THANKS TO ALL OF MY FANS WHO VOTED ON WWW.RIVERFRONTTIMES.COM FOR MY BLOG FOR BEST BLOG ON THE RFT’S BEST OF 2006 POLL. RESULTS OF ALL THE CATEOGORIES WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE RFT’S SEPT 28. WISH ME LUCK!
OH, AND THOSE OF YOU WHO STILL WANT TO ADVERTISE ON MY SITE, YOU STILL CAN BY CLICKINGTHE AD BOX ABOVE.
Hello again. This is your favorite e-writer here Ma’atology givin it to ya one mo’ week. This has been a somber type of week with the 5th year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and all of the remembrances across the country as well as the shocking death of reality star Anna Nicole Smith’s son, who died of a heart attack at the age of 20 in the hospital where his mother was having a baby (How odd is that!). Anyone see the CBS Special Fashion Rocks (more like Fashion Sucks, but I will get to my Why’s on this special later in my report) and the premiere of the critically acclaimed HBO show, The Wire? Locally, former President Bill Clinton was in the STL this past week at the Pageant to for a fundraiser for Democratic State Rep candidate Clair McCaskill. Also, his former administration tried to force ABC to pull the 9/ll docufilm, “Path to 9/ll” off the air(but to no avail) because the film at first showed Clinton not caring about the terror plots of Osama, but a later edit showed Clinton as only caring about the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Well, I always say, when someone is pissed off about something, that means who are doing your job. But then again, who knows. Pshew, man , talk about a week. Who knows what’s next to follow, but in the meantime, here’s what I did this past week.....................................
Last Saturday, I went to rehearsal for the Marshall Faulk fashion show at the YMCA Emerson Chapter in Florissant. It had been two weeks since the last rehearsal that was put on (cause of the Labor day holiday) and we were as rusty as a ho comin out of retirement. On my way there, as I was about to make a left on West Florissant from Dunn Road, there was these junior usher (URSHER) auxiliary members from The Pentecostal Church of JC who had buckets for people to put in money (this is a popular area for this action to take place). I went into my pocket and gave them some change and they gave me a flier about some puppet show they were having on the same day (Hope my 25 ching a ling will bring me a blessing.) .
When I got to rehearsal, there was Traci,, one of the organizers of the show and one of the female models. It was a little before 11 am. I knew it was CP TIME again so I didn’t trip and waited accordingly. It was close to 11:30 when people started comin through. But before the rehearsal began, there were a slew of new people who came through for rehearsal (especially for the guys) and two other people involved with DIVA (the organization putting this fashion on) also came through, Michelle and Troy (who will be a stage manager). About five new guys and 2 more sistas came aboard so its hard to say who will be the final cast because we are doing this show PRO BONO.
Anyway, before rehearsals started, we all introduced ourselves again and we were told that we were going to get measured for our outfits (which , for the guys, will be from K&G Stores). But we had received bad news that Marshall Faulk was not going to be able to attend the Sept 29 show because of a contract obligation with te NFL now that he is commentating for them now (Well we all kind of sighed in somberness from that news), and they found out this news a day before (I guess they didn’t want to email us this news with our rehearsal reminded cause they might’ve thought we wouldn’t have come to rehearsal. LOL) but they told us that they were rescheduling the show for sometime in October. Then Michele said, “Cheer up everybody, you all are looking all sad. Well¼.in my mind with his schedule a sit is, it’s really hard to say whether the show is going to go on with him, but they assured us that a show will take place……………………………………………....
As far as rehearsals, it was like I said, rusty. Its been two weeks and all of us had brain farts on what we needed to do. Then, me and this guy named Avery who have been going to all of the rehearsals had to show the new guys (as well as our stage manager Troy) the routines we have been doing. Overall, the rehearsals were OK. After rehearsal, we also got instructions from Traci that we had to get our clothing from K&G next door this week (I will talk on this later) and had to use some of our clothing for one of the scenes in a particular color.
Also, one of the stars Malik Ali came struttin in after rehearsal was over (he had prior commitments that hindered his rehearsal with the show). I briefed him on what happened as far as the fashion show and he, well, had his own opinions on what went down.. The routines are shaping up and workshopped. Maybe the extension could be a blessing in disguise. That’s the way I see it.
After rehearsal, as I goin to my car, I heard some live rap music performed nearby. I couldn’t see cause the YMCA was up on a hill and the noise was below near the McDonalds nearby, so I drove by the area and saw about 100 or so people congregated at the McDonalds near one of the plaza shopping centers where there was a makeshift stage set up and local hip-hop performers were performing. So, I immediately got a parking space and good thing I had my camera (I was prepared to go to the Art fair in Clayton, but I will get to that, too). When I parked, and walked up to the crowd, I saw this one local hip hop group., A-10 performing . Also I saw some vendors ( including Fat Cat Clothing ) and the notorious local rapper Rucka Puff (
SEEN ABOVE FROM A PIC I TOOK OF HIM DURING THE EXPO THIS PAST AUGUST) , mohawk and all, with a sheet of paper in his hand. Come to find out, he put on this event which he said was The Supreme Team Presents McDonalds Party on the Parking Lot. He said that this was the first time he put this on and I told him that this was a tight concept and hoped he put this on again.
