"Let's Shake on It": The movie; the after party.

Saturday April 20th was one hell of a night.  It is not everyday that your humble nogostreetbeat blogger treats herself to a fine film and an after party, but that is what happened to me. 

Last night,  The See It Be it production of writer/director Cornell Ford's romantic comedy "Let's Shake on It" debuted at the Genessee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois.  The theatre was packed and people were brimming with anticipation and I was glad I got there in time to find a seat.

The story begins with Selene (played honestly and with real emotion by Shaquita Blanks) and Louis ( played by the very handsome William Anderson)  who in the beginning are very happy and in a good place in there relationship.  Things change between them when Louis loses his job, and has to depend on Selene for support. 

Louis has dreams of being a star in Los Angeles.  Selene supports that dream, as well as herself, and her daughter while paying the bills.  After Selene buys tickets for Louis to fly to Los Angeles, he loses his job, has a pity party with himself, gets drunk and cheats on Selene with a girl who gives him chlamydia.  In turn, he must take antibiotics for a week and not have sex with anybody.  As you can imagine, this further complicates matters between Louis and Selene.  They grow apart, and she kicks him out.

Two years pass, and we meet Louis' best friend Brian (played by Jarrett "JG" Glover) and his girlfriend Trina (played by Tia Pratcher).  Hilarity ensues when a friendly wager is placed between these two lovers.  And then they shake on it, hence the title of the film.

I usually don't go for romantic comedies.  They just are too predictable and unrealistic.  Some girl is waiting for some guy to save her from her circumstances.  Well, life ain't like that, and that is why it is easy to enjoy a Cornell Ford film.  Aside from identifying with the settings and people in the film, the viewer can identify with what the story throws at every character.

No, "Let's Shake on It" is not "Pretty Woman"  for the black man and it is not another regurgitated piece of Tyler Perry fluff.  Cornell has a distinct voice and vision for each of his films.  Just like his first feature length drama "Music's Son",  "Let's Shake on It"  doesn't sugar coat anything.  Just like life the film is peppered with humor and realism. 

Now, I am not known for giving away major plot points and I am not about to start now.  But, you must have questions, right?  Question that I might be able to anticipate, right?  Namely what happens.  Who wins the bet?  What is the bet?  Do Louis and Selene reunite?  Well, I'll never tell.

What I will tell you is that Cornell Ford tells a real story with real people dealing with issues that everyone deals with on the daily.  And, in reality, happy endings are few and far between.  But, fairy tales do come true but only if a person will go on faith that things will turn out alright.  And that is the lesson I took from "Let's Shake On It".

The after party:  At Big Ed's Bar and Grill was smoking hot.  The drinks were flowing and there was a positive vibe in the air being exuded by all.  With DJ Cliff on the ones and twos, the party went on long after I left until the break of dawn.  I am looking forward to Cornell Ford's next project, and to seeing more of the cast succeed in all of the endeavors.  Oh readers, it ain't over for anybody.  Not by a long shot.

For information on how to purchase "Music's Son" or "Let's Shake on It" visit:  www.sibionline.com .

"Ceasefire 2013": a song for us.

The Messenger: Suave Da Lyricist

It is Tuesday, April 16, 2013; the day after the bombings that took place during the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts.  The images of that day are still fresh in my mind, but I am also reminded that right now in Chicago, Illinois and areas even closer to Nogo, people are mourning the lives of love ones lost to constant gun violence.  It is a problem more terrifying than international terrorism and it is something the people of my community live with everyday.

Today, I got the opportunity to speak with Suave da Lyricist, Glen C. Pitts the CEO of IND.TouchStudios, & producer Twan (aka Hey Hey Hey This a Twan Beat) about their song "Ceasefire" and the negative effect that black on black violence is having on the youth in our community. 

Who is Suave da Lyricist and how long have you been making music?

Suave da Lyricist:  Suave da Lyricist is just a person.  And I don't want to add no spectacular synonym to the name, I'm just a person.  I'm just me.  I'm somebody who has been doing music ever since I can remember.  At least a good ten, twelve years, I've been doing this.  Suave is just a person relaying the message, he's a messenger.  I relay the message through words.  That's pretty much it.

What brought about the creation of the song "Ceasefire"?

Suave da Lyricist:  Well, the reason I brought my guys here is because they pretty much came up with the idea for it.  Twan--I don't know how he came up with the track, but Twan had the track.  And Glen called me over, and Glen said, we got to do a record about all this killing going on, and I think this was after Janae McFarlane got killed and he was like man we got to do a record because there is just so much going on right here.

