Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Mr. Deuce: Houston's FINEST!

We are all familiar that the music industry requires business sense, determination and most importantly TALENT!! Houston has alot undiscovered, hungry talent and I have had the pleasure of meeting one of them: Mr. Deuce. Mr. Deuce is the young and ambitious CEO of So Throwed Entertainment, an up and coming record label. He founded this company to give artists a fair chance at honing their craft and get their music heard. Deuce is an artist and business owner. When he isnt working (which is rare) he is taking care of himself and his mother. Our interview went so well, what was to be a 30 minute interview turned into a 3 hour chit chat. I am honored to know Mr. Deuce and here is your chance to get up close and personal with.... Mr. Deuce.



MsNightLyfe: Who is Mr. Deuce?

Mr.Deuce: "I am a rapper, songwriter and business owner. So Throwed Ent is my label and I write my own music. I have a few artist under my label. As a newcomer to the business side of the game I am hoping to be helped by the right people."

MsNightLyfe: Tell Us about your music/Record Label.

Mr. Deuce: "My Music is hip-hop, club and crunk music. I have a metaphoric style of raping. Its a different style for the known Houston sound. Its still Houston, but its more than sipping syrup and moving slow. Im not knocking it, Im just diversifying it. I started rhyming when I was 9 or 10 years old. I was writing poems for little girls I liked(laughing as if he was reminiscing about the poem), at 15 my brother encouraged him to rap or sing. I sung because my voice was light enough then. Now its too deep . I would flow with the instrumentals and beats.

MsNightLyfe: Excuse me, what was that laugh about, do you remember who you wrote a song for?

Mr. Deuce:(He smiles so cute ladies) "Yea, I remember, her name was Yesenia, she was actually my prom date."

Ms.NightLyfe: Im tickled because he remembers the young lady's name. What influences your music style?

Mr. Deuce: Poetry, Lil Wayne, Kanye, Jeezy and Plies. ( As he speaks and as I listen to his music, I think he sounds like, raps like all of them in one.) My lyrics are focused more on the ladies because I care more about women then I do the slabs. Thats a primary reason its said I dont really have the Houston sound.

Ladies and gentleman, I want to take this moment to just talk to you all about this young man. Mr. Deuce, rocks! He is truly a breath of fresh air. He is down to earth, humble and hungry. I admire his hustle. Im not an artist, but I wish I could be just to work with him. I've never met such a dedicated, driven man, that's so serious about achieving his goals. If you dont know him yet, you are truly doing yourself a great injustice. So my advice to you is: GOOGLE HIM, Get Familiar, with this undiscovered phenomenon.

Ms. NightLyfe: What industry greats move you?

Mr. Deuce: "Man, Lil Wayne is my favorite Artist and my favorite song by him is FireMan. Slim Thug, Eminem and Wayne influence his style of rapping. Slim because of his independent hustle. (He of course, on his path to becoming an industry great, put a few of his own works in it, his favorite songs are The Come Up and the Lloyd Banks mixtape release, song with AK47.

MsNightLyfe: What are some collaborations that you have worked on (or would like to work on)?

Mr. Deuce: "I have done a song with Liege called "Smile" which is a new song that lets the ladies know they are the reasons I smile and want to be the reason she smile. In addition to that, there is a single "Forever" in rotation. "

MsNightLyfe: What is your inspiration?

Mr. Deuce: My mother and the hunger I have.


Well Folks, Mr. Deuce is a force to be reckoned with. Keep up with him, you WILL miss something if you dont. He truly is one of Houston's FINEST! My favorite songs by Mr. Deuce are "The Come Up and "Addicted". Time for you to find your favorite tune. You can find Mr. Deuce in a variety of places:

facebook.com/MrDeuce2010
Twitter:com @MrDeuce2010
Twitter.com @So_Throwed_Ent
Myspace.com: sothrowedent2010
myspace.com: deucesothrowed



Friday, July 16, 2010

The Original Bootlings by Ayo Shittu: Creative Designs for the Fashion Urbanista!






















