Category: Uncategorized

JASMINE AND KEISHA BUCHANAN

Lead Sugababes singer Keisha Buchanan invited me to her first solo outing in conjunction with Jacques cider who took over a beautiful town house mansion in Central London to celebrate the opening of a new super stylish Jacques townhouse. As I walked in past the paparazzi board where young starlets were being papped surrounded by eager pr people gushing at each other. We stepped into the main front room where an actual Mini beauty spa was full pelt ahead with one corner where girls were having their make up done, another areas with crazy manicures, a third area with massages. I whooped (out loud embarrassingly!) and started my own mini make over. Half way through a manicure alongside Asian singing and acting sensation Preeya Kalidas, the D&G ladies Ruth and Chandni and PR Maven Jennifer Mills, I spotted a man I knew in this sea of women…it was none other than JLS sensation Oritse with his vivacious and excited girl group Vida who told me that Ortise was a hard boss to please but was whipping them into chart topping shape.

JASMINE WITH JLS ORITSE AND HIS GIRL GROUP VIDA

We had a fun chat before I sprinted into the next room where they were playing croquet like the olden days, I chucked something at something else but it wasn’t really my thing so I grabbed a Jacques cocktail from the sea of coloured champagne flutes and dashed upstairs to see what else this fabulous night had in store for me. 30 seconds later I was sitting across from MTV VJ Laura Whitmore making cupcakes and decorating them with spinkles! After calling someone and asking if they wanted the mini piece of art cake I’d made for them-and he replied ‘’I’m not eating that-I’m on a diet!’’ my girl friend Anneliese and I wolfed it down us and swanned off to the room next door where a fun dressing up room awaited us with rails of costumes and olde worlde outfits and a surreal set where a photographer from Japanese vogue was snapping away pictures for us all. I stripped and jumped into an old ‘’little house on the prairie’’ outfit and we giggled and posed for the snapper before running back downstairs for the main event which was seeing Keisha perform. A packed room full of power players and taste makers including actress Jamie Winstone (who looked stunning in her dress up wedding dress), watched as Keisha belted out hit song after hit song both from her new and old repertoire and boy did she sound and look hot! Her vocals were thundering dynamic and the crowd was singing along and clapping as though they were at a festival! Welcome back solo star Keisha!
JASMINE ON THE COICEFM ”I HAVE A CHOICE” PANEL.
I was invited to sit on a music panel for CHOICEFM at Wembley arena.The Get known Get Paid event in association with charity partners Catch 22 and V-inspired , was about independent and aspiring performers finding out how to promote themselves, market themselves, make money, get in the press and more .The audience were aged 16 -25 and most were interested in getting into the music industry but didn’t have a clear direction as to what avenue they want to pursue.  The purpose of the panel was to give some practical information/inspirational stories and tips on getting known professionally. On my panel were representatives from GRIMEDAILY-(Posty), the PRS (Jules parker) , the PPL (Keith Harris) and DJ KC who was chairing. The next panel included wretch 32, SONG WRITERS PARKER AND JAMES, a member of N-Dubz management and CHOICEFM’s breakfast show hosts Kojo &Max.
Its always-special meeting young ambitious people but there’s so much many of them have to learn. When I was at school generic things like ‘how to write a formal letter’, how to dress for an interview and ‘how to research a company’ were mandatory. Nowadays its tough as young people are scared to stand out and be seen as an individual and can resort lazily to the jeans, trainers and hoodie combo for every event in life. We talked about how to focus on marketing your self. Things like professional email addresses can make or break you. I’ve had e-mails with things like ‘’murdergangster1’’ in the title. Do you think most serious people will reply to that? I’ve been sent to check out websites with porn titles. Do you think business people will take that seriously? This very week I was asked for feedback on a track titled ‘’seed from my scrotum’’. Yes. Really. Lyrics of songs should be unique but there’s a thin line between unique and unworkable. Many young acts think they can be amazing in their bedroom studios with a few pressed CD’s. if you don’t perform live at regular known music events like I LUV LIVE how can you get experience, create buzz and build a following?
Do you also understand the power of collaboration? The right musical partnership can open a million doors for you. Shout out Labrynth!
Also- even if your friends say you’re potentially the next jay z-be honest with yourself. Are you truly amazingly talented or are your friends gassing you? Honestly-I’ve been told countless times that someone’s amazing and they don’t sound different to anything that was already rejected years ago! How much do you know about the business? Tinie Tempah’s cousin Dumi knew nothing but he read all about the music business from a book and taught himself about why you must know about and sign up to the PPL/ PRS. These events are brilliant for immediate question and answer sessions but really you have to do a lot of the research yourself and now with everything being online there’s no excuse to cry ‘’doors are shut’’. Even I learn new things whilst being on the panel. Keith Harris had an amazingly easily understand explanation of the PRS and PPL that’s always confused me in the past.  I even got into passionate debates about things with my fellow panelists such was the importance of what we all believed in!. As if that wasn’t all entertaining enough for the attendees, DJ Maso from De La Soul made an impromptu appearance along with Black Twang-the perfect day!
JASMINE WITH DARREN RAYMOND AT THE INTERMISSION THEATRE.
Next it was off to the Intermission Theatre show at St Saviours Church right next door to Harrods in Knightsbridge where I had been invited by artistic director Darren Raymond to see 10-10-10 which was 10 mini plays lasting 10 minutes each. This night gives opportunities to new writers, directors and actors to showcase their talents. The professional theatre and youth theatre there reaches out to young people at risk and nurtures and supports upcoming acting talent. In all honesty I wasn’t sure what to expect. In the shadow of Harrods I expected very hoity toity church goers but the evening was a pleasant surprise where I was excited to witness so much new young urban talent making in roads in big places. The plays were very well written and directed with the most basic black set and minimal props. The themes were modern and hard-hitting. I recognised a few actors from their roles in already established urban UK films so it was nice to see they were as strong in a live set as well as film. I think this production should tour around London-many of the mini plays would even be great filmed for black history month! Watch this space- young thespians do your thing-you’re about to blow up!

JASMINE WITH ITALIAN DESIGNER LETITZIA MORANDI

Finally I attended a very special fashion event organized by LGN Events and was introduced to a fabulous new handbag designer called Letizia Morandi, who has previously worked with some of the world’s top fashion designer’s, including Jimmy Choo. I was invited into the VIP Celebrity Gifting Lounge by Gossip Girl PR and received a wonderful new designer handbag, which I adore. Check out Letizia’s new and exclusive designer handbag collection at  www.letiziamorandi.com, which is bound to attract many celebrity clients.

I OFTEN connect people from different industries and areas in order to give them all better mutual synergy that will, hopefully, lift us all higher through our careers and lives.

Whether it’s introducing artists to managers or managers to great publicists, it’s all love.

So imagine my surprise to get an email from one friend who has, in the past, negotiated seven-figure book deals for his clients Rio Ferdinand and Usain Bolt, which read, “Jas, thanks for introducing me to Jay Z’s camp nine months ago. We’ve been talking and just signed a nine-figure business deal. I’d like to take you out to dinner to say thank you.”

Next thing I hear, the deal is the now widely publicised Jay-Z meets Ashley Cole and brings Jay’s 40/40 club and restaurant to the UK and Europe. All set up via an intro from me!

Well, in exchange for that, I expect lifetime membership to all the 40/40 franchises as well as the coveted black 40/40 card – as well as any other gifts that may want to fly my way.

So my mates and now Ashley Cole’s business partners, Chris Nathaniel and Paul Boadi took me for dinner where we all excitedly discussed the imminent arrival of 40/40 London. It will be a slicker, sexier, more urban version of the Ivy and Soho House-type establishments, but be perfect for the elite power players and tastemakers in our scene.

Chris reminisced about the past nine months with stories of emails flying across the Atlantic, international conference calls all on LA time, hopes going up and down as the deal was in the making, and finally reaching the point where they signed the contact and met with Jay-Z to discuss the finer points.

As well as that, there are plans for a huge urban village-type structure in Lewisham, south London, which will house rehearsal studios, recording studios, hairdressers, a cinema, nightclub and other areas for like-minded people to come together and make what we have even bigger.

These are big visions and I have no doubt that with the mutual bonding of street hustle and business acumen, they’ll build a solid empire that we can all be a part of and be proud of!

JAS GETS HER (RIZZLE) KICKS

Rock stars: Jasmine with Rizzle Kicks

AFTER a lovely meal, I dragged the boys down to Camden’s infamous indie rock venue Barfly to see the new kids on the block that are taking over national radio station playlists.

Called Rizzle Kicks, this Brighton-based duo comprised of 19-year-olds Jordan and Harley, have begun to get airplay on stations as diverse as Choice FM, Capital FM and Radio 1.

Having known each other since they were kids, they’ve grown up together, shared the same friends, same experiences, same schools and above all, a passion and taste for music that’s taken over both their lives.

They’ve already come a long way since their early days, where they took the D.I.Y. approach to making music and shooting videos with their director friend Tony Lockerbie and posting their creations on YouTube. The approach earned them over 500,000 YouTube views, a record deal with Island Records and admiration from the likes of Jessie J and Norman Cook.

As well as working on their debut album, the boys are also preparing a new mix tape and are also readying a new video. These boys are destined to go far.

SHOE HEAVEN

ICE ICE BABY: an ice scupture filed with shoes

THE same evening, I popped over to a show from River Island, where tall, leggy lovelies were rocking the store’s autumn/winter Christmas collection. Fabulously trendy folks were air kissing sipping neon coloured cocktails as the DJ spun the tunes.

Real shoes were encased in blocks of ice for over-the-top sculptures, and in the doorway, plastic penguins greeted guests as they arrived. In addition, fake snow was scattered all around to create the winter theme – meaning my summer sandaled feet had to stay sturdy, as mini white bobbles threatened to take me down! Winter in summer – the world has gone beautifully nuts!

JASMINE AND MOBO CEO KANYA KING RIDING THROUGH SCIILY,ITALY.

I was lucky enough to attend a very lush soirée. The invitation read ‘’Natalie Massenet and Jeremy Langmead invite you to join Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to celebrate the arrival of Dolce&Gabbana at Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter, at home at The Village offices in Westfield. That’s strange I thought. ‘‘A party in an office in Westfield? How unsexy. How wrong could I have been? I took my mate MOBO CEO Kanya King with me as my guest and we had a quick dinner in the open food court in Westfields before searching for the ‘’Office’’. We were directed to the top floor to a pair of sliding glass doors. Once past thosedoors was a hidden short, fast elevator that transported us to a top floor that the general public would never have seen and was a massive expanse of black and white monochrome sexiness. Black plush carpets, white walls, monochrome artdeco furniture, bars where we sipped martini gold cocktails, a room with an Italian Sicily set up with Vespa bikes where we were encouraged to pose in front of a wind machine fan (and Kanya and I took full advantage of that)…it was total and utter sexy Italian fun-very Dolce!. All kinds of royalty were in the house from Kanya KING, to QUEEN Laitifah and stylist PRINCE Richard Shoyemi, who had arrived dressed as an Indian prince!. Queen Latifah chose to wear adolce black tuxedo, white shirt and a gold chain necklace for her appearance; When Queen Latifah arrived the guests all took a sharp intake of breath at her glamzonian beauty as dolce celeb PR girl Ruth dragged her through the crowd.

JASMINE WITH Nollywood actress Genevieve Nnaji.

Naomi Campbell rocked a forest green leopard print cocktail dress, Nollywood actress Genevieve Nnaji, ex Sugababe and current solo star Keisha Buchanan was sassy in a snow leopard mini dress, Beyonces sister Solange was sporting long, thick, black braids. Ladies were jostling to catch the attention of model David Gandy, Naomi’s cousin Gerry Deveux was looking sharp, Alexandra Burke repped in a fuscia pink strapless lace gown, Kelly Osborne was dynamic, in a full black gown and leather jacket, Jamie Winstone and her sister Lois Winstone (who’s in a band London-based hip hop trio Crack Village) was very cool.

JASMINE WITH KANYA KING, VANESSA AMADI AND KEISHA BUCHANAN.

Loads of fashion mag bigwig editors were in the house, retail entrepreneur and investor (Jaeger and Aquascutum) Harold Tillman, Pixie Lott who chose for the occasion a white lace cocktail dress, peaches and the other pixie who wore floor length sequined and animal print gowns , PR maven Vanessa Amadi in a 70’s Farah Fawcett look, models Jaqueta Wheeler and Jade Parfitt, Tolula Adeyemi,Tara Ferry, Otis Ferry, Isaac ferry (Bryan Ferry’s offspring) and Natt Weller, Henry Holland and so many more my head was spinning 360 degrees constantly as I continued to clock more fabulosity!

My London 360 TEAM went along to ‘Intelligent Movement: A Celebration of Hip Hop’ at the Southbank Centre last week to catch up with some of the original pioneers about the four pillars of hip hop culture and to assess how it continues to influence the community in the capital. The event was a culmination of DJ’ing, MC’ing, Breaking and Graffiti and featured a host ofevents by some of London’s leading hip hop collectives as well as crowd-pleasing international performers.We were particularly interested in looking at how this event catered to the array of musicians, poets and artists known for using hip hop as a platform to culturally and politically engage and educate their fans. Over the four-day event, London 360 heard opinions from the likes of Akala, Kate Tempest, Poetic Pilgrimage, The Peoples Army, Manny Norte, Charlie Dark, The En4orcers and primary school rap collective Power To The Pupils. MOBO award-winning UK hip-hop artist, revolutionary thinker,and my mate Akala kicked off proceedings with an animated talk which examined hip-hop and the traditional art of rapping, taking us as far back as the Medieval Malian empire. His provocative opening debate highlighted hip-hop’s cultural roots and questioned many modern-day representations, which contradicts its heritage. Most poignantly referencing some of the leading urban talent in the UK (Professor Green / Maverick Sabre) asking them to be more responsible when representing black people in their art. What followed was a successful ruffling of feathers which led to a fiery, passionate exchange by the artists on twitter.
Later that evening, the Purcell Room hosted the RAP party, presented by DJ Charlie Dark it was a celebration of Rhythm And Poetry and featured some of the best hip hop inspired poems I have ever heard. The line up was immense and the auditorium heaving. Featuring favourites such as Kate Tempest, each poet took to the stage, fully embracing the gravity of hip hop finally being recognised and celebrated by such a venue as the Southbank Centre and delivered their poignant hip-hop related poems followed by their two favourite hip hop tracks of all time. This was a unique music experience that treated hip hop fans and poetry lovers alike to some of thebest lyrics, bass licks and beats hip hop has ever been responsible for giving to the music world. A great event-we must make this a regular on the annualLondon calendar!

To finish the week I held a girlie pyjama party at my crib. We are eternally 12 years old as one of my mates once famously quoted. And then on Sunday night I drove up to London’s dance epicenter-Sadlers Wells which had been taken over by hundreds of young kids imitating pirates, fairies in  ‘’Step into dance’’.The Step Live showcase celebrated the achievement of pupils from the Step into Dance programme, which is a partnership between the Jack Petchey foundation and the Royal Academy of Dance. The night featured over 400 dancers from 26 schools including special needs schools  Walking into the Sadlers Wells reception, attendees were immediately bombarded by body poppers and break-dancers. Parents watched the talented hip-hop battles in amazement. Pupils between 11-18 years old we spoke to said dance filled them with confidence and that they found it much more fulfilling than watching television. Later On stage were contemporary, ballet dancers and body poppers in a Variety of costumes- an enchanting evening!

