by Jonathan P-Wright | Jun 2, 2021 | Editorial Pick, Latest, Trending |
“FRIEND OF MINE” BY KELLY PRICE
“THE THINGS YOU DO [BAD BOY REMIX]” BY GINA THOMPSON FEAT. MISSY ELLIOTT
“HONEY” BY MARIAH CAREY
“SUMMERTIME” BY BEYONCÉ FEAT. DIDDY
“BREAKDOWN” BY MARIAH CAREY FEAT. BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY
“MO’ MONEY MO’ PROBLEMS” BY NOTORIOUS B.I.G.
“LOVE @ FIRST SIGHT” BY MARY J. BLIGE FEAT. METHOD MAN
“LET ME BLOW YA MIND” BY EVE FEAT. GWEN STEFANI
“Can’t NOBODY HOLD ME DOWN” BY PUFF DADDY FEAT MASE
“CAN’T LET HER GO” BY BOYZ II MEN
“ONLY YOU” BY 112 FEAT. NOTORIOUS BIG
“NEVER LEAVE YOU” BY LUMIDEE
“I’LL BE MISSING YOU” BY DIDDY FEAT. FAITH EVANS AND 112
“SPENDIN’ MONEY” BY R. KELLY
“YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY” BY NEW EDITION
Puff Daddy ft. Busta Rhymes and The Notorious B.I.G. “Victory,” No Way Out
Puff Daddy ft. Carl Thomas, Ginuwine, and Twista “Is This the End,” No Way Out
Puff Daddy ft. Foxy Brown “Friends,” No Way Out
“Niggas Bleed,” “Notorious Thugs,” “Another,” “Playa Hater,” “Nasty Boy,” “You’re Nobody (till Somebody Kills You)” from the album Life After Death.
Brian McKnight: “You Should Be Mine (Don’t Waste Your Time)” from the album Anytime
I’m sitting in my living room listening to the album “Personal Conversation” by Case (S/O to Case, your music is the perfect tempo to create a classic article) and watching one of my favorite TV shows, “Jeopardy.” The “cool factor” of Jeopardy is even if you don’t know the answer, it’s super intriguing to find out the absolute truth of the question. So when I research all of the “true” classics Stevie J has produced or contributed to, I find myself in another episode of jeopardy.
Hidden genius is a beautiful quality because it doesn’t seek attention, superficial attraction, or seeks its own interest; the motivation is fueled by passion and relentless ambition. The characteristics of Stevie J are a perfect blend of God-given vision, gargantuan inner drive, unflinching confidence, and an ounce of insanity. Ok, I love Case, but the “Red Berry” Ciroc is kicking in, so I fast-forward to “Can’t nobody hold us down” off the “NO WAY OUT ALBUM.
“Normally, when you hear a sampled song, it doesn’t reinvent itself; however, that’s part of the secret formula for Stevie J. Stevie J has an amazing ability to complement a track with an untraceable production approach and signature melodic finish.
The footprints of legends can only be followed and not duplicated, and that’s why his trademark sound will and must be publicly declared. I’m so amped right now!! Music is the soundtrack to life, and when “VICTORY” comes on, so many visions and thoughts are racing through my mind. I’m pacing through my condo rapidly like I’m in the ring of a championship fight.
Yo, the sun don’t shine forever
(You can turn the track up a little bit for me)
But as long as it’s here then we might as well shine together
(All up in my ears)
Better now than never, business before pleasure
(The mic is loud, but the beats isn’t loud)
P-Diddy and the Fam, who you know do it better?
Timeless music!! How did Stevie J know what to add or cut from this sample and then make it work? Success has different outlooks, but the ingredients are always consistent. Stevie J hears a sound only he can ascertain and develop. When he enters into a studio, the room feels, smells, looks, and resonates with an ambrosial atmosphere.
Every great performer, athlete, entertainer, and etc has this creative arena within their mind which enables supernatural results and unfathomable heights of a phenomenon. I just finished listening to “PAIN” and “Is This The End” blares through my speakers like a Hip Hop symphony. Ginuwine, Twista, & Puff Daddy own this track like it is a birthright, and it flows like a sonic motion picture in “HD”.
Who could make “death” sound so good? Stevie J!! The overall instrumentation and sonic delivery of this track are matchless in this current era. My adrenaline is wearing off a little, so as I sit by red berry Ciroc self-down, I flip over to the track “HONEY” (Bad Boy Remix). This universal track connects with every race, gender, and a hater! Jadakiss rips it from the beginning, Styles P supplies his signature gritty undertones, Mase provides the perfect god-flow finger roll, Puff is simply being Puff, Mariah is like cool whip.
She’s good on top of any dessert! Stevie J’s behind the scenes influence is visible throughout each verse, hook, string, chord, and baseline. Stevie J is James Worthy on the fast break, and nobody finishes better. Who can make a pop record cross over to streets better than Stevie J along with the Hitmen production team.
Stevie J understands the language of music, and that’s an inborn God induced gift. Possessing the ability to coordinate over 7 instruments simultaneously, manage sound, tones, voice inflection, intonation, and most importantly, artistic chemistry.
