Xposure Winter Issue

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2009 in Rewind

Transcript of Xposure Winter Issue

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Credits &Contributors

T.L. Bishop - Currency Matters Contributor

I was born and raised in South Carolina and is the oldest of six siblings. I graduated from Claflin College with a major in Commu-nications and a minor in sociology. Shortly after college I landed my first job in finance. I helped many families with financial plan-ning and dept restructure. After years of being in the field I began writing on my experiences to help others understand what I am now aware of.

Anastasia Nicole - Fashion Editor and Writer

Born and raised in New Orleans, Anastasia Nicole has always nurtured a passion for fashion publications. She has a degree in textiles and apparel merchandising from Louisiana State Univer-sity and experience in both fashion pr and writing. Currently when not writing for Xposure magazine she can be found contributing to various online sites such as MissOmniMedia.com and her blog SeeinPinkElephants.com. Her philosophy is “Keep your eyes to the skies”.

Xposure Magazine is a bi - monthly magazine published on a bi monthly basis. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohib-ited. Views expressed by writers are not necessarily the views of Xposure Magazine. We welcome and accept unsolicited materials. Materials submitted to Xposure Magazine is the person’s guarantee that submitted items are not in violation of or infringing upon the rights of others and that said materials may be reviewed and subject to critique without any third party consent.

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Goldyn’s Touch

Happy Holidays,

Thank you to everyone who has made Xposure’s fall issue a success. The issue reached over 8,000 people worldwide in North America, Canada, South America, Europe, and Asia. I am expanding the brand everyday and I hope you will continue this journey with me. This issue’s theme is 2009 In Rewind which covers the major stories of this year. Tahiry Jose was selected as the cover story because she has had a major year, and has plans to expand her brand into the future. 2009 was a year of major steps to take our world into a better place with the elec-tion of President Obama. 2009 was also a year that changed the entertainment industry as we have known it with notable celebrities passing. It was also a year where we saw how bad the economy really was and went back to basics. There was joy, sorrow, enlightenment, a sense of unity and humility. As this issue reflects on 2009, we look forward to 2010 with hope, and personal plans to become better. The best is yet to come, I wish you a happy holiday season to you and yours and a happy new year. If you have any feedback, suggestions for stories or etc, email me at [email protected]. Also, don’t forget to log on to the new website www.xposure365.com for exclusives and daily updates on all things on culture, lifestyle and currency. Enjoy this issue and I will see you in February for our Feb/Mar issue. Until next time…………………………

Goldyn P. Smith Publisher/EIC

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Recession Therapy What goes up must come down and by the same token what is down must come up. It’s very important that we prepare our minds for the times to come. You will hear (if you are listening) a lot of OPINONS on what we as the public should or shouldn’t do but my belief is this. Now is a better time than it has ever been for us to get our finances together, buy homes for our families and build our businesses. Now not one time in this article will you hear that it will be easy. It’s not easy but it very possible. Out of all of the companies the have fell new ones will take their place. Out of all of the unfortunate people that has lost their homes new home owner will ben-efit from the low property values and foreclosures Out of all of the companies that could at one time pick and choose or be snooty now they have to restructure their lending practices. I understand that everyone that reads this article will not connect with the possibility that we are not doomed and we can stand up and reclaim what was once lost in this period in financial history. If you do not share my enthusiasm and positive ideal its ok Im just very sorry to know that’s your choice. There are multitudes of ways for us to get our financial motors run-ning again and I will touch on a few of them that might help. Increasing your financial literacy is the very best thing you can do to better yourself because if you don’t know any better you cant do any better. Read newspapers, research what you don’t understand on the internet, and ask questions because it will not just fall in your lap. Yesterdays financial ideas are dead and its time to focus on what makes financial sense for each and every one of us. Think about how much our economy has changed over the years. Their use to be a time where you could just go in and speak to a banker and get a loan based on a hand shake and what the banker thought of you personally but that doesn’t exists anymore. I’m not suggesting that you should forget all that you know about finances. But understand that as the financial rules of the game change so will your approach to winning the game. Your credit is important. A lot of us including myself have made a few mistakes when it has come to our credit and we try the out of sight out of mind technique. If you have debts pay them.(Complicated right?) You will not get but so far trying to run from them and besides that no one wants to lend money to someone who didn’t pay the last person that they borrowed money from. Try to stop the incoming debt stream. You will get a million and one offers to get a new car or buy something on easy credit terms but do not take any of them right now if it’s your goal to better your credit. At some point we need to stop stumbling forward through life and stand behind your goal to get your credit in shape. You can start cleaning up you credit in a number of ways. For example offer settlements to the people who are still actively collecting on you. Make sure you offer what you can realistically pay don’t be pushed into terms that you can’t keep up with. If these companies are not getting any money from you right now then there has to be a compro-mise. Most companies will work with you on something very reasonable especially now. Some companies may even be able to set up on automatic payment plan. I know in the past I have cause bad marks on my credit over bills that I had the money for but just didn’t send the check out on time or forgot when it was due or something silly of that nature. Try to clear off all the bad debts that you can by starting with the smaller more obtainable ones and working your way up. Look at it this way your credit grades your responsibility level. When you have gain control over this now you have better control over how the financial world sees you. Once you have cleared your credit as best you can start a budget. Starting a budget is tough and the problem usually is that we feel that we don’t make enough money to cover what we have much less set a budget. There is no such thing as something for nothing so you will have to sacrifice. That sacrifice may call for you to get a part time job or In-stead of driving a SUV maybe get a Honda, Instead of living in a four bedroom house and its just you and your dog get a one bedroom apartment. You get the idea. What’s the use of looking like you have money when the truth is you’re really close to being broke. Now that’s bound to piss a few of you off but its true.

