Grammy Award Winning Songwriter Gordon Chambers’ Small Story

Gordon Chambers

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 At the The Rising Icon event I met an amazing group of talented people. So when I saw Grammy Award winning songwriter Gordon Chambers I asked him to share his story. He credits Essence Magazine as the turning point in his career. He has worked with Anita Baker “I Apologize”, “If You Love Me” Brownstone, Whitney Houston, Phylis Hyman, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight. “Always be confident about who you are but always be humble enough to get better..if your a writer,whether it be a poet, playwriter, songwriter..always write something that demands to be written..not just casually..let it be demanded to be written..let it fel an urgency in your soul..let your art be of service..let it be of healing right now a lot of people are stressed and depressed. And underneath all their jiggy fly clothes alot of people are hurting and yearning, so if your an artist let your art have some depth.”

Gordon was raised in Teaneck,NJ, is a Brown University graduate and lives in New York

Creative from the Heart: Detroit Entrepreneur, GM, “Learn Floral Design”, Giving & $2.50

In February, my family and I were looking for a florist for my Mother’s funeral. We selected a lady that was starting a floral business from her home. Plants. Flowers. Everywhere. My Aunt did the talking, I couldn’t really think. After we sorted our order of flowers, I was captured by her enthusiasm and passion. She is running a floral shop from her home..a floral home. Its called Creative From The Heart. We were lead to the right woman. Her story is inspirational to say the least. Nursing, General Motors, being saved and a husband that made her live on $2.50 a week. Lily is strong optimistic woman to say the least. Honestly, she represents the spirit of survival and bringing dreams to life. It is no surprise the celebrities when they are in Detroit call on Lily.

Kevin Powell: Congress, Lefferts Gardens, Bologna Sandwiches & Absolut Brooklyn

 A long-time activist and award-winning writer, Powell was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is the product of a single mother led household, extreme poverty, fatherlessness, and violence. In spite of these harsh circumstances, Powell studied at Rutgers University in New Jersey and he has become one of the most prolific and respected writers and leaders of his generation. He is the author or editor of 10 books, including his newest, Open Letters to America, a collection of essays that examine American leadership, politics, and various social issues in the era of Barack Obama. Additionally, Powell’s writings have appeared in a range of publications including The Washington Post, Newsweek, Essence, Ebony, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Vibe, where he was a senior writer for several years documenting, most famously, the life and times of the late Tupac Shakur

Joan Morgan: Poetry, Salsa, Jamaica & 3 Interpretations

Joan Morgan. Entrepreneur. Writer. Mother and loved and admired by many including yours truly. Joan was one the first people I met in NYC back in June 1992. This story was filmed at Joan’s Spur Tree Birthday soiree with 3 of her girlfriends sharing stories and qualities about Joan. Joan Morgan is an award-winning journalist and author and a provocative cultural critic. A pioneering hip-hop journalist and entertainent writer, she began her professional writing career freelancing for The Village Voice before having her work published by Vibe, Interview, MS, More, Spin, Giant and numerous other publications. Formerly the Executive Editor of Essence and one of the original staff writers at VIBE, Joan Morgan is the author of When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost — a fresh, witty, and irreverent book that marks the literary debut of one of the most original, perceptive, and engaging young social commentators in America today. Her work appears in numerous college texts, as well as books on feminism, music and African-American culture. She is currently teaches “The History of Hip-Hop Journalism” at Duke University.” So that’s what I do. Here’s a bit about who I am. I’m a Jamerican girl, born in hills of Westmoreland Jamaica and raised in the South Bronx whose been lucky enough to carve out a career writing about the things I care about most: among them hip-hop culture and the lives of black women. I have an amazing kid whose wit, courage, kindness and heart inspire and humble me everyday. I’m a New Yorker, a city girl through and through. I love great restaurants, stilettos, a good mojito and fine wine but I live in the country so I can hear myself think. I write from my office overlooking the river with my dog at my feet. All things considered its a pretty good life.

Raqiyah Mays: Motherhood, Blogging, Acting & Faith

I met Raqiyah and her son in Brooklyn on Court Street – downtown BK- for an unscripted conversation. We discussed her current projects, being a Mom, advice for single women in NYC, she and her husband’s experience dealing with the Foster Care process to gain custody of their son; and advice for those considerng being an entrepreneur. Meet Raqiyah Mays: Writer, actress and radio personality, Raqiyah’s working on her first novel, performing Off-Broadway in the AUDELCO award-winning play “Platanos & Collard Greens” and the new show “Auction Block to Hip Hop.”CHECK THE BLOG: Raqiyahmays.wordpress.com