Last weekend I covered the Almost Christmas movie premiere in Charlotte, North Carolina which was held at the Studio Movie Grill. The event was hosted by “Elevate The Way You Indulge,” a local event planning company.
The premiere kicked off with an upscale red carpet entrance, and afterwards guests were able to socialize and eat in the studio lounge while the dj spinned. The attendees (including myself) got a chance to participate in the internet viral mannequin challenge LOL! After the red carpet affair guests watched a private screening of the film. The night ended on a LIT note with a closing after-party.
The premiere was a celebration of local actor Keon Mitchell who made his film debut in the movie. Keon portrays the younger version of Danny Glover’s character Walter. I was able to speak with Keon about his experience being in the film.
I had a great time covering the event! Check out some of the event footage below:
Two weeks ago I covered the “Queen City Urban Art Showcase” event which was held at the Music Factory in Charlotte, North Carolina. The monthly event curated by Michael Calloway and Leqyan Wilson features diverse artists from all across the Queen City.
Some of the performers included spoken word artists, live painters, comedians, singers, and other creatives. Attendees had the opportunity to shop at the several vendors that were present, and in between performance sets the dj spinned. There was also plenty of drinks and delicious food available for purchase.
The ambience was very chill and artsy, and the vibe was cool. There were people of all ages in attendance but the majority were art lovers and fellow creatives.
I was able to interview Michael Calloway and some of the performers for the night.
Check out some of the event footage below:
The showcase takes place every month at the Music Factory. Any artist or painter interested in being featured can submit inquiries to Michael Calloway at info@createamazingllc.com.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the “Speak Life Tour” in Charlotte, North Carolina. Speak Life is a performing/visual arts tour consisting of youth and young adults. In order to be selected for the tour participants must undergo an audition process. The tour was founded in 2013 by Catherine Trotter, who is also the founder of the non-profit organizations “House of New Beginnings” and “New Beginnings Youth Academy”. Both programs are geared towards the professional development of young people.
Catherine came up with the idea for the tour while working with youth under her organization House of New Beginnings; the umbrella organization for the Speak Life Tour. After youth in the program complained about not having an open mic platform for teens Catherine started having open mic mixers for youth in the Baltimore area which eventually led to the creation of the tour. The tour originated in Baltimore and gradually expanded to other states such as DC, Maryland, New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. It will soon include Florida, Dallas, Texas, and Virginia Beach.
Founder: Catherine Trotter
Attending the Speak Life Tour was an amazing experience. Some of the performers included dancers, singers, poets, visual artists and rappers. In addition to youth being involved on the tour there were also local members of the Charlotte community who were included. Joan Randall who is the founder of Victorious You, (an organization created to help female victims of domestic abuse) gave a presentation to attendees. Also author and motivational speaker Eddie Love gave advice about overcoming adversity and pursuing your dreams.
Speak Life Tour is an amazing organization, and I think it is a very creative and positive platform for youth to express themselves. With all the turmoil taking place in society today young people need an outlet to shield them from the negativity. If you would like to support the Speak Life Tour you can make a donation here.
Check out my interview with Catherine and see footage of the show below.
Two weeks ago 3rd Eye Ascension made its way to the growing culture venue in Jackson, Mississippi known as Offbeat. The Double Scoop and 3rd Eye Booking Company collaborated to bring the concert into fruition.
The hip hop shows put on by 3rd Eye Booking are dope but I was interested in showcasing other genres of music so I was excited to to add Mississippi native and USM student Briar Lunar to the lineup as well as Shreveport, Louisiana native Daryl Mcday. Lunar was a season 8 contestant on the popular NBC show The Voice. The two singers along with rap artists Quavius Black, Kage Laney, and Ray Kincaid gave the show a nice blend of hip hop and smooth melodies. Kage Laney, another USM student brought something a little different to the show by creating live beats with a drum pad, and Mcday added a nice touch with his acoustic guitar set.
Every time I hear Jackson artist Ray Kincaid I become a bigger fan of him and his music. This show really introduced me to Quavius as an artist and I became an instant fan. With every show I’m able to catch here in Jackson I’m blown away with how much talent is hidden in the Sip. It’s only a matter of time before everyone else takes notice.
Artists: Briar Lunar, Quavius Black, Ray Kincaid, Kage Laney and Daryl Mcday
Last month I had the opportunity to attend the premiere of the documentary film short MS Left Me Out. The documentary shows how strongly policy affects the lives of people, and it also gives viewers an inside look into the lives of people who were directly affected by the decision of legislators not to expand Medicaid in Mississippi.
MS Left Me Out actually started off as the name of a campaign that brought awareness to the healthcare system in the state. I wanted to get more information about the making of the film so I reached out to one of the producers, Kristian Weatherspoon and the director Roderick Red for a short interview.
