Fresh Face [#018]: Bridgette Amofah

A feather in the hat to the alternative scene, London-based, Bridgette Amofah, is picking up where the Dido's of the music world left off.

Cutting her teeth as lead vocalist for the UK's Oi Va Voi (replacing KT Tunstall), Bridgette is quickly racking up praise for her unique sound; a continental blend of pop, french and indie influences.

This is music for jet-setters.

more Amofah: http://myspace.com/bridgettesmusic

Project Runway's 5th Strut

(A design from Christian Siriano, winner of Project Runway: Season 4)

We thought Season 3 of Project Runway had seasoning, but Season 5 is already simmering with its own pot of flavor.



With the most contestants of color we've ever seen in a single episode, Bravo's last season of Runway (season 6 is saying Aufedersein and moving to Lifetime) is one of its most diverse yet. Designers, Jerell Scott, Korto Momolu and Terri Stevens are hoping a stint at "must see tv" can make them must-wear designers.

Will either of these posh hopefuls make it to New York's illustrious Fashion Week? Watch What Happens.

Season 5 premieres tonight.

Sanaa Lathan and Nia Long Get Animated

Sanaa Lathan and Nia Long are packing up and heading to 'Cleveland.'

The actresses will join Fox's Family Guy spin-off as the women in the title character, Cleveland Brown's, life. Sanaa will play Cleveland's love interest and Nia, her rebellious teenage daughter (no word yet on what will become of Cleveland's original wife, Loretta...)

We hope that the show can translate Family Guy's niche humor to a diverse audience; with the talent falling into place, it certainly has the early makings of a midseason hit.

Williambledon!

We didn't know if 2008 could produce a more thrill-inducing match-up than this years' NBA Final... and then Venus and Serena both raised their Wimbledon rackets and started firing...



For the seventh time in history, the Women's Wimbledon title will bear a Williams Sisters' name and, for the seventh time, Venus Ebony Starr and Serena Jameka Williams will display, before an all England Club of thousands, (to paraphrase Rapper Mims), why they're hot.



On Saturday, for the seventh time in our tennis-viewing history, we have the guilty pleasure of not really caring who wins, confident in the fact that our tennis superheroes have, once again, pronounced their tennis supremacy to the world.

So we'll pop up a fresh bag of Orville Redenbacher and thank our lucky stars that Richard and Oracene Williams made magic not once--but twice--giving us a little something extra to celebrate this Independence Day weekend. God Bless America!

Which sister are you secretly pulling for...?

Saturday Soul: Barbara Lynn, "You'll Miss a Good Thing"

File under: Girls with guitars.

Seeing a sista rock out in formal attire had to be just as surprising to early 60's audiences as it is to us today, but for Barbara Lynn it was just another day at work.

Here she is performing her 1962 hit, "You'll Miss a Good Thing," which was later popularly covered by Soul icons Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, and Tejano/Country legend, Freddy Fender.




If you pass this one up without a click, you might be missing a good thing...

Coming Soon: Bury Me Standing

Not only are we ecstatic that two of our favorite thespians (Kerry Washington and Mos Def) are reportedly in production on the flick, Bury Me Standing, we're equally thrilled that this indie vehicle is being driven by up-and-coming writer/director, Caran Hartsfield and super-producer in the making, Effie T. Brown.



The early synopsis of Bury Me Standing is a dramedy of a family coping with the death of a young relative. (That's all we've got, folks.)

Our hats are off to the next generation of black women filmmakers getting gems like this story told.

Be on the lookout for our profile of 10 up and coming African American Female Filmmakers in the weeks to come. If you know of deserving candidates email us @ thecocoalounge@yahoo.com.

Haut Shots: Nefertiti Kebede

Random Haut-ness from the photographic perspective...



Model, Liya Kebede, as Egypt's Queen Nefertiti.

Cocoa Lounge NOW: Medicine for Melancholy

(Tracey Heggins and Wyatt Cenac in Medicine for Melancholy.)

Just as we were wondering if the grand old cinematic gates had closed on good black romance (it's been a whopping 11 years since Love Jones made its big screen debut) Barry Jenkins goes and drops Medicine For Melancholy on us and those gates are starting to creak again.

