Heather Faison

PUBLICATION: The Philadelphia Tribune Magazine

PUBLICATION DATE: April 2008

One of the most important e-mails to land in Kourtney Addison’s inbox was seconds away from being cyber trash.

As her eyes scrolled down the computer screen, the forwarded message read like a scene from a Jim Crow-era documentary. A tree that only Whites could sit under, nooses hung in a schoolyard, a Black teen facing a 22-year sentence for beating a White classmate.

Immediately, she thought it was a joke. “It just seemed so unreal,” she recalled of the story later known as the Jena Six.

“It was just blatant racism.”

Wearing a white T-shirt with the words “Free The Jena 6″ painted in red block letters, the Temple University sophomore joined more than 700 students in a demonstration in front of City Hall last September.

It was Addison’s first protest.

As she pumped her fist in the air letting her oversized cowry shell bracelet drop to her elbow, the 19-year-old was brought to tears by the passion displayed by her peers and the realization that “Dr. King’s dream had not been fully realized yet.”

The events of last year – the Jena Six protest, the firing of racist disc jockey Don Imus and the campaign for Genarlow Wilson, a Georgia teen sentenced to prison for consensual sex with a White classmate – resulted in a rebirth of political activism among African-Americans, unseen in recent years.

Many have wondered who is behind this surge. The leader of this movement is not on CNN or holding press conferences on the evening news. This revolution will not be televised – but you may find it in your e-mail.

Today’s generation is turning technology into activism and using the Internet as a tool to carry its messages. With social media sites and e-mail blasts, a story about an injustice can be sent to millions in one mouse-click, garnering support en masse.

“The early Civil Rights Movement had the mimeograph and the Black press. Today, we have e-mail, blogs, text messaging, online petitions, instant messaging, social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace,” said Chris Rabb, Philadelphia-based Netroots activist.

Netroots (taken from Internet and grassroots) was coined after Internet users ignited the campaign of 2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean through mass e-mails and blogs, bringing him national support and millions in fundraising dollars. Netroots uses the Internet as a platform to voice opinions and draw online users to a particular cause.

Though Netroots activism for African Americans is nascent, says Rabb, “it is by no means a fad.” Read the rest of this entry »

(PHOTO CREDIT: LaVan Anderson)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Published: Phrequency.com

D’Angelo was supposed to be the star. The oiled down, chiseled singer was crowned the king of neo-soul while a little-known Anthony Hamilton sang background on his 2000 Voodoo tour. Yet even in the shadows, Hamilton’s earthy vocals were undeniable and gave him staying power, while today conversations of his former mentor start with, “What ever happened to…”

With a Grammy for his duet with R&B legend Al Green, a devoted fanbase, and his latest album debuting No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, Hamilton is headlining his own “Playin’ it Cool” tour with Musiq Soulchild and Chrisette Michele.

“Me and Musiq had done shows together before and it was a great turn out so we just felt good about it and we felt like with Chrisette Michele being a lady – as classy as she is – that would bring a nice something to it,” explained Hamilton, who will make a stop at Tower Theater in Upper Darby Tuesday. “I’m the older guy but we all just have a mutual respect for one another.”

With the storytelling chops of Bill Withers, Hamilton’s music causes you to listen with all five senses – from his mama falling asleep in her work clothes in “Mama Knew Love” to the “Cornbread, Fish and Collard Greens” that were a staple growing up in his native North Carolina.

His latest album, “Point of It All” features production from Philly songwriter James Poyser and Amy Winehouse partner Salaam Remi. The result: A throwback sound suited for modern sensibilities.

Hamilton says he’s already finished about a dozen tracks for his next album – slated for an early 2010 release – and is mixing up his sound, experimenting with blues, rock and even country. A sonic gamble he says his fans will embrace.

“Musically, the Grammy was a nice notch on my belt to allow other people to see your talent. It feels good to have it but it feels good to have a fanbase. So I guess I’m growing and I feel like I’m solid in my space,” said Hamilton in his southern drawl. “I’m still putting songs that I love and songs that speak to me on the album.”

For “Point of It All,” Hamilton – whose collaborations include country star John Rich, Keyshia Cole, Young Jeezy and Santana – trimmed the guests to rapper David Banner for the single “Cool.”

At the top of his guest appearance wish list is B.B. King, says Hamilton, and if he could hop into a time machine “I would have loved to work with Marvin Gaye and Nat King Cole. … We would have done something different.”

