I'm moving!

I don't have many blog readers here (that I know of--some of you may be stealthily stalking me lol) & in order to make good with a new years resolution I made to follow thru with things, I'm moving. I've made a leap to Squarespace.com. On this new site, I will feature my own personal blog, insights, thoughts, fictional short stories (maybe even a few non-fiction), poetry & professional published articles. It will be almost like an online profolio, only a tad more personal.

I'm not sure if this move will actually work or if I'll come crawling back to blogspot with my tail between my legs, but there's only one way to find out & that's to try. Want to come with me to the new digs? www.rhapso-DY.com

Keep in mind that it's a work in progress. Oh, & I'm an artist & I'm sensitive about my shiz. Thanks for rocking with me & now, thanks for moving with me! Let's grow together!

Latest Interview: The Clipse

Virginia Is For Grindin'

It’s very well-known that Virginia is for lovers—lovers of music, lovers of hip hop. With talent like Timbaland, Missy & Pharell all hailing from the loving state, it’s no wonder why two of VA’s finest—Malice & Pusha—are not only filling those big shoes, but using said shoes to walk along their own path to greatness. It was a chance meeting between Malice & Pharell that lead them into a flourishing musical relationship. Already friends with Pusha, Pharell heard a rhyme that Pusha wrote one day & The Clipse were born. It took them a minute to gain some mainstream success, but once listeners caught on to their hit single, “Grindin’,” The Clipse were in heavy rotation by hip hoppers with an affinity for lyricism & minimalism. Click here to read the entire article.

Heartbreak(up)

I hardly ever title my pieces. I'm not even sure if this title will stand, but I needed something to title this blog with! I hope you like/understand/comment. :) It's catharsis for me & I should def write poems more often than I do. Enjoy.

We thrived in the freedom of our friendship

Flirty smiles morphed into full laughs

Heads tited back, mouths open--

There was delight in our infidelities

The whispered apologies on our lips

were hushed by our own mouths filled with sweet nothings

I held each & every nothing in a locket around my heart

It was sentimental to me because it was all you'd ever given me that wasn't soaked in pain

I clung to every promise that passed those parted pink lips

Devoured the morsels of lies like my just desserts

Because I just deserved to have someone who loves me

Like you do

Like I thought you did

Like you made me believe you did

Leading me right into the thick of love

with no compass or North Star

to guide me safely home

where I sit alone...in the dark

& between shuddering sobs, I reach--

Hands blindly patting the walls, searching

for that switch you used to turn your heart off

Instead, I find your discarded crown

The one I struggled to hold high atop your head

because you refused to wear it on your own

I needed you to be royalty, robed in purple...noble

because that's how I treated you

You were always more than a Queen to me

You were the entire castle...a Kingdom

What a royal flush you turned out to be

But I clung to the perpetual pain you presented me with

Rocking back & forth, like a pendulum

& I hung on, pretending it didn't hurt

Gripping tight, knuckles white

Face pale, sweat shining like diamonds...

Except, it's worth nothing.
Worthless.

The way I saw it, nothing could be worth more

Which is why I compromised everything within me, for you.

I was too busy giggling about your previous chick's insecurities & insanities--
Those secrets you shared about her that should have been silenced

But I listened, too preoccupied in you that I never realized

you weren't to be trusted

I just wrapped all of that in the butterflies you gave me & called it love

Thinking a pretty package could conceal what was real

Maybe I wouldn't have held on so tight, white knuckles & all if you didn't make me all those promises

Premises built on a shaky foundation--

We were destined for failure & I believe you knew that

& used that--

I was pawned in your strategic game of love.

Checkmate. I guess.

I sound bitter as all hell in this piece, but truth be told it's been a few months in the making & at this point--to that love--I'm over it. I'm over the agonizing pain of it. I realized the stupidity that I was succumbing to by being in that relationship. I'm not even mad at said person, I still love this person & always will. Love isn't immature--no matter how irrational it makes you feel at times. And in my own journey through emotional growth, I've learned that even the bad ones teach you something. Lesson learned.

I've Got A Love Jones For Nia Long!

MY NIA LONG INTERVIEW


Last year, a friend of mine gave me tickets to a fashion show at Bryant Park's Fashion Week. I've never been one that was into fashion, but I wanted to see what the hooplah was all about, so I took the tickets. Boy was I happy I did! There was so much excitement in the tents, but also so many wannabes (which is what usually keeps me away from that world.) I got to the show & found out that I was FRONT ROW. For those of you that don't know, front row is usually reserved for big deals. & boy did I feel like one!



