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“I love to win. I hate to lose. I hate to be slighted. My future is so bright that I have to be smart.” —Earlly Mac
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COVER STORY EARLLY MAC talks “Earl Pose” & collaboration with Sebastian Mikael.
28 How to Make Your Dreams Come Alive COVER AND THIS PHOTO SHOT BY Jasper Dai
CONTENTS 7
MOTIVATED MEN Featuring SuppaRay #ViceTeam Stewe Joseph McFashion
19
Chanel Domonique
How to Hustle In A City Full Of Hustlers
FROM THE EDITOR The month of May has been one of great accomplishments. Many have endured the trials of completing assignments that strained their mental abilities, which challenged them to think higher. They were intellectually molded and can now enjoy the sweet victory of transitioning from students to alumni of institutions across the country. I tip my hat off to the college graduates of 2014! Congratulations to you all. In this issue, we are celebrating endurance. The word “endurance” alone speaks volumes in three short syllables. It is remarkable to exercise the ability to challenge yourself and utilize energy from your own body for the purpose of achieving a goal. It is commendable when one has will power, so strong, that it knocks out tasks to complete a targeted objective! Endurance takes patience, focus and hard work. Endurance embodies care and disciplined attention. Endurance is a crucial factor that one must possess to achieve. Inside these pages, you can find stories of endurance. Earlly Mac has been rapping since his teenage-years and is now ready to embark on a project for the world to hear. Earl applied ten years of practice to polish his skills. A young woman from the city of Detroit began to cultivate her craft as well, by way of building her own talent company. Chanel Domonique is now managing artists and helping others realize their dreams through her guidance. More tales of ambition can be explored through the eyes of Joseph McFashion, who built two successful web brands; ViceTeam Stewe talks rocking microphones to motivate; and SuppaRay opens up about how he built a YouTube channel that has millions of views. They have all endured nights without sleep and ceaseless visions; the good news is you can activate your dormant desires to achieve. Endure the pain, because without it, there is no gain (and it’s only temporary)! Now write the plan, make it clear and let’s get motivated! Journalistically yours,
Cryss Walker Chief Editor @iamtopflight topflightmag@gmail.com ENDURANCE ISSUE 5
Chief Editor Cryss Walker Managing Editor Britney Embry Photography Michael Vandiver Cover Photo Jasper Dai Contributing Writers Antoine Moore Bria Brown Ryan Whaley Eric Thompson Leslie Fields Mohammed Luwemba Art Director Tyrone Owens, Jr. Sales Inquiries topflightmag@gmail.com 248-783-6037
MOTIVATED MEN featuring SuppaRay #ViceTeam Stewe Joseph McFashion words by: Bria Brown
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SuppaRay “I’m real tall, dark skinned… walk around with a camera in the most ghetto places and I make ghetto stuff look real nice.”
Styled By: Kelsey Owens, KAO Closet and Jaiden @theonlyjaiden Shot By: Brand Image Global Make Up: Ari @MsAriHoney Suppa Ray Clothes By: Kelly Pepper Gentlemen’s Consignment 623 S Washington Ave, Royal Oak, MI 48067 (248) 591-4554
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nyone can take a camera and record something they think is unique, but it takes someone with that ‘eye’ to make an ordinary film a masterpiece. “I’m real tall, dark skinned… walk around with a camera in the most ghetto places and I make ghetto stuff look real nice.” Music Video Director SuppaRay knew what he wanted when he hit one million views on YouTube. Many don’t know, his first dream was to make customized limos, but that took a spin to making beats for music production. “That wasn’t gone go no where because I was the only one listening to them,” said SuppaRay. His film making journey began by recording Jackass inspired activities (an American reality series featuring people performing dangerous stunts) in Eastland Mall diving from different objects to capture and upload to Facebook.
