At their I/O conference in San Francisco today, Google announced their fashionably late entrance into the on demand music subscription service market with the launch of “Google Play Music All Access”. Starting today, users can sign up for 7.99/month until June 30th and afterwards for $9.99/month with a 30 day free trial. Targeting Direct competitors Spotify and Pandora, Google Play All Access will be available for web and mobile devices, giving users access to millions of songs, and the flexibility to create stations easily, switch songs, curate playlists, and organize their libraries with ease. It will also feature recommended music based on your library as well as Google Editors. With a streaming service being an obvious hole in Android’s portfolio and Spotify currently dominating the landscape, Google’s entry was necessary in the highly competitive phone market. We are curious as to what they will suggest for our workout mix.

- Stay Fly!

Written by: Ian Freeman

The lyrics are pretty touching and the vocals are pretty strong, We’re into it. Peep her ode to pain, heartache and betrayal below!

-Stay Fly!

SFPL recently with sat down with Alonzo Davis, the creator of JustBeenTested.com. JBT was created designed to encourage like-minded people to get tested for sexual transmitted infections and interact with others that aim to be sexually responsible.

Read the more after the jump!

When you whip out the HTC One, prepare for a lot of oohs and double takes as one glance of the new handset leaves no doubt that aesthetics was a major point of emphasis. Virtually all screen, the phone is flat, sleek and extremely thin with edges measuring a mere 4milimeters that would make a supermodel jealous. Its Gorilla Glass 4.7 inch 1080p Super LCD display delivers more pixels per square inch, giving you a great viewing experience without the size of phablets like Samsung’s Note.

But the eye-catcher is the HTC One’s body. Available in silver or black, the one of a kind curved aluminum unibody zero-gap design gives it a sturdy feel and comfortable heft in your hand. The design integrates the antenna setup, all components and their new Beats technology onboard amplifier and dual forward facing speakers cloaked by a smooth metallic skin that exudes high-end.

The HTC One addresses the company’s focus on the camera as the handset features new ImageChip 2 hardware, an updated ImageSense system, and a revamped light sensor called the UltraPixel Sensor which the company says can capture up to 300 percent more light than competing units.

After getting our hands on HTC’s One we can agree that when it launches to most major carriers (no Verizon date yet) in late March, it will be the belle of the ball. HTC has also implemented a trade in program that if you pre-register for the phone you can get a $100 trade in credit on the new handset. The 32GB will run 199.99 and the 64GB model will come in at 299.99. But what price can you put on beauty? Trust us this is Fly Technology.

-Stay Fly!

Written by: Ian Freeman

Well, this didn’t end well.

Rob Kardashian actually get’s more attention from his failed relationships than his actual existence. Sorry.  In a cry for help, Rob took his talents to Twitter to rant against British singer and Fly Girl, Rita Ora after she allegedly dumped him.

What did he say you ask?

Although Kris Jenner and her special brand of damage control attempted to erase these tweets, the damage had already been done.  

Shoulda called Olivia …

The funny thing is, I thought they broke up a while ago. *shrugs* Not only is this extremely messy, but what self respecting woman would date Rob now?

Oh. 

Rita nor her camp has yet to comment, and honestly she doesn’t have to. 20 Guys tho? We don’t believe that for one minute. 

#ByeRob

Here’s the part where my ‘American’ comes out… *ahem*  The Royal Family Is Having A BABY!

Today, Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is spending a second day in a central London hospital Tuesday after being admitted with acute morning sickness (yes, she’s preggo).

After spending most of the day at her bedside Monday, her husband, Prince William, arrived this morning to visit her at King Edward VII Hospital. The news that the couple are expecting their first child after 19 months of marriage was announced by the palace Monday as she was admitted for treatment.

Ummmm, Yay?

Back To work …

Till Tomorrow!

-Stay Fly! 

The National Football League is one full of talent, but also tragic untold stories. Athletes face the hardship of trying to make it into the selective league, but it is also a struggle to stay in it. Many football movies show the competitive nature of professional football players but neglect to show the hardship that players face.   Writer, director, and retired football player Matthew A. Cherry has chosen to take a different form with his new film “The Last Fall”. We had the chance to chat with Lance Gross who plays the main character Kyle Bishop who goes through the hardship of facing the end of his football career with no money and practically having to start life over from scratch.

