As an emcee, dee-jay, producer and CEO of his aptly named company Triple Threat Productions, J-Live’s music has been a staple of inspiration for listeners of hip hop from New York to Cali and around the world. His discography spans over 10 years and includes four full-length albums, two EPs, a collection of earlier singles, as well as countless guest appearances and features. His last two projects “Reveal the Secret EP” and the full length “Then What Happened” were released by BBE in May 2008. Continue…

Dhoruba Bin Wahad is a former Black Panther Party leader from New York. Once a Black Political Prisoner in the USA for nineteen years Bin Wahad is a long time Pan-African activist, writer, and lecturer. His case can be viewed in the critically acclaimed award winning film “Passin it on” Continue…

Paradise Gray is a organizer, Hip-hop Pioneer/Historian who ran legendary club The Latin Quarters. a founding member of The X-Clan and The BlackWatch Movement, also managed Urban music for MP3.com. The Executive Director of One HOOD, was instrumental in organizing The Pittsburgh “Coalition Against Violence”. Awarded the 2008 Community Communicator Of The Year Award by the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation and The Thomas Merton Centers 2009 “New Person Award”. He is a board member of the Heinz Endowments African American Men and Boys Council , “MACOTI” Mothers Against Conviction Of The Innocent, “MAASV” Martial Artists Against Street Violence and The Presbyterian Peace Making ministries.

In the world of Hip Hop, Atlanta based Boog Brown spreads her “Dope Girl Magic” like her life depends on it and returns us to the roots of a genre that has literally changed the world.

Currently based in Atlanta, Detroit native Brown is not only an emcee, poet and publisher; she describes herself as a “lover, fighter and artist.” This is reflective in her personal style, lyrical approach and unique perspective.
With tracks like The Essence, Dope Girl Magic and The Mirror, Brown has collaborated with countless noted hip Hop artists and producers as she strives to perfect her craft, including Illastrate, Rita J, Aarophat, Apollo Brown, Invincible, Stahhr and 14KT who describes her voice as “the illest.” According to 14KT “Boog displays truth, confidence, style and a strong sense of integrity in Hip Hop.” Continue…

Born and raised in Birmingham, England of Jamaican parents, Julie Dexter is a world-renowned singer / songwriter who has won numerous international awards. A classically trained musician who writes, arranges, composes and produces, Julie is considered by many to be one of the most important female vocalists of her generation.

Jon Goode is a poet and writer born in Richmond, Virginia and currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an Emmy Nominated writer and the winner of the 2006 Promax for best copyright North America. His work has been featured in CNN’s Black In America, HBO’s Def Poetry, BET’s Lyric Cafe, in commercials and interstitials for TVLand/Nick @ Nite and in radio commercials for McDonalds. He has also done print work for Nike and Rolling Out Urban Style Weekly. Jon is currently appearing in the sold out stage performances of “Wish You Were Here,” which features poems written by himself and Theresa Davis. He has toured the country extensively with his work and received rave reviews from the litany of venues, festivals, colleges and universities he’s appeared at. Continue…

More than a poet, more than a singer, more than an emcee–it’s not just what she says, it’s how she says it. Emerging from the musical womb that is New Orleans, artist and visionary Sunni Patterson combines the heritage and tradition of her Native town with an enlightened modern world view to create music and poetry that is timeless in its groove. Sunni has been a featured performer at the many of Nation’s premier spoken word venues, including HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. She has also had the priviledge of speaking at the Panafest in Ghana, West Africa. She has worked with several well known artists and performers including Hannibal Lokumbe- singing lead vocals for his score,”King and the Cresent City Moon,” Kalamu Ya Salaam, Sonia Sanchez, Wanda Coleman, Amiri Baraka, Laini Kuumba Afrikan Dance Company, and many more. Continue…

Elizabeth “Lizz” Straight has been on the spoken word scene nationally and internationally for the past ten years. This 30 year-old native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast is not only one of the United States’ top spoken word artists, but she’s also a radio personality and prison activist. She is currently the host of a weekly poetry radio show titled “Poetry Is,” broadcast weekly on WMNF, 88.5 FM, out of Tampa, FL and on the web at WMNF.org. She was WMNF’s Programmer of the Year for 2006. She has been applauded for her work in correctional institutions throughout central Florida, bringing poetry into the walls of the prison system. Continue…

Jasiri X is a MC, Activist and Entrepreneur. He recently burst on the National and International Hip-Hop scene with the controversial hit song “FREE THE JENA 6” which was played on more than 100 radio station across the country and over 500,000 times on the internet ,was named “Hip-hop Political Song of the Year”, and won “Single of the Year” at the Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Awards Continue…

Atlanta based Spoken-Soul-Hip Rock-Alternative-Word-Genius. Domino Affect, Queen Sheba’s current album is in the running for a 2009 Grammy under the Spoken Word category; Sheba has benefited from the Virginia Fellowship for Individual Writers due to her highly recommended wor(d)-shops and literary works. Sheba is currently working on her first paperback; Abeni; 1. We asked for her and she came to us, 2. Girl prayed for currently being edited by Louis Reyes Rivera, a Nuyorican writing icon, was released summer 2009. Sheba’s autobiography Turning Black at 20 is due out summer 2010.

