Why I Walked Outta "Straight Outta Compton"

The recent mid-summer release of Universal's "Straight Outta Compton" had the whole country buzzing. Never in all of my years have I seen a black centered film receive so many accolades so fast. So, when I heard people refer to "Straight Outta Compton," a biopic film about the rise of the 1980's gangsta rap group N.W.A., as the best film of the year, I bypassed a search for a free viewing online and went straight for a local theater instead.

I found that the movie missed the mark on setting the cultural context of the situation of blacks in south central Los Angeles, where the notorious city of Compton is located. Instead of exploring the national, even global, implications of their message of resistance against police brutality and the abuses of the system of racism/white supremacy on the black community, they instead dedicate a good majority of the movie reharshing the old beefs all their real fans and true hip hop heads already knew about. 

After about an hour, I was convinced I was witnesses a big pissing contest on a silver screen. Like I care who sucked up behind Jerry Heller (played by"Sideways" star Paul Giamatti), who was his favorite and who in the group Heller, their music business manager, didn't give a damn about to sign and "take care of," with lucrative contracts and cash. Inevitably, supported by Black Muslim leader, Minister Louis Farrakahn, Ice Cube (portrayed by Cube's son, O' Shea Jackson, Jr.) leaves N.W.A. and releases a diss tape that puts its remaining members to shame as sycophants of The White Man.

 

Everyone knows that the music industry is one of the most corrupt businesses to ever operate. Even cottage labels, like Priority Records, have turned into artist farms where both the artists' musical product and integrity are siphoned off for pennies on thousands of product units, making the industry attractive to exploitive, old money interests, gangsters and thugs, like the infamous Suge Knigt. Knight is probably as gang related as Al Caponre. 

Like John Gotti, Knight had become a Teflon Don in his own rigt. For example, the musis mogul survived the 1996 assassination of Tupac (Mackavelli) Shakur in Las Vegas after a less than memorable Mike Tyson match on the Las Vegas Strip. This has all changed reasonly with his indictment on murdering a man on the set of "Straight Outta Compton," in which he backed over two men in a dispute over money. One lived, one died. Knight has cried, even passed out in court, during arraignment. Guess he's not so gangster after all.

Its been reported in major news outlets that the members of N.W.A. were said to be regulars on the movie's set and were insistent Grey recapture exact details when depicting their lives.

Funny thing is they left out a couple of big chunks of N.W.A. history-- their social impact on the black community's resistance to police brutality and, well, what I would call the rise of gangster rap.  Gangsta rap is a genre of Hip-Hop many black music historian believe was ushered in at the height of the conscious rap movement in order to kill the empowering unity being expressed and felt in the community. Gangster rap propagated not only a view of the police as enemey number 1, but of the next black man, one not in your so called gang set, as a close second. Murder rings out in this genre first explored by Rap forefather Ice-T as an valuable means of exacting revenge on "a nigga." 

Another huge impact of N.W.A.'s gangster rap is what I call the proliferation of a "Pimps Up, Hoes Down" mental code of the streets that still reverberates in the culture throughout rap and hip-hop for some 25 years and counting. I would say the impact of this music on black male/female relations has been devastating. Let's face it. An ethnic group of men who disrespects its women will never find respect in the world, to quote both Dr. Henrik Louis-Clark and Brother Malcolm X. Today, the misogyny is so ubiquitous that many women themselves have taken to calling themselves, "bitches," "hoes" and the tamest insult of them all, "females." When Queens degrade themselves they can't bring anything good in abundance to the black community's nourishment table. These women who subscribe to this music may themselves become the thing the music creates, just another thirsty, gold-digging bitch.

The opening scene is set in 1986 inside a crack house where dope dealer (soon to be rapper) Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) is conducting a business meeting. Needless to say, the deal goes left and Eazy escapes with his life but not a grown folk's lesson which is you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Eazy is not alone in this aspect. A few of his associates are also living on the edge. Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) dreams of music instead of getting the day job his mom has been hounding him about. Ice Cube (a soon to be father) desires a legacy. DJ Yella (Neil Brown) is looking to increase his pussy cache and MC Ren (Aldo Hodge) appears to Be a true Creative and wants to get the anger out. They come together to form N.W.A., that's Niggas With Atttitudes, realease the LP 'Straight Outta Compton' in 1988 and history is made.

