Featuring a litany of greats onstage at the 2023 GRAMMYs, the segment will showcase the genre's rich history and continued global influence with electrifying performances .
By Morgan EnosFor half a century, hip-hop has been a boon to the world. Now, the Recording Academy is paying its respects.
The lineup for the 2023 GRAMMYs has expanded with the addition of a historic segment celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop in 2023.
Showcasing the genre's rich history and continued global influence, this portion of the show will feature electrifying performances by Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz, and Too $hort.
LL COOL J will introduce the segment, perform and give a dedication to hip-hop. Questlove will serve as producer and musical director, music will be provided by the Roots and said hip-hop ensemble Black Thought will narrate.
This GRAMMYs segment is produced by Questlove, Jesse Collins, Patrick Menton of Fulwell 73, Creative Producer Fatima Robinson, and Questlove's manager and President of LNU, Shawn Gee.
For five decades, hip-hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a major influence on our culture," said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. "Its contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society cannot be overstated. I'm so proud that we are honoring it in such a spectacular way on the GRAMMY stage. It is just the beginning of our year-long celebration of this essential genre of music.”
The all-star performance is part of Paramount Global's companywide initiative to honor the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Paramount announced an extensive slate of new and returning content offerings and initiatives that celebrates the culture across the media and entertainment company's portfolio of leading broadcast, cable, streaming and digital brands.
In partnership with the Recording Academy, CBS will broadcast a special Hip Hop music event later in 2023. More information on the global initiative can be found here.
Don't miss this spectacular showcase at the 2023 GRAMMYs, which will air live on Sunday, Feb. 5, from Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena, and it will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET / 5-8:30 p.m. PT
Additionally, don't forget to log on to live.GRAMMY.com for an exclusive second-screen experience.
Samara Joy has shared her Spotify Singles release, featuring a cover of a hit single by Adele and a version of one of Joy’s 2022 releases.
The acclaimed jazz singer put her own spin on Adele’s heartfelt 2011 hit ballad “Someone Like You” as part of the session, reimagining the song with her rich, luxurious vocals over a minimal, poignant organ backing.
Elsewhere, the Spotify Singles release features a live take of Joy’s 2022 cover of Nancy Wilson’s “Guess Who I Saw Today.” The star’s original recording of the song featured on her major label debut album, Linger Awhile.
That record was released last September and provided timeless standards for a new generation courtesy of the 23-year-old. It also scored Joy a nomination for Best Jazz Vocal at the 2023 Grammy Awards, where she is also in the running for Best New Artist. The ceremony will take place on Sunday (February 6) in Los Angeles. Joy will perform during the premiere ceremony, which precedes the televised event.
Following the release of Linger Awhile, Joy followed up the album with a special holiday song, “Warm In December.” The track was originally written by Bob Russell and is relatively unknown and rarely performed by modern artists. Julie London released the most commonly known recording of it in 1956, and Joy’s new version provided a refreshing addition to the holiday song cannon.
In a new interview with CBS, Joy spoke about introducing jazz to a new generation via social media. “People come up to me [and say], ‘I saw you on TikTok, and then I found out you were coming to my city, and I bought tickets immediately just because of how much your voice impacted me,’” she said.
Explaining the response to her voice, she added: “It ranges from ‘I love the way it sounds when I hear you live,’ I get butter and velvet and smooth. People come up to me and are just like, ‘Emotionally, this affected me.’”
Samara Joy on bringing fresh voice, new listeners to jazz Rising star Samara Joy is nominated for two Grammy awards in two categories, Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album. Michelle Miller reports.
Super Bowl LVII, taking place in Glendale, AZ, will be played on February 12. When the whistle blows, for the first time in NFL history, the opposing quarterbacks – Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts – will be Black.
According to CNN, one of two achievements can happen once the game is over. Mahomes, who became the third Black quarterback to take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy, is looking to become the only one to do it more than once. Meanwhile, winning the Super Bowl would make Hurts the fourth Black Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
Sportscasting reported last year that Washington Redskins (now known as the Commanders) quarterback, Doug Williams lifted his team back in 1988 when they beat the Denver Broncos by a score of 42-10. After 21 Super Bowls had been played, he made history by breaking the racial barrier of a Black quarterback winning the NFL championship.
More than 25 years after that feat, current Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, in his second year of playing in the NFL (2014), became the second Black man to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. Coincidentally, Wilson, who was playing for the Seattle Seahawks back then, defeated the Denver Broncos. The Broncos have the distinction of being the first team to lose to two Black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl. And that result was also a blowout as the Seahawks beat them 43-8.
In 2020, Mahomes became the third Black quarterback to win the championship when the Chiefs won 31-20 against the San Francisco 49ers. At 24, he also has the distinction of being the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl.
Mahomes vs. Hurts is historic. Super Bowl LVII will be the first title game to feature two black starting quarterbacks. It'll be 35 years since Doug Williams became the first black QB to start in a Super Bowl (XXII) and win it (Washington over Denver). The Athletic
As we kick off BlackHistoryMonth , Scotch Porter will be spotlighting some of our favorite Black creators and Scotch Porter Fam ily members that help empower, inspire, and advocate within the Black community every day.
Join us as we celebrate Black History Month and highlight the incredible work of some of the Black change makers within the community.
Thank you for uplifting us all everyday!
A new campaign for a limited - edition capsule collection from Gap and Haitian - owned menswear brand The Brooklyn Circus pays tribute to the late Stephen “ tWitch ” Boss who died in December 2022 at age 40.
Before his death, Boss who was known for his role as a DJ and dancer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and was seen on So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With The Stars — modeled for the collaborative collection, which releases Jan. 31, and features hoodies, varsity jackets, basketball shorts, sweatpants, chinos, hats, tote bags, socks and more, for children and adults.
“The Brooklyn Circus and Gap share in the heartbreaking loss of beloved icon Stephen ‘ tWitch ’ Boss, who was a longtime supporter of the [Brooklyn Circus] community, [founder and creative director] Ouigi [Theodore’s] work and a core part of this campaign thanks to his personal friendship with Ouigi Theodore,” a press release for the campaign reads.
Gap has also announced that it will support the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and donate to Vibrant Emotional Health , an organization that provides free and confidential counseling to those in need 24/7, in Boss’ honor.
