New York City Kulture Kween @nyckulturekween - Tumblr Blog

Kofi Siriboe for Bleu Magazine.

“Johnny Himrod: Moving Ya Soul”

December 29, 2015

“Following trends wasn’t part of my design” says Guyana born Johnny Himrod in his latest song “Move Ya Body, Move Ya Soul”. Himrod always had a different quality about him than the rest and definitely followed his own agenda. I met Himrod through a mutual friend during my senior year in High School; he was so quiet and his demeanor was not like others- he had an old soul. When I got to know him better he then had much to say. He spoke about knowledge, success, politics, power and other controversial topics- but he of course spoke of his everyday life as a Brooklyn native as he does on his recent project “Ready To Live” .The once soft spoken Johnny Himrod has broken out of his shell and has carefully crafted his sound. He continues to speak his mind but now he speaks to a larger audience through rap.

As I viewed his video for “Move Ya Body, Move Ya Soul” on his facebook page from my dorm room I immediately knew I had to talk with him about his project. We scheduled a day to meet and when I got back to New York City we sat down in a Starbucks got settled and got straight to it.

Ashnelle: Who is Johnny Himrod?

Johnny Himrod: “ …Johnny Himrod is the person I use to just express how I feel you know…. I’m not really a talkative person-I’m generally a quiet person so I feel like it was best for me to create an alter ego for me to release my thoughts and my processes…”

A: How did you come up with the name Johnny Himrod

JH: “ I have a friend he lives on Himrod Street I liked the name and I decided to use it. The Johnny part now these niggas used to call me John Crow back in High School… don’t even ask how I got that name. I took the John from there and made it Johnny- Johnny Himrod- I just put it together ya know that’s how it came about. Really simple shit”

A: Where are you from?

JH: “ Brooklyn, East New York. I was actually raised here but I’m an immigrant- I was born in Guyana. I came up here when I was nine”

A: What was your childhood like?

JH: “Childhood was pretty crazy. Runnin’ around barefoot and shit and hating people for no reason. Running to the store in your underwear…it was fun though. I was a bad ass kid though”

A: You were a bad kid why?

JH: “ I don’t know I was just a bad kid. I mean my moms beat my ass every now and then you know….to teach you shit. You know them caribbean moms don’t play”

A: Why music?

JH: “It’s the best platform for me to express myself. I’ve always felt like I can could do it. I’ve always had a good ear for music feel me? I always used to listen to instrumentals. of my favorite songs and try to imagine myself rapping, or imagine I was the person who made the song. At that time I didn’t know I wanted to rap. I knew I wanted to rap two and a half years ago. “

A: What made you start listening to instrumentals? Any specific song?

JH: “ I feel like the first beat was that touch it remix by Busta. Yeah that shit was just too hard.. I remember when I was in seventh grade bumpin’ that shit. I was a good ass beat and I just felt it.”

A: Is becoming a rapper your goal or is this a hobby?

JH: “ Nahh this is my passion. I’m trynna be on my Diddy…Jay-Z shit in like twenty years from now feel me? Tryna be on that mogul status.

A: So rap is life?

JH: “Rap is definitely life. I’m a student of Hip-Hop. So fuck the rap shit I just love Hip-Hop, the whole genre itself.”

A: How does living in Brooklyn influence you?

JH: “ Well it’s definitely diverse i’ll tell you that much but it was easy to adjust because like I said I came from Guyana.. I’m not from Flatbush but especially the Flatbush area - I used to be up there when I first came and there’s a lot of Caribbean people so it was easy to adjust. Brooklyn is just where the heart is now I’m still Guyanese at the end of the day but Brooklyn is my second home.”

A: Do you think that there is a difference between living in Brooklyn compared to other boroughs?

JH: “ I’ll say yeah. I feel like everybody’s slang is a little different. I’ve been to Harlem a couple times and it’s like the slang is different the streets feel different, just everything is different. I can’t really explain it; It’s more like a situation where you have to experience it yourself…but every hood feels different. Queens feels like Queens. When you come to the city you don’t feel like you’re in Brooklyn feel me? You feel different…you feel a different vibe the people out here different. It’s all about vibe and vibrations and that’s all it really is ya know?”

A: What was the concept behind your recent video for “Move Ya Body, Move Ya Soul” ?

