Doe Boys In The Building
An interview by Summer Stanley. At the respective ages of 15, not too long ago for high school graduates Darius Person and Victor Stephens, the two teenagers who had bonded over a respect for one another’s style and drive, joined forces in an effort to “go get doe.” Bread Cheese and Doe, the brainchild of that effort, is now a start-up clothing company with wares displayed on the racks of such popular Atlanta boutiques as Adrene and Vinnies Styles in Little Five Points. While other high school seniors were preparing for a prom that was a week away, Victor and Darius ...
Atlanta Welcomes a Hit Stage Play Torn
By Camillia Harris. Torn, written by Tiffany Brown & Lynnette Roberts, Executive produced by Ex- NFL player and Super Bowl champion Dorsey Levens. Torn features a cast of accomplished actors and former professional athletes who have successfully transitioned to stage performances. Torn will hit the stage on July 14th and be shown till the 18th at the 14th Street Playhouse in Atlanta. Torn is a Christian drama that touches into the relationships of today. While watching the cast rehearse at Eyedrum, the reality of this play is one that many of us can relate to on a daily basis. Torn tells the story ...
Hollywood Meets Arlewood!
By Camillia Harris. Who is Arle? Derived from Arletha, she is the next best thing hitting the online airwaves. For those that don’t have a visual, in my opinion, Arle mirrors the actress by the name of Stacey Dash with an Ethiopian appeal signifying grace and beauty. This phenomenal woman has her own unique flawless identity. The Bay Springs, MS native, describes herself as an entertainers’ entertainer. Being a nurturer by spirit, she engulfs the melodies of others’ happiness. In speaking with Arle about her home town, she says, “I love home, it’s peaceful and its my hideaway for total rejuvenation”. Arle ...
Innovators Of Humorcore Come To The Masquerade
By Josh Fritz. Wednesday, June 23rd at the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia was a haven for humorcore enthusiasts. There were three bands scheduled to play and they all came through in the end. Some better then others, but everybody was doing what they loved. What started out as a hot and sunny day turned into something out of a weather horror story. While the sun was shining bright, a torrential downpour came through, soaking everybody to the bone. Nobody could get inside quick enough. Once inside of the venue, with beer firmly in hand, I sat back and waited to finally ...
June Interview With Psychostick
By Josh Fritz. Last night at the Masquerade, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Rawb and Joshy from Psychostick. Very amicable gentlemen, very welcoming and as soon as I sat down, I realized and was rather grateful that they had obviously not let their success go to their head. They were regular people, just like you and I. Rawb was working on sending out posters and Joshy was burning CDs. Like I said, just regular people. TheRealAtlanta.com: Psychostick is a rather unique name for a band. How did you come up with it? Rawb: I thought of it around 2:00AM ...
The Godzilla of R&B: Mr. Ray Lavender
Interview by: Camillia Harris. I met the R&B singer Ray Lavender at Café Nineteen in Atlantic Station to interview him. As I sat in front of Mr. Ray Lavender. His intriguing eye-catching, million dollar smile, with an innocent cocoa brown complexion, comforting a warm charisma captures my attention, to say the least. From the moment he introduced himself, I knew this interview would come at ease. Although I would have preferred him to sit across from me, he sat beside me and warmly introducing himself “Hello, I’m Ray Lavender”. TRA: Who is Ray Lavender? Ray: I’m from Monroe, Louisiana. Earl Ray Lavender is the ...
Nikki Williams and A. London Arrington Reach Out To Atlantans In Different Ways But For A Common Goal
By Nikki D. Bosompem. One of the major concerns for people all over the United States is the fragile state of the economy. Every day, for a number of years, jobs have steadily vanished, cutbacks are becoming the norm, and uncertainty rules daily life. Families are suffering and people need help. However, out of all of this misfortune comes those who can think positively, are innovative and don’t give up. They see a way to assist others by taking a negative and turning it into a positive. Featured in this article are two people from Atlanta, who are ...
