February 2013

A Year In Review: BIG on Our BLOG

Your favorite stories, quotes & photoshoots from iamtopflight.com

T.I.

No Apology Necessary iamtopflight.com

1

Feb 2013

FEATURES Pg 4 5 Steps To Start A Business Pg 5 Maybe It’s Your Fault...

A Letter To My Sisters Pg 7 “Chemical of Love” Pg 8 TIP’ing the Scale Pg 10 The Spread Pg 13 Quotes From the Yound & Motivated

iamtopflight.com

iamtopflight.com

2

FROM THE EDITOR Wow, we made it to February! It’s exciting to release the first issue of 2013, during the second month, in the year of fresh beginnings. Before we embark on new initiatives, as a staff, we wanted this issue to commemorate some of the great stories from this past year.

After much reflection, our staff made a resolution to create more original content and increase our subscriptions, pledging to be better and vowing to leave our weaknesses in 2012. It’s been challenging, but as a team, we are determined to stick to our plan!

Unfortunately, others have already given up, one month into the new-year. Resolution retention is the result of lack of commitment. It takes a special person to actually make a decision and stick to it-through and through- be the consequences negative or positive.

Resolutions require us to make a change in an area of weakness. Many of us are uncomfortable with change because it forces us out of our comfort zone. Without necessary changes, we will never reach our destiny. Why? Because destiny requires growth and progress only comes by change.

To be successful at anything…from losing weight to building a business…you must exhibit successful habits.

Successful people aren’t afraid of change. Successful people are disciplined; successful people take risks; successful people have a work ethic; successful people organize their time and tasks; successful people finish what they start.

Challenge yourself to be a successful person by displaying successful habits. Make the decision. Be consistent and do the work.

You are young. You are motivated. You are Top Flight.

Journalistically yours, Ms. Cryss Chief Editor

Chief Editor Cryss Walker Managing Editor Britney Embry Contributing Writers Stephanie Thomas Janae Marie Kirthmon Dozier Charma Robinson PhaShunta Hubert Alyssa Chester Darlene White Mohammed Luwemba Jasmine Boney Regional Promotions Coordinator Airayna Hawkins Art Director Tyrone Owens Jr Digital Graphics Tiera Turner National Promotions Manager Briana Gilchrist Photographer AJ Grant Sale Inquiries topflightmag@gmail.com

3

iamtopflight.com

5 Steps To Start A Business The things you need to know to make your idea, your reality Register an “Assumed Name” for your business.

Ex: For the city of Detroit go to the City County Building in the Wayne County Clerk’s Office and register your “Assume Name”. Fill out the application. The fee is $23. Note: Make sure the name you select is not already active.

Get an “EIN” Employer Identification Number (Tax ID) Contact the IRS and apply for a Tax ID which is also known as an employer identification number.

Go to http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=102767,00.html to apply.

Register your Assumed Name and EIN number with your state. Contact your state’s Labor/ Economic office. Departments and regulations of registration vary by state.

Ex: For the state of Michigan contact the Department of Labor and Economic Growth. Registration fee applies. Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth; Bureau of Commercial Services; Corporation Division; 7150 Harris Drive; P.O. Box 30054; Lansing, MI 48909.

Get A Business Account Getting a business account will allow you to establish a financial relationship with an institution that will be able to aid in financing, filing taxes and getting business credit.

Get A Website!

This cannot be emphasized enough. Having a web presence is a must in this age of technology. You can guide potential clients to your webpage to get more information on your products and services at their convenience. Make sure you research your industry and make your page clear to understand and easy to navigate. Don’t forget to add your Facebook, Instagram , Twitter and other social-networking links!

iamtopflight.com

4

Maybe It’s Your Fault…

A Letter To My Sisters

By Mohammed Luwemba

iamtopflight.com

5

I

would like to preface this article by stating I love black women, and there is no other example I can think of which best illustrates God’s magnificence than his creation of the Black woman.

That being stated, we often hear of many Black women complaining that there are no good Black men, and frequent complaints about the lack of respect shown towards them from many Black men. However, how many of us to stop to do the hard job of asking, why so many sisters continuously choose to be with the type of Black men they are chronically complaining about?

