Obama Inauguration

And so the day that many did not believe would ever come has arrived. Today the world watched as Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as America's 44th President - as the first ever black president. The world now has a new face of change and progress. And so I leave you with some words from the President of the United States himself:

"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled."

My brief encounter with Darnell Swallow

When I was invited to go along and review a party that Darnell Swallow from Big Brother was having, my honest first reaction out loud was, “Oh, ok sounds great!” In my mind on the other hand I couldn’t help but think, “what exactly does he have to be celebrating?”. Admittedly I wasn’t overwhelmed with excitement, but instead I was slightly confused as to what exactly Darnell was celebrating. Had he released a song I was unaware of? Who would be at this party? Still unsure, I decided to go along in a bid to get all of my questions answered and have a good night.

“Thursday 18th December – Swish Promotions hosts a very exclusive VIP Xmas party”. At least this is what the Vendome Bar & Lounge flyer claimed was in store for me and the other fifty odd guests that were present at the venue. Exclusive VIP? Considering I (and by the looks of things more than half of the other guests) had just walked straight through the doors unquestioned I was already struggling to believe this statement, but given that my best friend and I had just journeyed all the way to Knightsbridge to attend the event, the universal decision was to stay and hope that Swish Promotions would in the very least host an Xmas party.

The venue was nice, different in a dancer unfriendly kind of way, but nice. Although the event had been marketed to me as a party, everyone present (expect of course, that one person that makes every musical event complete by dancing in a special way in some open space) was seated and wholly consumed in conversations with their friends. I found myself questioning whether or not the people present were aware of what the night was in aid of, or if they had just strolled down to their local SW9 bar for a few pricey pre-Christmas drinks? Quite probable.

The night moved on, slowly, but it moved on and the DJs had rotated and were playing a pretty good selection of RnB hits, but still only a handful of people had joined the special dancer on the “dancefloor”. Scared off by the bottle of Belvedere that adorned the DJs booth, my friend and I had not yet made it to the bar and so she urged me to talk to Darnell and get a quote to spice up my review so that we could swiftly turn in for the night. This was a great idea, and judging by his recent actions in the bar, it was only a matter of time before Darnell left his mini VIP area and wandered through the bar to say hello to those that crossed his path before heading over to the bar to gather some drinks for his friends and himself. One trip, two trip, three trip, four, it soon became pretty apparent to me that it wasn’t going to be that easy for me to talk to Darnell unless I interjected one of his conversations.

And so, becoming evermore tired of the atmosphere-free party and the disconcerted look on my friend’s face I walked over to the bar, apologised for interrupting and introduced myself to Darnell as ‘Susanne Singh, a writer’ to which he didn’t seem too impressed and so I added ‘and a friend of UK Comedian Kojo’ to which he hugged me and offered to get me a drink on his limitless tab. One day my name and occupation will be enough. One day. Politely declining his offer I explained that I would like a quote from him about what we could expect from him in the New Year (maybe this would explain why he was throwing a party?).

“So Darnell, what can we expect from you in 2009?” I asked.

To which the gist of the ten minute answer Darnell Swallow gave was, “Well the main thing you can expect from me next year is an album. Whilst I was in the Big Brother House, my main thing was ‘Don’t label me, respect me’ and so when I come out with my album I want it to gain major respect. Ok, so I went on Big Brother. So what? I didn’t go to intentionally audition, I went to keep my friend company and I was chosen. I know a lot of people probably think that I got it easy because I get media coverage because I was in the House, but that’s not what I want. I’m struggling because what I really want is respect from my community, from the UK urban community, and a lot of them give me a real hard time because they’re under the impression that the only people that enter the Big Brother House are ‘wannabe celebrities’. This might be true but all I can say is when I was in there I was real and I didn’t expect that I would get chosen to enter the house.
I’m really serious about my music and that’s why I’m taking so much time on my album. I want to be the Nate Dogg of the UK and be respected like UK artists like Bashy and N Dubz, I mean at the end of the day I’m British. Yes I have an American accent but my parents are British and I was born over here and I only picked up the American accent because I was sent to study in America.
But anyways, definitely expect an album from me in the summer of ‘09’ and I should be working with a lot of big names.”

Still completely oblivious as to why Darnell was having a party, all in all, Darnell seemed like a really nice, genuine guy, I managed to get a good quote from him and oh, his choice in shirt wasn’t bad either.

