This week on Da Gas Block, the team presents to you an article about DJ Curley Sue, a DMV based DJ known for turning up nice crowds at any live event, whether it’s online or in-person.
She blew the internet away this past weekend after building a strong buzz with her own creative commercials for her Sunday Brunch mix on Facebook live accumulating 132k views, featuring songs from the: 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, Current day, and even Black TV show theme songs (Wow). She even had a couple of surprises for the viewers, for instance, she gave a shoutout to the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant by wearing his black Lakers jersey, and right before the closing portion of the Sunday Brunch mix, DJ Curley Sue & Momma Sue were playfully dancing and singing alongside each other to, “Mary J. Blige – I Can Love You”, with their red kitchen utensils used as makeshift microphones (Cute). Their mother-daughter relationship was beautiful to witness live!
So special shoutout to DJ Curley Sue for rocking out and bringing the viewers enjoyment with her electrifying mixes during the Coronavirus pandemic this past Sunday! Further proving that music is and always will be a uniting force. And, a special shoutout to Momma Sue who was jamming out to the mix, all while cooking a “Whole” pot roast dinner at the same time… Shoot we were waiting on Momma Sue to prepare a dessert!
DFW emcee Re:Zen returns with his long awaited album, “Roamantics”. The album came after an announcement on his Instagram! Roamantics is 15 tracks long with an overall theme of love, over a diverse set of sounds executive produced by his father the legendary Erotic-D, who’s production credits stem from the likes of: Dr. Dre, The D.O.C., Insane Clown Posse, MC Breed, The Jacksons and more.
Re:Zen – Roamantics (Tracklist)
Re:Zen opens Romantics with Chef Talk instantly showcasing a bellicose for the rap game & the world, while appearing larger than life based on his lyricism. For example, the line, “I’m a God so let’s be mindful”, was so straightforward that I had to revisit that line. A God is mindful, and a subservient individual is mindful of the God of their understanding (Wow)! While records like Sax in the City and Broke as My Phone showcase Re:Zen in the light of some of the best emcees today. On the flip side songs such as: The Need, (She Knows) It’s All Right, and Your Love shows that he can paint a picture with thought provoking lyrics about his feelings… including love & despair!
Re:Zen shot by: @ajchaka
Da Gas Block’s standout tracks on Roamantics include: Broke as My Phone, The Need, Your Love, Paranoia, and The Getaway. Since hearing Re:Zen’s earlier work like: Early:Placement, The Voyage, and How I Told Her; I can hear the growth & maturity! And, as a attentive listener I can appreciate that! Therefore, during this Coronavirus pandemic you should stream Re:Zen’s new album Roamantics below.
For today’s Midweek Highlight on Da Gas Block, the team would like to Salute & shed light on a special business owner from the community that has persevered to earn: 22yrs clean from active drug addiction, her bachelors degree, 6 credits into her masters degree & the utmost respect from the DFW Hip Hop community! Ladies & Gentlemen, we present to you the CEO & Owner of QueenzCatering, Ms.Valerie Brass!
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Background
Prior to the inception of Queenz Catering in 2017, Valerie was a student who earned an Associates degree in Basic Psychology, and a Bachelors degree in Human Services. In addition, to excelling in school, she also wrote a few blogs for Nephews’ World about: DJ Tuss, Huncho 47, Sonny Cash, and Sweet Bennie Ray. However, only 6 credits away from her Masters degree she felt like there was something missing in her life… a higher calling!
The Process
So, one day when going to support her favorite Ft. Worth artist Jaio after he posted a Live From The Block (LFTB) battle rap event flyer, she fell in love with the sport of Battle Rap and found herself frequenting the events. Earning respect from OG Percy, Shiesty, and Trebo Dose amongst many others, they began to notice the strong support she was consistently giving! Thus, upon learning that the LFTB team welcomed her with open arms, she found herself being of service to them when they were in need of food for an event. After telling the leagues owner Osama The Great (LFTB) that she can cook, Osama gave her a shot to cater for a LFTB event. Hence, igniting the birth of Queenz Catering to the forefront with the help of her daughter/business partner Myra Yonta.