What's been going on out here, I was kind of cold to it because I grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes.  So people getting killed and all that, I'm conditioned to it.

Like you're numb?

Suave da Lyricist:  Right.  So, the passion they had about it is like how I felt in '93-'94.  So when they spoke on it, it unleashed some suppressed feelings about it.  So, I took his idea with it and I got to writing from a parents standpoint.  So, it just bled out.  I don't know how long it took to write; it may have taken about ten to fifteen minutes.  And it just went from there.

Twan:  And we told him not to hold back on his words.  Express what he means and how he really feels to make it real, you know.

How do yall feel about how the song "Ceasefire" turned out from a producers standpoint?



Glen Da CEO   "Stop the Violence, stop the shooting."

Glen da CEO:  I feel that it's great.   I mean it's got a few lines that can be changed.  Some words can be changed.  You know, some people might not relate to it, like the church people.  But, the message is clear about what we are trying to do and what we are trying to stop.  I mean, we didn't want to just stop with the song.  We wanted to take this to a whole 'nother level with marches and rallies.  All that type of stuff.  But, we are still working on that right now.

How can hip hop contribute to nonviolence and community outreach for our community particularly?

Glen da CEO:  Depending on the message.  Everybody can be swagged out cool without the violence.  You know what I'm saying.  Everybody wants to be cool and be this person that they want to portray themselves as, but they're not.  So, through music, I think we can contribute to the community by giving them something to listen to, something to vibe to, but from a positive standpoint.  Something different.  I think that is how we can get through to the community with something positive that we talk about in these lyrics.

Suave da Lyricist:  I agree.  I definitely agree, but just to piggy back on what I said before, I grew up in a neighborhood where, excuse my French, that shit was accepted.  It becomes an ice cream truck comes down the street and a nigga get shot, somebody gets arrested, somebody gets beat up--like these things are what we become conditioned to and its acceptable then.  But when you get older, I mean, we all parents now.  I can't even fathom burying my shorty especially because somebody shot him.  And then there is no real reason behind it.  So just like Glen say, I mean like this music, this music is a vessel.  And unfortunately, these kids are more relatable to the music then they are to they parents as teachers.  Cause they look to teachers, I mean to be straight up, they aren't looking to these teachers.  I mean, they there in school because they got to go.  But they'll listen to these artists.  Because that is who they dream to be.  But, somebody got to be able to add some sweet to the bitter.  Because it is bittersweet, but at the same time, if it's all bitter we can't be mad if they grow up and become a product of what's going on now.

Twan:  I mean, basically, we are trying to change a little bit of what the children are hearing and thinking from all this other hip hop.  By them hearing this message, it could give them some perspective about what life is about.

And about what life could possibly be for them.

Twan:  Yes.

Glen da CEO:    Not only that, if hip hop/rap music was incorporated into the schooling, I think it would give kids more to do.  Like if they had a music other than just playing the type of musicals they be doing at the schools, if they incorporated like a hip hop class in school, in the music class to give them something positive, because they not going to let you rap about killing and shooting in school--they're not going to do it.  So, if this was incorporated in the school more, maybe it would get a bigger message out there to the kids.

Suave da Lyricist:  Hip hop as a genre is shunned in the school system because of the representation that comes from it when the genre is mentioned.  When you mention hip hop, people already associate the ones that are you know thugging.  They're not speaking on LL Cool J, they're not speaking on the ones who are relevant still that are on the other side of what's going on.  So that's why there is a salty taste in their mouths but just like Glen said.  But, mainly, first and foremost, you got to stop being afraid, and that's another reason why so much stuff is foing on and not being fixed because people are scared.  So, that was another reason of making a record because people--and I'm going to be all the way honest--people know me and about my affiliations in the city.  But, for me to do a record like this, it lets them know that, yo, this is some of how I felt. So, if I can't bring you the real, then you can't respect me as a man because we all got to be able to stand up and conduct ourselves when stuff out of balance.  So, this is definitely a record that when delivered right  and a message is given by somebody that can be respected then it will go far.  Because if the messenger can't be respected for what he is saying, than the messenger can't go far either.

There was a time when a person could learn a lot from hip hop: about themselves, about religion, about their culture and about positivity.  Now, it seems, there is a gun culture, a drug culture, and a gross sexual culture in hip hop that needs to be weeded out in order to become more positive than what it is.  Do you foresee hip hop falling by the way side in the next 5 to 10 years if things don't change?

Twan:  Nah, I don't.  I mean, hip hop is basically the way that people live.  You never run out of things to talk about what you doing and everything, so no.

