A few weeks ago, Naked Hearts hosted an intimate event to debut a short film titled A Love Affair, a film created to capture the essence of a Naked Hearts girl. The film, by AV Rockwell shows a young edgy girl on a typical day strolling through the streets of downtown NY and shows us the only guy who can capture her eye also rocks Naked Hearts. Yes, fellas, Naked Hearts is for the guys too–if you know how to rock em!

Read below for more on Naked Hearts and to check out photos from the event!

Naked Hearts is a line of leather and copper pendants founded by the designer RAEANA. NH is an extension of her love for rich textures and leather, each piece is handmade and unique- no two are the same much like our own hearts! While your heart is exclusive to you- each piece shares the NH logo burned into the leather backing.

My favorite set of 3 from the night were these cute Black and Gold exotic pieces:

“Mamma Imma Make It” is no longer just a phrase for struggling artists & dreamers trying to make a name for themselves–its now being branded and packaged as a showcase series featuring underground artists in NYC.

Started by Samantha Alexandra this is the second showcase titled ‘Mamma Imma Make It’.

“The idea came from being bored in my summer classes and thinking of ways to make some money since I didn’t have time to work,” said Samantha.

“I thought a showcase would be something quick and easy, but everyday that I put together the ideas, I fell more in love with it. I know and have heard extremely talented artists and I just want to make sure they are seen and heard.”

Hosted by Samantha along with Derrick Swerve at Club Rebel in Manhattan, this is the second installment of a six part series. The night was packed wall to wall with performances including a 2 hour open mic session before the main acts hit the stage. And with a bill of 10 performers including Kris Kasanova, Lyriciss, Dante, Kayla Bliss, Karolina, Julian Stephen, M@RV3LOU$, Niyre, Matt the Violinist, Essence Michea along with special guests that graced throughout the night the show was lengthy but the audience continued to grow in size throughout the night.

From singing to rapping to violin playing, there was no shortage of variety. A few of the show stoppers and crowd favorites included Matt the Violinist, rapper Kris Kasaonva, and guest performer L.A. who just made allhiphop.coms list of top underground artists of 2011. Lyriciss brought L.A to the stage for a live rendition of “Great Walls of China” from L.A.’s album, The L.A. Riots.

To top it off, the show happened to double as a birthday celebration for Samantha. Despite it being her show, her friends managed to surprise her bringing out a cake topped with a surprise performance by her favorite underground rapper Denzil Porter.

The founder who is also a singer herself says she wants use the shows as a stepping stone for each artist, and each of them have different goals ranging from wanting to be signed to simply wanting to rule the underground scene. She invites label representatives to the shows to take a peek at the up and coming talent.

“The message behind Mama Imma Make It is to not let anyone hold you back from your dreams and to keep working. You can’t stop working. Productivity is everything.”

‘Mamma Imma Make It’ is the promise every musician and dreamer makes and what they hope to turn into the phrase ‘mamma I MADE IT.’ Singer, Kayla Bliss who performed in the showcase says for her making it is simply about reach.

“I don’t ever have to make a dime off of singing, I’m always going to sing,” says Kayla. “But I think making it is when I can touch a city, or a crowd of 20,000 people without having to try.”

The next MIMI showcase takes place in February.

Check out full performance videos below courtesy of KidzREvil.

Kris Kasanova:

Kris Kasanova =Warpaint= performance @ #MIMI from Felix Woodcock on Vimeo.

LA

LA x Lyriciss “Great Walls Of China” @ #MIMI from Felix Woodcock on Vimeo.

Kayla Bliss:

Kayla Bliss performance @ #MIMI from Felix Woodcock on Vimeo.

For more performance videos click here.

With an increase in opportunities for women, its no secret that women today are becoming more ambitious. Even pop culture is taking notice, brought to life by songs like Wale’s “Ambitious Girl” and Beyonce’s “Girls (Who Run The World).” But despite the empowerment happening, one thing is resoundingly clear, some of the prettiest, most ambitious girls are usually single. It’s rare to see a girl on the path to greatness hooked arm and arm with a guy who is also trotting down that path.

The biggest issue? Guys may want to approach these ambitious girls, but fumble and foul in more ways than one. Making assumptions that the girl is busy, and crafting their approach around this idea is the biggest no, no. Check out the list of what to do and what not to do when asking an “ambitious” girl out.

1. Don’t ask her when she is “free.”

This girl probably has a to do list filled with items longer than the hours that exist in a single day. She hates having idle time, so every second or block of time is filled with something she should be doing. So, asking her when she is free is quite frankly annoying. It hits a chord because she feels like she should never be “free” persay. In her mind free time is a waste of time. So, to ask her when she is free will never get you a straight answer and definitely won’t get her to give you any of it.

