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Dallas’ first and best countdown of underground music from new artists
Featured cover artist, Campion Bond reps color blocking for the stage
Stuff that your man wants you to know but doesn’t have the balls to tell you
dallas music, fashion, life
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7 structure soapbox page 4 life page 5 EXG: Jekyl & Hyde page 6 the show page 7 soundlab page 7
contributors page 3 next issue page 7
contributors... what is some sh*t that pisses you off?
thesmagazine.com M. Jai Makokha Editorial Director
WIllie Johnson III &Nikki Beason Editors-at-Large
Editorial
Production
Published by
Executive Editor Damon K. Clark damon@manyonge.info
Executive Producer Marcie Randolph marcie@manyonge.info
Manyonge Enteprise P.O. Box 210683 Dallas, Texas 75211
Music Editor Isaiah J. Perkins isaiah@manyonge.info
Co-Producer Jeleesa Traylor jeleesa@manyonge.info
theSmagazine.com SOAPBOXwithJai.com
Editorial Projects Caleb Brown caleb@manyonge.info
Nicolas James Harris Jakx Photography
Ralph Boaz Independent
Lack of self-respect. When someone doesn’t respect themselves, they have little reason to respect others. That and TRAFFIC! #ugh
Tardiness and lying. The last person who lied to me was my boss who promised me a promotion. Never happened so I quit and got a better job. Sometimes you have to encourage yourself. #POW
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ex sells. As an editor, even the thought of starting a piece with such an obvious, ‘goeswithout-saying’ statement makes me cringe. But go with me here. Everyone from Kim Kardashian to The Game’s Josea Chanchez to Chris Brown have landed themselves on--or back on--the headlines for some sex scandal or leaked photo that goes ‘south of the border’. Even Beyonce’s vagina had the tabloids talking with all the speculation around the life that was planted in her secret place. In a media landscape that is grounded so firmly in sex scandals, nude TwitPics and pornographic digital downloads, it’s quite comforting
to find artists who rely on being truly talented to become newsmakers. It’s almost crazy to think that some artists really make art in hopes to hit it big--no gimics, no crazy catches. Even DPhill SpanglishMan, who was first seen in our pages with his out-of-the-box spin on hip-hop fashion, spits rhymes that can’t be disputed, despite his wardrobe choices. This issue, the team has pulled together who we think are the talent makers in Dallas. We haven’t wasted any vital editorial real estate in our first printed issue on people who don’t deserve it--what magazine would conciously waste time on mess? - M.J.M.
on the cover: page 6 EXG: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the Mic creative direction & styling by Ralph Boaz photography by Nicolas James Harris photographed at Life in Deep Ellum special thanks to Mōkah Coffee Bar
4 march 2012 // THESMAGAZINE.COM
The provider. The breadwinner. The king of his castle. The punk when it comes to talking about some real sh*t. Doesn’t seem like the four go together, does it? The truth of the matter, men--most men--are punks at heart when it comes to really speaking their mind. I bet if you asked your boyfriend, husband, significant other what he’s really thinking, his mental response is going to be, “What do you want to hear?” long before he actually just spits out whatever is rolling through his mind. I know there are many out there rolling their eyes in agreement saying, I just want to know what my man thinks so we can better understand each other. After all, understanding yields a happier relationship, right? WRONG. The funny fact about what men are thinking is that most of the things men ponder on are offensive, controversial and sometimes, downright stupid. But men don’t want their significant others to know that. “Then why cover it up?” one suspecting reader may ask. Since the stone age, it seems, men have been clothing their real thoughts in other wears. Think back to Fresh Prince of Bel Air when Will, played by Will Smith, approaches Jackie, played by Tyra Banks, and says, “You must be tired baby, cuz you been running through my mind all day.” He knew that he was not thinking about this woman all day. If you recall the series, he hadn’t thought about her at all since she came from west side of Philly— born n’ raised, on the playground is where he spent most of his days. From pick up lines to avoiding the inevitable pillowtalk-turned-argument, men have disguised their true thoughts and feelings in a way that gets them what they want: sex and/or serenity…perhaps in that order. With all that said, YouTube has changed the face of honesty and taken it to another level. Men are expressing themselves in a way they may have never in a medium that everyone can understand. The following tips to women (and men) are intended to shed a little light on what really goes through the mind of man, even if the man you’re dealing with is not ballsy enough to tell you himself.
