Author Archives: UnRated Magazine

I Loved You, I Love You Phillip Morris!

By Wendy Simmons

Jim Carrey delivered his best performance yet in I Love You Phillip Morris. He took high risks as Steven Russell, a man with an imaginative vision that struggles to find his identity.  Carrey powered punched his talent through the screen with this Oscar worthy performance.

This utterly unbelievable true story will have you totally mesmerized by the capability of one man and his mind. It’s so good that I don’t want to ruin it with details. Just know that it will shock you and will make you wonder what you would do for love and the pursuit of happiness…and possibly for an Oscar nod.

Carrey and Ewan McGregor together make for one funny, mind-bending roller coaster ride. Regardless of your views, beliefs or qualms don’t miss this. A definite must see!

I give it $$$$.

Power to the People…Or Is It?

By Wendy Simmons

Landmark Century Theater on Chicago’s vibrant north side was filled with people this week eager to see the new film Night Catches Us, starring two phenomenal actors…Kerry Washington of the critically acclaimed film Ray and Anthony Mackie ( The Hurt Locker).
 
If the audience was like me, they were clueless as to what was in store.  I had no prior knowledge of the film and wanted to enter the theater with a blind eye of sorts. I was hoping to be entertained by the next great love story, but I was taken into an entirely different direction.
 
At first glimpse Night Catches Usis a recollection of the struggles that African Americans endured during the 70s that caused great anguish and rage; just out of the Civil Rights movement and the Black Panther revolution and at the cusp of the blaxploitation and crack eras arising.
 
Set in the heart of Philadelphia in 1976 we witness what happened to the fist raising, fight the power screaming, strong men and women that wore their Black Panther buttons with pride but were forced to tear away from that identity; some because of death, others because of controversy. Now lies the time where older men are trying move away from revolutionary tactics, and young men are ready to take on a war that they are not equipped to handle. But that’s not the entire purpose of the film, just the initial introduction to a story that encompasses more than the audience may expect.

Kerry Washington is Patty, a widowed mother that finds it hard to discuss the facts of her husband’s death, therefore leaving her daughter in the dark on how his beliefs ultimately lead to his downfall.

Patty and Mackie’s character Marcus hold a secret between them that help to nourish their hidden desire for one another but also causes them to conflict on the changing times. It’s is no longer the days of screaming fight the power, but Patty’s loyalty to uplifting the community shadows her desire to hold love dear. Continue reading →

?uestlove Visits Coca Cola Lounge

?uestlove, drummer for the hip-hop group The Roots, stopped by Chicago radio station WGCI’s Coca Cola Lounge  December 4th for a quick interview with on-air personality Leon Rogers.

The group was in town to perform at Platform One Entertainment’s Dare to Dream benefit concert taking place the same day at the House of Blues. Proceeds from the concert benefited The People’s Music School, a community-based, non-profit organization that provides musical education opportunities for those who otherwise would not be able to afford them.

?uestlove and The Roots can been seen weeknights as the house band on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Photo by Adam Bielawski

Dwele Serenades Chicago Fans

R&B singer Dwele performed a live set in Chicago’s south loop entertainment district to a packed crowd of more than 600 VIP’s and fans on November 27.  Produced by Christi with an Eye, the sold-out event brought out hip-hop/soul artist Pennjamin Bannekar, DJ Major Taylor and R&B band Verzatile as the show’s opening acts. The event was promoted by Lucid Entertainment.

The concert was hosted by author Zondra Hughes and comedian & radio personality Leon Rogers and sponsored by Fase2Fase.com, the world first social networking website for minority small businesses and WorldWideWaddie.com.

Fans sung along with Dwele during his 45 minute set of his hits that included “I’m Cheatin” “I Think I Love You” and “What’s Not To Love.”  He closed his set by performing his last two songs in the audience and dancing with female fans.  

