Issue #42 Ft Cocoa Brown

Owned & Operated by Ford Johnson Publishing

Publisher

Ford Johnson Publishing

Creative Director

This Month in Ford Ent Mag MUSIC

MONTHLY FEATURES

6 Is Anybody Listening?

By Whitney, The Marketing

5 DJ

Samore Top 5

Mixtape

Rachelle Ford

Writers Ladychelle

Empress Spade Nancy “Fancy” Placide DJ Samore

Contributors

Whitney The Marketing Mixtape Angel Soto Benton Entertainment Taylor Jordan Tay’s Blog

8 The Music Industry’s New Enemy By Angel Soto, Benton Entertainment

19

New Releases

21 FancySays

CELEBRITY GOSSIP

18

Quick Tea

BUSINESS

17

Boss Moves: Yolanda Flournah Perking

LIFE/ RELATIONSHIPS Contact Us Inquiry@FordEntmag.com 302-313-6734 www.FordEntMag.com © 2017 by Ford Entertainment Magazine All Rights Reserved Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Ford Entertainment Magazine is a registered trademark of Ford Johnson Publishing, LLC. Printed and published in the United States of America.

20

The Day I Killed Myself By Taylor Jordan, Tay’s Blog

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

10

Joe Mobley- Game Veteran

12

A Conversation with Cocoa Brown

15

Hilarryous(ly) Funny Letter from the editor: Issue 42, November 2017. I don’t know about yall, but my Christmas countdown has begun. Not because of the presents, but because everyone in America uses the season to be kind to each other and be nice so an imaginary fat white guy can bring them gifts.

Whatever it takes, I’m not judging. lol.

But on a serious note, I’m genuinely looking forward to Christmas because it puts us one step closer to a brand new year and we have so much in store for 2018!! Stay tuned. Don’t quit on me just yet; we’re going places.

-Rachelle Ford

We look at what’s hot on the radio according to Mediabase/ BDS Soundscan, the streets, and Dj Samore, and what she feels is that next hot record. Most of the time when she says it’s a hit, it’s a hit!

INDIE PICKS 1. Chivonne Saywhat Pull Up 2. P.B.D. Grey 3. J Wright Emotions & Confessions 4. Big Zay Miami fr Amana Do It 5. Annie Silent Flo 6. Major the Artist Forecast

For more on the Urban Experience and DJ Samore, Check out Sourbanentertainment.com, Da One Radio on Dadecountyradio.com (over 40k loyal listeners on the radio station, monitored Byradiowavemonitor.com), and on Nuradio Station, www.Givemeyomusic.com Thursdays at 6pm

1 2 3

Cardi B Bodak Yellow

Spotlight Tracks

Kendrick Lamar Loyalty

Yo Gotti ft Nicki Minaj Rake It Up

G Easy, ASAP & Cardi B No Limit

4 Chris Brown Pills & Automobile

5 SZA The Weekend

Derez Deshon Hardaway

… is anybody LISTENING?

Whether we’re driving, checking email or just surfing the web, it can feel like the whole world is trying to sell us something. Digital marketing experts estimate we see 4,000-10,000 ads per day so naturally, we can’t remember all of them. If you’re an indie musician and you’re “selling” your music, you may wonder how on earth people will notice you. Perhaps you’ve asked yourself, “…is anybody listening?” Since there’s so much content out there, it will help for you to set yourself apart.

If you haven’t noticed, we all have pretty short attention spans. We’re mesmerized by flashing lights and shiny objects, but even those things rarely keep us hooked for very long.

At times, you may be tempted, if not convinced, you need to do things you’ve seen other artists do; if you’re wise, you can be the artist other bands admire. As you think about your “brand essence” or the vibe you’re putting out, ask yourself how you want to be remembered. Each new choice you make - from your photos to your album art to how you dress – presents you with an opportunity.

Before people listen to your music, your image might be their only first impression. By now, it’s possible you’ve done a photo shoot, or perhaps you have a collection of photos you’ve been using for your image, online. If you were to describe yourself in three words, do you think it would be the same three words your fans would use to describe you? As you think about what vibe you’re creating, it will help to be consistent (and deliberate!) across all digital platforms.

The more you can articulate your vision, the easier it will be to translate it through your brand image.

Searching for inspiration is a great place to start, as you think about your image, overall. As you find pictures or ideas that you like, take note of the elements that stand out to you, most – don’t let your inspiration lead you down the road to imitation. You might find your best ‘look’ is a similar- but-unique version of the artists you admire, tweaked until it feels like something new. If there are things about your band that seem unique (whether it’s your lyrics, what you wear or any quirks that come to mind) these items could be clues for what to play up with your brand. In the same way you draw your inspiration from your surroundings, give yourself the freedom to experiment with new sounds, too. When Pharrell Williams first heard Maggie Rogers’ song, ‘Alaska,’ during a master class at NYU, he was at a loss for words. “I’ve never heard anyone like you before,” Pharrell said, “and I’ve never heard anyone that sounds like that.” He went on to describe how a new sound is often formed from the unique combination of two really good things.

