ChinahBlac Headlines The Rendezvous 2009 Finale

4. December 2009 by admin.

The final event of The Rendezvous live music series for 2009 will take place on December 14^th and feature critically acclaimed Soul artist ChinahBlac. Performing as a special guest during the evening will be Harlem native Mika.

 

The Rendezvous, produced by InJoy Enterprises and taking place monthly at Shrine World Music Venue, has been the leading live music event in Harlem featuring Independent Soul, R&B, Hip Hop and Urban Rock artists for nearly 5 years. Some of the artists who have performed just in the last year include Planet Ubiquity, Monet, Kojo Modibo Sun, Sun Singleton, Nakia Henry, Queen Aaminah, Brown Baby Girl, Shae Fiol, Steve Wallace, Maya Azucena, Silya, and The Revelations featuring Tre Williams. The Rendezvous ends its 2009 performance schedule with a double barreled dose of Soul Sistas on December 14^th.

 

ChinahBlac has served a supporting role for several artists for the past fifteen years. Once a background singer for the Dave Matthews Band, she was later the vocal director for Erykah Badu and also recorded with Jill Scott on the latter’s The Real Thing album. Her reputation has grown over this decade, resulting in backing vocal work for Ne-Yo, N’dambi, Heather Headley, Dave Hollister, Kelis and Bilal. Earlier this year she released her first solo project Introducing Eugenia Shata, which has received rave reviews.

 

 

 

Mika is a singer, songwriter who has been providing backing vocals to many of the artists in the soul music community for a number of years and over the last couple of years has been performing as a lead singer first with the Aston Gibson Band and then as a solo artist. Mika is currently putting the finishing touches on her debut solo cd.

 

 

 The Rendezvous traditionally takes place on the last Monday of Every Month at Shrine World Music Venue, 2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. between 133rd & 134th Streets in the World Famous Community of Harlem, NY. In light of the holiday season, this month’s show has been moved to December 14^th. Admission is $10.00 at the door. Doors open at 7PM. and performances begin at 8:00PM.

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Nakia Henry – “Remember Me”, An Unforgettable Debut!

16. October 2009 by admin.

“Remember Me” is the debut cd from artist Nakia Henry. After listening to early tracks that would be included in the full project I was very interested to hear the entire cd but those tracks in no way prepared me for the sheer joy I would experience in listening to the cd in full.

 

“Remember Me” is 15 tracks (plus a bonus song) of great listening. It is fun, thoughtful, uplifting, moving and healing. “Remember Me” is one of those cd’s that you will be able to listen to 5 – 10 years from now and you will get the same enjoyable feeling that you will get listening to it today.

 

Nakia Henry, born and raised in Detroit and now living in NYC, is trained in theatre arts and this cd is certainly theatrical. Each song tells stories and evokes images. She uses a myriad of sounds to do so ranging from hip hop beats and references to classic hip hop lyrics to haunting melodies to hints of field songs. 

 

The first songs I heard in their recorded form from this cd were “Afromantic”, a rocked out funk song that has an incredible ebb and flow and “Remember” feat. Poet, MC, Photographer (a couple of his photos of Nakia are in the CD packaging) Saddi Khali. It is a hauntingly aggressive track that features  smooth deep vocals from Nakia and matches them with a pulsing beat and the controlled aggression from Saddi that builds throughout the track.

 

“Afromantic” and “Remember” are the first songs I heard from the cd only because they were sent to me early. They are actually tracks 8 and 10 on the cd respectively. The first song that listeners to the cd will hear, Track 1, is “Fly Away Girl” where you hear Nakia singing “I Just Want To Fly Away…”  and the line is delivered in such a way that you can truly feel and relate to that moment where you want to get away to a better place. “Lily” follows on the cd and is a song that is truly a story of empowerment and self esteem. Nakia says that she wants to help “heal the world “ with this project and each song has finds a way of touching something inside you. Whether it soothes pain, helps you put a positive spin on your life which is done in a fun way on “Think Again”, or reminds you how important it is to be grateful exemplified in “Smile”, or conjures up the “Beautiful Music” of great lovemaking.

