frankie beverly & maze

Serena Williams & Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Working on Getting Back in Stride to Make that Move and Secure the Bag

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The back to school season is really upon us now as pretty much most students across the country open their Zoom window. With Covid-19 still an issue, school districts are working on getting students back in stride for the upcoming year. Some started off with in-person classes while others do remote learning.

The Labor Day holiday is seen as the unofficial end of the summer and the first ramping-up of normal life. Kids return to school and parents wrap-up on vacation time. As to how normal things will be in the first few weeks is still a question. Whether at work or play, some feel being in lockdown mode is getting old.

In sports and showbiz, there’s some glimmer of hope in trying to get back on the regular. There’re events happening in a bubble, or at least without fans. Serena Williams is back on the tennis court at the US Open in NY while ‘The Rock’ surprised NY-area first responders with special props (or rather ‘kicks’).

Johnson recently announced a special giveaway of his sneaker-line to members of a local firehouse for all the work they’re doing on the frontlines. During this week of 9/11, he especially wanted to shoutout those who were impacted by tragedy as many reflect on what it means to serve your community/country.

Williams and Johnson are working with different motivations. For Johnson he’s bouncing back from being Covid-19 positive. For Williams, it’s her ongoing quest to hit that 24-mark in grand slam wins. No matter where we live, whether we’re trying to make that move or secure the bag, we can get motivation by being:               

  • New York Tough

As the song reminds us, “if you can make it here (in NY), you can make it anywhere.” Many (including the Governor) might say that’s a dream confession of a ‘NY Tough’ state of mind. There’s a certain kind of ‘grit & grind’ that makes NY a place people love to live and others want to visit as a global attraction.

  • New Jersey Strong

When Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast, there was loss of life as in 9/11 but there was also more widespread damage/loss in property. The strength that people showed in bouncing back became known as ‘Jersey Strong.’ No matter where things are career-wise or in life we can up our game with resilience.         

  • California Dreaming

There was a time when heading west meant reaching new lands. Plus, there was a period of ‘California Dreaming’ as seen in the Gold Rush. Well, after Labor Day might be a good time to think about reaching new heights. But to make that move and secure the bag these days is a different kind of ‘gold rush’ and life dreams.  

  • Colorado High

The CBD business has taken off across the country. One of the first places it started was in Colorado where recreational use was legalized. The State isn’t only known for the ‘mile high’ city of Denver. It also represents a kind of ‘Colorado High’ on figuring out new streams of opportunity for success.     

This week, NY Governor Cuomo gave a blistering readout on hometown rebound due to Covid-19. He thinks the Federal government has a silly vendetta against NY. Well, for the economic situation to get back in stride where folks get to secure the bag, it will take leadership that’s more than just a ‘sugar high.’      

Tip: To get back in stride and secure the bag takes adding ‘NY Tough’ to ‘California Dreaming’ from coast to coast.

Talkback: What other State slogan gets you going?

Tracks: Maze ft Frankie Beverly – Back in Stride Again – https://youtu.be/waSM0rXDLys

Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar – https://youtu.be/E07s5ZYygMg

Beyoncé and Kirk Franklin: Two Performers on Opposite Ends of the Game who Know Something About Turning-up the Heat on their Dreams

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It’s been only a few days since Easter and the temperature is already turnt-up. Not so much the air outside but the buzz around town and on social media after Beyoncé pulled another surprise album drop. This time it’s a ‘live’ recording from her recent Coachella Festival concert set, with a remix on a classic.

Her version of the old Frankie Beverly & Maze track ‘Before I let go’ is setting records and exciting fans. She even caused another ‘breaking of the Internet’ with dance challenge videos to the track. Then as if to follow that with even more madness, her Lemonade album is now streaming worldwide on all platforms.

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That’s the story from the R&B/Pop side of the game. And then there’s Kirk Franklin who’s going from the studio to the road with his 13th album along with a U.S. concert tour. He’s already made waves and set records as a gospel artist. He’s even got Amazon’s ‘Alexa’ on the case to help bump his streams.

Beyoncé and Franklin are two performers on opposite ends of the game who know something about turning-up the heat on their dreams. Since Bey had to skip her previous Coachella performance the year before due to the ‘baby bump’ many were looking forward to her bringing a world-class stage show.

She’s the first black female artist to headline the event. Franklin’s the first gospel artist to have a music video on MTV. Their journeys have had bumps in the road where they reinvented themselves a time or two. Their performance side is lit, their biz side is legit, having taken their dreams through the phases of:

  1. Formation

beyonce-style

One takeway from the Homecoming show on Netflix is that Bey handles the details from the creative to the expressive sides of her performances. As an artist, she’s thinking about her craft in the band as much as she’s thinking about herself as a brand in taking her dream from conception to mass distribution.

  1. Resolution

There’re probably three key times in the year when people use the calendar to help propel their dreams or other social agenda. Whether it’s because the ‘new-year rush’ is over or the career thrill is gone, people will use Spring time or early Fall to make a kind of dream resolution for taking things up a notch.

  1. Correction

Most dreams go though an ‘up and up’ phase in building clout. Then something happens that becomes a setback or shift in strategy. Beyoncé and Franklin have had moments where the business caused them to make adjustments or life caused their dreams to make slight course corrections as planes do on autopilot.

  1. Appreciation

It took three years for Beyoncé’s decision on releasing the Lemonade album to all streaming platforms. This will give fans a greater appreciation for her work. Not as if the Beyhive wasn’t already on board with her music archive. But fan appreciation is sort of the best ‘tell’ of the impact of someone’s dream work.

Sometimes a dream takes a while to come into formation or full view. Other times it happens right before our eyes as we’ve seen with these two artists. To fans, Bey is like an angel and they show her major appreciation. While Franklin wants his dream to be like a gospel soldier for the ‘MHG – Most High God.’

Tip: Sometimes a dream takes a while to come into formation or full view. But when it takes off it goes from conception to fan appreciation.

Talkback: What’s the difference between a fan club and the Beyhive?

Tracks: Shaggy ft Rayvon – Angel – https://youtu.be/XWJrPzAUzAs

Destiny’s Child  – Soldier – https://youtu.be/qFJ3VKnwmJw