there were things in my career that I wanted to do I knew wouldn’t necessarily fit with what my former partners saw as the vision for BSTV. The company will allow me to showcase my knack for writing animation, sci-fi, fantasy, and edgier topics that don’t fit into the BSTV brand. I also knew that I wanted to work directly with musicians, and producers more which may lead to a full blown record label at some point. Nine27 Entertainment allows me to take all my eggs out of one basket and move them into one I get to fully control, monitor, protect, and watch grow and develop.

Ultimately I’ll be developing unapologetically creative content with a conscious across all platforms…that also has the best produced music out. Those without a soapbox will get their stories shared with the masses through nine27 ent.

Ashley E: Do you have any advice for the dream chasers and grinders out there pursuing their passions?

JD: My advice to all the dream chasers

Trust your gut
Get everything in writing
Be consistent
You’re only allowed 5 minutes a day to have a pity party, after that, get to work
Trust in your tribe to lift you up
Keep honest people around you who will tell you if your shit sucks (that’s really important)
Read something substantial every day, and memes or social media status updates do not count
Don’t force your creativity
ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT
Don’t complain about how much is on your plate if you said your goal was to eat.

Chi-raq Trailer Sparks Mixed Reactions

The movie trailer for Spike Lee’s Chi-raq was released a few days ago and people seemed to have either loved it or hated it. Critics of the movie complained about everything from the title choice down to the actors chosen to star in the film. Some even felt that the trailer watered down the severity of the crime in Chicago.

The mayor of Chicago spoke out against the title choice saying that it painted an unrealistic picture of the city, while others felt the picture painted wasn’t realistic enough and that the movie made light of the crime issue in Chicago. Chi-raq is a nickname given to the city because the violence in certain parts is comparable to war zones in Iraq.

The original trailer comes off as a comedic Broadway musical showing women making an agreement to withhold sex from their men in hopes that it will cause the violence in the city to stop. The backlash from the trailer was so heavy that Spike Lee spoke out:

“Chi-raq” is not a comedy. It’s a satire. There’s a difference between humor and comedy. In no way, shape or form are we not respectful of the situation that is happening in Chi-raq. This film is about serious business.”

Lee also released a second trailer which gave off a more serious tone. Seeing that Lee is a veteran filmmaker with a track record for making successful innovative and unconventional films that deliver a powerful message, I’m surprised that there is so much negativity directed at the movie. I think Lee knows exactly what he is doing and he has everything under control. The film is set to be released in limited theaters next month and it will also be available for streaming on amazon.

Watch the trailer here.

Source: The Root and CNN

Love Yourz: Are You Lovin’ You?

One of my favorite songs on J Cole’s latest album 2014 Forest Hills Drive is a track called Love Yourz. The song talks about being content with your situation and life regardless of what it might look like in comparison to another persons’. The message of the song is so relatable in this period of time that we’re living in. When you turn on the television the lives of the rich, beautiful and famous are glorified and glamorized. When you log onto social media sites your timeline is flooded with the lives of people who are showcasing to the world a picture perfect life, and for most the picture that they’re painting is far from perfect. What we see are illusions and those illusions cause a lot of people to become envious and depressed because they’re comparing their life to someone else’s.

The song also makes me think about self-love. I don’t think people realize how important and almost vital it is to love yourself before you decide to begin a relationship with another person. I’m realizing this now in my life more than ever. One bad habit that I have is looking in the mirror excessively. Some might consider it vanity but honestly it’s me over analyzing and critiquing what “I” consider to be flaws when I look in the mirror. Sometimes I find myself even comparing my appearance to others and wishing certain features I have were different instead of just embracing my uniqueness. I’ve never really considered myself to be overly insecure or someone that lacked confidence but over the past 2 years life dealt me some hard blows that caused me to second guess so many things about myself including my worth, my physical appearance and my importance.

I realized how much I needed validation from others about my appearance when I started my natural hair journey about 2 years ago. One day I decided to wear my hair in a new style and I remember looking in the mirror smiling and thinking to myself I really like my hair and the way that I look. Later that day I met up with the guy I was dating at the time and as soon as I opened the door to greet him his first words to me were “you look different!” followed by a shocked look and laughter. It was obvious he didn’t find my new look as flattering as I did and to make it worse he made jokes about my hair and appearance. I remember how insecure his words made me feel and how uncomfortable I felt going to work the next day out of fear of how people would perceive my new look. When I walked through the doors at my job my co-workers eyes lit up and they expressed how beautiful they thought my hair looked and how well the hair style suited me. I felt a sigh of relief because I received my validation to let me know I looked good. Realizing how much I relied on validation let me know that I definitely had some internal work to do. I feel like if you can’t look in the mirror and say I love myself and like whose staring back at you in the mirror than there is a problem.

