June 2013 – Jasmine Dotiwala

26th June 201326th June 2013

JASMINE’S JUICE featuring Rudolph Walker and Mynature!

SARAH , ADE, JASMINE, RUDOLF AND SHONA!
On Sunday I was invited by one of my favourite actors, EastEnder’s Rudolph Walker OBE, to the launch of his 2013 Inter School Drama Awards (RWiSDA), which take place on the 14th July. RWiSDA was 1st pioneered in the 70’s in Brixton by this highly respected and much-loved actor. The awards take place between young people and schools nationally and internationally in a way that helps young people use their spare time in a positive way, offering an alternative to ‘hanging around’ after school and build young people’s confidence and self esteem.

ACTOR’S DIANE PARISH AND NITIN GANATRA AT RUDOLFS LAUNCH.
The launch, sponsored by Glen Insurance, was held at the award winning Parson’s Restaurant in Waltham Abbey run by chef Adebola Adeshina for a small intimate group of us and after a mouth watering dinner I sat down for the speeches and auction with the other guests who included Keith Vaz MP, , actors Jimmy Akingbola and Chizzy Akudolu from Holby City, EastEnders stars including Diane Parish, Lindsey Coulson and Nitin Ganatra, Martina Laird and Cyril Nri, Birmingham International Film Festival head Dean Alexander and comedy agent Sarah Moore. The auction raised £2,000 for the RWiSDAs, unfortunately I couldn’t persuade my friend to bid for the beautiful diamond necklace kindly donated by Diamond Thoughts. Rudolph’s beautiful daughter Sheona acted as auctioneer on the night and has clearly inherited his gift to entertain!

RUDOLF TAKES THE MIC TO LAUNCH THE NIGHT!
The food which chef Ade presented was unique with twists to all usual options. There wasn’t one boring dish on the menu. On Fridays he makes a mean Chicken curry pot pie. Sometimes he pops a giant bone marrow on the plate too-which some people find offensive but he’s just trying to open their minds. People come from all over to attend Parsons –it’s a destination restaurant.
He puts it down to his Nigerian background where ‘’meat is important in every meal’’. Ade is very strict about changing up his menu every few weeks as he likes his food to be real and seasonal as opposed to genetically modified food.

Rudolph explained the inspiration behind his foundation. ‘‘In 1973 during height of TV shows like ‘Love thy neighbour’ we used to have the stop & search SUS Law. In those days I used to visit schools. Kids said to me ‘’we leave school and get stopped by police all the time and its really frustrating and hinders our lives’’. So I Launched a school competition for 2 Brixton schools where kids in groups of 10 would write, direct and perform their own play. Their school selected the 3 best to enter into the competition. There were Prizes for the best. This lasted for 4-5 years but then ended as housing estates took over the schools’’.
‘’The competition is back now though and in its 3rd year and we continue to have phenomenal feedback from schools and teachers. There was a slight hitch when in the 1st year some of the boys set off fire alarm, which delayed things, but it still happened. It’s about giving them self focus and confidence”
Rudolph wants to take it the foundation nationally and internationally and want youth to have the focus and confidence to take responsibility for themselves.
Rudolph and I chatted for ages about his foundation but he also gave me cooking tips-apparently he’s a hot chef too!. He encouraged me to try tripe, taught me how to make my salt fish dry instead of wet and described his homeland Trinidad’s carnival as the 8th wonder of the world.
I wish Rudolph every success with the awards. The final is on July 14th at Milford Arts Centre in Edmonton and everyone’s invited.
Any project that provides much needed help and guidance to young people, should be supported by us all.

JASMINE WITH ABOUT TO BLOW ACT- MYNATURE- IN THE BBC’S FRONT GARDEN!
Next I caught up with a young music act called Mynature. (pronounced ‘miniture’). I get sent a lot of new music by pluggers, PR teams and record labels and usually listen for 30 seconds before hitting stop if the music doesn’t resonate with me. Not only had I begun to hear a buzz about this new kid on the mainstream block, but also I liked his positive lyrical content. I believe music acts should put in the hard graft first and do as many live gigs as possible and generate their own buzz before expecting media to talk about them.
Mynature was also recently on the Channel 4 news which was covering the horrific Woolwich story where fellow rapper Boyadee talked to him about the terrible tragedy and life on the South East London’s roads.
Mynature told me that ‘’Woolwich is a positive place. Acts that come from here are intelligent. We gave the world acts like Tinie Tempah and Saskilla. Aside from all the memorial flowers the place is still where I call home’’.

