Author Archives: UnRated Magazine

Summer Stage Salute to Hip-Hop Show

By David Whitely

August 21st 2011 was New York City’s Summer Stage “Salute to Hip Hop” concert in Central Park.  The show was headlined by “The God Emcee” Rakim, and featured performances by famed duo Eric Sermon and Robert Parish, known by their stage name EPMD, and Hot 97’s Funk Master Flex. 

Scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. patrons were still filling up the main stage space twenty minutes prior to showtime, making sure they found a good spot to see historical figures in Hip-Hop perform.  Some were worried about the coming sun shower to hit the area, but still did were not trying to pass on this opportunity: seeing these major players in Hip-Hop history perform for free.

Facing a crowd of several hundred people, Funk Master Flex kicked off the show at 3:10 p.m.  Jumping on the 1’s and 2’s, and dropping his signature bombs, Funk Flex began to take concert goers on a history trip through Hip-Hop history playing classic cuts from the 80’s and early 90’s.  Most in the crowd were rocking with Flex as he played joints, but a few in the crowd were still upset about his Tupac rant he made earlier this year, and heckled him through his set in screaming out “Tupac” and “west coast.”  The Brooklyn born DJ did not let the hecklers stop his history lesson as he went through records like UTFO’s “Roxanne Roxanne,” Salt n Pepa’s “My Mic Sounds Nice,” Slick Rick’s “Bedtime Story,” and Lisa Lisa’s “Take You Home” to name a few.  Flex didn’t stop there, he went to one of the early Hip-Hop beefs in playing Mc Shan’s “The Bridge,”and KRS-One’s “The Bridge is Over.” 

Keeping the crowd the largely 35+ crowd rocking, Flex didn’t regionally discriminate in playing the legendary record “Straight Outta Compton” by N.W.A.  Funk Flex was taking the largely older crowd down memory lane in continuously saying to the crowd “If you’re 35 and older, get your hands up right now.”  But at the same time was schooling the younger people there on early Hip-Hop records.  The crowd was definitely rocking with Flex as they answered him back when he asked them questions, singing along to the records, yelling out “That was my jam back in…” dancing along to familiar records, and asking him to play extra records as an encore.

Most of the younger Hip-Hop fans nodded their heads as they couldn’t sing along because they didn’t know most of the records Flex played.  They didn’t have to worry too long because Dj Scratch took to the stage next and played some more recent records like The Throne’s “Otis,”  Freeway’s “What We Do,” and a few others before EPMD graced the stage.   

Eric Sermon and Parish Smith took to the stage and performed hits like “You Gots to Chill,” “You’re a Customer,” and “So What You Saying.”  Keeping towards the older crowd, Sermon took time throughout the show to say who and Smith are to younger audience members in case they did not know.  Sermon even stopped halfway through the set to jump into a freestyle where he spits, “I’m from the Golden Era, an 80’s baby//way before T.I//way before Shady//way before Luda//way before Baby//I rock now for those who can’t lately//I’m from the New York C-I-T-Y//Now ya’ll see why we fly//I rocked bells with L//did tours with Run//I did this for fun, years before Pun.”  The crowd went crazy after this due to the name dropping and supposed jabs at the mentioned artist.

Next up was the main event, Rakim’s performance.  The crowd was already in a frenzy seeing the earlier performances from Funk Master Flex, and EPMD, but this was different.  The energy of the crowd was at an all time high in anticipation of the God Emcee to come on and bless the stage.  Despite the coming clouds over the main stage, no one moved.  For many there, Rakim is the reason why they fell in love with Hip-Hop, so to leave before his set due to a little sun shower would be an act of blasphemy. 

 To introduce Rakim, Dj Ralph McDaniels and Technician the DJ came to the stage to get things started for the upcoming performance.  In commemorating the 25th anniversary of the classic album, Rakim went right into hits from 1986’s “Paid in Full.”  The crowd erupted when he performed “I ain’t No Joke.”  The crowd went along with every word that Rakim rapped, while flashing pictures and video recording the performance.  From there he performed other hits like “Holy Are You,” “How to Emcee,” “Eric B. Is President,” “Move the Crowd,” and “The Ledge.”  Halfway through his set it began to rain.  Instead of going home, audience members pulled out umbrellas and rocked with Rakim to the end of his set.  This was a real demonstration of appreciation by true Hip-Hop fans in that not one person left the area.  If they didn’t have an umbrella, they had on a poncho, if not a poncho, they were underneath someone else’s umbrella, if not that, they just got wet in the rain, no one was walking out on Rakim.  During his set, Rakim brought a few guest stars to perform classic cuts.  Peter Gunz came out and performed “Deja Vu” (Uptown) for his hometown crowd, and Cormega hit the stage and recited “Affirmative Action.”  Rakim closed out the show in jumping on the 1’s and 2’s and did some mixing and scratching himself.  The crowd was amazed by how nice he is as a DJ.         