Others that were scheduled to perform included soon-to-be national STL rapper Potzee (who was performing later in that day) and T-Scales. Hot 104.1 radio personality Tony J (TRAFFIC!) came through with his brood of four children ranging in age (of 2 to 5) and they were all holding hands (AWWWWWWWWWW, It was so cute kinda like a duck with its ducklings). I stayed for about 20 minutes I drove to the Art Fair and that’s all I did was drove there cause there’s was no where to park. The event was 10 blocks long and there was no way I was going to find somewherr to park, so I decided to do a few light reps at the bally nearby.
As I was driving to Bally, I got a call from my boy Kameron who gave the skinny on the Dub Magazine Pre-Party that was going down at Drunken Fish in the Central West End, a free party put on by 1st Friday and sponsored by Budweiser. The party was to celebrate the car show that was going on that following Sunday at the America’s center where people like Chingy, Paul Wall and Slim Thug and hosted by the beautiful supermodel Vida Guerra. I told Kameron I would meet him at the Fish about 10 cause he hipped me to the fact that because it was FREE that folks were going to be there in droves.
I got to the Drunken Fish about 10 minutes til 10 and saw that a line was forming already on the black carpet ( the party was dubbed BLACKOUT) outside of the two-story restaurant. When I walked up , I saw some familiar faces like bouncer Al Wade, photographers Kevin Jordon and Jacob. I got in line and it was about 50 or so people in front of me so I didn’t trip off of waiting in line to get in. I called Kameron and told him I was here and gave him the report on the line that was forming and he told me would meet me there.
I walked in and was greeted by two beautiful young ladies who digged the hat I was wearing (
SEEN IN THE PIC ABOVE–THANKS JACOB OH AND WHAT'S UP WITH THE WHITE GUY IN THE PIC LOOKIN' AT ME LIKE HE WAS HATIN ON MY SEXY! LOL ) and said that they wanted to take a pic of me (I must say, I was working the outfit I had decided to wear and my goatee took people by surprise. LOL) So I walked in and it was getting coarse with people. I walked upstairs and said hi to the socialites who I always see out. DJ Nappy Needles was spinnin on the 1s and 2s near the stairwell area. As I walked up the stairs, I saw a projected screen on the left wall which was showing party people from past events sponsored by Budweiser Select (And speaking of alcohol, there were quite a few people who had the huge “Rita” glass cocktails that was going for 25 bones up n VIP) .
I got situated upstairs cause I knew it was going to be packed as a grocery store on Thanksgiving eve up in there. saw that they had a VIP section (here we go again). I was like, “Why do they have VIP section for an event that’s FREE! I didn’t trip and walked near the window on the side of the spot. When I got situated, I ran into a dud who I see out in the gym named Brian (who always wer a suede cap every time I see him). He greeted each other and talked a boy on life, women and the atmosphere around the Fish. I Then I saw Kameron who almost walked past me (I t must have been the hat and the goatee ). I had to touch him on the shoulder to get his attention and told him that I was going to talk about him on my site (Well, there you go. LOL)
Anyway, the evening progressed and I saw this brotha who reminded me of the brotha from the Martin comedy sitcom who was the Man on the Fifth Floor and he had on this Easter suit with a pink tie on. He walked up to us and started talking to Kameron. He was from Chi-town or somewhere and he introduced him to some of his friends (
JACOB YOU ARE A GOD SEND WITH HIS PIC. TO CHECK HIM OUT GO TO OUT 85 It was definitely CLASSIC.) Meanwhile, I saw an entourage of people stampeded the VIP and people lookin around. We were wondering what was going on (At first I thought it was Ludacris, but I don’t think it was him.). Anyway, I proceeded to walk into the VIP section and saw Big Joe, the friendly giant bouncer who I see a lot as a bouncer at the Formula Nightclub (and who is a trainer at the bally I attend) .Meanwhile, Needles was rippin the 1s and 2s with a lot of Tribe Called Quest and Jill Scott remixed. He also pumped up that Gnarls Barkely’s Crazy, and Justin Timberlake’s ‘”Sexy Back.” It was good mix of neo-soul and hip hop.
I asked Big Joe if I could go in VIP to take some pics. He asked if I had a wristband. I said NO and he told me to hurry up and take my pics and come back out. When I got in, it so packed, you couldn’t walk. But I was determined to get in there to see who was in there. The people I saw were mostly the usual local VIPs up in there. I passed around a few business cards (two of them I gave to some sistas who didn’t want to be photographed for some reason). I talked to the hostesses who greeted me at the door and they were telling me about the auto show the following day. I stayed in VIP for about 20 minutes and proceeded to walk out. As I was walking through the crowd I ran into the hip-hop group Clipse (
SEEN IN PIC ABOVE) who was walking the other direction. I spoke to the shorter of the two. (What was funny was I didn’t know it was him when I spoke to him. LOL)
Right before I was leavin VIP, I ran into Eye Candy creator/party organizer Mo Witherspoon (you forgot that quick about the pic. That was tooooo much playin!) and his wife. I spoke to them briefly and took their pic and walked out. Just as I was leaving VIP to walk downstairs. The line of people on the stairs to walk up and down the stairs was at a standstill. Fred Finley had stopped me and asked if I could wait for walking down the steps. I obliged but I didn’t know for what (There was one thugged out guy with the cornrolls and grills who was yellin at folks to walk down the stairs. He was trippin for real). Come to find out, Clispe was about the perform near the 1s and 2s (Their were posters everywhere promoting tehri new CD, “Hell Hath No Fury’,their first in 3 years) . they did their thing. They performed their classics like Grindin and What Happen’d to that Boy and their new jam, “Mr Me Too” from their new CD (It would’ve been nice if Pharell was there to rap on this with them).
