Interview on Anansi Reads Podcast

 Was able to recently do a podcast interview on April 2nd on AnchorFm.  Shout out to my brother Aaron Huff, aka Bilal Al'amin for having me on his podcast, "Anansi Reads"!!  You can listen to the interview here:

https://anchor.fm/aaron-huff7?fbclid=IwAR1x58o2gHyiID86g7Opya06jnnbG3TBhBOH_0w0ViW5PcgZ_oABzTILLnE

Please subscribe to the brother's podcast.  It is also available on Spotify.  Help to spread the word!!!  Also, please support my books, and buy/download copies of them!!!

Keep the fist raised!!!

Uhuru sasa, y paz

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind

APRIL RADIO INTERVIEW On DOCK RADIO!!!!! :-D

It's finally been confirmed!!!  I will officially be a guest on OnShore, a radio show on Dock Radio, courtesy of The Dock Bookshop, based in Ft. Worth, TX!!!  YAAAAAAY!!!!

The interview will be taking place on April 16, 2020 at 7pm (Central Time).  The call-in number is listed on the flyer at 972-427-7795.  Hope that you all tune in!!!  I'm really excited about this!!!  I have to admit...it has been a while since I've been able to do any active promotion of any of my literary work(s).  I'm really looking forward to this interview.  We'll be discussion my latest two releases, as well as my writing career spanning the last decade.

I've been getting a few downloads for my books.  Not as many as I would like, but it is something.  Haven't checked for any recent sales (yet), but at least I've gotten a few downloads.  Hey...it's something.  If you can't get a physical copy, at least my work(s) are available in eBook format.

Wish me luck on the interview!!!  I hope that you all tune in!!  SPREAD THE WORD!!!!!

Keep the fist raised!!!

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind

August News....

Peace, folks!  Yeah, I know....it's been a hot minute since I posted a blog.  My apologies.  The day job has been dominating my time as of late.  But now, I'm back with the latest news.

First off....it's the 4 year publishing anniversary for my poetry eBook "Spittin' Lyrics N Waxin' Poetic" (Draft2Digital, 2015).  Can't believe that it's been fours years since I published that particular book, my first eBook only project.  Sales haven't been impressive at all, but I'm proud of publishing it nonetheless.

It's the birth month for both of my parents.  Their birthdays (not to mention, their wedding anniversary) are in the same week & month. Feeling a little sad about that, as my mother is no longer here among the living.  That's gotta be hard on my pops.  Happy birthday, dad!!!

I FINALLY got around to shooting the pilot episode of "The Rough Draft".  It is now available on Youtube.  You can view it through the link here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyfPsiWOXmA&feature=youtu.be

Hope that you enjoy the video!!!  I apologize for the poor sound quality, as I didn't realize that I was mumbling when I was talking.   I was tired when I'd shot the episode; that's what I get for shooting an episode after work.  I should've waited for one of my days off, but I was working multiple days that week, I just wanted to get the shit done.  I can hear my communications professors screaming in my ears about the "5 Ps"...  (Proper Planning Prevents Poor Productions).

On the Universal Africana Literary Arts Movement front, I've finally compiled the preliminary Schedule of Events (SoE) list, and emailed it out.  I still have some November events that should be added, but I need the info to do that, and the outlets haven't posted any updates to their websites.  Oh well....I do what I can.

Time Will Reveal (2020) is DONE!!!  The cover art is finished, and the book is ready.  I just need to figure out when I'm going to actually publish the book next year. I haven't picked a date, yet.  If you guys have any suggestions, feel free to let me know when you'd like ot see it come out.

Other than that,  I'm just trying to figure out a strategy for the upcoming fall, to finish out the year on a strong note.  I wouldn't mind doing some vending, or a few public readings of my latest book.  The promotions for my books have been lacking as of late, an unfortunate consequence of a having a day job with an inconsistent schedule.  Weekends are out, and my days off aren't always consistent; not to mention, my days off always fall on weekdays.  Oh well, I'll figure something out....

That's it for me, right now.  Hope to be a little more consistent with my blog posts.  if not, I might just do more videos, and post the links for them here.

Keep the fist raised, my peoples.....

Novel Reading, and Author Q&A!!!

