Friday, January 24, 2025
Music

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It Looks like everything is showing up in “50s” from the Super Bowl to the anniversary of the Black Panther Party , it seems as though everyone is celebrating another decade of spectacular history. But it was fifty-one little black girls that would get the opportunity of a lifetime. First Lady Michelle Obama would host “Honoring the Past While Celebrating the Present; 7 Years of Living African American History.”An event that took place at the White House this past Monday in honoring Black History month this February.

First Lady Michelle Obama invited fifty-one local students from across the Washington, DC area to be a part of the celebration. She then also invited some of the most prestigious Black women in dance, who have definitely left their mark on the art of dance. The guest would include: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Judith Jamison, Debbie Allen, the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Virginia Johnson, and Hip Hop choreographer Fatima Robinson.

The First Lady would meet with the group of guest and then they would split the girls into 3 rooms of the White House for workshops on 3 different styles of dancing. Inside Debbie Allen’s workshop the girls were learning traditional African dance. In the Diplomatic Reception Fatima Robinson taught hip hop and finally Judith Jamison would teach ballet.

All dances were to be broadcasted during the final presentation that evening in the White House hosted by the First Lady.

Debbie Allen and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company would be involved with making this opportunity happen on Monday. The girls were split into 3 rooms of the White House, practicing different styles of dance in preparation for the show.

What an event to be a part of for these young ladies. Imagine being 10 years old or younger and getting such an awesome opportunity! It was Debbie Allen who would provide our inside look into the celebration via Instagram. (pictures below)

Such an honor to be part of today's #DanceAtTheWhiteHouse Panel with First Lady @michelleobama! #BlackHistoryMonth

A post shared by Debbie Allen (@therealdebbieallen) on

debbiea1 debbiea2 debbiea3

Aqueilla C. Terry, commonly known to many of her followers as “A.C.T” ; is a talented artists of this generation. Born and raised in Richmond, VA is truly a gem of her time. She has been writing for over 10 years as a young child to know a young woman in a world were “words” are her weapon of choice to achieve success. Often considered to be Erykah Badu’s daughter for her way with words, style, presence, music selections and overall persona. A.C.T. is definitely going to take over the world with wide range of creativity. Her ambition is driven by her will to succeed in reaching her goals, but by doing so by remaining herself along the journey. A.C.T. redefines the young black woman by sticking to her beliefs and who she is inside.

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Beyonce Formation Tour

Instead of writing a long post about how much Beyonce has inspired young people of color, and instead of trying aimlessly to explain to white America why it’s OK for us to express self-love, or black pride, or whatever THEY want to call it. I’d rather just skip all of that; It’s a waste of time, and for people who say “they don’t get it”, its not that; They just refuse to “get it”, and guess what – that’s fine too.

Instead, lets focus on the non-haters for a second, the people who are true fans of King Bey, and the people who want to see this sister in concert. Yes, this post is for my “hot-sauce in a bag” carrying clique. Tomorrow marks the first official day for the Pre-Sale for Beyonce’s Formation Tour. As of right now Beyonce.com has returned, but the site crashed on yesterday after she made the official announcement after her epic Super Bowl 50 performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Hgh7sPDLM

By Now, we’ve all seen the Formation video, and nothing is more exciting than the thought of actually being able to see Bey perform this visual masterpiece LIVE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qOtF-hqFr8https://youtu.be/7xwrbrgngUo

Here are 6 Tips That Will Help You Secure Formation Tour Tickets Faster :