After they performed, it was OK for me to walk downstairs, as I was walking downstairs, I text Kameron to see if he was downstairs and he responded YES. On my way down, I ran into 1st Fridays Harry Michel who was standing on the other side of the stairs with his wife. I have Harry some dap and waited to walk down the sirs. While at the bottom of the stairs, I ran into 104.1 personality Wendi brown who was just comin in. I walked near the bar area and saw Kameron. The crowd was about to thin as people started partying outside. It was close to 1ish at this time. Meanwhile, I ran into Fox 2 sports guy Rob Desir (thanks for brushing off my shoulders. LOL ) I talked to him briefly and asked him about the segment he did a month ago at his house that was a part of Fox 2 News Morning Show where he did his sports wrap up. He said that it was his idea to do it at hi scrib and it took a lot of pleading for his lady to bring him his morning cereal and kiss on his cheek at the end of the segment (which was hilarious).
Then I saw 104.9 personality Selena J’s older brother, Nate Johnson (who has his own real estate CO) and I playfully said to him, “Isn’t it past your bedtime?” He laughed and said that three other people said the same thing to him. Well. What can I say about dat! Right before me and Kameron was about to leave, Kameron wanted me to take a picture of MyTV 46 personality Jeannie Roberts, who was telling us about the new show she and her brother Mike Jr (They are siblings to Mike Roberts Sr, one half of the local myTV 46 owners Roberts Brothers) will have on the local channel this fall which will be more Tyra-Oprah oriented than entertainment heavy (I hope we schooled you on what a blog was. LOL) .
After that, me and Kameron walked outside. I blurted out to the people outside, “The VIP has left the building!” Some looked at me like I was crazy, but, oh well. Outside looked like fellowship after church service, I saw people who I didn’t see up in the Fish and those who were just comin to the event like Miss Jamel (She teased me and said that she was tired of receiving text messages from me about her voting for my blog on Rft’s website. LOL) . She walked up (who is always fashionably flyy with some bug fly glasses and a see-through black top with a black bra with jeans) ) and she walked up to us and greeted us. She was shocked of my hat and asked if I was bald up under my hat and told me to take off my hat and was about to take it off until I stopped her and told her that my hair was still under my hair.
Other than that, it was mostly looking around seeing people reacting to one another (I even took a few pics with stlouis-online.com’s Jacob’s camera to take some pics of he and a few sistas.) One classic moment happened when two thugged out brothas who were standing in front of me and Kameron were talking and a sista walked up to one of them and greeted him with a hug and kissed him on the cheek. When she walked away, the other guy said to the other guy, “damn, man, what’s up with you? You haven’t seen her in a longtime and she gonna kiss you and shyt. You better get on that bitch.” Both Kameron and I said “damn” out loud and the guy that was talked too looked at us and said to the guy that was talking to him, “Damn, man, you just putiin my business all out in the streets.” The guy couldn’t help but to go after her to save his rep. CLASSIC.
Others I saw there were, Anheuser Busch Prez Johnny Furr, Jamie Spencer (what’s with this “story” about Clipse buying you a 25 dollar drink????) , Lester Robinson (what was up with the Superman emblem bling, man. LOL) , Therron Joseph (I didn’t know you could act and where was Angelique?)and Missouri Black Expo PR’s Anisha Coleman (Thanks for saying that my Expo coverage really made you think you were there and I hope you found your ride. LOL)
On Tuesday, I checked out the music video premier party for STL-bred rapper Penelope Jones (
SEEN ABOVE WITH YOURS TRULY) . She had a private party for the video, “No Matter What They Say” (with singer Mya) at Nectar Lounge. I got an invite from Terri from the Vision Group to come through. I called up Kameron earlier to se eif he wanted to roll through cause I had access plus one guest. He said he could and we met up at Nectar about 8:30 .
We got therr and there was a few white guys up front, one guy had a tux on with the list of guest. So the guy ask my name and I gave it to him. He was fumbling through the list and said, “Well, I see a Chuck Atkins.” OK here we go with this ish. So the guy asked for me and Kam’s ID’s and I said, “He (Kameron) wouldn’t be on the list cause he is my guest.” So he gave us back our IDs and asked me who was I with and I said that I was a freelane writer. And just when I was about to say “writer’ that’s when he said, “Oh, now I see you. Sorry about that.” I politely said that it was okay and we proceeded on inside. It was little sparse as far as the crowd at the moment (The event actually started at 7 p.m. and I know I wasn’t gong to get therr that early. We are running on STL: TIME here. LOL)
I walked to the back where the VIP area was that up three deep steps (I’ll get to those treacherous steps in a minute). I saw three familiar faces: Terri, videographer Dana Christian and Omai Models photographer Chantell. I gave them all dapo and love and Chantall was like, “What’s up with this hat you got on (another references to my hats BTW) and I said, “Oh just something I wanted to put on.” Then she was like, “the cap is so not you.” I just smiled and continued greeting. Terri directed me and Kam to the sofas and we sat therre soaking up the atmosphere. Up in the V-VIP area that was above the VIP area by a few steps, were St. Lunatic members Slo-Down (who had his mask resting on top of his dreadlocks) and Kyjuan who came down from V-VIP and greeted those who were in VIP including me and Kameron.