GREAT NEWS!!!!  :-)

I have teamed up with a local organization called The People's Voice Mid-Atlantic, and am organizing a reading of my latest novel "Fiesta Girl" (Draft2Digital, 2018)!!!

Come one, come all!!!  The reading & Q&A will be held on Saturday, August 18th, from 2pm to 6pm.  The location is at Umoja House, 751 S. Maryland Avenue (corner of S. Maryland Ave & Oak Street) Wilmington, DE 19805.  The event is FREE, and open to the public.  If you're in Wilmington DE, please come through!!

I'm pretty excited.  This is my first literary event since moving here to Delaware almost a year and a half ago.  I'm finally getting the chance to gain some exposure, and build up a local fan base.

If you're in town by then, PLEASE come through!!  Help to spread the word!!!

Uhuru sase, y paz!

The Day Job Grind: #TheTransplantChronicles5

SO.....my first week back working has been interesting.  Basically, I'm just getting used to the job, and learning all of the work procedures.  Being the fact that I'm an assistant manager, there's also a lot of responsibility that comes with it.  My TM (training manager) is pretty good; she's teaching me a lot, and I'm starting to get the hang of some of the responsibilities.  She's a bootyful island gyal from St. Kitts, so when she's not looking, I'm busy ogling her from behind.  Not trying to get myself fired, but a brother has needs, and she's great to look at.  ;-)

Right now, I'm just getting used to waking up early, and being active, again.  The job responsibilities can be a bit overwhelming, but I think that I'll be able to get used to it, in time.  I just need to relax a little, and not try to be perfect, all of the time.  Then again, this is MONEY that we're dealing with, and I'm not trying to get my ass fired.  I need the money, and I'm trying to get back on my feet, and get back out on my own.

Some of the customers are cool, others are just ignorant and ratchet.  It takes A LOT of self control to keep from saying something out of your mouth.  This IS low end retail, after all.  We actually have a pretty good staff working at the store that I'm training at, so you can't blame it on poor customer service.  Some of these niccas and PWTs just don't know how to act in public.  Of course, if you curse them out, and/or threaten to fight with them in the parking lot, they wanna call the cops, or senior management on your ass, smdh...

My first week is almost in the books.  I go in today and learn how to close the store.  For most of this week, I've been learning the procedures to open the store.  I have one more week of training, then I get to start working a regular shift at my regular store location.

IN OTHER NEWS.....
Next week is the last week of the 1-year publishing anniversary for my book "Drum Speaking: Tales From An Inner City Griot" (CreateSpace, 2016).  Please continue to help to support this project by purchasing a copy in paperback format, or download the eBook version.

I'll be publishing my latest book project and novel "Seductra: Web of Desire" within the next two weeks.  I'm shooting for the first week of May, depending on my work schedule.  I'm hoping to make it available in both paperback and eBook format; it all depends on when the publishers deliver the finished product.  It will definitely be published next month.  Of course, I will post about it here, so that you can all see what the cover looks like, and provide a link to the book, if possible.

That's all for now.

Uhuru sase, y paz.  Keep the fist raised!!!   

Upcoming TV Interview

It's finally been confirmed.  I will be appearing on the local access television show called "Cultural Caravan".  I will be shooting my episode this coming Saturday, the 29th.  Hopefully, it will be airing the following weekend.  The show airs out here in NYC on WNYC Ch. 25-1.  I believe that they also rebroadcast on cable access out here on Cablevision Ch. 68.  I don't know any of the other channels that they broadcast out here on cable, just that they are also on Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and I believe RCN.  On WNYC Ch. 25-1 they air every Sunday at 5:30pm.

I will be appearing on the show talking about my first two books "Raise Your Brown Black Fist", and talking about Afro Latino issues and affairs.  Really looking forward to this interview; hopefully, it's the start to better things in my life.  I've been reaching out to many of the media outlets here since my return, and I finally got a callback.

Wish me luck!!!!  I'll post back here when I get the exact air date for the interview.

Stay tuned!!!  :-D

Afro-Latinas In Entrepreneurship event 2016

Representing for mi hermana Janel Martinez from Ain't I Latina.com!!!  In coordination with PUNTO Space, they will be holding their panel discussion event Afro-Latinas In Entrepreneurship.  Mark your calendars, and please come through.  For more information, check out Aint' I Latina.com, or PUNTO Space's website.

