SAVE THE DATE - Eat, Drink and Be Hopeful - Thursday, June 14th in Brooklyn

L-R: Macy Gray, Nefertiti Strong & Richard 'Lil Mogul' E. Pelzer II in Cannes, France

She went from rapper to actress to filmmaker — enjoying the world of celebrity until stomach cancer forced Angelica (Nefertiti) Strong to face death at the age of 38.

The Red Hook movie producer is now the self-proclaimed “Lance Armstrong of stomach cancer,” embarking on a one-person campaign to give her disease A-list status.

“I am modeling myself after Lance Armstrong,” said Strong, who starred in the 1995 movie “Panther.” “I want to put the spin on stomach cancer. We have choices, but we have no cure.” Despite being weak and rail- thin from doctors slicing up her abdomen in October followed by biweekly rounds of chemotherapy, Strong is busy planning a pair of parties on June 14 highlighting the fatal affliction.

“There is no funding for stomach cancer like there is for breast or prostate cancer,” said Strong, hoping the back-to-back bashes raise $150,000 for the American Cancer Society’s Brooklyn office near Grand Army Plaza.

Tickets are available on www.eatdrinkandbhopeful.com.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/red-hook-movie-producer-raise-awareness-stomach-cancer-article-1.1084876#ixzz1wB6dkzGX

For Colored Girls Movie Poster - November 5, 2010

Click here to watch them ALL

For Colored Girls Posters

Nina Simone, Leona Lewis, Ledisi, and Janelle Monae Featured on 'For Colored Girls' Soundtrack

Here's a look at the soundtrack cover for Tyler Perry's 'For Colored Girls,' which will be released by Atlantic Records on Nov. 2.

The soundtrack features all new and unreleased music from artists such as Nina Simone, Gladys Knight, Leona Lewis, Estelle, Laura Izibor, Macy Gray, Janelle Monae and Lalah Hathaway.

The soundtrack sets the many stories of struggle told within the film's chore poem to music that reflects women's ongoing battle with love, abandonment and self-awareness.

Official track listing

1 Main Title – By Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington with Joshua Bell, Aaron Zigman & The Hollywood Studio

2 Longer & Stronger – By Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

3 All Day Long (Blue Skies) – By Estelle

4 What More Can They Do – By Laura Izibor

5 Sun – By Lalah Hathaway

6 Ansomnia – By Zaki Ibrahim

7 Settle – By Gladys Knight

8 La Donna In Viola – By Karen Slack, Andrea Jones-Sojola & The Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra

9 Sechita (A Senhora em Amarelo) – By Anika Noni Rose & Carondelet Percussion Ensemble

10 Stand Up – By Macy Gray

11 Without A Fight – By Janelle Monàe

12 Four Women – By Nina Simone, Simone, Laura Izibor & Ledisi

13 I Know Who I Am – By Leona Lewis

Directed by Tyler Perry, the film is based on Ntozake Shange's 1975 Tony Award-winning play and stars Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Michael Ealy, Kimberly Elise, Omari Hardwick, Hill Harper, Thandie Newton, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Macy Gray, Khalil Kain and Richard Lawson.

'For Colored Girls' hits theaters on Nov. 5.

Macy Gray Embraces Her Imperfections on 'The Sellout'

By Steve Baltin (PopEater)

Watch as the free spirit discusses her new album, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne and a 97 year old green man.

You won't hear any Auto-Tune on Macy Gray's new album, 'The Sellout.' During a recent video interview with PopEater in our LA offices, the singer-songwriter told us she's fine with her trademark flat vocals. "Well, I'm generally flat. As much as I've worked on it, I just sing flat a lot. Instead of being all upset about it, I like my flatness a little bit," she says. "And some people I actually think I'm doing it on purpose. Some people think it's style, so that's pretty cool."

For Gray, it's more important to be in the song than being technically proficient. "The cool thing is when I sing I really try to be in it, I really try to get lost in what I'm singing about, and the story that I'm in," she says. "When I'm on the mic, it doesn't work unless you're there. If you're singing about a tree, then it doesn't work unless you're at that tree, in your head at least. When you go off of that, there's a lot of things that your voices will do that aren't technically right, [but] that's always cool when it's rough and when it's honest.

And who are the other vocalists she looks to for honesty? "Well I remember I heard Axl Rose and he was just so raw. The great thing about his voice was that he was really technically right most of the time and he just had this amazing emotion," she says. "And then there's always the obvious ones, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. Although I'm naming people that I don't remember them having any imperfection. Kurt Cobain, he was pretty like raw or flawed, but it was awesome. There's a lot of rappers. I think that's what cool about Jay-Z, is he's really raw and he raps, but if you ever listen to one of his a cappellas, it's so funny because his voice cracks all the time, and it gets really high-pitched, but it works on his records."

'The Sellout' is a record where Gray gets to put all of her emotional and honest influences to use, as she delivers some of the most revealing songwriting of her career on standout tracks like the title cut and the finale, 'The Comeback.' As she tells it, the bluntness of the record comes from where she was in her life. "There are really a lot [of] me pouring my heart out, all at a time when I didn't have much going on expect my little music [and] what I was doing with that," she says. "Everything I felt and everything I had went into that."

Fight for your Business Life as an Entrepreneur

The MEGA World of Lil Mogul

Watching Olympic athletes compete, we’re taken to a place where special humans participate in a noble cause. These heroes commit countless hours over many years, pushing their minds and bodies to achieve a level of excellence that might qualify them to … merely to be on an Olympic team to represent their country.

