This event is Double 7 World Recommended

Our good friend Tamera Reynolds over at GLAM Media is doing her thing, so much so that it’s time for them to have a partay! They have launched the Black Life portion of their media conglomerate, offering a great platform for Internet Publishers. Peep what they have to say, their own words:

To create a sense of community for African American Women Glam is building a network of publishers that has quality, diverse, informative, entertaining and inspiring content and that speaks to the uniqueness of African American Women. In our publisher network of 600 plus Glam Black Life already has over 50 African American publishers and is growing daily.

Black Life consists of three content sub channels: Face & Style, keeping up with the latest fashion trends and best beauty products; Scoop & Celebrity, entertainment and celebrity related news and information; and Culture & Lifestyle, topics that relate to your life – everything from health to politics to finance. Check out Black Life on Glam.com for the most relevant and meaningful content that is “By you, About you and For you!

For more information check out http://blacklife.glam.com and stay tuned for more info on their NYC Launch Party on August 20th!

Posted by Classic Kicks

We had the chance to spend a weekend on the North Fork of Long Island in the wine country and it was amazing! Who knew that Long Island was this beautiful; the ocean, the vineyards, the fruit farms… strawberry picking anyone? Not to mention the very tastiest of wines; sparkling, white, red and rose- our new summer favorite!

More pictures after the jump…

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Posted by Double 7 World

Classic Kicks x Vans Era’s will release this Saturday, August 9th at 11:00am exclusively at Classic Kicks – 298 Elizabeth Street. Quantities are very limited, so get there early because they’re only $65.00 a pair.

Four colors available from sizes 4 – 13. Suede and canvas uppers make for a classic collection.

Please call the store with any questions. 212-979-9514

*Mid schools will release around September 1st.

Actual schools have “Classic Kicks” script on insoles.

TELL ‘EM DOUBLE 7 WORLD SENT YA!!!

Posted by Pete Chatmon

So, in a move that would have gotten me fired from my own film set, I brought a camera with a dead battery to the launch party last week. Thankfully, Stephen Knight from Creme Magazine was there to save the day. Shout out to Dominga Martin! They caught me with a book at the club…y’all better keep reading too! It’s not a game!

This event is Double 7 World recommended!

Our good folks Mark & Maine are here to hold you down every Thursday at BARNA with their weekly industry mixer. Do yourself a favor and swing through. Contact M&M at jack.dobermann@gmail.com if you want more details (isn’t our recommendation enough?)…

365 Park Avenue South
@ 26th Street
212-532-8300
10pm – until…
Visit the website HERE

Posted by Pete Chatmon

I just wanted to thank everybody for coming out last night and packing the house for the Double 7 Launch Party and amazing performance by Rock Pianist Eric Lewis!

I typed “thank you” in a YouTube search and Dido’s Thank You was one of the top hits, then I remembered Eminem’s collaboration with her on this track. Me and my man Ece the Ace (a nice MC for y’all to look for out of Jersey!) were discussing Em’s rap relevance so somehow this seems fitting, if only to me. Enjoy the throwback and THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT LAST NIGHT!!! We will see you at the next event and be sure to add Double 7 World to your daily online schedule…

Posted by Double 7 World

Pete Chatmon wants YOU to come celebrate with Double 7 World, Forrest Renaissance, Eric Lewis, Dorian Missick, and some HOT FREE GIVEAWAYS that are so dope we’d keep them if we didn’t like y’all so much for supporting the movement

It’s the Double 7 World Launch Party…and it’s all for you!

Tuesday, July 29th
DROM
85 Avenue A (btw 5/6th streets)
NYC
Doors Open 8pm
Eric Lewis Performs at 9pm
Dinner Menu Will be Available

Posted by Double 7 World

Eric Lewis in the studio

Join Pete Chatmon & Forrest Renaissance for the official DOUBLE 7 WORLD LAUNCH PARTY featuring an Exclusive Live Performance from Rock Pianist ERIC LEWIS!!!

Tuesday, July 29th
DROM
85 Avenue A (between 5th & 6th Streets)
Doors Open @ 8pm
Show Begins @ 9pm
$10 (dinner menu will be available)

[Click HERE to see how the man's been known to get down, though it will do no justice to Tuesday night's party!]

Featured guests include actor and Double 7 World contributor Dorian Missick (Lucky Number Slevin, Six Degrees, Premium, and the upcoming Jonathan Demme film Rachel Getting Married) as well as a few surprises and free giveaways!

Eric Lewis is the phenomenal Rock Pianist who has also composed the scores for Pete Chatmon’s feature films “PREMIUM” and “761st“. He is one of today’s most sought-after musicians and a vital contributor to the music of Cassandra Wilson, Roy Hargrove, and Wynton Marsalis, among others. He is also a past winner of the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.

We look forward to celebrating the launch of Double 7 World with you!

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!!!

