Search Artz of Culturez

Friday, January 30, 2015

Emerging Artist: Doug Seegers




Doug Seegers never gave up on his love for music. At the age of 16, Seegers had a dream of becoming a country singer. People told him it would never happen but he kept strumming his guitar. At 62, Seegers finally got the break he had been trying so hard to get.  


I first heard of Seegers’ story on WNYC’s Morning Edition via NPR. Seeger was homeless and living on the streets of Nashville, Tenn. Jill Johnson, a singer from Sweden was in town shooting a segment for her TV show about “down-and-out musicians,” and discovered Seegers. She found Seeger playing his guitar and singing his song near a food pantry where he usually sets up shop.



After Johnson heard his heartfelt, soulful lyrics, she and Seegers headed to the studio to record his song for her show. Days later, his song – Going Down to the River, rose to the No.1 spot on Swedish iTunes. (See Seegers’ full story: Homeless in Nashville, Huge in Sweden

October 2014, Seegers released his debut album, Going Down to the River. If you appreciate country music like I do then I suggest you buy his album, which you can purchase on iTunes

Seegers’ story of not giving up speaks volumes. It’s a constant reminder to hold on to your dreams. I hope you’re holding on to yours. 

Related Stories


Thursday, January 29, 2015

#Whitney Review


Whitney Houston's debut album: Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston’s powerful voice came into my world when I was a young girl. My childhood friend, Sean Porter, gifted me with the cassette tape to her debut album, Whitney Houston, when we were in elementary school. I studied that tape like it was a classroom subject. I knew every word, every pause and every beat to every track… and I still do. It goes without saying I was a huge fan of the late singer, who passed nearly three years ago on Feb. 11, 2012.

When I first got wind that Angela Bassett was going to make her directorial debut by directing the biopic of Whitney, I was a bit hesitant of tuning in. My curiosity got the best of me and I tuned into Lifetime on Demand and watched. I was disappointed. 

Why would the movie start with Bobby Brown? Why not start the movie off with Whitney’s childhood in Newark, N.J. and highlight her time singing in the choir? Why not share how she almost lost her ability to sing because of a wire hanger that almost destroyed her vocal chords? What about how she got passed over for best new artist because she already did a track with Teddy Pendergrass in the early 1980s? And what about who introduced her to drugs? We all know it wasn’t Bobby Brown like the media speculated.

The love story of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston was done well. Bassett got me hooked on the dynamics of the duo's love story. For a moment, Yaya DeCosta, had me believing I was watching Whitney in the flesh. “Bobbieeee!” 

Arlen Escarpeta's performance of Bad Boy Bobby Brown pulled me in a different direction. Escarpeta played a sweet, charming and romantic gentleman. However, I remembered the coverage of Brown’s behavior as being extremely repulsive.  

Maybe the press and paparazzi actually did get Bobby’s personality wrong after all. ... It's their prerogative, they can do what they want to do. Right?

I would have liked to have seen behind the scenes of the 20/20 special with Whitney that aired in 2002. You know the one I’m talking about. The interview that sparked the infamous quote which circled around the airwaves for years, “First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. OK? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is whack.” (Here's the interview.)

Do you remember the reality show, Being Bobby Brown? Some of you probably didn’t even know there was a reality show. Well Whitney really played her role for the cameras. “Bobbieeee!” I actually renamed it Whitney & Bobbie.

To be honest, I was hoping to see how Whitney coped after the
reality show, the breakup and being a mother. Speaking of motherhood, where was the part of Bobbi Kristina in the movie!? 

OK, so I know that I can’t expect to get everything in a Lifetime movie, but I still felt cheated. From what I understand, the Houston family didn’t give their blessings for the biopic anyway. So why do it in the first place?

Could it be that the movie went into production too soon after Whitney’s death? It hasn't even been a solid three years since she's been laid to rest. Why the rush to get it out? Couldn’t Angela Bassett team up with another director to create a well-thought out movie? 