Are you asking yourself where did those designs in the pictures above come from? Maybe you are asking who crafted the African inspired designs. There is only 1 answer: Ayo Shittu. I believe every little girl and some little boys have had the desire to make the world beautiful with their creations. Ranging from music and beat manufacturing to jewelry and fashion design, the world deserves to be influenced and fashionable at the hands of creative persons. It is no doubt in my mind that Ayo Shittu was anointed with that same desire. Ayo is a remarkable fashion design and fashion editor with Uzuri Magazine. She is beyond creative, motivating and inspiring. I mean when you look at her fashion design that are inspired by her roots in Africa, it is undeniable that she creates and supplement the beauty that already exists. Ayo fabricates designs exhilarated by african animal prints and fur. Those designs range from faux fur shawls and clothing to the latest production of the boot inspired Bootling. The Bootling was created to go on like a sock up to compliment any pair of shoes and give any outfit a totally different look. Ayo says "Bootlings are about the urbanista, the around the way girl that may only have a dime in her pocket, but can walk out the house looking “vogue”. They make the average t-shirt and jeans look like a totally different outfit put together by Project Runway. They are an upgrade for your whole look." Ayo states that this is the hottest fashion for 2010 and beyond and I must confer, the bootling has ALREADY totally revolutionized the way I think about fashion. Ayo has proven and continues to set trends that will continue to inspire and change the way you look and think about fashion.

The Bootling was first worn by Niva, the Soul Diva around New York. New York to me is a fashion mecca and Ayo, was the FIRST to bless its streets with this HOT clothing and shoe accessory. Niva who considers herself a hiphop soul artist has established relationships with many fashion designers to get what she calls “an edge.” Niva states that "her closest designer associations are with Ayo Shittu's fashions in Houston Texas who designs outfits for niva’s performances and personal appearances. Mrs Shittu referred to her Niva designs as the “urban diva look." It is undeniable that Ayo created the bootling with what she calls the "urbanistas" in mind. Ayo disclosed that "The individual urbanista may not be able to shop at Saks Fith Avenu or walk out of Nordstrom with 6 bags of Prada shoes, but she can sport what ever outfit she wants in “bootlings” and light up the streets of Brooklyn,NY." I say not just NY, but all states where the urban population dwell, especially Texas. I and a few of my collegues will be wearing the bootlings proudly, during the Texas Urban Music Summit 3. Our plan is to showcase Ayo's fashion and present it to the urban cowgirls of this great state! What's so great about the bootling is that its reasonably priced and affordable for the urban teeny bopper to the urban single mom that refuses to compromise her beauty. Ayo describes her fashions best in this statement, "My creations are more than just accessories or a quick fix money maker targeted only for what some consider high society. These shoe accessories are a social movement. They are about being compfortable about where ever you are in life and making the best of it." Whether you live in 5th ward, TX, Compton, CA or Brooklyn, NY high fashion can be represented wearing “bootlings”. They are the boldest fashion statement. I second that motion!

The bootling is so great and buzzworthy its design idea has been copied. Ayo says "Its disappointing that my originals are being copy-catted, but in a way that’s telling me, “hey Ayo, there’s really something to these”. I must have done something right to grab NY, the toughest fashion critic in America’s attention. But, for someone else to attempt to take the full credit in the originality for my work, I just cannot get down with that. This is what is called taking someone else’s idea and not giving credit to the author. Webster’s dictionary defines it as plagarism. College students get expelled for that." The culprit to exhibit the highest form of plagarism is Dekkori. When and where Dekkori stole the idea and begin selling it as their own is unclear. My guess would be when Niva, the Soul Diva first blazed New York streets with them and was swarmed by paparazzi back in late 2009. Of course with any type of piracy, the original is never copied exactly and the intricate details that only lies in the mind of the origniator are missed through and through. Ayo's Bootling is trademarked with animal prints or fur. Dekkori's attempt to make the design their own, left off the one of the greatest assets, Ayo's trademark. Since Dekkori didnt bother to find the originator of this design to give credit where credit is due, they wouldnt know that the name of this fabulous creation is the bootling and as a result they call it the "Ankle Wrap". Yet their version extends well beyond the ankle... Call me crazy but if they went through so much trouble to steal another's design idea, you'd think they went a step further to give it a better name. I like bootling, because I think of cuffling. I've seen men go to great lengths to have their favorite pair of cufflings at their fingertips when they need them most. Because of Ayo, women have one more luxury at their finger tips. What Ayo wants most is credit for the design. I say she deserves way more than that. Ayo's copyright and patend for her design is pending.