Now I’m off to write scripts for the team filming at the reggae festival of the year-the One love peace festival at Wembley Arena on Sunday 31st July where the line up includes; shaggy, sean paul, ky mani marley, gyptian, john holt, aswad, busta rhymes, sandra cross, levi roots, natty king, etana , skepta and more. As I caught up with Sean Paul before he flew into town he told me “I’m really looking forward to the One Love concert and performing for my UK fans…i know its been a long time and I’m anxious to show them what I’ve been up to”. Then my old pal Shaggy reached out to state  “I’m really looking forward to performing for my British fans, feels like I’ve been away from the UK for so long. Can not wait to bring Summer In Kingston to that stage!”Tony Gadd, From Aswad said: “We are thrilled to be a part of this phenomenal event. For us it is particularly special, remembering the late great Bob Marley, someone who we consider to have been a real godfather to us. London is our home so being a part of a movement to positively influence our young people through the ‘put down your guns and knife’ initiative will be an honour”. Promoter, Omari Ricketts  concluded ‘’As we mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Reggae Icon Bob Marley, the sentiments extolled through his One Love message are precisely what we want to convey through the One Love Peace Festival and being mindful of the state of our community as we watch our young people die on our streets, we want to use the powerful medium of music to educate and unite the world.”  . See you all down there!

JASMINE WITH DAVID ”HYPE-HYPE” HAYE

David Haye came, chatted enough hype talk and alas didn’t conquer. He did set himself up but isn’t that what makes a great personality? Had he not so much talk many probably wouldn’t have bothered getting into the fight anyway. He did a pretty impressive job lasting 12 rounds-something many fight experts predicted wouldn’t happen. He didn’t win this time around but he’s still a winner. The world saw him take on the champ. He put enough effort into it. He’s a proud cocky South Londoner and so his post fight talk wasn’t as gracious as it could have been. In fact his opponent whom I really wanted to dislike was such a well mannered, gracious gent I was won over in seconds. don’t write David off though. This man is a huge,ambitious personality that will be back with a vengeance. He has a big personality and a natural charm that makes us all gravitate towards him. He will take another path to his inevitable victory.

JASMINE WITH SLAUGHTER AND MAY LADIES Ngozie Azu – (Lawyer ) and Caron Johnson – (Systems Support Administrator).

A few weeks ago I received an invitation from the African & Caribbean Diversity group to attend an event that one of their corporate sponsors –law firm Slaughter and May were putting on.

Described as a ‘CityWomen’s Panel Event’ with speakers from ‘leading organisations in Banking, Legal and Marketing Sectors’ I was intrigued to go check it out as usually the inspirational panels I speak on are mostly music and entertainment industrybased. The event was up in Moorgate in the heart of the city where tall, glass and steel skyscrapers that look like a new age modern world dominate the skyline. The theme for the evening was WHY DIVERSITY MATTERS – BEING AN ETHNIC MINORITY FEMALE PROFESSIONAL IN THE CITY; this was an idea which one of the BME Network Committee member’s, Isoken Idemudia (lawyer) came up with. I raced up to the building and was ushered into a conference room full of other similarly power dressed females on a mutual mission to run the world. I was pleased to meet 2 of the organizers- both from Slaughter and May and members of the BME Network Committee, a pair of ladies that aredoing pretty well for themselves up in the high powered male dominated world of law! – both Ngozie Azu – (Lawyer ) and Caron Johnson – (Systems Support Administrator) were eagerly meeting and greeting all their guests and playing perfect hosts. After drinks and mingling we were all seated to hear a brief talk from a few selected ladies that have achieved above and beyond and their thoughts were thought provoking and made me acknowledge that we all experience the same things in our career journeys and are unified by evenings like this that prove we are not alone.

The first quote that had me relieved was by  Sarah Lee, a partner at Slaughter and May who happens to be half Chinese. She revealed that however high up the corporate ladder she goes her hands still tremble under the table!. Good to know! Another high flier- African & Caribbean diversity’s Chief Executive Brenda King MBE reminisced about her way to the top. Nigerian solicitor andPartner at Sidley Austin LLP, Elizabeth Uwaifo, said as a student her confidence was undermined when others deliberately mumbled her name but thename is now a source of confidence and strength as it is a constant reminder of her heritage and uniqueness.

Diahanne Rhiney, the Chief exec of 15 degrees told how one year early in her career she made £3billion for her then employer and got a £2000 bonus!! Outraged she set up her own business.  She spoke about why it’s not ok to stick a black or disabled person in a box. Her dedication and hard work has equaled success and she’s since been awarded many awards. . She has all the staff at her company work one day a week in the community for free as she believes in the power of giving back. Carol Lake, Managing director at JP Morgan said ‘’People have expectations of you-have your own. Plant those seeds early. Be fearless live life. Be adventurous. Have a love for humanity cos careers are great but life’s better!”

There was a Q&A session straight afterwards where the usual dilemmas of juggling family and the career dominated- (have a great house husband!), and even questions about the argument for black women having natural or relaxed hair in the workplace and how their hair has affected their careers. It was a very enlightening evening that made me feel confident about the number of strong, articulate, ambitious women of all colours that are striving for diversity and high positions in the professional world.

There was a Q&A session straight afterwards where the usual dilemmas of juggling family and the career dominated- (have a great house husband!), and even questions about the argument for black women having natural or relaxed hair in the workplace and how their hair has affected their careers. It was a very enlightening evening that made me feel confident about the number of strong, articulate, ambitious women of all colours that are striving for diversity and high positions in the professional world.

JASMINE WITH LISA MAFFIA

From one set of strong women-to another strong woman!.Something that’s affected most people’s lives is cancer. That word that fills most with dread. The sad losses that people cant understand. The miraculous ones that fought back and are still with us . A few of my nearest and dearest have lost close ones to cancer. When people in my life have been affected by it it’s been hard to know what to say. To find the right words of support and comfort. So when a long time friend-So Solid Crews lead lady Lisa Maffia revealed to me over lunch that her mother has been diagnosed I felt the familiar dry mouth of fear that I would say the wrong thing but wanted to help support her family, but how?. Lisa admirably was extremely calm and positive and in her strong as ever manner told me she was running the Race for Life on Saturday 30th July on Clapham Common with her friends and family to raise money and awareness for the cause. I was gob smacked and touched by her strength, positivity and refusal to play the ‘pity me victim’ card. As a mother herself Lisa is able to compartmentalize feelings of mother and daughter and has remained strong through her fears and emotions whilst she and her family work through this bump in the family road. If you recall So Solids turbulent, meteoric rise to the top you’ll know that Lisa has experienced a lot of things in life but she told me nothing compares to this. Lisa added ‘’It has made me realise how precious life is. Thinking about the possibility of losing my mum has shown me how important a charity like Cancer Research is and events such as Race For Life are”. Lisa told me she is looking to gain as much support through sponsorship via the Just Giving page (http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/teammaffia <http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/teammaffia> ), and I know her friends are supporting her as she goes through this challenging time.

Running in ‘’Team Maffia’’ on Clapham Common with Lisa will be her mates (Su-Elise Nash (Misteeq), Keisha Buchanan (Sugababes), Anna Richardson (Presenter), Jakki Degg (DJ & Model), Rebecca Moore (IDOL Mag Editor), Alisha White (BNTM Runner-Up), Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace (BB6 and Actress) aswell as many of her family.

You’d think with this and bringing up her daughter that she has her hands full but she’s still managing to juggle business with her ‘’House of Maffia’’ projects as well as her solo music career. She enthused “When it comes to music I’m heading in the Dubstep direction, the scene is changing rapidly each year and I’ve been waiting for a new sounds that I like and Dubstep is that sound”. About her So Solid brethren she confessed ‘’I don’t see all of them as much any more but I have love for the times we spent together, i mostly see Romeo as we still regularly work together doing clubP.A.s”. She’s also looking forward to the summer season where she’ll be visiting 9 islands and Dubai!. She takes that moment to reflect on the good old days stating, “Having no responsibilities and having fun…Why did I have to grow up-LOL!””

Despairing about the negative turn many young people are forced to take due to their circumstances Lisa says she still feels positive when she encounters the youth ‘’Young kids respond enthusiastically when they approach me, and usually the first question they ask is “What’s it like to be famous?” but I always tell them to follow their dreams and focus on being really good at whatever it is…. no need to seek fame, if you’re good, fame will follow!”

Then as we ate up and got ready to return to our respective grinds Lisa revealed ‘’look out for me in a new movie m=coming soon- I’ll be featuring in my debut film production “Devil’s Dandruff” based on books by Jason Cook in 2012 and also as a voice over in animation “Rat’s in Space” by Jason Cook & Lisa Cachia!. Go Lisa-see you on Saturday 30th on clapham common where the LONDON 360 NEWS TV crew will be filming your Race For Life!!

JASMINE WITH SHAWN CARTER AKA JIGGA AKA JAY Z.

The UK’s summer months are always chock-a-block with fabulous events all over the country and I for one wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world with London’s current social menu.
Honestly-every day there are hundreds of free or vip events taking place every few meters across the capital. What an engaging, dynamic city we live in. the world literally can be your oyster if you pay the system correctly!.
If half of this stuff had been available to my generation leaving college I might be running the BBC by now! Lol!. There are so many young people that read this column and write to me hoping to make their career path media or music related. There are as many organizations out there working hard to give young people a leg up via their educating structures and placements (LIVE, LIVITY, CATCH22, MEDIA TRUST, ETC). If you’re attempting to break into the industry now and cant there’s a glitch in YOUR matrix cos its easier now than its ever been.

I like to work hard and party hard. Life work balance is important. So as well as reading scripts and looking over edits by my LONDON 360 reporters this week, doing radio pundit call in’s with BBC radio stations as well as writing my columns-I managed to squeeze in a lil fun.

JASMINE WITH HARVEY.

Last weekend Hackney Empire played host to the now regular COMEDY ROAST UK where a well known face in the community agrees to sit on a red velvet throne for acouple of hours and get a right nasty roasting from a panel of 5 comedians. In the past victims have included Richard Blackwood, Robbie gee and Mohammed George from Eastenders. Last weekend was one that had theatre going comedy lover’s lips watering-it was time to sock it to Harvey. Yes he of the sweet boy 21 seconds so solid days that infamously wed the nations sweetheart alesha Dixon only to mess up publicly and have an affair with javine. He who seemed to get back on the career road like Chris brown post drama but still kept rubbing up people the wrong way. Anyway-alpo and the comedy roast team had convinced Harvey to get cussed for the night and oh did he! Roasters axel the entertainer, Kane Brown, Kevin J, Funmbi, Jamie Howard and roastmster compere Richard Blackwood.
Comedian Funmi just had Hackney Empire roaring with his line “I’m Nigerian-i can’t even bring a Jamaican gal home. Mum this is Marsha, “mum: she can marsh out’’.Kevin J is killed it! This lithe white comic ALWAYS has new jokes! That’s why he gets so much credibility with the mainly black audience. When Harvey first came onstage he was wearing sunglasses. Within seconds the audience forced him to take em off. Showing clearly from the start that they wanted to see the whites of his eyes as he took his verbal lashes.
Comic Axel referred to Harvey as his former band mate Nuetrino as a diss. Hilariously Nuetrino was in the audience. A double diss!. Then the comic lashed out stating that comedy roast organises had tried to get so solids main man megaman but couldn’t afford him so they settled for Harvey. Axel took it where the crowd wanted by swinging the 1st ball out of the park and going in on the harveyaleshagate scandal and continuously talked about ‘’gap tooth javine” throughout all this Harv was drinking alcohol straight from the bottle hard. I wondered how he would manage to organise a retort diss to all at the end with his brain soaked in alcohol? The cusses continued to fly thick and fast (pretty much like Harvey). ‘’ In So Solid videos I didn’t know if I was watching you and Romeo or Brokeback Battersea” (Funmbi) .  “Harvey reps South London but was born in Devon-how gangsta is that!” (Funmbi).
All the comics were mean but it was newcomer Jamie Howard who really shone with his original lyrics! Sharp cusses! Hilarious material! Jamie had a tight set with a joke every second!
Impressively, at the end when it was Harv’s time to cussback, he cussed Richard Blackwood for his bankrupt days, joked about giving the white comedians equal opps and impressively gave as good as he got in an articulate manner.
I’ve always thought Harvey was wasted and held back by his own issues. He has so many options and doors open to him. So many wasted opportunities. I’ve clashed with him in the past when we worked together. He had the decency to admit his errors and apologise. I do admire his passion but I wonder if it will all end in his pain.
Harv finished off by thanking everyone and requesting the crowd (not begging) to buy his new single featuring Gyptian. Out July 21st (gotta give a broke brother a break with a plug!)

Sony Music kick started the week with a fabulous function. The New Bond Street Armani Store was transformed into a mini music festival  – albeit a VIP one complete with Vodka cocktails and fashionista’s! In amongst the uber expensive clothing rails with not a pair of Wellington boots or a drop of mud to be seen, only chic biker jackets, skinny jeans and killer heels graced this crowd!! The music and fashion crowd when not air kissing and tweeting on I-phones, managed to enjoy great performances by 3 sony music acts- Oh Land, Lissie and Aloe Blacc. Food and drinks were being served for a specially invited VIP audience of only 200 guests and even though indie or country music isn’t usually my bag, I had to admit that live music in all it’s forms is always impressive when coupled with fabulousness people and fake grass carpets!.

JASMINE WITH MISS KNOWLES AKA QUEEN B AKA BEYONCE.

Then as if to cement their status as the record label that has always thrown the most fabulous parties they kicked in another goal by restaging Beyonces Battersea Gas Station party in a quick 3 days (Battersea couldn’t guarantee safety for stage weight etc), Sony brought the party home to West London at Shepherds Bush Empire where you knew something big was about to go down when the whole of West London’s roads became gridlocked in the early evening. Very big black cars that are so expensive we cant pronounce their names lined up all around shepherds bush green as A Listers all stepped out to watch Beyonce perform a 30 minute set. I know I’ve said VIP before but seriously even I was impressed to speechless! Stepping out of their various modes of transport were folks whohave probably never stepped outside of their Mayfair square mile were designer and guru Tom Ford, designer Ozwald Boating with his daughter, designer Patrick Cox, Piers Morgan, Ridley Scott, Stella McCartney, designer Matthew Williamson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller, Jude Law and more. Inside were hip-hop business legend Steve Stoute and Faisel Durrani, Wretch32, Tinie Tempah, Adele, Alexandra Burke, Alexis Jordan,JLS, Jessie J, Julian MacDonald, Mr Hudson, Pixie Lott and more. Can you see now why if Shepherds Bush were scooped up in a cyclone and disposed of half of the showbiz industry as we know it would’ve been extinct! Not even the BRIT AWARDS has a guest list like this!

JASMINE WITH ROC NATION NEXT BIG STAR-LADBROKE GROVES FINEST-RITA ORA!

I knew it was a real big deal when you saw the industry legends that had come out to play. Sony music past and present were in full force and it was an impressive army of music power players that have shaped our charts in recent years. They all came out to honour Queen Bee and included Jim Sabey, Jodie Dalmeda, Mervyn Lynn, Matt Ross, Fiona Ramsey, Carl Fysh, Gary Deny and Gordy Hagan. Beyonce came on quite late but no one cared as it was like a huge catch up party in the venue. When she did make her grand entrance in her favourite canary yellow mini dress and sexy silver stilettos the crowd erupted. They’d already become hysterical spotting Jigga in the balcony and chanted Jay Z like the best football fans would. Bey played a few songs from her new album Beyoncé’s 4 in a very high-energy show! Plus several well know chart hits by other musicians, such as The Sex, It Is On Fire by The Kings Of Leon and Bohemian Rhapsody by The Freddie Mercuries. A great moment was when she sang Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody (Mama)-as her mama Tina Knowles sat with her son-in-law Jay to watch their girl do her thing.
At the VVIP after party- for only 100 people, DJ Jarren C (BANGFM RDAIO and regular celeb party spinner) , spun the music in the very small backstage bar. This bar is legendary and usually looks like a grimy, old pit. Tonight it had what looked like the blingiest 60 second make over and was transformed into a sexily lit, white fur/animal skin rugs, leopard print curtained, red rose laden glam pit!. To add to the intimacy-even though the bar is tiny-it was full of A-LISTERS yet still spacey showing how exclusive this lil get together was! To my right were Tom Ford and Stella McCartney, to my left Jigga, very immaculate Bey and team RocNation. All around me were players at the top of their game. Ozwald introduced his daughter to Stella and Jay. Gwyneth chatted and laughed with Jay. Rita Ora attempted to fend off many an admirer. Adele was so keen to sit with team Jigga that even though therewere no seats available in the area she plonked herself down on the floor!. Mr Hudson wore an interesting jazz shoe and 3 quarter length trouser combo. Love Alexandra Burke but many were saying she needed to calm her hype as she wasclearly very over excitable in this room of her peers yet she was clearly not relaxed enough around them to just be cool. Early in the night when Jay and I were speaking I thought it only polite to introduce him to those standing eagerly next to me dying for him to simply acknowledge their existence. After he graciously shook hands with them al it was like the Obama effect with them all gushing and high with delight. One even kept exclaiming ‘’oh my gosh-his hands are so soft-its as if they’ve been bathed in silk!’’ LOL. One thing that was intriguing was that both Beyonce and Jay’s recently signed act Rita Ora were wearing practically the same red suit and high heels combo outfit and both flanked him when seated so it looked like a scene fresh out of an old blackspoitation movie. Expectedly there were a few music industry newbies and oldies who still hadn’t learnt that at a function like this its not very polite, credible or classy to stand around Bey and Jay like stalkers and gawp or try and get a picture. Before the party the record label folks had addressed their concern about guests that might do this not being of the right caliber and true to force, a few heads that managed to get in still forced their way into his space. Awkward and cringe.com. They’ll learn one day bless them.