Suave:  I think as long as the big corporations still got they hands on it it's not.  Because, they going to always try to keep up with what going on as a trend as far as the record labels go.   It's different from the BDPs and like we talking stuff from 25 years ago.  I mean, I remember those records, and I know then those labels weren't doing stuff they doing now. These labels these days are personally handpicking records that going to be only be applicable for right now.  As long as they can try to find somebody who can do what they want for right now, they going always be able to keep it alive, but it's going to always be records like "Ceasefire" that's going to exists that aren't going to get heard.  I mean, Interscope, Def Jam, and those people aren't trying to hear "Ceasefire".  For real, for real, because that means all that money that they make off all that other stuff is not going to make any more money.   All it takes is one record and one person of importance to hear that record and then there you go you losing your money.

If people take nothing else from this one piece of music, what is it you want your listeners to get from the song "Ceasefire"?

Glen da CEO:  The message is clear:  ceasefire.    Stop the violence, stop the shooting.  Save our kids. That's the message that we want to give.  Other than that, there's nothing.  That's the whole message that we want them to get is just to stop. Stop the shooting, stop the killing. Even if you shooting at your target and miss, than there goes a kid getting hit by a stray bullet.  So, the whole message is just to stop it.  I wish we could go back to the days when you wasn't doing nothing but fighting.  But nowadays they shooting side ways.
So the whole message is just ceasefire.  PERIOD.

Twan:  Also, I think,  another message, what Suave said in the song basically  like not just our kids but we got to look out for each other.  And just for the parents to step up and be parents for all kids.  Not just your own.

Glen da CEO:   Like back in the day.  When your momma could whoop me and my momma could whoop you.

Suave da Lyricist:  I did a show the other night that was I guess you could say was just circled around the whole movement.  And, there wasn't anybody there.  There was just the artist that was booked, and just a few stragglers and nobody else.  What I want people to take from the record is stop always just showing up to funerals.  You know what I'm saying.  We'll show up to funerals.  We'll show up with the bears and the flowers and the candlelight visuals and all that.  But, we don't show up to the stuff that prevents it.  So if anything, just to get up.  And to piggy back off what Glen was saying about the record,  I could have done this record without cursing initially, rather than having to go back and do a radio edit, but it was the rawness of it.  My momma ain't never water down nothing to me.  The people that cared about me ain't never watered down nothing to me.  So I felt like to put this record together it was me really  giving you me.  This wasn't nothing edited so I could send to the radio so they could play it because it is bigger than radio.  I could care less if the radio mess with the record because it ain't just for them.  9 times out of 10, those radio directors don't know what's going on in our hood personally.  They hear it on the news like everybody else.  Those people don't even know who Janae is; they don't know who Hadiya is personally.  They only know because channel 7 broadcasted it.  I given that message on a strength of if I can't give it to you in the raw, then I can't give it to you because that is how it is presented to us.  I mean, these kids getting whacked ain't edited.  I just got a call earlier and heard that one of my guys sons got killed.  I mean, he was only half way from school and he got whacked.  I mean, I'm sure he had other plans this afternoon.  Why give it to them watered down?  Give it to them raw because that is what they are going to respect.

Well, we were all in agreement.  Something must be done to combat the erosion of morality and life in our communities.  Not just in North Chicago, but in communities around the world.  We pray and we feel for all who tragically lose their lives.  And I personally want to dedicate this blog entry to Janae MacFarlane and Hadiya Pendleton.  Both young ladies are gone to soon, and both are still remembered and missed by their loved ones and friends.

Ceasfire everybody.  Let's all come together and stop the madness. 

The music, the song, the message is *CEASEFIRE* 2013   <====  Click here to here the song and support your local artists and support and believe in the message.

 

The Place to go in North Chicago: Delores's Place 1536 Sheridan Road

April 4, 2013 10 am:  Nogostreetbeat #2 is on the move again.  This time I'm a little closer to home at 1536 Sheridan Road in North Chicago across the street from Abbott Laboratories and next door the post office.





Owner(Pit Master):  Fred Williams; Specialty:  Barbecue

Delores's Place is a new family owned restaurant that has been open for seven weeks in our fair city.  Service with a smile is the first thing on the menu when you walk inside.  The prices are low, and by low I mean really affordable. 

Today, I had the salmon croquettes with scrambled eggs and rice.  It was delicious and completely satisfying.   You can imagine my excitement when the owner of the restaurant Fred Williams agreed to sit down with me for an interview after I ate.  We sat a spell, conversed a little, and then began to discuss in and outs of Delores's Place.