I think its critical to know that fashion designs are one of if not the most pirated original. According to Christine Magdo, of Harvard Law School (www.leda.law.harvard.edu) "The copying of fashion design originals – “knocking off” or “affordable interpretation,” depending on your point of view – is a practice that designers may have grudgingly accepted in the past, when less expensive copies took some time to reach stores and only those consumers who could afford the designer-label originals could be the first to follow a trend. This practice is now costing designers dearly as more advanced technology makes it possible to see high-quality copies appear in stores before the original has even hit the market. While it has long been the practice of the American fashion industry to knock off European designs, American designers traditionally did not copy one another." Sure you can go to any block of ChinaTown in New York, or down to Harwin in Houston and get your share of imitated labels and designs and for some that just may be the highest form of flattery. For Ayo, its a slap in the face because it wasnt created for high fashion, but for the urbanistas inspired by high fashion designs. Christine Magdo also states that, designers claim that design piracy cuts into their longstanding franchise of exclusivity, lowers their sales volume, and ultimately removes incentives for creativity...Knocking-off is rampant in the fashion industry and even those designers who fume over being copied are not above doing it themselves." The problem with design piracy in the U.S. is that there arent enough laws to protect the designers are their designs. According to
http://www.arts-of-fashion.org/ , "Design piracy, the blatant copying of another's designs, is akin to counterfeiting without affixing the fake designer label. Sadly, because of a lack of adequate legal protection, design piracy has become a way of life in the fashion industry in the U.S. Design piracy is unfair to designers and is detrimental to competition within the fashion industry. It effectively allows others to plagiarize the original designer's creative ideas and reap the benefits of the creator's labor and assumption of risk. The U.S. legal system plays a key role in maintaining a fair playing field for businesses across a wide range of industries. However, the current intellectual property laws in the United States do not offer effective protections to ensure fair competition within the fashion industry." You can help stop design piracy by signing the petition on http://www.arts-of-fashion.org/

Ayo continues to strive and create designs with the urbanista in mind. Because of the geniusness of her work, Im sure there will be even more designs copied. As the saying goes, often duplicated but never imitated. Artists and designers beware just because they are not yet circulating on the market does not mean that there is no regeristration behind them. Designers and musicians in particular should be extremely cautious about the rights to their work. People are always looking to take credit for ideas that are not their own. With that said, Ayo, I commend you and the work that you do! Please keep on producing designs for divas like myself! Check out Ayo's designs in Niva, the Soul Diva's video "Food Stamps" and hear an exclusive radio interview with Ayo. Just click below. Until next time Divas and Urbanistas alike, Im MsNightLyfe, supporting our independent, up and coming artists, designers, and entrepreneurs! Get Familiar!




































Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Buzz Worthy Information for True Hip-Hop Followers: Thanks Alicia James

25 THINGS THAT KILLED AND ARE KILLING URBAN MUSIC

SITE: http://www.soulbounce.com/soul/2008/04/25_things_that_killed_urban_...

-NOvaMatic



In the midst of everyone's declarations that "Hip Hop is Dead" we somehow forgot the slow death that is spreading across all aspects of "urban" music, as the legacy of Soul and its close cousins has devolved into a writhing mass of commercialism, homogenization, thuggification and overall laziness. Now, in no particular order, we present to you the "25 Things That Killed (and are Still Killing) Urban Music" because you love lists and SoulBounce isn't afraid to say what you're thinking. Keep in mind that there will be some overlap, as certain items gave way to others that deserve their own spanking.


1. The End of the "Event" Album: There was a time when albums encompassed an era that included a look, a feel, and a style that informed an artist's videos and live performances for as long as they (or the label) could squeeze revenue from a project by releasing singles. The "event" album can chiefly be credited to Jacksons Michael and Janet, who have entire timelines built around the idea of a "Thriller Era" or a "Rhythm Nation Era." Nowadays, instead of treating albums as what they are (a collection of songs with one unifying theme) artists are more likely to seek out the most ubiquitous Hip Hop beatmakers of the moment and record over a hundred songs from which to "pick" singles. Also, when you have artists that are too scared to release music with a healthy 3-5 year gap in between, the lines to between albums begin to blur, and the eras become indistinguishable, rendering them null.