  1. Securing tickets could be a clusterf@ck. When Adele made her announcement a few weeks back, it caused mass hysteria which also caused the ticket sales process for Adele to be a slow pain for thousands of fans, who voiced their frustratiions via twitter.
  2. If you can, buy presale tickets. The only way to order presale tickets is with your American Express card or if you are an official member of the BeyHive Fan club
  3. The media says that February 9th is the official presale date, however this does not apply in every city. For example, the presale in Atlanta doesnt start until February 15th and the presale date for Tampa begins Today!
  4. You can log on to the Live Nation app also to purchase presale tickets starting on February 12th. Some people claim that the app is faster than purchasing tickets on a regular website. Although I do not agree with this claim, it doesn’t hurt to try if you are an early bird purchaser.
  5. Get you homegirls, homeboys and family involved to secure tickets. You have a better chance of getting through if you work smart. Someone else’s internet connection may be stronger and faster, so if an associate can get through first, have that person purchase tickets for the group; especially if you hate sitting near the ceiling at a concert, you’ve got to quick!
  6. Also, don’t use any of those 3rd party ticket sites. Ticket prices will be marked up 2-3 times their original rate. Use official sites first, such as Ticketmaster.

Check out the North American and European dates below.

BEYONCÉ 2016 FORMATION WORLD TOUR – NORTH AMERICAN DATES
April 27 – Miami, FL – Marlins Park
April 29 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium
May 1 – Atlanta, GA – Georgia Dome
May 3 – Raleigh, NC – Carter-Finley Stadium
May 5 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium
May 7 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium
May 9 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Stadium
May 12 – San Diego, CA – Qualcomm Stadium
May 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Rose Bowl
May 16 – Santa Clara, CA – Levi’s Stadium
May 18 – Seattle, WA – CenturyLink Field
May 20 – Edmonton, AB – Commonwealth Stadium
May 23 – Minneapolis, MN – TCF Bank Stadium
May 25 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre
May 27 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
May 29 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field
May 31 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field
June 3 – Boston, MA – Gillette Stadium
June 5 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field
June 7 – New York, NY – Citi Field
June 10 – Baltimore, MD – M&T Bank Stadium
June 12 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium

BEYONCÉ 2016 FORMATION WORLD TOUR – EUROPEAN DATES
June 28 – Sunderland, UK – Stadium of Light
June 30 – Cardiff, UK – Millennium Stadium
July 2 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
July 5 – Manchester, UK – Emirates Old Trafford
July 7 – Glasgow, UK – Hampden Park
July 9 – Dublin, IE – Croke Park
July 12 – Dusseldorf, DE – Esprit Arena
July 14 – Zurich, CH – Letzigrund
July 16 – Amsterdam, NE – Arena
July 18 – Milan, IT – Stadio San Siro
July 21 – Paris, FR – Stade de France
July 24 – Copenhagen, DK – Parken
July 26 – Stockholm, SE – Friends Arena
July 29 – Frankfurt, DE – Commerzbank Arena
July 31 – Brussels, BE – Roi Boudoin

Source : ABC News

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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After reading this Forbes article written by Julian Mitchell in Forbes magazine this month, it forced us to take a look at all of what artist Ryan Leslie has been up to since he’s decided to become an independent artist. The synopsis of the research concludes that this guy is a genius. Taking the road less traveled for Ryan Leslie has seemed to work in his favor; leaving a major record label and foregoing popular social media platforms to develop his own platform is almost unheard of. While most people on social media rely on “Likes” and “Follows”, Ryan Leslie has built a new-age platform that focuses on traditional marketing values such as building direct relationships with his fans and creating experiences for his Super Fans.

The SuperPhone app developed by Leslie’s media company Disruptive Media is proof that in this age, independent artists have a tremendous amount of power. Simply by focusing on marketing through the SuperPhone application, Customer Relationship management, and a more advanced form of direct marketing, Leslie was able to earn $2 million from only 15,000 of his fans. Check out this video below.

Here are 11 Cool Takeaways:

