Anyone who ever thought that Richard Gallion was going to slow down after making a big splash in the model and acting industry, they were sadly mistaken. Richard is only in the shallow end of the “pool of success” and is still swimming on to find the buried treasure at the bottom of the “ocean of success”. Continue reading
“My aim through my original music is to inspire others to do whatever they love, just as I would. I hope that every time I’m heard, a little bit of inspiration is transpired.” Sam Trump works at perfecting his craft in order to make this quote come true for anyone he passes or for those who listens to his music. There’s no telling that with his story; no one can’t be inspired by a great muse like him.
Born Samuel Harris III, Sam fell in love with music at an early age. He started playing at the age of 7 in the third grade at his elementary school which had a strong art program. “I followed in my brother’s footsteps and started to play. Being a part of a musical community, I just fell in line and played.” Sam went in wanting to play the drums, but he ended up playing the trumpet, in which I think the gods of the brass instruments strongly supported his decision.
This musical community led to Sam taking huge strides in the growth and development of his craft. Sam was so focused on playing and getting better that in middle school, he strayed away from watching a lot of television. As it was time to go to high school, Sam chose to go to Willowridge, a school that was known for having a great marching band instead of the school his mom wanted him to go to, one that was known for their engineering program. Despite choosing against his mother’s wishes, Sam knew that he had the blessings of his family. “I lived in a supportive community; there was no room for negativity. My parents were supportive. My mom just wanted me to be happy and my step-father was the main one taking me to and from rehearsal.”
It was in high school that Sam knew that he wanted to play professionally. “I got great feedback from my band director; he was like a second father to me. I had a great support system and I knew that I would be able to flourish in it.” Sam tried his hand in playing the professional circuit, playing at local cafes and restaurants. “I played at a place called Muddy Waters where I made about fifteen dollars in tips. It’s ironic that I played at a place called Muddy Waters but I guess that was a sign about my musical journey.”
Sam went on to college where he studied music. He learned classical in the school in his home state of Texas. He then came over to Illinois to attend Columbia College where he focused on jazz studies. “I enjoy jazz a lot more than classical. It’s more fun, it gives you a lot more freedom.
Currently, Sam is becoming more and more of a threat in the industry. Aside from his playing, he also writes music, produces, and sings. His love for music even had his sister create the alias “Sam Trump”. “She said I needed something that will stick with the people. She gave me the name and it stuck. I liked it.” Sam is working hard at perfecting his craft. Some of his genius is illustrated in the single Daydreamin. This hot track showcases the vocal and musical genius of Sam as he tells the story of a guy who sees an attractive woman and “daydreams” of what will happen if he sees her again. “I really like this song as I think everyone can connect to this song, especially the guys. We all had that time when we seen that real bad chick and wondered what if.” You can hear this song at www.samtrumponline.com.
Sam is certainly not done in changing the game in the world of R&B. He is working hard on creating new soulful music for all generations. Sam continues to do shows with his band Sidewalk Chalk. Sam previously rocked the house at the Hairpin Lofts Arts Center. If you want to witness more of this man’s creative genius by getting songs online or by going to a show, visit his website at www.samtrumponline.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @SamTrump. I also urge you to support his music by joining the Facebook page “Support Sam Trump Original Music.”
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Black Entertainment Television, also known as BET, is becoming more and more dominant in the media industry. BET is the most prominent television network which targets the young African American audiences. One of the many bright spots that BET can owe its success to is one of the newest shows, Reed Between the Lines. This sitcom, starring Malcolm Jamal Warner and Tracee Ellis Ross, focuses on a modern day blended family as they go through life dealing with the triumphs and tribulations. Aside from the headliners in the cast like Malcolm, Tracee, and Anna Maria Horsford, as well as the countless numbers of special guest stars who have appeared on the show, this show also have up and coming actors and actresses on the rise with no ceiling in their future. One of the aspiring youth actors on the show is Nadji Jeter, the multitalented fifteen year old actor/dancer/model who plays the role of Keenan on the show. I was fortunate enough to sit down with the young star and talk about his experiences on the set as well as what we should be expecting from him in the near future.
Nadji began on his road to stardom in his home town of Atlanta as a dancer. His dance moves led Nadji to become Lil Larry the Hawk, the mascot for the Atlanta Hawks. His electrifying moves caught the eyes of many people, including some A-list celebrities like Usher. He became a performer for Usher’s New Look Foundation Gala in 2005, and co-hosted the event alongside President Bill Clinton, golfer Michelle Wie, and pop star Justin Bieber. His success with the Gala as well as the rave reviews on Usher’s World Tour DVD gave Nadji much praise from fans and other celebs to go out West to prosper. “I went to New York for Usher’s Camp New Look Foundation and everybody was telling me to move out to California ASAP. Me and my mom thought a lot about it so at the age of 10, we moved out to California.” The move seemed to work in Nadji’s favor.
When Nadji moved out west, he got a lot of jobs with print and TV commercials. He also landed a few TV parts on shows like Everybody Hates Chris, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Forgotten. Nadji then landed a big role in the movie Grown Ups as Andre McKenzie, the son of the Chris Rock’s character. “Being in Grown Ups was a great experience; being able to learn from Adam {Sandler} about comedy. He would tell me that when you are doing comedy to be simple and be yourself because that’s when it’s most funny.” It’s clear that Nadji took heed to Sandler’s advice as his performance, as well as the performances of the other actors in this movie, was hilarious.
