The video is the first ever shot on the historic USS Midway Aircraft Carrier and was approved by the Admiral Moynihan of the Navy (the chief of publicity for the Navy at the Pentagon). The video features appearances from Claudette Robinson ("The First Lady of Motown" of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles), who plays B. Taylor's grandmother in the video, and Beverly Broadus-Green (Author and Snoop Dogg's mother) who plays B. Taylor's mother in the video.
A coming of the age of maturation music video about real life and real life consequences as a young man comes to terms, reassures the women in his life before transitioning to young soldier.
A former Navy sailor, Taylor was approved to shoot the video by Admiral Moynihan, the Navy's Chief of Information and principal spokesperson in Washington D.C. with the help of Commander Robert Anderson, Dir of Navy Entertainment West and Scott McGaugh, Marketing Dir for the USS Midway Museum. "We are glad to have B. Taylor back for this video and are excited to be working with him," said Commander Anderson
New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - The National Double Dutch League jumped into New Haven today as part of an initiative to get more kids on the path to a healthy lifestyle.
The National Double Dutch League has partnered with United Healthcare and the Boys & Girls Club for the free workshops to encourage kids to turn off the TV and get moving.
"It's a great event to get the kids up and moving," said Seth Poole, New Haven Boys and Girls Club.
"You need some jump ropes and you need some friends, go outside and play. It's one of the best ways to stay in shape," said Anayo Afolabi, United Healthcare.
United Healthcare estimates by 2020, half of our nation's population will either be diabetic or pre-diabetic due to obesity. The plan is to inspire kids, like 11-year old Chynna Moore, that exercise is fun, and maybe it will become a staple of their lives, saving health care costs in the process.
"It's better than sitting down playing video games and doing nothing," Chynna said.
Research shows that 10 minutes of jumping rope is equivalent to a 30-minute jog
Read more…
Updated: Tuesday, 22 Feb 2011, 7:26 PM EST Published : Tuesday, 22 Feb 2011, 7:23 PM EST
By: Marc Robbins New Haven, Conn (WTNH) - New Haven police are looking for the suspect in an afternoon shooting on Legion Avenue that has left one person hospitalized.
Police swarmed the back parking lot of an apartment complex at the corner of Legion and Sherman around 3:00pm Tuesday. Evidence marked on the scene suggests multiple shell casings. That is consistent with what was heard at the Holy Trinity Church next door.
"We heard about six shots. We thought it was on Sylvan Avenue side, but someone came inside and told us that someone... one of the ministers left and called my pastor on the phone and told my pastor that someone had gotten shot next door to the church," Catherine Bowden said.
The shooting in broad daylight, these days, doesn't seem to shock people anymore.
We live in New Haven. We live all over New Haven, and it's all over New Haven. It's a really sad thing that we're losing policemen now. It's very frightening," Bowden said.
Police say the victim was taken by a private car and dropped at Saint Raphael's Hospital. No word on that person's condition.
The police believe they are looking for one shooter, but they have not come out with a description as of yet
Read more…
Tasha Monique Carter has swept the nation with her flare for fashion and her signature line of clothing. TMC Fashions was established in the early 90’s when Tasha discovered her natural talent for sewing. While many of us where in the malls trying to keep up with the latest trends, Tasha Monique Carterwas setting trends!
Once Tasha realized her ability to create she began to incorporate her own unique twist. Her signature style being; garments which are long & flowing in the front and short & eye catching in the back.
With the support of family & friends in her hometown New Haven, CT, Tasha began to invest in her craft. She hosted small fashion shows in which she would showcase her clothing line. Although the shows were a success…TMC Fashions were ready to hit a bigger market. With this in mind, the gutsy designer packed her things and moved to Atlanta, GA.
Between designing, sewing & operating a business Ms. Carter also found time to work on several film/television productions. “I was working as a wardrobe assistant on the film Remember the Titans (starring Denzel Washington), the work was tedious and the schedule was grueling…But I loved it!” The film bug had bitten her…she has since then worked in all positions dealing with wardrobe on numerous productions. “It takes more than an eye for fashion to work in film/television. You have to be aware of continuity and stay within the budget…no one really cares what the hottest color is this season.”
After living in Atlanta, GA for several years Tasha Carter once again felt like it was time to broaden her horizons. Los Angeles, CA offered just the forum she needed to kick her career into high gear. TMC Fashions can now be seen in films, magazines & on the red carpet at Hollywood parties and premiers. Although Tasha Monique Carter has been successful in her field, she is humble and maintains a positive professional attitude.
“I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given because I know how difficult it is to get into this business. That’s why I always do the best I can, no matter how big or small the assignment is, I give it my all!”
Tasha Monique Carter now resides in Los Angeles, CA. She is seeking new and challenging opportunities in the fashion industry.
The Nuggets may have lost Carmelo Anthony but did do well for themselves in the end, ESPN.com's J.A. Adande writes. Story
• Hollinger: Grades • Ford: A power trio in 2012?
The deal would end the season-long trade saga involving Denver's All-Star forward and send him to his desired destination. If it goes through, it puts Anthony alongside Amare Stoudemire in a potentially explosive frontcourt -- at a heavy cost to the Knicks.
As a part of the deal, the Knicks will send Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and a 2014 first-round draft pick to the Nuggets, who would get additional picks and cash, the sources said. Along with Anthony, New York would acquire Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter and Renaldo Balkman.
New York will send Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry to Minnesota as part of the deal in exchange for Corey Brewer.
The Denver Post first reported the trade.
"I'm glad it's over," Nuggets coach George Karl said, according to the newspaper. "I'm glad it's an opportunity to reinvent. I think everybody handled it as classy as you could handle it. There's some sadness to it, there always will be."
Denver might not be Gallinari's final destination. League sources told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher the Nuggets are not expected to keep Gallinari once their acquisition of him is completed.
While Broussard reported that the Nets might try to acquire Gallinari after striking out on Anthony, there are several other interested teams with first-round draft picks to offer in exchange for the perimeter-shooting forward. Other potential suitors include the Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors.
The need for time to move Gallinari is why Denver pulled the trigger on the Anthony deal Monday night, rather than get closer to Thursday's trade deadline to see what else develops, sources said. The Nuggets are not looking to deal Felton or Chandler, a league source said.
The Nuggets have explored an Anthony trade since he refused to sign the three-year contract extension worth nearly $65 million they offered him last summer. They appeared on the verge of sending him to the New Jersey Nets on multiple occasions, but the Knicks increased their offer enough to land Anthony, who was believed to prefer New York all along.
The Knicks would hope he could be in uniform Wednesday when they host the Milwaukee Bucks. If he is, he'll probably be wearing a different number.
Anthony wore No. 15 for his seven-year tenure with the Nuggets. He also wore No. 15 during his one season at Syracuse. But that digit will be off limits for Anthony in New York because the organization retired No. 15 twice -- once for Earl Monroe and once for Dick McGuire. A team official was unsure of which number Anthony would wear with the Knicks when contacted by ESPNNewYork.com late Monday night.
Anthony led the Nuggets to the playoffs in each of his first seven seasons in Denver after winning a national title at Syracuse as a freshman and had them positioned for another playoff run this year. But Denver advanced out of the first round just once in that time.
He stood to become the headliner of the 2011 free-agent class, but didn't want to risk free agency knowing a new collective bargaining agreement could cost him millions. But once he refused the extension with the Nuggets -- plus put his Denver mansion on the market last year -- the Nuggets' new front-office team of general manager Masai Ujiri and team president Josh Kroenke had to begin trade talks so they wouldn't risk losing him and getting nothing in return as the Cavaliers did with LeBron James and the Toronto Raptors did with Chris Bosh last year.
Knicks Blog Looking for more information on your Knicks? ESPNNewYork.com has you covered. Blog
There were persistent rumors Anthony wouldn't take the extension if traded to the Nets, which was a prerequisite for them agreeing to a trade. He instead gets his apparent wish to join a Knicks team that is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and in position for its first playoff berth since 2004.
But the Knicks will make their postseason run without the core of the team. Felton, Gallinari, Mozgov and Chandler were four of New York's top six players, and there is some thought the Knicks gave up too much to get Anthony, a sensational scorer headed to a team that doesn't necessarily need more scoring.
However, the Knicks felt they couldn't pass on the opportunity to land a 26-year-old superstar once he became available. Assuming he extends with the Knicks, Anthony and Stoudemire would be under contract for four more seasons, though the uncertain salary-cap situation could wreck New York's plans to be spenders over the next two summers.
The Nets wanted Anthony, hoping the Brooklyn native would be the face of their franchise when they open their new Barclays Center in 2012. But though he never publicly confirmed the speculation that he wouldn't have extended with the Nets, he did note Friday during the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles that the Knicks were further along after acquiring Stoudemire -- his good friend -- last summer.
Anthony met with both Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan over the weekend and hoped there would be a resolution before he returned to the Nuggets. That indeed happened -- he was excused from practice Monday so he could remain in California to appear on Conan O'Brien's show.
Photos: Carmelo Anthony's career
MeloDrama is over: Anthony is going to be a Knick. Enjoy photos of an All-Star's career: Carmelo Anthony
The Nuggets made out well, considering they could have lost Anthony for nothing in the summer. The Nets' offer, centered around rookie Derrick Favors and draft picks, would have meant a rebuilding situation, while the players they acquire from New York could keep them in postseason contention in the Western Conference. The Nuggets host Memphis on Tuesday night.
Karl said he'll miss Billups, a hometown favorite and consummate professional who helped Denver reach the Western Conference finals in 2009, when the Nuggets nearly eliminated the eventual champion Lakers.
"I think Chauncey will go down as one of the greatest winners," Karl said. "His record of seven or eight conference finals is, I mean, that's incredible. I think that's who he is, that's what he stands for. He brought one of them to us. Last year we had a miserable ending. I think there's many people, including myself, that will be sad for Chauncey. I know he loves Denver and we love him, but things happen. There's decisions that have to be made.
"I'm 100 percent behind the decision we made, even though it will be dangerous and there won't be the veteran point guard back there," Karl added. "Felton, I thought was having a great season this year. But I think Ty [Lawson] and Felton are going to have a great challenge to live up to what Chauncey has given us in past years."
Asked who his starting point guard would be, Karl said, "Probably Ty," then got into his maroon SUV and drove away.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) - An investigation has been launched to find out whether any laws were broken during the rally surrounding the New Haven Police Department layoffs.
The strong showing of police officers protesting sixteen layoffs within the department continues to capture the attention of many in the city. For New Haven native William Moore, he prays smaller numbers don't cause bigger problems in his problematic section of his West River neighborhood.
