FunktheFormula Magazine July 2014 by FunktheFormula Magazine

JULY 2014

MAGAZINE

ARTIST: RONE, “The Blight of Carmen”

Street Art Save My Life Facebook.com/streetartsavemylife

WHAT THE FUNK’S INSIDE 5..................THE RUNDOWN 6.................. EDITOR’S NOTE 7................. OUTSPOKEN: ANGELIC RENEE 11................. THE PAPER PETALLER: Tiffanie Turner 19................ BEAUTY & PAIN: A Neverending Love Affair by Robbin Plaza

25................. STEP TWO TO HEALING:

CORRECTION, PROTECTION & RESTORATION

by Allison Burden

29................. WISE’S WISE-ASS WISE WORDS OF WISEDOM by Almighty Wise

35................ CAKE OR DEATH: An Interview w/ Jean Grae 47................ HEAD WRAPPED: Architectural Digest Russia Spread 53................. THE CAGED BIRD SINGS: Portraits of Dr. Maya Angelou

E EDITOR-IN-CHIEF C.E. LAWTON SENIOR EDITOR GENESE NICOLE CREATIVE DIRECTORS C.E. LAWTON & GENESE NICOLE JULY CONTRIBUTORS “Almighty” Wise, Angelic Renee, Allison Burden, Robbin Plaza, David Ochs, Khali B., Naesha McDowell ADVERTISING info@funktheformulamag.com FUNKTHEFORMULAMAG.COM It’s the commentary of your life ... but better. Art. Culture. And Then some.

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On the Cover: Jean Grae Photo & editing by David Ochs Styling by Naesha McDowell Makeup by Khali B.

EDITOR’S NOTE Phenomenal Woman ... My mind was baptized anew when I read Maya’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” I remember it like it was yesterday. Her prose swam over me like a cool lap of ocean water on a hot Summer’s day. I didn’t understand the power of words until I read her thoughts regarding something as simple as pineapples. Pineapples. She talked about her love of them as a girl. How the scent was like “perfume” that infused the air . Intoxicating. Potent. This magical elixir that held a sense of liberation. All of this in a simple fruit. That night I went home and begged my mother for a couple of dollars so that I can buy a can of pineapples. I opened the can and breathed deeply and let the scent wash over me. I dipped my fingers into the juice and wiped pineapple juice on my neck, leaving a sticky mess. But a funny thing happened that night when I took my shower. As I bathed my body, I could smell the sweet scent on my skin and I was immediately transported to being in Trinidad, sitting on the beach without a care in the world. Then I finally understood. I finally got the power of the “perfume”. Her memories became lessons for my life. I felt everything that she felt. She wrote about getting in to trouble for saying, “by the way” to a relative. I decided to do the same, like Maya did in the book. Just to see what would happen. And of course, it didn’t bode too well for me. But from there, it was as if she and I were kin. Maya had this uncanny ability to transform her life into anything that she chose. Poet, dancer, author, doctorate, civil rights activist, chef, singer ... The list goes on. She allowed her growth as a woman to be determined and lead by this indomitable spirit that never faded to black. She was unapologetic with her choices and customized her life to her standards. She created a pathway for every problem in her life and forged the way for so many. I viewed Maya’s life as a symbol as to what a life should be. A true artiste is always creating, always revamping. Forever hopeful, forever spirited. She could see straight through the heart of me every time she put pen to paper. Til this day, I still love the taste of pineapples. I understand the pulse of the morning. Calypso flows through my veins. I thank you, Maya, for teaching me so much, and for showing me why the caged bird sings. - G. Nicole

Have questions, suggests, comments? Feel free to contact us: info@funktheformulamag.com

OUTSPOKEN Your words. Your thoughts. Out loud.

by Angelic renee

e has dopeness stitched in his DNA

When he walks in a room womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nipples rise to the occasion He is a glimpse of Boaz He has the strength of Samson He is my molly, my blunt, my favorite drink on refill His energy gets me high , I inhale him slowly He is my mamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cooking on sun-days He is my motivator, teacher , listener and prophet.

He is my NEED, not just my want Not afraid to tuck his shirt in Or speak proper grammar He is the poster man of my future He is what i desire my son to be like He’s Love with a wall up disguised as Lust My chemistry type I hope that you’re the one , if not you are the prototype A man of God A threat to Satan His kisses are like mini tours to Heaven He’s worth the wait But damn.....

He says he just wanna be friends.

