Fame live magazine featuring Scotty ATL and DJ Tephlon by Fame Live Magazine

Publishers Note GREAT YEAR SO FAR I have been all over the country and out of it. My travels have taken me as far south as MIAMI and far north as TORONTO during the NBA finals. Lots of dope things have happened and some not so great. This year my family loss several members of our clan and my mom transitioned as well. I will miss those long talks about the economy, film, fashion and when am I going to settle down and get married. We shared a bond and I can still feel her presence as I type this note to you all. My mom and I both shared a dream of FLM being the very best in Fashion, Art, Music and Education in the WORLD so she lives on thru the pages of this publication and beyond. Ok so one more issue after this but speaking of this issue we have SCOTTY ATL, DJ TEPHLON, PAUL GLYN-WILLIAMS, XOD and so much more. My vision for FLM was to make it the handbook of the creatives and I think that we have accomplished that this year and we look forward to pushing that envelope further in 2020.

UN Simpson

Cheers, Rodney AKSHUN Simpson

REFERENCES Director of Marketing and circulation Tyeric Tye Managing editor Guy Lawrence Art Director Sergio Venters Entertainment editor Karla Smithinson Writers: Keivon Patterson, Kenny O, Trishunda A. Mooney, Jacia Gibson, Travis Christian and Cherrie Garden Editorial Assistant Steven Chambers Photographers Travis Christian and Robert Deem

Contents

PUBLISHERS NOTE

REFERENCE

BLACK ENTREPRERS REVOLUTIONIZING STREAMING

THE ART OF THE TORONTOS OWN PAUL GLYN-WILLIAMS

NIPSEY HUSTLEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MESSAGE ARRIVED TO LATE

WHO IS SCOTTY ATL ?

SHOOT FROM THE HART

WALKING WITH PURPOSE, NEVER GO OUT OF STYLE

THE UNITED WAY OF GREATER ATLANTA AFRICAN AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON

DJ TEPHLON FROM NYC TO ATL AND AROUND THE WORLD

[CHAPTER 0NE]

EDUCATION Book 1

Black Entrepreneurs Revolutionizing Streaming By Carol Ozemhoya aka Carol O

Earlier this summer, new ground was broken in Memphis, Tennessee when Lank the King put his boxers up against boxing champ Floyd â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Money Teamâ&#x20AC;? (TMT) champs in what was called the Bicentennial Beatdown. Although the energy was high, the most groundbreaking thing was the master mind streaming company behind getting the event out to the world, XOD Network. Xperienc On Demand, is an African- American owned platform that enables creators to get their content out to the world on both OTT (over the top) and mobile apps. (OTT refers t devices that go over a cable box to give the user access to TV content. With OTTs, content is delivered via an Internet connection rather than through a traditional cable/ broadcast provider.) For years, Showtime, Starz, etc. were the way to go to get exclusive pay per view content. But now Black-owned XOD Network breaks ground in allowing creators to get paid by those watching their content. Xperienc On Demand, in just two short years, has gained a variety of content on its platform, from singers and producers to positive programming and sports events. Content in development also includes independent films. Creators are the face of the platform, as all creators maintain 100 percent of their content.

The network is the brainchild of three African American men, each from different backgrounds, who came together to revolutionize streaming. Xperienc gives anybody with a vision a chance to get his or her creative content out there, and in a big way, while providing

an entrepreneurial opportunity for others. Xperienc doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t buy content; instead, it provides an outlet for creators of content to stream podcasts, TV shows, movies, concerts and video at a price determined by the creator and Xperienc.

Kenneth Hutchins, Domnique Mitchell and Gerald Poe

“Xperienc is the channel providing distribution for both film and music,” explains Domonique Mitchell, the network’s president and co-owner. “XOD has licensing on almost every major streaming app and platform of which our shows air and will be available to more than 270 million household viewers in the U.S. alone, and be accessible all over the world.” It’s quite different from other streaming networks, such as Netflix and Hulu, for example, which provide the programming and content, with subscribers only given a menu to choose

from at one subscription price (usually monthly). Xperienc On Demand is exactly what the name implies… an on-demand service. Users only pay for what they want to see. “The strength in our service offering is our people… what separates us is the diversity in the platforms that we reach and the ability to control when and how it is distributed,” explains Gerald Poe Jr., CEO and co-owner. “Content creators can live stream on social platforms, Android and Apple mobile apps, and OTT platforms such as Roku, Amazon and Samsung.” Kenneth Hutchins, COO and

co-owner, points out that the spirit of the company lies in its dedication to entrepreneurs. “We had to put together a platform that allowed our producers to maintain 100 percent ownership and to allow them to monetize that ownership at much higher levels than any other platform.” Added Poe, an information technology guru, who has built and sold multiple technology companies: “That meant we had to build a network that was smarter, faster and more robust than our competitors. We offer mixed qualitative content that you won’t find on these other

platforms.” Giving others an opportunity to share their creative content while making their own money and retaining 100 percent ownership of their content are key elements of this Black-owned company’s mission. “Our network allows our producers to monetize from their own personal efforts of products that they bring to the table,” Poe explains. “We have a robust affiliate program. We focus on giving creatives the opportunity to thrive in their own space, without converting them to an industry standard.” He continued: “What we love about XOD is that we are truly helping creators go from start to finish to take their content to the masses. We are providing an entrepreneurial outlet for qualitative content providers to retain more of their earnings while sharing their content around the world. Mitchell, Hutchins and Poe believe their streaming company will revolutionize an industry that is fast becoming the norm among millennials and the X Generation. Studies from demographics experts such as Nielsen show that most users in those demographics stream way more than they watch television. “We want to disrupt the industry with our creators by pushing ownership,” Poe says. “This is no

longer the world of big brands… we can help the creators reach their target market.” Added Hutchins: “We’re very proud of the fact that not only are we a strong African American team of Black men that works together, we also have strong women who bring a lot to the table and run our daily operations. In fact, they are the heartbeat of this company.”