 Audience members went home satisfied in enjoying a great show with Funk Master Flex, EPMD, Rakim, and the surprise guest.  Both the younger and older crowds of attendants were very happy with the turnout of the show, even with the rain, they wouldn’t trade the day and experience for anything.

Kanye West Headlining Call of Duty® XP

In his first public performance since the release of his fifth #1 album, the global smash “Watch the Throne,” Kanye West is set to close Call of Duty® XP , the only full-immersion fan experience for Call of Duty® gamers. West will take the stage at 8PM on Saturday, September 3rd, capping an impressive roster of firsts for casual and hardcore Call of Duty fans alike, including the world premiere of Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 multiplayer, the first public hands-on with the title, the finals of the Call of Duty® $1 Million tournament sponsored by Xbox 360®, Call of Duty-inspired live action-experiences and much more.

Call of Duty XP will take place at the Call of Duty compound in Playa Vista, located at 5600 Campus Center Dr., Los Angeles, Calif., 90094.  Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) will donate 100% of the sales to The Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit, public benefit corporation that seeks to help returning soldiers transition back to civilian life, find work and establish careers. For more information about Call of Duty XP, please visit www.callofduty.com/xp.

Janet Jackson to be featured in “What Becomes a Legend Most?” Campaign

Blackglama announced that Janet Jackson will be the first legend to be featured for the second year consecutively in the brand’s iconic “What Becomes a Legend Most?” advertising campaign.

Unquestionably a legend in the world of entertainment, Janet Jackson’s albums, including Control, janet, All For You and Number Ones, have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and her most recent “JANET JACKSON Number Ones; Up Close And Personal” World Tour broke box office records making her one of the best-selling female artists of all time.  

She is the only recording artist to have Grammy™ nominations spanning the categories Dance, Pop, Rap, Rock and R&B. Janet is also an accomplished actress, with starring roles in television and film including Poetic Justice, Nutty Professor, Why Did I Get Married?, Why Did I Get Married Too? and For Colored Girls.

Last year’s campaign thrust Janet Jackson amongst some of the world’s most legendary entertainers who have starred in the popular Blackglama “What Becomes a Legend Most?” campaign. The initiative was revived by noted advertising agency Laspata DeCaro, and ads were photographed by Rocco Laspata.

The first ad debuts in the September issue of W Magazine.

University of the Streets Open Mic Jam Session

By David Whitely

For Jazz enthusiasts looking for a place to listen to or perform great music, University of  The Streets at 130 E. 7th Street, Manhattan, New York, is where you want to be.

Since its creation in 1969 by Muhammad Salahuddeen, University of the Streets, a non-profit organization aiming to “address the educational, vocational, and cultural needs of the community,” have been continuing this effort through weekly jazz jam sessions held at 8:30 p.m. Friday nights.

The Jam Sessions, hosted by internationally known jazz sensation Okaru Lovelace, are open to jazz patrons and performers. For five dollars, audience members can hear the different styles of jazz music such as ragtime, bebop and scat to name a few and singers and musicians can perform for the same price.  Not just singers and musicians perform here during the Friday night jam sessions, but dancers, and spoken word artist also.

I was recently invited to and attended one of the Friday jam sessions, and had the opportunity to experience some of whatNew York City’s jazz circuit has to offer.  The set up of the event was a small, intimate setting, inviting the audience to experience the music and vibe of jazz culture on a personal level. 

With a full house of close to 30 people, the amount of patrons and performs was large enough to make the room appear to be crowded, yet small enough to maintain its intimate feel.  Performers have been involved with Jazz as an amateur and professional for many years.  The room was a mixture of middle aged and younger people (teens and twenty something’s), showcasing the mass appeal of jazz music and culture to reach beyond usual confining things such as age.  The space had the tools usually seen in a jazz club: cello, piano, drums, lively performers, patrons with the look of anticipation on their faces, and of the course the talent.

