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Leon H. Sullivan Foundation hosting Star Studded 6th Biennial Awards dinner at Kennedy Center in DC

By Phanai Media Group Dated: Aug 27, 2009

Boston Poet Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo to Pay Tribute to Mia Farrow during 2009 Leon H. Sullivan Summit Awards at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: Quincy Jones, Henry Louis Gates and Tyler Perry Also to be Honored.

The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation will host their Sixth Awards Ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art in Washington DC on August 27, 2009. The honorees will be celebrated for their advocacy, humanitarian efforts and contributions to helping the poor and disadvantaged worldwide. The 2009 Honorees are Founder, Wheels to Africa, Winston Duncan; actress/activist, Mia Farrow, scholar and educator, Dr. Henry Louis Gates; composer/musician Herbie Hancock; mobile communications entrepreneur Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim; Grammy-award winning conductor, producer/arranger, Quincy Jones; and actor/producer/playwright, Tyler Perry.

The program will also include a special performance poetry and song tribute presented by Nigerian poet and vocalist Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo to Mia Farrow who has stood at the forefront of advocacy for the underprivileged in Africa for years working tirelessly to raise awareness and funds for children in those afflicted areas.

“The poem I will present testifies to the journey of awareness and action that occurs when leaders in our worldwide community armed with resources, heart and a voice choose to allow themselves to be inspired enough to speak out about conflicted and developing regions in Africa,” offers Iyeoka. “All of these honorees have that in common and I am honored to celebrate them at the Award Ceremony.”

Like Ms. Farrow, Iyeoka uses her position in the spotlight to work for positive social change. As official spokesperson for the Amenawon foundation, a non profit focusing on projects in smaller villages that often fly under the radar of international resource pools, Iyeoka uses her inspiring poetic abilities to raise awareness of global public health issues and speaks out on how these challenges resonate in the lives of rural villagers in Nigeria.

Iyeoka Okoawo, Mia Farrow and Francis Phan at the 2009 Sullivan Awards Kennedy Center

The honorees will be celebrated Thursday, August 27, 2009 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (reception 6:30 p.m.; program 8:00 p.m.). Among many event highlights; Ambassador Andrew Young (the Chairman of the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation) will pay a tribute to His Excellency Mwai Kibaki, President of The Republic of Kenya.

“We will always portray the best of Africa and bring the majesty of the continent to her lost sons and daughters,” said Hope Masters, President and CEO of the Sullivan Foundation. “We are bringing the finest elements of Africa for everyone to enjoy; we are going to honor amazing people who contribute to making the world better.”

The evening also serves as a platform to showcase the Ninth Leon H. Sullivan Summit (The Summit) which will be held in Nairobi, Kenya July 19-23, 2010. Held every two years in Africa, the Summit is designed to enable African countries and other friends of Africa an opportunity to focus on economic empowerment, self-help, social responsibility and human rights.

The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation is a 501c3 designed to carry on the spirit and legacy of Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, the great African-American international humanitarian who dedicated his life advocating for the poor and disadvantaged in Africa and worldwide.

### Phanai Media Group is a Boston based interactive agency, independent record label and front office for the works of founder and CEO Francis Phan.http://www.phanai.com/

Skydiving was always one of those extreme sports I thought was interesting but would never do. I mean I have enough excitement in my life right? Or maybe it has something to do from jumping from a plane from two and a half miles up. But when my cousin Kristin decided to get a group of people together to celebrate her birthday, it was something I knew I had to do – after all, I couldn’t have my sweet 20 year cousin show me up!

As time came closer to jumping, I and everyone around me seemed pretty calm. Maybe we all had to rationalize that statistically skydiving is really safe. There’s a greater likelihood of getting into a fender bender driving to the drop site. The place I jumped from is located in Williamstown NJ, less than 30 miles south of Philadelphia. It’s apparently the biggest skydiving company in the Northeast. First time divers jump in tandem with certified divers. My instructor’s name was “Pancake”, which of course got me wondering why he has that name.

What’s most memorable for me are the moments before and after the point of no return: that first step into nothingness at 12,000 feet. The first moment is disbelief. The next moment is terror. The next moment is awe-struckness. For the first time you can see a true panorama of God’s great earth, sky and horizon with nothing to obstruct your view.