Allison Holker, Boss’ wife, also shared a statement surrounding the release of official campaign images: “When Stephen and I first saw his images from the campaign, it brought tears to our eyes. He was so moved by how they captured his true essence, and he was excited for the world to see them.”
Pose actor Indya Moore, Euphoria star Javon Walton and model, agency founder and activist Bethann Hardison are also featured in the campaign.
The collaboration, timed for Black History Month, “explores the concepts of individuality, movement and modern prep blending academia, music and Black culture and street style from the 1960s through today,” the press release reads. It will be available via both brands’ online stores on Jan. 31 and in - store at select Gap retail locations and The Brooklyn Circus’ Boreum Hill flagship.
The capsule collection from the American retailer and The Brooklyn Circus celebrates Black culture and street style from the 1960s to today.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Like a lot of great projects, the idea for Grammy -nominated album “The Urban Hymnal” was first sketched out on a paper restaurant napkin.
Gospel songwriter and producer Sir the Baptist had come to Nashville in October 2021 to hear Tennessee State University’s Aristocrat of Bands perform during homecoming at the invitation of assistant band director Larry Jenkins.
Baptist “fell in love with the band” at the historically Black university . Later that night, over tacos and pollo enquesado , the two preachers’ kids bonded as they discussed a collaboration.
“I was fighting for gospel, and he was fighting for marching band. Right?” Baptist recalled in an interview. “And what all HBCUs have in common is this connection to their roots, which is gospel, right?
“We said, ‘OK. You know what? This is an essential for our culture. Let’s do it.’”
Members of the Tennessee State University marching band, known as the Aristocrat of Bands, perform on Oct. 8, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. TSU is hoping to make history after their marching band was nominated for a Grammy in the roots gospel category. The historically Black university's Aristocrat of Bands teamed up with gospel songwriter and producer Sir the Baptist last year to record “The Urban Hymnal.” (Garrett E Morris via AP)The record’s nomination for best roots gospel album marks the first time a college marching band has been nominated in that category. It is especially significant that the honor goes to an HBCU a historically Black college or university where marching bands are often an essential part of the schools’ identities and culture.
At Virginia State University, an HBCU where she earned her undergraduate degree, the marching band was “the epicenter of student life, especially during football season,” she said. “You went to the game not so much to see the football team as to see the band,” and the halftime show was “the moment where everything stopped.”
Even when there weren’t games, the drumline or horn sections practicing in the evenings formed the soundscape of university life, Kernodle said.
In the culture at large, often HBCU bands are thought of primarily for “the pageantry, the highstepping style, the dance style,” Kernodle said. But this album “reminds us that a major part of that aesthetic, and what helps define the essence and the uniqueness of that aesthetic, is what these bands play — the musicianship, the range of repertory that they mine, and how they bring a full scope of Black music history to those performances.”
Some songs are new arrangements of classic hymns. Others were written especially for the album, like “Dance Revival,” which features a foot-stomping, hand-clapping backbeat behind the electrifying voice of Jekalyn Carr. But even that new song finishes with a segue into the old spiritual “Wade in the Water.”
Tammy Kernodle, a distinguished professor of music at Miami University who specializes in African American music, understands the importance of marching bands at HBCUs from personal experience.
Curtis Olawumi, standing center, appears with other members of the Tennessee State University marching band, during the Southern Heritage Classic football game in Memphis, Tenn., on Sept. 10, 2022. (Garrett E Morris via AP)
Jierre Franklin, a member of the Tennessee State University marching band, known as the Aristocrat of Bands, appears on Oct. 8, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (Garrett E Morris via AP)
Jorge Pena, background from left, Daniel Neal, and Travis Young, members of the Tennessee State University marching band, perform during the Southern Heritage Classic football game in Memphis, Tenn., on Sept. 10, 2022. TSU is hoping to make history after their marching band was nominated for a Grammy in the roots gospel category. The historically Black university's Aristocrat of Bands teamed up with gospel songwriter and producer Sir the Baptist last year to record “The Urban Hymnal.” (Garrett E Morris via AP)
Some songs are new arrangements of classic hymns. Others were written especially for the album, like “Dance Revival,” which features a foot-stomping, hand-clapping backbeat behind the electrifying voice of Jekalyn Carr. But even that new song finishes with a segue into the old spiritual “Wade in the Water.”
The offerings are so diverse that Baptist, who is himself a voting Grammy member, was concerned the album wouldn’t be accepted in the roots gospel category. Asked how they chose the songs, Baptist and Jenkins said they wanted the album to tell a story about Black history.
“These hymnals brought us from slavery to the White House,” Baptist said, noting that many Black leaders have also been preachers, like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Even to go from a band perspective,” Jenkins added, “in all of our HBCU bands, I promise you, you can go to any game, every HBCU band has a version of ‘I’m So Glad’” a Christian hymn with the lyrics, “I’m so glad Jesus lifted me.”
“At TSU, we take it a step further. ‘I’m So Glad’ is literally the fight song,” Jenkins said (The lyrics are tweaked to “I’m so glad I go to TSU”). “So many of these things are infused into the culture.”
Appropriately, it’s the song that leads off the album.
The duo also wanted “The Urban Hymnal” to speak to the young students, some of whom are not Christian or were not raised in the gospel tradition.
“I think it’s amazing that we were able to bring rapping to the roots of gospel,” Baptist said.
“Because in order to make this more urban, we had to connect it to the students. And if we couldn’t connect it to the students, I don’t think the story would have aligned as perfectly.”
Rylander hopes for a Grammy win when the awards are announced on Feb. 5 but said she was “ecstatic” just to be nominated along with her fellow musicians.
“Even if we don’t win that Grammy, we know people saw what we can do,” she said. “I look forward to seeing what opportunities come knocking at our door. ... Grammy or not, we’re still going to be the Aristocrats at the end of the day.”
Alvin at home in Queens ALVIN WAYNE DESIGN
Alvin Wayne is an interior designer who has been gaining steam since the pandemic. Social-media savvy with a signature design style and a big personality, his home is consistently featured in Architectural Digest, where he continues to be part of their designer vlog content, and he maintains a bi-weekly series with Apartment Therapy, where he breaks down design trends called “Why it works”. Wayne has been profiled in Ebony magazine, Essence magazine, and the New York Post, but after a chance encounter, we had the opportunity to take a moment and look back at where he has come from, and all that he plans to achieve.
