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Go Back In Time With Fabulous Fanny’s : The Mecca For Vintage Frames

Don’t You Remember The Times?-Michael Jackson

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Half Vintage Frames, Half Museum

I’m a die hard fan of vintage frames, I go religiously to garage sales,flea markets, online and literally anywhere possible to find that gem that nobody thought about.

Read Also: Learn How To Be A Better Hairstylist With Gerard Duré Aka ”The Guru Of Beauty” 

When I need to decide which pair to take, first I try my best to stay away from the «everybody got it» temptation because fashion to me represents uniqueness through everything and my frames are not an exception to this rule.

So after going everywhere in Montreal to find that «one in a million» to add in my vintage frames collection, I figured I would probably find my treasure in New York City aka the Big Apple. I did my research and one name kept coming up : Fabulous Fanny’s where we also met Mr Throwback, another vintage guru.—Mr Throwback’s interview here

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This was on my second business trip to New York so at this point doing interviews doesn’t stress me that much anymore (sure it still does). After a few email exchanges with this vintage frames expert that goes by the name of Ken, I took a cab from Brooklyn to East Village and see it for myself and bring it back to ya’ll.

Check Out Our «Store Tour» Of The Mecca Of Vintage Frames

I’ve seen a lot of vintage frames retailers but none like this one because it kept one factor that lot of them are not considering : authenticity. As the melodies of Frank Sinatra were floating in the air, I hate to admit it but my jaw dropped as soon as I came in because I felt like I was taking back in time as I was looking at frames that dated back to the 1800’s!(yes I was allowed to touch them). Ken and I sat for what became the most instructive and powerful conversation I ever had about vintage frames. Here is what has transpired from this amazing Q&A :

Would You Like To introduce Yourself?

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I’m Ken Finneran the owner of Fabulous Fanny’s 335 E 9th St, New York. Our phone number is 212-533-0637. We’re open 7 days a week from noon to eight.

Who Is The Fabulous Fanny That Inspired The Name?

Fabulous Fanny was not a person. Fabulous Fanny was a bird, was a scarlet macaw. My former business partner’s bird and she is around somewhere, but he had to get rid of her, she was too noisy. But that’s who the store is named after; Her name was Fanny.

What First Interested You In Eyewear?

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Well I had two opticians that were a big influence as a child. My one optician was a good friend, well both of them were actually good friends of mine. One of them was the first person to bring soft contact lenses to the United States. He just died recently, Robert Morrison. He used to have an office in Harrisburg and also had an office in New York. He outfitted all the stars, because at the time he was the only one that had soft contacts. My other optician was Sidney Rubinstein and Merle, his wife, wore just the most outrageous frames and she made me absolutely adore what she looked like all the time.

They were two big influences and essentially the way the company got started was one of my former business partners and I used to do the flea market in New York and we used to sell miscellaneous merchandise. At one point we went up to his mother who was an antiques dealer in New Hampshire and she was in the hospital and she said “before you go back”, she said, “stop out at the house” she said,“pick up these frames I have out there”, she said “I got them from someone”.

I had no idea who that was, but my business partner knew who it was. She said “I don’t know what to do with them” and he said “Mom, why don’t you throw that shit out, nobody wants that stuff.” I said to him “Good idea Stan, let’s take ‘em and see what we can do with them.” As soon as we got out of the room: “Why did you say that to her? She’s not feeling well.” I said “We’ll take them, we’ll throw them away. We’ll tell her they all sold, she’s not asking for any money, she’ll be happy.” Well turns out we got to the market that weekend and we had a lot of space at the end of the booth and I said to Stan “What do you want to put there?” He said “Why don’t we put some of those frames Mom gave us out?” Put out a card table, put the frames out and that was the start of it.

That was about 20 some odd years ago. At that time, all we had were old frames from the twenties and thirties and it was about several months later we had local optician that came to visit us. He said “you really don’t know what you’re doing, do you?” and we said “What do you mean?” He said “all those frames that you’re selling are solid gold frames. They have more of a scrap value than what you’re selling ‘em for.” So he took us sort of under his wing and his father and grandfather were both opticians so he taught us alot about optical.

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Straight Out Of The Vintage Frames’ Vault

Cc: www.montrealgotstyle.com

Cc: www.montrealgotstyle.com

What Do You Look For When Searching For pieces?

