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November 2009 Uncle
Ralph McDaniels Just before Thanksgiving '09 on a chilly Wednesday afternoon Ralph McDaniels graciously made room in his hectic schedule to meet up with radio producer and on-air presenter Angela McKenzie for an in depth conversation about the crucial role he has played in the genesis of the Hip-Hop music industry in the 1980s and 90s and his continued relevancy as one of the elder statesmen of the Hip-Hop nation. The name Ralph is German in origin and means wise and strong. This being the case Ralph McDaniels was rightly named by his parents and was also given the fitting moniker Uncle Ralph by music industry peer and icon DJ Red Alert. DJ Red bestowed the moniker upon McDaniels as a testament to his unrelenting efforts to help emerging talents make a breakthrough in a music industry that did not invest substantially in Hip-Hop musicians in the genre's early days. Long before television stations like MTV played music videos from Hip-Hop and Urban artists, McDaniels a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology, possessed enough wisdom and foresight to know that Hip-Hop would eventually surpass Rock 'n Roll to become the music that now represents America universally. Over a quarter of a century ago, McDaniels approached WNYC TV - New York City's public broadcasting station, with the idea of airing music videos in a one hour package called "Video Music Box" (VMB) to showcase musicians who told tales of inner-city life through their beats and rhymes. Needless to say the idea was met with initial resistance but VMB's Nielsen ratings surpassed those of the station's traditional content and cleared the way for McDaniels to bolster famous and almost famous Hip-Hop artists of the past present and future. In fact it is fair to say that any Hip-Hop artist one can bring to mind, megastar or otherwise, made his/her debut on Uncle Ralph's VMB. Angela McKenzie is pleased to present her engaging and edifying interview with McDaniels, which is underscored by vintage and current Hip-Hop music selections. The hour encapsulates his extensive career as a television producer; his work in video production for artists such as Whitney Houston, Public Enemy and Notorious B.I.G; and his influential role in the swift launch of Wu Tang Clan and the rise of Hip-Hop icon Nas. McDaniels also discusses his latest media ventures including Onfumes and his philanthropic work with anti-violence initiatives.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rock
'n Roots with Tom Boyd and the late Ann Sternberg "Initiative Radio with Angela McKenzie" is proud to present select vintage editions of the radio program "Rock 'n Roots" hosted by Tom Boyd and the late Ann Sternberg. Each program is thematic in nature and takes listeners on a musical ride filled with history, trivia and cheerful banter. Today's program explores the roots of racism in America through discussion and a great play list of music. Weighing in on the issue is the righteous babe herself Ani DiFranco; Frederick Douglass and Ossie Davis teach of a time when it was presumed that black slaves were a contented people because they always sang songs but Paul Robeson counters this presumption with a rendition of "No More Auction Block." Nina Simone bids farewell to Jim Crow and closing out the hour are Willie Nelson performing the Kinky Friedman classic "Ride 'Em Jewboy" and Billie Holiday singing the haunting lament "Strange Fruit."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tostan Angela McKenzie speaks with Molly Melching, the Founder and Executive Director of the Senegal based, non-governmental organization Tostan and her colleagues Malick Diagne and Oureye Sall. In 1974, when American-born Molly Melching traveled to Senegal as an exchange student from the University of Illinois, she did not realize that she would fall in love with Senegal's people, language and culture and in turn make a lifetime commitment to educating and empowering under-served Senegalese communities. With a team of local cultural specialists, Molly established programs to develop and implement community-led initiatives that respectfully engaged communities in the process by working in their own language and using traditional methods of learning. Since then, Tostan has grown to serve more nations on the African continent and tackles issues such as the promotion of grass roots democracy, ending child forced marriage, protecting the Talibe children who beg in the streets in exchange for lessons at Qur'anic schools and abandoning female genital cutting as a purification and coming of age ritual. Malick Diagne who leads the initiative "Child Protection: The Talibe Project" will speak at length about Tostan's role in helping to eliminate the exploitation of the Talibe children and Oureye Sall, a former practitioner of female genital cutting will talk about the horror and the history associated with this ritual and about her current position as an advocate against the practice. By popular demand, this program is taken from the first season archives of "Initiative Radio with Angela McKenzie."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fiona
Bloom Three years ago Fiona Bloom established The Bloom Effect after fifteen years of diverse experience in the music industry. A British invader in her own right Bloom prides herself on being able to recognize, groom and launch emerging talents who might otherwise go unnoticed by other industry insiders. She started her career at the tender age of four as a classical concert pianist but as a young woman when she embarked upon a Kibbutz and brief career as a night club assistant in Israel, her appetite for more beat-driven musical genres was opened up. On today's program Angela engages in a very lively and entertaining conversation with Fiona Bloom. Bloom advises young women on how to navigate the sometimes shark infested waters of the music industry and while she gives greater insight to the Bloom Effect's mission to serve cool, cutting edge artists and brands it becomes clear that the secret to her success is her high energy, unique style and candid sense of humor.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chef
Michel M. Chef Michael M. is the Founder and Executive Chef of Comfort Zone Cooking. He was born up north in the Motor City - Detroit, Michigan but his hunger for creating great tasting meals was birthed down south. In addition to his natural talent for cooking, he fine tuned his abilities during the countless summers he spent in Mississippi with his great aunt Savannah in her kitchen. In adulthood, Michael has taken his family's traditional recipes and added his own color to them, creating new blends of spices and seasonings and using organic foods for optimum health and nutrition. Michael has provided the Comfort Zone experience for many high profile clients but the projects that give him the most satisfaction are those that directly benefit the community through organisations such as the Make A Wish Foundation and Food Bank For New York City. On today's program we'll hear about Chef Michael's journey from Detroit to New York City to fulfill his vision of becoming one of the country's leading Chefs along with a quirky smorgasbord of food related songs.
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