 

How did you come up with the name for Delores’ Place?


Well, I came up with the name of Delores's Place from dealing with my mom, she loved to cook, and we always got together and was always  talking about opening up a restaurant.  So, we decided to try and get something together and we found out that it cost a little bit too much money so we put things on hold.  But, eventually, my mom ended up passing.  And then when I came up to par with a little bit of change then that's where I decided to open it up and decided that I'm going to name this place after my mom.  So, you know, we just wanted to have something to remember her by.

   




Head Cook:  Jimmy Pitts  His specialty?  Well, what do you want?

     I just had the Salmon Croquettes with rice, scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast, and it was very good.  Are all the recipes hers?

No, no.  It's really not.  Everybody has a hand in putting food together here.  My cousin that works here, his name is Jimmy Pitts, he's here cooking back there.  So, what he does, like the Salmon Croquettes are his specialty.  But everybody has their own little specialty that they bring to the place.

       
And Fred Williams, what is your specialty here at Delores's Place?

Well, my specialty is my rib tips and my ribs.  I'm a smoker.   I love to barbecue.  That's one of the main reasons why I opened up my own restaurant.  Just so, I could have a barbecue spot.  I came up with the concept with breakfast also for the fact that my mom was just a great breakfast person.  She and I would love to eat breakfast anytime of the day.  So, I just came up with the concept of when the diner is open to have breakfast anytime that you want from open to close.



How close is the actual restaurant to your original concept?  Or, what did you have in mind when you decided to open Delores's Place?

 

Wow. Well, the original concept of Delores's Place was supposed to be a 1950s-1960s style setting.  But, what it came to be was we decided to just do a barbecue because my dad said  No don't do that.  Just go ahead and do your own barbecue bit.  We don't want to be too old fashioned with it.  His name is Chester Williams. So we decided to just go on and do what my father said and that is how that came to be.


When people eat at Delores’ Place, what do you want them to take from the experience?

The main thing I want them to know is that, when they come in here and eat, the food is delicious and that the money that they spend is worth it.  I want them to be able to eat and get full.  You know, not just to come in and just eat.  Anybody can do that.  No, let's come in, get a full stomach and let's go home in peace.  Let them actually feel comfortable, warm when they leave here.


Let's talk about the menu:  You mentioned breakfast, you mentioned your specialty which is barbecue, but is there any category of cooking that generally defines the food here at Delores's Place?

Yes, we also have the Southern, old school cooking on Sundays.  So we serve the old school food like from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm.  You know, collard greens, smothered pork chops, smothered chicken, corn pones, macaroni and cheese, pinto beans, and you know, we could go on and on talking about Southern food.  We try to make a variety of different foods out here cause everybody has their own different likings. You know, we started with the breakfast, then we went to the lunch, which is dealing with the ribs and also fast food.  And we have pork chop sandwiches, chicken and philly steaks, other little odds and ends, so that everyone can get a wide variety of foods.

Well, you definitely have that.  Most definitely. You know, a lot of restaurants pride themselves on home cooking, but if we can cook it at home why should we come back to Delores's Place?


Well that brings me back to [my original statement] I want the people to be fulfilled.  I want them to go home feeling that this is a comfortable place, a comfortable environment for them to come in and be able to sit down and talk, drink a cup of coffee and enjoy each other.  You know, it's just a comfortable surrounding.  I love this.  It makes me like when I was young and my father would take me out for a cup of coffee.  And we didn't have that around here for so long.  Now, I can sit around and watch our older people come in, enjoy themselves and have a good time.  I love this, it's great.

And the main thing is it's yours.
   
Yes.  (laughter) Yes it is.

What are the hours here at Delores's Place, Monday thru Friday?

Monday thru Friday, we are open from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.  And Saturdays, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.   Sundays we are open, 12:00 pm. to 4:00 pm.

Are you think of expanding the hours in the future? 

We are thinking about expanding the hours, but we're young and we are getting more and more experience at this. And we're working it out.  It's going to take a little time, but we are getting there.

I could say a great deal more about Delores's place but the main thing is that if you live in Lake County, you should come experience the food and the grace yourself.   I mean, you can read about it all day, but wouldn't you rather taste the comfort of home cooking yourself.

I know I would.

Delores's Place is located at 1536 Sheridan Road in North Chicago, Illinois right next door to the post office and across the street from the Abbott parking lot.   Please look over the menu and say hello to the lovely Quinnesha Williams or the equally lovely Alexandra Williams.  Both will take your order with courtesy and a smile.   And don't forget about those ribs.