Angelic Renee, also known as “The Light,” born and raised in East Elmhurst, Queens is a hair stylist by trade but writing is her true passion. She started writing in 1999, mostly short stories and poetry as a hobby but didnt take her writing seriously until she decided to share her poetry at an open mic night at Moca Lounge in Harlem, NY on August 12th, 2013 where she is well know for her poem “Fuck Your Girl,” an outlook from a side chick’s position. She currently has a poetry book and novel in the works.

Angelic Renee

ARTIST: Pichi & Avo, in Athens, Greece

Street Art UTOPIA

www.streetartutopia.com

The Paper Petaller Tiffanie Turner, of PapelSF, amazed us with her incredible use of paper when crafting her life-sized flowers. She layers over 1,000 crepe paper petals over a span of 35 to 80 hours. The flowers range from 23â&#x20AC;? -26â&#x20AC;? in diameter. A definite labor of love to create something beautiful.

ARTIST: Pichi & Avo, in Vicar, Almeria, Spain

Street Art UTOPIA

www.streetartutopia.com

& A never ending love affair by Robbin Plaza

orsets and spanx, Botox in numerous places, sky high stilettos, and the list goes on and on. I could probably count on one hand the people I know that haven’t participated in using at least one of these products. Well, make that more like one finger. All these things (in addition to the numerous unmentioned products and procedures) have one thing in common… pain. Don’t get me wrong, I too have indulged in some of these practices (and no I won’t reveal which ones). Have you ever wondered why we do what we do? Enduring the pain for the sake of “beauty”… Or better yet, do you ever wonder where all these crazy but crafty, insane but ingenious, and nutty but sometimes necessary evils come from? Let’s take a little trip down memory lane, shall we? Let’s start with one of the most torturous pieces of the wardrobe for women (and sometimes men, but those cases are much more rare)… the Corset. -Although the true origin of the corset is vague, it can be dated as far as back as the 16th century. Corsets were originally called bodices or stays... the term corset came into play around the 18th century. They were originally made from materials like iron boning, precious silk brocade, and even gold trim for something that was not meant to be seen (ironic right?). This one piece of undergarment has spanned centuries and is commonly known today as “waist trainers.” Here’s the thing ladies, (and some gentlemen) while corsets make it possible to be more visually appealing; if you like that sort of shape, there are some health ramifications that one should look into when considering using one. Just keep in mind that if the waist trainers are used incorrectly, there are side effects such as: difficulty breathing, movement of internal organs, possibly bruised or broken ribs (yes… It’s possible), and once waist training is over poor, posture. So if you are going to indulge yourself in this sort of pain for the beauty process, please be careful.

Strong women wear their pain like stilettos. No matter how much it hurts, all you see is

the beauty of it.

-unknown

Photo courtesy of glossdaily.com

You ever see someone who looks like they are scared, surprised, and excited all at the same time when in actuality they are completely calm and relaxed? Yeah, I have too. Chances are, that person has indulged in the next procedure on the list: Botox. Why don’t we take a deeper look into one of the craziest cosmetic treatments ever brought to fruition? Botox’s beginnings were humble, scary and quite frankly… disgusting. Around 1820, A German scientist named Justinus Kerner tasked himself with finding out the cause of several deaths from the consumption of badly prepared blood sausages. The cause was later recognized as food-borne botulism … That’s right folks - the food poisoning that is formed in inadequately sterilized foods is the basis for a cosmetic treatment for lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin. During the 1960’s an ophthalmologist named Dr. Alan B. Scott began injecting the toxin into monkeys with hopes that the side effect of muscle relaxation with aid in treating crossed eyes. After the tests showed positive results, he received FDA approval to start using human

test subjects. He noticed that the muscle relaxation wasn’t only for the eyes, and that it also helped for other kinds of muscles spasms all over the face and body. Fast forward to the late 1990’s- 2000’s, and Botox is EVERYWHERE. From TV ads, to fashion magazines, to strip malls and even cocktail parties, just about everyone has access to the “new facial fad” (if you are willing to foot the extensive price tag that is). I’ve even seen that some women use it to inject into the balls of their feet in order to be able to wear their favorite heels without having to worry about the chronic foot pain later. There are even some new commercials out that are peddling Botox as a prolonged cure for chronic migraines. This fancy filler has passed the $1 Billion mark in sales (and that was in 2006!), and I foresee much more in sales for the future. Botox buyer beware though, be prepared to deal with possible muscle paralysis, faulty counterfeit batches, permanent droopy or frozen face… A small price to pay for looking forever young … Right?

