RECAP: My BET Awards Experience

So late last week I was busy minding my business, planning my wedding (coming up in a few days) when I got the call from BET Africa to work the 2015 BET Awards. My Momma didn't raise no fool so I immediately jumped at the opportunity to host the red carpet for BET Africa. This was a dream come true for me, getting to work with one of the top networks in the game was just absolutely mind-blowing.

In LA, the show I was hosting was a joint venture with BET and Hunters taking a few lucky contest winners around the city and showing them the LA sights and of course introducing them to celebs. This was really and truly the experience of a lifetime.

Let's take a look at some of the pics from my awards weekend!

Hanging out wit the girls at the Grammy Museum 

Posing with the Queen B

The love I have for this young lady- my girl Minnie Dlamini

Interviewing celeb makeup artist Nthatho Mashishi

And then the day we had all been waiting for finally arrived!!! BET Awards day!! I was wearing David Tlale on the red carpet, super happy to finally get dressed by the man himself. He helped get me ready in his hotel, what an experience! Some of the celebs I met on the carpet...starting off with WizKid OMG Patti Labelle Such a fun night! Don't miss our exclusive coverage on BET Africa in the next two weeks!!!

Taraji P. Henson for W Magazine

WHOA!!

Taraji P. Henson is the August cover girl for W magazine's August 2015 issue and the Empire diva is not shy about working her showing off her banging body in the photos. 

Speaking about her famous character Cookie, Henson told the mag, "Not only would I never be offered a character like Cookie in a movie, but she doesn't exist. Cookie is bold and crazy, and she loves the struggle. She started from nothing, and now she's at the top. In that way, we're alike: Cookie is the American Dream."

WERQ!!

Look of the day- Michelle Williams

Former Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams was spotted last night at the Style Africa Ball in LA rocking a dress by MelangeMode. Gorgeous ❤

Our Bridal Brunch Pics!

This past Sunday my fiance and I decided to get together with a few friends in NYC for a pre-bridal brunch. Our wedding is coming up soon and we really just wanted to share our special day with our closest friends in NYC. 

We had such a great time. We went out for brunch at NYC's meatpacking district and we drank, sang and ate to our heart's content. My friends are really so amazing, they made our day soooooo ahhh-ma-zing!

My fiance is the bomb :) Can't wait to hang out with him for the rest of my life! #HlazoPartyofTwo 

We are so incredibly lucky to have found each other! 

My dress was Bagdley Mischka and my hair & makeup was all done by my amazing friend Marshana! Special thank you to my friend Gugu for the pics:

http://www.gugulethugraphy.com/

"I have roots in Africa" Zendaya shares her family's story for Immigrant Heritage Month

Did you know that June is Immigrant Heritage Month? I just found out a few weeks ago about the initiative, it's so wonderful to hear all the various stories from celebrities dishing on their roots.

Zendaya Coleman is the latest celeb to release a video about her mixed heritage and it's super interesting to watch!

A couple of folks have told me in the past that Zendaya's Dad was from Zimbabwe- this is untrue, He was born Samuel David  Coleman and he reclaimed his African name Kazemba Ajamu.  Check out this beautifully shot video to see the Disney star discuss her family roots and the origins of her name.

From Bed-Stuy to Senegal to Cannes - Empire's Gabourey Sidibe Is Publishing a Memoir

Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe is writing her first book due out in 2017  and I can't wait to read it. 

The "Empire" star has a compelling story to tell. According to MH Senior Executive Editor Deanne Urmy  "Moving from Bed-Stuy to Senegal to Cannes, as Gabby has done in a still-short lifetime, has helped produce a fierce, wise way of being in the world impossible not to admire. Funny' doesn't begin to capture just how irreverent and complex Gabby's stories are."

The 32-year-old Hollywood starlet wowed audiences in the critically acclaimed movie Precious. Since then she's appeared on The Big C and American Horror Story: Covenand currently stars as Becky on Fox's hit series Empire.

"I've been writing since I was a child and have always had so many stories to tell that are too long, shady, and impolite to share in interviews," Sidibe said in a statement. "It brings me much joy to add Published Writer to my resume of Actor and part-time Food Model."

Congrats Gabby!

'I give him a wife, he gives me wifi" Is this Kansiime skit racist?

I have made it a habit to check out Uganda's funniest woman Kansiime's YouTube videos every week, she is so HILARIOUS!

Well...her latest video has some singing her praises and others saying the clip is racist. In the skit, we see a mother and daughter having a conversation about the latter marrying a white man. The response from the mother in the clip in my opinion is an exaggeration of a typical African parent's response.  The matriarch is bewildered at the notion of her daughter marrying a white man saying "she doesn't want to be a tourist attraction.." and much much more!

The reaction to the video has been mixed with some loving it and some hating it. Someone commented:

"Sorry this made be labelled as comedy but, shows people still haven't moved on.God created us all in his image we are all the same underneath.So skin colour should make no difference in a relationship you love the person not the colour of their skin.."

Check out the clip below and let me know what you think. Is this video racist?

Look of the Day - Essence Magazine

The ladies of the hit TV show "Orange is the New Black" are cranking up the heat on the cover of the July issue of Essence Magazine. 

Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks, Laverne Cox, Vicky Jeudy, Adrienne C. Moore and Samira Wiley sizzle in orange for the magazine's annual Body issue 

I love this quote from Emmy-winner Uzo Aduba. She admits it took her time to fully embrace her signature smile. "For the majority of my first 18 years, I hated my gap. My mom would tell me that in Nigeria, it's a sign of beauty. I was like, 'We're in Massachusetts.'" She continues, "Today there's not a selfie or personal photo I take where I'm not smiling wide. It sometimes feels as if I'm making up for lost smiles."

A new report suggests that Africa is the "next China" in the luxury market

According to a new report by A.T. Kearney, a global strategy and management consulting firm. It seems that “Sub-Saharan Africa will be the big story by 2040,” Thanks to "rising household incomes, fast urbanization, and a growing middle class" folks are drawing comparisons that Africa is the next China in the luxury retail market.

Mike Moriarty, a partner at A.T. Kearney’s retail practice, tells Quartz.“It’s going to be a bumpy road getting there, but in another 30 years it could be the biggest, fastest, strongest, and most attractive region for retail in the world.”

If you have stepped foot on the continent recently then you have seen the signs of luxury's arrival in Africa.

The end of July 2015 will mark two years since the Luminance store opened in Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg. The South African luxury store carries some of the best fashion brands in the world from Armani Privé, Chloé, Hervé Léger, Manolo Blahnik, Oscar de la Renta  and local designers such as David Tlale.

In Angola’s capital city, Luanda, a soon-to-open shopping mall will feature stores by brands including Zegna, Gucci, Prada, and Armani.

But of course there are some thorny issues to address  financial inequality, political instability and economic corruption.  Read more of the article here,