With a mix of professional backgrounds; XOD’s leaders have been able to cultivate a culture of creative freedom and development from their content providers, content creators, and their internal team. Kenneth Hutchins is the founder of HGH Green Builders and offers more than 20 years of experience in business development. He is also the founder of the What’s Positive movement with a mis-

sion is to help others maintain positivity along their journeys. Domonique Mitchell is an expert in entertainment with decades of experience in distribution, and artist management and development. Gerald Poe Jr. has an extensive background in technology. He’s developed and sold his own technology companies and worked as a senior technology specialist for firms such as NASA, the EPA, FDA and Tesla, just to name a few. In addition to being a part of Xperienc, he serves as the president of a neo-age drone technology company, Focus Unmanned Aerial Systems. The two women professional

on board embody just as an extensive backgrounds; Jasmine Baskin, president of operations, has a background in marketing and project management; and Rashatta Daugett, president of affiliate affairs, has experience in business management and entrepreneurship. Some of XOD’s content creators include R&B singer Angie Stone, platinum producer Kevin KHAO Cates, who produces the shows “KoolRiculum” and “Bridge da Gap.” Cates has produced tracks for T.I., Rick Ross and a host of hip hop artists. Others with works on Xperienc include Babbie Mason (award-winning singer/songwriter of Christian mu-

sic), life coach Centrell Reed and Pastor Theresa Jordan, founder of the Prayze Factor Awards, just to name a few. Xperienc TV http://www.xperienc.tv/ http://www.latinentertainmentnetwork.com/ Latin On Demand https://spark.adobe.com/page/ TscC9vcoe9W1U/ Distribution Music Company http://www.edmg.online Drone Company http://www.focus-uas.com/

[CHAPTER TWO]

Art

The Art Of The Torontos Own Paul Glyn-Williams 12

Paul Glyn-Williams (Sumartist) is a self-taught visual artist and conceptual project designer, based in Toronto. He takes an unspecialized approach to creating his work by using a very broad and eclectic range of experience in traditional painting, digital graphics, graffiti, airbrushing, sculpture art, and fabrication, to then transform creative ideas and concepts into reality. Shifting perspectives using technical details plays a large theme in his work and allows him to give the viewer something to uncover and study. Paul thrives on discovering new ways to convey his imagery and prides himself on the ability to take on projects in a medium heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s never attempted. He explores his full potential in every project, and looks for ways to learn more, and come up with creative design solutions.

As most of his work is commission based, a majority of it sits in private collections, however around Toronto, his work has been featured in the UpART festival at the Gladstone Hotel, along with a sculpture made for Canada 150 “A Warm Embrace” that permanently sits at Toronto Premium Outlets in Milton. Other hosted works are at local restaurants and business around the city such as El Hefe, Fran’s, Brassaii, Fit Factory, Bootleg, Nomads, and Lit Studios. More recently he has been commissioned by the BIA of little Italy to create a series of outdoor murals detailing the culture and heritage of the Italian community in Toronto. For images of this artists works please check out his Instagram @Sumartist

[CHAPTER THREE]

EDUCATION Book 2

Nipsey Hustleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Message Arrived To Late By Jacia Gibson

“The highest human act is to inspire”- Nipsey Hussle. IF the highest act is to inspire, than Nipsey Hussle left this world and his community deeply impacted by his dreams. Born Ermias Joseph Asghedom, Hussle was an intuitively inspiring entrepreneur, father, activist, educator, and musician. In mourning, the late Nipsey Hussle, his activist movement called “The Marathon Continues” was his life’s mission and legacy to fight for education reform, creating brotherhood between rival gangs, and encouraging community outreach for the youth in South L.A., but his death leaves the black community confused and outraged. At age 33 Hussle was shot and killed on March 31, by Eric Ronald Holder Jr. Holder was sited shooting and killing Hussle in front of his store, The Marathon Clothing at 3:20pm. Hussle’s South L.A family has taken a devastating blow from losing their community leader. How is a black man supposed to build his community if his life is taken to early? Young black men face death every day within gang violence, in addition to the prevalence of police brutality. Watching Hussle be killed is like watching themselves die by the same bullet. It defeats their purpose and reason for living, it keeps them in fear. That’s why his social platform, The Marathon Continues is important.

His influence in the rap game led his life towards activism and cultural empowerment by using his musical platform to build his empire. The Marathon Continues, is more than just his 2011 mixtape release. It is a signifier for black youth, especially for young black men to relinquish their hatred and hostility towards one another. It signifies a broader future for advancement in life. Hussle’s use of his quick intellect and wit inspired him to manage assets in real estate, acquiring The Marathon Clothing store at a strip-mall located in Crenshaw, and co-founding a STEM developing center named Too Big To Fail. Hussle’s rough n’ tough environment cultivat-

ed his dark past, but served to create the inspiring man we now know as Nipsey Hussle.. Nipsey Hussle was a hometown hero to his South L.A family, yet his legacy gained more socialized popularity after his death. What does that say about a man’s legacy when it gains social traction after his death? It screams “to late, and so sad!” This happens to MANY black people, whether they are activists or not and the inspiration and encouragement we could received is silenced in life, but immortalized on social media. It leaves a dissatisfying taste in one’s mouth, because their will never be anything like it again.