“Behind every beautiful thing, there is some sort of pain.” -Bob Dylan

Lastly, but never, ever least … The awesomely fabulous and sometimes insanely painful… drumroll please…. Stiletto Heels. There are red ones, pink ones, blue, green, the ever popular black ones, and the list goes on and on. Women wear them like badges of honor, the higher the better to some. Even if they look like Bambi after a rigorous leg day at the gym while walking in them, they strut … And strut hard. Stilettos all began with the same base, a heel with a stem made of solid steel or alloy. These days most stilettos are a molded plastic heel with the reinforcement of an internal metal tube, not necessarily true to its roots, but effective enough. The name “stiletto” was taken from the stiletto dagger; very fitting considering that the pain of wearing a pair can be closely compared to that whole “cuts like a knife” metaphor. They were first documented to be made and worn in the 19th century, around the 1940’s or so. Today, just about everyone has a pair and they will never give them up, no matter the hurt. Some women will pay anything to have the next hottest shoe even if it means wearing one that’s a size (or two) too small, simply because it’s the last one available. These pretty punishers come with their very own set of side effects. Yes, you read right… Side effects. They include: pain, fatigue, poor circulation and skeletal and muscular problems. I know what you’re thinking… No matter the side effects, I’ll still be wearing my sky high steppers. So will I, honey… So will I. After all the higher the heel, the closer to heaven, or so I’ve heard.

So now we’ve taken a small look into how well the two worlds of beauty and pain coexist. Please understand, this wasn’t written to try to deter or scare anyone into staying away from using any one of these products. Please enjoy your cosmetic/ beauty/ fashion addictions responsibly… I know I will.

Photo Courtesy of boomshot.com

POPCAAN WHERE WE COME FROM THE DEBUT ALBUM AVAILABLE NOW popcaan.mixpakrecords.com

Step Two to Healing: Correction, Protection and Restoration (External) by Allison Burden

s we all know, recognizing what we could have done differently in a relationship is one of the hardest and most important steps, but it’s only the beginning. After acknowledging our mistakes, we now have to work on correcting them if we want to avoid having a repeat of the same thing, only with someone new. Believe me, it took a while for me to digest, this too but I knew it needed to be done, because moving forward is something I needed to do. Now, you have to prepare yourself and your surroundings for this next phase of healing. Effectively moving on with your life isn’t possible without change. Some of it you will enjoy; other aspects, not so much. But, all of it is for a bigger plan. At this stage of your healing process, some key milestones must take place, both internally and externally. Because this is about our healing, and not continuing to focus on the one we miss, it would normally make sense to begin looking at the changes you can make internally, but we are going to take a different approach… External: Building Paper Walls Before you can really begin to reflect on things you should work on internally, especially in the first days, weeks, and sometimes months of a relationship ending, it is going to be to your advantage to begin building temporary walls. These walls are NOT to be used to protect your heart, keep you from trusting, or permanently alter you and who you are. What you are doing now is giving yourself time to accept what has happened, and regroup, without the added reminders that the one you love has moved on, and preparing you and your environment to begin the healing process. The first thing you should do is implement a “No Contact” rule. I know there are very strong opinions surrounding this suggestion, and I won’t rehash that here. I will simply tell you how I came to this conclusion myself. Many times, people break up and immediately believe that remaining friends is possible. In some cases, it can be, but if you follow my blog I already know you are truly and sincerely feeling the loss of someone you loved deeply and intensely; someone who was involved in almost every area of your life. You cannot be friends with an ex that you have this kind of history with. Simply put, once you’ve fallen in love (not lust) with someone, friendship is almost impossible to go back

