Gele Day 2016 came in like a lion and continues to roar! July 16th, 2016 marked the 5 year anniversary of Gele Day! The Queens once again took over the 63rd street beach and raised the level of consciousness. The annual event grows bigger every year and seems to get more action packed as well! From start to finish it was a top notch event. The area filled up very quickly with people who have been attending since day one and of course new comers. Gele Day did not only attract the ladies but the men who support them as well! It was filled with affirmation, poetry, dancing, and the imparting of knowledge. The Gele Day team did a superb job with this event! I’ve know Madam Pilar for many years and I am loving the way this event is growing. If you have never been make sure that you attend next year and stay in tune with what the Queens have under their towers of power! To stay in tune with the Wrap your Beauty Movement make sure you like Their Facebook page and subscribe to the notifications once you do! https://www.facebook.com/wrapmovement/?fref=ts
Love DIA Couture Celebrates 6 Years
This evening I had the opportunity to celebrate the 6 year anniversary with Love Dia Couture. The company was founded and is spearheaded by Delcia Norwood a wonderful young business woman in Chicago. The event served as a showcase for entrepreneurs in the Chicagoland area which just so happened to be all female this year. The vendors at this event were: Okere with Younique, Kefira Fields for Contemporary Flavors, LoLita with Stained (Henna and Jagua Body Art), Val Densmore for Desserts by Densmore, Moné MonéCapri Johnson for MonéCapri, K’lynn AireAna Kennedy for Kathy Lynn Boutique, Sandra Soap Company, Brown Bunny Glam and Shontia Campbell-Olatunji with Total Life Changes. The event of course had fashions from Love Dia Couture herself. I loved the fact that Delcia’s company is taking an opportunity to highlight other Black business women like herself especially given the climate in our country. Black businesses face challenges that other businesses do not, obtaining capital and loans are some of them to name a few. Creating opportunities where entrepreneurs can showcase what they have to offer is crucial to businesses trying to build clientele and obtain exposure. Another great thing about the event is that the music playlist featured all local Chicago artists as do all of her events! Tonights event was an example of a business woman being selfless and taking an opportunity to share the spotlight with others. I hope that other companies follow her lead. I’m looking forward to more great things from this brand!! To learn more about Love Dia Couture and keep up with their offerings visit their website and follow them on social media!
https://www.facebook.com/lovediacoutureandfashion/?fref=ts
Twitter & Instagram @lovediacouture
Black Mall Gala
July 8th marked the Black Mall’s first Gala whose purpose was to honor the top Black Businesses in Chicago. The event was hosted at the Africa International House located at 6200 South Drexel. The Black Mall serves as a gateway to Black Businesses. When discussing supporting Black Businesses I always hear where do you go to find them, I don’t know where they are and things of that nature.Well look no further than the Black Mall for your needs! Many ask why is there the need for a Black Mall? There are a number of answers to that question but the simplest answer I can give you is that Black businesses face a number of challenges that other businesses do not so therein lies the need for organizations like the Black Mall. The Gala was a great opportunity to thank and showcase many of the hardworking Black Owned businesses in Chicago. Quite often business owners do not hear the words thank you so being honored by their peers can be music to their ears. Cassiopeia Uhuru is the fire behind the Black Mall along with her wonderful team. One of the great things about her team is that she employs a lot of younger people & interns which gives them an opportunity to gain valuable work experience. If you are not familiar with the Black Mall be sure to visit their site http://theblackmall.com/ as well as their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackMall/?fref=ts
Interview with Javid Jenkins “Mr. GBF”
At Openyonated.Com we’ve been talking about doing interviews for a while. We finally have completed our first one with none other than Javid Jenkins CEO of the Fit Factory located at 400 West 76th. Javid has a phenomenal story! I was introduced to Javid via social media Facebook to be exact. It was at the point where he was doing INSANITY work outs with his wife and was engaged in his own personal transformation. I literally watched him take the weight off the old fashioned way as he shared his journey on the world wide web. I later attended one of his bootcamps where I flopped LOL but later decided to join his movement and was able to go from 210 to 178. It’s been a challenge to maintain but I have not given up and I truly appreciate Javid’s dedication to his work and the family atmosphere that he has created at the Fit Factory. Check out our video interview, it’s our first one but there definitely will be more to come!