While the borders that separate musical genres continue to fade, on the rise is a new genre known simply as “good music”. Rising out of this borderless musical landscape is Ras Kofi, a child of the hip hop generation, a product of the rising reggae revolution and an offspring of South America’s political landscape all of which have shaped his musical offering on the forthcoming album titled Sound Roots, produced by gold selling musical childhood prodigy, The Boyz, now known as the Sunz Of Light. Molded by his Rastafarian spiritual groundation and his vivid experiences as a world traveler, Ras Kofi’s music, escaping modern classifications, blends reggae chanting, rapping and singing with lyrics that vividly tell stories, uplift the mental and heal the soul.

Saroc the mc hails from the southeastern area of Washington DC, a city that’s a mashup of poverty stricken hoods, a strong radical movement, and a fierce loyalty to cultural preservation. This is the cocoon from which Saroc was birthed and bred.

A product of Afrikan-centered parents, Saroc developed a rebel mentality from an early age. She grew up on the music of Jimi Hendrix, Gil Scott Heron, and Earth,Wind & Fire. Her musical soundtrack was a klash of sounds, from gogo, to rock, to hip hop. This foundation began an aural quest for different sounds and concepts in music. Continue…

Mwalimu K. Bomani Baruti is the co-founder and co-director of Akoben Institute, an independent Afrikan centered full-time and after-school homeschooling and tutorial program for middle and high schoolers. Over the last two years, Bro. Baruti has also taught various Afrikan centered evening classes for adults at the Institute and online. Included in these were courses based on his books Eureason, Mentacide, negroes and other essay, one focusing on Afrikan Centered Education, another on Ourstory and three dealing with various topics in Afrikan Centered Sociology, There have also been a variety of individual lectures online and a writers’’ workshop for those interested in writing and self-publishing.  Baruti he is an experienced chess teacher who taught chess at independent Black schools for over two decades. Continue…

Afya Ibomu is the author of the Get Your Crochet On! pattern book series, that have sold over 19,000 copies. She is also a Certified Holistic Health Counselor, the CEO of Nattral Unlimited (www.NATTRAL.com) and has been a vegetarian since 1990. She is a celebrity nutritionist and crochet designer working with artists such as Erykah Badu, Common, Dead Prez and Talib Kweli. Afya has recently released her third book the Vegan Soul Food Guide to the Galaxy as well as has a monthly online magazine, Nattral Magazine. Afya currently lives in Atlanta with her husband, stic.man of dead prez and their eight-year-old son Itwela.

He has written for various magazines on the topic of Afrikan martial arts and self-defense, including Ammo Magazine and Black Belt Magazine.Balogun Oyabode Abeegunde is Master Instructor and Director of the Afrikan Martial Arts Institute. As an actor, screenwriter and film producer, Balogun is featured in two documentaries on the African martial arts, the short film, “The Black Panther: Blood Ties”, the martial arts feature film, Champion Road and the feature film “Reynolds’ War, which he wrote, produced, starred in and choreographed. Finally, Balogun is the author of the history making how-to book, “Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within”.

Marcus Kline is Director of the Freedom Home Academy and the Publisher of Frontline Magazine. He is widely regarded for his research and study of socio-political and world issues, as well as a deeply rooted commitment to the exploration and understanding of the African diaspora. Marcus launched the monthly publication, Frontline Magazine, in 1994 as a way to empower and inform the people of the tools of sabotage, and the plot to erase the critical thinking abilities of Black people across the globe. Continue…

Supreme Understanding is a community activist, educator, and expert on the socio-economical and psychological struggles of oppressed people. Supreme received his bachelor’s degree in world history from Morehouse College , followed by a master’s degree in urban education from Georgia State University . At 26, he received his doctorate in education from Argosy University, where he focused his research on the benefits of non-formal education with at-risk youth and disadvantaged populations. In 2000, Supreme co-founded Show and Prove Youth Outreach, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and empowerment of at-risk teens. Continue…

BlackGirl. Jaha Asante. HeatherFlo. She’s a woman of many names and more than a few professions. Spoken Word Artist, Writer, Teacher, Author, Freelance Writer and the list goes on. Having worked with dead prez, Mike Flo, RockMost, Leo Goetz, Mikkey and more, Jaha’s brand of low-key lyricism is unmatched. Stages she has graced include Lenny’s Bar, The Metro (Chicago), Harlem Book Fair, and Atlanta’s Malcolm X Festival. Comfortable in any arena, whether entertainment, literary, or academic, this unapologetic Chicago-bred talent embodies true womanhood.