According to Patrick Fagan the author of “Rising Illegitimacy/ America’s Social Catastrophe”, 70% of Black children are born to unwed parents, and almost 55% of Black children are being raised by single mothers. We all know that the man is partially to blame in this situation; however the woman carries an equal amount of responsibility if not more. What these numbers show is that unfortunately many sisters are not carefully considering who they decide to have children with. It sincerely baffles the mind of a reasonable person that a woman of any race can so freely engage in actions such as unprotected sex knowing a pregnancy can be the result, and not know enough about a man to be able to attest unequivocally, if pregnancy occurs he will take care of the child. This abundant irresponsibility is reaping social havoc on the Black community.

Black women simply need to increase the standards they have for the men they choose to be involved with. When the only standard a significant number of our sisters are looking for is “he is cute” or “he has a nice car”, then a negative situation is bound to occur. In addition because of a lack of male leadership in our community many young brothers unfortunately follow the woman’s lead in regards to how to treat a Black woman based on what they see many sisters like in a man.

In closing sisters, do common sense things when choosing a mate such as knowing something about his back ground, and if he has multiple kids by multiple women, seems to like going to jail, or is over 25 without a legitimate source of income, but still has resources to go to the club rather than the library or around the city to look for a job, or bases his man hood on how many sexual encounters he has or how violent he can be. If this is the case may be he is not a wise choice.

Lastly marriage still means something. It should not be the norm for babies to be born out of wedlock.

The fact that we have accepted it as normal further illustrates the deficiency in male and female relations in Black America. It is a damn shame that when a sister is walking down the street with her child, or has a baby, there is at minimum a 70% chance she and the father are not married and have no intention of getting married. Sisters if you do not make changes necessary to change the downward spiral so many of you are on regarding men and relationships, some may reasonably conclude, maybe it’s your fault.

iamtopflight.com

6

“Chemical of Love” Written by Kyla Heat As the season of love, it is a time when Cupid’s arrow can strike at any instance to create feelings of lust or infatuation for a special someone.

Sweaty palms, jelly knees and an accelerated heartbeat are the cause for the biological response to these new feelings. Though people may think Valentine’s Day and warmer weather helps love grow, researchers haven’t found enough proof of that. The proof may actually be in biochemistry.

Phenylethlamine and oxytocin, both form the chemistry of love. According to Buzzle.com, phenylethlamine also known as the love molecule is released from the brain and can be triggered by touching hands or meeting someone’s eyes. The symptoms of love mentioned earlier are reactions from an overdose of the chemical.

Also, it is known for chocolate to have levels of phenylethlamine which is why most people like to have it as comfort food when having a stressful day or breaking up with someone. Some scientists suggest that even after finding someone to love, the initial feelings of euphoria and romance leave after one year.

Italian scientists tested 58 people who said they recently fell in love, a group of singles and people in long-term relationships and found that the first group had higher levels of the love molecule than the two other groups, reports the British Broadcasting Company.

Phenylethlamine decreases as the mind and body become comfortable with their partner and the love is not as new or exciting as it was in the beginning stages of courting.

Researchers found that it didn’t mean that people weren’t in love after one year but, “The love became more stable. Romantic love seemed to have ended,” said Piergluigi Politi to the BBC. Polili co-authored the study published in the journal “Psychoneuroendocrinology’ (Whew! What a long title).

In another study done by Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey, analyzed more than 3,000 brain scans of 18 enamored college students, taken while looking at pictures of their mate. The brain activity was considerably different when shown a picture of a close friend. The individuals with romance on the brain had high concentration receptors of dopamine, the chemical messenger closely tied to states of euphoria, craving and addiction.

Fisher also argued, when first captivated, couples often show the signs of surging dopamine, which are increased energy, a decreased need for sleep or food, focused attention and delight in the smallest gestures done by their mate.

This could explain why in the beginning stages of a relationship, love can distort most couple’s beliefs of their bond being stronger or more special than any person they know. This could also be why people often have the inability to honestly describe a person’s flaws at the beginning. So, the next time cupid strikes… it’s not that love is in the air, it’s actually in the brain.

iamtopflight.com

TIP’ing The Scale

d n an o i t ti va o M ,

sic u M s Talk ’ n a l e M ccess b u Su ‘Tro The taining n Mai ker l a W yss r C By:

iamtopflight.com

8

T

he emotion of the music was pure. One could feel the experience of growing up in the hood; you could visualized what it’s like to be at the livest party…out of your mind and engulfed in reveling; or the dopamine that drizzles down your spine when you’re in-love; even the deepest sorrow of losing a best friend or a father.

