ROAD 2 RICHES

Brandon Bates (Milwaukee, WI/Atlanta, GA)

Calm, Cool, and Collected…. Ambitious, Determined,and Respected. Brandon Bates is defined by six strong words that can make an impact on first impressions no matter what way they are said. With swag on one hundred, thousand, trillion; and a soulful personality that will feed hungry minds into conception, and deep thought; Brandon has swept the eyes of many women and the ears of many men. Attending Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA , Brandon is an English major which he may preferably take into law school in the mid west, looking to land in top named schools such as Marquette. In his bright future he sees opportunity for his own recording label, more into production, using the law degree he will have obtained for his own benefit into the entertainment world. With the broad mind that he does have, filming and a federal chain of barbershops in the Midwest is also on his “to do” list.

“The city of Milwaukee is a city with the most potential….with NO drive, everyone is too afraid.”

Growing up in the city of Milwaukee, Brandon had seen the deeper side and reasoning behind poverty, poor education, and an ethnic stand still. Milwaukee has a lot of un-used land that has not yet been taken advantage of to help the community. Large Breweries in the downtown area of the city are abandoned, and large factories have been closed for years, but the city continues to build expensive condos for the rich, and give less resources for the poor. Not only does the government contribute to the effect, but looking through Brandon’s eyes, he also acknowledge the TRUTH by seeing how his own people are segregating themselves. Too many fights, and senseless killings are happening in the city where clubs, bars, or stores that were contributing to the community or black owned are now closed due to reckless behavior. No matter which way controversy brings the city’s negative wrath, Brandon wears the traditional MLB baseball cap whenever he is away from home, representing where he came from, and what he hopes to rebuild. Brandon has grown up to be an inspiring young man thanking God first, family second, and his own understanding last; to know now that school is in fact an investment and not to be taken lightly, Brandon has every reason to go hard. On campus, friends may recognize Brandon through his talent that he showcases through campus activities such as their “Spoken Word” where he performs sweet poetry to the ladies, with a twist of active listening for the men. Brandon is also working on a hip hop album with close friend Derrick Braggs, tutors on school campus, and does mentoring for children.

Bringing the past into the future, Brandon is determined to replenish the conversations of slavery, civil rights, and history on black culture. Bringing depth into your barbershop topics, or speaking knowledge through your headphones; Brandon will be a constant reminder from the past into our future who we are, and where will continue to stay. Coming from his mouth, into your ears, through your mind, until you have swallowed and digested the power into your soul, he is not one to be reckoned with; if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything, and Brandon stands taller than a totem pole baby. This is Brandon’s story, and my testimony.

Follow on twitter:SuckMyHaiku_2 or friend on Facebook: Brandon Bates

Marquise Hibbler (Milw,WI/Daytona Beach, FL)

 Everyone who is anyone knows that being a strong black man is hard when you have the world on your shoulders, trying to grasp it all at once without dropping any of it. Whether it is corporate america, or the streets of Milwaukee, Marquise has found his niche and the solution to grabbing the world off his shoulders, throwng it into a backpack and carrying it on his back; he has control over his future.

It was not always easy for a young black man to follow and actually pursue his dreams living in the small city of Milwaukee, WI where it has been recognized as the #1 most racist city in the nation. In the midst of controversy, pain, and fall backs; Marquise has excelled over some classmates, and aspired over close teammates. Graduating from high school seems like the bare minimum requirement for most black men, but Marquise has set his own standards and is a couple semesters short from graduating college with a successful degree. Marquise attends Bethune Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL and is majoring in Mas Communication with an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism; looking into the bright future of being a radio personnel or even a magazine writer. Marquise has thrived to be a succssful black man ever since he was a child and has passion for the city of Milwaukee where he was born and raised, after seeing a close friend being murderd, he pushed even harder to move out and go searching for what has been waiting for him.

 ” Our city does have talent, but I feel we don’t get recognized like we should because of all the violence that happens in our city. I think if we can unify our city and stop all the hatred, we can bring our violence rate down and conquer our spot in the different masses of music, entertainment, modeling, etc.”

Bringing knowledge and recognition to the city of Milwaukee will give great motivation and awareness to the youth and make them feel notice for their positivity and natural talent. Trying his best to move forward and succeed in the things he has appointed in his life, road blocks have come and gone with as much as a shrug, a smile, and a try again next time. Bringing focus and a stable mind before all will lead this young man into heights he could only imagine existing. Marquise has gotten his toes wet as a child, was waste deep as young boy, and has jumped in head first as a man; swimming in his ambitions, through his dreams, and around his goals, coming up for air seems to be no where in the agenda. Swag surfing is what the new generation calls it, Prosporous is what it really is. This is Marquise’s story, and my testimony.