They have to be unused. I will buy metal frames that have been used, because what I do is I put them in a sonic cleaner, I clean them up so they look new. But in any plastic frame, I won’t buy anything that’s been used before. All my frames are either from an optician that never sold them or from a manufacturer that had old stock.

What Do You Think About Big Brands, Like Versace, All The Big Logos?

I think it’s a bunch of shit, that people have to plaster their names all over frames. I remember the days when people used to be able to identify a frame by a certain detail on the frame. Like Persol’s have a certain hinge they do. We used to do in our line is a special trim on it, that would identify it. I just have having a big name plastered on a frame. I don’t like. I wish people wouldn’t do it. I try not to carry frames that are like that. There are some that I have, I have some Christian Dior’s from back in the day when Christian Dior wrote their name in little letters on the inside of it. Now they have that huge “CD” on the side of it. I don’t like it. I think it takes away from the look of the frame of itself.

                    #-I have about 70,000 frames in a warehouse right now. 

You Have Glasses Dating Back To The Seventeen Hundreds? How Did You Get Your Hands On Those? There Must Be A Story There.

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Search, search, search. We used to go to every antique shop, I can’t tell you. All our days off. When we first did the flea market Saturdays and Sundays. Almost, every day of the week we were either cleaning glasses or searching for glasses. There was a lot of work envolved in that. Now that I have the shop I don’T have time to search anymore. I have about 70,000 frames in a warehouse right now.

Did You Go Outside Of New York To Get Them?

We went to Europe and everywhere.

Where Did You Go?

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France, Germany, Turkey, Italy, lots and lots of countries. Amsterdam. Switzerland. Gentleman from Croatia was here once and sold us some frames. A lot of travel.

Cc: www.montrealgotstyle.com

Cc: www.montrealgotstyle.com

How Can Our Readers Purchase Your Products?

By coming in store, only. I don’t do any websites sales. You can’t sell frames on the internet. People have to actually try them on. See what they look like, what they feel like. I don’t want to sell somebody a frame and end up have them return it three times because it doesn’t fit or they don’t like it. I want them to come in the store, put a frame on and say “Wow I really like this.”

                #-I think it’s a bunch of shit, that people have to plaster their names all over frames

How Can Our Readers Purchase Your Products?

By coming in store, only. I don’t do any websites sales. You can’t sell frames on the internet. People have to actually try them on. See what they look like, what they feel like. I don’t want to sell somebody a frame and end up have them return it three times because it doesn’t fit or they don’t like it. I want them to come in the store, put a frame on and say “Wow I really like this.” I don’t want to have it back and forth and back forth and back and forth.

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I Felt Like I Was In The Paradise Of Vintage Frames

cazal vintage john lenon glasses round sunglasses fashion accessory east village

Cc: www.montrealgotstyle.com

What’s Next For Fabulous Fanny’s?

Well, we’re soon to have a new line. I have some friends, we’re all going into business and we’re going to do a line of eyewear called Fabulous Fannies, and we’re going to wholesale it. Let me see what my notes are on that. We intend to spread the news beyond the 9th street New York store, which already has an international reputation for eclectic vintage eyewear by launching a limited vintage collection of unique styles from the 1900s. We’re doing different materials. We’re doing it in rolled gold metal, bamboo, wood, buffalo horn and colors such as transparent, translucent, Tokyo tort and we have one frame that we’re going to do that is an original ivory from a one million year old mastodon horn it has ivory temples on it. We expect to launch our first collection in Asia for January 2017, followed by US and the spring.

Why Asia?

They are probably our number one sales people. We have been interviewed for at least twenty magazines from Asia. From what I understand, I’ve never been there, all the hipsters know Fabulous Fanny’s in Asia.

People Come All The Way From Asia?

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We have clients from all over the world. I have people that when they come in on their plane, they come here before they even go to their hotel.

frames boutique east village fabulous fanny vintage sunglasses

Cc: www.montrealgotstyle.com

What About The Opportunity To Have Your Frames In Movies?

