BET EXPERIENCE @LA LIVE& STAPLES CENTER Has Been Off the Charts Crazy Already!

Thank you to BET Entertainment for allowing our culture through arts be shared with the WORLD via the BET EXPERIENCE and BET AWARDS held in the "City of Angels", Los Angeles, CALI. :)

Salutes to the Artists!  Man, you guys create such AMAZING music, videos, films, dance and other forms of art that astonishes the ears, eyes & SOUL!

The $1 concerts and other "pop up" GIVE the Art 4 Free" venues have been none less than UNBELIEVABLE this week!  THANK YOU for GIVING, GIVING & GIVING to the COMMUNITY!

Thank YOU for your AMAZING gift of LOVE, PEACE & UNITY through your art which comes from your SOUL!

FREE FAN FEST festivities continue Saturday and Sunday at LA Live with the Grand Finale, the BET Awards & Red Carpet (3PM) on Sunday, June 28th at 5PM (PST) LIVE Show from the Nokia Theater L.A. LIVE.

Hearts & Divine Blessings!

jm

Concert Review: KYLE

By CTS LIVE Intern

Fresh off his latest feature on Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiement’s “Wanna Be Cool” track, Kyle and his fellow Super Duper Crew members took on Santa Ana’s classical venue, the Observatory, last night.

With some help from his friends, Overdoz, the sold out show produced amazing positive vibes and an overall great night of fun filled music. The King Wavy Tour showcased a few local opening acts before the man himself, Super Duper Kyle, graced the stage in a way only he could.

With his funky beach boy vibes, Kyle performed hits from his sensational album, “Beautiful Loser” along with a few newer tracks that fans were extremely delighted to hear.

For his first ever headlining tour, Kyle was nothing short of amazing. His energy throughout the entire performance was vibrant and kept the crowd engaged. It’s not every day that artists are as enthusiastic on stage as Kyle is, so the fans showed their great deal of respect by calling for an encore performance once the show seemingly was over. As expected, the 22 year old gave the fans exactly what they asked for. An overall great night for the young up and coming rapper making headlines from Ventura.

The King Wavy Tour continues tonight in Sacramento, California.

The Sun Rise Over the Sparks

The Los Angeles Sparks playing in front of forty-nine hundred fans on Father’s Day at Staples Center gave the fans reason for HOPE this season as they played another hard fought game against a league leading team, the Connecticut Sun.  The Sparks were unable to send the fans home with their first victory of season, as the short bench continued to exploit fatigue issues allowing the Sun to defeat the Sparks 76-68 to improve their record to 6-1, while the Sparks dip to 0-4.

The Sparks gave the Sun all they could handle in the first half, increasing a single digit first quarter lead to a double digit, ten point lead by halftime at 40-30.  All of the Sparks starters contributed offensively with a balance attack led by Jantel Lavender’s double -double 17 points and 10 boards. Center, Marianna Tolo and shooting guard, Farhiya Abdi starting for the injured Erin Phillips each had 12 points while forward, Jennifer Lacy shot 3-4 from behind the arc for 9 points.

Veteran, Temeka Johnson played her best game of the season finishing the game with a double- double on 15 points, including 7-7 from the charity stripe and 10 assists before fouling out with forty seconds to play in the game. 

Playing with only eight players for the second consecutive game, the Sparks made costly turnovers in the last two minutes of the game due to fatigue.  The sixteen turnovers compared to only eight by the Sun which led to 21 points proved to be key in deciding the game.  The Sparks was able to capitalize for 12 points on the eight turnovers by the Sun.

The Connecticut Sun prevailed in three of the five major statistics against the Sparks with 12 steals standing out the most in the victory.  Sun guard, Alex Bentley had a game high 21 points, 3 steals and no turnovers as she had help from nine teammates who scored at least two points or more.

The Connecticut Sun assured themselves a tie for the league’s best record with the Tulsa Shock who knocked off the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA’s marquee game of the day.

The Los Angeles Sparks get ready for a three game road trip to Washington, Connecticut and New York before returning home to Staples Center on Thursday, July 2 to face the San Antonio Stars at 7:30 p.m.

Movie Review: Dope

Dope: The Movie

By: CTS LIVE Intern

In a world where college acceptance letters reign supreme over High School senior’s lives, there is hope for one unique individual from Inglewood, California…Malcolm. Not the typical narrative most of us would expect from a young, black boy coming straight out of the hood. But Malcolm is as far from the word typical as the audience learns pretty quickly in this Blockbuster dramady. This Harvard hopeful stands proudly at the top of his class with an unblemished record of straight A’s throughout his four years at a public school. Just like most students their age, Malcolm and his two friends Jib and Diggy, have trouble finding their niche amongst a generation they feel is not their own. Decked out in 90’s hip hop attire, equipped with high top fades, and retro styled t-shirts, Malcolm and his crew were well dressed to be stand-ins at an MC Hammer video shoot. Craving the acceptance of the popular crowd, Malcolm, Jib, and Diggy attend a birthday party hosted by the local drug dealer Malcolm befriends while on his way home one day after school. Little does Malcolm know, what accidentally happens at this party would shape his character forever and stamp his acceptance into Harvard’s school of higher education.

With an enthusiastic, youthful cast, this group of hipsters come together to put an amazing film out to the public. Various rappers make cameos such as A$AP Rocky, Casey Veggies, and Tyga just to name a few. We even get a brief stint of the beautiful young model, Chanel Iman in the movie. Overall, the movie was a great film. All young people are encouraged to see Dope, a movie that can inspire the lives of many young adults. The movie shows that everybody who is a product of their environment is capable of making an impact in society and accomplishing whatever they set their minds to, after all Malcolm did it, why can’t you?

Footnotes

Recently I met a television icon actor who has produced a number of theatrical productions highlighting African Americans who were very important to American History, but have often been referred to as “footnotes” in American History.  The icon actor spoke of Mary Bowser, an educated slave who could read and write, then later became a Civil War spy, one of the best!  Another important person, William Lee who was George Washington’s right hand man and also the five black men who accompanied John Brown in 1859. 

The participation of African Americans in American History is well documented and this icon television actor is making sure people are aware of the participation of African Americans in American History so they will not be referred to as “footnotes”.

The church shooting massacre that took place in Charleston, S.C. by a 21 year old assassin didn’t think African Americans were “footnotes”, the assassin’s thoughts reportedly stated “You (Black people) have raped our women and you have taken over the country.”

It is sad this 21 year old assassin didn’t know his own history.  A history full of documentation of white slave masters raping their black women slaves, a history of whites torturing blacks to seek power and financial gains many times at the expense of a black man’s idea or creation.

A 21 year old white male has his history all twisted!  Who is at fault?  Nine innocent people lost their lives because of a twisted minded 21 year old boy who did not know his history!

We continue to pray for the families who lost love ones in Charleston, S.C., we pray for Mother Emmanuel’s congregation, and the community of Charleston, S.C.  God bless America!