The initial rush of accelerating to 120mph is like nothing even close I’ve experienced with a roller coaster. That free fall feeling is many more times intense. For starters most of you body is totally exposed. It was louder than I ever could have imagined. Everything is happening so fast in what felt to be the longest minute of my life. Flesh is being pushed back like in those old school pilot training centrifuge videos. The only point moving reference is Nikki, the diver photographing my jump. We reach hands outstretched and spin. We let go and she’s gone in an instant.

I proceed to do goofy things like trying to swim with my arms and assume martial arts poses against the resistance of the wind all while I’m screaming like a little girl all the way down. This is fun – no this is ultra wicked I don’t want this to stop fun! All of the sudden Pancake grabs me left arm and raises my hand to my face to show me the altimeter strapped to my wrist. I for the life of me can’t read what it said but it was probably 5000 feet. Attentive students during the orientation would recall that’s the sign for it’s time to pull that orange rip cord – right side hip. Umm, nope. I was just too disoriented and Pancake did the honors. All of the sudden the chute opens and there’s a dramatic de-acceleration. Thank goodness the harness was not designed like a thong or else it would have been the biggest atomic wedgie ever!

And just like that there was total silence. There was no hum of anything mechanical anywhere. Just peace and total tranquility – until Pancake decides to take a few left and right cuts on the way down and all of the sudden I’m reminded of that donut I had for breakfast. With each turn, I could feel the G’s of my body against the bottom sides of the harness. It’s really given me an appreciation for pilots who do crazy acrobatics and the physical stresses they must put their bodies through.

Four minutes pass which seems like a lifetime but happens too quickly. The landing field is approaching. And just like that, we make two steps on to earth and the amazing journey ends. I have never experienced anything more thrilling and exhilarating. This is a life affirming experience.

Local Boston Poet Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo Wins Big with Tina Turner On Boston.com Original Video Contest

Amway Global Presents Tina Turner in concert at the TD Banknorth Garden on Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. Boston poet Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo and music producer Francis Phan win Boston.com’s original music video contest.

FOR IMMEDIATE PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 14, 2008 – In the wake of an exciting selection of a new President Elect, Barak Obama and an upswing of performance opportunities in both poetry and music in 2009, Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo and producer Francis Phan couldn’t be happier as winners of Boston.com’s first original music video contest.

On Nov. 17th Amway Global Presents Tina Turner LIVE in concert at the TD Banknorth Garden.  Boston.com accepted original music video submissions from artists looking to showcase their talents for a chance to win tickets to see Tina Turner.   Iyeoka’s video entitled “Revolution” was selected by Boston.com staff as among the most unique videos.  As finalists, Boston.com readers then had an opportunity to vote for five winners.

Tina Turner has been acknowledged as one of the world’s most popular and biggest-selling music artists of all time and is the most successful female rock artist of all time with record sales exceeding 180 million.

“The bonus prize in this entire scenario, says Francis Phan, music producer for “Revolution”,   is that when we submitted, we knew that if selected it would be featured on the Boston.com website which we were thrilled about, but we had no idea people were going to be asked to vote. So the win feels that much more special since the viewers have spoken giving us a thumbs up on the work we’re doing with spoken word and music.”

Iyeoka feels like this win is  another step in the right direction for Spoken Word Music and the result of listeners recognizing the combination as a viable medium of expression.  She states, “Tina Turner’s spirit, story and music has empowered me for a very long time.  I’m looking forward to experiencing Tina LIVE for the first time which I’m sure will translate to more poems and more songs.”

Where he’s my official foray into video! Naya and I have produced a short called “DiverseCity” that was accepted by the Cambridge Free Speech Shorts Video Festival. “DiverseCity” looks at a group of Brandeis students who tackle issues relating to race, gender, religion and class which culminates into a show which Naya directed. Naya and I hope that this would be start of documentary work observing similar issues in our own community.

Screening details from the CCTV website: Wednesday, April 23rd. Event will take place at Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) located at 675 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square, Cambridge. The event will begin with a networking and a reception at 6:30 p.m.; the screening will start promptly at 7 p.m. Following each screening, there will be a Q & A session with producers.