 

Ms. Lovelace opened the evening with a few words for the crowd outlining the format of the event before the first performer June, took to the microphone.  With a very soothing and lovely voice, June demonstrated her love for Jazz through her singing.  Her passion for the culture and craft became apparent as soon as the Japanese born singer opened her mouth.  Along with the passion for the music being shown in her singing, it was also clear in her body language; June’s body language was captivating in not the usual intense form of performance, but by sheer enjoyment and love of performing Jazz. 

The next performer performed two songs, the first an up-tempo song, followed by a slow, crooning ballad.  This performer was different to that of June due to a much louder, thunderous voice, particularly on the up-tempo song.  Singing original songs, she gave the sheet music to the musicians and took command after telling them to follow along.  Sitting there listening her brought about visions of being in Harlem’s legendary Cotton Club during the 1940’s.  The audience moved from tapping their feet along to the tunes, to almost breaking into a dance number.  It was a very energetic performance to say the least. 

The next artist, another regular, Jim West took to the mic stand and brought about a swinging style with his rendition of the famous style of Scat.  Despite being overpowered by the sound of the band at times, Mr. West still kept it cool and funky with his laid back style.  What was really great about this performance is that the band broke into a solo and really started to jam.  The Cello player let loose on base, and the piano man followed suit on the keys.  The crowd was nodding their heads in a motion to the band to play with more ferocity because they were so into it. 

Overall, it was a solid event put together by Universityof  The Streets, and hosted by Okaru Lovelace. For more information on the Jam Session, visit www.universityofthestreets.org/about. For more information about Okaru Lovelace, visit her MySpace page at myspace.com/okarulovelace

One on One with Jennifer Williams (Basketball Wives)

By Tamara Jenkins

VH1’s reality series Basketball Wives has sparked high ratings and high criticism. Focusing on the lives of the women behind some of the worlds most admired and idolized men, the show has become a goldmine for the cable channel and made the wives featured household names.

Having just concluded the third season that included physical altercations, verbal attacks and international travel, one of its stars, Jennifer Williams, is ready to step away from the shadow of her soon to be former husband and the life as a basketball wife and move into a new, independent chapter.

Recently in Chicago for a meet and greet at the Glam Luxe Boutique, for which she serves as the company’s spokes model, Williams spoke to UnRated Urban about the show, her projects away from the show and her future goals.

How did you get involved with the show?

JW: Shaunie O’Neal, one of the show’s executive producers, had this idea to do the show, talked to Evelyn about it, then we all got on the phone and that’s how it came about. It’s not like we were cast to do the show. We all had a connection to Shaunie and it took on a life of its own.

Are you surprised by the success of the show?

JW: At first I was, probably like season one, because I was like wow people are really interested in our lives. But after season one I sort of got use to it.  But everyday something does kind of surprise me. It really surprises me how interested people are and how invested they are in our lives.  I think everything has its pros and cons and it’s a good thing but sometimes it can be a little overwhelming.

How do you feel about the negative criticism the show has received?

JW: I think there does need to be more of a balance because I feel like a lot of our show is focused on drama and I get that drama sells and people want to see that but I feel like we can come to some type of balance because there are so many things that we do outside of the show and its not just fighting.

We film for almost four months and a lot of stuff they don’t use because they focus on what the audience wants to see. I know Shaunie is fighting with VH1 and Shed Media which our production company to get more of a balance and show us doing other things besides arguing and fighting because there’s so much more to all the women than just that.

How does your family feel about you being on the show?

JW: My family is very supportive. I don’t really get on the show and act crazy. I’m a calm person, I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not on camera, I’m definitely not confrontational so I feel like I don’t really embarrass my family on TV. So they are supportive of me.

Would you consider doing your own reality show?

JW: I would consider doing my own show. I would definitely have to be an executive producer and have some creative control, but I would definitely be open to that.

Which reality shows do you watch?

JW: I don’t get a lot of time to watch TV but I try to watch a lot of the Housewives shows, NeNe Leakes is a great friend of mine so I definitely watch the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Once in awhile I’ll catch the Kardashians but I really don’t have much time.

If you could do it all over again, would you have signed up for the show?

JW: I would definitely do it all over again. I don’t live with regrets and the show has opened up some doors for me that, if I wasn’t on the show, it might not have been as easy, I might have had to knock a couple extra times and now they kind of open, so I would definitely do it again.

