Black Vibes

Participants Include Notable Florida A&M University Alumni and Seasoned Entertainment Industry Professionals

New York, NY - The Florida A&M Lyceum Series is proud to present the 2009 Media and Entertainment Conference (M.E.C.) on November 13-14, 2009 on the campus of Florida A&M University located in Tallahasee, FL.



The entertainment industry was once considered a career path with a limited number of opportunities; however, the recent synergy illuminating between the various entertainment and corporate entities are now presenting options for everyone to find their niche. The Florida A& M University Lyceum Series Media and Entertainment Conference is a progressive partnership dedicated to educating, empowering, and inspiring individuals seeking careers in the entertainment industry.



"The Florida A&M University Lyceum Series recognizes the importance of education, exposure, and preparation. The Media and Entertainment Conference will be a bridge between executives and students to provide insight on the importance of internships, networking, and the reward of hard work in the competitive media and entertainment industry, "says Sherise Malachi - Director of Media and Entertainment Conference.

The 2009 Media and Entertainment Conference will feature esteemed Florida A&M University Alumni and notable industry professionals that include: Ali Muhammad, Florida A&M Graduate, Media & Advertising Executive, Amir Windom, Florida A&M Graduate, Director of A&R, Atlantic Records, Christopher "Play" Martin, Hip Hop Artist, Kid N Play ,Delaney Douglass, Florida A&M Graduate, Founder/CEO Zingari LLC, Joe Bullard, Florida A&M Graduate, Program Director, Cumulus Media, Joshua Fahiym Ratcliffe, Florida A&M Graduate, Deputy Director, The League of Young Voters, Former Editor of Source Magazine, Khari "Needlz" Cain, Florida A&M Graduate, Top Producer, Kimberly Cooper, President BG Unlimited, BET Networks, Lauren Lake, TV Personality, Attorney, Designer, Life Coach and Author, Larry Hester, Senior Content Manager, GlobalGrind.com , Lloyd Cambridge, Partner/CFO Optimum Capital Management , Michael "Mancini" McConnell, President, Team Mancini, Rashida Maples, Florida A&M Graduate, Top Entertainment Lawyer , Rikers, Head of Marketing Stall & Dean, Music Editor for Beyond the Race Magazine , Ryan Mack, President of Optimum Capital Management, LLC , Sabrina Thompson, Women In Entertainment Network Chair Woman (W.E.E.N) , Shanti Das, Music Veteran, WEEN Board Member , Sherise Malachi, Director of Marketing & NTR, Radio One Inc , Sherry Bitting, Florida A&M Graduate, Principal-SJB Communications and Consultant to COMPLEX Magazine, Walter Jones, Director of Urban A&R, SONY/ATV Publishing, Winsome Sinclair, Florida A&M Graduate, Casting Director, Winsome Sinclair & Assoc , and Xavier Jernigan, Florida A&M Graduate, Senior Director of Digital & Traditional Marketing, Universal Music Group.

"This will serve as a foundation networking for students who want to pursue careers in the entertainment industry," said Kawachi Clemons, director of the FAMU Institute for Hip Hop and Music Industry Studies. "The university is extremely excited about adding the conference as a part of the Lyceum Series."

The Department of Music is currently developing a bachelor's degree in music industry. This conference will provide university students with networking opportunities. My hope is to integrate this conference into the the interdisciplinary programming of the institute to provide extensive opportunities for students in music, business, journalism, graphic communications and law.

The Florida A&M University Lyceum Series Media and Entertainment Conference will take place on November 13-14, 2009 from 9 am-6 pm on the campus of Florida A&M University. Registration will begin promptly at 8 am and will close at 12 noon on November 13 and November 14. Registration for Florida A&M University Students is $10.00, and for non students

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Jay-Z's Empire State Of Mind (Yankee Parade) -- Click To Play

Jay-Z was an invited guest of Alex Rodriguez during the New York Yankees Championship Parade on Friday. At the end of the ceremony, he performed his hit single Empire State Of Mind with Bridget Kelly.

Click below to watch the video

The 2009 Soul Train Awards was recorded at the Georgia World Congress Center on Tuesday Night. Several stars were in attendance to celebrate the return of the awards show after a two-year hiatus.

Check out some of the pictures from the 2009 Soul Train Awards Red Carpet.

The awards will premiere on both CENTRIC and BET in a special simulcast on November 29 at 9 p.m.

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It's good to see The Clipse get down with Pharrell Williams again. Some partnerships just work.


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Atlanta's Soapbox Studios is proud to announce their latest addition to the team, Director of Visual Effects Larry Williams.

Atlanta, GA - Williams brings over 10 years of 3D experience to the table. Larry's work has been seen globally. With clients ranging from Lucasfilm, to Coca-Cola, and Cartoon Network Larry has the unique advantage of understanding Broadcast, Film, and Corporate client needs. Earlier this year Soapbox Studios launched their Design arm helmed by Jay Wilson. Since it's inception Soapbox's Design group has worked with Publix, The Atlanta Falcons, Turner Entertainment Networks, JG Blackbook, Miller Lite, and Quaker State. Not only will Williams be heading up 3D projects as his division grows, but as the Director of Visual Effects he will work alongside Creative Director, Jay Wilson.