Moore says he gets worried when he is walking around town.
"It needs to be a little better," says Moore.
The police war on crime isn't going anywhere, but neither is the controversy that is surrounding.
Union heads haven't gone on camera since the day of the protest. A source within the department told News 8 that on the day of the protest, union leadership went into the office of John DeStefano, closed the door, and the mayor asked them who's in charge of all the people out on the street. The source says that surprised leadership members, because they figured the mayor should know the answer to that question which was, Police Chief Frank Limon. The source says the force is screaming for leadership and begging for some direction.
As far as the protest goes, as soon as police officers were asked to get off of Church Street, they did. Everyone moved to the sidewalk. In addition, the source says the eight to ten officers that were on duty at the time of the protest had their radios on, they could have responded to any call when asked.
New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - In response to New Haven's police layoffs, the Guardian Angels are hitting the streets and say they'll be stepping up patrols for the next three months.
A sign hangs on a telephone poll along Whalley Avenue -- anyone interested in joining the ranks of the Guardian Angels is welcome.
News 8 was with Angels as they hit the streets last night, bringing in reinforcements from Hartford, Norwalk, Boston and New York. The founder, Curtis Sliwa, spoke to our Bob Wilson.
"How are you greeted by the people here?" "Oh, for the most part, people are high-fiving us, they appreciate the fact that we're making the effort here to make them feel safer, even with less police, but then you'll get the homeboys on the corner flipping us the bird which makes me feel welcome because then I know we're having an impact," Sliwa said.
The Guardian Angels have had a chapter in New Haven since 2007, but decided to beef up their patrols after the city decided to lay off 16 police officers last week. The night the layoffs were announced, there was a double shooting at a Dunkin' Donuts on Derby Avenue. Click here to read more about the police layoffs.
News 8 got reaction from residents in the area, a hot spot for months. Most said they appreciate any and all help here, but it's a Band-Aid, at best.
"I mean, from a standpoint from, more people on the streets that helps the city that would be nice, there's a lot of things that go on around here that shouldn't be," said Michael Addison of New Haven.
"I just seen 'em yesterday but you won't need the Guardian Angels or the police if you put the discipline back in the house," said Wally Shabazz of New Haven.
And because the Guardian Angels do not carry weapons, many say they are simply not an adequate replacement for police officers.
"They not bulletproof, that's what it is, shooting. They gonna wear bullet-proof jackets and helmets it may work," said Shabazz.
I'm actually surprised we don't see this happen more often.
A news crew from Sacramento tv station Fox40 was attacked by angry family members of a shooting victim.
27-year-old Chester Jackson was shot and killed in a parking lot outside an IHOP early morning Sunday (February 20). His family gathered in the parking lot and set up a makeshift memorial. When reporter John Lobertini and photojournalist Rebecca Little approached to see if anyone wanted to talked, things got ugly.
"This is one of the hazards of the business but we didn't expect what we encountered here today," said Lobertini.
Before things escalated into violence, one woman is seen yelling at the news crew, who didn't back down. Then someone is seen pulling Little to the ground by her hair as they attempted to stop her from filming.
"When I fell on the ground I was protecting myself, and then she kicked me and I was still kinda paralyzed, and I hear my reporter John say, 'get up, get up,'" Little told Fox40
It was just an unfortunate situation for everyone. I know I wouldn't want some guy sticking a mic in my face right after a relative was killed. Hopefully the news crew won't try to press any charges.
At one point you can hear family members respond to Little saying she was kicked by replying "nobody hit you b****."
"I know people are going through rough times but that's still my job. I wasn't trying to get in their face and be disrespectful," Little said.
Campbell promises pain on Feb. 25 ‘Rhode Rage’ headliner predicting another big win over Medrano
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Feb. 8, 2011) – Mike “The Beast” Campbell typically lets his fighting do the talking, but he couldn’t help himself Tuesday after hearing what his opponent, Mike Medrano, had to say regarding their highly-anticipated rematch Friday, Feb. 25, 2011, at the Twin River Event Center.
“I heard he has a chip on his shoulder,” said Campbell, who knocked out Medrano in September of 2009. “He’s going to have chips in his teeth after this fight.”
Campbell’s bold prediction has set the stage for “Rhode Rage,” the first event of the year for Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports’ Mixed Martial Arts division. The Coventry, R.I., lightweight, who now fights out of Providence, will put his 8-3 record on the line against Medrano (8-7, 2 KOs), a native of Toms River, N.J., who has lost his last two fights following a three-fight win streak.
“I usually don’t talk much before a fight,” Campbell said, “but I heard him running his mouth on a radio station in California. I don’t like him. He’s not a good guy.”
The two fought on a World Championship Fighting (WCF) show in Wilmington, Mass., on Sept. 26, 2009, inside a traditional, four-sided ring with four ropes on each side. Medrano scored two takedowns in the opening round, but Campbell (Team Sityodtong) broke free from both and eventually won the fight at the 3:21 mark when he sent Medrano to the canvas with a flying knee to the face and pummeled his fallen opponent with a series of punches until the referee stopped the fight. Feb. 25 will be their first fight inside the cage.
“The last time we fought, he couldn’t even make weight. I had to fight at 170 (pounds),” Campbell said. “Now he’s fighting at 155. He’s coming into my world now, and the results are going to be the same. I’ve been working hard. I wanted to fight in December (on CES’ “Snow Brawl” card at Twin River), but I unfortunately suffered an injury that set me back. I’m ready to go now.”
“Rhode Rage” will also feature an exciting, interstate showdown between Nashua, N.H./Team Weatherby middleweight Woody “The Dynasty” Weatherby (8-4, 2 KOs) and Todd “The Hulk” Chattelle (6-6, 6 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I./Team United in what figures to be the toughest fight of Chattelle’s career. Weatherby’s resume includes a knockout win over UFC veteran John “Doomsday” Howard in 2008.
“I know this will be a tough fight, but I’m ready,” Chattelle said. “I’ve been training two to three times a day – whatever it takes. This is a big fight for me. I’m not worried about what the records say. He’ll have to be ready to face me.”
Also on the undercard on Feb. 25 are Pawtucket, R.I./TriForce MMA welterweight Keith Jeffrey (5-2-1) battling Tom Moreau (6-2, 2 KOs) of Derry, N.H./Team Valor; Jimmy Davidson (1-0) of Sandwich, Mass./Team Sityodtong facing Woonsocket, R.I./B+F Boxing lightweightJustin Switzer (0-1), who lost his professional debut to rising prospect Tyson Chartier at “Snow Brawl” in December; Rigo Dominicci (6-10, 1 KO) of Pawtucket, R.I./Triforce MMA facing Kevin Horowitz (2-2) of Queens, N.Y., in a welterweight bout; and middleweight Eric Cusson(1-0) of Franklin, Mass./Hybrid Fighting Arts facing winless Hector Sanchez (0-1) of Woonsocket, R.I./Elite MMA. Framingham, Mass./Team Bolanes middleweight Doug Bolanes (1-0, 1 KO), Boston/Team Sityodtong lightweight Andres Jeudi and Chartier (1-0) will also fight in separate three-round bouts.
“Rhode Rage” will be CES MMA’s fourth show since its inception in September of 2010. The newly-launched division has already grabbed major headlines in its brief existence; Johnston, R.I., native Pete Jeffery’s win over previously-unbeaten Saul Almeida on Sept. 17 was named the Herald’s Biggest Upset of 2010 while “Snow Brawl” earned Best Local Card honors.
Tickets for “Rhode Rage” are $30.00, $50.00 and $100.00 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online atwww.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.
(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Rhode Rage.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must enter through the West entrance.)
‘Rhode Rage’ hits Ocean State Mixed martial arts returns to Twin River on Feb. 25
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Jan. 21, 2011) – Continuing it its quest to become the most recognizable name in mixed martial arts, Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports’ MMA Division will return to the cage Friday, Feb. 25, 2011, for “Rhode Rage” at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I.
CES MMA’s first show of 2011 will feature two of Providence’s rising stars in the mixed martial arts circuit, heavyweight Greg Rebello (12-2, 6 KOs) and lightweight Mike “The Beast” Campbell (8-3, 5 KOs) -- both of whom fought on CES shows in 2010 -- along with Rhode Island MMA pioneer Mat Santos (2-6), a light heavyweight veteran who starred in CES MMA’s inaugural show in September of 2010. All three fighters were recently added to this star-studded card as CES MMA sets to usher in the new year with a bang.
“From Day 1, we’ve promised to apply the same qualities of class, integrity and competitiveness to mixed martial arts as we’ve done through the years with boxing, and it’s clear we’ve delivered on that promise,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. “‘Rhode Rage’ will be the next in a long line of tremendous cage-fighting shows to dominate the local sports landscape in Rhode Island.
“Once again, we’ve taken the best talent in New England and brought it together on one action-packed card. Mike Campbell, Greg Rebello and Mat Santos are among the most recognizable names in local mixed martial arts, and yet that’s only the beginning of what ‘Rhode Rage’ has in store for our loyal fans.
“Staying true to our tradition, we will sell out the beautiful Twin River Event Center on Feb. 25 and have everyone in attendance walking away anticipating our next show.”
Rebello, a Team Sityodtong veteran who was won 11 consecutive fights dating back to 2006 -- including an impressive victory over Tiawan Howard on Dec. 2 at CES’ “Snow Brawl” show, which was named the Best Local Card of 2010 by the Boston Herald -- will face an opponent to be determined in the main event.
Campbell, meanwhile, is looking for retribution as he returns to the cage against an opponent to be determined for the first time since losing to Magno Almeida on Sept. 17, 2010 at Twin River (CES’ first cage-fighting show). A representative of Team Sityodtong, Campbell was supposed to return on Dec. 2, but an injury forced him to pull out of the fight. Santos faces a similar predicament; he, too, will be returning to the cage for the first time against an opponent to be determined since his win over Stephen Stengel on Sept. 17 at Twin River.
The undercard of “Rhode Rage” features Woody “The Dynasty” Weatherby (8-4, 2 KOs) of Nashua, N.H./Team Weatherby (Weatherby knocked out John “Doomsday” Howard of the UFC in 2008), facing Todd “The Hulk” Chattelle (6-6, 6 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I./Team United in a middleweight bout; Pawtucket, R.I./TriForce MMA welterweight Keith Jeffrey (5-2-1) battling Tom Moreau (6-2, 2 KOs) of Derry, N.H./Team Valor; and Jimmy Davidson (1-0) of Sandwich, Mass./Team Sityodtong facing Woonsocket, R.I./B+F Boxing lightweight Justin Switzer (0-1), who lost his professional debut to rising prospect Tyson Chartier at “Snow Brawl” in December.