to, and is hardly likely immediately after a relationship ends. Are you ready to talk to your ex about their new girlfriend? Are you ready to hear about them kissing someone else? How would you feel about getting an invitation in the mail to their marriage ceremony – to someone else? This may seem like a set of extreme questions, but the reality is that with other friends, you would have no problem having discussions surrounding the questions I just brought up. Until you can have these same discussions with your ex, and not get the least big angry, upset or emotional when they talk about a new woman in their life, YOU ARE NOT READY TO BE FRIENDS!! My Teacher offered his friendship the same day we broke up. By being able to go back to being my friend so quickly, all he did was confirm for me how little he let me into his heart, and that hurt me a lot, but it was the first thing I had to accept. The next step however, was me acknowledging that I had let him into mine, and couldn’t process the end of our relationship the same way he did. It didn’t make me weak – it made me human. He is absolutely entitled to move on with his life, but my heart isn’t ready to deal with what all that means. I made the decision to cut all ties to him, and get rid of as many memories of him as I could. We are not connected on social media and whatever I could remove from my home or my life that reminded me of him was removed. I wasn’t angry, and I wasn’t trying to make a statement. I needed to rid myself of anything that would keep visually reminding me of him. You probably need to do the same, and if you haven’t, I strongly suggest you do for your own well-being. You are prolonging your pain by trying to keep them in your life right now. Finally, surround yourself with some really good people. You will need them. These can’t just be people who have known you for years, or people that are family members. You need people who love you, want the best for you, will be honest with you, and understand that this is a process. You don’t need impatient, judgmental, or cold people around right now. My Sisters – stay away from your bitter friends. You know who they are. If you truly want to get past this heartache, and come out of it positive, whole, and able to love again, then you have to do it without the “all men are dogs,” “I don’t need a man,” “I’m just doing me,” “I’m out for mine,” nonsense that so many hurt women have chosen to saturate their minds with. They are right, walls will keep you from being hurt again, but you know what? It keeps you from being loved and receiving it, too. This part usually feels pretty good, but the purpose of this phase is to give you a safe place. You are creating a cocoon for yourself, so that you can safely move to the next part of correction … now, it’s time for you and God to do some work… Allison Burden is the founder of Be Still…And MOVE! (www.bestillandmove.com), an organization created to promote healing and restoration from toxic, painful, broken or abusive relationships through the use of music, poetry, counseling, and providing an opportunity for women to heal by discovering or rediscovering their God-given purpose and talents. A native of Goldsboro, NC, she now resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

ARTIST: VINIE, “Untitled”

Street Art Save My Life Facebook.com/streetartsavemylife

the Almighty Wise

GPD

f you’ve even been on any social networking site, I’m pretty sure you’ve witnessed this: The assassination of the English language. Now I’m all for the shortening of words like “ur” “u” “4” etc ... I get it. What I’m really focusing on are people who are literally fuckin’ up words to the point that it makes you ask “Did you go to school ... AT ALL??” I mean ... I really wanna fuckin’ know! You can call me a Grammar Nazi, an asshole ... But I s h o u ld n’t h ave to be s ub j e c t e d t o d ec iph er ing yo u r illo g i c a l l y c o de d sub-language! Pick up a fuckin’ book, or d ow n l o a d s o m e k i n d a E - B o o k w i t h “Grammar and Spelling for Idiots” in its title; Because if I see another MUDDAFUCKA type “Sorry for your LOST” ONE MORE TIME ... I’m gonna have one of my TECH savvy friends locate you ... And send your computer a virus! In an effort to save you from my wrath, I’ve listed below 10 of the most common fuck ups I’ve seen on social networking. Learn or else! 1. LOSE and LOOSE/LOST or LOSS: As mentioned earlier, “Sorry for your LOST” is some asinine shit. You can’t “LOST” anything ... You can “LOSE” it. When dealing with death, a family member can suffer a “LOSS”... and although they did “LOSE” someone, unless the corpses’ shoe string is “LOOSE” in the coffin ... You should not use “LOOSE” to express “LOSING” someone. By the way, you should tie his shoe.

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2. AMMONIA/PNEUMONIA: I saw this and wanted to flip many tables for this dumb-ass mistake. You cannot catch AMMONIA. Well you could, but in some kind of cup or container ... Not as an airborne pathogen. AMMONIA is the disinfectant that they would probably use to clean the hospital room of someone who has PNEUMONIA. Well, either Ammonia or bleach. It’s really a “choice thing” ya’ know ... but never together ... NEVER together. 3. AFFECTION/INFECTION: A friend of mine, Shakirah Warren expressed that someone she knew would always state that they “Caught an AFFECTION in their ear.” Now, while I believe that when you love someone, and you want to show that person AFFECTION, you probably wouldn’t show it in their ear. That’s some nastiness that I don’t really want to touch at this time. With that being said, you also wouldn’t think or believe that someone would show you love and INFECTION. If that is the case, do they REALLY love you if they are freely giving away an INFECTION to you? I don’t know, but you really need to rethink your priorities if they do. 4. ANOTHER WORDS/IN OTHER WORDS: I know you’re saying to yourself “another words”... What possibly could that be? You probably heard someone say this: “I was spazzin’ out, ANOTHER WORDS I was pissed.” At first glance, you probably didn’t really GET what they were trying to say. What they really meant was “I was spazzin’ out, IN OTHER WORDS I was pissed.” When people type words phonetically, (and without knowing truly what they’re saying) you’ll get this fuckin’ mess right here. Which brings me to a more common fuck up ... 5. SPECIFIC/PACIFIC: I’ve seen this typed as much as I’ve heard people say this shit. “I was PACIFIC when I told him I didn’t want cheese on my fries.” Were you IN the PACIFIC ... OCEAN, that is, when you said this? NO ... So did you mean you were SPECIFIC? Yeah you were being SPECIFIC when you told him not to put that artificially-flavored-cheeseproduct-ripe-with-slow-acting-poisonious-chemicals on your equally artificially-flavored-imitation-potato-sticks. Unless you were near the world’s largest ocean, you were being SPECIFIC. Oddly enough, you never hear people call it the “SPECIFIC Ocean.”

