American music, before hip-hop, and even before jazz, has always, somehow been painted white. And that which has not been, like hip-hop and jazz, is often times not even seen as American, but rather seen as black. But the forgotten truth is, black music is American music. It’s the very crux of American music. So when three young, black kids in North Carolina decided to reach deep down into the black experience to revitalize, and evolve a fleeting musical style [...]

Baltimore Club music is an underground blend of hip hop and house music with repetitive vocals, often samples of popular songs and TV shows, turned into music for my Friday nights as a teenager. The songs and mixes that came from the speakers were definitely not for the weak and lazy. It required the energy of a west coast dude getting crunk or a Miami chick dancing to Miami Bass. The music came straight out of the clubs of Baltimore, [...]

“Lyf Designs isn’t just fashion but it’s a Lyf.Style. And anything in real life, big or small, always evolves.”

Life is full of mixture and surprises and it wasn’t a surprise when I found a clothing line so cleverly titled LYF, full of reconstruction and clever sayings. Lively Year Fashion started in 2005 as strictly a men’s clothing line. The reconstructed garments were creatively expressive and found their way onto almost every major catwalk in the Maryland area. At [...]

If you’re looking for a ray of hope and positivity in this world of crazy carryings-on, an organization called beGlobal will surely lift your spirits. beGlobal is a young non-profit founded by Quenesha McNair in 2007. Her inspiration drew from her interest in the new and fascinating world beyond her hometown of Pinetops, NC – and far be it for her to deprive herself! Her experiences encouraged a program that gets young people from rural United States the opportunity to [...]