Let’s talk about your ventures outside of the show, like your lip gloss line, Lucid?

JW: I started working on it second two and it was actually a long journey for me, I just thought I want to make lip gloss  because that’s one beauty product I don’t leave out of the house without and I thought it would be easy.

I didn’t partner with anyone and I did everything myself down to the containers, the packaging, the colors, I’m working on the display now for retail stores, so its been a long journey and I’ve learned a lot of lessons but I always say nothing good is easy. Its finally out there, I’ve launched and I have big dreams for Lucid.

I don’t want to stop at lip gloss, I definitely want to take it and make it a full cosmetics line. Its slowly coming along, its like my little baby, its crawling right now, I’m watching it grow and I’m just really excited about it because it’s a new chapter in my life and its all about independence and Lucid is something I’m very proud of.

What are some of your other ventures?

JW: I’m a principle owner of Flirty Girl Fitness and we have a location here in Chicago and one inToronto. I have a nonprofit foundation called Project Save the World, myself, my friend Heather and my manager co-founded. We just feel like we live this extremely blessed life and we wanted to give back. We couldn’t decide what cause we wanted to support, so we called it save the world and we do whatever’s in our hearts. There are so many different causes that need our time, money and just so much stuff people don’t even know about. That’s something I’m very proud of.

 I’m working on a book, I’m writing a hand book for women and I’m working on a workout DVD.

What will the handbook be about?

JW: Just about general life. When I first started writing it, I was basing it on beauty and fashion because I had so many people sending me messages on facebook and twitter asking questions like what kind of foundation do you use, where did you buy this, and what do you for that, so I was like, I’m going to write a handbook for women about diet, exercise, skincare, wardrobe and as I started writing it, I thought I should have a chapter about self esteem, I should have a chapter about love. So, it’s an all around handbook for women.

Because your marriage issues were so relevant on the show, do you get a lot of messages from women asking for relationship advice? Have you thought about writing an advice column or a relationship book?

JW: You know what, just recently I have. I feel like when people feel their going through a divorce it’s the end of the world and its not. When I first started getting messages about relationships, I would think to myself, do they really watch the show, because they would know I’m not the one to give advice.

If I can be an inspiration, I would love to do that. There’s definitely life after divorce and I think you have to go through that healing process and once you do, it’s okay to start over and it took me a long time to recognize that because I’m a victim of divorce, my parents got divorced and it was something I never wanted for myself. I always felt like if I get a divorce, I’m going to be a failure. I had to heal and I had to learn and if I can teach that to other women I would welcome that.

I must say, going through something like that with a camera is not easy because it’s very personal. But when I signed up to do the show I knew I had issues going on in my relationship and it was sort of a struggle because I’m a private person and I said to myself, if I do this show, I’m going to have to be real about my relationship because it’s a reality show and if you’re trying to be something you’re not the camera picks up on that.

But I’m happy that I did it because if I wasn’t on the show and wasn’t to talk about it I might still be in that same situation and I wasn’t happy.

Do you have any acting or musical aspirations?

JW: I can’t sing, so you won’t find me singing. I’m open to getting into acting. I’m use to being in front of a camera so that would be an easy adjustment for me. I want to get into hosting and doing special correspondent stuff. I’m open to dabbling into a couple of different things, so we’ll see what happens.

Would you ever date an athlete again?

JW: I’m not going to say never but if you date an athlete, you know what goes along with that and right now that’s definitely not something I’m looking for and I would say an athlete is probably last on my list.

What advice would you give to the cast of Basketball Wives L.A.?

JW: That cast is a little interesting. The only thing I can say is when the camera’s there, you have to be real and just stay true to yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One on One with Travis McCoy

By Toyin Alaka

A mash-up of cool, colorful cups and cold slurpee concoctions combined with the sounds of We Are The In Crowd and Gym Class Heroes greeted those lucky enough to snag a ticket to 7-Eleven’s MixMaker Concert Series held July 25th atChicago’s Lincoln Hall.

Gym Class Heroes, currently on the 2011 Vans Warped Tour, detoured to the windy city for the MixMaker series and before the show, UnRated Urban Magazine got a chance to speak with the band’s front man Travis McCoy.

What is the inspiration behind the new Gym Class Heroes album The Papercut Chronicles II?