This piece of advice is true for both your sound, and your image. Every time you share your music is new a chance to create an experience. Playing live shows is a great way to get your music in front of people, but music venues aren’t the only places you can play live. There have been stories of bluegrass bands doing secret concerts in a cave, others have rented private charter boats for intimate performances and there have been “secret” concerts in gardens and by rivers.

When it comes to sharing your sound in a new way, there’s something allur-

ing about an exclusive event, or an experience that is unexpected.

Ultimately, how people respond to your music will determine how far it can go. While the music industry is not an exact science, there are things you can do to stand out. Give yourself permission to take risks, see what happens and do more of what’s working. Use every resource and platform that you have to make an impression.

In the words of Maya Angelou, “People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.”

The Marketing Mixtape

In 2015, Whitney founded The Marketing Mixtape, a boutique branding & PR agency, to help artists navigate the business side of music. With a Master’s Degree in Strategy and Business from the VCU Brandcenter, industry experience working for music businesses including Capitol Records & iHeartMedia and on-the-gound experience dancing the “indie hustle,” she is passionate about helping indie musicians identify their next best steps. Whitney believes nothing should keep an indie musician from chasing their dreams, especially business stuff!

THE MARKETING MIXTAPE

dream fearlessly.

www.TheMarketingMixtape.com

Th e Music Industry’s New Enemy It seems that for many years now the music industry has been u n d e r a t t a c k . P i ra c y h a s b e e n a ro u n d fo r ye a rs , a n d w i t h t h e digi ta l era, it ra n o ut of control w ith th e la u n c h o f Na pster a nd o t h e r f i l e - s h a r i n g p l at fo r m s . I t seeme d l ike t h e e n d wa s nea r.

T h e i n d u s t r y fo u n d a s av i o r i n 2 0 0 1 w h e n A p p l e re l e a s e d t h e iPo d . Th e s al e o f M P 3s gave the industry the boost it needed just in the nick of time. This rejuv e n a t i o n , h o w e v e r, w a s s h o r tlived. Streaming services such as Spotify, YouTube and Pandora c h a n ge d t h e way m u s i c i s co n sumed. Because these platfo rm s p rovid e co n s um ers m usi c at n o c h arge t h e val ue of m usi c d i m i n i s h e d . A f fe c t e d w a s a l s o t h e w ay s o n g w r i t e r s , c o m p o s ers a n d p u b li s h ers a re com pen sated for their work. With music n o l o n ge r b e i n g s o l d t h e y n o w have to depend on streaming roya l ti es w h ic h co u l d be a s l ow $0.0 0 06 p er st ream .

With consumption revenues dipping so low musicians and p u b l i s h e rs h a d to re l y h e av i l y o n o t h e r i n co m e s o u rc e s s u c h as licensing their music for film, TV shows, Commercials and v i d e o ga m e s ( k n o w n a s Sy n c h licensing). Another revenue source is Public Performing Licen si n g .

Publ i c p erformance licensing is a ny ti m e a song is performed in public. This includes all forms of radio, concerts and music played at a business such as hotels, restaurants, bars, coffee houses, etc. It is this last set of examples who have now decided to attack the m usic indust r y as well.

Public performances royalties a r e c o l l e c t e d b y o r ga n i za t i o n s known as Performing Rights O rga n i zat i o n s ( P RO s ) I n t h e U S there are three major ones: B M I , A S C A P, a n d S E S A C . T h e PRO s collect royalt ies on behalf of songwriters, composers, and p u b l i s h e rs . Fo r t h e s a ke o f tra nsparency, I will state t hat I wo r ke d fo r o n e o f t h e P RO s a s their Regional Area manager. My job was to visit business who were using music, yet were unlicensed. My area consisted of all of central Florida; Tampa Bay to D ay tona Beach. I took t his job with all the enthusiasm in the wor l d, knowing t hat I was going to be helping others in the music i n d u s t r y. I w a s i n f o r a r u d e awakening. What I found was an ex te n s i ve l i st o f l o ca l b u s i n e s s who refused to pay for their m usi c l icensing. It was not t hat they didn’t know, they were well aware of their legal responsibilities, they just flat out refused to pay or stop using the music. The m a i n e xc u s e g i v e n w a s t h a t i t

was too expensive . I t is im p o r tant to point out that the federal g o v e r n m e n t d i c t a t e s t h e fe e s charged by the two biggest PROs (BMI & ASCAP). These prices are based on usa ge . So a s m all bar who does live m u s ic o n ly a couple of t imes per wee k wo u ld pay a lot less than a large nightclub that operates all week long.

I t go e s w i t h o u t s ay i n g t h at my experience during this time was very disappointing. Not only did ow n e rs ref u s e to p ay, b u t t h ey were also offensive and abusive.