  1. Ryan Leslie believes that artists should be less worried about “Likes” and realize that “people that buy your stuff are the people you are supposed to care about.” Through the use of his SuperPhone App, Ryan says, “I respond to people just to say thank you”
  2. With the SuperPhone app, fans provide the artists their phone number and the artist can contact you directly. Ryan Leslie can be contacted at this Superphone number 1-646-887-6978.
  3. Ryan Leslie is a Harvard graduate, government major. This guy is smart! But his college degree is not what made him successful, it was his fearlessness in doing what many others are too scared to do.
  4. While Most artists are looking to get signed to a record label, Leslie removed his music from iTunes and launched a company to reach fans in new ways. He’s made more money as an independent than he’s ever had before.
  5. Ryan Leslie believes it is silly to keep spending money in order to convert the same fans over and over again, he says “I think the future of the music industry is if you spend dollars to convert people into fans, you shouldn’t have to spend dollars again to convert those same people when you have a new product. You should be able to reach those people directly and spend your money growing your audience and growing your business.”
  6. Ryan Leslie stays true to honoring his Super Fan, in July 2015 Ryan Leslie invited 3 fans to fly private with him from Georgetown to NJ. It was their first time flying on a private jet.
  7. Ryan Leslie’s marketing advice: “The number one way to monetize yourself as an artists is to give people something that is priceless.”
  8. Ryan’s advice to independents: “when you’re an independent, you have to be competitive , otherwise people don’t want to follow what you’re doing.”
  9. Leslie believes connecting with his fans is critical, in 2010 when he left the major label system in favor of being an independent, he began thanking every fan personally for their support, in 2014 he founded a company to help other artists find and thank their true fans; he named it Disruptive Multimedia. Today he keeps in touch with over 38,000 fans via his SuperPhone, a product of Disruptive multimedia.
  10. He believes in taking the road less traveled, his final album MZRT is being released as a single per month for the rest of his career. “We are here to prove and to show you that if you want to make money in music, you don’t have to be signed to a record company, you can get money your own way,” says Leslie.
  11. Ryan kept it real about record deals: “a label is in your pockets, robbing you of 80% of your revenue because they gave you an advance… or, they’re keeping you away from your
    fans, I don’t care about that. What I do care about is that me, my team, the artists that follow my plan, independent artists that want to be
    on this pathway – we getting money and we don’t care about what other people do.”

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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Relationships, “Situation ships”, Black Love, Trust, Loyalty,
These are all things that are commonly discussed when it comes to dating in the black community. I say black community because there is nothing really on television that tells our story of what “we” deal with when it comes to relationships. Sure you can turn on a reality show on VH1 and proclaim you’re getting a general idea but in reality it’s just scripted ignorance of our culture. Now, I know most of you will disagree with me but that’s fine but I know that what I’m saying is the truth. But I digress and say that as many shows that are on television none of them really hit the nail on what dating as a black person really is like.
Until now that is…and this only airs on the Web!

This line alone had me under the impression that of yet again another show about all of the things that men do wrong as if women have never done anything bad. I just knew that I was about to watch something were black men were going to be bashed like normally by black women. But I was completely wrong!. This show displays ALL sides to the stories that we encounter when we are dating as young black adults.

From the characters ALONE you can find all of them to be relatable.

quincy
Quincy- a young black man who has his own business, whom has made mistakes in his past with his girlfriend Alicia, but own up those mistakes and is striving to give them a better life. He’s the guy we all know that so many people remember his past but because he has a strong woman she was able to change all of that.

alicia

Alicia –a young black woman who is the dedicated girlfriend helping her man with his dream of being an entrepreneur. Yes she has dealt with the things of Quincy’s past but she did what was best for her instead of society. She’s holding a secret from her man because she’s aware of the damage it could cause but she also wants to speak on how she feels about the business. She’s a woman who may have been standing by her man’s side for so long that she has lost part of herself.

jacdson

Jackson- the young black man who has accomplished so much in his career as an investment banker and who has no problem with showing the ladies a great time. He’s that brother who only wants one thing from women and it keeps it extremely honest with them all. Jackson is handsome, successful and far from looking for love or even a relationship. Will Jackson meet his match? Is the question

jordan

Jordan- a young black woman that is beautiful, successful and single with no ifs, ands or buts about it in her world. She wants to live only in her accomplishments without having to deal with the work that a relationship requires or even a steady male companion has to offer. Jordan always makes sure her dating card is booked however, she makes it known who will get desert and who will go without until she feels like it ( catch my drift). But will somebody come along that makes Jordan rethink her stance….