 

“Remember Me” is indeed an unforgettable debut from this thoughtful artist. It is truly masterful from beginning to end. Congratulations to Nakia Henry and her co-Executive Producer Fernando “Royal” Singleton for giving the world such an incredible piece of music.

 

Srtandout Tracks: All of Them

 

Favorite Tracks: “Afromantic”, “Remember” feat. Saddi Khali, “Beautiful Music”, “I’ll Be” 

“Remember Me” is currently available online at CDBaby.com, Amazon.com and Itunes. It is also available anytime you see Nakia Henry perform live. 

 By Marko Nobles

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Never In Our History II

11. September 2009 by admin.

This could not have been said any better. Please watch and enjoy

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Never In Our History

10. September 2009 by admin.

I don’t care if some don’t like or agree with Obama.  That’s their right.  It’s

America.

 But there has never been such a level of disrespect shown to the office of the President of the

United States of by Americans. Never. Bush’s “election” was the most controversial and disputed one in our nation’s history.  Many fervently believe he stole the election…twice. He attributed 9/11’ attacks to a country that had nothing to do with it, claimed they were planning to kill us with “weapons of mass destruction” that they didn’t have, and started a war that claimed tens of thousands and that costs billions.   

Oh yeah.  And Katrina.  And the economy. Lincoln was president while the Northern part of

America was at war with the South.  He controversially freed the slaves. Nixon committed crimes and had to resign.  

Clinton was impeached.

 And NONE of those men were ever booed, called liars, or had their speeches interrupted by a member of the House.  Ever! Nor have any House members ever previously demanded, or even suggested, that of the President of the

United States publically show his birth certificate.   Or suggest that the President should voice an opinion on domestic matters like inappropriate police arrests (that the sergeant’s own bosses dismissed).  Or state that it’s inappropriate for our President to address school kids.  Gee… I wonder why the rules are suddenly different for THIS President?   

Too many politicians are using our tax dollars for their salaries and playing political and racist games related to health care and other matters while the constituents who rely on them are going broke and/or dying preventable deaths.

                            - Forwarded to us by Lateef Ade Williams. We thank him for this.

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U.S. Residents - Particiate in the 2010 Census

21. August 2009 by admin.

Every 10 years, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution, our nation conducts a census — an effort to count every person living in the

United States. The 2010 Census aims to accurately count everyone residing in the

U.S., regardless of their age, gender, race, faith, ethnicity, income level, orientation, or immigration status.

 The 2010 Census will have one of the shortest census questionnaires in the history of the

United States, dating back to the nation’s first census in 1790, and should take only a few minutes on average to complete. 

 All answers are protected by Title 13 of the U.S. Code, which strictly forbids Census Bureau from sharing of any personally identifiable information with any other government or private agency. The law also stipulates that any violation will be subject to a $250,000 fine and/or a 5 year prison sentence.  The aim of this historic endeavor is to ensure that every household fills out and mails back a completed census form on or around April 1, 2010.  Participation is critical, as the results determine how representation in Congress is apportioned and how more than $435 billion in federal funds will be distributed annually to states and communities during the next decade. The results will impact local families’ quality of life in numerous ways, ranging from economic and educational investment decisions to social and health services, and from job training to language assistance programs. The New York Regional Census Center (NYRCC), which includes the ten northern counties of New Jersey and the nine southern counties of

New York, has expanded its Partnership and Data Services (PDS) program by hiring and training close to 200 specialized staff members.  The staff aims to be as diverse as the communities they serve, and the PDS staff is currently fluent in close to 40 languages. The PDS program goal is to increase the region’s mail response rate, maximize the accuracy of the count, and improve overall collaboration with census takers. 