2. Big Name Hip Hop Producers: With respect due to the beatmakers that introduce a track with the name of their production imprint, ad-lib all over it, and insert themselves as guest rappers 50% of the time, they overshadow the actual vocalist of a song. We certainly don't begrudge any of them the right to employment, but when an artist has to do an inventory of who produced her project to qualifiy it instead of telling us what the album is about, we have to take exception. Reality check: If you're trying to goad me into a purchasing your album because you have a Pharrell beat on it and I'm a Pharrell fan, then that's the only song I'm buying. Your album has to have legs of its own.

3. Deaths of The Notorious B.I.G. & 2Pac: You can probably draw a direct line from the deaths of Biggie and 'Pac to the current state of Hip Hop. The two of them cultivated a style that even a decade later is re- and misappropriated to the nth. Perhaps if they were still alive, they'd have pushed the genre forward. Or maybe they'd be wack and irrelevant. Hey, at least they died while they were still good.

4. "Neo-Soul": We understand the emergence of the "neo-soul" genre as a response to the growing commercialization of modern R&B. But even the artists lumped into this category began to the see that the term was as much a marketing ploy as the very things they eschewed. The language used to describe these artists ranged from "organic" to "avant garde" and any press materials would claim that he/she looks up to Stevie, Marvin and Donny. And don't stand too close to the stage lest you get burned by the candles and frankencense! Before long, the audience would be fooled and we would either grow to love or loathe this music, defending the art of its purveyors and loudly wondering why they couldn't move as many units as their mainstream counterparts. Simply put, "neo-soul" has become a term used by people to describe music they respect but would never buy.

5. Reality TV: Aside from the manufactured Pop idols that are struggling to stay signed within their prize contracts, we have to question the motives of Sean Combs, Robin Antin and Missy Elliott, who have all aped the reality television format to generate acts for their own stable of artists. To be sure, reality TV has replaced proper Artist Development as a means for these entrepreneurs to cash in, stroke their egos and embarrass people who, 9 times out of 10, deserve it. Speaking of which, what's O'so Krispie doing?

6. Lazy A&R Departments: Did you know that A&R people are also responsible for Artist Development? Probably not, since these days a newly-signed artist is more likely to be stripped of their identity and given one that falls in step with what's popular or, even worse, none at all. Take Cheri Dennis, for example. While her album has a respectable amount of solid R&B tracks, we still don't know who Cheri Dennis is, what sets her apart from everyone else or even what she sounds like. But, she has earned the distinction of being signed to her label for nearly a decade with no album to speak of. Did the A&R department utilize that time by playing Spades? Probably.

7. Scarface and The Untouchables: Okay, rapper, we get it, Scarface and The Untouchables are the greatest movies ever made; your life in celluloid, even. But, if you look close enough, you'll come to learn that you are neither Pacino or De Niro and should stop emulating them by using audio clips from the films in your interludes and the script in your lyrics. Too many of you are still doing this after all these years. Also, tell members of your crew to stop calling themselves "Ness" and "Nitti." Just, please, cut it out. Thank you.

8. Thugs: Not only do we have "Studio Thugs" that use de Palma films to inform their image (see above) but there's the "Corporate Thug" (robs an artist of his publishing and signs him to a hellified contract he could never fulfill) and the questionable "R&B Thug," which happened somewhere between R. Kelly and Jodeci and continues to this day. Along the way, labels got the bright idea that the way to a woman's heart was by selling drugs and beating up people. Sexy! This trend has also given rise to something else we'll never understand: "R&B Beef," in which two singers talk trash about each other to the media. Unfortunately, this doesn't result in a "sing-off" but pretty much makes everyone involved look kind of retarded.

9. Crime: Between violating probation, not paying child support, being pulled over and caught with an ounce of weed or cocaine, assaulting nail technicians, shooting people, tossing concertgoers off the stage, committing perjury, tax evasion, and urinating on minors, we have to wonder if being a good artist means being a bad citizen.

10. Ringtones: "Real Music Ringtones" were created as a way to distinguish your ringing cellular from someone else's while also bringing you closer to your favorite artist. Unfortunately, the labels realized this was the only way to generate revenue and started making music for the sole purpose of selling ringtones. Now, we have stripped-down keyboard beats and grunts and "yaahhs" instead of lyrics. Is that my cellphone ringing or yours? We'll never know, because we both downloaded Soulja Boy.