Notice neither winning medals nor glory were mentioned. Most Olympians find neither, and yet they try.

Watching an event, we’re at once self-conscious and grateful when the long lens of the camera invades that private moment just prior to the competition. Self-conscious because of the intrusion but grateful to share this moment and benefit vicariously from the Herculean effort about to be displayed.

The camera moves in closer. We can see the Olympian’s eyes and imagine their thoughts. The runner is thinking, “Twelve years and it all comes down to the next few seconds. Must remember the fundamentals.” The gymnast is having a word with herself, “Today, nothing less than my personal best.”

Then the long lens captures the mouth. There’s a lick to fight the cotton mouth that only those who risk failure have tasted. The lips move slightly to offer a prayer or claim an affirmation.

Small business owners are a lot like Olympic athletes: They commit countless hours over many years, pushing mind and body to achieve a level of excellence that might somehow allow them to … merely make a living. Medals and glory? Most small business owners find neither and yet they show up, year after year, to work, to deliver and to contribute.

Like an Olympic race, the future of a small business often rides on the owner’s performance over a very short period. If the camera could take you in close, you would see the owner thinking: “All these years of work and risk could come down to how well I deliver this proposal in the next few minutes. Must remember the fundamentals.” The long lens would capture the mouth. There’s the lick to lessen the cotton mouth that only those who risk failure have tasted. Then the lips move, ever so slightly, to offer a prayer or claim an affirmation.

Olympians and small business owners are dedicated to what they love. They work hard, take great risks and seek excellence, against all odds and usually at their own expense. To all my entrepreneurs continue the FIGHT within and live that MEGA Dream. The spirit of Olympians and Small Business Owners makes the world a better place.

Face the Book in Business

The MEGA World of Lil Mogul

by Lil Mogul & Jaime Tedford

We humans, it turns out, are social. Whether in the real world or on the interwebs, we like to connect, share and express ourselves. Detractors of the social networking phenomenon diminish it to a telescope and microphone for creeping, stalking, and peeping.

In my experience, it's just the opposite. It's a magnifying glass and megaphone putting me out there for discovery and exploration. Our profiles are a window into our lives, or at least a carefully crafted version of our lives. We have reversed the peepholes on our apartment doors, office windows and invited the world to see us in our natural habitat.

It's an idea one of my associates labeled "reverse voyeurism" and betting on it is the closest thing to a guarantee of social media success that I know. Here's a pass at trying to translate this observation into some actionable social media opportunities.

Facebook starts with a face
Reverse voyeurism is a sister of vanity and a cousin of exhibitionism. The very idea of a "face book" starts with a photo, matching just another face in the crowd with a real identity. If social networking were only about vanity and exhibitionism, then this match would be the end of the story.

Real, honest-to-goodness social networking at its core is about the subtle invitation for my friends to get to know me better. Like a well-poured drink, it's also a powerful social lubricant. Would I ever have been so presumptive as to place 40th birthday photos in an envelope to send to 200 of my closest friends? Not likely. Yet with click of a few buttons on my new HTC Sprint phone (I still do not know how to use it fully) and the through the magic that is my news feed, it's almost like you were invited to my birthday bash (no need to send a gift, I understand).

Yup, something deep in my DNA wants all my friends and family, extended or close, to know I turned 40, had great weekend, partied and don't look a day over 29. Facebook is the number one photo site in the world not because it's a better photo utility than companies dedicated to that pursuit, but because it makes it more OK to share photos. The context is casual. "Hey everyone, check these out ... or not, whatever."

Obvious marketing observation: Incorporate photos into your social media strategy. Nothing captures and extends the lifespan of a moment in time like a simple digital image. Be the company that extends live experiences with your brand to the social web.

Enough about me, what do you think of me? Speaking of sharing little gems about me, the results of the last few Quizzes I've taken reveal I am; a "Audi" (What car-type ARE you?), a fashionista undercover (How fashion forward ARE you?) and Tennis (Golf or Tennis? The Game of choice). Honestly, it has baffled me for a long time why my friends, sophisticated and educated people, kept taking these personality quizzes.

It wasn't until I started considering the effects of reverse voyeurism that the answer came to me. We don't do it to learn more about ourselves; I already know I am a undercover fashionista that LOVES The Williams Sisters. We do it to provide one more puzzle piece to our friends. Hoping they continue to be interested in piecing together the 1,000-piece jigsaw that is me.

Oversimplified social strategy: Be the brand that asks me about me, but not so you can sell me more stuff. Do it so I can help my friends know me better. You'll get to know me better in the process, and eventually will sell me more stuff, I promise.

Duhh, Social Media Observation: I am what I'm a fan of. Give me a reason to add your brand to the mosaic that is me. Respect and recognize my permission to market to and through me. And how about a little something, you know, for the effort?

Ready, set, reverse your voyeursim
So is your brand ready to practice reverse voyeurism? As tentative as we all were putting our personal lives in that window, it's understandable the hesitation of many brands. Remember however that full transparency is a myth in person as it is in business. We still curate, put our best features forward, select the tidbits that we broadcast about ourselves.

Don't get all hung up on your own brand's transparency; you're not that interesting. Instead, keep asking how you're helping real humans be more transparent to other real humans who are their friends. When you turn the peephole around, I think you'll feel much less creepy, more like an invited guest and maybe even a friend.

Facebook.com - Rick Pelzer