I will find a bootlegger on purpose to cringe through the end of this movie. Dr. Dre and O'Shea have gotten enough of my money the past 25 years. And for what? So Dre can hand out millions to a white school and Ice Cube can be family-friendly? These opportunist have done nothing for the community they come from. Reportedly, Dre is offering the Compton community the royalties from his latest album entitled "Compton: A Soundtrack" to a cultural center there. Who-hoo! He didn't make USC, a extremely wealthy private California university that has among the lowest black enrollment (despite being in an area where more black Californians live per capita than anywhere else in the state) in Southern California, wait to get his coin.

So, there is a buzz. We're talking Oscars now. I've heard it time and again with "Straight Outta Compton." How can I put this?  Um, I don't think so. While Gray is a talented director, the film could never be a contender. If by some miracle, it does receive a nod or two, the motives of Hollywood in acknowledging this black film would be "show business" business as usual, dubious at best. In other words, this film has no shot in hell of receiving any Golden statues shaped as the Egyptian God Ptah.  Nonetheless, its filmmakers are no doubt taking a que from that Earth, Wind & Fire track and dancing in September as the film has grossed nearly $200 billion dollars. The film cost a mere $28 million to produce. Can you say winning? 

All and all, I don't hate this film or this classic '80s rap group. I just didn't want to stick around to watch egos at play. Glad to hear Dre has apologized for years of physically assaulting women, such as his artist and long time girlfriend Mi 'chelle and the hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes. The film would have better served itself and the audience by using a much larger lens to capture the full scope of all N.W.A. meant to my generation of Generation X'er's seeking justice and respect in a system of racism/white supremacy intent on marginalizing us and our lives, even taking our lives at will. 

Writers Write, Right?

I have so much respect for those writers who hash out verses daily, extrapolating at the crack of dawn, whether for the sake of money and fame or altruistically to connect their art and soul with the collective conscious, they persist in having their voices heard. I'm not that type of writer. This has bothered me since I was quite young.

Nonetheless, I began my writing career at 15, publishing my first piece in The San Jose Mercury News, a paper made famous through the reporting of Gary Webb. Mr. Webb cracked the code on the CIA Iran Contra Crack Cocaine connection. His investigation uncovered that The CIA flooded black communities with drugs in the late 1980's in his news series, "Dark Alliance." I actually invited Mr. Webb down to San Francisco from San Jose to discuss "Dark Alliance" with a group of young writers after the Merc published his series. He was the real deal.

 

Webb told us then in our meeting that when he spoke to people who lived there in south-central L.A. he was shocked by what he discovered. Webb reported that residents of these but communities in Los Angeles had come across abandoned train cars on various local train tracks full of loaded arms. According to sources, these weapons were dropped off by the government in an undercover operation to arm local gangs for hot wars between rival groups and to sabotage the advances made by the black community during the Black Power Era of the late 1960s 70s. He was a true newsman, who many believe did not commit suicide, as was reported, but was murdered with two shots to the back of his skull. The recent Hollywood film, "Kill The Messenger" chronicles Webb's journey of working through the journalistic scoop of the century. He was the type of writer I aspired to be-- one who could transform hearts, minds and public policy.

It wasn't long before my work appeared in major newspapers around the country. The devil of doubt on my right shoulder was eclipsed by the angel of productivity on the left. By 21, I was head deep in living a public life. There was nary a topic in my life that was not up for public consumption by me.

          

My identity was my writing career. I breathed it in my nose and tasted it on my palate regularly. It won me favor and critics and it paid the bills. I thought I'd conquered that devil. As it turned out, that creature was merely in a slumber.

By 26, I was struggling with a chronic illness that left me tired and shamed. At that point I felt I had to walk away from writing, my identity, because I could no longer put myself out on a limb and present myself to the world in all my vulnerability as a public person.

After being tagged "anti-Semitic" once I published a piece critiquing Steven Spielberg's look at American slavery and African resistance in his 1997 film, "Amistad," coupled with some erratic behavior of my own I was essentially blacklisted from publishing in the Bay Area. I was too tired to care at the time it all went down and the phone stopped ringing. I craved privacy and space to tend to my wounds. I didn't want to articulate the contents of my mind to everyone I knew and strangers alike because, frankly, it became too hard. There were younger, hungrier Ivy League-educated writers waiting to take my place in a San Francisco second and, in my hazy Bay fog state, I gave my desk up practically on a silver platter.

Fast forward 15 years and I've worn a few hats. I've experienced several identities, including common law wife, fashion associate, personal assistant, dental professional; they've all provided me with what writing couldn't-- privacy. I've also taken notes, working these gigs as an undercover journalist. The jobs themselves all left me with a void because the irony is that the writer in me desires to plug-in in a way that no other of my identities can ever fulfill.

