Victor Oladipo: Shooting for the Stars

At only 25 years old, NBA Point Guard Victor Oladipo has already experienced some of life’s twists and turns. Named the Sporting News Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year and National Co-Defensive Player of the Year while he played basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, it was no surprise when Oladipo was drafted with the second overall pick in the NBA in 2013 by the Orlando Magic. He was even named NBA All-Rookie first team, an honor given to the top rookies of the season. But when he was traded just three years later to Oklahoma City Thunder after a severe concussion, doubt started to creep into his mind.

When he was traded a year later to the Indiana Pacers, he was fighting back depression. “Going through those first couple years in the league,” he told the IndyStar. “I realized that I needed to work on my body and my mind just as much as I work on my game,” admitting that doing so saved his career. “I realized that the game is 20% physical but it's literally 80% mental.” Today, Oladipo is considered one of the best guards in the Eastern Conference and is on the verge of making the All-Star team for the first time in his NBA career. In fact, he is the 7th ranked player in the entire NBA for most points scored in the fourth quarter. Despite a somewhat rocky start, Oladipo has fought and proved that he belongs in the NBA, a habit he learned early on in life.

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Saloni: Ready-To-Wear Flair

To all my ladies in the place with style and grace, here’s a fashion brand that you must have! If it is not in your closet it most definitely should be. Saloni is a London-based fashion label that is making a bold statement with its Bohemian-chic swagger, making celebrities, like Jessica Alba, and the wife of the British Prime Minister, Samantha Cameron, look fabulous!

Saloni Made its fashion debut in 2011. The brand was birthed from Indian fashion designer, Saloni Lodha. Lodha combined her love of modern fashion with traditional Indian flair, using bold prints, draping silhouettes and bright colors, to create a womenswear line that speaks to class and comfortability. "I always keep in mind my Indian heritage while designing but don’t translate it literally into our clothes. I think the way we as a brand celebrate bold colors and patterns is our way of bringing the spirit of India into the collections,” says Lodha.

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Def Comedy Jam 25

"Def Comedy Jam was the shit!"

A simple yet powerful statement from one of the all-time great comedians, Dave Chappelle. Even in saying that, it still doesn't do the show that revolutionized urban comedy enough justice. Twenty-five years ago, the comedy game was changed forever. To the point where all roads of comedy as we know it today, run through Def Comedy Jam. The doors in comedy that were opened due to Def Comedy Jam led to so many people becoming household names, and that's continued to be the case a quarter century later.

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Ray Davies: A Rockin Rollin Knight

The 1950s and 1960s was a monumental time for rock-n-roll. Stunning guitar riffs, powerful vocals, and magical piano notes became the basis for all kinds of different rock music, like alternative rock, soft and hard rock. In the 1960s, Sir Raymond Douglas "Ray" Davies, also known as Ray Davies, emerged as one of England’s alternative rock stars. Davies can play the guitar, piano, and harmonica, and he sings. He was the lead singer for his band, The Kinks, and has done solo work on the side. The musician is well into his seventies but he keeps on rockin and rollin.

Davies started his music journey and career in the 1960s after discovering his love for music while attending art school in England. In 1964, Ray Davies and his brother, Dave, started The Kinks and gained their first record label the same year. They quickly became known for their psychedelic, alternative rock music with guitar riffs and cool chords. The brother’s interest in England’s sociopolitical issues heavily influenced their word choice, and they became known for making struggles into music.

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Jurell Cayetano: Black Boy Joy

Atlanta and its surrounding suburbs are home to some of the most amazing talents in the world. Visual artist and illustrator, Jurell Cayetano, is just another name to add to the ever-growing list up talented artist in Atlanta.

Hailing from Lithonia, Georgia by way of Brooklyn, New York, Jurell study illustration at The School for Visual Arts in NYC. What has the art industry talking about him now is his post- impressionist portraits. He has taken his love of black culture and drawing skills and has made masterpieces.

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Slick Woods: Smashing the Mold

Serendipity.

Serendipity is defined as an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident or good fortune and luck. It is can be a chance meeting of love, wealth or opportunity. 21-year old model Slick Woods had a serendipitous meeting of her own at a Los Angeles bus stop in 2016 when she was discovered by British male model Ash Stymest. The meeting was completely random but it changed her life. "It was literally the luck of the Universe. My energy, my positive energy pulling things towards me. I'm on Law of Attraction. I just feel like I definitely did that for myself. When I was hungry, nobody fed me. I definitely just lucked up. I just do this to show people that luck is a real thing. It really is," Woods said in an Urban Outfitters blog interview.

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