Rock The Republic Returns October 21-23, 2010

Held in Bryan, Texas Rock The Republic (RTR) is NOT a festival; it’s a Spectacle of Sight and Sound! Rock The Republic is a three night event featuring the best up and coming musical acts, spoken word performers, and artists from the Lone Star State. Never before has an event so prominently fused the world of rock & roll with the dynamic slam poetry movement. And unlike many music “festivals” that rush bands on and off of stages, Rock The Republic will feature concert length performances allowing participants to fully enjoy their favorite artists.

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Mykita presents a short series of aviators as part of their Série Noire collection for Summer 2010. The unisex frames: Rolf, Cooper,Craig And Troy offers styles for all. “The shiny silver hinge presents a nice contrast to the hand-lacquered matt black frame, and plays off the matching lenses. The frames come equipped with shiny silvery/black flash mirrored sun lenses, produced by Christian Dalloz Sunoptic.” Cooper and Troy models shown above.

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Mors footwear will be expanding its range of elk leather sneakers in the ‘hoop’ and ‘net’ styles for Fall/Winter 2010

Mors, the footwear brand will be further expanding its range of elk leather and suede products for fall/winter 2010. Drawing on the inspiration of arctic cultures for the Fall/winter season, all of the materials for the range are sourced from within the arctic.  The ‘hoop’ high top will be available in a natural elk suede colour adding to the black leather and grey elk suede already available.  The ‘net’ tennis style will be available in a soft grey elk suede exclusive to mors and a butter soft black

elk leather. The idea behind these shoes is to create crafted footwear which is tactile, soft and durable.  The elk leather is sourced from responsibly managed herds of elk in the north of Finland.  These will be available online in the late summer/fall from morsfootwear.com/store and asos.com’s designer store.

-Mors is a footwear brand creating high quality, stylish sneakers with a fresh perspective. Handcrafted in Portugal from premium materials, Mors is detailed to the best standard from high quality leather. Mors is the concept of Jonathan Morss, an experienced footwear designer that has designed for some of the best known sports and fashion brands. The products are available from the Mors online store at www.morsfootwear.com, online at www.asos.com (coming fall/winter) and available in a few select stores worldwide.

Mors, Black Elk Net

Mors, Grey Elk

Mors, Natural Elk Hoop

1. Involve your target market in something fun and/or memorable.

2. Forget about the ‘sale’ and work toward brand credibility, sales will follow.

3. Don’t limit your interaction with the consumer market to the telephone.

4. Ever heard of giving back..? DO IT!

5. Set simple goals for your campaign and work your way up.

6. Forget about traditional marketing, we have the Internet!

• Professional Web Design
• Social Network Marketing
• Google Advertisement Campaigns
• E-commerce (Selling products & services online)
• Website Maintenance (Maintain existing website)
• Website Redesigns (Complete overhauls)
• Macromedia Flash (Animations, Intros, Flash Photo Galleries, Music Players etc.)
• Website Design Templates
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Web Site Programming (PHP, Perl, CGI, Mysql Databases, Javascript)
• Graphics Design (Macromedia Fireworks, Adobe Photoshop)

When conversing with Mariyo about his music it becomes apparent that Mariyo is fearlessly aggressive and passionate about music and success. “Michael and I have this thing where we say good is not enough. Don’t just be good, be great. You gotta be great.” The Michael he is referring to is Michael Redmond, an impassioned future music executive who serves as Mariyo’s manager.  Both seem to possess an insatiable desire for success and at this rate, it seems the two are poised to take his career to the next level.

In his blatant refusal to adhere to musical genres and expectations, he is naturally a rebel. With a diverse and eclectic musical pallette, his musical interests and experience ranges from techno, to rock, to R&B—yes, he can sing as well. “I’ve worked with artists from Canada, from England…done pop, the techno thing…all of those things I am very capable of doing and I am comfortable with. But the music I am doing right now I am great at.” Later on, he admits somewhat shyly that he is “better at rapping, good at singing…I can hold a note. It comes from being around music.” Although he cites stars such as Drake and Kanye West as influences, he also mentions musical figures such as Maroon 5 and the iconic Quincy Jones. “If it were a perfect world…if I could do a track, it would have to be a band — Maroon 5. They have a very soulful sound…not far fetched from what I am living and experiencing.”