Hi Alvin, it’s great to meet you! I am a huge fan. I have been seeing your content all over YouTube and Architectural Digest.
Where did it all begin? How did you get into design?
As a kid, I would always get in trouble for rearranging my room and moving things around. However, I did not know being an interior designer was a thing. Only when I saw the show “Trading Spaces” did I begin to research interior design.
During my time as a design student, the Recession hit, so I started working in luxury retail and ended up in the visual department of a major fashion retailer for 14 years. For me, fashion and home design trends are always aligned with one another. I can literally look at a client's wardrobe and translate into a space for them.
What do you think is the secret to your success?
I thank the power of social media, which I utilize to showcase my work as well as myself. I watched an interview with Tyra Banks where she spoke about personal branding, and one thing that stuck with me was: ‘Different is better than better’. I have taken that and applied it to myself and business. I realized that I was my brand, and the services I offer are an extension of who I am.
What would you tell someone just getting started?
Don't worry about being better than your counterparts, just be different! In other words, be yourself! That comes out in all of my designs.
What do you seek to achieve in a space?
I approach every project with one thing to achieve, and that is functionality. A space can be beautiful, but it has to function; you have to be able to live in the space and navigate around all the beautiful elements in it. I also want to make sure you see the client's personality in each space (and a little of me).
What makes something 'Alvin Wayne Design' to you?
I often use natural materials, like wood, marble, plant life, and colors found in nature. Black and white always grounds a space, but I love all colors, especially those found in nature.
Lighting, composition, and textures also continue play a major role in my designs today.
Also wallpaper! Every design will have wallpaper!
Alvin Wayne has a love affair with wallpaper. ALVIN WAYNE DESIGN
Did you face any adversity or specific challenges?
After SCAD Atlanta, I began doing projects for friends, just to build my portfolio, and then began to work more seriously in design. I think my biggest challenge was learning how to work my business. In design school, they don't teach you how much to charge or give you a contract template. So naturally I had to figure it out and talk to fellow designers and designers I interned with.
What do you think is the future of design?
More and more people will realize how important interior design is. The pandemic really taught us how much interior design affects mental health. I say this a lot, but it's true: home is the one place we can be our true authentic selves, or even become the most aspirational versions of ourselves. Home is where we dream, the one place we have before we brave the world. So, a space that reflects who you are is very important.
How do you know when something is working (or not)?
Honestly, it's a feeling you just have as a designer. You have to trust your gut and it always works out.
What's next?
I’d like to do more press, and less projects on much bigger budgets! And my #1 goal is to be on the AD100 list.
Alvin Wayne's bedroom rendering for Architectural Digest ALVIN WAYNE DESIGN
pays tribute to Black excellence & innovation thru out history, drawing on influences including the Ebony Fashion Fair fashion show, ball culture and the iconic Emerald City scene from the 1978 film The Wiz. Here are just few of the menswear looks.
A New Year A Stronger You
Go to your local gym, find the heaviest dumbbell on the rack and see how hard it is to pick up. Not a problem? Well then you must be very strong…
While there would be some truth to that, if we were to take the dictionary definition of strength – ‘the ability to do things that demand physical effort’ – strength is about far more than just the weight you can lift.
To be the proud owner of a body that can be defined as truly strong demands –among many other attributes – balance, power, stability and resilience. After all, what’s the use of banging out a monster bench press if you then pull a hamstring with your first kick at five-a-side? Strength, in short, is all-encompassing.
“Along with cardiovascular fitness, mobility, body composition, and emotional wellbeing, it’s one of the five measurable pillars of wellness,” says authority on the matter Luke Worthington. “But it’s arguably the most important, because it’s the one that underpins and feeds into each of the others.”
From emphasizing the eccentric to exposing yourself to heavier loads, we asked the experts for their tips on how to boost your strength…
Improving your strength won’t only aid your performance in the gym: it will also massively benefit long-term health and everyday life.
“A strong body is a resilient body,” concludes The Movement Blueprint’s Harvey Lawton, “and one that will serve you well long into the future.”
To help you not only lift heavier, but perform better and stay fit and healthy for longer, we asked our five-strong team of strength specialists for their best triedand-tested get-strong strategies. Here’s what they came up with…
So often when we think of strength training, we think of traditional weight lifting in the gym. It’s clinical, and often the focus is on training within perfect form. But life doesn’t happen in perfect form.
That’s why I love making sure there is an element of chaos to my strength. Strength-oriented sports like rock climbing, grappling-based martial arts, and watersports like wakeboarding will help you develop the kind of strength you won’t find by just lifting weights in the gym.
To improve strength you need to apply the principle of progressive overload, which means needing to apply greater levels of force over time. The most obvious way to create progressive overload is by adding more weight. But it’s not the only way. At some point you will always reach an upper limit of how much weight can be physically moved.
Being smarter in ways to create progressive overload and strength gains, rather than simply adding more plates to a bar, helps mitigate risks while keeping the rewards. One such method is by simply slowing a movement down.
Exercising more control over the weight, particularly during the eccentric (lowering) phase, will create more of a challenge and has been shown to elicit strength gains.
No matter how strong you are, it’s possible to make exercises harder by performing them slower. It’s far better to get a full range of motion with a slow but controlled tempo than cutting short your range of motion by performing half reps quickly.
Performing eccentric-focused weight training is an excellent way to quickly increase strength. Try to lower your weight for four seconds on each repetition.
Alternatively, you could do a week of super slow lowering of ten seconds deceleration per rep – much harder than you think.
Loading the lengthening phase of a movement with intent is a heavily researched area of strength and conditioning. Eccentric muscle action is stronger and expends less energy – a higher force at a lower cost.
If you want to build strength within a movement, pay extra attention to this phase every rep.
Kettlebells are inherently less stable than dumbbells and barbells. That means they require more proprioceptive control to use them, as well as recruitment of the smaller stabilizer muscles.
Swapping a 20kg dumbbell for a 20kg kettlebell can produce strength gains, without the orthopedic cost of adding extra load.
When the body moves load, it seeks stability. In fact, we are constantly battling to maintain stable positions to allow our body to move.