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6. ROLL/ROLE: It’s not the husbands’ ROLL to be the breadwinner, it’s his ROLE. You don’t put jelly on a ROLE, you put it on a ROLL. Someone could have a ROLE as a ROLL in a play ... And I’d say to the person ... I’m sorry to hear that. 7. ERA/ERROR: This is not the ERROR of stupidity ... But the ERA of stupidity. If you forget to carry over the one when adding something you did not make an ERA ... You made an ERROR. Now one of the biggest ERRORS in this ERA is whoever was friends with Bill Gates that had the chance to invest in his vision early on. If you opted instead to invest in XYZ stock, then you’re probably STILL beating yourself up for that lapse in judgment. Sorry to bring up old wounds if you weren’t. 8. WHOLE & HOLE: You can be an assHOLE ... Or a WHOLE ass ... however, you cannot be an assWHOLE ... Or a HOLE ass. You can have a HOLE in your ass, which you already have. Now we know your WHOLE ass should only have one HOLE ... But if you have more than one HOLE, then your WHOLE ass is probably infected. 9. QUIET & QUITE: “You are QUITE QUIET” said the prison guard. “There is QUITE an eerie calm amongst prisoners ... This QUIET speaks volumes.” See how the words DIFFER? QUITE is describing something completely, in its entirety. QUIET is well ... When your ass is not making noise. You cannot substitute QUITE for QUIET ... So the sentence “He was QUITE all night” does not make any fuckin’ sense. In all actuality it is QUITE stupid, so I suggest you remain QUIET, and refrain from typing any more typographical errors. 10. YOU’RE/YOUR/THERE/THEIR/THEY’RE/WE’RE/WERE/WHERE/THEN/THAN/ TO/TWO/TOO: I REFUSE to go over these ANYMORE! They have MEMES that describe the difference between these words! These are THE biggest mistakes made on social networking ... But it is also the most criticized, reviewed, corrected of all of the errors you might see. Fifth graders can tell you the proper usage of these words, so why should I give you examples to help you understand? (1) YOU’RE not going to listen anyway. (2) YOUR family probably ate lead paint. (3) THERE is no hope for your ass. (4) In my opinion I find that THEIR understanding of the language is poor at best. (5) THEY’RE void of any sense possible. (6) WE’RE tired of repeating ourselves. (7) If I WERE a little more patient, I would show you some courses WHERE you could improve. (8) THEN, rather THAN criticize your shortcomings, I could help you TO do better. (9) But because I’m a gemini, and I have TWO sides, I TOO have a problem ... And it’s controlling my urge to insult you.

ARTIST: Dolk, “Riot Kitty”

Street Art Save My Life Facebook.com/streetartsavemylife

35 31

An interview w/ Jean Grae interview conducted by almighty wise styling by naesha mcdowell additional photography by david ochs MAKEUP BY KHALI B.

t was an immense honor and pleasure to have the one and only Jean Grae (born Tsidi Ibrahim) visit us on a rainy Sunday afternoon in midtown for this interview. Our man, Almighty Wise conducted the Q&A session as we dolled up the underground and international hip hop phenom. She had just gotten back fresh from a trip to South Africa after performing and assisting the Power Up Youth Project and Artworks for Youth at a school in Port Elizabeth, South Africa over a 3 day time span. As part of the One Blood Festival, this was their second puppet precession that takes place throughout the township, this year’s theme regarding the idea that “education is a right,” stemming from past and present conditions that the township has gone through with their schools after the Soweto uprising of 1976. Jean was able to assist in a major creative way helping the kids not only within their writing workshops, but also in constructing their play as part of the festival, crafting the third scene.