I teased Mynature about his diminutive name wondering what was happening when we already have little men in Tinie and Tynchy. He laughed and explained ‘’When I was younger and unfortunately associated with gangs I needed a road name. I could’ve had ‘Short man’,’Lil man’,’Titch’ but I liked that Lynx used ‘’y’’ instead of ‘’I’’ and I liked the double entoundre of my nature so Mynature it was’’. Get that readers?
Mynature continued ‘’Short people are more creative. We have to do more to stand out. We have Lil man syndrome so we end up having to be bolder than most!’’

Mynature’s been rapping a long time but took a 5-year break to form a strong team and now returned bolder and more confident than ever ‘’A lot of MC’s are similar to myself. Everyone’s claiming to be hiphop but all of them don’t have a hip-hop background. I want people to know I am rap”. Hip-hop is in my blood as far back as my life goes. There’s not another person like me as talented as me”
Mynature stresses ‘’Hip-hop was once based on mc’ing. It was not all depressing. I want to bring back the feel good factor with a Dj, Scratching, dancers and graffiti.
Your favourite rapper should be based on their lyrics and music not on their image and how they look. Nowadays It’s all about image not lyrics. My favourite MC was Cannibus. I appreciated his lyrical skills. He had wit and metaphors. Tupac/ Nas were also great storytellers that inspired me too’’.

Mynature’s latest track ‘Mr Is Rap’ is released this week on 26th June.The track has received support from the likes of influential taste-makers DJ Semtex and Shortee Blitz. On the song, Mynature poses the question “why so many wack rappers are getting airplay when all they talk about is money and clothes or they will rap abut a lifestyle that isn’t true to themselves”
Mynature had me rolling with laughter when I asked about the behind the scenes of his video shoot where his Director Kalvadour had some glitter which he gave to female extras to blow glitter all over him. Mynature was so pissed off they had to stop the shoot. ‘You can’t be putting glitter on a black man with Vaseline on his face!’’

Mynature spent -6 years in prison at the age of 21 and on leaving went from his original career as a barber to a music act ‘’I was a barber and a roadman. I sorted out other people’s beefs occasionally but some people held feelings. At one point my shop got shot up so obviously thereafter people didn’t wanna get their hair cut with me. So now I had to find some other job or my innocent business partner could get injured so I left. I realised I liked music. I was hanging out with fellow music star Doc Rotton who was signed to mercury. I was seeing it was possible and It inspired me to try it for myself. Doc and myself made songs together. His house was so cold he was in bed with a puffa jacket! I was happy for him once he made it cos his struggle was deep’’

When it comes to the invisible national music scene often referred to as ‘’team uk’’ Mynature doesn’t believe its a unified movement. He feels it’s more fragmented by its own success. ‘‘Its myth. I don’t think there is a teamuk. When people feel something’s about to blow, they simply jump on the bandwagon’’

Predicting the future, Mynature states ‘‘we wanna create good music that shows our journey, creativity, and build a fan base. Once we know we can sell, we will move forwards working on our brand! I want people to say I’m the best!

Posted on 19th June 2013
JASMINES JUICE featuring decadent Dubai!

Dubai. Decadent, opulent, unashamedly blingtastic, bigger, taller, more expensive than anywhere I’ve ever been before. I loved it!
Before going to Dubai in June, I was warned by numerous people that this time of year it’s so unbearably hot ,we wouldn’t even be able to step outside. Well readers that was total Arabian poppycock. It was perfect! Let me start at the very beginning…..

FLYING
We wanted a quick break, so booked 4 days and traveled by Emirates Airlines. I can honestly say that after swearing allegiance to Virgin Atlantic for 3 decades, I am jumping ship- it’s a wrap Virgin. I have a new sky love. Emirates are as close to heaven I’m going to get whilst still on earth. How have I been so tragically late to this?
The plane was like one huge hotel suite with more than ample spacey seating in economy. Unlike the usual plane map documenting where we were on our journey, there were 3 live cameras outside the plane, which show you everything live as you fly over it. It was like a visual flyby tour all across Europe and the Middle East from the comfort of my seat.
Emirates breakfast was akin to one I’ve had regularly at The Wolesly. Nothing was too much trouble for the very friendly and polite staff. Then the piece de resistance….the bathrooms are like the ones at a Park Lane Hotel, full with complimentary lotions, potions and fragrances! Matched with totally modern furniture and state of the art in-house media systems, it made Virgin look like Easy Jet!
On landing at the airport, (which was our first experience of just how extravagant the city was with its gigantic waterfalls and hologram airport info assistants), the swift exit process was easy, well conducted and welcoming.
In case you’re thinking of going to Dubai I’m going to fill this column with all my observations and tips so you know what to expect. First tip; on exiting the airport try and hail a regular New York looking yellow taxi. The red roofed ones are VIP and cost more, and the pink roof taxis are driven by ladies for ladies but we realized that the ladies don’t seem to know the city as well as the male taxi drivers, so ended up driving loops before she found our friends apartment on the newly built Palm.