It’s that time of year and I’m fortunate enough to be in the running again for producer of the year honors for the 2007 New England Urban Music Awards. The winners of each of the music categories are determined by artistic merit and online voting. I need your support – please cast your vote at urbanmusicawards.org. Also vote for Iyeoka for poet of the year, Omega Red for rapper of the year and The Jugganautz for producer company of the year!

Chuck D and Francis at 2006 Billboard Music Conference

Akon and Francis at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards.

Francis with his super publicist Ajuba Gaylord Gamble at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards

Francis with Billboard Executive Editor Tamara Conniff

Francis with Producer DJ Smurf

Iyeoka and Francis winners at the 2006 NE UMAs

On the evening of April 15th, the Berklee Perfomance Arts Center hosted the inagural New England Urban Music Awards, which recognizes the excellence of individuals in the New England area music scene. I’m happy to say that I won producer of the year honors. It’s really unbelievable as I was selected from a field of over 30 producers. More incredible yet Omega Red and I won company producer of the year as The Jugganautz. I’m also happy to say that Iyeoka won the female poetry category and that Omega Red also won in the rap category. Pal Justin Springer won promoter of the year, The Foundation won rap group of the year, and Ahmir (fomerly One Luv) won RNB group of the year. Big ups to Vudoo Soul who was a finalist for RNB male vocalist.

I like to thank fans and supporters who nominated me for the award. Those who know me know how much of a grind this music game can be. It’s extremely humbling and satisfying to be recognized for the hard work I’ve put in over the years.

Francis with Omar, Jimmy Conway and Omega Red after recording how new single breaking into clubs. Check out track here.

Boston Indie sensation Scamper

Francis branches out into Boston’s indie rock world by remixing Scamper’s hit single Sophie off their Leave Your Glasses On LP. The remix debuts on their podcat this evening. Download podcast episode 1.6. The remix concludes their podcast. Fortunately their music is a little tighther than their wit (just joking guys).

Francis with promoter Justin Springer at The Blue Wave. You need to check out his RNB nites on Saturdays.

Omega Red opens up for G-Unit and Roc-a-fella at the DCU. Although the show was little disorganized, it was nevertheless Red’s biggest show yet. He was made special mention in the review of the show here.

Francis is a guest panelist at Northeastern University Music program.

Project: Think Different throws down its annual fundraising event featuring the Empowerment CD pre-release. This compilation includes tracks I’ve produced for Melissa Li and a track collobo between Iyeoka and the Foundation. There will be live performances by The Foundation, Iyeoka (which I will be backing her on keyboards), Lyrical, Mingo and Afrodzak.

Thursday, November 17, 2005, 6pm-9pm, Embassy, 36 Landsdowne Street, Boston MA 02215. Donation: $25+, $10 (under 21)* For tickets and information contact: Amelia at 617.557.9200 or amelia@projectthinkdifferent.org. Project: Think Different is creating a renaissance in music, film and video that increases civic engagement and inspires people to THINK DIFFERENT about their power to create positive social change.

Omega Red is featured in the October issue of Source Magazine in Off The Radar: “Boston’s Omega Red sets tracks ablaze and shows off his lyrical dexterity with his latest street banger. Splitting gangsta and introspective ryhmes about sruviving the game of life, the kid continues to set the record straight about what goes down in the streets of New England.”

Never leave home without your favorite lounge chair.

This is huge – Omega Red is a top ten finalist for the Scion Next Up Competition. The winner of this will get to have a music video produced which will air on MTV2. Needless to say that this would be huge if he were to win this, but he can only do so if he gets votes on this website. So don’tdelay – please logon to www.scionnextup.com by Sept. 29 and vote!

Much props to Lee Wilson for producing a great show at the Blue Wave at the Four Point Channel, which of course included Iyeoka and very impressive performances by JT and Sparlha Swa. It was so good to hang with Iyeoka and friends. She gave such a rousing performance of Blink of an Eye, which I hope she posts on her website soon.

Jugganautz just finished production for Vudoo Soul’s Lover Come Over. Pictured above is guitarist extrodinare Angela Johnson Swan and Chris Vu (Vudoo Soul), who came ever so close to making it onto American Idol.

My good friend Shea Rose has been selected to participate in the MSN Road Tour, where she and 5 other music fans tour America’s music fesitvals this summer in a pimped out coach bus. Check out her blog!