Keisha Knight Pulliam a.k.a “Rudy Huxtable” Interview

Arguably the cutest kid on TV since she her debut in Sesame Street back in 1982, ever wondered what became of little Rudy Huxtable, daughter of Bill and Clair Huxtable and member of one of the best loved families on screen? Flavour caught up with the actress responsible for Rudy, Keisha Knight Pulliam to talk about being a part of history and life after The Cosby Show.

1. How does it feel to have been a part of the 80’s biggest TV show, The Cosby Show?

Keisha: Well, it’s definitely a great joy and pleasure in that I was a part of television history and history in general. The show is still very relevant and still watched and enjoyed even today. So so many generations of people have been able to identify with me and my character and still enjoy it.

2. You have been acting since the tender age of 3 – starring in hit children’s show ‘Sesame Street’ and then moving on to star in the ‘Cosby Show’ aged only 5, what was it like growing up as a child actress?

Keisha: I’ve actually been acting since I was 9 months old! I really enjoyed it, I mean a lot of people say that I didn’t get to have a normal life and what have you but I really think that I got the best of both worlds. Normal is relevant to your experiences and so if you think about it no one has the same childhood. I mean I was able to go to school and have a full-time job and learn from some of the greats in terms of television and comedy, and just experience so much at a young age that a lot of people don’t have the luxury of experiencing in a whole lifetime.

3. I’m guessing that your career was essentially chosen for you by your parents, are you happy with their decision?

Keisha: I am definitely happy with their decision and I wouldn’t have done anything differently

4. What do you love about acting?

Keisha: I love that you can play different characters and different people and experience and do things that you may not in your normal life. I like the variety of it, the ability to be able to touch people and also the ability to affect a profound amount of people. I just love the vastness of the impact that you can have.


5. Why do you think the Cosby Show was as successful and popular as it was?

Keisha: I think that the Cosby Show was as successful as it was because it really spoke to commonalities in people. It brought people together as opposed to dividing them, it showed how much more alike we are than different, and it dealt with issues that everyone could identify with, you know no matter what race you were or what your economic background was or what religion you were, none of that mattered because it was about people and I think that’s what made it successful.

6. You acted as Rudy Huxtable for eight years and so practically grew up with the cast, were you all as close as you were onscreen, offscreen?

Keisha: Definitely! It really did feel like a family

7. Olivia Kendall who was played by Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman joined the cast in 1989, back then, did you feel like she stole any of your limelight of being the ‘baby’ of the family?

Keisha: No not all. There’s only one Rudy and she can’t be replaced. I mean it was nice to be able to grow up a little because I had played the baby for so long, when Olivia came along I was allowed to finally wear dangly earrings and be a little more my age so that was cool.

8. What was it like working with Bill Cosby?

Keisha: It was a pleasure to work with him and to have such a solid foundation from the beginning and to learn from such a master, and he was just wonderful to work with.

1. Are you still in touch with members of the show?

Keisha: Pretty much yeah, I mean Tempestt and Malcom who played Vanessa and Theo we keep in touch a little more, but yeah.

2. Who was your favourite Cosby Show character? Why?

Keisha: I don’t know if I had a favourite Cosby Show character. I know I loved it when Dizzy Gillespie came on because I remember just being awe struck by his cheeks!

3. There’s a whole host of family sitcoms that have followed in the Cosby Show’s path such as Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and My Wife and Kids. What do you think sets the Cosby Show aside from these?

Keisha: I think it’s because we were the first, we were the trailblazers so that in itself. Being the trendsetters is what sets us apart.

4. Who is your favourite child actor/ actress of all time?

Keisha: Child actor of all time, I don’t know I’d have to think about it I mean there are so many wonderful ones like Dakota Fanning (Man on Fire, War of Worlds, Simple Life of Bees) that come to my mind but there’s not one in particular.

5. Do you think that you’ll ever be able to shake the image of the cute and adorable Rudy Huxtable?

Keisha: Well I don’t aim to shake the image, I mean it was a wonderful role that I played and it was able to bring so much joy to so many generations of people and that was my foundations and where I started and now I’m just continuing to build on that

6. What has life since the Cosby Show been like?

Keisha: Life’s been great, I mean I took time off, I went to school and then I started acting again, and that’s what I’m doing now, and I’m just enjoying every day that I’m blessed with.

