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I Toja Entertainment Newsletter October I Toja Entertainment Newsletter Music, Film, Art & Fashion
September 2005
Greetings!
This is the I Toja Entertainment newsletter with Chandra & Friends. Come as we explore many topics from Hip Hop to Love. We would like to send our prayers and blessing to all the families who were affected directly and indirectly by Hurriane Katherine. As a way of helping Chandra has donated ALL of her proceeds from the "GOD's Promise to Me" sold on Cdbaby to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. Go tohttp://www.cdbaby.com/cd/chandrasimmons
You can also check out my website www.chandrasimmons1.com
Check out the different articles from these fabulous writers!!!
Feel free to pass this along to your Friends and Family!
Featured Article: The State of Hip Hop
The Vitality of a LIVE SHOW
Chivalry & Tradition--A Black Perspective
Beauty Korner
My trip to Senegal
Poetry Korner
**For Immediate Release** Check for New Indie Movie Honor Among Thieves To Hit the Street October 1st
The Vitality of a LIVE SHOW
the Vitality of a LIVE SHOW by SSly Shalom
I have been attending live stageshows of my favorite artists since 1991, & I must say I was thoroughly impressed by many of them.Some were good, some were great, & some were impeccable.That's how I'll describe the most recent performance I've visioned to date - impeccable.Thursday September 22nd, at BB Kings in Downtown NYC, it was none other than a celebration of the birthday of the epitome of lyrical macks to ever bless the mic.....ladies & gentlemen, the John Shaft of HIPHOP:BIG DADDY KANE.
For those of you who've never had the luxury of seeing the God live & consider yourselves lovers of HIPHOP, true HIPHOP,you are doing yourselves a supreme injustice.As does his fellow icon KRS ONE,Big Daddy Kane definitely has the blueprint for achieving an outstanding live performance,as well as a cerebral smithereening studio recording.
Of course he fed us his ever-cherished classics such as Young, Gifted & BLACK; Set it Off; Ain't No Half Steppin; Warm it up Kane; the Wrath of, etc.Plus, he displayed the original artform of how an emcee executes a freestyle....not by mental spontaneity,but by simply flowing like the river Nile with magnificent,sly-as-a-fox thought provoking,razor-edged, soulquenching lyricism. As for his vocal clarity? Flawless.
The love & respect Kane possesses was seriously manifested that night by who was amongst the atmosphere of BB Kings, from obvious fans all the way from his 'Just Rhymin With Biz' days, to celebrity fans who are also his peers & pioneers of HIPHOP as well: Grand Master Melle Mel, Kid Creole, the Sugar Hill Gang,Tito from the Fearless 4, D.J. Jazzy Jay, Kid CAPRI, Fab 5 Freddie, D.J. Red Alert, D.J.Easy Rock, Whodini, Marley Marl, PETE ROCK, Kwame, Dana Dane, King SUN, Kangol KID, Ice T, Mack 10, Rob Base,the BEATNUTS, Sway, Shyheim, Sweet TEE{& she's still gorgeous,THAT'S RIGHT ! } ,Freddie Foxxx, Director John Singleton,etc.& of course,the inhuman orchestra who recognized Kane's microphone magic from the beginning --- BizMarkie.Most of, if not all of these artists were coming from the Hammerstein Ballroom where the 2nd Annual HIPHOP HONORS was being recorded by VH-1 who were paying homage to BDK as well as a variety of others. Irregardless, the majority of the aforementioned would've been at Kane's blockbuster born day extravaganza anyway,because he is a sure-fire reminder to the unknowing/uncaring MTV/BET-seduced youth of today of what true EMCEEING is all about.....Mic Controller, Master of Craft, Master of Creativity, Mover of Crowds,Master of Ceremony, etc.Kane is the embodiment of all of that & then some.