It was the perfect time to exit the airport ,as the sun was setting a burnt orange all glowing 180 degree spread across the sky, making the perfect backdrop to the cities very New York-esque skyline..
We were staying with our friends Julian and Aina who had emigrated to Dubai years ago and were now bringing up their very young, adorable children out there with an amazing lifestyle where education and quality of life is akin to an uber celebrity’s life.
After catching up and freshening up ,we were taken just up the road to the over- the- top 6 star Atlantis hotel ,where we dined al fresco on Nassimi Beach on the marina facing the sea. The food was world class ,but no alcohol was served that day, as it was a religious feast. This wasn’t a problem as I’m not a big drinker anyway, but if you are, you might want to plan your trip outside of these days. After dinner we strolled around the hotel ,taking in the giant aquarium full of sand sharks and stingray and palatial bars made of gold leaf and Venetian Murano chandeliers ,before hitting the sack.

AT DUBAI FOUNTAIN, SIDE OF DUBAI MALL AND BURJ KHALIFA!
DAY 1
The next day was Thursday and our first full day. We had been advised that if taking a short trip we should ensure it included a Thursday and Friday as that is their weekend. (In Dubai the working week isn’t Monday to Friday like ours- it’s Sunday to Thursday. All the action takes place during their weekends).
After spending the morning poolside, we went to explore the Dubai Mall area late afternoon and evening. (If you’re not dressed decently in the mall they hand you a red card asking you to respect their tradition and rules). I noted many sleeveless dresses and strappy tops and mini dresses which seemed to go unmarked, but then a lady with a totally backless dress was handed the card! Hilarity!
The mall is the biggest in the world, and yes I walked around as much as possible before realizing id never get through it unless I had at least 3 days. However its not essential visiting, as its full of every store in the western world like Macy’s, Dune, designer stores and even a Waitrose. Also their prices are much more than the UK due to importing costs. (Also if you’re tempted to visit a souk, imagining it will be an exotic market experience like the one Carrie and friends had in Sex and the City 2, you will be disappointed. Their souks are mini stores within mall like venues- akin to Southall Broadway).

IF I CAN TOUCH THE TOP OF THE HIGHEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD, I CAN DO ANYTHING! (BURG KHALIFA!)
Good reasons to visit the mall however are aplenty. The famous Dubai fountain is on site as is the world’s tallest building the Burg Khalifa. ‘’Burj’’ means tower and ‘’Khalifa is pronounced with a silent ‘’k’’ so its ‘’halifa’’ after the country’s big wig Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, head of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi, which came to debt-laden Dubai’s financial rescue during its financial crash a few years ago.

We decided to have dinner at one of the exterior restaurants so we could watch the fountains as they sprang into action every half hour.
If you’ve witnessed the original Vegas Bellagio fountains, it’s similar. The actual fountain choreography is not as good but still as magical. The Vegas one goes every 15 minutes and the jets are perfectly choreographed to a diverse list of music from classical to rock to pop which makes you gasp in amazement as jets hits a crescendo. The Dubai one is very pretty but in a way, what gives it that slight edge over Vegas overall ,is the adjacent attractions like the Burg Khalifa which gives it a more magical background.
After watching 3 consecutive fountain shows whilst eating, my partner and I took our friends 3-year-old son for a quick walk. I am a marketing mans dream client. I buy up tourist nick-nacks and the one that enticed me, was a photographer taking pictures in front of the Burj Khalifa. Had my own camera been able to cope with the drama, or I had understood how to set my camera menu in order to capture it, I wouldn’t have been £30 lighter but hey ho we smiled and posed as the very camp cameraman directed us in a variety of poses to choose from. As we went inside the mall to pick our photo we passed an ice cream vendor. My partner noted adorable 3 year olds expression and asked whether he would like one? Adorable 3 year old nodded enthusiastically so we went in. Alarm bells should’ve rung when 3 year old didn’t know what flavor he wanted. We settled on vanilla and strawberry. As we carried him back to his parents they informed us stony faced that ‘’he doesn’t eat ice cream, he’s never tasted it, we’re trying to manage his junk food levels and sugar’’. Awkward.com much? We felt like the serpent in the bible that corrupted Eve. Oops. Luckily we were forgiven and still had a roof over our heads for our stay.