Nipsey’s fight for activism dares to say more about his love for community upliftment than about the lack of coverage he should have received while alive. But most people didn’t realize how his advocacy shaped the conversation on to bring peace to his community. Hussle was fighting to end the toxic relationship between the black community and the police According to The Guardian, “On March 31, LA Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff revealed that Hussle had a scheduled meeting with the LAPD the day after his death to discuss gun violence in the city. Hussle, a former gang member, spoke openly about his

experiences with gang culture and his desire to focus on “giving solutions and inspiration” to young black men like him. His claim to inspire black youth today stemmed from his own childhood and growing up in South L.A.’s Crenshaw district. In his youth, Hussle was formerly part of a street gang called the Rolling 60’s, an affiliated Crip’s group. Meaning the best way to resolve gang violence and underprivileged youth was to be part of the same neighborhood. His intersections of being a black man, formerly involved within gang culture, being an independent artist, and becoming a budding businessman allowed him the opportunity to empathetically rise to action. That’s why his death is upsetting because his national claim to the front lines of activism arrived too late. We the people, will not see him spearhead his advocacy across America and into many black communities that need him. Personally, I learned about Nipsey Hussle after his death from a raging social commentary about his initiative and involvement in his community on Instagram. Interested in the social buzz on Nipsey Hussle I engorged on media posts and the latest articles about his death and his mission statement.

encouraged young people to live without fear, and succeed at challenging their risk-filled dreams. His death is an argument on why black youth feel like the world has silenced them and left them without hope. In the words of his good friend Shamond Bennett, 39, Hussle was helping many people realize their potential to do better and thought of him as a prophet for the community. If we evaluate the idea of a prophet, we realize that it is someone who inspires and teaches us to believe in our own abilities to create more for ourselves. Hussle is a reflection for black youth everywhere, especially young black men and his death continues to perpetuate the harsh social relationships many

This difficult responsibility to process his death, and continue to fight in his honor has fallen on everyone who loved him. He

of them fear. The risk of being killed and dying young creates a complex relationship filled with anxiety and distress. With his death The Marathon Continues will be set aback, because contributing towards someone else’s vision is harder to achieve when the originator is not present. It happens in multiple cases, from Malcom X to Martin Luther King initiating their social movements for black liberation to being killed before their dreams were fully catapulted towards the future. In the coming future it will be interesting to see how Hussle’s legacy continues to grow from his supporters and the lives he touched. His death should spark a flame within everyone’s heart to push forward and build upon what he left behind.

[CHAPTER FOUR]

Music/Entrepreneurship

Who is Scotty ATL?

Interview by Jacia Gibson

Interviewer: Who is Scotty ATL? Scotty: Scotty ATL is an entrepreneur, CEO, rap artist, and a hard working guy in the community to bring change. Interviewer: What do you mean by change? Scotty: I do a lot of stuff in my community, I give back and go to schools and read to the kids in my community. I also have a store in Decatur which is the area I grew up in and we offer services to basically help families out. I’ve been doing this for a while, giving back to the homeless and doing events. That’s what I mean by bringing change. Interviewer: What made you choose your stage name? Scotty: I feel like I am the best representation of the ATL in terms of having the full package. A guy that can rap, you know still do my thing in the street and being in the community Interviewer: How did you get into the cannabis business? Scotty: There was a guy by the name of Lance, baciscally sold me one of his grow houses, and talked to me about what he was doing. We were doing an event together a few months later and after that I picked his brain about how he got started. I

really wasn’t interested in being in the cannabis industry. I was trying to pick his brain about being a billionaire, like what was some of the things he did to get their. He gave me a long list of stuff and later on he ended up sponsoring an event that I promoted through his company and he was like “man you know let me give you a strain,” and that’s how I started.

talk to. You know literally today someone who text me today was just asking me about my business. So everybody wants to do it-it’s all the time! And so their are people who are able to and those who are not able to because of the law or whatever situation they got going on. Yeah… so that happens, most people don’t know how to get into the cannabis industry, but they have a passion to do it.

Interviewer: Why weren’t you interested to get into the cannabis industry?

Interviewer: How is your cannabis business going?

Scotty: Ummmmm… I’m just not like a big perpetrator you know what I’m sayin? I’m not into doing stuff just to be doing it. I know myself, I know the time that I have, I know my real passion and interest in things and if it’s not on the top of my list then I normally don’t do it. So it’s nothing against the cannabis industry--it just really wasn’t my interest. I like to smoke, but I wasn’t trying to get into the business of it. A lot of people do it just say their doing it because it’s not making money for them it’s about clout.

Scotty: For my cannabis business is going good, but just to be honest I’ve been more focused on my business in Decatur, So it’s been doing really well and it’s been taking off really really fast. So I haven’t had as much time to focus on other stuff. In the future I will. Well with the cannabis stuff I’m just letting things happen as they happen in Georgia. I’m still linked in to Denver and California, but I know they will eventually pass the law here. I do plan on having some type of involvement in Atlanta when that happens.

Interviewer: Have you seen policing or the injustice of the legal system bar black people from entering the cannabis industry?

Interviewer: How did you get into creating grills? And Why?

Scotty: Umm well I mean everybody wants to be part of the cannabis industry. Everybody I

Scotty: I had a guy who asked me to help him with his grill company. He had a grill company in Decatur too at the time, and he needed some help with marketing, and I’m really into

the marketing side of things. I turned him down at the time because I didn’t feel like I could be much help to him, but he just came back and kept asking me. Eventually I ended up running into a friend who had lost his job and he was looking to do grills. I didn’t really want to do them at the time, but then I was like “man we can go do them right now,” and my friend was like “let’s do it.” I basically started out running the business part of it and let him learn the labor part. Eventually I had to learn the labor and ended up learning how to do everything. Interviewer: How is your grills business going for you? Scotty: It’s going pretty good and I like what I do. It’s going good, right now I’m making transactions while talking to you haha. I do pretty good with the customers and I try to model my grills after like Chick-fil-a or something like that because I feel like they do great customer service. That’s how I model what I do because I want people to have great customer service.We also just remodeled the shop from a traditional gold grill style shop, and now it’s been remodeled to kinda look like an iphone store. The grills are on the wall like if the sneakers were on the wall if you went to a sneaker shop, music playing and look a magazines. Interviewer: What are some of the pros and cons of managing both businesses? Scotty: The upside of being in the cannabis industry is that you can smoke all sorts of different strains.

