THE 2010 BLACK WEBLOG AWARDS NAME FINALISTS, 140 BLOGS RECOGNIZED IN 35 CATEGORIES INCLUDING 3 NEW CATEGORIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE 2010 BLACK WEBLOG AWARDS NAME FINALISTS, 140 BLOGS RECOGNIZED IN 35 CATEGORIES INCLUDING 3 NEW CATEGORIES

'Until I Get Married' and 'Very Smart Brothas' Lead with 4 Nods

ATLANTA – August 1, 2010 - Today, the finalists were announced for the 2010 Black Weblog Awards. After over 7 weeks of campaigning, the race was narrowed down to 140 finalists, which were selected based on voting by their loyal readers and fans. Blogworld & New Media Expo is the official media sponsor for this year’s highly coveted crowning competition. And new for 2010, are 3 new categories; Best Blog Network, Best Film Blog and Best Travel Blog. The Best Sports/ Recreation category is now represented in two separate fields, Best Gaming or Comics Blog and Best Sports Blog.

Standout blogs this year were Very Smart Brothas and Until I Get Married. Very Smart Brothas is a blog by veteran bloggers, The Champ and Panama Jackson about relationships and pop culture which garners an average of over 250 comments per post. Very Smart Brothas grabbed 4 nominations this year; Best Group Blog, Best Humor Blog, Best Sex or Relationships Blog and Best Writing in a Blog. Until I Get Married (Inside the Mind of A Bachelor) is the brainchild of Jozen, a New York-based writer, VIBE and King Magazine alum, who has penned articles in New York Magazine, GQ.com, New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Complex, XXL, Essence and the Washington Post. His blog follows his journey through the ups and downs of bachelorhood, as the title implies.

14 blogs snagged nominations in two categories each. These blogs were Clutch Magazine; Mane and Chic; Miss Jia; Project Duh; The Daily Raw Cafe; The Dithering of a District Diva; The Gentlemen's Standard; The Raw Mocha Angel; The Skorpion Show; The Urban Politico; The Young, Black and Fabulous; The Fresh Xpress; thenublack and Three Ways to Take It. And the five blogs up for awards in three categories each are The Angry Black Lady Chronicles; Black & Right; max-logic; O Hell Nawl and the Relationship Playbook.

More than 10,000 bloggers, micro-bloggers, podcasters and video bloggers competed for the reigning title in the 35 various categories. “I am amazed and humbled by the amount of participation this year, as well as the support we’ve received from the Black blogging community. We are setting the stage for bigger and better things next year, so please continue to show your support for us and what we do,” states Maurice Cherry, Black Weblog Awards Founder.


The following is the comprehensive list of finalists, which have advanced to the final round where two winners, Popular Vote and Judges' Vote, will be crowned on September 1, 2010.

Best Blog Design
• Clutch Magazine
• Concrete Loop
• kisforkinky
• Mostbeautifullist
• The Young, Black, and Fabulous

Best Blog Network
• Global Grind Network
• New Music Cartel Network
• Real Black Network
• theFreshXpress.com Blog Network
• We Are Black Women Network

Best Blog Post Series
• “Black Republicans” (via The Urban Politico)
• “How I Finally Found Faith” (via Three Ways to Take It)
• “I Love Black Men” Series (via Black ‘n’ Bougie)
• “Michael Jackson and the Five Stages of Grief” (via What Would Thembi Do?)
• “Wet Wednesdays Erotica”(via Naked With Socks On)

Best Business Blog
• BrandMakerNews
• DanteLee.com
• Kiss My Black Ads
• Twenty Ten Club
• Young, Fabulous & Self-Employed

Best Cooking or Food Blog
• JG* Runs The Kitchen
• My Life Runs on Food
• The Daily Raw Cafe
• The Raw Mocha Angel
• Yes, Divas Can Cook

Best Culture Blog
• Clutch Magazine
• Socialtik Mag
• theFreshXpress.com
• thenublack
• What Would Thembi Do?

Best Faith-Based Blog
• GospelPundit.com
• In Search of His Face
• Reflection of a Jazz Theologian
• The Golden Era Gospel Blog
• The Old Black Church!