7. You were in Chingy’s ‘One Call Away’ video in 2004, how did this opportunity come about? Why did you decide to do this?

Keisha: It was actually kind of crazy, my brother works with DTP who Chingy was with at the time, Disturbing The Peace and they were like we really want you for the video and being that we all knew each other, I listened to the song and I loved the concept and I thought it would be a good reintroduction of me to the world you know to see me as I am now, well was then.

8. You’re currently starring in Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, what exactly is the sitcom about and what is your role?

Keisha: It’s about an extended family and the daily trials and tribulations they go through, and you know the funny things that happen. I actually play Miranda who is married to the son and we just got married in the show, so this season we are very much exploring our newly wed kind of stuff.

9. You’re set to play a heroine addicted prostitute in Tyler Perry’s feature film, ‘Maeda goes to Jail’, how did this very different role come about?

Keisha: I had done a couple episodes of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and Tyler called me and said he was writing a script and that he had me in mind for a specific role. It was for the role of the district attorney, you know a very put together, studious type of role and when he was telling me about the breakdown of the film I was Tyler I really want to play the other role. I told him, ‘I feel like I’m up for the challenge and I think it would be great to do something out of the norm from what people would expect and I really believe in myself’ and he was like ‘I believe in you too let’s do it’.

10. You’re also launching your own production company, Pullpenn Productions, what’s the story behind it and what can people expect?

Keisha: It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, a couple of years ago I produced a television movie special that I starred in also, and I went to school for directing and producing and you know the whole behind the scenes is very much one of my passions in life and so it’s something I’ve always planned on doing and I guess now is the time. Pullpenn is a combination of my partners surname, Penn and mine Pulliam. We started it last year, and we’re working on a couple of projects. Our website Pullpenn.com should be up within the next month or two. We have web shows that are coming, in addition to some shows that we’re working with for network television, so we’re doing a couple of different things, just making interesting, good, entertaining television.

11. What else can we expect from you in the future?

Keisha: Just to continue working hard, doing great work and enjoying what I do.

The Cosby Show Season 4 is available to own on DVD from the 2nd February, courtesy of Universal Playback, www.universal-playback.com

Sunship & Jhelisa Friendly Pressure (Into The Sunshine Mix)

Just a little tribute to my brother Alan who thanks to the fact that he was born four years before me and so was hitting the raves (well) before me was able to introduce me to some real old skool garage. Enjoy x x x

JBs Bar and Restaurant Review

So as promised here is a bar review I carried out on behalf of Flavour magazine. It was great going along and being treated to sample some of the cocktails on the menu free of charge and then being shown around the hotel, which might I add has some beautiful rooms for hire which are nicer than many a one bedroom flat in London.

You can also read this review at http://www.flavourmag.co.uk/ and make sure you check out the new Trend Setters issue, especially pages 9, 14, 32 and 33 because a really great writer carried out some great interviews ;o)

The Review

True to form, the English weather was biting cold and it was only a matter of time before a helping of icy cold rain would be added to the equation. At this point I didn’t want to be anywhere other than the four walls of my home let alone a bar in Victoria.

After questioning where exactly the entrance was (this can’t be a good thing), I entered the lobby of the Park Plaza Hotel through the rotating doors walking into what felt like the Plaza Hotel from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Beautifully dressed for Christmas, the hotel lobby was spacious, boasted high ceilings, a unique sky light and walls adorned with modern, thought provoking artworks.

Feeling underdressed amongst the business men and women that wandered across the lobby I took a seat by the bar which I could only assume was JBs due a lack of appropriate signage. I spent the following hour taking in my surroundings whilst catching up with my best-friend and sipping on a selection of tasty cocktails from the extensive bar menu.

Quite possibly Victoria’s best kept secret, JBs offered more than what I needed to get away from the miserable weather outside; warmth, comfort and affordable cocktails! What more can you ask of a bar during the peak of winter?

Birdie Roth feat Madixxx - Mon£y (Produced by. VersA Beatz)

I just wanted to put this video up as a BIG thank you to Mr. VerSA Beatz for shouting me out on his video!