Glasses are actually bought by the props person for movies. I would have thought it was a costume person, but not at all it’s always props. We had one person that really started buying from us years ago, Sandy Hamilton. He got us into all Wes Anderson’s movies, he did a Spiderman movie. He’s done a lot of movies. Since then, we do all the broadway shows now. We do theatres all over the country from California to east of here. I guess, because we have the resources, we have more frames and more of a selection. We’ve done almost all of Wes Anderson’s movies. We do Scorsese’s movies. We do Deniro’s movies. Just lots and lots of movies

You’ve Been In Business So Long, You’ve Seen The Ups And Downs, The Internet. What Are Your Keys To Success?

Selling good product, being fair. I try to make a decent profit, but I don’t want to cheat people. I have people that I sell to at retail, that turn around and resell the product and they’re tripling what I sell it for. I don’t want to cheat someone with a price they shouldn’t have to pay the price for. Most of my prices are based on what I paid for.

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Learn More About Vintage Culture With The Vintage Lord Himself, Mr Throwback

Mr Throwback Vintage Store : 10 Pictures That Will Make You Break The Bank

Travel New York Like A Boss With #Sterlingluxurytransportation

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Fashion & Lifestyle

8 See It To Believe Pictures Inside The Agenda Trade Show In Vegas

What Happens In Vegas…You Know The Rest!

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las vegas trade show, las vegas fashion, fashion convention, fashion trade show, las vegas events, agenda trade show

The Agenda Trade Show Is Where You Can Discover The “Crème De La Crème” Of Upcoming Fashion Brands & Influencers!

This week we went on a treasure hunt at the Agenda Trade Show in Las Vegas for what turned out to be a life changing experience.

Read More: Atelier New Regime Just Dropped Some Serious Fall Must Haves & It’s Fire 

Indeed, Agenda/Capsule is one of the biggest trade shows in the world and it gathers a thousand of established or upcoming designers. They’re all united under one roof to present their new collections or build brand awareness.

agenda trade show, capsule trade 2017, montreal to usa, fashion,

cC: Montrealgotstyle

 

We were part of the lucky media guests to attend the trade show. For this special occasion, you get to know who’s going to be a key player in the fashion world for the following year.

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Besides the fashion discoveries you can make, it also gathers some of the most sought after influencers across the world.

Since we like to give our readers the exclusive before it even comes out as exclusive, here are 8 see it to believe pictures of what went down at the Agenda Trade Show (#7 is for the culture)

world boots, las vegas trade show, capsule, liberty fairs

Cc: Montrealgotstyle

#1 World Boots: The Balance Between Comfort & The Perfect Boots For A Casual Man

World Boots is a luxury footwear brand we discovered at Agenda. Their approach is to reinvent what we know as luxury footwear.

The head designer behind the brand has a background in podiatry which allowed their team to focus on how to make the most comfortable boots and shoes  in the world while making sure that the products are still a fashion statement.

iceberg clothing line, daymon green, community 54, toronto, las vegas trade show, agenda trade show, fashion

Cc: Montrealgotstyle

#2 Iceberg Is Making A Major Comeback!

Our favorite fashion insider and OG, Daymon Green, gave us an exclusive look at some new pieces coming from the father of luxury streetwear: Iceberg.

Iceberg was more than a brand back in the 80’s & 90’s, it was a statement of success since some sweaters would cost up to 400$ at the time. Let’s see if Iceberg still has what it takes this year.

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clearweather, sneaker brand, upcoming fashion brand, supra shoes, runner shoes

cC: montrealgotstyle

#3 Clearweather Is The Sneaker Brand You Need To Know About!

Innovation and outstanding designs is what you get with Clearweather! The designers behind this hot sneaker brand were the same minds who built the latest Supra collections so from the get go you knew they were up to something.

Half futuristic and half “your new favorite sneaker“, this sneaker brand was without a doubt one of our highlight of the Agenda Trade Show!

disturb pins, enamel pins, pintrill, pop culture pins, pin fashion

Cc: Montrealgotstyle

#4 Disburst Is Your New Favorite Pins (In Case You Didn’t Know)

dsc06178Since we went to Pintrill in Brooklyn a couple months ago, we’ve been fascinated about the pin culture.

This time around we discovered Disburst which is also a key player in the pin industry. The designers they wholesale for, Wizard SkullYesterdays Co,  Clay Graham ArtRussell TaysomSuper Secret Fun ClubBracelegs CollectivePop Glory, and many more, have a special approach to pins like you never seen before.

