Tenacious Tuesday: Master Turntablist, Danny Phillips- D.J.P

“The style of mixing I was doing really freaked everybody out…these guys from New York heard me play and the rest is history” – Danny Phillips (D.J.P)

From B-Boy to Turntablist, D.J.P gets the crowd wound-up. Starting from small town Springfield, Missouri, Danny Phillips started break dancing at a young age, which introduced him into the hip hop culture, “first time I ever saw it was on a commercial”, says Phillips “it was on TV and kids in grade school started doing it and I just caught on to it too, just feeling the vibe”. While working on the railroad, D.J.P went to Lawrence, Kansas where the New York company, DMC, was throwing a DJ battle and that’s where he introduced mashup, which is the blending of two or more songs, to the audience. Coming in second place at the battle, that was the start of his career.

After placing 2^nd in 1998, he participated the following year, received 1^st place and made it to the U.S Finals. Although he did not place in the U.S Finals, he was the only DJ that got a standing ovation, because he was doing something that no one was really doing, “I was pushing the envelope…and that’s what built my career”, says Phillips. Influenced by other DJ’s that did mashup, and one in particular, DJ Majik Juan, from Springfield, Missouri, D.J.P took mashup to the next level.

So, who is your role model?

Growing up, he really looked up to other DJ’s like, Jam Master Jay, “just the way he was off stage and the way he presented himself as a DJ”, says Phillips. Others such as RUN DMC and Grand Master Flash were a huge influence too. As far as today, he likes to listen to DJ Spinbad and Mix Master Mike.

One of the biggest accomplishments in his career was when he was inducted into the Rock Steady Crew in 2007. The Rock Steady Crew are the founders and originators of breaking. Rock Steady Crew is a dance crew, also showcased in the movie Beat Street, the Rock Steady Crew, in the movie, the Bronx Rockers, are legendary.

Most Notable…

Some of the most notable people he has DJ’d for are people like Hugh Hefner, 311, Kid Rock, Too Short, Xzibit and Ice-T. While performing for some of the best, he still faced his own challenges, like anyone would. One of his greatest challenges was being on BET’s Master of the Mix, because of all of the microphones and cameras in his face all of the time.

Inspired my reminiscing, D.J.P is inspired by the energy that he felt when he was younger as he got into DJing. His past experiences inspire him to use his talents to create gifts for those in the present and future. His inspiration has led him to start a DJ Academy in Springfield, Missouri, where people can come and learn the craft of DJing, using vinyl records and digital. The school is brand new, in its third week, that’s where all of his energy is going. A year from now, D.J.P wants to be doing the same thing, teaching, doing music, traveling and inspiring others.

Want to see what DJing is all about? Be sure to check out his website http://www.djpmix.com/, subscribe to his YouTube djpmixdotcom, check out his Facebook https://www.facebook.com/djprsc , follow him on Twitter @D.J.P, and watch his video’s on Vimeo @ D.J.P.

To my Tenacious Tuesday people, be the change, get involved, do something that has never been done!

Motivated Monday: Tigers and Sheep

You’re on the right path, making good decisions, making a way out of no way, listening, learning from the good advice other people are giving and following your dreams, but there is always that one person or group of people who want to bring you down, they are the naysayer’s; the individuals who are unhappy about the path their life took and are unwilling to make changes to follow their dreams and be ambitious. They are the people who want to bring you to misery, just like the old saying, “Misery loves company.”

 In this instance, you are the tiger and they are the sheep and we all know that “Tigers do not concern themselves with the opinions of sheep”. For you to lose sleep over what others think of you, only punishes your value and power that you were given. You have to remember that some people are not willing to take the risks you are taking to be great or to follow their dreams like you. Continue to be ambitious, determined and strive while those people are trying to keep you down.

Jesus had 12 Disciples, and He chose his followers very carefully, He wanted people He could trust to send out his message. The word disciple means learner or follower and the word apostle means “one who is sent out”. So, who are your followers? The people who are with you through the journey? Not everyone is your friend or have genuine intentions it is up to you to pick those people who build you up instead of always breaking you down. Be the tiger and they can continue to be the sheep.

“Haters are like crickets. Crickets make a lot of noise, you hear it but you can’t see them, then right when you walk by them, they’re quiet.” – Israel Houghton

Fashionable Friday: Hall-O-What should I wear?