JASMINE WITH ROZAN AHMED ON THE ”FREE” SIDE OF DUBAI AQUARIUM.
Straight afterwards we met our friend Rozan Ahmed, who also moved to Dubai from London years ago. Rozan was an established journalist for music mags like RWD whilst in London and now in Dubai runs her own company called Bougi and also does PR for Saudi royalty and the United Nations. She’s been called…“One of the Middle East’s most inspirational women” by Dubai’s VIVA. “The Queen of Soirees” by Bahrain’s GRAZIA. “Invaluable” by the United Nations Mission in Sudan. “The Woman who can” by the BBC’s Radio 1Xtra and “Formidable” by Kenya’s DRUM.. Rozan accompanied us to the world famous Dubai aquarium. Now my second tip is, you can see the aquarium from the main mall and there’s no need to pay £20 per person to walk through its infamous underwater tunnel. I –being the PR persons dream client- decided I had to experience it, so off we went.

ON THE ”PAID FOR” INSIDE OF DUBAI’S INFAMOUS AQUARIUM.
My other half stood at the entrance to the tunnel on entry and rounded on me furiously ‘’you mean to tell me that we have paid £40 to walk 20 meters through that tunnel? I can see the exit from here!’’ oops. You don’t need the tunnel- in fact after seeing the free aquarium at the Atlantis this was less enchanting as it was full of hundreds of tourists whilst the Atlantis was quiet and serene. We completed day 1 with a walk through the plush Palace Hotel and more drinks with ice cream!

MARINA IN BETWEEN JUMERIAH BEACH HOTEL AND BURG AL ARAB.
DAY 2
Day 2 was a Friday, and we were informed that when in Dubai on a Friday, it’s all about their traditional brunch. So we were scooped off to the affluent Jumeriah beach hotel with friends, where the lobby which has a huge pond in which the centre, house’s a podium with piano and classical pianist tinkling away 24-7. Pretty swanky! The brunch was spectacular. It deserved applause, a Grammy, an Oscar and a tummy tuck for me after I’d eaten my own body weight in sushi, oysters and duck and every other foodstuff existent in A List circles. Afterwards we sauntered next door, to the vision that is the Hotel Burj Al Arab –the visually striking image of the Dubai hotel, that resembles a sail, and took copious photos of the hotel that we’d never afford due to its 7* rating.

That night I was persuaded to go to the infamous Blue marlin party at the showy Tulip Hotel in Ghantoot where they party until the early hours on the open beach. White leather sofa’s are covered in skimpy chic’s and mostly topless handsome sexy men showing off their Adonis like gym bodies. Even though I don’t usually like house music I danced until the end and had fun. Can’t imagine why? Smile.

WITH THE PRINCE OF DUBAI-MASTERSTEPZ- AT BLUE MARLIN.
Actually I know it was because we were with DJ Masterstepz aka Ian Thompson – former CHOICEFM DJ and now Dubai big DJ don! Ian and his lady Naomi took good care of us on their VIP table, and passers by greeted Ian with reverence all evening. After the party we all had an after party at Ian’s pad, which is a gorgeous monochrome duplex that belongs in an architecture brochure. We ordered naughty fried chicken and fries at 3am and debated lots of crazy political conspiracy theories, which Ian is the master of believing!

DESSERT SAFARI ADVENTURE!
DAY 3
Day 3 Saturday after some more pool action, we were picked up by our dessert safari guide ‘Amjed’ ,who drove us miles out into the hot Arabian dessert ,where we had an hour of what can only be described as a dessert roller-coaster, aka dune bashing. Our caged jeep climbed sand dunes and skid across them sideways at speed, making us all shriek in fear until we were used to it.

ROZAN AND I ARE TAUGHT HOW TO WRAP A HEADWRAP ON THE DESSERT SAFARI.
Next we were taken to a dessert village where we had the option of quad biking, camel rides, chicken shawarma’s and an evening BBQ feast with belly dancer.

THE BOYS GET THEIR JODECI VIDEO MOMENT CROONING IN THE DESSERT!
The boys raced around the sand on the quad bikes, before I persuaded them to join me for a camel ride. I had dreamt of this moment. The camels walking us off across acres of bronze sand, as I dramatically pondered the meaning of life whilst disappearing on the exotic animal into the distant sunset. We climbed atop the agitated camel, were led around in a small circle- (circumference 5 meters max I kid you not), before being plonked down again and told ‘’ride finished’’? Totally tragic! Tip- don’t bother with camel rides. They’re horrid for you and the poor camel. Also the men in your life wont thank you for their sore, crushed groin after the camel has bumped us literally and physically!

That night we went straight from the dessert to the Crystal club at the luxurious Raffles Hotel, where Masterstepz was DJ-ing for DJ Bliss birthday party. Apparently DJ Bliss is a pretty big deal out there. The club was like every central London hip-hop club you’ve been to, with skimpy frocked, stripper heeled ladies, men wanting to be big pimpers and regular Champagne Jeroboams being walked across the men with more money than sense LOL. Thankfully Ian played a great set and I danced till the end.

