Source: WENN

Beverly Bond

Calling: Founder of “Black Girls Rock!”

Why we’re saluting her: 

How could the woman behind “Black Girls Rock” not rock? Beverly Bond is a renowned DJ and model who became known for more than her spins around the NYC nightclub arena when she founded the movement, “Black Girls Rock!,” in 2006.

Though Bond always had a passion for music, she delayed her entry into the New York club scene because she felt is was too big of a responsibility to keep people dancing and having a good time all night as a DJ. So instead, Bond pursued the word of modeling at the age of 17 and immediately landed contracts with Elite New Faces and Wilhemina.

Bond posed for major brands like Diesel Jeans, Guess, and Nike  in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and as the money came rolling in, so did the number of records she owned. When Bond’s regular record player broke, she bought a turntable just to have something to player her vinyl on, but when she actually gave mixing and scratching a try, she told Contemporary Black Biography she found out she was “kinda nice.”

Still running from her calling, Bond decided to pursue acting after her modeling career died down some, but rather than go the Hollywood route she seemed destined for, she finally admitted in 1999 she wanted to be a DJ, and a year later she became known as DJ Beverly Bond.

In just a year, Bond became an A-lister, spinning for Diddy and even Prince, traveling worldwide and making appearances with Musiq Soulchild and Erykah Badu, and landing spots on BET’s Rap City and NBC’s Weekend Vibe. A few years later, she began to not only play music, but also produce it. She also took to producing something else: award shows for Black girls.

Sensing that there were not enough positive Black role models for girls to look up to, Bond began a mentoring program to try to balance the scales. In 2006, that effort formerly became “Black Girls Rock,” and now the network she used to DJ for is broadcasting her award show on their station every year, with the support of star players like Tracee Ellis Ross and Regina King. For pursuing her true calling and giving back to Black girls around the world at the same time, we salute Beverly Bond.

Click here to meet all of our salutes.

Change can represent a lot in one’s career. From changing your sound as an artist, or stepping out of your comfort zone, it can work out for the best–and sometimes for the worst. (Anyone remember Joaquin Phoenix’s meta attempt at rapping??)  Despite that train wreck, most celebs have had successful career changes and have been better than ever. Here’s a look at some of the best (and not so great) career changes.

Source: karaoke-lyrics.net

Queen Latifah — Best

[Rapper to TV Star, to Academy Award Winning Actress and Jazz Singer]

Queen La went from rapping about “Ladies First” and rocking afrocentric garb, including some pretty sick hats, to acting on a weekly television program that we all loved. If that wasn’t enough, she did big things on the silver screen too, gaining critical acclaim for her work in movies like Set It Off and obtaining an Academy Award nomination for her role as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago. Since becoming a household name, she’s been picked as a CoverGirl, and she’s also had the chance to sing jazz music (even though she’s been singing for years) and releasing soul music albums. Latifah proved that staying in your own lane is indeed for suckers.

“Last night, the deejay saved my life.”

If only I could proclaim that every weekend night that I get to make it out and attempt to boogie.

Hello DJ aka the person who has the power to make or break my night,

I’d like to plead with you here for a moment. Nowhere is the saying “good help is hard to find” more applicable than in your industry. I’m someone who appreciates good music when I’m on the dancefloor. And when I’m talking about “good” music, I’m talking about great beats. That’s all that matters when folks are trying to boogie. I don’t care whose singing the song – I just care that the rhythms lift my mood and inspire me break it down.

There is certainly an art to moving the crowd and although all of you have gotten into the game to do just exactly that, some of you are failing miserably. How, you ask? Well, let’s not state the obvious. Some of you just can’t pick songs.

