Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Author Terrance Dean Serves it "Straight, From Your Gay Best Friend" in New Column
Author Terrance Dean Gives it to Us "Straight, From Your Gay Best Friend" In New Column on Interactive One's HelloBeautiful.com 
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New York - When ESSENCE Magazine best-selling author Terrance Dean speaks, everyone listens! Perhaps his explosive memoir, Hiding In Hip Hop: On the Down Low in the Entertainment Industry - from Music to Hollywood (Atria/ Simon and Schuster May 2008) had something to do with it. Terrance tore the lid off the down low culture within the testosterone-driven world of Hip Hop, when he revealed a new dimension in a world notorious for its larger-than-life masculine swagger. Bravely unmasking the deep secrets of a prominent gay sub-culture within not only the entertainment community, but within the confines of Hip Hop, Hiding in Hip Hop became the runaway, most talked about, most Googled book sensation of the year.
Well Terrance Dean is back! Friday, February 12, 2010 will mark his debut as a contributing columnist/blogger on the Black Planet site "Hello Beautiful" at www.HelloBeautiful.com with a regular feature entitled, "Straight, From Your Gay Best Friend," also the title of his new highly anticipated advice book due out later this year from Agate/Bolden Books.
Via "Straight, From Your Gay Best Friend" Terrance will give advice served with a mix of sass, wit, and humor to the thousands of women who write in seeking answers to everything from love, relationships, career, and family. The column will also enlist real-life personal stories, entertainment news, contests, and a sexy man of the week pictorial.
"From 'Will and Grace' to 'Sex in the City' to the 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' it is commonly known and accepted that a girl's real best friend is a gay man. Well for those not lucky enough to know one personally, here I am! I will be the one to tell it to the ladies straight, no chaser, about life, love, relationships, and everything in between. I am so grateful to Hello Beautiful.com for having the vision to provide me and their readers with this wonderful opportunity," shares Dean.
Always writing, Dean's Straight, From Your Gay Best Friend - Who Else Is Going To Tell You The Truth About Work, Relationships, and Having a Fabulous Life! will be released with Agate/Bolden Books in October 2010. In addition, Dean conceived the idea and concept for a tribute book, Visible Lives: Three Stories in Tribute to E. Lynn Harris, for his dear friend and mentor, New York Times best-selling author, the late E. Lynn Harris. Visible Lives is being released with Kensington/Dafina Books in May 2010. It is an anthology in which Dean enlisted fellow authors Stanley Bennett Clay and James Earl Hardy to write novellas in tribute to E. Lynn Harris who died in July 2009. "I wanted to create a project that honored and paid homage to one of the greatest black gay fiction writers of our time," said Dean.
Author, speaker, educator and now advice columnist, Detroit native, Terrance Dean continues to make waves as an advocate for change and empowerment. Having come to terms with himself in a homophobic culture he has positioned himself as a vanguard in hip hop, always pushing the envelope.
Dean has worked in the entertainment industry for over 15 years with heavy hitters such as Spike Lee, Rob Reiner, Keenan Ivory Wayans, and Anjelica Houston. Dean also worked with MTV Networks helping to produce live award shows and events including MTV Video Music Awards, Movie Awards, Hip Hop Honors, Rock Honors, Sports & Music Festival, and Choose or Lose. He is the founder/creator of Men's Empowerment, Inc. and co-creator of The Gathering of Men with Adeyemi Bandele, husband and spiritual partner of Iyanla Vanzant. He is also the author of Reclaim Your Power! A 30-Day Guide to Hope, Healing and Inspiration for Men of Color (Random House/Villard - May 2003).
"There needs to be a continuum of open dialogue within the Black community, particularly within the Hip-Hop community. I am here. Let it begin with me," expresses Dean. "Straight, From Your Gay Best Friend" on the Hello Beautiful portal will be a wonderful extension of a much needed conversation."
Hello Beautiful.com (www.hellobeautiful.com) is one of Interactive One's suite of sites targeting the African American audience. Hello Beautiful.com is a fun mix of fashion, beauty, entertainment and relationship talk carefully curated for the new urban woman. Check the column at http://hellobeautiful.com/author/terrancedean/ and send your your queries for the column to Terrance Dean at girlworkonyou@aol.com.