MKE (Music, Knowledge, and Entertainment) is Mr. Hibbler’s next big project. If anyone interested in writing, modeling, design or photography contact him by email at mlhibbler@gmail.com

Follow on twitter: on_what414 or Facebook: Marquise Hibbler

 

Brittany Rodgers (Milw, Chi, Houston)

 

“Say What?”

When you think about blogging what first comes to mind? Is it the information posted, or the writer? Behind a great sentence, is an even greater mind; every word was carefully thought of from an even more careful thinker. With an excelling past behind her that is shaping her soon to be booming career, Brittany will be living the life as an entertaining writer before you know it. Although Brittany seems sweet, shy, calm, cool, and collected, she has a big bark followed by an even bigger bite. A young lady who knows what she wants and which direction to go and get it from; letting not even the most daring situation stand in her way. Since graduating from Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois she has been striving to make it in the social media world through the web based society. Having two internships while in college with WGYN and Chicago Tribune, opened her eyes to a world she had no idea she even wanted to be in. All through grade school Brittany carried around a personal journal where she wrote about anything you could imagine a young teen girl writing about, from then on she knew she wanted to be a writer; it had begun to be a second nature. Brittany started her first blog after interviewing a close friend of artist Kanye West who told her, “If this is what you really want to do, shouldn’t nothing stop you.”  Brittany took heed to those words and has been successful in networking ever since. She first started off blogging about hip hop entertainment and the music industry but did not know what it was going to grow into, all she knew is that the web based society is where she wanted to live. Brittany currently writes for Gloss Magazine online for women between the ages of 17 through 25 on a social network, she has 3 blog sites Mind of Hers that she started for a journalism class and her “baby” HeartBrittLashay.tumblr.com where she expresses herself as a real time blogger. Through school, Brittany has took the initiative of over excelling and going above and beyond what she was accustomed to, to get the information she needed to master to be successful. Being the only child, she was used to not having to do much of anything and now life has thrown her lemons and she has mastered lemonade. Brittany has been in the middle of network central, living in Chicago where she was heavily supported and had already made a mark for herself in the city; but now recently moving to Houston, TX she has to take that same determination and drive that got her noticed in the north and apply it to the south. Being versatile and open minded to all the wonders of the world has this talented young lady filled with over 1,000 hits on her personal thoughts and opinions alone. Take a look, and you can tell that she’s destined for greatness. This is Brittany Rodger’s story…soon to be testified.

Follow on twitter:@brittlashay/Friend on Facebook: Brittany Rodgers

 http://heartbrittlashay.tumblr.com

LaCretia Richards (Milwaukee,WI)

 

TREAT EVERY WALKWAY, LIKE YOUR RUNWAY

Whether it’s taking out the trash, walking the dog, grocery shopping, or even factory working; you are almost always going to see LaCretia in a pair of 6 inch heels strutting to her very own beat. Trying to determine the next move to make in her career as a model sometimes could get overwhelming or put off to the side when family values and road blocks get in the way, unlike people who give up, this sassy young lady acts like a bulldozer, scooping it all up and treading right through. With dreams of making it into the fashion world as a model, LaCretia is striving hard to push herself beyond the limits. A small figure and tall elongated legs gives her a giant leap in front of dreamers such as herself, but financial stress and living in an arm pulling city often holds her back. Knowing that a move has to happen soon as she gets up in age, LaCretia is willing to go as far as her career will take her to do exactly what she loves. Modeling is her dream, but dancing is a raw, natural talent that she is passionate about; put a song on, and she could make her own choreography and make it fierce honey! Seeking to embrace her natural beauty and let out the inner girlie girl, she has chosen the career as a model to be introduced to the world.

 

Through hard work and practice LaCretia plans to keep confidence and pride in what she is set out to do, mixing it in with her bubbly personality, pushing herself to the end is what will ultimately be shown. She is currently working in Milwaukee as a freeze model inside of retail stores display windows learning how to maintain composure when alot of activity is going on. Just finishing modeling school at Joan Casablanca; she hopes that the courses taught which includes runway, hair styling, make up, posing, resume, and portfolio helps to expose her raw talent for performance. Not knowing where she will be relocating to, she hopes to get in a place where she could strive and work at her career, full forced in hopes to meet some of the greats in the modeling world like Nyomi Campbell and Tyra Banks.

 ”Staying focused, positive, and blocking out all negativity is what will keep me grounded. I am always aware of my surroundings and know what it takes to reach my ultimate goal.”  This is LaCretia Richard’s story…soon to be testified.