Gross touched on his preparation for Kyle Bishop in speaking to current, retired, and ex pro football players to make the film feel authentic:

“I spoke with every friend that I have in the NFL current and retired. I spent a lot of time talking with the director Matthew Cherry. He wrote the film also and this is based on his life so I picked his brain a lot. One of our other producers Ellis Hobbs who used to play for New England and had a career ending injury and actually made a return to the NFL, and I spent a lot of time talking with him as well. I also stayed in the gym and I packed on a little bit of weight for the role. I just wanted to make sure me bringing this character to life was as authentic as possible. I didn’t want anybody from the NFL to see this film and say that I didn’t do the job. I just wanted to make it authentic so I spent a lot of time talking to as many people as I could.”

“The Last Fall” really gets to the hardships that many players face which the public doesn’t often see. The reality that 78% of all NFL players are bankrupt, divorced, or unemployed two years after retiring from the NFL is a statistic often overlooked. Main character Kyle Bishop faces hardships on choosing between love and his career and Gross speaks on balancing both in his personal life.

“It’s all about what I’m passionate about. I am passionate about work. I am passionate about my love life so it’s just that everything has to be balanced. I am a very structured person so I mean everything falls in line easily for me. That’s the way I designed it. I’ve always done it that way so it’s just second nature to me.”

Yes ladies you heard it right he is currently dating someone, but Lance really seems to know how to balance love and work. That’s a trait not everyone is blessed to have.  Although he is balancing his life unlike the main character, he did find some other similarities between himself and Bishop and passion seems to be the underlining factor.

[On Kyle Bishop] “ He’s a very passionate guy. I’d like to say that “The Last Fall” is a love story. If I have to sum it up as a love story. It’s more than just a football movie. It’s about a man’s love for football and his passion for football. It’s about his love and passion for his family and his high school sweetheart. That’s what the film is about. I feel like I could definitely relate to that because I’m passionate and driven in my career, my love life, and my family also.”

Though they share some similarities, Gross did find the reality of Bishop’s situation hard to face.

“It’s the reality of Kyle’s situation; Just having to return home to a normal life. It’s hard to go from being looked at as a NFL star to just do the normal things like get a regular job. Being an actor in this entertainment industry, I feel it’s really relatable because we go into room s as actors for auditions and we get told no all the time. We never know exactly where our next job is going to come from, but we have to continue to work as hard as we did to get here to remain in this industry. When I first started that was my biggest fear, having to return home to my parents and tell them that his career didn’t work for me so I have to start from scratch so it was definitely relatable for me.”

“The Last Fall” includes other prominent actors and actresses such as Nicole Beharie, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Keith David, and more. If you want to know the real deal with a NFL professional athlete and enjoy a good love story this is definitely the film for you.

The film was released on Friday, October 26^th in Los Angeles at the Rave Theaters Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza 15. Please support the film in hopes of it being available in theatres everywhere. The DVD release date for the film is January 15, 2013.

Interview & Story Written By: LaParis Hawkins

Last night’s debate was expected to be the typical trilogy snooze fest and ended up being a blockbuster finale
worthy of a rap beef. Foreign policy typically being the duller of debate topics (unless at war time) was livened up
by The P.O.T.U.S. and C.I.C. going in on the G.O.V. and Romney yelling out “Who shot ya” at the Pres. Check out
the flyest lines from the debate:

Al Qaeda:
Romney: “I congratulate him on taking out Osama bin Laden and going after the leadership in Al Qaeda, but we
can’t kill our way out of this mess.

Obama: “Gov. Romney, I’m glad that you agreed that we have been successful in going after Al Qaeda, but I have
to tell you that your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map and is not designed to keep
Americans safe or to build on the opportunities that exist in the middle east.”

Israel:
Romney: “Mr. President, the reason I call it an apology tour is because you went to the Middle East, and you flew
to Egypt and to Saudi Arabia and to Turkey and Iraq. And by the way, you skipped Israel, our closest friend in the
region. And by the way, they noticed that you skipped Israel.”