11. Lack of Music Programs in Schools: Programs like GarageBand have not only made producers lazy, but undercut the importance of immersing young would-be musicians in music history as well as basic composition. Unless a popular musician was trained in the church, they probably lucked into a contract without knowing how to write, play an instrument, or worse, sing a note.

12. BET (and by extension its corporate owner) is on a mission to not only destroy urban music, but poison the perception of Black people in the process. If we were to use this network as a guide (and people unfortunately do), we would believe that "drug dealer > rapper > pimp" is a logical career path, alcoholic beverages can be used as bodysplash, women of exotic or indeterminate race are the standard of beauty, darker-skinned women are only valuable if they have a big ass and a tiny waist, a person's worth can only be determined by what they drive and what they wear, you ain't sh*t if you're over 30, and a week's worth of debauchery and decadence can be undone with a Sunday marathon of religious programming. It's funny because it's true.

13. The Radio: Used to be, you would turn on the radio and hear a variety of artists with a variety of sounds. But due to the "Clear Channeling" of Urban Radio, you'll hear a T-Pain song followed by 15 minutes of commercials, followed by a song featuring T-Pain, some shucking and jiving by unbearable radio personalities for five minutes, then something that resembles a T-Pain song, but isn't because just about everyone sounds like T-Pain now. And it's probably a commercial.

14. Spineless Club DJs: If you're going out to a club, you might as well sit in the house and blast the radio instead of paying the inflated cover charge. Once upon a time, DJs were tastemakers, but now so many of them are afraid they'll clear the floor by spinning something new that they just play album versions of songs people are tired of but are too drunk to notice. Then, they add insult to injury by showing off their "skills" with poorly-timed scratches, blends that don't line up and screaming over the music. And consider yourself lucky if you happen upon a DJ with ACTUAL! VINYL! RECORDS!

15. Mainstream Hip Hop Publications: Back in the '90s, holding one of these rags in your hands was like holding a monthly Bible to all things Hip Hop and R&B. Now, they've all been relegated to chasing blogs and reiterating things we already knew weeks ahead instead of properly utilizing the print medium to do something unique. Changes in personnel and ownership aside, they were already marching towards irrelevance. Even the covers suck now, but you probably won't get the damn thing delivered on time in order to find out.

16. Bloggers: Guilty as charged! Trifle few of us are qualified to be writing about music with any authority, especially since most of the people behind blogs haven't been alive long enough to have a healthy perspective on the subject. Although it can be argued that record companies rely on blogs for buzz, most of the music championed by popular websites is the same music that would've gotten attention anyway. Also, we have to point out that the commenting system has turned discussions about music into an unholy war of "haters" versus "stans," where everyone is an expert on what they hate or love, but have no concept of anything else including real life. Oh, and providing your readers with the URL to full album leaks doesn't "help" the artist.

17. YouTube & MySpace: On the Internet, everyone is a star (thank you, thank you). But while sites like MySpace and YouTube can provide mainstream and indie musicians with a means of cultivating and connecting with an audience, it becomes a chore to sort through the muck of people with a webcam and a login classifying themselves as "artists." And damn you all to Hell for having the crap you made in Grandma's basement on auto-play.


18. Singing Rappers, Acting Rappers & Rapping Athletes: We'll keep this short. Every now and then you'll happen upon someone that has been able to organically transition from one career to another. Will and Latifah come to mind. To everyone else (coughCurtiscough), stay in your lane. Again, we don't begrudge anyone the chance to make some extra ends; it just shouldn't be at the expense of the audience.


19. The End of Real Singing Groups: Once upon a time, you not only had singing groups that weren't put together by a reality show, but wherein each member contributed a distinct voice or purpose to the group. Sometimes they had members that barely sang a note, but who actually produced or wrote the song. Point is, throwing a bunch of strangers in a house with one phone and giving them makeovers doesn't create synergy. Also, name a recent singing group that wasn't created for a television show or for the purpose of launching someone's solo career. Exactly.

20. "Kanyitis" is a temporary, yet frequent, illness that afflicts singers and rappers alike, wherein an artist waits until the precise moment they are in front of a camera, microphone or reporter to say something shocking and stupid, which will then be quoted by bloggers and searched on YouTube ad nauseum. Then the artist has to explain what they "really" meant, but by that time everyone already thinks they're nuts and doesn't care about a retraction.