Fun Things to Do in Atlanta Week of May 17th to May 23rd
By Dee Corley. Agnostic Front Performs at the Masquerade Monday, the 17th Agnostic Front was a fore-runner in hardcore punk and has made an impact all their own for over twenty years. Still with us, they will be at the Masquerade in Atlanta this Monday night. This is a 7 pm. Find out more at www.masq.com. Alive Expo at the Georgia World Expo Center Monday, the 17th Interested in learning about natural products that are good for the environment and your immune system? How about natural and healthy living? The Alive Expo is the place to do it, and it seems that we all could use ...
Atlanta’s DJ Princess Cut Burns Up the Tables With Just A Touch of Femininity
By Nikki D. Bosompem. Back in the 80’s, when hip hop was fresh on the scene, the industry was primarily dominated by males. Female MC’s were few and a novelty. The only female DJ I can remember who reached a semblance of notoriety was Spinderella from the popular group Salt-N-Pepa. Since then, there has not been much female representation on the turn tables. The fact that men were always central and present behind the tables did nothing to deter DJ Princess Cut, of College Park, Georgia, from observing, learning, and then “touching the tables” herself in a quest to master the ...
Michael Paul of the Itopia Band Offers Lessons on Life and Love to Atlanta Through Their Music
By Nikki D. Bosompem. Sitting down at Goatfinger Recording Studios in Decatur to talk with lead vocalist Michael Paul, of The Itopia Band proved to be an engaging experience. With a calm, lilting, voice, and deeply introspective demeanor, Mr. Paul introduced me to the elements that make his band unique. From the definition of the band’s name to the concept of “rotating band members,” Michael Paul gave solid and passionate reasons why he feels making music is his calling and that being a musician is more than about the money or living up to an image. Born in London, and raised ...
Introducing Butta B-Rocka: Switching Lanes and Changing the Game
By K. Nola Mokeyane. Upon entering a metro Atlanta Barnes and Nobles on one warm, Monday evening to meet with a burgeoning African American female artist who belts melodies in the pop/rock music genre, I was greeted on the second floor by a mild-mannered, pleasant young lady who appeared rather nervous about our meeting to do this interview. Oscillating her attention between her mobile phone and the notes she took just in case she veered off track during the interview, Butta B-Rocka simply needed to sense that I was probably just as anxious to meet her as she was to meet ...
Feel The Heartbeat of Leslie Christian Country Music’s Rising Star
By Camillia Harris. Please join me in welcoming, Atlanta’s own country music artist, Leslie Christian. Leslie is country music’s latest Black female vocalist. Leslie comes from a family of vocalists, which are her biggest supporters. Her mother and father initially met singing for various bands. So it doesn’t surprise you where Leslie’s musical talents derived from. She has been singing all her life. Leslie states that she always participated in talent shows and was always singing background for her sister in shows. A greater focus developed for country music in the last ten years. Leslie conveys that she listens to all types ...
Fun Things To Do in Atlanta Week of April 12th to the 18th
By Dee Corley. Smith’s Olde Bar Presents Kevin Spencer in the Atlanta Room Tuesday the 13rd This is a free show, with doors opening at 8 pm. It’s “4 For $5” night too, upstairs in the Music room, where you’ll enjoy four bands for $5 featuring Keith Moody, Swift Robinson, SENECA, and Wes Jeans with doors opening at 7 pm. www.smithsoldebar.com gets you what you need to know. Variety Playhouse Brings R&B to Atlanta Via Allen Toussaint Tuesday, the 13th Talented in the 60’s and 70’s and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the late 90’s, Allen Toussaint has been a ...