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Thursday, February 11, 2010
NOTED BLACK DIRECTOR CHARLES RANDOLPH-WRIGHT CREATES DAZZLING 75TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION OF GEORGE GERSHWIN'S PORGY AND BESS
Directed by acclaimed black director Charles Randolph Wright (Preaching to the Choir, Mama I Want to Sing) and co-presented by black Broadway producer Willette Murphy Klausner (Three Mo' Tenors and Kat and the Kings),this production, probably for the first time, is interpreted from the perspective of the black experience.
Porgy and Bess was the first classical work to include the jazz rhythms and melodic twists that Gershwin learned during his many visits to Harlem. Using this music as the basis for his opera, he took jazz, a musical style developed in the black community, and raised it to the level of European music - which at the time was the standard for all that was serious, sophisticated and enduring.
In the traditional telling, Porgy is a victim - a cripple who is taken advantage of by Bess, an opportunist and woman of loose morals. This anniversary production sees Porgy as man whose self-worth and human dignity grow through the love of a woman - a love that gives him the courage to leave the comfort of a world he knows in pursuit of the woman who loved him. The character of Porgy is much closer to that in Dubose Heyward's book on which the opera is based. Porgy, at the story's open, believes that God made him a cripple and meant for him to be lonely. As Bess enters Porgy's life, he grows as a man and he, for the first time, engages with the world around him.
Director Wright was particularly concerned with how the characters were dressed. Although the setting is a poor area of Charleston and the characters are from the laboring class, Wright was curious why the costuming usually consisted of burlap and tatters.
"I am descended from the types of people represented in this opera" says Wright, himself a native of South Carolina. Searching through family photos from the era and South Carolina museum archives, he saw that no matter how impoverished, blacks took pride in how they dressed.
According to producer Michael Capasso, "In terms of American opera, there's Porgy and Bess -- and then there's everything else." When he first heard the opera at the Houston Opera's 1976 staging in honor of the bicentennial, he was "overwhelmed by the grandeur and the glory of the music the overall greatness of the piece." Capasso, founder of the Dicapo Opera Theatre in New York City, goes on to say "Opera fans go see Porgy and Bess because they know it's an amazing production. And people who are into musicals like it because, in their mind, it's almost like a Broadway show".
According to Ms Klausner, the 75th anniversary production of Porgy and Bess will tell the story in the way in which it was meant to be told. Capasso and Klausner agree with director Randolph-Wright that this production of Porgy and Bess will "build up the community". The audience will experience the passion, perseverance, originality and pride in the lives of the Catfish Row inhabitants.
The production kicks off February 18 at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Van Wert, Ohio. Complete tour schedule is attached.
The following is the schedule for the 2010 tour of Porgy & Bess (theater and ticket information TBA):
February 18: Van Wert, OH
February 19-21: Columbus, OH
February 23: Portsmouth, OH
February 24: Cincinnati, OH
February 26-27: Overland Park, KS
March 2-4: Fort Worth, TX
March 5: San Antonio, TX
March 6: Galveston, TX
March 7-8: Lafayette, LA
March 9: Oxford, MS
March 12: Jacksonville, FL
March 14: Miami, FL
March 15: Sarasota, FL
March 16: Lakeland, FL
March 17: Melbourne, FL
March 19: Columbus, GA
March 20: Asheville, NC
March 21: Greensboro, NC
March 22-23: Lexington, VA
March 25: New Brunswick, NJ
March 26: Greenvale, NY
March 27-28: Worcester, MA
April 1: Burlington, VT
April 2: Portland, ME
May 13-15: Charlotte, NC
June 4-6: Boston, MA
June 8-13: Hartford, CT
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
DJ KAY SLAY CO-SIGNS TY FYFFE AS OFFICIAL HOST OF THE RAW N' UNCUT COMPILATION
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Sunday, February 07, 2010
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Author Pamela Samuels Young receives 2010 Fiction Award for her new novel "Buying Time"
L.A.'s First Lady of Legal Thrillers, Pamela Samuels Young
Honored as the Winner of the Black Caucus of the American Library
Association 2010 Fiction Award for Her New Novel "Buying Time"
Lawyer and author Pamela Samuels Young continues to receive accolades for her page turning legal thrillers that present the legal detail and mouthwatering suspense of John Grisham, combined with the understanding of urban love, explosive language and humor of Terry McMillan. Ms. Young's latest offering, the gripping and suspenseful legal thriller, "Buying Time" has been honored by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) as the winner of its 2010 Fiction Award. The BCALA Literary Awards recognize excellence in adult fiction and nonfiction by African-Americans.