JASMINE’S CELEBRITY NAIL TECHNICIAN-AMA!

In order to stay fly all day everyday often it’s about mixing business with pleasure. This week I had jam-packed day times, even busier evening social whirls and chock-a-block weekend commitments. But youmust always keep your ‘’image and style’’ at its top level as I was told over and again by one of my first bosses- an over the top fabulous African American media genius called Kim luck who was a diva to be reckoned with in my earlydays at MTV. When I used to present MTV NEWS Kim would waltz in every morning with her real minx coat flung over her shoulder and demand to see all us presenter’s nails and faces to ensure that make up, hair and nails were ship shape. She also held an end of week Friday 5pm session where we were taught to wine taste, discuss politics and other such worldly things that she deemed imperative to our future career progression. Her rules were instilled in us early on so this week whilst working late I had Celebrity manicurist Ama Quashie (who has done nails for Alexandra Burke, Alesha Dixon & Amber Rose to name a few) drive 10 miles across London to work her magic on my nails at my desk for my very first Gelish manicure. A new hybrid gel line that stays chip free for 21 days without damaging the natural nail at all! Perfect for ladies who like preened natural nails but haven’t got the time to visit a nail bar every week. I will be testing that out this week as I shoot footage, edit, wash up endlessly, tweet, text and bbm to see just how resistant it really is!
My team did look amused but not totally gob smacked. Hey- a diva’s gotta do what a diva’s gotta do to multi task handfuls of commitments in today’s day and age! 20 minutes later my gellish nails were set, my nails were clean and twinkling and I was able to continue typing away with no ‘’post nail smudge trauma’’. I’m a pink lady so opted for a baby pink colour called ‘Go Girl’ very apt I thought! Ill be testing out one of the other pink colours next time Ama comes over & she’s promised to teach me how to make Jolof rice too!

JASMINE WITH JON SNOW

Next I took my LONDON 360 news reporting team to meet channel news legend Jon Snow. Jon had invited us up to his ITN building where he sat and regaled us with his witty, sharp and very warm personality. He told the team about his progression throughout the years and at midday took us all into the Channel 4 news gallery where a live bulletin was broadcast in front of the team who found it all very exciting. The director, audio man, vision switcher and gallery PA impressed the hell out of the team who told me later that their hearts started beating fast as the presenter Brigitte got her countdown. Bless them. Jon had me fascinated as he revealed how he got into the media…’’ I joined LBC on the day they started, and the great thing was all these commercial radio stations were new, there was no commercial radio until the last quarter of the last century, its pretty amazing, most people thought it wouldn’t work and so getting a job there wasn’t difficult, and in fact LBC went bust about 6 months after I got there, and they got rid of all the people that were expensive, and they kept the very very cheap people and I was very cheap, so that’s how I started’’.  Jon’s story demonstrates that if you offer to work cheaply in your early career that the rewards and experience more than pay off. He added that it was his competitive nature that gave him his next big break ‘’
After about 3 years I got a break, the IRA were in London and I was on a bike and I had a Motorola, it was pre-mobile phone, but I had a Motorola walkie talkie and as long as you were within 2 miles of the ITV Southbank television tower which had a transponder on the top of it- you could broadcast, but you had to have reasonable line of sight- that was difficult but anyway sometimes I would broadcast live from my bike as I was cycling towards the bomb, nobody even knew where it was- you would only see the smoke, hear the bang and then you’d cycle like billy-o to get to it, and by the time I got there the traffic would bebacked up  and I could see my colleagues from the Daily Express, the BBC , The Telegraph in the backs of taxis sitting in queues and I was racing past and then you’d get to the seat of the bomb and you’d find the police had put tapes around, but if you’d shot through the tape fast enough- they were so busy keeping the bystanders awaythat you could get through and by the time you got there they said well you may as well stay- so I often used to be the only person there and then ITN called me up one day and said we’ve got a job for you if you want to come  which doesn’t happen very often- so I’ve been here ever since. Which is a very very long time’’

When talking about what makes a great journalist he explained ‘’ I myself believe that the best journalistsare the journalists who at least have learnt how to enquire, how to research, and who are fired up by the unknown and fired up by wickedness, because actually what frustrates the development of our society is corruption, mis-management, bad politics…’’. On this pint I wanted to kiss Jon Snow’s feet. What an inspiration and straight talker. Talking about how media has changed from a one way traffic information system to a 2 way interactive vehicle hestated ‘’This is the golden age of journalism, this is the moment when you have the greatest opportunity to break stories, when I started- when you were speaking to camera there was no mechanism for anybody to challenge you, there was no way anybody could get in touch with you, they could write a letter in green ink, underline in red, saying how awful you were or whatever but only 3 people would bother to do that. Now- you don’t move every day without email traffic, twitter, facebook, I mean the traffic the two-way relationship is on the go in a big big way, and the opportunities for people to break in unconventionally are much greater than they’ve ever been, we’ve just transmitted an entire documentary this last week which is all shot on mobile phones, this was on Sri Lanka which for the first time its been possible to document war crimes as they happened on camera, footage that was either shot by Tamils who were being herded into a supposed no-fire zone to be killed, hundreds of thousands of them were herded into a smaller and smaller piece of land and 50,000 of them were massacred and we have all this on film, so were living in an extraordinary vortex of opportunity’’.

JASMINE AND  ESTELLE

Then I was happy to catch up with my West London home girl ESTELLE who was in town to talk about her new album ‘’All of me’’ and her new single ‘’Break my heart’’ featuring mister Rick Ross-whom she performed onstage with at his London date. Estelle has always been a champion of right over wrong so we asked her about issues that have us debating this week on LONDON 360 NEWS. I mentioned that a young, London child called Kye was in final stages of searching for a matching blood donor and that the ethnic community were difficult to engage. Estelle agreed ‘’I think the cultural barriers in ethnic minorities when it comes to bone marrow donation is based on slight ignorance I think people don’t quite get that it’s not about a big old needle going in your arm…. Its about as simple as a swab it’s like you know a little prick it’s not gonna hurt you that much and it can save somebody’s life and do a good thing and you’re not gonna die. That’s the main misunderstanding people have and the sooner and the quicker that people get over that and realize exactly what it is maybe you could help save somebody’s life. There’s nothing more amazing than that!’’.
When I told her my frustrations about young London menkilling each other over minor issues she was frustrated ‘’Every time I’m home the main thing I keep hearing is “oh somebody got stabbed, somebody got kidnapped, you know. I can’t go to that area. I don’t do music over there because of this.” When I keep hearing that kind of stuff it frustrates the hell out of me. Because I know how I came up doing music. You could just be a regular kid and just go round. I hate the fact that my cousins and my little brothers are like ‘we don’t go there’. I don’t understand, I don’t know if I could ever be the person I am today if didn’t have friends in south London, north London, west, just everywhere. You know I couldn’t hang out with them and roll with them or whatever, , that frustrates me, we need to end that right now, we just need to end it, its ridiculous’’.

Finally we laughed at the repeated outrage over young children being sexualised by music artists and videos and discussed the main culprits. Estelle added ‘’I think music and sex now apparently goes hand in hand.  You have o give people a lot out of yourself…I don’t know why, but it is what it is and I feel like sometimes you just gotta stop fighting it, you’re not gonna see me with knickers on at some point or anytime soon. At the same time as it is the artist’s expression I just feel like it doesn’t need to be like that all the time. You can give it a balance, sometimes you can have clothes on, and it’s all right. Sometimes you don’t have to be on the beach naked posing and then be like ‘oh they caught me’ You know, I choose not to do that kind of thing, but at the same time if they caught me on the beach I’d try and look my best though! It goes hand in hand, it is what it is.
And then obviously if your core audience is 5year olds you might want to lean off sex, you don’t want your five year old walking around being like ‘mummy what are those things on her chest., omg their actually nipple tassels. I just feel like know your audience know whom you’re selling too’’.  Later that night Estelle swung it home at the forum by dazzling rick ross fans with her onstage presence and repped well for teamuk. With champions like jon snow and Estelle still courageously fighting for the right cause we can aspire to be greater ourselves! All hope is not lost!.

JASMINE WITH TIM CAMPBELL

What a week of fabulosity in London town! Firstly Alicia keys and her hubby Swiss Beats flew in. Swiss threw an intimate dinner for a few movers and shakers and Alicia hosted her KEEP A CHILD ALIVE BALL at the round house in Camden where many wealthy folk attended as did a few music acts like Tinie Tempah who dueted onstage with the great lady herself on ‘’Written in the stars’’ (during which Tinie just kept looking at her singing his song with amazement on his face that this was actually happening. Alicia turned up clutched her mans hand tightly-they looked so loved up- she was wearing a long boob tube sheath dress with a pile of black feather plumage on the bottom and looked stunning! (the DOLCE & GABANNA celeb team Chandni and Ruth had done well!).
Chipmunk looked really relaxed and laughed all night wearing his leather jacket. His mate Wetch32 looked sweet in a suit and tie, comic and DJ Eddie Kadi looked sharp in his tux, Beth Ditto in platform wedges and a black knee length dress and Mark Ronson in his black tux (and white conversed foot!) were mostly formal in frock and suited and booted too. Ms Dynamite wore a tight corseted black knee length frock which showed off her lithe figure beautifully.
George Michael was the big draw of the night and was supposed to sing his hit ‘’Freedom’’ with Alicia. Alas he didn’t turn up due to what he described on twitter as a swollen hairy face due to toothache. Ironically the first liner of ‘’Freedom’’ is; ’’I wont let you down’’ oh how we laughed. Alicia trooped onwards though and it was all good. Anyone who’s been in the music business for years knows that George is notoriously shy and nervous doing live gigs so it wasn’t a great shock to many of us.
Another George did turn up–Boy George who gave a rendition of his hit ‘’do you really wanna hurt me’’ which was kitsch to say the least.
Alicia sung ‘’new York state of mind’’. Then an annoying woman who was probably drunk in crowd said she had something to say to Alicia who brought her up onstage (probably thinking she was going to donate millions), the woman kept telling Alicia that she needs to do a song for London and be a spokesperson for London before it became clear that her cheque book wasn’t involved in this conversation at all and it was onto the next thing.
Ultimately a great night for a great cause where somewhere along the line many children will benefit-good job Ms Keys!

Other faces making a change in society include THE APPRENTICE winner Tim Campbell who popped into MEDIA TRUST towers to meet and greet our LONDON 360 news reporters this week. They grilled him on his time at The Apprentice, working with Lord Alan Sugar, his Bright Ideas Trust, and his thoughts on literally anything. They grilled him good and proper for our LONDONER OF THE WEEK slot ,bless him poor guy.

JASMINE and J LO

Capital Radio had their annual Capital Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium. Yes –not the Arena-the Stadium and it was packed out full of 80,000 people!
I have to confess the turnout and level of the event was on another level. I’ve been to many radio road shows and one off events in the UK but this one was extremely well done from the turn out, to the screaming passionate listeners and fans, to the posters waving, the cheering and singing from the crowd, the friendly helpful staff at the stadium-it was pretty impressive!
I missed opening act JLS but was told they were gobbling up all the free sweeties backstage. They actually leapt into a helicopter straight their set to fly to Swansea for another show later that day! They did reveal backstage that they’ve finished their 3rd album though! In the ladies toilets I overheard a convo between a group of kids saying they thought J Lo was really pretty but they wanted a ‘’real a list superstar singer like Mariah’’ on the bill to blog about LOL. I had to agree-Ms Lopez lyp synced her whole set bless her pretty self. ‘’I’m into you, I’m into you’’
Wretch32 bumped into us in the lift. He looked like he’d had lots of fun onstage with his boy Example. The crowd jumped lots to their performance of Unorthodox. Cee-Lo rolled onstage wearing a huge, tick cream puffa jacket and sang ‘’Its Ok’’ to a very happily swaying crowd in the rain.
Jessie j was very regal sat on her throne as she had broken her ankle/foot so sang‘’Price Tag’’ seated but her fans were with her all the way and she didn’t lose anything by not being able to strut her usual sassy stuff.
J lo and Pussycat Doll Nicole Sherzinger tried to outdo each other with the number of costume changes they each had and the colour scheme for both was a flattering silver and black.
Pussycat doll and Lewis Hamilton’s beau Nicole was inundated with interviews and people were commenting how extremely thin she was but I reckon her extremely long straight black hair extensions may have elongated her body more. Capitals backstage described her as the most beautiful female on the line up. I practically felt the PR teams and managers of other females in attendance withering in irritation LOL. Nicole thanks her genes and ancestors for keeping her looking good. She did a bit of yoga and did some vocal exercises before getting onstage. Her beauty tip was a lot of moisturiser all the time.
Britain’s got talent dance group Flawless were backstage post set all in black leather jackets and red trousers and really milking the attention from the artist stand both from wag types in the stand and loads of little young kids who were begging for pictures and autographs- you had to smile.
Ne Yos set was as big if not bigger than you’d expect. Smoke bombs, fireworks and exploding crackers going off during his big songs like Beautiful Monster. The lighting was on another level, with style, colours, slickness-his set had it all. Even when the rain had saturated the stage a very casual unfazed Ne Yo moon walked across it spraying up splashes that looked on the giant screens like a scene from a very well shot video.
The VIP hospitality suite was crazy. Whoever hooked up the Capital suite deserves a promotion, pay rise and a Spa day at the Mondrian!. The number of external vendors giving away free Hot dogs, specifically made pizzas, pop corn, pick& mix sweets, candyfloss, loads of Starbucks, cakes, pastries and so much more just went on and on. It was like being in Charlie and the chocolate factory. My mate and I loaded ourselves up with as much free stuff we could eat, carry, take home and went to check out our boy Ne Yo the headliner.
I noted a set of funny tweets between other radio stations when they said ‘’call the lawyers-Capital are claiming they broke Wretch32 and Katy B’’. Which actually did make me laugh as I recall when Capital hardly played any urban influenced Brit acts at all.
The Green room was constantly a buzz with photographers and talent conducting interviews and grabbing quick beverages as they ran from one stage set up to another backstage interview.
The capital A LISTY GOODIE BAG contained ….are you ready for this list of product placement heaven?…- The Big Yum Chocolate covered pretzels – Starbucks Frappuccino® Gift card – Krispy Kremes, Box of 12 donuts – BaByliss Wave Envy Hair curlers to create beachy waves – BaByliss i-stubble Beard trimmer – tocontrol stubble – CKone fragrance collection Fragrances and toiletries- Champneys Voucher for a weekend spa break – Caudalie Pulpe Vitaminée Smoothing Serum  – 1st wrinkle face serum Stri-Vectin-SD Eye Concentrate- Wingman Deodorising wipes for men – Kings of London (Shower gel and hair gel for men) – Onitsuka Tiger Trainers (Trainers for men and women) – Guess watches    Watches for men and women- St Moriz Tanning Tanning lotion and bronzer- Esme Jewellery Necklace that has perfume inside – Zara Taylor Jewellery    Jewel ring and necklaces with clocks in – Calvin Klein Underwear for men and women – LEGO® minifigures minifigures including pirates, Robin Hood, clowns and cheerleaders – Butterfly Twists – Folding pumps for women – Trevor Sorbie Dry Shampoo- Queen of…Razors and shaving gel – King of Shaves Razors and shaving gel. IM BREATHLESS JUST READING THAT!