Over the years I’ve invested a lot in relationships with significant others while neglecting one of the most important relationships I can have; that’s the relationship I have with myself. As this year comes to a close and going into a new year I made a vow to work on loving myself. I want to love myself, date myself, get to know myself more, and be content with only needing my validation before I allow someone else in my life. Loving yourself is an action that is easier said than done and I know it will take time but it’s an investment that is so worth it in the long run. How you feel about yourself can affect so many areas of your life and it plays a huge role in the relationships you have with others. It’s difficult sometimes not to get caught up on the physical and outward appearance because it’s what we see immediately. I know that the true reflection of who we are resides inside of us and I want my internal beauty and light to shine through to the outside.

This article was also featured on Confessions of An Ambitious Girl.

David Banner Defies Stereotypes With New Track “Marry Me”

Mississippi artist and rap veteran David Banner recently released a video for his track “Marry Me” off of his highly anticipated album The God Box.

The song which features the sultry vocals of Rudy Currence focuses on black love and men embracing, uplifting and appreciating their women. You can’t help but to easily fall in love with the melody and the lyrics.

“I’ll wrap my soul around this ring girl, If I could that’s what you mean to me….give me your hand and your heart girl…I swear it’s safe for eternity.”

With constant stereotypes forced down our throats about black men overlooking, mistreating, and neglecting black women, a track like “Marry Me” was much needed especially regarding the desire for marriage.

David Banner said the following about the track:

“It is time to mend our public, personal, spiritual, and social relationship with our Women. The progression of our people is rooted in the secured strength and stability of that relationship.”

Check out the video here.

Source: XONECOLE

The Return Of Adele

It has been 3 years since Adele’s last single was released. Her absence left fans with withdrawals and wondering had the British singer stepped down from the spotlight for good. Last Friday she quenched the thirst of fans when she released the video for her new single “Hello.” The video received over 43 million views on youtube in less than 2 days proving that absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Adele wrote an open letter to fans apologizing for being MIA; “I’m sorry it took so long but you know life happened.” She referred to the upcoming album which is set to be released on November 20^th as her “make-up” record to fans.

The upcoming album is titled “25.” Adele explained the title choice:

“Turing 25 was a turning point for me, slap bang in the middle of my twenties… I made the decision to go into becoming who I’m going to be forever without a removal van full of my old junk.”

I’m ecstatic that Adele is back! When I first heard one of her songs a few years ago I immediately became a fan and wanted to know more about her. Her voice is so unique and soulful; she’s the type of artist that doesn’t need tricks or gimmicks to enhance her talent. She has that type of talent that doesn’t come around that often. Her 2011 album “21” sold more than 11 million copies in the US alone and she broke the solo female artist record for staying at #1 for 11 weeks in the US.

Check out her unique video for Hello here.

Source: CNN

The Perfect Guy Was Far From A Perfect Movie

Author: The Double Scoop

I know we’re really late with this review but we finally got around to seeing The Perfect Guy last weekend. The movie definitely didn’t live up to the hype portrayed in the film’s trailers. We set our expectations too high and were highly disappointed.

When the movie trailer for “The Perfect Guy” dropped four months ago we like most other women were raging with anticipation to see the forthcoming thriller which would star two of Hollywood’s most handsome black, leading men and the beautiful Sanaa Lathan. Blinded by the sexiness of Michael Ealy and Morris Chestnut most of us overlooked the predictability in the trailer which showed the typical fatal attraction scenario.

Usually the first ten minutes of a film sets the tone of whether you will love or hate a movie so 10 minutes into watching The Perfect Guy we became a little worried that the film might fall into our dislike category.

The elevator background music along with the cringe worthy, corny dialogue made us feel as though we were watching a Lifetime movie. In one particular scene Lathan’s character (Leah) was being harassed at a bar by a guy who approached her with the line, “give me 3 good reasons why I shouldn’t buy you a drink.” Who says that? Definitely not a realistic or charming pick up line!

The main focus of the movie was on Ealy’s character(Carter), who is supposedly the ideal perfect man. Although very attractive, Ealy’s character didn’t deliver much charisma. We actually found his character to be boring, a little creepy and robotic. We also felt that there wasn’t authentic chemistry between Leah and Carter to make them fall so hard for each other the way that they did. The rushed romance wasn’t believable. Although not very personable, Ealy’s character did however have the role of deranged stalker down packed with his piercing eyes, and emotionless murders.

We felt the way the police handled Leah’s initial stalker complaint was also unrealistic (or it could be us not being familiar with police protocols); the cops basically told her they couldn’t help her unless she was in the act of being killed!