JASMINE WITH THE GIRLS AT CRYSTAL NIGHTCLUB-DUBAI
(L-R ROZAN, JASMINE, NAOMI, NORA)
DAY 4
I’m embarrassed to confess that our last day -Day 4 I had great intentions of visiting a gold and diamond souk and travel on a water taxi along the old Dubai creek. In my head I did do it, but in reality straight after our morning pool antics back flipping in and out of the water, and having lunch at the Riva beach club, sleep hit me hard and I slept all afternoon!
We wanted to finish our stay with a bang and so went to have drinks at the Atmosphere Bar in the tallest building in the world- the Burg Khalifa. We dressed up, rode the elevator 123 floors, stepped into the bar ready to witness the stunningly high colossal ariel view. The reality was, that every window in the 360-degree bar looked like my shower after a really hot one. Apparently the extra hot temperature outside, coupled with the icy air conditioning inside, meant that every window was covered in steamy condensation, so we could see absolutely nothing. We had to laugh. Especially since each person needed to spend 400 dirhams (just under £100) at the bar!
Tip- look at the tower from down below, the inside is only worth it if you can guarantee the view is clear.

JASMINE WITH FORMER CAPITAL RADIO DJ SIMON ”SCHOOL BOY” PHILLIPS, NOW DUBAI BROADCASTING BIGWIG!
After that we went into town to surprise former Capital Radio Dj Simon ‘Schoolboy’ Phillips, who now also lives in Dubai ,and works as a big shot in the music media world. He was pleasantly surprised and revealed life out there was top quality and couldn’t even dream of returning to London again.
Our final drink was had in an African club called Kiza where Rozan took us. We had peppered beef, jollof rice and peppered gizzard! Yep- I didn’t know what gizzards were pre Dubai either! Music was brilliant with them playing afrobeats as well as Chipmunk, Mavado, Donaeo and more! Good times!

In summary, there are many English people living a very high quality life in Dubai. The pay is approximately 3 times what it is in the UK and promotion opportunities are plentiful and rising to the top is a lot quicker. However, the government does put sanctions in place to pay indigenous Emirate’s more ,and Emirate female quotas for company boards are in place. The weather is always good and the lifestyle is flossy. It attracts the big names. Whilst we were in town David Haye, Busta Rhymes, The Game and more were there too. Whilst alcohol is tolerated at certain more western establishments its not the main focus of fun, the way it can be in western countries, and drugs are totally prohibited- which all in all, makes it my absolute perfect destination. It’s as if all the things that are great about various locations across the globe have been nicked to make a very man made Dubai. The hotels and fountains of Vegas, the chic fashion of the French, the beaches of the Caribbean, homes like Monte Carlo, skyscrapers like New York and more. I don’t need a legacy of history to enjoy a city. Dubai is everything you could want in a vacation and like Arnie once said ‘’I’ll be back!’’

Posted on 11th June 201311th June 2013
JASMINE’S JUICE featuring JANELLE MONAE, CHIME FOR CHANGE, GINA YASHERE and RITA ORA’S Mastercard Priceless gig!

JANELLE MONAE SHOWCASE AT THE RADIO BAR/ ME HOTEL.

JASMINE WITH ELECTRIC LADY JANELLE MONAE AT HER LONDON SHOWCASE.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL H
One beautifully hot evening, Electric Lady Janelle Monae took over the London skyline in an evening’s performance showcase at the new hotspot for the music industry-the Radio Bar at the ME Hotel. Over looking St Paul’s and the Thames, Janelle welcomed us all to her rooftop showcase ,where she encouraged guests to kick off their shoes and party with her and her team. ‘’It would mean a lot to me if you’d take your shoes off on the grass, this is the American south in London. Immerse yourself! To be really victorious u have to find pleasure in the small things” LOL.

JASMINE WITH JANELLE’S GUESTS INCLUDING TWIN B (3RD).
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL H
Janelle was born and bred in Kansas, and like her homie Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz ,really did take the guests to a dreamlike state of happiness with her set, which was infectiously fun and bubbly. The new music reminded me of a mix between Andre 3000, Dinah Washington and Bruno Mars. It was happy. Much needed in todays doom led, materialistic crap that’s often in the charts.

JASMINE, JANELLE AND ATLANTIC MUSIC’S TAPONESWA MAVUNGA.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL H
As the champagne, wine and out of control nibbles (mash, steak, curried cauliflower, chicken skewers, mini burgers) were passed around on silver platters, Janelle served up a set worthy of a full on arena gig. Dressed in black patent loafers, trousers, braces and bowler hat with white shirt and black and white dog tooth checked blazer, her rat pack look started neat and groomed before she unleashed her electric dancing and wilding out onstage which saw the perfectly coiffed hair flung around and falling everywhere!