Ughh the downside of being in the cannabis industry?… I don’t know if there’s really a downside. I don’t know if there really is a downside to doing grills either you know what I mean. I’m just like a positive person so I probably look at things differently than other people. Location hasn’t been a struggle for me now because when I first started doing grills we did everything from the car and then we got an office and then we had to find different jewelers and find my own store blah blah blah. Now it’s different I kinda got my own store and got an operation already going. The pros of the grills business is that I get the chance to meet a lot of different people and I get in doors that as an artist or a rapper that I might not get into easier. I meet different people doing this celebrities, comedians and whatever. I guess a con to having...I guess it’s not really a con, but I have my own store and it’s a lot of work. Some people look at it like ”that’s a con with what they do,” but I mean you ain’t goin make no money without no real responsibilities and that’s how I look at it. Interviewer: How I would give some meaning to your words is that your very optimistic about a lot of things. It sounds like your always thinking of the positive and ready to see it within your community. Scotty: Yeah I mean that’s the

only way I feel like I’ve been able to have a store you know? I have challenges like everybody else you know what I’m sayin. I was working with a guy who I was partnering with at a grill store and that opportunity allowed me to see that I could run a grill store of my own. We ended up splitting I ended up having a bunch of orders and having to figure things out while working out of my car. Eventually I made it work and now I got my own store. Had I not partner with him and then had the heartbreak of what some people consider failure I would have never got my own store. I see it like a blessing. Interviewer: Are you into anything else outside of music, cannabis and grills? Scotty: I like food, seafood, crab legs, shrimp and chicken. I’m not a foodie or into trying out

all kinds of food, but I like good food. If anything you gotta try the lemonyaki wings. Lemon pepper and teriyaki wings cause that’s the way. I’m also into video games like NBA 2K Interviewer: What’s next for Scotty ATL? Scotty: I’ve got some new music on the way that I’m excited about. I’m traveling a lot going to D.C. on Saturday and L.A. Wednesday and I already got two people signed to my label. Interviewer: As an optimist, a genuine person who doesn’t pose for the camera, and a business what is some piece of advice you give someone? Scotty: I would say make a to-do list and keep track of everything you do, and make measurable goals.

[CHAPTER FIVE]

TV/FILM/ VIDEO

Shoot from The Hart By Cherrie Garden

Widely sought after HipHop music video director/cinematographer Gabriel Hart reveals a candid synopsis of his admirably surreptitious rise to success. He shares with us the indispensable wisdom he has attained along the way; shot straight from the heart. Born on Valentine’s Day in Compton, California, raised in Memphis, Tennessee, the young Gabriel Hart had a general plan in life: “go to school, meet a girl, get a lame ass job, fall off into the sunset.” Little did he know the legacy he was meant to leave. After his plans to attend Tennessee State University fell through, he was accepted to DeVry which is what brought Gabriel to Atlanta, Georgia at 17 years old. He moved into a place located across the street from the old Club Flava, which is where his entertainment business training began. As a key-holder and bar-back at Flava, he would mingle with SWISS BEATS who was the opening DJ at the time, and DJ Fahrenheit. “LUDACRIS” was a radio personality then. He’d be walking around inside the club with a big afro and a SO SO DEF jacket on; he looked like the mascot!” While working at that club he rubbed shoulders with the greats before their time: PUFF DADDY was there before he made his mark in the music

industry, Left-Eye and her new group Blaque (Natina Reed and Shamari Fears), LIL KIM, JERMAINE DUPRI and even Tupac’s mother, AFENI SHAKUR . During this time at Club Flava is when Gabe developed an affinity for down south music, “booty music” as he calls it. He began to dabble in music production, making beats, and found that he

was a good arranger of music.

REFUGE OF EUPHORIA While attending college at DeVry, most of his friends were comedians. He hung out with LIL DUVAL and Food Stamps at the comedy clubs all the time and began to help them out by filming their comedy routines.

One night someone asked him if they could have a copy of what he had just filmed. “Ain’t nobody ever ask for a fucking copy, bruh! Now you asking for more than I can do. I’ve been using the same tape and recording over it for the past year!” A homeboy of his had a sister that was a film student at GA State, and suggested for Gabe to go meet her at school to see whether she could help. The moment he stepped onto GA State campus, it was a culture shock for him. He exclaimed, “WTF! This is a real college! This is the college I wanted to go to!” The students directed him to a small lab that had one Mac with iMovie on it and left him to figure out how to get the footage off the tape on his own. He accomplished the task that same day but then started coming back to the lab each day because no one ever checked for a school ID, “I just...found refuge in this lab. So now instead of making beats every day, I’d get up, catch the train and go downtown and fuck with this iMovie shit. It was like a euphoria!” After repeatedly asking the lab assistant for too much assistance, the staff encouraged him to go to a newer, larger lab that had just opened on campus, called the Digital Aquarium. This would become his new home, from the time it opened in the morning to the time it

closed at night, for about a year. During this time, Gabriel learned everything he could about the programs by filming his friends at the comedy clubs and editing the videos. After seeing Gabe in the lab, day after day, the staff at the Digital Aquarium began to ask, “When do you go to class?” and he told them he was off this semester. A staff member named Nathan, started offering to hire Gabe as a lab assistant so that Gabe could get paid, because he was good at what he was doing, and even helped other students. One day Nathan asked Gabriel repeatedly for his school ID so he could hire him. Gabe kept trying to blow him off, but Nathan persisted. Eventually, Gabriel told him the ID was out in the car, but Nathan insisted he go get it. Gabe said, “I’ll be right back.” He walked out of the lab that day, and never came back.