monica

Monica- the young black woman we all know one just like her who is bashful, full of positivity, works hard, kind hearted, but chases after the same guy all the time. She is the friend we all love but no matter what you say to her she really never listens until it hits home. Monica is the friend that you want to protect at all times but you understand where she is coming from. Her situation ship with Darius is something we all know about very well but will things change between them two? Or will the always forgiving Monica still forgive and learn to move on?darius

Darius- a young black man, the hustler that always getting money and women all at the same time. He’s the one that gets all of the women but never deals with the headache of how they feel. Darius wants his cake and eat as many slices as he can. He’s a great friend to all but when it comes to women he could definitely change his ways up. So will the right woman come along and change him? Or will he remain in his “player” ways for a little while longer.
And that’s just the characters I described but wait until you watch the show itself. The show is based on the lives of each one of these individuals as well as their friendships with among each other. It’s a show that is very captivating on life as a young black person living in this society. The writers of this show really display life within the show and its only 4 episodes in! This is the amazing part.
There are so many realistic scenarios in this series that are eye catching and worth the watch each and every other Tuesday. I truly give this one a stamp of approval for young black youth to watch (and that’s for mature audiences only so for the 18 and up peeps only) because it insightful and the characters are touch base on other common issues within the black community.
Some topics discussed are the Bill Cosby incident, police brutality, black on black crime all of the things that most of us generally discuss among friends that need to be publicly discussed on television. The Tough Love Series is great on all aspects and I hope that many of you will join me in watching such an awesome show. And did I mention that the producers and directors are all BLACK?! So we definitely have to support that because I know I am definitely about supporting all my artists out there.
So tune in with me in 2 weeks where another show will be aired on YouTube but for now click the link and catch up so we can get together and keep talking about the show!
-A.C.T. ( Aqueilla C. Terry )
Instagram: insomni_act
Blog: actpseaks.wordpress.com
Tumblr: actpsicious.tumblr.com
Twitter: IgothatActrite
Facebook: Aqueilla Lisa Marie Terry

Aqueilla C. Terry, commonly known to many of her followers as “A.C.T” ; is a talented artists of this generation. Born and raised in Richmond, VA is truly a gem of her time. She has been writing for over 10 years as a young child to know a young woman in a world were “words” are her weapon of choice to achieve success. Often considered to be Erykah Badu’s daughter for her way with words, style, presence, music selections and overall persona. A.C.T. is definitely going to take over the world with wide range of creativity. Her ambition is driven by her will to succeed in reaching her goals, but by doing so by remaining herself along the journey. A.C.T. redefines the young black woman by sticking to her beliefs and who she is inside.

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Macklemore, who is known to fully support the gay rights and civil rights movements, whether it be in the form of art, lyrics, or actual protests is back after a two year hiatus. What better way to make a return to you passion except to spark a conversation – and Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and Jamilia Woods are doing just that with the new single, White Privilege.

Addressing controversial issues has never been a problem for Macklemore, in fact this single is the follow-up from the original single “White Privilege” produced in 2005. For nine minutes, Macklemore addresses looking at racism through the eyes of a white man and a white artist. He talks about Black Lives Matter, and even calls out other white artists like Iggy and Miley Cyrus in terms of white artists benefiting from the culture but not showing up when the lives that make up this culture are threatened.

Many artists have done songs addressing racism and Black Lives, however hearing this from the perspective of a white artist definitely makes an impact in terms of how some of the white supporters of the Black Lives Matter and other civil rights movements feel when dealing with issues of race.

Here are some of the lyrics:
You can join the march, protest, scream and shout
Get on Twitter, hashtag and seem like you’re down
But they see through it all, people believe you now
You said publicly, “Rest in peace, Mike Brown”
You speak about equality, but do you really mean it?
Are you marching for freedom, or when it’s convenient?
Want people to like you, want to be accepted
That’s probably why you are out here protesting
Don’t think for a second you don’t have incentive
Is this about you, well, then what’s your intention?

Do yourself a favor, for the next nine minutes, check it out and tell us what you think.

If you don’t have Spotify, here you go:

Here is the original 2005 “White Privilege”

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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