A few minutes later, I decided to walk over to the food table to see what was on the table (I damn near fell from the sofa area where I missed the step walking from the VIP coach to the floor!). They had a dessert buffet. (Shit! I said to myself. I couldn’t eat sweets. I’m on a strict veggie/fruit/protein diet.) I knew I should’ve eaten before I got there but I was certain they would’ve had the shrimp, meatballs and mostacolli set this time. But boy was I fooled.
So I walked back up the little step and sat back down in VIP looking at the people (One sista had on one of those gray go-go dresses and she was trying to Lean with it –Rock with it and her dunka dunk was leaning before she was rockin LOL). Terri’s sister saw me and sat down next to me as we chatted and she told me to keep up with my writing and the good work. I thanked her for her words of encouragement and asked her when Miss Penelope was comin through and she said that she would be arriving any minute. It was going on 9 pm right now and I guess she had to make her EN-TER-RANCE for her public. DJ Tab (I think that was his name, or it could have been STAB) was on the 1s and 2s cranking out the usual crunk-Lean-wit it music.
Around 9:15 the lady of the hour came from the back door and she was lookin Hollywood all the way with a red velvet top, black skirt and bling bling on neck and wrists and a ponytail with bangs. People began cheering, taking snaps and following her around 9I was one of the ducklings for a moment). I proceeded along with
St. Louis American’s Bill Beene, Christian and others following her around the club as she greeted people that she knew with hugs and kisses. Meanwhile, I spotted people who I knew like American Graphics Designer Melvin Moore, and STL producer James Glasco who asked me what was I doing and I told him, “I’m trying to follow a star.” CLASSIC.
After that, Jones walked up to the V-VIP area and sat down with all of the STL artist and personalities sitting with her. I walked up the area to try and get an interview but I was told that it would take a few minutes after she regrouped and all. I had no problem with that.
There was a video crew from the local TV show Video Vault who was gettin the crowd hyped and interviewed people who were therre as well as Jones which I thought was interesting cause when it was time for me to get an interview, I was told by her bodyguard told me that it was going to be about 20 minutes before she takes any more interviews , so I took the time, to walk around again and take snaps of the crowd. By the time, I came back to VIP, Penelope was down where the other crowd was and got her dance on (The DJ kept saying’ "Penelope Jones from Berkeley!") . Photographers took pics of her getting her crunk on. Meanwhile, I spoke with her manager Harold Guy (who used to manage and write songs with STL-bred singer Toya) and exchanged business cards with him and said that doing the interview wouldn’t be a problem.
After a few songs, she walked back up to V-VIP area and sat down, took some pics and finally I had a chance to interview her. Before we started the interview I told her that I remembered taking a pic of her when I was a writer at the St. Louis American and that I met her in 2001 when she came to the CD signing for the St. Lunatics’ CD, Free City at Streetside Records. Then she was like, “Man, that was along time ago.”
The following interview is what I was able to muster with my digital recorder during the noise and hustle of the event. We grabbed an edge of a seat in the V-VIP area to start the interview. The frank and honest 3 minute interview had shown Jones as a person and her fortitude in the rap game and life in genera.
MA’AT: Before we start, I know April Spencer (of JustMeProductions) and she was talkin to me about your upcoming new CD awhile back so I’m kind of hip to what your project is all about. .I wanted to ask is, with this CD being your first major CD, talk about how this project came off the ground for you. It’s been a long time coming.
PJ: God takes you through some things before he blesses you, you know what I mean? You gotta live the pain, before you gain things and I went through a lot from going to prison, then being dropped from the label that I was on, Fo Reel, and losing my brother while I was there (in prison) and coming home and making a positive out of negative. And that’s making a long story short. I just feel blessed. To sum it up, I feel very very blessed.
MA’AT: Talk about some of the producers who worked with on the CD.
PJ: I worked with Mannie Fresh, a guy named J. R. who produced my new single, “No Matter what They Say,” Jazzie Pha of course, I hot a hot track with him. I worked with so many people. And again I feel blessed. You know what I mean.
MA’AT:You did an extensive in the St Louis American a while back about your trouble s that you went through. Talk a little bit how that experience made you stronger as a person?
PJ: When you’re in a situation like that, you can either go up or go down. You know what I’m sayin? And I chose to get in there, when I went to prison, I didn’t have my G.E.D. Not because I was stupid, but, well, in a way, I was, because I could’ve gotten it out here. But two weeks when I was in there, I got my G.E.D. took college classes, everything I could’ve enrolled myself in I did., I wanted to learn how to cook. I wanted to learn everything they could offer because I didn’t know what I was gonna be when I came home. You know what I mean. I wasn’t lookin’ forward to rapping. So, I really took that situation as if I never rap again Ill be able to do something. I was going to make it in something. And that’s how I see it .And that’s what’s up.
MA’AT: So what’s next up for you?
PJ: Man, this is what’s up right now. Until we’re done with this, I cant move on to the next-- working this album, working this single, working this video and then finally working this album and selling it. Female (rap) artists aren’t selling right now and I wanna sell. Receive that.
MA’AT: It was nice talking with you.