SINGER BLUEY ROBINSON, SBTV’S JAMAL EDWARDS, JASMINE and ED SHEERAN.

I was unlucky enough to be invited to the 1000th red carpet celeb filled show of the west end musical Thriller (where Blue and Shaheen performed in cameo roles) whilst I was away in Tobago! But every cloud has a silver lining and I was lucky enough to be offered tickets for when I returned instead. Saturday night saw us arrive at a full house at Piccadilly’s Lyric Theatre where a diverse set of public attended a night to remember. The show took us on a journey through Michael Jackson’s musical career starting chronologically with his Jackson Five family hits. The songs were sung averagely to begin with and had us entertained but dubious but it wasn’t until the 2nd half of the show when the set, lighting and cast really came to life and had the audience excited and dancing in the seats and aisles. A few different actors played the role of the young Michael Jackson and then the older Jacko. The younger actors could’ve in all honesty been better. They looked sweet but vocally not the strongest and after watching Britain’s got talent and being spoilt by artists like little Welsh Shaheen they seemed pretty average as they ran through the Motown nostalgia-fest which included I Want You Back, The Love You Save, ABC and more.
One of the actors that played the character of an older Michael and took the part of main narrator in the show was Haydon Eshun who used to be the main singer in eighties boy band Ultimate KAOS (at the age of 9 years old) who a then unknown Simon Cowell put together. Ultimate Kaos back then started as Sinittas-backing dancers, as Sinitta at the time, was dating Cowell. Hayden did a really good job and (unlike another of the actors, who in a very high squeaky voice which was often off pitch sang Smooth Criminal, Billie Jean and Thriller,) was very accomplished. Hayden was as strong singing as he was narrating and held the show together really well. However it was the lead female actress and singer Trenyce Cobbins that really showed she could stand up alongside the men and even out shadow them at times with her very strong vocal ability and her physical performance that had me mesmerized as every inch of her body was on point performing all the way from the ends of her fingers to her high heeled strapped up toes and so strong were her postured poses whilst singing and at rest she was gripping and alleyes were on her every time she was onstage.
When it came to dancing though, Ricko Baird was my favourite Michael as he really encompassed the physicality and lithe, lean, very fragile quality Michael had.
Throughout the show at intervals the narrator would remind us of Jackson’s huge incomparable accomplishments and record-breaking sales figures flash on a video screen. Just as the cast took their bow before the encore my guest got quite het up and outraged that we hadn’t seen Billie Jean, Bad or Thriller yet and as sure as night follows day the encore was indeed those 3 tracks and had him dancing and jumping happily satisfied with the encore.  Throughout the show the music reminds you of how great Michael’s catalogue really is and the audience were literally all bopping their heads and swaying at all times in their seats and by the end the audience were and down in their seats dancing and singing and even jumping on the posh red carpet trampling their eaten Haggan Daaz ice cream cartons as they leapt up and down as if they were at Glastonbury- a great nights show if you want to experience good music and entertainment in the west end and at incredibly inclusive prices for the whole family too. In fact THE VOICE should have a VOICE READERS evening there! (I know the vibe would be that much more special with us all up in the lyric theatre!).

Its been a good minute since the good old days of record labels extravagance throwing opulent parties in decadent venues where guests dip into silver platters of mini food stuffs, binge hard on champagne Bellini’s all night and are entertained by a superstar before falling intoxicated into a paid for by their company Addison lee taxi home. So when a snazzy invite popped into myinbox (unlike the stiff black and gold posted envelopes from yesteryear that just seemed that much more exciting to open), I made it a hard pen date in my diary.
The invite was for the relaunch of the website for SBTV- a London based youth and music site that in recent months has gained an underground cult like following. . SBTV describes itself as an online youth broadcaster on YouTube and is at the forefront of new talent around the UK. That’s pretty much it and a lot more. SBTV are a multi-faceted company with a team of talented, highly skilled, passionate young adults who can be found working on web based viral content at a range of different events. From street shot freestyles and music video production, to the red carpet glamour of film premières, SBTV are currently definitely a site to be reckoned with. So many UK based online sites quote themselves as being the UK’s leading urban broadcaster’’ but SBTV are that are a lot more as they have diversified into all genres and not limiting themselves with stereotypes at all. From their intelligent, articulate Caucasian female presenter Georgia to the CEO of the company being a young, black 20-year-old male called Jamal Edwards (I told you all about him last year), they have really switched up the status quo!
As if this in itself wasn’t on another level in itself, Jamal and his team also managed to do the impossible! Get the country’s biggest most popular chicken food restaurant-Nandos- to become a brand partner and hold the event at one of their flagship restaurant on the South Bank which was packed full when we arrived just after the start time of 7pm- clearly free chicken being served all night endlessly on platters and never running out coupled with good times equals a popular party! I managed to scoff a whole mini box of their delicious garlic olives on entry meaning all those that conversed with me during the rest of the night had to eat some too or risk being fumigated by my breath!
The good times were in the form of stage performances every 30 mins when a music act took to the stage for a really short set. I managed to catch Maxsta, GFrsh, Loickk Essien, Island records new signing Angel, and U.S songstress Keri Hilson all do a short set each but it was Suffolk born, ginger head Ed Sheeran whoblew the crowd away with his easy manner, great live dynamic and hit songs.What a charmer he was! The entire crowd screamed for him non-stop-I’m convinced he’s bring sexy back for the red heads in society! Watch this space-next year he will have lost the shaggy hair and surfer garms and be on the front of GQ with a six-pack. Afterwards I spoke to Ed outside as we got some air-he had worked so hard onstage his dry head was totally soaked with sweat once he’s finished. He was extremely eloquent and charming which I know will take him far. Jamal himself finally took to the stage and read his thank you speech from a piece of paper bless him. He was very sweet in his humble thanks to his team and even revealed that SBTV have a new show on Channel 4- you know you are big when you have a show about making a show!. Whilst there was too much to love about this party- free chicken! Free beer! (Bet Ludacris wished he’d have thought of this for his album launch for his ‘’chicken and beer’’ disc!), the ONE thing I LOVED about the night was there was no VIP AREA! I have always stated that VIP areas equal bad vibe parties- Puffy taught me that- it was proven as the vibe and good energy around the room with all being equals was mature, fun and sexy!
Guests that just turned up and mingled included JLS’ Oritse, actor Dexter Fletcher, actor Will Poulter, Flawless dancers, Devon Anderson, Lucian Laviscount,  new ROC signing Rita Ora, Louisa Lytton, Adam Deacon, Preeya Kalidas, Labrinth, Ms Dynamite, Cher Lloyd, Twist and Pulse, Cleo Sol, Davinche, Bluey Robinson, music A&R TwinB, DJ Ras Kwame, DJ Shortee Blitz , Wileys manager John Woolf, girl group Rough Diamonds and their manager Carla, Shola Ama, DJ Sarah Jane, Eastenders actor that played Billy and a number of movers, shakers and taste makers from the capital.
The night was a true success in so many ways- salute to the SBTV team and Jamal Edwards-you are putting the rest of the dawdling old skool media to shame!

JASMINE with young UK designer ROMERO BRYAN and his entourage of models wearing ROMERO BRYAN.

Occasionally my work hard, play hard mantra comes through with shining results. A fortnight ago my Caribbean contact Douglas Gordon (a man that champions the islands like a trooper and taken my former MTV team out to film there on numerous occasions) reached out and asked if I’d be interested in flying out to Tobago to experience Tobago fashion week. This was not-contrary to belief- a trick question. A few days off to go visit a Caribbean country with sun, sea, sand, fashion and culture and call it work?. A no brainer. So there we were ready to jump on 3 planes after being informed we were booked American airlines to fly into Miami, to Trinidad, to Tobago. Immediately I begged they change our travel to a direct flight to Tobago with any carrier. My experience at Miami Airport has always been a negative experience with their ‘’random checks’’ always leaving you frustrated and flat before your trip has really started.

Luckily they changed our flight to a direct one via Monarch. Monarch premium class. Clearly it was not the same experience you get on virgin or BA but it has to be said- aside from the rubbery tasteless food, the flight was pleasurable. I noted that being hugely obese and booked into economy often means the passenger and all their mates get upgraded to premium/first as they don’t fit into the economy seat?!. And the government say being over weight isn’t in your favour KMT!

Anyhoo- I digress. We landed at the ANA Robinson Airport in Tobago -the usual small, quick customs experience. They looked at me suspiciously after noting I was bring in 2 huge bags full of Bassets wine gums. When I’d asked Douglas if I could bring him anything he’d requested wine gums. So in order to thank him I took him as many wine gums as we could afford and carry- that was £80 worth!. I explained to Mr customs man they were gifts for my granddad Dougie LOL.

We were whisked from the airport to our first residence, which was the beautifully chic Half Moon Blue hotel. A small, boutique hotel in a quiet, hilly countryside location with a private beach and stunning suites. The rooms were crisp, clean and beautifully orchestrated with stunning 4 poster beds and i-pod docks. I woke up on my first morning in Tobago feeling like a princess in tropical paradise. The hotel was stunning with marble glass floors and an infinity pool that leads to the ocean and private beach. With an excellent chef my only criticism is that the hotel had loads of American food like your steak, chips on the menu instead of the island fare that we had anticipated with eagerness. And they played the awful euro dance music that has currently saturated the globe when we had wanted island music like soca and reggae.

2 days later we joined the rest of the media at another hotel -Le Grand Courlan- where we spent the rest of the week. This hotel was in a busier part of the city and much bigger with a massive stunning huge sandy quiet palmed beach at its rear. It was a very nice looking hotel but often its staffs attitude made Roti Huts staff on Uxbridge Road look polite. One morning the waitress actually kissed her teeth when my mate asked for an extra order of something at breakfast. Also- whilst the hotels gym was nicer and more equipped than your average hotel gym, the spa was questionable. Our American media colleague booked in for a body massage and was appalled by the lack of experience of the beauticians. The hotel had mass potential-it just needs a strong guiding hand and it would be amazing.

Whilst out there we went on a tour of local town Scarborough, an imposing looking Fort George, long, relaxing lunches at quaint restaurants like Jemma’s tree house in Speyside-an actual restaurant in a tree! ,Kariwak Village restaurant -a fabulous straw hut roofed room, and Renmar’s in Pigeon Point eating local fair like mahi mahi, shark, crab and dumpling soup, roti’s so huge they fed two, sea moss cocktails and plenty of other mouth watering food.
One afternoon we were taken to go snorkelling in blue lagoons where we spotted multi coloured fish and coral underwater gardens and reefs. We also went to stand in the shallow nylon pool in the middle of the ocean where the water for around one square mile is waist height and warm. They say when you bath there you emerge looking 5 years younger. I attempted to visit daily so I could look 10 years old again after a couple of days!. The one thing that always happens to me abroad is the ocean likes to leave me with life long gifts. Once in Mexico whilst swimming with dolphins, a dolphin attacked me leaving me with a nice row of mini teeth marks along my arm. Another time in Anguilla whilst having ocean races with Mariah I jumped onto what I thought was a rock and left with rash all over my bottom as the rock was live coral that stung me. (mc did try and warn me but my stubborn know-it-all ass knew better!). Then in Miami on a girly holiday I kept making ‘’jaws like’’ soundtrack theme noises in the water and then got badly stung by a jellyfish. My girls ignored me as I’d cried wolf once too many times and assumed I was messing. Well this time I was snorkelling in the warm Tobagonian waters and whilst having an underwater race with my mate felt my fast moving legs scrape sharply against something underwater. I emerged from the water to find a great long bloody gash on my right thigh. My mate swum down to explore what had caused it. A big black anchor!. I’d swum across a flipping anchor!  So here I was not able to recall when I’d had my last tetanus injection and wondering whether my leg would go limp and fall off. On enquiring how I could get a tetanus on the island I was constantly greeted with lethargic excuses about it being a weekend and national bank holiday and so on. Good thing I wasn’t actually dying eh!?

Anyhoo-the day continued with captain Chris guiding us through the ocean with his informative talks. Midway through the conversation I asked a question about coral and got cussed out as apparently he had already told us this info earlier and ‘’hadn’t I been listening!’’’. Oops!. Inside I sniggered as captain Chris informed us that we were sailing on the Britannia boat. The boat outside was in fact called the ‘’Bretana’’.
JASMINE BEING INTERVIEWED BY OCEAN STYLE TV PRESENTER SAMANTHA

Then it was time for the reason we were actually there- TOBAGO FASHION WEEKEND!!  The first time we arrived at Pigeon Point to see the venue it made you catch your breath it was so beautiful. They had erected a full stage, rows and rows of white-caned chairs, a huge sound system and hundreds of huge mutli coloured flags at the edge of the sandy ocean where the fashion collections would be seen.  The first night was the opening ceremony where the red carpet was rolled out, the music was booming along the coastline, Tobago’s finest mingled with international designers and media and everywhere was buzzing. Before every event began the Trinidad and Tobago National anthem was always played and all present were required to stand in respect to the music, which would be played by a pan steel band, sung by a local singer or played once by a very accomplished saxophonist. Like a typical western event the event had branding sponsored by the Bombay Sapphire gin beverage and others. Impressive cars, hummers and motorbikes were dotted around the beach on which partygoers jumped on, in and took pics with them. They also gave us a taste of what was to come by giving bus a mini fashion show with clothing by local designers. It was amazing to think that a fashion event on this scale was possible with such a stunning backdrop of location whilst seeing the waves roaring up behind us. Truly breath taking on another level.

DESIGNERS ROBERT YOUNG, MEILING, JASMINE and NIGEL EASTMAN (OF ZADD & EASTMAN)

The following night was day 1 of the collections featuring designers like Garnett D`Andrade, Gerard Perry, Christian Boucaud, Frances Hendy and Ivaek Archer.And what a strong start it was. After the obligatory national anthem a solo male contemporary dancer in white flares kicked off the show with a mesmerising dance routine along the catwalk after which 15 designers showed their collections. Extremely tall, svelte, glamazonian models of every hue and colour from gorgeous dark black, to coolie brown, to fair skinned models with extremely professional standards strutted their stuff. Much of the clothing was island inspired with lush, tropical floaty fabrics that fly in the wind and sexy swimwear, which had the crowd whooping in appreciation. I particularly liked the Black and cream themed pieces with frills, ruches, and sexy rain macs.

 

A running theme through out the fashion week event was models carrying puppies and small dogs along the catwalk to highlight an animal charity for homeless pets. It was a nice visually lingering image and concept but I wonder if it actually made a change to any canine’s lives?
There were also a few collections just for children modelled by stunning professional very young kids which had the crowd all applauding with pride and encouragement.

Amateur mistakes like models walking with the labels still on their shoe bottoms was distracting. Also some models were struggling with shoes 4 sizes too big for them but still managed the walk with grace, which was impressive. One designer had my attention with their Stripy baby doll dresses in black and white with French beret styles. Very chic. Another didn’t impress me with shiny satin and nylon suits. Also-there was a lot of very camp (some would say fitted and colourful) men’s wear. My favourite designer of day 1 was the Final designer Nigel Eastman – his line is called Zadd + Eastman. His was a beautiful capsule collection of black garments with rainbow jewel sherbet colours that would work well on a hot island or the streets of a hectic city like London. The night ended with a party on the beachside with scrumptious edible nibbles and rum cocktails and we left with a goodie bag containing great booty like lip-gloss, sun lotion and bronzer, fabulous magazines and my fave- real home made hot pepper sauce.

