ISSUE 16

L’ARTL PublicationsD

Be Creative

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Hi all and welcome to the sixteenth issue of L’ART; the UK Black History Month issue. As we are now in October, it’s time to start thinking about making that change from SS fashion to AW. The British summer weather is well and truly over and for all those that prefer their AW wardrobe to the more reveal-ing summer collections, you’ve got lots of bright colours, prints and structures to work with this year. One retailer that you can look to for inspira-tion is MYO Fashion. We recently attended their collection launch a few months ago and if you saw our L’ART TV teaser, the wait is now over. We caught up with Naz who has given us a great insight into the world of MYO Fashion and what goes on behind the scenes. For another fashion fix, we’ve got Siaka Stevens who has created Born2Ball cloth-

Editor’s

ing. This newly started business caters for women, men and children, plus he’s pretty partial to a bit of DJing and event planning! With all those skills and a creative mind, you’ll not want to miss what Siaka Stevens is going to do next. October also marks the month that all com-edy lovers have been waiting for, as Kojo’s Comedy Funhouse is finally here! Alongside Jade Avia, Kojo will be hosting at the Hack-ney Empire and bringing you a night of guar-anteed laughs and lots of interactive games for everyone to get involved with. Plus, it’s not just comedy that he has been working hard on. Look out for his future projects that also include his very own reality show! Enjoy all this and more.

Daniella & Letisha

Letter

4 D&L Style

6 Kojo’s Comedy Funhouse

16 MYO Fashion

23 Cori Sims

29 Born2Ball Clothing

36 Jessica’s Jewels

ASO

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D&L

Mango, £39.99

Style

KOJO’S C O M E D Y F U N H O U S E

Saturday October 12th is a big day for comedy

fans, as Kojo and Jade Avia take to the stage of

Hackney Empire to present you with Kojo’s Com-

edy Funhouse.

With a spectacular line-up in place and special

music guests making an appearance, this is set to

be one of the best UK comedy shows you have ever

seen.

Join us as we catch up with Kojo ahead of his Hack-

ney Empire date, plus you’ll be hugely interested

in other TV and film projects he has planned.

“We’ve done a couple (Comedy Funhouse shows)

in the past at a lot smaller venues to see how the

actual show works and it’s been going really well,”

said Kojo. “I thought I’d bring that type of show to

Hackney Empire because I find that especially in

an urban comedy circuit, it’s a lot of repetitive stuff

in terms of the same comedians just coming into

theatres and performing stand up. So what we’ve

done now is make it into more of an interactive

show throughout. There’s a little bit

that person, then they

don’t get one. At the

same time you’re look-

ing for more of the com-

edy side of it rather than

an actual lookalike. It’s

all about it being funny.

They don’t necessarily

have to be an amazing

lookalike. It’s about be-

ing creative and being

interactive.

“I think finding funny

can come from anybody,

so that’s what I hope to

show throughout the

show.” Most of all, Kojo

is looking forward to

showcasing new tal-

ent. There is a variety

of actors and comedians

joining him this time

round, including some

of stand up, but not that

much and it’s more com-

edy games, so the audi-

ence will be able to be

a part of the show a little

bit more than usual. We

plan all the games that

we’re going to do and

then we put it onto the

stage and see how eve-

ryone reacts.

“I won’t reveal all of it

but one of the games is

called Celebrity Audi-

ence where both teams

go into the audience

and they find people

who they think look like

celebrities. If they find

a really decent looka-

like they get a point and

if they find somebody

that doesn’t look like

YouTube sensations and

Misha B, who will be on

one of the teams as well

as performing a set.

Plus, if you’re a fan of

the working relation-

ship between Kojo and

Jade, you’ll be pleased

to know that they will

also be getting involved

with games on the night.

“Jade’s not a stand-up

comedian but when it

comes to the games she

really goes in. She’s

quite quick and that’s

why I like bringing her

and letting people see

her live. It’s very rare to

find a female that fe-

males like. She’s a big

hit with the girls.

“I think the highlights of

the show will be people

“It’s very rare to find a

female that

females like.”

like Jazzy. He’s really

one of the strong char-

acters; he’s from the

movie Anuvahood and

he’s got a lot of stuff on

YouTube. He’s got a big

energy and he’s very

funny live. Another per-

son, who might possibly

be the most controver-

sial and says whatever

he thinks, is Poet. When

it comes to the live

show he’s the awkward

one. Normally what he’s

thinking is what every-

one else is thinking, but

they don’t want to say it.