PJ: Thank you
MA’AT: Continued success to you.
PJ: Thank you. Thank you so much.
After the interview, I forgot to give Penelope Kameron’s biz card to her that I promised to give it to her if she needed a message, but I managed to get her attention again from VIP and handed her his card to her and introduced her to him and she was like,”Oh that ain't nothing but a word” (as far as getting messaged). All I asked for Kameron to do was to take some good pictures before he messaged her. LOL
Then, as I sat back down in VIP, the Post’s Kevin Johnson came up and told us about his B-Day party that he was going to have in conjunction with local singer Coco Soul’s monthly sing open mic event Café Soul at Club Dreams and that he was going to sing the opening and closing number at the event! (Which I gotta see cause I didn’t know KJ could sing). Kevin told me to tell Kameron about the party and I said that, “Kevin wants to invite you to his party and that you better bring a gift or else he was going to kick your ass.” CLASSIC.
As the time went on, the moment of the hour came as we all came through for to see the premier of Penelope’s music video with Mya called, “No Matter What They Say.” So we were instructed to look at the video monitor in the club to watch the video. Well that’s all that we saw was the monitor. One of the technicians had to do some troubleshooting with the monitor to get it to work (Did they know this was a problem before hand? I’m just sayin). Anyway, about 20 minutes later, they were able to fix the problem, but they started the video and Harold Guy and Penelope were trying to get them to stop the video so the video can be introduced properly by Penelope (who was trying to be ladylike but you can tell she was gettin pissed off). Before they restarted the video, Harold said on the mike, “Ma’at we haven’t forgotten about you.” Then it registered that he was talking about me and I turned around and look’d up at Harold in V-VIP, and said, “oh I already got the interview.” CLASSIC.
Well, Penelope was able to introduce the video and I must say that the video and the song is great. The video is basically the storyline of a sista and her man. Penelope looked beautiful and I’m sure the video will be a hit when you all see it when it premiere pretty soon on the music channels.
It was pretty much over, but they had some giveaways they were giving to the crowd including a valuable jewelry. All it took was people to answer trivia as it relates to Penelope. Well the trivia was more of what questions they were going to ask cause they were not prepared as far as any questions were concerned. Harold asked various questions like What’s Penelope’s middle name, and what video did Penelope in with the St. Lunatics. What was funny was half the people that were answering the questions were form Penelope scamp or family (which were supposed to be excluded), but the winners were rapper Chocolate Tai (I didn’t know you did the rap hook on that song, I Know You Wanna Feel on my BootyBooty?” ) and a sister who I’ll say was the Orbit Gum sista (who gave me a stick of green Orbit when I asked her for a piece earlier in the evening. LOL).
Then everyone else got a gift bag that had a Vision group t-shirt, some Pimp Juice, the CDsingle of Penelope’s song, NO Matter What They Say,” and other goodies that were catered to women like eye shadow products Now the killer was when there was a hunt for someone’s camera that they lost up in therre. The reward went from 500 bones to 1,000 bones! Before the lights came on, they had security “scower” the place with flashlights and when the lights came on, well, people were searching under trash cans. LOL. Shit for that amount I would have given them my camera.
Others VIPs in the house were St. Louis rapper Coco, Coco Soul, rapper Ebony Eyes, Hot 104 personalities Staci Static and Tony J, Synergy, Runway Fashions owner Samson, FOXXY 95’s Garth Adams, comic and 100.3 The Beat personality Dee Lee , former Club Toxic owner Reno, and KSDK TV personality Jeff Small.
FOR MORE PICS OF THE EVENTS MENTIONED ABOVE, GO TO OUT 85-EVENT-PICZMA’AT-TIDBITZ.
For those who wanna do free e-advertising , go to Mister Jacob, creator of the STL entertainment pic/event site www.stlouis-online.com . he is giving out free e-ads for a limited time..................................I see that a lot of you all that I see in public likes the goatee I am sportin these days, so I’ll keep it for awhile. LOL............................................. It seems as though there has been a resurgence of people checking out the movie I did on YOUTUBE a few weeks back of my brief appearance on Last Comic Standing in care of Kathi Griffin reality show, “My Life on the D-List”. (I added more people on my e-listserve, so that could have something to do with it, too) As of this writing, the hits has went from 370 to 401 (POTENTIAL ADVERTISERS, ARE YOU LOOKING AT THIS? LOL) ! Thank you for your hits! If you haven’t checked it out, go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvmwSn9glKE(FYI, You gotta pause the video at 2 second in to see me!)......................
WORDZ TO THE
WHY’S (AT THE FASHION ROCKS TV SHOW).
Why wasn’t Rocka-wear, Sean jean or Phat Farm spotlighted in the Fashion Rocks (Although Jay Z spoke on fashion and Kimora Lee and Russell Simmons presented it was still a slap in the face)? And speaking of Kimora and Russell,
why did it look like their banter with each other seemed rehearsed?
Why didn’t Kanye perform and only introduced P Diddy valet-cum-rapper Farnsworth Bentley to perform? And
Why was Farnsworth on there performing like he was skurred?
Why were the Scissor Sisters performing on there (And who are they)?
Why was the fashion show only with Goth and Grunge?
Why wasn’t Tyra “Americas next top Model producer” Banks on there?
