The Blind Leading the Blind!

The Blind Summit Theatre’s Low Life examines the interesting people and strange characters in a bar. There are alcoholics, depressed men and lusty ladies. There’s even a visit from the plumber to unclog a pipe. What makes this production different is that it’s done with puppets. Ok, a puppet show for adults? I had to see it. There were six scenes in the production: a three-foot-high Kevin Spacey look alike mistakes his wife for a dog; a cleaner gets lost in a romantic novel; Bud, the action hero plumber, tries to fix a leaking pipe; "Investigation into Murder!" — The Afternoon Movie, A Jack Belane Mystery; Mildred drinks to forget; and Kevin finds himself the last man at the bar. The show was great.

I left thinking how there are unlimited hustles. These folks took the skills they had, acting and puppet making and created a unique experience that people pay to see. That’s using what you got to get what you want. I mean, when was the last time you went to a puppet show, for adults? If someone can put on a puppet show and travel the world expressing themselves and being paid, I can do anything, and so can you.

-Zaccai Free

www.solarpub.com
www.zfreeland.com
www.onecommonunity.org

BROOKLYN:An Old School Rent Party--TONIGHT

A very fitting sign of the American economy AKA "The Drought":

The Office of New York City Council Member LETITIA JAMES, & KEVIN POWELL presents...

An "Old-Fashioned" Rent Party for Poet/Brother MO BEASLEY

Thursday, March 20, 2008 at Frank's Lounge - 660 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11238 (between South Portland and Lafayette Avenue)

6:00 pm until 10:00 pm - $20 donation or more - ($20 gets you in and we'll feed you, but you gotta buy your own drinks!)

to the readers outside of New York(Especially you guys with Euros and Pounds), you' can chip in too!

the contact info is:
Mo Beasley
Performing Poet • Author/Playwright • Educator
646.322.7121
mobeasley@thelovestorm.com
www.thelovestorm.com
www.mobeasley.com

Memories of the Rent Party

-image by Goldi Gold

Now most of us don't remember the days of the Rent Party, and what that meant economically. People were doing what it took to keep the roof over there head, while at the same time bringing their community together for a common cause.

I found a great rent party testimony by ERNIE PANNICOLI , photographer & author of Who Shot Ya? He takes us into his heartfelt memories of the Brooklyn Rent Party via an unofficial James Brown eulogy. (via dallaspenn.com)

Growing up in Brooklyn there was one thing you could count on in the late 60’s and early 70’s and that was every weekend, especially around the end of the month was a rent party. For those of you who are too young or too privileged to know what a rent party was it was simply a means to get up the rent. Usually for a couple of bucks and BYOB (bring your own bottle) the party would start around 11pm and last and last and last. It ended around dawn or earlier if there was a knife fight (usually over a woman who would leave with another man not involved in the fight) or folks were too drunk or tired to dance any longer. Most of the places, women and people are a blur to me now, but the one thing every rent party had to have was a DJ (no not a Grandmaster Flash, Grandwizzard Theodore or Grandmaster Caz, this was before Kool Herc showed us what a DJ was in Hip Hop style).

The rent party DJ’s were cats with a record player, two or three large, loud speakers and a ton of LP’s or 45’s (damn it, not the guns 45’s were small 45rpm records). And if they ever wanted you to come to another rent party in their apartment again they better have a lot of James Brown music and they better have his best known jams and they damn well better have his latest stuff. It was believed in Brooklyn at that time that James Brown did an album a month and that every album had 12 cuts and that at least 5 of the 12 were hits and at least 12 of the 12 were danceable. If you could not dance you also better get out the way or learn to dance or at least look cool trying to dance. And only the very elite, the top of the top would even try to copy any dance moves from the master himself James Brown.

This was long before MTV, BET or even music videos. Folks would go see James Brown live and in a week whatever new steps he would create would be known, copied and built upon from coast to coast. We felt sorry for people outside of Brooklyn and knew the only place that danced as good, fought as hard or had as much soul in the world was Brooklyn. We also knew that wherever James Brown was born, raised or lived his soul was from Brooklyn and the music he made was especially made for Brooklyn. I learned to make out, dance and fight in Brooklyn and the music that always seemed to be in my head was James Brown. Today Heaven just became a hipper more soulful place, right now it probably sounds like a rent party in Brooklyn. Those rent parties are why I put James Brown at the front of my book “Who Shot Ya?