For me, writing has never been about fame and fortune, although fortune would be fantastic. I've turned down offers to be on national television because I wasn't comfortable with the pace and the forum. For me, it's been about the work. It's been about honing my art to the level where the audience feels something, thinks something new, that they can relate to in a visceral way.

So, writers write, right? No, not always. Not me. If the vibe isn't there, I can't get in my zone for weeks, sometimes longer. I don't want to force the process. At points, it becomes about either racking my mind to create the perfect piece on every hot topic or remaining sane. I have to choose sanity.

I don't always want to share my thoughts because I need or want them for myself. Plus, I'm at a place where I want to write about what I want to, not what some publisher thinks sells. In my art, my integrity has to come before what's hot. I marvel at the lengths writers go to be prolific, spinning dribble for dollars. Today we have been told to brand ourselves to get anywhere in the era of social media. I can't knock their hustle. Everyone's got to eat.

I don't desire to offer myself up that way. I've already proven to myself  that I am capable of human connection. Whether I write The Great American Novel or Memoir or not, I know I am (and always will be) a writer.

Spotlight—Lovie Ray Johnson, Jr.

The world has a peculiar way of stealing the innocence of its children while turning a blind eye to the travesty it has committed. Producer/Director/Writer/Actor Lovie Ray Johnson, Jr. seeks to change that with his current film project, “Supernal Darkness,” which focuses on the world of child sex traffic. It is an underbelly Johnson believes powerful forces in real life society perpetuate.

Johnson’s own childhood was not as picture-perfect as many might have perceived a black military family like his to be. One may think that a church going family in the ‘70s would be immune to the sicknesses of depraved souls but Johnson was not so lucky. His first abuser would be a good family friend, his Sunday school teacher. He was 6. The trauma of this experience saddled Johnson with a huge sense of loss. “It opened my eyes to a world you should not be open to at that time,” he says.

The next abuser would be even more shocking. Shortly after moving to a new military base and settling in, Johnson, in retrospect, recalls a close family member began to groom him for the sexual abuse that would follow for several years. His greatest disappointment was that even when he presented his family with the fact that he was being abused they did nothing to address it and protect him. His childhood could be summed up as one one rife with emotion abandonment and betrayal.

All the while, his family was faithful churchgoers. Johnson himself found solace in the church. “It taught me about Jesus. [Because of that] I embrace everybody and realize everybody is trying to find their way to God.”

As soon as Oklahoma City University came calling, Johnson was out the door. Fortunately, he had a talent for basketball that won him a scholarship. He was a tenacious player and recalls playing three to four games with a broken finger. His team was amazed by this but for Johnson working through pain was nothing new. He remembers thinking, “This is what I am, this is what I do.” It wouldn’t be long before he would meet his wife on campus, a lovely Indian American woman. They wed on his birthday.

Johnson’s future looked brighter than a Jumbo-Tron. However, an unforeseen tragedy would rock his world. After receiving a professional contract to play basketball in England and being voted Player of The Year, his wife suffered complications in their first pregnancy. He flew back to The States to care for her. Subsequently his first child, a boy, died in the hospital.

His team sent their condolences with his jersey and a basketball signed by all the players. Johnson would not return to basketball and says he buried the game with his son. Today, his daughter Daesja is the light of his life. His marriage did not survive once he took to the bottle. After 7 years they called it quits and now have an amicable relationship.

Johnson sought to rebound by taking up coaching and personal training. However, he found a groove in acting. Through theater, he could exorcise the demons of his past. He decided to use his talent to tell the story of sex trafficked children, the children without voices.

For “Supernal Darkness,” Johnson teamed up with Dream Propaganda/Osse Prop to create a companion graphic novel.  The Supernal Darkness movie trailer, directed by Jeff Frentzen, is available on YouTube and is gritty and visceral. 

Johnson believes that the absence of both parents in the home lends itself to the vulnerability of children to predators. “We can help prevent a lot of trafficking by paying attention to our children,” says Johnson. “You have to be actively involved with your child. We need to believe our children. The way the world is today there is no one home to take care of them.”

He points a finger at western culture for sexualizing children. Recently we’ve seen an underwear line for 10 year olds at Victoria Secret. Abercrombie & Fitch sold girls’ underwear with the words “eye candy” across them. And let’s not forget those darn pageants.