MEN DON’T LIKE TO WEAR CONDOMS RealTalkWithKev
MEN CAN’T BE SLUTS JerryLaVigneJr
CAN’T STOP A MAN FROM CHEATING SpokenReason
4 of 5 men agree with RealTalkWithKev
3 out of 5 men agree with JerryLaVigneJr
5 of 5 men agree with SpokenReasons
Any man who tells you otherwise is just trying to get in your pants. RealTalkWithKev makes it plain in saying, “Men don’t like competition”. Every time you lay down, your man is thinking that he is about to lay it better than anybody or anything has ever laid it—breaking it so it will forever be broken. But the condom has a very different take on it. Regardless of how well your man lays, puts it down, fries the bacon, tears down the walls, the condom will always one up him. The condom, if used properly, can go harder, last longer, and, effing with him, you’ll never deal with the threat of children.
Obama just delivered the State of the Union address talking about, “If you write this bill and that law, I’ll sign it without delay.” JerryLaVigneJr explains it as women have the ultimate veto power. Outside of rape—which AIN’T cool—women’ hold all the cards. In a coupling of the bodies, women are the ones that wield their power of “No”. Men can only wield their power by saying “Yes”. So in the controversy of who is and is not a slut, JerryLavigneJr says it can inevitably not be a man.
“A man with a vision is a man that can’t be stopped.” Bishop T.D. Jakes spits that rhetoric from his Dallas, TX, Potter’s House pulpit. The same applies to the bullsh*t that men create for themselves. When a man sets his sights on something, another woman perhaps, he can’t be stopped. SpokenReasons takes us back to freshman algebra real quick explaining that for every man in a relationship, there are 4M other “free agents” for yo’ man to abscond with. That doesn’t count all the “close your legs to married men” women out there.
The real talk to the story is that men and women alike, though they may not feel the greatest, understand and should wear condoms because they protect both people involved from infection and pregnancy. Either of those, especially unexpectedly, are not cool.
The real talk to the story is that regardless of the situation, sexual or not, men want women to understand the choice is theirs. Women have just as much say in the any matter as the man. From the board room to the bedroom, all voices matter. Women have worked hard for the voice they have and men simply want you to know that we value you, your opinions and decisions.
http://bit.ly/nemx5Q
http://bit.ly/yPT51c.
The real talk to the story is that, despite the male-to-female national ratio, a good mate (man or woman) is hard to find. In relationships, business or otherwise, the old adage always holds true, “What you won’t do, he/she will find someone who will.” It is both parties responsibility to respect and honor their mate while they are together, then these other bitches are “non-motherfucking factors”. http://bit.ly/A6Wm11
Let me start this game off right, men hate talking about our feelings. Deep down inside, we want to just exist. We’ll do now and feel later. Making us talk about our feelings makes us itch…no really. Ask your man about his feelings and just watch? No really, do it now.
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EXG (Extraordinary Gentlemen) comprised of Tre Bishop and Campion Bond are hot on the music scene here in Dallas. Founded by Campion Bond as a recording label, the two under the management of the Apex Agency have morphed into a musical sensation with a sound all their own, serenading the ladies with their follow-up video to the recently released “Starting Tonight”.
