HEY OUTTOWNERS, OUTSTAGRS, AND
COUTURIANS....
CHECK OUT THIS WEEK
COUTURIANS....
CHECK OUT THIS WEEK
WE
ARE STAGIN!!!
OUTTOWN celebrates 11 years in existence! June 5 is our birthday. Thank you to our supporters for continuing to read us!
To read past blogs over the years go to
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In the meantime, here is a review from Los Angeles based entertainment producer Chrys Yvette who saw the show Your show brought tears to my eyes, especially the
ending. It was a perfect depiction of the Love childhood
friends can share to help their families understand the
impact rejection has on every aspect of their lives. Thank
you for saying so beautifully what one of my dearest
friends in the world could not say to us before he left
this earth. LOVE conquers All.
ending. It was a perfect depiction of the Love childhood
friends can share to help their families understand the
impact rejection has on every aspect of their lives. Thank
you for saying so beautifully what one of my dearest
friends in the world could not say to us before he left
this earth. LOVE conquers All.
Celebrity photographer Steven Williams said, 'The
ending made us warm and fuzzy."
to https://www.facebook.com/seanchristophedwyer/media_s
et?set=a.10153607392103803&type=3&pnref=story
UPDATE:Here is the link to the extended teaser with booking info. Go to
TO DONATE TO THE RESTAGING PROJECT OF SNAP HONEY GO TO
https://www.gofundme.com/2a6x6p8
OUR CURRENT CONTESTANTS OF 2017 MR COUTURE CONTESTANTS ARE
ANNOUNCED! TO SEE THE CONTESTANTS AND VOTE YOUR CHOICE GO TO
2016 Mr Couture contestant and Connecticut native Nate Brackett will be releasing his own 13-month calendar. For more info on pre-sales email to maat.atkins@gmail.com. Street date is July 16 2016.
For all of your jewelry needs go to
www.kilojoules4.com
OK NOW TO THE BITZ THIS WEEK
The big story this week was the airing of the 2016 BET Awards, a total of 7.2MM TUNED IN ACROSS 12 VIACOM NETWORKS FOR THE PREMIERE TELECAST at in Los Angeles ON SUNDAY, JUNE 26
According to reports, 2016 "BET AWARDS" RANKed AS THE #1 CABLE AWARD SHOW AMONG ADULTS 18-49 FOR THE 2015/2016 BROADCAST SEASON
#BETAWARDS 2016 DOMINATED AS THE #1 MOST SOCIAL PROGRAM OF THE NIGHT
THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA(R) DREW 165,000 FANS, INCREASING ATTENDANCE BY 10%
It was simulcast live across 12 Viacom networks including MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Logo, Spike and Centric - making it the largest simulcast of a Viacom-owned awards ceremony yet.
The highlights of the show were the opener by Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, the riveting speech from Grey’s Anatomy’s Jesse Williams when he receievd the Humanitarian Award, a full tilt tribute to Prince performed by Stevie Wonder, Tori Kelly, Bilal, Erykah Badu and The Roots, Jennifer Hudson and Sheila E. Also, the late great Muhammad Ali was praised by daughter Laila and Samuel L. Jackson was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by his Jungle Fever and Chi-Raq director Spike Lee.
His four minute speech talked about the indictment of systemic racism, cultural appropriation, white supremacy and privilege, blacks focusing on commercialism over activism.
According to the Huffington Post, the reaction to the speech was sweepingly positive. Jesse had augmented his place in the movement as that moment will easily go down in history as one of the most relevant speeches made by a celebrity on Black issues on such a vast platform. Many have already heralded him as the next Harry Belafonte with Ebony Magazine recently featuring a cover and photo spread of Belafonte passing an actual baton to Williams in a mock racial progress relay race.
Jesse walked off of the stage to a resounding standing ovation.
Soon after the social media reacted to his speech mainly on how "bae" he was. Then there was commentary on how can he be so militant with a white mother and the lightskinnedness. But our thing is, his speech had to be done and the BET Awards were the perfect place to do it where Black people would tune in as well as crossovers with it being shown on other Viacom owned stations.
’
And in more spin off from the BET Awards and Jesse's
speech, singer Justin Timberlake got clapped back after
tweeting about his speech.
He Tweeted:
speech, singer Justin Timberlake got clapped back after
tweeting about his speech.