Why did the lesser known Pussy Cat Doll try to upstage lead singer Nicole on the song, “Buttons” and
why wasn’t Snoop performing with them (they had STL bred rapper Jibbs perform it) ? And
Why didn’t Beyonce come out during the finale with Rhianna as she was performing “The Bitch is Back” (of all songs to sings, eh? ) with Elton John?
CHART-IDBITZ.. There has been a livewire shock on the Billboard charts this week in regards to the STL artists representing on there. Just like the weather, its hard to really predict what’s going to happen, and the Billboard charts are no different. The shocker has been with the Janet and Nelly single, “Call on Me.” Since its chart run, it has been “pittiling” up the charts like a tortoise (especially on the Hot 100) where it looked like the song ran its course on the Hot 100 when it fell out of the Top 50 and on the R&B side, the song fell from No. 6 to 7. Now if you remember, I did say last week that this song would probably make it to the Top Five on this chart at least.
This is what I wrote last week,” As far As the Nelly duet with Janet, “Call on Me,” the song has moved out of the Top 50 on the Hot 100, and the song falls one space down from No. 6 t No. 7 on the R&B/Hip Hop Chart in its 12th week. It was so close to hitting the Top 5, but then again, it could regain momentum, but I think the song has run its course.”
Well, as open ended as my prediction, well, the song has gained momentum—all the way to No. 1 on the R&B chart in its 13th week on that chart! And to top it off, the song has dethroned Chingy and Tyrese’s duet, “Pulling Me Back” from its No. 1 position to the No. 2 spot in its 17th week on the chart! Who would have thunk the two artists that would duke it out would be the artist that I have been following for the past two months! How ironic is that! As far as the Hot 100, Chingy has finally moved up the chart. The song had stayed at No. 16 for the past three weeks and song finally moves up three spaces up the chart to No. 13 in its 13th week on that chart. As far as the Janet and Nelly song, the song has regained momentum on that chart as well. The song moves up 15 big spaces up from 52 to leap back into the Top 40 at No. 37 in its 12th week on that chart (I guess the “nipplegate” from MTV and radio has been lifted. LOL) With this new data, it is safe to say that Janet and Nelly song could give the Chingy and Tyrese song some heated competition and could possibly leapfrog over Chingy’s song (And could possibly out rank Chingy in the long run!). It’s starting to get exciting now.
But with Nelly and Chingy, there is another STL artist on the upswing that is making noise on the charts. St. Louis –bred teen rapper Jibbs (whose big brother DJ Beats from the production team Da Beatstaz produced beats for Nelly and the St. Lunatics BTW) is pulling his weight on both the Hot 100, Rap and R&B charts with his sing-song kid chorus hit, “Chain Hang Low.” Last week, on the Hot 100, the song moved up 12 big spaces up from 24 to 12. On the R&B side, the song was moving a little slower but still on the rise as it moved up 9 spaces from 30 to 21. On the Rap Chart the song moved up one space from 11 to 10. This week, on the Hot 100, the song moves up one spot from 12 to 11 in its 6th week on the chart. On the R&B side, the song moves up from 21 to 18 clocking into the Top 20 in its 9th week on that chart. It’s safe to say that the song will make the Top Ten on the Hot 100 next week.
But the questions that are now raised are 1?)Can Jibbs song hit No. 1 on both charts and 2) Can Nelly, Chingy and Jibbs be in the Top 10 on both carts at the same time? Well to answer the first one, it’s a possibility on the Hot 100. It has a certain novelty quality to it with the sing-song chorus with kids (which is the first type of song since Nas ’I Know I Can” ).and it’s a non-threatening rap song and that’s definitely an appeal. It will do well on the R&B side, but it’s hard to say if it will go No. 1. But then again, other rappers that hit No. 1 on this chart so far this year have been were Nelly (“Grillz”), Chamillionaire (“Ridin”) Yung Joc (“Its Goin Down”), T.I. (“What You Know”) , Young Dro (“Shoulder Lean”) and of course, Chingy.