He sees a connection between the sexualization of children and an underground society of pedophiles who pledge allegiances to satanic worship. “There is so much twisted up in this,” says Johnson. “When you look at kids being taken for sacrifices, the numbers go up during certain times of the year [for ritual sacrifice]. Just because we don’t believe in sorcery doesn’t mean that other people don’t.” He goes on to say, “Evil exists because powerful people want it to exist.”

In 2013, there were 462,567entries for missing children under the age of 18 into the FBI's National Crime Information Center. According to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as many as 2,183 children are abducted each day, many by a family member. 

Johnson is currently assembling a team to complete “Supernal Darkness.” In the meantime, he is also trying a hand in the beverage business with a brand of loose-leaf teas with David Edwards at the New Mexico Tea Company. “10 percent of what happens to you is 90 percent how you deal with it,’ says Johnson. “Everyone needs to do their part. Everyone has to pick their part. I’ve chosen my fight.”

Are Rioting And Looting Ever Valid?

By Andrea N. Jones 

So, tell me how America has changed in the new millennium? How America loves your black or brown skin now that we've reached, according to some of all races, "post-racial America?"

Ferguson, MO isn't too different from Lakeland, FL in 1938, as captured here.

Is rioting ever valid? I say, yes, it's valid. The anger is valid. A riot is quite symbolic. Black communities are treated as "liquid money," as we are called by some whites who notoriously profit in our communities where black business cannot. Most businesses in the hood are non-black owned, which is a travesty in itself. It's a stark contrast from back in the day when black businesses ruled in black communities during the segregation era. 

Integration has proven to be problematic for black communities all across the country as black businesses struggle to find a market when blacks have taken their business into other communities. 

Gentrification and, what I call "The Great Migration"-- the recent displacement and movement of folks in historic numbers at of the beginning of the 21st century-- has left black communities in shambles. Urban Triage, an unofficial state policy which allows the community to essentially spin out of control and let it's black citizens literally dying in the streets, is real. 

Rioters destroy, what Stephen King might call, "needful things" that

 they are oppressed by. What are we talking about? We're talking about shiny shit that a cop will shoot you dead for to protect his or her bosses and the business/corporate community's profit margin. It's about a bunch of crap made in China because the U.S. deindustrialized 50 years ago, cutting these communities off from life-saving employment. 

People who riot do so in a deliberately defiant act against American Consumerism. This is not rocket science. The only thing the government and business understand are interrupted profit. You tell me, why should we protect the wolves (very well insured dogs) in our very communities? What, may I ask, have they done for you lately?

White folks had very little before "discovering" Africa in 1443. This, I believe, is why white people are obsessed with material things, placing them over people. Hell, they've made corporations people in this country, like that's even possible literally or even esoterically. However, it benefits the power structure/paradigm so they make it law. 

The white power structure goes to great lengths to protect worthless material things and to subjugate black people in our own communities. They stole us from Africa, stole our resources and labor and continue to steal the resources and wealth of the black community in various "legal" ways.

It's time we truly unite against what in Africa is called Maafa, The African Holocaust, and be heard. What will you do to end police brutality against black and brown? Every voice matters which is why God gave us voice to begin with as we evolved from up to 2 mllion years ago (by current scientific estimates) in to the original people. 

All so-called races evolved from African ancestors. In this sense, all people are evolved straight outta Africa. Black people are white folk's ancestors but they want us dead. 

In the Belly of The Beast, black people continue to be marginalized, oppressed and murdered. By best estimates (mind you because data are not accurately kept by the federal government on nationwide) every 28 hours a black person is killed by a non-black officer (root of "officer" is "overseer," by the way) or vigilante.

White folks' ancestors were so sick and twisted that it's hardly any wonder why society is crazy as hell today. They came to us in 1443, presenting us with, what I call s.s.-- shiny shit, glass beads, mirrors and various cheap trinkets. We welcomed them. They destroyed us. Over 570 years later and Maafa continues. 570 plus years of stealing/killing Africans and "legally" pillaging our riches; yet (due to the dominance of our genes and skin), we still stand! 

AIDS, Ebola, the lengths the world has gone to rape it's very own mother and subjugate its ancestors. If you think the white man saved us, think again. We saved him (He was dying in his own filth in Europe)! We don't need them. They need us and what is rightfully ours! Don't EVER get that twisted, k? 

Racism/White Supremacy is so sick and twisted that I can hardly breathe. Looking up to white folks as a standard to live by is simple lunacy. African people everywhere are the moral compass of the world! Souljahs, unite! Its time to wake up!