When it comes to training and lifting weights, the higher the level of external stability, the greater the potential to produce force. Choosing movements that offer the best opportunity to produce force means more time achieving high -quality muscle contractions.
Integrating machinebased work (plateloaded is best in my opinion), alongside exercises that in general have shorter ranges of motion, will allow you to lift more load.
For example, a box squat in place of a barbell back squat, or a floor press instead of a dumbbell bench press, will both offer greater loading potential. If the goal is to build strength, movements with these characteristics should form the majority of your strength exercises.
It might sound obvious, but if you want to get stronger, endless high-intensity and cardio-dominant workouts won’t cut it. Yes, they will get you fitter and leaner, but for strength you need to add some more specific lifting to the mix.
Free weights should form the basis of your training (though machines have a place too), for the simple reason that they recruit more muscles and provide a greater bang-forbuck training effect.
Focus on developing your stability with core conditioning, functional strength and intramuscular coordination. That doesn’t mean heavy lifting or high-volume weight training, but how much force you can produce from an unstable platform.
The guys that can bench press the most don’t necessarily feel like the strongest guys on the rugby pitch. When you’re lying on a bench you have a solid platform to press against and can put out a huge amount of force.
If you stand up, the amount of force you can produce in a pushing movement will be dramatically less, especially if you haven’t worked on the stability and control throughout your body.
Changing the mechanics of a movement can give progressive overload without needing to add more weight.
For example, changing a reverse lunge to a forward lunge means you have to start to deal with deceleration, force absorption and then a change of direction, whereas force production is the only thing to worry about with the same weight in a reverse lunge.
You won’t get stronger without some exposure to heavier loads, but going from nothing to bench pressing 150kg isn’t easy, and your body probably won’t let you do that anyway. Breaking the lifting down in parts, and exposing heavy loads at different points, allows for your body to feel more secure at those different points.
For example, by putting 120% of your one-rep max on a bar, then simply unracking and holding it for ten seconds (without lowering) gets your body and nervous system used to the heavier load. (Always use a spotter when attempting to lift heavier weights.)
One way to shock the muscles more to achieve the best results is by switching up the type of sets you use. Drop sets, supersets, giant sets, complexes and compound sets are all effective strategies for forcing your muscles into growth.
The body adapts quickly to its training environment, so if you do 5 sets of 8 every time you perform a particular exercise, you’ll get good at doing 5 sets of 8 and very little else.
One way to avoid that is by switching up how many reps you do per set. This is where progressive overloading comes in.
For the next workout, try lifting the same weight for more reps, for instance 4 sets of 10. For the next workout, you want to increase reps again while lifting the same weight – 3 sets of 12 reps, for instance. Then, you simply increase the weights, and follow the same principle in terms of sets and reps. Change things up to shock the muscles.
Use fat bars or fat grips to stimulate weaker links. The muscles in your hands and forearms are smaller and weaker than in your shoulder and back.
By using bigger grips, you will recruit and train these muscles, with the effect that when you go back to your normal lifts – with regular grips – they will feel easier.
Change your method. If you lift dumbbells and barbells, try strongman. If you do strongman, try Olympic rings. Or, if you use rings, try aerial silks. Such easy gains are to be had by trying something you aren’t practiced in.
Go grab the low-hanging fruit. You’ll be amazed at how different types of strength may transfer to help you progress your main focus in strength training.
To increase strength and size, the body needs be given a whole host of stimuli to allow it to continually adapt and progress.
That includes a power stimulus: your ability to overcome resistance in the shortest period of time (e.g. jumps and power cleans for 1-3 reps); a speed stimulus: your ability to move lower load for speed, generating fast muscle contractions (e.g. sprinting and barbell cycling; and a strength stimulus: your ability to overcome resistance to lift weight for a given amount of time or number of reps (e.g. a 3 to 5 to 10-rep max).
Increase instability by using earthquake bars, rhino flex bars or bamboo bars. Similar to using fat bars, these will stimulate the body to recruit different muscle fiber.
During the lifts, your actual loads might be lower, but when you switch back to a normal barbell it will be easier – especially good if you’ve hit a bit of a wall with your training.
Visualization is a powerful technique to improve your lifting. By thinking how the lift feels and how you are going to move it helps the brain reinforce and improve neural connections.
Close your eyes, imagine what the bar feels like and what your perfect movement would be. Repeat, and mentally add weight to your bar.
Multi-joint patterns yield more muscle contractions/co-contractions, therefore requiring higher levels of tension. Compound movements such as a heavy sled push/drag or a loaded carry will improve both strength and stability.
When integrated alongside more traditional compound movements such as the hinge, squat and lunge patterns – together with pull-ups and dips – they will give you a great framework to build power, strength and quality muscle tissue.
NS: You are only as strong as your weakest link, and for weightlifting that’s especially true. Ensure you have a balanced body by working your neck extensors, lower trapezius, hips and so on.
Doing so will give you greater deceleration/counter force strength, which will also prevent injuries.
True strength is about having complete mastery over the weight you’re lifting. If you’re not ‘owning’ the weight, all you’re really doing is recruiting the power of momentum. More importantly, poor form can lead to short-term injuries and long-term problems.
Leave your ego at the door and take technique seriously. If you’re not sure about a certain lift, consult a PT to help you nail the basic movement pattern.
If you have an injury, sort it out. At some point it will come back to haunt you. So many people train around an injury or a site of pain, rather than rehabbing it correctly.
That is only a temporary measure, because as soon as it is stressed it will usually break or create bad movement patterns.
Not only is Nike releasing its new Calm Slides this fall, but the brand is also introducing a new sandal with the help of Drake’s Nocta line soon.
Newly leaked images from House of Heat show a first look at the unreleased Nocta x Nike Slides. The official moniker of the silhouette is currently unknown at the time of writing, but it has been unofficially dubbed “Scuba Slides” given its resemblance to scuba fins typically worn by divers. The first style to surface wears an all -black color scheme with subtle blue hits on the heel. The model features both Nocta and Nike logos on the midfoot strap, with additional branding on the heel tab.
Additionally, Drake also has a Nike Air Zoom Flight 95 -inspired collaboration on the way after the shoe was teased by the rapper last year.
