Atlanta Hip-Hop Family Teams For New Film
T.I. will make his feature film debut in the upcoming flick "ATL,"
which is loosely based on the experiences of many of today's top Hip-Hop
and R&B stars growing up in Atlanta. The movie, which will arrive
in theaters on March 31, tells the story of five friends who hang out
at roller rink Cascades, which is based on Atlanta's Jellybeans skating
rink. Growing up in the 1980s, Outkast, Goodie Mob, T-Boz of TLC, Jermaine
Dupri and producer Dallas Austin all hung out at the rink. Austin, T-Boz
and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment all produced the film.
In addition to T.I., ATL stars Big Boi of Outkast, Killer Mike, Bone
Crusher and many other Atlanta-area Hip-Hop stars. The movie was screened
on Tuesday night for a preview audience. T.I. recently told MTV.com,
"I can't really judge [my performance.] It's my first time acting
so I don't have nothing to judge it on. I'm just waiting for the response."
His new album, King, arrives in stores on March 28, three days before
ATL's release.
Run Athletics Pays Homage To Arthur Ashe With
Sneaker
Russell Simmons and Reverend Run's Run Athletics recently unveiled
details of their new Legacy sneaker line which features an Arthur
Ashe tribute design.
the line, created by designer Kevin Saer - Chief Creative Director
for Baby Phat, Phat Farm, and the rest of the Simmons brands, and
founder of his own, Black Bean Sauce - has an old-school look with
modern trim and detailing such as suede front toe guards, cognac vegetable
leather wrap, custom non-sweat insoles, perforated suede uppers and
laser cut leather loop labels.
The first sneakers of the collection will be released in February
in both orange and brown, and nude and burgundy.
The special edition kicks, available in white with green detailing,
features an Arthur Ashe logo, a gray custom suede toe guard and custom
engraved embroidery on the outside sole.
A portion of the shoe's sales will go to the Arthur Ashe Institute
for Urban Health to aid in the correction of inadequate health care
delivery to minorities.
"Arthur Ashe is really the inspiration behind the entire Legacy concept," said Run Athletics president/co-founder Rasheed Young via a statement. "His classic style influenced the design of the Legacy sneaker. The more we thought about it, the more we wanted to honor Arthur directly with his own shoe."
The Run Athletics Legacy line, currently available in independent European retailers, will be sold in high-end boutique and specialty stores in the U.S. this coming February.
Simmons recently launched DoD, the first ever on-demand Hip-Hop channel
in a partnership with Comcast Digital Cable. DoD features mixtape
and video mix shows, films, old-school classics, fashion and comedy
specials, among other programs.
FEATURED IN MAKAVELI'S SPRING 2006 TRIBUTE AD CAMPAIGN
New York's Gold certified Houston rapper Chamillionaire (Chamillitary Records/Universal) joins some of rap's elite this season as the face of Makaveli Branded's Spring 2006 Tribute advertising campaign; a campaign set to run nationally in magazines such as Source, XXL, Slam and Scratch. Coming off of the success of his Universal debut release The Sound of Revenge, Chamillionaire is the newest artist to pay this tribute to the late Tupac Shakur and his estate; joining alumnis Ludacris, Scarface, DJ Quik, Twista, DTP, Omar Epps and Chingy. "Chamillionaire was an obvious choice when we were considering candidates for the Spring campaign," Rick Edwards, VP / Director of Marketing at Makaveli Branded offers. "Everyone knows the incredible work ethic that Tupac had during his career and I see that same ethic in everything Chamillionaire does. His leadership and music both have contributed greatly to the resurrection of the Houston music scene."
In addition to the ads, Chamillionaire, who is about to launch a nationwide tour on March 30th in San Diego with Lil Flip, who featured on his hit single Turn it Up, can be seen on the cover of the upcoming April issue of The Source along with other Houston greats like UGK, Scarface, Mike Watts, Mike Jones, Big Pokey, Trae and Lil O. The video to his second single Ridin which features Krayzie Bone, premiered recently on MySpace.com to thunderous response and will go into rotation in the coming weeks.
Makaveli Branded, which launched in November of 2003, is the one
and only official clothing line of Tupac Shakur with proceeds from
the sale of each garment being donated to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation
and Center of the Arts, which opened its Stone Mountain, GA doors
to the public in June 2005. Makaveli Branded is available both nationwide
and worldwide.