Obama: “When I went to Israel as a candidate, I didn’t take donors. I didn’t attend fundraisers. I went to Yad
Vashem, the Holocaust museum there to remind myself of the nature of evil and why our bond with Israel would
be unbreakable.”

Afghanistan and Iraq:
Romney: “We don’t want another Iraq. We don’t want another Afghanistan. That’s not the right course for us.”

Obama: “You say that you’re not interested in duplicating what happened in Iraq, but just a few weeks ago you
said you think we should have more troops in Iraq right now. You’ve said that first we should not have a timeline in
Afghanistan then you said we should. Now you say maybe or depends, which means not only were you wrong, but
you were also confusing and sending mixed messages both to our troops and our allies.”

Russia:
Romney: “I have clear eyes on this. I’m not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia or Mr. Putin
and I’m certainly not going to say to him, ‘I’ll give you more flexibility after the election.’ After the election, he’ll
get more backbone.”

Obama: “Gov. Romney, I’m glad that you recognize that Al Qaeda is a threat because a few months ago when you
asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia – not Al Qaeda – you said Russia. The
1980s are now calling and asking for their foreign policy back.because, you know, the Cold War’s been over for 20
years.
But Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s,
just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s.

Iran:
Romney: “I would also make sure that their diplomats are treated like the pariahs they are around the world, the
same way we treated the apartheid diplomats of South Africa. We need to increase pressure time and time again
on Iran because anything other than a solution to this which stops this nuclear folly of theirs, is unacceptable to
America. And of course, a military action is the last resort.”

Obama: “A nuclear Iran is a threat to our national security and it’s a threat to Israel ‘s national security. We cannot
afford to have a nuclear arms race in the most volatile region in the world.”

China:
Romney: “I want a great relationship with China. China can be our partner, but that doesn’t mean that they can
just roll all over us and steal our jobs on an unfair basis.”

Obama: “Well Gov. Romney is right, you are familiar with jobs being shipped overseas because you invested in
companies that were shipping jobs overseas.”

Military spending:
Romney: I’m pleased that I’ve balanced budgets. I was on the world of business for 25 years. If you didn’t balance
your budget, you went out of business. I went into the Olympics that was out of balance, and we got it on
balance, and made a success there. I had the chance to be governor of a state. Four years in a row, Democrats and
Republicans came together to balance the budget. We cut taxes 19 times and balanced our budget. The president
hasn’t balanced a budget yet.

“We get to a balanced budget within eight to 10 years. We do it by reducing spending in a whole series of
programs. By the way, number one I get rid of is Obamacare.”

Obama: “You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, governor,
we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed. We have these things
called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have ships going underwater, nuclear submarines. And so
the question is not a game of battleship where we’re counting ships but what our capabilities are.” (Quotable of
the campaign)

On shifting from foreign to domestic policy:
Romney: “The president mentioned the auto industry and that somehow I would be favor of jobs being elsewhere.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a son of Detroit. I was born in Detroit. My dad was head of a car
company. I like American cars. And I would do nothing to hurt the U.S. auto industry.”

Obama: “Governor, you say you want a bigger military. You want a bigger Navy. You don’t want to cut defense
spending. What I want to ask you — we were talking about financial problems in this country. Where are you going
to get the money?”

-Stay Fly!

[Words Via Ian Freeman]

 Step into SFPL‘s Tips for Tonight’s third and final Presidential Debate.

Tonight, President Obama and Governor Romney face off in the last of the scheduled debates of this
2012 Presidential Race before Election Day. And this one has all the lead up and pre-game bravado to
be as much of a letdown as most 3rd installments of trilogies (Return of the Jedi, Terminator Rise of
the Machines, Superman 3, Batman Forever, Blade 3 “wait I actually like that one”). But you get my
point. The debate has taken on the Star Wars formula, you have the first debate “A New Hope” which
Romney came out swinging and Obama looked a little dazed to be back in the political ring. The second,
Obama Strikes back and seemed to have brought his game face. The format was new and adversarial
and gave us some memorable battles and was easily the most entertaining. They even kept bringing up
Romney’s dad the entire pre-debate. I was waiting for the “Romney I am your father moment.” But it
didn’t happen. But, Obama did son him a bit. You even had Candy Crawley play Lando Calrissian and play
triple agent. So now Monday, we have the “Return of the Jedi” (not sure who the Jedi is just yet) and
it is shaping up to be as much of a quagmire as the movie. The third installment of the debate trilogy
focuses on Foreign Policy, which means the American public will be subject to dialogue about a host of
characters, living in far off lands, that most don’t know much about and others don’t care about. But to
help you keep focused on the debate we have prepared your tip sheet for the debate (I wonder if we
can pull a Lucas and merchandise this?)

