[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1458549864192{padding-top: 43px !important;padding-left: 10% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4375″ img_size=”large”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]April Jones: Finding My Heritage[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]April Jones, artistically known as Sharie LaShell is an R&B recording artist. Her music combines R&B, Neo Soul, Rock, and Pop to create a smooth, light, but powerful sound. She loves to pay homage to the 90’s New Jack Swing period. She has a song that was released around the time of the pandemic that reflects that period. This song features 19-year-old Memphis rapper, Princess Yasmin and it is upbeat and jamming. She encourages the people to embrace as much positivity as they can, get up and dance, and let go of the stress, especially those things you can’t control! She brews her herbal tea, stocked with a blend that would benefit the throat of any vocalist or lyricist. She adds fenugreek, rose hips, lemon balm, and burdock root; all of which were gathered from Maggie’s Farm. She breaks up the tea by grinding it and then begins to strain it for her first cup. Filled with antioxidants and flavonoids, she sips as she speaks of how it gets her prepared to create music. Her smile was constant and bright, her voice engaging and textured. Her singing voice breaking […]
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[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1458549864192{padding-top: 43px !important;padding-left: 10% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text] North Memphis E: Walking in My Truth[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Erick Williams also known as North Memphis E is someone who has turned his hardships into motivation toward discovering who he truly is and what and who is a part of his ancestry. The journey to his self-discovery starts in the archives of Memphis. He went digging into the history of Memphis and stumbled upon the Chickasaw Historical Park. The first time that Williams saw the park he had more questions than he did answers. North Memphis E took us on a tour through Chickasaw park where he would discover the history of the Mississippian Nation. This was a Native American nation that occupied areas in Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, and possibly Ohio according to Williams. In this park, you will find two mounds. Williams described them as “Earth Work.” Back in the day, the people who occupied the space that is now Chickasaw park used inspiration gathered from Ant mound-building and built mounds for the important leaders of the village. According to North Memphis E, the mounds were built by the village people on their own out of love and appreciation for the leaders of their village. In […]
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[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1458549864192{padding-top: 43px !important;padding-left: 10% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_gallery interval=”0″ images=”4051″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Dimitri Stevens: Life Through Art and Ice Cream [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Dimitri Stevens is a local artist, who is originally from Oakland, TN. He gets his inspiration from the things that surround him. “To create art in a sense it’s trying to make sense of chaos. That’s why I get inspired by everything I see,” said Stevens. As one might imagine, it’s not hard for Stevens to think outside of the box and he prides himself on his ability to do so. He shows this pride through his creation called “Recluse Gallery.” The name was inspired by the brown recluse spider. Stevens gets inspired by this spider because in a way it mirrors Stevens himself. The Brown Recluse Spider is unique. It has 8 legs but only 6 eyes and it stays hidden. Stevens identifies with the ways of this spider. The way that the spider stays tucked away “off the web” just like Stevens who doesn’t have the biggest social media presence. Stevens says that he himself is a loner and can do his best work and his best learning that way. Stevens is an artist that likes to take risks and chances. He enjoys thinking […]
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[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1458549864192{padding-top: 43px !important;padding-left: 10% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_gallery interval=”0″ images=”4050″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Demarcus & White: Priceless[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Demarcus and Jay White also known as the “Priceless Twins” is a dance group that plans to take their brand to the next level. They have been using their past to fuel their fire into the future. Demarcus and Jay White have been working toward building a name for themselves for 8 years now. As we interviewed them, they walked us through what their journey has been like. It hasn’t been ideal. Growing up with a mom who suffered from mental illness and an unwelcoming family dynamic, the Priceless Twins have been exposed to toxicity that has held them back from their true goals in life. They were incarcerated, doing free shows and getting exploited, and fighting over women. They were becoming a product of their environment. Once the Price Twins realized how special their dreams are, they’ve taken time to reflect on their damaging past and learn patience for others and acceptance of others. They also learned how to let go of people who no longer served them and they did exactly that. These lessons have allowed them to carry resilience by giving them a “keep pushing forward” mindset. […]
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[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1458549864192{padding-top: 43px !important;padding-left: 10% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_gallery interval=”0″ images=”4048″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Darnell Williams: Pray, Protect, and Provide [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Darnell Williams comes from the Orange Mound community with roots in Frayser in The Bay. When you enter the origin story of Williams, there is a tale of a young child who grew up without his father in a neighborhood of economic instability. Williams had to grow up fast and quickly learned the street code to becoming a strong leader without the rules. His mother is from Brooklyn. She is one of the contributing Black business owners in the Orange Mound Community with her own landscaping and home improvement business. She brought her roots from New York and incorporated them into raising her son. Throughout Williams’s young life, he had what he likes to call a New York hustle and a Memphis Hustle inside him. The New York hustle came from the lessons his mother would teach him whether that’s through her directly teaching him or leading by example. The Memphis hustle comes from him being born and raised in Memphis without much guidance on how to become financially free. He knew he had to put the two together to pave a way out of the house and […]
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Cre8: Vow to be Different Coming out of Oakhaven, Cre8 is a Memphis artist on the grind destined to become a global Hiphop artist with a great sound and an even greater message . Music has always been a part of his family and his family has always been a part of his journey since he can remember. Cre8 likes to say that he “can’t name a specific hood that put him on” because he believes all of Memphis contributed to his self-growth and success. His mom taught him how to catch the bus, so he and his friends would go to different parts of the city to play basketball and other sports. Cre8 loved basketball and genuinely pursued it for a while, but he didn’t continue because acquiring money and getting out of his home environment become a more immediate priority for him. Cre8 experienced many instances when his family members were incarcerated for long sentences at a time. He grew up around poverty, food desserts, section 8, and bus fares where he would find himself hustling to survive. The grind […]
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