They’re the two that will

bring a lot of the noise

and a lot of the laughs.”

As we concluded on the

subject of The Comedy

Funhouse, we wanted to

turn the focus on Kojo

himself and the man be-

hind the comedy.

“I think I’m more myself

when I’m doing spe-

cials like my one-man

shows, because there is

no urgency. Sometimes

when you do the come-

dy shows it’s more about

the jokes rather than let-

ting people know about

you. When you come to

my show, that’s really all

me. Where I’m at in my

career now, I inject a lot

of my personal experi-

ences; acting, radio and

planning tours.”

Now, Kojo is furthering

his career even

more as he is currently

working on a reality

show.

“Me and my agent were

talking about a concept

to allow people to know

more about me and see

exactly what my life

contains on a day-to-day

basis.

“I move around a lot in

totally different realms of

entertainment and I’ve

got two sisters who I look

after, so it’s how I share

my relationship with

them. My auntie raised

me and it’s how my rela-

tionship is with her, genu-

ine day-to-day stuff and a

lot of my friends who are

really hilarious as well.”

The reality show will be

called Life & Laughs and it

will document his events,

appearances, mentoring

sessions and of course,

a lot of laughs. Inspira-

tion came from his recent

trip to Jamaica where he

documented his trip with

Instagram videos.

“A show like this will

show people what I ac-

tually do, because a lot

goes into doing a show

at Hackney Empire and a

tour. It’s not all easy.”

So if you’re already drawn

in by the life that Kojo

leads, look out for its

YouTube debut in Decem-

ber. “Christmas Day is a

good day where everyone

is chilling at home. Not

everyone likes Eastend-

ers so it can be something

else for people to watch.”

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KEVIN HART

Whilst on the subject

of future projects, Kojo

also revealed his close

relationships with some

famous faces. “Someone

that I really like is Michael

McIntyre. To go on a tour

with him would be very

interesting. The moment I

met him we’ve been real-

ly cool friends, so to go on

the road with him would

not only wind in my audi-

ence but it would also be

good to have a laugh with

him.

“I’ve known Kevin (Hart)

for 11 years. When I used

to do my comedy club at

Cork’s wine bar, he was

one of the people that

we brought out years

ago. We’ve always had

that solid friendship and

he understands it, which

is why I respect him so

much. He did Brixton

Academy and the In-

digO2; he built all of that

up so he deserves to be

where he is at now. He

inspires me a lot.

“I’m planning a big thea-

tre tour next year, a new

DVD, a film called It’s A

Lot - which comes out on

October 25th - then I’ll

be shooting a new movie

called Money & Grime,

which has Angel, Adam

Deacon, Idris Elba and

Scorcher in it. It’s the

story of grime music that

hasn’t been told yet. It’s

really powerful.”

And in true Kojo style,

he left us with some wise

words to get you think-

ing... “The bigger and

broader you become, the

wider you become. Peo-

ple are coming to see

me for different reasons;

that’s why I try to step

away from stand-up and

focus more on acting and

vice versa. I don’t take

anything for granted. If I

can continue one of those

other projects for as long

as people want to book

me for, then it will be a

blessing. All of these

things that I’m learning

allow Kojo to grow.”

“All of these

things that I’m learning

allow Kojo to grow.”

Image Source: Kojo

With a name that’s different, sticks in your head and re-

mains individual, MYO Fashion car-ry these traits in their name as well as in their clothing.

The Make Your Own (MYO) fash-ion brand pride themselves on hav-ing affordable fashion on offer and with the help of technology, a gener-ated system and a few fashion choice words, their name remains one of the edgiest out there.

With a background of family mem-bers working in the ‘rag trade’, fash-ion, retail and wholesale business remains in these lady’s blood. After all, who doesn’t want to be in pos-session of fashionable but affordable wear? Plus MYO is easily accessible online and season friendly.

Did you know MYO have also part

nered up with Dins Noise Jewellery? With a line specifically designed for MYO catering to their customers, the items work extremely well with MYO pieces to further compli-ment their line.

Popular MYO pieces to-day are the Cartoon Print dress, which sold to hun-dreds, including a US and global audience. These in-clude Africa and the Mid-dle East. With customers originally stemming from friends, family and work colleagues, their audience continues to snowball.

Another best seller also in-cludes the £5 dress, which also featured in LOOK

magazine. “Some things work and somethings don’t... always surprised at which lines make the best sellers,” said founder Naz.

