In an age when nearly every pair of headphones on the market pretty much looks the same—either over or covering the ear; and in silver, gold, white or black—Urbanears stands out. The minimally design, candy colored hued headphones—ranging from pistachio to canary—have been a favorite among blipsters (that’s black hipsters), DJs and celebs such as Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Ziggy Marley.

Yet, our excitement about Urbanears, is specifically about the Plattan edition, which are foldable and offer a sleek on-ear feature. Not to mention, the sound quality is just as crisp and clear as the design.

Urbanears’ Plattan headphones run for $60 and are available at Urbanears.com and Apple.com

We’ve all experienced the dread of a ‘low battery’ notification popping up on our cell while on the go—professionally or otherwise (insert: wink). Ergo, it’s not a good look.

Behold, PowerSkin, a product that lives up to its name—charging your phone while incased in a protective cover. The one piece rechargeable skin is impact-resistant and made of soft silicone rubber, and features an on/off button, LED battery status light and charging cable.

Ranging in prices around $50 to $70, the cases are available for the following phones:

*HTC: Evo 4G, HD7, HD2, HD7 S, my Touch 4G, Thunderbolt, Desire HD, Inspire 4G and Sensation

* Samsung: Galaxy i9000, Galaxy i3000, Galaxy S 4G, Vibrant and Nexus S

* Motorola: Droid X and Droid X2

*Apple: iPhone 4 (ATT & Verizon)

*Blackberry: Bold 9700 & 9780, Curve 8520, 8530 & 9300

Rappers turned aural gadget aficionados have become the new black—as in the “it” business venture of the moment. Dr. Dre has Beats by Dre, Diddy has Diddy Beats, and now Chris “Ludacris” Bridges joins the pack with, SOUL by Ludacris.

“Working so closely with the team has been a great experience, and we’re finally ready to give audiophiles and music mavens what they’ve been craving—sound so pure they feel it in their soul,” commented the rapper/actor.

Boasting excellent sound and texture, the headphones a collaboration between Ludacris and Soul Electronics, a global leader in pro and consumer audio manufacturing.

This line consist of five high-def headphones engineered to transmit heavy bass with great clarity sound.  The models include: the powered noise cancelling headphone, SL300; the high definition on-ear models SL150 and SL100; and the SL99 and SL49 in-ear headphones. 

SOUL by Ludacris headphones retail for $69-$299 and are available online at Apple.com, Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Headphones.com, and Target.com.

After a stellar performance in the romantic comedy, Jumping The Broom, Paula Patton is definitely not showing signs of slowing down. The Los Angeles bred actress, who is married to R&B singer Robin Thicke and the mother of one, has a busy year ahead—namely a co-starring role in Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol, alongside Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames. We caught up with Patton at this year’s American Black Film Festival to get the skinny on her view of Blacks in Hollywood, working with Cruise, and her noted fashion style.  

CultureList: What brings you to the 15^th Annual American Black Film Festival?

Paula Patton: I was invited and it’s an honor to be invited. This festival, for me, is about celebrating African American filmmakers, actors and actresses. Almost like a summer camp for a weekend where people can get together, make connections and become a community.

CL: Why do you feel there is still a need to support African American up-and-comers in cinema?

PP: Making African American films is hard in Hollywood. We need to rely on a support network and bring more cohesion to different filmmakers, actors, producers etc.  It’s a very difficult business.  There aren’t a lot of Africans Americans or people of color in high positions in Hollywood that can green-light films. We need more of our stories to be heard.

CL: Of course, you are the female lead in the upcoming film, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. How was it like to work with Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames and Jeremy Renner?

PP: It was incredible to work with those actors and it was dream come true to be in a Mission Impossible film. I used to watch it as a kid and never would have thought I would one day be in one of the movies. I can’t talk much about the actors or the production, but it will be amazing and I can’t wait until it comes out!

CL: So I have to say, we at Centric love your sense of style and your red carpet choices. Who are some of your favorite designers?

PP: My favorite design team is Dolce and Gabbana. They’re timeless, sexy and classy.

…Just like Paula herself.

From the groundbreaking, “In Living Color” to the box office shattering Scary Movie franchise, actor and producer Keenen Ivory Wayans, has proved himself a legendary figure and a Hollywood heavyweight. Recently honored with the Entertainment Icon Award, at this year’s 15th Annual American Black Film Festival; Wayans is gearing up to unveil a new sitcom, “Growing Up Wayans”, starring his sister, Kim Wayans. CultureList caught up with Wayans in Miami to get the skinny on what’s happening:  

CultureList: How did it feel to be honored by the American Black Film Festival?

KIW: It’s an honor for people to look at what you’ve done and acknowledge. I’m blessed, [and] it’s a good feeling.