JANELLE AND HER TEAM KILL IT ONSTAGE IN A ONCE IN A LIFETIME MOMENT!
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL H
Janelle spoke about her love of art and her paintings. She has a painting of an “Electric lady” and with that title wants to create a label that defies the ‘modelisation’ of women. She explained to us that her new album carries universal stories in unforgettable ways. She was particularly proud of having produced one of her heroine’s Erykah Badu.

JASMINE WITH (L-R), GORDY HAGAN, MERVYN LYN, SHAUN SPRINGER.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL H
In the house were Atlantic records Taponeswa Mavunga, David Miller and team, Twin B, KissFM’s lovely DJ Clara, former RWD bosslady Hattie Collins (who is now writing a number of biographies for UK music acts!), professor Jackie Springer, DJ Ronnie Herel, rock hip-hopper Clement Marfo (who revealed he is now solo without his band!), SBMG’S Gordy Hagan, Strategic Solutions MD Mervyn Lyn, Mastercard’s Shaun Springer and many more.

CHIME FOR CHANGE

THE BEST MOMENT AT CHIME FOR CHANGE WAS THE J LO/MARY J DUET-UNEXPECTED AND UNIQUE!

CHIME FOR CHANGE!
The massive Chime for change show at Twickenham stadium was a huge deal! Very reminiscent of Live 8 decades ago it had a stellar a list line up of music talent that was well worth the money 40,000 ticket buyers paid. The show was to bring awareness to female issues globally. Gucci has announced a global fundraising campaign for women and girls who are victims of gender inequality, with a focus on pushing equal access to education, health and justice. Areas such as female health, education, safety and more were highlighted by a host of stars including Madonna, Jada Pinkett Smith, Aishwari Rai, Blake Lively, Zoe Saldana and Freida Pinto. The show was initiated by co-founders Beyonce Carter-Knowles, actress Salma Hayek-Pinalt, and Gucci creative director Frida Giannini.
I was lucky enough to have been invited by my cuz Janet Shaw who was working with the team that put on the whole gig- Control Room.

VIEW FROM THE EXECUTIVE BOX AT CHIME FOR CHANGE.
With my mentor Fleur Safarty (ex MTV SVP), we were treated to a spot in the executive box where a waiter plied us with drinks and food which included victoria sponge, scones with clotted cream and jam, giant neon coloured macaroons, sandwiches and more.

JASMINE WITH FRIENDS PARAMI, ROB AND FLEUR!
Rita Ora and Jessie J were opening warm up acts. That shows you the level of a list that was headlining. We saw Ellie Golding, Iggy Azalea, John Legend and more do their thing before Timbaland came on to play hypeman to all his hits. When Duran Duran front man Simon Le Bon joined Timberland for a Duran Duran song the over 30’s in the crowd (yep that’s me) went mad! It was a big look! Another big moment was just after J lo did her Malcolm X speech “I believe!…..that the girls need the right to education globally”. Halfway through her set the living legend that is Mary J Blige just jumped onstage to sing, “come together” (Beatles) with J LO!!!
Jada Pinkett Smiths speech about women who are human trafficked daily across the globe was sincere and powerful. When the final act came on we were all already in a spiral of roller coasting excitement that was about to reach crescendo heights. Queen Bey came on and killed it in her usual superhuman style with a few of her solo hits, a few Destiny’s Child hits, as well as paying tribute to Whitney…..(And Dolly Parton)…with “I will always love you” .Beyonce still looks like a superhero as she sings and dances to barely any playback…95% totally live! Incredible to witness! A great line up, fantastic live venue, and brilliant all round event for a great cause- KUDOS!

GINA YASHERE SELL OUT CONCERT AT UDDERBELLY FESTIVAL-SOUTH BANK!

JASMINE WITH COMEDIAN GINA YASHERE.

The hilarious Gina Yashere took part in the South Bank Udderbelly Comedy Festival where on a sunny bank holiday weekend, hundreds of people came out to watch her show performed in a giant upside down purple cow. Hence the title ‘’Udderbelly’’. It was great to witness huge posters of Gina all across the river bank before the show. This London lady has come so far. Broken out of the urban UK comedy scene and is now selling out venues across the globe. Pretty impressive!
She was so funny. Her jokes were both shocking hilarious and captivated the very diverse crowd. She shows her freestyle skills by bantering with a huge hen party who were in the audience, and also a young man who attended with his mum who may or may not have only been around 15 and a lil shocked by the X Ratedness of the content which took pot shots and Gina’s own particular crazy point of view on a variety of things including the Olympics, the Woolwich tragedy, Oscar Pistorious, rappers and more. A great cultured way to spend a sunny bank holiday!

