Last month, the Creative Culture Collective honored the birth anniversary of Bob Marley with a Reggae Tribute at the Apache Cafe in the ATL. Its was cool night featuring performances from the likes of Justa Sol, Nefertiti, Aja Ray Bethany Embry, Ken J. Martin and Nefertiti aka nefTUNES who put their hearts and souls into sharing their unique talents with the people. The Apache Cafe & Lounge proved to be the perfect venue. It has long been the place where raw artists and musicians congregated to share the fruits of their passions with rest world; a testing ground for creative scientists taking...

I went over to Loca Luna to check out The Soul Train Line Flash Mob. This was the brain child of Soul artist Anthony David with the help of Jay Carter of Sol-Fusion . This event was one of many Soul Train Line tributes that happened across America. It was our way of saying thank you to Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius , who past away on February 1st . When I got there people were trickling in trying to figure out if they missed the event , patrons at Loca Luna were getting nervous as the were seeing folks come in with their costumes and afro wigs on. Dj Loweki was getting the crowd in...

I imagine a great meeting in heaven Legends come and gone rocking on Jamming Lifting up their voices and singing No more trouble No more pain After a lifetime of headlines and reporters picking them to pieces, I imagine the welcoming trumpet is quite a beautiful sound No more worries No more troubles No more demons exposing their past Having found peace at last… Dear Whitney Elizabeth Houston Having been born of Cissy, cousin of Dionne, and God child of Aretha I imagine gospel harmonies littered your soul before singing “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” at 11 years old First woman...

Whitney Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012 ) By theGrio 8:07 PM on 02/11/2012 The Associated Press is reporting that iconic and troubled singer, Whitney Houston is dead. The pop icon was in the midst of planning a career comeback. She recently completed work on a big screen remake of the 70s-cult film Sparkle, alongside ex-American Idol Jordin Sparks and Voice judge Cee-Lo Green. But there have also been recent reports of serious financial trouble and a deadly case of emphysema. She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of...

The Reggae Tribute Honoring The Birth Anniversary of Bob Marley Nefertiti and the nefTUNES • Ken J. Martin • Aja Ray Bethany Embry • Justa Sol • Queen Nef A Festive CCCELEBRATION honoring the music and spirit of Bob Marley featuring live performances along with DJ, Dinner, Dancing, and exceptional drinks… The Birth Anniversary of Bob Marley … Drink Special: $5.75 The Lion Heart: Sky Ginger Vodka and Ginger Ale. A crisp refresher with just the right amount of sweetness. Bob Marley: A fusion Rums of layered in a colorful red, gold, green display honoring the Rastafarian...

Last month Anthony Hamilton let it happen. He dropped…Back to Love. Here’s what a few folks had to say… Odeisel from planetill.com: Back To Love is a well-rounded Anthony Hamilton with a little swagger added and less of the weight of the world on his shoulders. It’s house cleaning reality music, full of emotion, delivered by a guy that could sing. Evan Rytlewski from the www.avclub.com: With his fifth album, Back To Love, Anthony Hamilton becomes the latest neo-soul veteran to outdo himself. Where Hamilton’s past albums have lured in listeners with their slow, sensual pull,...

I want to start this post by saying that Love & hip Hop is a disgrace to all things Hip Hop but I have to at least acknowledge the superficial nature that does exist within the new Hip Hop Culture. I can’t help that in seeing the name “Love & Hip Hop”, I actually expected to see a show of real artists showing their love for the music and community, expressing how Hip Hop has inspired them, showing their influence on hip hop. I expected to see a few battles, hear some good beats, see some records spinning, and be taken inside the studios. I wanted to see some dude in dirty jeans kicking...

Last month Erykah Badu participated in GQ’s Survivor series of interviews. In a feature by Sean Fennessey, Erykah spoke candidly her inspirations, her style, Flying Lotus and neo-soul. The following is an excerpt from that experience. interview by SEAN FENNESSEY images by MARK SELIGER In the mid-’90s, a record executive named Kedar Massenburg coined the term “neo-soul” to describe a new breed of R&B artists—particularly D’Angelo, Maxwell, Lauryn Hill, and a certain head-wrapped chanteuse from Dallas—who defined the incense-fogged utopianism of the period....

Ari J is known for her work as a filmmaker and documentarian. With an eight year history as a creative in various genres, Ari has worked as director, director of photography and editor. As the producer of this video of the Dead Prez work, “The Beauty Within,” she worked with director/photographer Shannon Mccollum. Regarding this work, Ari had this to say on her website, “A casting call, produced by Shannon and artistic director, Jamila Crawford of Earthcandy Arts resulted in over 100 women from Atlanta, GA and various parts of the country, coming together to represent women...

SA-ROC is Hip Hop. Sol Messiahh is Hip Hop. They are the collectors, the creators, the performers, the priests, the mad scientists of Hip Hop and I became one of the converted, one night in late February of 2011. It was a cold, dark night in Atlanta’s Little 5 Points (L5P) district; the traditionally artsy/alternative neighborhood of the ATL (think SoHo in NYC.) I was at the Journey of the Starseed album release concert at THE 5 SPOT and SA-ROC was the star. But with the likes of Starchile, staHHr, Boog Brown, Nappy Roots and Khalilah Ali in the house, much of Atlanta’s hottest underground...