Currency Matters

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Once you have cleared your credit as best you can start a budget. Starting a budget is tough and the problem usually is that we feel that we don’t make enough money to cover what we have much less set a budget. There is no such thing as something for nothing so you will have to sacrifice. That sacrifice may call for you to get a part time job or Instead of driving a SUV maybe get a Honda, Instead of living in a four bedroom house and its just you and your dog get a one bedroom apartment. You get the idea. What’s the use of looking like you have money when the truth is you’re really close to being broke. Now that’s bound to piss a few of you off but its true. I have said for a long time that extraordinary people do extraordinary thing and it time to see what you are made of. I can sit and tell you the things that I think you need to sacrifice to make your budget work but the hard truth is that if you are honest with yourself you will successfully built a working budget and if you are not you will sit and whine with the millions of others that cant seem to get it together, Sorry I don’t like to sit around and feel sorry for myself I have to do something about what is wrong. But that’s just me. Now its time to get in gear and set a goal. Without goals it’s like driving a car without a steering wheel you’re bound to end up in a ditch. A good starter goal might be to build the rainy day fund for those unexpected bumps in the road. You will know your goals better that anyone else. I’m not against big houses and cars I just know from experi-ence that you have to work your way up to something on that level. In a way your goals will tell you what level of effort you are going to have to put forth. A small fire will bring a small amount of heat so the bigger the goal be prepared to turn the flame on high. Now let’s talk about the part that you won’t hear on TV. Your mind set is the most underrated and least talked about element to the whole economic picture. You will never feel like you can make it if every time you turn on the TV someone is trying to tell you how bad life is. We are all aware of what could go wrong in life financially or just generally but the truth is that if that is where you focus then that is where you will end up. I’m not saying shut it out but I am saying you have control over what you allow to affect you. It will take a true leader to break the economic confines that hover above you. Don’t let anyone take your goals or your dreams from you by being negative. In Conclusion I would say that we have to power to change where we are in the shadow of this tough economic time. If you notice I never used the word “Recession” at all in this article even though it is called recession therapy. Why? It’s natural for man to want to be included rather than excluded. It’s also so natural for man to want comfort over discomfort. With that said the recession give you and the person next to you something in common but it also gives us an excuse for the state of our lives. I know the housing and job markets are se-verely affected by this but we are tougher, smarter and stronger than what we allow ourselves to believe we are sometimes. That doesn’t mean that we intentionally go looking for tough obstacles to overcome but when they do show up we can stand tall and find our way as we always have or we can find comfort in the fact that everyone else is in a recession too. There are no easy answers to what will fix your financial life but I refuse to believe that we should lie down and take what this “recession” has to dish out. You can whine or you can grind.

T.L.Bishop

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2009 was the year Twitter exploded onto the world’s stage. It has become the way to keep up on current events, chat with friends and make new ones. Over 2009, Twitter took over the so-cial networking market as we knew it. Below are some fast facts about Twitter Xposure Maga-zine’s Power Mover of 2009.

Twitter started as a project in 2006Founded by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone74 employees “The working name was just "Status" for a while. It actually didn’t have a name. We were try-ing to name it, and mobile was a big aspect of the product early on ... We liked the SMS aspect, and how you could update from anywhere and receive from anywhere.” Jack Dorsey

Total amount of funds raised from venture capitalist was over $57M. There were several com-panies involved. Revenue and user growth will reportedly be 25 million users by the end of the year and about $4M for the year. Twitter is Xposure Magazine’s Power Move of the year.

Power Moves

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Xposure Magazine will be expanding for the Spring 2010 issue which will be released February 2010. There are still available opportunities to get Xposure today. There are lots of ad space and editorial space still available. Email [email protected] for more information.

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Elevation

I recently caught up with DJ Teknology who is steady making moves here in Atlanta, our conversation revealed why he’s Atlanta’s hardest working DJ.

Intro – I am the one and only technological genius. I’m a DJ, producer, promotional consultant and pretty much whatever you need me to be.

Start as a DJ – It came from being around music so much. My pops used to have a show on 89.3 which ironi-cally, it’s the station I’m on now. He started bringing me to the station when I was around 8 so music was always around. My aunt sparked the DJ in me, she bought me my first DJ set for my 14th birthday. I played around with it a little, the following year I started DJing. It started as a hobby at first, I always knew I loved music. It was like a missing piece of the puzzle. My pops had already taught me how to use turntables before I got into DJing.

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Events around the city – I do every first Thursday at Vinyl/Loft for I Do Music networking event that happens from 7pm – 1am. It’s the networking event thrown by Patchwerk Studios. The second Thursday is an artist showcase called Time to Shine at the Apache Café. I also do the last Thursday of the month at Apache for the Producers Swap Meet, it’s one of the largest beat battles in Atlanta. I do Wednesday’s at Ixthlan called Wax Wednesdays which showcases DJs. Friday and Saturday I’m at Pepper’s in Marietta. Wednesday morning from 3-6 am I’m on the air on 89.3 with Miss Jia for a joint called The Show. Sunday nights I’m at The Chill Spot at Red Carpet Lanes.

Name – Teknology was my third name, the other two I will not disclose. The name came to me because I am a nerd. Everything I do is tied into a computer some kind of way. I learned everything I know on hardware, I fluctuated to the software side. Since I’m always buying gadgets, always on the computer I would make it my name. I spelled it a little different and that’s how the name came about.

