Yandy Smith, The Celebrity Face of David Ford’s
High End Luxury Eyewear
ATLANTA, GA (November 16, 2017)—Celebrating the success of their ground-breaking (extremely unique) lifestyle eyewear, the David Ford Collection is honored to present “Brand Ambassador” Yandy Smith (producer, entrepreneur, actress, and reality television star). Smith teamed up with David Ford for the 2018 Spring/Summer campaign. “Our frames are: innovative, upscale, and manufactured with exceptional quality products. They are frames created to be worn with the intent to make a statement of confidence. Thus, we are devoted to enhancing or adding to the attractiveness of an individual,” says Ford. He continues, “We set out to do this by purposely designing for faces normally considered unusual or unique in nasal and/or facial shapes.” Industry insiders offer David Ford high fashion eyewear exemplifies class and style for the bold, which makes this brand second to none. Dropping “Black Friday” (November 24, 2017) the Spring/Summer 2018 collection will be available at: www.davidfordcollections.com.
David Ford
The David Ford Collection is not only an eyewear fashion house, but a global retailer and wholesaler with clients and strategic alliances in both northern and southern America, Asia, Europe and Canada. Being an eyewear line made from the highest quality materials available for frames, the devotion of enhancing or adding to the attractiveness of an individual is paramount. Ford purposely designed his frames for faces normally considered unusual or unique in nasal and/or facial shapes.
CLEVELAND, OH–Quincy “Big Heff” Taylor recently received the “Ohio Icon” award at the 2017 Ohio Entertainment Awards for his dedication and work he’s done within the Midwest music community. Humbled by an award nomination or selection, Quincy feels honored to be able to represent his hometown on a regional and national level. He has been a staple in the community for over a decade and prides himself on being that bridge between indie artists and more nationally recognized record labels like Def Jam and Eone.
Quincy has established himself as a leader in the world of touring and promotion. In 2010 Quincy developed new markets for his clients with extensive retail promotion, tastemaker events, radio interviews, and concert performances that has created continuous growth for all of his businesses and clients. In 2011 Quincy was appointed as the Vice President of “ Nerve Djs”, a Midwest-based DJ group specializing in radio, club, online promotions, and building relationships between artists, music, and DJs.
In 2014 Quincy “Big Heff ” Taylor joined the team with Def Jam Records as the Ohio Valley Region Rep and in 2015 he created the Big Heff Radio Show which is now syndicated on 18 different stations.
Even in the last quarter of the year, Quincy isn’t slowing down. He has another industry tour to complete before 2018 as well as his annual charity event. Quincy has partnered with Savoir Fair Magazine to celebrate their 20 Year Anniversary. This event will celebrate the culture of entertainment in the Midwest at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 18, 2017. Guests can attend the VIP Red Carpet reception at 6 pm est and enjoy the main event starting at 7 pm.
You can follow Quincy on Instagram @bigheffmidwestfresh and twitter @bigheff
Toyz Electronics Co-founder and Intel #Hackharassment Ambassador, Wole Idowu, Promotes Diversity in Technology While Addressing Online Bullying Through a Hackathon Event Series
at Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA – Carnegie Mellon University alum, Wole Idowu, is launching an anti-bullying hackathon series at Carnegie Mellon University. Intel selected Wole, while a student at Carnegie Mellon, along with three other student leaders from other colleges across the country, to be ambassadors to their critical #HackHarassment initiative. As an ambassador, Wole is tasked with the responsibility of finding creative ways to use technology to address the growing problem of online bullying, harassment, and abuse. While on campus, Wole Idowu formed the student organization, Toyz Nation Gaming League (TNGL), focused on addressing the issues of diversity and inclusion through technology and gaming. Wole has now launched a startup on campus, Toyz Electronics, LLC, which is a part of Carnegie Mellon’s Olympus Incubator Program.
As an ambassador for Intel’s #HackHarassment campaign, Wole through TNGL, is hosting an upcoming event this November 10-12, TNGL Presents: #HackHarassment, a Creati-con. “I joined with #HackHarassment because I personally resonated with the message of anti-hate speech and harassment,” says Wole Idowu. “I built TNGL as a resource for diverse and multicultural youth to work together and collaborate and learn from diverse experiences to solving issues. Online harassment, is one of those issues. I am proud to be #HackHarassment ambassador and bring young diverse talent to create interdisciplinary solutions involving robotics, computer vision, music, visual arts and more.”