S o m e o f t h e wo rst a b u s e rs a re t he most successf u l b ars , clu bs , and restaurants in town. The s a m e o n e s t h a t a r e p a c ke d o n the weekends, playing music and not compensating the music creators. The same o n es wh o b rag about t he success o f t h eir b u s i nesses yet refused to p ay fo r a license that often cost less than $ 7 0 0 p e r ye a r, t h at ’s l e s s t h a n $2 per day. Now as if it was n o t enough that they steal other people’s creation, some of these l o ca l ve n u e s h ave j o i n e d o t h e r venues nat ionwid e an d are lo b bying Congress to pass HR 3350, also k nown as t he Tran s p aren cy In Music Licensing and Ownership Act. This law is being heavily lobbied by a group known as “MIC,” which is made up restaura nt s , v i n eya rd s , co ffe e h o u s e s , bars, etc. The law proposes that

a m a ster li st s h o u ld be c reated so that these venues can then search to see which PRO can l i c e n s e t h e m u s i c t h e y w i s h to u s e . To s o m e o n e n o t i n t h e i n d u st r y, t h i s wo u l d s o u n d l i ke a go o d i d e a , b u t i t i s n o t . I t i s truly just a way to create a loopho le fo r t h es e ve n u es to l ega l l y not have to pay for licensing. For exam p l e , t h i s l aw p roposes the r i g h t s o w n e rs h av e t o re g i s t e r “a l l p e r fo r m i n g a r t i s t s ” w h i c h i s i m p o s s i b l e to d o s i n c e co pyright l aw a l l ows a nyone to do a cover so n g . Rig ht s owners have no way of k n ow in g who w i l l ( i n the future) make a cover of their song. Failure to include just this o n e i tem can voi d da m a ges due if infringement occurs.

Additionally, the idea that venue owners are going to take the time to s e a rch a li st b efore a l l owi ng a p e r fo r m a n c e i n t h e i r e s t a b lishment is ludicrous. In today ’s w o r l d o f c o l l a b o ra t i o n s , m a ny song s a re w r i tten /com posed by artists who are affiliated with d i ffe re nt P RO s . T h e refo re b o t h licenses are required. Playing d e v i l ’s a d v o c a t e , l e t ’s j u s t s ay a venue owner does request a playlist from a performer b e fo re t h e g i g a n d d o e s c h e c k the l i st to ve r if y t h at the song s are under their license, how w i l l t h e ve n u e d e a l w i t h t h e s e re qu ests? H ow w il l venues dea l with open mic nights, DJs and Karaoke? The idea that a master list i s go o d fo r t h e musi c i ndus tr y is simply not true. This law ’s s o l e i n te n t i o n i s to h e l p t h o s e

b u s i n e s s e s c o n s u m e m u s i c fo r f ree a nd cutt ing off yet anot her revenue source for songwriters a nd publisher.

I w a n t t o t a ke a m o m e n t h e r e to acknowledge that there are a lot of responsible venue owners w h o a p p re c i a t e t h e va l u e t h a t music brings to their clients.

Those venues deserve your p a t ro n a g e a n d y o u r l o y a l t y. I f yo u m a ke m u s i c , yo u s h o u l d m a ke i t y o u r b u s i n e s s t o f i n d out if the company you support, s u p p o r t s yo u . I f yo u a re a fa n , we in the industr y would appre ciate your help. Ask the owners, s e r ve rs , b a r te n d e rs i f t h e y a re l i c ensed. Make it a point to let the business owners k now t hat yo u w i l l n o t co m e b a c k i f t h e y c o n t i n u e to u s e m u s i c w i t h o u t p ay i n g . C o nta c t yo u r l e g i s l ato r a nd a sk t hem to vote no on HR 3350. Today t he music indust r y i s u n d e r atta c k a ga i n . W i l l yo u sta nd wit h us?

Angel Soto CEO Benton Ent.

When to get permission If you perform music in public or play recorded music in public, such as at a club; restaurant; concert; on the radio; or streaming on the web; you might need to obtain a public performance license. Small indie artists and DJs performing at private events often do not need to secure public performance rights because the venue covers them.

However, this is something performers should confirm with the venue, and with the public performance rights agencies listed below. K12 educators typically do not need to obtain rights for school performances; however, this can depend on the type of performance and is something educators should confirm with the public performance rights agencies. Church leaders should contact CCLI.com, an organization that caters primarily to churches for various licensing needs, including public performance. Licenses should be secured before the music is used.

How the royalties are paid Business owners in the United States should contact the three rights agencies that handle all public performance licensing in the U.S., ASCAP.com, BMI.com, and SESAC.com, to inquire about licensing for their venues. Expect to report your playlists to these agencies, and share a small percentage of your revenues for royalties, which the companies then distribute to the copyright holders.

“I'm not out here to get rich.

This is what I love.

This is from the heart.

”

JoeGame Mobley Veteran Your name is not new to the game.

“Joe Mobley” has been around for a very long time. Do you want to give us a recap of where you’ve started and what you’ve done so far in your career?

I started here locally, in Fort Myers (Fl), at Edison Community college then I moved on to Pennsylvania where it took me ten years to get to BET. Once I made it to BET I got on the Def Jam circuit and we rolled with the big talents, Mike Epps, Will Silvain, just to name a few. We went on the road a lot. Then I moved back to Ft Myers, and I tried starting a new name for myself here locally because I’m from Labelle and that’s where my whole road trip began at college then straight to try to make it. It took me a long time, but I’m still here.