You can already tell by now that I’m serious about my dance night outs, so I’ve whittled down the number of places that I can go to in New York city to a few. When I moved to the city, I tried many places and was astounded at how many bad DJs there were plaguing the streets. Is it so difficult? In such a competitive field and in such a competitive city, you’d think it would be rare to stumble into a venue where you’d hear a bad mix. But nope. Not the case. I realized that the people who are employing you (random bar owners for the most part) don’t know much themselves. In any case, let me set out some guidelines that can possibly guide you in handling your critical job better:

1. Never play a song from beginning to end. Talk about buzzkill. We dancers and drinkers have temporary ADD when we’re out on a Saturday night, and it’s up to you to keep up entranced by great beats. If we wanted to hear a full-length song, wouldn’t we stay at home and play our albums? Learn how to cut a song and mix it in with the next song. There’s nothing like the excitement of hearing a beat laced in with a song, hinting at the next great song that’s about to drop.

2. Keep up the tempo. Listen deejays- you can’t go from Biggie Smalls’ “Big Poppa” to Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved?” unless you’re trying to tell everyone that the club is about to shut down. You can see that this transition doesn’t work by looking at the crowd. Are they walking off the floor?

3. Speaking of which, pay attention to the crowd. I’m not saying you have to take every request but you should be able to read your audience’s reaction to the music you’re playing. If folks are walking off the dance floor in droves or you’re failing to get anyone moving, you need to obviously pick up the pace a bit.

4. Get Creative. You’re a DJ after all. You don’t have to always resort to playing the top 40 songs or the most cliche old school songs to be a crowd pleaser. Start studying what combinations and what selections are often overlooked but are also hot. I would appreciate an old skool routine that didn’t include “They Reminisce Over You” once in a while.

5. Stop With The Generic Mix of Reggae. Did you guys all get together and decide that you’d play the same 5 reggae songs for your brief little reggae mix? I mean, really. It’s crazy. Every night out to a hip hop club, without fail, I hear the following same songs: Action, Heads High, Ting-a-Ling, etc.

So this is all I’m saying, if I haven’t  been clear thus far: you guys are important to the sanity of us folks who have been grinding hard all week and ready to release all the tensions of the world on the dancefloor. We come to you for soul nourishment. All we ask is that you take your job seriously, and recognize it for the empowering force that it is.

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By Makula Dunbar

In the business world, there are countless avenues that inquiring minds can travel down to both create establishments/hustles within and capitalize on. A plethora of industries including: public relations, marketing, advertising, retail and entertainment have proven to boast racial and gender diversity — many featured here on Madame Noire.

However, an industry that is in the least traveled by African-American businesswomen just happens to be one that the black community frequents most; nightlife. Though the owners, party throwers, managers and DJs in the 23 billion dollar industry are scattered, there are a few here and there making headway. Meet three African-American women working to narrow the gap; making it in the nightlife business.

The Life of the Party: Branding, building and overall business

It’s 1:00 p.m. in Los Angeles. DJ Asha is just waking up. On a pleasant Friday afternoon, it’s not easy to gather that she’s an unconventional early bird. Though for anyone whose job keeps them up until 7:00 a.m., it’s difficult to call if even 4:00 p.m. is a decent waking hour.

“I was DJing last night so I got in pretty late,” she said sounding far from drowsy. It’s kind of expected as she’s had her fair share of practice hyping up crowds.

“When you’re DJing you have the music in your headphones and the monitor speakers right next to you. There’s all this loud music in your face, people coming up to you taking pictures, conversations and stuff,” Asha explained. “You get home and your head is still going over the great mix that you played. By 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 in the morning you’re fairly hungry, so I may end up getting some food after the club or watching a movie. My brain is still buzzing so it takes a minute to unwind.”

Three years ago Asha packed up to pursue party-throwing full-time on the West coast leaving two radio gigs in her home country London. What started out as moral support for a nervous roommate learning to DJ evolved into a non-stop party once Asha decided to learn the turntable ropes as well. After graduating with a degree in biotechnology she began playing at clubs in locales like Dubai Bulgaria, Russia, Greece, Lithuania and Italy. It was in Ibiza, Spain that she ran into hip-hop’s self-proclaimed party king P. Diddy. Through party promoters in London, Asha earned an opportunity to play at one of Diddy’s parties. After hearing a set in Spain, he sent out a personal request.

