OnStage Photo Showcase - Any Given Sunday
- Details
- Parent Category: Onstage
The OnStage Photo Showcase is a big part of the brand message we are sending to viewers and it’s mostly populated with
photo sets taken each Sunday at Malcolm X/Meridian Hill Park which sits conveniently between Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. We like that backdrop because something special is happening there in terms of how longer-term and newer DC residents mix and mingle in a totally chilled, laid back atmosphere. Everybody’s relaxed. And when everyone’s relaxed it’s a great opportunity to snap pics focused not just on fashion, but also on personal style. These are just regular folks doing what they do. If they look like models, why wouldn’t they? After all, they are in DC!
Summer Sizzle
- Details
- Parent Category: Onstage
The weather’s been sizzling in DC lately but as always folks still find a way to be stylish and cool. We grabbed a couple shots on Sunday in Malcolm X Park and dropped a new photo album into the OnStage Photo Showcase. If you see a style you like, leave a comment and tell us why it appeals to you.
Review - Will.I.Am - Will Power
- Details
- Parent Category: Onstage
by Khari Gzifa
I know that a lot of people who might frequent this page are big hip-hop fans but may not be a fan of everything that gets tossed under the heading nowadays. It seems the criteria is constantly being broadened. Many of you may look at iconic producer/mc/dancer/etc., Will.I.Am, as that “other” type of hip-hop. I hear you, and in some ways you are right, but at its core the new Will.I.Am album is about as hip-hop as it gets. Let me show you what I mean.
First, allow me to take a long view of Will.I.Am’s work. Let’s go back to the fact that he was originally signed to another west coast icon, the late Eazy-E on his Ruthless Records. Then let’s look at his first foray into solo albums, 2001’s Lost Change, the soundtrack for the movie of the same name. On it, Will worked with legendary west coast femcee, Medusa, and underground veteran Planet Asia and others to make a record that stands with some of the best of the west at the time. At least, non-gangster rap west coast anyway. His other solo albums, Must Be 21 (2003), and Songs About Girls (2007) all show an organic progression into what is his "one-of-a-kind" sound.
HIP-HOP OVERSEERS: KANYE WEST’S “NEW SLAVES” AND THE HIP-HOP/SLAVERY COMPLEX
- Details
- Parent Category: Onstage
By: R. Kayeen Thomas
Let me begin by saying that I appreciate any mainstream rap song that can convince me it’s more than a massive collision of overused genitalia, black urban corpses, and Ciroc. The sad reality is that after I realized Mos Def and Talib Kweli weren’t starting their own labels and tagging protégés, I intentionally began dumbing myself down. Now, give me 6-8 bars without mentioning a blown out back and I might look you up on iTunes. Seriously…that’s where I am right now. Every blue moon I’m pleasantly surprised by a Kendrick Lamar or Macklemore, and I run around shouting their praises from the rooftops and playing their albums so frequently that my four year old daughter feels comfortable telling her mother not to kill her vibe and her classmate that he smells like R. Kelly’s sheets. But music is a perishable commodity. Eventually, no matter how ripe it was when you brought it, it gets old and stale, and you’re inclined to go and shop for something fresh again.
So I was excited when, in my search for fresh fruit from the hip-hop tree, I came across Kanye West’s “New Slaves”. It took me back to the old College Dropout and Late Registration Kanye. You remember him, right? The thoughtful, wet behind the ears producer-turned-rapper and faithful boyfriend with his jaw newly wired? How many times in the last decade have I thought to myself “Man, I miss the old Kanye?” And boom, there he was, projected onto the side of an apartment building! God had surely heard my cries.
#FashionFridays - Team Work Makes the Dream Work!
- Details
- Parent Category: Onstage
Welcome new #FashionFridays readers, and it’s always a pleasure, returning readers. After interviewing the Soul Garage Band Black Alley in the previous Fashion Fridays, it inspired the Fashion Fridays lesson of the week.
“… Man, I love my team, man, I love my team”-- Drake
Every stylist in the fashion industry has a team. For Fashion Fridays sake, the stylist (you) has a client (your destiny). Although you have the vision, you have to assemble a team to assist you during certain points so that the final product is immaculate. There is no person on this planet that can accomplish any major goal without a team. Not saying you have to depend on people, but there are people in your life such as family, friends, co-workers and associates that assist you along the way.
Now the fashion industry is very cut throat, so there are some people on the team initially who won’t be on the team to see the final product (people in your life for a season). As time progresses, the team will be polished and established. Everyone knows their role on your team and executes accordingly.