“It’s really interesting, because when you’re working with non-profit organizations, they tend to not give you all of the information until you get there. So they’re like ‘Ok we’re doing a play and you’re coming up with the scene; you have aaaa .... day and a half, GO!’ and I’m like oh ok, no pressure, great.” Jean took it all in stride, though, and relished in the idea of helping the children learn the spirit of improv. “With me it was like, ‘I want you guys to understand that it’s not wrong, none of the moves you’re ever going to do are wrong; if you forget the words, it’s ok, the audience has never heard this before. You can make up whatever you want, so don’t feel like it ever has to be so concrete. This is about you, it’s not about the program ... It’s really about you, it’s about your education. So relax, be cool and be creative.’” Another activity she had the children - a brilliant group of 13-17 year olds - partake in was to have them write letters to themselves 10 years into the future. With this, she had the idea in mind that “thoughts are becoming things; so if you’re saying these things and making them real and writing from a place where they’ve happened already, you can begin to put yourself in that space. It’s not like ‘this is what I don’t want, this is what’s happening now,’ it’s like this has already happened.” Wise had asked Jean of the hip Hop scene in South Africa, which she expressed as pretty prevalent. “Cape Town MCs tend to write really complex ... It’s a lot of poly-syllables. I met a lot of really great MCs on this trip in Port Elizabeth. We used a lot of comedy and really good showmanship and just gave really good shows. The audience was amazing, and really interactive.” Unfortunately, Jean didn’t get to perform any of her recent material off of the Gotham Down project, but that didn’t put any form of damper on the show she was able to put on. “Because I just wrote 4 albums, and a book and a show... Um... What sucks is when you do all these new songs and I’m like ‘I should really be performing these’; and then I listen to them and I’m like, why the fuck would I put all these words in them! (laughs) There’s NO WAY I’m going to memorize all this shit ... There’s SO much material, there’s 4 albums worth of material. I usually go out with the idea maybe I’ll keep these instrumentals with me and when I find time I’ll sit down and learn them, and then I never find any time. So I did absolutely NO songs from Gotham Down, which I felt good about... Because I didn’t feel like stressing myself out. (laughs) because it’s a lot of fucking words.” Jean cites herself as the only member of her family that lives in the US, with all of her family residing in South Africa to this day. She expressed the difficulty in planning and doing this trip upon the tragic and sudden loss of her mother in August of 2013 amidst the planning phase. That month was the last time she had visited her home in Cape Town before returning to South Africa for the festival this year. It provided the far too often artist frustration of fulfilling the work schedule for the sake of caring for a family that one is not even able to see amidst the process. “It kind of sucked being in Port Elizabeth, which is about an hour of flying time from Cape Town, but I had absolutely no time to fly to Cape Town because I had to come back and work on the show and other things. So that kinda sucked..... Didn’t mean to bum everyone out.” (Jean and staff laugh)

“

I don’t want to have to weep for the future. I think it’s important, as a generation that doesn’t go back and talk to kids and tell them enough and then we complain, and are like ‘what the hell is wrong with them,’ well maybe you should do something. The gears were shifted in the studio, as we gained some insight from Jean on her production company, KAGD (Kids Are Gonna Die). The idea came after working on her Christmas album, The Jingle Fucking Bells EP and recording one song in particular, Its The Most Fucking Wonderful Time.

”

“Right before doing the record, I yell out ‘kids are gonna die,’ and that’s how the song starts out. It’s taking Christmas classics and making them pretty much horrible. There’s a lot of violence ... Rudolph is doing cocaine. It’s bad, it’s an adult Christmas album. And then it began to translate as, ‘well what’re you going to call the company?’ And I was like “eh, ‘Kids Are Gonna Die’ sounds like a pretty good name. I’m all for being offensive, that works for me.’” But there’s more to it than a morbid sense of repurposing traditional ideas of classically loved holidays, particularly loved by children. No friends, it’s a lot deeper than that, as Jean continues to explain: “I really enjoy working with kids a lot. I don’t want to have to weep for the future. I think it’s important, as a generation that doesn’t go back and talk to kids and tell them enough and then we complain, and are like ‘what the hell is wrong with them,’ well maybe you should do something. 38 30

“I want to be out there helping these kids because, YES, there is a danger in not doing that; I don’t WANT these kids to die. In addition, it plays into the fact that I deal a lot in imagination, I’m kind of an imagination pusher. I think it’s a horrible thing in society and some sort of terrible trick that when you first go to school and you’re really, really young, the idea is that you should be pretending and using your imagination and then you get in trouble for doing that. So retaining the idea of innocence and imagination and that sort of wonder and seeking for knowledge that kids have, I don’t want that to die in adults. I think it’s really important... Way to save that name, huh?”