Qoute of the Day-

"Remember, things come to those who wait--but only things that are left behind by those who hustle."
-Barry Farber in Entrepreneur Magazine

read entire article

That's what I'm Talking bout!!! You are now free to start your day!!

Quote of the Day

"Going down is better that coming up."

This a a quote I heard going down the steps into the subway station in New York, as I was stuck behind two women "slow strolling" and complaining about climbing steps and life in general.

And the thing is they are right!! Coming up is hard work. You need focus and discipline. You have to take every painstaking step until you get were you are trying to go.Going down on the contrary feels great!! That is until you hit the bottom and realize that you gotta come up again. Going down is so good they event got slick slogans for it... "Ball til you Fall" "Ride it til the wheels fall off." and my favorite from a old school radio promotion for a club in South Florida "Party til' ya broke."

Over here its all about coming up.

GGC NEWS: Lebron x Vogue=A Gracious Stylist

We are happy for Lebron "Billy(as in Aspiring Billionaire)" James as he graces the March cover of Vogue, but more so for his stylist Rachel Johnson.

Its a fitting career highlight for Rach, who over the past 8 years, worked at a neck break pace supplying freshness to Hip Hop's elite including Pharell, Ja Rule, Jamie Foxx, etc. Here at the Hustle we are especially proud since weknow Rach from her college days, when she was the vintage clothes connect, slanging leisure suits to all of the FAMU hipsters.

Congrats Rachel keep doing our thing!!

The Come Up

It all started when...My interest came very early because my mother is a fashionista. I inherited it. She would take me to Bergdorf's, we'd go to thrift stores, she just shopped... I have this picture in my office from the 2^nd grade that my mother framed; it's this girl --everything she had on was cut from construction or foil paper - she had gold hoops, bangles, cuffs and boots -- so many accessories! I was on it back then too.

My first break was... Simultaneously assisting two stylists who hired me a day apart, Sybil Pennix with Boyz II Men and June Ambrose on this NBA fashion show. Those were my first jobs; that was seven and a half years ago.

I've worked for Andrea Lieberman and with Tameka Foster, Usher's wife. I was with her for two-and-a-half years. I learned everything, as far as running the business is concerned, from her.

My breakout project was.. Ja Rule, when he was hot and rocking the Burberry. I was with him when he could do no wrong, that kick-started everything for me.

(READ RACHEL'S FASHION TIPS SOHH.COM)

Z Free: Green is the New Black?

Green is everywhere. Caring for the environment, also known as “being green”, has become a lifestyle and an industry. The changing weather patterns, threatened animal and plant species are forcing us all to take a closer look at our life on this blue, green planet Earth. Are we responsible for our action here? If we all contribute to the polluting of the planet, will we all contribute to its healing? If so, does race matter? A glance through most yoga magazines or a visit to many health-oriented activities reveals a lack of color. No, not colorful clothes, but people of color, melanated blacks and browns. On Feb. 28, 2008, Uptown Magazine presented “People of Color Don’t care About the Environment”. The night provided a wonderful opportunity to hear from some on the leading edge of including new faces and voices into the work of re-connecting man and nature.

The panel discussion was led by Simran Sethi, host of Sundance Channel’s The Green, and included Jarid Manos, environmentalist author of “Ghetto Plainsman”, Ludovic Blain, Racial Justice Entrepreneur, Omar Freilla of Green Worker Cooperatives of the South Bronx, Audrey Peterman, founder –Earthwise Productions and Sharon Levine of Concrete Safaris.

Opening with music by Marques Tolier and Rex Detiger, the discussion covered a wide range of areas. Some Key thoughts were: “The environmental movement is about all people.” (Simran Sethi); “We get the benefits of technology while the burdens go to poor people of color”(Omar Freilla) who are more likely to live near dump sites, electrical plants, water treatment facilities and the like; “The violence people do to the Earth mirrors the violence people do to each other.” (Jarid Manos); “Educating people about the environment is actually educating people about themselves.” (Sharon “Mac” Levine).

Although the hall was far from packed those who did attend were invigorated and motivated by the wide range of programs and activities presented by the panelists. I left agreeing with Jarid Manos who said, “ In the midst of so much devastation we can still celebrate . . . we grow as a society if we work to take care of others.” Others includes nature and the people we see every day.

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www.myspace.com/zaccai
www.thoughtsmagazine.blogspot.com