Speaking of Chartier (1-0), the Waltham, Mass., native and Team Sityodtong member, who was named the 2010 Amateur of the Year by the Boston Herald, will also return to the cage Feb. 25 in a lightweight bout against an opponent to be determined. Along with Chartier, Framingham, Mass./Team Bolanes prospect Doug Bolanes (1-0) will return to Twin River on Feb. 25 in a middleweight bout against an opponent to be determined for the first time since beating Josh Labossiere in his pro debut in December.
Rigo Dominicci (6-10, 1 KO) of Pawtucket, R.I./Triforce MMA will face Kevin Horowitz (2-2) of Queens, N.Y., in a welterweight bout; Boston native Andres Jeudi (1-0, 1 KO) of Team Sityodtong will battle fellow lightweight Jeremy Ross (3-3) of Enfield, Conn./American Martial Arts Academy; and Eric Cusson (1-0) of Franklin, Mass./Hybrid Fighting Arts will face winless Hector Sanchez (0-1) of Woonsocket, R.I./Elite MMA in a middleweight bout. All bouts feature three, five-minute rounds, and are subject to change.
“Rhode Rage” will be CES MMA’s fourth show since its inception in September of 2010. The newly-launched division has already grabbed major headlines in its brief existence; Johnston, R.I., native Pete Jeffery’s win over previously-unbeaten Saul Almeida on Sept. 17 was named the Herald’s Biggest Upset of 2010 while “Snow Brawl” earned Best Local Card honors.
Tickets for “Rhode Rage” are $30.00, $50.00 and $100.00 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at thePlayers Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.
(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Rhode Rage.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must enter through the West entrance.)
Read more…
To say Connecticut stood up to represent is an understatement. Truth be told '' we love Hip Hop!!! '' Once again the legendary Toads Place showed hospitality and mad love for us, as we united together as one dispite cultral difference. Dip Set ignited the stage and gave one hell of a performance.
Before the show DJ Big Man from Hot 93.7 tore up the scene as he spun the ones and twos while The host MC Big E hyped the crowd. The energy that pulsated from the vast sea of people captivated my soul beyond the expression of words.
Dip Set brought the house down with hit after hit and there were no complaints from the fans as their money was well spent. The love that flowed throughout the establishment was beyond measure and the mutual feeling from Dip Set was evident as they allowed fans to rock the nite away on the very same stage while they performed.
My respect level kicked up a notch. Hats off to New Era management Big Joe and British.
Even tho I didnt get a full fledge interview with the artist at this time, They offered me some excellent advice that will stay with me for eternity and I appreciate that they took time out of their hectic schedule to chat with me and allowed me to get a flick in with Killa Cam. (even tho I wasnt smiling but thats a different story.) Bottom line I have to respect the fact that as a writer no matter who you are, you have to go through the proper channels to secure the interview. I am still a work in progress and sometimes I may take my passion too serious but in this business complacency gets you nowhere and sometimes the rules have to be broken and its a risk that I am willing to take.
New Englands best of the best came out to Leon's located on Long Warf, a popular beach front restaurant in New Haven to tell the whole world where real champion fighters are bred. CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. " This is an exciting card from top to bottom, there is something for everybody, whether you're a fan in Rhode Island, Connecticut or Massachusetts. The name Block Party is a fitting title because this truely is a celebration of the continued success of New England boxing."
This historic event will take place at the beautiful Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, February 4 , 2011. the headliners are super middleweight Vladine Biosse (9-0, 4 KOs) from Providence R.I. , New Haven, CT. own super middleweight Elvin Ayala ( 20-5, 9 KOs)- CES newest procuration and Ledyard, CT, light heavyweight Brian Macy ( 5-1, 2 KOs) in his long anticipated return.
Elvin Ayala is quoted as saying, " I will fight anyone at any given time," and Brian Macy, A University of Connecticut graduate has served his country for 10 months in Iraq, a true hero.
Also this exciting card features: New Haven junior welterweight Edwin Soto (5-0-1, 2 KOs) against James Ventry (7-12, 4 KOs) of Niagra Falls, NY; New Haven super batamweight Luis Rosa Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs0) facing Cape Coral, FL, native Justin Goodall (1-1, 1 KO) and heavy weight Billy Mofford (9-1-2, 4 KOs) representing Randolph, MA battling Chicago's Theron Johnson (4-3, 1 KOs)
In a exclusive, four round welterweight feature, Sean Eklund (7-4, 1 KO) from Lowell, MA will face off with Noel Garcia (2-6-1, 1 KO) of Springfield, MA.
Javier Flores (4-0, 4 KOs) of Hartford will make his debut against Marcus Hall (4-2-1 2 KOs) of Rochester, N.Y.
Tickets for " Block Party " can be purchased by calling 401-724-2253 or at Ticketmaster 1800-745-3000. Prices are $40.00, $65.00 and $105.00.
I had a chance to speak with a few of the boxers and here is what one of them had to say...
Street Connfinement- Could you please tell us a little bout yourself ?
Vladine Biosse- My name is Vladine Biosse, I am super middleweight champion 9-0 4 knock outs and im fighting February 4th at Mohegan Sun Casino. Boxing career for me has been short but good years. I started fighting in 07 after college. I had a short ameture career representing Cape Verde Islands in the African games which I won the African games. I turned pro after that it's been a good career I am 9-0 and won the super New England, super middleweight title back in July last year, this year is gonna be a good year coming up we have some good fights starting with this fight here. This is what I do day in day out,I always wanted to be a professional athlete some how some way this is my job now and is a dream come true being able to do this I am living a dream everyday.
Street Connfinement- Very well said. Being that the youth is our future, what message do you have for those who aspire to live the very same dream as you do?
Vladine Biosse- Determination is everthing. Never take no for an answer you probally heard that plenty of times but its true. Don't let people tell you what you can or can not be, you do what you wanna do to be what you wanna be. Its not easy, it's a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrafices you have to make but if you really want it it can happen for you.
Street Connfinement- Thank you very much I don't want to keep you any longer. Do you have a website?
Vladine Biosse- Yes I do, seeboxing.com, Mr Providence on Twitter or Face book Vladine Biosse
Submitted by T'Lara Phelmetta AKA Supreme Essence
Contact me at naturalbornhusla@yahoo.com
Read more…
New Englands best of the best came out to Leon's located on Long Warf, a popular beach front restaurant in New Haven to tell the whole world where real champion fighters are bred. CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. " This is an exciting card from top to bottom, there is something for everybody, whether you're a fan in Rhode Island, Connecticut or Massachusetts. The name Block Party is a fitting title because this truely is a celebration of the continued success of New England boxing."
This historic event will take place at the beautiful Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, February 4 , 2011. the headliners are super middleweight Vladine Biosse (9-0, 4 KOs) from Providence R.I. , New Haven, CT. own super middleweight Elvin Ayala ( 20-5, 9 KOs)- CES newest procuration and Ledyard, CT, light heavyweight Brian Macy ( 5-1, 2 KOs) in his long anticipated return.
Elvin Ayala is quoted as saying, " I will fight anyone at any given time," and Brian Macy, A University of Connecticut graduate has served his country for 10 months in Iraq, a true hero.
Also this exciting card features: New Haven junior welterweight Edwin Soto (5-0-1, 2 KOs) against James Ventry (7-12, 4 KOs) of Niagra Falls, NY; New Haven super batamweight Luis Rosa Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs0) facing Cape Coral, FL, native Justin Goodall (1-1, 1 KO) and heavy weight Billy Mofford (9-1-2, 4 KOs)representing Randolph, MA battling Chicago's Theron Johnson (4-3, 1 KOs)
In a exclusive, four round welterweight feature, Sean Eklund (7-4, 1 KO) from Lowell, MA will face off with Noel Garcia (2-6-1, 1 KO) of Springfield, MA.
Javier Flores (4-0, 4 KOs) of Hartford will make his debut against Marcus Hall (4-2-1 2 KOs) of Rochester, N.Y.
Tickets for " Block Party " can be purchased by calling 401-724-2253 or at Ticketmaster 1800-745-3000. Prices are $40.00, $65.00 and $105.00.
I had a chance to speak with a few of the boxers and here is what one of them had to say...
Street Connfinement- Could you please tell us a little bout yourself ?
Vladine Biosse- My name is Vladine Biosse, I am super middleweight champion 9-0 4 knock outs and im fighting February 4th at Mohegan Sun Casino. Boxing career for me has been short but good years. I started fighting in 07 after college. I had a short ameture career representing Cape Verde Islands in the African games which I won the African games. I turned pro after that it's been a good career I am 9-0 and won the super New England, super middleweight title back in July last year, this year is gonna be a good year coming up we have some good fights starting with this fight here. This is what I do day in day out,I always wanted to be a professional athlete some how some way this is my job now and is a dream come true being able to do this I am living a dream everyday.
Street Connfinement- Very well said. Being that the youth is our future, what message do you have for those who aspire to live the very same dream as you do?
Vladine Biosse- Determination is everthing. Never take no for an answer you probally heard that plenty of times but its true. Don't let people tell you what you can or can not be, you do what you wanna do to be what you wanna be. Its not easy, it's a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrafices you have to make but if you really want it it can happen for you.
Street Connfinement- Thank you very much I don't want to keep you any longer. Do you have a website?
Vladine Biosse- Yes I do, www.cesboxing.com, Mr Providence on Twitter or Face book Vladine Biosse
WIDE OPEN coming to the Wadsworth Atheneum FEB.5, 2011, and FEB.6, 2011!
ABOUT "Wide Open"...
Aetna Theater at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art Welcomes Back “WIDE OPEN” Stage Play for two Encore performances!
After a phenomenal performance by Shireal Renee and the entire cast the Wide Open stage play was left with a standing ovation. The Wadsworth Atheneum’s, Curator of Film and Theater, Debbie Gaudet said with much enthusiasm, “This show should be on Broadway…” Debbie has invited the production back for an encore performance in the Aetna Theater on February 5th and 6th 2011; show will run 7pm on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday. This time around former president of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and Travelers Foundation John H. Motley will host both nights.
Wide Open is an unconventional one-woman show, there are other actors on stage at various times but the main character Renee is the only one with a speaking role; the other incredibly talented actors play Renee’s thoughts expressing them through interaction and dance movements. The plot is a poetic journey through a young woman’s life as she battles with growing pains, adversity and suffers through an abusive relationship, finally turning to God to help her get through. The show is comical, heartfelt, spiritual, universal and timeless with a hopeful message that anyone can relate to.