As far as his stageshow is concerned, Big Daddy Kane's audience lives by the motto : Expect the Unexpected. Not only did he dedicate the night {with a moment of noise, not silence mind u} to HIPHOP's fallen soldiers {Jam Master Jay, BIGGIE Smalls, BIG PUN, BIG L, Tupac, ODB, etc.} but he served us an enormous platter of generosity & love by having other artists from his era {the Golden Age} also rip verses right out of their classics! And finally,for the volcanic eruption of the evening, as all the legends & veterans stood proud & UNITED on stage,the Sugarhill GANG performed the first hit ever to lead to rap music's global domination : Rapper's Delight. See what happens when you acknowledge your cultural roots? Big Daddy Kane does,that's why he has been paramount as a HIPHOP recording giant & entertainer for almost 20 years now, revealing no signs of fatigue.Happy Born Day indeed, God. Peace & Soulblessings
For any comments E-mail: godisblack3@yahoo.com
Chivalry & Tradition--A Black Perspective
Chivalry & Tradition--A Black Perspective By Darryl James
Chivalry: 1. Gallantry, courtesy and honor.
2. The noble qualities a knight was supposed to have, such as courage and a readiness to help the weak.
3. The demonstration of any of these qualities.
In it's purest definition, Chivalry is truly dead.
Chivalry refers to the code of ethics and conduct of a knight (or chevalier) during the Middle Ages, where his horse, weapons, attendants and flag were concerned. The code had nothing to do with conduct in love until after the Crusades, when poets turned it into a code of courting and a code of honor in love, as opposed to war.
Currently, women discuss how men are no longer chivalrous, while men discuss how women have been rejecting Chivalry.
Feminism taught that displays of Chivalry were, in many ways demeaning and condescending. The new idea was that since men did not hold doors for each other, why would they do so for any other equal? The image of the chivalrous man protecting the weaker "damsel in distress" did not fit well with the evolving image of the woman as equal, strong and independent.
Strangely, many people today who speak of Chivalry and tradition fail to spell out the woman's obligations during the medieval institution, offering a romanticized version in which the woman is far less than weak or in distress, but still deserving of favorable treatment, specifically when it comes to who will pay for dinner.
Now, let me bring this thing home: The truly sad part for African Americans is that neither the historic nor the romanticized versions of tradition debated in most of today's open forums actually belong to us.
Feminism, initiated by white women, was neither African, nor African American. Womanism is a term rolling around the Black community, but even it has yet to evolve into a clear message.
To be clear, strong Black men with love and respect for womanhood have no problem being chivalrous, but we do have a problem with freedom and feminism being situational.
We will still hold the door for women, even though far too many neglect to offer gratitude, while some even act insulted by the courtesy. We will still offer to let a woman walk on the inside, and allow her to go first as a courtesy. But what we will not do is allow women
Read on....
Beauty Korner
By Cynthia Walker
For Men Only: Grooming to the Next Level
The men's market on grooming products sales is over $2 billion worldwide. In a 2002 study, men account for 29% of spa services. Men are slowly taking advantage of the more masculine side of spa treatments. They are finding out the secret that women have kept for years that various treatments like facials can relieve stress, improve the appearance of the skin and balance mental health through relaxation. That massage therapy and hydrotherapy can have soothing and healing effects on the body.
With today's advance technology many other benefits are accelerating. Television and magazines are advertising many new products and giving men more options for caring for their skin. This opens the door to questions regarding which products are right for men's skin? What can men do about ingrown hairs? What about the discoloration or bumps from shaving? What about irritation? For some men, follicullitis (ingrown hair) may cause a bacterial infection and inflammation and pus develops. Whether you work inside or outside, the elements can affect your skin. Whether your skin is healthy looking now, if you are not taking the proper care of it, you can develop premature aging issues later. I dedicate the next article to skin care suggestions for men and I will address some of their concerns by answering questions. If you have a question regarding your skin, please e-mail: Katorikids@yahoo.com
My trip to Senegal
My trip to Senegal By Dorothy C. Lewis
A Continuation from last month
On our final day in Saint Louis, the school was visited by a lot of very important dignitaries. This is a big difference between the US and Senegal. Really important dignitaries actually came to the ceremony, unlike the US where we would get a representative or someone. I was impressed. Daouda, the director of Plan Senegal thanked us for the donations (school supplies and clothes and money) and began crying. It was so emotional and touching. He told us that the school supplies and money will benefit the school for at least 18 months. What a thing!!! I was and still am amazed at this. The clothes that we collected were given to the children of the Village and the chief thanked us for them. I'm telling you, what a feeling it is to really give something to people who really and truly appreciate it. It was a very emotional afternoon. After that, the children performed their show for the dignitaries and we all ate and looked at the arts & crafts that are in the Children's Museum of the African Child in Saint Louis. I felt really proud because three of the items I helped make is in the museum. I helped do two African tie dyed clothes and one cross-stitched table clothe. Later that night we had a party for all of the kids and it was really fun. I learned how to dance like the Senegalese and they learned some of our dance moves. I got the names and addresses of some of my favorite young girls and boys and hopefully we can correspond. I already received two emails from two of the young ladies. They made my day.