Despite images of the Nocta x Nike Scuba Slides surfacing, release details for the silhouette have yet to be announced. Keep it locked to Sole Collector for official updates.
Images via Nike, H/T House of Heat
Images via Nike, H/T House of Heat
This past summer, workers at the Walla Walla Foundry, in the state of Washington, fashioned giant fingers, arms, hands, and a bracelet, to capture a shining moment in history. All the pieces are now assembled, and this Friday, one of the largest memorials dedicated to racial equality will be unveiled in America's oldest public park, Boston Common.
It's called "The Embrace," and to design it, Hank Willis Thomas pored over hundreds of images of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King. "There was an intimacy that I saw that wasn't really highlighted often," Thomas said. "Often when you do look closely at pictures, they're holding each other's hands."
One photo in particular got the sculptor's attention: the reaction when Rev. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. "I just love that image, him hugging her with such glee and such joy and such pride, and I saw the pride on her face. And I recognized that this was teamwork. And all of his weight in that picture is, like, on her.”
And so, rather than depicting whole figures, Thomas, along with architects from the MASS Design Group, decided to represent a specific moment of intimacy, depicting only their arms and hands.
"I'm kind of scared, because representing the Kings without their faces is a bold move," Thomas said.
He also noted how important it was to depict both husband and wife. After Dr. King was shot and killed in 1968, it was Coretta who continued his work. "I was not alive when he was alive," he said. "She was the symbol. Her grace, her presence was palpable. And I thought that was a pretty powerful metaphor for their legacy, that she put his legacy on her shoulders and carried it for almost half a century."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. hugs his wife, Coretta, during a news conference following the announcement that he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
BETTMANN VIA GETTY IMAGES
"People underestimate the power of women and underestimate the power of black women and their influence on society," said Imari Paris Jeffries, who leads Embrace Boston, the non-profit that raised $8 million to create the sculpture, and an additional $2.5 million to preserve it.
Boston is where King met Coretta Scott in the 1950s, and where he earned his Ph.D. in theology at Boston University. He preached in Boston, and in 1965, led a civil rights march from the Roxbury neighborhood to Boston Common, where "The Embrace" now stands. "It will be a symbol of Boston," Jeffries said. "It will be a symbol of love, belonging and hope."
Community organizer Malia Lazu visited the foundry as a supporter of the memorial. "In Boston, we just had a White supremacist march; there's just a lot about race in Boston," Lazu said. "And so, to see something this large and this beautiful, being done for us in Boston, was very touching.”
The process began six years ago with a national call for proposals. There were 126 submissions and five finalists. Embrace Boston did consult with the King family, but the people of Boston chose Thomas' idea, casting their ballots at voting booths set up in post offices, libraries and city hall.
Spend time with Hank Willis Thomas and you discover he's influenced not only by history, but by his own family. His mother, Deborah Willis, is a photographer and photo historian. A painter and sculptor, Thomas is known for canvases that come alive when you shine a light on them, revealing images inside.
He also loves metal hands that reach up, or point to the sky.
Fashioning the pieces of the 22-foot-tall bronze sculpture "The Embrace," at the Walla Walla Foundry, in Walla Walla, Washington CBS NEWS
And speaking of hands, Thomas says his grandmother, Ruth Willis, who just passed away at the age of 100, was an inspiration. "She lived a masterful life. She was and is a divine spirit who has been my guide. And so, when I think about my grandmother's hands, which were so warm and so powerful, it's the spirit that is in this work.”
Thomas has designed a memorial that is 20 feet high, meaning visitors will be able to walk through "The Embrace" and experience that spirit themselves.
"When you're standing inside the sculpture, you will be in the heart of their embrace," he said. "And when you really think about what happens when two people embrace one another, their hearts [line up]. You're inside the love of these two people. There are so many monuments to victims of war; there are very, very few monuments to love."
An artist's rendering of "The Embrace."CBS NEWS
Meet the uniquely gifted BLKBOK, a neo-classical piano prodigy from Detroit who uses his dexterous arrangements and melodic scores to audibly illustrate experience, that of his own, and of his community’s across pivotal moments in American history.
“When people see me, they expect me to start rapping, and they’re not 100% wrong…I am a rapper, except I spit lyrics and tell my stories through my hands, with these notes.”
BLKBOK, Charles Wilson IIIThe name “BlkBok” might make you think of the famous classical pianist Johann Sebastian Bach, but with a melanin twist. And that’s quite literally the point.
Charles Wilson III, known as BlkBok, was brought up in a musical household that he says shaped his sound.
“Detroit has such a diverse music community. Motown, the Gospel community and the jazz community, and all these other people,” said BlkBok. “And I became a part of that. And that very much influenced what I was doing. “
BlkBok’s parents introduced him to classical music as a first building block to understanding other genres. “From 4 to 16 was the fundamental part of everything that has happened in my career,” he said. Classical music “became like the main base of everything I started creating.”
He migrated to jazz and blues, playing in clubs and backing up other bands. His prowess on the keys eventually attracted the attention of Grammy-wining acts.
My touring, being with Justin Timberlake and Rihanna and John Mayer and all these other pop artists, I never imagined that I would [come] back to classical music.”
But he did. His latest album, Black Book, is “an opportunity to have a bit of escapism,” BlkBok said.
He migrated to jazz and blues, playing in clubs and backing up other bands. His prowess on the keys eventually attracted the attention of Grammy-wining acts.
“My touring, being with Justin Timberlake and Rihanna and John Mayer and all these other pop artists, I never imagined that I would [come] back to classical music.”
But he did. His latest album, Black Book, is “an opportunity to have a bit of escapism,” BlkBok said.
There are two versions of the album: one is a range of solo piano pieces; in the other, each music track is paired with poetry written by Laura Dela Pena, a poet and friend of BlkBok. “Our initial conversation was how do we create a twin sister for Black Book,” he said. “And she did an amazing job. And Black Book Dlux is the twins dancing.”
“Michelle’s First Day At the White House” was the first track he created for this project. It’s inspired by Michelle Obama and imagines the hardships and expectations of being a Black woman in power.
“Michelle’s First Day At the White House” was the first track he created for this project. It’s inspired by Michelle Obama and imagines the hardships and expectations of being a Black woman in power.