With the advent of social media and social networking sites, the sheer volume of music released digitally is overwhelming. Many artists face difficulty trying to stand out in an oversaturated music market . Despite these challenges, Mariyo has garnered a rather large following both locally and on the web. The viral internet campaign “Who is Mariyo Deon” launched by Michael Redmond and his associates was effectively used to raise interest in the artist amongst the blogosphere and internet community. Most recently, Deon released “Who is Mariyo Deon,” a mixtape featuring a wide range of original music, interpretations and styles. Tackling “coming of age” issues dealing with relationships and love on songs such as  “Silly Love Song” to radio friendly anthems like “Chucks,” it is a solid musical offerring. After listening to the project, the one thing that remains clear is that Mariyo is human, fluid, growing and evolving. “I work hard to improve all the time…I’ve not always made the best decisions in life, but I’ve done things that I thought were best for me at the time.” In a business of smoke and mirrors, Mariyo is determined to remain true to himself. When asked whether or not he feels pressure to conform to industry expectations of young, Black male rappers Mariyo responds “I don’t feel pressure…I don’t change anything to fit, or to be marketable. Everything I do is all real life.” “Who is Mariyo Deon” showcases the natural ability and talent of a burgeoning young artist who is coming into his own both as an artist and as a young man. “I want people to know, feel and connect to me.”

Being a recording artist is hard. There are those who enter in and change with the times while trying to “fit in.” Then there are those who come and go because of an inability to find a niche. One can only believe that Deon will last beyond both of these scenarios and find success in this industry of constant change. The fearlessness and audacity of Mariyo suggests not only is he ready and willing to sacrifice all to reach his desired level of success to reach success, but he has the follow through and passion to make it. This idea was evident when Mariyo said confidently and unabashedly, “Everything is something I have lived, its all music to me.”

Mariyo Deon
Who Is Mariyo Deon–The Mixtape

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I remember when I first ran into “As Serious as First Love,” it was Haki Madhubuti and my first year of college, prospective psychology major with no clue—about anything.  So, the opportunity to interview an ambitious film director with a psych background was thrilling. Fact: psychology majors love to understand people. Another fact: I inevitably declared a sociology major and we love to believe we understand all they don’t! For Sam Kessie, The transition from the social sciences and corporate America to creating as a career seems to have been inevitable. Interestingly enough, her position seems common in that respect. She transitioned, and she did so successfully.

“I took a few business classes and I didn’t find it fun at all. It was just boring for me[…]The complexities of the mind and attempting to understand an  individual and social behavior as well as the physiological and  sometimes even the neurological processes absolutely fascinated me.” Renowned author Julia Cameron holds the belief that many individuals are natural born story tellers. Somewhat ironically, she holds the belief that psychologists specifically end up in the vocation because of repressed, natural story telling abilities. Somewhere along the line, burgeoning young artists are told its too difficult to be an artist. Its too hard to create, or that they aren’t good enough. The reasons are numerous, but ultimately many just simply don’t do it and allow their untapped passions to remain dormant. “Unfortunately, I am from a culture that too many families or parents do not encourage the arts. My culture encourages the sciences and businesses and so I was on the road to becoming a doctor or engineer.  Many worry that as an artist you will always be in debt… (Somewhat true, hahaha, but that shouldn’t stop you).”

Ultimately, one who is born to create will create, and Kessie did just that.  Kessie confesses that “even though many signs pointed towards my destiny to become an artist from as young as a primary school student, to a senior high school student, I kept pursing a completely different path.” Luckily for us all, she made her way back to creating and her debut film that started out as a senior thesis is a testament to coming in to her role as a griot (think, story teller of culture and tradition) expressing through the medium of film. Kessie’s first work is somewhat of a psychological thriller not only delving into the depths of human behavior, but also unveiling the nature of avarice, greed and ambition.

Although a beautiful process, Sam Kessie admits the fulfillment of her dream and destiny hasn’t been without trials. The struggling artist lifestyle doesn’t appeal to many admittedly. But I always remember what a music industry consultant told me once, “temporary discomfort, long term satisfaction.” The sacrifice one makes for passion is precisely what she exemplifies. In fact, she even quit her job and enrolled in media classes at American Intercontinental University and would later graduate with 3…lets say, it was a very, very impressive GPA—for the sake of modesty.

Me: There is a quote that loosely says, “Leap and the net will appear.” Courageously,  you did that and this allowed you to pursue something you were so  passionate about. How liberating was this experience for you, and were you afraid?

Sam Kessie: I was worried. I was making decent money working a corporate American  job… My dad especially wasn’t exactly thrilled by my move at first. I became pretty broke.”

She can look back on the experience with pride now, but the path hasn’t been so seamless. From economic strains during launch off, to her film being criticized for not being “experimental” enough, Kessie faced pressures that might deter the emerging artist but she managed to prevail. “…when you delve in behavioral psychology. What makes us tick and why we sometimes make the choices we do, even though sometime we know the consequences could be dire. All my experiences as well as other people have helped me become a better filmmaker.”

The future from Kessie is looking bright. Looking back on her difficult, drastic decision to dive into film full force, she seems undeniable grateful she made the plunge. With a feature film in the works, as well as a documentary scheduled to be released in April, needless to say she is on the move, and moving quickly. The Sankofa Adinkra symbol is one that describes the process of looking to the past to move forward or perhaps even to “go back and get it.” When mentioning the famous symbol to her to her, she enthusiastically responded by stating “I think Sankofa describes a lot of who I am[…]I always loved the arts….I tried to run  away from it for years and convince myself that I wanted to do something else. Finally I went back, learned from my past. I am so glad I took the risk and did.”