The Omega Red Mix Tape drops on May 6. Francis recorded and mixed the album, which is hosted by JAMN 94.5′s own DJ Roy Baroboza.

Iyeoka’s CD release parites have been scheduled for March 31in Boston and April 3 in New York at the world famous Nuyorican. The bill is going to feature Regie Gibson (seen in the movie Love Jones), Bryonn Bain, Oz Okoawo, and Curtis King. Francis will be playing keyboards along side the Jeff Robinson Trio. Please come out show your support!
Boston:Wednesday March 31, 2004Center for Latino Arts(Villa Victoria – Home of Soul Revival& Critical Breakdown)85 West Newton Street, Boston617-927-1730
Doors @ 7:30pm (All Ages)$7 advanced / $10 door

Janauary 23, 2004. Ayisha is the featured artist in the Boston Globe’s Weekend Arts section, written by veteran reporter Steve Morse. The Globe hails Ayisha’s album Until as “innovative” and “stunning”. The Globe goes into depth covering Ayisha’s amazing personal story and the origins and Francis’ process for producing this album. To view the article, click here. Here’s the reprint below:

Words of power sounds of promiseBy Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 1/23/2004

Ayisha Knight is unstoppable, but nothing has come easy. By the time she was a teen, she had already faced a lifetime of adversity that might have paralyzed a lesser soul. She was born deaf. She was the confused daughter of a white Jewish mother and a half-black, half-Cherokee father who left them. She was raped by a family friend at age 13. And she experienced enough racism and alienation to keep her locked in a shell. Through the arts — poetry and photography — she eventually found her way out. Now she reveals bold details of her journey in a CD she can’t hear, one that is believed to be the first musical album structured around the verse of a deaf poet. Her friends in the Boston arts community recited her verse and added music — mostly hip-hop beats and other contemporary textures — to this powerful testimony. The disc was produced last year, but there was no official release, and only now are people beginning to take notice.

“Some people said I was crazy to [encourage] this, but I just trusted the people around me,” Knight, 33, notes through her sign-language interpreter, Diane McKeon, in a recent interview at the Diesel Cafe in Davis Square.
Knight is a short, vibrant woman whose eyes dart behind wire-rim glasses. She answers questions so expressively through her signing that you can see the charisma that rallies everyone around her. “I just wake up full of ideas, and I can’t wait to write them down,” says Knight, who lives in Cambridge. “Being deaf, I see the world through a different pair of eyes.”

Her stunning CD, “Until,” is also a multicultural marvel, for it features the spoken-word (and occasional singing) voices of a variety of poets of mixed descent, along with the music of Francis Phan, a Vietnamese-American who composed it in his Slingshot Studio in Cambridge. And the CD has been co-released by two new multicultural labels — Phanai Records (run by Phan) and Empowerment Records, led by Scherazade Daruvalla King. King also directs Project: Think Different, which uses music, film, and video to promote social change.

“All the vocals were prerecorded, and then I went in and did the music on top of it,” says Phan, who used synthesizers to craft and orchestrate the sounds.

“It’s a huge leap of faith for Ayisha to let us do this,” says Phan, who is also a computer programmer and designer of Knight’s website, www.ayishaknight.com. “But she would challenge me as I did it. Someone would tell her that the vocals could be more prominent here or there, and she would ask me about it. But I was also able to be very creative with it. It was just an incredible experience.”

The original idea for the CD came in a brainstorming session with two poet friends of Knight, Toni Asante Lightfoot and Oz Okoawo, together with Phan. “They asked me what I could do, and it went from there,” he says. The aim was not just to make music, but to spread the tale of Knight’s survival. A Manhattan native who also lived in Berkeley, Calif. (where she was raped in a basement), Knight, with the help of a deaf therapist, was able to cope with her emotional wounds and attend Galludet University, the national university of the deaf in Washington, D.C. That’s where Knight first began presenting her poems in sign-language performances at a coffeehouse 10 years ago. “Her art provides a forum for healing and transformation,” King says. “And we believe we can use spoken word and hip-hop as an alternative media to reach people.”