I stop and do a 100 quick push-ups to get my blood flowing and raise my adrenaline. I switch to “Mo Money More Problems” from the 10X platinum “Life After Death” album. Once Big said ”
Uh, uh, B.I.G., P O, P P A, no info, for the, DEA
Federal agents mad cause I’m flagrant
Tap my cell and the phone in the basement
My team supreme, stay clean triple beam lyrical dream
Man, need I say more about this classic record that Stevie J was a part of during the meteoric rise of Notorious B.I.G. How many producers/people would Sean Combs trust with the music and career of B.I.G?
How many producers possess the patience, instinct, and overall musical acumen to deliver for arguably the greatest MC of all time (Its always a toss-up between B.I.G & Tupac). Stevie J’s catalog is responsible for the biggest hits during an entire decade only and not to mention after the 90’s.
When I think about the song “I’ll be missing you” and the impact the record has made worldwide and continues to assist in healing the emotional wounds of people, I often wonder the metal state of mind he commanded during those studio moments.
Knowing that B.I.G. was recently buried and the entire world was waiting and needed this record for their eternal playlist. Stevie J, Puff, Faith, 112, & Sauce Money engineered one of the greatest songs of unity in the league of “We are the world.” Everyone in the world felt compelled to mourn and be inspired at the very exact moment.
Once again, the beautiful mind of Stevie J provided the finely detailed production assembly of emotion, chords, guitar strings, blissful sounds, and undertones of Faith and 112 and made history again. But, unfortunately, most people admire, detest, applaud, aspire to, and reject Stevie J every Monday night via VH1.
The television showcases a very small portion of his life. Stevie’s life is an authentic soundtrack, and we’ve only heard a few tracks of his life. In 2016, Stevie J will ascend to new heights and release new musical jewels for the world to love again.
Stevie J is mentally, physically, and spiritually in the best shape of his life, and he’s leaving no stone unturned. Multiple movies, TV shows, business ventures, and more occupy his current and 2016 roll-out calendar.
The infamous Stevie J bus has turned into super-ultra RV, and more people have come aboard for apparent reasons. But, when you closely examine his catalog, journey, sound, music production, Faith, and God-given talent, there can only be one title: “LORD OF THE STRINGS.”
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
by Derrick T Lewis | Jun 2, 2021 | Business News, Latest, Tech News |
People are saying all kinds of different things about this month’s cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline’s operations, but one thing is for sure, this attack made every American aware of their extreme dependence on a company they’ve never even heard of. Many things need to be talked about this cyberattack, but the name of the company “Colonial” pipeline became a hot debate across the country.
Of all the things that are wrong with the company and it’s name, the branding of the company and its logo is the most disturbing. It is safe to say that the company didn’t bother to do anything about it’s logo and branding since the days of the Kennedy administration while the world kept moving on and kept spending on their branding and advertisement.
Let’s talk a little bit more about the history of this company and try to scratch the reason behind the boring and outdated logo of the company and why they didn’t care about the branding of their company at all.
Shall we?
Nine oil companies in the year 1961 started a joint venture and created a pipeline. The basic purpose of this pipeline was to deliver fuel from Houston to New York without any hurdle. That was the time when marketing was not the utmost priority for companies that were not in the eyes of the public and silently doing their important work for the citizens. Therefore, the branding and naming of the company were considered irrelevant to the public.
However, there was a small private concern that the name of the company should have some relevance and hint of American gravitas, and they thought that the word “Colonial” will do the trick, and somehow it actually did. Therefore, the original and more bulky name “Suwannee Pipe Line Company” was replaced with “Colonial Pipeline” in 1962, and it’s still the same in 2021.
You might already know that back in the day, terms like “National” and “Federal” were used to express the gravity of any company or institute. So, with that logic, the word “Colonial” did just the trick as two of the states that this pipeline was going to connect are the original of the thirteen colonies. However, at the start of the sixties, “Colonial” started to sound like an outdated term, and no one was quite very happy with the name of the companies that had this word in them. It is the reason that trademark office record shows a decline of usage of the word from 0.027% to 0.007% in logos of companies.
In today’s world, this word sounds straight away bad and geriatric. People have long realized the negative connotations attached to this word, and they start to see through the strategy of the great empires to colonize the weak and oppress them, and they are calling them out in 2021. Therefore, when the cyberattack happened, and the name of the pipeline company started to make headlines, Americans were not really happy with it.
But, let’s just forget about the name of the company for a while for argument’s sake and have a look at the logo of the company. The logo of the company is its initials “CP” within a cross-sectional view of the pipeline. Given the logo trends in the sixties, it is a pretty clean and clever logo. However, if you see it now, you’ll find it strangely odd and outdated. On the contrary, different companies that had direct customer dealing or are directly relevant with the life of consumers made a lot of effort in improving their logos through their branding campaigns like that of Coca-Cola and General Electric.
