Black Tie Lounge

This is how I'm closing out my day. No insight just music. FULL SCREEN The Sounds of VTech / bilal_isthislove_web    Now peep the original.

I'm so glad that I found out about this organization. I'm also glad that after close to 6 months of trying to connect with someone there--mostly out of my own laziness and schedule conflicts--I have gotten through. Words, Beats & Life is an arts organization that uses hip hop to mentor and empower youth. Those are my words about the organization and not the official statement as written by WBL Inc. I'm big on the arts so I'm glad to have found one in the D.C. area that has a focus on hip hop. Now onto what they do. Through what is refered to as the Urban Arts Academy , WBL Inc., offers courses in hip hop elements such as DJing, graffitti, emceeing, and breakdance for youth as young as 5 and as old as 23. From what I've learned these courses are more than just a hobby, but a way to emphasize literacy, push the youth to get better at their craft, and find ways to use that craft to seek higher education. I think it's pretty sweet. I also learned about opport

My father got me a ticket to Who's Who in Black D.C. I was excited, but the first thing I thought about was how it had really been a year since I've been home. I remember my parents boasting about last year's event as though it was yesterday. To bring you up to speed, Who's Who is a networking event that honors the movers and the shakers in a given city. Who's Who events are held in cities across the country honoring the achievements of blacks in spheres such as government, media, law, entertainment, business, non-profit, etc. It's a great opportunity for networking. Here's a little insight into who I am. I'm good with interacting with new people, but I can't deny the part of me that wonders what people are thinking when they first talk to me. I was a little nervous about the event, but I put that in the back of my mind and decided to muscle through it. There were two people in particular that I really wanted to meet. That night I made a goal of han

Well not really, I just had to find a clever title for this post. This song confirms the virture that one should pray for their enemies. I fluctuate on whether I should applaud Tyler Perry for his contribution to black filmaking or if I should shake my head in how his characters are so predictable and extra. Truth be told I can't knock his hustle and I'm pretty sure I'll turn into a groupie if I met him #jussaying. So what's that got to do with this next video? Well one of his cast members appeared on Divorce Court and by the display of what took place in court, I didn't know if Tyler Perry produced the show or if those people were for real. You be the judge:

Tell me if you feel me on this, but I have certain family that call me and makes me cringe because I'm thinking "what kind of mess is this clown going to tell me?" Well I thought it was that kind of call and I was about to not pick up. Well I picked up anyway. My expectation was put to shame because it was my cousin calling me to say how much they loved and appreciated me. No it wasn't drama like I expected and I was thrown for a loop because it touched my heart just a little no homo. Hearing that message reminded me of how much I have to grow in offering unconditional love because that's not the case. I'm still stuck on that reward and punishment system type of love. Dang I gotta man up!

Yo fam! I did the craziest thing on Saturday. Down on my luck and looking for an alternative to working a 9-5, I auditioned for a modeling agency in DC. Now I don't aspire to be a model. I will say that I'm a good looking dude, at least that's what I hear. I basically did it, in all honesty, to see what would happen. Who knows--if I did get picked I'd get to hang out with beautiful women all day, and who can complain about that. My only objection to myself was that I'm not tall and that I'm not in the best of shape. To lay at least the latter to rest, I could use the gig as motivation to stay in shape. So Saturday comes up and I arrive between the audition hours. My clumsy tail trips up the steps. I fill out some paper work and immediately get called in. This is how my audition went. I was supposed to watch one of the guy models walk and then imitate him. I wish dude gave me some kind of cue as to when he'd start strolling. I completely missed it, so me bei

I'll go on and leak out something that may bust whatever image my audience has of me based off this blog. I am super unemployed. Well as of July I have been and my time has just flown by. What is unbelieveable about it is that I'm never home, and when I'm home my time is super occupied. One thing is for sure, I'm not lazy as some may think unemployed people are. It's also getting on my nerves that apparently so many adults suggest I go into a completely different career path. I've managed to confront my entitlement mentaility and humble myself but at some level you have to have to know what and who you are otherwise you'll end up just like every American in a job that they can't stand and can't get out of. We'll not every American. My point being that I'm not too haughty to start small and I'm not so desperate that I'll do anything. I've managed to walk around with a cynical attitude about work. This year I came to understand t

Yes they did it. They actually did this earlier this year and I'm just now seeing it. Now the ad man in me wants to find out the agency that currently owns this account. Let the comments process!

In my mind, I think this is very uncommon for a man, but I been in close to 12 weddings since 2005. This time I got a little something extra out of it lol. I did a duet with one of my high school friends at a wedding for another friend from high school as she walked down the aisle. I figured that I'll share that wil you all. In the words of my former professor Dr. Jim A. Kuypers. Love me, hate me, hell you can even laugh at me just don't ignore me.

The thing about being a writer is that you always have to have something good to talk about for the sake of your audience. That's a lot of pressure. I'll just amuse you about my weekend that consisted of a trip Charlotte that I almost could not afford, crab legs, a cook out with old friends plus burnt wings and burgers, a discussion about the illuminati, UNC coming close but not close enough to beating LSU, a wedding in ATL that I almost missed because I got lost, and VT disappointing me so much that I can't bear to talk about. Since this is my blog I'll run down the list. I went to Atlanta this past weekend for a wedding. Now this was a big weekend. Not for him but for the Hokies who were playing Boise State at Fed Ex Field for the opening game on Labor Day. I completely lost track of the dates, so while all the Hokies were heading to DC for Monday night's game, I was heading in the opposite direction to ATL for a Sunday night wedding. I'll go on and add the co