Valerie Brass & Myra Yonta of Queenz Catering
Myra Yonta & Valerie Brass of Queenz Catering
After a few reps catering, Ms.Val began to pickup clients from other locations by word of mouth & Queenz Catering began to spread quicker than a California wildfire. Catering for Next Level Radio, IamDallasHipHop, Rage on the Stage, Cree8ion Station, including a fashion show ran by Lisa Stark at the African Art Museum at Fair Park in Dallas, TX.
The Support
The Queen has built a respectable name for herself, by being of service to others. For instance, she has collaborated alongside & openly supported many names on the scene such as: DJ Dogstyle, Complete The Emcee, DA U.A., Original Soul, PiKaHsSo, Kinfolk Jack, Mozez Tha Great, John John Da Don, Lil Chill The Coolest, AJ Chaka, Kadillac, Sunshine Capone, PeeWee, T-Top, Boogie, Official, Deuce Deuce, King Kidd, includingIndiafor her Memorial Day event, amongst many others (Whew)… Even to the point that she has created her own dishes inspired by some of the artist on the list above. So far, through battle rap she has been able to go to: Bullpen Battle League in Atlanta, Deathwish Battle League in Shreveport, The Kulture events in Austin (SXSW).
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Favorite Dishes
Ms.Val has been known to put big smiles on the faces of those she feeds, especially when she is motivated to make a new signature dish. But, what makes her signature dishes so special is how she names them after some of her favorite artist. To name a few:
PiKaHsSo – Banana pudding named after emcee PiKaHsSo
Peach cobbler named after King Kidd
Peach cobbler with fried dumplings called the Dez Anderson,inspired by artist Deuce Deuce
6lb Chicken Fajita Taco called The Big Rip , named after Dean Manuscript of Tri Coastal Radio
A wing dish for Xavier Hicks of Ft. Worth called The X Factor
Orange wings called Sheila Nicole’sfor artist Sheila Nicole
The WTF You Thinking Nachosfor Battle rapper Redd
Peace Salad for Peace Chantel of Cree8ions
Valerie Brass of Queenz Catering & Chef Amelia Douse
In the interim of building her business, there were moments that were quite challenging to say the least; Venue drama, unprofessional promoters or having to come out of her own pocket, to save the day… However, when you have people like Chef Amelia Douse as one of your top supporters who leave a great impact on you personally & business wise, you become: grateful, focused, and keep it moving!
Closing Words
When asked about what kind of advice you would give a beginner/struggling caterer she said: “First of all they need to follow their dreams, be legit, get everything in writing, watch how they carry themselves & watch how they treat the customer because you can have the best food but if the attitude or spirit isn’t right people won’t support you”. She further says, “Queenz Catering is more than the people’s food, it’s a support system for the culture!” Moreover, to know this support system has expanded her brand to different regions, is a proud testament to the fact that hard work and consistency pays off! In fact, it pays off so much that her business partner/daughter Myra Yonta has launched another staple to the brand with Queenz Catering West, which resides in Las Vegas! When asked for a final statement the Queen Ms.Val said, “I would like to thank my family, my friends, and everybody that supports Queenz Catering!”
Today Da Gas Block presents to you an interview with Dallas own Original Soul. We conversed through a range of topics, that the readers will enjoy as they get chance to learn more about this conscious lyrical emcee.
“Original Soul has been able to create, improve, and progress with his music for almost 3 decades”
One day after participating in a fun game of, “Name That Tune”, during his 6th grade music class, Original Soul decided he wanted to explore the different sounds offered through music from established artist, to then feeling inspired to write his own lyrics. In 1992, he became more serious about music, as he took classes revolving around technical engineering. Ushering the feeling of acceptance towards his want to create music, was the final stamp towards knowing he wanted to be apart of the Hip Hop genre, and be able to share his views of the world.
Finding Heart Feeling Normal (Album Cover) by Original Soul, Shot by: Chris Lee
In total, Original Soul has created over 15 projects since 1999. The beginning portion of his career he was involved in Spoken Word. Which was a big influence towards his subject matter, as he watched poets perform about: their community, neighborhood, and city. Original Soul credits his 2007 album, “The Glass”, as one of his favorite pieces. As, “The Glass”, album highlighted different subjects such as: Homelessness, single mothers struggling, the music industry, the responsibility of subject matter in music, amongst other topics that people weren’t used to hearing. In November 2019, Original Soul released his latest album titled, “Finding Heart Feeling Normal”, which features standout tracks: “Pressed 4 Time, The Sign Off, Don’t Start, A Sister’s Soul, Finding Heart Feeling Normal, and You Can’t Leave The One You Love”.