Eric Lewis and Pete Chatmon during the PREMIUM sessions

“Sometimes just making yourself at home is revolutionary” – Slumberland by, Paul Beatty

It was recently brought to my attention that often times I am the lone black character in the projects I do. Watching my demo reel with a director who jokingly asked “which one are you in this scene?” made it clear to me: I have become a token black guy! That explains why, on a recent trip back from LA, Sean Patrick Thomas and Donald Faison showed me so much love in the first class lounge at LAX! I thought their greetings of “Dude, wassup?” while jabbing their Stellas in the air was because we were some of the only brothas under 40 in the first class lounge. But now I realize it was because we are some of the only Negroes in the first class lounge in Hollywood also known as mainstream projects. How the hell did I end up here? I don’t even drink Stellas. I drink Henny (double shot neat if you’re asking, sidecar if you’re sexy). And if you ever hear me refer to some cat as “dude” send help immediately, because I’ve been kidnapped by the A.A.N. (Association for Assimilating Negroes) and they’ve threatened to lock me in a room and make me watch Rugby and reruns of the “Wayne Brady Show” if I didn’t incorporate the word into my everyday decidedly hood vernacular. I mean yeah I went to a predominantly white private school in Westfield, NJ during my formative years, but my family still does the “bus stop” unprovoked, music or no, at every family gathering. Ok, ok, I did play soccer my whole life (before my man Freddy Adu), but my Dad’s from the Bahamas, it’s what they do! Why is white America so comfortable with such an non-assimilated black man? My guess is because I’m comfortable with myself and therefore am at home in all settings. I’ve also been blessed with opprtunities that have allowed me to be exposed to many different walks of life without being forced to take any particular one on fully as my own. No “powdered sugar black guy” business over here. That just wasn’t my upbringing.

Comfort is a huge issue in the black middle class. We’re comfortable with Barack, but squirm in our seats at the thought of Jerimiah Wright opening his mouth and making public the dinning room table conversations that we’ve had for years. I, for one, personally hope Barack has a BBQ on the front lawn of the White House to celebrate his presidency. It is time for a change. Time for the black middle class to stop trying to assimilate and just be whomever you are. Whether you like BBQ or Sushi, malt Liquor or a single malt scotch, own it and move on. Hollywood, often times a reflection of white America as a whole, responds to those who are comfortable in their own skin and able to bring that to the table. Don’t get me wrong, the fact that the decision makers need to feel “comfortable” with your life’s experience isn’t lost on me. Flavor Flav is a man who is very comfortable in his skin but I doubt mainstream Hollywood is comfortable enough with his life experiences to invite him to drink Stellas and watch the Lakers with the family. But he doesn’t care! And I love him for that.

Flav doesn’t represent the black middle class. He reps for the lower class who is crystal clear on how they are viewed by mainstream America and, most importantly, by themselves. They, unlike middle class blacks, do not harbor dreams of one day fitting in with white America. I’ve even had friends explain to me that they don’t partake in certain activities because “that’s some white people shit.” Although a crude and arguably ignorant statement, it speaks to how clear they are about what they like and how they are viewed. Flavor Flav speaks to and sometimes for them. He is accepted in some form by the mainstream largely due to this fact. Not because he’s a Coon (as he’s often times called in my middle class circle of friends), but because he’s himself. My more “user friendly” counterparts in the Token Black Guy club are also very comfortable with themselves and their experiences. Granted theirs were probably a lot less “hood” than mine and therefore make mainstream Hollywood very comfortable with them, but they are true to their personal experiences and should be applauded in the same way I applaud our ebony courtroom jester turned love guru . Many are not trying to be “white”, but rather their experience in life is one that may be more in line with that of a white person in America. We as black folk can’t afford to spend another minute on worrying about how a largely uninterested white America views us. If it doesn’t directly effect their lives, they DO NOT CARE. When Michelle Obama was referred to as Barack’s “Baby momma” on CNN I think it was made very clear that in white mainstream America, the only difference they see between Barack Obama and 50 Cent is a suit. It is merely our responsibility as artists to bring our unique experiences to our work. One cannot aspire to be a token black dude, your feeble attempts will only be exposed similarly to Master P on “Dancing With the Stars”. Makes no sense, it’s an obvious cry for attention from an unimpressed audience. Flavor Flav isn’t trying to be outrageous, he just is. Donald Faison isn’t trying to fit in with white folk…he just does. And both are otay with me (sorry couldn’t resist the homage to one of our finest coons to ever grace the screen). Sometimes the best thing one can do to combat a stereotype is just be oneself. Kick back with your malt liquor in one hand and fried chicken in the other, and turn up the gangsta rap if that’s what makes you feel at home because that’s revolutionary in this day and age. The revolution will be televised and chances are I’ll be the token black guy.

Posted by Double 7 World

On this How-to Tuesday and July 1st, it seemed apropos to address an activity that many people across the country will engage in this coming weekend: Grilling. Those of you who will be engaging for the very first time and even the backyard veterans may find the following video helpful on achieving the perfect burger. Enjoy.