Medicine, an independent feature screening at this years' Los Angeles Film Festival, is "the story of two African-American twenty-somethings who wake up in bed together having no recollection of how they arrived there." The two wander the streets of San Francisco and find themselves at the Museum of African Diaspora, where they discover that they're much more intellectually and spiritually connected than their previous encounter would suggest.



The film covers not only romance but tackles issues of the declining African American presence in major cities (such as San Francisco) due to growing social crises like gentrification...

...A film that's smart and sexy? Now, that's definitely a dose of medicine for what's ailing the film industry.

The Black Model Museum: The First American Covergirl

Forty years ago, marked the first time a black woman ever appeared on the cover of a national American women's magazine. The pioneering face on the cover of the August 1968 issue belonged to Katiti Kironde, then a college student at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Though not a model, Katiti's cover was a financial success and would open the floodgates for many model firsts in the years to follow: Jolie Jones, Mademoiselle '69; Daphne Maxwell, Glamour, '69; Jane Hoffman, Cosmopolitan, '69; Elizabeth of Toro, Harper's Bazaar, '69; and Beverly Johnson's coveted, American Vogue cover of '74, struck the last blow to the long-standing tradition of exclusion.

Thanks to Katiti's historic cover and the efforts of women and men in front of, and behind the lens, we've never known a world where diversity was blatantly not welcomed to the publication party. And we think that's something worth celebrating.

Today we're gonna party like its 1968!

P. Diddy Campaigns for Janelle Monae in Los Angeles

(Photo by: J. Althaus)

Los Angeles, CA -- There was a seismic shift in the energy of the Hollywood Sunset Strip last night around 7 pm. Just as anticipation was building around the nail-biting democratic race several thousand miles away, the energy outside the Key Club was also peaking Tuesday night.

But the issue at hand was neither Obama, Clinton, or McCain. The people had spoken and they wanted a musical change they could believe in. Afro-Punk kids, Music Industry execs, Hollywood blondes, and the Grown & Sexy put aside their differences to align for one common cause--Janelle Monae.

And she delivered.



After being presented to the crowd with a heartfelt speech from two of her chief campaign backers, P. Diddy & Big Boi of Outkast, Janelle Monae unleashed on stage with a wildly energetic performance of Violet Stars Happy Hunting, and from there, was an introduction to the many faces of Janelle Monae. She followed with the achingly beautiful, Smile, a song in which she shines with the vocal depth and tenderness of a young Judy Garland. Sincerely Jane has a strong social message and a bass line to match, and Letting Go has a fun, bouncy nature, easily reminiscent of Michael Jackson's early work from Thriller. With her brief, but powerful set, Monae clearly addressed the underlying issues, key ingredients for any new artists' success: talent, versatility, and influential backers.





The crowd was appreciative, and cheers became more akin to a campaign rally than an artist showcase (see Monae "Imagination Inspires Nations" posters being hoisted in the crowd photo).

If Diddy was making the case to bring a change in the music industry, as he suggested in his opening speech, then the results from last night was resoundingly clear: Janelle Monae is definitely a musical candidate of change. And, without question, receives the endorsement of The Cocoa Lounge.

Cocoa Lounge NOW: Black Lily

The city of brotherly love gives the sisters some...



Boasting an impressive lineup of some of our fave new artists (including Lizz Wright, Muhsinah, & Ayo) as well as some stellar films, the 2nd annual Black Lily Film & Arts Festival springs into bloom this Thursday, May 1st in Philly.

Hot on the heels of Coachella, Black Lily is inarguably the hottest--most affordable--ticket of the week.

[view full schedule here]

Art Tart: Bayou

Art Tart: Art you can sink your teeth in....

South of the Mason-Dixon Line, lies a strange land of gods and monsters. Born from centuries of slavery, civil war, innocent bloodshed, hate and strife lurks a world parallel to our own...

--From Bayou synopsis

Black girls aren't known for reading comic books, let alone being the heroines of them, but Jeremy Love's Bayou, may just help to dispel both myths.

Beautiful artwork partnered with a powerful story has drawn Bayou comparisons to the lush film, Pan's Labyrinth. If you thought you'd never pick up a comic in your life, this one may be the right kick to your cerebellum.

Read Bayou online: Bayou @ Zuda Comics