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Posts published in “Day: June 30, 2015”

LIFESTYLE: GBN Picks for July 2015

By goodblacknews on June 30, 2015

GBN In JULY

by GBN Lifestyle Editor Lesa Lakin
by GBN Lifestyle Editor Lesa Lakin

It’s here!  Summer… and man, is there is a lot going on in the world.  So if you just want some time to pause and do something fun alone or with loved ones, check out a few things happening this month. Personally I am looking forward to the Sneaker Exhibit. Enjoy July!
IN CINEMA

ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL

Rated PG-13 –NOW PLAYING

Me, Earl and the Dying Girl

If you just want to catch a really great flick…. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl “lives” up to the hype. (Yes, I’ve seen it, and yes, I’ve got a lot to say… GBN review coming soon.) Oh, and Earl is the greatest character I’ve seen in a while. Highly Recommend.  Check out the trailer here: https://youtu.be/2qfmAllbYC8

DOPE

Rated R – NOW PLAYING

dope1

Admittedly I’ve been benched for the last few months and not up on my reviews and screenings, but I  have been meaning to see the critically acclaimed DOPE.  

High-school senior Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his friends Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) bond over ’90s hip-hop culture, their studies and playing music in their own punk band. A chance encounter with a drug dealer named Dom lands Malcolm and company at the dealer’s nightclub birthday party; when the scene turns violent, they flee — with the Ecstasy that Dom secretly hid in Malcolm’s backpack. A wild adventure ensues as the youths try to evade armed thugs who want the stash.

 Now playing check out the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=strEm9amZuo

SOUTHPAW

(Currently unrated) – RELEASE DATE JULY 24th

“Southpaw” stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Photo via usatoday.com)

I just saw the trailer for this and I’m hooked. Gotta say… I am loving Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in the acting game. Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”) directs. Check out the trailer here: https://youtu.be/Mh2ebPxhoLs

IN MUSIC

BROOKLYN, NY

2013-bhf-logo

July 8 – July 11, 2015 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival: A celebration of Hip-Hop Culture and the Borough of Brooklyn Artists include: Common, Mobb Deep, Lion Babe, Freeway, Charles Hamilton, Pitch Blak Brass Band, Skyzoo, John Robinson, DJ Rob Swift, Torae, and “Uncle Ralph” McDaniels, http://www.bkhiphopfestival.com

July 10- October 4, 2015 Brooklyn Museum – catch the exhibition: “The Rise of Sneaker Culture” https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/rise_of_sneaker_culture/

1_AJ_1_From_Nike_428W_less_shadow
Nike. Air Jordan I, 1985. Nike Archives. (Photo: Ron Wood. Courtesy American Federation of Arts/Bata Shoe Museum)
July 2 – July 4 – LOS ANGELES, CA
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Smokey Robinson at the Hollywood Bowl.  To get tickets, visit: http://www.smokeyrobinson.com

July 18 – IRVINE, CA; July 19, 2015 – MOUNTAINVIEW, CA

Screen Shot 2015-06-30 at 10.18.24 AM
Artists Include: The Game, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ice T, Afrika Bambaataa and The Soulsonic Force, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Mack 10, Xzibit, Warren G, Rapper’s Delight, Kurtis Blow, Too Short, Doug E Fresh, DJ Quik, Kool Moe Dee, King T, Grand Master Melle Mel, Tha Alkaholiks, Biz Markie, Slick Rick, EPMD, Cold Crush Brothers, Ras Kass and other special guests. The event will be MC’d by Chief Rocker Busy Bee. https://www.facebook.com/artofrapfest
RELATED: Ice-T Breaks Down Why “Art of Rap” Festival in July is Important to Hip-Hop, Art & Music
July 30 – LOS ANGELES, CA

Moses Sumney
Moses Sumney

Thanks to my little sis, Ashley,  I’m also recommending checking out  the truly captivating musical artist-singer Moses Sumney.  Check him out on SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/mosessumney
He’s headlining the Echo in Los Angeles on July 30th.  http://www.theecho.com/event/861489-moses-sumney-los-angeles/venue/
IN ARTS
July 10-12 – DENVER, CO
(Photo via colbaf.org)
(Photo via colbaf.org)

