Faithful... Priceless...

I'm the youngest of three children, two girls and a boy.  I've always had a special relationship with my parents' first born child, as we were both connected through our love of the arts.  When we were young, it was our love of Hip Hop music and culture that fascinated us.  Now, we have both realized our love of the written word.

My big sis, whom I've always playfully nicknamed Supa D, was what we will call "lost" for awhile.  She has now found herself, and is enjoying the world of self-discovery.  She has decided to share it with the world (wide web) via her blog: A Bed-Stuy Mommy's Diary.  It's insightful, delightful, and full of things I've never known about my sister.  I'm enjoying finding out about her with y'all.  Be sure to check her out.

While finding out more about my sibling, I was just thinking about loyalty.  It is so rewarding to be loyal to someone/thing that equally reciprocates the sentiment.  Being faithful is truly priceless.  I've been faithfully loyal to all of my family members, and continue to do so, as my family is growing.  The image posted above was captured by our father, of whom I am a namesake.  I can only attempt being loyal to his memory.

I have not been as loyal to myself in expressing my love of the arts as I was when my radio show was on the air.  I recently mentioned to someone that...

Uncle jayt'ree + Chuckie D. = OKP

Big news: the piece that me and my main man Scotty Stewart completed most recently is now posted on okayplayer.  Scotty described my excitement best when he said, "Call me when you leave work and get in the car so you can scream like a woman."  And I did.  I've had articles, stories, and reviews published before in print and online, but OKP is a big look for me!

Chatting with the man that...

Local Yokels

So, as I'm going through my portfolio of work to post on this new blog, I have been checking my work out from older to more recent.  I had forgotten about some of the pieces I've had published in City Newspaper.  This next assortment is to highlight those folks from around the way... i.e., the way of Rochester, NY.

I'll kick it off with a piece that was published circa September 2005.  City gave me my second cover story with a feature on a dude named Amir Sulaiman (pronounced SOO'-lee-mon).  He's a published author and poet slash dope eMCee.  His spoken word is sometimes blended with music on some tracks from his three albums.  He's been featured on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry on a few occasions, toured with KRS-One and Mos Def, and been called everything from teacher to terrorist.  Oh, and of course, he's from the city I currently reside in.  Good look for the Roc!  Check out the piece from City's archives.

We also covered a piece on a funk electro...