The Awards Committee described "Buying Time" as a "captivating, suspenseful thriller." Ms. Young will receive the award at the American Library Association's Conference in Washington, D.C. in June. "Buying Time" is Ms. Young's fourth novel and is available everywhere books are sold.
Pamela Samuels Young will be promoting "Buying Time" at the following locations in February and March:
Saturday, February 6, 2010
In Honor of Black History Month: A Conversation with Three Authors
Burbank Library (Buena Vista Branch)
300 N. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91505
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Books will be available for purchase
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 -
2010 African-American Heritage Month Celebration
Los Angeles Association of Black Personnel
South Plaza (Outdoors, between City Hall South & East)
200 North Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. **Book signing and presentation**
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Marina Del Rey Library
4533 Admiralty Way
MDR CA 90292
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Panel Discussion - "Sisters in Crime Los Angeles"
Books will be available for purchase
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Museum of African American Art
4005 Crenshaw Blvd. 3rd Floor Macy's
Los Angeles, CA 90008
2 p.m. to 4 p.m. **Book signing and presentation**
Thursday, March 20, 2010
Barnes and Noble
3685 Market Place Blvd.
East Point, GA 30344
12 noon to 1:30 p.m. **Book signing and presentation**
Pamela Samuels Young's novels (Every Reasonable Doubt, In Firm Pursuit, Murder on the Down Low and Buying Time) are available everywhere books are sold.
About Pamela Samuels Young
Pamela Samuels Young is a practicing attorney and the author of four legal thrillers. Buying Time, her most recent release, is a scandalous tale of blackmail, murder and betrayal. The book was recently honored by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, which selected Buying Time as its 2010 Literary Award winner in the Fiction category. The lack of women and people of color depicted as hot shot attorneys in the legal thrillers she read motivated Pamela to take a stab at creating the kind of characters she wanted to see. In the process, the former journalist discovered her passion. A native of Compton, Pamela balances her writing career while working as Managing Counsel for Labor and Employment Law at Toyota Motor Sales, Inc. in Torrance. She is the Fiction Expert for BizyMoms.com and is on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. Pamela is a graduate of USC, Northwestern University and UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. To contact Pamela or to read an excerpt of her books, visit www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
BET Premieres Two New Shows
-- Tune In to BET for the Third Annual “THE BET HONORS,” An Inspiring Evening Honoring Today's Extraordinary Luminaries and the New Docu-Series Following Michael Vick's Road to Redemption, “THE MICHAEL VICK PROJECT” --
-- THE BET HONORS Premieres on Monday, February 1 at 9:00 p.m.* and THE MICHAEL VICK PROJECT Premieres on Tuesday, February 2 at 10:00 p.m.* --
 THE BET HONORS premieres on BET on Feb. 1 |  THE MICHAEL VICK PROJECT premieres on BET on Feb. 2 |
New York, NY (BlackNews.com) -- BET's signature special, BET HONORS, hosted by the beautiful and talented actress Gabrielle Union, returns for a third consecutive year in honoring distinguished African Americans performing at exceptional levels in their fields on Monday, February 1 at 9:00 p.m.* Then, on Tuesday, February 2 at 10:00 p.m.*, viewers can tune in to watch as cameras capture an unprecedented look into the life of Michael Vick, with a new original docu-series THE MICHAEL VICK PROJECT.
THE MICHAEL VICK PROJECT, which is produced by DuBose Entertainment, MV7 Productions and Category 5 Entertainment, will follow the iconic and polarizing professional football player as he journeys on the road to redemption -- in both his personal and professional life.
The 2010 honorees included legendary songstress Whitney Houston (Entertainment), multi-faceted entertainer Queen Latifah (Media), respected business mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs (Entrepreneur), accomplished educator Dr. Ruth Simmons (Education), and world-renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Black (Public Service). Music's finest including Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, India.Arie, Stevie Wonder, Maxwell and others also paid tribute with emotionally-charged performances.
For more information on THE BET HONORS, visit www.bet.com/bethonors
For more information on THE MICHAEL VICK PROJECT, visit www.bet.com/ontv/betshows/michaelvick/
*All times ET/PT
About BET Networks
BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 98 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.
