Jun
30
≡ Category: African-American, Black Entertainment Television, Business, Culture, Entertainment, Events, Family, Fashion, History, Life, Love, MTV, Movies, Music, News, People, Personal, Poetry, Rap, Reviews, SUPER STAR MANAGEMENT, VH-1, Video, hip hop, media | ≅ Leave a Comment
A Very Special Intimate Evening With
Lil’ Kim
In Concert!
Monday, July 12, 2010 • 8pm
After making her presence known on Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s debut album, Conspiracy, Lil’ Kim launched a solo career in 1996 with the release of her first record, Hard Core. As the album’s title implies, Kim was a rarity among female rappers — one who not only concentrated on edgy hardcore rap but also explicit sexuality, two territories that had long been the province of male rappers.
Of course, Kim’s near-pornographic sexuality and hard-edged rhythms made her an anomaly within hip-hop, but Hard Core proved that she was no novelty, as it garnered positive reviews and strong sales. A native of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Lil’ Kim was raised by her parents until they split up when she was nine years old. Following their separation, she lived with her father, yet he threw her out of the house when she was a teenager. As a teen, she lived with her friends and, occasionally, on the streets. Eventually, she and her rhyming skills came to the attention of Biggie Smalls, who helped her cultivate her career. Smalls helped her become a member of Junior M.A.F.I.A., and Kim was a key part of the group’s hit debut single, “Player’s Anthem.” Kim also made a big impression on the remainder of Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s 1995 debut album, Conspiracy.
Jun
30
≡ Category: African-American, Black Entertainment Television, Books, Business, Culture, Education, Entertainment, Events, Family, Friends, Independant Film Producers, Inspiration, Life, Music, News, People, Personal, Rap, Reviews, SUPER STAR MANAGEMENT, Thoughts, hip hop, media | ≅ Leave a Comment
KPFA airing Prospect Sierra 8th Grade Students PSA Promos
Recently KPFA Radio DJ Doug Edwards and Gabrielle Wilson hosted a Tribute and Benefit for Khalil Shaheed on “Music of the World”. The event featured testimonials from many of the Nations and Bay Areas top Jazz personalities honoring Shaheed. During the program they aired for the first time the Public Service Announcements featuring the Prospect Sierra 8th Grade Students and their teacher Bert Kessler. Bert begins the PSA’s with an introduction of the students and their Community Service Project at KPFA arranged by Gabrielle Wilson and Associates with the Aaron & Margaret Wallace Foundation. You can listen to or down the PSA’s on the program here
Jun
30
≡ Category: African-American, Business, Culture, Entertainment, Events, Friends, Inspiration, Music, News, People, Rap, Religion, SUPER STAR MANAGEMENT, hip hop | ≅ Leave a Comment
The Stanford Jazz Workshop will be honoring Jazz Legend Khalil Shaheed with a Tribute and FUNraiser at his performance at the Festival on July 19, 2010 at 7:30 pm. Khalil will be honored by the U. S. Congress, State of California, City of Oakland, and Masjidul Waritheen.
Khalil directs the Oaktown Jazz Workshop two afternoons a week, runs the instrumental music program at Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, serves as an artist-in-residence at the Oakland School of Music, and rehearsing and performing with three ensembles: the Khalil Shaheed Quartet (often including his daughter, Savannah Harris, 16, on drums), the jazz-meets-Moroccan music group cleverly named Mo’Rockin Project, and Redwood Brass, a four-trumpet, one-trombone quintet that mixes jazz and classical music.
Jun
19
≡ Category: African-American, Business, History, Life, News, People, Rap, Religion, Reviews, SUPER STAR MANAGEMENT, Urban America, media, politics | ≅ Leave a Comment
Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim has over 30,000 signatures and implore you to click on any one of the links and sign the Petition To The Honorables President Barack Obama and United States Attorney General Eric Holder to raise it’s investigation of corruption involving Attorney General Jerry Brown, Oakland City Attorney John Russo, former Oakland and current San Leandro City Attorney Jayne Williams, former District Attorney Tom Orloff, and current District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley.
