Vote For The Business of Art
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- Parent Category: Onstage
So much has changed in the District of Columbia in the past 8 years, and almost all of it without the 
consideration, approval, objection, or active participation of a demographic that is otherwise indisputably the most influential and coveted in America. But millennials don’t vote in local elections. And politicians know that, and they don’t really care. It means that as elected officials they aren’t beholden to a cohort that had nothing to do with putting them in office. The result is what you see in DC from the past 2 mayoral administrations; a scarcity of programs that positively affect and change the conditions of District citizens between the ages of 18 and 35.
Political analysts and government policy makers may object to this characterization of the Fenty and Gray administrations, but the bike paths and dog parks of the Fenty years and the support for the imported technology sector of the Gray years hardly constitute real support and care for younger DC residents. Dogs don’t create jobs and those 20 something tech geeks who’ve been here for a year and a half only hire folks who look like them. Sure, the renovated libraries and recreation centers in DC are in theory beneficial to this age group, but less so in context when more funding has gone to dysfunctional jobs programs, laughable affordable housing programs, and to a Department of Corrections that has a budget of $140,476,000.
Let’s be more specific, because our focus and that of our audience is arts and culture. In a city that has been home to some of the greatest talent ever seen in entertainment and that is absolutely full of brilliant promoters, bloggers, performing artists, videographers and filmmakers, DC spends more in one half of one month to arrest, prosecute, convict and incarcerate its youth than it commits in a year to supporting a home grown entertainment industry. As a sop, it makes $8,503,000 available to “the Arts” if they are fronted by non-profit organizations that have been on the take for years without doing much of anything to elevate DC’s artistic reputation. And how much does our local government spend to invigorate and grow the business of entertainment? Nothing.
Chess, SWOT, and Kenny Burns
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- Parent Category: Onstage
We found ourselves thinking about three unrelated subjects the other day; chess, a SWOT analysis, and Kenny Burns, when suddenly they morphed into a single topic and became the inspiration for this article which is about Kenny Burns and using the advantages gained from SWOT to become a master in the game of entertainment. Or something along those lines…
Anyway, we were thinking about chess because we play a lot of it, but not on the level we’d like to be proficient at. We were thinking about a SWOT Analysis because in business it’s essential to recognize your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and to constantly review them. And Kenny Burns came up because of his appearance in a YouTube clip we were watching about ODB. Looking at that footage of a younger Kenny Burns doing A&R on the ODB project for Roc-A-Fella Records in 2004 reminded us that his straight-outta-DC success story is a great example of having a strategy and staying loyal to it.
Review - Orchids by Darius Wolley
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- Parent Category: Onstage
Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes a new EP release from the talented Darius Wolley. “Orchids” is a highly listenable entry to some great new music coming out of the DC, Maryland and Virginia area. It’s a connected collection of tracks covering love, sex, and the angst that accompanies relationships. Wolley is a Maryland based lyricist with a straightforward flow with great pacing and timing to his delivery. Orchids was produced by Jon Robinson @JRobOnTheTrack. Pay particular attention to “Work” and “Lipstick” which are our personal favorites, but drop your comments on the Soundcloud page and let the artist and producer know which tracks you’re feeling the most. Follow Darius Wolley on Twitter at @DariusWolley and visit his site at DariusWolley.com.
Thoughtful Thursday - Poem
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Din, Dem Come Again
Great Loa Ghede, god of the underworld, master of the
Dead
Unfetter the souls of the slaves
Give them back their macandals. Let them breathe
Din, dem come again
Sit on the shoulders of the pained
Whisper like saints, “Steady is the hand that
Aims for freedom.”
This land of thirst and blood is something more
It is promise, it is the hope for resurrection and
Miracles
Dem dead will rise again
Console the crying and the dispossessed
Give them water, hope, and love
Steady is the hand that aims for freedom
Toussaint, pray for the living
Pray for the dead and the soon to die
Rise; lead the souls of the cherished
Rise…
Lead the souls of the cherished
Sistah Spittas
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- Parent Category: Onstage
Over the past few years that OnStage has featured the work of local artists in the OnStage Video Showcase we’ve had the opportunity and pleasure of viewing the work of practically every name you can think of when it comes to DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Our area is filled to the brim with talent – always has been - and the spigot doesn’t show any sign of turning off anytime soon. But like the national scene what we aren’t seeing too much of are the ladies. So our question; are we seriously uninformed and missing out on dope local female MC’s, or are there really not enough around?
Obviously the best way to get an answer would be to just ask DJ Heat whose DC Mumbo Sauce is the signature place to go for all things local in Rap and Hip Hop. But DJ Heat is busy, so we put the question to you. Can you come up with a list of local female MC’s who can rock the stage anywhere, anytime, and when you compile that list can you do it without including RAtheMC?
Here are three names that we do have in the Video Showcase we think should be included in any list of ten:
