Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Lupe Fiasco
If you read Chicago and Kanye West you would immediately think that Lupe Fiasco was a Kanye Protégé. But when you listen to his deceptively laid back, conscious rhymes, you would never make that mistake again. The underground birthed Wasalu Muhammad proves that it’s his bold uncool lyrics make you listen and learn from what he has to say.
Rapping from the age of eight, his life as a rapper briefly stopped when he listened to the violent imagery contained in the early “Gangsta” rap style of hip hop. But happily for us Lupe soon found his way back to being a Lyricist by the age of 14. Drawn by the styles of Jay Z and Nas a star began to rise embodied by Lupe’s words.
In his newest album "The Cool", Lupe seeks to show the pitfalls of what it is to be cool. Through music and rhyme he seeks to educate the youth with the concept that what may seem cool is really uncool.
With the bubble gum pop of hip hop artists these days, it’s refreshing to have a young man that speaks out for being smart and conscious. It’s actually cool to be uncool. When you listen to Lupe you really understand where he is coming from. As he says it’s the geeks and nerds who end up being the ones on top at the end. Almost like a throwback to the conscious rhymes of KRS-1 and Public Enemy, Lupe seeks to re-educate.
In this era it’s clear that as an entertainer you have to do more than be in music. You have to bring your ideas and a conceptual thought to the people, and Lupe does that with "The Cool".
Lupe also involved in giving charity. One could argue that it really isn’t “Cool” to give back in this economic climate. His work for the Children’s Miracle network is a sign of his intention to really make a difference.
Lupe teamed up with Karma loop in a create a T-Shirt competition for the interpretation of his album "The Cool". All proceeds will go to WHY (a nonprofit organization dedicated in helping ending hunger and poverty).
There is no misunderstanding who Lupe Fiasco is, he's just "Pure Dopeness" !
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Christian Audigier
Creating his first design at the age of sixteen. Christian Audigier is a phenomenon when it comes to marketing his brand of clothing. The owner and marketing genius, of the brands Ed Hardy, Smet, and Christian Audigier, he is a force to be reckoned with.
Raised in a family headed by a single mother in the small town of Avignon in France, Christian knew it was up to him to take care of the family. Knowing he didn’t have a voice, he chose to delve into the world of Fashion. His talent for knowing what was current was already developing at an early age. By eighteen Christian was dealing with big businesses on his way to being a fashion designer. He traveled to the US once a year and always dreamed of living the rock and roll lifestyle.
Christian's big fashion break came with his marketing of the Von Dutch brand. He gave Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake hats to wear and the next day their pictures were all over the media. He has also designed for the likes of Naf Naf, Levis and Guess jeans. His next move came after he parted ways with Von Dutch. He was walking in California and thought it would be cool to have tattoos on shirts. Christian licensed the The Ed Hardy brand {Don Ed Hardy is a real tattooist} and opened his first store in 2004. The rest is fashion history.’
Happily married with three children, Christian has the reputation of a down to earth man simple, genuine and sweet. He shies away from modern technologies when he is working. He doesn’t even have a computer in his office and only checks his phone every 2 hours. An unusual way to work in this time of high technology.
He opened his first Ed Hardy store in 2004 and immediately became the darling of the urban trend setter's world. With celebrity friends that wear his clothes, Christian has an unusual way of advertising. He gives his clothes to celebrities who wear them and create a buzz for his clothes. Madonna famously wears his shirts and has even asked him to send her more because her daughter takes hers. He says that he wants to take over the world. If sales and enthusiasm are anything to go for, this marketing dynamo may well be on his way!
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Monday, July 7, 2008
Bradford Hansen-Smith/ Interview
When Bradford Hansen-Smith wakes up in the morning he gives thanks to God first and foremost. There wasn’t anything particularly different about Bradford as a boy. He had the usual passions. One would not have imagined that with age he would find a newer more unusual passion in circles, but as with "Wholemovement"…he seems to have found it.
