CLIENTELE BLOG

WHEN DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH HIP HOP…The Return of an 80′s baby!!

It was 1983 the first time I knew what love meant! I was chillin in Inglewood, Cali and sitting on my momma’s porch and my cousin and I saw these in velour Puma sweatsuits walking down the block blasting some crazy music! Something we never heard before, electronic funk with a heavy 808 bass to it. It was Afrika Bambaataa and the SoulSonic Force’s “PLANET ROCK!” The cat holding the boombox, so close to his ears that it appeared to be glued to it, was like the Pied Piper walking through the neighborhood. I swear there was 30-40 neighborhood kids following this brother down to the Inglewood Recreation Center, where we were to be joined by 200+ kids who would witness the birth of hip hop in our very own neighborhood. This is when I fell in love with artists like UTFO, BIG DADDY KANE, BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS, THE JUICE CREW, ERIC B. & RAKIM, PUBLIC ENEMY, BIZ MARKIE, LL COOL J, KOOL MOE DEE, ROB BASE & EZ ROCK, etc.

It was four fingered rings, adidas sweatsuits and sneakers, high top fades, gumby’s, parachute pants, windbreakers, dookie rope chains, gazelles, diadoras, lottos, bboy stances, cassette tapes and 45′s, etc. I loved it all! Our relationship blossomed into something special…Hip Hop I loved you then and always will!

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Uber Fabulous Hair Stylist Jordan Filloon joins the CREATIVE CLIENTELE family

The newest contributor to join forces with the Creative Clientele family is Jordan Filloon. Jordan is an accomplished hairstylist with over a decade of experience in the hair and fashion industry. Beginning her career with internationally renowned salon, Toni & Guy, she quickly rose to the top as an educator with a keen eye for color and style. An expert at tailoring a client’s style to fit their personality and lifestyle, Jordan built up her portfolio coordinating fashion shows and providing hair and makeup services on-location for weddings and celebrity photoshoots, including a recent cover for Atlanta-based Fenuxe magazine. From casual family portraits to edgy editorials, Jordan’s ability to utilize her talent and skill in a diverse array of settings makes her a valuable asset to Creative Clientele Crew. Welcome Aboard, Jordan!

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TRAYVON MARTIN: DEATH AND DISHONORED –

The tragic shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin has led to a public outcry for justice, which many feel has not yet begun to be served.

George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old COWARD ,who claims he shot Martin in self-defense, has yet to be arrested or charged with a crime. Demonstrators have taken to the streets, lawmakers have protested on Capitol Hill and even President Obama has spoken out in support of Martin and his family.

The hip-hop community has also been vocal about the delicate matter, which has overwhelming racial implications. “It’s something very near and dear to me, because my son is around his age,” Young Jeezy told MTV News last week. “He looks like an innocent kid. I understand the situation as far as dude wanting to be [on] neighborhood watch, but everybody that’s black and young ain’t up to no good.”

On February 26, Martin was shot dead by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman as he walked through a gated Sanford, Florida, community. Zimmerman believed Martin — who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt — looked suspicious, so he called 911. The police dispatcher advised Zimmerman not to pursue the teen, but he reportedly ignored those instructions. By the time police arrived on the scene, Martin was dead. Although Zimmerman admitted to the shooting, police declined to arrest him citing the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows a person to kill in cases of self-defense.

Mobb Deep’s Prodigy doesn’t understand why local authorities didn’t take Zimmerman into custody. “To me, it’s up to the police department out there in Sanford to handle that the right way,” he said. “They were supposed to arrest him.”

“It’s unfortunate any time things like that happen, and I don’t know exactly what the motivation of the man who actually killed him was, but it doesn’t feel positive,” 50 Cent said. “For any circumstances when someone’s killed and there’s a person there that we know did it, regardless of their intentions at that point, there’s right and wrong. And I think that it’s obvious who’s wrong in this actual situation.”

Over the past week, there have been rallies calling for the arrest of Zimmerman in New York City, Chicago and Trayvon’s native Sanford, Florida. During a March 23 press conference, President Obama said if he had a son “he’d look like Trayvon,” and on Wednesday (March 28), Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush was removed from the House floor after he gave a speech in support of Martin while wearing sunglasses and a hooded sweatshirt in a symbolic show of solidarity.

Game believes Trayvon’s death is another example of racial injustice in America. “For some reason, people don’t think that they need any excuse to kill us, beat us, hit us, run us over, disrespect us or anything like that,” he said. “This is just another reminder that stupidity still exists.”

Killer Mike took a militant stance, expressing his frustration with the so-called Stand Your Ground law. “If we’re not gonna change the laws, then we have to change our mentality,” he said, urging young black men to arm themselves as long as they operate within the confines of their state’s gun laws.

Trying to make sense of a senseless act, Nas hopes that young Trayvon didn’t die in vain. “Maybe he thought in football he’d have a legacy,” Nas reasoned, “but now his legacy can become something that helps change things, hopefully.”

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WHOOTYS!!! Are White models taking over the Urban Modeling arena?

Over the past few years, the whispers have gotten louder and louder from Black and Latin hip hop video models such as Melyssa Ford, Bria Myles, Esther Baxter and more who have dominated the hip hop scene for several years now! The complaints, are as the new, ushered in White models state “Hating” that spill out of the Queens of hip hop videos and magazines are extremely direct and targeted towards these WHOOTY’S… White girls with booty! Rather freshly injected, or as they would like to believe- Naturally born with butts, are flooding hip hop epicenters like Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Vegas! Models like Amazing Aimee, CoCo, and Dallas born model Csilla Ray…claim that she always had booty and hip hop has always been her preference! To be fair, women of color in the industry are getting just as much work done as their white counterparts. Models period, simply need to always continue working on their craft and push the envelope or watch it get folded over them. So for any model, white or not, why not make the transition into the game, no matter who thinks they are/were running it…Step your game up! I’d like to hear your comments on this issue and if see if SISTA’S HAVE A VALID POINT or ARE WHOOTY’S JUST GETTING A BAD RAP!! Let Efani Allah know how you really feel, Creative Clientele family.