Follow on twitter: @Cr3tia   Facebook: Lacretia Stillstandingtall Richards

5 STEPS BACK TO REALITY

#1: IS IT REALLY WORTH THE EFFORT OF ANGER, STRESS, AND AGONY?
Sit down and think is it really worth frowning your face up, twisting your mouth and looking ugly for? Whatever you are going through that has got your drawls up in a bunch you need to dig out your ass because it’s doing nothing but tearing you down. You can’t let nothing get the best of you. The problem is that whatever is going on has been going on, you have allowed it to go on, and now you’re tired. It’s a little too late for worrying where you went wrong, or what could have happened along the way that changed. If it’s relationship problems while you’re crying, angry, pissed off, can’t eat, can’t sleep, bitter, cold hearted that other person is laughing, happy, eating steak, sleeping good, and enjoying life. You cannot spend too much time stuck in the sorrow of what happened. At some point you have to get the hell up. If it’s economic loss while your’e thinking things can’t get worst, you are at rock bottom, you don’t know where to start from here;the world is moving, living, and 3 steps ahead of yo sorry ass. You CANNOT sit there waiting for progress to happen. Your life changes every time you wake up. If you put as much effort into getting back up when you fall, you’ll be up more than you are down. IT’S NOT WORTH MISSED TIME.

#2: THERE’S SOMETHING BETTER FOR YOU
The only reason you feel all has failed is because you didnt get what you wanted, or things hadn’t worked out as you had planned for them to.. Duh! It’s not YOUR decision on whether things will or work out for you, it’s YOUR decision to know how you will react when the shit don’t. Who told you being in a committed relationship at the age of 21-30 was going to be easy? Who said getting a position at the new Coffee Shop was going to be for you? If you stop looking at the closed door in front of you, you wouldn’t be ignoring the door that has been opened in the back of you. I don’t know how spiritual you are, but God ALWAYS has something better. When he takes away, he’s giving something, when he closes, he opens, when he punishes, he teaches. It wasn’t meant for you no matter how hard you thought it was, it wasn’t. The reason why you have been going so long in distress is because you were still tryna make something work that was never meant to be in the first place.. Let it go, so you could find something better!

#3: HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE?
Who sells time and where the hell can I buy some at? No matter what you do, or how you feel, when you stop because all seems to be crumbling before your eyes; ME, your mama, your friends, the whole world is still moving around you. Time waits for NO ONE. Are you really going to spend precious time that could be used to inspire someone else, or make you smile on something that is causing pain, making you cry? Forget a money tree, tell me where the time tree is, cuz then ntohing would even matter. Nothing matter when you are wasting time on the wrong things because when you finally do get over the shit, and bounce back you will already have wasted too much time, and now have little to none to start over and be happy.

#4: SOMEONE IS COUNTING ON YOU.
You are the main aspect of somebody’s life. You inspire, you teach, you engage at some point at some time in someone’s happiness. You may not be in the person who you want to be in life, but you are in somebody’s. What would happen if you failed to be that support group, that leaning shoulder, that listening ear? That somebody would then too loose hope, start to doubt, and become down and out just like you. Now how sad are two depressed ass mfs who refuses to take control of their situation? You need to be strong if not for you, for somebody else because somebody is watching and waiting to see how you will react to your situation. You could either come out swinging, bruised up and hair missing but smiling a toothless smile. …Or you could not come out at all.

#5: LIFE COMES ONCE AND IS GONE FOR-E-VER
Pinch yourself…… Now……Go ahead do it…. Your still alive right? Okay well if you still think you’re not go jump out the window and see if you could feel the pain…yea…ok. You are breathing if you don’t have anything else left to be thankful of be thankful you are alive. If you feel that you don’t matter, or no one cares try being dead… C’mon now we all know it’ll be sad, people will cry, but after a few years will you be remembered the same? You have life. Don’t let it fade away. If you are unhappy with your life it’s time to make some major changes. If you are ugly Macy’s has a whole department for make-up. If you are bald- head, the beauty supply store has nothing but weave, and weave is in… If you are fat fuck working out you take yo ass to Torrid or Lane and Bryant and be comfortable in your own skin. Life goes on yea it hurts BELIEVE ME I KNOW but how do you want your life to be remembered?

Vickee Yang (Milwaukee,WI)

QUIET ON THE SET!!!