McCoy: The inspiration…um, I would say that in going into this record… it was kind of a conscious decision to go back to the essence of what Gym Class Heroes is and was and always will be, and it’s kind of us putting our antennas up and trying to bound these sounds that we like and enjoy.

We feel that calling the album The Papercut Chronicles II, um it’s kind of going back to the urgency and the kind  of naiveté of the first album, you know we were kids and they say you have your whole entire life to write your perspective and after that you lose that mind and all that, so there’s a kind of sense of urgency and also an innocence from our first album (The Papercut Chronicles) that we want to bring to this album without re-creating the first album and taking everything we’ve experienced and learned since the first album and kind of expressing that. 

For me it kind of sets the bar pretty high as far as expectations for this album because our first record means a lot to us and was written from the time I was seventeen to age twenty-one, so there were a lot of growing pains in there you know and for me it’s like my little baby and we definitely took a lot of time to nurture a lot of these songs and lyrically I was very, very conscious about touching on a lot of things that was touched on the first album, so there are some reoccurring themes and anyone who is a fan of the first album will pick out the tiny nuances that are on the new album and go wait a minute was…. that.. like the drum feel from Simple Living? You know there are little surprises and little treats in there.

Did you guys draw from any of your musical influences while creating The Papercut Chronicles II?

McCoy: For sure, we always do.  I think anyone who says that their music is completely original is a f***ing liar, you know what I’m saying.  Like I think that originality is just the evolution of influence.  We listen to all types of music so at the end of the day our product is an amalgamation of everything that we listen to and everything that we are inspired by so us having such an eclectic and wide palate for music makes us end up with a hard to slap a label on genre.

Genre-blending?

McCoy: Yeah!  It’s been a blessing.  I love it when people ask me so what would you call your band and I look at them and say what would you call it?  And they can’t answer and I can’t answer.

Right!  I think that’s the beauty of what you guys do, it’s the fact that you blend so many genres together and it makes it so appealing to a wide audience.

McCoy: And it gives us the freedom to tour with bands like Fall Out Boy or The Roots or whomever we want.

So how did the first single Stereo Hearts come about and the collaboration with Adam Levine?

McCoy: Well I was working with my boy Benny Blanco (music producer), and he played this beat and it was a skeletal beat.  Whenever we work with producers they will come up with a skeletal frame of a song and then we will build around it if we are not writing the song ourselves, you know what I mean.  Umm, so he had this idea of a song Stereo Hearts and there’s a reference that his boy Amir had sang and I was like this is cool and we both felt like man, Adam Levine would really kill this. 

So we made the call and Adam happened to be a fan of Gym Class, which is very funny because when we first signed to our label they asked if there was anybody that we would want to collaborate with in the future and who would it be and the first person I said was Adam Levine and that was around the time that I was absolutely in awe of the album Songs About Jane that was like my record at the time that I was playing non-stop and so I said Adam Levine. 

It’s crazy how things come full circle and we actually get to have a song with him but umm watching that dude like go into the booth and belt out that hook so effortlessly, that like made me want to go home and rethink my whole career, cause he was like cutting takes that were like beautiful. He was like naw, naw, naw do it over.  I’m like what are you talking about do it over! Are you serious?!! It was crazy!! That dude’s an animal and he’s a nice guy too!

Are there a lot of guest appearances on The Papercut Chronicles II?

McCoy: We are trying to keep this album not so feature heavy, we’ve worked with a lot of artists in the past that we admire. Artists who are really good friends of ours, the first album had no guest appearances with the exception of Patrick Stump, so in that sense we are trying to keep it light on the feature side, for me it’s always a little disheartening when you are into an artist and you go buy their record and you go to the back of the record and it just says featuring, featuring, featuring…. And you’re like wait a minute who the f***’s album is this? You know what I’m saying?

Right!

McCoy: and in going back and making this the sequel of one of our monumental albums we kind of wanted to make sure that you get the Gym Class thing as opposed to a party, you know!

Let’s talk about your solo projects and how the solo projects in anyway made it hard or easy to come back together and work on this album and do what you guys do musically.

McCoy: The thing is that we’ve been a band since 1997, so I guess when you’ve invested almost half of your life into one thing it kind of becomes like breathing in a sense.  For me, Lazarus was kind of like recess, like yay, I can go play for a little while. We had been touring non-stop and umm for me it was just another outlet and umm Lazarus wasn’t like the first side project or musical venture outside of Gym Class for any of us. 

