4/6 Event: Art. Love. Music. in Brooklyn!

On Sunday, April 6th I hosted Word Canvas presents Art. Love. Music. at Brooklyn's Rustik Tavern.  The event featured DuEwa Frazier (poet/performer), Rakiem Walker Project, Cheryl Boyce Taylor, Qurrat Kadwani, Radha MUSprime and Tai Allen.

I was so excited about this event!  I have been performing, writing poetry and hosting my own signature events since 2002.  I founded Word Canvas in 2005, as a brand of performance events featuring musicians, poets and actors.  I take great pride and pleasure in curating events, bringing artists together and watching them come off without a hitch!   It was great to have a spring show with talented artists.

DuEwa & Rakiem Walker @ Art. Love. Music.

Cheryl Boyce Taylor is a notable poet and author who I've come to know and cherish, through her event series the Glitter Poemegranate Series.  I love when she performs with her Trini accent.  Her poems are smooth and bring back memories you wish you had about living in the Caribbean.  Cheryl is the mother of Tribe Called Quest member Phife Dawg, so she is truly a legend and has influenced hip hop in a major way.  And one day I will take her Zuhitsu Writing Workshop in Brooklyn!

 Poet, Cheryl Boyce Taylor

I met Qurrat Kadwani some years ago when we worked for the same company; I had no idea she was an award winning actress until we connected recently on Facebook!  She is quite talented!  Qurrat has received much acclaim for her one woman show "The Call Me Q!" She is raw, beautiful and oh so talented.  The monologues she performed at Art. Love. Music. were awe inspiring.  Just watching her transform was a real treat.  Tai Allen is such a soulful singer and poet.  He really conjured the spirit of Gil Scott Heron during his performance.

Rakiem Walker is so versatile as a sax player and he brought his trio, and they brought us jazz, funk and hip hop! I have known Rakiem for years and it's always a blast working with him.  Last time we collaborated in 2010 for Word Canvas Soul, I sang Jill's Scotts "A Long Walk" and we really had a good time with it.  It was so much fun for me to collaborate with Rakiem and his band again.  They backed me for my brief rendition of Prince's "She's Always in My Hair" and an even shorter piece of me singing Taylor Swift's "Trouble" that I paired with a poem I wrote titled, "Trouble."  My set was pretty cathartic for me as an artist.  I had the pleasure of seeing Radha MUSprime perform at Imagenation's Belletrix Exhibit in Harlem last month.  She is an MC, lyricist and truly a creative genuis as a writer. This sister is fire!! She gave us a whole set of her new performance show "The 40-year old Version" and I can't wait to check her out on April 22nd when she features at Joe's Pub.

I wanted to have an open mic segment, but we started a bit late so there was no time for it.  But next time for sure! 
Follow DuEwa on Twitter @duewafrazier1

Brooklyn Book Party!: Saving Baby Doe by Danette Vigilante

Brooklyn Book Party!

Last month, children's author Danette Vigilante held a book release party for her second young adult novel, Saving Baby Doe.  Friends, family and community members were in attendance for Danette's reading and book signing at BookCourt, a friendly community bookstore located in Brooklyn.  Danette's first book, The Trouble with Half a Moon received wide acclaim.  Check out photos from Danette's book party! 

Supporters at the signing!

Danette signing books!

 

 Me with Danette and a young reader!

This book party would not have been complete without 

these cutie pie Saving Baby Doe cupcakes!

 

 Saving Baby Doe (Putnam Juvenile, March 2014)

Children's Author, Danette Vigilante

About Saving Baby Doe
Lionel and Anisa are the best of friends and have seen each other through some pretty tough times--Anisa's dad died and Lionel's dad  left, which is like a death for Lionel. They stick together no matter what. So when Lionel suggests a detour through a local construction site on their way home, Anisa doesn't say no.

And that's where Lionel and Anisa make a startling discovery--a baby abandoned in a port-o-potty. Anisa and Lionel spring into action. And in saving Baby Doe, they end up saving so much more.

Danette Vigilante crafts an accessible, heartfelt and much needed story for the middle grade market featuring Latino characters.

New Book: Difficult Fruit by Lauren K. Alleyne

 Lauryn K. Alleyne (photo: Rachel Eliza Griffiths)

Poet, Lauryn K. Alleyne's new book Difficult Fruit (February 2014), is the author's debut book!  Lauryn will be featured at the upcoming BOCAS Literary Festival, Trinidad and Tobago April 23rd - 28th.  Visit her website for more information.