As far as the second question at hand, it ‘s a good possibility that all three rappers will be in the top ten together on the R&B side. Rest assured, Chingy and Nelly will be in the Top Ten for awhile and its likely that Jibbs will hit the top Ten soon (Its already at No.18 ). So in a couple of weeks, it should get interesting. As far as the Hot 100, well, it seems like Jibbs will be the first one to crack the Top Ten (It’s at no. 11 this week) and Chingy is not too far behind (It’s at No. 13) and Nelly is on a strong bullet at No. 37, so it’s hard to tell if they will all be in the Top 10 at the same time. The pop side can be fickle when it comes to rap acts (Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’” is the only single to reach No. 1 on that chart this year whereas the other aforementioned rappers hit the Top 5 on the Hot 100 with their No. 1 R&B and rap singles.) But then again……
STL-TIDBITZ,. I heard that Chingy had a CD pre-release party for his third CD, “Hood Star” (that will be release next Tuesday Sept 19) at Spruill’s last Sunday and will have an official CD release party at the Drunken Fish on the day of its release put on by Hot 104.1 FM…. Has anyone been listening to the new radio station MOVN on 101.1. FM? (they took over the RIVR crew last Friday)? They play a lot of pop and hip-hop from the 90s (a few songs from the 70s and 80s and today, too.) I kinda liked it at first, but when they started playing Miami Sound Machine’s Conga too many times, I started to lose interest quickly........ .Did you all know that the Arch will be represented in the new edition of the board game Monopoly? I think that’s pretty cool¼.......................... St. Louis American News editor Alvin Reid will be the gust host on Don Wolff’s KMOX show “Justice For all” (Reid was a guest on his show this past Monday talking about the 9/11 attacks with Fireman Lt. Bill Keegan and his new book “Closure”) next Monday. Interesting choice I must say. If he’s going to heat it up like he does when he’s guest commentating on PBS “Donnybrook,” I’m sure the phone line will be lit to talk to the ever opinionated journal vet…...................I got an email this week on former Troy's On the Park owner Troy Williams’ new bar and restaurant called Filter (formerly Nik’s) that has opened and they are having a special Two for One Tuesday’s there (2 for 1 drink specials) presented by Big Tah (That must be Troy. LOL) and Mocha Latte (she was presenting the Sunday Sip at the CWE Bed and Breakfast which has come to a close) during its Happy Hour from 5p.m. to 7 p.m. (You gotta pay 5 bones after 8 p.m.) They’ll have complimentary food and DJ spinning from DJ Reminisce. All you Nik-heads, it’s on Belt Ave at Pershing in the CWE. For more info call
314/361-5277..................................ST. Louis actress Erica Sutherlin is leaving the STL for Cali and to do her acting thing at USC. For her closest friends she is having a going away party
Sunday Sept. 24 at her crib, 6006 Enright Ave in the STL at 7:30 pm. She is currently accepting relocation gifts, prizes and presents, if affordable. Oh and BYOB. For more info, contact her at ecsutherlin@yahoo.com. And speaking of Miss Sutherlin, her last theatre production is the “The Last Days of Judas Isacriot” (what was up with the pic of her and Black Rep actor Kevin Roston in the Riverfront Times’ Night and Day section last week and the caption didn’t have their names as the actors in this production???) which began Sept 8 and will run until Sept 23 at the Art Loft Theatre, 1529 Washington. For ticket more info call 314/289-4063 or go to www.HotCityTheatre.org
BLIND-BITZ. Which STL nightclub is going to be the next club to close? (I hear that this club is going to shut its doors in December.)..................... What local play that just ran had to change its dialogue at the last minute for its second show because the affluence-drenched dialogue spoken from one of the characters didn’t match the character’s furniture on the set (which I heard was not that affluent) and an audience member from the first show screamed out that the character was not rich based on the set’s furniture?............................ Which local comedian has gotten a reputation getting caught sticking their hand in the money jar from clubs that hosts their comedy shows?........................... Which local Fox 2 personality gets her workout on diligently at Bally Total fitness in Clayton?
EVENT-IDBITZ. V-Luv the Kids Foundation presents Reach One Teach One Competition Finals awarding ordinary students for extraordinary things at the Herbert Hoover Girls’ and Boys’ Club on Sat. Sept 16, from 9 am to 3 pm. This free event will have free giveaways and prizes. For more info 314/574-9601
The African American History Series at the Missouri Historical Museum at Forest Park presents local director/actor Joel P.E. King’s hit musical, “Meeting at the Elder’s Circle,” Sat. Sept. 16 at the Lee Auditorium at 9 a.m. To reserve seating on this FREE event call 314/361-9017......................................................................................
Come meet... AND get your car washed by The inBox Divas @ Big P's Car
Wash (4215 Natural Bridge near Fair) Saturday, September 16, 2006 at
11:00 a.m. Cars cost $15 and Trucks cost $20. Receive a FREE Wax with
Wash when you bring in a flyer. For more information, visit
http://www.myspace.com/inboxmagazine..................................
Although the Marshall Faulk 2nd Annual Benefit fashion Show, is in TBA status, businesses and services can still sponsor ads in the event’s program booklet. $25 for a business card, $40 for a quarter page, $60 for a half page and $100 for a full page . For more info, contact tracy@divaeventplanning.com for more information and tell them that Ma’at referred you!........................................................
The Black Rep announced plans to shift slots for the 30th anniversary season. Titled The Black Pearl, the season will feature a six-show line-up designed to entertain, educate and enrich audiences of all types. Continuing their partnerships with Washington University and Mary Institute Country Day School (MICDS), the 30th season will kick-off in September with a two week run of MAHALIA a gospel musical at the Edison Theatre followed by a one weekend run of the production at the Orthwein Theatre at MICDS. The mainstage series at the Grandel Theatre will feature three hit musicals, August Wilson’s play exploring the first decade in his ten-play series and the return of a popular comedy by Samm-Art Williams. The season will begin with MAHALIA By Tom Stolz on the life of legendary gospel great Mahalia Jackson. September 13-24, 2006 at the Edison Theatre at Washington University and September 29-October 1, 2006 and the Orthwein Theatre at MICDS 2007 Performance Schedule:Wednesday and Thursday Previews at 7:00 p.m.Thursday at 7:00 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinee performances at 3:00 p.m. Season subscriptions for all six shows of the 30th Anniversary range from $120 to $200 and are on sale now. To reserve your seat please call (314) 534-3810 or visit www.theblackrep.org..................................
