Recording Artist + Youth Mentor Psalm One Needs Your Help

Fresh off her 9-city tour with the ASCAP Songwriter Residency-- a 3-day program that partners artists with America SCORES, an after school program in under served areas-- Psalm One is back in her hometown of Chicago to continue her mission of mentoring students. During the three days, the artists spend two mentoring and writing a song with students, and on the 3rd day they go to a professional studio and actually record the song! 

Psalm conducts the youth mentoring program through Charm Lab, a program she founded to help students not only find their voices, but to also allow them to understand the work it takes to succeed in the Arts.

Between her recent appearance on MTV's Made and her work with Charm Lab, Psalm One has been rewardingly busy, but now needs to finish work on her new album slated for 2012. This new project will be the anxiously awaited follow up to her 2006 The Death of Frequent Flyer.

The goal is to mix the album by the end of the year and upgrade Charm Lab's gear to be able to create high-quality videos which will allow her to reach her fans, the students she mentors and to ultimately broaden her audience.

That's where you come in! Psalm One and Charm Lab have created a project through Kickstarter to help raise $8,000 by the end of 2011. With nearly $1,200 already raised, there are only 22 days left! Kickstarter is a website that helps artists fund their projects and in return receive thank you gifts from the artist. 

Check out Charm Lab's Kickstarter project to learn more and make your contribution today.

Upcoming Shows/Appearances:

12/15 - In-store Performance at Reckless Records, Chicago, IL
12/17 - "VIP Tour Party" at a private loft space in Wicker Park, Chicago, IL

See Psalm One Mentoring an aspiring emcee on MTV's Made.

Get More: MADE, Full Episodes

Take a listen to Psalm One's latest mixtape, Get in the Van Vol. 3

About Psalm One

Psalm One is the only woman signed to the prestigious independent record label Rhymesayers Entertainment. While studying chemistry at the University of Illinois, she self-released her debut Bio:Chemistry in 2002 & signed to Rhymesayers in 2006. In 2010 she self-released a trilogy of music and recently released Get In The Van 3. She is currently working on her next RSE album with expected release in 2012. 

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GZA The Genius Lectures at Harvard + Gets Inspired By the Scientific minds of MIT for new LP to be Released 2012

Wu-Tang is arguably one of the best things to ever happen to hip-hop and GZA is arguably one of the best lyricists to come out of the Wu Clan thanks to his classic solo effort, Liquid Swords. The wordsmith who has graced the silver screen in the conversational film Coffee and Cigarettes opposite Bill Murray as well as appearances on the Chapelle Show is now headed to Cambridge to lecture on his craft as a guest of the Harvard Black Men's Forum.

 GZA is currently working on a new LP to drop in 2012 on Babygrande Records, where he will visit with great minds of MIT and the Broad Institute for inspiration on the project.

Gary Grice aka GZA/The Genius, a founding member of rap supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan, will lecture about his Clan, his craft, and his creativity on Thursday, December 1 at 4 p.m. The lecture, hosted by the Harvard's Black Men's Forum, will be followed by Q&A and is open to the public. 

The Harvard Black Men's Forum (BMF) is a student led organization focused on providing a space for African-American men at Harvard and combating issues that affect African-Americans at Harvard and around the world. The current President of BMF is Damilare Sonoiki, a junior at Harvard. --Life or Death PR

 For more GZA info follow him on Twitter @TheRealGZA

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Hustlepalooza: Stop the Violence/Increase the Peace

Home to deep dish pizza, Kanye West, a dope skyline, the Oprah Winfrey Show, Harold's Chicken, Common, the 6-time Michael Jordan-led NBA Champion Bulls + so much more, Chicago is easily one of the best cities in the world! However, there is one dark cloud that continuously plagues this great city of big shoulders: Violence. Whenever traveling outside of Chicago, I proudly boast, "Chicago," when asked where I'm from. That answer is usually greeted with, "Ah, yes, Chicago, what a great city...but isn't the violence pretty bad?" Don't let the conversation go any further with me declaring the south side as home, because then I'm met with exasperation and looks of genuine concern that carefully inquire, "Isn't it dangerous?"

It's no secret that Chicago deals with a higher murder rate than the Iraq war, but instead of focusing on the violence, Terrence Randolph better known to most as Hustle Simmons who has recently felt the impact of these cold Windy City streets when he lost his brother to yet another senseless act of violence, has created Hustlepalooza: Stop the Violence/Increase the Peace Day as a call for responsibility by the Chicago community. The event kicks off on Wednesday 9.9.11 with a concert headlined by R+B star Raheem DeVaugn and will continue into the classroom of some of Chicago's public schools.

For full details visit: www.HUSTLEPALOOZA.com

Video: Recording artist GLC speaks on violence in his hometown of Chicago.

Hustlepalooza: Stop The Violence x GLC from Charlie Bressler on Vimeo.

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Prison v. Princeton: 1yr in Prison = $44K v. 1yr at Princeton = $37K

 Many scholars, social activists and ordinary citizens have been aware of this fact and debating it for years. Education is big business but it's clear that prison is even bigger business. Privatizing prisons, where corporations own or have vested interests in the number of inmates incarcerated is more than likely one of the main reasons, this topic or it's solutions remain eschewed.


Created by: Public Administration

Read more on the Prison Industrial Complex in Issue No. 8 (print or digital) or you can catch it in our FREE digital compilation issue-- a gathering of some of our best features + articles from 2007 - 2011.

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Immortal Technique "A Toast to the Dead"

On this day where headlines are overloaded with reports of a NATO backed rebel killing of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddaffi, Immortal Technique drops "A Toast to the Dead" with some eerily remarkable timing. The track gives us a chance to hear some new vibrations from the ever-missed master Jedi of production J. Dilla, while Immortal Technique forays into rhymes paying revolutionary homage to those we've lost to death like only he can. Get your fists up on this one.

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Lupe Fiasco Foundation Coat Drive Initiative

Earlier this year Lupe's Foundation fed many families in Chicago, now the Lupe Fiasco Foundation is collecting coats in its 1st annual coat drive. If you're in Chicago, support by dropping off new or lightly used coats to the various drop-off sites listed on the flyer below. If you know how unforgiving Chicago winters can be, then you understand the importance of this coat drive!

 

Check out this video to learn more about the Lupe Fiasco Foundation:

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