The Venue:

The debate will be held Monday Night October 22 at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.

Florida is the Kardashian of the Electoral College but to be nice we call her a “swing” state. She has no
allegiance but to herself and whoever seems to be on the upswing and for some reason always seems to
find a way to get more attention. And she will be highly contested again this year, with polls pretty much
calling it dead even. The state became tied to Presidential Political lore during the race of 2000 with the
recount and hanging chad fiascos. The state went Republican 04, Democrat 08, and is up for grabs again
this year.

The Format:

The format will mirror the first debate in Denver. There will be 6 topics each receiving 15
minute segments. The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate

will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for
a discussion of the topic. There will be no opening statements but have a chance to give a 2 minute
closing statement.

So no Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix epic fight scenes in the coliseum like the last debate, this will
have the candidates at a podium speaking. Sounds exciting…

The Topic:

The debate will focus on Foreign policy. Segments will be:

-America’s role in the world (Are we still the biggest bully)
-Our longest war – Afghanistan and Pakistan (the new Vietnams)
-Red Lines – Israel and Iran (real housewives of the middle east)
-The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism – I (Scream 1)
-The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism – II (Scream 2)
-The Rise of China and Tomorrow’s World (Are we ready for lots more rice, morning tai chi sessions and our kids

working at 5 years old?)

The Moderator:

Since Candy Crawley decided to play journalist and not moderator and do something no
other moderator has done before… correct a candidate when he lies, the moderator will be under strict
scrutiny this time. No one wants the truth at these things, we know they are lying. This time the role will
be played by NBC News Correspondent Bob Schieffer. Schieffer has history with President Obama as he
moderated one of the debates with McCain. I wonder if they are going to put a timer on the moderator
so that they are limited to speaking as well.

The Goal: The goals are pretty straight forward for this one. Overall, try to keep American’s vaguely
interested enough to care about foreign policy by scaring them about the imminent attacks by China,
and The Middle East.

In an area where the campaign had to feel they had an advantage a couple weeks ago, Obama will have
his hands full defending his administration’s handling of the attack on the US Consulate in Libya as well
as the strained relations in the Middle East. Hilary has all but closed the door on her running for office
in 2016 with that falling on the sword routine for Libya, so Bill and Hilary have a lot riding on this too. If
Obama wins… all is forgiven. If not…

Romney has no foreign relations experience aside from his investments in China, so he needs to
convince voters that he can improve America’s relations with the world and has better ideas to bring
to the table. With the world looking like the last chapter of the Bible, that might not be as hard as it
sounds. But Romney’s biggest challenge will be to look like he can be the Commander in Chief. Obama
has his HNIC card with the killing of Bin Laden. Romney is going to have to pull a Janet Jackson and start
singing “What have you done for me lately.”

-Stay Fly!

[Words Via Ian Freeman]

He says, “My style is high-end mixed with vintage. I love goodwill  but I’ll still grab pieces from Barneys, Neiman Marcus or Mar Jacobs.”

“As far as designers I rock with Tommy Hilfiger, Rick Owens, Givenchy, Jeremy Scott, Ferragamo and many other UK designers. I’m also inspired by Michael rocks, the music master mind Pharrell, Asap Ferg, Asap Rocky, Hassani and my street team the cartel commission aka rebel cartel.”

“Fashion is life and I live it daily.  It has its own slang and atmosphere. It’s a way of life and speaks in so many ways.”

“My name is Travis Mayes and I am the last dime bread of this fly fashion era.”

