HIGH Fashion: Kanye West & Giuseppe Zanotti’s Shoe Debut
Kanye West has always shown a high interest in fashion. So much so that he debuted a fashion line and is planning to hit the Parisian runways again with his Fall/Winter 2012 collection. However, Kanye is still not well known for his clothing line, yet. When he first debuted his clothing line, DW by Kanye West during the Paris 2011 fashion week, his designs did not impress. What is catching people’s attention are his $5800 beaded and crocheted heels that he collaborated with Italian designer, Giuseppe Zanotti. The stilettos, which feature calf leather and elaborate detailing with pearls and beading, will be sold exclusively at French retailer, Colette. West’s Fall/Winter collection will be seen at Paris Fashion Week on March 5. How about it, fashionistas? Do you think Kanye will score with this one?
Karissa J. Parker for The HIGH UP. Follow @CurlyRissa on Twitter for the latest in beauty, style and fashion updates!
Weekly HIGH: Your Dose Of Entertainment News!
The first week in the new year was pretty interesting to say the least. They say that the way you start your year is the way you end it. From Twitter rants and lawsuits to restraining orders, we hope from the look of this week’s highlights, this isn’t true.
To start off on a good note, we are all aware of the great news that the Queen of Soul provided to us in the New Year. Aretha Franklin has confirmed that she is marrying longtime confidant Willie Wilkinson. Along with the excitement of an engagement comes the excitement of planning a wedding. Aretha Franklin revealed a few items on her wish list last week. She revealed to the Associated Press that she would like to have all the creative control over the planning of her wedding.
“ You know I am very hands-on. There is no way in the world anyone else could do my wedding other than myself, along with whomever I select to do various things.”
Aretha hopes to have her wedding gown made by either Donna Karan or Vera Wang who are classic choices.
“I’d love to see what they would do custom for me without me saying anything. They’re known for kick butt dresses,” she said. She continued to talk about her entertainment, adding Smokey Robinson, Karen Clark and Stevie Wonder to her wish list.
Well we are sure that Aretha Franklin’s wedding will be a moment to remember. We are looking forward to seeing the pictures from this beautiful moment. Congratulations again to Aretha Franklin and Willie Wilkinson!
Well there is a price for fame and for Wiz Khalifa it’s 2.3 million. Khalifa started the year off being served with a lawsuit. Pittsburgh rapper, Wax Warren, is suing Wiz Khalifa for $2.3 million over allegations that he stole his hit “Black and Yellow.”
In the world of copyrighting, its first come first served. According to Warren, he was first to copyright his song, “Pink N Yellow” in 2008. Khalifa copyrighted “Black and Yellow” in 2011.
According to AllHipHop.com, the copyright infringement lawsuit was filed in federal court in Philadelphia and seeks at least $2.3 million in damages. It names Khalifa, whose real name is Cameron Jibril Thomas, two other songwriters and several record companies and music publishers, including PGH Sound, EMI Music Publishing, Rostrum Records, Warner Music Group and Atlantic Recording Corporation.
Taking a listen to both songs, there’s not much similarity that stands out. The refrain for “Pink N Yellow” and “Black and Yellow” is similar in rhythm patterns, but the tracks and melodies are pretty distinguished. Take a listen to both songs and you be the judge. Tweet Talk: Is this a suit that will hold up in court? Hit me up @AmadiJae.
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Kanye didn’t take the Twitter lesson that we shared last week to heart. Being pretty expressive about fame and his new company, Kanye West took to the popular social media outlet to express himself. Most of his rant was his frustration with the fashion industry and the excitement about his new venture. At times, though, the rant did become very informative.
One thing that he revealed that is very exciting to hear is that he has started a new business, DONDA. He provided only a few details on Twitter this past week.
“I have started a new company and I’m so excited about the name… it’s got the best name ever of all companies of all time!!!! The name of the company is DONDA. DONDA is a design company, which will galvanize amazing thinkers and put them in a creative space to bounce their dreams and ideas. DONDA will be comprised of over 22 divisions with a goal to make products and experiences that people want and can afford.” He continues by stating, “I want to put creatives in a room together with like minds that are all waaaayy doper than me. This will all take time but I wanted everyone to know what I really care about… I care about people. I care about my fans.”
He provided contact information if you are interested in working for his new endeavor.
“If anyone would like to reach out email us at contactDONDA@gmail.com.”
Kanye provided his thoughts on education before finally ending his passionate rant.
“Help education. School systems were designed to turn people into factory workers. Math classes should teach addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, accounting and money management aaaaaaannd cut!!! UNLESS YOU’RE A MATH MAJOR!!! Kids you should be able to take majors starting in grammar school like how it is at performing art schools”.
Whether you agree with Kanye’s views or not, it is great to see someone with such passion.