21. Death of Aaliyah: Not that Aaliyah took an entire genre of music with her to the grave, but it can be argued that her passing made way for a wave of young, pretty dancers with okay voices and no personality. Only difference between them and Aaliyah is, Aaliyah had personality along with talent, ideas and a willingness to experiment. Also, she wasn't so full of herself.

22. Money: Even worse than artists releasing garbage because they know it sells is the audience's obsession with how much an artist makes. Unfortunately, we've given lack of artistry a pass because someone's "making that paper," which totally undermines the hard work of true creative talents that are constantly writing, recording, and performing. When I buy an album I don't want to hear an entrepreneur, which brings us to--


23. Products & Brands: Whether rappers and singers are inserting the names of designer alcoholic beverages into their lyrics or cable companies are inserting rappers and singers in their ad campaigns, things come to a point where we need to start realizing how owned these artists are. There's a thin line between businessperson and corporate slave. We'd also like to reiterate a fact that has been pointed out time and time again over the past 10 years: If you can't pronounce it, why should we care that you're wearing it, driving it, or drinking it?

24. People That Aren't in Any Way Associated with Music: Opportunities in the industry are built on connections and there's almost never been a time when someone didn't rise to stardom on someone else's coattails. But now, things have gotten way out of hand. Why be an actual artist when you can be someone that danced in videos, screwed a bunch of rappers and got a book deal? Or, you can be a butler or Executive In Charge of Umbrella-Carrying? Or, worse, be the "Fifth Mic" guy on stage and reliable instigator? Who needs a recording studio?

25. Teenagers: Young people have always had the power to determine trends in all genres of music, which is why corporations defer to them. However, today's teenagers seem to be slightly more insipid than they were in previous generations and definitely have a shorter attention span. Whether it's the teens themselves driving the garbage labels are releasing, or the labels that are leading teens down a path of ignorance, is totally up for debate. It's the chicken/egg question in its purest form.


Thursday, July 8, 2010

Hip-Hop and Homophobia: A startling realization

It was after 4 am and I was giving my social media sites one last check before calling it a night (or morning). While bidding Twitter a Good Night, I read the Tweets of an undisclosed Production Company here in Houston and discovered some alarming news. It seems that Local Up and Coming Artist, J-Dawg or his manager at the very least is homophobic, in the worst way. The production company apparently, contacted J-Dawg and his people to solicit a booking in the production company’s venue- a venue known to be a Gay and Lesbian HOT spot. This production company has secured and booked some of the biggest names in the game such as Trina, Da Brat, Jackie-O, Fantasia, and 3 Deep just to name a few. It turns out that J-Dawg's management not only declined the solicitation but verbally expressed their REAL feelings about the lifestyle and patrons. It was stated that J-Dawg's management informed the representative from the Production Company that they didn’t want “a faggot” cheering him on during his song and further advised the representative that they should discard his album as he doesn’t need or want their support. In addition, to that someone from J Dawg's management called the representative “Cleo” stereotyping the role played by the quite accomplished Queen Latifah and further advised that “they” all will burn in hell…(I’ll wait and let you read that again, its a lot to take in)….Now, I’ve heard of being blunt, but that was down right rude and unprofessional. Its ok to have your opinion, thoughts and feelings about things, but as a hustla that was more than a bad move. This ill fated move could cause J-Dawg to loose out, considering the demographics of the Gay and Lesbian Population. As an equal opportunity writer, I thought it was only fair that I share this with the public, my followers, who or whatever that may be.