Though most of the film was predictable the death of Leah’s boyfriend Dave definitely caught us off guard. We were hoping that Leah would at least be left with some type of happiness. After all her neighbor was murdered and a sex video of her was emailed to hundreds of people associated with the company she worked for causing her to get suspended from her job.

The best part of the movie was the eye candy, other than that The Perfect Guy was definitely not the perfect movie.

A Second Serving of Soul Food Is On The Way

Your favorite sisters Bird, Teri, and Max are reuniting on the big screen after almost 20 years. Fox 2000 production company is working on a sequel to the 1997 classic film “Soul Food.” The original cast members are said to be returning as well as the original director, George Tillman Jr. and producers Babyface Edmonds and Tracey Edmonds.

The new film titled “More Soul Food” will focus on the millennial generation of the Joseph Family. With younger generations being consumed with social media, the movie will highlight how the effects of technology have weakened family relationships and traditions in the once very close knit family.

It’s hard to top a classic film but hopefully this movie will be just as good or even better than the first. I’m excited to see how the movie will unfold!

Do you all plan on watching?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter & Essence

Nat Turner Is Coming

Actor Nate Parker recently posted a picture on Instagram of him and veteran filmmaker Spike Lee with the caption: “Big Bro Spike Lee stopped in on the edit to give wisdom and show love.” #birthofanationmovie #natturner

Parker is busy working on his directorial debut film “The Birth of a Nation.” Aside from directing, he will also star in the film as Nat Turner. The film will focus on the 1831 slave rebellion that was led by Turner. It is said to be one of the most successful revolts in American history resulting in the deaths of between 55 to 65 whites in Virginia.

Parker has expressed that playing Nat Turner has been a dream of his although Turner was considered a “bad guy” in history. The actor had this to say:

“A lot of people thought he was a bad guy, but it’s [about one’s] perspective.” “I don’t think he was a bad guy at all, but we all have our ideas of what we want and why we want it, and what we’ll do to achieve those things.”

Nate Parker is one of my favorite actors. I have yet to see a movie that he has starred in that I was disappointed by, and with Spike Lee backing the film I think it will definitely be worth watching!

Do you guys plan on watching?

Source: Urban Intellectuals

In Due Time

Rising South Carolina artist Kelvin Armstrong released his EP In Due Time last month. After listening to the album it’s hard to believe that the talented singer who is also a songwriter and guitarist has only been singing professionally 2 years. The album is a perfect blend of acoustic, R&B, soul, blues and a tad of country. If we had to describe Armstrong’s voice it would be a combination of Anthony Hamilton, John Mayer, Lyfe Jennings and D’angelo. The title of the EP speaks for itself in that the album was released during a time when music seems to lack substance. In Due Time delivers the type of feel good music that is missing from the music industry today. While most artists seem to be going main-stream, Armstrong decided to take listeners on an alternate route. Each song on the EP tells its own unique story. You can tell each song poured from his soul and you can feel his raw emotion in each lyric. It is definitely an album you can listen to the entire way through.

The EP opens with Peaches & Cream.The song is far from what you might imagine when you first hear the title. It’s a song about life and the difficulties you might face on this journey that we all must take. It also speaks about fighting for what you believe in.

Falling was one of the most touching and personal songs on the album. Kelvin expressed that the song was about a dark place in his life where he found himself battling with depression. People underestimate the severity of depression and the toll it can take on a person’s life. Kelvin was able to get through those difficult times and transfer his pain into music.

Cold Woman is a song about playing the fool in a relationship. It’s something that happens to the best of us. When opening your heart to someone you’re taking a gamble and sometimes you get burned.

Many people have a belief in God and have faith that no matter what obstacles they encounter in life they feel like God is there guiding them through the ups and downs. The song Stones Throw questions God’s presence during the difficult times in life.

The album concludes with Selfish, a song that speaks on being deeply in love. Many of us find ourselves in relationships that are destructive but the love for that person is so strong that we hold on even though it’s not a healthy relationship. A line from the song states: “I don’t want to be by myself even though loving you is bad for my health.”

We had the pleasure of attending Kelvin’s album release party for “In Due Time” this past Sunday at Wet Willie’s in Columbia, South Carolina. The event was held on the second floor of the venue and there wasn’t an empty seat in the room. Kelvin took to the stage with his guitar in the dimly lit room filled with his friends, family, fans, and music lovers anxiously waiting to hear the vocals of the rising star. Kelvin shared the stage with a few special guests which included his sister Kyshona Armstrong, another talented musician. He put on quite a show singing songs from his EP as well as a few extra songs in the mix. Listening to him live made you appreciate his music even more. His future is definitely bright and we wish him much success.

The Double Scoop with Kelvin Armstrong @ his EP release party

Check out footage from the show below. You can also view it on Double Scoop TV.