Afro-Latinas In Entrepreneurship
September 22, 2016
PUNTO Space
325 W. 38th Street,
New York, NY
6:30pm

BE THERE!!!!!!

Afro Latino Festival NYC 2015

Proud to announce the THIRD annual Afro Latino Festival NYC, to be held in BROOKLYN, and various other parts of the city.  The event has been expanded the THREE days this year, from July 10th through July 12th.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!! 

BE THERE!!!!!!

La Galeria Magazine event: Negritud/Blackness in the Dominican Republic and the Diaspora

La Galeria Magazine presents:

"Negritud/Blackness in the Dominican Republic and the Diaspora"
February 26, 2015
WordUp Community BookShop/Libreria Communidad
2113 Amsterdam Avenue (Corner of 165th Street)
New York, NY
From: 7pm-8:30pm

The event is FREE, open to the public, and easily accessible by public transportation.

Jadele McPherson a/k/a Lukumi Arts performing at Zinc Bar!!!!

Representing para mi hermana Jadele McPherson, a/k/a Lukumi Arts

Press Release, 1/22/2015:
New Dimensions in Latin Jazz & Zinc Bar present the newest wave of innovative Cuban music with a residency for the young AfroCuban vocalist/songwriter Jadele and her all-star band, Afrocubanismo on Fridays in February.

Gifted with the most powerful voice in Latin music since Celia Cruz, Jadele, a seasoned performer of AfroCuban ritual and sacred music, creates a gorgeous, sui generis musical landscape that incorporates the chants and rhythms of Cuba's Yoruba heritage with her original compositions. Her band - jazz sophisticates who are steeped in all the traditions of Cuban music - are up to the task.

Our set invokes an Afro-Cuban ritual cycle, beginning with Palo Monte Mayombe to honor ancestral routes of the African Diaspora to New York. We'll explore this legacy through Afro-Cuban folklore, jazz, hip-hop, blues, son & bolero. Join us in call & response to traditional and original music dedicated to the orishas, composed & arranged by Dayramir Gonzalez/DG Vicet (Havana, Cuba) & Jadele McPherson (New York, NY).

Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY 10012
Showtime: 8pm; $15 admission

Dates: Feb 6th, Feb 14th, Feb 20th, and Feb 27th

Here is the Facebook link to the event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1533674363573189/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

BE THERE!!!!!

The Consortium of Afro Latino Communities: Joint Literary Event

A joint Reading, Discussion, & Book Signing event, these three Afro Latino authors have banded together to help spread the messages about their literary works, and about Afro Latino issues and affairs.  A belated Latino Heritage Month event,  this literary event is FREE, open to the public, and easily accessible by public transportation.

The Consortium of Afro Latino Communities
Reading, Discussion, & Book Signing
Metropolitan Recreation Center
261 Bedford Aveneue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
October 18, 2014
2pm to 5pm

Featuring;
Clarissa Mendez; authoress, Life Coach
Kevin Sabio; author/activist
Robert Oriyama'at; author/poet/activist

Pueblo Harlem: Latino Heritage Month Event

Afro Latin Jazz Alliance and Harlem School of Arts presents...

Pubelo Harlem!!!
Saturday, September 20, 2014
645 St. Nicholas Avenue
11am-6pm

FREE and open to the public!!!!

Poetics of Reparations--Featuring Monica Carrillo

Poetry, film screening, and music
Featuring the work(s) of Monica Carrillo aka "Oru":
The screening of her film "Afroperuanos", as well as the performance of her poetry.
Music played by Martin Fuks

Sunday, September 7th
5pm to 7pm

187 Prospect Place
Brooklyn, NY
$5 suggested donation

RSVP today!!!
 http://www.martinfuks.com/rsvpmaker/poetics-of-reparation/

Abdias Nascimento Series: Political Resistance, Art, and the Sacred

Continuing the series on the influence of Abdias Nascimento, brought to you by the Afrolatin@ Project/Proyecto Afrolatin@ and the Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute (CCCDAI), this latest discussion will be held:

June 13, 2104
Aaron Davis Hall/ City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
6:30pm to 8:30pm

FREE and open to the public

Celebration of Arturo Alfonso Schomberg & Afro-Puerto Rican Pride

Representing for my peoples as the Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), and the Afrolatin@ Project!!!  Please come out and support!!!!

