I think everyone on the east coast (and the south really) is ready to defrost from this harsh winter. But until mother nature decides to turn her thermostat the other way, why don’t you get cabin fever with me? No, I don’t mean go stir crazy in the house because you want to get out. I mean check out these beautiful, bucolic (you’ll see me use that word a lot) cabins where you can getaway, and enjoy all that nature has to offer. 1. The Rocky Mountains, ColoradoIf you love snow sports, snow-covered peaks, luxury chalets and high fashion cold…
Ambition, creativity and success – adjectives that in our minds should all run together in succession. Somehow to us they’re co-dependent. Have one, have all three. As creativites we tend to believe that whatever we put out should be met with success, recognition and praise, and when it’s not, I’d say 90% of us quit. But it is that time in the beginning, when you’re finding yourself, your voice, your style, your influence – that you are allowed to f*ck up. Try new things, take chances, step into uncomfortability, live in the space of actually being yourself – creating what…
If you can’t already tell, I’m a step past a nature enthuse. I find peace, serenity and creative energy in anything remotely related to the outdoors. Recently, French fashion house Chloé released their editorial images for their Spring 2014 campaign and let me say they did not disappoint. Effortlessly merging fashion and a gorgeous landscape, the campaign is reminiscent of vintage ’70s vinyl covers. French singer Lou Doillon and German supermodel Julia Stegner were chosen to model for fashions while Dutch fashion photography pair Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin shot the campaign. Indulge. – Angel Images via Zoeelysia.com/
What better way to celebrate Black History Month (in my opinion) than to get out, enjoy nature, and traverse some of the trails that African Americans took to freedom not so long ago? Just in time for you to get your faux Indiana Jones on, the African American Experience Fund of the National Park Foundation released a list of ways to celebrate Black History Month in the nation parks, state by state. Louisiana – Enjoy a free concert featuring musicians from New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. Hosted by Cane River Creole National Historical Park and Asbury United Methodist Church in Natchitoches, the performers will…
In honor of Black History Month, I’m taking it back to the motherland for this week’s Wanderlust of the Week. Scene set: A lush oasis of flora and fauna, emerald sweeping plains, gentle beasts with long trunks and floppy ears and slow rippling tides of N’wanetsi River – straight out of some fantastical fairytale. You’re sitting above the bucolic scene, drink in hand – mind racing at the prospect of your South African safari adventure to come. Welcome to Singita Kruger National Park in South Africa. You’re staying at the luxurious Singita Lembombo Lodge found on the south eastern reaches of the…
It’s easy to become homogenized in hip hop. As mainstream as rap has become, product endorsements, pop collaborations and sell-out-isms are rampant – why? Because it’s an easy way to make money, and the most feasible, considering artists make most of their dough these days not from record sales, but from touring and corporate dollars. One rapper who’s stayed true to his hip hop credo however is Pusha-T. TheAngelEra.com caught up with Pusha-T as he rolled through Washington D.C. to perform at EchoStage. Listen to his thoughts on staying real in hip hop, why we should honor rap icons right…
On February 3, 1870, five years after the American Civil War ended, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, known as the “slave amendments” were ratified, ensuring former slaves citizenship, the right to vote, and the legal inability for bitter a*s massa to return to slavery. Now this is when these amendments were officially ratified, but what we know is Blacks wouldn’t be able to really vote or register, or break the barriers of second class citizenship until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed. How’d those slick bastards get past The Constitution you ask? Through Jim…
I’m a fan of all different genres of music. I grew up a classically trained opera singer, with parents who had a gospel singing group. I couldn’t listen to “secular” music until I was in high school, but of course I snuck my older sister’s CDs and cassettes so I could keep up with my more homogenized classmates. Jodeci, Monica, Michael Jackson, 702, Nirvana, Fleetwood Mac, I loved it all. That insatiable desire to experience every music flavor is still with me today. My favorite band is M83, I love Jay-Z, GroupLove, Kendrick Lamar, Imagine Dragons, ZEDD, the list goes…
Dope, dope, dope. I’m an over-enthusiastic fan of Karen Walker’s simple, yet statement worthy eyewear. This season Karen Walker has partnered with United Nations’ ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative as a part of her new KAREN WALKER VISIBLE campaign to create work in community groups of micro-artisans located in Kenya. The Ethical Fashion Initiative charge is to promote sustainable business in economically disadvantaged areas, and provide business aid over hand-out dependency. Which I’m here for. The Kenyan artisans of the Ethical Fashion Initiative will produce pouches and they’ll come with every pair of sunglasses from her new collection. The pouches will also…
