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 me as she sat on the other side of the tiny wooden table. However,

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.

An interview by Summer Stanley. TheRealAtlanta.com: So, I want to start by thanking you for agreeing to share your story with us – I look forward to hearing you expound on what your struggles have resulted in – your own jewelry line, community activism, and tireless advocacy of the homeless. It’s so brave of you and I think it’s a gift for people to be able to hear about your journey. We have a lot to talk about, but to begin, on a more personal level, because you have experienced homelessness, I wanted to know your opinion on how it is a stigmatized condition and how you combat that.

“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 19^th-century Germany, may as well have won for “Most Relevant Musical,” underscored by Duncan Sheik’s edgy rock compositions.

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 to her audience that her sense of being free speaks through her music.

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.

By Dee Corley. Moscow Festival Ballet, Tegan and Sara at The Variety Playhouse, Universoul Circus, Diana: A Celebration, at the Atlanta Civic Center, RuChDa Winetasting and 21 Flavors of Wings, Mudcat – Real Blues at D.B.A. Barbeque …

By Dee Corley. Traditional Irish Session at Fado Irish Pub, George Thorogood and the Destroyers at the Variety Playhouse, Wine Tasting at an Authentic Tuscan Kitchen, Taverna Fiorentina, Fiddler on the Roof at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, John Mayer at Phillips Arena, Malibu Grand Prix at Norcross, Megadeath, Testament and Exodus at Tabernacle

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.”

By Summer Stanley. It’s been eons since RuPaul dominated the A-town underground club scene, plastering the city with his own posters adhered with wallpaper and wheat paste, frustrating any would-be hoodlums’ attempts to tear down his image. As he advertised himself in 1983, RuPaul is still “Red Hot.” At Outwrite Books, Atlanta’s foremost queer bookstore on the corner of 10^th and Piedmont, RuPaul is not in drag. Still, down to the orange silk