Producer/ Promo Titles – I started producing when I was 16, it’s not something I pursue that much. The main artist I produce for is Stanza who was on 106 & Park. I got into producing because it was something I wanted to do. I’ve always had an interest in production. I would listen and figure out how to do what I was hearing. I’ve worked on it, the only person I’ve been professionally pushing is Stanza. With promotions, over the past year I’ve gotten into it a little more and gained a better understanding of how this industry works. It’s flyers, stickers, T shirts, etc. It’s still in the works, a DJ at the end of the day is a promoter because he plays music. If you have something you want me to push, we can meet and talk about it. I can get my foot in doors that everyone else can’t.

Radio Show – It showcases the underground Atlanta scene and good music in general. We showcase new talent not only limited to hip hop. It me, Miss Jia and a guy by the name of Chicagorilla.

What makes a good DJ? – There are people who are button pushers, you are not a DJ unless you can mix two records together. It was one of the first things I learned. If you can’t do that, you are not a DJ. When I go out, I listen for song selection, how they blend, if they are talking on the mic to hide behind their lack of talent etc.

Speaking on the mic to hide talent? – Let’s call it what it is, half of these mixtape DJs that’s exactly what they are. They put the music together and talk over it. Half of the time, the songs are not mixed in. There are people who have built a name for themselves that can not DJ but they have mixtapes. If you put them in a party, they are going to play a hot song and talk. Technically, they don’t have to mix the record. As a real DJ, I don’t re-spect that. That like a real singer, singing their lungs out and there is a person using Auto Tune. If you don’t have the Auto Tune to cover your ass, that’s a problem.

What do you wish you would have known before getting into the industry? I wish I would’ve known the politics involved in everything, when people say it’s not what you know but who you know it’s so true. The game is so saturated, it doesn’t even matter if you have talent. Talent is cool, it’s also how you approach things in order to get ahead. I don’t have any regrets, if I could go back I would know how the game works.

Contact – www.djteknology.com everything online is DJ Teknology my gmail is [email protected] Twit-ter.com/djteknology

Last words – I’m taking over the world pretty soon. I just want to make sure the world is aware. For those who are trying to get into music, please do your homework first. You can get by without talent and doing things the right way. Eventually, you get exposed so please do your homework. Google is your best friend.

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Next On Deck

Intro – My name is Ice The Villian, PG County rapper, 22 years old.

Name – After several name changes and figuring out ice grill was a facial expression, I decided that wasn’t the move for me. That wasn’t my persona, a lot of people would describe me as cool. The villain came from when I was writing a verse for someone else and figuring out the way the music industry was going, a lot of the un-derlying objectives of a lot of the record labels someone doing good would actually be seen as a villain. Trying to have a message in some of the music or trying to uphold the standards that was set by hip hop’s pioneers. It seems that’s what people don’t want so it’s a little reverse psychology. That’s what I stand for, in today’s climate that would almost be the negative thing to be.

When he knew he wanted to do music professionally – In fifth grade, I was always into poetry and rhymes. I wanted to direct my own stories and tell my own tales of whatever was going on around me. After I did my first song, I got hooked to it.

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Music climate in DC – It’s very competitive, I would hate to talk down on it. So many people want to be the rising star from that area, you get clouded by the possibility of what could be. There is a lot of talent, a lot of people that have skills. People are not as versatile as they could be, it’s really a this or that climate. You’re either a backpacker or you’re extra thugged out. I don’t know every artist from there, I will say the general consensus is very one dimensional. There has not been a real star to come from that area, and that’s no disrespect to the people who have made moves from there. There has not been someone who has set a real identity for that area. With all due respect, that region is full of followers who don’t know how to set their own lane. That’s just me from my own little corner in that region.

What separates you from the other artist – The range, I don’t feel the way I’ve gone about things is the perfect way to go. I’m a college educated artist, a lot of people have not experienced that side of life. There are a lot of people who go for a story. To me, it seems that people feel if you don’t have a story to tell, no one wants to hear it. I’m a passionate person who cares about the art, I went to college and decided I didn’t want to do a 9-5. I wanted to tell my story through rhymes. It’s not a gimmick, it’s something I do really well. With one of the projects I released The Relationship, that’s one of my stories. It’s not about the streets or those type of hard-ships. Everyone can relate to having a relationship. I tell my story the way it’s real to me. If I said I did it, I did it. Orignality is the most powerful thing in this industry, there isn’t much of that at all. I bring more originality than most.

Previous projects – Target Practice with Chanes I was involved with a few projects with my producer now LCD. I did a mixtape in February The [email protected] and then this project. The Relationship came on the tail end of The [email protected] mixtape, the response was so great. LCD produced 2 tracks on the [email protected] mixtape, I sat down with him and he told me I should do a mixtape called the relationship. We mapped it out, I was nervous about doing it because I had not done my own major project. I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. I did and I decided I want to continue to build up from there. Expectations for The Relationship – Originality, I feel it’s never been done in hip hop. I’ve heard about some other projects that are similar but I seriously believe there is nothing like what I’m doing. It’s ten tracks about the typical cycle of a relationship. I feel everyone can relate and everything ties in to each other. This is a project where no matter what position you are in, you can relate and you’ve been there before. It doesn’t mat-ter what you believe in or what you stand for, you can relate. This isn’t a biased type of project, it’s something that’s just real. I really feel it’s a classic piece of work, it’s something everyone needs to hear.

Was it based on personal experience – Everything in the project was based on my experiences. It’s all real. It’s my responsibility to say what’s real, it’s not too personal. It’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.

What’s next – Continue to push the envelope and be in tune with the people that follow my music. I have the balance of skill, creativity, and originality. I’m making projects as they come and make the best of it.

Lesson learned since being in the industry – Everything isn’t what you think it is from the outside. You need to have great people around you. Do what you can for yourself.