Halloween can be scary if you don’t know what celebrity or scary goblin you’re going to be. But, fear not, there are many Halloween costume ideas that can come straight from your closet or ready for you to pick up from your local costume shop.

Most women dress up as their favorite, sexy, classy, celebrity. You can be anyone, from Marilyn Monroe to Kerry Washington. Men like to be super hero’s, ranging from Spiderman to Captain America. So, there is a wide variety of options to choose from.

Halloween gives you the opportunity to be anyone or anything you want. You can even be a Rockstar, like me (it’s my year round costume).

Still not sure what to wear or what to be? Check out the links below!

 

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/_mobile/celebrity/fashion/laziest-costumes

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/_mobile/celebrity/fashion/pretty-little-liars-halloween-costumes

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/21/miley-cyrus-walter-white-oprah-your-pop-culture-halloween-costume-guide.html

Transformation Thursday: Show me your Pittie smile!

October is a busy month for many nonprofit organizations, it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Book Month, Cosmetology Month, Popcorn Poppin’ Month (bet you didn’t know that) and my favorite, Pit Bull Awareness Month. Guess what we are going to talk about today…PIT BULL’S!

Okay, so, you’ve fallen for all of the myths surrounding Pit Bulls, you’ve probably walked on the other side of the street when you’ve seen a Pit Bull owner walking their dog, but why? I live in St. Louis and volunteer for a predominate pit bull rescue called Stray Rescue of St. Louis, I am the owner of two wonderful Pit Bull’s dubbed Mohawk and Jagger and I see, not only other dogs but Pit Bulls fall victim to euthanasia, street living, fighting rings and shelters because they are misunderstood. I walk my two, constantly train, and work both of my boys so they are upstanding Pit Bull citizens. So, let’s break some of these myths, but more importantly, educate yourself before succumbing to the picture society has painted.

 

 

 

 

One of the questions I get when I walk my boys is “Are they vicious?”,my two are very well behaved (minus the fact that they like to eat my pillows), they are not vicious.  This is not to say that you should approach every Pit Bull or dog you see, because they appear nice, always ask the owner before you pet a dog. A dog’s behavior is based on how they are raised, just like a child. Remember, don’t condemn an entire breed, when Pit Bulls get a bad reputation because of a few irresponsible people. Another question I get is, “aren’t they aggressive towards other dogs and humans?” One thing to remember is that every dog, Pit Bull, Labrador retriever, Boxer, Chihuahua, etc.. is different and not one is more inherently aggressive than the other.

In the late 1800s into the early 1900s Pit Bulls were known as the nanny dog because they are extremely loyal and protective. Not only did they serve as nanny dogs but in the early 1900s, the military chose an image of a dignified pit bull to represent the U.S on WWI propaganda posters. Remember Homeward Bound, Babe: Pig in the City, Oliver and No Country For Old Men? All of these movies have featured Pit Bulls. Celebrities such as Jon Stewart, Ken Howard, Rachael Ray, and Joey Porter all own Pit Bulls. Not to mention Helen Keller, President Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison and General George Patton all owned Pit Bulls too.

So, instead of being fearful about the “unknown” make sure you educate yourself, celebrate Pit Bull October and don’t shop, adopt from a wonderful rescue near you!

Want to learn more about Pit Bulls? Dogs? Adopting? Volunteering for your local rescue? Check out these links!

http://www.petfinder.com/

http://www.waysidewaifs.org/

http://www.adoptapet.com/

http://www.1800petmeds.com/education/pit-bull-facts-and-myths.htm

http://www.aspca.org/adopt

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/adopt/tips/top_reasons_adopt.html

Volunteer. Donate. Transform.

Wop Wop Wednesday: Are you the 1 in 8?

It’s October! One of my favorite months, not only is it my birthday month and the month when the autumn leaves are the prettiest, but it’s when pink is one of the most worn colors for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So, today, let’s do some simple math and talk about breasts.

Currently there are 7,187,774,650 in the world. For the sake of simplicity, there are 230,050,716 in the United States, 49.2% are men and 50.8% are women. 1 in every 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, therefore, approximately, 146, 820, 20 of women are/will be diagnosed. That’s a hefty number. While women are more likely to develop the disease, men account for less than 1% of all cases.

