Join the Kanye West Fanclub!!!!!!

Attention all Kanye West fans. Are you a Kanye West Fan like me. Would you like to receive special ticket offers, merchandise, and other things related to Kanye, including the chance to enter contest to win meet & greet passes to meet Kanye himself. Well join the official Kanye West Fanclub, and if you join now you can also recieve a copy of his new album 808's & Heartbreak which is in stores NOW.

http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/page.php?content=fanclub

Edwin Freeman portrays Mister Cee in "Notorious"

I recently interviewed Edwin Freeman who portrays Mister Cee in the upcoming film "Notorious" about the life of late rapper Biggie Smalls other wise known as the Notorious BIG, about his role in the film. Freeman has previously appeared in a few other films such as My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Inside Man. Here is how Mr. Freeman responded to the questions that were asked.





1. How did you go about preparing for your role as Mister Cee?

I met with my acting coach JT Wagner and we dealt with what’s called in Method Acting, Psychological Gestures. I had to create in my mind a posture for the character, a tone of voice, a personality, a favorite hobby, child hood experiences, what I basically had to do was create a whole character, so that it looks like the character has lived a full life when people see him on the screen.



2. Being that Mister Cee is a DJ, did you have any prior experience as a DJ before taking on the role of Mister Cee?


When I was in Junior High School me and my friends used to save our money to buy records and throw house parties on the weekend. So I knew a bit about DJing prior to taking on the role of Mister Cee.



3. Have you ever met Mister Cee, and if so what advice did he give you that helped you portray him in “Notorious”?


Prior to filming I didn’t have the privilege of meeting Mister Cee, but Derek “D-Dot” Angelettie, who is a good friend of Mister Cee, was on set every day to help me with my performance. He was there to help make sure that my portrayal of Mister Cee was authentic, having him on set really worked out for me.



4. What was it like working with Jamal “Gravy” Woolard and Derek Luke on set?

Working with Jamal and Derek was a great experience; they are two down to earth individuals. The level of camaraderie on set was very high. From the producers, Ms. Wallace, Wayne Barrow, Diddy and Mark Pitts to the director, George Tillman down to the actors Derek Luke, Jamal Woolard, Anthony Mackie, Angela Bassett and Dennis White, it was like working with family.



5. How has the music of Biggie Smalls influenced you?

Biggie's music influenced me in a major way, being a young, Black man from Brooklyn, I identify with his music in a major way. Songs like “Juicy”; “Everyday Struggle” and “Sky’s the Limit” has helped me deal with a lot of the ups and downs in the entertainment industry and life in general.



6. What would you say is the impact of Biggie Small’s music on today’s Hip-Hop culture?

For a young man that was taken away from us at the tender age of 24, Biggie was way ahead of his time, the things that he rapped about in his music is still being rapped about today. How he rapped about being the underdog and finally making it to a level in his career where he’s able to take care of his responsibilities, to the way he dressed, the cars he drove and the jewelry he wore. You can still see and hear his influence within the Hip-Hop culture today.



7. What do you feel is Biggie Small's legacy?


“Dream big and work hard”. Biggie was the only child, born to a single mother in a crime and drug infested community and he never once complained. He had a dream and he stopped at nothing to achieve it. There’s a lesson that we can all learn from his life.



8. How do you feel Biggie Small’s legacy has influenced the youth of today?


No matter what obstacles that you are faced with, you can overcome them, if you stay positive and work hard, your innermost dreams can come true. We have more young CEOs and millionaires than ever before in history. That’s because the youth of today shares the same ideals as Biggie, “Dream big and work hard”.

Notorious is being released nationwide on January 16, 2009.