I sat & patiently waited for the show to start and noticed a few famous reality show faces in the crowd. Of course people were asking for autographs and pictures with the reality stars. I didn't make any moves to do that, until Nia Long walked in & sat directly across from me. As a journalist, I get to meet celebrities all the time, interview them, connect with them--so I try my best to remain unphased--or at least try not to be starstruck.



That's a hard task to do when you've loved someone from afar for YEARS. I have been a fan of Nia's since she was on Guiding Light. Love Jones is also my favorite movie of all time! So, I sat there and composed myself, waiting for an opening in the limitless requests for pictures with her and autographs. Then, there was one. I walked over to her, introduced myself & told her that I work for Honey & that I wanted to include her in Honey's relaunch. (At that time, Honey was working hard a recreating their presence). Nia was a Honey covergirl back in the day before Honey folded, so I knew she would be excited about being a part of the new & improved Honey.



I was right. She gave me her publicist's info, we shook hands again & that was that. It took some time to get the interview, but once I did--Nia reached out to me personally. (Which means I have her phone number--you couldn't have told a 14 year old Danielle that she would one day chop it up with her favorite actress or even possess her number!) We conducted the interview over a couple of days and built up a bit of a repore. She's so refreshing.



Well, I then gave the finished product to Honey & they let it collect dust on the shelf, printing stories on Nicki Minaj, Trey Songz & whoever else they decided was better than Nia Long. An entire year later, (the present) Nia starts getting recognition for her role in Chris Rock's "Good Hair" & I notice that she is on ESSENCE'S November cover. I tweet about it and inquire in a sarcastic way if Honey';s going to use the interview I did on Nia.



The very next day, I get an email from the features editor, saying they want to print the story & need to me resend. I kindly oblige because that's what I was waiting on, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't the least bit peeved about it. Even though I have been there from the beginning of Honey's relaunch (helping them with focus groups, meetings, whatever they needed), I feel like they treat me like just another writer. And that, I am not. I bring them stories, featuring A-listers and I support them like you wouldn't believe. You would think that they'd give me some recognition or at least a position at the magazine.



Then, on twitter, I noticed that TheYBF.com was featuring my interview on their site. I got no individual credit, (not even a shoutout on Twitter) however when you clicked on the link for the interview & it took you to Honey's site, my name is there. I guess I should be grateful for that?



I am all about paying my dues, but I believe I have at this point. How do you know when it's time to move on? How do you know you're being used in a freelance situation, rather that utilized? Should I just suck it up & be gratfeul that I am a working journalist with incredible clips?

MIKE SHOREY-Changing Rhythm and Blues to Realness and Brooklyn

Mike Shorey-Changing Rhythm & Blues to Realness & Brooklyn
Back in the day R&B music wasn’t even called R&B—it was soul. It was Motown. It was classic before it even paid its dues. These days, our R&B crooners tend to lack creativity, singing the highest praises of a woman’s curves, sex and there’s so many “ooh ooh baby please,” I’ve lost count. Yeah, Marvin used to beg to get it on, comparing the appeasement of his manhood to being sanctified, but he didn’t let the world down when he showed compassion about the issues of that time—asking, “What’s going on?”

What I’d really like to know is, where is our Marvin? What soulful vocals are going to take the torch that’s been dangling midair since Marvin let it go? Even though I go hard for R. Kelly, he’s lost me almost amongst his Pied Piper, golden-haired, golden showered mystique. I also love Ne-Yo’s multifaceted talents, but sometimes he fails to give himself hits. However, he’s one of the closest vocalists to singing outside the box with songs that wonder if his ex ever thinks of him anymore or songs that explain how he doesn’t want to go to bed being mad at his girl. I feel you Ne-Yo, but who’s going to dig deeper and give our generation a crash course in what’s going on?

Mike Shorey may just be our knight in shining armor, coming to rescue us from the begging and pleading of today’s R&B and bring us safely into the real world and what’s going on out on the streets today, but with a hip hop twist. It was that same twist caught the ear of lyrical storyteller Fabolous and gained Mike public attention on a few of his tracks.