His path of learning began rather innocuously at the University of Southern California on a short-lived football scholarship. He went to on New York to study art and then back to Chicago where he was able to pick up a fellowship to study sculpture in Italy. After leaving Italy he spent 25 years casting his own bronze sculptures. He became interested in geometrical shapes whilst taking a class in geometry in North Carolina. It was a natural progression from what he was already doing in his sculptures. He no longer considered what he was doing as uniquely art, but something else. Intrigued with how shapes were generated in free space this was the start of what we know today as "Wholemovement".
Bradford spent 10 years studying geometry and its various applications. He realized that the circle was more than just a simple shape. He believed that a circle was a reflection of what was contained within. Folding circles may seem like a pointless action initially, but there is a certain kind of spirituality that comes from "Wholemovement". The belief that a circle is the root of all shapes in the universe can be used as a metaphor for the Creator and his Oneness. The results of his search have been amazing. Beautiful geometrical shapes formed from a simple paper plate. He does not cut the circle in order to manipulate it, he creates hard edged patterns from the initial process of folding the circle.The wonderful aspect of his work is that anyone can create these shapes, perhaps not to the same intricate degree as he, but creating a simple shape is possible. As a result, Bradford has held many workshops for children both nationally and internationally.
Bradford strikes me (The Cee List) as a simple person with simple ideals that may seem complicated to others but really isn't. He doesn’t claim "Wholemovement" as his own, rather he believes that it is a process that can flourish with action. He makes a good point when he says if children were folding circles as much as drawing pictures of them then there wouldn’t be a need for books about them at all.The true understanding of "Wholemovement" comes from the experience of doing it. He has been published several times within the scientific community, but that isn’t his raison d’être.
He is a simple man in his beliefs. His idea of the perfect day is one that embraces everyone, a day where humanity embraces each other. A thought that has a Unitarian sense to it there is much to be learned from "Wholemovement". The ability to simply appreciate the intricate shapes that can be formed from a circle or the belief that all parts come from one complete whole. Bradford, himself, is simple in nature. It’s obvious that his study of circles has been a way for him to reflect on life as a whole. Perhaps Bradford says it best when asked what his greatest accomplishment could be, “Possibly my greatest accomplishment so far is to realize that I am far less than what I thought I would be when I was twenty, and far more than I dared to imagine.”
--chicagoarts-lifestyle
Uncut Interview with "Wholemovement," Bradford Hansen-Smith
The Cee List: Three words that describe you?
Bradford: Well-Intended -Person
The Cee List: Your idea of a perfect day?
Bradford: Perfection is beyond my imagination, but would have to be the result of all of humanity loving and serving each other with great respect and affection.
The Cee List: Idea of a friend?
Bradford: As stated by a 5th grade student in answer to the question of what the words truth, beauty, and goodness mean to her; she wrote, ‘If I knew a person with those three things they would be my very best friend’.
The Cee List: Which artist inspire you the most & why?
Bradford: God inspires me most, for he has given so gloriously and magnificently to and for each of us his best effort. Then I would have to say Vincent Van Gogh and Constantin Brancusi, both for their passion and dedication to understand what was given them. Van Gogh for his deeply felt humanity, and Brancusi for his physicality.
The Cee List: Your favorite place you've lived or visited?
Bradford: I try to be sensitive to the unique beauty and character of where I am without comparing my pleasure; but then there is the high desert, the sky, light, air …
The Cee List: Favorite charitable cause?
Bradford: I have no favorite, but do try my best to be as charitable to others as I am capable at any given time and circumstance.
The Cee List: Your Utopia?
Bradford: I have no idea about Utopia, but I’m sure that it must include everyone, otherwise it is not Utopia, only another gated community.
The CeeList: What is your greatest fear?
Bradford: Even small fears are great, even as a little pebble in the shoe, walking in sand looking for soft ground.
The Cee List: First thing you do when you wake up
Bradford: To give greetings to God with thanks for being aware that I sleep and am awake. Sometimes we discuss the day. After a shower, forty-five minutes of yoga, engaging a cup of tea and toast, and a few hours of work, I have breakfast and again begin the adventure of a lifetime.