“It allowed me to understand that I could take something that was a visual moment, something that I could imagine, and then turn it into something musical,” he said. Pieces range from the rage and reflection in “George Floyd & The Struggle for Equality '' to lighthearted waltzes like “I Made Her Breakfast.”
Classical music has long carried a perception of being listened to by a predominantly older white demographic of a certain class. BlkBok said he’s ready to dismantle that belief, with his music and his eclectic personal style.
“So that's the thing that I think is really important, to be able to tap into these real cultural moments and be able to tell the story through my own eyes and give people a bit of what it feels like through [the lens of] a black man in 2022.”
Whether you’re traveling, working out or just doing your 9-5, our underwear product is the best choice for all day comfort.
When it comes to building wealth, many Black Americans are facing an uphill battle.
The median annual wage for Black workers is about 30% lower than that of white workers, according to a McKinsey & Company report. The report also found that 3.5 million of the country’s Black households have a negative net worth due to debt.
“Oftentimes, the issue with savings and wealth building is that folks don’t make enough money,” said report co-author Shelley Stewart III, who leads McKinsey’s research on Black economic mobility in the U.S.
“We need to address that as a broader society, typically with communities of color.”
In addition, Black households generally start with less family wealth. McKinsey estimated a $330 billion disparity between Black and white families in the annual flow of new wealth, with 60% of that coming from inheritances.
Because of that lack of generational wealth, Black families tend not to be exposed to investing, said certified financial planner Kamila Elliott, president of Grid 202 Partners, a financial advisory firm based in Washington, D.C
The price of that gap can be huge. In 2064, the average white family likely will possess $2,782,727 in wealth while the Black family wealth will be $789,164, a report by Elliott and Abacus Wealth Partners CEO Brent Kessel found. That’s a 70% disparity.
While societal changes are needed to address the racial wealth gap, there are also steps Black Americans can take right now to start building wealth, experts say.
Having financial conversations can lead to better decision-making and can help you avoid making mistakes.
“You make money and you just put it in an account and that is it,” said financial advisor Delano Saporu, CEO and founder of New York-based New Street Advisors Group.
“How do I increase this money that I have made? How do I deploy it?” he added. “These discussions need to be had.”
While talking about money with friends and family has long been thought of as taboo, there has been a shift.
While only 10% of Black Americans discussed the stock market growing up, 37% talk about it now, according to the 2020 Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey. In comparison, 23% of white Americans had the conversations growing up and 36% talk about money now.
The most important thing to do is to start saving, even if it is just a small amount every month.
Almost three-quarters, or 73%, of Black adults do not have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses, an April 2020 Pew Research Center survey found.
Once you build up that emergency fund, you can put money into assets that could give you a higher return, like the stock market
“If you save more, it gives you more flexibility to take more risks and do more things that could bode well for your future down the line,” Saporu said. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Saporu was a dedicated saver, which enabled him to start his firm a year out of business school.
As you accumulate more savings and start to think about how you can invest, consider buying a house. It’s not only a place to live, it’s also an investment.
There is also the possibility to continue investing in real estate, like buying a home or apartment to rent out.
“Housing is a proven creation of a nest egg of wealth,” McKinsey’s Stewart said.
Start investing as early as you can so that your earnings can earn money. Take advantage of your company’s retirement plan, like a 401(k), especially if your employer provides a matching contribution, Grid 202 Partners’ Elliott advised.
Don’t be afraid of risk, like investing more in stocks than fixed income. In fact, many Black Americans, especially older ones, are too conservative, said CFP Malik Lee, founder and CEO of Atlanta-based wealth management firm Felton & Peel.
“You need the power of the market behind you,” he said.
While there may be a distrust of financial professionals, he advises finding one you are comfortable with. There are also many like Lee, Elliott and Saporu who don’t have required account minimums.
Wealth can also be generated through business ownership. Yet before you quit your job to start a business full time, make sure you have at least six months to 10 months of expenses saved and a five-year roadmap, Saporu advised.
Striking out on his own allowed him to make more money, instead of being undervalued in a bureaucratic system, he said.
“You have to take a risk to have outsized rewards,” Saporu said. “When people are [financially] comfortable and get the correct footing down, they can take those risks.”
“You may have to sacrifice something you need or want so that the person behind you can jump over you,” Lee said.
That may mean not spending as much on an annual basis so you can put money away to pass down to your kids or starting a college savings plan. It can also mean buying life insurance so that your heirs can inherit something, he said.
“Don’t think that your wealth is going to change overnight because of some get rich quick scheme or because you dumped everything into an alternative investment,” Lee said.
“Wealth building doesn’t happen overnight.”
After weeks of earsplitting buzz over Jonathan Majors’ Sundance drama “Magazine Dreams,” the dumbbells have finally dropped. As a deeply troubled – yet still sympathetic –aspiring bodybuilder, Majors dazzled Park City’s Eccles Theater on Friday night, earning a standing ovation.
Writer-director Elijah Bynum drove the narrative about Killian Maddox, a steroid-guzzling, socially inept loner who can’t find success at his dream job. He finds even less in personal relationships, be it with his roommate and ailing grandfather, a perky store clerk (Haley Bennett) who seems open for more than friendship, or even a redemption-offering sex worker (Taylour Paige) who sees past his afflictions.
There’s a lot of homoeroticism in Killian’s obsession with his body and those of other bodybuilders Majors is frequently seen naked or wearing little more than skimpy underwear.
The star power of Majors could attract buyers, but the film, with shades of “Joker” and “Taxi Driver,” is a challenging watch. There were a smattering of walkouts and many audiences members appeared to be looking away at intense moments.
Bynum says he came up with the idea for a character like Killian after a period when he returned to the gym, looking to get back in shape. While there he noticed a bodybuilder whose intensity made other people at the gym steer clear.
“What a peculiar way to move through the world, where you’re both feared and ignored at the same time,” Bynum found himself thinking.
After writing the script for “Magazine Dreams,” Bynum turned to Majors to bring Killian to life. Majors, best known for his turns in films such as “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and “Devotion,” focused on tapping into the character’s humanity.
“I’ve seen this guy, you’ve seen this guy, I’ve been this guy,” Majors said during the post-screening Q&A.