Demo reel

Trailer for Documentary

We had a chance to pick the brain of one of Houston’s most fashionable urban and skate wear designers in the industry, Chaplon Clothing Company (CCC) was created on the premise that design should be universal and able to speak across race, creed, gender or the constricting lines of social status.

HYPURSUIT: What inspired you to launch your own clothing label?

I’ve always had an eye for fashion and at the time I saw a need for a different type of clothing that I wanted to wear but could not find. I just wanted to see something different in the independent fashion scene that was an expression and better representation of me.

HYPURSUIT: Were their any significant challenges you faced as an entrepreneur when developing your own label? How does your clothing label differ from others?

Financing. Starting the clothing line at such a young age and self-funding it was tough. Early on I even printed my own shirts to cut costs. And later learning the hard lesson about customs and import duties. The clothing differs from many others in that we focus on staples and classic themes, colors and ideas.  We don’t get caught up on fads and quick fly by night ideas.

HYPURSUIT: Have you always been involved in fashion? If so, who are/were some of your favorite designers?

Yes, in some capacity. My first business was actually designing frat shirts when I was 12. Later, I took more notice of fashion and designers like Marc Ecko, Kevin Leong, Calvin Klein, and Michael Kors.

HYPURSUIT: Your design concepts are very unique, what inspires them (the designs)?

The designs are mostly based on my life and experiences. I also draw a great deal of influence from music and propaganda from different eras.

HYPURSUIT: What message do you want to convey through your label?

I hope along the way I inspire someone to take action through the messages. But mostly the classics withstand the test of time and never die so do something that will last.

HYPURSUIT: In addition to appealing to the urban and skateboard cultures, do you see your label evolving into a mainstream brand in the future?

Well, the line really grows and evolves as I grow. At some point the line will have a new face as of now I don’t know what the new face will be. I do see the line being mainstream though.

HYPURSUIT: If you could have any celebrity endorse your label (Chaplon Clothing) who would it be and why?

I don’t really follow celebs but maybe Manny Pacquiao, just because I am a huge boxing fan.  Or maybe Brad Pitt from a more fashion based answer. His sense of style and classic yet simplistic wardrobe is always live. So I know he would mesh well and make the line look good, even in ordinary settings.

HYPURSUIT: Some of your t-shirts designs have specific messages on them like, ‘Success or Death,’ and ‘All American BadBoy.’ How much of those messages actually overflow from your own personal style and beliefs?

All of them. The messages we produce we believe in and consciously create. I never let a design leave my desk that I have a question or any doubt about.

HYPURSUIT: Since marketing is a very crucial aspect of a businesses’ viability, how has social networking and online marketing helped you promote your label?

Fashion blog sites are a great marketing tool for direct to consumer marketing, as well as other social networking sites. They allow us to send out massive amounts of information and keep our fans updated. It really lets us have a presence and reach people in places I never heard of or have never been to.

HYPURSUIT: What’s next for Chaplon aside from the clothing label?

Skydiving.

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nicoyamusic.com

As quiet as its kept, Houston is a boiling cauldron of undiscovered talent, or talent that is seriously underrepresented by our very own radio stations! While driving  to work a fresh R&B track  came on the radio and the name “Nicoya Polar” came up. I thought to myself, “that sounds awfully familiar.” Nicoya is local Houston artist and a name heard frequently in the performance circuit.  Needless to say this is a talent that should be watched.

With her finely tuned vocals and fresh look, it is very possible that Nicoya Polar will…well, she very well could be everywhere.  Fact: mainstream is always a little slow to pick up on new talent. With two infectious songs “Super Man” and “Loving What You Do,” she could  be a drink of fresh, cool water for R&B lovers yearning for new music with an artist than can do more than just hold a tune.

It would be so cliché and tempting to compare her vocals to a number of artists, but its much wiser to let Nicoya Polar hold her own. She has the technical and natural talent to have a unique style and musical brand for herself. With an interesting timbre and nuanced vocals , she is definitely her own artist. If you aren’t a believer, see her singing acappella on YouTube).

One of the most difficult things for a new artist in an industry climate that is becoming narrower by the minute is that they are always being compared to their predecessors. Every artists deserves the right to live with a purpose and create an artistry that is uniquely their own, and this young lady does just that. A graduate of Texas Southern University, she has experience that spans the genre’s of jazz to classical (wouldn’t mind hearing her sing some Italian art songs) and can clearly articulate what her artistic vision is.  From what Nicoya is showing us right now, I believe this is just the tip of what this young talent is capable of. I for one am very interested to see how she develops, grows and continues to come into her own.

Nicoya, in the words of a friend of mine “we are loving what you do.”

Side Bar: Nicoya if you see this (or someone tells you), you should REALLY cover Ledisi’s “Lost and Found (Find Me).”