The “Trouble Man” himself could feel it too. You could look in his eyes and see him vividly reflecting on those moments that he wrote about in song. With the beat vibrating from the speakers to the wall…his eyes closed…head bopping and arm pumping to every pressing strike of the bass, as he introduces his new album to an on-looking audience.

“Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head” is an album of passion. It is introduced with a smooth 70’s, feel as Marvin Gaye serenades his piece “Trouble Man”.

It was the perfect sample for the soundtrack to T.I. ‘Tip’ Harris’ life; an album that recognizes the success of his music and the pitfalls of his struggles.

Ms. Cryss: “You seem reformed and redeemed…why still Trouble Man?” T.I.: “To not acknowledge where you’ve been, that’s the recipe to history repeating itself…I’m not trying to evade from the fact that I’m known just as much for getting in trouble just as much as I am known for making music so if trouble is going to be something about my life and career that is certain, then I dedicated myself to being the best damn trouble man that you’ve ever seen!

Ms. Cryss: “I listened to ‘Sorry’ [featuring Andre 3000] and there was a lot of emotion behind that record …what was the inspiration?”

T.I. “ Well Sorry, man, was really…me telling people all the reasons why I felt I did not owe anyone an apology outside of my friends and family and the people who know me personally…I just kind of listed all the things out to people that I was going through. All the things that I endured, the things that I’ve experienced and how they have contributed to me becoming the man that I am today. So maybe when you see me in certain elements, if you see me respond a certain way you won’t be so surprised because you’ll be able to incorporate these thoughts or these ideas to your understanding; And I’m just trying to be honest…look I come from a certain environment, man…you just don’t shake this off, you know what I’m saying…certain things I’ve gone through, man, it stick with you forever and you know, it contributes to your… everyday activity; just how you respond to people, how you respond to situations and when in certain environments… so I guess the emotion came from me…presenting that fact to the people.”

T.I. opens up about his recipe for success, relationship with God, work ethic and why he became a family man; Watch the full story at iamtopflight.com.

iamtopflight.com

9

The Spread The Spread TEAM: Photographer: Jennifer Alder Model: Cortney McGee MUA: Candice Johnson Hair: Erin D’Angelo Stylist: Rosco Spears Wardrobe Provider: Whitney Morris of Lu’Dottie Accessories Designer: Tee Capel of Fly Behavior

clothes: Frenchi (shirt) Nine 3 Two (skirt) Vintage jacket Steve Madden (boots) -acc by: Forever21

iamtopflight.com 10

The Spread The Spread

The Spread The Spread

clothes by: Lu’Dottie (Whitney Morris)

iamtopflight.com

-acc by: Fly Behavior (Tiffany Capel)

11

The Spread The Spread

The Spread The Spread

-clothes by: H&M (dress) Max Studio (vest) Asos (shoes) -acc by: Fly Behavior (Tiffany Capel)

iamtopflight.com

12

“

Quotes from the Young & Motivated Sunni a nd the C the per son I am ity- “I feel like Detroit today.”

Made

that door idn’t bring ce- “…… I d ”. in r in P t o a g D I Shorty h it when t to do wit kn ew wha

me

tI

to m e, bu

yourhave is with petition you m co ly on e the n- “I feel lik

Paigio self.”

DJ BJ 3 525- “If I spend that’s h a ow it g otta b e ll my cheese b .” randin

g myse

g to stenin WAS li e n o me P- “So

lf, world wide,

m e at

ck in 6 O’clo

ning”!

or the M

A

iamtopflight.com

13

“

DJ Mo Beat z- “It re

ally TOOK

OFF and H

e stuck to hi

ted to t I wan ind tha m y m kn ew in my life.” gan-“I h ciee Lo ings wit n th a F o d a Tyn anted to w I & goals

s word!”

achieve

Sir ShAnim al- “Do wha t you wanna don’t comp do, Do wha are what ot t makes yo her peopl e u happy, are doing” from e LISH just b t h ig , it m Team O I in ind m e”.

N ’t ain eh h- “It am b DJ Lis t I gotta te u LTC, b Rosco Spea rs- “I like to

live without lab els”.

ke

than just t’s more “I ly F c Dusty M ffies”. ehind bu a story b

ses, it’s li the glas

Terran ce Woo d ting yo ur nam s- “The hard e out th p ar t p retty m ere”. uch

Quotes from the Young & Motivated

is, get-

www.iamtopflight.com twitter @iamtopflight Facebook: I Am Top Flight

iamtopflight.com

15