Mike Brown's murder in cold blood, like all these cases of men, women and children, deserves justice. So, I ask, what will you do to stop police brutality and take the law to task? Some still think we aren't really ready for a real fight. I say the only way to prepare is to ACT prepared. Do you agree? 

Wanted: Black Women and Black Men To Build A Nation!

As of late I've engaged in heated debates with other black women who are ready, willing and able to date men of other races out of frustration with how many black men mistreat, neglect, disrespect or abandon them. I, on the other hand, still value nothing higher than the black family. I also have a high opinion of black men still. It's perpetual. My love spans over 200,000, when Lucy was my mother, ya dig? Enough metaphysics. I say all that to say that Black Love dates back to an unfathomable antiquity. 500 years of Maafa, The African Holocaust, cannot wreck that for me. This is why I love films like "The Wiz" (with that great opening scene of Auntie and Diana Ross Dorothy around the dining table, 20 deep; talking, laughing and connecting), Maya Angelou's only Hollywood directing gig, "Down on the Delta," Diane Carroll's "Claudine," etc. Listen to this smart, young sistah breakdown The African Diaspora's dire situation and how badly we need to come together to strengthening the black family for the good of our communities around the world.

Calling All Foodies!-- Celebrity Chef Brian Stansberry Says, “It’s About the Food”

Vallejo-Bred Celebrity Chef Brian Stansberry Says, “It’s About the Food!”

By Andrea N. Jones

Brian Stansberry, 44, Executive Chef of the well-esteemed Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota and owner of High End Catering, is responsible for providing 11,000 students, along with faculty, breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day. With 43 employees to supervise at the school, he manages a $2.8 million operation. Stansberry has carved out the time to be a celebrity chef to boot with big plans to take his high end food on the road with his brand new venture, Flavor Face! Food Truck, with which healthy, locally produced ingredients and American comfort-classic gnoshes he plans to fill bellies big and small, up and down the California Coast.

Keen on cooking green, Stansberry wants African Americans and everyone else to know that they can eat healthy food and it can still be good to their taste buds.  He will tell you that he is all about preparing the freshest of foods, grown locally, to create food fare so appetizing that his reputation has come to precede him. He has been tapped to cook delectable meals for celebrities such as Snoop Dogg and E-40 as well as dignitary like Rev. Jessie Jackson and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Stansberry’s cuisine is not just for the “Who’s Who.” In fact, the Culinarian from Vallejo has every intention of taking America’s newest food revolution to the people.

              
Taking a note out of the playbook of conventional wisdom, he states his motto about cooking, “I believe the best way to a person’s heart is through their stomach.” At 18, while working  his first kitchen job he started at first just to pay the  bills, Stansberry fell in love with food. At San Francisco’s world-famous Drake Hotel, he was assigned to line setup which involved cleaning 100 pounds of squid, daily. Not everyone could contend with such a demanding task, but Stansberry took it in stride. At 21, Stansberry moved on to Seattle where he was the youngest staff member at the acclaimed Metropolitan Grill steak house. Assigned the broiler, he worked over an 800degree stove and got a taste for high end cooking—the place where fine ingredients, perfectly-timed preparation and skillful presentation meet.

              
Eventually he settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After working at the Radissons Hotel for five years perfecting his craft as sous chef he was offered a position in Uptown Minneapolis at the Green Mill Restaurant and Bar that he had dreamed of, Executive Chef. “I learned the culture of Minnesota. The food they like.” His most popular dishes were the parmesan encrusted Wall-eye, bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers and tomato-basil soup. While there, he implemented policies that turned a $1 million business into a $3.5 million enterprise in just three years. Stansberry said he made that happen by working closely with his staff, telling them, “It’s not about us, it’s about the food.” Eventually he would move on to Executive Chef at the 4-star Crowne Plaza in the twin cities.

From working at the Crowne Plaza he received an advantageous offer to partner in the opening of a wireless internet coffee shop/deli, wine bar and mid to upscale restaurant, located on the foot of St. Olaf College, the Ole Store Cafe. The accolades began pouring in. Within one year, Brian was in two featured items in the Star Tribune, Minnesota’s top newspaper, a special segment on Minnesota’s CBS affiliate WCCO-Channel 4 and received “Best Restaurant Worth the Drive” honors from Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine.

