
Songstress Amel Larrieux is probably as well-known for her gorgeous flowing natural hair as she is for her signature voice. She’s been performing for nearly 20 years and asked the same question since she hit the scene in 1995, “What do you use in your hair?”
Larrieux finally decided to develop an elixir for all hair types, the Night Before Conditioner manufactured by her natural hair brand, Beautiful Us. Larrieux spoke to HelloBeautiful exclusively about her road to creating her natural product line.
“For a while, I was confused by people’s interest in my hair,” she explained. “Like it was always a conversation. I was always like ‘Well I’m here to sing and to write” and I was realizing that just the same way that I was inspired by people like Lisa Bonet and Cree Summer who would wear their hair natural in the 80s when it wasn’t as popular.”
“I had been wearing it natural for so long, I had been doing the whole braid out, oil your scalp, do a certain kind of spray, make your own little cocktail to put on your hair for so,so many years that I could just spout it off and kind of have this recipe for my natural hair routine and we just talked about it so often in so many interviews that my husband and I started realizing that it would make sense to actually offer it to our public because people are always asking me. ”
The process of developing the product took over three years. Larrieux created the product and immediately began testing on her family and friends with very positive feedback.
Despite the fact that the natural hair industry is packed with competitors like Miss Jessie’s, Shea Moisture and the list goes on, Larriuex is confident that all brands can co-exist.
“Honestly, I feel that we can all kind of co-exist together. I mean, I think that we’re all special in our own right. I respect what Shea Moisture does, I respect what all of these other companies do. It’s really about what each individual is finding that works for their hair and hair type.”
“Sometimes, with a lot of hair you have to be able to go back and forth with a lot of different products and have more than one because sometimes one stops working if you overuse it so I think it’s about all of us kind of being in cahoots together and being this arsenal of natural products that women who want to wear their hair natural can always go to and can all exist in your bathroom cabinet.”

Larriuex is most proud of the product’s versatility; the Night Before Conditioner isn’t just for hair, it can also be used all over the body.
” ‘Night Before’ is a base with delicious oils with Monoi being a really important one. It’s one of those things where honestly, what freaked me out is that you can use this product all over your body. There’s the coconut oil, there’s the shea, the olive, it’s the carrot extract. It’s so interesting because I can honestly use it the night before and literally the next morning use it again. It’s truly so versatile, it’s kind of shocking. It’s got one of those amazing smells that you just kind of want to bite the person who’s wearing it because it smells so delicious.”
“The Night Before Conditioner” by Beautiful Us is available now and can be purchased here.
article by Veronica Hilbring via hellobeautiful.com
Posts published in “Music”

Over the last 6 years ONE Musicfest has pulled together the best of urban alternative legends and contemporaries for a unique experience through music and visual. And this year it gets even better, with ONE Musicfest in partnership with Live Nation, “pulling out all the stops with an outdoor music festival that the media says, can’t be missed, and attracting a generationally and culturally diverse audience. “
Beyond festival-goers having a good old-fashion time at the ONE Musicfest, Jason Carter, the founder of ONE Musicfest, told Black Enterprise.com exclusively, “I want people to walk away knowing that it’s possible for us all to share the same space. ONE Musicfest is a generational festival. It’s nothing to see a 17-year-old enjoying music along with someone in his or her late 40’s partying just as hard. So many times I think that’s overlooked with festivals. Some people will say, “That’s a young persons festival or that’s old school.” But the way we set up ONE Musicfest is so different—people jump up and dance when they hear a classic New Edition song and in the same breath once they hear the first drop on Kendrick Lamar, they’re bopping their head just as hard.
“The other WIN for One Musicfest is how we’ve brought progressive urban music to the stage. You never see Lauryn Hill on the same bill as Big Krit, but interestingly enough they’re fans of each other, but never get a chance to celebrate each other’s music together. So when they get backstage, they’re snapping pictures together and sharing them on Facebook and Instagram.”
According to a statement released by One Musicfest, the festival will take place on multiple stages and will serve as the ultimate mashup of innovative urban alternative acts with over eleven hours of non-stop music. The festival will feature over 25 of the hottest global DJs whose music crosses over to all spectrums, local vendors, games, and interactive activities. One Musicfest is the only place to see this roster of incredible acts join together for One purpose – which is to witness a wide variety of sounds, from rock to hip-hop, electro, reggae, funk, disco, house, alternative and soul while having your musical senses stimulated.
Founded by Jason Carter, ONE Musicfest has been one of Southeast’s largest home-grown, musical arts festivals to date including over 10,000 plus attendees. Carter has brought Atlanta music lovers the best and the brightest urban alternative acts performing in a welcoming, hospitable setting, creating an atmosphere where everyone can enjoy and discover music.
Previous artists include Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Jhene Aiko, Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, CeeLo Green & Goodie Mob, Santigold, Common, Method Man, Redman, Chrisette Michele, Amel Larriueux, Daley, Goapele, Joey Bada$$, De La Soul, Bilal, Quadron and more.
For more information, please visit www.onemusicfest.com and follow @ONEMusicfest | #OMF2015 | #ONLYOMF.
article by Kandia Johnson via blackenterprise.com

Rapper J. Cole took a break from his national tour in order to attend a fan’s high school graduation and follow up on a promise he made a full two years ago. Teen fan Cierra Bosarge says she reached out to J. Cole in 2013, writing him a letter (which she later summed up in a tweet) about how he had inspired her to persevere in school, despite having a hard time academically.
Cierra’s note prompted the hip hop artist to send her a direct message on Twitter and then follow up by phone. J. Cole agreed to attend the high schooler’s graduation to watch her accept her diploma, but only if she got admitted to a four-year school.
Two years later, they both followed through on the commitments they made — Cierra kept her grades up (sending updates via Twitter), and J. Cole’s manager sent Cierra a message confirming that the star would be there to watch her graduate. According to her Twitter account, when J. Cole showed up to the ceremony this week, he not only gave Cierra some of his “favorite books” as a grad gift, but also offered to help pay for her tuition.
article by Carly Steyer via huffingtonpost.com