He Tweeted:
"@iJesseWilliams tho...#Inspired #BET2016," Timberlake wrote, before the backlash immediately started.
People instantly accused the singer for of being hypocritical, for benefiting from black culture while not championing the Black Lives Matter cause. They also took shots at him for his reaction following Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction during their Super Bowl performance in 2004.
"Did you like the part when Jesse talked about white people stealing from us? That should resonate with you," blasted one Twitter user.
Added another, "So does this mean you’re going to stop appropriating our music and culture? And apologize to Janet too?"
Timberlake decided to respond: "Oh, you sweet soul," Timberlake wrote. "The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation."
But when the barrage of insults just got more extreme, the former boy bander decided it was time to explain his actions.
"I feel misunderstood," he wrote. "I responded to a specific tweet that wasn’t meant to be a general response. I shouldn’t have responded anyway..." he added.
"I forget this forum sometimes..." he went on. "I was truly inspired by @iJesseWilliams speech because I really do feel that we are all one... A human race. I apologize to anyone that felt I was out of turn. I have nothing but LOVE FOR YOU AND ALL OF US. --JT."
Debra Lee, the President of BET, was asked about the backlash from Justin Timberlake's tweet and said,
"I’m really sorry to hear there was a backlash on Justin Timberlake because Jesse is saying something everyone needs to hear."
Kanye West premiered the music video for "Famous" this week on Tidal that is causing controversy on the subject matter.
West told Vanity Fair that the video is "a comment on fame," and it definitely delivers on the fame. "Famous" includes 12 celebrities laying naked in a very long bed, with Kanye West at the center. The scene, originally imagined by American painter Vincent Desiderio, "directly inspired" West.
The cast of nudes is deliberately controversial, from Taylor Swift, who is referenced by misogynist lyrics in the song, to Bill Cosby, who West appeared to defend on Twitter earlier this year, to Rihanna, who is depicted laying next to her abuser Chris Brown. West said that he took great care to avoid a sexual vibe, though whether he's successful there will depend on how much viewers will be able to suspend their knowledge of the overt sexual drama between the video's characters.
West has remained coy about which—if any—of the celebrities in the bed are real. West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, is there, as is his mother-in-law Caitlyn Jenner. Rihanna, who guest-performs on the song, is in the bed. So are George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Also asleep in the bed are the likenesses of Anna Wintour, Taylor Swift, and West’s ex-girlfriend Amber Rose.
The cast of nudes is deliberately controversial, from Taylor Swift, who is referenced by misogynist lyrics in the song, to Bill Cosby, who West appeared to defend on Twitter earlier this year, to Rihanna, who is depicted laying next to her abuser Chris Brown. West said that he took great care to avoid a sexual vibe, though whether he's successful there will depend on how much viewers will be able to suspend their knowledge of the overt sexual drama between the video's characters.
West has remained coy about which—if any—of the celebrities in the bed are real. West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, is there, as is his mother-in-law Caitlyn Jenner. Rihanna, who guest-performs on the song, is in the bed. So are George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Also asleep in the bed are the likenesses of Anna Wintour, Taylor Swift, and West’s ex-girlfriend Amber Rose.
According to one critic, "Famous" is a spectacularly bizarre and enthralling experience and everything about the video for "Famous" feels obsessively deliberate. The night-flashlight camera look is eerily voyeuristic, almost predatory, and the video pores over the models like an amateur clinically documenting a crime scene. The figures themselves vary in appearance of realness, like Madame Tussauds models that can occasionally be seen breathing — an effect that's amplified when the music eventually cuts out but the filming continues. Consider the video in the context of “revenge porn”–the practice of jilted exes posting sex tapes or naked photos of their girlfriends online in an attempt to shame and humiliate them."
We think its genius for Kanye to release this video and the social and political commentary that we sure he knew would follow.
We think its genius for Kanye to release this video and the social and political commentary that we sure he knew would follow.
J. R. Smith became an American icon last week when he celebrated the Cavs' first-ever NBA title with a heartwarming press conference, followed by a steadfast refusal to wear a shirtfor a number of days. To cash in on his status, a Cleveland-based T-shirt company Fresh Brewed Tees, it produced a Shirtless J.R. tee. The company has teamed up with Smith as well as his tattoo artists to sell a shirt of J.R.'s bare tattooed torso.
