The Solediction staff had the pleasure of catching up with an up-and-coming hip-hop artist that is taking the genre by storm - Phil Adé. With already two successful mixtapes under his belt, there seems to be nothing stopping the 368 Music Group-rep from making it to the top. Representing DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV), Phil looks to bring attention to an area that has yet to receive credit in the rap community like other metropolitan cities; such as NYC, Atlanta, and Miami.

Learn more about the rising star & what he has in-store for the future via the interview after the jump…

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to participate in this feature. For the readers who aren’t familiar, who is Phil Ade & when did he begin rapping?

I’m a hip hop artist from the DC Metropolitan area… better known as “DMV” signed to Raheem DeVaughn and Andre Hopson’s 368 Music Group. I started rapping when I was 17 in my Junior year of high school.
Each of us all have our own lanes, with each artist you get something different… With me you get a little bit of everything, rapping and singing. Being able to do both makes it easier for me to try a wide range of things creatively. The word I use to describe my sound is international. There’s something for everybody in my music.

We had the privillage of watching you perform at the Sneaker Pimps event last year in Washington DC with some notable names. How does it feel to perform back at home?
It feels great! To be able to share the stage with artists like the Clipse, J.Cole, and Wale and do it right in your backyard where you have the most support. You won’t get that feeling anywhere else.

Being that you’re the first signed artist to the 368 Music Group, do you feel any pressure to live up to certain expectations?

No not really… With the way things have gone so far for me in my very short career, I can see that everything is going to work out just the way everyone hopes and prays it does. Being under 368 I’ve been able to have creative freedom and make the music that I want to make, and just seeing how it is so well recieved in different parts of the world, I know there’s no way to go but up from here.

Read Full Interview Here

LeBron broadcast live his final decision on which team would more or less have the luxury of draping him with their jersey for the 2010-2011 season.

Reactions from fans in Miami were obviously a bit more amusing then his long lost fans in Cleveland.

Is this what sports has come to? Jordan never came close to a stunt like this. Is it really that serious?…..Regardless, LeBron James is one of the highest, if not the highest paid NBA players. With that status I guess you can do what you want.

Miami Heats new team…. I mean new SUPERteam:

LeBron James (L), Dwyane Wade (C) and Chris Bosh speak to guests at NBA basketball team Miami Heat's 'HEAT Summer of 2010 Welcome Event' at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida July 9, 2010. REUTERS/Hans Deryk (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL IMAGES OF THE DAY) 9:43 p.m. ET, 7/9/10

VIBE: What was life like for you growing up?

Phil Ade: When I was born, my father was just getting out of grad school. He went to school in California, that’s where I was born and his first job was in Alabama, that’s where we moved [first]. And it’s been a problem keeping a job for him so that’s why we moved around a lot. Since my father is Nigerian and my mother is from Grenada, I’ve had a lot of different experiences being from a family that’s so diverse, and a lot of that ties into my music⎯just all the different experiences and the different cultures that I was exposed to and grew up with.

You actually quit school to pursue music so how did you’re parents take it?

Singing was always first for me, growing up. I performed with a go-go band in high school. My parents were big on education so I kept that ambition on the low. But obviously they found out when I started working with Raheem DeVaughn, because it was hard to keep that under wraps.

How did you link up with Raheen DeVaughn?

I used to record with this guy who lived next door to me in college. I usually recorded the raps that I wrote in class [Laughs]. But he liked what I did so much that he introduced me to his brother who is friends with Raheem DeVaughn.

You know that because you rap and sing people will compare you to Drake, right?

It’s just human nature for people to try to find a reference for something they’ve never seen or heard before. I know Drake raps and sings, I rap and sing, [Kid] Cudi kind of sing raps and I think it’s just something that kind of happened where we’re all on the rise at the same time. Drake is more established but it just so happens that we both sing and rap and we’re doing what we’re doing in the same era. So that’s something I really don’t pay attention to or worry about too much. Drake is his own artist and I’m my own artist with my own identity so much success to him.

You’re part of a newer wave of artists that perform with live band, why is there such a serge lately, of rappers using live instruments during their sets?

Being from the DC area where live performances like go gos and live music is real popular, that definitely plays a part in why I use a live band. I used to be in a go go band so I’m used to performing with live music. But also, it gives me more freedom to do what I want on stage like, you can be in the middle of a show and you can direct your band to play a certain rhythm or certain tune and the instruments give you a fuller sound when you’re performing. I think people just realized it’s better.

Talk about The Letterman.

It’s my second project following the nuance of the high school basketball theme⎯comparing the [music] game to high school basketball. The established artists would be your varsity players⎯the Kanyes, Nas and Lupes, Drakes⎯and then the JVs are your up-and-coming artists like myself, Yelawolf⎯artists like that who are just making themselves known. With my first project, Starting on JV, I was just making a statement saying I’m one of the best new cats coming out [so] you gotta look out for me and here’s the reason why⎯that’s starting on JV. And this next project is The Letterman, like the jacket that varsity players get to wear. And that basically makes the statement that I’m ready to be on varsity team so here’s The Letterman. It’s gonna be hosted by Don Cannon, Okayplayer is involved with it, the homies over at Common Wealth are sponsoring it, Sneaker Pimps, DJ Booth⎯it’s gonna be a great look.