Fox 61’s Stan Simpson says, “It was a very powerful show”, “Spectacular!” says audience member Jami, “Encore Please…”was requested from viewer Marsha and rave reviews go on and on from those in attendance. The success of the event also allowed for Wide Open to give a charitable donation in support a local organization Hope 4 Autism. A group bringing support and awareness to children and family’s who have been affected by Autism.
With all the wonderful things coming from this show it was an absolute MUST for an encore performance! The Wadsworth Atheneum’s Aetna Theater is the perfect host for this event the museum is a historical landmark in Hartford and it is opening its doors to breathe life into a vision created by a hometown artists; the Executive Producer, Writer and Star of the show Shireal Renee. With the red carpets, trumpets and entertaining intermission theater goers will be engulfed in the Wide Open experience from the moment the step out of their cars. This show is guaranteed to touch the hearts of everyone in attendance. For more information or to purchase tickets visist www.byreneevisions.com
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Jan. 6, 2011) – Fresh off a historic year in combat sports, Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc., is ready to kick off 2011 in style at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Live professional boxing returns to Uncasville, Conn., on Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, as CES presents “Block Party” at the Mohegan Sun Arena. CES’ first show of 2011 features the best talent from various New England neighborhoods, headlined by Providence, R.I., super middleweight Vladine Biosse (9-0, 4 KOs) and also starring New Haven, Conn., super middleweight Elvin Ayala (20-5, 9 KOs) – CES’ newest acquisition – and Ledyard, Conn., light heavyweight Brian Macy (5-1, 2 KOs) in his long-awaited return.
“This is an exciting card from top to bottom,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. “There’s something for everybody, whether you’re a fan in Rhode Island, Connecticut or Massachusetts. The name ‘Block Party’ is a fitting title because this truly is a celebration of the continued success of New England boxing. On the top of the card, you’ve got Vladine Biosse, one of the top prospects in boxing, defending his New England super middleweight title against a dangerous opponent. Vladine won four fights in 2010, including a classic battle in front of 42 million homes on ESPN against ‘Irish’ Joey McCreedy, and continues to climb the ladder with each fight.
“With Elvin Ayala in the co-feature, you’ve got an established, ring-savvy veteran and a former world-title challenger who is willing to fight anyone at any given time, and Brian Macy, a University of Connecticut graduate and one of the most popular fighters in his state, is a wonderful story, having served his country for 10 months in Iraq as a member of the U.S. Army and now returning to the ring to resume his promising boxing career.
“This is a must-see event and we’re looking forward to filling every seat in the beautiful Mohegan Sun Arena.”
A former college football standout at the University of Rhode Island, Biosse will put his New England super middleweight title on the line against hard-punching veteran Sampson Onyango (20-7, 13 KOs) in the eight-round main event. Onyango is originally from Nairobi, Kenya and now fights out of Brockton, Mass. Onyango’s most recent bout was a hard-fought, unanimous decision loss to undefeated Hungarian light heavyweight prospect Zsolt Erdei on Nov. 20 in Atlantic City, N.J.
The six-round co-feature pits Ayala against an opponent to be determined while Macy will fight for the first time in two years against Walter Foster (4-3-1, 4 KOs) of Berkeley, Mo., in a four-round middleweight bout. Macy returned home in September of 2010 following a 10-month stint in Baghdad.
The undercard of “Block Party” features: New Haven junior welterweight Edwin Soto (5-0-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round rematch against Bryan Abraham (2-4-2, 2 KOs) of Schenectady, N.Y. (the two fought to a draw on June 26, 2010 at Mohegan in one of the top regional fights of the year); New Haven super bantamweight Luis Rosa Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs) facing Vero Beach, Fla., native Aaron Chavez (2-2, 1 KO) in a four-round bout; and Randolph, Mass., heavyweight Billy Mofford (9-1-2, 4 KOs) battling Chicago’s Theron Johnson (4-3, 1 KO) in a six-round contest.
In a special, welterweight feature, Lowell, Mass., native Sean Eklund (7-4, 1 KO) – the nephew of former world title challenger “Irish” Micky Ward, whose incredible story is portrayed in the box-office sensation, “The Fighter” – will defend his Eastern Boxing Association (EBA) New England title against Noel Garcia (2-6-1, 1 KO) of Springfield, Mass. Ward will work Eklund’s corner, along with Ward’s half-brother Dicky Eklund, who is also portrayed in the film. Sean Eklund won the title last year on March 19 with a victory over previously-unbeaten Eddie Soto, who had defeated him in 2009.
Puerto Rican welterweight Javier Flores (4-0, 4 KOs) of Hartford will make his United States debut against tough veteran Marcus Hall (4-2-1, 2 KOs) of Rochester, N.Y., in a six-round bout (Flores’ first four professional fights – all knockout victories – were held in his native Puerto Rico), and Thomas Falowo (1-0, 1 KO) of Providence, R.I., who won his pro debut two months ago on Nov. 12, will battle the dangerous Greg McCoy (2-1-2, 1 KO) in an exciting, four-round interstate middleweight bout.
Tickets for “Block Party” are $40, $65 and $105 and can be purchased by calling CES at (401)724-2253/2254 or calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Fans can also purchase tickets online at www.cesboxing.com, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Mohegan Sun box office. For more information on “Block Party,” go to www.cesboxing.co. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7:30.
Click here to purchase Tickets
Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Entertainment & Sports 1052 Charles Street, Suite 1 North Providence, RI 02904 Office: 401/724-2253/2254
For years movies have been made to portray the original gangsters of American history like; Scarface, Harlem Nights, and Hoodlum. What a lot of people don’t know is that many of these movie characters are not fiction. These were real gagsters straight out of New York, California and Miami. But since the release of the Denzel Washington’s movie American Gangster everyone has been turning there heads to the interest of the black gangsters in America and really paying attention to the stories of the “Hood Heroes”. The story of Frank Lucus caught the attention of the media like you would expect any Denzel movie to achieve. And for months the real Frank Lucus was all over the air waves promoting his story and like any true black celebrity shouting out all of the people who road with him on his journey. I was able to catch up with someone who did not directly get a shout out from Frank but was indirectly praised. On a bright sunny spring day in Harlem all the Harlemites came out to celebrate the release of the highly anticipated Harlem Godfather; The wrap on my husband Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson by Mayme Hatcher Johnson with Karen E. Quinones Miller. Mayme Johnson the widow of Bumpy Johnson was not singing the same praises to Frank as he would have allotted her. Mayme says that every thing Frank claims to be true are lies. Karen E. Quinones Miller a self made Harlem success story was personally touched by Mayme’s story and found it her duty to help her set the record straight. Mayme says Frank broke the number one rule that her husband would have never broken, and that was what Frank is mainly famous for…for being a Snitch!
Street Connfinement: I just wanted to say congratulations because I know it’s been a long time at work. So if you want to give us a little background about how you met and how this project started. Karen Quinones: I knew Bumpy when I was a kid; I met him when I was nine or ten years old. But it didn’t register in my mind that this was the Bumpy Johnson. I knew he was Bumpy Johnson, but not like “The Bumpy Johnson”. And it wasn’t until about 20 years ago that Mayme and I connected. And we’ve been friends, close friends I say for about fifteen years. On and off we’ve been talking about doing the book, but sometimes we just never get a chance. So we’ve been talking on and off about doing the book for the last fifteen years, but just never seemed to get together, wouldn’t you say? Mayme Johnson: I would say that we kept putting it off. Karen Quinones: Mayme got really upset because American Gangster there was a lot of lies in there. In Hoodlum they made a lot of mistakes, but Mayme wasn’t upset because they made mistakes, they got it wrong. But in American Gangster there were a lot of lies, outright lies, and she got really upset about that and we’ve been talking about doing this book all this time, let’s go ahead and do it. So that’s how it came about. Street Connfinement: So exactly how long did it take you to complete from beginning to finish the project? Karen Quinones: I’ve been researching it actually for almost twenty years. That’s one of the reasons why I think it would be really good for anyone else to do an auto biography on him in Edgar’s Point because a lot of people have died. So there for instance I was able to speak to Junie Bird, Bumpy died in his arms. I was able to speak to Edgar. I was able to speak to Billy Hopkins, and Mayme’s memory is just tremendous. So the research been going on, I mean Mark Henry Perk died about eight years ago. I have him on the record before he died. Ralph Camerno was the best human known gangster, organized crime expert in the country. He died four years ago. I have him on the record talking about Bumpy. So on and on the research has been going on for about fifteen years. You know but it’s like it was never a rush. Eventually we were gonna get it done.
Street Connfinement: It seems like as soon as the movie dropped, the book came really quickly after, and I know that you are reputing a lot of things with American Gangster, so would that be the coincidence, or was it like once you say that you were like “Okay I gotta get this book out there?” Mayme Johnson: May I just say one thing? Street Connfinement: Yes. Mayme Johnson: American Gangster was all lies. I didn’t see anything in there what I could see, what I’ve read to be. Frank Lucas did not know us. That was their way. And when they copied the life of black books I would say wouldn’t you? Street Connfinement: So he really wasn’t a driver for Bumpy? Mayme Johnson: No he never drove a day for us. And he was never ever in my home. He may have washed up his cars and shined his shoes, but he certainly did not drive his car. The only thing he ever did to that car was probably wash it, that’s all.
Street Connfinement: So you don’t know Frank Lucas very well at all? Karen Quinones: What’s to know Frank? But I mean he was like a flunky. So it’s like if your boyfriend or your husband had a flunky you would know him, but he wouldn’t be invited to the house. Mayme Johnson: He’d just come around to get to know Bumpy, and he just wanted to make a living, get out in the world, and he’d come around to make extra money. Bumpy really never shared his money. That’s why I can’t understand why he told so many lies. He made up all of that. And that’s when I thought he would have done that to my book. Karen Quinones : And Judy Page, as a matter of fact she’s sitting right over there, she was at the movie theater when she told Mayme that she saw a trailer from American Gangster , and it was at that point that we found out that the movie was coming on and they had made some false remarks about Bumpy, so when she called her Mayme called me and she was like look we been talking about doing this book all this time and we have to do it because all their doing now is telling lies about my husband. And that’s how it came about. Mayme Johnson: That’s right, that’s how we got started.