“Ayisha can’t hear us, but she inspires us,” says Lightfoot, the poet who did much of the dramatically phrased spoken-word work on the album. “And I’ve got to say that Ayisha has more lyricism and more rhythm than many people who can hear.” Knight moved to Boston in 1998 and attended a South End poetry reading three years ago that Lightfoot gave at the Blackout Arts Collective in the Piano Factory. Other local poets such as Okoawo (who would put up much of the money for Knight’s CD) and Nuri Chandler Smith read her poems at future meetings of the collective, and both also appear on the CD.

They and others who attended the Blackout Arts Collective meetings were likewise floored by Knight’s verse. “She made a large contribution to the poetry community,” says Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo, a Nigerian-born slam poet (and Oz’s wife) who has a CD coming out on Phanai Records tomorrow (the label’s second release). Knight performed at some of the readings, using sign language while another poet read her work and gave her visual cues. “I was blown away. She captivated me so much that I would dance to her pieces,” says Wyatt Jackson, a local dancer and choreographer who has worked with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Knight’s CD is basically divided into three chronological sections, starting when she was a confused teen on “Vocal Conundrums” and “Ebony,” in which she writes, “zombies . . . want me to cling to the charred driftwood of biracial shame.” That leads to later poems in which she is able to open up and share her pain.

“Until” is a percussive, hip-hoppy track with a revelation about being “not Jewish enough because my skin is black, not Cherokee enough because each generation gets divided in half/ Some see me as not straight because I share my life and love with a woman, but there are others who are quick to let me know I’m not lesbian enough because in the past I’ve loved a man/Not enough labels to go around/Not enough STRENGTH to say ENOUGH!!!” The last section is all about empowerment. “Royalty Revisited” talks of her “remarkable divinity” and of being able “to walk in beauty.” It refers to such influences as her mother (who honed Knight’s interest in photography, a passion that has led to various exhibits of her work), Harriet Tubman, Coretta Scott King, Alice Walker, and Angela Davis. “Each woman is my steppingstone,” she writes.

“I’m proud of all my cultures now,” says Knight, who hopes to launch a national performing tour. She envisions the album playing behind her as she performs a sign-language interpretation. An aide would cue her timing, while slides of her photos (which include studies of the homeless) are shown. She has performed this way at the Paradise Lounge and the Milky Way and has upcoming shows in New York and Ohio.

Knight also wants to make a videotape in different languages of the poems on the CD, as well as a dance production based on the music. On another front, a video for the song “Until” has just been made by Ben Liu, a B
oston University student who is a Project Think Different intern. “I’d like to send the video to [cable stations] BET and MTV,” Phan says. “I know some of the videos on those stations have budgets in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and we obviously don’t have that. But we’re going to see what happens.” And why not? Aiming high — and never settling for less — is what Ayisha Knight is all about.

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.

Coming February 2004 – The release of Iyeoka Okoawo’s highly anticipated music spoken word album “Black & Blues”, produced by Francis for Phanai Records. Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is a Nigerian-American poet/singer residing in Boston. In 2003, Iyeoka has won Performance Poet of the Year” and “Slam Poet of the Year” for the 2003 Cambridge Poetry Awards, Iyeoka initially gained national attention in the National Poetry Slam.She has been featured at the House of Blues in Boston, and Avalon where she opened up for the hip-hop/soul recording artist Musiq Soulchild. Iyeoka was showcased in Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam airing on HBO and was a highlight on the late night CBS hip hop show The SOURCE ALL ACCESS.Look out for Iyeoka as the featured poet for the Turner Broadcasting presentation of the 12th Annual Trumpet Awards Ceremony in January 2004. The Trumpet Awards Black Cultural Explosion is a prestigious event celebrating the contributions of African-Americans who have helped shape this great America.

Francis emcees Insurgent Voices at the Somerville Theatre, on Thursday, November 20, a scholarshp concert to promote Asian American Arts. Please click here for more information on this very worhtwhile event.

9/26/03. Ayisha will be the sole feature on NBC affiliate WHDH Boston Channel 7′s Urban Update, Sunday October 5, at 11:30am, right after Meet The Press. The program is hosted by Byron Barnett. Appearing on the program will be Ayisha, her ASL interpreter Diane McKeon, album performer Toni Asante Lightfoot, Scherazade Daruvalla King, and myself. This will also mark the world premiere for the music video off the album’s title track, Until, produced by the incredible videographer Ben Liu. The viewership for Urban Update is 175,000! Please spread the word.