The Cee List: What is your greatest accomplishment thus so far?
Bradford: Possible my greatest accomplishment so far is to realize that I am far less than what I thought I would be when I was twenty, and far more than I dared to imagine.
The Cee List: Free style ( anything thing you want to say to the world)
Bradford: While the world fights itself for a piece, let us individually hold each other in our trials and tribulations, in comfort and love, in sorrow, and care for each others brothers and sisters, children we are, that we may ease the burden of physical pain, spiritual longing, and mental anguish, for each other for as many times as we are called, and one day we will find we have made a beautiful peace; and pieces will no longer be as importance as they seem to be.
Oprah
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Considered a modern day Midas it’s clear that Oprah Gail Winfrey has the ability to move mountains. The richest African American in the world, Oprah's current life is a far cry from her roots wearing potato sack dresses in Tennessee.This poor background gave Oprah the ability to look at other people’s lives and empathize. She is not afraid to show her emotions when it comes to other peoples tragedies.
Arguably one of the most recognized women in the world. Oprah proves over and over again that her sharp business acumen blends well with her platform as one of the world’s most successful media icons.
Born in rural Mississippi Oprah was raised by her single mother, moving to Milwaukee, before returning to Tennessee to live with her father. Mocked by the other children, perhaps this poor background gave Oprah the ability to work harder than ever to achieve her dreams and aspirations.
It is truly fitting that Oprah looked towards Africa as a building block to express her outlook of a new way of thinking. A philanthropist of the highest level, Oprah proves over and over again that money and determination really can effect change.
Through her private foundation Oprah has helped thousands of African children from Johannesburg to Zambia and continues to impact lives in a positive way. Oprah has helped many people in need and her ideas have come to full fruition with the start of her Leadership Academy in Africa. It is fitting that Oprah devotes her time and extraordinary ability to bring something better to the girls who attend the school.
By building a girl’s school, Oprah has opened the door for opportunity in a place where there wasn’t any for young African females. As a African American woman giving to black girls, Oprah fortifies the images that the children see and allows them to have pride in what people of color can do.
Her impact is immeasurable but there is no doubt that her tireless effort to make a difference definitely crowns Oprah as the Queen of Giving.
Quote of The Day
"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." Oprah
Friday, July 4, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
PAC
Tupac Shakur! Whether you know him as Makavelli, 2Pac or just Pac, with his socially aware and provocative lyrics, Tupac Amaru Shakur definitely earned his place as one of the most iconic rap artists of all times. In a tragically short life, Tupac was able to accomplish many things - actor, rapper and a social activist. Tupac was capable and willing to wear many different hats to get his message across.
Pac was born on June 16th 1971 in Harlem NY and the son of a black panther. His birth came one month after his mother was acquitted in the NY Panther 21 case. Tupac had a remarkably normal childhood. At 12 he joined the famous 127 Harlem troupe and acted in ,"A Raisin in the Sun.” After moving to Baltimore and later California, Pac remained dedicated to his love of entertainment. He joined the Ensemble Theater Company.
In 1989 Tupac was signed and became a member of the rap group Digital Underground. In 1990 he released his first album and promptly became embroiled in controversy due to its graphic nature. In fact, what was denounced as the words of an angry black man were the cries of young black America. Tupac was a genius in a way that he connected with the young. He was one of the first rap artists to make being intellectual accessible to the urban masses. He made the plight of black America and the injustices that often afflicts them a focus of his outspokenness.
Tragically his life was cut short at the age of 25. He was shot in Las Vegas and died four days later of bleeding. However, Tupac’s legacy lives on. Nine albums were released after his death with more to be released.
A foundation was set up in his name to help impoverished children. Conspiracy theorists postulate that Pac may still be alive. There are hundreds of websites set up arguing that theory. It is a true testimony to the dedication from his fans and their need to keep Pac alive in their mind. Regardless of what you think, it’s clear that Tupac had something to say and he spent his life trying to get that message across.
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