Not only they implement pop culture in their products but they manage to blend different references together to create a new one!

For example, we bought Wizard Skull’s “Barnold” pin which is a combination or the ‘”Hey Arnold” main character and “Bart Simpson” to replace his iconic hairstyle.

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cortica sneakers, uk sneaker brand, las vegas show, montreal to london, quebec, montrealgotstyle

Cc; Montrealgotstyle

#5 Cortica Is Another UK Best Kept Secret In The Sneaker World!

If you ever wondered if somehow someway you could find a great alternative for the recent releases in the trainer shoes department; Cortica has the answer!

cortica sneaker brand, runner shows, sneakers for guys, sneaker brand, las vegas trade show, capsule trade show

Cc: Montrealgotstyle

The brand originally from Manchester has what I call “The Eye” for design. They implement various influences in their craft and surprisingly their prices are pretty affordable even though the quality is top notch!

 

 

streetwear, domrebel, montreal designer, streetwear

Cc: Montrealgotstyle

#6 Domrebel Is The “Lowkey But Highkey” Montreal Brand With A Global Status

Domrebel is been around for over 14 years now but even though it started off in a garage in Montreal, the brand has now a global impact on its own.

Indeed, they’ve dressed Rihanna, Chris Brown, Guns & Roses & U2! We were amazed by the fact that even though they’ve established a strong name in the industry, they still claim Montreal as their hometown which is very inspiring!

Ps: we have an upcoming interview with the owners so stay tuned!

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johnny bling, famous jeweller, jewellery, rap chains, las vegas trade show, capsule trade show, liberty fairs,

Cc: Montrealgotstyle

 

 

 

 

 

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#7 Johnny Dang Is Still Your Favorite Jeweller Ever

Johnny Dang is a legend in Hip Hop and he never recorded a track in his life (that we know of). From his iconic cameos in your favorite rap videos and his partnership with Paul Wall, he became the reference for jewellery in the world.

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At the Agenda Trade Show you never who you will see, so we were camera ready every time. When we saw Mr. Dang from far, you know we had to ask him to show us his grills right!?

PS: After all these years, his grillz game is still untouchable!

vhs, netflix and chill, las vegas show, las vegas events, capsule, agenda show

Cc: Montrealgotstyle

 

#8 They Had A “VHS & Chill” Booth Inside!

With a over a thousand VHS tapes put together, you could rediscover your cult movies and enjoy a “never seen before” shopping experience at the same time!

I didn’t see that one coming for real.

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Watch Now

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAd0Cazu0O8[/embedyt]

What Do You Think?!

For us the Agenda Trade Show was a pilgrim to one of the Meccas of fashion! It gave us tons of insights about upcoming trends, major comebacks like Fila & Champion and the possibility to spread the word about what we do!.

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Would you give it a try for their next trade show? If yes you can find all the information here.

Let us know in the comment section now!

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Inspiration

Learn How A Teenager Invented The First Sneaker Pawn Shop (& Made It To Forbes)

The Youngest In Charge!

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daily mail, montreal, entrepreneurship, sneaker pawn shop, chase reed, harlem

Chase Reed On How Him And His Dad Invented The First Sneaker Pawn Shop And Literally Built A Sneaker Empire!

The sneaker business is booming like never before, between retailers and lineup services, the industry seems flourishing but Chase Reed knows that very well since he has created a milestone for himself by implementing the first sneaker pawn shop ever!

Read Also: The Sneaker Report: 5 Sneakers For Guys Who Like To Take Risks 

Indeed, this Harlem sneaker collector and his father have put all their sweat, blood and tears into this project and made a killing in the sneaker circuit with a fresh concept:

A Pawn Shop That Will Only Sell Sneakers.

When we first got in the his store located at (address) , we thought we were inside a regular sneaker store. Chase then explained to us what was the difference in his business model which made the sneaker pawn shop the success it is!

jordan sneakers, sneakerpawn usa, chase reed , harlem

Cc: Kicks Deal

Even though the interior design is setup as a sneaker store, the sneaker pawn shop doesn’t any of the shoes presented inside. Each shoe presentation is like a mini commercial space which the Reeds rent to sneakerheads so they can increase their chances of selling the sneakers faster.