Paige, who last charmed Sundance with “Zola,” said the world premiere was the first time she’d seen the completed film. Choking back tears, she praised Majors and director Bynum for their efforts. A character like Killian, she said, was the result of a “lovelessness” in our culture. “We have to take care of each other,” Paige said. “We’re so fragile and we’re kind of all walking this fine line of being okay, but we’re not always okay.”
“We can’t look away,” she added. “We have to walk each other home.”
The film’s premiere got off to a rocky start as volunteers refused to seat badge holders and ticket-buyers inside an empty Eccles Theater. Instead, indie film executives and agents were asked to wait in the snow in an overflow line. The screening started more than 30 minutes late.
“Magazine Dreams” is one of the strongest sales titles at this year’s festival. CAA Media Finance is representing the rights worldwide. Top executives from Sony Pictures Classics, Bleecker Street, NEON and Roadside Attractions were in the audience on Friday.
From T.I. attending a weekend trip from hell to Snoop Dogg taking on the role of a former NFL superstar, 2023 will provide a movie for everyone
By Amber CorrineMusic’s biggest names have always found their way to the box office, whether it be Michael Jackson in 1978’s The Wiz, Jennifer Lopez in the biopic Selena or Eminem in 8-Mile.
What makes Emcees and crooners an attractive target for the big screen? According to Wu-Tang veteran and Power Book II: Ghost actor Method Man, “rappers are great liars.”
Whether that statement is entirely true or not, there are many films releasing in 2023 starring rappers and R&B stars that are sure to have viewers on the edge of their seats. From T.I. taking on the role of a man trying to escape a weekend from hell, to Snoop playing a former NFL star that now coaches the youth — this year is sure to be actionpacked with music-studded movies that will either validate or counter Meth’s claims.
Here are 20 rappers and R&B stars set to hit the big screen in 2023.
R&B singer and actor Jacob Latimore (The Chi, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) is set to star in the remake of the 1990 classic House Party.
This time around the 26-year-old plays Kevin, “an aspiring club promoter who is best friends with Damon,” the synopsis reads. “Out of money, down on their luck and about to lose the roofs over their heads, they need a huge windfall to make their problems go away. They soon decide to host the party of the year at an exclusive mansion, which just happens to belong to none other than NBA superstar Lebron James.”
House Party premieres in theaters on Jan. 13, 2023.
West Coast Veteran and now actor Snoop Dogg will star in the forthcoming reboot of the ’90’s film House Party and forthcoming movie The Underdoggs
In the the latter, Snoop will play Jaycen “2J’s” Jenning, a former NFL superstar who, after a run in with the law, agrees to coach a youth football team in lieu of prison in the hopes of relaunching his fledgling career,” the synopsis states.
The Underdoggs is set to premiere Oct. 20 in theaters.
Rapper and now-producer Kid Cudi can be seen making a cameo in House Party on Jan. 13 as he attends one of the wildest mansion parties thrown at LeBron James’ house.
Cudi also starred in his own animated Netflix film, Entergalactic, which accompanied his eighth studio-album released last year.
R&B singer and dancer Tinashe will also make a cameo in the forthcoming remake of House Party set to release Friday (Jan. 13). In the trailer, Tinashe is seen dancing on the floor during a battle.
As a child, Tinashe was featured in the 2003 film Masked & Anonymous, and went on to play Mimi Marquez in Rent: Live and herself on the FOX TV series Empire.
Amongst the star-studded cameos set to take the big screen in House Party, rap royalty Lil Wayne will make an appearance in the film. In the trailer of the Dalmatic-directed reboot, Wayne is seen attending the wild mansion party at Lebron James’ home, as he tends to two women.
Lil Wayne has not fully tapped into his inner actor yet, but has made a plethora of cameos as himself in various TV shows and films.
Atlanta rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris is no stranger to the big screen. Having already played in major films including ATL, Takers, Antman, Sleepless and many more — he’s now set to star in the forthcoming film Fear.
Per synopsis, T.I. will play “Lou,” in the film where “a much needed getaway and a celebration weekend turns into a nightmare due to the contagious airborne threat.” In the film, T.I. will face his number one fear head on.
Fear is set to hit theaters on Jan. 27.
Multi-sound guitarist and singer Lenny Kravitz is set to appear in Shotgun Wedding alongside Jennifer Lopez as Sean Hawkins.
Kravitz has also starred in films including Precious, The Butler, The Hunger Games films and more.
R&B, Latin and Pop star Jennifer Lopez has given meaning to the term “multifaceted” for years, as she’s acted in various staple films all while having a successful music career. Starting out with the 1997 biopic of the late Mexican singer Selena, Lopez channeled the slain Latin musician’s life in ways many had not seen before. With many films to have followed, now Lopez is gearing up for her next movie, Shotgun Wedding.
According to the Amazon Prime movie’s synopsis, Lopez plays “Darcy alongside Tom (Josh Duhamel) as they gather their lovable but very opinionated families for the ultimate destination wedding. However, just as the couple begins to get cold feet, everyone’s lives become suddenly in danger when the entire party is taken hostage.”
Shotgun Wedding releases on Amazon Prime Jan. 27th.
City Girls rapper Yung Miami will be making her second screen appearance in the upcoming Netflix film You People starring Lauren London, Eddie Murphy, Nia Long and Jonah Hill.
In the trailer, Miami plays a family member of London’s as “A new couple and their families find themselves examining modern love and family dynamics amidst clashing cultures, societal expectations and generational differences in this comedy from Kenya Barris,” Netflix details.
Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa will take on the role of Funk legend George Clinton in the forthcoming film Spinning Gold.
The biopic is based on 1970s Casablanca Records chief Neil Bogart, his label housing musical acts including Donna Summer, KISS, Parliament, Village People, The Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight, and Bill Withers, among others. Khalifa will make his big screen debut on March 31.
R&B/Soul singer Ledisi will also star in Spinning Gold as legendary Soul singer Gladys Knight.
Ledisi has already starred in the award-winning film Selma as Mahalia Jackson and in Leather Heads as a Blues singer. She also took on a motherly role in the 2011 film Leave It On The Floor.
R&B/Pop singer Jason Derulo will show off his acting skills in Spinning Gold as well. He will take on the role of iconic R&B/Soul singer Ron Isley of the Isley brothers.