“Popular Dins Noise jewellery is also currently being sold on the MYO site and includes the signature piece, The Hand of Fatima. The range features sterling silver, gold plated and real leather items selling at some very special prices.” You can shop more from Dins Noise on the MYO website.

Have you spotted any celebs in MYO wear? The line continues to be a favour-ite with former Sugababe Amelle Berra-bah in particular, as she loves the edgy aspect, it’s access and the fact that trends are brought right from the catwalk and to the table.

Would you believe behind the scenes, team MYO are made up of great minds in IT, local government, accounts and data analysts? With a long term goal to hit the high street with a chain, these skills all certainly come in handy for planning their next big event.

With a plan to have a possible eight

labels featured on the night, the follow up to the summer’s launch is set to be yet another great experience. With great feedback and photographers and prodution companies already on board, the bar has definitely been set very high for an end of year celebration to remember.

Keep those eyes peeled for event updates, plus visit MYO on-line here (www.myofashion.co.uk).@Myofashion

Look out for chequer, black

and white domino inspired

looks next season.

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Introducing himself as a ‘crazy, wild, fun per-son to be around’, singer and actor Cori Sims

is ready to share his ‘wild, energetic spirit’ with the world on screen and in music.

Having recently celebrated his new video re-lease with his audience, ‘Startin Something’ has seen more than 2,000 views since its debut, but that’s not all Cori’s been busy celebrating these past few weeks.

“The TLC movie… I’ve been working with this movie for like a year until it got picked up,’ Cori explained. “My assistant hit me up & said there was another casting call. I then got a phone call & the rest was history.”

With this acting break coming in the form of an appearance on television network VH1, the journey to being involved with the biopic docu-menting and exploring the career of one of to-day’s most celebrated girl groups has been a great experience for the young artist.

“My role was the main skater & a typical day was long hours 6:00 a.m to sun down.

“Expect the movie to be full of excitement & fun from the legendary hits of the biggest girl

Cori Sims

group ever. It’s a must see movie.”

With his ‘Startin Something’ video shoot taking place and being pro-duced by the A-Teem and organ-ised by SongwriterTc, ‘one of the biggest songwriters’ out there, the shoot is just the start of what is set to be a great follow up to Cori’s video release, as he prepares for a US tour.

Showing nothing but ‘new and fresh’ vibes, with his self described r&b pop/rock style, Cori expressed his love for newness and an even bigger love for travelling, experi-encing different places and meet-ing us UK citizens because of our ‘beautiful accents’!

Although this tour currently sees him hit 10 cities around the major states next January, we look for-ward to the day our accents can be shared with Cori in a stadium crowd.

Ticket holders can look forward to a live, dance filled performance with ‘good music and a sexy set!’.

“What I’m looking forward to the most is bringing back good music.

Being a real artist that is able to keep it real no matter what.” Cori said of his music career.

And the acting? Bigger movie roles are on the agenda, but for now, the TLC biopic, its reception and the lessons and experience gained dur-ing this experience remain high on his list of 2013 achievements for what he labels “a must see movie.”

“‘Red Light Special’ is my favour-ite song. T-Boz is my favourite member due to her unique voice.

“My main goals are to take my music & music of this industry to the next level. I want people to say when they see me that I’m a breath of fresh air. I have a new deal on the table, so I cant say much about an album. But I can say I have some dope singles out & coming out, so stay tuned.”

Twitter: @IamCorisims IG: @Corisims Travis Looney Management: 404-957-7250

Image Source: ryanseacrest.com & Kia Danae

Siaka Stevens loves being creative. It is with this passion and an interest in fashion that he created his own fashion line.Born2Ball clothing is a product of what Siaka himself is all about. The brand represents fashion, music and sport and there is inspiration behind every piece.

Discover where Siaka draws his design ideas from, collections for the new season, who inspires him musically and one very unexpected fact that not many people know about him...

BORN2BALLCLO THING

SIAKA STEVENS

would like as many people to envisage the thought of them wearing something from my line. This all comes down to the core message behind the brand; inspiring as many peo-ple as possible. If my clothing items were too niche I would lose a huge chunk of potential customers.

What new things can we expect to see from you in the next season?

Well I am launching the kids range in the next few weeks. In terms of the main line, only a few additions, but nothing major, as my brand is still in its infancy and has not been seen by the masses yet!