MASTERCARD PRICELESS GIG- RITA ORA AND JOSH KUMRA!
JASMINE WITH JOSH KUMRA- WHO OPENED UP FOR RITA ORA
Miss ‘’killin-it-everywhere-right-now’’ Rita Ora performed at a very special showcase at Café de Paris for Mastercards Priceless campaign. Former Sony BMG boss Mervyn Lyn (strategic partnership solutions), invited me to see rita in action with her opening act Josh Kumra. Mervyn played host onstage for the night and worked the microphone better than most professional DJ’s usually hired to this. I guess he’s spent decades telling hosts what to say and how to say it- he’s now able to do it all himself!
Josh has been silently putting his work in with his manager former Sony boss Matt Ross. Josh’s acoustic set showed him to be a very capable and pleasant music act. His chart-hit time is coming soon. Rita, as expected, was mesmerizing. With her longer than long, poker straight GHD hair. Looking like a fly sexy mama in her black mini skirt, patterned see through blouse and vertiginous heels. Rita is an exciting performer and has moments that her fans remember. One such moment was when she grabbed a pair of drumsticks and used them as accessories to beat aggressively on a drum during one track called “making me uneasy” she has numerous Call and response duet moments with her crowd encouraging them to mimic her vocal training riffs. Another moment was when she covered a no doubt track stating she loved Gwen Stefani and been influenced by her for years hence the red fire engine lips and peroxide hair. She also did a cover of nerds “she wants to move” paying special attention to the ‘’she’s sexy!’’ lyrics. Clever girl. There was the now predictable homage moment to biggie as she spat his lyrics over “it was all a dream’’ which took us slickly into biggies “Party n bullshit”/that’s just how we do ” cover hit. A final memorable moment was when she grabbed and put on a fans “party n bullshit hoodie when she sang that song and then another fans cap for “rip”
There were a lot of suited business types up in our area who were hysterical with happiness dancing away to Rita-such is her aura.
Rita told us her 2nd album “out of love” was coming very soon and performed us a couple of exclusive songs from the new work. One titled “Boy you’re makin me fall head over heels out of love”.
In the VIP audience were TV talent music booker Susan Benitto, Sugababe singer Keisha, PR maven Vanessa Amadi, photographer to the stars Paul H, singer Lemar and more. A lovely, exclusive, evening. Congratulations to Shaun Springer at MasterCard. Another priceless night for music fans!

Posted on 4th June 20134th June 2013
JASMINE’S JUICE featuring A.M Sniper and Shystie!

JASMINE WITH A.M SNIPER IN CYPRUS!
This week Jasmines Juice is tipping its hat to acts that keep grafting.
The ones that win are the ones that stay in the race. I recall 2 decades ago when Kylie first declared her interest in going from being an actress to a music star. She was the most ridiculed woman in music. She stuck at it and over the years the graft equaled success and icon status.
2 acts that I’ve seen multitask and work hard at their craft this past decade are male MC A.M Sniper and female MC Shystie.
Anthony Melas aka A.M. SNiPER is the main man out in Ayia Napa.He is the man that can in Ayia Napa yet he was born in England and grew up between London and Cyprus.
Fast-forward twenty years and A.M Snipers music is being played across Europe, he’s performed and collaborated with superstars from both sides of the Atlantic such as 50 Cent, Memphis Bleek, Akon, Wiley, Lethal Bizzle, K Koke, Sway, JME, Ghetts and Rick Ross and appeared in numerous publications throughout Europe.
I first came to hear about Sniper (as he was known back then), during his time with the chart-topping So Solid Crew, who he produced for as well as featured as an artist. This past year Radio 1 DJ Charlie Sloth has supported snipers music. The first single of 2013 to give us an insight of what is to come is the A.M. SNiPER humorous take on British bling (due for release in June). “It’s Big (The Kettle on my Wrist)” was written and produced by A.M SNiPER and is a “cockney” take on the rhyming slang for watch – kettle! On first view of this video it reminds me of a Busta meets Ludacris video. Its humorous, witty and a fun watch.
I caught up with A.M Sniper this week to ask where it had all gone so right! He laughed as he revealed ‘‘its big’’ the Video came about like this. I’m a English/Cypriot – and the video director Sheriff Francis is a video director who is Egyptian Greek, with millions of video views in his fan base. He reminds me of a European Hype Williams. I reached out and asked to work with him. We worked on the track together. He got it from the get go. A lot of people don’t always get the sarcasm I’m attempting to portray in this track and mistakenly think I love bling. I’m taking the piss, not trying to be materialistic. As soon as the director told me ‘’I see a Zulu chief opening up the shot’’ I was sold. It was mad fun on the set in Mayors Hotel in Napa, the AENEAS. What I wanted to achieve was the show people’s uniqueness in this video and how they get along. You can see an Arab sheik, a Mediterranean guy, a black golfer, a female bodybuilder…all different and unique. I used to notice a lot of European rappers wearing a new york Yankees hat, I went for a kettle aka watch, that’s closer to my culture than a NY Yankees cap! I was trying to show that music is superficial, you know me, I never use my money to utilize my music. a lot of current us hip hop albums sound like shopping catalogues’’
A.M Snipers Album ‘’1am’’ is what he’s working on right now. The ‘’a.m’’ are not just his initials. They also stand for the time of day he’s best-the early hours. He shrugs ‘’my name one day could just be ‘am’’
Ever the survivor, he’s always being hit with obstacles, trials and tribulations. ‘‘Between 2004-2011 I’ve been hit with numerous legal court cases to do with my previous music deals with the Around The World single with Roc A Fella, the music industry, contracts and record labels shutting down- this is the reason my releases have been inconsistent, but I’m a seasoned fighter LOL’’’’
In 2011 a lot of my frustration was released on my EP that I put out, after that physical and mental release I was ready to do an album, 5 years ago my mainframe was different-I wanted a no 1 but now I’ve gone back to scratch mentally, I’m proud of my journey. When I was 16 I was a DJ now I’m releasing records!’’