JH: “Well my homeboy D’jango shout’s to him. We used to go to Junior High. He hit me up about two years ago to do videos and at that time I wasn’t ready yet.. I was going through my inbox and I saw his name and I’m like ‘Yo, let me hit this dude back up’. I sent him the song and shit and he fuckin’ directed the whole shit. We had notes but we didn’t necessarily follow it. So when we got there it was improved. and he edited it”

A: I was weak at the part where the girl was chasing you

JH: “ Ohh let me tell you a funny story about that so we were shooting on my block and we were coming around the corner and the funny thing is (his friend) Jamila made a pit stop around that corner. Ariana (the girl in the video that was chasing him) was in Jamila’s car then all of a sudden I’m on a bike and Malcolm and Buttman (his friends) are on a skateboard and we hear a honk. So he (D’jango) decided to get on the back of her car while she’s driving and videotapes us. We needed someone to play a crazy fan and she (Ariana) did it”

A: The name of your mixtape is “Ready To Live” so do you feel like something or someone was holding you back from living your life to its full potential?

JH: “Nahh I’m kinda weird because my work desen’ make sense to me until after the fact. So I might get an idea now and it’ll make sense to me until like two months later. “ Ready To Live” is a flip on Biggie’s “Ready To Die”. He was ready to just fuckin’ die; I’m ready to live life and move forward. I got mouths to feed so I’m ready to live and look out for them”

A: On your mixtape you have multiple samples of old school songs by artist like James Brown and you have samples from artist like Busta Rymes. What drove you to choose these samples?

JH: “ The funny thing is I knew I wanted to do an intro and I was listing to Biggie’s “Ready to Die”. His intro was kinda like that but he used random sounds that he was influenced by. The Big Payback… I don’t listen to a lot of his songs but I just fuckin’ love that song. I’m an old soul so when I hear funk songs like that it just get’s me going. The rest of the songs( the samples) is just shit I listen to on the regular. Like I said i’m an old soul and I’m a student of Hip-Hop so I love all the 90’s classics. That’s all I really bump in my playlist all the time so I just decided to throw it in there. The song where me and the guy are talking that’s actually a cab driver. That was three or four days before I dropped the tape actually and I just threw it in there.”

A: How do you feel your sound has evolved?

JH: “When I first started recording I hated my music. It felt like I had no character. I’m a pretty monotone person when I talk. I was listing to other rappers that I like and I know what I like in a rapper- I’m very picky about my music. So I tried to emulate what they do not necessarily their style but their character and how they add flavor to the song. So I started adding more melodies and different tones….”

A: What’s next for Johnny Himrod ?

JH: “ I don’t really like answering questions like that because I’m more of a go with the flow type of person- but if I had to answer I say just making good money living life. Hopefully starting a label up and getting the team going. Five years from now I hope to be just living life, exploring, traveling, probably settle down probably get a pickney (caribbean terminology for child) or two. Well maybe we’ll see how it goes”

Download his mixtape:

http://www.datpiff.com/Johnny-Himrod-Ready-To-Live-mixtape.753218.html

nyckulturekween

Solange Declaring Her Seat At The Table By: Ashnelle Hall

Solange Knowles is marching to the beat of her own drum and is opening discourse about socio-political issues with her Album A Seat At The Table.

The album debuted September 30th and upon its release A Seat At The Table (ASATT) has taken off on to a great start.It landed itself at No.1 on Billboard’s 200 chart- making this Knowles’ first number one album ever and the most controversial one yet.

In recent years there has been various instances of police brutality, hate crimes and increase in mass incarceration that has been targeting minorities. Solange is very aware of her influence and responsibility in the industry therefore she has taken it upon herself to use her album as an opportunity to take a stance on said issues.

In an interview with The Fader Solange states “I wanted the album to have those moments of grief, and being able to be angry and express rage…I also wanted it to make people feel empowered and [that] in the midst of all of this we can still dream, and uplift, and laugh like we always have.“ She does this eloquently by talking about her feeling wearing of the ways of the world ("Weary”), guilt (“Cranes In The Sky”) and addressing police brutality in Ferguson and Baltimore- which was in reference to Freddie Grey and Michael Brown (“Rise”).

Not only does Solange address social issues she also explores the black identity. She does this by creating conversation about black culture (“Don’t Touch My Hair”, mental health( “Mad feat. Lil Wayne”) and Black girl magic(“Interlude: I got So Much Magic, You Can Have It”).

