Facebook

Maybe African-Americans in Hollywood are slowly learning that if no one will give us the “green light” for programming we’d like to see, we have to start doing it for ourselves.

Enter Alchemy Networks. The new channel which joined forces with YouTube in December, was founded by media veteran Peter Griffith and will center around urban lifestyle and celebrity entertainment. It will also feature original programming.

Griffith told Lee Bailey of EURweb that they’re not interested in being the biggest channel but instead, they want to be the best within every market they target. In fact, they didn’t just “sign on” with YouTube when they came to the table with their ideas. Griffith, along with his partners Alvin Williams, Anthony Maddox ad Xothil Arkin, came up with their own plan, took it back to YouTube and hoped they were still on board:

“What we told them was ‘We’re not the same.’ Let us come back to them and tell what we thought was the best way to approach this community,” he recalled. “And we came to them and said ‘Look. What we’d like to do is develop not just one channel, but several channels that target different demographics of the African-American community.”

Luckily, YouTube jumped aboard. So far, they have two premium channels: Kaleidoscope, which targets 18-34 year olds with a focus on music, gossip and entertainment as well as FWD, launching this month, which targets 25-54 year olds with a focus on the same but also including beauty and fashion.

Kandi Burruss is the first celebrity to sign on with the network. Her new show, Kandi & Friends, will debut later this month. There’s been no word if it’ll be similar to her own show Kandi Koated Nights but it will feature some of her celebrity friends.

Alchemy, to date, boasts one million views per week and has 900,000 subscribers.

Hopefully, with the formation of Alchemy Networks and other independent online shows, we will see more programming that we’ve longed for. Over time, who knows? It might even filter onto actual television stations.

Will you check out Alchemy channels on YouTube?

Gone are the days when a man provided all of the financial support for his wife and children. Now, studies are showing that increasing numbers of us women are actually earning more (sometimes way more) than our boyfriends and husbands. And like all shifting societal norms, Hollywood is keeping right up with the trend. So, viva la sugar mama!

Photo Credit: Karen Cornell/WENN.com

Oprah

With a net worth of $2.7 billion, Oprah would be hard pressed to find a man that she wouldn’t be a sugar mama to. So why stress about it? Oprah has been happily partnered with Stedman Graham since 1986 and neither of the two seems to be complaining. Plus he’s still got his own ends — maybe not $2.7 billion worth — but he’s not hurting.

So America’s sweetheart Jennifer Aniston is finally engaged. I must admit, I too breathed a sigh of relief when I heard Brad Pitt’s ex-wife finally found love with her boo thang Justin Theroux. Somehow, that image of homewrecker Angelina Jolie #winning with Mr. Pitt didn’t sit too well with the public and America was definitely waiting for the 43-year-old to put her whole divorce past to rest.

We’re certainly happy for Ms. Aniston but we’re not thinking about her wedding day – we’re too busy waiting for our very own celeb sistahs to find love with Mr. Right. These ladies  have gone through their fair share of heart ache and singlehood. It’s time for them to find Mr. Right and grace us with a magazine spread of their wedding so we can all delight in their joys.

D. Salters/WENN.com

Man, what can we say about Jill Scott’s romantic life? We never ever thought that she’d divorce Lyzel after we heard about him all up and down her stunning debut “Who Is Jill Scott?” But it goes to show you that you never know what goes on behind closed doors. After her break up with Lyzel, Scott had a romance with her drummer Jon Roberts. They were engaged, had a baby boy, and broke up. Judging by her numerous interviews, the relationship definitely took a toll on Scott. Considering we know how much of a passionate person she is, we want her to find love again and make “falling in love” music again soon.

“Beat the heat” may have started off as a chant in the NBA finals, but it’s clear those three words are going to become more of a personal mantra as we face some of the hottest days on record. I am no fan of those unattractively hot and muggy days when it feels like my sweat is sweating. In fact, my favorite days are when the temps are in the 70 to 75 degree range accompanied by a slight breeze. And if I’m anywhere near the ocean or a pool, the day could easily turn into a pure love fest.

But judging by recent forecasts, Mother Nature hasn’t given any #@*&s about my- or anyone else’s love fest. But alas, I’m nixing my original plan of holing up inside with central air conditioning until September and have instead decided to embrace the balmy weather and make the best of it.

Here are the summer essentials that will help keep me cool, calm and collected:

Kandi recently sported this braid bun to the Bravo TV upfronts.

1. Braided bun

Getting my hair braided (after not donning braids for almost 10 years) is one of the best decisions I made all year. A braided bun keeps hair off of my neck and face and minimizes my morning prep time. And it’s a chic style that works for both the boardroom and the beach!

Source: Realitytea.com

For sex to be such a “taboo” topic in the black community as RHOA’s Kandi Burruss says, she sure had no problem discussing it with Bethenny Frankel on the reality television star’s talk show Bethenny.