Street Connfinement: So they didn’t even grant you the courtesy to let you know they were putting a movie out? Mayme Johnson: No but I understand now he said I was old and wasn’t able to talk about it anymore. Street Connfinement: Do you feel like Frank Lucas created his legacy off of your husband’s legacy? Mayme Johnson: Yes, oh yes. The only person that ever drove Bumpy around was Randy Carson and JJ, JJ Johnson. Karen Quinones: And Bobby Jones. He was one of the pall bearers. Mayme Johnson: Yes, right. Karen Quinones: But the thing is Frank Lucas knew Bumpy, Frank Lucas was a person. I mean I don’t know how else to put it. And Frank is as famous for his listening as he is for his dope dealing. And it makes sense to increase your street credibility to go ahead and hitch your wagon to a man who was known to never have snitched. You know cause no matter what you may say about Bumpy Johnson the man did his time and to anybody else he had to before he snitched. So that gave Frank a little bit of credibility. In his mind that’s what he was doing. And that’s what Mayme and I talked about. It’s like a grab for street credibility. I mean but it was so obvious, I mean because even in the documentary that they filmed for BET, if you look at the documentary their rolling around the street, Frank’s in the back of the car, you see on the street lamps on the street signs that say 121th street and 5th avenue and then he points to a brownstone and he says “My boss lives here, that’s where my boss lives.” But they never lived on 121st street and 5th avenue. They lived on the corner of 120th street and 5th avenue. They lived at 2 west 120th street in an apartment building. And as a matter of fact Willa Mae Park was just here, she lived upstairs from them. He didn’t even know where Bumpy lived, but he’s gone say that he lived six months with them. Mayme Johnson: He was never in our home. Karen Quinones: He never even knew them when they were there. He said that he rode Bumpy around for fifteen years. Bumpy was never on the streets for fifteen years straight since turning eighteen. He met Bumpy in 1963, Bumpy died in 1968. Do the math. Unless he was driving him around in Alvarcaz, you think? And since the movie’s come out there’s lawsuits going around, and now Frank is saying all those statements about “yeah we put all the dope in the coffin and this shipment to this plane and did he do it by himself”, and now he’s coming out and saying well you know 99 percent of this movie was a lie. See what happens when you’re threatened with a lawsuit, or see what happens when someone is alive who knows the truth? But I really believe that he didn’t know Mayme was still around. Because he didn’t say all that stuff until Junie was dead because he said that Bumpy died in his arms. Bumpy died in Junie Bird’s arms right at Well’s Restaurant. He would never have said anything like that when Junie was alive. He was old and encrypted when that story came out, and I believe he thought Mayme was dead. Because what he did was, the relationship that Bumpy had with Flash Walker, he made it up for himself. Flash was the one that met Bumpy in the pool hall, Flash was the one that when he got sick Bumpy and Mayme left the back of the house, and let him stay in his house. You know Flash was the one that Bumpy took shopping and bought clothes. Flash was the one that Bumpy treated like a son. But you know what, Flash Walker is dead and it’s so easy because who knew about Flash Walker before we wrote about it? And that’s what Frank Lucas was pouncing on, don’t you think? Mayme Johnson: That’s right. Street Connfinement: So he just completely took someone’s life basically? Mayme Johnson: Well he wanted to make some money. He was broke and didn’t have any money. And I know he didn’t because he was rambling off the lotto. Street Connfinement: So you’re not getting any rights from that movie at all? From American Gangster? Mayme Johnson: I have nothing to do with it because it’s lies. Street Connfinement: So have you heard anything about getting any movie rights for this book you have out here? Karen Quinones: Well we would love; we would be willing to listen okay. We would certainly consider any offers for options okay. And as I say from your lips to God’s ears. Street Connfinement: Is there anything that you’d like everybody to know? If you had one thing to tell the public what would you let them know about your husband? Mayme Johnson: Well to me he was the greatest guy ever lived. He was a gangster, but he was no dope dealer. And to me, I think if he could have just the other day walked in he would have been very grateful to see all the people, my old friends and so many young friends, so many young men. I think he would have been very happy today. He was a great guy. A lot of people really didn’t know him, just knew of his name. To me he was the greatest guy ever lived. Street Connfinement: Do you feel like his contributions to Harlem, because he’s known as “The Godfather of Harlem” like what major contributions did he make to Harlem? Karen Quinones: Well if I could help with that. Mayme Johnson: Please go right ahead. Karen Quinones: I would say one of the major contributions is he let know people know that they can stand up no matter what position and what economic, what social position they were born in they could stand up to the white man. That they did not have to bow down. Cause you have to remember Bumpy came up at a time where there were still whites through Harlem, the Italians on the East side, and I mean that’s why Bumpy was a legend. Because he was the only black man in New York City, in New York State, in the United States that said, your not gonna do it. And to me one of the positive influences that I see from his life is that he let people know no matter who you are you don’t have to be treated like dirt. And I mean maybe his way wasn’t the best way but like Reverend Johnson said at his eulogy, “Maybe his way wasn’t the best way but he did what he had to do, and he did it well.” Street Connfinement: Well thank you so much. Karen Quinones: Thank you. Mayme Johnson: Thank you.
Connfinement: Start off by introducing yourselves and letting the reader’s know exactly what your part in the team is. Real: This is Real, the producer at STR studios and a general Soup: This is Soup and I’m a artist / producer at STR studios. You know how I get down. Stradegy: This is Stradegy better known as Nobles. We all generals in this shi$ just signing in. Duece: This is Duece “el torro” from STR studios and I’m also a producer and artist. You know how we do. We making this happen. Big Neene: This is Big Neene aka the general of the STR street team so holla at me. Street Connfinement: There’s someone else here, he’s part of the STR family but he’s quiet. But I’m a let him introduce himself. Boon: STR. This is all family right here. I’m wit the movement, I don’t rap but you know I’m here.
Street Connfinement: For those who new to STR why don’t you let the reader’s know what STR stands for. Stradegy: We’ve been doing this for a minute but for those who are new to us STR stands for Stop The Run Productions and we out here making this real music. We just trying to give the people what they lacking especially in this watered down bubble gum bullshi$ they supplying us with. We stopping ni$$a’s runs if they ain’t down. Get down or lay down, hate or love it. Soup: True story cause STR is the initials of my government. We do what we talk about and this is what we do. We the real shi$ ni$$a. Anything we get on we over accomplish whatever it is we’re trying to do.
Street Connfinement: Talk to us about the thought process behind a track when you’re all in the lab together. Duece: It’s more like a group effort coming up with the concept of a track so there’s not too much pressure on one man. We feed off each other as a team. Big Neene: I feed off of everyone else’s energy so if they want to roll up a dutch in the process then I’m with that.
Street Connfinement: Talk to us about some of your upcoming projects. Duece: We got the “Walking Tall” album by my man Big Neene, “Real Talk” by my man Real, “Stradegies of War” by Stradegy, followed by my CD “40 Days, 40 Nights” and then finally my man Super Shawn “Soup” titled “No Mercy”. Soup is fresh home from the bing today and made the interview so stay on the look out for that. Oh, and I almost forgot me and Stradegy got a collaboration CD dropping “Never Enough” which will be coming soon. You can check us out at TheWorldIs.NotEnough@yahoo.com Big Neene: I’m also working on this mix CD titled “Bat” which is a compilation album with a lot of other unsigned artists so if you trying to get on the CD make sure you get at us. The CD is like the story 300 where it’s us vs. the industry. Real: Besides our music I just want to remind the people how we got our distribution services where we can burn CD’s and giving them an opportunity to get their music out there. We definitely hooking up with Skillz Unlimited out of PA, so we spreading out and I just want people to know that this is what we do. We’re more than just a group or label. We’re family and can’t nobody STOP OUR RUN! Stradegy: Make sure you look out for “Stradegies of War” which should be out sometime in the middle of May. STR will be in South Beach this Memorial Day holding it down in the clubs just pumping the CD’s to the people. Also I got the mix CD “Stradegies of War” for the album with just raw shi$. Nothing but freestyles and exclusives.
Street Connfinement: Tell us what makes STR stand out from the rest what goes down when STR is on stage what’s the energy like? Real: You know we like to feed off the crowd so we give out that energy that we gone want to take back in. So it’s like more of a joint venture. The crowd feel us or we feel the crowd, we go back and forth with them. It’s like moving, it’s like a motion almost like a dance. Us and the crowd. Almost like the tango. The hood tango.
Street Connfinement: That’s that crowd participation. Lots of artists don’t get that. They on stage and people ain’t feeling ya music they get mad as a motherf**ker. Soup: We like to bring that energy almost like a freestyle session. Like right now if we start going verse for verse, line for line how you gone feel that cause it’s real. That’s the type of energy we like to bring to rock the crowd. Big Neene: Man I just lose my mind on the stage; I ain’t even gone lie to you. I go bananas if my ni$$as there, I don’t care if it’s three people in the building. I’m a rock them, I’m a rock wit my ni$$as, and we all gone be down like a team. Cause we a squad, you can’t stop us. . Stradegy: This Stradegy, we know we got that energy. We get on the stage, it’s like once you grab that mic it’s on. Once you see the crowd moving, you see everybody running to the stage, you get that attention, you know what it is. We opened up for Hell Rell and we seen them dudes over in the corner, they was rockin to our s**t. They was feelin us cause they know we a movement.
Street Connfinement: Let’s talk about your latest CD and some of the songs on it. Also explain what they mean to you. Soup: Yeah, No Mercy, this my first LP. No Mercy, this s**t is like for real. This is like my life story. It’s like everything I go through. I’m a real ni$$a. I’m a in and out of jail ni$$a. I got kids and all that s**t but it don’t even matter cause I’m in and out of jail, so that’s like the real story. So if you listen to my s**t it’s like the real story. You understand what I’m going through, and it’s like a million other ni$$as out here who understand what I’m going through so No Mercy is like for real for real. When you say No Mercy it’s like No Mercy! To all you herb ni$$as, and all you real ni$$as, No Mercy, that’s like plain and simple. If you listen to it you’ll understand it. No Mercy.
Street Connfinement: Yeah, that’s what’s up. When that s**t drop, it’s out, ya’ll go cop it. Listen to it, support ya Connecticut artists. These dudes is putting work in. Same way you go buy D Block CD or whoever CD, go cop STR CD at the same time. Let’s talk about some upcoming projects for STR. What’s coming up with yall, like shows, interviews, DVD’s or anything else coming up? Stradegy: You know, right now we ain’t got no shows coming up. Right now we waiting, something supposed to be poppin off at Toad’s Place. My boy Big be with K Slay and Papoose. But other than that we ready for whatever. Anything that’s going on we want in. We want to be involved with anything that’s going on. So anybody out there looking for talent make sure you look up STR Stop The Run Productions. Real: I want ya’ll to also be looking out for the STR Ni$$as Can’t Stop The Run video. That’s gone be hitting CT real soon. Ya’ll make sure ya’ll show us some love man, this real s**t man, and that’s like the anthem for ya boys. Soup: For any ni$$as that wanna battle just come see me. I guarantee ya’ll ni$$as can’t see me. I do what I do.