Once SuppaRay started hanging with Joseph McFashion (of 4Sho Mag and Control Detroit), he recorded parties in Downtown Detroit. The first video was uploaded to Facebook. He gradually started to use Vimeo and then proceeded to Youtube. The rest is history. “You can google my name,” said SuppaRay proudly. “I make people live out small portions of their dreams,” said the independent videographer. There are a lot of local artists who are timid about being on stage. SuppaRay provides a way for them to be in the spotlight. Whoever he films, SuppaRay makes sure it’s some place they are comfortable with, whether it be their house or a club.
SuppaRay’s videos have sent him all over the country. He filmed in Miami, New York, Texas and California to name a few. The man behind the lens describes himself as tall, funny and well dressed. When asked if he could be anyone who would he be, SuppaRay replied “Puff Daddy.” “That man is 44-years-old and he still turning up in the club like he’s 19. That’s the only reason. He’s a boss; Him… Rick Ross… they getting money. That’s all you need to do out here is just get money, everyday.” SuppaRay continued, “Live your life, go home, wake up. Get some more money.” ♣
“They don’t really want to say much or get on stage, a lot of young black men, they don’t want to be in the spotlight but they want to be in the spotlight,” said SuppaRay. 8 IAMTOPFLIGHT.COM
Styled By: Kelsey Owens, KAO Closet and Jaiden @theonlyjaiden Shot By: Brand Image Global Make Up: Ari @MsAriHoney Stewe’s Clothes By: Kelly Pepper Gentlemen’s Consignment 623 S Washington Ave, Royal Oak, MI 48067 (248) 591-4554
“You give me a mic, that’s like my magic wand. I make it work.”
#ViceTeam Stewe
“Y
ou give me a mic, that’s like my magic wand. I make it work.” Stewe has developed his passion into a brand. After graduating high school Stewe has expressed himself creatively through photography, videography, graphic design, Marketing and in business. As the Owner of ViceTeam- which Stewe says is a “family of uniquely talented individuals working together to attain success,”- he and his team are establishing a movement. In two to five years, Stewe sees himself as a “Diddy” in the making, positioning himself to manage and brand different ideas, while helping others. “I really look at him as a role model as far as the moves that he’s made,” said Stewe. He admires Diddy because of his knowledge to know when it’s time to switch hustles. “Diddy has reinvented himself in numerous things in the industry
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whether it be the liquor industry, the entertainment industry, he’s done it all.” He added, “I don’t want to be as good or near good… I want to be better,” said Stewe. Equipped with multiple talents the leader of the Vice Team wants to bring diversity to his community. “I want to inspire others to be themselves and finding their passion and following their dreams.” Stewe has incorporated happiness in his brand and shows it through his smilewhich has been noticed among othersalong with his charisma. He doesn’t believe in wasting his time being sad or mad because those are moments that he feels could be useful to do something productive and make a difference. Stewe said that people take happiness for granted and don’t allow it to help them move forward and become a better person. “If I ruled the world, I would want everyone to
see themselves as I see myself. Even when I’m going through a hard time, you’d be surprised how much of a difference cracking a smile can make your day,” said Stewe. Describing himself as “the nerd that turned cool,” Stewe continues to grind and make him and ViceTeam a house hold name. With tens of thousands followers on Instagram, Stewe does it all and gives his audience a deeper look into ‘The Versatile Image.’ ♦
Joseph McFashion “If I see that there is a need for something, I’m the person that goes and gets it done.”
Styled By: Kelsey Owens, KAO Closet and Jaiden @theonlyjaiden Shot By: Brand Image Global Make Up: Ari @MsAriHoney McFashion’s Clothes By: Kelly Pepper Gentlemen’s Consignment 623 S Washington Ave, Royal Oak, MI 48067 (248) 591-4554
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e may be with figures in front of the camera but he prefers to be behind the lens. Joseph McFashion has made a name in the industry from creating 4Sho Mag and Control Detroit. “The guys that you see, the guy that you are fans of, the guys that you praise, I’m the person behind that person that helped them get there,” says McFashion who is a self-proclaimed hustler and does whatever it takes to get the job done. “If I see that there is a need for something, I’m the person that goes and gets it done,” said McFashion. He’s a visionary that makes money where he feels that it’s not being made. Around 2007, McFashion was in high school and realized he didn’t want to be a guinea pig. While everyone in class was doing their work, he was thinking outside of the box. “I’ve never met a millionaire that had a nine to five. All the
millionaires that I personally know, don’t have a nine to five; they thought outside of the box,” said McFashion. He knew from that moment… sitting in his class room… that he wasn’t going to follow the normal protocol. “I’m young and I got it now,” said McFashion, about his accomplishments. McFashion doesn’t look up to too many people, but for those who inspire him, he says it’s the ones who reached their level of success. From there, he began to focus on bettering himself.