Connect with Fly Guy Travis Mayes:

Facebook:  Travis Alex Mayes 

Twitter: @_AllamericanT 

Instagram: @americanbambino

-Fly Girl LaParis

Gold usually glistens your neck, wrist, ears, and now your nails. OPI’s Limited Edition James Bond 18karat gold leaf polish is adding a new flare to the nail art. Released in August in celebration of the latest Bond film “Skyfall” the shade “The Man with the Golden Gun” has been nearly flying off the shelves.

The Polish  acts as a top coat. Apply a base color of your choice and let it dry. Then ad the 18K gold leaf top coat for the pop. Ladies its a cute simple twist that you can do on your own in between salon visits, not to mention that the golden flakes will definitely draw attention. At $38 a bottle treat your hands to a little luxury. After all they deserve it!  I tried it and loved it!! FLY GIRL APPROVED!

Are Reality Shows The New Sitcoms?

Remember the times when television was easy?

A rerun of The Cosby Show, a new episode of Moesha and, if you weren’t too sleepy, you’d catch the soul sessions of Midnight Love. (Well, ML wasn’t a sitcom but it was close to our hearts.)

Well – wake up! It’s a brand new decade and television is vicious, backstabbing and ruthless. And that’s just the good stuff, according to the new generation.

What happened to the safe, moral-driven sitcom? It’s just not cool anymore. With real life being more prevalent than ever, American viewers have expressed by viewership that they’d rather watch a reality show with real characters who are going through a lot of scripted drama.

And to add insult to injury, most reality shows are developed to create a platform for reemerging actors, singers and catapult nobodies into somebodies. It’s a scheme for quick fame verses an attempt to bring valuable entertainment into the homes of
millions of Americans.

Will reality replace the beloved sitcom? We don’t see it happening but it’s not too far off from the looks of the TV Guide. If networks can beef up our interest levels with both entertaining and relevant sitcoms while providing the newer reality, both may have a place in our living rooms – equally.

Now to pose the core question: Are reality shows the new sitcom? Um…doubtful. Although they’ve taken over our evening screens, they serve their amusement purposes but there are many sitcoms holding down the fort. Among them are the Emmy winning shows Modern Family, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, 30 Rock and For Better or Worse.

For your pleasure, we at SFPL have listed the top running Black sitcoms of all time:

1. Tyler Perry’s House of Payne (254 episodes)

2. The Jeffersons (253 episodes)

3. Family Matters (215 episodes)

4. The Cosby Show (201 episodes)

5. Diff’rent Strokes (189 episodes)

6. Girlfriends (172 episodes)

7. Benson (158 episodes)

8. Webster (150 episodes)

-Stay Fly!

[Written By, Fly Guy,  Joshua King]

It’s only been four days since Tamia released her fifth studio album, “Beautiful Surprise” and she’s
already on the promotional trail blessing fans with her magnetic voice and graceful presence. The R&B
songstress vocally caressed an audience of about 200 Wednesday night with “Conversations with Tamia”
presented by WAMJ 107.5 at Taboo 2 Bistro & Bar in Atlanta.

With this new project, she discussed candidly her writing process with co-executive producer and
two-time Grammy nominated Claude Kelly. “There was a great chemistry between the two of us,
which made going into the studio a pleasure,” Tamia said.

The 11-track LP is simply amazing. From start to finish, there’s not a moment of boredom – just
pure perfection. As soon as the freckled-faced splendor wrapped up her on-air interview, she
freshened up and returned to bless us with a superb performance.

The talented vocalist opened up her set with the lead single off of her new album “Beautiful
Surprise.” Her voice fluidly filled the room as attendees participated with supporting claps, snaps
and anything they could do to celebrate the magnificent performance.

Then she wowed the crowed when she took it back to her beloved balled, “Missing You.” Swarms
of cameras and iPhones filled the air to record the classic record.

Lastly, Tamia performed, “Lose My Mind,” which is the first track on the new project. Its summer-
filled melody had fans swaying from the side to side. It left the room in good spirits and she said
her goodbyes.