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for future information on this young and talented producer with ambitious heights. He's BIG by any standards

Flavour Magazine Contributer

As part of my journey towards striving for a life less ordinary, I recently begun contributing towards Flavour Magazine. A bit too late for a front cover position on the 'Young & Ambitious Issue' (which is just too fitting for my blogspot for words to describe) unfortunately which was instead filled by Aml Ameen and Karen David. Maybe next time hey ;o)

As and when I write things for the magazine I will also be putting the reviews and interviews up on here, and providing links to the magazine's online version. Coming real soon ... Interviews with Vanessa and Angela Simmons about their new fashion brand 'Pastry' and UK Bassline Godfathers Delinquent and JBs Bar and Restaurant review ....

Flashdance

I love watching films, which is one of the reasons I love the fact that I’m on Orange, so I can abuse my Orange Wednesdays. Good times. Year in, year out I find that Christmas provides me with the perfect excuse to sit back and watch more films than usual until my heart is content. And so, those that are close to me will know that it is not unheard of for me to have DVDs on my Christmas wishlist. ‘Flashdance’ was one of these such DVDs and despite the fact that I continually hinted (outright said) that I wanted it, I didn’t unwrap it on Christmas Day. Guy’s, seriously? It’s only £5.99 on Play.com and that’s the Special Edition disc! I’m far from ungreatful, I mean I loved the gifts I got, but the fact of the matter is that I’ve really been wanting to see this film for a while now, and so I decided to order it for myself and become more acquainted with one of the ‘film classics’ of the world.

“What a feeling, bein's believin'

I can't have it all, now I'm dancin' for my life

Take your passion, and make it happen

Pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life”

Irene Cara – Flashdance – What a Feeling

After watching the film, I couldn’t help but realise some great similarities to another film I’ve seen. A young lady living a life of hardship, the decision to combine modern day music with the sounds of authentic classical ballet music in her college entry audition and the originality behind the idea of merging dance moves from other dance specialism’s in her routine, are you seeing the same connection as me?

Not yet?

Well exchange the neatly shaped, straightened and gelled down hairstyles, baggy jeans, North Face winter jackets and leather boots typical of a modern day American teenager with the big, bouncy, often curly and sprayed into place hairstyles, legwarmers, shoulder pads and high waisted light denim Levi’s (you know the ones!) reminiscent of a decade gone by and there you have it. ‘Flashdance’ is the 80s equivalent of today’s ‘Save The Last Dance’ with more adult themes, but once you look past the 80s female bar dancer storyline the gist is the same. Strive for what you love...




The film follows the story of 18-year-old Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) who questions her ability to realise her dreams of attending the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance, whilst working as a welder by day in order to pay the bills and save enough money to pursue her dreams, Alex also dances at a local bar by night. Being everyone’s agony aunt and best friend, along the way Alex also manages to find love, in the form of older man, and boss Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri), and be invited to audition at the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance.

Ok, ok so a pretty typical only happens in the movies small time girl makes her dreams a reality whilst falling in love along the way storyline. But taken for what it is, a feel good movie (which I am very pro), and coupled with a high octane 80s soundtrack, and some dance scenes which (sadly) made me realise just how inflexible I really am, in the least the film made for some good viewing, made me want to visit the gym asap and had me trying to rein act one or two of the dance moves afterwards.

Is Image Everything?

Ok. Ok. On second thoughts, maybe the crowd might not have been as impressed by Pink's amazing performance if she was in her gym get-up. Maybe image really is everything? Definitely a topic to address in further detail ... stay posted

A date with P!nk @ Cafe de Paris

A fan since Pink’s RnB induced debut album ‘Cant Take Me Home’ back in 2000, her risqué leap to the often comic, sometimes defiant and cleverly written pop rock that she is known for today, surprisingly only managed to captivate me further, placing the 29-year-old on an untouchable pedestal all of her very own. After all how many other artists have the proven ability to smoothly and successfully transition across two hugely different music genres, appealing to fans of both cultures and selling out albums worldwide along the way?

Thanks to one of my nearest and dearest winning tickets on Kiss 100 (yes it would appear that people do actually win these competitions) I was presented with the opportunity to see if the cd’s, music videos and television performances across the years had justly portrayed Pink’s insane talent. The intimate affair was set to take place at Café de Paris and I was overwhelmed with excitement and confident that my high expectations would be met.