Knowles has written and co-produced every song on her album which shows that she is very involved in her musical process. This socially conscience album took four years to make and Knowles has traveled far and wide to make sure she curates the right sound. She has traveled to New Orleans, Long Island, New Iberia and parts of Africa in order to meat with many talented producers such as Raphael Saadiq, Sampha and Bryndon Cook.

November 5th Solange made her Saturday Night Live debut supporting ASATT. She performed “Cranes In The Sky’ wearing a very ethereal hairstyle. Knowles’ hair was created by artist Shani Crowe. Crowe took fifty hours to create the 2,000 Swarovski crystal beads encrusted halo for Solange which essentially paid off because it took Solange’s performance to another level of reflection.

ASATT has created a new framework for her listeners. A new way of thinking of not only oneself but ones place in society. I have had this album on heavy rotation since the day it came out and I cant get her songs out of my head. I hope that people can listen to this album and hear the multifaceted message that is embedded in Solange’s work and appreciate the melodic sounds as well.

nyckulturekween

Changing The Space of T.V

By : Ashnelle Hall

If you ask most millennials what shows they are watching today their list usually consist of a series of Netflix shows, movies and documentaries. Millennials just don’t find T.V as entertaining as it once was. It seems as though watching T.V has become less and less popular over the years and streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu have reigned king.

The main reason why millennials are less fond of T.V is due to the lack of representation. There is not enough representation of different demographics on the screen one of them being the black population. Therefore, the audience watching these shows can not relate to the characters and as a result they turn to these streaming platforms because they carry a variety of shows that one can commune with. Black millennials want to be able to turn on the T.V and watch a show that they can see themselves in.

Recently there have been individuals that have been stepping up to the plate and taking on the challenge of bringing new faces into the television space. Creators Issa Rae and Donald Glover recently came out with comedy series that do not only appeal to a different demographic but these series show that one can venture off from the traditional path and be successful.

Issa Rae’s show Insecure made its debut October 9th of this year and so far has been hitting it out the park. Critics such as Rotten Tomatoes have been giving Rae’s show high ratings and the show has had millions of views upon its release. Although Issa Rae is slowly becoming a household name she is no new comer in the world of entertainment.

The 29 year-old created and starred in her web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” in 2011 which is about what it means to be awkward, black and female in today’s society. This web series made us see that being awkward is something we all go through .

With the web series as inspiration Rae took off to start working on her comedy series pilot with co-creator- former host of The Nightly Show- Larry Wilmore in 2013. Shortly after the pilot got picked up by HBO early 2015.

Rae stars in Insecure which is about the modern-day black woman and how she moves through environments that have not been made in her favor. The show is an extension of Rae’s web series so it still contains the aspect of awkwardness in it’s plot. However, the show consist of Rae owning her awkward black girl persona. According to HBO “ Modern-day black women are usually portrayed as strong, confident and “flawless.” But Issa and Molly are definitely not ‘killing it’. These best friends must deal with their own real-life flaws as they attempt to navigate different worlds and cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences.” The show has been well received across all spectrums and is continuing to make light of uncomfortable situations.

Donald Glover’s series Atlanta is another show that has been rearranging the space of T.V. Donald Glover not only created the series but he is also starring in it. When he created the pilot in 2015 T.V network FX picked up the pilot and developed it into a 10 episode series that released on September 6th of this year.

Donald Glover is also known as Childish Gambino. He is not only an actor but he is a comedian, rapper, writer, actor and new father. The 33 year old made his official debut as a rapper in 2011 by releasing his album Camp. Glover played a funny college student on T.V show Community and stripper Andrein the Movie Magic Mike XXL. He was also a writer for the award winning show 30 Rock. Donald Glover has much experience in the industry.

In the series Atlanta Glover plays the main character, Ernest 'Ern’ Marks, who lives in Atlanta and is trying to navigate his adult life. Ernest and his rapper cousin Alfred 'Paper Boi’ Miles try to finesse the Atlanta rap scene to better their lives but often find the Atlanta rap scene is finessing them. With Ernest as Paper Boi’s manager, girlfriend- Van- (who he had a child with) and best friend- Darius by his side Ern explores his views on art commerce, race and success which is something that all can relate to especially millennials.