copy him he knows that it won’t work out for them. “The support is much loved, but you know when I feel like they try to immolate what I do, I think that they fail because they try to follow and carbon copy and it’s kind of hard to copy something, that was…not intentional,” said McFashion. When it comes to his flourishing journey, “It was meant to be; it was destined to happen,” said McFashion. ♠
McFashion doesn’t limit or puts himself in compromising situations. His success didn’t come with a design. “If you’re trying to get to where I’m getting to, by following my blueprint… it’s not going to work, because I didn’t have a blueprint; I just went and did it,” said McFashion. He appreciates those that admire and look up to him, but for those that try to 10 IAMTOPFLIGHT.COM
“ENDURANCE IS THE PRICE TAG OF ACHIEVEMENT”
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All Photos in this spread shot by Jasper Dai
EARLLY MAC The Mind Inside The Man: Earlly Mac On Creativity, Talent and Confidence By: Cryss Walker
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fter working on his craft, putting in hours and hours of relentless effort, Earlly Mac says he is ready to bring his audience into his world of aural creativity. It’s a world that is infinite and stretches through milky ways of lyrics, beats and sounds- which in essence developed into his project “EarlPose”. He’s been writing for artists such as Lil Wayne and Justin Bieber and also recently worked with Big Sean on his latest album.
He draws inspiration from concepts, sentiment and thoughts; thoughts of greatness and originality. “I’m really motivated by just actual creativity”, says Earl, who states that his style can be comical at times, but reiterates that he is serious about his work. He says his hands-on approach is the result of pure passion and the desire to make a good project. Earlly Mac noted that he wants his efforts to bring forth a good life for himself and his
loved ones. “It comes out of necessity, because I give an incredible f*** about myself and my family; you understand… that’s how I put it”, echoed the song writer and rapper, as it relates to the attention he pays to the details of his art. Earl says that as a performer and as a man he is rapidly developing into his true potential self. He learned to open himself up to his inner thoughts and ideas, by way
“People think that they can’t figure out life and they think that it’s too hard. The hard part is… people just don’t have faith. They see the ball, but they don’t know how to shoot it. What is knowledge if you don’t know how to apply it?” of stimulating his mind to his own creativity. He says he also gets a lot of advice from his father on how to be his own man. When it comes to the music, Earl says that he began to program his attention to his visions and learned to look to himself for answers. This creative, funny, yet mild-mannered fellow stated that he’s always pleasantly intrigued by others who operate with the same mind-set. “I don’t necessarily take all the recommendations and knowledge that I get for face value; You have to simulate it… no books… it more so comes from the inside as opposed to any third party”. He knows that some people are born blessed… gifted to have talent and gifted to be equipped with the ENDURANCE ISSUE 15
strength to embark on your own ideas, without the consultation from another for confirmation. Earl explained that he finds it refreshing when he meets others who possess the same conceptual characteristics. “People think that they can’t figure out life and they think that it’s too hard. The hard part is… people just don’t have faith. They see the ball, but they don’t know how to shoot it. What is knowledge if you don’t know how to apply it?”