The “Swalla” singer has played in the movie Cats as “Rum Tum Tugger.”
Rap and fashion icon André Benjamin, b.k.a. Andre 3000 of OutKast, will return to the big screen as “Eric” in the A24 film Showing Up set to release sometime in Spring of this year.
According to Deadline, “The film is a vibrant and sharply funny portrait of an artist on the verge of a career-changing exhibition. As [Reichardt] navigates family, friends and colleagues in the lead-up to her show, the chaos of life becomes the inspiration for great art.”
The “Prototype” rapper is set to star in the Kelly Reichardt comedy, alongside Michelle Williams, Hong Chau, John Magaro, and Judd Hirsch.
André has already been creditied for roles in films including Four Brothers, Idlewild, Revolver & Be Cool.
Triple-threat R&B singer, actor and comedian Jamie Foxx will star in two films this year.
In the forthcoming Netflix movie They Cloned Tyrone, Foxx plays “Slick Charles.”
“A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio (John Boyega, Foxx and Teyonah Parris) onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy in this pulpy mystery caper,” the synopsis reads.
As for the anticipated film Strays, Foxx will portray the voice of an abandoned puppy in the live-action adult animated comedy, directed and produced by Josh Greenbaum. Foxx will star alongside Will Ferrell, Isla Fisher, Randall Park and Will Forte.
They Cloned Tyrone will premiere on Netflix sometime this year as Strays will hit theaters June 9.
Rapper and TV impresario Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is stepping back in front of the camera for a role in the new The Expendables 4 film set to hit theaters Sept. 22 of this year.
As an official synopsis has not been released, The Hollywood Reporter states that the movie, “will once again focus on a group of veteran mercenaries.”
50 Cent is no stranger to the big screen, as he’s not only starred in and produced his own TV shows, but has had major roles in Get Rich or Die Tryin and Escape Plan: The Extractors.
R&B singer and theatre actress Fantasia Barrino will be reprising her role of Celie in The Color Purple broadway show, but now for the big screen.
The 2023 remake of Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film The Color Purple will tell “A story of the life-long struggles of an African American woman living in the south during the early 1900s,” as the original film did starring Whoopi Goldberg.
Fantasia will play in the musical-movie alongside Danielle Brooks, Deon Cole, Taraji P. Henson, David Alan Grier and more. The film will be in theaters Dec 20.
Grammy-winning singer H.E.R. has dabbled in acting, as she starred as Belle in Disney’s musical special for Beauty and The Beast. Now the “Back of My Mind” singer will also star in the forthcoming remake of the 1985 film The Color Purple as “Squeak.”
R&B singer and impressive dancer Ciara will also take on the role of the adult Nettie (sister to Celie) in the remake of The Color Purple, set to premiere this December. She will star alongside Fantasia, Halle Bailey, Taraji P. Henson and more.
Ciara previously played the role of “Brie” in the 2012 film That’s My Boy starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg.
Multi-talented singer and pianist Jon Batiste will debut at the box office as he takes on the role of Grady in the forthcoming remake of The Color Purple.
As part of the singing-sister duo Halle x Chloe, Halle Bailey will not only play the role of a young Nettie in upcoming film The Color Purple, she will also be shifting culture with her groundbreaking role as Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
Bailey, who has been acting since a young child, will play the Disney princess in the all new animated version of the 1974 movie. As in the original, Ariel “makes a deal with a sea witch, to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince.,” the synopsis reads.
The Little Mermaid hits theaters May 19.
This season’s Rock the Block (Begins Mach 6 on HGTV) teams will have six weeks and a budget of $250,000 to renovate four identical 5,000-square-foot properties on a cul-desac in Berthoud, Colorado. The designers who net the highest appraisal get bragging rights and a street named in their honor.
Hosted by design expert Ty Pennington, the teams on this season of Rock the Block have unique personalities and varied pasts. To get you excited for the what’s to come, we delved into the personal lives of teammates Bryan and Sarah Baeumler (Renovation Island), Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle (Luxe for Less), Jonathan Knight and Kristina Crestin (Farmhouse Fixer), and Page Turner and Mitch Glew (Fix My Flip).
We will take a closer look at team Michel and Anthony.
Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle are combining Michel’s interior design skills with Anthony’s couture fashion designer expertise to create one-of-a-kind looks in their “Mountain Modern” home. “I think the other teams may think we’re going to spend our money way too quickly. But luxury to us means knowing how to spend money and how to create the experience,” said Michel while filming the show.
Ahead, some more insight into this fun pair.
Michel was raised in the Lowcountry town of Thibodaux, Louisiana. “Coming from a small town, values are important and the idea of service is imperative,” he once said. Anthony grew up in Birmingham, Alabama.
Michel tried his hand at modeling when he lived in New York City years ago. Anthony was once a drag queen and loved to compete in pageants. “Hmm, I guess that’s why creative competitions are second nature to me,” he says.
Before Rock the Block
Michel appeared on Bravo’s design series, Buying It Blind, and Anthony took the crown on Season 6 of Bravo’s fashion reality show, Project Runway All Stars
(afterwards, he changed his name from Anthony Williams to Anthony Elle). He was also a judge on HBO Max’s Craftopia, a DIY craft competition reality show.
Luxury design experts Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle
As owner of SMITHBOYD, a design firm specializing in luxury residential and commercial projects, Michel is known as one of Atlanta’s top interior designers. Anthony has an atelier, Anthony Elle House of Fashion Design, where he creates custom couture gowns under the Anthony Elle label and also runs Anthony Elle House of Design, a subscription-based online fashion course that includes classes like Fundamentals of Fabric. When they’re not filming for HGTV or doing all of the above, Michel works on his furniture and rug collections. As well, Anthony recently landed his first acting role on Netflix’s How High 2.
Anthony: My music, my fabric and my iPad.
Michel: My knit hat, my notebook/sketch pad and my La-Z-Boy
“Mine was when my mom made homemade biscuits and hot cocoa on cold mornings,” says Michel. For Anthony, it was doing arts and crafts. “At a very early age I recognized the power and joy of creating things with my hands,” he says.
“Nobody is going to bring more sexy to the house than us. Page and Mitch? They’re cute. The island renovators? They’re cute. And the farmhouse renovators? They’re lovely. But sexy? That’s us,” laughs Michel.
