January, 2010

Pharrell gave a keynote speech at Midem with co-CEO of Cornerstone, Rob Stone. The interview praised Pharell on being Billboard’s Producer of the decade, a title that was given to Quincy Jones in the 80′s and Dr. Dre in the 90′s. Then it got into how Mr.Skateboard P makes money outside of the music industry and what it takes to maintain his status as a great producer.

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DON’T MISS OUT ON THE BIGGEST EVENT FOR 2010!!! -LIVE PERFORMANCES -FREE MIXTAPE - SELLING COMPLEX CLOTHING (BONUS – HANDING FREE CLOTHING OUT) - MEET THE CREATORS

ENTRY $10 7:30PM-1:30AM

COFFEE CAVE 45 HALSEY STREET NEWARK, NJ

WWW.COMPLEXCLOTHING.BLOGSPOT.COM – MORE INFO… http://www.myspace.com/envythex

EMAIL: MARCUS MAYO – CARMELOKOBE@YAHOO.COM

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Text donations have hit prime time. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on the evening of Jan. 12, Americans were texting their support big-time. In less than 48 hours, donations to the American Red Cross—made by texting HAITI to 90999—had reached $5 million, and donations were reported to be coming in at a rate of $200,000 per hour. That’s more than 12 times the amount that donors had sent by text in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Each HAITI text provides $10 to the organization. The charge is added to the donor’s phone bill.

With money still pouring in—and without even accounting for additional funds texted through campaigns by Yéle, Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean’s foundation (text YELE to 501501); Doctors Without Borders (DOB to 90999); the Clinton Foundation’s Haiti Relief Fund (HAITI to 20222); and others—those mobile donations had already surpassed texted monies for all causes in all of 2009. Among the likely reasons for the outpouring is the near-ubiquity of text-capable phones and the expansive social networks that have allowed the donation campaign to go viral.

“It is the perfect tool for the Twitter generation,” says Lucy Bernholz, president of Blueprint Research & Design, a consulting firm for philanthropic institutions and individuals. After all, text is just about instantaneous and the amount you’re sending, typically $5 or $10, is minimal. “The outpouring of support is great, but people lose interest really quickly,” Bernholz adds. “There is a question of whether this text exacerbates that—that you give your 10 bucks and move on.”

Total Effect Unclear

It’s unclear yet whether the text campaigns will succeed in raising more money overall for Haitian relief efforts by convincing the younger generation to give, or whether the phenomenon represents a shift in the way people give, rather than an expansion of generosity. Another open question is whether individuals who have access to corporate matching contributions—thus doubling the impact of individual donations—will bother to do so with the text donations. (Some corporate matching funds won’t match donations under a certain amount.) “We don’t have benchmarks for this yet,” says Katherina Rosqueta, executive director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania. “The power is in the scale.”

For those who want to donate to Haiti, the bigger question is not whether to do so by text, online, or phone, but where to give so that your money can do the most good. In a catastrophic situation such as this, Rosqueta notes, the groups that can do the most good are those that can respond immediately, that are already on the ground or can get there quickly, and that have experience in disaster relief.

previously featured by: Amy Feldman

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In response to the devastating 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti earlier this week, many foundations have created simple ways to make a donation to the relief effort via the tech we love. With tech access at your fingertips, you have many different options for making a quick donation toward earthquake relief in Haiti.

Unconvinced that giving is the way to go? See the collateral damage yourself by viewing Google Earth’s before-and-after photos of Port-au-Prince.

Mobile Giving

For a much better use of your unlimited text messages than voting for your faves on American Idol, send a donation instead. Mobile donations provider mGive has teamed up with the American Red Cross and the U.S. State Department to launch a text-message campaign aimed at generating donations. To participate, simply text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross. Your cell phone bill will be directly charged the $10 donation amount.

Musician Wyclef Jean’s grassroots organization Yéle Haiti has initiated a similar text-message campaign: Text “YELE” to 501501 to contribute $5 toward food distribution and emergency relief mobilization. Like a donation under the Red Cross program, a donation through Yéle Haiti will be charged directly to your cell phone bill.

In collaboration with:Leah Yamshon, PCWorld

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ALRIGHT…so I attended “THE LAST SEED” event at the SEED GALLERY the other night in Newark, NJ and had a blast. So many upcoming artists had their work on display. Great to know that there is a venue and a market for them to present their work to the public. So the first two floors were mainly art on canvas and networking. I got so lost in the art I forgot to network but there will be other events for that.

So now let’s get to the music. Now from the jump let me say this I didn’t really like all the artists that performed but who am I to judge someone elses stuff..But the selection of artists were very diverse which is a big plus. It wasnt all rap, there were some acoustic quitar players, club music. Great mix of all different type of people in the SEED Gallery.

 UNFORTUANTELY THE SEED GALLERY IS  CLOSING ITS DOORS. WILL BE MISSED.

Great Sites to Checkout AND BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR:

“DOWN2EARTHPEOPLE”

inkflo.com

hoyotoyo.com

dirtybackpackkrew.blogspot

and us 5portals.com

‘we bringin the culture’

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WTF of the Week: Mr. Lloyd Banks SERIOUSLY..is that G-Unit money train really drying up that much that you had to allegedy assault and rob a  promoter. Hopefully, this isn’t true but I guess thats why 50 says he stack up that bail money for knuckleheads like yourself.  The worst part you just gave Rick Ross some more ammunition to his dying corpse…OH WELL least we know you really from SouthSide.

Lloyd Banks’ attorney Patrick Ducharme, told MTV that his client is expected to be released from an Ontario jail tomorrow morning on $50,000 bail. The Boy Wonder has been detained since Friday after allegedly assaulting and robbery, local promoter Chris Hines inside a hotel room. Ducharme also plans to pursue the case, with Banks entering a not-guilty plea.

Props: RapRadar

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