Why pink? Pink is a color that is uniquely feminine and represents a person full of health and vibrancy. 1992, appropriately dubbed “the Year of the Ribbon”, was when Alexandra Penney, past editor of Self magazine, thought of the idea to associate the pink ribbon with breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in the tissues of the breast. The damaged cells can invade surrounding tissue causing the disease to spread. The disease is the second leading cause of death among women and in more than 40,000 will die from the disease. While breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, there are ways to detect the disease early, so check your ta-ta’s! You can go to your doctor and get checked and/or you can perform a breast self-exam each month, don’t forget to discuss any abnormalities with your doctor of physician.

Get involved with your community to raise awareness of the disease, so many people, friends, family, and acquaintances, are affected by the disease each year. Educate yourself and others about the disease.

Want to get involved? Donate? Fundraise? Volunteer? Learn more? Check out these awesome links and support the fight for a cure.

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/about-breast-cancer

http://www.cancer.org/healthy/morewaysacshelpsyoustaywell/breastcancer

http://ww5.komen.org/

Addendum: Oops

I took a short sabbatical from blogging, with deadlines at work, school, and scheduling interviews for, your and my favorite blog day, Tenacious Tuesday, everything seemed to pile up. While I was caught in the whirlwind of this thing we call life, I missed out on something major…keeping up with what makes me happy! So, I’m back, and do not plan on leaving for a long time.

This bizarre week has shown me that while life may get you caught up in a lot of things, it is imperative that you still make time for the things that you love to do. So, follow your dreams, continue to be motivated, and become your own success story.

Tenacious Tuesday: Sheldon Neal, A SLICE of Happiness

“I’m definitely working every day, in the field that I love and it’s definitely my passion.” –Sheldon Neal

Tech guru, videographer, producer, musician and entrepreneur just to name a few, Sheldon Neal encompasses it all. While working at Hewlett Packard, Sheldon worked with customers that were not fulfilled by their jobs and decided that he wanted to do something different… he wanted to follow his passion. Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Sheldon started his own video production company, online, called SLICE Network, which allows him to create content such as shows, documentaries, live specials or music and live concerts, then he created Neal Media Group, LLC (NMG). NMG is specifically geared toward clients that want private projects, such as live events, video production, web design and IT work; Sheldon’s team has even put out an eBook that is in nine stores.

It has taken 2 years to build a foundation and a team for SLICE Network, these past two years they have done nothing but sports broadcast. The issue was that it was not a sports network, however they did not have enough resources, or man power to roll out a lot of different shows. But, for the past few months they have been promoting the sports show while adding, my favorite, a Scandal after show called “After the Scandal” and a tech show that discusses all the tech basics. By next year Sheldon’s goal is to have six running shows on SLICE network that are weekly and for NMG, it’s all about growing the clientele.

For Sheldon, it’s about the quality and commitment, those are the two qualifications that have built his amazing team of people that work behind the scenes. Included in his team is Sheldon’s brother. Even though he is a high school student, Sheldon’s baby brother owns a portion of NMG, “he’s more like my Vice President”, Sheldon says “and he knows all of the ins and outs technical and he started pretty young”. As for his professional team he has people that are good in all areas, audio, networking, design…etc. Although this is his passion and he has a great team to support him, there are still stressful moments, but “when you have a good team that, individually are people that can deliver, it makes the stressful situations a lot more manageable”. What’s consistent between the two networks is quality and quantity. A tremendous amount of time is spent on things people would not even notice. The small minor things that people would not notice can make or break a broadcast. Nevertheless, people who watch won’t know what’s special about the broadcast, but will know that it’s different than everyone else’s, that’s the consistency between both companies.

Why Scandal?

A lot of the things that were done on SLICE Network were influenced by other people, requests, and suggestions. For Sheldon, Scandal was one of those shows that was thrown in the box, a personal project, a show that everyone liked to watch, “it’d be cool to do a live after show”.

Who inspires you?

“You know, I have professional role models and I’m inspired by people like you”, says Sheldon. Professionally, Steve Jobs, he scratches that technical, computer itch that Sheldon has. Then Oprah, because she is a mastermind in television and has done things in television that are unheard of and last, but not least, Michael Jackson, because he gets the music. While being three extremely different people, all three of Sheldon’s role models knew their passion and put out perfection, or as close to perfection they could create. Sheldon wants to make sure that his clients can say the same thing about him: He can put out top of the line, quality work. Nonprofessional role models can be anyone, “the way I operate is by seeing other peoples work and listening to other people, researching and learning what other people are doing”. Sheldon is always interested to find out what people are doing, to stay in the loop and to support the other person. Some of NMG’s most notable clients are a hair and beauty You Tuber named KandeeLovesYa, the team created an ebook for her and Dynamic Fastener, whose web page was designed by the NMG team.