a realm with endless possibilities. He says that aside from his music, he’s a fighter and he’s competitive. “I love to win. I hate to lose. I hate to be slighted. My future is so bright that I have to be smart.” Earlly Mac says that he is at a point where he has refined himself and is comfortable with who he is as an artist. He recently released his single “Something Crazy” featuring
Sebastian Mikael (who hit the charts with his single “Last Night” featuring Wale) which is now available on iTunes. On the set of their video together, Earl and Sebastian talked about how they collaborated on the project and went into details on how they realized their dreams. It’s now available to watch online at www. iamtopflight.com. ★
Earl says there are three key components to realizing your dreams. The first element is to know what you’re supposed to do; know that you should, can
“I’m really motivated by just actual creativity” and will do it; and last, just start doing it! Stemming from his own ambition, the rapper states that he’s been working on mastering his art for the last ten years. He said that he took it one day at a time and (at minimum) exerted four to six hours of effort, per day, in the span of a decade. He says that he took what he had and polished it! Music is very valuable to him. He says that he can come up with so much because there are so many words that he can pair with rhythms and beats. Musically he feels that he is unlimited because music is 16 IAMTOPFLIGHT.COM
endurance (noun) the power to withstand pain or hardships; the ability or strength to continue despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions.
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Chanel Domonique How to Hustle In A City Full Of Hustlers By: Leslie Fields
All Photos in this spread shot by Wayne Grace
T
he spirit of Detroit and it’s movement has taken off in many new forms. Young entrepreneurs in the city are finding outlets to not only show off their craft, but to also bring integrity and respect back to the music and art scene in Detroit. Local commerce is beginning to thrive; and so are local artists. With the help of young entrepreneurs, such as Chanel Domonique, there is a society of fresh talent that is much needed and respected.
“I found my purpose and my purpose is to help the dreams and careers of people that I believe in and help make them come true.” Chanel Domonique is a visionary with her own talent company, Chanel Domonique Talent Management (CDM), where she currently manages Detroit rapper Icewear Vezzo, Radio Personality A.P. “The Absolute Princess” (Hot 107.5), rapper Peezy and singer Bri’ Elle. In the past she managed other local artists Tony Cash and ENDURANCE ISSUE 21
Sino. “I never reached out to any of my clients… like I said, if you build it… they will come. My first client was a gentleman named Tony Cash; one of my good friends that I had started Head Turner Entertainment with saw that he was on twitter looking for management and she told him about me.” With each client Chanel Domonique says that she built her reputation and was able to gain artists based off her work ethic and word of mouth. So how did this all start? How was she able to start a company
and how was she able to gain clientele without having to push hard for talent? Well, before she started to book clients, she worked jobs that she didn’t have a passion for. Yet, she realized her potential, discovered her purpose and pushed herself to conquer what she loved doing (which was music). She found a way to realize her dreams; all while making a profit by discovering new and local talent. Chanel Domonique found it important to take it to the next level by filling a void within
Detroit’s music scene. “To inspire and motivate as many people as I can through my own dreams and helping others make their dreams come true and I’ve always been a big fan of hiphop...” said Chanel. It took time for Chanel to figure out that working was not cutting it; so she gave up her corporate job (of eight years with Verizon) to do what she was passionate about. She knew that what she was doing at the time was financially benefiting, but she was
Detroit, Chanel has been able to gain the attention of other people within the industry and making other Detroiters realize how important it is to patronize local businesses and recognize artists. Chanel started Detroit Support Detroit because she noticed that it’s hard to get an aiding hand. “Even if a fan is asked to tweet, retweet, Instagram, or share a photo on Facebook for a local artist, it’s hard to get a response… but for a celebrity... they get free advertisement all
side of Michigan, where Icewear Vezzo is booked every weekend or Peezy is getting booked every weekend, and that there’s a need for their sound in the market and culture, it’s amazing, it’s like blood rushing,” she explained. Recently Chanel watched Icewear Vezzo perform at SXSW and she was excited to see the reaction of the audience. “...they heard that D boy rap, and it was like an epidemic, it was like a riot to the stage...” Chanel said.