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Celebrity photographer Efani Allah to revisit his URBAN GEISHA GIRL project in Dallas this April

Celebrity photographer Efani Allah is set to revisit his amazing URBAN GEISHA GIRL concept series he first started in 2010. April 2012 marks the the second anniversary of the legendary shoot Efani Allah and his CREATIVE CLIENTELE team, along with the help of KYOTO Weddings husband/wife team Mark & Naomi Tovsen who provided the incredible traditional. Japanese geisha garb. Efani is looking to team up with a few of Dallas’ most fabulous Hair & Make Up artists, fashion stylists, and location managers in order to create something Hollywood-esque in THE SOUTH! Efani Allah and his team will seek out 4-6 high fashion models of every ethnicity to capture something beautiful from a previous concept. Efani plans on turning this series into a coffee table book to grace the homes artsy fartsy connoisseurs and Southern fashionistas. If you are a model, stylist, MUA, Hair tech or location scout and think you have what it takes to participate in the epic shoot, contact Efani Allah at 310-590-5898 or email headshots and measurements to efaniallah@creativeclientele.com MUST RECEIVE ALL SUBMISSIONS BY APRIL 1ST, 2012

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POP ICON “WHITNEY HOUSTON” DEAD AT 48!

(CREATIVE CLIENTELE) — Saturday’s funeral for legendary pop singer Whitney Houston is expected to be made available for television and web streaming from the New Jersey church where she grew up, Houston’s publicist said Wednesday. The services, to be held at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, will be in a much smaller, more intimate setting than the concert halls and arenas Houston packed during her heyday. In every sense, she will be going home.

Publicists and entertainers by Wednesday had confirmed nearly a dozen celebrities and personalities will be in some of the 1,500 coveted, “invitation-only” seats. Actor Kevin Costner, who starred with Houston in the movie “The Bodyguard,” will speak, and singers Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin — Houston’s godmother — will perform, according to a source with knowledge of the funeral plans.Gospel singer and pastor Marvin L. Winans, a longtime friend of the Houston family, will give the eulogy at New Hope Baptist Church. Winans officiated at Houston’s 1992 marriage to R&B singer Bobby Brown.Asked why no public memorial service was planned, Winans told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night the family didn’t “want to have a parade.” “I don’t think knowing Cissy (Houston’s mother) and the Houston family … it was a matter of public or private as it was this is my daughter, this is my sister, this is my mother, this is my friend and we want to do this with dignity.”The family’s thinking, Winans told “CREATIVECLIENTELE.COM,” is “we loved her when she was Nippy (a nickname) in New Jersey. The world loves her because of her voice. But if Nippy could not sing, the Houston family would love her.”

Although the family is not commenting on Houston’s burial location, her death certificate filed Wednesday in Los Angeles lists it as Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey. A message left by CNN with the cemetery office was not immediately returned. Others confirmed on the guest list are Chaka Khan, Bebe & CeCe Winans, songwriter Diane Warren, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, pop singer Darlene Love, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Ray J and Brandy. Houston’s cousin, singer Dionne Warwick, was in New Jersey helping the family with funeral arrangements, Warwick’s publicist said
Chaka Khan was a close friend of Houston. Reid produced many of Houston’s songs and Jakes co-produced Houston’s last film, “Sparkle,” which is scheduled to be released this summer. Houston and Jakes are listed as producers.Ray J, a hip-hop artist, and Houston dated off and on after she was divorced from Brown.
Jackson and the Winans music family have been very close friends of the Houstons.

Composer-singer Valerie Simpson of the duo Ashford & Simpson told CNN’s Susan Candiotti she will attend the funeral.
“She was like family,” Simpson said of Houston, “somebody who I watched from the time she was young.”
Simpson, who with her late partner Nick Ashford wrote “I’m Every Woman,” said Houston “took it to such heights. I remember that on the video, she was pregnant and never looked more beautiful.” Houston and Brown had a daughter, Bobbi Christina Brown, who is now 18.

Houston, 48, was found dead in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammys bash at the Beverly Hills, California, hotel. Speculation has grown over the cause of her death, which has not been determined pending the outcome of toxicology tests that could take weeks.
The entertainer’s trials and tribulations should not be the focus now, Simpson said. “Those are not her records, those are not her music.”

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LONG LIVE THE KING…

Nothing beats the California sunshine, the allure of Hollywood and the plethora of beautiful women! On my journey home to Los Angeles, I encounter the amazing New Jersey native, model King Nic, or as her friends would call her “NIKKI COSMO”. For those of you that don’t know, Model Mayhem is great place to meet new models, photographers, stylists and make-up artists. This is where King Nic and I began our incredible journey together!Follow us on a two day/night shoot fest through the luxurious warm sands of Redondo Beach and the now infamous “HOT SAUNA” incident at the CROWNE PLAZA SUITES & RESORT of Redondo Beach- where Nic, my assistant and I were kindly escorted out of the men’s locker room sauna (Yes, we were dressed…Dirty Birdies!!!) by the Top Flight security of the hotel, to our OLD SCHOOL 1965 Ford Thunderbird shoot, Redondo Beach pier, Venice Beach Boardwalk, and Venice Beach (Yes, Black people actually do go in the water at Venice and we have proof!). Keep your eyes out for KING NIC, she’s definitely one to watch! IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO BOOK “KING NIC”: Nic_cosmo@yahoo.com

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