Kristian was the leading force behind the film. Having previously worked for the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, she assisted individuals with healthcare enrollment after the Affordable Care Act law was passed. It was during her experience with helping people with enrollment that she realized how detrimental not expanding Medicaid was to the state of Mississippi.
“Many of the individuals that were trying to get enrolled had to be turned away because they fell into coverage gaps. People that fell into coverage gaps made too much money to qualify for traditional Medicaid but were not making enough to qualify for tax credits that would assist them in paying for market place/ACA insurance. Without those tax credits the insurance offered was too expensive and it left many individuals in an unfortunate dilemma of not being insured.” ~KW
For those that are unaware, in 2008 The Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare was passed. Under this law every state had to expand their Medicaid programs so that low income people could get Medicaid. A Supreme Court decision gave states the option of not expanding and Mississippi was one of the states that decided not to expand. Some state legislators felt that it was unconstitutional to force Medicaid expansion even though the federal government was willing to pay for expansion.
“People have this misconception that many individuals needing coverage are lazy but these are some of the most hardworking people. They are the service workers, fast food workers, construction workers, barbers and hair stylists. Some of them are working two or three jobs just to maintain. I was touched the most when I met a lady that had a lump in her breast but she postponed seeing a specialist because she couldn’t afford it. Her mom had died from breast cancer. This woman worked every single day but when it came down to buying food and providing for her family she had to put her health to the side. I broke down in tears after hearing this lady’s story.” ~KW
Director Roderick Red of Red Squared Productions got on board when Kristian reached out to him after seeing some of his previous production work.
“Filming took about a year and during that time I learned more about the healthcare process, coverage gaps and I gained a better understanding of the Affordable Care Act. I’m very optimistic that the documentary will bring about change or at the least provoke conversation.” ~RR
The premiere took place at the Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Mississippi. There was a nice turnout and attendees were treated to hors d’oeuvres before the screening. The event concluded with a brief Q&A panel discussion that consisted of policy professionals, legislators and healthcare officials in the state. On a personal note I found the documentary to be very enlightening. Even with my education background in public health and working in the health field I was still very unaware of a lot of things regarding healthcare. I asked Kristian what were her hopes for the documentary and she had the following to say:
“I really wanted to put a face on the issue. I want this documentary to serve as an educational tool for constituents and individuals not educated on policy. I want them to know the decisions their legislators are making on their behalf. Healthcare shouldn’t be politicized; it means life or death for many people living with chronic illnesses. The process of making the documentary was exciting as well as eye opening and it gave me a new appreciation for the things I take for granted.”
What do you get when you combine a room full of men and women with music, delicious desserts, alcohol, and engaging conversations about relationships, sex and dating? You get the event Dessert and Discussion curated by Alex Merritt. Dessert and Discussion is a relationship discussion tour that has been hitting different cities over the past several months. The purpose of the tour is to get men and women talking about relationships so they can learn different perspectives from the opposite sex.
I was invited to be a featured blogger for the tour stop in Charlotte and I definitely enjoyed myself! The event was held at Red@28th Hookah Lounge. The guests were seated in a small, private area in the back of the lounge which made the setting more intimate. Before the discussion began guests were entertained by DJ Strategy and were treated to plenty of tasty desserts and drinks. The crowd was grown and sexy; I would estimate that most of the people in attendance were in their late 20s to early 40s which was a good age range to get various perspectives from both sexes.
Me checking in!Some of the desserts
The conversation began with everyone going around the room and introducing themselves. Alex requested that everyone create a hashtag that described their dating life which made the mood more relaxed and fun. My hashtag was #DatingAndHavingFun. The variation in hashtag names pretty much led into the relationship discussion because of course you would want to know why people selected certain names. Some of the hashtags varied from #SingleForLife to #AllTheGoodOnesAreGone. It was too funny.
Some of the topics that were discussed included: how do you know when a person wants to get exclusive, sex on the first date, and having multiple dating partners. Men and women passed the microphone back and forth giving their input on each topic. I get shy in big groups of people so I pretty much just observed and listened to the conversations. It was very interesting to hear how men and women perspectives differed on certain topics. The conversation went on for about an hour ½ and afterwards the DJ took over so that everyone could mingle.
Me with fellow blogger Brittany with The Buzz With B.
After the event was over I caught up with Alex for a brief interview to get more details about how she came up with the idea for the tour.
Me with the lovely host and event creator Alex Merritt.
Amy Nicole: So you’ve been doing Dessert and Discussion for about 7 years now. How did you come up with the idea for it?
Alex: Literally I wanted to get people over my house to discuss a DVD and I didn’t want to cook! I wanted to get men and women’s opinion about this DVD that I had watched and I wanted to know if men saw women the way that this video portrayed us.
Amy Nicole: What was the DVD about?