Kandi came on the show to talk about her line of sex toys and why black men don’t like vibrators, and according to NecoleBitchie.com

“When Bethenny asked Kandi how she became a voice for black women who wanted to be more liberated when it comes to sex, she responded:

Well the crazy thing is I didn’t try to make it a race issue. I think because I’m black, obviously, I had a lot of people come up to me and say “Did you realize you’re the face of black women being more liberated and talking about sex,” and I didn’t realize that until now. In our community, that black community, it is very hush hush to talk about sex. Everything is hush hush, like you can’t talk about that.

Bethenny also asked Kandi about the stereotype of black men not liking toys in the bedroom and Kandi responded:

Black men a lot of times are not down with that at all because it’s this whole thing of ‘Black men are supposed to be swinging,’ which a lot of them are not! But they feel like ‘You don’t need that, I’m handling things around here.’ A lot of times men are pretty much guaranteed to get the “AHHHHH” moment. We don’t always get the “AHHHHH” moment every single time. So if we don’t get that every single time, why can’t we get a little bit of extra…?”

Sex doesn’t seem to be as much “taboo” a topic as it is just intimate. There are some things you don’t have to talk about on national television. Keeping certain topics to yourself doesn’t make those things negative, it just makes them private. I don’t understand how she figures black people don’t talk about sex anyway. What alternate universe does Kandi live in? From my view, it seems that is all black music, movies, magazines, reality shows and Black Twitter talk about lately. If anything, in our current culture of overshare, privacy itself is taboo.

What do you think? Is Kandi right about sex being “hush hush” in the black community?

More on Madame Noire!

• It Must Be the Money: 7 Swag-Based Celeb Crushes That We Don’t Understand
• Love Is To ‘Love & Hip-Hop’ What Real Wives Are To ‘Basketball Wives’: Ain’t None
• Single Black Male: Stop Giving Up the Cookies Ladies, Men WILL Wait for Sex
• Where Are They Now? Now Defunct “Making The Band” Groups: Da Band and Danity Kane
• Are You Dealing With a Real Man Or A Little Boy? 7 Signs You’ve Got a Grown A** Man
• Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Will I Lose My Femininity With My Hair Length?
• Is There Such A Thing As Natural Beauty? My Journey Away From Make-Up

Source: theybf.com

It seems like everybody is popping up out of hiding and trying to get back into the game of hip-hop. Maybe Nicki’s success has sparked this renewed interest, or maybe it’s really just the recession and folks have bills to pay. Either way, Solé, you know, the wife of Ginuwine, she’s planning on getting back into the music game. I haven’t seen her since “4,5,6″ and the song “Who Dat” with J.T.  Money. Photos were released recently of Miss Lady on the set of a her newest music video for a song called, “A New Look.” She’s been out of the rap game for a while, busy being a mom (she has two kids with Ginuwine, and two others from a previous relationship), a wife, and arguing with Ginuwine stans on Twitter.  She’s looking pretty healthy, and pretty much the same, so this is a very interesting comeback, but I guess we should let the music speak for itself. Check out the new single below and let us know if it’s a pass or play for you. And let us know what you think of her throwback look. Good luck, girl!

Source: theybf.com

Source: theybf.com

What do you think? Pass or play? And if that’s not floating your boat…THROWBACK TIME!

Kandi knows she loves to be on a ratchet track, lol.

More on Madame Noire!

• Didn’t You Think They’d Last? 7 Surprising Celebrity Breakups
• Where Are They Now? The Cast of “Good Times”
• You Remind Me Of My Jeep: 7 Songs That Make You Want To (Joy) Ride
• Ready For The Beach: Swimsuits For Every Body Type and Style
• Gabourey Sidibe and Kelly Ripa Stumble Over Afros, Normal Hair, and Being Americanized
• The Sweet Brown Viral Video: Embarrassed? Why You Shouldn’t Be
• NEW MN WEB SERIES: “Ask A Black Man” Episode 3: The SEX Episode
• How Old is Too Old? Mayim Bialik (aka Blossom) Still Breastfeeds her 3-Year-Old Son

by Cortney Cleveland

“Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kandi Burruss continues to expand her empire, one well-chosen product at a time. Fans of the Bravo series are already familiar with Kandi’s new adult toy collection, Bedroom Kandi but the starlet recently announced she was adding digital technology to the mix with Kandi Koated Spades, billed as the first “urban” Spades app for iPhone/iPad users.

Critics of the reality star may find her ventures to be slightly eccentric. However, Kandi is showing a refined sense of business savvy. An adult toy line and a Spades app may seem like random products to build an empire with, but both product lines cater to a niche market and are in line with her personal brand.

By definition, a niche market is a narrowly defined group of potential customers. A business that focuses on a niche market is concerned with addressing the needs of this group with a product or service that is not being supplied by mainstream providers. Most people think that a bigger market automatically equals more profits. But, a niche market makes it easier to give customers what they want because they are easier to find and their needs are more narrowly defined.