TNGL has conducted several hackathons on Carnegie Mellon’s campus, bringing together a diverse group of students from different backgrounds and disciplines of study, to create several applications in wearable technology and virtual reality fields while having fun in a welcoming and creative environment. Disciplines include music, behavioral sciences, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, business, game development, and creative arts. For #HackHarassment, TNGL enlisted the aid of Wole’s father, hip-hop recording artist, Da Great Deity Dah who has an international fan base represented in over 30 countries on 5 continents and Quincy Big Heff Taylor a music executive that has launched the careers of several popular brands and recording artist over the last 10 years. Last Spring, Da Great Deity Dah partnered with the Carnegie Mellon School of Music to create art that could serve the TNGL mission. This pairing of musicians was historic in its scope and reach.
The lack of diversity in the technology and creative fields has been a major issue and one of the effects of that problem is abuse and bullying by the few developers and talented individuals who do get the opportunity at employment in the industry. Many of the student developers at TNGL events had experienced abuse and harassment, including Wole himself. Lack of interaction and a general insensitivity to people from other backgrounds can lead to behavior that causes tremendous pain and prevents talented individuals from contributing to their potential in the creative and technology industries.
“Stop the Bullying” is the centerpiece song of the spring hackathon that created the album, Chronicles of The Electromagnetic Field General: The Carnegie Mellon Sessions. The finished product has now been released on multiple formats: CD, limited edition colored vinyl, action figure USB, and virtually all streaming and digital platforms including YouTube Red, iTunes, Amazon, Google music, Spotify, Pandora, and many more worldwide. Two global campaigns were taken by Da Great Deity Dah in support of this collaboration with stops in cities such as Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Paris, London, and Zurich to name a few. Music from the project was featured at the introductory press conference for the largest technology conference in Europe, the IFA.
At the upcoming TNGL #HackHarassment event, the artwork from the music project will be converted into a robot! Students will also remix “Stop the Bullying,” make apps and games, create 3D designs of Da Great Deity Dah robot, and use Intel RealSense cameras to create emotion detection software to address harassment. There will also be community engagement events focused on introducing next generation technologies to underserved areas, based on the applications and the robot created from these hackathons.
The limited edition vinyl of The Electromagnetic Field General: The Carnegie Mellon Sessions can be purchased here for $35. “Stop the Bullying” is available on iTunes here and can be heard on Spotify here and on YouTube here.
Event: TNGL Presents: #HackHarassment, a Creati-con Go tohttps://thebridge.cmu.edu/event/1624714 for more information. Date & Time: Friday, November 10, 2017 at 6:00 PM EST through Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 3:00PM EST Location: Carnegie Mellon University
Hunt Library Studio A
4909 Frew Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Da Great Deity Dah and the Carnegie Mellon School of Music Partner to Record Anti-bullying Song “Stop The Bullying” for Intel’s #HackHarassment Campaign
Pittsburgh, PA – The pairing of Da Great Deity Dah with the Carnegie Mellon School of Music evolved from a hackathon organized by his son, Wole Idowu, Carnegie Mellon University graduate and founder of the student organization, Toyz Nation Gaming League (TNGL).
TNGL is hosting an upcoming event this November 10-12, TNGL Presents: #HackHarassment, a Creati-con where the benefits of the Da Great Deity Dah-Carnegie Mellon School of Music partnership will continue. Their collaboration began during a hackathon last spring, similar to a jam session but with a focus on solving problems. The issue of bullying, harassment, and abuse is a serious one in society. Through music, people from different backgrounds can collaborate to create compositions resulting in art that has a tremendous impact on society.
The vision of the spring project was to gather students from Riccardo Schulz’s class along with musicians from the School of Music and over the course of a weekend, compose music then have Deity Dah and his production partner, Moods and Vibrations, arrange the compositions and at another hackathon, record the vocals over the course of another weekend. Eleven songs were composed at the direction of Da Great Deity Dah and assisted by Dawoud Shahidu of their affiliated hip-hop group, The 5 Bros MC’s, giving direction to the musicians. It was a massive undertaking, with limited time to work and a lot of music to compose, but everything came together splendidly.
Riccardo Schulz, Teaching Professor at the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University and recording engineer, said of the process, “It was an amazing experience to work with Deity Dah and his team in recording the tracks for his latest CD in the Vlahakis Recording Studio at Carnegie Mellon. Just as amazing were the Carnegie Mellon students from the School of Music and many other academic areas who devoted their time and talent to making this recording – both as engineers and musicians. Every student who was involved rated this as one of the best recording projects they have ever worked on.”
The partnership is historic in its scope and reach and through future events, will expand. Of the partnership Da Great Deity Dah states, “It’s the greatest honor of my life to be able to work with a next generation of great musicians in the early stages of their careers, addressing such a huge societal issue and involving other students and departments in the process shows the power of collaboration and is a testament to [the]great academic environment Carnegie Mellon University fosters.”
