On November 18, 2015 WEEN hosted their 5th annual WEEN Awards in honor of outstanding individuals with a proven commitment to the empowerment of women worldwide. Despite the four-hour trip, I couldn’t pass up an evening of networking with my peers and leaders in the media and entertainment industry. Attendees included honorees Cari Champion, Rocsi Diaz, Marilyn Mosby, Tiffany Smith Anoa’i, Naturi Naughton, Regina Hall, and Faith Evans, as well as Kevin Liles, Judy Smith, Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee and Ja Rule. The event was held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, N.Y.
May the female pop star reign supreme. At least in my head anyway. After Aaliyah, Beyonce, Janet and Whitney it took me weeks to choose another icon for my costume this year. Thankfully I decided just in time–Chilli!
I’ll skip the details on the chalk, scissors, straight pins, needle and thread, AND the black boots (I wore my uggs, they were perfect!). The most difficult piece of the costume is the leotard.
I searched EVERYWHERE for a black body harness/black bra combo that would do the trick, to no avail. (If anyone is able to find one please leave the details in the comments section!) I decided to make it a DIY project and create my own. I bought a sleeveless black turtleneck leotard (Amazon – $20). It was great quality.
How to Customize the Leotard: While trying on the leotard, I outlined what sections to cut and sew with chalk (see image below). From there (one at a time) I cut out each section, and used a simple backstitch to sew along the edge of the cutout for a polished look. Note: After sewing up each section, it is helpful to try on the leotard and confirm your chalk outlines are still accurate — I had to resize some of them based on the additional stretch of the material.
I chose not to cut out the back of the leotard (moreso because I ran out of time!), however you can create the same “T” shape, by using the same method.
The blue lines indicate where you should cut (you are leaving some excess cloth to fold under for the backstitch) The red lines indicate where you should use the backstitch for a clean, polished look.
With the leotard in good shape, only a few additional items needed!
The black cargo pants can be found at your local large retail store, I found mine at Target (Wrangler – $20). Make sure to get them a size or two bigger than your preferred size so you have the 90’s “sag.”
To recreate the belt, I bought a removable buckle belt (Amazon – $5), and a belt buckle (Amazon – $9). Though I had to buy the belt buckle from Amazon (again, last minute decisions!), I found an even cheaper one Etsy. I then used red puffy paint (also known as fabric paint) (Michaels – $1) to fill in the belt buckle for that neon red look.
And that’s it! Please feel free to add any additional suggestions for the costume in the comments section below.
Andra Day performed at U Street Music Hall on October 18, to promote her debut album Cheers to the Fall. Watch snippets from her phenomenal set including “Gold,” “Forever Mine,” “Rise Up,” “Mistakes,” and her encore cover of “Big Poppa.”
My rendition of “(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow,” the classic ballad from The Wizard of Ozin the style of Katharine McPhee (as performed on American Idol, Season 5). Accompanied by the best pianist I know, my dad. Find all my covers and performances here.
When the first-ever Landmark Music Festival was announced in April, I immediately took an interest in it’s development. The premise simple, but effective — in order to raise money to support the restoration and curation of the National Mall, The Trust for the National Mall would host a music festival to kick off a massive fundraising effort, the Landmark Campaign.
An ambitious idea, but one at the intersection of my interests–music and philanthropy–I had to see if they could put on a profitable, one-of-a-kind festival. But with so many music festivals crowding the music sphere, amongst many other obstacles, how would the Landmark Music Festival stand out, how would it succeed?
“It sometimes takes years of development to get these events into profitability,”says Bob Roux, Live Nation’s copresident of U.S. concerts. In the earlier days of U.S. festivals, it was easier for independent companies to build a festival on niche music, like jam bands or electronic-dance DJs. That’s not the case today. “There’s a lot more politics and a lot more investment to make something happen,” says Insomniac’s Rotella. (Rolling Stone, 2014)
The Cause
Landmark Music Festival kicks off [a] monumental national campaign to bring awareness and funds to America’s Front Yard — all in a single Festival weekend unlike any other. (landmarkfestival.org)
It’s All in the details
Free tickets, including VIP! Landmark provided MANY opportunties for people to win tickets, through their own campaigns and affiliates (i.e. radio) leading up to the event. Luckily for me, I won a pair!
#MakeYourMark Tent. In case you were unfamilar with the events cause, this fun setup had interactive info about the mall and the cause, while also serving as a lounge, flash tat distributor, a phone charging station, and photo booth!
Space to breathe! The event was held at West Potomac Park, which had more than enough acreage for the reported 50,000 attendees to sprawl out. Of course crowds were tight directly in front of the stage, but you could easily take a few steps back to stand comfortably on the outskirts, with a great view of the performers.
Fun in the #MakeYourMark tent!
“A” for Effort, “S” for Execution
Despite a great menu, long (long) lines for food and drink definitely put a damper on the day for many festival goers.
Inclement weather. When it began to rain (which was not forecasted), conveniently, all the tents, booths, etc. closed down a bit early, and the few ponchos available from a vendor were quickly distributed and unavailable. The majority of the crowd (awaiting Drake) were left to vend on their own.
But really, it’s all about the music…
Wale. My first performance of the day, Wale definitely got things going in a hurry. His set was all about showing love to the city that made him. He may (or may not) have had one too many before the set — things got weird at the end of the set as he ran into the crowd, and sproadically changed the set list as he went along, but overall Wale’s performance, an Wale himself, were endearing, entertaining, and infectious.
Miguel. As much as I love his voice, records he’s written, his first album — I never really connected with 2015’s Wildheart and wasn’t familiar with many of the songs he performed; from a few looks around at the audience, there were many others who didn’t either. Nonetheless, he performed his heart out and who doesn’t love his voice?
As the Trust for the National Mall begins to plan for next year’s festival, they have to continue to cultivate an identity, specifically around the music. I was attracted to the bigger names (moreso based on genre rather than the mass appeal), however I had much less incentive to attend on Sunday which featured more niche acts.
