GLAAD toasts 25th with gay Atlanta

With distracting aerialists, dancers, stilt-walkers, drag queens and roaming models, it was almost secondary that so many famous faces turned out Saturday to fete GLAAD’s 25th and honor 30 LGBT Atlantans.

Gay newsies like Don Lemon of CNN and Itay Hod of CBS (third photo) held court at Mason Murer Fine Art for Celebrate GLAAD At 25 bash, while other celebrities including Amanda Bearse, Melissa Carter (bottom photo center), Kat Graham, Jovita Moore (bottom photo left) and Derek J. milled about posing for photos with guests.

But while playing Spot the Celebrity, roving eyes of male guests and celebs alike kept landing on two crews of male models. All that was missing was an oil-wrestling match for dominance between the ROKK Vodka gladiators (top photo with guests) and models from the new “North vs. South” calendar by Richie Arpino (second photo, center).

A wrestling match wouldn’t have been out of place with so many performers, including Atlanta Ballet dancers on the floor and Cirque-style acrobats on the ceiling. There was also enough drag for a party game of Drag: Now and Then. Charlie Brown, Bubba D. Licious and The Lady Chablis were representing alongside newer female impersonators like Phoenix, Angelica D’Paige and Janelle Brooks.

As if there weren’t enough stimuli already, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation also had some business to attend to. Five at a time, some 30 local LGBTs took the stage to have medals of honor placed around their necks.

Derek J Returns to ‘Real Housewives’

A lot of women love their high heels, and there are plenty of cross-dressing men who swear by them as well. One of those is Atlanta hairstylist Derek J., who may have inspired the new Morehouse dress code (men attending the school can no longer wear heels or any blatantly “feminine” clothing.) He’s also inspired the Atlanta housewives and will return to the Bravo weaves-and-whine fest when “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” heads back to the airwaves on Nov. 6. The drama continues, of course, with Nene battling, well just about everyone, Kim’s pregnancy, Apollo and Phaedra’s new baby, Cynthia and Peter’s new marriage and Nene’s possible new relationship. Oh, and the wives head to Africa, in what is sure to be classic RHOA material.

CLICK HERE to see a sneak peek video.

Derek J also just finished his second season of Oxygen Network’s “Hair Battle Spectacular” which aired last night with Nostradamus declared the winner. Derek’s salon, The J Spot, which started it all, moves to a new Atlanta location on Oct. 13. You may remember Derek J. as the winner of the Bronner Bros. Hair Battle Royale competition in Chris Rock’s documentary “Good Hair.”  That win led him to the attention of RHOA producers and the rest is hair history. Despite his television and film success, Derek J. says that his career as a hairstylist remains his first priority. As he says in his bio, “I definitely go into a creative zone, but I also know how things work and the fact that I went to fashion school, I’m using everything I learned about fashion and applying it to hair. Trend forecasting, color blending, it’s all the same because hair is an accessory.”

Vixen Chat: Derek J Talks Shoe Designers, “Hair Battle” and Hair Tips

Derek J is a man who knows hair… and heels. VIBE Vixen sat down with the celebrity hair stylist in his newly relocated Atlanta salon to discuss hair tips and why black hair gets a bad rap. Oh, and of course we had to dish about his gal buddies from the Real Housewives of Atlanta. He dishes about which cast member he thinks has made a complete transformation over the years. -Chantell Black
VIBE VIXEN: You are always in a pair of heels.  Who is your favorite shoe designer?
DEREK J: I love high-end shoes. I love the Gucci’s and the Louboutin’s, but unfortunately I wear a size 11, so I can’t really fit them. So Tory Burch, Stuart Weitzman, Jeffrey Campbell are my faves.
Your show, Hair Battle Spectacular, recently debuted it’s second season. What kind of advice did you give to the hairstylists?
My advice to them is you don’t have to be good at everything, just be good at what you do. Don’t try to come in here and wow us; do what you know. It’s a competition, and you don’t want to lose because you trying to do all this other new stuff. Just do what you know how to do, be the best at it and make it fabulous.
What kind of hair tips do you have for the fall season?
A lot of black women don’t have a hair regimen.  You should be getting your hair shampooed at least once a week and ends trimmed every four to six weeks. Then you need to decide if you want to be natural or relaxed, and keep up on those things. From relaxed to natural, cut it all off or get a weave.  And get a good stylist that focuses on hair maintenance, not just hair styling.
What’s the biggest mistake girls make with their hair?
They want everything, but not take the time to maintain it all. They want the weave in, they want the weave out, they want relax, they want natural, just figure out what you want.

Reality Check: Derek J Talks Real Housewives & More

How cool would it be to make cameo appearances on one of America’s most popular reality TV guilty pleasures, be a judge on your own reality show and still run a successful salon?  UPTOWN Magazine asked someone who could answer that question best; celebrity hair stylist Derek J.  The BFF to the cast of Real Housewives of Atlanta gave us a teaser for what to expect as they gear up for another season of high-end shoes and high-end drama, as well as his own show on Oxygen Network.

Related: [PHOTOS] Real Housewives of Atlanta Is Back

UPTOWN: Your show, Hair Battle Spectacular, recently debuted it’s second season.  What made you return?

Derek J.: When they renewed for the second season, I was the only one [of the judges] that came back.  I was happy I got called back because I could’ve been left out like everybody else.  It’s such a fun show.  We grind it out for six weeks in L.A. and make it happen.

What can we expect this season?

There’s a lot of drama putting seven hairstylists together.  We’re actually getting ready for the finale.   It’s drama.  It’s hair.  It’s fun.  Eva and Taylor brought a fashion element to the show, where last year it was just about the hair.   So everybody stepped their game up all the way around.

From one reality show to the next, will we see you in this season of Real Housewives of Atlanta?

American Salon….featuring Derek J

BET Hip Hop Awards Pre-Parties Pop With Ray J, Da Brat, Derek J, Fonzworth Bentley, DJ Drama; Photos

ATLANTA – The BET Hip Hop Awards officially got underway with hip-hop heads flooding the streets in the city that has breathed life into the genre for the past two decades. One of the biggest pre-BET Awards parties happened was the annual barbecue celebrity party put on by 135th Street Agency at Piedmont Park’s Magnolia Hall, where the likes of Ray J, DaBrat, Derek J, Fonzworth Bentley, Shanti Das, DJ Traci Steele, DJ Drama, Devyne Stephens, Dondria, Lil Duval, French Montana, Verse Simmonds and WSB TV news anchor Jovita Moore danced, imbibed libations and mixed it up in grand style.