The Honor Music Group and Honor.Respect.Presents is the brainchild of Karen Marie Mason, a 20-year industry veteran, who started her career as a marketing executive at Sony Music in New York, and later continued as head of Black Music Marketing at East/West/Elektra Records under the tutelage of Sylvia Rhone, now chairman of Motown Records. Over the years she developed and executed marketing plans for groups as varied as En Vogue, Gerald Levert, Kam, Tracy Chapman, Ziggy Marley, Kris Kross, Cypress Hill and the Fugees. After leaving the corporate world to pursue her life long commitment to Motherhood, Karen launched Destiny Entertainment as the main marketing arm of superstar Mary J. Blige. Continue…

MISSION –SLEEPMODE
We, the reviver’s of Lyfe, are Earthlings incarnated from the far away galaxy, MUZAK. We have seemingly coincidentally connected; gathered in the same hemisphere, on the same planet, during the same generation. These conditions have shaped each being individually, but the collective specifically. Once gathered StarChile was formed and, MUSIC became the catalyst for their collective and individual mission: to incarnate as an EARTHLING and assist the other LIGHT-beings in raising the planetary vibration out of the 3rd dimension into the 5th dimension and beyond!

A representative of The Mighty LIUNSDEN CREW. Ekundayo is a true powerhouse. Master emcee, producer and videographer. Father, brother, son, comrade. The truth in the form of a man. Hailing from New York, now in The ATL. Spitting for well over 15 years, an Emcee’s Emcee. Different visions, flows, and sounds. Fire. Light travels. Continue…

Nefertiti Akinyela is a musician/poet/songwriter/singer/producer from Decatur, Ga. She began to write poetry at 15 while studying a poetry series in school. Although she had only played brass instruments in her high-school marching band experience, Nefertiti always had an urge to play a stringed instrument. In Spring 2006, Nefertiti began to take lessons from a 60-year-old Hippie and All-around “Soul Man” named King David, who caught her attention as he was singing and playing guitar outside of a college dorm. She began taking weekly lessons from him. After only a few weeks of playing together, Nefertiti was blessed to find her true singing voice while singing along with Lauryn Hill’s Unplugged 2.0, Continue…

Rashondra is no stranger to the L.A. music scene. She has been frequenting local “hot spots” serenading the masses live with her sultry sound. Performing oldie classics such as Anita Bakers’ “Angel” makes her popular among soul music lovers. She is able to captivate audiences not only with her powerful voice, but also with her fierce ‘fro. When this Long Beach songstress isn’t serenading the streets or working in the studio, she is immersed in her other passion, teaching. Rashondra is an English teacher that is dedicated to empowering urban youth. “I understand how important education is, and I instill that in my students.” Rashondra Angelle is an all around positive force ready to take the world on with her grace. She is an artist that is sure to create a familiar yet, fresh feeling for everyone.

Ozara Ode’ was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first question you may ask after hearing her perform is, “Who were your influences?”, she would tell you first and foremost her family. “I come from a musical family; and growing up, there were three things I could count on, good food, rich-soulful music, and lots of laughter. Since releasing her album, “I Dream”, she has graced the stage from Atlanta’s Center Stage,  to D.C.’s Bohemian Cavern, the JazzCafe in London, and the Bizz’Art in Paris.
 She has opened for UK artists “Floetry”, Kindred Family Soul, and Jazz legend- Gerald Albright, just to name a few.
 Continue…

Heavily talented, Lady Khadija is a multifaceted artist that has captivated audiences with her sultry song and fierce spoken word. With wisdom beyond her years, she uses her many talents to benefit and uplift all of humanity. She is more than just poetry, difficult to define and not to be confined, with extraordinary empathy whichenables her to connect with individuals from all walks of life. She is many things, but a servant first, with a mission to inspire, encourage, educate, and empower all. Her many talents include singing, performing poetry, crochet and textiles, play-writing, song writing, digital design, radio broadcasting, jewelry making, and fashion design. Continue…