Why comedy as a profession?

I had a lot of tragedy in my life, early on. A lot of my friends were killed and drug overdoses and things like that early in my life. I guessed when I got to high school I was pretty funny, pretty popular for being funny. I won a couple talent shows and competitions, when I got to college I won a talent show, so it followed me all through my life. It kept following me, and I thought I should pursue it. I got the opportunity right out of college to get signed by a talent agency, and they were going to send me out to LA, but I declined because I was kind of-of homesick. I’d been in Oklahoma, Texas, Germany and had just got back to the United States and I didn’t want to go anywhere but home to be with my mom. So that’s when I decided to stay locally and when I got the opportunity I moved to Harrisburg,

Pennsylvania. New York was kind of too fast for me, so I wanted to stay local, with my family, people I knew and that was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

What would you say to someone who is considering comedy as a profession?

What would be your main piece of advice?

First of all, don’t have any distractions.

Don’t have kids. I had six kids. Got two graduating colleges and 2 in college, my thing is kids are not a distraction as far as being a parent but they’ll distract you if you want a career. If you don’t have any kids, just try to stay without kids for a while and try to concentrate on you alone. Everyone thinks a comic is a selfless person, but that guy is on stage, by himself, alone, every time he goes on stage. So he has to consider what he’s doing as far as his career

choice. Comedy is a lone world. Because you can have everyone laughing at one point, and then everybody booing you and turning against you at another point, and you have to be thickskinned. So my recommendation is don’t have kids, and make sure you’re totally focused on you.

When you first started in comedy, I could imagine you started a while ago. And with now, with the development of social media and how everybody seems to just hop on social media and bloom. Do you feel like social media helps or do you feel like it hinders you because now the field is oversaturated?

It doesn’t hinder me. Kudos to the guys it’s helped like Kevin Hart, those guys. Because me personally, I’m a dinosaur. I’m with Mike Epps; we came up through the grind. We had to send tapes out. We had to send 20 tapes to get one response.

That was VHS before DVDs came out. Social media plays a sub-

stantial part in these young comedians era. But for me, you can put me on any stage, anywhere and I’m going to make it happen. But you take a young guy off social media, and he comes to a hick

town, and it’s not his type of crowd.

How will he react when they say, that’s not funny. They’re one dimensional.

Me, personally, I don’t consider myself just a comedian. I consider myself an entertainer. Because when I go into the building, I’m going to entertain you.Whether at the funeral, a church, a bar, a Bat Mitzvah or wherever, and I can make you laugh. That’s what I get hired for. To make you laugh. I’m not out here for glorification or to make millions. We’re all out here to make a dollar, but I’m not out here to get rich. This is what I love. This is from the heart.

Where can we find you?

I’m old school; I like Facebook. I just got on a couple of years ago. I don’t like twitter that much because I don’t like the police following me. Instagram, you get caught in too many lies.

So I just try to stick with Facebook.

And I’m working on a deal right now with 90.5 FM to have a Joe Mobley half-hour show every Thursday, hosting and interviewing comics locally and abroad. I’m looking to do some major things here in the future.

A Conversation with

COcoaBrown

On Life, Dating, & Black Hollywood

“It’s always about preparation, but you also have to let it flow, and you have to allow God lead your steps.”

I’ve been excited for a couple of days at having to interview the amazing Cocoa Brown. I love you so much!

(Laughs) Thank you Are you one of those motivated up and at em morning people?

NO. Absolutely not. I’m awake enough to be motivated for my son so he can feed off my energy, but when he gets on that bus, and that bus pulls off, I turn into the grouch. Don’t anybody talk to me until I get my coffee, real talk.

I was listening to a 2014 radio interview, and you spoke very candidly about your divorce and the woman doing all the work and the man not doing much. Generally, as women, we tend to be very demure and diplomatic about those situations whereas

you were very open about yours and exposed his faults. Was that therapeutic for you?

Absolutely. They make it seem like you can’t go through an angry phase. Why not? You need to go through all of the emotions, and I’m sure in 2014, my divorce was very fresh, and it was really hitting me that at that time, not only he divorced me, but he divorced our kid as well. So I went through a very angry phase because I’m like “Dude, this little person had nothing to do with that, so why do you have to be a jerk to him too?” But it’s funny, fast forward to 2017 and he and I are communicating, and we’re trying to co-parent, and he’s finally gotten off the pot and realize that this is your child too and he’s paying some support and being active now. It took him a while, that Black male pride ain’t no joke. And if you’re dealing

with a very prideful man that just cannot bring himself to acknowledge what he did wrong, you have to let that process happen on its own. You can beat him over the head, but all you’ll end up doing is looking like the bitter, angry ex baby mama. So at some point, you have to let that man deal with his own demons and have his own come to Jesus moment.

So in 2014, your divorce is still fresh, Single Moms Club just came out. You’re watching yourself on the big screen, did it hit you at any time like “this is my life”?

Oh yeah, of course, it hit me. When I started filming that movie, that was the beginning of the end of our marriage.