up the program!” Gabriel had developed a following, and he made the Digital Aquarium a cool place to be. “I showed all the girls how to use Napster, that was big then. I was making everything then that’s on the internet now, like memes and little comedy sketches.” Unexpectedly, the department offered Gabriel a position anyway, with the stipulation that he had to teach, to basically give back to the program. He took the job!

REDEMPTION

As time went by, things got to a point where Gabe had outgrown even the Digital Aquarium computer lab because everyone in there was working on a job for him. The administrators declared, “Gabriel, you got go!” They told him they could have someone at CNN review his resume for hire there, but Gabe was in a predicament because he had a project he was working on at the time and he didn’t have a computer of his own!

A couple weeks later Gabriel ran into a fellow GA State student on the street. The student said, “Man, Nathan’s been looking for you and he’s heated! You better call him!” After some time, Gabe finally mustered up the nerve to call him. When Nathan answered, he asked Gabriel straight up, “You are not a student, are you?” Gabe admitted,”No, sir, I am not.” Nathan responded, “Man, you could’ve cost me my job! But... you built

Right on time, Lil Duval calls him up and offers him a DVD project. Gabe demands two Mac computers and $800 as payment, with one Mac up front. From there, Gabriel’s career took flight. Lil Duval’s “Dat Boy Funny” his first official project. Then his first music video got on Big Oomp Music Video Countdown on television. Gabe started taking music videos a lot more seriously. His work began to circulate to

it go viral! They reached out and asked Gabriel whether he had anymore videos, and hence the relationship with the late WorldStarHipHip founder and CEO Lee “Q” O’Denat was formed. Within months, Gabriel was commissioned to shoot “My President is Black,” by Jeezy featuring Nas. That’s when the correspondence from DEF JAM went from cease and desist, to “give us more!”

BYPASS THE MUSIC INDUSTRY’S SYSTEM

the point where he now got a call to shoot a music video for “Umma Do Me” star, Rocko the Don. Gabriel shot Rocko’s music video for his new hit single “This Morning” and, in Gabe’s own words, “I went in on that video and I ate that shit up!” Even Def Jam sent him a cease and desist letter, “I didn’t even know what the fuck that was! I was just happy to have a letterhead from Def Jam!”

Gabriel then convinces Bangladesh to let him shoot “A Milli” remix video with Neyo in LA during the BET awards. Upon completion, Gabe uploaded it to Bangladesh’s YouTube page, and even though it wasn’t his best work, the video got over 1000 views in a couple hours, where it would normally take a month to get that many views. Then WorldStarHipHop picked up the video, and that made

“That was my entrance into the game; just being patient and being assertive and putting my all into every video. At that time, folks were not shooting with no-name directors. It just wasn’t heard of! It was all about Chris Robinson, Jessy Terrero, Little X, Hype Williams; there was no room for a Gabriel Hart. Or so I thought.” Gabriel took a different approach with his product and offered a service for the internet, “I’m gonna give you something that you can throw up on the internet and its gonna look almost as good as these real TV videos. To this day I don’t even think of myself to their [above named directors] caliber because that’s how much admiration and respect I still have for them. I became addicted to the concept of using the internet to bypass the system of the industry.”

THINGS GET HARDER: The sadly ever after, in his own words... “People generalize black directors, black creatives, and generalize and resent anything that doesn’t look like what the stereotypical director would look like. I always use the following analogy: Imagine you were in the middle of the streets of Harlem, and you were doing a simple pick-up basketball game with your friends, and you needed one more teammate. You notice there are two people left to be picked from. One guy looks like me, being a black guy, 6’2, skinny, athletic looking, looks like a rapper, looks like he can dunk and the other guy was a short Asian guy that looks like a nerd. Who would you pick?” “Everyone would choose the black guy. I’m not complaining about that. No one would say, “Aww, poor Chinese guy.” Now, let’s say you need someone to do your video. And you had those same two guys to choose from, who would you choose?” “When the perception is in my favor, no one complains. So, when the perception is not in my favor, I really shouldn’t complain. It took me a long time to understand that I’m being generalized. When I walk onto a set, people always ask me, “are you the artist?” People think Black

people, Black men, Black talent stops at just being in front of the camera. That’s a barrier that we have to work through, figure a way to work around it, and just keep going.” “The competitive edge I have over people who don’t look like me is that I have it in me, not just on me. I have those years where I actually listened to Ice Cube when Ice Cube was first out, I listened to Ice Cube when it was important to listen to Cube, I didn’t just start listening to Ice Cube. So when I shoot a video for Ice Cube, I get it; I get it like a muthafucka. This is shit that is instinctive to me. When you run off, and you and Taylor Swift are best friends, and you doing all her videos, guess where I’m gonna be at? Me and Young Scooter gonna be in the trap, back to the hood with Future, like we just did. We just dropped a video today with Future and Scooter. We gonna be right there in the hood pushing the culture forward.”