Not only has Nadji brightened up audiences in the movie realm, but Nadji has also hit it big as Keenan Reed, the oldest of the three, who is big on fashion, girls, and trying to find the best way to get through life without doing much work, although he is very smart. Nadji does a great job in his performance as Keenan for he believes that the two are very similar to each other, which helps him relate to his character. “I think that Keenan and I are real similar to each other. We have the same sense of fashion like wearing our clothes inside out. We have the same interests in girls and we both get in a lot of trouble.” Nadji also has been able to gel nicely in his role due to the great chemistry with his sibling cast, played by Zoe Soul and Zoe Hendrix. “I love my cast. I’ve known Zoe [Soul] for about 5 years. We were in the same dance group and we auditioned together and I was happy she got the part. Little Zoe [Hendrix] is amazing. She’s a grown person in a nine year old body and she is hilarious. I love working with these two.”
You can expect to see more of Nadji in the near future. Aside from Reed Between the Lines, you can find Nadji in the upcoming film, Grown Ups 2, the sequel to the blockbuster hit which is slated to start being filmed in May of this year. Nadji will also be a huge part of more national commercial campaigns. I can guarantee that more great things will come from this promising young actor. He is already aspiring to study at NYU once he finishes high school to study film.
Until then, Nadji can be found his perfecting his craft as a poet, working on music, and serving the community through various philanthropic opportunities. He is actually an ambassador of the Starlight Children’s Foundation, and he gives much of his time to the foundation, and the cause.
Nadji credits his success to God, his mom, and to himself. “Stay true to yourself and remember to work hard. Hard work pays off. With that, and keeping God first, you will get to where you want to go.”
Be sure to continue supporting Nadji as he is an upstanding young man that is on the rise without a sky to limit him. There are many more great things on the horizon for him. In order to keep tabs on Nadji and his success, follow him on twitter at @NajJeter or add him on facebook at Naj Jeter.
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“I’ll rest when I’m dead”. We would expect to hear a quote like this from an elderly person, one who has been working for years and years to come. Instead, we are hearing this from Paris Bennett, the vivacious, bubbly twenty-three year old who stole all of our hearts on the fifth season of American Idol. Since her appearance on American Idol, the Atlanta native has been busy with singing, acting, community service, school, and being a mother. I was able to talk with Paris recently in order to figure out how she manages to keep her busy lifestyle under control and what we should expect from her in the future.
Paris Bennett’s stardom should not come to anyone surprise as talent runs deep in her family. Her grandmother is Ann Nesby, former lead singer of Sounds of Blackness. Her mother, Jamecia Bennett, wrote songs for artists like Usher and Janet Jackson to name a few. Being around the business since birth, Paris decided that she was going to take a different route in her personal career. “I wanted to be a doctor. I was working on becoming a gynecologist when my grandfather persuaded me to audition. I decided to just try it out.” As she went on to audition in Greensboro, she wowed the judges which led her to go deep into the competition, all the way into the top 10. Although she didn’t win American Idol, finishing in 5th place, Paris left a great impression on the American Idol judges as well as people in the music industry. The positive experience on Idol, as well as the fantastic reviews received from her fans and peers, put Paris at a crossroad on her future. “I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do after Idol, I was in limbo. I wanted to see what this life had to offer. I knew and saw some things being introduced by my grandma but now I was “Paris Bennett introduced””. Her time on Idol led to performing songs with the likes of Andrea Bocelli and Stevie Wonder. She also went on to perform in the production “Rent” in the Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Today, Paris is working on releasing her album. She is currently in the process of picking from her bevy of songs to be on her next album. “I have been recording for the last 1.5 years. I just wrapped up my 92nd song. I am going to pick out 12 of my favorites and put the remaining 80 in my vault to be on a later album. You will not get cheated on the album because every song I create has a meaning. There’s a story behind them and you will be able to hear my pain, my sadness, my happy. People can relate more when they can feel emotions.” Paris knows a lot about relating to her audience, especially with the countless efforts she has made in the community. Paris has been a part of many canned food drives and toy for tots drives in her place of birth of Rockford, Illinois as well as in Milwaukee and Minnesota. One of her biggest community service events is the Heartland Camp, an annual event she does with former American Idol star Kimberly Locke in order to inform people more about Aids and the HIV virus. “I do a lot of events for the communities because there are a lot of things that people need to see and hear and I try to play a part in letting the message out.” The community is a big part of the foundation for raising children; personally important for Paris as she is doing the job of raising her three year old daughter, Egypt.
Aside from Paris countless work in the community, music, acting, and in the classroom as she is currently taking online classes, Paris is also a devoted mother who spends a lot of time with her bundle of joy. “I have mommy and me time with Egypt, I love her so much and I don’t want to miss many moments with her.” Egypt has the musical spirit in her as well, as Paris states; she enjoys singing songs from Beyonce and Nikki Minaj.
Paris is not looking to slow down any time soon. She says she has “2020 vision” meaning that she is living for the ten years to come. Within this time, she hopes to be doing more acting, hopefully for a Tyler Perry movie. She also wants to continue to be the positive role model for her daughter as well as the younger female fans that she has. We should have no worry about Paris keeping this promise as she is a big person of faith and she continues to stay in God, we should all be extremely blessed to have someone like Paris in our lives to look to for inspiration.
You can follow Paris Bennett on twitter @ParisBennett or be a fan of her page on Facebook. “
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For me, staying in on a Friday night was never a bad thing. This was because I grew up watching TGIF, the famous block that came on ABC TV Friday nights. Urkel and Cooper were great ways of bringing in the weekend on a right note. Now, I have a new block of television to watch on Friday nights, this time on TBS as Tyler Perry has now taken control with his works, including the new series “For Better or Worse”, a spin-off from the his hit move, “Why Did I Get Married”. The show focuses on the characters Marcus and Angela Williams, respectively played by Michael Jai White and Tasha Smith. I was lucky to catch up with Kent Faulcon, who plays Richard in the series and talk about his journey to now, Tyler Perry, and what’s next for the star actor.