I recently got a chance to catch up to Mike, because—let’s face it—it’s been a while. And the last time we did hear from him, he was lacing hooks and backing Fab up, urging, “Baby Don’t Go.” Well, we didn’t go anywhere, but he did. Where’s he been?—Working on new material, a label and just trying to come back as hard as possible with hits that will remind us that R&B can be as real and as raw as hip hop.
-Danielle Young

Where have you been?
[laughs] Everywhere. I’ve been all over the place—Atlanta for a couple years, just working on my music, honing my craft.

I’ve heard rumors about an album coming...
Yeah, I’m working on it right now. I’m not too sure on the features yet. I want the people to focus on me. I’m being greedy right now—not too many features. There might be a couple.

Personally I feel as though R&B is missing something. There are a lot of copy cats out there and it’s losing a lot of the rhythm and blues that makes it what it is. What do you feel like you are going to bring to R&B that hasn’t been brought?
The realness. I’m going to keep it real with y’all. I’m from the streets. I grew up in the hood—Crown Heights, Brooklyn. I’ve been through a lot of situations, trying to feed my family and make money. I feel like a lot of people can relate to that situation. I noticed that—besides R. Kelly—a lot of R&B artists hardly ever touch those topics. A lot of R&B dudes out here are just doing love songs, we all know that that’s not what it’s all about. I speak on the realness—real situations that we go through—personal issues and all of that.

Do you feel you paint pictures and tell stories like lyricists do?
Definitely. I can tell a story. I focus a lot on wordplay which is mainly a hip hop thing. Rappers are known for their word play and R&B singers are only recognized for their vocal ability, which I have too. That’s the difference between me and them. My wordplay is crazy too.

How did you get your start in the music industry?
To be honest with you. I would consider myself one of the lucky ones. I was singing in the neighborhood. I would sing for my friends, girls around the way and I ended up linking up with dudes that knew Fab’s manager. I never did too many shows or anything like that. I was nice.

Do you feel that that may have stunted your growth as a singer?

Probably. I think that it contributed to that. I didn’t get a chance to experience the grind like a lot of ther artists do. I got a quick shot. That’s why I took so much time off. I needed to really learn the business, hone my craft and get myself together when I come back, I’m here to stay.

Are you signed right now?
We’re in negotiations. We have a couple labels that are interested. Right now, I’m talking to Def Jam and it’s looking good. They got the vision and understand where I’m coming from.

Which do you consider yourself first? Songwriter or singer?
That’s hard. Singer. I love to write, but it’s mainly for expression. I feel better when I am actually singing. I would consider myself a singer first.

Tell me about your company—Crown Town Entertainment.
Me and my partner, Asa have a company called Crown Town. We’ve got a couple artists, a couple rappers—Price P, Rock Lo, Live Wire, Reefer—she’s an R&B singer and writer. We’ve got a couple other people that write.

What inspired you to be a business man?
First, if you’ve got talent—I’m into art—and you’re good, I’m interested. I love to hear other people perception of life and how they express themselves and secondary is the money. I’m keeping it real. That’s what it’s about at the end of the day. It starts with passion. It has to.

When can we start hearing some stuff?
You’ll hear by the top of 2010. Right now, I’m on a couple of mixtapes—The Wave Game mixtape. That’s Gain Grease. I’m on The Street Smart mixtape, hosted by DJ Seiko. I’m featured on French Montana’s mixtape Mac and Cheese. If you go on Youtube and type my name in, you’ll hear a bunch of new music, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Where do you see your career going?
To the top. [laughs] Outerspace and whatever is past that. I’m here to stay.

[This is an interview I did with Mike Shorey. For those of you who haven't yet figured it out, I am a journalist. :) Duh, right! Well, I am working on some ideas of either revamping this bog or creating a new site altogether to host my work. Not only do I write articles, but I write short stories, TV blogs and poetry. I am trying to see if I can merge my professional writing with my personal. So bear with me, while I try a few things out and see what works. More importantly, thanks for reading!]

25 & counting...

So, I was thinking. I interview a lot of people, all the time. Most of the time, I am landing these interviews on my own through connections I've made in networking. Why am I constantly busting my butt to get these interviews to magazines and online blogs that underpay me or don't pay me at all? What should I do about this?