The Colorado Black Arts Festival is excited to present the best of visual and performing arts to celebrate its 29th Annual Festival July 10-12, 2015 in historic Denver City Park West. This year’s Festival theme “Rock Steady” conveys the ability to excel in the arts with a rocking and soulful dimension.  It represents a soulful genre that captures artistic rhythms with origins in the African diaspora.   Rock Steady 2015!  To learn more, go to: http://www.colbaf.org

Michael B. Jordan in Just-Released "Creed" Trailer Proves "Rocky" Sequel Has Punch

By goodblacknews on June 30, 2015
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv554B7YHk4&w=560&h=315]

This is two minutes and forty three seconds of just pure sublime. It’s Ryan Coogler’s Creed, the MGM/New Line film that Warner Bros will release this fall. This isn’t just another installment of Rocky. After Coogler and Michael B. Jordan teamed on the Sundance sensation Fruitvale Station, each of these young guys had their pick of projects. Coogler used his currency on his dream to make Creed. Turns out that while he was growing up, Coogler’s father showed him the Rocky movies to instill the notion of heroes and the idea that dreams can come true with hard work.

Rocky-CreedAs he became an accomplished wide receiver at Sacramento State and a budding filmmaker, Coogler’s father later came down with ALS. All of the touchstones of his life are rolled into this movie and it required him to win the trust of Sylvester Stallone, who was very protective over his first and most memorable character creation. When the movie became a reality, there was no one else he wanted to play the role of Apollo Creed’s son (it started out as grandson, but that evolved).

It is becoming a right of passage for actors to play ring heroes, and, just like Jake Gyllenhaal in Southpaw, Miles Teller in Bleed for This and Edgar Ramirez in Hands Of Stone, Jordan accepted the challenge and got himself into rocking gym shape. The film follows the late Apollo Creed’s son Adonis Johnson stepping into the boxing ring, a profession which killed his father in Rocky IV when he battled Russian fighter Drago. “Your Daddy died in the ring,” a trainer reminds the young Creed who retorts, “That got nothin’ to do with me.” Adonis turns to Rocky Balboa to train him. At this point, The Italian Stallion has completely checked out of the boxing game.

Best part in the trailer that will raise hairs, is when the young Creed meets Rocky:
“I heard about a third fight between you and Apollo behind close doors, is that true?,” asks the fighter.
“How do you know all this?” asks Rocky.
Declares Johnson: “I’m his son.”
article by Anthony D’Alassandro via deadline.com