New Book About Late Rapper Tupac
“His life had been a series of new addresses, hunger pangs, political meetings, and scary questions from FBI agents. Since early childhood, he had fought to survive.” -- TUPAC SHAKUR: The Life of An American Icon
“Hip-hop's greatest gifts and its heaviest burden—is its legacy of urban mythology. It will be remembered as that bittersweet moment when young black men captured the ears of America and defined themselves on their own terms... In doing so, they raised a defiant middle finger to a history that shamed them with slavery, misrepresented them as coons and criminals, and co-opted the best of their culture.” -- Joan Morgan, Vibe Magazine
Nationwide -- On September 13, 1996, an unknown assailant in Las Vegas, Nevada gunned down Tupac Amaru Shakur, one of the most high profile, controversial, and multi-talented recording artists of his day. He was twenty-five. Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon (Da Capo Press; February 2010) is a critical, incisive, and unauthorized biography that examines Tupac's rise to success, untimely end, and impact on hip-hop culture. Tayannah McQuillar, author of When Rap Music Had a Conscience, and Dr. Fred Johnson, a Professor of history, team up for this unique, all-encompassing approach to Tupac's extraordinary life story. It begins with his family history, detailing his journey through a childhood of parental neglect and poverty and revealing the ultimate discovery of his artistic talents. The book then charts his rise to domination of the 1990s rap world. The authors look at the urban hero who inspired millions with his daring, benevolent lyrics, as well as the changed man who later emerged when his music transitioned from social-conscience to gangsta rap. In these pages are secrets even Tupac's most die-hard fans do not know: * Details of Tupac's marriage to Keisha Morris and why they broke up Tupac's early end brought an abrupt conclusion to an era of social and political critique through rapping, but his music retains its popularity with five posthumous albums and eight Top-Ten Billboard singles since his death. Millions of die-hard fans continue to clamor for books and documentaries that may reveal more about the man, his music, and his still-mysterious death—this passionate biography will further that discourse. TUPAC SHAKUR
Bookcover
* Details about Tupac's relationship with his biological sister Sekiywa
* Why the T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E. movement was the worst idea that Tupac ever had
ISBN: 978-1-56858-387-7
Paperback Original
$15.95
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
DrJays.com Announces National Model Search Fresh Faces Of Spring 2010!
From Monday, January 11 to Tuesday, February 2 aspiring models from across America are encouraged to upload a 30-second audition video to DrJays.com. Entries will be rated andommented on by the site’s enthusiastic community. Two winners – one male, one female – will be chosen for their broad appeal, spirit and passion to be the face of DrJays.com’s Spring 2010 campaign.
“Fresh Faces of Spring was created in response to the overwhelming feedback we receive from our customers who contact us daily looking for the chance to appear on the site,” says Simone “Boss Lady” Kapsalides, DrJays.com’s Content Manager.
“Instead of booking professional models for our Spring 2009 campaign, we’re giving two winners the chance to fly to our creative studio in San Diego, be put up in a plush downtown hotel for two nights and star in a photo shoot featuring the hottest brands in urban and street wear.”
ABOUT DRJAYS.COM
Founded in 1999, DrJays.com is a leading online retailer of street fashion, averaging a monthly audience of 2.5 million unique visitors with over 65 million page views. In addition to offering established urban brands such as Sean John, Rocawear, Akademiks and Baby Phat and newer names like CAVI, Sabit, Married To The Mob and Undercrwn, the site also features DrJays.com Live, a style and entertainment channel.
Joell Ortiz to drop "Free Agent" studio album this March!
E1 Music is thrilled to announce the release of critically acclaimed emcee Joell Ortiz’s new album. Free Agent will be released in on March 23, 2010 and features Akon, Brother Ali, Bun B, Styles P, Sheek Louch, Raekwon, Novel, Smokey Robinson, MOP, Slaughterhouse, Maino, Jean Grae, Talib Kweili and Bobby Ray. Production duties will be handled by a who’s who list of music’s finest producers including: Red Spyda, Dj Khalil, Lil Fame, Dj Premier, Sean C and LV, Statik Selektah, Novel, Moss, Nottz, Frequency and Frank Dukes.
Ortiz is coming off a tour of the U.S. and is starting a European tour on Jan 15th as ¼ of the lyrical powerhouse Slaughterhouse, along with Joe Budden, Royce Da 5’9” and Crooked I. The foursome was described as “…the game’s most imposing lyrical force” by XXL Magazine. The self-titled debut album, Slaughterhouse, is in stores now.