ne, the introverted father of one; the other, a gospel influenced, self-identified lion. Two separate influences, separate sounds coming together to make music that changes the theory of underground music. Most of us had to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in high school. The story of a scientist, Dr. Jekyll, who developed an elixir that transformed him into the brute, Mr. Hyde, the exaggerated essence of everything the scientist was not. Essencially, the subdued and introverted scientist by day became the extroverted and boisterous—to say the least—monster by night. EXG personifies the fiction created ages ago. The only difference for the duo is that their Jekyll-and-Hyde-isms are somewhat interchangeable. I got a chance to interview the duo in the upswing of their performance schedule and video and project promotions in the beginning of 2012. Recently released, Starting Tonight, is the first single released from their upcoming project and are expected to release a second February 2012. The group was formed initially as a recording label by Campion Bond. He says the name came to him watching the 2003 re-
leased film, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He was inspired by each “gentleman” or gentlewoman with different skills coming together to change the world. Bond wanted the same for his independent label—to bring artists together with different sounds that could change the sound of the music we receive. February 2011, he was picked up by the Apex Agency who had already signed smooth singing, Tre Bishop. The two mashed their heads together and decided to become the smooth singing, hard-hitting duo they are today. Some compare their sounds but the lyricists admit they are incomparable. “People will say he sounds like Kanye and people say I sound like Usher and Trey Songz, but still with those references, we still come out as our own,” says the duo. The two create a synthesis of sound and personality in a way that screams Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Bishop is more extroverted in the interview—he calls himself a “lion”—while Bond is more laid back. But on the mic, they are able transform and trade personas to give the crowd what they need. Campion becomes the brute ripping through lyrics while Tre’s voice floats over top with
leighton autry @ life in deep ellum Peep this: the music you find at Trees, the atmosphere you get at a Starbucks, the lounge feeling you get at home all mashed together with free WIFI. Only in Deep Ellum is there a hip space for artists, performers, and patrons to commune together during the day. Life in Deep Ellum is quite possibly downtown Dallas’ best kept secret. A combination of Mokah Coffee Bar specializing in, of course, mochas, the art gallery highlighting local artists like Leighton Autry (works photographed to the right) and performance space for small gatherings and large concerts. Life in Deep Ellum definitely gives every artist a space to be creative. Life in Deep Ellum, 2803 Taylor St., Dallas, TX, 75226
6 march 2012 // THESMAGAZINE.COM
subtle nuances that make the listener listen. The two just released their first single “Starting Tonight” from their newest project. The second release from the project will be debuted on the next episode of SOAPBOX with Jai alongside Tre Bishop’s exclusive interview with Devyn Simone. - Damon K. Clark
B!Creativity also favored: Brain Gang Blue “Party On” Director: Jeff Adair Release Date: 12/2012 Video Hits: 5,000+
-topic, “Noid” from Finally Confident Noid aka “Null and Void” is the title of this video, A mix of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Lyrical if you ask me. This video and song shows an artist true struggle with family, friends and the “industry”. This was the first single off the Finally Confident release in the end of December. Shot by Dallas native FSA, he shows how to capture the rawness of this song with some dope filters and angles. - Isaiah J. -topic “Noid (Null and Void)” Director: FSA Director of Photography: Joonbug Release Date: 11/2012 Video Hits: N/A Watch Here: http://vimeo.com/33057763
Watch Here: http://www.youtube. com/jeffadairproductions
it’s me time
Ace Mitch “DBF Gang” Director: NORBYEGA VISION Release Date: 1/2012 Video Hits: 1400+
What are you not telling your significant other? Fetishes explored! Then, “let me get a two piece and a pepper!” Hittin up the best fried chicken spots in Dallas.
Next month is crazy for the whole company. Check out what’s coming up in April for Manyonge Enteprise.
SCAN HERE Peep the newest segment of SOAPBOX with Jai called 90 seconds with the artist. Check out EXG frontman, Tre Bishop, interview up-and-coming model, Devyn Simone on her life and future. Peep the newest segment of SOAPBOX with Jai called 90 seconds with the artist. Check out EXG frontman, Tre Bishop, interview up-and-coming model, Devyn Simone on her life and future. Watch Here: http://www.youtube. com/user/AceMitchMusic
For consideration, email tracks and videos to hello@bcreativity.com
thesmagazine.com
Check out exclusive behind the scenes photos of the EXG cover shoot featuring Dallas-based hip-hop photographer, Nicolas James Harris of Jakx Photography. Highlights from the exclusive event hosted by editorial director, M. Jai Makokha at his uptown Dallas home.
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