2. Be Direct

What works best is to be specific about a date and time you’d like to see her. Give a couple of options and its likely she can move something around or reschedule something in order to make time to spend some time with you. Chances are you’re busy too, so the more specific the better it is for both of your schedules.

3. Don’t Assume

If you don’t know don’t try to guess, or impose your assumptions upon her. Don’t assume she has a boyfriend and don’t assume she doesn’t have time. Assuming she is busy and not reaching out and then blaming it on her schedule or work load is not the way to go and its just another annoying trait that will make her less interested. Don’t be afraid to take charge, be aggressive, be spontaneous or surprise her even when she says she is working. While she’s not sitting by her phone waiting for you, she still wants to see you and wants to know you’re thinking of her.

4. Do your research

Don’t waste her time or yours. Know a bit about her and what she does. It isn’t hard to find out these days from just ten or fifteen mins of social skimming what she’s into. Use that when crafting the date, or during conversation. She’ll be flattered that you know a little about that last article she wrote, or her newest client she added to her roster.

5. Texting vs. Calling

There’s a time for everything and same goes for this. This isn’t high school, so chances are, she’d rather get to know you face to face rather than hours on the phone in looping convos until 3am. And, she’s probably not a texter. Sorry guys, if you text her during the work day, she’ll look at it and say to herself ‘aw let me get back to him after I finish this.’ Then, a few hours later she will remember but we all know in the text world her response time has now expired. But there is an exception here, there are some girls who still do like the all day texting and long phone calls, you’ll need to make your own informed decision when it comes to this.

6. The Grand Finale – The Date

Now if you actually make it to this point be sure to make it count. Make it something adventurous, or simply have it involve good food, good drinks and good convo. Or make it happen in a pretty setting, a park, a garden, a museum– the list of possibilities are endless, once you get to this point.

After you make it to the “other side”– from a random guy who is maybe sort of trying to talk to her, to a guy she possibly might talk to– don’t drop the ball. Following the first date, the first conversation is usually a good indication of how things went and whether or not you both click. Again, we aren’t in high school so none of that waiting 3 days thing. Dealing with ambitious girls isn’t easy. She’s not waiting for you to call her, or taker her out. She isn’t going to be a silent accessory when you go out together, she’s not dependent, or needy and she will criticize you, push you and maybe even inspire you if you let her.

So, ambitious ladies, weigh in, what have I left out? And fellas, what do you think?

Last week was the opening night for Atomic Vision, the exhibition of art pieces being shown at the Tria Gallery featuring artists Jay West, Ryan Cronin, and Johnny Taylor. The collection centers around  hard-edged cartoon style paintings, and will be showing through January 7th. One of the featured artist, brought out an overwhelming large following to the debut night, his first gallery opening in Chelsea.

“For me, to be here from Harlem, a young black artist and stuff like that, a lot of times you get stereotyped and put in a box early, and I’m just here to fly,” said West reflecting on the opening and what it means.

For the 23 year old artist, the theme, atomic vision, had a personal meaning. “I wanted people to just feel where I was coming from. When I created these pieces I was at a defeated point in my life and I just wanted people to feel that celebration, that’s why it’s called atomic vision.”

With plans of showing internationally and along the east coast, this opening could be the launching pad for a bright young artist from Harlem. “Its just a real big thing its like straight projection to the moon. That’s how I feel.”

Atomic Vision

Tria Gallery
531 West 25th Street, ground floor #5, 212-695-0021
Chelsea
December 1, 2011 – January 7, 2012

As I walked into the high line ballroom, my expectations weren’t too high, but I was immediately hit by the electricity of the crowd as headliner Kendrick Lamar took to the stage. This marked the fourth show in New York headlined by Lamar, and many in the audience proclaimed to have been at them all. Lamar also brought out ASAP Rocky and the rest the ASAP crew to perform ADHD.

But then Lamar uttered the words no fan wants to hear: “They cut my set kinda short tonight.” instantly, a puff of smoke rose from The crowd. Amongst the beanies, and snap backs, rose sounds of outrage, they were heated.

“What you want me to bang out?” Lamar asked as he tried to read the audience to determine what his last song would be. They all shouted different requests all at once.

“Listen, listen, calm before the storm…listen listen, calm before the storm…listen listen calm before the storm.” Lamar asks the crowd to be quiet and shockingly, the two floors of people actually adhered to his request. The room was silent for a quick second. Then, the beat dropped, everyone’s arms rose as they vibed out to lemars final song of the night: “Michael Jordan.”

*thanks to Potential of Scene Media for the video coverage.

Advice For Emerging Black Tech Entrepreneurs – CNN BIA4 from ICED MEDIA on Vimeo.