Street Connfinement: I’m telling you man, Soup is serious. He’s putting the crown on the line. You stop the run you a bad motherf**ker right now. They like they ain’t gonna get violent with ya’ll, they want ya’ll to pick up the mics man. That’s what they trying to get at. Let me get it right. It’s not about the gun play but they do that too, the street play. Street Connfinement: That’s right, the one play like Nas said, “One Mic”. Five mics they coming at ya’ll. STR Together: It’s not about the gun play; it’s about the one play. Stradegy: This is for them ni$$as that watch us more than these fu$kin females do. They know how I get down in these streets, I’m a gwap getter and I get it. Big Neene: Ni$$as know me, I’m from around the way man. You try to air anybody in my team out, I don’t give a f**k if it’s a one on one battle I’m getting on it I’m tearing you apart cause I don’t even battle like that. I done put ni$$as careers on hold. My battling days is over. If you come out and you try to air Deuce, Strategy, Real, or Soup I’m gonna air you out. It’s gonna look real ugly. Real: Aye, let me elaborate on that. I want ya’ll ni$$as to know that STR man we is f**king so deep right now. Everything we touch is fire. Anybody we collaborate with is fire. Ni$$as know what we do man. We out here f**king setting the mark man. Ni$$as is scared, ni$$as don’t even want to act like they notice what we doing but they know. So for ni$$as that think that we only a few deep ni$$as nah. Man we f**king by the hundreds going to the thousands.
Street Connfinement: Got Damn! Now, now I like that. Now let’s talk about collaborations. Any CT cats ya’ll working with? I need to know they names man. Stradegy: On the real the only CT cats I’m working with is STR productions. Only CT cats I’m working with is ni$$as that’s already down with my team. I can’t work with nobody else. Anybody else I work with is IL and HUO Productions, which is my little brother. And STR productions, you know we working wit all of them. IL and HUO Productions. Duece: All our s**t, we do what we do and to maintain, and the family. We can’t work with everybody else. You know we don’t work with trauma sending men. My ni$$a J Rock that’s in the Carolina’s right now, Scoob, ni$$as from all over. Cousin Bootsie, Trigga, he’s a big part of the movement. He come and vibe with ni$$as and put it down. There’s a lot of ni$$as out there man that I just wanna acknowledge man. Stradegy: Yeah I did a track with L to the Gunz. And you know my boy Chad Dawson “The Champ”, we got a track wit him too “What Goes Around Comes Around”. Collabos? We collabing wit STR! If you ni$$as feel ya’ll got the movement like we got, and you feeling the energy that we got holla at us. The Champ! He’s boxing and he’s rapping. “What Goes Around Comes Around”, the track. They know what it is man. Real: Yeah we got some females that sung on a couple tracks. Let’s give a shout out to Tonya, Tonya Dorch and Candy from the Hill. So you know we working wit a lot of different artists from around. My man Chris, Jamaican Chris we out ranking. That’s how we do so. Butch definitely, he showed me how to rock on the beats anyway. Back when I was a lil young ni$$a so I gotta respect my ni$$a Butch. He still around. My man DR at Top Ten Studios. That’s how we doing it man. Stradegy: I gotta send love to my boy Menage too man. He’s another part of STR. He ain’t make it right here right now. But he’s another part of STR movement. He’s another ni$$a ya’ll gone hear about that’s from the hood. Real ni$$a, about his business.
Street Connfinement: Now I want to sit back and talk about what it’s like when people see your CD’s out and they notice you. What’s the response from that? Soup: I mean you know we get a good response from the people out there. They love our music so there’s probably some haters but they stay in the background we’ll never even get to see them. But when people see our music, they hear our music they love it. We got like what a thousand CD’s out right here In New Haven alone. People buying the music. We just giving CD’s away, people buy them. So it ain’t nothing man, they love the music. That’s just the mixtape right there for the newest volume 1.
Street Connfinement: Yeah that’s what’s up man. One more time, I heard someone talk about MySpace man if ya’ll wanna give ya’ll information out. I know each one of ya’ll got a MySpace. Alright just shout out ya MySpace, ya info, you know whatever, who you are. Stradegy: MySpace Stradegy@yahoo.com. Soup: I just came home today so I ain’t got no MySpace. But if you give me a week I’ll have all the MySpace you want. Big Neene: Aight this is ya boy Big Neen. I ain’t got no MySpace but I’m on STR the whole team. Long as my team and I’m up there s**t I got MySpace. But I will be coming with my own MySpace too. Big Neen, holla at me. Real: Yo what’s good, this is Real. We working on a multi-dimension space, www.stoptherun.com . That should be up and running within the next month. We just trying to make progress. We got a whole bunch of spaces man. All you spaces is MySpace. Duece: Yeah, well you know we got more than one MySpace on different sites but the one I want people to hit up right now is TheWorldIs.NotEnough@yahoo.com. When I way it’s nothing but fire up there, it’s nothing but fire baby. Signing off
Street Connfinement: Any last words? Real: I want to say one more thing before I sign off too. For all the people out there, the new and upcoming artists in New Haven or wherever you at, I want ya’ll to remember one thing. The world is full of negativity. Everything around you is negative. And only time you gone be positive is if you move positive. You gotta put all that other stuff beside you and block out everything, everybody trying to bring you down and make sure you get yours. You gotta step forward with your good foot forward best way you can. Stradegy: All that I tell you is that the album be out next month May. Crazy fire on there, club track Mama See To It, Deuce “ell torro” got a club track wit my lil cousin Lil Brittney Top Bosses. Street Life, it’s all types of crazy stuff, I Tried So Hard, it’s all types of stuff on there. So May, middle of May it’ll be out. Soup: This Super Shawn. If you listen to J Random MySpace.com you will understand what I’m talking about. That’s my little brother. I just came out of jail today, and my lil, brother he look up to me. So if you listen to his s**t, you’ll understand where I’m coming from. My little brother is the truth, and before you know it I’m gonna be the truth. Big Neene: Yo this Big Neen here. I gotta say ni$$as look out for my album Walking Tours, lot of motivation, versatility, gangsta s**t, s**t for the chicks, versatile. It’s all about bringing you up man, getting you outta the hood. And I’m a give you life stories, I’m a give you real s**t on my s**t. and for all you haters out there stop hating man. I’m just tipping you off man.
Street Connfinement: We over here with the Infamous Don King the black rep in Providence, Rhode Island. Don King: My name is Donald King I am the executive and artistic director of the Providence Black Repertory Company and Co-Producer of Providence Sound Session ~08~.
Street Connfinement: Please let us know exactly what the “Black Repertory” is? How did you came up with the idea and then set it into motion? Don King: The “Black Rep” was formed in the fall of 1996. It was something that came out of back room discussions that I had been having with cats I grew up with when I was a student at Brown University, I took theater there. Then when I graduated I worked with Larry Hamland and another company where I traveled all over the east coast presenting a play. We went to Canada with it, and then did another piece, a musical. This made me decide I wanted to start a cultural institution in the city I grew up in based on things I’ve seen traveling to other cities realizing that there weren’t a lot of cultural outlets her in Rhode Island for black people, where as I saw them in other cities. And since then the initial idea has expanded beyond just African American and scoped to a more African historic scoped to just dealing with issues of class and trying to create a venue for poor people also. And never really losing sight of the fact that we‘re committed to African-American work, but we do work by Latin Artists. We have Latin Jazz series which is really successful. And we have a very diverse acting company that’s made up of people of all nationalities, European descent, African descent, Asian descent. So at the end of the day we’re an American repertory company. We’re an American cultural institution that tries to keep it real.
Street Connfinement: Everybody sees you now as far as how big it’s gotten from when you first started. Talk about some of the struggles. Don King: Man it has not been easy. We were in a loft on the 4th floor. We would be throwing legal rent parties and the lease would come up threatening to throw my turn-tables out the window. We were doing what we could do to make this thing happen that you see right here. A friend of mine who owned Club Baby, a pretty famous club in town, Jeff Ward, gave me some good advice. He said keep doing this, and you do it to an extent the city’s going to realize it can’t survive without you. And then they’ll help you. And that’s essentially what’s happened. We went from just doing the rent parties and after-hours to really doing theater and things like that. The challenge has always been to be more than just a theater company, but to be a cultural institution; to find creative ways to bring the community into some of the work that we’re trying to do so that people understand that art has a way to transform communities, transform individuals, transform the way in which we think about ourselves, our communities, the world we live in.