And I remembered him dropping my son and me off in Atlanta, and he had to get back to LA because he had some things going on, and I knew when he left for the airport, I knew it was over. And filming that movie was hard because I was dealing with the notion that I was becoming a single mother while filming a movie called Single Moms Club, and I’m now about to become a stereotype. I don’t come from this; my parents just celebrated 50 years of marriage. All of my best girlfriends are married, celebrating 10, 15, 20 years of marriage. My brother and his wife just celebrated 12 years of marriage; I don’t come from this. I was the last to get married and the first to get divorced. How did I become a stereotype? I fought for my marriage the best that I could, but you can’t fight by yourself. And that’s the one thing I will command my ex-husband for, he has come to the realization where he gave me a heartfelt apology, and has since realized what he has done and how I could have been in these streets really bashing him, but I didn’t. I moved on, I focused on raising my son and picking up the pieces, and I let God deal with him in His own time. But it was tough, there was one scene where I had to be very emotional and coming into that filming with all the emotions I had about my marriage ending, I had kind of shut it down. I’m thinking I can just focus on being funny, that’s what Tyler (Perry) wants, just be funny. But there was this one scene where I had to be very emotional, and I

had to dig into some dark places to get to that point. And I fought it with everything in me, and it took Tyler to pull me aside and say “Cocoa you’re not fooling me. Use this moment.” And it’s funny because I didn’t know what it was going to come out as, but it came out as hurt and anger in that scene and it made it very authentic. But that was a genuine moment for me because I had to tap into what I was really feeling.

Speaking of your love life, does dating become easier the higher you climb the success ladder?

Absolutely Not! (laughs) I mean my thing is this, we’re in a day and age now where substance is the least of what they’re looking for. Right now it’s all about how they look. They don’t care how fake it is, as long as it looks good in a pair of tights. So we’re at that age now where substance and character and morals are the least of their worries, they could care less. That’s why you have men out here now, wife’ing women who have been with the whole crew all because she has a certain look and a certain kind of body its a pass, it’s ok. They don’t want to work anymore. That’s why when people say “women who are successful and educated have an attitude.” No! The problem is you don’t want to work for it.A woman of that caliber is not going to let you play her for a pair of red bottoms because she can buy her own.

One thing I admire so much about you, you know with success opportunity has to meet preparation. And it’s almost like you’re always prepared. When speaking of how you started your career, it sounds like everything just kind of happened, but you had to be prepared so when the opportunity presented itself you’d be ready. Is that something you practice in your life, always being prepared?

Yeah. And at the same token, I’m a let-itflow kind of person. I was just having this conversation the other day with a friend of mines; I moved to Atlanta 2 years ago. And it wasn’t something that was a conscious decision; I feel like God led my steps. I was looking to buy a home in LA. But I ended up buying a home in Atlanta thinking I would buy an investment

property and flip it. Next thing I know I had moved entirely in and left LA. My agent didn’t even know until a month later. I feel like my steps were ordered because I’m also very keen on listening to the spirits regarding life. I couldn’t understand for the life of me why He would take me away from what I had going on in LA and bring me here. Outside of Tyler Perry I had no other connections here, I didn’t have anything going on here. And now that the show (for Better or Worse) is over, I’m just here. And it’s funny, it finally hit me, I’m wondering why would you take me out the loop and bring me here, and I realized it was to heal.

I hadn’t healed, I was running from it.

I had placed everything in front of that healing. Now I feel a lot better; I feel stronger, I feel healed in so many areas.

Will I go back to LA? if God leads my steps then absolutely. But right now I see how happy my son is, and that’s what makes me happy. I’m always prepared. Even tho I don’t have access to a lot of the acting classes that I attended in LA to keep myself sharp. I keep myself sharp here by teaching it. It’s always about preparation, but you also have to let it flow, and you have to allow God lead your steps.

Tell us a little bit more about your teaching endeavors.

I lucked up on a situation where there was a dance studio here that was looking to expand into acting and agents here in Atlanta was helping them find someone, and they recommended me.

I’ve taught kids, I have a degree in secondary education, but I’m also able to relate to adults and pull stuff out of them as well. So they chose me, and I went in and did an 8-week course, just to get my feet wet in the Atlanta market. It’s called from Stage to Screen, and I just loved it. Everyone’s been asking when I’m coming back, but right now I’m focused on some other projects. I would love to get my own physical building at some point and truly have a school that focuses on acting and I would really love to focus on the kids. They’re little sponges, and I adore teaching the kids.

In regards to that, one thing I’ve noticed when I watch a predominately Black film, it’s almost the same actors, is it a lack of Black actors in Hollywood?

It’s not a lack of Black actors, not at all.

It’s plenty out there. I’ve seen a lot more opportunities for actors of color in the last few years, but I think what the issue is, is that it’s a double sided coin when it comes to Hollywood. Whereas there’s regular Hollywood and Black Hollywood.