Today, yours truly had the honor of being a part of a community of filmmakers and journalist who helped HuffPost Live host Nancy Redd interview Academy Award-nominated director Liz Garbus about her upcoming documentary on legendary singer-songwriter and activist Nina Simone entitled “What Happened, Nina Simone?” This feature-length look at Simone’s private as well as professional life debuts on Netflix on June 26 and I, for one, can’t wait to see it. Check out the HuffPost Live interview below for more insight and information:
[wpvideo 2CbGRSAv]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Janet Jackson announced she is hitting the road in the U.S. and Canada for the first time in four years starting this August for the “Unbreakable World Tour.” Just last month Jackson launched Rhythm Nation records and announced that a new single was on the way.
Tickets go on sale June 22nd on JanetJackson.com. American Express pre-sale tickets are available Monday, June 15th at 10 a.m through Friday June 19 at 10 p.m. The full North American tour list is below:
8/31/15 Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
9/2/15 Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB
9/4/15 Rexall Place Edmonton, AB
9/5/15 Revolution Place Grande Prairie, AB
9/7/15 SaskTel Centre Saskatoon, SK
9/8/15 MTS Centre Winnipeg, MB
9/11/15 Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids, MI
9/12/15 PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati
9/15/15 Air Canada Centre Toronto
9/17/15 Walnut Creek Amphitheatre Raleigh, NC
9/18/15 PNC Music Pavilion Charlotte, NC
9/20/15 American Airlines Arena Miami
9/23/15 Amway Arena Orlando
9/24/15 Amalie Arena Tampa, FL
9/26/15 Chastain Park Amphitheatre Atlanta, GA
9/27/15 Ascend Amphitheater Nashville
9/29/15 Fedex Forum Memphis, TN
9/30/15 Smoothie King Center New Orleans, LA
10/9/15 Axis @ Planet Hollywood Las Vegas
10/10/15 Axis @ Planet Hollywood Las Vegas
10/13/15 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium San Francisco
10/14/15 Bill Graham Civic Auditorium San Francisco
10/16/15 The Forum Los Angeles
10/17/15 Viejas Arena San Diego
10/19/15 Comerica Theatre Phoenix
10/21/15 Santa Barbara Bowl Santa Barbara, CA
10/22/15 Santa Barbara Bowl Santa Barbara, CA
10/24/15 Energy Solutions Arena Salt Lake City, UT
10/25/15 Pepsi Center Denver, CO
10/27/15 Sprint Center Kansas City, MO
10/29/15 Chaifetz Arena St. Louis, MO
10/30/15 CenturyLink Center Omaha, NE
11/1/15 Target Center Minneapolis
11/3/15 Chicago Theatre Chicago
11/4/15 Chicago Theatre Chicago
11/12/15 Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena Honolulu, HI
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

John Legend hasn’t been keeping quiet on police brutality or mass incarceration. Now, he is taking it a step further with his essay for Vulture speaking out on the suicide of Kalief Browder, the young man who spent three years on Rikers Island without a conviction.
Legend is justifiably upset about Browder’s treatment while incarcerated, and he recalls meeting him in 2013 after seeing him in a television interview.
From Vulture:
New York failed Kalief. The list of things that went wrong in his case begins with his first encounter with the NYPD, whose practice of targeting black teens is well documented. The idea that being accused of stealing a backpack would lead to his arrest and detention would be absurd if it weren’t actually tragic. He should not have been tried as an adult, or had prosecutors, defenders, and judges so overwhelmed with cases that he waited three years for trial, violating his constitutional right to swift justice. He should not have been held in an adult jail where he would spend 700 to 800 days of those three years in solitary confinement. He should not have spent one day being abused by guards or the others incarcerated there.
This Martin Luther King Day, Governor Cuomo publicly released findings from a task force he began last year to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18. Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice found that the patterns and practices at Rikers violate the human rights of adolescent males in jail. Rikers shouldn’t even have a youth unit. The RNDC, where Kalief spent three years, where 18-year-old Kenan Davis hanged himself this week, should not exist. Right now legislators in Albany are considering legislation that would end the automatic prosecution of 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, and remove youths like Kalief from Rikers and other jails throughout the state. Kalief died because our system is broken, and lawmakers can act now to stop tragedies like this in the future.
Read Legend’s entire essay here.
article by Ariel Cherie via theurbandaily.com

Mr. Mooney, who teaches freshman English at High Tech High School in North Bergen, N.J., played Mr. Lamar’s album (edited, of course) “To Pimp a Butterfly” to draw correlations to Ms. Morrison’s novel.
Using a literary lens called “hip-hop ed” that he learned during his graduate courses at Teachers College at Columbia University, Mr. Mooney asked his students to reflect on the dichotomy of black culture in America — the celebration of itself and its struggle with historic oppression. His students’ sudden understanding shined through essays, colorful canvases and performance art.
Mr. Mooney, 29, blogged about his curriculum and shared his students’ work online. The blog racked up over 10,000 Facebook shares, and hardly a month passed before Mr. Lamar discovered it.
On Monday, Mr. Lamar not only became a guest lecturer in Mooney’s small classroom at High Tech, but he also became a pupil. Mr. Lamar’s manager sent a note to Mr. Mooney in April saying the performer was interested in visiting. He did not charge a fee, but the school and its foundation paid for the stage setup.
“I was feeling incredibly grateful and humbled that my work received that much exposure and reached that wide of an audience that Kendrick himself read it,” Mr. Mooney said.