“In Ibiza all they do is party. They go from one big club to the next from 6 p.m. to sometimes lunchtime. It’s pretty expensive and people save up all year; it’s a big deal. If you’re a DJ playing in Ibiza, it’s like playing at the World Cup,” she said.

For the most part, Asha says club owners love international DJs — especially ones from London who have an eclectic knowledge and taste in various music genres.

by Marissa Ellis

Deejaying is a skill and artform, says the constantly evolving Erykah Badu, who has been recently selected as a Serato Icon. In the video interview above, Badu talks about her influences as well as her own journey to becoming a great deejay and playing “weatherman” to the crowd.” She’s a good deejay she says, but a “great selector.”

Can you imagine hearing a set curated by Ms. Badu herself? We’d imagine it would be no less than sublime.

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Source: TheYBF

Hide your ears, hide your eyes. Frankie is back on TV right alongside her daughter, Keyshia Cole, and her son-in-law and grandbaby in a new BET series, “Family First.”

This time around, the show is a little less reality TV and a little more documentary like as a six-part series following Keyshia’s new life as wife of NBA player Daniel Gibson, and mother to their son DJ. We’ll also be caught up on Keyshia’s music, footage of her Hawaii dream wedding last May, and insight into her more vulnerable side.

Where there’s Frankie, there could quite possibly be Neffe but since the show just started production it’s too soon to say. All we do know is “Family First” is set to air sometime this fall.

Are you looking forward to this?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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From Black Voices.com.

Angel’s magnificent mane (it’s all hers), Hot retro wardrobe (she turns lingerie into streetwear) and free-spirited personality (she’s most comfortable traveling the world and living out of a suitcase) are just a few reasons we dig this British beauty.

Having lived in Maui, New York, Mexico City, Berlin, Paris, Uganda, and Toronto, Angel’s closet is an awesome compilation of worldly finds.

But it’s her fashion-forward parents that get the credit for inspiring Angel’s disco-diva style.

She describes her mother as fashion obsessed and imaginative and her father as a combination of Marvin Gaye, Mr. T, and George Clinton. Sounds fab!

From her slinky maxi dresses to floral harem pants, we’re definitely loving Angel’s unique look.

Check out this video to see what Angel had to say about her style, her hair, growing up as a biracial kid and her music at Black Voices.com. 

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Source: MyDamnBlog.com

While the world’s eyes have been glued on Beyoncé, her sister Solange has been quietly maturing into an artistic force in her own right. The younger Knowles has come a long way from dancing back up for Destiny’s Child. Her transformation from mini-Beyoncé to indie artist and budding fashionista shows the importance of finding your own path rather than following someone else’s. She is proof that success comes when you are true to yourself.

Taking the Path Most Traveled Gets You Nowhere 

How many remember Bow Wow’s video for “Puppy Love”? Solange had a few acting roles in movies and television, but for many this cameo was her introduction. From the very beginning of her career she was groomed to follow in her sister’s footsteps. Her father, Matthew Knowles, even considered adding Solange to the Destiny’s Child line up following the group’s 2004 reunion. Clearly, that didn’t work out.

Solange started working on her debut album, Solo Star, when she was just 14. The album consisted of cookie cutter contemporary R&B. It barely made an impact, debuting at number 49 on the Billboard 200 and selling 112,000 copies domestically despite the involvement of the top producers of the time. Many brushed Solange off as Beyoncé’s wannabe kid sister.

Self Discovery – It’s All in the Journey

In 2004, Solange became a teen mom and married her high school sweetheart. Becoming a mother, wife, and a resident of Idaho (where her husband went to college) at the age of 18 would force anyone to mature quickly. The experience changed the way she saw herself.

“Idaho made me realize that I can be in any environment and survive,” she said during a 2008 interview with Sister 2 Sister. “And I didn’t realize this, as a woman – that I would step up that much to the plate.” Solange’s personal growth seemed to immediately influence her professional work. She started working on her sophomore album following her divorce and took on a decidedly more organic, empowered sound.

Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams barely outsold her debut album, but critics responded to her more modern take on R&B. Solange could’ve let the album’s disappointing sales deter her from her newfound path. Another artist might have abandoned experimentation in favor of the safety of formulas and gimmicks. Instead Solange continued to explore herself. She started spinning records before celebrity DJ’s became all the rage, hosting parties at nightclubs across the country. Soon her adventurous style choices started to appear on urban blogs.

In Full Bloom

Solange is finally beginning to receive accolades, and for nothing less than being herself.  She has gone from hobbyist to in-demand DJ for exclusive industry events. With her recently signed contract with Next models, and appearances in ads for Rimmel cosmetics and the runways of Milan, she is now a certified fashion “it” girl. Her bold color and texture combinations continue to catch the eye of the fashion industry’s elite, and her current gigs include blogging for UK Vogue.

Solange has expressed that she doesn’t have a desire to replicate her sister’s career or level of stardom. Why would she? She has indie credibility and a cool factor that would make any mainstream pop star envious. Solange has crafted a career that only requires that she pursue her passions and improve at what she enjoys doing.  Further proving that conformity is not the only road to success, or a guaranteed one. Solange dared to break the mold and be an individual. Now she’s reaping the rewards.

Cortney Cleveland is a public relations practitioner and freelance culture & business writer working in New York City. You can follow her on Twitter @CleveInTheCity.

Will and Jada Pinkett’s marriage may reportedly be on the verge of ending, but that hasn’t stopped the couple from expanding their media empire. Their company, Overbrook Entertainment, is partnering with Simon Cowell’s SYCO Entertainment to produce a new international reality show to find the world’s greatest DJ.

The show, which has been in development for over a year, will capture the rise of the DJ phenomena and both entertainment companies, along with Sony Pictures Television, are expected to announce their broadcast partners in the U.S. and the UK soon.

“This show will comb the world to find a new breed of talent,” Jada says. “I am happy to be creating it alongside Simon Cowell, the Sony team, and my partner Miguel Melendez, on behalf of the Overbrook family.”

Simon says as soon as he met Jada and Miguel he knew they were the ideal business partners:

“DJ’s are the new rock stars, it feels like the right time to make this show.”

I’m not super excited about the show concept, but signing off on new business ventures could be a good sign for Will and Jada’s marriage…maybe.

What do you think about the search for the world’s greatest DJ?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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People magazine chatted with Idris Elba after his win at the Golden Globe Awards Sunday night and came up with Five things to Know About Idris Elba, but there’s really only one thing most women want to know: Is he available?

From the sounds of things, Idris isn’t taken, given that he says he splits his time between Atlanta where his daughter and ex-wife (emphasis on ex) live, and his native London, but anybody thinking of taming this swexy Brit may have their hands full. He told the magazine:

“Never date a DJ or an actor. There are too many women around them.”

Hmm. So does this mean the fame could make things complicated or Dj Driis isn’t interested in resisting temptation? Perhaps he’s just channeling some of that bad boy charm he’s used to portraying in his characters like drug boss Stringer Bell on “The Wire,” which he said sparked “Stringer Mania:”

“Bad guys are attractive to women period, and most are not afraid to admit that. Guys respond to his stealth, his ruthlessness, and the way the man calculates every situation.”

While Idris may not be a total bad guy in real life, he does claim to be a “nightmare” to date. Somehow I think women could manage to get past that though, if he’s as much of a dream in the kitchen as he claims.

“I’m pretty decent. I like spices and I like experimenting with stuff. I love rice and vegetables but I love meat, spicing up meats.”

He likes to keep things spicy in more ways than one, he also told PEOPLE his favorite thing to wear is his birthday suit.

“It causes trouble walking down the street. But my birthday suit is my most comfortable,” he said. “I wear my birthday suit at home, in the bath or in the shower. Yeah, I’m pretty comfortable in my skin that way.”

Yeah, what was that part about being a nightmare to date again?

What do you think about Idris’s comment on never dating a DJ or an actor? Wise advise or would you take a chance?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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