What I mean by that is this, regular Hollywood will continue to find new talent and blow them up, and blossom them and shine a spotlight on them and shove them down your throat until they’re famous. Black Hollywood tends to recycle the same ten people over and over and over again. And they don’t make it easy for someone new to come in the pocket. That I think is the most prominent issue, once they get that top 10 Black actors, they like working with, that’s who they’re going to recycle to death, and once you’re lucky to get in that loop, it’s usually because one of those 10 actors pulled you in.

What’s being done to change that or open more doors?

A lot of people are doing their own thing now. With web series, and social media craze where people are doing those one-minute videos. People are creating their own opportunities.

Even me. It was a hard pill to swallow that I had to shove my talent into 1 minute or 30 seconds or 15 seconds. But even I began to do videos and have seen how it resonates on social media. Whereas a picture may get 3000 likes, a video gets 15 thousand likes. This is the age that we’re in. This is a business that is always evolving. I do miss the old school way of putting in the work, go through the levels, get to that brass ring process. But honestly, those days are over. It’s now a popularity contest and talent is the least of your worries. It’s a shame to say, but people are going to Julie Arts and Yale School of Drama and all of that, baby do a couple of videos and save yourself a hundred grand.

What are you currently working on?

Right now I’m doing a play with Vivica Fox and Columbus Short. They’re doing a play version of the movie Two Can Play That Game. So we’re in rehearsal for that, then we’re going all over the country, different cities, Houston, Chicago, Detroit, DC, Atlanta, Florida. I’m going to be doing that through the first week of December.

And then I’m back into touring stand up wise. I just booked a show in Korea for the troops for New Years’ Eve. People can always go to my website and catch where I’ll be next.

www.CocoaBrown4Life.com TW: @CocoaBrown22 IG: CocoaBrownOneFunnyMomma

interviewed by Ladychelle

HILARRYOUS(LY)

FUNNY

Your comedy is mainly based on your Nigerian culture. Me myself, I was born and raised in Haiti, and I see a lot of similarities between the cultures, how do you explain that?

That’s actually really crazy because I have Haitian friends and we all have a group chat, and I also have Hispanic, whether it be Dominican or any of my Hispanic/Latino friends and they always tell me that it’s the same amongst all parents. So it’s cool that not only Africans like Nigerians mainly can relate but also all types of cultures which is primarily why a lot of different people like my videos. I’m able to shed that light on the similarities that we all had growing up.

Maybe it’s a parent thing. Because your dad is just like mine’s and it’s mindblowing. What is your dad’s response to the videos?

The crazy thing is he made an Instagram. He’s real tech savvy now; he created an Instagram account just to watch the videos that I have, him and my mom. My mom, more is still rooted in her culture. She still watches her Nigerian movies every night. But my dad he makes sure he watches my videos.

He goes on a binge and comments on my videos.

Has he ever given you ideas for videos?

Has he become a director of sorts?

He doesn’t give me any ideas, him being him is the idea for the videos. He’s more Americanized, and a lot of people don’t know that. If you see him, if I put a picture up he’ll be dressed like around an older America guy whereas my mom is just mainly a lot of where I get my inspiration from, she still acts the way she acted when I was young.

My dad tries to stray away from it more, but I still remember how he used to act when I was young. But my mom she’s a big part of it as well. I get it really from both of them, but I’d just rather not dressed up in the woman attire when I can just do it through my dad.

But yeah, they’re inspirational enough, they don’t give me any ideas.

Were you born and raised in Nigeria?

I was born and raised in America. I’ve experience the culture straight through my parents. I actually have never been.

I’m ashamed to say I’ve never been.

My mom and dad, they all told me I have to go. A big thing about it, when they came here, they really tried to shy away from their culture. They wanted to make us as American as possible.

Even my first name, my very first name is a Muslim name, my mom and dad converted to Christianity when I was younger. I didn’t even know anything about Islam. Because of all the crazy stuff that was happening in the world with Muslim people, my mom even tried changing my name. They wanted

to make us as Americanized as possible. And even when I was growing up I would go to parties and say there were too many Africans. That’s when I was young. And when I got older I was like, you’re African. You’re Nigerian.

It wasn’t until my friend Junior; he’s from Nigeria. He came here when he was 9. I was about 11. And I learned a lot about Nigerian music; I went to church with him. And it was all Nigerians there. The pastor was speaking in Yoruba, and I didn’t really understand, but I enjoyed it. And my friends were asking why I was hanging out with him and I would tell him he’s just cool. All my friends were Nigerian, all my cousins. But we were so Americanized. But when I started hanging out with him, I got really immersed in my culture. I began to learn more, listen more, started asking my mom a lot of questions. And as I got older I started to appreciate the culture even more.

You mentioned that you just wrapped up on a Youtube series. Do you want to tell us a bit about that?

The Youtube is The Close Call Show.

The show is about a regular guy who has an ordinary life, has his best friend and a steady girlfriend. He’s just a serial cheater who just loves to cheat.

The difference with this show is that this guy is not remorseful at all. Have you ever seen How to Be a Player?

The show is the series version of that, but comedy-drama.

Is the show art imitating life?

It’s art imitating life through experiences and things that I’ve seen and lessons that I’ve witnessed. A lot of it is going to be things you can relate too a lot of it is going to be out of the box.