Her Gotham Down series was released in a manner not of the norm when one generally expects albums to be released. After releasing 3 volumes in a month’s time, Wise was curious as to Jean’s reasoning for this break in the patterning of traditional music releases. “Because FUCK tradition, that’s why,” Jean retorts. Well put, we definitely can’t argue with that one. Being as involved in the industry as long as she has been and creating her own lane in that time, Jean was never one to shy away from doing things her way. “I feel like I finally got to a place where technology caught up to the way I wanted to do things, which is the way you want to fucking do things. I’m not going to be on Hot97 on heavy rotation, so why should I play to those same rules? I can pretty much do whatever I want. So I started putting out these records on like Saturday at 3 o’clock in the morning. (laughs) I don’t fuckin’ care! Great! ‘How many songs are on it?’ I’m like, ‘(shrugs) I don’t know.’ (staff laughs) I’m pretty much doing it in real time. I was making the beat, writing these songs recording them, mixing them and mastering them and doing the artwork and then putting it out. I don’t have to wait for anyone, I don’t have to wait for anything. And hopefully inspiring other people to do the same.”

“

I deal a lot in imagination, I’m kind of an imagination pusher. I think it’s a horrible thing in society and some sort of terrible trick that when you first go to school and you’re really, really young, the idea is that you should be pretending and using your imagination and then you get in trouble for doing that. r etaining the idea of innocence and imagination ... I don’t want that to die in adults.

”

One of the standout tracks of the Gotham Down story is Kill Screen, which lends a great visual representation to the grand scheme of the story Jean has actually been telling over the past 10 years through her music. She’s been the author of the story of an Assassin who’d had enough of the company they’ve worked for, introducing the story and character in 2003 on a track called “Destiny, Chapter 1” a chooseyour-own-adventure song, as Jean puts it. The Gotham Down trilogy was released 10 years to the date of the introduction of the storyline. her upcoming project, “Cake or Death” is actually a precursor to the Gotham Down trilogy, as part of the ongoing story. In regards to the Kill Screen video: “My idea that I had in my head was to do these single-frame splices like they did in Fight Club. That was a really good idea until I started editing, and I wear glasses now because of Kill Screen (laughs). It’s 33 single-frame clips, which is REALLY, really fucking hard to edit. ......... But, yeah, it came out pretty good so I guess it was a sacrifice I had to make there. So, thanks Kill Screen! (all laugh) Lofty ideas!” When Wise asked Jean where the idea for the actual Kill Screen track came from, Jean regards it as almost happenstance. “I don’t know, sounded good in my head. Basically how I operate with everything. I have no idea how any of this shit happens. I don’t have a real process, my only process is that I’m not good at doing things ahead of time. I’m fine with planning, but the actual product of it - like I have never written any raps before it’s time to record. Not one.” 40