The next Café Soul will be a special occasion. The monthly open mic singer event will also double as St. Louis Post Dispatch Pop Critic Kevin Johnson’s B-Day Bash w/DJ Needles on the 1s and 2s. It will be at Club Dreams. Doors open at 8 p.m. Admission is 7 dollars. For more info and VIP access contact the Café Soul Krew at
cafesoulstl@yahoo.comAUDITION-BITZ. The St. Louis Black Repertory Company will hold auditions for its 2006/2007 mainstage season on Saturday, October 21, 2006, 1PM.– 7PM Equity actors will be seen between 1p.m. and 2p.m. by appointment only at the Black Rep’s offices, 1717 Olive Street, 4th Floor. Appointments will be taken beginning Monday, September 11, 2006. Call (314) 534 – 3807 to schedule. Actors should prepare 2 contemporary contrasting monologues, or 1 contemporary monologue and an acappella song. Please bring two (2) 8.5” X 11” updated professional black and white headshots with resumes attached securely on the back. Available Roles include: Ain’t Misbehavin’, Crossin’ Over, Gem of the Ocean, The Dance on Widow’s Row, Guys and Dolls
Webster University student Shannon Lee will be auditioning actors to fill main roles for the short comedy "Bingo!" 3 males ranging in age from 18-60+ 1 male or female ages 18+. Please bring your resume and head shot if you have one but neither is required. Saturday, September 16 from 2-6 PM at Webster University's campus, Sverdrup Building, Rm 131 at Big Bend and Edgar Road. They will tentatively be shooting September 30 and October 1. Although there will be no pay, meals will be provided and the experience is sure to be fun and professional. Filming will be supervised by professional Director of Photography, Chris Benson. If you are unable to attend our scheduled casting call, please contact them at shangirlie@hotmail.com
ONGOING-BITZ. My boy Kameron Hopson has a new monthly column on sports messages on local magazine Uptown. Check it out or more info go to www.uptownstl.com. He is also a professional masseuse. For an appt. call 314/477-3427 or email him at mrholbert@yahoo.com
For all of your STL club event plans, FREE AD SPACE (for a limited time) and pics, go to www.stlouis-online.com.
Collective Catering (collectivecatering@yahoo.com located at 4958 Cote Brilliante, their digits are 314-575-3333)
KDHX Radio’s Chuck Lavazzi has a hot new podcast called STAGE LEFT which he talks about CD reviews, news and interviews from theworld of stage, screen, cabaret and related places. The latest episode is now on line. Go to it directly at http://tinyurl.com/zrqd7,
via the Stage Left blog at http://stageleft-stlouis.blogspot.com,
via the Stage Left web site at http://www.stageleft.org,
or via iTunes Music Store; just go to the Podcast area and search for Stage Left.
Former 100.3 The Beat personalities Big Sexy Kool DJ Kaos and Sylli Asz is doin it up on You Tube these days hosting their hilarious STL reality Internet series, the Janky Show. To check it out, go to www.youtube.com and type in “The Janky Show”!..................................................................................
Check out STLdee-jay Enoch online with his own radio playlist. The Flow; Music Lounge. Peep it out at http://www.flowink.com/player-popup.htm
or go to his myspace page enochisreal.
Show Me Entertainment presents Industry Nights, a networking party for artists, http://www.hotmail.com/entertainers, models, actors, painters, dancers, entertainment lawyers, managers, etc. every Wednesday night at the Lindbergh Bistro located inside the Airport Plaza inn at I-70 and Lindbergh. 18 Y.O. to enter. 21 Y.O. and up to Drink. Admission FREE. For more info, contact Terrence Smith at 314/713-3793, or tsmith@showme1.com or
www.showme1.com
Local movie screener and TV programmer James Thomas has two hot shows on the new CW Channel 11 with his shows “First Look” about upcoming movies in theaters, Thursday morning at 2:30 am and Hot Videos, Friday mornings at 3 a.m. For more info, email him at
tdjoo7@sbcglobal.net
Theatre advisor L.A. Barge has a new book on CD that he is selling called, “Choosing the Right Mate Before the First Date.” For more info call 314/5331639 or email him at
dreamscope921@hotmail.com
For all your STL hip-hop info needs, go to http://www.stlhiphop.com!
Super producer Reg T continues to bring you the hottest
Unsigned/Independent Artist Show on the net featuring some of the hottest unsigned/independent talent in the world. If you want your music played on The Unsigned Artist Podcast Show, please submit all mp3 files to Reg T at regt@unsignedartistshow.com f you have any questions, ideas and or concerns, please send them to Fred Short at fshort@unsignedartistshow.com or call the TUAS message
line at 206-350-2667. Be sure to check out the website, it's hot!
www.naturaluhuru.com. They got a 10 dollar off deal for new customers and 5 dollar off deal for existing customers . Deal offer expires Oct. 31 Tell ‘em you heard about them from Ma’at!
STL videographer Dana Christian has a hot new website where people can send their professional music videos films to get exposed. It is www.spitflix.com. Peep it out!
KYO (pronounced KEE-O) continues "Redefining the Art of Dining & Nightlife" with a fresh weekly lineup that promises to quench your thirst for drink and dance. So "Be Fashionably Elite" with a smile and let KYO claim your evening from 5pm till 3am in the morning. For more info go to http://www.kyostl.com/newsletter.htm
GO TO OUT-84 FOR A FLICK-BITZ PREVIEW OF THE ROCKS” NEW FLICK, “GRIDIRON GANG.”
Well, that be it, folks. If ya got anything for me to pub, hit me up e-mail style at maatspear@yahoo.com!