Contact – icethevillain.com boutdatblog.com Myspace.com/ice935 Twitter.com/icethevillain. I try to be as in tune as I can be with social networks.

Last words – There is a new era on the way in hip hop with myself, LCD, FNFG, stay tuned for it. With good people around you, you can’t lose. A lot of success stories come from a positive environment and as long as the right people are around, you will be alright. Be on the lookout for Ice The Villain, FNFG things are about to get interesting in the next couple of months.

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Next On Deck

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Intro – My name is Remi aka Rem Dog, I’m trying to get out of these streets. One thing I can say is I’m 100. I just figured out what a real dude is, my concept of what is real was different. Real to me was someone who was good, with a good heart but you do street things. It dawned on me not everyone would consider that real, some think real is you rob, and do extra. That’s not what I consider real, that’s a grimy dude. Anybody that knows me knows I keep it 100.

Name – It’s an abbreviation of remember I. A lot of people think it’s the drink, they look at me like where is it? Because I’m drinking Goose or Patron they trip.

Music Professionally – Being in the streets and having people around me, I did it because I like it. You’re not going to know you’re good at something unless the people around you say so. You can believe in yourself as long as you want to, when someone else believes, you’ve got something.

Black Shield – in the process of buying a house let the agent listen to the music. He was feeling it, they came to Metronome to work and me and Big Ron kicked it off. That’s my big homie right there, we got together and we’re making history.

Sound – I can make music for everybody, I can get on any track. My sound is very versatile.

Projects – I had Gambine with Dutty Laundry the mixtape is classic. I poured out my heart and soul into it. That last mixtape was for the hood, I gave all sides. I gave lyrics, the ignorant things they like, the New York and Michael Jackson they like. The new mixtape Trapaholics is just that a trap mixtape. If you are going to make a hood album, be consistent. If your album is about walls, you need to be talking about concrete, sheetrock, etc. Every mixtape I make, I’m going to have a reason for making it.

What makes him stand out – Besides versatility, my consistency. Some people make music and make a hit by mistake. I do it on purpose, I have the gift for it. I have the ability to make a hit tonight, give me 3 songs and you will have a hit. Other people work a whole year to get one hit.

Other projects – I’m starting a new one now, I’m about eight songs in. It’s something that no one else has done before.

What he knows now being in the industry – The industry is nothing but the streets, I’m trying to get out of the streets to go legit. The more I’m coming in the industry, the more I see it’s like the streets.

Contact - Myspace - myspace.com/remimusic Twitter.com/ REMIATL

Last Words – People need to know I’m really in these streets, a lot of people talk about it. It’s real people out here living the life these rapper rap about. They don’t even know what money looks like, they think it’s cars, clothes, jewelry, girls. Money is only green and white. I’m not talking about the rest of it, it’s green and white and that’s what it looks like. When people hear my name, they know what to expect I’m not trying to fight or none of that. R.I.P to my cousin AJ who was killed at Body Tap, that’s just to say F all that other stuff. AJ wasn’t known to start trouble, they were hating on him. Anyway, I just don’t want people to misunderstand me.

Shoutout to all my partners, R.I.P to AJ and shoutout to the whole hood, Black Shield.

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Next On Deck

How did you get the name Hood Beatz?I was 13 and I was beating on the table with some pens and some people were rapping with a tape recorder. About an hour later, they were like we need to call you Hood Beats. My last name is Hood so it goes together.

When did you decide music was something you wanted to do on a professional level?I was 14 and I found the school I wanted to go to in Orlando. Full Sail University was the school I chose. My mother told me when I was five, I told her I wanted to do music so I guess it’s been in me since then.

So after Full Sail, what took place?I went back to Tennessee being a broke college student. I get online and see Shawty Redd’s Myspace page and I hit him up. He asked me to send him some tracks, I did and two days later I’m with BlackShield. That’s the fast paced story, between all of that was working different jobs. I was ready to leave Tennessee, I called around to see if I could find out anything and I went on my instincts. After I came to Atlanta, I started net-working and making tracks. I would go over to the house and make tracks and I would never stop.

How would you classify your sound?Music. I can’t classify it because I do so many things. If you ask 10 different people, you would get 10 differ-ent answers. I guess world music.When you previewed tracks for me, you had all types of genres in your catalog. How important is it to you to be as fluid as possible.Extremely because other than doing this because I like it, it is a business. Of a business is one dimensional, it will be a one dimensional income. Since God gave me the talent to be diverse, that’s the way I go.

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It makes sense business wise to do it.

What have you been working on recently?

I’ve been working on some crossover rap/pop music to try and bounce back and forth to overseas and here. I recently established some contacts in Germany. I’m keeping the Southern sounds and adding some elements they use there. I’m building my catalogue because I have enough street tracks, dance tracks, I’m trying to cross breed.

What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned this far?

I wish I would’ve known it would take this long. It honestly hasn’t taken very long. I wish I would’ve been prepared to wait this long. I wanted it to happen overnight, it didn’t come overnight. It’s a blessing compared to where I am now and where I was two years ago, is like night and day. The impatience came from me working for other people. I work hard and I love to work. When I was doing the 9-5, I was very impatient because it was something I did not want to do. I’m comfortable now, I’m right where I need to be. I’m still getting better and I’m still learning things. Now, I can really establish my foundation.

What would your dream project be?

A project to where I could use the full capacity of my musical knowledge for an album. I have a classical music background. I listen to rap, dance, country etc. I have an extensive knowledge of the sounds and styles of music. If I could call Garth Brooks, BJ Pisto, Snoop Dog and put it all together and make it make sense, that would be good. I wouldn’t want it to sound like clutter, it would have to make sense.