The next day we returned to Dakar and met up with the other two groups. We stayed in what they considered "downtown" but we would consider it "industrial" section of town because the shops sold parts for cars, refrigerators, furniture, etc. The hotel was nice but smaller than the Novotel hotel. Of course some people went shopping again, but I stayed at the hotel and lounged by the poolside and interviewed some of the kids. We had one more day of sightseeing and that was a visit to Pink Lake. It was wonderful even though the lake wasn't pink that day due to the rain we had the day before. The 4x4 ride over sand dunes was really cool and fun and the visit to a Fulani village was spectacular. The food was also good there. I will have to talk about the food later.
The last day in Dakar was our African naming ceremony. That was interesting but rushed because we had to change out of our African garments into airplane travel garments and dinner was in a hot, not well ventilated restaurant. Fallou, our tour director said they based the names on our personalities from what they saw of us during our visit there. My name is Fanta which is a typical Mali, Guinea and Cote d'Ivorie name. It means "beautiful day." I am happy with it even though it reminds me of soda, especially since that is a popular soda in Senegal. At least I can pronounce my name.
Our flight home was uneventful and we arrived two hours early. I was home by 4 pm and if it weren't for talking with my mother, I would have been in bed by 4:30 pm but ended up going to sleep around 7 pm. I read somewhere that flying east to west, jet lag is worse than going west to east and they are so right. Going to Senegal, I suffered jet lag for about ½ a day but coming back, it was worse. I slept almost all day on Friday and then went to work on Saturday and Sunday and was exhausted. Monday, I got up for two hours to speak with my sister and nephew about their trip to Disney World and my trip and then went back to sleep. I got up around 10 pm and ate a hard boiled egg, took a shower and went back to bed. Tuesday, I felt back to normal.
The food SUCKED. I will not be eating chicken for about 2 weeks. We were served yassar poulet (chicken) or yassar poisson (fish) which is chicken or fish grilled and marinated onions with either rice or french fries. If we had veggies, it was canned veggies. A few days we were served other kinds of food but they were too afraid the "Americans" would not be able to handle their other dishes. We had a delicious lamb and couscous dish, a kind of beef jerky and brown rice dish (the rice was da bomb); goat with cabbage and rice and a kind of spaghetti pasta seasoned with garlic and spicy spices and baked chicken. The last couple of dishes were a real change of pace from the yassar. Once we returned to Dakar, we had pizza, burgers, steak and ice-cream. Their so-called fried foods was actually "shake-n-bake" and their pizza was actually pretty good. Their ice-cream was da bomb and no one got sick from it. The only thing that made us sick was a salad. We went to a restaurant one day and a small salad was served. We were all like "green food--yeah!" and even though we were told if you can' peel it, boil it, or cook it, don't eat it, we all ate the salad and suffered the next day. Everyone had the runs. Luckily, nothing serious because the following day, we were all back to normal.
To Be Continued......
Poetry Korner
Mothers Milk by Dorian Taylor
Mothers Milk Natures delight Food for God's creation, the creamy medicine stored to feed the little life within, Nourishment... for the growth of that which will suckle endlessly the innocence which feeds from and of it. the aroma of mother, Protected safely snuggled between her breasts, Nurtured... I hear her heartbeat, her smell, her warmth, her taste, the sweet warm taste of MOTHERS MILK. Dorian Taylor Copyright ©2005 Dorian Taylor
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Chandra Simmons
As a singer, songwriter, actress and dancer Chandra has already spread her wings within the Music Industry. Her versatile lyrical style and vocal delivery has crossed musical genres from Pop to Soul in collaborations and performances with industry powerhouses: Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Sean "Puffy" Combs, and Marc Anthony. She has also had the pleasure of working with rising talents such as Christina Aguilera, various More Articles GOOD BOOKS by Barbara Manning -- Arts & Entertainment editor Daily Dispatch. - Linda Lenehan
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