 One of the key PDS strategies is to partner with community-based organizations of all types, ranging from social service organizations to cultural and religious groups, businesses to educational institutions, and media to elected officials.  Together, PDS staff and census partners are raising awareness and promoting participation in the upcoming census.  Census partners and local residents are also invited to participate in local Complete Count Committees (CCCs).   CCCs are volunteer teams consisting of community leaders, elected officials, faith-based groups, schools, businesses, media outlets and others who work together to make sure entire communities are counted.  PDS staff will provide materials and support all CCC efforts. For more information about partnering with the 2010 Census, contact the NY Regional Census Office at (212) 356-3100, and ask to speak with a Partnership staff member.  More information can be found at www.2010census.gov.

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Wendy & Lisa Officially “Come Out” to Out Magazine Online

27. April 2009 by admin.

Not that it’s a big secret or surprise, but the duo & former longtime couple have given what is probably their most candid interview to date. Wendy & Lisa openly discussing their life together, their music career & of course the  “Purple One,” whose sexuality is also clarified for the reader

 Check out the full interview: http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=25083   

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The Crowd That’s Worth Following

4. April 2009 by admin.

When I was growing up my Father would always tell me “Don’t follow the crowd, you let the crowd follow you.” It was sage life advice that I plan to share with my kids as they grow up. I have found one instance where I shouldn’t follow that advice.

In this instance The Crowd to follow is a trio of independent artists, Bronx born MC Randy Mason, French Soul Singer Adeline and Philadelphia native, now residing in Harlem Akil Dasan, who have come together to form an independent hip hop/soul “supergroup” and have just released their acoustic EP entitled “Be A Part of…The Crowd”. 

This 5 track EP shows off the groups individual talents and their collective abilities. They have been performing together for over a year, receiving great response, and I’m sure their reputation will grow because of this new release.

An acoustic hip hop/soul cd. That phrase seems a little odd but it fits for them. They have described their music as “Hip Hop, pop, soul, rock, funk, a mix of everything, it’s post genre segregation, a blend of all our influences.” In this case it’s all done as organically as possible with Akil Dasan on Guitar and Beatboxing as well as rhyming and singing, Adeline providing smooth vocals and Randy as the MC. You’ll hear some keyboards on “All My Love”, electric guitar on “Music” and “Under The Sun”. Most of all what you hear is great music that fits them like a hand in a glove.  All of the tracks are standouts for different reasons. “The One’ is the first track and features Adeline on vocals with Randy and Akil adding nice rhymes to round out the track. “All My Love” is positioned as a love song, not about an individual necessarily but about music and features Randy Mason and Akil Dasan trading rhymes with Adeline’s voice holding it together and keeping the soul of the song intact. “Music” is simply a nice piece of…well Music. “Under The Sun” is a nice track that includes a nice guitar solo that gives it some edge and then the final track, “Yeah” features Adeline and Akil Dasan singing a smooth duet.  These three artists have been performing on the independent scene as solo artists for awhile and each are formidable in their own right. Together as The Crowd they are even more special. Hopefully this EP is only the beginning of what’s to come for them. This is one Crowd that you need to follow to any stage where they’re performing. In the meantime pick up the acoustic EP “Be A Part of …The Crowd” available from them directly at shows or online at their sites www.myspace.com/therealcrowd and
www.myspace.com/randymason.

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A little More Prince

14. March 2009 by admin.

We’re in Prince mode getting ready for his 3 new releases on March 29th.

 Enjoy

o2 London 2007 - Prince

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More Prince to Share

13. March 2009 by admin.

As Prince prepares to release three cd’s on March 29th, he will play on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for three nights and then play a fourth time on the Final Tonight Show hosted by Jay Leno in May.

More details can be found here: http://www.nme.com/news/prince/43391

For all you Prince Lovers here is a little live video to whet your appetite.