We’re live in 5, 4, 3, 2,…  Vickee is a sweet, ambitious young woman who will not settle for the lifestyle she was born into. Many people living in Milwaukee, WI have big dreams, goals, and high hopes for their futures; but only a selected few actually get off their ass and make it happen. Vickee refuses to blend in with the dull gray and black scenes of the city; she’s a walking canvas of life, inspiration, and let us not forget fashion. Although Vickee seem to have had many productions started in her life, that ended up being canceled or cut; she’s stopping at nothing. The passion and drive to have a career in television broadcasting is instilled in this small, petite lady that she shoots up to be a tall monument you cannot break down.
People, and opportunities often come short or one in a million these days, and Vickee is willing to go over as many takes as she has to to make her production possible. No matter how many times  her set will crumble she will rebuild, and replace the film because the show must go on. Inspired by television shows like ET, and 106 and Park, Vickee dreams to have her own segment in entertainment television broadcasting that will change her life for the better. I guarantee that you will see this woman invading your television screen demanding to be seen and heard, you better just hope her cameras didn’t catch you in the action!

With the ultimate goal of finishing a career in television broadcasting, similar to entertainment anchors like ET and 106 and Park, Vickee sees herself living the glamorous, fun, and oh so changing lifestyle in front of the cameras. In her hometown Vickee is involved in programs that her school MATC has to offer her such as running cameras and assisting directors for the PBS studio; she wishes to start a blog interviewing local talent in the city to sharpen her camera skills. Inspired by her distant past with family members and relationships gone wrong, Vickee knows the disadvantages of being Asian, and the hardships that it will bring to the career choice she has decided for herself; but with a determined mind and even more determined heart, she will not stop at nothing. Hoping her inner bitch comes out when faced with media wars and racial discretion, Vickee is ready for the world! This is Vickee Yang’s story…soon to be testified.

Follow on twitter: @VDashingFind on FB: Vickee YangFollow blog spot: http://www.vmediafrenzy.blogspot.com

AMBER BANKS (Milwaukee, WI)

 Does the name Amber Banks ring a bell?…..Well soon it will.
As Amber prepare herself every morning to get up and continue down the runway of success, she hopes to one day end that walk, and start a new one down a real runway. Through tears, heartache,and many disappointments, Amber still continues to journey down the path she once started some 10 years ago. In the pursuit to become a fashion model and inspiration to young girls overcoming struggle they were born into; Amber is no longer waiting around for opportunity to come knocking, she is knocking on doors looking for opportunity. Like many girls growing up in an urban neighborhood where society gives you little to hope for, you sometimes get discouraged;but if you are anything like Amber you know that you will not let your current situation determine your future. People struggle everyday in their own ways that one could relate to or not; sometimes you are an example, and sometimes you are an inspiration. The path that Amber is taking is one of many she will have to choose from as she continues chasing after the dream that seems so far away. 

Putting herself on a 10 year radius to become a supermodel or mogul, Amber wants to be seen in the light through her natural talent, life experiences, and beauty. A model is only half of the impact she wants to make in the world, she also would like to host her own talk show displaying the realities of young women like herself. Opening doors that will embrace models of ALL types, sizes and heights will not be easy, but Amber would like to display “the rest of the world” as not seen on t.v. Criticism comes naturally for Amber, but she does not let it get in the way of her ultimate goal and reaching her dream. Learning from her personal mentor Tyra Banks by watching her talk shows faithfully, she takes heed to the advice given on the talk show seriously and tries everyday to make more of an impact to the world through herself. Amber’s purpose goes far beyond wanting to be in the lime life and behind the cameras on red carpets, she has her whole family depending on her to be successful, and not fall into their footsteps where dreams are buried, and living life has a total different meaning. Amber is currently doing photo shoots in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Atlanta and has even been featured on MTV’s Super Rockstar 21. This is Amber Bank’s story, soon to be testified.

Follow Amber Banks @1GemBanks on twitter or google Amber Banks Model Mayhem for more pictures.

That next move was my BEST move

A month ago, I made the BIGGEST decision of my life thus far… I MOVED!

No, not a new home, but a new city, a new state, a new beginning, a new..ME

I moved from Milwaukee, WI

I am in school to be an architect and there is NO way I could pursue my career living in the small city of Milwaukee. There are a lot of set backs in the city that is irrelevant and could be traumatic to your life. Being the #1 most segregated city in the nation it is hard to not only get ahead in your career, but also in your community. People are settling for the minimal and accepting their lives as the way they are. I refuse to live in poverty and will live to have a college degree under my name. I pray for my city.

To Houston, TX

I have been here for one month so far and have experienced greatness already. My first 3 days here I was able to find a wonderful apt. in the downtown/medical center area with awesome amenities and access to  a lot of food places (yum). After 2 weeks I was able to find a job and know my way around a small (very) small portion of the city. Houston is so big and full of so many surprises as well as opportunities. I see myself being successful in this city as an Architect and cannot wait to have my names on one of these houses or buildings….It will NOT be long!