Since the beginning of Gym Class we’ve all had other projects outside of the band, I mean musicians get bored easily, not that any of us are bored with Gym Class but we kind of get our rocks of doing other things as well.  For instance: I paint and I have like 5 or 6 other musical projects and Lazarus just happened to have a couple of smash hits on it and kind of picked up some steam and got some label backing; Matt’s in a side project called Kill the Front man; Eric and Tyler have a side project and Disashi’s side project is Soul and all of them are like cousins of Gym Class Heroes but at the end Gym Class is the priority.  I think one hand washes the other and every project or whatever we do musically all it can do is help Gym Class Heroes.

Great, thank you!

 McCoy: Thank you! Great interview!   

 Photo by Tamara Jenkins

Will He?…Will She?

By Wendy Simmons

Adultery is a headlining story in almost every gossip magazine and has always been a steamy subject to display on film. Well, here’s yet another movie about the temptation of the opposite sex and wonderment of whether the faithful will give in to that temptation.

‘Last Night’, starring Eva Mendes, focuses on a married couple that appears to be happy however when both are confronted with the option to indulge in affairs we are taken on a ride to witness if he will or will she.

Sounds tantalizing, right? Wrong!  This movie was a bore.  It teases you, heightens your expectations only to bring you back down.

The performances were worthy however, I expected so much more because cheating is usually a hot button issue but this didn’t push my buttons at all.

If you’re not fully alert you’ll snooze on this snoozer.

I give it $$

One on One with Diggy Simmons

By Tamara Jenkins

He’s the son of a Hip-Hop Legend, nephew to a Hip-Hop mogul and now Diggy Simmons is venturing into the family business and coming into his own.

Already a proven lyricist with two successful mixtapes under his belt, The First Flight (2009) and Airborne (2010), a nomination for MTV’s “Hottest Breakthrough MC Of 2010″and a member of  XXL Magazine’s prestigious 2011 Freshman Class, there’s no question about his longevity in music.

Currently on tour as part of the BET’s106 & Park Presents: Closer to My Dreams Tour, Simmons took time from his busy schedule to speak with UnRated Urban Magazine during a promotional appearance at PHLI Sneaker Boutique in Hyde Park, IL.

You’re working on your debut CD right now, what’s the title?

Diggy Simmons: I can’t say yet, but the title is definitely perfect for where I’m at right now and how people see me and how I’m feeling with my career in general. It‘s going to be out soon.

Who have you worked with on the CD?

Diggy Simmons:  I can’t say.

Who are you’re influences in music?

Diggy Simmons:  I have so many especially in other genres but I’ll stick to Hip Hop like Jay-Z, definitely musically of course and the way he’s taken himself as an artist to businessman and entrepreneur to CEO and Kanye (West) of course too creatively he always raises the bar with what he does and takes risks and Lupe (Fiasco) is another person, he’s out of Chi-Town is someone that I look up to as an influence and like a big brother to me as well.

Will people be surprised by the sound of the CD?

Diggy Simmons: Definitely, without a doubt. That’s what I’ve been telling people in interviews that there just going to be shocked, it’s so amazing and I’m so excited. Like, unbiased, besides the fact that its mine, its incredible and I can’t wait to share it with everybody.

Is there a lot of pressure considering you come from a very successful family?

Diggy Simmons:  People ask that, but not really, not at all I just really do me and I’m just an independent person and I’m my own individual. So not really.

What was it like having your life filmed during Run’s House?

Diggy Simmons: It was something you got use to.

Would you ever do your own reality show?

Diggy Simmons: No, probably not.

You’re a fashion plate; do you have any aspirations to become a designer?

Diggy Simmons: Definitely, definitely my own clothing line and I also have my own sneaker line, Chivalrous Culture and you can find it online at chivculture.com.

Do you have any plans to go into acting?

Diggy Simmons:  That can happen, I’ve always been interested in that and I use to do a little bit of acting.

What’s the best advice someone has given you before you started in the music industry?

Diggy Simmons:  Something that I always remembered even now is that just do you because sometimes what people say can get under your skin and you can’t let it.

How do you parents feel about you getting into the music industry?

Diggy Simmons:  Their just proud and support what I do and their happy for me.

