HARLEM GODFATHER BUMPY JOHNSON

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BUMPY JOHNSON

Bumpy Johnson

Ellsworth Raymond “Bumpy” Johnson(October 31, 1905 – July 7, 1968) was an American mob boss and bookmaker in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. He was the main Harlem associate of Charles “Lucky” Luciano and what later became known as the Genovese crime family, and his criminal career has inspired films and television. Johnson was born in Charleston, South Carolina on October 31, 1905. Johnson derived his nickname “Bumpy” from a bump on the back of his head. When he was 10, his older brother, Willie, was accused of killing a white man. Afraid of a possible lynch mob, his parents mortgaged their tiny home to raise money to send Willie up north to live with relatives. As Johnson grew older, his parents worried about his short temper and insolence towards whites, and in 1919 he was sent to live with his older sister Mabel in Harlem. Johnson was an associate of numbers queen Madame Stephanie St. Clair. By the summer of 1952, Johnson’s activities were being reported in the celebrity people section of Jet, an American weekly aimed at African American readers which was founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois. That same year, Johnson was indicted in New York for conspiracy to sell heroin and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Two years later, Jet reported in its crime section that Johnson began his sentence after losing an appeal. He served the majority of that sentence at Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay, California as inmate No. 1117, and was released in 1963. Johnson was arrested more than 40 times and served two prison terms for narcotics-related charges. In December 1965, Johnson staged a sit-down strike in a police station, refusing to leave, as a protest against their continued surveillance. He was charged with “refusal to leave a police station” but was acquitted by a judge. Johnson was under a federal indictment for drug conspiracy when he died of congestive heart failure on July 7, 1968, at the age of 62. He was at Wells Restaurant in Harlem shortly before 2 a.m., and the waitress had just served him coffee, a chicken leg, and hominy grits, when he keeled over clutching his chest. Friend Frank Lucas was there, and someone ran down the street to the Rhythm Club to get his childhood friend, Junie Byrd. When Byrd arrived, Lucas cradled Bumpy in his arms, and Johnson briefly opened his eyes and smiled, then fell into unconsciousness. He was taken, by ambulance, to Harlem Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City.

DEJA

HARLEM RENAISSANCE

Louis Armstrong

MODEL: TASHA TULSER PHOTO BY: GARY BOND tashatusler@gmail.com One of the most famous musicians of the Harlem Renaissance was Louis Armstrong. Having come from a poor family in New Orleans, Armstrong began to perform with bands in small clubs, and play at funerals and parades around town in New Orleans. He wasn’t a small band man for long, though. Louis Armstrong was invited in 1922 to move to Chicago, to play the second cornet in a Creole Jazz Band. However, just two years later, Armstrong moved to New York City, and began playing his music with the FLetcher Henderson Orchestra at the Roseland Ballroom. In 1929, he made his first appearance on the Broadway stage. In his recording of Ain’tMisbehavin, he used a pop song, however, interpreted it through jazz. This helped to set the stage for the acceptance of jazz music in the future. In 1942, he married a dancer from the Cotton Club, where his band had performed many times. All throughout the 1950’s and 60’s, Armstrong appeared in films and made many international tours. Louis Armstrong is one of the most appreciated jazz artists of the Harlem Renaissance, and of all times. People learned to appreciate both jazz, and African American music even more, because of this man. Although they continued to face discrimination of many sorts in the urban north as they did in the south, however it brought forth in close proximity some of the greatest minds of the day. Harlem brought notice to great works that might otherwise have been lost or never produced. The results were phenomenal. The artists of the Harlem Renaissance undoubtedly transformed African American culture. But the impact on all American culture was equally strong.

HOSNY BRONX

NEW POWER OF INTERNATIONAL REGGAE MUSIC Artist of international fame, HOSNY BRONX is the new impetus of the reggae music in the world. He’s singer, composer and author. His new album “New Moment” is out and available on the usal plateforms: Itunes, Amazon, Tidal… He plays all instruments and sings lead and backing vocals in these new tracks. He makes the arrangements and the production. He’s an incredible artist! Hosny Bronx’s new album is mixed and mastered between Kingston, Jamaica, New York City (The Mastering Palace) London and Paris. Hosny Bronx works with the best in the world: Mario “Syantis” Lawrence at the recording studio of Augustus “Gussie” Clarke, “Anchor Recording Studio”, Errol Brown, Bob Marley’s engineer (Survival, Uprising, Confrontation albums), Daniel Boyle (Grammy nominated) in London… His new album is suggestive of a unique and committed music. His first album « Radical Fighters» (Media7 / Label Jahmin Records) was on the top of the reggae charts in France and in England (with musicians from The Wailers). He recorded his second album « Unité Universelle » (Nocturne / Label I Sound) and his third album « Rasta Rebel » (Nocturne / Label I Sound) between Kingston, Jamaica and Paris with the Wailers, Bob Marley’s musicians (Aston Familyman Barret, Vin Gordon, Glen Da Costa, Benbow Creary) and others great musicians (Leebert Gibby Morrisson, Peter Tosh Musician, Veron Sutherland, Gladiators keyboard). He has performed in many concerts and Festivals in France, Europe and Africa, and soon around the world. Hosny Bronx’s new tracks are broadcast in more than 1500 radios around the globe: USA, South America, Jamaica, Europa, Asia... Many articles are published in international press. Hosny Bronx is also recognized internationally by professionals in the music industry and by a very wide audience throughout the world. Sending us a real artistic vibe – he’s a true Rastaman with music who fights for peace and love between all peoples in the world. Hosny Bronx, the voice of the generations of today and of tomorrow.

For all Information, check out : www.hosnybronx.com Twitter: @hosnybronx Facebook: rockersrastaman/ Instagram: hosnybronx_official Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/hosnybronx Youtube: Hosny Bronx / thereggaerockworld Hosny Bronx Team Contact: hosnybronxteam@hotmail.com

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