Asked about his friendship with Charlie Sloth he recalls ‘’Charlie , back in the day when I was doing stuff with Eminems DJ- Green Lantern, Charlie was doing a reality show called ‘’Being Charlie Sloth’’. Back then Charlie wasn’t as big as he is now but he’s the same guy today, he’s still real. We both wanted to create what the Americans have created in the states. Aside from UK festivals Charlie’s music festival ‘’Fire on the beach’’ in Aiya Napa (July 13, Aug 3rd)…is the only other festival outside of the UK that highlights and champions British acts. Regardless who you support it’s a unified scene. Devlin hasn’t been here before so that will be good too’’.

This summer in Napa, A.M Sniper will be performing with Dappy, K Koke and many more at “Fire On The Beach” and Labrinth and Tinie Tempah at the “Summer Love beach music festival” He smiles ‘’its going to be a successful summer. I have a couple new singles that I cant wait to perform called #BusPass with a surprise feature and ‘’no where’’, which can also be read as #nowhere ‘’now here’’.

Asked about the UK scene right now he nods ‘’ I love Rudimental, they make me feel emotional. I’m also very impressed by Naughty Boy. His numbers are real but he’s not about hype on twitter and stuff-that’s very impressive! I don’t like to be tagged as a part of only 1 scene. I chill with Giggs, Wiley. 1 is grime, the other is hip hop I like to stay diverse’’.

JASMINE WITH SHYSTIE-10 YEARS AGO DURING HER ‘DUBPLATE DRAMA’ ERA
Like A.M Sniper, Shystie has also been known to me for over a decade now. She used to be the lead actress in a very high rating MTV BASE show called Dubplate Drama. She was a mesmerizing actress who made it look easy to step sideways from music to the TV screen. But her heart lies with music. Over the past decade she’s grown up, found herself and focused on her music and is looked up to as a positive female giving breaks and advice to the younger females that are coming up after her.

JASMINE WITH SHYSTIE 2013
Shystie, her manager Christian and I met up for a lovely lunch in Notting Hill last week to talk about her new music and return to the scene.

Last month she released ‘’Pinkmist’’. She explained the title as coming from the army soldier’s phrase about hitting targets and being confident.
She regained her music mojo after a holiday to Barbados after which she returned feeling fresh and rejuvenated. She found herself a new manager and took a year to work in the studio, listening to music on Youtube and listened to loads of Doc Brown and Missy Elliott.
She recorded new material in her hometown of Tottenham with her producer Elzbeatz. The new material is a lot more provocative than her past work. She laughs ‘’”We all gotta grow up sometime and get sexy”. I questioned some of her risky song titles. ‘’”Gimme head” is just fun talking to guys. That’s my favourite song. It’s not slutty, more empowering. My new stuff has more melody, its more sing song’’.

SHYSTIE 2013 LOOKING ALL ”GROWN AND SEXY”
‘‘When I listen to new skool rappers now, all their materialistic stuff is boring. I gravitate towards the older acts. Even when Missy recently dropped ‘Triple threat’ it was amazing’’. It’s refreshing to hear Shystie speak positively about female acts that are her peers. Especially since she had a very public drama this year with fellow American MC Azelia Banks. Shystie admits the experience is behind her and it hasn’t affected her wanting to work with other female music acts.
‘‘As far as I’m concerned I came, I saw and from my experience I have conquered. I’m not bitter, suspicious or burnt by the experience. I’m grown and will move on to the next one, things like that don’t stop my path-its predestined’’.

JASMINE AND INDUSTRY FAM.
Finished the week with dinner with my external family. A lot of London’s movers and shakers are in this photo- see who you can spot! x