The show has attracted people that have been searching for a new take on modern day T.V. It has also received great reviews by Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. The show has already been renewed by FX for a second season

These new T.V series are great examples of how black creatives are taking control of how black characters are perceived and showing the world what black culture is.Traditional shows type cast actors into stereotypical roles such as “the angry black woman” or “the drug dealer”. These series show black lives and normalize it instead of sensationalizing or romanticizing it into one big dramatic escapade. Watching these shows are so refreshing and much needed in a world of monocrop TV. These writers have been able to create shows that tell a new story of relatable modern black people through the lenses of actual black people without having to sacrifice or diminish the value of the black experience. The future of T.V might have seemed dim and meager before but with innovative minds T.V has become more inclusive and diverse.

nyckulturekween

Celebration of Culture at Afro-Punk Fest

By: Ashnelle Hall

The Summer has officially come to an unfortunate end Thursday September 22nd preceding the autumn equinox that night. Summer sixteen happened so fast it left us all in a world wind and threw us back into a world of reality and responsibilities. The summer was filled with barbeques, adventures, long hot days, concerts and festivals; among the many festivals such as Governors Ball Music Festival and South by South West (SXSW) Afro-Punk Festival is one of the most cultural diverse.

Afro-Punk Festival itself is a movement of love and positive energy. The main motto of the movement is “No Sexism No Racism No Ableism No Ageism No Homophobia No Fatphobia No Transphobia No Hatefulness” which is practiced at the festival as well. The Festival celebrates everyone from all walks of life by creating an all inclusive experience that is unforgettable by having a smorgasbord of music, food, fashion, politics, art and film into one space.

The experience can be overwhelming but don’t worry, the festival is split into two days so that gives you plenty of time to enjoy everything. There is a diverse line-up of music artist that are spread across four stages- the gold stage, the green stage, the red stage and the black stage. The choice in food trucks are plenty and will entice your taste buds. The market vendors range from handmade jewelry, beauty products, hand made clothes and natural hair products as well. Also, for those who do not want the party to end after the festival there is “Afropunk After Dark” which is a collection of events after the festival is over such as movie screenings, parties, and more performances. There is something for everyone to do and be engaged in at this event.

Historically the festival was known for being a free event which was appealing to many. However, in 2015 the event became priced ticketed event. Luckily for those who didn’t have the means to pay, they can earn a ticket through a volunteering program that allows one to earn points that go towards getting a free ticket. There has been much controversy about this new priced ticketing system because the festival was once free; however, with such an event of its magnitude it takes much financial resources in order to execute and expand. Also, as the festival gets more popular there going to be high expectations therefore more money needs to go into the event in order to make the event great.

I attend Afro-Punk Fest every summer and its always something I look forward to going to, this summer was no different. With a line-up filled with great artist like Janelle Monae, Tyler the Creator, Cleo Green, The Internet and Ice Cube there was no way I was not going to have fun. I stopped by a few vendors in the market and made a few purchases which is a great way to support local business. I sang my heart out and danced until I couldn’t dance anymore. Most importantly I met so many beautiful people with amazing personalities and spirits.

Recently Afro-Punk has expanded the festival from Brooklyn, New York to across the world. Afro-Punk Fest is now in Atlanta, London and Paris. There is also Afro Punk Fancy Dress Ball which on their website states “…a night of live performance to raise funds for the AFROPUNK Global citizen Initiative (AGI)” AGI is a program that aims to expand diversity in media and help people in the community have access to the arts. The legacy that Afro Punk upholds is of the love of culture and the arts and that is something anyone can be apart of.

nyckulturekween

Ocean…Wherefore Art Thou Frank Ocean

Okay Frank Ocean ha ha ha we get it we ( your devoted fans) have been patently waiting for your next project and we just can not wait any longer- WHERE IS THE ALBUM! For those who are wondering what and who I am speaking of have you been living under a rock or something? Of corse I’m talking about singer/ songwriter Frank Ocean. He made his debut in 2012 with his melodic album “Channel ORANGE” through his label Def Jam Recording which included his ever so popular song that had everyone emotional “Thinkin Bout You” and “Pyramids” that made us fall in love with him even more at he break down.

Before Ocean became the Grammy award winning artist that he is today he has had a pretty star studded past. Frank Ocean has worked with various artist such as Justin Bieber for his 2008 album in and in 2009 he co-wrote the song “I Miss You” for Beyonce ; he then went on to work with others like Brandy and Nas just to name a few. He then joined the rap collective Odd Future Kill Them All (OFWGKTA a.k.a GOLF WANG) and dropped his mixtape “Nolaga, ULTRA” in 2011 through his blog Tumblr.

