The NRA AiN’T GoNNA PuNk Me! by Russell siMMoNs

DJ sensationProlifik

Writer/ProducerMichelle Plunkett

Kevin Sharpe Group

PublisherJ.G.

Editor in ChiEf Mills Johnson

President/director oPerationsMichal WilliaMs

circulation ManaGer

nikita harperGraphiC dEsiGnErs

nicholas Butler ricardo hospedales

staff Writers

l’oreal GoGGinsantonio leWinsonMichal WilliaMs

kenya Jacksonspecial contriButions

froM shahGraphy

antonio leWinson

The InsIde

cONTENTSMichelle PlunkettModern day renaissance woman

Brittany CrushR&B soul singer

nRA Aint Gonna Punk Meby Russell simmons as posted on GlobalGrind.com

Prolifik Host, dJ Internet sensation

Kevin sharpe Group

Oktober BrownHip-Hop Artist,Poet

The NRA Ain’t Gonna Punk Me! by Russell Simmons Source: Global Grind.com

The NRA stands for National Rifle Association. It was founded in 1871 with the mission of creating rifle clubs comprised of mostly Civil War veterans to improve their marksmanship. Today it has a membership of over four million people with an annual budget of over $300 mil-lion dollars, $20 million of which is spent on political lobbying. It no longer just focuses on rifles. They say that the NRA is the most powerful lobbying organiza-tion in our country. They say that after President Clinton put a ban on assault weapons in 1994, the NRA was the reason why many of the Democrats who voted in favor of the ban lost their jobs. They say because of what hap-pened in 1994, every politician is now afraid of the NRA. President Bush reversed the ban on assault weapons and President Obama has not touched the subject. We have been left with laws that al-low people to own weapons that are more powerful than any regu-

lar police officer has access to and on par with weapons of war. And not only does it allow people to own these weapons, the NRA has been successful at blocking attempts to pass reasonable legislation that would require background checks at gun-shows (currently there are none), as well as blocking people on the terror watch list and those who are mentally unstable from obtaining guns and putting an end to the sale of accessories like 100 round drums. They are also the group behind the “Stand Your Ground” law that George Zimmerman claims protects him from being convicted of killing Tray-von Martin. Our nation has been held hostage by 4 million people and $300 million dollars. The safety of our schools, our streets, our homes, our movie theaters, is being controlled by those who cling to their guns, their assault weapons and their weapons of war. They don’t intimidate me, so I will speak my piece, as I am a man of peace.Let me break down two high-profile shootings. The gunman in the Ga-brielle Giffords shooting in Arizona used a 9mm handgun, killing six and injuring fourteen. The shooter had a thirty bullet magazine with one in the chamber and was able to get off 31 shots. It was during a moment when

he had to re-load his weapon that 61-year-old Patricia Maisch wrestled him to the ground and stopped the massacre. Contrary, the shooter in the Aurora Theater shooting had a AR-15 semi-automatic assault weapon with a 100 round drum, along with two hand-guns and a rifle. He had bought 6000 rounds of ammo and loaded up on body armor, all of which he bought legally on the internet. The AR-15 has the capability of shooting 50-60 bullets per minute that would pierce through a steel door. The shooter killed 12 people and injured 58 before his gun jammed. The two police officers who first arrived on the scene would have been out-powered by the shooter, as all they had were handguns and shotguns. Their lives were potentially saved by a jammed weapon. Both incidents were horrific. Both incidents should never have hap-pened. But in the case of Aurora, the shooter was able to injure or kill 50 more people than the shooter in Ari-zona (and he was shooting in the dark compared to broad daylight). So, it is difficult for me to swallow the argu-ment that if we ban assault weapons, people will just find a way to continue killing at the alarming numbers they do now. We might have saved multiple lives and stopped the injury of dozens of others if the shooter in Colorado didn’t use the weapon of his choice.When anyone dies from senseless violence in this country, I will raise my voice of support for tougher gun laws. In one year, guns murdered 35 in Australia, 39 in England, 60 in Spain, 194 in Germany, 200 in Canada & 9,484 in USA. It is unfathomable to me that the only time this country or the media wants to broach the subject is when there are mass shootings, and most of the victims are white. Well, I hate to break the news to you, but there are mass shootings in Chicago every weekend. There are mass shoot-ings in New York City every weekend.