Street Connfinement: Exactly. So as far as having background and being a Dj, and doing acting over the North East how did that help you improve the venues as far as where you wanted to go? Don King: That’s a great question. Let’s start with acting. Acting is something that I never was fully invested in as much as I was invested into being a director. I’m a director by trade. But working in the theater is something that I looked at the things I learned from being an actor and going to see theater. What I began to learn about myself, about my history, about my family, about my absentee father. My mother, the challenges they were up against trying to raise a young black boy and a young black girl. That kind of knowledge came to me specifically through theater and music which is why I became a dj also. So being a dj, that’s why theater is an important corner stone to what we’re doing. My first dj gig I went to my boy that owned Club Baby and he has another venue called Jerky’s and I said “Hey let me dj, let me take your worst night. Sunday night.” So I did a party called Electric Relaxation named after A Tribe Called Quest joint. And it was every Sunday night and I played whatever I wanted to play. And it took a year but it went from like fifteen to twenty people to doing one hundred and fifty people. For a small bar it became the it party in town where all the hipsters, d-boys, fly girls came into my party. And some of my party was influenced by a few different parties I had been to all throughout the world. Soul Kitchen in New York, way back in the day in the early nineties. It was a big party at SOB and at this little chicken shack on Bleeker. I used to go that party when I was in college. There was a party in Oakland that I had been to. And there was a party in Atlanta I used to go to at the Ying Yang café. So a lot of where I got the courage to play genre defining sets was realizing like playing Rolling Stones and then playing Mobb Depp. And then I would play a lot of house music. So that party kind of gave me the sense of studying audiences, studying people. I also realized that people aren’t what they seem like on their outer appearance. Just because someone wears their hat to the back, a t-shirt and forces doesn’t mean he doesn’t like Nina Simone or it doesn’t mean he doesn’t like the Rolling Stones. I’ll never forget one day a dude looked like a skinner sitting in the bar and I’m setting up. He walks up to me and he’s like “Can you play me some Nina Simone?” And I’m like how this kid know about some Nina Simone? So it’s like I’ve had a lot of situations in my life where it’s taught me not to characterize people or to stereotype people. And so I carried that over to the Black Rep and it’s hard because people want to hear the bull you hear on the radio, “Why you not playing this song, or that song.” And I’m like look I’m a cultural institution, I’m a non-profit organization. Go down the way to hear whatever the f**k people are playing, I don’t even know. Reggae ain’t even reggae anymore. They don’t even put beats in reggae anymore. They playing violins and all that s**t. so I’m like come to Black Rep and get a breath of fresh air. You’ll get organic, spirit based classics. That’s what we trying to do without being pretentious. That’s not to say you won’t hear me play some hip-hop that might have cursing or that may or may not be misogamist. That’s a part of the culture, I won’t deny that. But your not going to get hit in the head all night with just dumb s**t. Like I had a case where I was playing house and these boys came up to me like “Yo, what’s this man? Can you make me a tape?” I tell people all the time I hate house music, but I like the type of house music I play. I don’t like techno, techno’s not what I do. But if your outside of the genre people think all house music is techno. But it’s not at all. I’ll give you an example. One of my bouncers, you look at him you know he not feeling no house music. First couple weeks he sitting at the door. The fourth week he comes up to me and is like “ Yo this is house music? Yo I’m feeling this, I like this. This house music?” so we convert people because we’re f**king with those genres. So that’s really the foundation of Black Rep in so many ways. You see my staff, white people on my staff tell me all the time “what do you mean you work at the Black Rep? You’re not black.“ I’m like I go to Irish Pub, we go to Chinese Restaurants. We go to the Jewish Community Center. So what’s the difference. I never said you couldn’t come to the Jewish Community Center, so why would you assume you couldn’t come to the Black Rep? So we’re breaking down those kinds of perceptions that people have. Just cause we celebrating who we are, we’re acknowledging who we are as people and what we want to put forth to this country doesn’t mean that we are not Americans. It doesn’t mean that we are excluding ourselves or being separate from anybody else. And that happens. I think hands down there’s no non-profit organization or corporate venue that is more diverse than the Black Rep. And you get Black folks who will say, “ Oh this is a white Black Rep.” Stupid s**t like that and I’m like go to the books. Go look at my mission. Go look at what we’re doing. It ain’t no white about this organization in terms of that. We’re into serving the community, but then again those are ignorant situations that people need to move past. So we’re here to educate people about that stuff too.
Street Connfinement: So as far as the plays, how do you decide which ones you want to have come through? Don King: It’s difficult because there are a few factors we have to think about. First factor is cost. I would like to do the great musical Your Arms Are Too Short To Box With God. But that’s like fifty people in the cast. I can’t afford it. Also we’re in New England and you don’t have the type of gospel tradition as it is in North Carolina or Atlanta. In those places every other person on the street can sing like Mahalia Jackson. So that limits what we can do, how much money we have. And I also look at my company. Can I produce this play at the level and caliber I want to produce it that doesn’t fall below the standards we’ve set for ourselves? And also what does it say to the community?
Street Connfinement: As far as your own In-House acting company how do you go about some of the plays that they do? Don King: We have about seventeen affiliate artists right now. Megan, who you met, is the captain of them. Megan’s my associate artistic director in another life. So during Sound Session lifetime she’s press and during the year she’s a wonderful director. We just produced a play called Etymology Of Bird, which is about a Brooklyn MC that was dating a girl named Birdie who was about to leave for college and it’s about the tragedy of what happens to their love affair. He’s on the roof top in Brooklyn waiting for her and an undercover cop gets word that there’s a shooting and he’s checking all the buildings and he comes up and shoots the other guy by accident. So Megan just directed that. She did an outstanding job. And I directed a Sam Sheppard play. I don’t always want to do plays by Black playwrights. I put my black consciousness on it.
Street Connfinement: So with the plays do you keep them just over here or do you travel with them? Don King: Oh we travel all the time. We just did a big Caribbean play by Derrick Wolcock, Two Can Play, and we brought it to Boston. Sold out for a whole weekend. So we had a great weekend. We had sold out here with The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and we sold out. And we sold out in Boston. So we definitely not afraid to take a play to Connecticut if Connecticut’s trying to see us.
Street Connfinement: As far as the Sound Session how did you come up with the whole idea for that? Don King: I was out working with Cliff Woodrew at the time who is the head of our department of Culture and Tourism and we thought we were ready to come together and produce a festival. We produced a Jazz Blues Festival and we felt like we wanted to do something else but we didn’t want to do a Jazz festival or a Blues festival so I said let’s do a genre defiant festival. Let’s not have it be any specific kind of music but be allowed to do as much as we want.
Street Connfinement: So how do you run that and you still have your business to run over here and you have to organize everything. How do you go about that? Don King: It’s madness. The way we pull this off is only because I have an amazing staff, and because Megan is an amazing talent person. Michelle is an amazing talented executive assistant to me. My director of operations, Tonya Harris is outstanding. My festival coordinator Mike, also Brown graduate. I graduated from Brown University, Megan also did. I teach at Brown right now. I tell people all the time. This event people get paid another salary to do this all year long. So we don’t get no more money. I don’t get a bonus in my salary. She doesn’t get a bonus in her salary. This is just what we do in addition. So for like three months, May, June and July we take out of our regular work and produce this festival.
Street Connfinement: What was the main purpose of this festival? Don King: The main purpose of this festival is to raise money for Black Rep, to raise consciousness about what Black Rep is doing. Flag shipping to the world to let people know we’re here, and hopefully they’ll come back and be members of what we’re trying to do.
Street Connfinement: For someone who has never been here how would you sum it up? Don King: I would sum it up that aside from Brooklyn, I’ve been to Connecticut. I know a little bit about Boston. I would say this. There’s something different. It’s different from Brooklyn, it’s different from Connecticut, its different form Boston. You tell me. Next year when you come back you tell me. But there’s a special kind of magic that exists here that’s really beautiful that we spoke about earlier when we talked about the relaxed setting in a café. That was a dancehall show. Dancehall people get shot. And you will see there’s heads out there, but we chill everybody out at the door. Even when thugs come in there my man at the door is one of the notorious thugs and he checks everybody telling them don’t come in here with that madness. What makes Sound Sessions I think there’s something really unique. On Sunday we start off with gospel, and we end with the Caribbean style parade on Saturday night. We go from the sacred to the profane and everything in between. So there’s some debauchee happening over here, and there’s some deep prayer. Everything is all in good fun. We not going to let anybody get hurt or too drunk. There’s going to be scantily clad women backing it up and it’s going to be beautiful. And you gon see all nations held up. So that’s the big thing about Sound Session. And then after all of that its education stuff. We’re building a tradition In Rhode Island and I need your help. And we a lot of cats. Wherever I’m at or you as long as you guys are serious I want to network. We’ve giving passes to people and they have been shooting stuff for like four of five years and we have never seen it put nowhere. We trying to raise money to get this facility right. We have a campaign where everybody throw a dollar in at Sound Session and fifty thousand people come so if everybody put in a dollar that’s fifty thousand dollars we raised and we’re closer to meeting our goals.
Street Connfinment: So if anyone has any questions, comments, concerns about the soul session where can they go to find out information? Don King: They can go to www.providencesoundsession.com or www.blackrep.org if you want to find out about Black Rep and that will link you to Sound Sessions website or you can go directly to the website.
Street Connfinement: Sum up Don King in your own words. Don King: I’ll sum up Black Rep. Black Rep is that we really believe in love. That’s the only way we’ve been able to pull off what we’ve been able to pull off. My staff is not big. We got twelve to fifteen people, maybe ten full time. It’s a small staff that’s pulling off what we’re pulling off. And it only comes from love. We have disagreements but we sit down and we settle it. And a lot of intelligent people who are really connected to our mission. And so Don King is just trying to serve this particular community, this world. I got two kids, a eight month old baby boy, and a two year old girl going on thirty or thirteen. And I want to make sure that she comes into a world that’s about something. So Black Rep is my effort to try to be the change that I want this world to be. We’re not always on it, but we come close. And we hit the mark a few times in a Sound Session. I see us hit the bull’s eye already between Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The past three days I think we hit it everyday. But tonight we’ll see if we can knock it off.
Street Connfinement: What’s the highlights for Sound Session so far? Don King: So far the highlights for Sound Session I would have to say Jose’ James.We linking up with people all over. We can do something. But Black Rep and Sound Session hopefully we’ll see a profit this year and that will show that I been on my p’s and q’s. Street Connfinement: Anything else you want to say? Don King: No I just wamt to say thank you. What’s up Connecticut
Start off by introducing yourself, tell us about yourself, your background and what it was like growing up and how it influenced you. Albie: Come on man, me and you, don’t even ask me questions like that, come on man, Kick it with me man; we gone chop it up for real. Keep it real, talk to me cuz. You know me; I’m straight out of Roxberry. I went to college in Virginia, Norfolk State, graduated from there with a BS in Management; minor in entrepreneurship. The grind is there. The grind was there before college, I was grinding in elementary, I was hustling Now-an-Later at the playground. Getting money and chasing money is just in my blood.
Street Connfinement: How did you come up with the idea of the Cheddar DVD? Albie: Originally it was suppose to be a magazine but I seen that a lot of young folks was interested in the DVD, so I switched it up and went to the DVD and after doing my business plan I seen that a DVD was about the same price as a magazine to press but it sold for a little bit more so I could make more money with the concept of a DVD vs. a magazine. It was always in my heart to do a magazine but now DVD’s are in so I’m gone rock with that. I got Cheddarlive.com, that is a new site I am putting up, I see the DVD actually being gone. Like records, CD’s don’t even sell like they use to, later, DVD’s wont sell like they use to so I am just trying to get a head start on that and come with this Cheddar live.
Street Connfinement: What do you have planned for that? Albie: Right now what I find is I might have some footage of Fat Joe talking about Papoose, or Shorty Lo talking about T.I. whatever it is, say I get that footage today and a new DVD drops today. That means that footage is not gone come out for another four months so therefore, by the time it comes out to me it is old. Even though to people that are not online it may be fresh, it don’t matter because I want to be the number one hip-hop media person so I got to give you that content ASAP so it is going to be online in the morning maybe even the same day. So Cheddar Live is designed to give you the most current hip-hop news right when it drops in the visual format, not written, visual.