I asked Sheldon what inspire means to him, “It means a lot, it’s what drives me…without inspiration, nothing moves forward”, he said. Sheldon Neal, always trying to move forward and come up with more innovative ways to produce, making a way to showcase his passion and inspire others.

Be sure to check out his websites, look at his projects @ www.nmgstudios.com, and watch After the Scandal on www.myslicetv.com. Follow him on Instagram @s_neal, find him on Twitter @myslicetv and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sheldon.neal.

To my Tenacious Tuesday people, be the change, get involved, do something that has never been done!

 

Motivated Monday: That 4 Letter Word

What drives you to be successful? Why do some people succeed while others fail? One driving factor is a four letter word: Fear. Fear works in two ways when describing motivation. Fear can either tear you down or build you up. When you walk in fear, how successful or productive do you think you will be?

I used to be on the debate team in high school and I remember, I would be so fearful when standing up in front of a room of strangers presenting my pieces, pieces that I had studied, rehearsed and knew inside out. But when the fear would overcome me, I would choke and forget everything that I had worked so hard to memorize. When I realized that I had nothing to be fearful of I succeeded, received awards and owned what I had worked so hard to get.

Why are people fearful? Because they are not sure how to succeed. Look at it this way, if everyone knew how to succeed without failure first, we all would take success for granted.

Short of emergencies, fear brings uncertainty, being uncertainty, anxiety and unbalance.  God even said, “be BOLD, I will be with you”, when God is on your side, who can be against you? Fear hinders where you can go and what you can do. Are you fearful about being successful? If you maintain the mindset of fear, you’ll never get anywhere. You might as well consider your hopes and dreams a bust, because no one has gotten anywhere working off of fear. A very small amount of people are motivated by fear, which is like “the carrot and stick”, incentive is the carrot and fear is the stick.

So, today, be fearless and remember your limitless opportunities. Have a Motivational Monday!

Sassy Saturday: Exude Confidence

It’s as easy as saying your own name to someone, “hi, my name is Courtney.” I am certain that Courtney is my name, there is no doubt about it. Being confident in something as simple as your name should be the same confidence you carry about yourself. Being confident in what your doing, your hopes, your dreams is sometimes scary for other people to see, it might be scary for you too.

I was in AP English in high school and had been getting B-‘s and C+’s on papers that I would spend days on writing. I couldn’t quite find my writing niche, I was very unsure about what I was saying in a lot of the papers but one day right before class I, confidently, wrote a paper and received an A. My teacher, at the time, called me in his office to tell me that I must have had someone else write the paper for me or copied the work. The rest of the year I received A’s on our weekly papers and realized that I had not been confident in my writing skills.

Start holding yourself to a higher standard. I knew I didn’t want a C or B in that class, because I knew what I was doing. I started to become confident in my own writing and that confidence transferred to better grades.

Confidence is a state of being certain, so trust your skills and your God given talents. Can you imagine how many people want your skills or confidence in certain areas they lack?

Make confidence part of your success story, you never know how far it will take you.

Fashionable Friday: …Only got $20 in my pocket

“I base my fashion taste on what doesn’t itch”– Gilda Radner, Comedian and Actress

Orange leaves, wool socks and pumpkin spice; the wonders of autumn. We all know what comes with the change of weather, a change in our wardrobe. No more flip flops, tank tops, bikinis, swim trunks, skirts and dresses without leggings, time to break out our warm jackets, turtle necks, suit jackets, and scarves. I’m no Fashionista but I do a lot of my fall and winter shopping in the spring when all fall and winter items go on sale, key word, sale! But if you have a limited budget, there is still plenty of fall wear you can purchase during the season.

First, check all sale racks! If you’re patient, you can sift through the clothes and locate some awesome bargains.

As Macklemore would say, “I’m gonna pop some tags, only got $20 in my pocket.” The thrift shop is another great place to go too. Not only do they have a large selection of EVERYTHING but every $1.00 given, .88 goes right back into the community.

Then you have other stores like Target, Marshall’s, Gordmans, TJ Maxx, etc… they have a great selection of clothes, shoes, scarves and everything under the sun that will get you ready for fall and winter.

Remember to stay warm and stay classy!