The masterminds behind the first sneaker pawn shop took notes of every little detail because they also manage to get a small percentage of sales done in the shop.

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Who Is Chase Reed?

Chase Reed is far from the average teenager/young adult, when we sat down with him and asked him key questions about how his idea came to life.

The 18 years old (at the time) entrepreneur gave us powerful insights about sacrifice, ambition and his dream of being the biggest sneakerhead in the world! He also opens up about how it is to have your father as your business partner and more

In this exclusive interview with did with the young mogul, you will definitely understand more why he deserve his mention in Forbes and how powerful this rags to riches story is!

Chase Reed In His Own Words

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNH0WVzaPXw[/embedyt]

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Does Entrepreneurship Has An Age Limit?

Meeting Chase Reed made me realize that age shouldn’t be a valuable excuse for not chasing your dreams. Do you think there’s a specific age to start a business or not?

Let us know in the comment section now!

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Montreal Meets The World

Black Privilege: Everything You Need Know About Lenard Mckelvey (Alias Charlamagne)

Will He Give Us “Donkey Of The Day” For This Review?

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charlamagne tha god black privilege book

Black Privilege: An Autobiography/Self improvement Book About Lenard Mckelvey, The Most Loved/Hated Radio Personality Ever!

It was hard to know exactly what to expect from “Black Privilege“, I think the first shocking thing I’ve learned is the fact that the “Donkey Of Day” radio personality ‘s real name is Lenard Mckelvey. If you didn’t figure out yet, this autobiography & self-improvement book we will talk about today is authored by the one and only Charlamagne Tha God.

Read Also: F**ck A New Year Resolution : 3 Ways To Change Your Life Today        

Through his work at the Breakfast Club and his Uncommon Sense show on MTV, some might believe that he had it easy but the book actually reveals the incredible journey he had to go through to be in this position.

When you dig deeper than the controversial moments that are his signature, you’ll understand that Lenard Mckelvey alias Charlamagne tha God is all about one thing : the raw truth.

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I’ve read the book from cover to cover and it left me shocked and curious at the same time. Today, we will share with you some of the insights and revelations that Charlamagne Tha God implimented in his book.

1.Lenard Mckelvey Was Once A Drug Dealer And Also Got Incarcerated A Few Times

cthagod montreal black privilege book dj envy angela yee

Cc: Via The Breakfast Club

I think he always came clean about his past but to actually read the unfiltered details about it made me respect the man even more. His words about his teenage years as a thug painted a vivid image in the reader’s mind.

He sold crack mostly because he embraced the lifestyle that goes with it and he wanted to follow the steps of his older cousins. He said that he was actually destined to be a nerdy guy but the influence of his peers made him take that route.

Living in a country area in South Carolina called Moncks Corner, Lenard Mckelvey alias Charlamagne found himself caught up between his desire to be himself and the need fit in his environment (something we can all relate to right?).

He also mentions that Hip Hop made it look cool for him to carry weapons or being the street hustler. Since he was a hardcore fan of Hip Hop; he felt he was being a part of the culture.

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Throughout the book, he didn’t glorify that part of his life because it eventually led him to being incarcerated. One of his friend actually shot his gun at two other guys. Charlamagne happened to be in the car when all of this happened and he got caught in a serious murder attempt case.

Looking back at this episode of his life, Charlamagne reflects intensely about what the future holds for anybody involved in street life. He doesn’t hesitate to call out the pitfalls and dumb stuff that surrounds street life and delivers a clear guideline on how to avoid to fall in that trap.

2. Living In A Small Town Is Not A Handicap To Your Success

The Uncommon Sense host painted a realistic portrait of what life in South Carolina looked like in general. He used to live in a trailer park, chase snakes around and there wasn’t a real success story to be inspired from in his town at all.

Throughout the book, he kept citing the lyrics of Rakim :

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it ain’t where you‘re from, it’s where you‘re at-Rakim

Tha God explains that listening to Hip Hop provided him a larger view of the world.  Rappers would always create lyrics that depict their environment, the cities they come from or their neighborhood. In return this will ultimately push Lenard Mckelvey to discover those places they rapped about.