We see that you are also very much into your mu-sic and DJing. How has music had an influence on your collection?

I love music, all different types and genres. The whole Born-2Ball idea and brand devel-oped from one of my most suc-cessful events - Ballin’ Parties. I actually have an ‘inspired by music’ collection, which I will be releasing next season.

What inspired you to cre-ate Born2Ball clothing line?

Well, the Born2Ball clothing line is just an extension or a sub brand of the Born2Ball brand itself. One of the main aims of the brand is to inspire people and get the message across that we are all capable of achieving our dreams and goals if we believe and work hard. One of the best ways to do this was visually through clothing, so it made sense.

Where do you get your ideas from for your de-signs?

My head. I am a very creative person. I get inspiration from things I see every day, on so-cial media and the internet.

What kind of person do you envision wearing and representing the Born-2Ball clothing?

Anyone. the brand is a casual clothing brand with a slight urban-ish edge accessible to all. That’s why I have not tried to make it too trendy or ret-ro like some other brands. I

“One of the main aims of the brand is to inspire

people.”

How would you describe your own personal style when it comes to fashion?

Just cool; nothing too daring or over the top. I am a casual dresser but I can also dress very smart if needed. Normally it’s just converse jeans and a sweater from me!

Which are some of your favourite retail brands you like to wear?

I wear a lot of my own stuff but I do like DSquared2, Alexander McQueen, Orlebar Brown and Lanvin.

When you’re not busy with your clothing line, how do you like to spend your time?

I have other businesses that I am involved in, my DJing, night-club promotion, on my Playstation and with my family, who I love very dearly.

Name one thing about yourself that your followers may not know.

My late grandfather, Dr Siaka Probyn Stevens, was the first president of The Republic of Sierra Leone.

Shop online at born2ball.co.uk

Who are your favourite music artists at the moment and why?

I don’t really have a favourite as such. I just like music period, appreciate lyrical content and the way songs are produced.

I have been rinsing Jay-Z’s latest album; one of the best albums I have heard from him or any other artist period.

Image Source: B

orn2Ball C

lothing

Jessica Allen is here to take your Christmas

orders and more for all those special, personal-ised gifts you require and of course they all include that one special some-thing...

Read on to discover what gave Jessica the push to start her own business, her best sellers that will get you stopped in the street, what links her and tie dye, plus find out what customised items you can get your hands on.

WORD ON THE STREET

Jessica’s Jewels

“I started Jessica’s Jewels in October 2012 after my sisters asked me to customise some shoes for my nieces. Having four nieces all under the age of seven makes for perfect cus-tomer research, as they all love sparkle and pink, so I loved hearing what they liked and how the items faired with the rough and tumble of a range of ages.

“The first time a few of the girls wore them out they were stopped and asked where they had got their Converse from. I still get stopped now as I love to wear my items.

“I have collaborated with a friend who is a dab hand at tie dyeing and the results of the Converse with multi coloured dying and crystal toes have been amazing! Every pair is made to be completely unique, which I love!

“I can customise most things; clothing, footwear, hats, glass

wear and headphones to name a few. The possibilities are endless.

“My most popular items have been the customised sandals throughout the summer and customised Converse.

“My favourite items are my Converse Crystal toe key rings. They are just so cute and have loads of uses. For example affordable gifts for friends & family, school bag charms and even as rear view mirror dangles for the car! I have them everywhere and still love customising them.

“I sell crystal remembrance poppies, which I make no profit from. All profits go to the poppy appeal & these are out in November. Christmas is a very busy period too; I have hand customised Christ-mas stockings. These were by far my most popular item last Christmas and I really enjoy making these.

“As a business I like to think I work to the customers needs only, not my own. I provide the best quality products I can and I only use Swarovski crystals to create the ultimate sparkle.

“My promise to every sin-gle customer I have had and will have is that I really am so very grateful for your continued support & I am al-ways happy to help with any queries you may have and will try my best to fulfil any ideas you may have to make your item individual to your-selves. I love doing this & love seeing happy custom-ers!”

Get those Christmas orders ready and your poppies ready in time for Rememberance day, by staying connected with Jessica’s Jewels online.FB: /jessicasjewelsja Email: jessicasjewelsja@hotmail.co.ukTwitter: @Jessicasjewels1

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“I sell crystal

remembrance poppies...all profits go to

the poppyappeal.”

Founder, Writer & Designer - Daniella Jones-Ellis

Founder, Writer & Designer - Letisha Jones-Ellis