There are mass shootings in Los Angeles every weekend. EVERY 39 MINUTES, A BLACK CHILD OR TEENAGER IS SHOT IN AMER-ICA, AND THE MEDIA DOESN’T MENTION IT AND EVERYONE ELSE KEEPS IT MOVING. And we only want to mention the word “gun reform” when white people are killed? My heart is heavy for the victims in Colorado, but I can’t be silent because every politician in Washington and around this coun-try is afraid of the NRA. No other country in the civilized world allows this to happen. Only in the land of the free, where politicians can be legally bribed and our democracy is for sale, do citizens have access to weapons of war. Well, I’m not a politician, so the NRA can’t silence me and they certainly ain’t gonna punk me! The time has come for our nation to face the National Rifle Association and its bullying-tactics. There is no way that our forefathers envisioned twelve innocent people lying dead on the floor of a movie theater when they wrote the Second Amendment. They didn’t even know what an assault weapon was or what urban communities would become. A man walks into a movie theater dressed as “The Joker” from Bat-man and shoots seventy people, and how do we respond? We ban people from wearing costumes!?!?! How about we address the real problem by banning weapons of war, so we never deny the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for another innocent American again.-Russell SimmonsIf you want join in fighting the NRA’s control of our country, please visit MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org or SecondChanceOnShootFirst.org

Read more: http://globalgrind.com/news/nra-aint-gonna-punk-me-russell-simmons-blog#ixzz21ZQlmfW4

Michele Plunkett was born in Manhattan, nY on March 22,1973 at 2am. the oldest of four children.she was born interracial with a mixture of black, native american and italian. she initially came from poverty and abuse, however managed to struggle and put herself through school. 1994 – 1996 she was in the U.s navy. she has stuggled in various jobs. In 2000 she became and exotic entertainer and is now contracted by Holly-wood night club located in southington CT. she published her first novel

in 2007. In 2008 she contributed to Kim-berly Civitellis benefit calendar along with others. she created the benefit calendar. she is known for her professional works in photography, 3d renderings , and video editing. she is cur-rently producing the Fantasy Horror movie “The Temple” and holding casting calls for the band empires music videos.

iAM Michelle Plunkett

brittany Crushnot another feMale singer gets Personal

with yours truly !!!

Brittney Melvin, bet-ter known as “Brittney Crush”, was born in 1993 in Hartford, Connecticut. She remembers waking up on Saturday mornings to walk and get fresh bread from the local Puerto Rican bakery. Growing up with a single mother she learned the importance of love, faith and staying humble. Her mother always kept her involved in extracurricular activities such as step & drill, bas-ketball and the Hartford Children’s Theatre. When school ended, she would fly out to Atlanta, Georgia and spend the summer with her father getting a taste of soul and southern hos-

pitality; she is the queen of versatility. Brittney CRUSH later attended and graduated from the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in 2011, where she majored in voice (Jazz) and she also played Varsity basketball. Brittney’s style is unique - she has a pop sensation similar to Keri Hilson, the strong voice of Beyonce with the soul of Alicia Keys. She writes all of her own music and melodies and tries to come up with concepts that are versatile yet easy for people to relate to. Brittney Crush says that her only goal is to make music that will touch people’s heart and soul and although she loves the finer things in life and the glamorous lifestyle that comes with it, she would

rather make people feel the emotion of her lyrics. Brittney Crush has performed at many local venues throughout her young years including having a standing ovation at her most recent performance at Hot Chocolate Soul at the Bushnell Theater on June 22, 2012. She currently attends Five Towns College in Long Island New York where she is a sophomore student majoring in Music Busi-ness. This is her first Mixtape CD release project called “Not Another Female Singer” which can be heard and downloaded at http://www.datpiff.com/Brittney-Crush-Not-Another-Female-Singer-mixtape.367584.html

IAMU:Who were some of your musical influences coming up? BC:I admired Patti Labelle, Tina Turner, Alicia Keys and Mariah Carey.IAMU:When can we expect your album to come out? BC: Well, I just released my mixtape entitled “Not Another Female Singer” on June 30th 2012, so I’m pushing that as of now. You can look for an album in the near future. IAMU:what would the perfect song sound like to you?I believe the perfect song will be felt. it doesnt matter what you hear, it matters what you feel.IAMU:how did you come up with the title of your mixtape?I feel like i was blessed with alot of qualities that set me apart iAMu Local Hartford

from every other singer out there today. some lack versatility, some just arent original , some are afraid to take risks and some just lack the ability to convey that genuine raw feeling through their melodies when making music . I do not , therefore i am not another female singer. IAMU:When did you decide you wanted to be a singer Its funny, it hasnt been that long. I mean as a child i think everyone wants to be a superstar but I decided to seriousy go after it fairly recently. Maybe about a year and a half ago.IAMU:Do you have any shout outs?BC: God first and foremost. Then i would like to shout out my mother who’s always working by my side along with my father, grandmother and all my family and friends. Also, each and every individual who has ever played one of my songs, who stayed and watched me performed; im truly blessed and thankful for them as well. Also, you can get updates on her upcoming performances at www.Reverbnation.com/Brittney-Crush and follow her on Twitter.com/BrittneyCrush and Face-book.com/BrittneyCrushMusic