Former Don Diva Magazine Co-Founder Cavario Hunter Writes About Being Raised By Wolves In His New Novel
An Interview by Nikki D. Bosompem. Cavario Hunter, a New York native and current Atlanta resident was born and raised to be a hustler. The lullabies his mother sang to him were those of the workings of the streets and how to be the biggest and best hustler to come after the generation from which she came. His story is contained within the pages of his new novel, Raised By Wolves. Cavario does not hold back as he tells the story of his life the way it was destined to be for him which is that of a “guerrilla hustler.” TRA: Where ...
Sexually Speaking, How Far Have We Come? A Review of 2009’s Best New Musical, Spring Awakening
“I’m the truth and they say the truth hurts.” – Gucci Mane By Summer Stanley. Some things seem never to change, and among those seeming constants are the trials and tribulations that accompany getting older, in particularly the teen angst that goes hand in hand with puberty. Spring Awakening, this season’s eight-time Tony Award Winner including for Best New Musical, though set in 19th-century Germany, may as well have won for “Most Relevant Musical,” underscored by Duncan Sheik’s edgy rock compositions. With songs such as “The Bitch of Living,” sung by a group of male students in Latin class, and “Totally F…d,” lamented ...
The Past, The Present, & The Future of Gospel Artist Saila Rachelle
By Camillia Harris. Saila better describes herself as an, “Urban soul gospel recording artist”. You may wonder, what is urban soul in the gospel lime light? She describes her sound more like neo-soul and funk mixed together. She has a wonderful personality a hidden treasure of beauty and a testimony to acknowledge it. She released her first unsigned CD, “A Changed Soul”, in 2004. In 2005, she released yet another unsigned CD “Free to Be”, which earned her many tour dates in the US. She was featured within the TD Jakes MegaFest, where she was able to inspire, inform, and introduce ...
The 74th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival
By Jacqueline Bartelmo. Spring time in Atlanta, GA proves to be a very busy time for the city. Many festivals and events start to take place for the locals and tourists. One such festival that has been going on for years is the Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival which is hosted in Atlanta’s beautiful Piedmont Park. This year the event will take place on April 16, 17 and 18. Attendees will be able to enjoy fine art, live entertainment of different kinds ranging from music to comedy. There will also be a variety of food offerings all over the festival for visitors ...
Making Individual Collectivism Work: The Grave Yard Shift Wants To Show Us How
An Interview by Nikki D. Bosompem. When you hear the words “Grave Yard Shift” the first thing that probably comes to mind is that late night stretch dreaded by most employees. In some sense that's the concept behind the six member hip hop clique, who call themselves Grave Yard Shift. I recently caught up with a few of “The Yard” members to talk about their concept of “individual collectivism.” Just like the groups' name, the day was dark and the sky threatened rain. When I walked inside of The Landmark, I spotted The Yard members, Skitz, Anonymous, and Noonie holed up at ...
Beauty Behind The Strings
By Camillia Harris. Stacia, a native of Cleveland Ohio, comes to us with the sounds of Reggae and Soul. Stacia has a passion for soul music so she creates music geared towards life, love, and liberty. Stacia says, “Music has always been a love of mine.” Her musical experiences derive from her childhood. As a child she played in the orchestra, played the violin, and was a member of her high school gospel choir. Stacia started out doing background vocals for various local hip hop artist and live music with local musicians, which helped build her self-confidence to embark on her own ...
When Art has no Avenue, It Finds a Tunnel: A Look At the Krog Street Tunnel
By Summer Stanley. Whether you are heading to a metal show at Lenny’s or to the bottom of a pitcher at 97 Estoria, chances are you will pass through the Krog Street Tunnel. Intersecting Dekalb Avenue and Wylie Street, the graffiti-blanketed tunnel conjoins more than Cabbagetown and Inman Park. From the humblest tag – an artist’s signature, to intricate pieces – in the sense of slang for masterpieces – the tunnel is a cultural hub. Along with its 4 and ½ star ranking on yelp.com, the tunnel has that other factor which makes something a place: pathos. Built in the early 1900’s and ...