As for his definition of “cool,” the laid-back soul singer says: “Cool is comfort; being comfortable in whatever space you’re in. Cool is the ability to handle situations under pressure and make the best of it.”

The Philadelphia Tribune

Published: Friday, March 27, 2009

Bow Wow just can’t seem to shake his teenybopper image. Even after dropping the ubiquitous “lil’” from his name and scalping his cornrows, his fan base is still largely the “106 & Park” crowd that first saw him as a hazel-eyed kid Crip-walking in oversized jeans.

On the diminutive rapper’s upcoming release “New Jack City Part 2,” he aims to change this perception with a glaring parental advisory sticker — a first on any Bow Wow album. Now guest stars like T.I., Nelly and T-Pain can spew profanities without caution.

“A lot of times when I get these guys to get on the album, I always gotta censor out stuff. I feel like I’m cheating my fans because my fans are T.I. fans and Lil’ Wayne fans,” says Bow Wow, who celebrated his 22nd birthday this month. “This album, I wanted to take a leap and let them come on and approach my album in the same way they would approach their own.”

Slumped down in the chair with a black windbreaker pulled over his red New Era cap, Bow Wow took a quick break Monday on the promo tour for his seventh release, before heading to Haverford High School to greet a mob of screaming students.

For these listeners, the rapper will release two edited versions of “New Jack” next Tuesday, with bonus tracks.

“When I go to the studio, I don’t feel like, ‘Oh, I have to make this record for the kids’ or ‘I have to make this one for the adults.’ I go to the studio and just do what comes naturally.”

Bow Wow’s boisterous raps usually revolve around big money (“under 21 with a black card”), big cars (“something like a NASCAR”) and “Big Girls.”

“New Jack” is much of the same, except more curse words and sexual references (“Pole In My Basement”). In “Been Doin’ This,” Bow Wow is angling more aggressively for respect from his peers and critics.

“If you wanna claim to be the king of the teen era or whatever it is, you gotta put in more work. Until you’ve done that then you’re not considered that thing. I don’t care if you dropped one album and you make the kids go crazy,” says the rapper, who was discovered by Snoop Dogg at age 5.

“You gotta do eight arena tours, sell out the Garden (Madison Square Garden) seven times,” he challenged. Bow Wow headlined the wildly successful “Scream” tours, with singers Chris Brown and Omarion.

Mentor and So So Def CEO Jermaine Dupri re-connects with his protégé as executive producer. The two have knocked heads over creative differences on previous projects. Dupri opted out of Bow Wow’s “Face-Off” collaboration with Omarion, which received limp radio-play.

“He knows me. He knows my work. He knows the type of records that are right for me, the type of records that’s wrong for me. He’s the only person who can give me that formula,” says Bow Wow, who shared his admiration for Dupri on “Rock The Mic.”

Recent moves in his career have signaled a shift in ambition from the rap stage to Hollywood. In his role on the HBO series “Entourage,” Bow Wow, born Shad Moss, plays a hot-tempered, up-and-coming comedian. The “Roll Bounce” star told fans on his YouTube channel that “New Jack” might be his last album.

“I only have one more album contractually with Columbia Records — no telling what I’ll do with that. At this time, I feel like with 17 years of nonstop music … I gotta show Hollywood and dedicate my time to them just as much as I did with the music game.”

When the conversation turned to his role in the upcoming film “Hurricane Season,” Bow Wow straightened his posture and flashed his hallmark smile. The budding actor joins Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson and Isaiah Washington in the movie based on the true story of a Louisiana coach (Whitaker) who leads his team to a state championship a year after Hurricane Katrina left the state in ruins.

“I play a character named Gary. And basically, I’m the point guard and I’m like the rock and soul of the team. I’m the more serious guy on the team, believe it or not, keeping everybody together.”

The film, slated for release this summer, captures the tension between the students displaced by Katrina. “A lot of the kids went down to Atlanta and Houston; a lot of them didn’t get along and we actually relived those situations in the movie,” including a fight scene where Bow Wow’s character gets his nose broken after a run-in with some kids from Houston.

After working with Whitaker, Bow Wow says his eyes are set on an Oscar. He may sound more like a young Denzel than the next Jay-Z, but his competitive attitude is strictly hip-hop. “First day on the set, you met each other — hello, how you doing? — But after that, I’m tryna outshine everybody on camera.”