On June 7, 2010 Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim filed and served a 200 page Corruption, Extrinsic Fraud, Criminal Misconduct, Ethics and “Whistle-Blower” Complaint complete with audio CD on Congresswoman Barbara Lee, State Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, Alameda County Presiding Court Judge Jon R. Rolefson, Alameda County Supervisor Kieth Carson, Oakland California Mayor Ron Dellums, Oakland City Administrator Dan Lindheim, Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby, Oakland City Councilpersons Desley Brooks and Larry Reid’s offices, and is being submitted to the Alameda County Grand Jury while California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s office refused service of their complaint! You can read and/or download the Complaint and the exhibits here if you choose or go to the website for complete coverage here http://nowtruth.org/city-attorneys-russo-williams-complaint-for-corruption-extrinsic-fraud-ethics/
Oakland City Attorney John Russo, Mark Morodomi, Randy Hall, Janie Wong, Anita Hong, Sophia Li, Demetruis Shelton- current President of the National Bar Association, Elizabeth Allen, Erica Harrold, Michele Abney, Eliada Perez and the Oakland City Attorney’s Office; former Oakland and current San Leandro City Attorney Jayne Williams; former City of Oakland employee Pat Smith; Stephan Barber and others of the law firm Ropers, Majeski; Ronald J. Cook, Randy Willoughby, Alex Stuart, Annette Bening’s brother Bradley Bening and others of the law firm Willoughby, Stuart & Bening; William Jemmott now of the law firm Wilson Elser; Todd Jones and the law firm Archer Norris; Daniel Crowley of the law firm Daniel Crowley & Assoc.; Fletcher Alford, Joel K. Liberson and the law firm Gordon & Rees; Sean Robert O’Halloran now of the law firm Crone Rozynko; Anne Brooks Harrigan now of the law firm Grancell, Lebovitz, Stander, Barnes & Reubens; Yolanda Marnell Jackson- San Francisco BAR Assoc., now of the law firm Jackson Alternative Dispute Resolution; the law firm of Caven, Cleaveland, Murray; the former law firm of Jackson Harrigan; John Ratto and Dean K. Beyer, of ASU Group (formerly D. L. Glaze); defendants Rescue Rooter and Bay Area Carpet Cleaning; and retired Judges David Lee, Michael Ballachey, and Richard Hodge; and others.
Jun
19
≡ Category: African-American, Business, Culture, Education, Family, History, Independant Film Producers, Life, Music, News, People, Rap, Religion, SUPER STAR MANAGEMENT, Video, hip hop, media, politics | ≅ Leave a Comment
Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim has over 30,000 signatures and implore you to click on any one of the links and sign the Petition To The Honorables President Barack Obama and United States Attorney General Eric Holder to raise it’s investigation of corruption involving Attorney General Jerry Brown, Oakland City Attorney John Russo, former Oakland and current San Leandro City Attorney Jayne Williams, former District Attorney Tom Orloff, and current District Attorney Nancy E. O’Malley.
On June 7, 2010 Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim filed and served a 200 page Corruption, Extrinsic Fraud, Criminal Misconduct, Ethics and “Whistle-Blower” Complaint complete with audio CD on Congresswoman Barbara Lee, State Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, Alameda County Presiding Court Judge Jon R. Rolefson, Alameda County Supervisor Kieth Carson, Oakland California Mayor Ron Dellums, Oakland City Administrator Dan Lindheim, Oakland City Auditor Courtney Ruby, Oakland City Councilpersons Desley Brooks and Larry Reid’s offices, and is being submitted to the Alameda County Grand Jury while California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s office refused service of their complaint! You can read and/or download the Complaint and the exhibits here if you choose or go to the website for complete coverage here http://nowtruth.org/city-attorneys-russo-williams-complaint-for-corruption-extrinsic-fraud-ethics/
Oakland City Attorney John Russo, Mark Morodomi, Randy Hall, Janie Wong, Anita Hong, Sophia Li, Demetruis Shelton- current President of the National Bar Association, Elizabeth Allen, Erica Harrold, Michele Abney, Eliada Perez and the Oakland City Attorney’s Office; former Oakland and current San Leandro City Attorney Jayne Williams; former City of Oakland employee Pat Smith; Stephan Barber and others of the law firm Ropers, Majeski; Ronald J. Cook, Randy Willoughby, Alex Stuart, Annette Bening’s brother Bradley Bening and others of the law firm Willoughby, Stuart & Bening; William Jemmott now of the law firm Wilson Elser; Todd Jones and the law firm Archer Norris; Daniel Crowley of the law firm Daniel Crowley & Assoc.; Fletcher Alford, Joel K. Liberson and the law firm Gordon & Rees; Sean Robert O’Halloran now of the law firm Crone Rozynko; Anne Brooks Harrigan now of the law firm Grancell, Lebovitz, Stander, Barnes & Reubens; Yolanda Marnell Jackson- San Francisco BAR Assoc., now of the law firm Jackson Alternative Dispute Resolution; the law firm of Caven, Cleaveland, Murray; the former law firm of Jackson Harrigan; John Ratto and Dean K. Beyer, of ASU Group (formerly D. L. Glaze); defendants Rescue Rooter and Bay Area Carpet Cleaning; and retired Judges David Lee, Michael Ballachey, and Richard Hodge; and others.
Jun
1
≡ Category: African-American, Art, Black Entertainment Television, Books, Business, Culture, Education, Entertainment, Events, Family, Friends, Health, History, Independant Film Producers, Inspiration, Life, Love, MTV, Movies, Music, News, People, Photos, Rap, Religion, Reviews, SUPER STAR MANAGEMENT, Screen Actors Guild, Sports, Technology, Urban America, VH-1, Video, hip hop, media, politics, travel | ≅ Leave a Comment
Ali Ollie Woodson
انّا للہ و انّا الیہ راجعون Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un) Surely we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return…
I am sad to inform you that former Temptation lead singer Ali Ollie Woodson has died after a battle with cancer. He was 58 with a wife and two children. A friend, client and arguably the BEST SOUL R & B VOICE EVER, not only of the Temptations, but EVER!!