IMPORTANCE OF VIDEOS “Your video is your commercial. If you have a cheap looking commercial, your product is a reflection of your commercial. This is why videos are so important. “A picture is worth a 1000 words.” I don’t know who said that -- Homer, Plato, Socrates -- but it’s true! I think that’s why we have to have videos. I

remember a point where people started talking about “we don’t need any more videos,” “videos are over,” “the budgets are wack,” “no one is watching videos anymore,” “nobody even plays videos anymore.” It was really insulting!” “People have even said “Oh, you’re just a music video director? You ever think about doing movies?” Hello!!! All the movie directors that are out now started by making music videos! Every fuckin’ director out now. Every one of them! Micheal Bay was the biggest music video director that was out. He was the Hype Williams before Hype Williams. He was the muthafucka that inspired Hype Williams to do big budget shit. Nobody was doing things like Micheal Bay. All those movies with pretty girls and fast cars come from music videos. Bay’s strategy for film basically evolved from rock and roll music videos he made back in the day. Our greatest Black cinema filmmaker, Spike Lee, even got his warm up by making music videos.”

MUSIC VIDEOS = CINEMA “The art form and the craft of music videos has so many layers to it and its so influential and yet people don’t make a connection between music videos and the cinema. That’s really frustrating! It gives me anxiety because they’re putting a glass

ceiling on what I do and what someone who does film does. When you look at it, we are in better shape than a filmmaker because I go to the “gym” everyday. When I say “gym,” I mean a metaphor for going and working on my craft. The music video is like going to LA Fitness and working on your calf muscle. Each music video helps you to accentuate different skills and stock up on different pieces of equipment from each video you do. Over time you are building your bullets for your “gun,” so when it comes time to shoot a movie, you can just shoot your target, just “boom, boom, boom, boom.”

and I felt good about it. I felt like, “ wow, if I can do that little thing, with no help, look at all these people who are now here to help me. Look around! I got help now, so there is nothing I cannot do.” So then my job is to translate that energy and that passion onward and forward to my crew, and that’s what directing is to me. Its just taking what I feel, and what I’ve experienced, and what I believe and getting people to buy into that philosophy of, “We can do it! We have more than what we need! Even though we don’t have enough money or the budget ain’t “right.” Man, look, I’ve done a lot more with a lot less.”

“Music videos keep you young at heart because you are dealing with these kids. I know what the people want, I know what tempo they like, I know what’s hot. I feel like I can out-shoot a lot of people that actually shoot movies right now, cuz I have more confidence! You can’t shake my confidence at this point. Its really unbreakable. I have small micro-successes that only I know I accomplished. The difference between music videos and filmmaking is that I accomplish something. I figured out something on my own, I understood, I connected the dots, I was thinking, I was using my brain. I had nothing, I had no resources and I used creativity to problem-solve, and it came out dope, and it was organic,

“I admit that, eventually, music videos alone could become an Achille’s Heel for me -- the same thing that makes you strong can make you weak -- over a period of time, if I never grow and change. But people should never look at music videos as less than filmmaking.”

ART DOESN’T HAVE A COLOR “Never take on the attitude that Hip Hop is blocking itself off to anybody. If anything, there are people that block themselves off to Hip Hop. Of course I would love to do a video of another genre, why not? That’s another check! But Hip Hop always has open arms toward anyone that wanna fuck with

us. We embraced Milli Vanilli; we embraced the Beastie Boys.” “We wanna do them big videos too. But even after we do all our due diligence and pay our dues, where do we go from there? After you do 1000 hood videos, what do you do next? Go back to the hood. Even after you do an Adele video or a Beyonce video, or whoever the world deems to be the top of the fucking food chain, guess what we gotta do after that? Go right back to the hood, cuz that’s where we from, that’s who needs us the most. Beyonce and ‘em don’t need me. Scooter needs me, the Migos need me, Travis Porter need me. I ain’t up here just trying to chase someone that don’t really need a nigga, y’know what I’m saying? I’ll go where I’m wanted. The hood needs me. But, hell yeah, I’m open to collaborate with whoever is open to what we got going on. Who would say no to doing a Justin Timberlake video?” “It’s in us, that’s our shit, it’s what we do. Anything they are doing, of course we can do it too. They stole it from us! Miley Cyrus had Mike Will Made It produce a song for her. If Mike Will can interpret what white people wanna dance to, why is there a question about whether I can interpret what white people wanna see? As a matter of fact, why is race even an issue anyway? I don’t think there should be a distinction between people

that know and love Hip Hop, or for people to think that we who embraced and paid the toll in Hip Hop, don’t like any other genre of music. We love all of it, that’s what makes us so dope!” “Real musicians, real HipHop-heads love dope shit! It doesn’t matter what it is; it could be Phil Collins. My favorite artist is Sting and The Police. The question is: Do we look at who is doing it? Or do we look at what they are doing, or why they are doing it? Whether they are a girl or a guy, black, Asian or white, shouldn’t matter. A person is only as good as the opportunity earned. When I hit record, the camera doesn’t ask, “Is this a black artist or is this a white artist?” It’s in you, its not on you. Art doesn’t have a color.

STREET TUITION “I’ve never smoked, never did drugs, never drank. That was God keeping my head clear so that I could be a leader amongst people who are followers. Me being a director, I didn’t think it into fruition. I moreso felt it into fruition. I may not have gone to film school, but every rapper paid my tuition with each video. Tuition costs about $10k a semester, and to make a music video costs about $10k. So every time I get paid my “tuition”, I go straight to

“school.” Every video was equivalent to a lesson in college.” “My teachers are the police, who tried to keep me from shooting. My teachers are the neighbors that complain and call the police on you, my teachers are the bad crew members who try to tell you what to do or control your set, learning to deal with them. My math class is doing payroll and paying taxes; on the job training. Even growing up, I didn’t watch movies and think, “Oh I wanna be a filmmaker!” That thought never crossed my mind. I watched HBO and Cinemax all the time: Superman, Glass Dragon, The Color Purple, A Soldiers Story, Saint Elmo’s Fire. Couple that with my personal life experiences, and music, and pain, and disappointment, and tragedy, is how the phenomenon of being a director just.... happened. Music, video, philosophy, strategy, all become one in cinema. That’s where I find my comfort, That’s where I find my purpose, That’s where I find my career. I’m just getting started, I haven’t even scratched the tip of the iceberg!”

