I am a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands. I grew up in the Big Apple (New York City), which is where my love for fashion, music and the entertainment industry began! Red Carpet Shelley is all about spreading the love of my Caribbean culture and heritage. In life I have learned that nothing is certain except God and change!!
Lil Wayne kicked off the new season of VH1s Behind the Music last night. Lil Wayne's meteoric rise from Hollygrove to Hollywood is chronicled in the short documentary. The interview gives us an intimate view into Weezy's life from his early years as a gifted child who ended up cheating death after shooting himself in the chest to his Hot Boys days to his current reign at the top of the music charts. We also get a glimpse of Lil Wayne's world of creative processing and his battle with drugs that he still does not acknowledge. The CEO of Young Money's life story is the stuff Hollywood movies are made of and yet he is only 26 years old. We can only imagine what the next 26 years will hold for this young, talented rapper from Louisiana!
The Power Generation Conference was held over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta. The event was sponsored by the Collective Renaissance Guild whose mission is to "expose, promote and infuse arts, philanthropy and social responsibility into the cultural landscape of the Power Generation (formerly known as Gen X or the Hip Hop generation). The venue was a virtual marketplace of celebrity nonprofit organizations including Tameka Raymond's foundation The Lost Ones Foundation, The Ludacris Foundation, Tupac Shakur Foundation, Ryan Cameron Foundation, Andrew Young Foundation, Dallas Austin Foundation, and the list goes on., The event was a passing of the torch so to speak from the leaders of yesteryear to the Power Generation. The awards ceremony honored civil rights icon and former mayor of Atlanta Ambassador Andrew Young and Grammy Award winner Andre "3000" Benjamin.
Andrew Young addressed the audience and gave a moving, stirring short speech. He is truly a living legend. Andre 3000 was not present to accept his award, however he videotaped his acceptance. The star-studded event ended with a keynote address by rapper turned community activist, Killer Mike. Killer Mike is an extremely motivational speaker. Albeit, some may disagree with his strategies for economic empowerment but at least he kicks the door wide open for the discussion to begin.
Ok, that was the good part. Now here's a little dirt!! How about Frankie (Keisha Cole's mother) was running and jumping around in everyone's set and taking every photo opportunity she could find. And, if I lit a match next to her the place would have blown....you get the idea.
The long awaited return of pop diva Whitney Houston ended today. Whitney performed in New York City's Central Park today on Good Morning America. The return was seven years in the making and I, for one, was chomping at the bit hoping she would do well. She walks on stage and she looks great. Thanks be to God, her old ladyish hairstyles of the 80s and 90s has been replaced with a young, fresh hairdo (she even has a swoop bang - go on girl!) Her outfit was well styled, she put on a few well needed pounds and is looking like the Whitney I had come to know and love. Was the diva in fact about to rock Central Park???? Well, yes and no.
Whitney rocked because her fans still and will always love her, as do I! I was in Central Park for theJamie Foxx performance and I will tell you Jamie was awesome but he did not attract the throngs of people that Whitney did. People waited all night and traveled from as far as Australia to see her sing. As she took the stage, Whitney told her fans repeatedly "I love you more", "I love you back". She also told the crowd "I never left, I never left". Whitney gave honor to family, friends and her faith for bringing her through the past seven years. Then, she began to sing. It was disappointing to say the least. Whitney cracked several times and ultimately lost her voice at the end of the set. (Whitney blamed the raspy, cracked voice on a too long interview with Oprah which is set to be aired next week). Whitney sang "My Love is Your Love" and brought out her daughter Bobby Christina. She also sang a very emotionally stirring "I Look To You". Whitney sang the song to her mother, Cissy Houston, who listened with tearful, adoring eyes.
To be certain, Whitney's voice is definitely not the voice we fell in love with. But then again, isn't that what love is all about -- "for better or worse", in good voice or bad?? Clearly, the years of drug abuse have taken a toll on her once pitch-perfect, high ranging powerful voice. But, through it all, I still love Whitney Houston!!!
Michael Jackson's 51st birthday would have been on Saturday, August 29, 2009. Last year, upon reaching his milestone 50th birthday, the King of Pop said in a Good Morning America interview “I feel very wise and sage, but at the same time very young”. Asked how he would spend the day, he said that he would be listening to James Brown music and would “just have a little cake with my children and probably watch some cartoons”. When asked about the happiest times in his life the King of Pop went back two decades and reflected on the album releases of "Off The Wall" in 1979 and "Thriller" in 1982. Jackson said that the songs "meant very much to me and they seemed to be received so beautifully by the public and the world,” he said. “I enjoyed it very much.”
Jackson spoke loving words about his children (Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7, affectionately known as Blanket). He said he wanted them to “enjoy their childhood as much as possible. “I let them go to the arcade and go to the movies and do things. I want them to get to do the kind of things I didn’t get to do. So I fill them with a lot of enjoy that way – a lot of amusement, you know? I get pretty emotional when I see them having a wonderful time, when they are on a ride and they are screaming and they are happy.”
Tomorrow, August 29, 2009, in commemoration of his birthday, fans in Mexico City have decided to gather in huge numbers to dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller". The goal is to set the record for the most people dancing to the record-breaking hit song at one time. Sadly, on the same day Michael's family will be laying him to rest at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California.
Calling her "a Lindsay Lohan wannabe," a judge has fined "Jersey Shore" star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi $500 and ordered her to perform community service after she pleaded guilty to disturbing others on a New Jersey beach in July.