Best Fashion or Beauty Blog
• Afrobella
• Mane and Chic
• The Fashion Bomb
• The Gentlemen’s Standard
• Vex in the City

Best Film Blog
• Black Box Office
• Film Reviews 2 Go
• Invisible Woman
• Random Film, Television and Literature Criticisms
• Shadow and Act

Best Gaming or Comics Blog
• Alter Ego Maniac
• Black Comix
• Black Nerd Comedy
• Black Superhero Fan
• The Koalition

Best Gossip Blog
• Bossip
• MediaTakeOut.com
• Miss Jia
• NecoleBitchie
• The Young, Black, and Fabulous

Best Group Blog
• O Hell Nawl
• The Relationship Playbook
• The Urban Politico
• Three Ways to Take It
• Very Smart Brothas

Best Health or Wellness Blog
• A Black Girl’s Guide to Weight Loss
• Savvy Brown
• The Broken Brown Egg Blog
• The Daily Raw Cafe
• The Raw Mocha Angel

Best Hip-Hop Blog
• AllHipHop
• In Pursuit of Realness
• Nah Right
• Rap Radar
• WSHH VideoTUBE

Best Humor Blog
• Angry Black Lady Chronicles
• Awesomely Luvvie
• O Hell Nawl
• Very Smart Brothas
• Yeah…I said it

Best International Blog
• Catch a Vibe
• max-logic
• thenublack
• Womanist Musings
• Yoruba Girl Dancing

Best LGBT Blog
• B. Scott
• Pam’s House Blend
• Rod 2.0:Beta
• The Skorpion Show
• TransGriot

Best Microblog
• Black Love Poster | Tumblr
• Brittany Kelly (sharonaroxx) | Twitter
• BROTHER JESSE! (BrotherJesse) | Twitter
• Kriss (insanityreport) | Twitter
• Sister Toldja (SisterToldja) | Twitter

Best Music Blog
• iHEARTDilla
• My Mood is Music
• SoulBounce
• Sound-Savvy
• Your Music My World

Best New Blog
• I Had Heard
• max-logic
• Miss Domino
• Project Duh
• The Dithering of a District Diva

Best Parenting or Family Blog
• 4 Hats and Frugal
• Black and Married with Kids
• Cocoa Mamas
• Moms of Hue
• My Brown Baby

Best Personal Blog
• A Belle in Brooklyn
• Permed to Natural
• she.so.fly
• The Dithering of a District Diva
• Until I Get Married

Best Photography Blog
• Chookooloonks
• le coil
• My Damn Blog
• Tafari’sMindspill
• The adventures of kesh.

Best Podcast Series
• Friday Favecast
• Gordon Gartrell Radio
• HBCU Digest Radio
• Po Politickin
• The Insanity Report Podcast

Best Political or News Blog
• Black & Right
• Brother Jesse Blog
• Jack & Jill Politics
• The Black Snob
• The Urban Politico

Best Science or Technology Blog
• Black Web 2.0
• Chick Lit MD
• Noire Digerati
• Urban Science Adventures! ©
• Where Are Blacks In Technology?

Best Sex or Relationships Blog
• max-logic
• Naked With Socks On
• The Relationship Playbook
• Until I Get Married
• Very Smart Brothas

Best Sports Blog
• Black Sports Online
• Ed The Sports Fan
• Hardwood Diva
• MKRob Sports
• Sports On My Mind

Best Teen Blog
• * Sharona *
• DamierDesigns MMX
• hustleGRL
• Teen Savvy
• XOXO, TARA

Best Travel Blog
• Black in Cairo
• Haute Travels
• Jay Travels
• Kiratiana Travels
• Vai Via Blog

Best Video Blog Series
• CHICK
• Ill Doctrine
• Natural Chica
• The Fury TV
• The Skorpion Show

Best Writing in a Blog
• Angry Black Lady Chronicles
• Black & Right
• Three Ways to Take It
• Until I Get Married
• Very Smart Brothas

Blog of the Year
• Black & Right
• Mane and Chic
• Miss Jia
• O Hell Nawl
• Until I Get Married

Blog to Watch
• Angry Black Lady Chronicles
• Project Duh
• The Gentlemen’s Standard
• The Relationship Playbook
• The Urbane Urbanite

For the 2011 season, the BWA’s plan to produce a live awards ceremony and reception. In preparation, a Kickstarter campaign has been launched to raise funds. All supporters, who would liked to see the awards show live, should go to http://kck.st/c5MjAt for information and to make pledges.