And that they were. To put it plainly Pink’s talent was ridiculous. Walking on stage in a dress adorned with Queen Elizabeth’s face and wearing funkdified black four inch ‘Union Jack’ boots, she was clearly out to please her crowd, whom although were appreciative of her efforts, I’m sure would have loved her performance as much if she was in her gym clothes. No? Just me? Ok then …

Opening her forty-five minute set with ‘Who Knew’ my first thought was that the materials I had used to form my opinion of Pink gave her little justice. Her voice was flawless and she made jumping around, let alone walking in high heels look effortless. Moving around the stage like a true rock chick as she sang high energy tracks such as ‘So What’, her first number 1 to date, and the new album entitled track ‘Funhouse’, her charisma emanated throughout the room and her energy was mirrored in the hundreds of fans lucky enough to have in their possession a valid entry ticket as they nodded their heads, sang along to the lyrics and shouted words of adoration in her direction.

From taking the time to interact with and answer questions from the audience, to assisting herself on an acoustic guitar as she sang ‘I Don’t Believe You’, and performing unique renditions of ‘Killing Me Softly’ by the Fugees and Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Think Me Crazy’ the set was a mix and blend of highlight after highlight. However maybe due to it’s time specificity there was one moment that particularly sent my emotions whirling from hope to awe and yet at the same time hurt and disgust – the ‘Dear Mr President’ introduction and performance.

Performing just hours before such a controversial presidential election, the topic was bound to come up. Showing a clear preference for Obama to win, introducing the track described as her open letter to George. W. Bush by saying ‘this will be the last time I can sing this song because our next president will be African and everything will be different’ Pink began to sing the heart rendering lyrics that personify the pain and suffering endured by many whilst under Bush’s reign. Captivated by contemplation the mood in the venue had taken a 180 degree turn from fun loving to mellow yet it only took a slight, comical remix of the lyrics at the end of the track to snap everyone back – ‘Dear Mr. President soon you won’t be able to take a walk with me. Thank God’.

I found myself almost waiting for Pink’s voice to falter, but instead she attacked every note harmoniously, in her own rock chick kind of way of course from start to finish. Left wanting more but realising they’d gotten more than their fair share, the crowd slowly dispersed from the edge of the stage to order a drink from the evil clown bartenders, grab a balloon from the mar de gras stilt walkers and get some candyfloss on the way out of the Funhouse.

All in all the night was definitely worth the £60 parking ticket I was greeted with when I got back to my parked car – long story.

(Review written November 3rd 2008)

Wicked! Review

New to the theatre scene and sceptical about a show about witches and wizardry, Wicked! was admittedly not my first choice of theatre production to go and see. However hearing nothing but positive reviews and having spent the past seven months walking past the Apollo Theatre on my way to and from work, I decided it was time to finally get myself an informed opinion.

Yet another example of why you should never, never ever judge a book by it’s cover. The show was quite simply and fantastically, Wicked!

From start to finish it felt as though I had been transported from a cold, wet and windy October evening in London, Victoria, to the fairytale world of characters such as 'Elphaba' the ‘Wicked Witch’ and ‘Glinda’ the ‘Good Witch’ whom live in the fantasy lands of Munchkin and Oz.

An aesthetically stunning set combined with an amazing cast who could both sing and dance like your favourite characters from a Disney film, Wicked! told the originally imaginative story of the witches of Oz and how one came to be called ‘good’ and the other ‘wicked’. Riddled with morals and showing that baddies aren’t simply born wicked, the story linked magically with the ‘The Wizard of Oz’, yet the production managed to change my entire take on the family classic I have loved since my childhood.

Definitely not one to miss, I left the theatre and journeyed home humming the shows most memorable song ‘Defying Gravity’ all the way. Why not take your journey to a world otherwise untold.

"A new year and time to act"

…….. And with that comes some web presence. Yes, finally it has arrived and you no longer have to click on the link I have been promoting for weeks on end and be greeted by ‘Ambitious Heights coming soon’. Oh no my future subscribers, once in a while visitors, and those of you who just randomly landed on my page (providing a perfect example of serendipity?), my official blogspot is here. I have always loved expressing the way that I feel about different matters in writing and so being that way inclined, I thought it was about time that I began sharing my passion with others.

What can you expect from my blogspot? A whole range of things really, from my random thoughts on an array of topics, to film reviews, theatre reviews, song reviews, gig reviews, exclusive interviews, pictures, and videos. So come join me as I ‘strive for a life less ordinary’ …