Shortly after her performance, SFPL sat down with Tamia and asked her four questions we
had to know the answers to:

SFPL: Your voice is still as flawless as it was when you first recorded “You Put A Move On My
Heart.” What techniques do you use to keep your voice in tack?

Tamia: “Well there are certain things I don’t do. I don’t smoke at all. I try to avoid alcohol as much
as possible. And sleep. If you’re tired that’s the first thing people hear. I try to stay cognitive. Do
I have a show today? If so, I try not to talk as much. It’s a pain in the butt! It’s almost like a relay
and you have to pace yourself.”

SFPL: “Lose My Mind” seems to be a fan favorite. Tell us about the writing process.

Tamia: “I actually went to Miami to record with The Runners. They gave Claude and I this song
and we started writing. It’s a feel good song. Immediately we knew we could work with this one. It
was no brainer.”

SFPL: Tell us about remaking Wynona Judd’s break up anthem, “Is It Over Yet.”

Tamia: “I love to sing about drama. I love a song about heartache and that you can picture what’s
going on in your mind while you’re listening to it. I’ve always loved that song and always wanted
to remake it.”

SFPL: You’re an example of the essence of R&B. What have you done along the way to keep
your point of relevancy?

Tamia: “I think you have to stay true to yourself. At the end of the day, I ask myself ‘Can you sing
this for the rest of your life and are you proud of it?’ That’s really it. I don’t think anyone has a
formula. I’ve been in this business long enough that I’ve seen people change their style because
of another artists and that artist isn’t around anymore. So who really knows? At the end of the
day you have to be true to yourself and true to what comes naturally to you and that just comes
naturally to me.”

-Stay Fly!

[Words & Interview Via Fly Guy Josh]

Team SFPL was on hand in Atlanta last night as The Heineken Red Star Access tour, an annual summer program that showcases music’s hottest and freshest experiences nationwide, invaded the city’s popular Opera Nightclub yesterday with head bobbing performances, entertainment stations, apparel displays and free, unlimited Heineken for its guests.

The crowd screamed, “Pussy and Patron make you feel alright…” as Dr. Dre‘s own protégé, Kendrick Lamar blazed the stage. He’s no taller than a 10th grader but don’t let that be your ending judgment. The California native commanded the audience’s attention with grammatical wordplay and smooth hand gestures adding flare to the steamed crowd. In between sets, attendees enjoyed entertainment stations including a game zone, photography station and an audio mixing zone powered by the djay app, Algoriddim. Apparel lovers visited displays by Heineken’s partners Rocksmith, Black Apple, New Era and Diamond Supply Co. throughout the venue.

Although guests were enjoying the many amenities Red had to offer, they were quickly interrupted by the night’s host comedian Affion Crockett with this phrase: “The time has come…”

Instantaneously, everyone rushed to the stage to see the headliner of the night – Trey Songz. He performed his smash hits “Dive In,” “2 Reasons” and “Heart Attach” off of his newly released LP, “Chapter V.” But also went back in his catalog of hits and serenaded the ladies with “Invented Sex,” “Neighbors Know My Name” and “Can’t Help But Wait.”

There wasn’t a quiet moment for the duration of the crooner’s moment.

And right when the night was about to end, Waka Flaka joined Trey to perform their much-loved hit “I Don’t Really Care.” The slow jam session quickly turned into a turnt up experience.

More than 500 guests attended Heineken’s Red Star Access tour to help celebrate the brand’s annual dedication to its consumers.

For more information visit Red Star Access Here.

-Stay Fly!

[Words Via Fly Guy Josh]

R&B has a new rising star on the scene! Check out Vested in Culture/Epic Records recording artist and Sylvia Rhone protege, Deon Young putting his own spin on J. Cole & Missy Elliott‘s hit single “Nobody’s Perfect”. Check out his cover after the jump!

Thoughts? 

Trey Songz releases his latest video “Hail Mary” featuring Lil’ Wayne & Young Jeezy. The video also features cameos from Joseline Hernandez, Stevie J, (Tanyka Renee, Shanae Thomas, and Crystal Leach of the Lingerie Football League). Peep the video below and let’s us know your thoughts…

Thoughts?

-Stay Fly!