A NIGEL EASTMAN DESIGN.

Day two’s show was similarly memorable with more kids fashion which unlike your average British high street store, catered for more colourful, childish and appropriate children’s wear. Not sexy-just cute and correct! Once again the dogs and puppies bounded onstage to highlight their cause and the show continued with a variety of looks from a tie dye collection. (Hate tie-dye!), a lot of floaty flowing fabrics and garish colours, and some pretty average swimwear modelled by males with had females in the audience very excited! I really like a collection by Pink lemonade which was described as resort wear. A lot of white mini dresses and backless black shorts jumpsuit and pink and lilac looks that were very fly.

One collection that had the night buzzing was by designer Iveaek Archer with his collection of Chizl underwear for men. It was introduced as playful and sexy and that you had to open your mind to appreciate it so we knew we were in for a shocking look. His very sexy male models strutted onto the catwalk in a variety of looks that was very kinky men’s wear and included eye patches. Face masks, string vest boxer shorts, towels draped over shoulders like a batman cape. The reaction from the very outraged and disgusted macho red blooded males in the audience with their heads in their hands was as entertaining as the collection!. Some of the models were rocking extremely tiny gold lame lycra hot pants, others had “Wotless’’ embroidered on their pants ( P.S ‘’Wotless’’ is the name of a very popular carnival song this year sung by Kees Dieffenthaller) , one model rocked shorts with a koala bear face on his groin with the kolas nose pack pocketing the males genitals and another was the Essex version of under pants with a pair of giant furry dice hanging from the waist band. All fantastic fun!.

A MODEL WALKING IN A ROMERO BRYAN DESIGN.

The best part of the night though was when British, young designer Romero Bryan took to the stage to close the whole event with a range of uber sexy, bondage inspired very couture cut dresses. The audience sat up, the paparazzi snapped and flashed away furiously and his collection really showed that London was in the house. Even after the first 3 models walked in his collection it was clear that the standard had leapt and that he had shut it down and easily stolen the show.

After the show the paps went nuts photographing the whole of Romero’s collection alongside Romero on the sea front where his dresses with their structured tassels and boned pieces which were very reminiscent of bondage straps were the centre of attention. Post show we congratulated Romero on his moment and agreed that he had done us proud and the annual Tobago fashion week was a great time to visit the island for a vacation meets fashion fix and that we would attempt to attend next year without fail! This has really put Tobago front and centre when it’s usually its twin island Trinidad that takes centre stage.

Before we left Tobago we visited the stunning, Tobago Coca Estate- a tropical cocoa plantation where all number of tropical fruit trees like mango, cassava, guava and sugar cane were grown. No one had advised us to bring welli boots or a pair of socks so I had a diva moment when I had to put my bare foot into an oversized, crusty old boot to protect my feet. Gross!. A beautiful, sun kissed rakish, mature, strong woman in baseball cap and Wellington boots called Christina took us around the estate and showed us how the cocoa pods were grown, dried and sifted before sale. We were able to taste the cocoa pods-bitter and sweet-and enjoy some freshly baked cassava bread in the outdoor oven. If there’s one memory I will never forget its that I will never devour a bar of chocolate again without thinking of Christina and the work it takes to accumulate a few cocoa beans!
On our final day we went on a catamaran cruise on the ‘’Island Girl’’ boat where it rained torrentially all day relentlessly but the crew were so much fun they cheered us up by encouraging us to snorkel in the warm Caribbean bath water and cooked us a tasty lunch and kept the rum cocktails flowing. What could we do but get involved in the always positive island spirit. Tobago-you’ve made another friend for life!

JASMINE with TINIE TEMPAH and DUMIE

Breakfast meetings, post work meetings, meetings at shows, meetings about meetings, honestly the corporate world has gone mad.
With recession fear and a now-its-anyone’s-time talk brainwashing us 24-7 no one wants to relax and chill for a minute .As one hip hop legend said to another- Slow down son-you’re killin em!.
I’m observing a long standing trend for young, hungry talent that has no patience with a ”get rich or die trying” philosophy that is admirable but not if you’re not prepared to put in the hard work. Honestly, there’s no point in starting. I hear people describe themselves as music stars of the future that can’t sing, play an instrument or song write. Seriously miming’s not gonna cut it. I hear others describe themselves as being the CEO of TV Company. They then proceed to tell me they’ve never picked up a camera, can’t edit, and have no ideas for creative shows and no business acumen. Confused? I am. Don’t get it twisted, many entrepreneurs have made it without being the main act as such but a unique talent in some field is essential or like the 1 hit wonders we’ve seen come and go-you will go and never come back again!
The media is an easier place to get into working than it was years ago, but for a certain demographic-its still and always going to be tougher. At MEDIA TRUST we’ve recruited new, young reporters without much experience in the field and are given them the most hardcore boot camp training which actually see’s them delivering a real TV show to a real UK TV channel with our corporate partners (BBC, ITV, C4, C5, SKY, MTV) having an option to pick up their content too.This is exciting. But scary. Really scary. Cos if one of them slips’ then ashow is affected. They’re doing intense training on filming, research, scripting, producing, writing, editing and more. They are interviewing realpower players, stars, community folk and more- like any real reporter world. As if that’s not enough I have them writing columns for national newspapers and iconic websites as well as spots on national radio. I believe they have to leave me at the end of their time knowing they are a 360-degree media a champ that can be thrown into the deep end with any project. This way they have ticked the all-important stumbling block that states all graduates need experience. They are very employable and able to hone their skills on a deeper level now knowing which areas their strengths lie in. There are no limits any more as to a job role. Once you were a writer, producer, director etc. nowadays if you’re not everything you’re unemployed. This example relates to most industries now. (Brain surgeons and their peers should ignore the paragraph above).

One young Londoner that’s a pure fire example of talent, positivity, diversity, inclusion and graft is Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu otherwise known as Tinie Tempah. Tinie’s been slogging away for years with smaller music broadcasters and singles but eventually it certainly was Written in the stars for him that his talent was spotted by theright people who were able to spot a future star in the making and he playedball. Often record labels sign acts and the act expects it to be plain sailing from there on in. it isn’t. Labels can promote and distribute but cant give you a personality or a work ethic. Tinie persevered without making enemies, badmouthing his peers or playing up to the stereotypical urban artist model. His inspiring attitude, unique music, articulate manner, humbleattitude and hard work have paid off. His manager is his cousin Dumi who learnt everything he knows about the music industry from a book! Imagine that!. They set up their own record label DISTURBING LONDON- and then
Last fortnight tinie went platinum in the USA with his single ‘’Pass out’’. This is ground breaking for a UK rap act. Admittedly he went top 10 in the USA pop charts but the enormity of his achievement cannot be smothered. This will undoubtedly open up new doors for UK acts from the same genre. Tinies team has always thought out of the box. His new mix tape is being hosted by comedian and actor Russell Brand. That’s some next level-ish. Achievements like this in my industry make the rest of our jobs easier. Often people wonder where the power in success lies. It lies everywhere. Tinie makes it big on his own merit. We help push him further. He helps himself and us by playing the game and raising it. We all win.

JASMINE with KOJO.

A true winner in every sense of the word is Kojo the comedian. A few years ago he was a comedian doing the London circuit. After bringing him onto MTV BASE with his own series he has spread his wings in the worlds of TV, Film and now radio by presenting the breakfast show on ChoiceFM with former Radio1Xtra DJ Max. congrats to both on their unshakable tenacity. In this business you’ve got to have lots!
FINAL NOTE- Current Office Debate-is it a good or bad thing when corporations jump on the urban bandwagon & exploit it in a negative way for the culture? More on that soon!

JASMINE WITH WIZ KHALIFA

I remember a time when all the TV, print press and radio I worked for encouraged me to keep my content national or international so it was as big as possible and inclusive to allwhether based in London, up north, around Europe or internationally.
Now that wave has turned and with governments and local boroughs all talking in the latest buzz wordspeak which always includes the phrases ”Big Society” and ”local community” its a new day. If I’m totally honest (and aren’t always?), I’ve only ever championed and cared about the goings on in the city that I live in and love. As if my fairy godmother heard and acted upon my subconscious universal outgoing message, I find myself on the brink of a new regular 30 minute TV show that’s made by new, young reporters, solely focusing on London and championing the capital cities stories. Whether big or small, celeb focused or community focused, it’s all about unashamedly putting a microscope on London and highlighting news and events from a real Londoners point of view. Bliss. If you see the LONDON 360 camera crews out there show them some love!.

A night for decisions as I was invited to both the Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg shows on same evening. Decisions, decisions. One a legendary hip-hop icon that I’ve worked with numerous times over the past 2 decades- (in fact it was my CNN interview outside a Los Angeles courthouse after Snoop Doggy Dogs (as he was known then) murder case that helped promote me here in the UK). The other a new young champ to Europe’s shores that had the modern urban generation excited and had breathed new life into the game that I’d not had the opportunity to experience live yet?. Clearly I had to go and watch Khhalifa. Snoop-I decided- had hadenough of my time and attention over the years and I could probably list hiswhole list in order so many times have I watched his live show. I had been to meet Wiz Khalifa earlier in the day and his confident, friendly, articulate manner immediately struck me and I was intrigued to learn more about him and see if he could indeed holds a stage presence the way he could a 1-1 conversation. On entering his room escorted by his record label rep –the legendary Taponeswa Mavunga- I was immediately struck by both his extremely tall, lean height and the strongest ‘’aroma of the West Coast’’ juxtaposed by a haze of smoke. I wasn’t in the room very long but I still stunk of the green stuff when I returned to my Wood Lane desk! I was concerned for his label rep as she’d been in his company all day! He liked my military jacket and was highly Intelligent-considering how much west coast oxygen he was getting through! And so I found myself with my industryfamily down at Shepherds Bush Empire the same night. On arrival it was apparent that this show and artist had high expectations. The venue was packed. Sold out totally and full of a very fresh, hot, young crowd. Our very own superstar Wretch32 was opening up and as many had come to see his set as Khalifas. Wretch tore the house down which even early on was packed to the rafters. After Wretchs set RADIO1Xtra’s Semtex did a short set which had the crowd hyper and excited before the main mans moment. In the audience were loads of notable folks like rapper Sway, KissFMs DJ Manny Norte, female artist Baby Blue and Master Shortie. The main thing that was apparent once Wiz finally hit the stage is that he has immediate and electric stage presence.Able to get the crowd on side from the get go, he danced, bopped, bounced and skanked his way through an hour long set briefly stopped midway through a song to kiss his girl friend side of stage- (Kanyes left over-‘’model’’ Amber Rose). To my old skool ears his sound and stage vibe really reminded me of a beautiful mix of Bone, Thugs and Harmony, Andre 3000 and Kanye. 45 minutes into Khalifas set I heard that Snoop still hadn’t entered his forum stage and that the forum crowd were becoming restless and impatient-clearly I had made the right choice that night`! As Khalifa’s final song-his hit ‘’Black and yellow’’ was nearly done I suggested to my people that it was probably best we sneak out now before it got crowded and we were forced to chat to all and sundry. As we exited the venue to stroll back to our car the stage side door behind suddenly slammedopen and as if in a surreal dream we watched as 2 police, two 02 venue security, Wiz Khalifa and a gigantic security man carrying Amber Rose legged it out of the venue and were bundled into a waiting car ready to speed them off. The irony of the fact that security was protecting and escorting Amber moresafely than the main man was not lost on me. Amber in her tight dress and high stacked heels couldn’t have made the run. But whilst Wiz is connected to her he has ‘’brand Khlaifa’’ locked down on the things every big urban act nowadays needs. Great music. Check. Legions of fans. Check. Stage presence. Check. A celebrity controversial girl friend. Check!.

JASMINE WITH HER OLD COMPADRE-SNOOP DOGG

Across town at The Form I was told by my former assistant-now ITV girl Jennifer Adeeko- that Snoops opening act-Beanie Man was great but that the crowd weren’t happy that Snoop didn’t get onstage until 10.20pm-over an hour late and luckily for him all tardiness issues were forgotten as he was welcomed with nothing but deafening cheers. Sporting his signature 2 long plaits, blacked out sunglasses and dressed in all cream Snoop hit the stage with his 3-man crew including rapper Kurrupt, 3 dancers dressed in Addidas tracksuits and big rope chains reminiscent of Run DMC’s early days, 2 bodyguards either side of stage and what appeared to be a group of ….lets call them….’female fans’ , towards the side of the stage excitedly dancing to the music. Snoop started off with well known, familiar songs like ‘PIMP’ he then went on to ‘The Next Episode’ which had his dancers scantily dressed and provocatively dancing around him. The crowd was going crazy for the ‘Doggfather’. Poor Jennifer was shocked by the amount of swearing but admitted ‘’it felt right’’ LOL. Snoop went on to perform classics like ‘Gin & Juice’, ‘I wanna love you’, ‘Sexual Seduction’ and his most recent song with David Guetta ‘ Wet’ where there was certainly a lot of fist pumping going on in the air! The crowd were jumping in the air, waving their hands from side to side and this energy doubled when he performed House of Pains ‘Jump around’ and the monster of a hit that was ‘Drop it like it’s hot’. Snoop made full use of an onstage throne to chill in once in a while and when referring to why he hasn’t been allowed to come back in the UK in so long, stated ‘’f@@@ the police’’ in a light hearted aside.
In the middle of the concert you got to see a softer side to Snoop where he had a moment of silence for the late Nate Dogg, and also dedicating his time to recite Tupac and Biggie Smalls songs in remembrance. With the echoes of Snoop singing bad boy in true Diddy style, you would never think a couple of decades earlier there was the east coast west coast divide between BIG and Tupac’s crews. There was definitely a satisfaction there of knowing that rappers really can unite. Snoop ended the concert with the timeless classic that is ‘What’s my name’ and with finished the concert exactly an hour after it started, it definitely left you feeling like you wanted more. Some of Snoop’s last words were ‘Keep some weed in your life’ which had the whole building in hysterics. The beauty of the concert was that you can clearly see that Snoop still loves what he does, passionatelyreciting his lyrics and fully involving himself with the dance moves and interacting with the crowd saying how much he loves London, England. (Americans always say London followed by England for some reason). 2 nights later I was invited to watch him on Graham Norton where of course he charmed the socks of everyone. Hip-hops come a long way. It feels good to be mainstream.
Did anyone see the Graham Norton show where Gwyneth Paltrow recently rapped a whole 2 verses of NWA’s Straight Outta Compton? I became an immediate fan. She was good! On the same show Lady Gaga was treated like royalty as if she were bigger than Gwynnie. I could just imagine Gwyneth thinking ‘’my mate Madge is the original Gaga darling!’’.

 

JASMINE WITH GEORGE MICHAEL AND FRIENDS.

Another hectic week as my new staff team of reporters for the MEDIA TRUST’S new LONDON NEWS SHOW-LONDON 360 started work with us this week. White City and Wood Lane have never seen so much talent! As well as getting to know my new team I was honoured to be asked to join a photo shoot and interview for OHTV and Pride magazine showcasing ‘’successful women of colour in media’’. It was an wonderfully fun experience which I will tell you more about in coming weeks. Next I spoke at a creative advisory board where new, young media moguls brainstormed future project ideas. Of course I couldn’t miss the Wiz Khalifa show at Shepherds Bush empire the next day! A couple of nights later I was at the practically impossible to get into IVY CLUB for the ‘’Give us a clue’’ club event. Celeb teams were headed up by celebs but I cant say whom as i’m sworn to the ”Ivy code of confidentiality”.