I HAVE A PLAN “I have a plan, and it is to go into the film industry, and do short films, and feature length films, and television, and commercials.

I just want to make that transition with integrity and with people who understand what I bring to the table... also realizing that sometimes you gotta write your own checks in the game, you gotta do your own projects. If I learned anything, it was that you gotta invest in your own self. If nobody hires you, hire yourself. Why not? If you’re that good, if you’re that hard, if you’re that dope at what you do; ok then, do it for yourself! I learned this on set. Everybody I tried to go to college with ended up working for me. Everybody got a degree, but at some point somebody has to have a plan.” “And then, when people see you operating on a low level, where the video came out, and its on TV, then now people trust you. So when people trust you, then they empower you with more responsibility, and that’s where success comes. Now I’m not selling them on my abilities anymore. Now its like “how far can we go?” It’s not like, “can we make a rocket?” It’s “can we go to the moon?” Me and my tribe, as far as we are concerned, we going to try to land on the moon! I feel that I am prepared, and only time will tell if the world is prepared to hear what I have to say.” Instagram: @VideoGod Website: www.VideoGod.net

[CHAPTER SIX]

FASHION

Walking With Purpose Never Goes Out Of Style Trishunda A. Mooney

James “Hunkie” Cooper at Canyon Springs High School, Weatherspoon changed positions and chose Clark Atlanta University of Atlanta, GA over several other Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to study fashion design. Las Vegas native started early taking advantage of the opportunities afforded to him to get out of his rough neighborhood on the westside in order to begin living out his true purpose. Working for Gary Franzen Custom Clothing and Tuxedo Junction, he was able to hone in on becoming an experienced tailor apprentice as well as perfect his customer services skills in men’s fashion while keeping his overall goal after graduation before him.

While others celebrated September’s holiday with parties, barbecue and kicking their feet up, the Assistant Creative Director of the Miguel Wilson Collection celebrated his birthday weekend helping to make a groom’s wedding day styling an “avant-garde” occurrence. “I told myself, that I wanted to graduate with a degree in fash-

ion and that I refuse to graduate college without having a job in my area of studies,” Darion Weatherspoon shared. Though groomed for politics by his late mentor and father figure, Nevada State Assemblyman Tyrone Thompson and playing defensive back under the leadership of Arena Football Hall of Famer Hernandez

But having a vision, experience and the education did not eliminate the stumbling blocks he endured in getting to where he is today. “I took the time, before spring break, to visit every tailoring shop in the city of Atlanta and every single one of them turned me down,” he said. “But I’ve always followed Miguel Wilson and I had an idea saying, ‘the worse he could say is No’.” Reaching out with a single phone call, Weatherspoon was ready when Wilson responded

with, “Can you get here in 20 minutes?”

his record, the college student felt, “my life is over and I will never be able to get a job.”

He explained how “staying ready” for him means: waking up at 5 a.m. to answer emails, being available for calls from the award-winning designer at 2 a.m. and having the mentality of “constantly grinding to see the success of the company.”

“But with God,” the budding fashion designer shares his life experiences to encourage and motivate others by, “spreading love and living unapologetically me.”

Weatherspoon shared how aligning with the celebrity fashion designer at such a time as this in his life, has been extremely beneficial in his growth in the ever-changing fashion industry because he foresees the brand’s longevity.

Along with making a name for himself in men’s fashions and contributing to the overall triumph of the Miguel Wilson brand, Weatherspoon ultimately wants to revamp his brainchild from high school, the Silent Cries foundation that focuses on teen suicide prevention utilizing mentorship and counseling.

“It doesn’t matter your profession, the question is always, how bad do you want it,” he shared. The support he receives from his family; his mother and grandmother continue to push him to use valuable energy in finding solutions to any of his problems over having a single invite pity party.

Having checked off securing a career in fashion from his “to-do” list, he sees returning to his hometown in Las Vegas to assist in building it, “fashion wise and as a community.” “I know that having book knowledge plus street knowledge is a dangerous combination,” Weatherspoon said. So be sure to follow the brand @miguelwilsoncollection on Instagram and Twitter, follow Weatherspoon @_therealspoon or visit his website: www. theworldofspoon.com to witness his timeless fashion influence and exclusive approach to living purposefully.

While in college, Weatherspoon faced one of his greatest challenges yet in standing up for what he believed to be was right. He was “perplexed” at how his intention to defuse a situation led to his arrest and being wrongfully accused of assaulting an officer. Having a stain such as this on

[CHAPTER SEVEN]

MUSIC

DJ Tephlon from NYC to ATL and around the WORLD By Travis Christian

TC: Who are you and where did you get your name ? DJ Tephlon: I am DJ Tephlon and I got my name from Don Cannon who taught me how to DJ. So I was Djing for about like six months and didn’t have a name he was like “Yo your name is Terrell and Tephlon rhymes with your name you should get on the internet do the research to make sure no one has your name spell it differently “ that’s why I spell it phlon instead of flon and that’s how that happened. TC: What inspired you to become a DJ ?

