Happy Birthday Miss Janet!

In honor of one of my favorite entertainers I'm going to take a moment and reflect on why this dynamic woman is STILL fabulous at 42. You young 'uns take note and for you old heads here's a flashback. These are a few my favorites. ENJOY!:

If: The hair, the sexy moves, the lyrics. Yeah, J had come into her own.




Again: The Academy Award nominated song for Poetic Justice. Gary Dourdan (Shahzah) is so damn fine is this video...His eyes, hair, and body. And Tupac, another fine brotha! We still miss your genius, Pac!




Got 'Til It's Gone: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS VIDEO!




Would You Mind?: I love it when a woman ain't scared to do her thang and Janet is definitely a crowd pleaser. LOL. This makes "a pole in the basement" look like child play!

Actress Tasha Smith: A Purpose Driven Life

Last year I was blessed with the opportunity to interview actress Tasha Smith to help promote Why Did I Get Married? You can read it HERE. But what occurred in that limo was not merely an interview about her outstanding role but a real experience with a woman who has discovered her Divine purpose.

In this candid interview with Essence.com Tasha shares her journey, better yet her testimony, in evolving from high school drop out and drug addict to the beautiful, multi-talented performer we've come to know on television and film. It also mentions her early hard days in the industry, becoming a stripper, and a stand up comedian. Below is an excerpt. In it she makes reference to how fellow actress, Tisha Campbell, helped lay the foundation of her career in Hollywood.

Back then, in 1987, I was friends with actor Allen Payne, who was from my area. He was dating the actress Tisha Campbell Martin—this was way before she got married and starred in the sitcom My Wife and Kids. I can see now that God put Tisha in my life to encourage my dream of becoming an actress. Tisha would always say, “You don’t belong out there.” She was part of the reason I moved to California when I was 18. She and her mom found me an apartment, bought me a little car, and would come over with groceries. People thought I was crazy to move to Hollywood, but Tisha and her mom believed in me.

Really, this is a great interview and though I knew some of her phenomenal story already, reading it really empowers me to stay on task and keep striving, keep pushing. Here's my favorite part:

Now I realize I just had to discover faith for myself. I found a sense of freedom in my relationship with God—the freedom to be beautiful and sexy and have purpose in life. Slowly I began to see God had been there guiding and protecting me all along. I’m convinced my life changed when I surrendered it to God.

For all my friends, associates, and readers "going through" right now, I dedicate this to you. Read the full interview HERE. And while you're there click on the homepage to view the behind-the-scenes cover photo shoot with 3 more of my favorite "inspirations"-Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, and Alicia Keys. All of which are performing at this year's Essence Music Festival, July 4-6th in New Orleans. Visit www.essence.com

Alicia Keys Knows Her Worth

Slowly but surely, I'm becoming a big Alicia Keys fan. I realize for some that might be a surprising statement, but it's true. Yes, at the start of her celebrity, I liked some of her songs and videos, but it wasn't until recently that I really took notice of the woman behind the music.

Earlier this year I even had the opportunity to meet her during a shoot. And despite being very ill, she was still very friendly and cooperative without a hint of diva-tude. That's rare in this business. No, we didn't hang out after or exchange information but before the shoot ended, I did give her props on her American Music Awards performance.

Some months before that shoot she "big-upped" some of my favorite reggae/dancehall artist by performing a dancehall remix to her hit single, No One. Besides that instance, who can remember the last time a reggae or dancehall artist ever performed on the AMA's or the Grammy Awards? She killed dem dead with the show!

And now Alicia Keys is truly using her star power for all it's worth to do something amazing and powerful through her Keep A Child Alive organization. This is what took me from being a casual listener to becoming an Alicia Keys fan. In the trailer below, you'll see poignant demonstrations of how her organization is providing AIDS medicine to African children and their families infected with the disease. Please take some time to watch the documentary, Alicia in Africa HERE, then donate and spread the word about Keep A Child Alive.

Iron Man: Robert Downey Jr. Is The Man!

If that clip doesn't convince you to see Iron Man this Friday, nothing will! Amazing special effects, explosions, and a wealthy, playboy leading man that parties like a rock star...what more can you ask for in a movie about a superhero without supernatural powers?

Truly, you can't help but like Robert Downey, Jr. as super rich weapons manufacturer, Tony Starks. He's funny, irreverent, boyishly charming, and genius--characteristics that serve him well with the ladies, but not so with Afghanistan terrorist. While visiting the country to show off his new toy of mass destruction, he is gravely injured and kidnapped by his customers. When he realizes his own weapons were used against him, Stark decides to "get out the business".

But before he can change professions, he must first keep himself alive. Shrapnel metal threatens Stark's heart and his captives threaten to kill him if he doesn't make them his new Jericho missile. So with the help of fellow inmate, Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub), who created a protective device for his heart, Stark designs a plan and a full armored suit complete with guns and fire blowers to help him escape.

Once back on American soil, his new mission in life is clear--rid the world of the ubiquitous weapons Stark Industries created in enemy possession. But not everyone on his team is down with his new "save the world" direction, including his chief executive, Obadiah (Beau Bridges) and Air Force buddy, Jim (Terrance Howard). Not even his ever faithful assistant, Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) understands his new change of heart. So Stark, like most heroes, must walk or in this case, fly alone to do what he feels is right.

But Stark is not totally alone. In his lab, a team of robotic "friends" and assistants help him create the metallic lean, mean fighting machine Iron Man fans have come to love. And with their artificial intelligence combined with his super intelligence, Tony Stark sets out to right the world's wrongs. Am I telling you anything you already didn't know? I didn't think so.

Click the widget below to see more scenes from the film. And be sure to head to the theaters early, real early this Friday for Iron Man's opening night.

GLAAD Media Awards Red Carpet

I'm so GLAAD I had the opportunity to not only cover the red carpet of the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, but also to attend the show. In doing so I wanted to share some insight into organization's People of Color Media Program (POC) and it's relevance to the community. I felt too that it was important to give those nominees and attendees of color the press they deserve, but rarely get by media outlets in their own racial communities.


Video 1: National President shares why the event is important and why the POC exists.

Video 2: Hear from some nominees and attendees why the POC program is important to them and humorous "marriage" announcements.

Video 3: Honoree, Janet Jackson, talks about her first introduction to the gay lifestyle and why she is receiving the Vanguard Award.

On a personal note, I got every interview I wanted but one with Ms. Jackson. But this time, I actually got the attention of her publicists, begged for an interview, and they surprisingly brought her over to me and the journalist standing next to me to do a joint interview. Unfortunately, in the second I took to look in the viewfinder to frame my shot, I lost the interview to him. And before I could ask any question at all she was whisked away. But that's life on the red carpet. Windows of opportunity to talk to A-listers can often close as soon as they open.

Unlike most of the award shows I've attended, this one was devoid of several musical performances or host wardrobe changes. Instead it was a night of touching speeches and often humorous personal stories from a range of gay and straight people including Cindy Crawford, Sharon Stone, Gary Marshall, and Ellen Degeneres. There was also too plenty of fundraising with silent auctions and pledge donations. Overall it felt less like a televised award presentation and more like a large family reunion. Visit GLAAD.org to get more information. And check your local listings for Bravo's broadcast of the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards later this year.

Personal thanks to GLAAD's Cindi Creager, Nick Adams, BWR-PR, and 3rd Rail Enterprises