When the biggest, top of the PR media mavens- Hollywood legend ms Connie Filippello invites you to an event you can rest assured it will be big. Renowned for only accepting the biggest most exclusive clients like Mariah and working regularly alongside legends like Donatella Versace, Meryl Streep, Ursula Andrews, Joan Collins, Jerry Hall and others, Connie is as legendary in the showbiz industry as her clients. She doesn’t put on events in any half measure so when told by her that her client George Michael was having a press conference to announce something it was no shocker that it was to be held in the uber opulent Crush Room at the Royal Opera House.
If there was ever a man that could sing and have an automatic hood pass for his soulful voice and attitude for living life to its realest ,it would be for the legendary Greek originated, British singer , global icon,George with his 30 year career (he doesn’t look old enough!).
On arrival an old fashioned huge pack of paps and hacks, DJ’s, TV reporters, bloggers were pitched up outside and legged it inside to grab the best spots. All the seats and media platforms were totally rammed up and astonishingly whilst the conference start time was stated as 1pm, by 12.45pm the room was full, hushed and eagerly awaiting and seconds later a sudden thunder of shouting and yelling infiltrated our eardrums as in the next room photographers shot off their flashbulbs snapping and clicking away at Georges arrival for a good 6 minutes non stop!.

George bopped in a slick, very well cut suit and tinted shades looking healthier than ever and proceeded to announce he’s going on a tour. Not just any tour. Its called Symphonica; The Orchestral Tour. Always one top push his own boundaries and career he is undertaking an orchestral tour which will see shows take place across the globe including the Royal Opera Houses in London and Paris for charity. On the Parisian date he’s working with Carla Bruni on the charity “Born with HIV”.At the London Opera house it will be in conjunction with his former friend  Elizabeth Taylor’s charity.
He also refreshingly mentioned that he loves that lady Gaga and Riri have brought house/dance back to the forefront and that he is going to be exploring more dance and house music areas as its ‘’always been the gay music of choice.’ About the new material he admitted he will collaborate with many “gay friendly” musicians.
George told the assembled crowd -which included 3AM girls, Capital Radio DJs, Sky News, BBC News and reporters from across the globe that had been globe flown in – that he’s not interested in repeating past successes. He wants to explore orchestral and dance genres. He said he would perform a lot of his own material as well as other fave artists of his that have influenced him. Regards his past duets he revealed that his Aretha Franklin duet was a dream come true for him whilst the Queen duet was amazing and tragic for him due to his personal life issues and what he was going through at the time.
Talking about his troublesome past 12 months with negative press documenting his drug taking and other personal issues he confessed that he hates that every time he let’s himself down, he feels he also let’s young gay men down everywhere. On a positive note though he did add that he’s surprised by how supportive his fans continue to be especially since he’s made so many strong enemies. Considering he’s sold over 100million albums he remains surprisingly humble. Post conference I met new Calvin Klein model Seth and chatted to George Michael’s boy friend-Kenny Goss for a bit…..lovely folks!

To end the week I woke early on Saturday morning to travel into town and to get my overworked bones back into feeling normal again I went to the celebs favourite lady with magic hands- Nuz Shugaa at her Kingly Court salon. I mostly enjoy her treatments not just due to how good they are, not just cos loads of celebs and power players go to her (and I like staring discreetly at them), but cos I try and prize lots of celeb gossip out of her mouth. Alas for my nosy gene she never gives up any info! This time she insisted she give me an Argan chocolate full body spa scrub. She began by making me strip and put on a pair of paper panties. I chortled much as I examined the underwear and settled myself onto the massage bed. She began by firstly applying coconut and walnut cleanser which was massaged thoroughly in upward strokes all over my body (front and back). She explained that she makes all the scrubs herself. Next strawberry and tropical fruits and seeds were rubbed all over me in circular movements-it was all I could do not to lick my own skin so tempting was the aroma. The next step saw Nuz apply salt glow (once again made bespoke by Nuz in her secret organic laboratory) with melting Organic chocolate ,Argan oil and Geranium full of anti oxidants scrubbed all over me. Finally hot cloths were used to remove all my dead skin by her and her assistant so 2 pairs of hands were all over me. Smile. I was pat dry and my body was infused with an Argan oil, African Potato and Green Tea mixture to bring my skin to life. Nuz finished up by massaging me well and buffing me off! I was treated to a champagne flute of organic pink lemonade straight afterwards. At my lunch my companion couldn’t stop commenting on how great my skin smelly-totally worth the early rise!
Now i’m off to pack my suitcase for a very fabulous moment! More juice next week!

JASMINE WITH HER OLD MATES- THE BEASTIE BOYS

Well we’re all finally over the Royal wedding. The Grace Kelly dress will hopefully encourage young ladies nationally to keep it classy. Sister of the bride Pippa was catapulted to instant sex symbol levels as her spray tan and booty fitting dress had males across the land frothing at the mouth. What a fake tan will do eh? Daily pre-wedding,Pippa was in the papers with Kate and no one batted an eyelid. As soon as she was painted brown wearing a dress cut for her body hearts stopped. Um fellas why not try the original brown gal. It doesn’t rub off on your white sheets. Similarly Harry suddenly reached heart throb states as every society chic and hood rat decided she would make a beeline for the only remaining bachelor in the Royal fam. Did anyone else notice he actually bopped up the aisle? Have you seen the pics on the internet of him partying with Puffy and Kanye in the past? My mates have laid a bet that Harry’s wifey will be mixed race or black. And wasn’t his black uniform a lot more dashing than Williams?  I had a sweep-stake on what colour the Queen would wear and I was right with my canary yellow prediction. How unfortunate that Fergie and Andrews daughters Eugenie and Beatrice turned up looking like the ugly sisters. Don’t they have mirrors up in their crib? Did anyone else note that The Mall had all the road bollards and crossing lights removed? Is that so the Royals can use The Mall as an emergency flight runway? Kate was so graceful throughout. How dignified and elegant she was. It was as if she was the Royal supporting William on the big day who looked at times nervous. The balcony kiss was a bit quick for my liking. I would’ve liked him to take her by the back of her head and lipse her up good and proper leaving her breathless a la Brett and Scarlet in Gone with the Wind. Good luck to them both. William’s finally brought the Royals some good PR by getting with what the tabloids keep referring to as a commoner.  By the way, how proud were we to be Brits that day? Hundreds of countries across the planet were airing the whole wedding on numerous channels. A little island like ours sure has a worldwide grip with our events. America may have Hollywood but we have Royalty. We win!.

Clearly there was too much love in the air for the universe that day as a mere 24 hours later the world was gripped as the unbelievable news that the worlds number 1 terrorist Osama Bin Laden had been killed. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Pakistan really say they weren’t aware he was living there? America clearly had no trust in their ‘’ally’’ Pakistan as they weren’t alerting them to their strike. The navy seals buried him at sea? Really? It’s a conspiracy theorists dream! Whatever your thoughts are on the whole sorry saga, remember that our western media feeds us very different facts and viewpoints than the middle east and that we should always keep a balanced view, question everything and accept that we will never know the truth with so much going on behind secret closed doors.

The Olympics are fastly approaching and I for one can’t believe the f@@@ery of this government. How can Londoners be bank rolling the event yet we cant get first dibs or discounted tickets? Cheap, limited view back seats are £20, good seats are £2000. £2000!? Really? Really? How can you justify an event for the all the people of the country that is inclusive to all yet only the rich or corporate companies can afford to attend? What a farce!. Boris Johnson needs to step up and sort this-Londoners are not happy.

I was reunited with my old nemesis-one of the first white groups in rap history-in fact one of the first rap groups period- the Beastie Boys. With their early success they played a huge part in turning DEF JAM into a force to be reckoned with.  Years ago in 1994 whilst I was a presenter on Channel 4’s THE WORD they joined me live from their stadium show in Budapest where we stood on a snowy rooftop to do a live TV link back to the UK. Off air we were chatting away nicely. As soon as we went live, the boys started speaking to me in a non-intelligible gobbledegook. So embarrassing!. I didn’t forgive them for years. Even during my MTV days I repeatedly gave them hell as pay back. They were notorious even back then for giving the media a hard time with their naughty antics in interviews. Luckily they’re a little more chilled now that they’re grown with families and responsibilities. Now they’re back wit their latest album ‘’Hot Sauce Committee Part Two’’-their first hip hop album in 7 years!. Part 1 was supposed to be released in 2009 but never came to light as Beastie Boy Adam ‘’MCA’’ Yauch’s cancer battle intervened. The new music is good no doubt but my nostalgic side craves their old style of hilarious lyricism.  The beats are still dynamic and racy with hard delivered verbals and the music still sounds classic, vintage and relevant , this group has always quite rightly embraced their own sound, so another classic from a group that refuses to fade away-something their fans are happy with.

The Eddie Griffin comedy show , hosted by Harmony Productions at the 02 Brixton Academy was a total sell out with road blocks and endless queues at the venue pre show. Richard Blackwood hosted whilst regular London comic faces Kevin J and Eddie Kadi warmed up the crowd for the first part of the show. Eddie Griffin started off strongly as he was very current with jokes about the Royal Wedding and Osama but his set quickly grew tired as he relied too much on his use of expletives. Years ago a loud American comic screaming the N word and mother f@%&*@£ would have us in stitches cos we just weren’t used to it but now with everything on youtube and American culture being so dominant in our culture this just sounds desperate, old and tired. His material had potential but with his delivery being pretty slow and dragged out with him needing to smoke and drink constantly onstage it was draining. A few people in the audience actually nodded off!. Eddie was once a very talented live comic but like many of his U.S counterparts I think when they come to the UK they expect automatic reverential treatment maybe not realising that we have a very high standard nowadays. In fact I’d go as far as saying that I thought out British warm up acts were stronger in pleasing the crowd. Having said that, the night itself was well organised and a good evening out. The question is now that British audiences know we have a high standard of comedy in our own country can we have our own talent headline a venue the size of Brixton and expect it to sell out?

MOST IMPORTANT FACT; Like any music market-have a hit song with a strong hook,melody and chorus. If u want to make a living and have longevity forget “keeping it real”-Its not selling out. Its selling out arenas!!

A) Think outside of the box.
Chances are whatever you as an artist are doing ,has been done before-the real winners are those with dedication and application when it comes to doing something a little differently. What’s your USP? A unique voice? Lyrical dexterity?live? The hustle?

B) Talent brings talent
if you are a talented artist find others that are better than you creatively and make sure they are part of your “team” .That is video makers/writers/producers/graphic artists. Also don’t be afraid to spread the news that these people are PART of your success. An artist is as strong as the weakest person in his team.

C) Persevere
Many of the UK’s leading artists have been dropped or it hasn’t gone right 1st go.This is now a proud badge-persevere.

D) Be fit
If you are going to be doing this – on the road – etc- eat right and treat your body well-if you get into bad habits early on its hard to shake later on.Even though its hard -make this a priority-it will server u well in the long run. Touring,making videos,all night promo,live shows are taxing on the body and the mind leaving you useless if not staying on the healthy path.

E) Accept that if you are good and different -you will be hated.But don’t be an idiot and fan the flame of hatred.
If there’s hate you’re doing something right.

F) Get to know DJ’s personally.
If it means handwriting your promo CD’s to them do so. Build strong,supportive relationships in the industry.

G) Spot career DJ’s early-very important.
Hit young bloggers with cult followings in the UK like SBTV and Pinboardblog etc.
Familiarize yourself with the UK’s big brand taste-makers like radio1xtra,Choicefm ,Kissfm ,Galaxy,MTV Base ,RWD magazine ,Flava magazine. etc.

H) Be respectful of people-word travels quickly when you do wrong- actually 10 times quicker than when you do right

I) Do not bitch about other artists in petty conversation.
You will be heard- and twitter is a bitch. Stay far from “beef” or negativity -its not cool, its an urban music stereotype. Its a sure fire way of your music staying niche – mainstream support will disappear.- do your promo!

J) Get a f@*&%$£  good lawyer- you’ll  need them early on and throughout your career.

K) Don’t come and see a manager thinking he can fix your sh@*-if you’ve got it – he will come to you.You can however be persistent- that is good in an artist

L) When you tour-hand in your PRS forms and get a good accountant.

M) LISTEN!-Too many artist are great Transmitters and NOT good receivers so be sure to LISTEN!-

N) The UK responds well to artists they see and hear about regularly- be authentic to where you’re from. I.e don’t emulate US artists (accent/style). You’ll never out-American the Americans – do you and the local audience responds well to that because they recognize it.

O) Don’t label yourself R&B/rap – its quite limiting in small markets like Holland and the UK. Its something Dizzee Rascal recognized years ago. It opened him up to festivals and other opportunities to reach as broad an audience as possible.

P) Always treat the press and reporters with respect and help them help you by being helpful , fun and interesting in interviews. If you’re going to be miserable and unhelpful don’t do press. We will dread meeting you and not bother actively promoting you.

Q) Remember the small broadcasters and street teams that helped you on the way up. Don’t shun their interview requests once you’re big. Trust me you’ll be reaching out to them again on your way down.

R) Enjoy the ride! There’s nothing worse than seeing a negative act. Don’t get into showbiz if you don’t like the industry. People will criticize and blow hot and cold on you but if you can last the course and have genuine talent you will make it!

S) If you’re lucky enough to win an award or have a public platform to speak onstage to masses of people, have something engaging/ interesting to say. So many artists show their no-personality having side here which lets them down.

T) Don’t act like a diva with club promoters, doormen, managers and anyone else working with you unless you are Mariah, Whitney, Prince or any of their peers. They’re genuine bonifide superstars-you probably aren’t. A bad rep will not help you in the industry.

U) Respect how important the humble DJ is to your career. DJ’s are the beginning and end for you’re radio, street and airplay. Know how essential they are to the game and YOUR game.

V) If you have no natural style-get a great stylist. Think about your image and don’t be afraid to reinvent it if need be. There are too many industry insiders laughing at acts that are stuck in a time warp and heading to being back at the benefit office as they can’t move ahead. stay current with your image or stay unique.

W) At industry events and awards be aware of the tempting gifting suite. Yes you are allowed to be an over excited grabalious bunny the first few times, after that the insiders are sniggering at your cheapness and if you’re an ex-celeb they’re also laughing at the fact that you were once famous but now you’re milking it.

X) Don’t approach press and demand they promote you when you have no material. If you have a hit the press will run after you. Everyone is not a star. Know your limits. A hit song will get you 15 minutes of fame. Repetition of more hit songs will keep you relevant. Sales of numerous albums and sell out shows will catapult you to star status.

Y) Big name managers will try and scoop you up once you arrive at a high level. Only jump ship and betray your early managers if you still have great lawyers who will ensure you’re not signing your life away. Many an act has fallen here.

Z) Keep your mind alert to learning new things about your own industry and career. Once you stop enjoying get in another lane. Life’s too short not to wake up everyday doing something you love!

FINAL THOUGHT- Don’t get caught up romanticizing the life of a rock star to pump up your dreams. If you even recognized 1% of the pace of what would metaphorically be basic training in boot camp- the weaklings and posers will fall first and only the ones with true character and humility will even have the opportunity to try and fail at doing this insane business-its tough!.

GOOD LUCK , FATE, NETWORKING, MELODY MAKING, LYRIC WRITING AND TIMING!