The question of, “When does someone deserve a second chance?” has been pervasive through international politics, social discussions, and even of course, interpersonal relationships. But when it comes to the question of someone’s physical freedom, versus incarcerating them for a crime for the rest of their natural existence, sh*t gets serious. Many critiques of the United States justice system say that millions of prisoners are victims of over sentencing due to three-strikes laws used in states across the nation. Taxpayers spend $80 billion dollars a year on 2.3 million prison, half of which are behind bars for non-violent crimes. For…
There’s no better way to experience nature, if you can’t be there in the flesh, than through time-lapse movie photography technology. You think the sh*t you do is epic until you experience these awe-inspiring clips that capture a sliver of creation’s awesomeness over time. I won’t geek off on you, but I’ll just tell you that time-lapse is achieved through capturing the footage at a lower/slower frame rate than used to actually view the footage. Anyhow, I thought these videos were dope, and would hopefully inspire to get your a*ses outside. Forget the cold. 🙂
by Adam DickersonWho doesn’t love chicken and waffles? I know I do. I also like remixing recipes, food is here to be enjoyed and experimented with. I started playing in the kitchen one day and thought it would be a good idea to mix the sweet and savory combination with some unconventional flavors. In comes the idea of Jamaican curry chicken and mini waffles with thyme brown butter sauce! Ingredients:2 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets Deep fryer or sauce pan filled with 2” of vegetable oil Frying thermometer (optional but very helpful) Buttermilk Marinade 1 cup buttermilk (if butter milk…
Lawd KNOWS I’m a fan of real music, I love that underground indie sh*t. But, as I was trolling for new music late night, Justin Bieber’s new video, “Confident” came sliding across my Vimeo feed. Yes, I watched it. Yes, I liked the entire thing. Song and all. I did feel a bit cougar-tastic when he kissed that young jawn at the end. For shame. – Angel
So, this site officially launches on Monday! Yay! Launching it with tons of new content, exclusives etc. for your millenial minds to consume. But I digress. Happy Black History Month y’all! The one month that our (I am Black) history gets officially recognized and celebrated. I’m personally a card carrying Black history buff, so any chance I get to infuse our past in the present, I do it. Now on to the title of this post. I decided that I’m going to go meatless for February. Not because of some diet scheme, or desire to be more Bey-like, but because…
Rest in Power; 1934 – 2014 A closed window looks down on a dirty courtyard, and Black people call across or scream across or walk across defying physics in the stream of their will. Our world is full of sound Our world is more lovely than anyone’s tho we suffer, and kill each other and sometimes fail to walk the air. We are beautiful people With African imaginations full of masks and dances and swelling chants with African eyes, and noses, and arms tho we sprawl in gray chains in a place full of winters, when what we want is sun. We have been captured, and we labor to make our…
Uh oh, looks like your favorite hip hop artist won’t be rappin’ about poppin’ bottles of Patron for much longer! That’s right, Diddy and Diageo have gotten into the tequila game. Wednesday (Jan. 8) Diageo and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Combs Wine & Spirits announced a 50/50 global partnership, they’ve purchased luxury tequila brand DeLeon – already favorite among Hollywood and music industry types. Larry Schwartz, President of Diageo North America is pleased, “Expanding our relationship with Sean Combs into tequila was a natural choice given Sean’s ability to galvanize support for luxury brands, as we’ve seen with our work together on Ciroc.”…
My sister is 12 years older than I. When she left for college I was only a six year-old scrappy baby, running around, collecting clues for the endless detective game that I played in my mind, making nasty little cakes out of mud and dandelions. We lived in one of those huge, three-storey historical townhouses in downtown Baltimore. All red brick, huge blacksmith’s fireplace, and a dark, creepy, unfinished basement. Curiosity killed me. I was forbade from going down in the basement by myself. I thought, “There must be dragons, monsters and a vampire living down there.” But see, I…
I have a wide range of musical tastes, hip hop, shoegaze (a sub genre of alternative rock), rock, R&B, folk (yes folk), electronic. As long as it’s melodious and transports my mind elsewhere I’m into it. While trolling the 9:30 Club site to see which upcoming concerts I should drag one of my unsuspecting friends to, I came across Lord Huron. I looked up their music and let me say they are a wonderful, whimsical mix of indie folk, and to ME, they have an M83 like shoegazing appeal. And, since y’all don’t know, M83 is definitely my favorite band,…
Yeah yeah, I’m on the late bus. How did I miss the release of these beautiful creations? The Beats by Alexander Wang collection features a sleek, all black matte design with pale gold accouterments. Yes, they’re sold out on the site. If someone finds the headphones, Beats Pill or earbuds, please, please, send me a smoke signal. Thanks. – A
Y’all know, or don’t, that I’m a big Luke James fan. His strong yet lofty voice, Ridiculous range from baritone to that perfect heady falsetto, I’m here for it. Not to mention that smooth chocolate-ty manliness he has going on there… Anyway, let me stop. Check out the video for his latest single, “Strawberry Vapors,” up top. – A