So, the real question is why “Colonial Pipeline” didn’t bother to invest in the branding of the company and work on its logo or name, for that matter, until it became a controversy? The answer is simple. The company was silently doing its work, and there was no direct relation of the consumer with the company in their everyday life. Therefore, they never really cared about the need for time and changing their name or logo according to modern standards. It is safe to say that if they had to deal directly with their consumers or if they had a direct customer base, they would have changed it for good a long time ago.
If the past few weeks have revealed anything about the company, it’s that it has failed to meet the modern standards, and it’s pretty outdated. Had it been the center of the public eye, they would have worked on its name and logo and took the branding of the company more seriously.
So, if this cyberattack revealed one thing, its that the branding, especially the name and the logo of company holds a significant importance that is quite often overshadowed by window dressings.
Therefore, from now on, let’s not forget that name and the logo of any brand is the biggest representative of nature and ideology that a company represents. Let this crisis be a lesson for all of us, and may we always be able to stand on the right side of history.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
by Derrick T Lewis | Jun 1, 2021 | Black Girl Magic, Business News, Latest, Trending |
The Black Economic Alliance has teamed with Wells Fargo to launch a fund that aims to expedite the growth of black business owners and entrepreneurs. The project is known as the Alliance Entrepreneurs Fund or BEA fund.
This $50 million BEA fund will provide capital funding to small businesses that are founded by African Americans. Wells Fargo has also agreed to support this effort with a $20 million commitment over the course of the next five years.
Owning a business has proved to be one of the top ways to obtain generational wealth in America. However, too few African American entrepreneurs have been able to obtain the financial resources necessary to launch and sufficiently grow a business. The Black Economic Alliance powered by Wells Fargo will work to provide Black-owned businesses with the support needed to succeed, which will, in turn, result in the hiring of more Black workers and added investments into black communities and businesses.
The BEA powered by Wells Fargo will also reportedly recycle all of its returns to support the ongoing operations in black businesses.
Black businesses, in particular, have been hit hard by Covid-19. In a press conference, President Joe Biden made a statement reporting that 400,000 Black-owned businesses have shut down nationwide since the start of the pandemic.
The Black Economic Alliance powered by Wells Fargo will provide capital loans in exchange for an equity stake and will also offer straight loans to Black startups. The recipients of these loans and investments will be selected through an application process which will take place later this year. The BEA will accept applications from all eligible African American entrepreneurs.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
by Derrick T Lewis | May 31, 2021 | Business News, Latest, Tech News |
Delivery giant FedEx has partnered with Accion opportunity fund to launch its own E-commerce Learning Lab program.
The FedEx guided program aims to aid diverse business owners who may be trying to expand or develop e-commerce operations as a result of the pandemic.
The program will provide hands-on training from experts in the e-commerce field to 150 minority and female small business owners through the use of various workshops and other one-on-one training. These business owners will also be given free technical support to help create and or maintain any of their virtual operations or stores. These operations range from marketing and promotions to order management and fulfillment.
The chief marketing and communications officer for FedEx released a statement addressing the fact that the pandemic has impacted many small business owners, especially women and people of color. She goes on to say that this program will work to even the playing field among women and minority business owners. She also mentions that this is a perfect time to launch this project as eCommerce volumes have continued to grow. She closes by saying that the launch of the FedEx Learning Lab will help businesses meet customer needs in new ways while also providing programming that will allow businesses to effectively operate through these unpredictable times.
The program is set to run over five months starting in September. This timeline allows FedEx to support the participants of the program with holiday promotions and technical support with managing orders during the holiday.
Participants must be relatively new businesses with no online presence, and they must produce shelf-stable general merchandise or food products. The participants also cannot earn more than $500,000
CEO of the Action Opportunity, Fund Luz Urrutia, said that this program will allow for the opportunity to help bring awareness to entrepreneurs who have been going unnoticed. She also says that access to resources and opportunities will set these businesses up for future growth and generate more economic possibilities for a diverse range of businesses.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
by Derrick T Lewis | May 31, 2021 | Business News |
In March, President Biden issues a relief package for African American farmers, but three large banking organizations have decided to fight against the package arguing that this initiative, which is helping African American farmers, may cut into profits and hurt investors.
The $4 billion debt relief package is part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package. This relief package was proposed to compensate for the long history of discrimination experienced by African American farmers.
Although, none of the money has reached any minority farmers. In April, the USDA was sued by white farmers who were complaining of reverse discrimination. Now three of the nation’s largest banking groups have joined in on the fight.
The banks are reportedly fighting the package because paying off the debt of these farmers early would cause banks to lose out on future interest payments. The banks have argued that the government should pay beyond the loan amounts to make up for the lost interest payments. The banks also mentioned that banks will likely be more hesitant to expand credit in the future if the loans are paid back sooner through President Joe Biden’s relief package.
The bank groups stated that if the debts are not properly paid of the USDA’s actions could seriously damage the market by creating an unreliable environment with unpredictable pricing. As a result, there would be a notable loss of capital for future lending. Although, the USDA has not shown any indication of reversing the plan. Government officials are reportedly to begin the debt relief procedure in the near future.
This article was penned by Jonathan P. Wright. Jonathan is a freelance writer for multiple mainstream publications and CVO of RADIOPUSHERS. You can read more of his work by clicking here.
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