Street Connfinement: That is going to make you step up your game and push a lot harder, what is the difference between putting the DVD together? Albie: Actually I have been blessed because through my journey I have met people in many states so with people all over the country now I am able to get footage and make sure I can get something that is hot. So somebody might call me up and be like, “Yo Cheddar, I got the new Rick Ross footage, yo Cheddar, I got this footage”. So I say, “quick time it to me”, we zap it up and I stick it right online. But now they may send me the package and we still have to wait until the DVD comes out. With Cheddar Live you don’t have to wait till the DVD comes out.
Street Connfinement: What other DVD’s inspired you to do this DVD? Albie: What I seen with the DVD game is that there was no information. Cheddar DVD, I am trying to give you information on how to make some money. I am hip-hop all day, so it is hard to do something without incorporating hip-hop. Like we did something with Licshot about money, but we incorporated hip-hop, because people want to see something about money but they also want to incorporate hip-hop. To me hip-hop is my second love, my first love is money, in a business aspect, I mean obviously my first love is my family. I say that because I am more focused on the money then hip-hop cause I don’t rap.
Street Connfinement: What is your style on doing interviews? Albie: Oh, I go in. I’m not like you, I go in. I ask questions that most interviewers are afraid to ask cause if I don’t do it who else is gone do it? People probably don’t like me because of it, but I feel like my job is to give the people what they want to hear. So if that is my job, I am not going into the interview to make a friend, I am going into the interview to get the information. That is why it is called interview, informative, get the interview, I’m really going in. Whenever I get the people in front of me I’m gone ask them that tough question, whatever it is that is hot in hip-hop at the moment I ask that, I ask what people want to know, and I get straight to it, I aint gone beat around the bush.
Street Connfinement: Have you ever been in an awkward situation when you go into an interview like that? Albie: Of course, when I did Suge Knight it was kind of awkward. He was ice grilling me and trying to be a tough guy. At the end of the day I am not a tough guy. I am a reporter and I am gonna be true to it, so however tough you want to be I am still here to do my job so I’m not gonna be intimidated. Now if you pull out guns, well, ok, you win. But if he just talking then that comes with the job and if you’re not ready to fight for what you believe in then why do it.
Street Connfinement: What do you have coming up for your next DVD? Albie: On the next DVD we got the Shorty Lo and T.I. situation. T.I. court trial and what happened at his court case with the ATF and his attorney, the district attorney. Got the story with Rick Ross, Mass Pike Miles just linked up with Rick Ross. We got Lil Wayne on there, Birdman, Akon on there talking about being an executive, doing what my hommie Licshot is doing, instead of just getting the artist, now he is being an executive doing it and really trying to get people up under his movement. He is on there talking about BG and Lil Wayne, how they getting back together. It is a good DVD, I got the Porn Awards, all the fellas who want to see some of that clap, the awards was out in Vegas. Also a chic named Juicy out of New Orleans, she pretty nice.
Street Connfinement: When you have so much footage, how do you decide who makes the cut? Albie: Experience, the more you do it you know what works and what don’t work. The only way you gone find that out is to continue to do what you do. Then you just gone get better at it, there is really no secret, so you just have to continue to do it and listen to what people say.
Street Connfinement: With the RIA going in on CD sales does that affect you as far as DVD sales and what you put on there? Albie: Anything with the police gets me concerned, but it doesn’t really concern me, I don’t do mix CD’s I do DVD’s. People sign off and give us rights to record, we use original music, so I am running a legitimate business. It more concerns me for the stake of hip-hop cause at the end of the day this is the industry that I am in so from that point, I’m like, “man this is jacked up”, and how can we fix this situation because mix tapes is a part of hip-hop and we really don’t want to lose it. That is the streets, the DVD kinda substitutes it but not 100% because at the end of the day you still need music. You need TV which is the visual, but you also need the audio. Also a lot of people make money off of that, it will affect how a lot of people eat. Now folks got to do different things that they normally wouldn’t do, which may be more negative then selling music that they can get online free anyway, so what is the big bother? Especially when, labels is sending that stuff to them, I check my email, I get like easily 60 new songs a day from Snoop to Akon to Lil Wayne and I am not even a DJ, so imagine what a DJ gets, and he not suppose to put it out? They don’t know what they want to do, they just want to arrest folks.
Street Connfinement: In this industry the labels are turning their backs on DJ’s and you got artist like Lil Wayne saying f$ck the DJ, do you feel like, you’re in this industry but how much longer till they turn they back on me? Albie: I think the biggest problem with the industry and why record sales are bad, I don’t think it has anything to do with bootleggin, I don’t think it had anything to do with mixtapes or downloading, I think it was just bad music. Personally tell me the last classic album before Kanye West. It was a Jay-Z album, so we just getting bad music, one hit wonders, or a ring tone album. They not giving us a full fledge album. So after buying a couple of those, after the consumer spends the money what is going to make them inclined to continue spending their money when every CD that I hear there is one hot song, so I’m not gone buy that. The industry forgot about the art and now they just say, “ok, this music makes money” if the song is hot they just want to make a million dollars off of that song. Sooner or later the consumer said they not buying those CD’s no more. So now you see itself correcting, this year alone, we go Kanye West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, we got Lil Wayne. We got like 4 or 5 great albums, I can’t remember the last time we had 4 or 5 great albums. So now the labels are saying, lets just put out good music now, so it is just self correcting.
Street Connfinement: How do you feel about an artist like Lil Wayne selling millions and Nas is selling a couple hundred thousand? Albie: Well who buys music?
Street Connfinement: Kids Albie: Then why do you think Lil Wayne sold 2 million, cause more kids buy music. A 30 plus person running out buying albums, Lil Wayne age bracket will buy his music. Kids 18 plus don’t even really know who Nas is. It is not Nas fault, that is just how the industry works. If you young you have more potential.
Street Connfinement: How does the industry view you and what you do to get the information? Albie: It is funny cause they love me but they hate me cause the Cheddar. I just had somebody from Bad Boy call me saying they want to do an interview. Alright I’m coming but it was an industry person, I know how the industry work, I give them a discounted price and they still don’t want to cut a check. So I’m like it an artist out here is grinding with no major label will cut a check for this promotion, you definitely need to cut a check. And you know sometimes it is about relationships so you gone give a reduced price cause it is about that relationship, cause a Bad Boy person might be able to get you in touch with Puff which is a cover story. There has to be some type of bargain involved. I am promoting your artist, what about travel, what about tapes, what about time, what about editing? So some of them just want free promotion, soon they gone try to mixtape me, they just trying to get as much as they can get for free to some degree, this is a business so if you aint gone respect it then keep it moving.
Street Connfinement: What are the differences you picked up traveling from east coast, west coast and down south? Albie: The south is united, I love that about the south. But they united where they may not all hang together but they all support each other. I think that is what the northeast is missing, they don’t support each other. Their support system is all messed up. Just because there are different music, like Dip Set, Roca Fella, and G-Unit…they don’t have to hang together but they should still support each other instead of dissing them. Dissing is like the worst thing in the world because it makes everyone else look at you like “he’s fake, cause he said he’s fake, and vice versa”, instead know that they are good artist and support them. Everyone from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, all these places, the more they support each other the better it will be for the music in this region of the country. That is the biggest problem, it is like crabs in a barrel, but in the south they support one another. I wouldn’t say the music is better in either place, but with a support system, you can’t lose right.
Street Connfinement: Are there any restrictions or guidelines on your DVD? Albie: Naw, it aint no guidelines. I don’t know about that one, I mean if something is rated R, I am gone put parental advisory. That is the guideline, my product is not designed for kids, it is for 18 plus so that’s my guidelines anything else I am unaware. I didn’t know a gun was against the law. I guess whatever you do, you have to expect some type of consequence for the person actually in the DVD.
Street Connfinement: Tell us about your grind and how you distribute the DVD? Albie: I do send them out in the mail and I do drive around to get them out. I got an office down south and they ship there. It is kind of hard to get on the road as much as I use to but I love getting on the road. That is the most enjoyable part of my job. The mingle and chatting with folks to see what is going on in other parts of the country. Going into new shops, meeting the owners, make a couple dollars and keep moving, I love that part. That is also probably what helps us grow so fast cause from day one I always got on the road. This was never a local product, this is always been a national product. From production to sales it has always been we gone get an interview from this side of the country, we gone sell a DVD on the other side of the country. It has always been national. Now we got a new situation out in the UK so it is global. I can’t drive there, but I will get over there sooner or later.
Street Connfinement: Out of all the artists you met, who are some of the up-in-coming artist to watch out for? Albie: I really like Mass Pike Miles. His music is good and he works hard. I hear good music all the time, I hear industry artist with good music, I hear industry artist with bad music, I hear independent artist with good music and with bad music. But good music and hard work, that dude work hard man. And I got to see him at work, so that right there makes me think, if you work this hard, you deserve it. So that is what really gets me. So watch out for Mass Pike Miles, watch out for Jay Young the million dollar kid he has done a lot of work with me, he is out of Atlanta, he works hard, he performs 2 or 3 times a week, working hard. Mass Pike just signed a deal with Rick Ross. But up until 3 months ago neither of them were signed but they been working extremely hard. All their money still comes from the industry yet they just getting signed. They still doing shows, they doing music for commercials, whatever they do, they still working the industry and I love it.
Street Connfinement: Anything else you want to address the fans with? Albie: CheddarLive.com log on man.
Street Connfinement: How do people get in touch with you? Albie: CheddarDVD.com, CheddarLive.com everything is right there.
street connfinement ;- But I want to thank yall for your timing and coming out here to New Haven to chop it up.
I see how Street Connfinement do, thank you for your time and keep doing what yall do. Just like what I do is important, what yall do is important.
Fast Facts: Street Connfinement: What’s the livest interview you did? Albie: Suge Knight Street Connfinement: What is your favorite Cheddar DVD that you put out? Albie: I haven’t seen it yet. It is the next one to come, my favorite is always my next. Street Connfinement: What is the farthest you traveled for an interview? Albie: Cali Street Connfinement: What is the best part of the grind? Albie: When you see the finished product. Street Connfinement: What is the hardest part of the grind? Albie: Dividing your time. Street Connfinement: What is the first camera you started with? Albie: A Cannon XL1, Right now I am using a Panasonic DVX 200 HD Street Connfinement: Who is an artist you look forward to interviewing? Albie: I would love to interview Jay-Z, and even though it aint gone happen, BIG and Tupac Street Connfinement: Favorite quote, or personal saying? Albie: “More money, more problems”