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iAM Brittany Crush

Straight ahead Jazz, Funk, Baroque, R&B, and Metal simmering over percolating rhythms, stewed together with a Gospel broth by a master chef, the aroma of choral harmonies fill the air. That is the music of KSG. Exciting, Energetic, Heartfelt.

The Kevin Sharpe Group

The Kevin Sharpe Group is a dynamic, high energy modern Gospel ensemble with their own unique flavor. The small choir and band explore a variety of musical territory from “straight ahead” Jazz, Funk, Rock, Smooth, Latin, and even odd metered esoteric experiments but often with a nod to their roots in traditional Gospel. KSG, recipients of the New Eng-land Urban Music Award for Contemporary Gospel is lead by vocalist/multi instrumen-talist Kevin Sharpe.

The Kevin Sharpe Group

Kevin began his musical career singing in his church choir at age 7. By age 11 he was play-ing drums for that choir and eventually became one of the primary drummers in the Church of God in Christ in the region. Later in college he studied classical percussion, arranging, voice, and choral conducting. After spending years honing his smooth baritone sound (that’s often compared to Barry White and Larry Graham)in the vocal Gospel trio FELLOWSHIP, Kevin was lead to branch out on his own. The goal of The Kevin Sharpe Group is to reach the masses with quality music that can touch lives and exalts the name of Jesus.

There’s no such thing as an untroubled genius. Oktober is no exception.... A brand new brand. It’s hard to find a box to fit his music in. But as he cites, “If Pac and Lauryn Hill had a baby, they’d made me. I am music. Hip Hop raised me”. He is, Power, Passion and Pain on record..He embodies the Hip Hop culture, without the Bohemian Boom Bap image. The son of two avid music collectors, his father an ex-DJ in the 70’s and 80’s and a mother who was a performing Griot showed him the beauty of music at an early age.Born in Hampton VA, but relo-cated to Hartford CT in 98’, he was able to cultivate a southern and east coast style into his mu-sic. Oktober labeled his brand, Nusic (new-sick) Music, and kicked off his campaign March of 2011. Even though he’s been writing and recording since 99’

it’s almost as if now is his time…NUSIC MUSIC IS THE FUTURE….IT’S OKTO-BER’S SEASON http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/complete_profile/1777068 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYVslwomu98

oKtober brown

Prolifik is a TV and radio host that you can catch in Connecticut Mon-day through Sunday from 5p-12a on WCCT-TV "The CW", and from 7p-12a on Kiss 95.7. In addition to being a local radio talent, Clear Channel utilizes Pro-lifik nationally on the week-ends on 30+ radio stations across the country. Some of these stations include Wild 105.7 & 96.7 in At-lanta, Jam'n 94.5 in Boston, Z104.3 in Baltimore, Chan-nel 96.1 in Charlotte, and Wild 107.5 in Portland.Prior to becoming the glue that binds programs on WCCT-TV, you might have seen Prolifik providing traffic reports on sister sta-tion WTIC-TV "Fox Con-necticut". Recently, Prolifik made his national TV debut on Mark Cuban and Ryan Seacrest's AXS.TV (former-ly HDNet). Prolifik's entertainment show The Rundown, seen weekends on WCCT-TV, has had guests such as Selena Gomez, The Fray, B.o.B., Wiz Khalifa, Adam Lambert, Carly Rae Jep-

iAMu local hartford

sen, Train, and more! Episodes can be seen at YouTube.com/Prolifik203. The channel currently has over 1 million video views.

Although TV and radio now consume almost all of Prolifik's time, every so often he revisits his first love...music. Prolifik has had mutiple singles that have seen com-mercial success, such as "Broke (T-Pain spoof)", "In Love With Cheerlead-ers", "Drunk Dialing", and "One More Night". Prolifik has released 4 mixtapes, and collabo-rated with artists such as Grafh, Ying Yang Twins, Royce da 5' 9", Sullee (from VH1's 'White Rap-per Show'), Sadat X, and more!

iAM Prolifik

Prolifik

Prolifik