Black Rob Stays True to Streets on Game Tested, Streets Approved

By David Whitely

Rating: Borderline of 2.5 and 3 out of 5

Black Rob returns to the music scene with his follow up to The Black Rob Report (2005) with Game Tested Streets Approved (2011).  His first album released with independent label Duck Down Music, Game Tested Streets Approved, brings the gritty, hood rhymes that Black Rob is known for.  This album stays true to the Harlem born MC’s street persona with records like “Boiling Water,” and “Up North.”  Rob does keep it radio friendly with the cuts, “Sand to the Beach,” and the lead single “Celebration.”  This LP can definitely be played in any hood despite its large NY influence because it appeals to the struggles, situations, aspirations, and lifestyle of a traditional street dude.  Could he be the “comeback kid” of 2011?  Not likely.  Despite a few bright spots and the records previously mentioned, this album probably won’t make your “top rated” playlist on your itunes.    

            With “Boiling Water,” BR comes on strong and very boastful over a continuous, rising baseline.  This track demonstrates the NY native’s confidence and refusal to come in anything but the number one spot when he spits, “Second place the first loser, I ain’t use to losing//Beef in the hood I’m staying ’cause I ain’t use to moving.”  He also shows his dedication and commitment to obtain that number one spot in depicting a scruffy bearded Rob whose more focused on being the best than a growing beard when he says, “I could spit something hard or something soothing//Grind so hard my beard be growing like Rick Rubin.”  His confidence in his abilities goes even stronger during the chorus where he rhymes, “I spit it hotter than boiling water//Bet I make the next episode of Law&Order.”  But despite the first few bars and the chorus, this track is lukewarm at best.  For the most part, there aren’t any parts in the song that necessarily stand out, or even make you want to hit the rewind button to hear it again.  He doesn’t quite kill anything on this record, so hopes for making it on to “Law&Order” for this, aren’t realized.

            The record “Celebration,” brings out that feel good music for everyone in the hood, from the lil shorties playing double dutch, to the grandmas sitting on park benches.  The lead single for the album does Black Rob justice in his ability to paint a picture and create good music.  Here he depicts a usual summer in the hood with basketball tournaments, cookouts, “neighbor hood pools to keep cool,” handheld fans, etc.  The beat drops with a very soulful sound that BR spits to with perfection in showing what summer life in NYC is all about.  An example of this is when he spits, “All the shorties jump roping, hydrants open, laughing joking//Lemonade, Puerto Rican/Dominican day parades, is fun for all ages.”  With this song, Black Rob tells everyone to go out and enjoy the weather and summer life of NYC.

            “Up North” shines light on BR’s experiences when he was locked up.  He rhymes about the changes in people once they get “up north,” from tough guys to singing queens.  He spits, “I seen the roughest niggas call the cops up north//You a tough guy, why you ain’t pop up north?”  He depicts what its really like up north and how life really changes.  From gang life, to visitors, etc, its BR shows that its a different beast up north.

            Despite its numbing beats, BR does a decent job in providing some tracks that will grab the listener with his content after the second listen.  Ultimately, this LP is not a game changer, but is worth a listen.        

 

Wants To Be More Than White Irish Drinkers

By Wendy Simmons

What can push you to further yourself when you are surrounded by unambitious people? That’s what Brian, the sensitive artist, must face in White Irish Drinkers. 

Directed by John Gray and starring Nick Thurston as Brian and Geoff Wigdor as his rambunctious older brother Danny, we see the story of two youngNew Yorkmen that must live their lives the way they see fit. Coming from an abusive home, this strain takes a different toll on each. One is content but knows that there is more for him, but he may be too afraid to go for it. The other takes out his frustration with crime; but later it’s revealed that he had dreams but was also too fearful to try. What do you expect from two people that were never pushed to do more than live day to day?

The brothers face love, betrayal, abuse and degradation. This is not an easy life for them…but is life ever really easy?

Growing up Danny was Brian’s protector. Although there was constant struggle between them as men, they were truly devoted to their brotherhood.  Which also causes a dilemma for Brian…should he choose loyalty over morality? Should he choose happiness over contentment?

This multiple festival award winning film was very well acted. It was emotional and surprising. A wrap up gave an understanding to how a person’s experience, and lack thereof, can determine their situation.

The performances were outstanding and little known Thurston and Wigdor should be commended for giving such ordinary characters so much life.

A definite must see!

I give it $$$ ½