Mike D’Angelo is taking the DMV by storm. He is a thriving Hip-Hop artist pushing the limits as a community leader and activist and lyrical MC. He recently won “Breakout Artist of the Year,” at the DMV’s Annual Titan Awards, where the winner is based off of a voting system. Mike also recently held a benefit concert for the family of James Anthony Smith, a local teenager killed in SE, Washington, DC over a pair of Jordans, that his mother bought him as an early Christmas present.
Back in August, Dre Black had the pleasure of spending some time with Mike, where they went back to Mike’s childhood neighborhood located in Edgewood NE, Washington, DC. From there they went on what was supposed to be a 15 min interview to a 4 hour day of great footage of Mike in his element.
Watch the he first segment “Humble Beginnings” below:
Discover Blvck Broadway!! A refreshing source to artistic and thought provoking content, lead by the host Akil who draws his listeners by way of teaching, enlightenment, and overall good discussions about the things that affect the Urban culture within the city of Washington, DC. Shedding light on “Black Broadway,” which U. Street was the nation’s Black Broadway, and the heart of African American business and culture in Washington, D.C. Located near Howard University, the U Street neighborhood was home to Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington. Its theaters and clubs hosted some of the great names in American jazz –Cab Calloway, Pearl Bailey, Sarah Vaughn, and Jelly Roll Morton, to name a few.
Make sure you tune in each and every week, as “Blvck Broadway” provides a unique listening experience and have you anticipating the next epidsode.
Unfortunately, on Friday, April 11th, 2014, a genuine, down to earth, fellow artist, lyricist, MC, Father, and friend departed this earth. They say the good die young but also the creative geniuses of the world. His music touched many and inspired a plethora of artists and like minded individuals especially in the Washington, DC area. His kind and humorous demeanor would have you in tears but brought the kind of joy that would make anyone smile. I dedicate this blog post to Claude and to spread his message of peace and consciousness. We must take the time out to uplift and reach out to our fellow brethren who may or may not be going through the struggle. It is our duty to lend helping hands when our loved ones are in need and to continue to support them no matter what!! Sometimes we don’t know the personal battles that people go through, which is why it even more important to wholeheartedly love one another without judgement and pray for one another. For those who didn’t know Claude, check some of his music and links out below. REST IN POWER BROTHER!!
Akil Nadir was a Washington, DC native who spent his teenage years immersed in the city’s burgeoning hip hop scene, popping in and out of street corner ciphers and performing in night clubs in the historic U Street neighborhood. He gained a reputation for being fiery and unpredictable with a work ethic that defied his age. After graduating from Duke Ellington School of the Arts, he attended North Carolina Central University in Durham―classmates with Foreign Exchange members Phonte and Yahzarah―and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English. Soon after graduation he returned to his hometown and discovered his second passion, education. He has been teaching English in DC ever since―eventually earning a Master of Science in Educational Administration―but has never given up on his first love. He has enjoyed some modest popularity over the years as an independent artist, but he remains one of the capital city’s best kept secrets. His style is a healthy combination of bravado, consciousness and humor. It seems like an impossible balancing act, but he pulls it off effortlessly. In the end, it feels like someone crammed all your favorite emcees into one body, taught it to read and then let it loose on the world.
Willow Smith is wise beyond her years. The 11-year-old singer has shared a letter that she wrote to Tupac Shakur years ago. In the handwritten note, she asks the late hip-hop icon to come back because her mother Jada Pinkett-Smith misses him. Jada and Pac had a close relationship, which some believed was more than a friendship.
“Can you come back so mommy and me can be happy?” asks Willow, who will star in a remake of the 1982 musical Annie.
Push author Sapphire (real name: Ramona Lofton) has just sold a sequel novel, The Kid, to Penguin Press, to be published next summer.
According to Publisher’s Marketplace, The Kid focuses on the son of the main character from Push ”as he approaches manhood — alone, brutalized and with the soul of an artist.”
Her first novel, Push, was sold to Vintage at auction for $500,000 in 1995. It was adapted into the award-winning movie “Precious” and led to a supporting actress Academy Award for Mo’Nique and a writing Oscar for Geoffrey Fletcher. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe earned a best actress nomination for her starring role as Precious.
In the end of the first novel, it was revealed Precious, the mother of two children, had AIDS.
Sapphire is also the author of three collections of poetry.
Dre Black So Fresh 