Describe your creative chemistry with Raheem.

Raheem does him for the most part. He may come through while I’m recording, and listen to something and give me direction on certain things I may need to do on a record. He encourages me to be socially conscious of what’s going on in the world and talk about. He’s kind of like a mentor schooling me on what people want to hear and also in a business mindset, he schools me on how to go about getting myself out there and grinding and building a buzz because there’s only so much a label can do. It’s up to the artist how far that artist goes so he’s kind of like a big brother in schooling me how things go so the chemistry is definitely there, it’s like a big brother, little brother relationship.

How will your music fit into the landscape of all the artists out there, especially since you rap and sing?

I think every artist has a part to play. Every artist has a different story and a different demographic of people that can relate to them. I just try to make the best music I can and make it as true to me as possible and whoever supports that and feels the connection will go from there. But I think hip-hop is moving back into real lyric based music and that’s the music I try to make, something that has a message and that is lyrically sound⎯like with artists like J. Cole and Wale and those types of artists coming out. I fit right into that mold with the way the game is going. Drake is a real lyrical dude too and for a dude like him to come out and be so successful, it tells you a lot where the whole industry has gone, it’s dope.

You’re part of a newer wave of artists that perform with live band, why is there such a serge lately, of rappers using live instruments during their sets?

Being from the DC area where live performances like go gos and live music is real popular, that definitely plays a part in why I use a live band. I used to be in a go go band so I’m used to performing with live music. But also, it gives me more freedom to do what I want on stage like, you can be in the middle of a show and you can direct your band to play a certain rhythm or certain tune and the instruments give you a fuller sound when you’re performing. I think people just realized it’s better.

Talk about The Letterman.

It’s my second project following the nuance of the high school basketball theme⎯comparing the [music] game to high school basketball. The established artists would be your varsity players⎯the Kanyes, Nas and Lupes, Drakes⎯and then the JVs are your up-and-coming artists like myself, Yelawolf⎯artists like that who are just making themselves known. With my first project, Starting on JV, I was just making a statement saying I’m one of the best new cats coming out [so] you gotta look out for me and here’s the reason why⎯that’s starting on JV. And this next project is The Letterman, like the jacket that varsity players get to wear. And that basically makes the statement that I’m ready to be on varsity team so here’s The Letterman. It’s gonna be hosted by Don Cannon, Okayplayer is involved with it, the homies over at Common Wealth are sponsoring it, Sneaker Pimps, DJ Booth⎯it’s gonna be a great look.

Describe your creative chemistry with Raheem.

Raheem does him for the most part. He may come through while I’m recording, and listen to something and give me direction on certain things I may need to do on a record. He encourages me to be socially conscious of what’s going on in the world and talk about. He’s kind of like a mentor schooling me on what people want to hear and also in a business mindset, he schools me on how to go about getting myself out there and grinding and building a buzz because there’s only so much a label can do. It’s up to the artist how far that artist goes so he’s kind of like a big brother in schooling me how things go so the chemistry is definitely there, it’s like a big brother, little brother relationship.

How will your music fit into the landscape of all the artists out there, especially since you rap and sing?

I think every artist has a part to play. Every artist has a different story and a different demographic of people that can relate to them. I just try to make the best music I can and make it as true to me as possible and whoever supports that and feels the connection will go from there. But I think hip-hop is moving back into real lyric based music and that’s the music I try to make, something that has a message and that is lyrically sound⎯like with artists like J. Cole and Wale and those types of artists coming out. I fit right into that mold with the way the game is going. Drake is a real lyrical dude too and for a dude like him to come out and be so successful, it tells you a lot where the whole industry has gone, it’s dope.

NEW MUSIC: JUDAH- “SUNDRESSES AND SANDALS”
Producer delivers fun and flirty single for the summer, available on iTunes now!!!

Sundresses and Sandals iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sundresses-sandles-feat-chays/id376748594
Sundresses and Sandals promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR9DVyUlhVo
JUDAH Media kit: http://mim.io/67693
JUDAH Links:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JUDAHontheBEAT
Blogspot: http://judahonthebeat.blogspot.com
Website: http://forthedmvonly.com

Check Ticketmaster and Live Nation for tickets!

Aug 5 Cleveland, Ohio  Quickens Loans Arena

Aug 6 Washington, DC  Jiffy Lube Live

Aug 7 NYC, NY  Jones  Beach Theater

Aug 8 Virginia Beach, VA   Verizon Wireless

Aug 13 Oakland, CA  Sleep Train at Concorde

Aug 14 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheater

Aug 15 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheater

Aug 19 Miami, FL  America Airlines Arena

Aug 20 Atlanta, GA  Delta Classic Chastain Park Amphitheater

Aug 21 Charlotte, NC  Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte

Aug 22 Greensboro, NC  Greensboro Coliseum

Aug 25 Cincinatti, OH Riverbend Amphitheater

Aug 26 St Louis, MO  Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Aug 27 Chicago, IL Charter One Pavilion

Aug 28 Detroit, MI  Joe Louis Arena

Aug 29 Philadelphia, PA  Susquehanna Amphitheater

Sept 2 Memphis, TN  FedEx Forum

Sept 3 New Orleans, LA  New Orleans Arena

Sept 4 Houston, TX  Toyota Center

Sept 5 Dallas, TX  Superpages Amphitheater

Benny played with GoGo band Rare Essence and also formed other bands in the 80’s, making his name known in the GoGo world.