There seems to be a lot of clutter in the market right now.

Technology has made it easier for people to jump into what they couldn’t earlier. There are a lot of people I do fault because they don’t have an excuse to not further their knowledge. There is clutter but I really don’t fault the people for that.

Who is that one person you would love to work with?

Quincy Jones, not just because of the work with Michael Jackson. Look at the man’s track record and discogra-phy. I didn’t know a fourth of the stuff he had done. He’s done jazz, rock, pop etc. His name pops up every time you watch Fresh Prince, the man is a genius.

How do people find out more information about you and what you are doing?

They can contact Big Ron or me personally. I have a Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook you can look up Seth Hood and you can find me.

What last words would you like to give the readers?

When you listen to my music, do not think that’s the lane I’m staying in and that’s all you are going to expect from me. I’m full of surprises, get ready for the ride. I’m signed to Black Shield so shout out to Big Ron, Fat-boi, Rasheed, Jason, Misa, Sasha.

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Next On Deck

Intro – I’m Jason Caesar, an R&B artist currently dwelling in Atlanta, GA. I’m originally from Waldorf, MD. I write, arrange, play the guitar, and produce.

When he knew he wanted to do music professionally – I was introduced to music through church. I would take songs and write to them like Whodini and others and perform them for my mother and family. I couldn’t sing some of the rap songs for all of my family. My aunt is Shirley Caesar, she is my grandfather’s sister so I couldn’t sing them for her. I was taking church songs and making them R&B songs. Music was a hobby, my sophomore year at Ohio State and I started DJing. I got a job working at the club and was doing that, while going to the music department learning programs. I started recording my own vocals, I remixed In The Club and it went over well. I started producing my own tracks, I graduated and worked some odd job. I hopped on MySpace and met a promoter and started working overseas. It was a whole new world, a different crowd. I did the Notting Hill Carnival one year and it was tremendous. That’s when I realized I needed to stick with it. I went to Germany and did shows there and it was officially my job.

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Transition - I came back from overseas and started working with Mo Reilley who was at V103 at the time, and she’s now at 95.5 The Beat. We were grinding it out, at the time she was doing I do Music with Patchwerk. I did a song with Joe Billz and a gentleman named Kervins called to see if I wanted to go in with Gucci. I went up there and met Gucci, he was working on Gangsta Grillz with DJ Drama. The track went well, we hit it off and every time he had an opening on the track, he hit me up. It got me a lot of exposure. I came to Metronome after speaking with Gucci and Slim, Yo Gotti, Sean Garrett were here. That was the first time I met Fat, I went in to drop a hook. I came back to do another one and Fat and Ron wanted to know how we could officially link up. I have my own LLC called Poet’s Music which was for all of my European stuff. I came on to Black Shield and now we’re working my project which is 10 to 15 songs in. I have some tracks from my European cats like Burek, M. Dot and all of the people I worked with in Europe.

Sound – I’ve done electronic music, I would consider my sound to be R&B, Hip Hop/Soul fusion. My lifestyle isn’t a Neo Soul lifestyle, I can’t go a whole day and be in a Soul state of mind all day. I have to amp it up sometimes. I’m also a big fan of Country and Bluegrass. I try to fuse styles and complex harmonies. You want to be versatile and understood.

Upcoming album – There is no title or anything because we’re constantly banging out songs. We’re in the creative process, in the next few months we will be able to solidify things.

What he knows now being in the industry – The music industry is 20% music, 30% swag and 50% relation-ships. It’s probably 100% of who you know, knows. Some of the best people have not been heard out of their neighborhood. You can be the dopest artist out and if no one is listening, your music is literally falling on deaf ears. If I had known that in the beginning, I would’ve worked a lot harder, I’m not disappointed with where I am. I’ve been able to perform in Berlin, Bulgaria, Santorini, Greece and all the places I never would have imagined. If I had to do it over, I would have stronger people behind the project initially.

Contact – I’m a Twitter addict twitter.com/jasoncaesar, myspeace.com/jasoncaesar if you want to hear some music. You can YouTube me, [email protected] my phone number is

That’s enough, they shouldn’t have that much access anyway.

Last words – Stay on the lookout, a lot of things are happening. It’s exciting and I want everyone to be as excited about my project as I am. Shoutout everyone I’m working with now my Poet Music family, Mo Reil-ley, Nova, DJ Choice, Mar Mcfly, my Black Shield people. Big Ron, you can catch him on Twitter, he’s the love doctor and Dr. Phil on Twitter. Fat, Gucci and the whole team at So Icy. My mom, everybody in VA, MD, DC and everybody out there grinding. It’s hard to push everything aside and make this your job, it not enough hours in the day to do what you have to do and what you want to do. So shoutout to the people that are grind-ing and the people that support them.

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Studio Suite

I first met Fatboi back in 2007, he’s a great producer that recently had the #1 single in the country with Wast-ed by Gucci Mane ft. Plies. Get to know the man behind the beats and Xposure Magazine’s Producer of the Year.Link with Shawty Redd – I met him through my manager Big Ron. Shawty was trying to work on his artist project, he was looking for producers. Ron played him some tracks, he liked them and we setup a meeting. After that me and Shawty started rocking out after that, producing for everyone that was coming through and working on his project.

Started producing – Started in 99 1st major placement 2001.

Black Shield Ent – Formed by Big Ron as security company and Rasheed and Fatboi came together to form Ent. In 3 years traveled a long way. Artist and producers.

1st placements – Pure Pain in Savannah Camouflage Cut Friends first major single. Being in house sometimes cuts you off from opportunities. Freelance producers work with whoever. I wasn’t able to spread my wings being an in house producer. CTE wanted to sign him as in house. That meant every record done, CTE has first right of refusal. He opted to continue being freelance.

