Get Your April Calendars Out Now! Good Stuff On the Way...

The Department of Fine and Performing Arts (DFPA) at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland will host an exciting and inspiring week-long series of visual and performing arts events, including a student art exhibition and screenings, a hip-hop, soul/urban art "mini" yard festival and workshop, guest artist/performer lectures; comedy, theatrical and musical performances.

A special artist lecture by Sam Gilliam.

The DFPA announces performances by Bilal Salaam, Jah-I-Witness, Bless Roxwell; live art/video/animation by Jeff Henriquez, Tewodross Melchisua and more; the play, "Sizwe Banzi Is Dead" and the FocusonDesign/VCDMA Reality Check: a special portfolio review and career day in the areas of art, design, multimedia, music and entertainment for area students.

Independent and student films, including short and documentary films will be screened, such as “I AM SEAN BELL, black boys speak” is a short form documentary that highlights the voices of young black boys between the ages of 11 and 13 years old growing up in New York City, directed by Stacey Muhammad. Also there will be a screening of a moving documentary about Black and Latino youth and the HIV/AIDS epidemic titled, "America's Shadows" directed by Tchaiko Omawale.

The General Public is Invited. Visit HERE for more information and to RSVP on Facebook.

Earth Day Celebration

The wonderful Earth Day celebration above is a production of Groundwork Anacostia River DC in association with the National Park Service. Groundwork Anacostia River DC is headed by Dennis Chestnutt who is the Executive Director and a friend of Liberated Muse Productions. Call him at 202-345-5693 for information on vending or reserving a table.

MTV Video Covering the 2008 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest During the Presidential Campaign Season

The video above was produced by EricaAmerica, a citizen journalist for MTV's Street Team '08. One of 51 journalists selected, she was hired by MTV and The Knight Foundation to create a young, national press corp to cover the historic 2008 election. Because the 2008 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest was unique in that it had voter registration drives going on and candidates present to campaign and bring awareness to various issues, EricaAmerica chose to cover it as her piece for July 2008.

Check it out!

If you haven't already emailed us for your vendor application for your nonprofit or business, make sure you email us at CapitalHipHopSoulFest@gmail.com!

The 2009 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest Roster of Acts HOT LIKE FIRE!!

The roster of acts for the 2009 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest are off the chain this year! Two of those acts, Teisha Marie (in the video above) and the 5th L are bonafide stars in their parts of the DMV, lacing music with spoken word and appealing to the nature of fans who like to be intellectually and artistically stimulated.

The 5th L
The 5th L is a Baltimore-based but nationally traveled spoken-word poetry meets hip-hop soul group which is made up of David Ross/Native Son and Femi Lawal/The Dri Fish. They are an action packed poetry experience that delivers spoken word with the skilled theatrics of a Broadway show and the high energy a rap artist exerts on stage and yet able to maintain the poetic integrity of Langston Hughes to entertain and enlighten audiences.

As a duo and band, they have shared stages with international recording artists such as Musiq Soulchild, Saul Williams, Ursula Rucker, Raheem DeVaughn, Bill Cosby, The Last Poets, Fertile Ground, Jaguar Wright, and KRS-One. And in response to The 5th L’s continuous work in the Baltimore city community, Reginald F. Lewis Museum has featured them and their works, written and audio for reading and listen as a permanent exhibit in the museum.

We are so excited to have them as part of this year's Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/the5thl
Teisha Marie

I caught this soul diva last year for the first time in the Can a Sista Rock a Mic festival in 2008 in downtown Silver Spring and she reminded a bit then of a young Afi Soul, the popular DC vocalist who was part of the 2008 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest. However, seeing her later on stage and catching her video above (which is a new favorite of mine), it is clear that this singing diva has a style that is her own, with an appeal that is sure to transcend taste barriers. Make sure to peep the video above and catch her on MySpace here: http://www.myspace.com/teisha360

Stay tuned for profiles on more of the performers of the 2009 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest. The festival website will be updated in April with hot news for you to check out! You can email us at CapitalHipHopSoulFest@gmail.com to learn how to become a vendor or partner at this event.

This Past Weekend in Review-- The Great and Not So Great

Common Sits Down w/ Substantial for UAUTV (Up And Up Television) from Up And Up Television -Truth Hall on Vimeo.

This past weekend, I was caught in a dilemma-- two favorite performers of mine, Common and Eric Roberson-- were both coming to the DC metro area and were performing at the same time. Which one to see? I chose Eric Roberson's concert. For one, his was closer, and also, I have more of his music and have never had the pleasure to see him in concert.

Roberson is the independent performer that has become the model of many aspiring performers trying to get more gigs and sell CDs. Roberson's story is legend-- gets a deal, disses the deal and sets out on his own, taking the promotion of his music in his own hands. Not only is he highly successful as a recording and perfomance artist today, he is also very down-to-earth and as likely to perform in a large concert hall and a small local club within the same week.

Roberson's performance this weekend in DC was in a fairly new venue called The Scene. Located in the northeast area of Washington DC, it is a lounge and restaurant trying to build an audience as it competes for the attention of club-goers more familiar Love nightclub which is fairly close.

As a fan, I purchased my tickets to Roberson's concert almost a month in advance and made sure to get the VIP tickets which were twenty bucks more than the regular admission price but guaranteed seating and included dinner.

When I arrived, the seats had been taken and there was no more available seating in the venue. However, they were still selling tickets to folks. There was a line of furious folks (myself included) who were clueless as to what was going on. Within minutes, I identified the issue-- no one was at the door monitoring who had paid for what and was allowing anyone to seat anywhere. We demanded a refund and many of us got it. However, no one from management came out to apologize or offer some alternative to simply walking away angry.

This disappointing night led me to wish that we had chosen Common's concert from the get-go. At least Up and Up Productions shared with us the video above so we could at least quell our Common fix. Enjoy!

The Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest Seeking Partners for this Year's Summer Event

Liberated Muse Productions is inviting local organizations and individuals to become partners for the 2009 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest. Partnership is different than sponsorship or vending at the event. Partners will have opportunity to showcase their business, talent, services or product.

This opportunity will allow partners the chance to gain exposure, build an audience and earn revenue without the need to become mired in the logistics of planning their own major event.

The Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest is an annual event that is a musical platform for performing artists in the Washington DC metropolitan area. The first Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest took place in 2008 and promoted the theme “Vote for Soul And REAL Hip Hop” given the backdrop of the historical presidential election.

This year, the theme will be “Time for Some Action”.

It is our hope that the Partnership Package will allow organizations, businesses and individuals more flexibility in their role as participants in the 2009 Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest. Those interested in becoming Partners are invited to participate in a Welcome Meeting we are holding Saturday, March 28, 2009 in Washington DC.

Email us at CapitalHipHopSoulFest@gmail.com to get more information on how to become a partner.

Award-Winning Black-Owned Web Site Asks You to Be Part of a New Book

In 2007, I became a fan of the site http://www.todaysdrum.com/ which included daily articles about positive news in the African-American community. I was pleased to be featured in 2007 when I was casting for my play Shades of Black: a thought in progress which hit the stage in Baltimore, MD in 2008. I made http://www.todaysdrum.com/ my homepage, which kept me in the loop on news that often doesn't make the front page news on many mainstream publications.

Today's Drum has posted over 10,000 articles since its inception inMay 2006 and is linked to more than 400 web pages including AOL, and a few universities and high schools. Today's Drum won last year's BlackWebAwards for "Best News Site".

Today's Drum is publishing a book currently titled, President Obama, Just One Question.

Editors of the book are asking the public, "If you could ask President Obama one question, what would it be?"

Respondents are asked to leave their question in the comments section on http://www.todaysdrum.com/. It is also an awesome opportunity for you to leave your web site link on the site. At last check, over 100 individuals, from ages 8 to 70 years-old have already taken advantage of this opportunity. Selected responses will be published in the book.

Today's Drum Editor Keith Foxx calls this a wonderful opportunity to network. "The future is all about creative and strategic partnerships," he said.

You can go directly to the link by clicking HERE.