So its not art imitating your personal life?

No, not in real life. My girlfriend would kill me.

YouTube.com/TheCloseCallShow IG: Hilarryous1

From Inmate to Boss

Congrats to Yolanda Flournah Perkins on the launch of her new endeavor, Swimmie Caps. The first ever line of swimming caps to feature Black and Brown kids.

A motivational speaker, author, and entrepreneur, Yolando has now added inventor and trendsetter to her long list of titles. Ford Ent Magazine is proud of this woman’s incredible journey and relentless grind.

Yolanda Flournah Perkins

QUICK

TEA

Speaking of Music Royalty

Rap god Jay-Z is taking home the Gold in 2018

“I can’t wait to tell Blue; Daddy got a gold sippy cup fo r y o u .”

R u m i a n d S i r a re n o w s e t to re c e i ve t h e i r o w n g o l d s i p p y cup in 2018. In honor of his contributions both inside and outside of the studio, Jay Z is set to receive the Salute to Industry Icons Award a t t h e 2 0 1 8 p r e - G r a m m y ’s Gala. “His contributions as an industry trailblazer and music visionary only begin to to u c h o n t h e t re m e n d o u s i m p a c t h e ’s m a d e b o t h i n e n t e r ta i n m e n t a n d b e y o n d ,” N e i l P o r t n o w, p r e s i d e n t and CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement.

B e yo n c e ’s h u s b a n d c u r re nt l y has 21 Grammys already under h i s b e l t . We c a n ’ t t h i n k o f a nyo n e e l s e m o re d e s e r v i n g .

T h e 6 0 t h - a n n i ve rs a r y s h ow i s s e t to ta ke p l a c e at M a d i s o n Square Garden on January 28.

C o n g rat s J ay !

Offset popped THE question t o B o d a k Ye l l o w, R e a l i t y, a n d Instagram star Cardi B, with an 8-karat ring at Power 99 ra d i o ’s P o w e r h o u s e c o n c e r t i n P h i l a d e l p h i a o n F r i d ay, O c to b e r 27. The Love & Hip Hop alum and the “Bad and Boujee” ra p p e r to o k t h e sta g e to g e t h e r, and as Cardi was talking to the crowd, the Migos member surprised her with a proposal.

S p e a k i n g t o U S We e k l y, C a r d i stated: “[I thought] ‘Is that re a l ? I s t h at e ve n a re a l f — k i n g r o c k ? ’ ” t h e fo r m e r r e a l i t y s t a r j o ke d t o U s . “ T h a t s — t i s re a l , cause I know it is because he got it from my jeweler and I just f—king love him so much.

H e ’s f i n a l l y l o c k i n g m e i n a n d I fe e l l i ke I re a l l y l o c ke d h i m i n .”.

Cardi plans on taking her time to p l a n t h e p e r fe c t we d d i n g a n d also has canceled pregnancy rumors; she told the celebrity g o s s i p m a ga z i n e “ I r e a l l y h a v e t o p l a n o u t l i ke e v e r y d e t a i l .

I t ’s n o t j u s t s o m e t h i n g I c a n p u l l to g e t h e r i n a we e k o r t wo . I a l r e a d y s e e a l l o v e r I n s t a g ra m t h at I ’m p re g n a nt ,” s h e to l d U s . “ I ’m n o t , b u t I j u st l o ve h i m a n d l o c ke d t h at s h i t d o w n .”

C a rd i o ff i c i a l l y wo n 2 0 1 7 .

Meanwhile...

A group of New York City strippers a re c u r re nt l y o n st r i ke i n a n atte m p t to p u t a n e n d to ra c i st promoters and kleptomaniac b a r t e n d e r s . A p p a r e n t l y, t h e #NYCStripperStrike started a f te r t h e st r i p p e rs b e c a m e fe d u p w i t h t h e b a r te n d e rs c u tt i n g i n t o t h e i r m a r ke t s h a r e w h i c h i s c a u s i n g t h e m t o m a ke l e s s m o n e y.

Frenchy sums it up perfectly: IG: yoofrenchyy It’s sad that I really

can’t tell who’s the bartenders or dancers in this picture. Dancers are not trying to go against bartenders.I do not promote hate especially towards woman because we suppose to stand together we run the fuckin club!! But when your Job is to serve drinks and mine is to dance.. why does it look like we have the same job???

We don’t wanna hate or compete or even complain we just wanna do our jobs without the cockblocking. #nycstripperstrike #strippersofnyc #sad #nyc

Frank Lini ft R.L. Tape I Won’t Tell

Steve Woodz ft Mike Smiff Who Da Plug

Crankdat ft T.Pain In The Air

Dj Joker Sorry for the Wait

Fabolous, Jadakiss & Future

Hustle Gang Friends

Stand Up

N.E.R.D. ft Rihanna Lemon

Ras Kass Kill The Messenger

Main Thug ft Suzie Soprano VIP

T H E DAY I KILLE D MYS EL F

By Taylor Jordan

It was a Sunday night, and I said goodbye to my coaches and teammates realizing it was the last time I’d see them, and them not realizing I was saying goodbye and not goodnight.