Alert was the OG on the radio at the time, Craig G, Funk Master Flex and Ron G. I mean like all the mixtape DJ’s like RR I was at the mix tape store everyday spending my allowance or every week spending my allowance on mix tapes I shouldn’t have. So that influenced me just the whole culture of the mix tapes listening to them on the radio back in the day when you had to tape the radio so you could have the new music. Growing up in that time in New York was on the cutting edge of the mix tapes and all that so a lot of New York DJ’s influenced me. TC: Who are some of your musical influences growing up ?

DJ Tephlon: I always thought DJing was dope the power of how a DJ can get you some sex that night the DJ can effect your mood how good of a time you had. From doing promotions I would watch how certain DJ’s would move parties and I just thought it was cool I always thought that was cool.

DJ Tephlon: All the greats like I grew up like most black kids with parents who listed to music so anything from AL Green to Frankie Beverly and Maze to Heavy D and the Boys. My mother had Cd’s like my uncles had music collections so I listened to a broad spectrum of music.

TC: Growing up who are some of the DJ’s you looked up to ?

TC: In your opinion what makes a hit

DJ Tephlon: My DJ influences or the DJ’s who influenced me I am from New York so I grew up in the days when Kid Capri was coming up. Red

DJ Tephlon: The feeling it gives people is what makes it a hit I can remember the first time I heard Swag Surfing in the club I was at a college

party. It was about two or three months before grown folks had heard it. I felt left out because you got a thousand kids moving from right to left they felt it. It’s just a feeling you get that you can’t rush or duplicate, you can’t force a hit you can’t make people gravitate to it before time. Because you may listen to an album five times and don’t like number thirteen and then one day you’re riding in the car thirteen speaks to you, it’s a feeling that the listener gets I feel that’s what makes it a hit. TC: How did you get introduced to the cookies brand ? DJ Tephlon: Thru the creative not the creative because he doesn’t grow. In the smoking world we got introduced to Kush via B Real from Cypress Hill before he started talking about kush and giving it out we didn’t smoke kush. Burner is the person who’s responsible for making cookies the weed strain and the lifestyle brand popular I am his DJ so that’s how I got associated with Cookies. TC: What was the marketing strategy behind cookies brand? DJ Tephlon: Quiet is kept cookies was a popular weed

strain and being that burner doesn’t grow weed he was getting cut out of the weed play (Money). So he started a line of merch T shirts, hats and hoodies to prevent himself from being cut out of a play he helped create. It started there and what actually happened is he kind of blew up the lifestyle brand bigger than the weed. And the weed caught up to it later but he built the brand just so that he didn’t get cut out of a play he didn’t have control over. TC: Explain the difference between a stoner and smoker? DJ Tephlon: There is a difference between a stoner and smoker your average person that smokes a little pot or a lot of pot is a smoker. A stoner is a just a tad bit serious about their weed. They will travel to weed festivals for example If you’re going to spend 420 in a state where pot is illegal you’re a smoker stoners are going to travel to where the weed is legal and enjoy it in its best environment. So again if you’re not traveling to a Denver , California or Seattle just for the day or for the holiday you’re a smoker, it’s just that simple. Stoners travel for it a stoner will drive from downtown Los Angeles to Maywood which is maybe an hour away depending on where you live just to go get Cookies. Now it’s 50 dispensaries between here and there, but because they are stoner and only want one thing

they will travel for it because stoners take their weed a little more serious. TC: How Did Cookies Go From Being Big In The Hiphop Community To Now Being So Main Stream DJ Tephlon: It became main stream because like we said it’s

a difference between stoners and smokers your stoners may not be the coolest person they are not always represented in music and burner got in a space and talked about it. For example everybody wants to talk about cocaine stories in music how they flipped a birds this that and a third. There’s a lot of people who made mil-

lions of dollars off of weed and burner gave those people a voice. Burner gave the uncool person a voice. It’s interesting on how his fans gravitate and support him like. For example Cookies is a million dollar company burner barely has a Million followers i don’t think and I am just using him for an example a meek mills can move as much Dream Chasers merch as burner would. People follow Meek Mills because of the cool car he drives or to see who he’s fucking, Burners followers fans want to spend money with him. And the music for the lack of a better word is the commercial for popping strains if you listen to any of Burners music you can damn near tell when a strain

got popular because he talked about it maybe two or three months before it hit the main stream. For example there’s a new strain that’s about to come out called Georgia pie he has a album coming out called Elchebo I guarantee you somewhere on elchebo there will be a discussion about Georgia Pie and every other strain that he’s bringing to market next. TC: Being an international DJ what has been some of the crazy experiences traveling the world ? DJ Tephlon: There’s a lot of crazy stories not trying to tell on myself the most craziest stories it’s funny I was talking

to Burner today about our biggest problem is always how are we securing the bag and I don’t mean the money bag. Like yea our tour shows everything revolves around how are we getting the weed there. So just that in itself traveling overseas trying to find weed most of crazy stories either somebody got caught with the weed or almost got caught with it or almost got robbed trying to buy some weed the weed is again it’s a show so it’s him rapping and I am DJing that’s the easy part making sure we have our situation together is pretty much the hard part. Even better Wiz is on Dubai talked to Burner today and we are not going to Dubai because we are not going no place we can’t smoke for six or seven days and I am pretty sure wiz is getting a six figure check, I don’t know how I would make it. TC: When It’s all said and done what do you want your legacy to be ? DJ Tephlon: He rocked the party he was a party rocker like I get off on facilitating people having a good time and I feel like it’s a skill that not everyone has mastered. I would like to be known as one of the ones who rock a party when you think of your Biz Markie,Kid Capri’s DJs Who fly around the world to really rock parties I want to be thought of in that light.

[CHAPTER EIGHT]

Events

The United Way of Greater Atlanta African American Partnership leadership luncheon Hosted by Common