Ortiz released his debut album, The Brick (Bodega Chronicles), in 2007 on E1 Music. The album centered on his dense, rhyme-based work, and featured notable collaborations with Styles P, Akon and the legendary Big Daddy Kane. The Brick was met with considerable critical acclaim, landing Ortiz features in numerous hip-hop and mainstream publications including a much sought after “Leader of the New School” cover story for XXL Magazine, along with Papoose, Crooked I, Saigon, Lupe Fiasco and others.
Having earned a loyal following from his lyrically-driven performances and energetic live shows Ortiz is poised to make an impact with his highly-anticipated new album, Free Agent. Ortiz is ready to deliver his fans another dose of lyrical fire.
Alan Grunblatt, General Manager of E1 Music, says, “Joell Ortiz is one the hottest new emcees to come out of New York. We had a lot of success with the first Joell release and are very excited he continues to be in the E1 family.”
The first single off of Free agent is the incredible “Call Me,” a nostalgic story of teenage love set in Brooklyn New York in the ‘90s. It will be serviced to urban radio shortly.
For more information, go to: www.joellortiz.com, www.twitter.com/joellortiz or www.e1music.us.
Monday, January 11, 2010
OSCAR SANCHEZ/AFFLUENT RECORDS & KATLYN SWANSON PREP DEBUT ALBUM "DIZZY" RELEASE FOR MARCH 2010
“Katlyn Swanson is one of the most amazing young talents that I have had the pleasure of working with in this industry. She is an incredible artist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Her music is so refreshing and has so much energy. Signing her to the label and producing each and every track on her album in the studio with her has made me fall in love with music all over again. We created a great big sound for KATLYN and she sounds live exactly as she sounds on her records. Her voice is ridiculous and stops people in a room at an instant in awe anytime she sings. We recently did a live walk in during the 209 Holiday Season at DJ BLAZE booth at NYC's infamous MACY's at Herald Square on the 4rth Floor, where she performed live and tore the house down as shoppers rushed to the booth to get autographs copies of her promo CD of this new young girl with the big voice. She is such a star and I am so happy to be able to work with her and all the new producers we will debut on the album such as The Dawty Music Group & Carlos Guiterez that made this album so special. I can’t wait to release her debut album on March 9, 2010 and her singles FEBRUARY 14, 2010 on VALENTINES DAY so you can have the chance to fall in love with KATLYN, her voice and her music as well soon” says Oscar Sanchez.
Katlyn was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 17, 1989. Her first inspiration with music came from performing with her family at the early age of 5 years old. Since then she continued to follow her calling and after much practice and play in her hometown she kept to her focus. She continued to pursue her career even further by coming to New York and attending NYU at The Clive Davis School of Music. Here, she was able to not only nurture her talents and perfect her craft singing and producing but she also learned the business aspect of the music industry and learned the importance of networking.
Her diligence paid off after meeting Affluent Records recording artist Kenny Ali at a local New York City music school seminar. She quickly networked got a hold of the right contact and actively emailed the label’s CEO Oscar Sanchez right after. “I constantly check my emails everyday”, says Sanchez. “After hearing her music from the first time in my email box, it became real catchy for a demo, and it had great melodies. After I spoke with her it was easy to see her music reflected so much of her personality. She is a great writer and producer & overall has a great voice, much in the likes of her influences Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, and Mariah Carey. I signed her immediately. She is everything that reflects the best of AFFLUENT, She will be a Grammy winner, I know it!”
KATLYN SWANSON new singles “DIZZY” & "IN OUR WAY" Produced by Affluent Oscar Sanchez, Katlyn Swanson & The Dawty Music Group will debut on Valentines Day February 14, 2010 on ITUNES through AFFLUENT RECORDS / IRIS Distribution and on all major online sites worldwide. Check for her album “DIZZY” executive produced by Oscar Sanchez to be released on AFFLUENT RECORDS March 9, 2010 online worldwide . For more info log on to www.myspace.com/katlynswanson1 or www.affluentrecords.com or http://affluententertainment.blogspot.com
FOR ALL BOOKINGS, SHOWS PAID & PROMO, RADIO or PRESS or Events:
Please contact Affluent Records at affluentnyc@msn.com
Affluent Records is NYC's top Urban Digital Record Label dedicated to advancing urban music formats. CEO Oscar Sanchez says, 'In today's market, there are great opportunities for artist to grow as businessmen and create companies and corporations. Affluent supplies an outlet for them. Affluent Records provide a safe-house where urban music can be preserved and where it will be able to flourish successfully into the digital age.' Affluent Records has world wide digital distribution.