Breakthrough – The record came about while working on the Writing On The Wall mixtape. Gucci had just been released, the day he got out we started on the mixtape. Zay, Drumma and myself started working. It was a regular day and we were still working on the mixtape. Gucci came in with the idea of wasted, he asked what I thought about a song called Wasted. I was thinking Wasted is a suburban word, we don’t say wasted at all. My vision was if we do that record right, it was change from getting effed up to wasted.

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I hear people say it now, when we called Plies his reaction was the same. It started as an idea in Gucci’s mind. We just had a title, I made the beat and he knocked down the hook and verses. Plies did his verse, when I heard it I knew it could be special.

Reaction to him producing it – It didn’t get a label push, they didn’t really believe in it. The only people who believed in it were me, my partners and Plies. Gucci wasn’t sure at first, as an artist he wants to be sure he has a great record. Being a DJ I knew it would be big I could see the reaction it would get in the club. That’s why you hear the breaks and the beat drops out on Plies verse. As a DJ in the club, I would have took the music out and let the crowd say the words. I made that beat thinking of how the DJ would play it in the club. The reaction I get is man, you went crazy on that Wasted beat. It’s not even the best beat I’ve made, it’s just a simple beat. The feel it has, gets everybody going. I’ve had people tell me club owners should thank me because the bar proceeds has gone up. I think we did our job by bringing revenue into the club.

Sound – My sound is energetic, harmonious with a lot of harmonies. My sound varies, I can do anything. I can do West coast, New York, I’m born and bred down South. I have music in me. My sound is versatile.

More Collabs with Gucci – Gucci has been rocking with me since day one, that’s never going to change. Gucci knows he can come to me to get that certain type of record he wants. He is a smart individual, a lot of people don’t give him credit for being as smart as he is. They hear his songs and associate that with who he is. We have another song that started out as an idea called Sex In Crazy Places, he came to me with the idea and we got it done. Other projects – Jeezy, Nelly, Luda, Bone Thugs, Mistah Fab, Sean Garrett, Keyshia Cole, Keri Hilson and oth-ers.

How he deals with pressure – I knock out some heat. I perform well under pressure, in some twisted way I need it. As long as I have pressure on me, it makes me perform. I have a tendency to slack off and get lazy some-times. Pressure keeps me on my toes. I’ll take pressure to deliver anytime.

Difference between a producer/beat maker – Producer has the ability to see the song all the way through, not just give the beat to a rapper/singer and that’s it. As a producer, I’m very picky, all the notes have to be close to perfect as possible. I have a real keen ear, the average listener would not understand. As a producer, I’m going to see the record through from beginning to end.

What he knows now after being in the industry – It’s always the business, the inner workings of how the music industry works. You have to put your personal feelings aside in the music business. I still get upset personally about certain things that just don’t make sense to me. I try to deal in logic, and if you try to deal in logic in this business you will be lost. If I could have came into in with more business sense, I would have traveled a long road faster.

Future – More projects coming from the artists I mentioned and the Black Shield projects we’re working on. Jason Caesar. Misa and Remi.

Contact – I have a Facebook fan page, Twitter.com/fatboibeats

Last words - Any aspiring artists and producers out there, stick to your goal, surround yourself with a good team with a positive outlook. Stay away from the negative and believe in what you’re doing and it can happen. To all the other readers, keep looking out for Fatboi, I promise to keep giving you heat.

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Allure

2009 has been a great year for you. How would you sum it up?It was pretty amazing, quite unexpected. I feel very blessed, I never knew I would have people interested in my life day to day. I feel really blessed, it’s been a great year, I’m doing things I never thought I would. When I was in college, I used to think about maybe doing a video or maybe take some pictures. Now, these things are snow-balling into everything I wanted then.

You said in your introduction Tahiry TV might be changing, can you give me more information on that?It might be changing because we shared a website and we are no longer together. With the domain names and stuff, I’m going to re launch my new one. I haven’t thought of the name yet, it’s something that is just happen-ing. It’s my mini divorce, the website will be still the same concept, it will be my photos, my blog and anything else I decide to tell. Right now, I’m working toward a calendar, posters and the website but with a little twist.

You referred to your relationship as a mini divorceIf you have been with someone for 5 years, it is a mini divorce. You share certain things..When you were on with Angela Yee, did you know she was going to have Joe call in?I had no idea, it was like what? And then it was like ok how are you?

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It then turned into something else, I was like oh no. It was a surprise.

What’s been the feedback you received since the radio incident?I would say a lot of love, there has not been a lot of negative feedback. I’ve had one or two who tweet things because they have heard only one side of the story. A lot of people tell me to do my thing and not to let anything stop me.

Do you regret being so personal on the videos or is it something you just want to move forward from?We don’t even know how to edit so it was really raw. I enjoyed it, I’m an open book. The way I am in the videos is the way I am with a person at the bar. I’m a bartender so when I go to work, usually customers come in and they want to vent. No, it’s not something I regret. What else do we have to look forward to from you besides the new website?I just came back from shooting a cameo in a movie called Video Girls, Megan Goode wrote and stars in it. A lot of other girls are in it, Angel Lola Love, Esther Baxter, Melyssa Ford. There were a lot of beautiful women on set, I also just joined in a partnership with a T shirt company called She Quotes. It will be sold in a lot of the high end stores, it’s a line of mottos. I’m hosting parties all over the place. The TV show is next, we are gather-ing footage right now. It shows what’s happening in my life and how it has changed. We start filming in January and I’m working on my next magazine. I also have a calendar, you name it and it’s coming.