Michael Warrior Bonds, is the author of “Gunz, Poems & Rosez” and is an internationally respected Urban Griot and People Mover from Roxbury, (Boston) Mass. His work is featured in “The Bandana Republic, A Literary Anthology by Gang Members & Their Affiliates”. Continue…

Mama, wife, community- organizer/activist, educator, public speaker, writer, author, and spoken word artist.  Tuere is recognized nationally as a powerful voice for justice and equality for people of color.  Infusing activism and art, she has been called upon to perform her revolutionary~love poetry for the NAACP’s Annual Conference, served as chair as well as organized and performed for Black August International South just to name a few. She has been involved with various organizations, and was the founder of Project Future For The Youth, a New Orleans based organization that utilized the arts as a tool to effectively organize in the community.  Continue…

Many in her community herald her as their local “mother” of spoken word.  But, this Jacksonville native is far more than just a poet.  While Ajoke Olanipekun has been writing and performing for over 15 years, it is important to understand that her words are fueled by greater forces.  Fusing spirit, culture, activism, and words she has created a vital tool for social change. As a founding member of the FTP Movement, Ajoke is a servant of her community and people. She has been a long time advocate of Political Prisoners and has worked closely with both Dr. Mutulu Shakur and Veronza Bowers. Currently Ajoke is running The Sankofa Freedom Academy Homeschool. If you are looking for her you will find her between an open mic and community event giving voice to the voiceless and making sure we aren’t allowed to get comfortable.

13 of Nazareth has been performing throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom since 2002. He has published 6 CD’s, the latest of which is entitled Stained Glass, and he currently resides in Alexandria, VA. for more info please visit his website http://13ofnazareth.webs.com

Hip Hop is a culture that was created by and for the people, and when it comes to exhibiting that love and passion for the art, nobody displays it like Kil Ripkin the Genereal, AKA The Ghetto Correspondent. Hailing from the Coney Island section of Brooklyn N.Y., Kil set out early on his journey to become the next big thing in Hip Hop. He began his career as a solo artist, quietly establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with; earning the respect of his peers and industry heads alike. Kil began producing his own music working under the tutelage of his big brother, songwriter/producer/engineer Don Newkirk (Smoking Heads).  Continue…

The Hiphop Life Coach, a true Hiphoppa that has spent over 25 years dedicated to the development, growth and preservation of Hip Hop culture. He has worked with Nation Time Syndicate, Inc.; a faith-based Hip Hop collective in Atlanta, GA, where he has utilized his skills as a writer, activist, organizer, promoter, speaker, consultant and Executive Director. He is the former producer and co-host of two radio shows on WRFG 89.3FM in Atlanta, GA. In 2003, KRS-One – “the Teacha”, named Minister Server as one of his spiritual advisors and appointed him as Minister and National Organizer with the Temple of Hiphop.

Ruffmic & FreedomWriter joined forces to create a melodic journey through the minds and hearts of the Pan-Afrikan Collective Conscious.Ultimately the goal is the liberation of the minds and bodies of a conscious critical mass, so we can reclaim our rightful place in this spiritual existence of human form collectively. Music is one of our weapons in this war, but not the only one.

A native of Oakland, California living in Atlanta, GA, Salakida has established herself as one to watch. Through her self titled debut “Salakida” we were introduced to her sound, a melodic mix of Soul-pop, hip-hop, rock, and you-name-it that she calls Blippie Funk, or “Black Hippie Funk”. A self described “old fashioned free spirit”, life, love and freedom continue as the main themes on her upcoming sophomore project “The Resurrection.

Born and raised in Washington, DC, the singer/songwriter Tamika Jones has finally come into her own. Growing up in poverty, Tamika turned to music as an escape from the harsh realities of drugs and violence that those around her so easily succumbed to.

A young and timid Tamika, at the age of 11, was discovered when a classmate heard her singing a song so beautifully and ahead of her age and outed her to her teacher and classmates, who let her know that she could no longer keep her voice hidden. From then on, Miss Jones began singing everywhere she went. Singing in various gospel and jazz choirs in school and around the city and even directing her very own gospel ensemble at School Without Walls High School. Continue…

Colorful and electrifying like the vibrant hues of the eras that raised him, the 80s and 90s birthed an entertainment force to be reckoned with. “Those eras are very special to me because I belong to those eras. There were so many aspects of life and music that were being unapologetically explored and invented. There was a different level of freedom available.”

Rapper, singer, songwriter, fatso™ is a fresh and extraordinarily talented rising star in the field of entertainment. His unexpected yet highly treasured honesty, intelligence and wit make him an artist to watch in a sea of predictability and mediocrity. For fatso, music is life and without it we cease to exist. Continue…