The cause of Benny’s death is not known; he died in his sleep.

Souls of My Young Sisters: A Collection of Sixty Personal, Heart-Rendering Narratives That Will Touch Your Soul

Written and Edited by

Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy

Foreword by Madeline Smalls and Mary J. Blige

“Souls of My Sisters let all women know it was okay to tell your story, and now Souls of My Young Sisters helps young women struggling through life’s challenges to tell their stories and heal all of us.  A must-read for all women!” – Kyla Pratt, Actress

”Women began the pattern of jealousy and envy. That seed may be planted by magazines, television, family experiences, or amongst peers. But regardless of where it began, setting out on the path of being triumphant requires you to relinquish your feelings of both jealousy and envy.” - Debora Cox, R&B singer

A black woman’s young life is filled with challenges that can either make her or break her.  Social hierarchy, impossible relationships, increased responsibility, false friends, economic challenges, love lost, family crises, spiritual searches, and finding oneself are just a few examples of the trials they endure.  Sadly, many young black women are too afraid, too proud, or too ashamed to ask for help.

Souls of My Young Sisters: Young Women Break Their Silence with Personal Stories That Will Change Your Life is being released by an imprint of Kensington Publishing Corp. from theSouls of My Sisters book collection (release date: April 2010; trade paperback $15.00). This year marks the tenth anniversary since the publication of the first book; Souls of My Sisters.  We are honoring this with a Souls of My Sisters Conference on the island of St. Lucia August 5 to 8, 2010.  In Souls of My Young Sisters, sixty women ages 18 to 30 share personal stories of their private pain in the hopes that it will be liberating and inspirational for women enduring similar challenges.  The women in these pages are survivors.

This book will resonate with women trying to figure out what is next in their young lives.  Souls of My Young Sisters implores young women to look to their sisters for honest — sometimes heartbreaking — but always encouraging real-life stories for guidance.

Recent statistics show that more black women are raising their children as single mothers.  Surveys also suggest that young black women continuously struggle with self-image, skin tone, and self-esteem.  African-American women are victims of domestic violence at a considerably higher rate than women in other racial and ethnic groups in the United States.  Souls of My Young Sisters include stories that are reflective of these statistics, and will encourage young women everywhere to begin the healing process.

Book Excerpts:

Thanksgiving Day by Nicole Paultre Bell (wife of slain Sean Bell) “What? Dead? This can’t be. Today is our wedding day. I cried so loud and hard. The pain in my chest and head was just unbearable.  The police assumed that Sean and his friends were armed, yet they never found a gun. Why would they shoot fifty bullets?”

Desperation, written by Ebony Fletcher, involves painful memories of a man she once loved: “He pulled the revolver out of his coat jacket. He said to me, ‘If I can’t have you, nobody will’…We started to fight for the gun, and he shot me in my leg. He sat on my back after I fell to the floor. He put the gun directly on the back of my head and pulled the trigger…”

Dr. Ravaughn Williams gives us a glimpse of her marriage in Is This Love, a Relationship, Marriage, or Just Hooking Up? “Two months after our wedding day, a very dear friend of ours, Indira, came to live with us for what I thought was going to be a short period… The Lord had revealed to my husband that Indira was going to be his next wife.  He did not stop believing that God provided him with a vision to practice polygamy and to have two wives.”

College student Shampale Williams shares Left Behind: “Five years after my mother gave birth to me, she was incarcerated in prison for five years for possession of drugs. She was dating a young man who was involved with selling drugs. As a child, I did not quite understand what was going on and how her actions would change my life forever…”

“These young women are powerful, and knowing the stories of other young women from around the world keeps you from feeling alone,” say Daniels and Sandy. “Our purpose is to give women the opportunity to be able to recognize themselves in other women’s stories, gain the strength to move on, and live the life that [they] truly deserve.”

The authors — Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy — friends since high school, enlisted the help of women between the ages of 18 to 30 from the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. Sections of the book revolve around questions young women have about self-image, having had enough, why it hurts so bad, being afraid, faith, decisions, career, love, and death.  Whether you’re dealing with issues of self-esteem, dating, domestic violence, cyber-stalking, or racial profiling, within these pages a diverse gathering of amazing women like yourself, from entrepreneurs to entertainers, have words of wisdom, inspiration, and practical information.  Women of all colors and backgrounds will find stories and/or issues they, or a loved one have confronted in their own lives.

For a comprehensive list of upcoming Souls of My Sisters events, please visit our website at www.soulsofmysisters.com.

Actor Gary Coleman died at the age of 42  after suffering a brain hemorrhage Wednesday May 27.

Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was best known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom A Diff’rent Stroked.