Your King magazine cover was a really great look for you, what has been the response you have received since and would you do another cover like that again?It was my first shoot ever and my first cover ever so to me, it was a huge accomplishment. King is a great maga-zine and after the cover, everything fell into place. The response has been great, people reach out for different things. Even if it is just a cameo, I was excited flying out to Baton Rouge. It all came from that cover on King Magazine. I thank them very much and yes I would do another one in a heartbeat.

What was it like when they approached you, were you surprised?I was surprised, and scared. Still today, I am still surprised by it all. Joey got the call and I was like really? No way. They called a second time and I was like I’m so not ready. I’m a woman so I was like Oh Lord. I remem-ber sitting in the Jacuzzi and letting the water run, I said I’m going to put the S on my chest and I’m going to do it. They told me it would be a three page spread, I went in there and did my best. They called back a week later and told me I had the cover. The morning of the shoot, I was gagging at home like I can’t do this, I went in and took it off and said let’s do it.

I was told you still bartend, so what is it like for you now when you are working and the customers react to you? I’m sure it has been an adjustment for you.I’m still pretty stunned I will walk by and forget that people recognize me. I will walk by a customer and they will say is it you? I wait tables as well so I’ll be serving a dish of pasta and while I’m asking the customer if they want pepper, he will look at me and ask for an autograph. It’s very surreal, they want me to take pictures and I have to remind them I’m working. It’s been an adjustment but a very good one. I’ll forget to comb my hair and someone will call my name and I’m like oh no. It’s been crazy but a good crazy, I love my fans.

How do you balance it all between the full time job, going to the gym and doing all the other things you are do-ing? I hate going to the gym with a passion, I walk in hating it. It’s a lot, I have a lot on my plate. I don’t have time for the negativity. I’m trying to figure it all out, between my personal life, travelling, and getting ready for the next shoot and meetings, my days are really crazy. I have to do what I have to do, I have to work to pay bills, I love what’s happening to me so I’m pursuing that.

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Do you have women that come and ask you for tips? Will you vlog toward the women fan base you have. I’m sure you have women that ask you for advice, will you do public speaking or something of the sort?

I’m trying to find myself in the whole vlog world when me and Joey were doing it, it showed our dynamic. I think it will be pretty general, if it is toward the women, men will be looking so it works both ways. It will ad-dress working out, I will Ustream from the gym. I’m willing to do anything, I’m that girl who walks in and says let’s see what works. No matter what I do, men will be looking and women will be listening. Women can relate to the struggles with relationships or work or even getting in shape. I’m all there 100% for whoever wants to hear it.

I read somewhere you are heavily interested in acting, is it still something you are actively pursuing?I’m not going to say I want to be the next Halle Berry, I’m really nervous and really scared sometimes. It’s all happening fast, I will always try something new. I’m going to get an acting coach and go from there if I get some good roles that would be great and if I don’t it’s still okay.

Have you experienced and negative backlash because of the pictures?For the most part, it’s been positive those photos were a stepping stone. It’s all about how you perceive a situa-tion, everyone has their own opinion. I try to stay away from anything that can put me in a box. In my opinion the photos were tasteful, it all depends on what avenue you want to take. I want to do reality TV, acting, the T shirt line. I want to build my brand. I’m not the girl who only wants to be in a couple of shoots. It’s been a step-ping stone for me, I don’t want to be in that box. I try my hardest to make decisions that will take me to the next step.

What advice would you give to a young lady or anyone who is trying to get in the industry and take the steps you have?

I would say stay focused, stay true to yourself, work hard, work out. I’m still really trying to figure all of this out myself. I’m the girl that needs the older lady to come and school her. I would say stay focused and map it out. There is a lot of mapping out that you need to do, you have to have a plan. Once you have it, you have to execute, don’t let anyone stop you from what you are trying to do.

What has been the most common misconception about you that you would like to clear up?

I only date rappers and I’m that type of girl. It’s so not true, as I stated before I love a smart man who is good at what he does. Regardless of what it is, as long as he does it well that turns me on. Because I dated two rappers, it doesn’t make me that girl. Because you see me kee kee with somebody, it doesn’t mean I’m with that person. I guess it’s just part of the game. I’m not that girl, I’m a regular girl who works really hard.

How do people find out more information about you and what you have going on?

Right now it’s Tahiry TV and it will be gone in a minute. Stay tuned for my new website and follow me on Twitter @TheRealTahiry.

What last words would you like to offer our readers?

I love my men, I’m single now y’all. Thank you very much, I appreciate my fans I love you guys very much. You all are so awesome, thank you for staying tuned in and supporting me.

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Introducing Honey B. Flyy ™ your premiere source for limited edition women’s shoes and handbags. Spring collection debuts February 8, 2010. Log on today to www.thehoneybflyy.com for your exclusive invite.

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Heavy Metal

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After much anticipation, GM has decided to release the all new Cadillac CTS coupe. It was originally set for release this year, after GM went through restructuring plans were back on to release it Spring 2010. The CTS coupe rides on the sedan’s wheelbase but is about two inches shorter in height and two inches shorter in over-all length. Standard on the CTS coupe will be the sedan’s optional 3.6-liter direct-injected V6, as well as a six-speed manual transmission. The engine is rated at 304 horsepower with 27 mpg highway. CTS Coupe has a six – speed automatic and buyers will be able to choose a Summer Tire Performance Package. If that option isn’t for you, there us always the base performance package will either rear wheel or all wheel drive. Base price starts around $37,555 and comes with your choice of options. For more information visit www.cadillac.com/cts

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2009 In Rewind

2009 has been quite a year for Rihanna. By now, everyone knows the story of what took place the early morning of February 8, 2009. For a while, Rihanna had remained quiet in regards to the incident. She broke her silence in November with an interview conducted by Diane Sawyer. In that interview, Rihanna spoke about the night that changed her life and how she has moved forward. Rihanna also released an album Rated R in which you can tell she poured all of her emotion into the music.