Selena Gomez started off the year with a victory. A victory that may have saved her life on January 6th, the singer-actress was granted peace of mind when a civil judge ruled on a three-year restraining order against the man who had threatened to kill her and had attempted to meet her in the past.
By receiving this restraining order, 46-year old Thomas Brodnicki is to stay away from Selena Gomez and not make any attempt to contact her.
This order also protects the singer-actress’s family. The 19-year old star did not appear in court during the hearing on Wednesday, January 5th. She instead wrote in a declaration filed in October that she was in extreme fear after learning that the 46 year-old defendant had threatened to kill her while on a psychiatric hold.
We are happy to know that the law has worked in Selena’s favor. We wish Ms. Gomez and her family much success and “peace of mind” in the future.
⇒Amadi Jae for The HIGH UP. Follow @AmadiJae on Twitter!
WHAT’S NEW: Kanye West Occupies Wall Street
As protests continue on Wall Street, musicians, entertainers, and moguls alike show their agreed disgust with the way things are going economically. Kanye West has joined a list of notable celebrities and artists in the “Occupy Wall Street” protest such as Talib Kweli and Mos Def. Russell Simmons caught the Hip-Hop superstar up on the protest and walked him through the site. Russell Simmons tweeted October 10th stating, “ I just walked @kanyewest thru the #occupywallstreet. I love how sweet and tolerant he was to the crowd.” Eyewitnesses spoke to Billboard.com describing West and Simmons sitting down and talking with protesters around 2:00pm, with their bodyguards along for the ride. Protestors such as Ben Fellah felt that the response to their attendance was mixed. Some felt like they were attending the protest for an opportunity to appear involved and concerned in the public eye and others felt like that their attendance was genuine. On the other hand, many protestors didn’t notice them at all. Last week, Talib Kweli visited the protest site and performed acapella versions of his new song, “Distraction” and “Thieves in the Night,” with the other half of Black Star, Mos Def, according to HipHopDX.
The “Occupy Wall Street” protest began with a concern, as many of us have, with the current economic climate. A project of “Working America”, people are gathering at Zucotti Park in New York City raging against the machine. With millions of jobs lost, it feels as if the poor are being punished for the greed of the rich. In the climate of a global recession, you can’t help but tip your hat off to the brave individuals willing to take a stand for change. It feels like the 60’s again when the youth expressed their grievances and stood up for what they believed in. It is refreshing to know that such artists as Kanye West, who are doing pretty well financially, understand the importance of such a protest and understand that if the individuals have no jobs, they have no money to purchase the music that is created. As time moves on, it will be interesting to see what other celebrities will provide their voice to this cause. In the meantime, watch the video of Talib Kweli participating in the protest a week ago and learn more about the “Occupy Wall Street” Protest at http://action.workingamerica.org/c/575/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=6075 .
(Talib Kweli at Occupy Wall Street Protest via Billboard.com)
-Amadi Jae for AOM & The HIGH UP. Follow @AmadiJae on Twitter for the latest in entertainment and more!
IMHO: Jay-Z and Kanye’s Watch The Throne Reviewed by Jon Goode
Kanye is widely regarded as a premier music producer that is a fair to midland rapper with flashes of being a very good MC from time to time. Jay-Z is considered by most to be a great MC; his consistency, relevancy and longevity alone push him into rarefied air as far as MC’s are concerned. It is not often that artists, especially hip hop artists at the status of Kanye and Jay Z, can come together to make an album. Even if you put Ego’s aside just working out the time and scheduling must be a Herculean feat. So the announcement of Watch The Throne, the Kanye and Jay-Z album sparked instant buzz. The blending of the two musical juggernauts promised something epic, something people probably hadn’t seen since Built for Cuban Linx or Liquid Sword or MadVillainy and it delivered… a pretty good album but not a classic by any stretch of the imagination. The production on the album is very good top to bottom but like a leopard it has a few spots that you could live without. It is not the production, however, but the rapping that proves to be the Achilles heel of this album if you ask me. It’s not that the flow is bad or the punch lines don’t land, the issue is that the album is mostly Sunshine Anderson … you’ve heard it all before. There are certainly glimpses of something more on songs like Gotta Have It, New Day, That’s My B!t&h, Welcome to the Jungle and Murder of Excellence (see song break downs below for specific details about the songs) but those flashes are against a sky filled with a million star tales of excess. I totally understand that the excesses of life are probably a large part of their day to day these days but then that being the case this could have been an 8 song album/EP of all original thought and not a 16 song long full length project of takes on the same theme. Don’t get me wrong it’s not bad, and it’s going to sell like hookers on payday but there is a fallacy of composition here in so much as the sum of the parts (two great artists) do not equal the sum of the whole (an average album). I’ve watched the throne but I can’t say that this album showed me a real glimpse of the once and future king.
The "HIGH UP" 