JASMINE WITH LOICK ESSIEN

The Easter bank holiday fortnight was full of fun stuff like the ACLT celebrity football event at Brentford Football Club, a friends indian wedding in the biggest sikh temple in Southall, the Royal Wedding, girl friends birthday lunches, dinner parties and my guy telling me I couldn’t cook meat for a non fish eating friend on Good Friday or there would be World War 3 in our crib LOL

Before all that though it was fabulous business as usual. I’d been hearing the name of young 20 year old, former model, now male musician Loick Essien for a while now. His names french and pronounced ”low-eek”. A couple of years Bashy had told me about him.
Loick’s apparently someone who won’t let a chance encounter go to waste – so when a mutual friend introduced him to British rap star Bashy, the result was Loick appearing on the iconic track Black Boys. On the set for the Bashy video, he met Chipmunk, and the two made a track called Beast; and at the video shoot for that song, Loick met Dappy from N-Dubz, who appears on the second single from Identity, the Stargate-produced Stuttering. So the boys got talent, and game for hustling himself forwards through life. I’d heard him feature on a few different tracks for a variety of tracks by the teamuk stable so when I  was sent an invitation to see him perform at his own showcase at the lovely Cuckoo Club in Central london my curiosity led me there in good time even though it clashed with Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson’s performance just up the road. Luckily it seems that their respective teams talked and Loick was due to be onstage at 6.30 whilst Jennifer agreed to come onstage at her event at 8pm. The Cuckoo Club was nice and full of a very non-urban industry crowd sipping wine and networking all in our summer dresses excited anticipating Loick’s set. Loick came onstage at 7pm , introduced himself looking very slick in boot brogues, skinny jeans, a grey t shirt ,black satin lined blazer and the biggest grin ever. He told us he would be performing 4 songs-some from his album ”Identity”, he did so and all were beautifully melodic and vocally very strong. The songs were mainstream commercial and very catchy- genuinely great for a Radio 1 Playlist. He had the confidence of a seasoned performer and the ease physically onstage that I haven’t seen from a relatively new performer for a long time. His media training team need to encourage him to stop saying ”so” after all his sentences-which is just a nerves habit that they can easily kick him out of. Also his 3rd track ”Now”was a very difficult vocally challenging track that had lyrical gymnastics all through it making me think he has definitely been influenced by great singers of our time like Mariah and Jodeci. There were moments I held my breath as it seemed his breathing control may give way but by the end he proved he definitely has what it takes to be big in the game. Funnily enough before introducing ” Now  ” he said the next song was to show that he could actually sing which confused us all because trust me, by the end of his first verse in his very first song that was already very apparent.
Whilst watching him sing I noticed his hands bear tattoos on his fingers: “RAGZ2” on his right hand, “RICHES” on his left. Loick said afterwards “I wanna remember where I come from, and where I want to be,those were the rags days.”   Those tattooed fingers are just the beginning – Loick reveals he plans to get “sleeves”, tattoos that will eventually cover both his arms, depicting “a poor man’s world and a rich man’s world.” His body may still be a work in progress; but his album Identity proves that as an artist, Loick Essien is the finished article. West London lad Loick spoke very articulately to me and to his audience and I have no doubt that he is one to watch on the next to blow from the new, young DIY teamuk crew.

JASMINE WITH KEISHA BUCHANAN AND 3AM MIRROR GIRL SARAH TETTAH

As soon as I planted my good bye kisses on various industry cheeks at the cuckoo club, my mate and I slipped out of our heels and into our flat ballet pumps to sprint across leicester square to the uber cool IVY CLUB where in the VIP rooftop loft area they had a bar full of heaving people all eager to see grammy songstress Jennnifer Hudson sing songs from her new album ”I remember me” . Silver platters of mini hors d’oeuvres -beef tartar and quail scotch eggs were going around, as were cucumber apple martinis and other delectable beverages. Once up in there it was clear that for the second time that night the invited crowd were not your average,expected urban industry set of people that I’d expect to see at these functions usually. The room was full of A Listers from a variety of fields, global companies, music labels, actors, TV hosts, models and more. Paloma faith was doing her usual British Dita Von Teese impression in big hat and floral frock. Noisettes lead female Shingai Shoniwa was dressed like an old skool church marm in a long purple skirt and twee hat. Ex Sugababe Keisha and mirror 3AM girl Sarah Tetteh stood alongside me looked as if we’d come as a girl band in our matching coral orange outfits-you could certainly tell that summer had arrived!. Tara palmer-tomkinson arrived with her nose still looking a slight bit dodgy after all the wear and tear its had. Lisa Snowdon had al the paparazzi snapping away and designer Julien MacDonald held court in the corner. Jennifer finally came onstage when the room was hot, heaving and happy from mingling and drinking. She was rocking a long silky straight weave and wearing a horizontal stripy blue and brown dress that showed off her legs to their full and showed how svelte she was after her healthy eating , fitness regime and no doubt also the tragedy that befell her family a couple of years ago. J Hud  was accompanied by a couple of backing vocalists and a pianist and sang her heart out showing she’s lost none of her belting , powerhouse vocals that first came to light in the Dreamgirls where she blew Beyonce out of the water. She sang song after song that had us all pretty mesmerised by her lyrical dexterity and emotion and had us all eating out of her hand such was the special vibe of this intimate moment. A truly amazing night full of great musicians and shows once again why whilst i’m always TEAMUK, I’m such a lover of our capital city- unashamed and proud-LONDON RULES!

JASMINE WITH EVERYWHERE & NOWHERE DIRECTOR MINAJ HUDA.

This week’s been like a Craig David 7 day story for me.
Monday I went to a private film screening of ”Everywhere & Nowhere”. Tuesday it was the IVY MEMBERS COMMITTEE dinner at tres sophisticated Mayfair restaurant Scotts, Wednesday I started at the Cuckoo Club to see Loiekk Essiens showcase before legging it across Leicester Square to watch Jennifer Hudson perform at the Ivy Club, Thursday it was dinner with my parents, Friday another dinner party chez Dotiwala. Saturday MOBO CEO Kanya King took me rowing along the serpentine-and yes-she rowed! Sunday was all about chilling out.
”’Everywhere & Nowhere” kicked off the week correctly- its in cinemas across the UK from May 6th. A new British youth culture film, it would be easy to lazily call it an Asian Kidulthood /Adulthood but its much more than that. It does,its true, focus on a group of young Asian boys and their British experiences of feeling like they’re from ”everywhere and nowhere” and the trials of friendship, family and career within the Indian culture. It’s both real and gritty and unashamedly raw without the usual comedy element that many Indian actors and scriptwriters insist on including to entertain our native English audience.
The lead character –Ash, played by a very intense, gripping actor James Floyd– is a man torn between two worlds, that of his family and friends and the other, of his dreams. This is a  drama centered on a British Asian torn between honoring his family traditions and his love for Djing. Its his story set across London with it’s fast paced nightlife and run ins with the law all caught on camera from the Director of Kidulthood Minaj Huda. My parents are from Kenya and India so I could relate to many of the issues set out in the movie. I felt sad for the old,ignorant beliefs that were highlighted within the film that the older generation of Asians carry. It felt good to observe that we all share the same issues but made me realise how sad the olde worlde with its ignorant values was. If only we could take the best from the old and modern worlds for harmonious unity. Everywhere & Nowhere has a gripping storyline and fun moments and is a beautiful, emotional, touching look at young British Asians. Director Minaj has done a great job with his first big outing and like Noel Clarke before him will no doubt set a fast pace in his own lane in the near future.
Aside from James Floyd, boy band Blue member Simon Webbe plays a DJ that dates Ash’s sister and their story focuses on the issues of a black man dating an Asian woman. A true dynamo onscreen is Adam Deacon.

JASMINE WITH ACTING TALENT ADAM DEACON.

Adam has made his mark recently with his movie ”Anuvahood” which had young brits laughing all the way to the bank of Deacon. Adam has an onscreen energy that is mesmerizing and whilst he’s usually cast in a number of BBC and mainstream TV shows as the hype road-man , he is capable of playing much more. In ”Everywhere & Nowhere” Adam shines as Ash’s Bangladeshi mate but shows a real variation in his character. Its clear that in the next few months Adam is going to blow up in the same way as his peers Aml Ameen and Idris Elba (now both in Hollywood). He’s busy having just had a UK hit movie out,is starring in 2 films this year and writing more comedy. As well as ”E&N” , Adam is starring in ”Weighed in”-with legend Bob Hoskins where he plays a cockney, eighties print worker with no street slang in his character.

Adams had a busy life.Brought up in Hackney he reveals he didn’t have the best childhood. He was in a hostel at 16 before being given the opportunity to attend The Anna Scher school – a community-based theatre school in Islington.He admits he was  the class joker that didn’t always do his school work but he did connect with drama and music. The great thing about that school was it was open to everyone reminisces adam. He had his name on the 2 year waiting list and when he went to look around the school saw photos on the walls of who had been there which really inspired him.
His teacher ,Miss solomon from Stoke Newington School told him about the summer school waiting list which cost 80 quid so Adam did loads of odd jobs to raise 80 pounds as a 12 year old and went!. He recalls casting directors from soaps like Eastenders watching the classes but they were there so often they got used to them and just carried on. He recalls his first film was called “Face”. He had one line in it which was eventually cut out. So he learns a valuable lesson early on. He continued his auditions and secured so many small jobs. He wants to shout out Anna Scher as ”she had the rowdiest kids and put them on, now Anna’s not a part of the school any longer the real talents gone too. She’s teaching from a church now. I cant believe I invited her to my ”Anuvahood premier and she came! I wouldn’t be here today without her”.

Adam has that incongruous look about him that has him looking anything from Asian , Middle Eastern,European, African-in fact he could be from anywhere. But he tells me he’s half Egyptian and half white English.  At ages12-13 he did Eastenders/ The Bill/ Spooks/ Goodness Gracious Me/ London’s Burning and more, but says that actor and director Noel Clarke putting him in Kidulthood was his first big break as was his part in the Ali G movie. About Kidulthood Adam gushes ‘”it was the realest script I’ve seen, I met Noel, we did some improvisation, I stood out. I had the slang and realism. I got called back to act with Noel. Noel told me i had the part. That’s where i met Aml, Femi and other actors. Now we’re a strong team of British brothers that are in my world. This is the beginning of something big!”.
A few years after acting in Kidulthood Adam wrote his own film titled ”Anuvahood” which he says taught him a lot about the industry about politics and the business. He was disappointed in that side . ”We were told if you work,train and act you get paid. Now I realise the talent and acting is only 5 percent of the whole job, the business is a major part too”..
You may have also seen Adam in ”Shank” directed by Mo Ali. Adam reveals that apart from himself and music star Bashy none of the other cast were from that underground world. So altogether they edited the dialogue alongside Mo but didn’t receive any extra credit or extra income for this so he thought ”I’m going to do my own thing”.
With Anuvahood he says he wrote a film that he thought British kids wanted. ”The culture has stereotypes that you can laugh at. I had some hectic organization to get through. With the music side all the music acts on the soundtrack supported it. Dizzee gave is music for much less than it would’ve been worth. There was a whole, exciting, unified teamuk feel to the project.
Adam is clearly taking his own DIY route as he’s not getting the breaks he wants or deserves. He concludes that he wants to do a few comedy films and a would love to make a documentary on grime godfather Wiley. ”Wiley is someone I’ve admired for years. Seeing him and his career showed me how to manage and reinvent my career even without mainstream support. Its shown me its ok to be the underdog”.
Adam laughs as he see’s that with Anuvahood now mainstream media have been proven so wrong. ” The scene is big enuff for the mainstream to understand it. I naively assumed that reviewers would do their research. Anuvahood is a spoof and parody of the world. A reviewer for film site IMBD wrote that whilst she was too old to understand my movie- she wrote that she didn’t have to get it as her son got it and loved it. My biggest problem was critics dismissing a whole section of community.  Some said that I shouldn’t ever be allowed to direct again as it was apparently homophobic and racist. Theres nothing in there that isn’t in Little Britain!”.My film was Number 1 in London-i’m proud!”. And with that Adam completes his rant , bids me farewell and tells me he’ll see me again-in the big time! Love that confidence!

JASMINE WITH AML AMEEN AND KAMARA BACCHUS.

So London’s in full swing for fabulosity this month. This week alone has seen me swapping heels and kisses at numerous events. First musician Loick Essien invited me to his showcase tat the cuckoo club where he performed for an industry crowd.  Straight after he finished it was a sprint across Leicester square to the uber cool IVY PRIVATE MEMBERS CLUB where American songstress with stronger than strong pipes-Jennifer Hudson put on a private performance in the rooftop VIP lounge just for the club members. The next day I had a good old media family reunion with my old MTV News team where we reminisced about the good ole days as you do. I also managed to fit in time to cook for 2 dinner parties round at our place. I rate my life by the number of dinner parties I have. If I’m in dinner party mode it’s a barometer of positive happiness in my mental frame. Until someone spills red wine on my carpet or gets drunk and attempts to vomit on said carpet. Then the Dotiwala dragon emerges quicker than Usain Bolt on a pattie dash when he’s peckish.

One thing that does leave me proud to be a Londoner is the pure ambition and guerilla soldier attitude that new talent is coming with. The work of MEDIATRUST and their numerous projects that help young people across the nation has caught my attention this week. MEDIA TRUST’S corporate members include BBC, ITV, CHANNEL 4, SKY and more. As well as supporting numerous media projectswhere people are empowered to make their voices heard via media; they actively recruit, teach and champion new, young talent from marginalized and diversecommunities across the country. As well as currently looking for new peoplefrom 18-25 to join their new LONDON NEWS REPORTING team, this week they re-launched for the second year their huge COLUMN IDOL 2011 competition in conjunction with THE SUN newspaper to find undiscovered raw talent aged 18-25. Column Idol see’s young people who enjoy writing and want to have a chance to see their work printed in THE SUN explain what they would like to write about and why they deserve the chance to have their work printed. They will be mentored by some of newspaper’s top journalists. Six entrants will be shortlisted and judged by a panel including Editor Dominic Mohan. The winner will receive the prize of having their column printed. The hunt is being supported by songwriter Jessie J and and England and Arsenal star Theo Walcott, who has written a popular series of children’s books.
JESSIE J’s distinctive style and evocative lyrics have helped her become an almostovernight chart star. Jessie, 22, told us it’s a great opportunity foraspiring young writers. She said: “This is a fantastic chance for anyone who likes writing and has an opinion.” “Young people are always saying that they want to be heard, and this is an opportunity for them to step up and do it! You don’t have to be academic to write passionately about something. You can’t be a writer and feel like you have to follow a script – Column Idol is all about doing it YOUR WAY, which is what makes this competition so special.”  Entering a competition in the country’s biggest newspaper is a daunting prospect, but Jessie urges you not to be put off. I would say to young people reading this – take opportunities when they come, because life doesn’t hand it out. When I was younger, I never entered anything to win. I entered to learn. I would audition for things knowing that, even if I didn’t get it, the people there would remember me in future for a better-suited part’’. So Voice readers- get entering and when you’re up there running things in the print press world remember I put you on!

Someone else who embodies all I’m excited about this week is British/Hollywood actor Aml Ameen and actress Kamara Bacchus. Aml will be a familiar face to most of you. He was a long-term copper on THE BILL, played lead parts in films like Kidulthood and more andlast year was snapped up by Hollywood producers to star in new drama HARRYSLAW. He moved to L.A but proving his passion for the UK, he continued his drama academy ASA- Actors Studio Alliance, -for young,marginalized youth in Camden. This week Aml had a screening at BAFTA where hundreds of people were treated to a screening of his 3 short films. To start the night Aml was introduced onstage by his class tutor and mentor who spoke about Aml as a passionate young manwith a dream. Hence Aml’s production company is called AmeenDreamEnt. Aml explained ‘’ everyone that knows me knows I’m a big dreamer. I go through stuff and I get disappointed but I keep going for it and I try things all the time and dreams can come true’’.
Aml explained that we would be viewing 3 short films, a music video by his brother-musician Mike Ameen , and a set of hilarious outtakes.
The first film THE PICK UP was made after a student-badgered Aml to look at his script and finally convinced Aml to make it. It’s about 2 guys (Aml and actor Najan Ward) trying to pick up two girls in a club. It’s a hilarious and well-shot story about their scam and its ultimate consequence. The second film SPECIAL DELIVERY was written and starred in by actress Kamara Bacchus and was a beautiful piece of visual film. Like a silent movie it was poetic and innocent about a postal delivery girl and a relationship she strikes up with a resident and the audience raved about it at the end. The final film and the main draw for the night was DRINK, DRUGS & KFC written and directed by Aml. It was a very funny, well written, street drama about a group of boys and their innocent,fun, adolescent good times, trials and tribulations.
Aml explained at the post screening Q&A session that was about ‘‘the brotherhood and young men being in love, hopeful and innocent. He wanted tomake timeless beautiful classic pieces that inspired and entertained’’. He said he was inspired by a lot of good old and modern day films and that he wanted to make stories that were different to the norm about our scene and culture and not just repeat the same stereotypes about ethnicpeople that had become popular recently. He gave props to his friends Adam deacon and Noel Clarke and added that he too was ‘’throwing his dice as a film maker into the pot’’ and that there was room for everyone.
Aml wanted to thank his cast and crew fortolerating him and giving him the opportunity as a first time director and for their unwavering humble attitude throughout,  ‘’my tip for success is If you want to be great surround yourself with world-class people’’.
There followed lots of congratulations from the audience which included actors Cyril Nri (The Bill), Johnny Gill (Harry’s Law), Adam Deacon, Femi Oynerion, Jimmy Ackingbola (Holby City), Gugu Mbatha-Raw, William Gaminara (star of Silent Witness), Arinze Kene (Connor in Eastenders), Chucky Venice and Jason Barret, the night left us all feeling positive, empowered and proud of Aml as a trail blazer and community champion!.

