This morning I woke up with Biggie on my mind.

“It was all a dream
I used to read Word Up magazine
Salt’n'Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine
Hangin’ pictures on my wall
Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl…”

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Yesterday, my evening was a little intense after I found out that The NYLA Report’s team was accepted into a major show at Fashion Week. I guess you could say that I was at the point of excitement where you really can’t concentrate.

Then I got caught up in a bunch of text messages, emails, chats & phone calls from all over the place which kinda exacerbated where I was in terms of being able to focus.

Things only got worse when I received this email:

“CONGRATULATIONS!

We are happy to inform you that your application for Press and Industry

Accreditation for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York has been approved.

A schedule of shows will be posted on the event website once it is available. Details on picking up credentials, policy changes, updates and other information will be provided in subsequent emails.

Thanks again for your support of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.”

The text messages & phones calls just put me in a tale spin, then I took to FB & Twitter & poured a few drinks. I was truly a mess in all of the right ways.

I’ve been talking about this for a while, so you know that I am beyond being excited!!!!

A few years ago, this whole process was just a thought, a dream even; today it’s happening & it feels like a dream. Just two weeks from now, I’ll be done with my 1st day @ NYFW. WOW!!!!

Now, I ask the question; Who gone check me boo?

The other night I was put up on a website created by Kenan Banks dedicated to celebrity stories written by ?uestlove, ummmm that’s ?uestlove from The Roots.

Many of the stories are absolutely hilarious! Like this one on Bjork

Bjork:

“she broke my heart in 94.

i was her biggest fan and flipped out when i met her.

meanwhile malik roll up and she starts gushing over him and all he says is….

(days later looking for her number)

damn i lost that oriental bitches number….”

Janet Jackson:

“the best story is the tootie facts of life 10/2001 update i did round here.

i can say that janet is one of my biggest supporters when it comes to spinning (i was called to dj her after jawn in philly but she is incapacitated due to exhaustion)

my 2nd gig for her in vegas was a party she hired me for to dj JD’s 30th partyday party.

3 hours in money was DRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZUNK she was in the booth all embarrassed like *hand on my shoulder* please excuse him….he is drunk tonight”

meanwhile im like

*will
*never
*wash
*shoulder
*a
GAIN*”

This site is such a fun & good read, especially the Eddie Murphy & Prince stories.

This evening after enjoying happy hour cocktails with The Good Dr. Long downtown Ann Arbor we stumbled upon a little classic car show.

It was not too busy out, so we were able to enjoy some really beautiful gems on display. The interesting thing is that I’m not a car enthusiast at all but the vivid colors were too attractive to deny. And the cars were super clean! Each making my car look like the homeless crack head cousin that no one likes to talk about.

Of the many cars that were on display, I was totally struck by this 1950s Plymouth PowerFlite.

While I was photographing it, I overheard two men talking about how clean the white walls were & how they missed the look. That made me smile.

When I think of white wall tires, I think of pimps (don’t judge me) & I hear William DeVaughn’s “Be Thankful for What You Got” playing in my head.

I would love to go for a spin in this PowerFlite with or without a diamond in the back, sunroof top or TV antennae’s. I’m just saying.

It’s been many months since I had the energy to do a post on any movie because quite frankly, I’ve seen a ton of bullshit! I would names names but it’s hardly worth it.

I guess all my bullshit movie entertainment ended this week when I ventured out to see “Inception.” I thought it was a good movie with a fanciful story line, good acting & of course out of this earth graphics!

Many of my friends saw it & thought it was like the best thing since cheesy grits but not I.  I mean, I liked it & walked away feeling satisfied but I didn’t get that hell yeah that was awesome feeling. Will I buy the DVD, sure, well maybe I will just Netflix it.

This evening, I took a chance & saw “Salt” of which, I decided not to read any reviews nor did I see any previews.  I just walk in blindly with no preconceived notions.

Unlike “Inception,” “Salt” was not a film with tons of out of this earth graphics & did they really do that moments.  “Salt” in my eyes was the type of action flick that I like that has great chase scenes, gun fights, ass kicking, talented acting, diverse & developed characters & a story line that did not involve taking notes to keep up.

Sure, “Salt” did not have the most original plot but the way that it was scripted out was totally a good look with some fun twists.

I found myself vacillating on wanting the bad guy to win. I love when I have that dilemma.

By the time the movie ended, I still uncertain on what I wanted but what I got was movie satisfaction.  That’s satisfaction without a bunch of 2010 Hollywood bullshit.

For the record, “Salt” is a movie, & I did not get hung up on her Super Bionic Russian bitch powers. I took it for what it was.

My “Salt” movie mix includes: The Jackal (1997), The Bourne Identity (2002), In the Line of Fire (1993), The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

This is perfect! I’m so an iPhone whore but this is brilliant. The cute cursing bears make this perfect!

And for the record, Walgreens is not carrying the iPhone.

Iron Baby is KICK ASS! What a cool video to kick the weekend off with!