The Rise of Spoken Word Returns
You rise when you lift others up, that’s the philosophy of Just Mic’s The Rise of Spoken Word Returns event. People were definitely lifted up in more ways than one. Just Mic and Missy Taylor were the hosts of the event however we experienced multiple artists sharing the stage as host. The job of each artist was to introduce the person that followed them which gave them an opportunity to lift someone else up during the showcase. The Open Mic and showcase was filled with a roster of very talented artist from the Chicagoland area surrounding suburbs and Kankakee IL. Spoken Word Artist Candice Chism aka (Renaissance),(Royal R’Kitec) of Solace Souls, Falon (Justgohard) & Chris Jackson (I Am A Writer) of P.O.E.T. were the feature performances in the showcase. One of the highlights of the evening was performances by Zachary Spears a very talented guitar player from Harvey, IL. In addition to their performances the night include awesome praise dances ,raffles,vendors and delicious food catered by Black On Black Bistro. This is my first time attending one of Just Mics events and I can honestly say that I enjoyed the show. Be sure to follow all of the artists mentioned to keep up with their current projects & events. Follow our blog on all social media at @Mropenyonated
International Maverick “This Lil Light”
Chicago’s very own International Maverick just dropped his latest visual “This Lil Light.” His latest hit is self produced and Directed by Work Nowitzki. One thing we like about International Maverick is that he is consistent with his craft. When his work isn’t right in front of you can rest assured he is creating new content. Maverick’s video is visually appealing as all of them are that’s how you know he takes time at selecting the right location and isn’t just throwing a video together. His flow is natural and unforced and always seems to ride the beat effortlessly. What we really like about his style is that he embraces story telling in his rhymes something that many hip hop artist have forgotten. His work is not full of false bravado, dropping designer names or talk of how much money he is getting. This Lil Light feels like that Summer jam that you play with the windows rolled down as you ride through the city. Even though he’s currently outside of Chi Town, he always represents in some form or fashion which is important to the hip hop community in Chicago. To keep in tune with what International Maverick is doing make sure that you subscribe to his youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/MrMav81 and like his artist page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/internationalmaverick/?fref=ts Big thumbs up !!! That’s our 2 cents! Follow us on all social media at @MrOpenyonated
What if we worked on being flawless from the inside?
We as people spend countless hours in an attempt to be flawless on the outside while not giving the same amount of time to what is going on in our minds, hearts and souls. We adorn ourselves an abundance of material things but they only seem to mask some of the issues that we have going on in the inside. Once the newness of our distraction wears off we are at it again. Some paint their faces to the Gods, while others make sure that their hair is fabulous then you have those who spend countless days at the gym to have a chiseled body but it never seems to be enough. What wold happen if we spent the same amount of time in self discovery? What would happen if we dug into the issues that really made us chase temporary fixes? What if we invested time in being flawless from the inside?
Frankiem Mitchell (Kiem Nicoli) Performs at Soul Restoration
When a King holds court, everyone listens. Check out the powerful performances of Frankiem Mitchell (Kiem Nicoli)
Red Storm Features at “Talk to Me Mondays” Hosted by 3BM
Paint your own portrait.
From the time that we are small children well into adulthood people think they have us all figured out. Some individuals can tell you exactly who you are based on their perception of you. They may not have any facts but they know what they are talking about, this is especially true when you add in social media. It’s also challenging for family and friends to see us outside of their boxes. We’ve all seen or experienced family and friends claiming that they were totally surprised when an individual engaged in a certain type of behavior. We’ve heard the stories of the husbands and wives who claim that they lived in houses with strangers for years when in actuality they never got to know a person. Some of us might have experienced others tell us who we are only to respond “no that’s not me it’s who you made me to be.” When we have been given personas that we don’t agree with we need to take the brush out of the persons hand and begin to paint ourselves so that they can get an accurate portrait of who we really are. That’s our 2 cents for the day. Follow us on all social media at @MrOpenyonated.