I got home, took a shower, and said goodnight to my parents, little brother, and sister, and went to bed, or so they thought.

I waited until the house was dead silent and everyone was sound asleep. I went into the medicine cabinet, grabbed every pill bottle I could see, went back to my room and popped them all into my mouth. 105 pills later I started seizing and foaming at the mouth. It was happening, it happened. I was dead.

My mom and dad found me the next morning, screaming for Jesus because they couldn’t believe their baby was gone. I ruined my family from that point on all because I was selfish enough to kill myself. My five year old sister didn’t understand why her sissy wasn’t coming home ever again. My 14-year-old brother thought it was his fault and wanted to know why his best friend didn’t talk to him about her struggles. My parents blamed themselves for not loving me enough, when in fact they did. My dad couldn’t get through one sermon without breaking down in the pulpit. My mom couldn’t get out of bed anymore; she wasn’t the vibrant mother she once was while her “stinker winker” still alive. That’s what she called my sister and me.

All my friends who I thought never cared about me, attended my funeral, broken. I let my teammates down. They went to every competition with a new

fill in, being reminded that never saw it coming. My best friend who I thought abandoned me, and didn’t love me anymore, tried to kill her self because she thought she could have done more.

Now that I was gone, I never got the chance to meet my idol, my role model, my person, Kerry Washington. She would have no idea that I even existed because I decided to take my own life, of course, that isn’t her loss it’s mine.

My internet friends whom I met through Scandal wouldn’t see me live tweeting on Thursday’s anymore, screaming through my phone as I tweet about O-Litz. They would no longer see that anymore. My dog would no longer see me come through the front door running towards him ready to give him all the kisses and hugs in the world. My grandparents would soon die of heartache because they could no longer live with the fact that their Tay Tay was never be coming back.

up; I won’t see my parents get along for once, I won’t see my best friends ever again, I won’t ever meet Kerry.

Because of Depression, I am no longer here. If I would have had that one spec of encouragement and love from those around me maybe I’d still be here, and maybe I wouldn’t be six feet under in a marble box, maybe I’d be the lawyer I was in school to become, thriving in D.C. raising my beautiful children with the love of my life, but I’m not. I’m gone. All of this happened because I Everyone in my life who I thought nev- killed myself… So please don’t think er loved me, or cared about me, who I suicide is the answer because it isn’t. thought wouldn’t have cared whether It doesn’t end the pain; it just passes I lived or died, actually did. They cared it down to everyone that loves you. this whole time. You see, if it weren’t You’re not alone. for my longtime friend depression, I Follow Taylor at wouldn’t have been introduced into my www.Taysblog2017.com new friend suicide. Because of Depression, I will never see my siblings grow National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255

Baby Daddy Chronicles

An inconsistent baby daddy is more than an inconvenience; it’s a major dysfunction that negatively affects a mother, and worse robs a child of the added developmental support structure that helps a kid grow up the right way.

While it’s entirely possible for a mother to raise a child on her own, it’s equivalent to using tape on a broken coffee cup handle when glue would be a better fix.

Decide which direction you’re moving in – backward or forward.

You still have feelings for your bandy daddy? Does he feel the same way about you? No? Then move on! Why hold on to the thought or envision a relationship with this man and he doesn’t want a relationship with you? You have to work on releasing those emotions and feelings and being the best co-parent you can be for your child – if that’s the direction it’s headed in.

Stop allowing your child’s father back into your head and your heart.

Stop doubting that you can do this by yourself!

Just because he is your kid(s)’ father does not mean that you should continue to allow him back into your head and your heart. Yes you wanted that fairytale family, but he obviously wasn’t good enough for a relationship, why would he be any better once you have a child with him. I know sometimes it would be so much easier just to try to make it work for your child’s sake, but please realize that you are not doing anything good for your child by getting back with your baby daddy. If he’s a good father, allow him to be.

Walk away, and give yourself time to breathe before the man of your dreams comes into your life. Your baby daddy does not have to be that man!

Don’t be a doormat: learn how to say No! Does he want to tell you how you should raise your child?

Is he pushing you into something that you don’t feel comfortable? Then, say No! Stop accepting everything that comes your way just because he is your child’s father.

Don’t be so willing and open to everything. Learn how to say No and avoid your child’s father from feeling that he can run all over you.

Don’t deal with the crap from your child’s father because you feel you can’t do this on your own. When you are needy, they smell it like meat, and they treat you like crap because of it. Your child needs at least one solid, consistent, focused, and determined parent – not two crazy parents yelling at each other at every given moment. Don’t force a co-parenting relationship because you feel that you can’t do this on your own; you and your child will end up suffering because of it. A child deserves to have both their parents in their life; however, it should not be to their own demise. Remember: Your child will be much happier if you are happy as well. A happy mom is a happy child. So keep the baby daddy drama out of your life. Work on making your co-parenting relationship positive and healthy, and if it cannot be that way, then do your part and be the parent that your child needs. Don’t focus on what could have been – focus on what you can do now and in the future.

Fancy Says