Moving forward to today the critically acclaimed album “Channel ORANGE” has still held it’s own but that is not enough anymore we just want more. Fans have been tweeting him and contacting him through all other social media to let the artist know how much they have been anticipating his next move since 2012. In 2014 everyone though that their prayers have been answered when Frank Ocean released a solo track “Memrise” and “Wise Man”; hopes were high again when he dropped solo song “ At Your Best (You Are Love) “ in 2015 as a tribute to the late Aaliyah on her birthday but again there was no follow up with anything related to a project release date. Then later that year something great happened. According to Rolling Stone, in summer of 2015 Frank set a release date in July for the long awaited album which would include a magazine to accompany it- titled “Boys Don’t Cry”. On his official website https://boysdontcry.co Frank holds the first few publications of the magazine which made fans believe that things were in the works and coming sooner later so fans could take a sigh of relief right?

It has now almost been a whole year from when Frank said that the album was coming out and we’re tired of waiting. even though we have not hear any new info about his music whereabouts Ocean has come in and out of his hideous to take part in regular civilian life a few of times this year. He appeared at Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 show during New York Fashion Week at Madison Square Garden and again at the event for the launch of Dazed 100 list organized by Calvin Klein and Dazed magazine.

Until Frank actually decides to release his new album I guess we die hard fans will have to continue to hold on to our “Channel, ORANGE” albums an reminisce about “Nostalgia, Ultra”. Hopefully before 2016 is done we all can be sitting in our rooms content with a new Frank Ocean album and say we persevered the drought with out the Ocean, Frank Ocean.

nyckulturekween

The Drought Is over: Frank Oceans Album Releases

By: Ashnelle Hall

The year 2016 has been a very interesting year for the music. We were introduced to new sounds by artist like rapper Lil’ Yatchy, Lil Uzi Vert, Kodak and of course Desiigner. Also, there we were introduced to new R&B artist such as Nao, The Internet and Kehlani. These artist had us jammin’ all year. While their music was relatively new and had us occupied but in the back of everyone’s mind was a collective question of “Where is the album Frank?!?”. He finally heard our request.

In April during the spring semester I wrote a piece for the newspaper entitled “Ocean…Wherefore Art Thou Frank Ocean” where I spoke of his history in the music industry, his accomplishments and projects. However, the main topic of discussion was when was he going to debut his new album. At the beginning of the year frank came out of his hiatus and began to post random responses to current events to this Tumblr. One of his controversial post was to one of Donald Trump’s responses to the gun control laws in The U.S. Frank says “ON THE REAL THOUGH DONALD TRUMP. HOW IS IT ‘INTERESTING’ THAT THESE SHOOTINGS HAPPENED IN A COUNTRY THAT’S TOUGH ON GUNS?”

There have been several stunts over this summer where rumors have been spread about the release date which lead to many giving their hopes up. The long anticipated album was released unexpectedly August 20th entitled “Blond”. However, two days before on the18th Frank streamed his album with a visual aspect of him building a winding staircase- the project was called “Endless”.

Endless had every one hunched over their devices watching tentatively and listening closely; but one question remained where is the actual album? The project satisfied the hunger for new music but listeners wanted something that they could play on the go without the visual. When the audio album was released; which put to rest the debate of what music streaming platform it would be released on, via Apple Music everyone took one big sigh of relief.

The same day as he album release Frank took to his website (boysdontcry.co) to announce that his magazine boys don’t cry will be in select stores in New York, London, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The magazine was free and there were only a set amount so best believe fans were rushing to stores to be one of the lucky few to attain the magazine. The magazine was enclosed in a magazine which had not only one version of the album but two versions, which explained his post on his website and blog during the middle of the year stating “I Got Two Versions”.

While there are many mix reviews on the album on weather it is “overrated” or not most believe it lives up to the hype. The Seventeen track album has yet again displayed Franks melodic effortless vocal skills. It has a seamless set up which allows for easy listening. No matter what the claims the album “Blond” is set at the top charts of the Billboard 200. There are many more achievements and awards awaiting Franck Ocean in the oncoming year and I believe he is deserving of them all.