From that point, he knew there was probably more for him outside of his city but he knew he had to make the most out of it first and then expand (major key as Khaled would say).

He started off as a rapper at first until somebody gave him the “talk”. His mentor of the time told him that rapping wasn’t his thing at all and since he had a natural gift for radio, this is what he should focus on.

One thing led to another, Charlamagne moved to different radio stations in the south until he had the opportunity to come to New York as Wendy Willams’ co-host (Although they only offered him a place to stay at that time).

I think the key there is to always remember that your environment can’t determine you unless you decide to. Limiting yourself involves that you are less receptive to the potential opportunities you have and eventually you close the doors before you even got a foot in.

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3. F**ck Your Dreams If They’re Not YOUR Dreams

charlamagne tha god montrealgotstyle the breakfast club

Cc: Via Montreality

That part of the book really resonated with me, I had many quote on quote “dreams” that have never manifested themselves although I desired them immensely.

I wanted to be a rapper but  I was too shy to perform on stage,  I wanted to be a club promoter but I lacked the social skills at the time. I wanted to be a surgeon but my hands were shaking too much (those “All You Can Drink” nights had catch up I guess).

I felt connected to Charlamagne because that’s exactly what he was going through. Although radio seemed to be the perfect fit for him, he wanted the limelight and the lifestyle he had seen time and time again from his favourite rappers.

The radio personality explains that, although you have the potential do it big to some extent, only Jay-Z can be Jay-Z or only Michael Jordan can be Michael Jordan. It was a huge reminder for anybody who wish to be successful to not take certain career decisions only based on the success or results of others.

He explains that you have to find your own truth or gift and then work on it as hard as you can so THEN you’ll be the Jay-Z of whatever you’re trying to do in a particular field.

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Black Privilege is really a sort of to do list for anybody who wish to be successful regardless if it’s in the entertainment industry or not. He doesn’t discourage people, he’s just being brutally honest (what else did you expect?)

4-Black Privilege Will Help You To Stick To Your Own Truth

One thing that really stood out to me in this book, is the fact that Charlamagne insists a lot on being honest regardless if people like your opinion or not.

At work, with our friends, family or in social gatherings; we found ourselves in situations where lying seems the best option to fit in.

Well in case you didn’t notice, Lenard Mckelvey can careless if you appreciate his opinions or not and that’s exactly what made him either the guy you hate or the guy you love.

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In the book, there are hilarious references where he explains how being honest got him in tensed situations with acts like Buffie The Booty (his first viral interview ever), Kanye West, Birdman and many more as you know.

The message was very clear: if you feel or think a certain way, don’t lie about it. People will eventually praise for your honesty or fire you a couple of times like Charlamagne got fired from different radio stations because of his opinions ( four times to be exact!).

The key there is to stay true to yourself.

5-In Black Privilege Many People Got Served  With The “Donkey Of The Day” Treatment

the breakfast club power 105.1 radio personality donkey of the day

Cc: via The Breakfast Club

I knew that Charlamagne was a savage, I think his work at the Breakfast Club made it obvious!  Well that same raw and opinionated approach was reflected directly in Black Privilege.

The radio personality addressed a lot of quarrels he had in his career from people in his local town to the high profile artists he deals with on a regular basis. He called out Mase for being hypocrite when he did the switch from rapper to pastor then gangster rapper again (things almost got physical).

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“If you don’t have anything nice to say- say it anyway”
Charlamagne Tha God, Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It    

He finally spoke publicly about what might have been the cause of his fall out with Wendy Williams. He recalls his on going battle with FunkMaster Flex that allegedly led to him being attacked near his radio station ( the phrase “Can I get a drop?” will probably haunt him for a few years again).

In Black Privilege, no one was spared but it also revealed certain aspects of the industry that happens behind closed doors. Ultimately you realize that being true to yourself and your opinions comes with the price of making a few enemies in the process.

Discover Charlamagne aka Lenard Mckelvey On A New Perspective For Yourself!

You definitely have a lot to learn from the man itself especially now the it seems like his career is on a rocket trajectory. You’ll get a clear picture of his life story and many powerful insights on how to make it to the next level.

Black Privilege was a great reading experience, easy to read, brutality honest and full of insights. Have a good read and let us know your opinion as soon as you got your hands on it!

 

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