JASMINE WITH DAMIEN ”JUNIOR GONG” MARLEY”

All roads led to Wembley Arena last week for the much-anticipated concert seeing 2 musical brothers come together again. after last years Nas and Damien Marley joint onstage show people had heard this was a once in a lifetime event and a slow moving cavalcade of cars crawled up to Wembley on a balmy spring night. As if the main acts weren’t a big enough draw we were informed also that the inimitable Erykah Badu would be the opening act so we were ampted. Well promoter Hanif had one more surprise for the crowd- Spragga Benz was the first act on. Could this line-up be any better.

Once we actually managed to navigate the extra long queues outside we noted that Wembley arena was totally rammed up with fans and a great party atmosphere.

JASMINE AND GOD’S SON NAS.

Spragga and Erykah did their thing throwing out all their classic hits and setting off the night correctly then the crowd went nuts as bobs son Damien entered the arena and his locks were swinging wildly non stop throughout his set. But much of the crowd were as impressed by the man waving the huge flag throughout the show. we were fascinated by his arm strength and couldn’t stop watching as he mesmerised us all. Even female boxer Lesley sackey who was in the crowd was speechless with awe. Nas and Damien rocked the crowd in such a positive, old skool , fun way that it brought back faith in modern music showing it could be both hot and positive in this day and age when much of it often leaves a lot of musicality to be desired.

Then designers Dolce &Gabbana had one of their classic bond street parties where this time there was a twist. Unlike the usual celeb infested, champagne swilling, pretty food platters being the be all and end all, this night involved the D&G windows being dressed by fashion bloggers and was called a ‘’dress me up party’’. Celebrating the revamp of the window displays at Dolce & Gabbana’s London flagship store. The company had tasked a number of bloggers including Sasha Wilkins, Bip Ling and Carrie Harwood to refresh the windows. DJ Jon Jo spun during the night, who played a mixture of house, dance pop and RNB.  The guests drank Dolce&Gabbana Martini gold-doesn’t that just sound tres extravagant? . celebs I spotted included Alexandra Burke, Rox, Simon Webbe, Sunday Girl, Henry Conway, Pixie Geldof, Leah Weller, Natt Weller, Toby Kebbell, Keisha Buchanan, Devlin, Will Poulter, Leo Gregory, Katy B, Mary Charteris, Olivia Grant, Peaches Geldof, Nick Grimshaw, Naomie Harris, Daisy Dares You, Professor Green, Polly Brown, Suki Waterhouse, Rob Knighton, DJ Shane McPherson, Ashley Walters, Jasmine Guinness, Adam Deacon, Hofit Golan, Isaac Ferry, Tara Ferry and Portia Freeman.

There was a tea area located at the back of the store for guests to sit down and shill out, the bloggers were active in the windows re vamping the mannequins, guests went crazy dancing to Rihanna’s What’s My Name track and Madonna’s Like A Prayer track. On the Menu was a SICILIAN ROTISSERIE which included Potato croquettes, Rice croquettes stuffed with various meats and cheese, Fritters of codfish and “Panella” chick peas flour fritters. Guests were from all walks of life and looked totally outrageous, with people from all different cultures but all involved in some kind of thought of fashion. If you had any concerns about deciding what to wear on a night like this before leaving home all was in safe hands as this definitely wasn’t one of those nights to worry about what you were wearing or feel anyhow uncomfortable. From People dressed to the hilt galore in designer such as D&G to LV and Christian Louboutins to name just a few to your normal day-to-day wear of t-shirts, jeans with kicks or sneakers. Continuous hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and champagne were at arms reach through the night which meant that every sensory function was satisfied from hunger, thirst, audio and visual entertainment via the life action dressing fashion bloggers – a great, progressive, unique night-kudos D&G and their celeb fashion team Chandni and Ruth.

After these 2 fabulous bits of entertaining fabulosity you know the universe balanced up my work-play karma by giving me two subsequent weekends of work. The first week saw me driving through the madness of the central London TUC marches to get to south bank university where I was sitting on a panel for the regular INSPIRATIONAL YOU quarterly motivational conference.  The MOTIVATIONAL YOU team alongside founder Sonia Meggie, provide workshops, seminars, exhibitors’ stands and networking opportunities. I’d heard about this event in the past and was finally happy to get involved speaking to ambitious young women and young people where they can connect with industry professionals and successful entrepreneurs. Giving back to the community regularly like this makes me feel better when I cant afford to give regularly to charity. After all, quality time and attention is really what young people need. The event was buzzing and full of energised people when I arrived. I saw in on a journalism panel and then entered the main arena for my panel, which was most fun as my fellow panellists were a TV presenter and actress. The youngsters in the audience asked a multitude of interesting questions that gave me faith that our future was in good hands.

JASMINE with ANDREW DAVIES, BLACK THE RIPPER, CHARLIE SLOTH and SWAY CALLOWAY.

The following weekend I got the blessing from my mother to miss Mothers Day and fly to Rotterdam for the largest international urban music conference NEW SKOOL RULES where I was sitting and speaking on 2 panels over the weekend. I joined a strong industry team from the UK which included radio 1xtra dj and artist Charlie sloth, island records A&R man ben scars, flava magazine editor and founder annika allen and Leonard foster, Andrew davis former myspace don now freelance international advisor to international brands and more. Established delegates had been flown in from all over the world including from the USA MTV VJ and radio host Sway Calloway, Grammy winning song writer Bryan Michael Cox, and current hot producer Drumma Boy. Over a 3 day period there were a lot of panels, workshops , showcases (including the UKs very own black the ripper , R.I.O, and R.T.I ) and master classes in everything one could ever hope to know learn to make it in the music industry. Whilst the day time saw learning and networking opportunities, the evening held club events where yet more showcases from established and new acts took place. It was a great experience and definitely an event with aot of future potential . but for now I think it has a long way to go. It seems that the Netherlands government pay a substantial amount of money to throw the event- 80,000 euros in funding with the overall project costing more than 150,000 euro’s so a lot of passionate people behind the scenes making it work. And the locations and panellists are incredible, so it seems very disheartening that even though in total there were 976 people attending from 31 countries, each panel that i witnessed individually only held around 20-30 maximum young people. A total change from the urban music seminars I’ve been used to attending in the uk in the past where there are thousands of eager attendees. I heard that NEW SKOOL RULES attendees have to pay 150 euros to attend for the weekend, which seemed unfair to people struggling to get into the game. Lets bring it to London and make it free to attend and take this to the heights it deserves to be.

JASMINE WITH OK NIGERIA’S ALEXANDER AMOSU.

I know we laugh at celebs who we say would go to the opening of an envelope well this week I pipped that. I went to the opening of a shed. The ‘shed’ in question was a café called THE SHED opened up by my mate (one time nemesis), spice sister Danielle Brown- actress and sister of Mel B and one weeknight the café was officially opened with a bang!

THE SHED is in Fulham Road so a very nice area with a football club just up the road so footballers and wags should be frequenting regularly.

We arrived to find paparazzi outside and wondered who they might be after. Once inside it was clear they were after tabloid celebs Peter Andre and his girl friend Elen Rivas. Reality TV and real life car crash Kerry Katona arrived with her DANCING ON ICE partner Dan Whiston, and the only way is Essex slacker Amy Childs who people were eager to get snapped with Peter Andre cos apparently she looks like Jordan. She doesn’t.

Peter Andre and Kerry Katona laughed a lot all night. Kerry wore a leopard print cat suit which wasn’t very flattering on her figure but her hair did look classy in its chopped short wedge style. Other guests included self-professed model Nicola McLean and her footballer husband Tom Williams, Chico, Zilli the chef, André from former boy band Damage and his wife Wendy.

Danielle was wearing a Forever Unique black prom dress and handing out goody bags which contained coffee, fancy herbal teas, jammy dodger necklace, red velvet cupcake, an easy read book, crisps and a free voucher for Venture Portrait Company,

Looking at the blackboard price list full of cakes, cupcakes and toasted bagels, I was impressed to note a sit-in cappuccino is only a reasonable £1.85 unlike the usual £3 quid stings I have to pay for at Starbucks and its peers. Free Wi-Fi and a child friendly atmosphere made me wish I had kids and lived in Fulham just to frequent the Shed.

The intimate venue was packed, decorated with neon green ceiling lights, loads of Babika Vodka was served, as well as espresso martini’s and strawberry cocktails, the DJ was playing old skool rare grooves and soulful house, there was a massive cake (red green and gold), in ‘’The Shed’’ colours, with an edible Danielle on top.

The night finished around midnight with extremely strong coffees so no one had sore heads the next morning.

A lot was made in the press the next day about the act that sister Mel B wasn’t there. Big deal. She lives in LA, is pregnant and apparently relations between Mel and the rest of the brown family based in the UK have been strained for a while now. So no one really expected or needed her to turn up frankly.

Danielle had called all her close friends and family and a great evening was had by all.  OK Magazine actually did a full feature on it showing that maybe envelope openings could actually be the next big thing LOL!

Speaking of OK! Magazine, the world’s biggest celebrity lifestyle is set to launch in Nigeria this year.  The magazine, which will be published in Nigeria and printed in the United Kingdom, will be distributed on newsstands in Nigeria and readers throughout the world can subscribe to the magazine.

OK! Magazine Nigeria will be owned and operated by famed serial entrepreneur Alexander Amosu. (The same guy I met around 2 decades ago at Earls Court Exhibition Centre who told me he was making a company selling R&B ring tones) he’s come a long way!

The magazine will be a monthly publication and content will be 60% Nigerian celebrities on a global scale, whilst just 20% of the 60% will be local Nigerian celebrities in Nigeria. The remaining 40% is divided into 30% African American celebrities such as Will Smith and Oprah and the remaining 10% will be the usual celebrities we love to read about such as Paris Hilton and David Beckham.

Alexander told me : “Nigeria’s probably one of the most vibrant, affluent countries in Africa, a nation with this juxtaposition of poverty and immense wealth; a style leader for Africa that continues to shine despite hardships and negativity that try to mar its progress.  I’m honoured to bring OK! Magazine to Nigeria and I am convinced that the publication will enjoy great success.”
He told me about the endless opportunities for OK! Magazine Nigeria which will enjoy sharing news of the world’s fast growing entertainment industry, from Nollywood stars, to the plethora of singing talent currently coming out of the country.
He exclaimed: “Worldwide there is love for what comes out of Nigeria; from the movies to the music.  What better way to showcase this positivity and share it with the rest of the world.”  I recall when Alexander signed the deal last September and has been quietly working to launch ok magazine in Nigeria later this year. It launches in June in Lagos for the first time. It’s the very first time OK has launched in an African country. Alexander is the chairman, and the over seerer, and is putting together a reality show from May to June to find the editor of OK Nigeria. There will be a series of TV tasks and the lucky winner will crowned editor of OK Nigeria. The OK brand is in 19 countries around the world but this is its first foray into the African continent.

A man making new in-roads daily-are you inspired? Still happy to sit back and let others have the glory and shine? If this story doesn’t inspire you nothing will!.

WEST LONDON GIRLS- JASMINE AND ESTELLE AT THE IVY CLUB.

This weeks been a lot of fun at the BBC where a lot of people are brainstorming for a whole new set of exciting, adventurous new programming, which if green lit, I’m sure you’ll all be gripped to your TV’s. The web might be the new, fun way of digesting content but you cant beat the kudos of being on telly. You just can’t. especially the national broadcaster that’s valued and trusted across the globe.

Estelle flew through town and spent longer than her usual 24 hours here on a whirlwind run. This trip she graced us for a few days for which her nearest and dearest (including me) were happy about. Its not often these days that she has time to hang out,chill,catchup,discuss life,love and the rest.

She always keeps it real whether home or away and this time she celebrated a friends birthday at West London’s Wednesday must reach R&B spot Cherry Jam as well as pass by a few parties that our DJ friends were throwing. I invited her up to the very stush Ivy Club in Covent Garden where its always “a scene”. In various corners you can always discreetly spot a real bonifide celeb quietly grabbing a drink or loudly singing alongside the jazz pianist.

After dinner I attempted to persuade Estelle to join me at Adam Deacons Anuvahood premiere but she was having none of it stating she was off to see her sister and do family stuff. That’s what you call priorities I guess! Stell’s new album has ‘’just been wrapped up and completed- she’s taken her time this time around to make sure its right, so once its out-its right!’’ So look out for that-Estelle’s new music is imminent!

The Ivy Club threw a party in the member’s loft later in the week where celebs and folks like me (ie normal peeps), danced the night away and tasted a variety of amazing canapés and cocktails. I was more fascinated with the guests who included Broadway and West End theatre producer Stephen Byrd, MOBO CEO Kanya King, many reality show stars, big moguls from many industries and young, cool types all in the same room. Some of the conversation I was party to included “I used Stevens jet to fly in from New York as he wasn’t using it-do u want a ride back with me?”, “I feel like the odd one out as everyone on this table has a yacht and an island some place hot except me” and “let’s do tea next week and I’ll introduce you to Boris”. And these were just the mates I turned up with! The thing I love about the ivy Club is that it has a mixture of members from a diverse background but everyone’s a high flier in their respective fields and the networking potential is as great as the fun!

JASMINE WITH SKEPTA.

Next there was much ado about music act Skeptas latest video for his song ‘’All over the house’’. Newspapers and radio stations called me repeatedly to ask for my thoughts on it. Why anyone would really care for my opinion is beyond me. My thoughts I’m sure are similar to most peoples. Well. Where do we begin. Skepta is a very capable lyric artist and his latest album was well received. Clearly he and his camp thought they needed a big noise to draw attention to himself so they made what can only be described as a really, gross, porn video for his song. It features a visually challenged looking couple fornicating all over a house in the most graphic, no holds barred scenes. The video isn’t shot well. It’s confusing. What was he thinking? Is this the limit of his visual creativity? I know it’s not. Don’t those ‘’actors’’ have parents? Credible acts like the Prodigy and Prince made videos that were banned from TV screens because they pushed artistic, or political boundaries and encouraged debate. This pushes nothing aside from the tired old stereotype that all urban music culture is gratuitous and dumbed down for the sake of it. Can do better.

Finally I finished my week by holding a seminar at South Bank University for the women’s Inspirational YOU event which brought back my faith in young, ambitious, talented females that were a joy to talk to and pass on my experiences to. Many of you e-mail me regularly asking for tips and advice-I often give back at events like this. Catch me in Europe at the biggest urban music seminar weekend this weekend at Rotterdam where alongside the European, UK’S and American power players we will be spreading the knowledge of our culture further.

Happy Mothers Day this weekend to all you ladies lucky enough to be mama’s. It’s a blessing. The greatest gift on earth. Cherish mothers everywhere. Without one you wouldn’t be here.