Ayisha Knight’s “Until”

05/28/03 Ayisha Knight’s debut album drops on Francis’ new label, Phanai records, for what is likely to be the first music spoken word album released by a Deaf person. Featuring the spoken word perfomances of Blackout Boston’s Toni Asante Lightfoot, Nuri Chandler Smith, Oz Okoawo, and Alex King, Francis wrote and produced the music for the album. Ayisha is a truly gifted poet and story teller. Please check out Ayisha’s website http://www.ayishaknight.com/ to learn more about Ayisha, and how to order your copy of the album.

05/15/03. Francis officially launches his new company “Phanai Entertainment”. Phanai is a combination of a production house, recording label, and artist management company. This has been four years in the making, and the journey is only beginning. Check out www.phanai.com for more details.

05/05/03. Francis appears with Project Think Different on Channel 7 WHDV-TV’s Urban Update to discuss how music an be used to promote positive messages in society.

03/18/03 Francis completes mixing down Omega Red’s forth coming album, which includes two Asiatic tracks: “Turn You On” and “Like Wuht”. Check out his incredible website www.createasuperstar.com. His album is due to drop early summer. Listen for Omega Red on HOT 97 and JAMN 94.5 and call in and request his tracks!

Kristen Magro

Feb. 2003. With inevitable comparisons to Jewel, singer/song writer Kristen Magro teams up with Madison for “Last Word”, an elctro-acoustic track produced by Francis. As a high school senior, this remarkable young lady compiled “Last Word” and more of her songs into an album she used to help fundraise for breast cancer research. To listen, click here.

Feb. 2003 Multi talented Rob O’Dwyer switches gears between acting, siinging and driving beatup blue Volvos. As one of the former forntman for the “Buck Dewey Big Band”, Rob and Francis has been doing tracks that are slightly off kilter, melding old school breaks with cheezy synth lines that would make Beck proud. If things are resting a little heavily on your shoulders, listen to “Push On Through” here.

02/13/03 Omega Red headlines at the Copa Grande, in Randolph MA.

Feb 2003. Damani’s single “Move” is pressed to wax, which was then remixed by the Clipse (as you know is the firs tact to be signed to the Neptunes’ Star Trak label.) Francis recorded and mixed the original track, produced by Clinton Sparks. Check out Clinton’s website http://www.clintonsparks.com/ for more info.

The Clipse, Damani and Clinton Sparks

01/11/03 Performed “Our Youth” with spoken word artist Shiuan Butler and folk artist Melissa Li for AARW and Work In Progress at the new Vietnamese Community Center in Dorchester, MA. The song is a poignant piece about the pressure today’s youth have to face. Illustration of performance below courtesy of Diep Nguyen.

01/09/03 Recorded tracks for MC Metaphoric, best known in Boston’s Critical Breakdown scene.

Giselle O’Brady

12/22/02 Completed production for Gospel track “Eyes On The Sparrow” for Giselle O’Brady. Check out mp3: Eyes on the Sparrow. This is our first full length track together. Based on Giselle’s touching performance here, I expect more tracks to come.

Francis gets advice on a mix from Grammy Nominee David Moulton

12/19/2002 Francis completes intensive critical listening mixing course under instruction of Grammy nominated mix engineer and audio guru David Moulton.

12/03/2002 In September, Project: Think Different sponsored a public service announcement (PSA) competition and co-sponsored a Teach In for Economic Justice to support janitors in their struggle for economic justice. Local musicians, Hip Hop, and spoken word artists created a one minute (PSA) on economic justice, workers rights, living wage, corporate greed, equity, fairness crafted to promote unity and public support of the issues. The following PSAs were recorded and produced by me (in which I also did beats for * tracks). The artists performed at various rallies and events to stand in solidarity with the janitors.

Francis and Scherazade Daruvalla King,

11/25/2002 Completed two radio drops for Omega Red for Wild Out clothing.

11/24/2002 Completed Hot 97′s Chubby Chubb radio drop for Mattie. Featured on his Saturday nite program.