Lets begin with some interesting facts: The Urban Dictionary defines "no homo" as 1. a phrase used after one inadvertently says something that sounds "gay" or 2. a phrase said to show that you aren’t gay after saying something that sounded "gay." According to www.Loop21.com, “The fact so many young people say "homo" so casually alarms gay rights activists like Michael Brewer, a student at all-male Morehouse College. He and other members of the campus organization Safe Space are fighting homophobia through the No More "No Homo’” Initiative they launched in April... Brewer said he chose to use the ugly word in the title of his initiative because he saw it as “the most tangible and pervasive example of homophobia in the hip-hop community. I hear it a lot here at Morehouse College. Blacks may not say faggot or other pejorative epithets but they use ‘no homo,’ even if they don’t mean to be homophobic.” Brewer also made sure to mention that hip-hop — which is "almost dangerously homophobic" — is not solely to blame for homophobia among black youth. “(Homophobia) is very much ingrained in our social culture and hip-hop doesn’t help that, it exacerbates the problem,” he said. When it comes to gay rights issues, it seems that hip-hop culture may be stifling us. And it leaves the future of the relationship between gays and blacks in question.” Justin Schell, with TC Daily Planet states, “Hip-hop, of course, is no stranger to political movements, yet given the frequent usage of terms like “faggot” and “bitch nigga” by male MCs to denigrate and feminize other MCs, the use of hip-hop to combat homophobia might seem a bit counterintuitive.” In that commentary by Jason, Jessica Rosenberg, an organizer in the Hip-Hop Against Homophobia event, says “Hip-hop is lots of things, but one thing it can be is an art form for social justice, if hip-hop is working for social justice, queer rights are a part of that.”
You see that homophobia is STILL very prevalent in our community. Now J-Dawg, clearly doesn’t have a publicist and if he does he needs a new one. As his comment could possible alter his rise to fame. Many of his listeners are from the gay and lesbian community. Hip-Hop’s influence is paramount take for instance tv commercials, such as Kia Sportage, the hamsters are geared up in b-boy clothing driving down the street to the tune of“You can get with this, you can get with that.” Kia understood the need to target the hip hop community in their advertising. J-Dawg clearly didn’t consider the market in which he serves as an artist. Out Now Consulting is the leading global strategic lesbian and gay marketing agency, and was established by Ian Johnson--who has been described by the founder of both Wikipedia and Citizendium as "one of the most knowledgeable persons there is about the topic of gay marketing". Out Now as a marketing agency provides specialised gay marketing services to large companies by researching gay lifestyles and using the information to develop strategies to target gay and lesbian consumers. Out Now as a marketing agency provides specialised gay marketing services to large companies by researching gay lifestyles and using the information to develop strategies to target gay and lesbian consumers. To know both what the gay market demographics currently are and, most importantly, to understand what it is that they are telling you. It is only with that knowledge that you can be expected to make the most strategic gay and lesbian market decisions. It is always critically important to gay market success to understand how the gay target consumer market is currently thinking--and adjust your gay and lesbian marketing strategies accordingly. J-Dawg or his team clearly didn’t do this and clearly this could stifle record sales. So now the question, Does homophobia affect record sales? Can be answered with, ABSOLUTELY. Its really saddening that this artist, J-Dawg made these statements because now, the production company and venue has banned his music. I guess its ok to be gay as long as you are a make up artist, fashion designer/consultant or assistant to the stars. To me its such a double standard. Listen to more discussion of the Hip Hop and Homophobia phenomenon by listening to “Is it Free Speech or Hate Speech” on www.NPR.org .
What is being done about this detrimental phenomenon? Check out Cornel West’s commentary about it. http://gaylife.about.com/b/2007/09/07/cornel-west-hip-hop-and-homophobia.htm

Utterly disappointed, MsNightLyfe
Dont forget to watch the Video below.


Wednesday, July 7, 2010

What the F**k Do YOU Do?


Ive had several inquiries about what is it exactly that I do. Many times I give what I call a "fluff" answer and give the projects that I have a hand in instead of just answering the question. So, I made a personal commitment to myself, that I will answer that question. First and foremost, Im a hustla, the catch is Im an educated one. That in and of itself is a hustle. I got 2 degrees working on a 3rd with goals of getting 4 (PhD.) 2ndly I am a business woman the MBA solidifies that. All in all I write and research any and everything. My goal is to create a buzz where mainstream media doesnt. My blogs are about events, and exceptional people and places that other people should know about, partake in, and support. Why should you solicit me for your projects? The answer is simple, you are far to busy to write. In not controversial yet very opinionated. I write about you, what you are doing, your event, venue etc. I rate the experience for the satisfaction of my readers. Aside from that, this writing/blogging avenue is a research project on people, honesty, and ability to handle business in order to conduct business. If you arent watching me, you should be...I got Oprah sized dreams and we all know her success. Watch me work! If that's not enough... Stay Tuned, I got some shit for ya!