Well, I've decided to start posting up some of my interviews on my very own blog! Innovative, right? Ha! I mean, it's time for Danielle to start doing for herself. That way, I can market myself as a brand, grow, learn, fall flat on my face, get up and keep working hard. I know I was born for a special purpose and just because I am 25 & haven't figured out that purpose yet, doesn't mean that I should kick myself daily or feel useless.

So cheers to finding myself more & more at the tender age of 25. I ain't gonna lie, I'm freakin' out. I'm five years away from being 30. Not that my life is in disarray, but I pray that it's much better and stable by 30. So again, cheers to life! And hows about an extra shot for a flourishing writing career!

Prayer Changes Things.

So a weird thing just happened to me. I say weird because I really don't know how I feel about it. I was knee-deep in a prayer. I haven't had a core-shaking prayer in such a long time. In my prayer, I asked for the strength to pull through life and make it into what I know it can be.



God had blessed me in so many ways and there is no reason for me not to be able to achieve my wildest dreams. No reason, but myself. I believe there's a grey, misty massive grey cloud of fear over my head and the sad part is, I don't even know what I am afraid of.


I'm not one of those people afraid to succeed. In fact, that's what I welcome. But I block myself. I ground myself and surround myself with things that weigh me down. At times I feel like I'm carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. I've fallen in & out of depression & I intend to beat it. In fact..that's what my prayer summed up to.

I was praying aloud. I ended up standing, closing my eyes, tilting my head back & fists balled up. I was in a moment. It felt as if I was performing a poem. When that dawned on me, I broke my prayer and got my pen & pad. There was a split second where I felt guilty for stunting my prayer because it sounded like a good poem that I wanted to write down.

When it came down to it, I didn't even remember a significant enough amount to make sense of anything & I couldn't even get back in the groove to complete my prayer. Two fails for the price of one. Hmph! But I needed a jumpstart to the more poetic writer side of myself because she's been silenced for a while.

Prayer really does change things & sometimes those things aren't even what you're asking about at the time. God knows us so well, He's able to give us the things we need before we can even anticipate or even know that we even want those things.



Even Ghandi said, "If you don't ask, you don't get." What I am going to be asking for.?The strength to go through the bad with grace. And the power to live my purpose. I was put here for a reason & the cool thing about life is--we get to spend our lives finding out what that purpose is. That's beautiful. I don't want to crumble at the thought of being able to live an amazing life. I'm gonna live...fully.

Amen.

Yeah...and another one.

I complain a lot about my life. From the outside, looking in, I bet it looks charming. I am unattached, young, no kids & basically no responsibilities. What the heck do I ever have to be down about? I wish I knew, so that I could stop it from happening. But since it's going to, I have to figure out how to handle it better--how to cope with it.

I am taking this time right now to say, I am strong. I am stronger than this depression that has been trying to take me hostage for the last couple of years. God has surrounded me lately with some amazing people and those people have helped to rejuvenate my ambition & desire.

I have quite a few ideas for some new ventures as well as some peopel that want to work with me--how effin' cool is that?! Being sought out because of my work makes me feel like I am on the right path. Life is a beautiful thing & it's time to start living like I realize the kind of gift I've been giving.

That's not to say that I won't complain anymore. Lol. come on! I'm human! But I will handle it best I can if/when the sadness returns. I'm about to be 25. No more whining like a baby. It's time to handle eveything like a woman.

Idle Hands Are the Devil's Playground

This summer I have definitely been on the grind with my writing.

Here's the latest published article on the incredible F-A-B-O!

CLICK ME

However, I haven't given myself the time to fully devote to the creativity of my own mind and the strength of my own talents. I don't know what it is about me getting stuck in a comfort zone, but it's just so easy to get comfortable and let the ambition fade.

Lately, I have been feeling a lot of anxiety. I don't even know what it is that I am anxious about. It's like I am expecting something to happen, or maybe even secretly hoping something will to jolt me out of my daze. Mornings, I will wake up at 5, 6 or 7am and I can't even force myself to fall back asleep. This wouldn't even make a mark on my radar if it wasn't for the fact that I live for sleeping. I should be able to roll over and peacefully re-enter dreamland, but I can't. However, admittedly, I'm too lazy to get up and do something. So, I toss and turn until about 9 or so.

I get out of bed, frustrated that I don't have any structure in my life and I proceed to let my life pass me by, day in and day out. I know I don't want to go back to the office work, 9-5 prison. So what is it that I want to do with my idle time? It seems I'm more comfortable being idle.