To view the entire list of finalists and to vote, please go to www.blackweblogawards.com. Winners will be announced on September 1, 2010 and posted on the official site.  To schedule interviews with BWA creator and founder, Maurice Cherry or to obtain a schedule of interviews from some of the finalists, please contact Jonnice Slaughter at (404) 348-8289 or jslaughter [at] chatterboxpublicity dot com.

Links:
BWA website – http://www.blackweblogawards.com/
BWA logo – http://chttr.us/bwa10logo
BWA Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/blkweblogawards
BWA Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/blackweblogawards
BWA Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Weblog_Awards

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About the Black Weblog Awards
The Black Weblog Awards was founded in 2005 to give recognition to Black bloggers (and those of the African diaspora), which were largely overlooked by other Internet award events. The Black Weblog Awards is an international showcase with participants from over 90 countries and stands out as the most widespread Internet award event for Black bloggers. To date, the Black Weblog Awards has recognized nearly 180 blogs in over 30 categories, and has also been featured in several mainstream and online media outlets, including NPR. Winners of the Black Weblog Awards have also went on to appear in other media outlets, like MSNBC, the Huffington Post, BET, the Washington Post, and many others. For more information, visit www.blackweblogawards.com.

Moonie visits BET's 106 and Park to premiere video and judge Freestyle Friday

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jonnice Slaughter
(404) 348-8289 – Direct
jslaughter@chatterboxpublicity.com – Email

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      

“HOOD GIRL” VIDEO BY MOONIE FEATURING RAY J PREMIERES ON BET’S “106 AND PARK”

Moonie Stops By Video Countdown Show To Debut New Video And Judge Freestyle Friday Battle

Chicago – May 28, 2010- Today, Chicago native rapper, Moonie will visit BET’s “106 and Park” to drop off his new video and judge the Freestyle Friday competition.   The video was shot in Los Angeles and directed by Kurt Wurk.

The single is currently gaining rotation across the airwaves, especially in Las Vegas, Jackson (MS), Chicago, Little Rock and Nashville.

“Hood Girl” is Moonie’s debut single as a solo artist.  Moonie is best known as one third of the rap group, LEP Bogus Boys (Low End Professionals), whose hits include “Shawty,” and “Chicagorilla.”

Moonie, who hails from the south side of Chicago, was discovered at a high school music showcase by E, CEO of the Infared Music Group, home of the LEP Bogus Boys (Low End Professionals).  Moonie personifies ambition, passion, edge, and most importantly, credibility.  A true rising star with humble beginnings, Moonie has witnessed, first hand, his share of successes, the good, bad and the downright ugly. As with all tales of success, comes hardships and disappointment.  Moonie’s story is no different, having endured the loss of several close friends and penitentiary time. These stories are chronicled in his lyrics.  Moonie’s style has been described as “street” story telling coupled with an engaging charm creating his universal appeal.   “My music adds another color to the picture.  Music is filled with different personalities; my music is introducing a new personality, a breath of fresh air,” states Moonie.

Moonie’s debut album is scheduled for a late summer release.  Fans can expect a universal, entertaining and edgy sound fused with high energy.    In the meantime, Hip Hop lovers can hear more of Moonie’s music by visiting his group’s website at www.lepbogusboys.com.

Moonie’s appearance on BET’s “106 and Park” will air Friday, May 28, 2010 at 6:00 pm EST.  “Hood Girl” is currently available on iTunes.

Links:
Photo image:  http://chatterboxpublicity.com/Moonie/Moonie.jpg
“Hood Girl” by Moonie featuring Ray J:  http://chatterboxpublicity.com/Moonie/Moonie ft. Ray J-Hood Girl.mp3

About Moonie
Moonie, a Southside Chicago native is signed to Infared Music Group.  Moonie is part of the rap trio, LEP Bogus Boys (Low End Professionals).  “Hood Girl,” featuring Ray J, is Moonie’s debut single as a solo artist.  To learn more about Moonie, visit the following:  http://www.twitter.com/moonieoflep,  http://www.myspace.com/moonieoflep and http://www.facebook.com/moonieofL.E.P.

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