General Manager Paxton Greene says, "The combination of these two talents only strengthens Soapbox's position in the marketplace, and will allow us to move forward as our studio continues to grow. Soapbox's clients now have even more options to take their project to the next level."

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Since Larry's start in late August he has already completed a project for Visa demonstrating the flexibility and ease of use Visa cardholders have at their fingertips. Williams also just completed a project for TNTLA for their upcoming American Music Awards that will be airing this Fall.

CEO Jonathan Wolfman states, "Larry's level of experience and dedication to his craft opens up endless opportunities for Soapbox Studios to continue offering turnkey creative and production solutions for our domestic and international clients."

SoapboxStudios.com

Blitz The Ambassador

Blitz The Ammbassador - Sterotype

Gerald Olivari and DJ Cisco recently spoke with Blitz The Ambassador about his experiences as an independent artist and about his African heritage. He also gave us the scoop on the marketing concept for his innovative album Stereotype.

What are your goals as an independent artist?

Blitz : Primarily just to tour. I put a lot of time and emphasis on building a fabulous show. I'm a fan of the James Brown era where people paid money to see a show and they never forgot that show. That's my approach to it. As we know, record sales cannot be the standard anymore for any artist so we focus a lot of our attention into performing live.



I absolutely love the marketing concept behind Stereotype. Who came up with the idea to market the stereo as the head?

Blitz : That's me actually. I'm a visual artist. I was doodling one day out of frustration for commercial radio and I found a good way to put it visually. That visual actually came 3 years before the record was completed. It was the visual element that inspired us all to work. There were a lot of people who latched onto the project based on the visual only. They heard the music later, but the visual got them first.

How does your African heritage show in you as an artist?

Blitz : Africa is who I am. Africa is where I belong. I've never lost track of that. I've been living out of Ghana for over 10 years now. I'm still connected in a very, very strong way. I grew up listening to Afrobeats and Highlife Music so they're a direct impact on my artistry. Not too many people use the horns and percussion like I use them because I grew up around drumming and dancing all day. That vibe has never left me. I'm very proud of being able to carry Africa in pop and hip-hop culture.

What other things are you working on outside of music?

Blitz : I just scored a PBS documentary called Bronx Princess. I also just finished writing a screenplay that I'm looking to produce and direct within the next year. It's about amateur boxing in Ghana. There are some really dope Ghanaian boxers that do it on the world stage. Right now, I'm working on funding this picture. I want to represent my folks because unfortunately, there is no voice from where I'm from.

Listen to the Entire Interview!

Blitz The Ambassador gave an in-depth answer about what influenced him to get into the film industry.

He also spoke about performing in Atlanta.

New Music Seminar - Michael Spiegelman

Tom Silverman, Tom Windish, Emily White, Lou Plaia, David Hazan

Source: B.A.S. / Beth ShandlesCHICAGO - The prevailing message from this year's New Music Seminar: adapt to change, or see your career fall dead in the water.

Though the seminar has been around for close to three decades, the seismic shift in the music industry over the past decade or so warranted its radical new approach: The seminar has expanded from an event held exclusively in New York City to a traveling seminar that will touch down in major markets across the country.

The first New Music Seminar outside of the Big Apple took place October 6 at the Park West in Chicago.

The eight-hour event welcomed hundreds of artists and industry members to the Windy City. Divided into four "movements," the seminar focused on presenting the dynamics of the new music business, artistic creative differentiation and mastering the live show.

Tommy Boy Entertainment founder and CEO Tom Silverman emceed the event, spending an ample amount time focused on the sense of urgency involved in dramatically revamping the music business as we know it today.

Silverman's introduction included a PowerPoint presentation containing sobering data, including how out of five million bands and solo artists looking for a break, just over 1,000 would make it past obscurity. The days of selling full albums, he said, have been trumped by the pick-and-choose singles era ushered in by new music giants like iTunes and Amazon.com.

"Most artists are still making records to get radio play and to get signed to a big label," Silverman said. "This is an old model that doesn't work anymore. It's like digging for gold that's all mined out, and it's a waste of time and focus. You can't rely on record companies so much anymore, because they don't have the budgets they used to."

Source: B.A.S. / Beth ShandlesYahoo! Music head Michael Spiegelman served as the event's keynote speaker, kicking things off with a lounge-style one-on-one discussion that was not so much a speech but a question and answer between Silverman and Spiegelman on the new music business.

The gentlemen covered lots of territory on stage, including the widespread misconceptions of what it means to grow as an artist on the internet.

"It's a natural impulse to look at how many friends an artist has on Twitter and MySpace. But the important thing is that you have to have real friends paying attention to you," Spiegelman said. "It's not about having ten thousand friends…it's about having real relationships, and that's something you can use in a much better way than just getting signed by l