One of the things that I value most are handmade items. Especially jewelry. So you can imagine my excitement as I was given the opportunity to share the Heart of Haiti beautiful creations.
Heart of Haiti is a "Trade, not Aid" initiative. I love that idea, by empowering and teaching a man to fish so that they can feed themselves for a lifetime. We all have talents and gifts to contribute to the world. The Heart of Haiti program allows Master Artisans to showcase their talents and share a bit of the Haitian history, culture and art.
The Heart of Haiti products are available at Macy's and the talent of the artists is passed down from one generation to another. Much like a family store or a generational insurance company, these skills are being taught from Father to son and Mother to daughter.
I received an art piece that is in essence a jewelry hanger. Its positively beautiful on its own as I have shown. However, I have also added some of my most precious handmade jewelry pieces. I felt that way I would never lose these pieces if they were attached to such a valuable piece of art.
As you can see the "hanger" is made of a sturdy metal that adds a bit of glamour and art to any room. In the same way that each of my pieces have a personal history to me as they were all handmade and all gifts to me, so is the Heart of Haiti sentimental to me. I would like people to know that by supporting the Heart of Haiti initiative, you are enabling a devastated people to support themselves, feed themselves and educate their children.
Already...
The Heart of Haiti Collection ...has employed 750 Artists in the Country of Haiti
...has supported over 8000 people in the Country of Haiti
The Collection has over 40 home décor items including quilts, ceramics, paintings and metalwork-like I have. Whats also very sutstanding about the line is that its created almost entirely from recycled and sustainable items that we would not even conceptualize art being created from such as: old cement bags, cardboard, oil drums and local gommier wood.
The Heart of Haiti Collection is available exclusively online at Macys.com/Haiti.
I will be keep up with the Heart of Haiti, but you can too!
Director Chris Antonelli delivers another creative video for Homeboy Sandman - for "Peace & Love." Creative is what we've come to expect from a Sandman video (kind of an understatement). "Peace & Love" is off the "Kool Herc: Fertile Crescent" EP. The eight-track project is produced in-full by EL RTNC (formerly known as Rthentic), and as one would expect, it pays tribute to Hip-Hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc.
Mono Bagends' official music video for his single "On Fire" is being placed everywhere, and now the video for "On Fire" was recently added to "The Home Grown Video Show" which reaches 2.5 million potential viewers throughout Long Island, Queens and The Bronx New York as well as parts of Southern Connecticut!
In 2011 Baltimore emcee Substantial was facing the possibility of cancer. He ended up having preventive surgery and while laid up, decided to start working on a tribute album to Jill Scott, one of his biggest influences. It was his way of staying busy while healing, and at the same time to give people their roses while they could still smell them. The result is a free project Substantial calls "Jackin' Jill" - a tribute project built by "Jackin" music from various Jill Scott releases. This collection of reworks and remixes of her work blended by DJ Jav form a cohesive pseudo collaboration focused on life, love & music. Even the cover art was a labor of love, hand drawn by Substantial himself. Project brought to you by Mello Music Group.
Legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff shows off his studio and the power and range of his music setup. From digital to analog to heritage pieces... Jazzy Jeff even has the original analog board used to produce Sesame Street! Check it. A visual treat for heads and geeks alike.
Mariah Carey is back with a brand new video off the Disney motion picture soundtrack, 'Oz The Great And Powerful'. The David LaChapelle directed video is for the song titled, 'Almost Home'.
I just seen Scarface tweet this saying "this is the coldest shit I've seen." Scarface is the reason I'm a Devin the Dude fan, the man who signed Ludacris and he put out The Product...so I have no reason to stop trusting his musical tastes now.
Christopher Varnado is a formerly homeless man from Jackson, Mississippi who up until last year, was living on Skid Row in Los Angeles, California. I missed it when it happened, but this video of him singing for a PSA was a big hit on YouTube last year.
A year later, he's hooked up with some people to make a song and official video out of that performance. The video below is him explaining the inspiration behind the song.
Substantial "Home Is Where The Art Is" continues to grace speakers domestically and internationally after having gained critical acclaim a few months back. Since releasing the Oddisee executive produced album, Substantial has done a quick tour with Diamond District emcee yU, dropped a few bonus tracks with Oddisee, Homeboy Sandman, and others, and even was invited to do an akapelah show at the Smithsonian in DC.
"Speak about it, Then I be about it."
For the album cut "Resilient" Substantial brings on Seattle producer and Bop Alloy partner Marcus D to provide a smoothed out, jazz infused remix. The track, originally produced by Eric Lau, is a testament to the strength it takes to claim your identity and walk your own path. The Marcus D jazz remix is a perfect fit for the reflective & uplifting declarations of Substantial.
Law enforcement sources tell us ... the suspect has told police someone emailed him instructions on how to get into the home ... so he rolled over to the property and followed the directions.
DIAMONDCUTTERZ' DJ JAV from the DMV (DC/MD/VA area) is both friend and fan to Homeboy Sandman's music and movement, double motivation for the deejay to spotlight Homeboy's work.
'Fresh out of the lab with exclusive remixes and an exclusive radio freestyle, the 80 minute long mix "Orphans" highlights 30 Homeboy Sandman gems exhibiting elite lyricism and wordplay combined with amazing production from the U.S. to London & Wales, brought to life by the likes of P.So, 2 Hungry Bros, Psycho Les, Jinesis and more. An Intro beat produced by Low Budget Crew's Kaimbr and cover art by DC Native Aniekan Udofia make this project a definite must listen.'
- DJ JAV
And you can definitely download a FREE copy of the mix here.
Okay, the honey Homeboy pursues in the video is baaaddd! Let's start there. I can only imagine the real-life inspiration for this song. It's only right that a banging video bring the Homeboy Sandman joint "Couple Bars" (off the album "First of a Living Breed") to life. Enjoy the visual.
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![Substantial "Jackin Jill" [Free Album]](images/blogs/4-2013/19937-substantial-jackin-ji.jpg "Substantial \"Jackin Jill\" [Free Album]")
![Substantial "Resilient" [Marcus D Remix]](images/blogs/2-2013/18337-substantial-resilient.jpg "Substantial \"Resilient\" [Marcus D Remix]")