“It was an amazing show! I love working with Dwele and very glad he allowed me to bring him back to the Chicago market where he has so many fans who love him and his music,” stated the event’s producer Christi With an Eye.

Photo by Rich P and Charles Young

Producer 14TK Named 2010 Red Bull Big Tunes Winner

By Tamara Jenkins

Michigan native 14TK prevailed as the best beat master and crowned the winner of Red Bull Big Tune’s 2010 national championship held November 18 at the Metro in Chicago, IL.

In its fourth year, Red Bull Big Tune is a national producer competition that began 2004 in Seattle, WA as a way to highlight local talent.  The competition is now the premier producer battle giving unknown and established producers a chance to become stars and the opportunity work with A-list recording  artists.

Red Bull Big Tune creators, Jonathan Moore and Vitamin D, derived the concept and name of the competition from traditional Jamaican dancehall culture when DJ’s would clash (battle) with one another by spinning  the latest Riddims (songs) that would be played in dancehalls.  The Riddim most favored by the people was considered the “Big Tune.”

Translated to contemporary times, two producers hit the stage giving the crowd a snippet of their track and the last producer standing at the end of the night is crowned the winner by the crowd.

This year’s championship  included winners and runner-ups (19 in total) from nine qualifying battles held across the US. Before the competition, The 19 aspiring producers received one-on-one mentoring with legendary producers DJ Premier and Just Blaze.

More than just a competition, Red Bull Big Tune reaches out to local youth in cities where battles are held.  Vitamin D and Jonathan Moore said the most fulfilling part of the program for them is visiting  YMCA’s and college music programs where they can interactive with the youth.  

Prior to  the championship, a screening of 2009’s Big Tune championship was held at the Wit Hotel with Vitamin D and Jonathan Moore in attendance.  The documentary chronicled  2009  finalists and featured success stories from past winners and competitors including 2008’s winner, Chicago native C-Sick who got the chance to work with Nas. Nas,  a fan of the competition, stated in the documentary“this is a great opportunity” and aspiring producers “need situations like this”. Before winning 2009’s competition, Frank Dukes produced tracks for 50 Cent and following his win, he worked with Ghostface.

Other notable success stories include Tha Bizness, a trio of producers that produced the hit “Every Girl” for Lil Wayne and Mayer Hawthorne, discovered by Peanut Butter Wolf, who is now a soul singer signed to Stone Throw Records.  For more information on Red Bull Big Tune, visit the website: http://win.gs/aNJ7U6 .

Photo courtesy of Red Bull Big Tune

Metro Chicago to Host 2010 Red Bull Big Tune Producer Battle Finals

19 aspiring producers will vie for a chance to bring their innovative sounds to the masses during the national finals of Red Bull’s Big Tune competition Thursday, November 18th at the Metro in Chicago, IL.

Nine qualifying battles were held across the U.S. bringing the winner and runner-up from each stop to represent in Chicago.  Before each producer rocks the stage they will have one-on-one experiences with top producers Just Blaze and DJ Premier who will help them gain industry insight during two days of mentorship.

The winner of the Red Bull Big Tunenational championship in Chicago will get the opportunity to record in the Red Bull Studio in Los Angeles with the A list emcee of their choice. In past years some names have included Common, The Game, Ludacris, Lupe Fiasco and Talib Kweli.  Last year’s Red Bull Big Tune winner, C-Sick, had a hands on personal recording experience with hip-hop great Nas. “Everything sounds great!” exclaimed C-Sick after a long day in the studio.  “The way Nas spits over beats is crazy.  It’s exactly what I expected.” The end result was a track named “Film”. This year’s winner will have a choice of three to five top notch emcees to choose from.

Big Tune began in 2004 as the brainchild of DJ/producer/emcee Vitamin D and hip-hop visionary/event producer Jonathan Moore with the purpose of bringing emerging and established talent to the forefront.  After three years of hosting local battles in Seattle, WA the duo forged a creative partnership with Red Bull and the event evolved into a national producer program. The competition made its national television debut on the BET Network last spring with a half-hour show chronicling the 2008 national finals in New York City. 

The Metro is located at 3730 N. Clark Street. Doors open at 8 p.m. and admission is free with rsvp. For more information about Red Bull Big Tune and to rsvp, please visit http://win.gs/aNJ7U6.

El DeBarge LIVE @ The Shrine Chicago

One of the original heartthrobs in R&B music is back in a major way.  R&B singer/songwriter El DeBarge performed an intimate, sold out set of his greatest hits on November 5that The Shrine Chicago nightclub. Backed by the house bands Verzatile and Zzaje, DeBarge romanticized the women with extended renditions of his classics All This Love and I Like It. DeBarge also performed singles from his upcoming CD Second Chance.

Originally scheduled to perform a 25-minute set, El told the crowd, “I have to give you a few more songs,” and concluded with a festive instrumentation of Rhythm of the Night. The new CD will hit stores on November 30. For more information on El DeBarge, visit www.eldebargemusic.com. For more performance photos, visit www.theshrinechicago.com.com.

 

 

  Photo by Rich P

Fashion Focus Chicago 2010

By Tamara Jenkins 

Dress Code 2010

 Chicago’s best and brightest in fashion descended on Millennium Park for Fashion Focus Chicago 2010. 

Fashion Focus Chicago, in its sixth year, was held October 18 through 24, featured shopping events, industry seminars, and showcased the city’s top designers with seven runway shows including Dress Code and StyleChicago.com Presents the Art of Fashion 2010. 

The top students from Chicago’s fashion design schools made their runway debuts during Dress Code. Standouts included bold menswear from  Katie King (School of the Art Institute of Chicago);  long, flowing open back neutral dresses from Sara Perez (Columbia College Chicago); sexy black balloon pants and bottom fringed sheath dresses from Amanda-Michelle Olson (the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago);  and  beautifully colorful gowns from Toni Pescatorre (the International Academy of Design and Technology). 

New to this year’s event was a showing of the four finalists from the Chicago History Museum’s FashionNext Generation competition. The winner was Brenda Beavers (the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago). Beavers winning hat and handbag designs are now on display as part of the I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot exhibition at the museum.

Lara Miler, Elda de la Rosa (center) & Boris Powell

StyleChicago.com Presents the Art of Fashion 2010featured a preview of Spring 2011 fashions from established Chicago designers including the sporty sophisticated and versatile knits from eco-friendly Lara Miller; colorful, Oscar worthy gowns influenced by1950’s French couture from Elda de La Rosa and ultra-urban chic styles from Borris Powell. Kirk James Collection, Laura Lein and Paul Sisti were also featured.

The event also included three award-winning designers in an emerging artist category: Hector-Javier MonArrez, Fraley Le (featured in 2009’s Dress Code show) and Lydia Wawrzyniak. For more information on Fashion Focus Chicago, please visit www.Chicagofashionresource.com

Photos by Raymond Boyd and Dan Locke

Chicago Anthem- We Can Do It Now

Chicago heavyweights Jennifer Hudson, Common, Lupe Fiasco and producer No I.D. have teamed up to create the Chicago anthem We Can Do It Now.

We Can Do It Now was inspired by season three of the Fox Sports Network series Replay that follows Chicago high school basketball teams the Bloom Township Trojans and the Brother Rice Crusaders. For more information on the song and the series click here. To download the song, click here

MTV’s 2010 Hottest MCs in the Game

MTV recently released its 2010 Hottest MCs in the Game list (see below). The criteria was based on a combination of rhyme skill, flow, buzz, commercial success, business ventures, Web presence and cultural influence. For more information and discussions on this year’s selections, click here .

1. Eminem
2. Jay-Z
3. Kanye West
4. Drake
5. Rick Ross
6. Nicki Minaj
7. Lil Wayne
8. Waka Flocka
9. B.o.B
10. Ludacris