Rachel Panay

10/03/2002. Special screening of “Dance By Design”‘ a film by Valerie H. Weiss at the Roxy. The film features the song “Shine On” by Rachel Panay, a house track which Francis produced.

09/21/2002 Attended the Active arts Youth Conference at Northeastern University. Intense and inspiring, workshops covered topics from commodification of Hip Hop, Hip Hop in media, the Prison Industrial Complex, and the Reparations Movement. Keynote given by Minister Benjamin Chavis Muhammad.

09/12/2002 Francis completes production for Mary Despe’s spoken work project, Kaina.

08/12/2002 K get’s married to Keiko!

08/04/2002 Omega Red and Francis finishes doing some drops for the Radio. Busy at work with “Every Woman”.

07/29/2002 Francis finishes producing Mattie’s remix of Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls”, in time for her performance at the Reggae Rock Festival at James Bond Beach, Ochos Rios Jamaica. Hosted by Liza from BET Maad Sports. Artists on the bill included Mattie, Dougie Fresh, Lil Zhane, Naughty By Nature and Little Rahim (from the Outkast camp). For MP3, click here.

07/19/2002 Rob O’Dwyer and Francis completes alternative hip hop track “City Lady”. For MP3, click here. Featuring vocals of Lydia from Mother’s Favorite Child.

06/30/2002 Francis finishes mixing “Move” for Damani and Clinton Sparks. “Move” has had airplay on almost a dozen major radio markets across the nation.

06/29/2002 Francis records two tracks for Dorchester’s own Magnificent.

Omega Red

06/01/2002 New Omega Red Tracks posted. Click here for a preview.

Francis, K, Big Mike & Clinton Sparks

05/21/2002 Answer To Ashanti’s Foolish? Francis records and mixes “Stay Foolish” featuring Big Mike, Damani, and No for DJ/Producer Clinton Sparks (Hot 93.7 CT and Hot 97.7 Boston), to be cut to wax. Should hit airwaves nationally next week as a follow up to Foolish.

05/20/2002 10 member A Cappella group E-52s records 10 songs with Francis.

05/18/2002 Francis and Omega Red completes remix of a track of Elektra recording artist Code5.

Cadiz, Spain

05/15/2002 Francis enjoyed a couple weeks of R&R in Spain.

04/28/2002 Omega Red’s single “Bloody Bean” spun on the radio by Roy Barboza on Boston’s JAM’N 94.5

Mattie

4/27/2002. K and Francis completes production for “Dance Floor” and “Answer The Phone” for Mattie. Click here for mp3s…

04/22/2002. Emily Olu releases her single “Swept Away” on Amazon. This single was first recorded with Francis, before getting reproduced by YellowRoseMusic.

04/20/2002. K and Francis attends the New England Music Industry Summit (NEMIS), a hip hop / rnb industry conference with Mattie, Omega Red and hype man Dwayne. Omega Red was the featured artist in a performance showcase.

04/08/2002. Francis records and mixes six tracks for Inglewood sensation Damani. Damani has recorded with Snoop, Dr. Dre, Kurupt, and Clinton Sparks.

04/01/2001. In the studio with Omega Red and Damani in the studio recording “Get Money”

03/16/2002. K and Francis at work in the Studio with Omega Red finishing up “Turn You On” with Jessica and recording artist Monique.

Dana Farrier

03/12/ 2002. Dana is cover model for Boston’s Stuff@Night.

03/09/2002. Completed remix of “Crossing The Bridge”. An adaptation of a traditional Vietnamese folk song.

03/09/2002. ‘ “Crossing the Bridge” remix and piano piece “Day In The Sun” featured at the Unsung Warriors VietAID fundraiser at the Park Plaza Hotel for fashion show featuring the designs of Le Minh Khoa shown below.

03/05/2002. Finished first mix of Dana Farrier’s ‘To Be With Me’.

03/04/2002. New mixes of Rachel Panay’s ‘Shine On’ and ‘One More Day’ completed and posted, in preparation for Winter Music Conference.

03/04/2002 Finished new mix of Emily Olu’s cover of “Yesterday”. This track is a gem. She originally sang this song a cappella when I was looking for singers. If you listen carefully, you can hear my roommate’s dog Ollie in the background.