The best a cappella performance I have ever witnessed was at an appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show with Hammer where Ali saaaaang during the entire commercial break and Arsenio could not stop him when the show returned from break because the crowd was going totally bananas!! Arsenio let him continue to saaaang after the show resumed and we ALL just sat and listened mesmerised in complete amazement, wonder and joy!!! At the Stag Festival in Romania, he did a featured segment with the Temptations that is still being raved about! You can listen to his music at http://www.aliolliewoodson.com/
Biography
He is, quite simply, the Voice. The name Ali Ollie Woodson may not be familiar to large numbers of readers, but to those in the Soul music business he is known as one of the greatest modern singers. In a career that spans 25 years, he has worked as lead singer for the Drifters and (the post-Teddy Pendergrass) Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. He has also served as guest vocalist on dozens of recordings of artists from Freda Payne to Paul Jackson, and as a backing vocalist for Whitney Houston, Rachelle Ferelle and Aretha Franklin. However, his true coming out was as the lead singer of the Temptations from 1984-1996.
Temptations fans consider the late 70s as perhaps the group’s darkest days, culminating with the departure of lead singer Dennis Edwards and the group’s ill-fated move to Atlantic Records. The group’s return to Motown in 1980 brought some commercial life (and Edwards) back to the group, but the continuing revolving door of group members and producers resulted in a series of mediocre albums. Then, when Edwards again quit the Tempts in 1984, the group called upon Woodson to take over lead vocals and former Earth Wind & Fire guitarist Al McKay to produce Truly for You. The result was the greatest Temptations album of the past 25 years, and a permanent place for Woodson alongside Edwards and David Ruffin in Temptations history. His gritty, expressive voice was the perfect contrast to the classically smooth Temptations’ harmonies, and his ability to delicately handle ballads gave the group a versatility it generally didn’t have during the Edwards years. Click here to watch a live performance in Japan with the Temptations of “Just My Imagination” and “My Girl” with just the accompanment of a piano! He also brought along songwriting skills, co-penning “Treat Her Like A Lady,” (click to watch video) the smash hit from that album. Watch the video of his performance of “Some Enchanted Evening” with the Temptations here: ["wmode":"window","allowFullScreen":"true","allowscriptaccess":"always","src":"http://www.youtube.com/v/REW1qKnxjVY&hl=en&fs=1","allowfullscreen":"true"]
His work on the next year’s To Be Continued… was equally impressive, particularly the powerful ballad “Someone,” “Lady Soul” (click to watch video) perhaps Woodson’s finest recorded moment and “Special” (click to watch video), “Touch Me” (click to watch video) Oddly, Edwards rejoined the group, replacing Woodson in 1987 for Together Again, but was gone again within a year. Woodson then reassumed the lead vocals spot through a handful of lesser albums, as the group struggled to find a contemporary sound. Finally in 1995 the Temptations released For Lovers Only, a disc of covers of classic pop songs that brought renewed interest in the group.
By 1996, Woodson left the Temptations for good, and fans anticipated that a solo album would soon be on the horizon. Instead, he worked on a number of different projects, performing in a series of stage plays, providing backing vocals on several soul and jazz albums, touring with other former Temptations Damon Harris and Richard Street , and briefly forming a group with two former Supremes. Ultimately, he created the Emperors of Soul, a touring group covering Tempations’ and other Motown hits which has received positive reviews around the US .
It would be five years before Ralph Tee of Expansion Records would get Woodson back into the studio to record
Right Here All Along
Right Here All Along, Woodson’s long overdue first solo album. It was a solid disc, and received kudos in most Soul music publications, which especially raved over his version of the ballad “Turn Out the Stars” (also covered at around the same time by the Manhattans). It is available in the US through CD Baby.
In 2002 Woodson was offered the lead vocalist position in the Spinners when poor health forced John Edwards to leave the group, but he instead recommended friend Frank Washington, who is now successfully fronting that group. Woodson has continued to tour with Emperors of Soul, and was most recently seen on national TV as Aretha Franklin’s dynamic duet partner on the Spring 2003 PBS concert special, “Rhythm, Soul & Love.” He also appeared on Juewett Bostick’s 2003 album It’s Not So Easy, singing “You Need Love.” Woodson later joined Dennis Edwards’ group, the Temptations Revue, ironically singing alongside the former Tempts member he replaced during his second stint with the mothership.
Never Give Up
Reports have come in in early 2009 that Woodson was ill. But by Spring of that year he had released his second album, Never Give Up, on his own Ollywood Records.