WIse: So you wait til you’re actually in the studio or with the track and you’re ready to record and then you start writing? Jean: “And I write really fast.” Wise: Very talented. Jean: “Oh no, I’m fucking amazing. (all laugh) One that I tried once, when Pharoah (Monch) asked me to do Assassins, and I was like ‘shit. You know, I love you, but ... It’s you, so that means I have to destroy you. And this is the way I go into all songs if I’m doing it with anyone. We’re friends, Kweli, we’re friends, but I’m coming to destroy you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You’re not going to win.’ So I wrote about 3 verses and got in the studio and was like ‘I fucking hate them all,’ and just wrote a totally new verse. And he was like ‘I REALLY hate you, I really hate you.’ And I was like ‘you made me go first?? What’s your problem??’” Jean took the next step in her entertainment career, under her KAGD banner, by delving into the world of situation comedy and starting her own web sitcom, Life With Jeannie. We had to know what the process was like when coming into this venture as a long loved musician switching lanes. “Everything was real. 99% of the things are real. I wanted to do a sitcom since I was like 3 or 4 and I’ve been a huge fan of sitcoms and dialogue. I wanted to do it the way I want to do it. I asked a lot of people, friends in the business. I was like let me just pick your brain, what is it going to be like to do this? Everyone was like ‘you’re not going to be able to do this, you’re crazy for thinking that you’re going to write it, direct it, edit it, you can’t.’ I shot episode 2 and I still have no idea how we actually did that! (laughs) So whenever someone is like ‘you can’t do it’ I’m like, well I clearly can do it. And I didn’t want to talk about doing it anymore. I wanted to do it. It’s a learning process along the way and difficult as fuck to keep up with a schedule like that. I hadn’t foreseen how intense the writing would be because it’s not just writing for myself and it’s them having to actually develop these characters; and even though they’re pretty close to the people that they are, it’s getting it right and making people care about them. Dialogue is fine, but, if it’s just me writing, I can’t make it seem like everybody sounds like just me. So it’s writing a lot of characters.” When asked if this new route would be a more full-time endeavor, she replied that, “everything is full time. If no one’s noticed, Im trying to weed out rap, been tap dancing away really, really slowly and then still giving people albums so they don’t have anything to complain about. I think for any artist, I don’t feel like anyone should feel the need to be like this is my one thing, that this is the one thing that I do; why would you want to do that? My analogy has been to tell people - you know the cronut? It was a huge hit and everyone was like ‘why is this such a big thing?’ and it’s like, because people took two things that were really awesome and then made them one thing. Donuts are great, croissants are great ... You should just put them together! So I feel like if you’re not at all even doing like at least 2 things, what are you really doing? You can’t just do one thing, there’s no point.”

“

if you’re not at all even doing like at least 2 things, what are you really doing? You can’t just do one thing, there’s no point.

”

With the question posed of whether or not she will continue with Hip Hop in the future, Jean saw her involvement in the culture and accomplishments have given her the fulfillment that will allow her to move onto the next level, while still acknowledging the idea of Hip Hop never fading in influence. “It’s been 20 years and it’s great that some people are new fans who are asking for new music and are like ‘you can’t leave yet.’ And I’m like, yeah I’ve been in it for 20 years, I know you’re just catching up, but I would like to move on and do other things. I sort of don’t want to be the 40 year old rapper on stage, that’s not a very appealing thing to me; I think you should be doing other things and going through different stages of your life. Not saying I’ll never do it, I’m sure it will always be there in some capacity. But it’s having fun and embracing other things and other talents that’s important.” Before wrapping what was a definitely a fun yet creatively informative interview, we had to know what it was like for her to be featured amidst the pages of one of the iconic powerhouse forces in the comic book universe with a beloved character. This past May, Jean had the opportunity of being drawn into the Marvel-ous world of Deadpool in Issue 25 of the comic book series, by artist Mike Hawthorne. “Mike Hawthorne contacted me on twitter a couple years ago and had drawn my assassin character; I used that in my Cake or Death trailer, but it was such an amazing picture and I was like ‘oh shit, he got it.’ It’s so brilliant, I didn’t ask him to, and I was already a fan of his artwork and comics. We stayed in touch. I had been doing Comic-Con over the past 2 years so it’s nice to be involved in the illustrator’s world. I’m a huge nerd, so I geek out. I had asked Mike - because in comic books, Deadpool would totally be my boyfriend, absolutely - I was like, can you draw me and Deadpool making out? Could you draw it and send it to me, because that makes it real! And he was like I’ll do you one better. Randomly [around early April] he sent me an email and was like ‘don’t tell anyone, here’s the sketches for it.’ I was like motherfucker ... Did you just draw me into Deadpool, punching Deadpool in the face?? What? And then I couldn’t tell anyone. That’s probably the coolest thing that’s ever happened ... Top 3.”

You can purchase the Gotham Down project, and more Jean Grae products, as well as view all of the episodes of Life With Jeannie on her official website, www.jeangraetv.com

branding+photography+consultation www.thelbcreativegroup.com info@thelbcreativegroup.com (T): 347.228.8881/917.678.0734

We absolutely loved this gorgeous textile spread from Architectural Digest Russia, so we decided to share the beauty with our readers. Enjoy!

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www.afropunk.com

In honor of the life of a truly impactful leader in recent American history, we wanted to share this spread of photos of Dr. Maya Angelou throughout her life and career, paired with just some of her timeless quotes that will forever serve as templates for the spirit of peace. We truly thank Dr. Angelou for her contributions to the world and wanted this particular issue to share our sentiments of love for her and her work.

Photo by Wayne Miller/Magnum

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Photo by Wayne Miller/Magnum

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FunktheFormula, Inc. 2014