The buzz was in the air, texts were being sent and emails were firing off to see who was going to be invited out to T.I.’s First Annual ‘A King of Oneself’ brunch held on Sunday, Oct 2. The brunch was held at The Mansion on Peachtree in Buckhead. I’m so glad I work in media lol. The boutique hotel parking lot was filled with luxury cars from Bentleys to Porsches and more strolled across the front entrance. The who’s who of Atlanta came out to support T.I. and his lovely wife Tiny. As I made my way up the elevator I saw items from T.I.’s Akoo clothing line displayed in the hallway.

T.I. was also celebrating his 30th birthday. Among the celebrities that came out to congratulate T.I. were Mayor Kasim Reed, Heavy D, Nelly,  Jeezy, Antonia Toya Wright, Phaedra Parks and a host of music execs, industry people, artists and so many  more. We made or way to our seats when then a friend blessed the food. T.I. then introduced his artist Mitchelle’l who performed a few songs and everyone vibed to his music .He was very good and had a very soulful sound.

We were served buttermilk breaded chicken breast, goat cheese vegetable egg white frittatas, oven roasted roma tomatoes, skillet red skinned potatoes and pencil asparagus. For dessert we had strawberry shortcake with strawberry balsamic compote. It was delicious. T.I. was also presented with a pair of new headphones courtesy of Dr.Dre. He said, “Wow, I hardly every get any gifts, then jokingly said, no I’m just kidding.” After schmoozing around and taking plenty of pictures the event came to an end. As we left the brunch, we were handed a goody bag with T.I’s. latest book, Power & Beauty: A Love Story of Life on the Streets inside.It was a grand affair. Enjoy the  pics! xoxo

Akoo Billboard

I was on the phone earlier today talking with Drexina Nelson about the Akoo Ad that she shot. She told me that she didn’t understand what all the controversy was about lol. She said when she shot the ad that she asked the female models were they comfortable and everyone seemed to be ok with it. Well supposedly people in Newark, NJ are in an uproar about the Akoo billboard in their area. Well, I am for one, a huge fan of Drexina’s work. She is all about empowering women and that’s something that she always believes in.

Photographer Drexina Nelson

She has shot me several times and I know she has always put women in the best of light. As an artist and photographer you always want to do the best work for your clients, and she was paid to capture Akoo’s vision. Akoo was the creative director behind the shoot and personally I don’t see what the big fuss is all about. She is artistic and an innovator, in photography you always want to capture the moment. Calvin Klein and Dolce Gabbana have done worse ads, and don’t let me get on some of the magazine covers,their models are damn near butt naked, don’t get me  started lol. It’s funny how some people get so upset about some things and then turn around and do something else just as bad. That’s America for you and whatever happen to freedom of speech? That is all!