To celebrate the opening of Cranbrook Art Museum's No Object is an Island exhibit, a collection of Detroit musicians and performance artists took to the stage. Over the course of two weekends, Invincible, Monica Blaire, The Rarities, DJ Mike Medow, jessica care moore, DJ Mel Wonder, The Foundation All Stars, 14KT, Miz Korona and Tunde Olariran electrified the audience with their art, music, and voices. Check out some footage and photographs from the last weekend of the event and be sure to visit Cranbrook Art Museum and all it has to offer.
The Foundation, DJ Mel Wonder, & jessica care moore
Kresge Arts in Detroit Director Michelle Perron and Invincible joined Craig to talk about the foundation's artist fellowship. Invincible gives WDET a special live, on-air performance of "Cass Corridor," produced by Waajeed.
Click here for the full interview and performance.
"Detroit based hip-hop artist, INVINCIBLE, is a living example that art and everyday life can and should coexist in seamless cooperation. Beyond just producing and performing her music, she is a dedicated community organizer and record label entrepreneur. Still, that didn't stop her from taking the time to give CREATIVE IMPACT MICHIGAN DOT COM an inside look at how the arts are impacting the social discussion in the state of Michigan."
"Recently, Berkeley-born rapper Lil’ B made headlines after he announced at Coachella that he plans to title his next album “I’m Gay.” The artist, who steadfastly denies actually being gay, says that he’s trying to prove a point, make a statement about misogyny and hip-hop. Or whatever.
Lost in all the hoopla was the fact that there already exists a crop of openly queer rappers who have been making music for years. They’re talented, proud, but when it comes to mainstream media, they’re often ignored. So I reached out to some of the industry’s best and brightest to get their take on the really gay rappers who should be getting our attention. Writer and activist Kenyon Farrow summed up the bigger picture nicely when he wrote in an email: “I wish we could focus more energy and our money on artists in the community, rather than falling all over ourselves for straight people to validate our existence.”
Check out this recap video of the Born in Flames Tour Premier at SXSW 2011. The Born in Flames Tour featuring Invincible, Jean Grae, and Tamar-kali is now available for fall bookings. To book the tour in your city or campus visit http://borninflamestour.com/.
"Invincible, born Ilana Weaver, is a rapper who makes no apologies for anything. A rapper since the age of 9, she now considers herself a multimedia hip-hop artist and activist."
This Friday, March 18th, Invincible will be debuting her brand new documentary - The Revival: SXSW. Behind the scenes of the historic, first-ever women in Hip-Hop showcase held at SXSW in Austin, TX last year, the movie features interviews & live concert footage of over a dozen prominent women MC's from around the world, including Tiye Phoenix, Psalm One, Bahamadia, Eternia, & Grammy-nominated Chilean MC, Anita Tijoux.
This is the second short film in The Revival Women in Hip-Hop documentary series, which highlights the growing women in Hip-Hop movement.
On Saturday, Invincible and her Emergence crew will start working on the next installment in the series, which will document the upcoming Born In Flames Tour with the trifecta headliner of Invincible, punk goddess Tamar-kali and hip-hop legend Jean Grae. The tour will be previewed Saturday night, after The Revival SXSW premiere.
Friday Screening: The Revival SXSW Screening 2pm @ Carver Museum Boyd Vance Theater. 1165 Angelina St. Austin, TX. All Ages. Saturday show: Born In Flames Preview 11:00 PM - 2 AM @ Karma Lounge. 119 West 8th Street. Austin, TX.
Last month Pharoahe Monch premiered his anti-police brutality anthem "Clap (One Day)", to a sold out crowd at the Jazz Cafe in London. "Clap (One Day)" is the new single from his upcoming album, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), to be released through W.A.R. Media and Duck Down in February 2011. This never seen before footage features Pharoahe's passionate and intricate delivery, alongside vocalists Showtyme and Mela Machinko, and DJ Boogie Blind.
Pharoahe explains the inspiration for the song; "Instead of protect and serve, police often escalate situations, as with the cases of Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, or Aiyana Stanley Jones, and hundreds more who fell victim to police violence. I wrote this song to express my frustration, as well as raise the question of how our communities can create safety and prevent violence, with out relying on police."
The release of this footage coincides with the October 22nd- National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality. This year is the 15th annual October 22nd, organized by communities around the country who commit to participating in local actions and events against police brutality, and work towards building community safety alternatives. People who want to stand in solidarity with October 22nd can wear all black, in memory of thousands of lives stolen by law enforcement killings.
Despite the song title's multiple meanings, "Clap (One Day)" does not advocate violence against police. Pharoahe adds a personal perspective; "My brother is a police officer so I know there are some well intentioned people wearing blue uniforms. But the issue of police violence is much bigger than good cops and bad cops, it comes down to a broken system which criminalizes our communities, and must be completely transformed."
A short film and music video for "Clap (One Day)" will be out December 2010 Pharoahe Monch's upcoming album W.A.R. will be in stores February 2011 For more info on the artist go to www.Pharoahe.com For more info about the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality: http://www.october22.org/Assembly2010.html
"subCentric took over Brooklyn at the 4th Annual Restoration Rocks Music Festival. The free day-long concert featured some of the most dynamic emerging and established artists. Held in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood—the series featured Tamar-kali, Cubic Zirconia, Invincible, Jean Grae and DJ Rimarkable. A host of giveaways—including Soul Train DVDs—made the day exciting for onlookers. Centric’s very own Depelsha McGruder helped organize the event and we salute her efforts. We caught up with Invincible and Tamar-Kali about the show and how their music affects the community."
"Fire Mic/Hammer" t-shirt
"I Don't Write Rhymes I Write Ransom Notes" t-shirt
"Black & Red Mic/Hammer" t-shirt
"Black & Green Mic/Hammer" t-shirt
INVINCIBLE - ShapeShifters CD digipak
INVINCIBLE - ShapeShifters 12"
DETROIT SUMMER LIVE ARTS MEDIA PROJECT - Rising Up From the Ashes CD
SLINGSHOT HIP HOP - DVD
THE NARCICYST - S/T CD
FINALE - A Pipe Dream And A Promise CD