CL: You’ve had a pretty extensive career in entertainment. What have been some of your “aha” moments that you’ve experienced while working in Hollywood?

KIW: First, your biggest “aha moments” are your failures. Those are the ones that redirect your focus and keeps you back on track. Having ups and downs keep you humble. Humility is very important, having humility you won’t have to be humble.

CL: We know you have some film projects in the works, but do you have anything coming up for small screen? Or maybe that will “reunite” you and your family?

KIW: We just produced a series for my sister, Kim, which we [will be] pushing for market. It’s basically about our family growing up and is called “Growing Up Wayans”. Look for it soon.

ON CENTRIC// Tune in for a mini-marathon of “In Living Color” this Saturday (7/16) starting at 12:30pm/et.

Answers To Facebook Quiz:
1. Ceephus and Reesie
2. Vera Di Milo
3. Frenchie
4. Benita Butrell
5. Robin Givens

(Miami, FL) A week of inclement weather did not stop hoards of cinema enthusiasts from attending the 15^th Annual American Black Film Festival in South Beach, Miami. Aspiring filmmakers, actors, actresses, screenwriters and media were treated with countless screenings of indie films, celeb packed events and parties, as well as insightful panels and workshops from leaders of Black cinema.

Comedian Kevin Hart was there to push his upcoming docu-comedy, Laugh at My Pain, while R&B singer Eric Benet and former The Game child star Erica Gluck came to present the world premiere of their new faith based drama and GMC (Gopsel Music Channel) film, Trinity Goodheart.

Radio personalities Michael Baisden and George Wilborn (pictured above) of “The Michael Baisden Show”,  also took to the red carpet to premiere and promote the screening of their relationship documentary, “Do Women Really Know What they Want”. The celeb love fest was elevated with the premiere of Dysfunctional Friends, featuring Stacey Dash, Regan Gomez- Preston, Persia White (“Girlfriends”), NFL footballer Terrell Owens, Tatyana Ali and Megan Goode. Read the rest of this entry »

(Miami, FL) Attendees of the American Black Film Festival did not let heat, humidity or rain damper the world premiere screening event of Robert Townsend’s latest film In the Hive, a project based on the real life accounts of teachers and students of the North Carolina school called “The Hive”

The screening served as the official kickoff event for the 15^th annual festival, held this year at Colony Theater in South Beach, Miami.

  Notable celebrities spotted on at the event included actors Bill Duke, Reagan Gomez, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Mekhi Phifer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Film Life’s 15^th Annual American Black Film Festival will kick off once again on the shores of Miami Beach from July 6^th -9^th, highlighting the achievement of Emmy Award winning producer and director, Keenen Ivory Wayans. Wayans will join the ranks of previous distinguished honorees—-Spike Lee, Robert Townsend and Halle Berry have been among those honored—for the Entertainment Icon Award.

The three-day retreat focuses on the best in emerging black cinema; features film showcases, special contests and distinct workshops and panels on creating cinema. Major moments for this year will include: Grammy nominated artist and Centric favorite, Melanie Fiona performing at the ABFF’s Anniversary party, Screenwriter Michael Elliot of “Brown Sugar” and “Just Wright” offering his crash course in scripting and the annual HBO Short film competition.

This three-day festival is one you won’t want to miss and I (Jared Michael Lowe) will be reporting live from the event.

For more info, please visit: www.abff.com

Remember the days of countless hours playing with arcade games such as Pac-Man or Asteroids using a joystick? Well ThinkGeek, the company behind smart products for tech savvy junkies, wants you to remember those gaming days of yore with Joystick-It.

Modeled after an old school 8-way ball arcade stick, the circular metal sticks can attach to an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad for hours of playing arcade style apps.

The stick is made of milled-aluminum, with laser etched crosshair design for thumb traction and sticks/ unsticks without leaving any residue.

Joystick-It is available exclusively at ThinkGeek and varies in prices: iPhone single $17.99, iPad single $24.99, iPad 2 Pack $39.99

In search for a rugged, yet sleek protective accessory for dad’s laptop this Father’s Day? Look no further than G-Form’s Extreme Laptop Sleeve.

The sleeve features Reactive Protection Technology (RPT) which allows the sleeve to be soft, flexible and light-weight, while still offering protection.

Unlike your run-of-the mill cover, the Laptop Extreme Sleeve can absorb over 90% of energy, is water resistant and even can protect against maximum impact—even being thrown off a balcony (though we don’t suggest doing so).

The Extreme Laptop Sleeve is now available in either black or yellow for $69.96 for the 11” or 13” and for $79.95 for the 15” at G-Form online.