Sisters Making Waves With Their Swimsuit Designs

By goodblacknews on June 30, 2015
swimsuit_design
RUE107; A. LEKAY
Have you ever had trouble finding that perfectly sexy one-piece or tantalizingly comfy bikini to show off your assets in the summer? So did a few designers we met, and they say it was their quest for a curve-contouring swimsuit that drove them to start their own companies.
When it comes to swimwear, these sisters are making waves. From itty-bitty, teeny-weeny string bikinis to formfitting, flattering one-pieces and everything in between, The Root has a list of nine bathing-suit designers who offer something for all shapes and sizes.
1. Tennille McMillan
nakamuli
Nakimuli swimsuit (M. JONES IMAGING)
Tennille McMillan began designing bathing suits in 2012 after fans of her clothing line, Nakimuli, wanted more from the Brooklyn, N.Y.-born and -bred designer. Her suits favor African-inspired prints, and she tells The Root that she has just started designing her own patterns, too, which come in all shapes and sizes. The 34-year-old designer says that Erykah Badu wears her line, as does Danielle Brooks from Orange Is the New Black.
2. Desiree D’Aguiar
tracy_suit
BRANDSXBROTHERS FOR WINIFRED TAYLOR
Designer Desiree D’Aguiar does only one thing: swimwear. The 25-year-old started her Winifred Taylor label last year. Although D’Aguiar works in Toronto, where she grew up, the beach plays a large role in her life, thanks to her Caribbean roots. D’Aguiar tells The Root she gets her inspiration from artists, using their work to drive her collection. Her next collaboration will be with Tosh Jeffrey.
3. Altrichia Cook
laying_out
A. LEKAY
Altrichia Cook is the designer behind the A. Lekay label. She’s been in the swimwear business for two years. The 28-year-old is based in central Florida, where she grew up. Cook tells The Root that her quest for a high-waisted swimsuit that would hide certain imperfections led her to start designing her own. It caught on with her Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority sisters, and the company was born. Nicki Minaj is a fan and wore an exclusive bikini in July’s issue of Cosmopolitan. This year A. Lekay showed its suits during New York Fashion Week.
4. Risque Dukes
multi_suits
RISQUE DUKES SWIM APPAREL
Risque Dukes founded her swimwear company of the same name in 2013. It’s based in Miami, which seems like the perfect location for an über-sexy line. The 25-year-old Army veteran tells The Root that she always wanted to be an entrepreneur and designer, so when she couldn’t find a “selfie-worthy” bikini, she decided to design her own. Her current collection includes bikinis featuring prints of Haitian, Bahamian and Jamaican flags. This year Dukes showed her suits during New York Fashion Week.
5. Monif Clarke
plus_size
MONIF C.
Monif Clarke, the designer behind the Monif C. label, is from New Jersey but traces her roots to Barbados, where the 36-year-old gets some of her inspiration for her sexy, bright and tight line of swimwear. She was one of the first to introduce plus-size bikinis five years ago, when she couldn’t find suits she liked that fit her figure. The swimwear line is an offshoot of her clothing line, which started with the “Marilyn” convertible dress and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
6. Kambili Ofili-Okonkwo
kamokini_yellow_scuba_suits
KAMOKINI/’ANUEL MODEBE
Nigerian designer Kambili Ofili-Okonkwo came up with idea for Kamokini a few years ago while living in England. The 27-year-old tells The Root that she wanted a swimsuit “that would make a woman feel confident when she might be at her most vulnerable.” So she sketched some designs and had them made during a trip to China. She started by selling to friends and family, then last year officially launched her company. Kamokini is a combination of her family name and “bikini.”
7. Marie-Jean Baptiste
rue_107
RUE107
New Yorker Marie-Jean Baptiste is the designer behind the Rue107 line, founded four years ago. The name comes from her own Haitian background. The brand, the “home of confidence and curves,” includes swimwear and caters to all sizes. Baptiste weaves the rich and bold colors of her home country into the feminine swimsuits, which she says are perfect for a day at the beach. Baptiste, who was studying nursing before pursuing her passion, tells The Root that her detour only helped her understand even more how to design for the body.
8. Shakedria Mathis
8th_ocean_2
MICHAEL DAUGHTRY/8TH & OCEAN SWIM
Shakedria Mathis’ swimwear company, 8th & Ocean Swim, was born in 2013 out of her love of travel and her obsession with finding the perfect bikini. She combined the two into the “travel-kini,” which she says is perfect for the “pretty young traveler or PYT, who loves and lives on vacation in a bikini.” The 29-year-old designer hails from Miami but lives and works in New York City.
9. La’Daska Mechelle Powell
lakesha
Ladaska Mechelle swimsuit  (COURTESY OF SHAMAYIM.NET)
La’Daska Mechelle Powell started making swimsuits while in design school in Tampa, Fla., in 2009. One year later she launched her swimwear company, Ladaska Mechelle. The Texas native has designed for the Dallas Stars Ice Girls and Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. She tells The Root that she finds inspiration everywhere and makes most of the suits herself. The 31-year-old now lives and works in New York City.
article by Julie Walker via theroot.com

Obama to Unveil Plan to Bring Overtime Pay To 5 Million More Workers

By goodblacknews on June 30, 2015
uptown_barack_obama_2014

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama this week will propose a plan to extend overtime pay to 5 million American workers who are currently excluded under federal law, according to sources.

The president will recommend updating overtime rules so that salaried workers who earn less than roughly $50,400 per year would be guaranteed time-and-a-half pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. Under the current rules implemented by former President George W. Bush, salaried workers must earn less than $23,660 per year in order to be automatically eligible for overtime pay.
The president announced his intention to make overtime reforms last year, but the details of the plan have been kept secret until this week. The president is expected to discuss the proposal later this week during a visit to Wisconsin. Details of the proposal were first reported by Bloomberg.
In a blog post on The Huffington Post Monday night, Obama said that “too many Americans are working long days for less pay than they deserve,” and that his proposal would help assure that “hard work is rewarded.”
“That’s how America should do business,” the president wrote. “In this country, a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. That’s at the heart of what it means to be middle class in America.”