On her show, Kandi has often spoken of wanting to introduce African-American women to adult toys with her line. Targeting an underserved group not only allows her to face less competition, but also gives her the opportunity to educate her target audience and establish herself as an authority in her industry. This authority status will draw more customers to her brand.

The case is similar with her new app. There are plenty of card game apps available, but few specifically cater to an urban audience. Kandi and her team noticed a void in the market and filled it with a product tailored to their target audience. Kandi Koated Spades was designed to reflect the fast-paced, “trash-talking” style of Spades popular in the African-American community with features such as “Reneg,” “Deuces Wild,” and “Jokers.”

Kandi is definitely on to something with the Beroom Kandi sex toy line she announced she’s launching on the season premier of the Real Housewives of Atlanta.

A new study by Indiana University’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion asked over 3,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 60 if they thought vibrators were intimidating to a woman’s partner. Seventy percent of men disagreed or strongly disagreed, and 63% of women disagreed or strongly disagreed.

This response makes sense according to Dr. Charlie Glickman, Education Manager of the sex shop GoodVibes. He told the Loop21:

We have seen more men coming to us to get vibrators, whether for a partner or to use together. As more women have discovered how much fun vibes can be, more guys have become willing to include them in their sex lives.

As long as you don’t end up with an injury like this woman, it sounds like it’s all good.

Have you ever tried to convince your man to bring vibrators into the bedroom? What was his reaction?

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

More on Madame Noire!

• Sit Down Boo Boo: 7 Types of Arrogant Men
• Get the Hair Look: Keke Palmer’s Beach Waves
• StyleBlazer Video: “How I Made It” Episode 1 – Essence Editor Mikki Taylor
• 7 Reasons Nice Guys Finish First
• 8 Reasons Your First Date — Might Be Your Last
• Ask a Very Smart Brotha: Nervous Virgin & an Eager Wifeseeker
• 20 Ways to Relate, Release & Refresh on a Budget

Kandi Burruss, star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and new spin-off show, The Kandi Factory, was in New York City yesterday making press rounds to promote the upcoming season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Season 4 is set to premiere this Sunday, November 6th, and as always, we can expect lots of drama!

Speaking of drama, Kandi brought exactly that with this city chic ensemble! Her cropped black leather jacket gives off a rocker vibe and contrasts nicely with her feminine purple satin top. A skinny fuchsia belt and abstract art-inspired skirt in black & white add more color and personality to the look.  This brings us to the shoes.  Womp! Womp!  Sadly, I’m not a fan!  These lace-up booties are a bit too much for this outfit and practically cut her legs in half.  A pair of ankle booties or classic pumps should have been worn instead.  Both choices would have elongated her legs, which is always a better look. Those thin silver earrings are cute and are the only jewelry she needs.

When it comes to her hair and makeup, Kandi is winner!  She keeps it neutral, using champagne eyeshadow and subtle black eyeliner.  A dark brown lipstick adds just enough color to her lips.  Not one to shy away from bright color-treated hair (like red or honey blonde), Kandi has finally found the perfect shade to compliment her skin tone.  This auburn brown, with added length, warms up her complexion and still manages to look natural and sophisticated.

Overall, I’d say Kandi’s look is a “Style to Steal!” I love the playfulness of it and the layered look is right on trend for fall.

What do you think?  Are you digging her style? Let us know in the comments.

More on Madame Noire!

• 6 Good Reasons to Date “Other” Men
• Hair Foods: Nourishing Products Straight From Your Kitchen
• Uh, Come Get Your Kids! Things SOME Parents Need to Stop Doing
• Rapper Wale Wants to Advocate for Black Women: Please Don’t
• Falling in Love with an Ugly Man
• Kris Humphries Before and After: Did Kim Kardashian Kill His Hot?
• Fall Shows That Are Winners (Bonus: And They Have Some Black Characters!)

Just after a friend sent me an email about how Hot she felt after a pole dancing class, I see “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Nene Leakes dishing on how she felt empowered back in her stripper days.

She told Essence.com, “I sold a fantasy, not p***y. I felt powerful. I made a ton of money and I couldn’t stop. I went and bought a brand new car, I was paying for my son’s tuition. I thought of the men as an ATM machine.” Now I know why she gets along with Kandi.

Is it just me, or has she told this story before? Anyway, I’m sure there’s a huge diff between playing on the pole and working it, but I can see how you could get caught up in the money and providing a fantasy to men willing to turn over their paychecks for a tease. What do think about Nene’s comments. Do you support pole dancing, either for real or sport?

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

More on Madame Noire!

• The 6 Most Difficult Men To Date
• More than Dinner and a Movie: 7 Creative and Fun Date Ideas
• “JET” Magazine Over the Years
• Does Darker Skin Equal More Sexual Availability?
• Ask The Luv Coach: “I’m in Love With Him, But He’s Homeless”
• Offline Rules For Online Dating… The Etiquette for E-Love
• Splurge-Worthy Wraps (Plus Wallet-Friendly Alternatives)