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Jay – Z had a groundbreaking year this year with the release of his 11th studio album The Blueprint 3. The re-lease of the album created a new record, it was his 11th number 1 album. It is a feat that not even The Beatles or Elvis can claim. The biggest hit off of the album so far is Empire State of Mind with Alicia Keys. It became the official song for the New York Yankees who went on the win The World Series. Jay Z was there for the parade and performed the song afterward in front of City Hall. Jay – Z also had a successful tour that will continue in 2010.

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2009 In Rewind

Always outspoken and highly opinionated, Kanye had a turbulent year. The most controversial moment hap-pened at the 2009 MTV VMA’s. Taylor Swift won the award for Best Female video and while giving an accep-tance speech, she was interrupted by West. West was booed and severely criticized by his peers and general pub-lic. West then appeared on The Jay Leno Show where he sat down and spoke with Jay Leno about the incident. The most revealing moment of the interview came when Leno asked West what would his mother think about his behavior. West was visibly shaken and went on to say she would be upset. Since the incident, it was reported West apologized to Swift. West cancelled his tour with Lady Gaga and has kept a low profile

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Oprah Winfrey’s announcement to end the Oprah Winfrey show in it’s 25th year came as a shock to all. Winfrey gave a tearful speech to her fans and explained she knew when to walk away. Winfrey made headlines earlier this year with the purchase of her own network the Oprah Winfrey Network. There is roughly 18 months left to catch the Oprah Winfrey Show.

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2009 In Rewind

This is It opened to box office success and has made over 200 million to date. Michael Jackson made headlines in his life and in his death. There has been lots of speculation as to what took place to cause his untimely de-mise. The investigation is still ongoing and seems no where near an end. His charisma was undeniable and fans were happy to have the chance to see the King of Pop on the big screen. Michael’s impact on the world will be legendary for years to come.

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2009 has been a great year for President Barack Obama. His inauguration was historical making him the na-tion’s first African American president of The United States. President Obama’s administration has come under criticism, praise and admiration from everyone. Under his administration, he tried to stimulate the economy with a bailout package that wasn’t so successful. Obama has implemented a lot of laws to help the average Americans who are suffering throughout the year. Obama also received the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraor-dinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. 2009 has been quite the year for President Obama, he has filled people with hope for the future and we look forward to what’s next.

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Stay in your lane.

There used to be a time when designers made clothes and maybe you knew what they looked like and maybe, like most people, you had no clue that Ralph Lauren was just an average looking guy from the Bronx. There was also a time when actors and actresses had to be triple threats to land roles, they were so busy acting, sing-ing, and dancing, that they only had time to live scandalously lavish lives once they left the lot. Now designers are celebrities and celebrities have become designers. You can’t set foot in a mall in Middle America without being visually assaulted by mediocre attempts at design with some starlet’s name plastered on it. There are shoes by Jessica Simpson, jeans by Beyonce, and perfumes by everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker and Gwen Stefani to Reese Witherspoon. Depending on the store, you can even find Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Cheryl Crow and Mandy Moore hanging on racks. With everyone fi-nally getting their fifteen minutes of fame, department stores are no longer resigned solely to peddling the wares of A-listers, reality stars and bloggers have gotten in on the designing as well. Did you know that Perez Hilton has his own line of tees at Hot Topic? Or that Whitney Port from The Hills, and now The City, has her own line of over-priced average goods? These celebrity endeavors are usually only a means for the star involved to increase their public profile and bank account. No one ever mentions the fact that even the most stylish celebrities have stylists that pick out their wardrobe and most know nothing about garments and their construction. In other words they are not designers. The talent they have as actors, singers, and celebutantes-who are famous for being famous- cannot necessarily be translated into talent as a creative director for a clothing line-did anyone not see Lindsay Lohan’s sad attempt as artistic director for Ungaro. Usually, the only talent they bring to the table is their name, which is worth its weight in gold when they are high and is worst than dirt when they are low. Moreover, we all know that the second their fan base dwindles, the financial team will 86 the line like JLO by Jennifer Lopez. While the celebrities are busy taking over the fashion world, designers and industry insiders are busy expos-ing the fashion world to the common man. From Michael Kors on Project Runway to Diane Von Furstenburg’s show room starring in the first season of The City, the fashion industry has never been more over exposed. For every celebrity clothing line there are five fashion related reality shows giving the masses a glimpse at what fashion is not. Fashion is not glamorous, it is fun if you love it, but there is a ton of hard work and struggles involved, like anything else. These shows do not show interns getting yelled at, girls working long hours for no pay and being expected to dress their asses off, or the work that goes into anything. They make it look like a cake walk and inspire girls in Middle America who wear Jessica Simpson’s shoes and Lauren Conrad’s jersey dresses, to move to New York and have their dreams dashed when they realized that trying to break into fashion is no episode of Styl’d. What do we do, while our designers are busy seeking fame and fortune and our stars are busy trying to design? Nothing, short of boycotting celebrity “made” goods, which though noble is unrealistic and unnecessary. These things always work themselves out. Eventually consumers will get tired of buying goods shellacked with ce-lebrity names that are of questionable taste and low quality. At the same time they will stop tuning in to fashion related reality shows and force the designers, editors, stylists, and everyone else back to their workrooms, where they can focus on producing products that inspire shoppers to shop again.

Anastasia Simon

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Remember The Troops. Thank You for your service.