I feel like I am on the road to becoming detached again. A few years ago, I didn't care about much. Nothing got a rise out of me. I was just going through life in black & white...scratch that. I was going thrugh life in a constant shade of grey. I didn't even care that I didn't care about anything. I sincerely hope that I am not on my way back there. I've seen life in technicolor and I don't feel ready to go back to grey.

This blog was supposed to be about my latest journalistic endeavor, but I guess this was something that weighed heavy on my mind. *shrugs*

FREE!

So I haven't written a personal blog in a minute and that is because I have taken to not sharing all my personal feelings and such because for the first time in....forever...I am being selective with the content of my blog. I am very open with my thoughts, feelings, inner workings of my mind and I love that about myself. But sometimes, everyone doesn't need to be in your biz. But in typing this, I'm thinking...EFF that! It's my blog and I write what I want. If I offend you...oh well. If you're disgusted with what I write about...oh well. If you're stalking me and find something that disturbs you...oh well. It's called freedom of speech and dammit, I love being free.

The recession has given me a quick one two in the jaw. I lost my job on Tuesday and yeah it hurt, but you know what? That was my first position after college. I am taking this as a blessing in some weird disguise. Why? Because I had gotten to a point where I was comfortable. You never want to be comfortable, because the grind halts. My grind was going, but it wasn't strong. My creativity was stifled, constantly worrying about what I needed to get done in my day job, as well a having to wake up in the butt-crack of dawn everyday and having to engage in at least 4 million phoney convos daily.

Now that I am free, I feel like I can focus more on me and where I intend on going in my career. Maybe I don't even want to be where I am right now in my writing. I love entertainment journalism and interviewing celebs and such, but what if I am here because I got lucky and now comfortable? There are so many forms of expression when it comes to writing and I have a lot of talent. So, why not take the time to explore? Maybe travel writing, food writing, playwrighting, poetry, hell...maybe I can beef up the plots in porn? Right now, at my young 24 years...I'm OPEN for exploration.

Bon voyage :) (to myself of course)

Happenings At Honey

Every other Wednesday, here in fabulous Soho, I meet with the incredible beauties behind HONEYMAG.COM. We sip wine, share ideas, feed off each other's energies and just unwind. It's good for the soul, I swear. Once, we even brought out our photog's camera whored ourselves to the lens. View, here.

Who Loves B. Scott? I Do!

Hey Peeps. Here is my latest piece about the fabulous B. Scott. Enjoy :)

CLICK ME

He Said/She Said

As I was transcribing an interview I did last week with General Steele (half of Smif N Wessun), he started saying some cool things about me. He doesn't know me personally, so these were just general things about me being a writer. I loved what he said, so I felt like sharing. There are moments that happen like these often in interviews and from now on, I think I should share. So, there will be more self indulgent quotes from celebs I interview soon to come. Don't judge me! Love me.

You're a boss in this hip hop thing. You're a writer. You get the information out to people that would never know about things otherwise. You have the inside edition. I couldn't imagine how many people you speak to in regards to doing what you're doing. Keep doing your thing, ma.

-General Steele

I'm So Excited!

Today, I will be interviewing this man. Johnny Polygon for YRB Magazine. It's going to be so super dope, I don't even know the words to say! If you've never heard of him, get that rock of top of you and follow me.

Dani [plus] Day 26 [equals] A Sexy Good Time.

Who loves Making the Band? I know I do. I got a chance to sit down with the fellas of Day26 (minus Willie) and chop it up.

Read here.

Oh yeah and unfortunately I am not the editor of the site, so, those grammatical and spelling errors...don't look at me!

I K'naan Write.

Pssst. Your girl is still doing her thing something crazy.

Ever heard of K'naan?

Read about him.

Postively Written

You know, I may not be a movie star or as funky fresh as I wish I was, but I've met a lot of amazing people in my life, through my writing. Christina K, being one of them.

When I was a little girl, scribbling stories of teenage angst in my journal every night, I had no idea that I would be interviewing people like Lumidee (first interview EVER), Regina King, Iman, Styles P, Russell Simmons, Fonzworth Bentley or Jadakiss. It all feels so natural and organic that sometimes it doesn't even seem like my life.

I realize that I complain about my life more times than not and it's human nature, but in taking a look at the positive things in my life--I've learned that they can outweigh the bad--if you let it.