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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > February > 25 > Entry
LL Cool J will dress you like a star
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ladies still Love Cool James, judging from the crowd gathered at Macy’s Lenox Square on Saturday afternoon, where LL Cool J —- aka James Todd Smith —- launched his new Todd Smith Collection for men.
The lip-licking, ChapStick toting rapper and actor told Buzz it was a lifelong dream to have his own clothing line, and it didn’t come easy. It took 5 1/2 years to get it right, he said.
“I didn’t want it to be some sort of glorified T-shirt deal,” said Smith, who has been involved in fashion in some capacity since the beginning of his career. “When I woke up in the morning and knew I had a clothing line, I wanted to feel great, and that takes time to achieve.”
Smith said he put his heart and soul into developing the brand, which is designed for “a person who wants to feel like a star.”
The company logo, based on one of Smith’s tattoos, represents bravery and fearlessness, he said. Some of the other designs on the rhinestone- and stud-embellished denim, tanks, T-shirts, hoodies and jackets also mimic his personal body art. Prices range from about $39 to $159.
A Todd Smith Collection for women is scheduled to debut in July, Smith said. That may make it a little easier for fan Diane Geddings, 37, of Cartersville, to get Smith’s signature on her chest. When asked what else she might have Smith sign if he declined to touch pen to skin on Saturday, Geddings was quick with a backup plan. “I want him to sign my checkbook,” she said.
Jill keeps it ‘Real’
“The Real Thing,” the song, has “got a little highs…got a little lows,” according to R&B singer Jill Scott’s lyrics. But “The Real Thing,” the tour that Scott brought to the Fox Theatre on Friday and Saturday, had little in the low department. For two hours each night, the three-time Grammy winner entertained capacity crowds that included WSB-TV’s JaQuitta Williams and V-103’s Porsche Foxx and Miss Sophia. (Williams, by the way, had her last dose of chemotherapy for breast cancer Wednesday. Two nights later, the closely cropped anchor and reporter was on her feet at the Fox in one of the first rows, singing along to Scott’s “Golden.”) Meanwhile, Scott’s opener, Raheem DeVaughn, took full advantage of his weekend in metro Atlanta, holding post-show parties each night at Sugar Hill in Underground Atlanta. “Atlanta, Chicago and D.C. are some of my top markets,” said DeVaughn, recently nominated for a Grammy for his uplifting R&B single “Woman.” “And Atlanta has been there, like, from the start. Appreciate you, Atlanta!” (For pictures of the show see the gallery on ajc.com).
PHOTO CREDIT: RODNEY HO/Staff
‘Hell’s Kitchen’ fave stays mum
Julia Williams (right) is no longer in the scattered, smothered and covered business.
The former local Waffle House cook was a favorite on Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” last summer. Lacking in experience but full of heart, she surprised everyone by making it to the final five and melting the ice-cold heart of Gordon Ramsay. Ramsay liked her so much, he offered her a return visit to the show once she got more cooking chops.
Buzz caught up with Williams at a Chamblee Wal-Mart cooking demonstration Saturday where she handed out free samples of tasty, healthy turkey burgers with a special mayo concoction featuring roasted bell peppers and garlic.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell us anything yet about the fourth season of “Hell’s Kitchen,” which has already taped and debuts in April. But she’s kept busy over the past year as a chef at Ocean’s 66 Sports Cafe in College Park, a step up from Waffle House. She recently added a day job working the kitchen at the trendy West Egg Cafe on Howell Mill Road in the west side.
She also looks much thinner than she did on the show. “When they say the camera adds 10 pounds, that happened to me!” she told Buzz.
A-Team to the rescue
Buzz is so proud. Hot-107.9’s A-Team morning show held a donation drive for families burned out of their homes not once, but twice, this past week at The Park apartments on Candler Road. Listeners responded by filling two 27-foot trucks with everything from bedroom sets to “the shoes they had on,” said Hot-107.9’s Beyonce. She and her fellow A-Team members Rashan Ali, Emperor Searcy, Griff and Akini broadcast from the site of the fires (2751 Candler Road) from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday. And more than 40 families were assisted by the effort, done in conjunction with Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless.
If you want to donate clothing, nonperishable food items and toiletries call Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless, 404-755-3353, or go to hoseafeedthehungry.com.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Country singer Ralph Stanley is 81. CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is 71. Actress Tea Leoni is 42. Comedian Carrot Top is 41. Actor Sean Astin is 37. Actress Rashida Jones (“Boston Public”) is 32.
OVERSCENE
Usher, wife feather their nest
Usher and his wife, Tameka, were seen Saturday shopping on Howell Mill Road. Their final stop in the Westside Urban Market was Bungalow Classic, where accent pillows and a rawhide stool were among the items the couple purchased, presumably for their new Roswell digs.
—-Contributing: Rodney Ho, Katie Leslie, Sonia Murray and news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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