TMZ spoke with Tony Madalone of Fresh Brewed Tees who immediately commissioned replicas of Smith's upper body for shirts ... and he says they've already sold 1,000 units ($35 a pop) in less than 24 hours.
The company realized some of J.R.'s tats could be problematic because they're based off trademarked images ... such as Michael Jordan's "Jumpman" logo. So, in an effort to skirt the issue ... FBT altered some of the tats. Some of the changes -- they removed the name "Jordan" from a #23 jersey and modified the "Jumpman" logo.
This tee will definitely be a collector's item and will be in the canon's of pop culture merchandise.
Naddour and Brooks, alternates on the 2012 men’s gymnastics team, will join Mikulak, Dalton and Orozco in Rio de Janeiro in August.
Mikulak, a four-time national champion, easily posted the highest all-around score through four rounds of qualifying. He was followed by Brooks, at 29 the oldest competitor in the field. Brooks put together six more steady rotations Saturday night and finished the selection process without the kind of hiccups that have dogged him throughout his career.
Orozco returns to the Olympics as a specialist following a trying stretch that included the death of his mother and a second Achilles injury last year.
Biles became the first American to win four consecutive national championships since Joan Moore Gnat from 1971-74. The U.S. women’s program was still in its infancy then. It’s the best in the world now by a large margin as it prepares to defend its Olympic title in Rio de Janeiro in August.
The five-woman Olympic team will be selected in San Jose, California, in two weeks. Biles’ place is secure
, and the rest of the picture appears to be clearing with opening ceremonies in Brazil just 40 days away.
, and the rest of the picture appears to be clearing with opening ceremonies in Brazil just 40 days away.
RIP BITZ
Bernie Worrell, the ingenious “Wizard of Woo” whose amazing array of keyboard sounds and textures helped define the Parliament-Funkadelic musical empire and influenced performers of funk, rock, hip-hop and other genres, died last Friday at the age of 72.
Worrell, who announced early this year that he had stage-four lung cancer, died at his home in Everson, Washington.
Fair St Louis will take place this weekend. It will start with the VP Parade this Saturday that will make its return to downtown after two years in Forest Park. The parade steps off at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and proceeds on Market Street from Seventh Street to 20th Street.
Entertainment will take place at Forest Park. Some of the national acts include country music superstar Lee Brice, rock legend Sammy Hagar and The Circle featuring Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham and Vic Johnson, and multi-Platinum hip-hop recording artist Flo Rida .
Additional acts include: rocker Eddie Money; funk, soul and rock icon George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic; musical-comedy group Bobby Bones And The Raging Idiots, led by iHeartRadio nationally syndicated host Bobby Bones; country music duo LOCASH; the eight-piece funk-rock band of 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies Here Come the Mummies; up-and-coming country singer-songwriter Mo Pitney; New Orleans-based rockers Cowboy Mouth; and more.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DebtTheMovie2016/
To see the trailer go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOJKnHvz6w
FIT BITZ
This week we feature rapper Flo Rida who will perform at fair St Louis this weekend and is scheduled to be at an afterparty at The Old Rockhouse, has become famous not just for his raps but his buffed out physique. The Grammy Award nominated artist even has his own fitness program called Flo Fit focusing on rapid body redefining.
WORDZ TO THE WHYZ
AT THE BET AWARDS:
Why wasnt the Rap Female category televised? Why wasnt DAngelo part of the Prince tribute? And why wasnt Morris Day, JimmyJam and Terry Lewis part of the lineup? And why werent other music artists tributed as well (eg Natalie Cole, Maurice White, Billy Paul, etc.) ?Why was Maxwell's face scrunched up when the camera flashed to him during Taraji P Henson's Beyonce monologue? Why wasnt there a gospel moment at the award show? Why was Desiigner performing like he was high on PCP? And why was the award show almost 4 hours?
OTHER WHYZ
Why did Great Britain vote out of Betixt? Why was Istanbul airport bombed? Why did Red Cross approve that swimming poster where the black people were labeled not cool and whites were labeled cool? Why did Leslie Jones have to call out Hollywood for not being interested in making a dress for her for the premiere of Ghostbusters? Why did Lil Wayne slap a bouncer at a BEt Award after party? Why is Stacy Dash still talking about racism (Now she's onJesse Williams speech being racist)? And why do people say "pop fireworks" (Its light fireworks)?
If you have a fitness pic, a style pic or an artist or event