This movie of my favorite singer of all time left me with nothing but a bunch of questions. I guess I’ll just have to wait to see what Whitney Pt.2 will bring. Wait ... is there really going to be a second part to #Whitney?

What did you think of the Whitney movie? Leave your comments below or e-mail your views to TCsViews@gmail.com. 

– @TCsViews

Keep up with what you missed by signing up for Arts + Cultures Weekly Recap


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Things I Tell My Black Son - Pt. 2

What Do We Tell Our Black Sons Now?


Charles M. Blow
On Jan. 24, 2015, another Black young man in America was accosted by a police officer. This time it was the son of New York Times columnist and author of the moving memoir, Fire Shot Up in my Bones, Charles M. Blow.

I first heard of the news on Twitter after Blow sent out tweets expressing his anger and frustration. He then gave a detailed description of what took place in The Opinion Pages of The New York Times. (See: Library Visit, Then Held at Gunpoint - Charles Blow: At Yale, the Police Detained My Son)


Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Kudos to Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley Receives Medal of Arts Award


Washington, D.C./Los Angeles

Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley is still making noise in the art world. On Jan. 21, 2015, Wiley received the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts award. 

Secretary of State, John Kerry, handed out the award to Wiley, and six other artists, during a luncheon ceremony in the department’s Benjamin Franklin Room in Washington, D.C.

The Department of State’s office of Art in Embassies honored Wiley, Xu Bing, Mark Bradford, Sam Gilliam, Maya Lin, Julie Mehretu and Pedro Reyes for their “commitment and contributions to the Art in Embassies program and international cultural exchange. 

Signup for Arts + Cultures Recap

I'm aware that everyone doesn't have time to visit their favorite blogs everyday. So, I thought it would be ideal to give, you the reader, an option to get what you've missed in one dose in a weekly newsletter! 

Now you can keep up with Arts of Cultures by signing up for "Arts + Cultures Recap." You'll get blog posts that you missed the week before, some stories from the archives, and personal thoughts of trending stories that I didn't cover. 

When you sign up, "Arts + Cultures Recap" will be sent to your inbox every Sunday by noon. I don't have time for spam nor do I send them.

There's nothing to think about, just signup for Arts + Cultures Recap right here, right now

Thanks for tuning in,

–– @TCsViews

Monday, January 19, 2015

Money Method: 6 Reasons to File Your Taxes Early

If you haven’t noticed, tax season is upon us. Again. 


H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt and Turbo Tax commercials have already started appearing during primetime shows. And in a few more months reminders will start popping up in our social media news feeds reminding us to get our refunds, or in some peoples case, pay Uncle Sam. 


One of the lessons I’ve learned in my adult life is not to procrastinate when it comes to filing my taxes. Yes, the Internal Revenue Services gives us until April 15th to get all of our documents in order but we don’t have to wait until the very last minute.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Staying on Task in 2015

By now you've probably already broken several of your #ResolutionsFor2015. Of course people aren't going to admit their failures on social media and create a hashtag for their broken resolutions ... why should they?

There's still hope to keep the remainder of your resolutions for 2015 in tact. On New Years Day Twitter was flooded with tons of advice on how to keep those annual promises to yourself. DuomoInitiative.com had a resolution tweet that linked to their YouTube channel which caught my attention. The following video may help you stick to your 2015 plans. 




Do you have a strategic plan on how to keep your resolutions for 2015? Tweet me @TCsViews or email me at TCsViews@gmail.com.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Resolution For 2015: Keep it to Yourself

Another new year has begun and it’s time to make a list of #ResolutionsFor2015. People are already posting their ‘New Year, New Me’ plans on social media for everyone to see and to approve. 

Most hope that their followers will click on the little blue thumb, tap on the post twice to get that little heart to turn red, while others are watching how many golden stars they’ll get on their plans for the new year. 

There’s a lot of pressure to keep your #ResolutionsFor2015, especially when you let the whole world know that you plan to:

Weekly E-Letter

There's nothing to think about, just signup for Arts + Cultures Recap right here, right now.