This is such a gimmick! Should Kentucky Fried Chicken really be peddling greasy chicken to help fight breast cancer?

I guess MAYBE we can give Kentucky Fried Chicken some cool points for jumping on to a good cause but mofo please!

How about KFC ALSO donate monies from its sales to nutrition education. Double Down anyone?

Hat Tip to Average Bro!

Guess who was recently interviewed by the Kiss My Black Ads blog. Me mofo!

Check it out here!

In other good news:

- One of my head shot clients just informed me that she got called for an HBO show audition! I love making people look great!

- I’m doing my first shoot in my studio space this weekend.

In my best Ashanti voice. “Oww baby!”

Erykah Badu’s latest album “New Amerykah, Part 2: Return of the Ankh” is finally here & I’m all in!

Of the 12 tracks, I am cracked out 11. I’m sorry, but I just cannot get into “Jump In the Air and Stay There.” Lil Wayne is way too annoying and roach like in appearance!

Anyway, the build up of this album has been intense & a long time in the making, like 2 years in the making. If you recall, after the release of “New Amerykah, Part 1: 4th World War” Badu led us to believe that part 2 was just around the corner. I guess at this point it really doesn’t matter because the album released at the right time for me. I need this!

My TOP 6 tracks are:

- “Window Seat”
- “Incense”
- “Out My Mind, Just In Time”
- “Umm Hmm”
- “Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long”

And I’m for sure LOVING “You Loving Me (Session)”

“You loving me and I’m driving your Benz
You loving me and I’m spending your ends
You loving me and I’m drinking your gin
You loving me and I’m fucking your friends”

In a recent interview with Christal J. Farly of the “The Wall Street Journal,” Badu (I love saying Badu) says that Return of the Ankh is more right brained & melodic vs. the sinister & politically laced sound of 4th World War. Her assertion is very evident with this intensely artistic cerebral offering!

Most Badu fans that I know were not feeling her last release because it was too “strange” but I think that those wary fans will be won over this time around as the sound is reminiscent of “Baduizm.” As for myself, I’m ride or die for Badu. Ride or die!

If you’ve missed the official “Window Seat” video check here for the goods…

Looking forward to your reactions to this hot new album!

After seeing all of the 2010 Oscar nominated short films, I was pulling hard for “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” to bring home the gold for best animated short but it was not meant to be. The award winner was Francois Alaux and Herve de Crece’s “Logorama,” which is still a great thing!

I was going back &  forth between who I wanted to win, so was still excited to see this very clever gem win.

According to the directors,

“Logorama presents us with an over-marketed world built only from logos and real trademarks that are destroyed by a series of natural disasters (including an earthquake and a tidal wave of oil). Logotypes are used to describe an alarming universe (similar to the one that we are living in) with all the graphic signs that accompany us everyday in our lives. This over-organized universe is violently transformed by the cataclysm becoming fantastic and absurd. It shows the victory of the creative against the rational, where nature and human fantasy triumph.”

The awesome thing about the win is that now, “Logorama can now be viewed online! Yes!!!!

Enjoy…

I love when Negro pop culture blogs do those “who rocked it better” posts & always wondered if I would do that here. Well I’m not exactly out looking for fashion trends etc but I couldn’t pass this opportunity up.

So anyway, I ask you, who rocked “Island Life” best? Is it a toss up???

Behind the Island Life album cover:

Grace Jones’ former lover & photographer Jean Paul Goude took this photo of her in 1978 for a New York Magazine model profile.

Of the image, Goude has stated in his book “So Far, So Goude:”

“…unless you are extraordinarily supple, you cannot do this arabesque. The main point is that Grace couldn’t do it, and that’s the basis of my entire work: creating a credible illusion.”

The image is actually a composite of several photos stitched together to make this iconic image. Awesome work from the pre-Photoshop days!

Last night I while working Melinda Anderson’s “Back To The 80s” event, I found myself in a conversation with this 20 something Canadian girl who asked me about other parties happening later. I shared with her the only other set that I knew about. A house music set called “Moist.”

After she giggled over “Moist,” she asked my name so of course I said “my name is Tafari.” She was like oh wow, “is that from ‘The Lion King.’”

I was like excuse me? Are you for real? All followed by blank stares. No my name has nothing to do with “The Lion King.”

Then she was like, it’s OK, “people call me “Nala” all the time because my name is Nelee and I like it.”

Well, that’s nice but don’t try to get me caught up in your Disney movie name mess!

Admittedly, I did laugh on the inside when she said this to me because I knew that my kids would get a kick out of it. They call me “the lion king” or “king of the lions” all of the time because of my mane of hair.

After telling my boy about this funny incident today over lunch, he was like, she must have been thinking about “Jafar” from “Alladin.” O_o Wow!

Side notes:
- My name is Ethiopian in origin
- I meet some of the most interesting people when out working events
- “Scar” is my favorite character in “The Lion King”
- I’ve never seen “Alladdin”
- I wish I could time travel back to the 80’s so that I could tell myself to be a better student