“I always stay positive no matter what negative situation that comes my way, no matter what obstacle I’m faced with; I try to find at least two or three things that I can find positive in that situation (or two or three things that I can be grateful for about that situation)…everything usually falls right into place.” ready to step out of her comfort zone and do something different. “I found my purpose and my purpose is to help the dreams and careers of people that I believe in and help make them come true,” Chanel explained. After she left her corporate job, Chanel (along with a friend, who helped start a party entertainment company called Head Turner Entertainment- which then progressed to Detroit Support Detroit) would have concerns about not having an outlet… not having support. “I figured I would start a brand that would help off set and bring awareness to support local individuals that’s in need of support.” After creating this movement, Detroit Support
day. To really support fully and come out to shows, purchase music, or tweet or retweet a song… [its hard] but it is always easy for a major artist in the industry,” Chanel stated. This female talent manager says she embodies the passion of Detroit. “I would like to see the rebirth of Motown, I would like to see a new generation of Motown, a new atmosphere, a new Detroit music scene that needs a platform,” Chanel said and continued with, “I used to think years in the past that they don’t want to hear Detroit sounds, they just think it’s a bunch of garbage music. But to be in it right now and seeing the reaction of people outside of Detroit, out-
What this talent manager does differently than most people her age is that she is self motivated and isn’t afraid to go for what she wants. “Everyone has what is meant and will be for them. So if that means that by me being a manager, me going through struggles or me going through the trenches of Detroit and building up my artists from the ground up and motivating others, that totally satisfies me. That totally brings joy to my heart...” Chanel said. Some either fold under pressure and some surpass the competition. For Chanel Domonique, she is hustling as if it’s second nature. “I truly believe it’s a field 22 IAMTOPFLIGHT.COM
of dreams in Detroit. You will find that enjoyment in knowing that you did something that you thought through and it helped others,” Chanel said. However, how does someone who is a mother, manager and entrepreneur stay motivated and endure things that come her way? Chanel explained it by simply saying, “I always stay positive no matter what negative situation that comes my way, no matter what obstacle I’m faced with; I try to find at least two or three things that I can find positive in that situation (or two or three things that I can be grateful for
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about that situation)…everything usually falls right into place.” Chanel has faith that is unshakable and activates her faith often. “Every person was put here to have an abundant life and unfortunately when you’re raised in an environment or when you come up in a certain environment, you succumb to what’s around you and you don’t realize what your potential is. It motivates me… it drives me, and it gives me ambition to know that I was put here to have an abundant life, so by any means and all means that if I continue to work as a service of God and
continue to provide services for people… by making their dreams come true… and minds unfolding… I’m willing because I have faith in God and I know what I believe in and I feel in my heart that it’s coming to past and it’s coming true, I don’t take losses, I take lessons,” Chanel said. ●
“Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck -- but, most of all, endurance.” —James Arthur Baldwin
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“Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.”
—Buddha
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How To Make Your Dreams Come Alive By: Ryan Whaley
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veryone has a dream. Maybe you want to be the next Jay-Z or Beyonce, or maybe you’re just trying to get a 4.0. A dream is a dream, just that. The issue most people have in their life is that they believe that hoping a dream comes true is enough to make a dream come true. This belief leaves many dreamers disappointed, bitter, and resentful. The secret to success isn’t a major secret; to succeed you must “do”; Not hope, “do”. Take action! Start by setting a goal.
Besides setting S.M.A.R.T. goals and creating an action plan there are special characteristics that help individuals overcome obstacles and make their dreams come alive; these characteristics include discipline, determination, ambition, grit, and faith. You must be able to persevere and to have laser focus. Making your dreams come alive isn’t easy, if it was everyone would be living their dreams. Success happens when the perfect combination of planning, acting, and believing occurs, simultaneously.
In business there is an acronym for the type of goal you should set. The acronym is S.M.A.R.T. A goal should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. Be sure to write your goals down, review them often, and update them when necessary. Once you write your goals down, determine a plan of action. Use organizational resources such as a to-do lists, calendars, and reminders to plan your time wisely. “Planning is essential”, said President Dwight D. Eisenhower. When you make a plan you are able to prepare for the obstacles that are bound to occur.
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“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” —Walt Disney
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Watch motivating video interviews about successful people doing what they love or catch up on the latest stories at iamtopflight.com