CNN once again hit us with a the 4th installment of their Black in America series, this time bringing to light the disparities of the tech world. This edition, titled “Silicon Valley – The New Promised Land” was hosted by Soledad O’Brien. Michael Arrington, founder of tech crunch and a venture capatilist sparked conversation and controversy with his comment “I don’t know a single black entrepreneur” and stating further “Not enough women or people of color are even asking for funding.”

The response, was divided, some saying he’s right while others grew angry citing dozens of website founders, graphic designers, programmers, engineers and coders they know. The tech world, seems to be color blind, so blind they aren’t even aware of their own bias and failure to provide funding to Black founders. With the growing economic and innovation oportunities evolving in the tech space lack of funding and investment opportunities for Black tech entrepreneurs has become a serious issue.

In case you haven’t seen it, the special follows a group of black tech entrepreneurs part of the NewMe accelerator started by Angela Benton and Wayne Sutton because of the diversity/access issue in Silicone Valley.

Just before the airing of the special, CNN hosted an advance screening and panel that we were invited to. Below are selected clips from the panel that included Soledad O’Brien, Steve Stoute and Pete Cashmore the founder of Mashable.

In this wired world, will Blacks get wired in? Be sure to catch the re-run on CNN. Check your local listings.

Soledad O’Brien Speaks On The Importance Of CNN BIA4 from ICED MEDIA on Vimeo.

If you take a look around, the train station, the city streets, and even on TV, almost everyone is rocking a pair of “on ear” headphones. But everyone wears the same brands. Dominating the market include brands like Beats By Dre, Sony, Bose, and Skull Candy. So, because I hate following trends and getting “what everyone else has” I decided to try out the new kid on the block– SOL headphones.

These headphones made such a drastic change in the sound they made me want to do the electric slide to “Otis” (Kanye/Jay-Z). SOL headphones minimize outside noise and create an intense and intimate sound experience.  I heard sounds, and instruments in songs I’d never heard before bringing the impact of the song to the next level.  The full sound almost made me forget I was walking down the streets of New York City. But at the same time, they proved to be the perfect tool to deliver the soundtrack sounds of my life, hand selected by my playlist, and put on blast only in my ears.

And, ironically SOL headphones stand for Soundtrack Of Life. Another cool feature of these headphones are their flexibility. You literally can detach the headphone buds, and the wires and interchange them for a different color, a different look, or a different sound. And the cherry on top?– they’re equipped with a music control piece and a microphone built into the wire.  Perhaps the whip-cream on top is the price– these amazingly functional and high quality headphones are only $99.   These clever headphones provide flexibility, fun functionality and affordability– a rarity when it comes to electronics.

SOL headphones are multi-functional and perfect for the multi-tasking type always on the go.  They are available at Best Buy and Apple locations nation wide. Visit SolRepublic.com for more information.

Read more for more photos.

I only got the chance to attend one panel during influencer con NYC and I’m glad I did. Even though the organizers did have a live stream online, being IN the room while these talks are happening is another level experience.

The room I was in was one with Steve Stoute and Philip L. McKenzie, the founder of the influencer conference, in a conversation titled “The Tanning of America.” Though Stoute obviously was there to push his book, some gems were dropped including the importance of making sure you are heard, following through, and following your gut.

His book, The Tanning of America addresses a cultural shift/blending of cultures and is intertwined with anecdotes from his personal experiences. “Tanning is the transformation from the last gen to this he where no longer do they see color as a way to look at each other and identify with each other,” explained Stoute. “They identify each other through shared values, and I believe that the mental complexion that has taken place has caused that to happen. I call that shift tanning.”

Besides this breakdown in the definition of what tanning means, probably the best piece of advice given included his passionate speech on the importance of being heard. “Being heard is your responsibility. It’s not someone else’s job to hear you. It’s your job to make sure you are heard.”

Take a look at the video above for some key takeaways from the hour long session.

Another session from the New York Panels that I planned on going to, but could not make it to was the From Profession to Passion: The New Entrepreneur. So instead I had to settle for the live stream– you can view that HERE.

Designer RAEANA is a top 25 finalist in BET’s contest “Lens on Talent.”  The contest which previously only highlighted film makers now features three categories including music, dance and fashion. This summer, Raeana submitted the above video and received a call from the producers a few weeks later notifying her of her finalist status. If she wins, she will receive $10,000 to put towards her dream–pursuing her talent– and be featured in BET’s Lens on Talent special. All you have to do to make this a reality is vote!

To vote, visit http://ow.ly/6NDwc and click “hot” under her video submission.

If you aren’t familiar with Raeana‘s work we have featured her milestones here before including being featured in the window at Saks Fifth Avenue, being sponsored by Saga Furs to show in Hong Kong and more. Check out the video and vote!