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Michael Jackson - Back On Stage

9. March 2009 by admin.

Michael Jackson is heading back to the stage. Some might say where he belongs. You may have heard by now about Michael Jackson’s London Concerts at the O2 Arena taking place in July 2009.

Here is the story as it appeared in USA Today:

 LONDON — Michael Jackson will perform 10 concerts in London this summer in a thrilling comeback aimed at restoring his tarnished King of Pop crown.

The reclusive singer made a rare public appearance Thursday to deliver the news to more than 1,500 screaming fans. Wearing a military-style embroidered black shirt with a sequined armband, black trousers and sunglasses, a healthy-looking Jackson spoke in a strong voice as he said the July shows would be his final performances. It was unclear whether he was announcing his retirement from live entertainment.

“This is it. These will be my final shows in London. This is it. I mean it, because, I don’t know,” Jackson said without elaborating.

“I will be performing the songs my fans want to hear. … This is the final curtain call,” Jackson said, followed by a chorus of boos from the crowd. After his brief comments, he thrust his right arm into the air several times, making a peace sign.

The gigs at the 20,000-seat O2 Arena, a residency billed as This Is It, begin July 8. Tickets will sell for $70, $92 and $105 and go on sale March 13. Fans can apply for presale tickets through a lottery at michaeljacksonlive.com.

“I love you so much. I really do. You have to know that,” Jackson told his fans, many of them crying and holding banners and posters. “I’ll see you in July.”

Jackson, 50, has been known in recent years mostly for his eccentric behavior, changing appearance and faltering health. He has not toured since his 82-date HIStory world tour in 1996-97, which grossed $178 million. His last studio album was 2001’s Invincible. A much-hyped concert at the 2006 World Music Awards in London ended in disappointment, with Jackson muttering just a few bars We Are the World. Several other comeback projects, including a Jackson 5 reunion, never materialized.

But now, Jackson has a major incentive to moonwalk back onto the stage: money. Once one of the world?s wealthiest entertainers, Jackson has struggled with financial difficulties since 2003, when he began battling child-molestation allegations. After his acquittal in 2005, he fell deeper into seclusion and debt. In November, he defaulted on a $24.5 million loan owed on his Neverland ranch. That same month, he settled a lawsuit with the Prince of Bahrain, who sued the singer for $7 million he had invested in projects that were subsequently abandoned.

Though British bookmakers are placing bets that Jackson won’t show up for his O2 concerts, the gigs may finally be the real deal. An official website was launched Monday, michaeljackson.com. Posters advertising the shows began appearing in London Underground stations several hours before his announcement.

“People will fly in from all over to see these shows,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the touring trade publication Pollstar. “Especially in Europe, where it’s not that difficult to travel between countries.” He expects the 10 shows to sell out in advance. “Success won’t depend on whether it’s a good show or not.”

Some fans waited more than five hours for Jackson’s two-minute appearance, which began 90 minutes late. Many of his most diehard fans were not even alive during Jackson’s Thriller days.

“We grew up listening to him,” says Iram Tariq, 20, of Greenwich. “We have to go see him. He’s the only legend of our time who has attained that level of success.”

Says Chloe Brown, 17, of London, “He’s an icon, an inspiration.” Friend Naomi Smith says she hopes to attend at least two of Jackson’s O2 shows.

It’s no surprise that Jackson chose to stage his comeback in Europe, where he remains popular. “Americans have been very harsh and critical of him,” says Harps Phull, 21, of London. “We are a bit more open-minded, I reckon.”

Bongiovanni is skeptical that the shows will mark Jackson’s retirement. “We’ve seen so many (performers announce that, then) retract a few months later, or years later.”

But whether success in London could translate to a live-concert comeback in the USA remains to be seen. “You don’t know what damage has been done by his legal troubles and general weird behavior,” Bongiovanni says. “Would people (here) show up to protest him, or would all of that be forgotten?”

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