Lauryn Hill, Anthony Hamilton and Jazz in the Park: Highlights from The Richmond Jazz Festival at Maymont 2015

The Richmond Jazz Festival at Maymont is in its 6th year and it just keeps getting hotter! Local and international jazz artists grace the stage for the three-day long festival. The event kicked off Friday, August 7th at the historic Hippodrome Theater in Jackson Ward, with a festive crowd “second lining” down Broad Street, led by the St. Paul’s men’s choir and New Orleans’ Rebirth Brass Band. The festival moved into the 100-acre public park, Maymont, on Saturday for the duration of the festival.

I made the event a combination of work and play– some of my very favorite artists were headlining this year’s festival:

Anthony Hamilton, RVA Jazz Festival at Maymont

Anthony Hamilton threw it up and took it all of the way down at the Richmond Jazz Festival on Sunday evening.

New Edition, RVA Jazz Festival at Maymont

New Edition kicked it old-school on Saturday night.

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5 Reasons Why Black Girls Rock Rocks the World

Last night’s semi-annual awards ceremony for Black Girls Rock! was well, rockin’. The show, broadcast until infinity on BET and Centric, is a celebration of trailblazing and landmark Black girls and women in all spheres of life. In the world of Black Girls Rock, you don’t need to be a superstar with a hit record or a summer blockbuster. All you have to be is a woman who is dedicated to being a leader and being the best she can be. There are SO MANY THINGS I loved about last night’s show…Here are the Top 5 Reasons why Black Girls Rock rocked so hard.

  1. The Honorees
  2. The Music
  3. The Fashion
  4. The Sisterhood
  5. The Message

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Let Bruno Mars Uptown Funk Up Your Day Job

Friday. I’m so restless. I want to be out in the wide world, frolicking and dancing, singing and twirling. But mama’s got bills to pay, so I’m at work. Fortunately, I’m a creative and blasting the jams is part of my PROCESS.  Producer Mark Ronson’s newest release, “Uptown Special” is near ready-made for getting the creative juices flowing. The first release from the album is “Uptown Funk” featuring my petite brown prince, Bruno Mars. The groove flowed all the way through me. All the way. Before long, I had the song on repeat and Bruno was practically my cube-mate. Since Bruno was bringing ALLA the funk to my day job, taking sartorial inspiration from the man was a natural next step.

Do that dance, boy!

Do that dance, boy!

The elements that made Bruno’s outfit retro and hilarious could easily be translated into a sophisticated but eclectic workday style.

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