So, it’s no wonder why Stansberry was called upon one night to prepare a meal for Snoop Dogg when he came through the Twin Cities. “Snoop wanted friend chicken, rice & gravy and macaroni & cheese,” recalls Stansberry. “People think fried chicken is the easiest thing to cook, but it’s not.” Stansberry hesitated at first as to whether he wanted the undertaking. Could he pull it off in the amount of time he had? Traveling to Snoop’s hotel, would his fried chicken lose its heat and crisp?  In the end Stansberry knew he could make it happen. ”They loved it,” says Stansberry.  “They absolutely loved it.”

              
When asked about cooking for E-40, Stansberry fondly speaks of the rapper. “I grew up with Earl Stevens,” says Stansberry (Stevens being E-40’s birth name). “When he was touring in Minnesota he called me up and said, ‘Hey, B. What can you do?’ I asked him what he would like and he said he wanted seafood. So we did Garlic Roasted Cherry wood-smoked Dungeness Crab.” 40’s entire team devoured the food. Now everyone from B-Legit, Juvenile and Keak Da Sneak to Too Short call Stansberry when they are in town and Chef Brian happily hooks them up.  Recently his team hit the set of his brother’s, the video directing phoneme Taj Stansberry  (who directed the YouTube record smashing Hit The Floor featuring Pop Sensation J. Lo) set feeding featured Kingpins of Rap Rick Ross and Lil’ Wayne.  2Chainz and Swiss Beatz (Alicia Key’s producer husband), also have recently enjoyed the chef’s food fare.

             
He’s also cooked for global politicos. Reverend Jessie Jackson dined on Bronze Salmon, Hillary Rodham Clinton enjoyed the Caramelized Ginger Lemon Torte and for the President of Bolivia, Stanberry prepared an authentic Bolivian dinner, replete with ingredients he had to source out of state. He is currently preparing a menu for the king and queen of Norway. Not star stuck but very humble, Stansberry will tell you in a heartbeat that it’s not about him. It’s about the food.

Right now, Stansberry is really into perfecting his sauces, rue in particularly as he is really into gumbo right now. He also has taken on fusion cuisine—taking two world cuisines and combining their ingredients to create innovative food experiences. “I’ll take two cultures, like Italian and Mexican and create something,” he says.

Stansberry is most excited to throw his chef’s hat into the food truck ring by taking his high end food to the streets. He sees a street food revolution happening in America from coast to coast. “I believe the food truck revolution is really serious,” says Stansberry.” You don’t have to pay the property taxes, you don’t have to rent a big building and you can go everywhere to serve people your talents.” Stansberry states that America is beginning to catch on to street food, but it’s been a common way to chow around the world. “If you travel to Thailand, Australia, Italy, Jamaica, they all have street food and vendors,” says Stansberry. “[The food] is not pretty, it’s not expensive but it’s done well and from the heart. It’s done straight from the soul, like music.” As many as 2.5 billion people around the globe eat street food every day. In fact, Chef Brian will be touring Thailand later this year to do his on study on street food vending.

Stansberry has envisioned a statewide food tour up and down the California coast in his spanking-new truck company, Flavor Face!, that will cater to The Stars beginning January 1. The menu will feature Chef Brian’s signature “Stick-N-In-Movin’“ items: Mac-n-Cheese on a Stick, Spaghetti-n-Meatballs on a Stick and  Tuna Tartar on a Stick.

“Music, food and people go hand and hand,” he states about his appeal to the Top Artists he feeds.  When he goes H.A.M. (Hard as a Mutha) in the kitchen, he sets his timers to his own playlist. It’s not uncommon to find this celebrity chef cooking to Sade, Confunkshun or George Benson. However, when he goes real hard in the kitchen, it’s all about bumping Mac Dre or Ice Cube.

Stansberry might say that the two hearts he loves nourishing the most with his food belong to his two daughters, the both of whom he’s is currently putting through colleges. Stansberry sees cooking as both an art form and a way to make it out of tough circumstances. “A lot of my friends are dead; a lot of them are in prison. [Cooking] has been a way to stay off the street and work at my craft. It’s a way to be better as an individual. To young, prospective chefs, he offers words of advice: “Eat everything, taste everything and travel as much as you can. Learn other cultures, languages and terminologies. And look and listen.”

-Contact Chef Brian Stansberry, owner of High End Catering at bdown66@yahoo.com, on Twitter @FlavaFaceCo or on Facebook.

A Poetess Breaks Maafa Down for the People

Post by Yacub Majeed.

Poetess Sunny Patterson holds no punches. Pow...pow, pow, pow! Take that, Beast!