Wole Idowu was selected by Intel as one of four students at prestigious universities nationwide to represent Carnegie Mellon as its #HackHarassment ambassador. These hackathons were his initiative to address the issues of online harassment, bullying, and abuse. “Stop the Bullying,” the centerpiece song from the recording sessions, covers these issues and underlying ones with depth and insight that is typical of Deity Dah’s lyrics. The project allowed him to flex his songwriting muscles and work with uber-talented student and musician, Abby Adams, who sang and played violin on the project.
At the upcoming TNGL #HackHarassment event, the artwork from the music project will be converted into a robot! Students will also remix “Stop the Bullying,” make apps and games, create 3D designs of Da Great Deity Dah robot, and use Intel RealSense cameras to create emotion detection software to address harassment.
The Electromagnetic Field General: The Carnegie Mellon Sessions is now released on multiple formats: CD, limited edition colored vinyl, action figure USB, and virtually all streaming and digital platforms including, YouTube Red, iTunes, Amazon, Google Music, Spotify, Pandora, and many more worldwide. Da Great Deity Dah already took two global campaigns in support of this project with stops in cities such as Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Paris, London, and Zurich to name a few. Music from the project was played at the introductory press conference for the largest technology conference in Europe, the IFA.
The limited edition vinyl of The Electromagnetic Field General: The Carnegie Mellon Sessions can be purchased here for $35. “Stop the Bullying” is available on iTunes here and can be heard on Spotify here and on YouTube here. “Stop the Bullying” song lyrics attached.
Event: TNGL Presents: #HackHarassment, a Creati-con
Go to https://thebridge.cmu.edu/event/1624714 for more information. Date & Time: Friday, November 10, 2017 at 6:00 PM EST through Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 3:00PM EST
Location: Carnegie Mellon University
Hunt Library Studio A
4909 Frew Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Atlanta’s own Lil Donald has been buzzing in the city for a long time. Now gracing the cover of Issue 27 we had the opportunity to dig deeper into his life and music with the recent release of his mixtape Trapmatized with his partner JMayz. As always we continue to introduce you to the industries next contenders.
This issue also features Born, Smiles Official, Real Gutta Music, J-Swift, Yung Mazi, Handsome Balla, Howard from Sons of Kingston web series, J Mason, Visual Medicine (Laikyra B), Taya Bailey and Clay James.
Brooklyn Artist/Battle rapper Cortez has been Grynding hard for years. Coming from nothing he has used music as a way to tell his story and battling as a way to fuel his hunger. His battle’s on youtube are viewed from 200,000 to 2 Million times daily and with a new project out, its only right that we put his hard work in the fore front of The Grynd Report. Take a look at issue 26 Cortez edition featuring interviews from artist that are next up and jems to navigate you through the industry.
Smiles Official partners with Music Industry Vet, Bigga Rankin, to launch a new campaign for his hit single “I Got A Bag.” In this single, Smiles Official gives listeners a vivid description of his daily life, the struggles, and the come ups. His new mixtape is schedule to release August 11 this year brought to you by Streets Enterprise Entertainment.
Quincy “Big Heff” Taylor and Brian “Essince” Collins are two self-made music and media figures who have come together to share their experiences working with multi-platinum musicians, major record labels, and booking international tours to educate readers on how to Make It in the Midwest. Learn the basics of copyrights and royalties to advanced strategies on booking tours and generating income in the music industry from the Midwest all over the world and back. Quincy Taylor got his start promoting major artists in the early 2000’s and has since promoted some of the industry’s best with the iconic Def Jam Records. His street team, event and promotion acumen pair perfectly with Collins’ understanding of international tour booking and media facets of the music industry for a fun and knowledgeable look into the urban music industry.
Hailing from Bozeman, Montana, Purple Erkel is an upcoming producer that
brings a refreshing sound to the music industry. At a young age, Purple
knew that music was his passion. “As long as I can remember back, music is
the one thing in my life that is completely constant. Everything else
comes and goes, fades in and out except my love for music. Ever since I
was little I’ve been obsessed with making music. I remember back in grade
school getting sent to the principal’s office several times for what I
called a desk drum set.” He recalls.
Inspired by the likes of Biggie, Tupac, Rage Against The Machine, Purple
Erkel incorporates his wide musical taste into his music. Purple Erkel is
one of those producers you can recognize from the jump—he utilizes a
unique collection of sounds that is both muted and aggressive. “I also
have a really creative usage of sound. My creative usage of sound makes
people ask stuff like did I just hear a bird chirp or where you get that
fog horn? I also tweak most of my instruments into my own custom style
that makes it more unique.” He explains. He brings innovation and color to
the rap game. Purple Erkel’s ear and versatility know no bounds, and
because of that his future looks bright.