The album was inspired by a series of events in Soul’s life. For instance, back in 2017 when it seemed like he was moving forward, life unexpectedly made him take a few steps back… In addition, he began caring for his wife when she suffered a massive stroke, forcing his focus to boost her health as a top priority. Consequently, through that troubling time the creation of, “Finding Heart Feeling Normal”, opens as a statement to the world saying that Original Soul is a husband, leader, emcee, poet, and businessman who’s dealing with some things personally. Thus, he remains composed in the moment with much more to say!
“You can expect an early 2021 release for Original Soul’s forthcoming album, Remember Who You Are”
Shot by: Marcellus Suber
Soul openly credits Common as one of his biggest influences from the way he writes and moves a crowd. He also credits, Talib Kweli, KRS-One, Rakim, Gang Starr, Mos Def, and the “Old” Kanye West (Oh, don’t we miss him?) as his other big influences. Ironically, like his influencers, Original Soul has been able to create, improve, and progress with his music for almost 3 decades.
“Artist should be writing music from the heart & their own mind, that way the listeners will be able to tell if they’re genuine or not”
Da Gas Block was able to get the inside scoop about Original Souls forthcoming project, “Remember Who You Are”, it’s a piece that will start conversation about knowledge of self amongst listeners, enabling them to look at who they are from the 3rd person point of view. The album is expected to be released early 2021. In addition, you can catch Original Soul performing live at Top Ten Records on May 9th, 2020 for the “Three Emcee’s And A DJ” show that features Complete, Dez 2-2 & DJ Dogstyle on the 1s and 2s.
“I don’t want to leave anybody behind that stuck with me, including my wife! If it wasn’t for my wife, I wouldn’t have a studio, amongst other things. And, that statement also extends to anybody that has extended their hand to me”.
During Original Souls closing statement he had advice for struggling artists saying: “Speak from your Heart”, and the reason why is because, “A lot of artist are copying what they see from more established acts, in thus reversing the position of authenticity which is making it hard for them to be successful”. He continued on that idea feeling that artist should be writing music from the heart & their own mind, that way the listeners will be able to tell if they’re genuine or not! When asked about what artist he would take with him if he were to find a new level of success he said, “I’m taking everyone on my label M4G Ent with me, because they all need to experience what I did. I don’t want to leave anybody behind that stuck with me, including my wife! If it wasn’t for my wife, I wouldn’t have a studio, amongst other things. And, that statement also extends to anybody that has extended their hand to me”.
What are Coronaviruses? Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as SARS & MERS. There are many different versions of the disease. A newly identified type has caused a recent outbreak of respiratory illness now called COVID-19 that started in China. People who are older or have health issues are at greater risk of catching COVID-19. It has been shown that COVID-19 draws severe risk for people with chronic medical conditions like: Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Lung Disease.
COVID-19 may be passed from person to person. Through a community it can be spread. Community spread means people have been infected with the virus in a particular area, including some people who are not sure how or where they became infected. The general have been shown to be: Fever, Coughing, and Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
At least 1,663 cases of Coronaviruses & COVID-19 have been confirmed in the United States on Thursday, as more events are canceled across the country. Currently there are a confirmed 134,685 cases of Coronavirus, 4,973 Deaths, and 69,146 recovered cases allegedly!
There are many self care opportunities. First, option would be to wash your hands with good old fashion soap & water (Bonus Choice: alcohol based Hand Sanitizer is a formidable option. If you experience mild symptoms stay at home until you’ve recovered. You can relieve your symptoms if you: rest and sleep, keep warm, drink plenty of liquids, use a room humidifier or take a hot shower to help ease a sore throat and coughing. If you develop a fever and cough – stay at home until you’ve recovered and at least for 14 days in order to keep others healthy. Make sure you continuously wash your hands, sanitize all items (including touched items), if you’re a recording artist/singer/instrumentalist, engineer, radio personnel, or anybody within the proximities of music/recording equipment make sure you are washing your hands on a frequent basis and you’re sanitizing all equipment per session and live event!