Alex: The DVD was called “Diary Of A Tired Black Man” which was about a black man’s struggle in the dating game. I had just moved to California and I expected it to be like a one hour thing but it ended up lasting to 1:00 in the morning. After it was over I would run into people in the street and they would ask me when the next one was.
Amy Nicole: How many cities have you toured so far?
Alex: We have been in Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, we’re here in Charlotte now, and then we’re back to Sacramento where it all started. This has been going on for the past six months and in the fall when it’s time to relaunch again we plan to do another six months. Everybody needs this because most of us haven’t been taught how to do relationships. Most of our family examples weren’t even good models. This is a way to learn and get feedback.
Amy Nicole: Well I definitely learned a lot from the men tonight! How has the response been in other cities?
Alex: It has been great. Everyone is looking for a place to get their questions asked about love, sex and relationships.
Amy Nicole: So how can people get in contact with you for booking?
Alex: Dessertanddisccusion.com and alex@dessertanddiscussion.com
It was great meeting Alex; she was such a fun and vibrant host! I really enjoyed myself at Dessert and Discussion and I would definitely encourage anyone looking for relationship advice and a good time to check out the tour if it comes through your city!
The vibe in Offbeat this past Sunday was chill yet energetic at the “Wicked City” hip hop showcase presented by 3rd Eye Booking Company. Me and Amy got a chance to host the show and the crowd was pretty thick for a Sunday night. Local artists Ray “Kincaid” and Cymone, Mildred Noor, Talia Sade, and Tira D shared the stage with headliners LV Baby and Sir Flywalker. Both of the headliners reside in Atlanta but are Mississippi natives. Another local artist Silas Stapleton also made a guest appearance. He has been getting a lot of buzz lately since his single and video to Gullah Gullah Island dropped.
Ray “Kincaid” & Cymone
This was our first time seeing LV and Sir Flywalker perform live and I can’t believe we have been deprived for so long. LV who is currently on tour performed along with his band a few songs from his EP Blu Moon. Flywalker gave a sneak peak of what’s to come from his upcoming project Indigo which will be released this week. The energy during both sets were crazy. All of the performances that night were dope. There are so many hidden musical gems in Mississippi and it’s great that 3rd Eye Booking Company and Offbeat offer platforms to showcase the talents of these rising artists.
Hip Hop is alive and well in the city of Jackson, Mississippi. Last week 3rd Eye Booking Company put on a hip hop show that was headlined by New Orleans artist Alfred Banks. The show also featured local Jackson artists T-lo Da Champ, Death II Society, Eig21ht, and Alexander Fre$co. The event took place at Offbeat, a culture store and hidden gem off of Wesley Street in Jackson. The store has become a second home for creatives.
I had a great time hosting the show and the energy in the building was crazy. The crowd and the artists fed off of each other’s vibe. Each artist brought their own individual and unique styles during their sets.
The headliner, Alfred Banks who was named Complex Magazine’s Top 10 UpcomingEmcees from New Orleans and one of the Top 5 Rappers fromLouisiana had a dope set. He is definitely a storyteller and a true lyricist. During his set he debuted a new music video and song. Banks is the creator of UnderdogCentral: “The place where the overlooked go to hone their skills, to return and become the admired.” It is also his label and social network handle, and a place where he connects with fans.
Ashley E. (1/2 of The Double Scoop) was the host for the night
T-lo da Champ, Death II Society, Eigh21ht and Alexander Fre$co all had dope sets as well. You can tell how passionate the artists were about their crafts because it showed during their performances. There is definitely a lot of talent in the Sip and hopefully the state and artists here will start getting more recognition.
Last weekend we attended the Blaktastik Film Festival which was held in Columbia, South Carolina. The festival was a three day event which incorporated film, art, education and music. As the name Blaktastik implies the festival primarily focused on contemporary and alternative black culture. My sister and I were able to sit down with the festival director Sherard Duvall to get more insight on the festival. We also briefly interviewed multidisciplinary artist Michaela Pilar Brown and recording artist/producer Fat Rat da Czar about their roles facilitating the event. Continue reading “BLAKTASTIK”
When you combine an afternoon of natural hair and fashion, you get an amazingly well put together event called Coils and Couture. My sister and I had the pleasure of attending the event last weekend which was held at Unwine Paint and Sip Art Studio in Columbia, SC. The walls in the venue were adorned with colorful and vibrant artwork making it the perfect setting to host such a fab event. Guests were treated to a wine and dessert bar and given the opportunity to mingle and shop at various vendors in attendance. Some special guests even received a “swag bag” filled with goodies from the hosts. The afternoon was filled with giveaways, shopping, food, hair styling demos, a mini fashion show and a dj in the mix. The atmosphere created a nice vibe. Continue reading “Coils and Couture”