Celebration of Arturo Alfonso Schomberg & Afro-Puerto Rican Pride
June 7, 2014,   12pm to 6pm

Schomber Center for Research and Learning
515 Malcolm X Boulevard
New York, NY

Raise Your Brown Black Fist: The Radio Interview II

For all my followers out there,  I will be interviewed on internet radio station "Harambee Radio" on Thursday, May 15th at 8pm.  I will be interviewed by my good friend, author Rom Wills.  I will be talking about my book(s), my activism, the Afro Latino experience, and the African Diaspora in general.  Hope that you all tune in and support!!!

www.harambeeradio.com

Harambee Radio
May 15, 2014
8pm air time.

Two Nations, One Island

Tuesday, March 13, 2014
12pm to 2pm
City College of New York (CCNY)
New York, NY

PLEASE SUPPORT!!!!

The Afrolatin@ Project/El Proyecto Afrolatin@ Black History Month events!!!

Representing for my peoples at The Afrolatin@ Project!!!  Mark your calendars!!!

Tuesday February 18, 2014
6pm-8pm (reception from 8-8:30pm)

FREE!!!

Afro Puerto Rican Poet Not4Prophet appearing in Baltimore January 24th

Not4Prophet: Last of the Po’ Ricans y Otros Afro-Artifacts

Friday January 24, 7:30PM @ Red Emma's

With wrenching immediacy, not4Prophet’s debut collection, LAST OF THE PO’RICANS Y OTRAS AFRO-ARTIFACTS, provides an incredible verbal and musical profusion of poetry that reflects the cultural landscapes of the perpetual islands of Puerto Rican and New York City through the eyes of a Puerto Rican born in Ponce, living in El Barrio, Brooklyn and the Bronx. As he elaborates this “otherness,” which includes the hassles of poverty, racial pride and racial discord, Not4Prophet pays homage to the old school cats from the Nuyorican and Black Arts movements. Written in free verse and layered with cultural and historical references, LAST OF THE PO’RICANS breaks boundaries and challenges us with iconic imagery and word play that dares to speak of the unspeakable.

About Not4Prophet:

NOT4PROPHET was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and raised in East Harlem and the South Bronx in New York City. He is a community activist, underground-Hip Hop MC, street-soul-slinger or singer of sorts, graffiti writer/vandal, off-peak-hours actor and last but never least, a poor (mans) poet and barrio bard.

When not4Prophet read Piri Thomas’ Down These Mean Streets at ten years old, he was encouraged and inspired to read other old school writers from the Nuyorican Poets Movement. In time, he began scratching out his own “puerto-poems” on napkins, toilet paper, and whatever else was handy and wasn’t a wall or anyone’s particular private property.

not4Prophet has released several indie music cds, two self-published poetry chapbooks, and his work has been featured in a few books and magazines as well. He currently teaches “resistance writing” to those identified as homeless folks at the Homeless Organizing Academy located in the South Bronx section of New York City.

Red Emma's Bookstore

30 W. North Avenue

Baltimore, Md

Friday, January 24, 2014,  7:30pm

The Consortium of Afro Latino Communities: Black History Month 2014

The Universal Negro Improvement Association, in association with the Baltimore City Community College History Club,

Presents....

The Consortium of Afro Latino Communities
Lecture, Panel Discussion, & Book Signing

An educational and politically cultural event, The Consortium aims to highlight, promote, and expose the African roots and heritage of Latino people and culture.  The event will comprise of a Powerpoint lecture, brief panel discussion, and a book signing by participating authors.  Part of the UNIA's Centennial celebrations (1914-2014), this event is meant to help bridge the gap between the two communities, and get us to work and interact with our diasporic brothers and sisters.

The event will be held on Friday, February 7th, from 6pm to 8pm.  It is FREE and OPEN to the public, and is accessible by public transportation.

Baltimore City Community College-Liberty Campus
Gaare Auditorium, Nursing Building
2901 Liberty Heights Avenue