Interview by: Kadeem Lundy

Cadillac Records NYC Premiere

On Monday, December 1, 2008 The New York City premiere of the new movie "Cadillac Records" was held at the Loews AMC Theater on E. 19th Street & Broadway in Union Square. The movie Cadillac Records is about the history of the Chess Record label which was started in the 1950's by leonard Chess, and also follows the struggles of many of the labels artist. The film stars Beyonce as Etta James, Adrian Brody as Leonard Chess, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Columbus Short as Little Walter, Gabrielle Union as Geneva Wade, and Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon( who narrates the film)
As I arrived tat the theater and stood with the crowd, the first celebrity that I saw arriving at the red carpet was Toccara Jones( America's Next Top Model, Celebrity Fit Club), around 6: 35 pm. She waved to the crowd, then proceeded to the tent where the press were doing interviews, on the red carpet. Shortly after around 6:50 pm, Gabrielle Union, who portrays Muddy Water's wife Geneva in the film arrived at the red carpet, but proceeded to walk across the street to greet fans and take pictures, before walking back to the red carpet. From where I was standing I could see Mos Def, and Jeffrey Wright who both star in the film being interviewed. Adrian Brody,Beyonce and Jay Z arrived a short time later, but I cannot recall the exact time, of their arrival.
After viewing the film I must say that the film did capture the time period well, and that it did well in it's approach to show how the African American artist of that time period had to deal with racial barriers, which eventually they crossed those barriers through their music and helped to unite cultures. The film also goes into depth about how each one of the artist's personal problems nearly destroyed their careers and their lives as a whole, presenting a very believable depiction in which you can actually feel the characters pain. My only negative criticism is that I feel that certain parts seemed a bit rushed, and underdeveloped, which lead for a lack of development in a few characters. But over all I would highly recommend anyone to go see this film, to learn about the history of the music of that time period, which has influenced the music of today.

Z100 Jingle Ball Pre-show and VIP Arrivals

By: Kadeem Lundy

On Friday, December 12, 2008 Z100 hosted their annual Jingle Ball all-star holiday concert at Madison Square Garden. The artist that performed at the concert were Kanye West, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Rihanna, Brandy, The Veronicas, Lady Gaga, Paramore, Katy Perry, Jesse McCarthy,and Leona Lewis. Before the concert a timed meet and greet event was set up to meet singers Brandy, Leona Lewis, Lady Gaga, The Veronicas, Nick Lauchey, Paramore, and Jesse McCarthy in the upstairs lounge at the Roseland Ballroom, as part of the Jingle Ball free pre-show that was free to everyone no tickets, required from 12:30 pm-5:30 pm. During the preshow fans had the opportunity to win tickets, take photos next to card board cutouts of their favorite stars and win other prizes. However in order to attend one of the timed meet and greet sessions to meet one of the scheduled artist, special meet and greet passes were needed.

After I left Z100's Jingle Ball Pre-Show I headed towards Madison Square Garden to catch a glimpse of the other celebrities arriving for the actual Jingle Ball concert which was set to begin at 7:30 pm. I arrived at 4 Penn Plaza around 4:30 and waited with a group of photographers for the artist to arrive. As we waited reggae artist Sean Paul came out, and took photos with fans as well as signed autographs. Around 6pm Brandy arrived in a black jeep, and signed a few autographs and took a few pic,while explaining to the photographers that she had to go in to do her soundcheck and would be back out after the show.Katy Perry came outside, jumped into a car and came back about an hour later signing autographs and taking pictures, before being whisked inside by security. Chris Brown and Rihanna arrived around 6:45 pm, and ran inside before posing for photos., Ne-Yo was the last to arrive at around 7:10. We were informed at 7:45 pm that the show had started and no other artist were arriving.

WKRB 90.3

Check me out on WKRB 90.3 FM radio all next month from 12:40- 1:40 pm on Brooklyn's own rock and urban station

Z100 Jingle Ball in NYC 12/12/08

http://promonet.radio-online.com/wire/WHTZ-FM110708.pdf

Some of your favorite artist are performing at the Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden including Chris Brown, Rihanna, Ne-Yo, and a special guest appearance from Kanye West. Meet and greet the celebs performing at Jingle Ball from 12-6 at the Roseland Ballroom on W.52nd street