Overlooked Giants

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with singer-songwriter and podcast host, LaRae Gainey aka Mx Queen LaRae. Mx Queen is the co-host of the dynamic podcast Black, Queer &..., as a well known background vocalist throughout the Bay Area and Los Angeles. The Queen can often be found vocal arranging, producing, and coaching new up-and-coming artists for stage performances and studio work. Hailing from both New York and California, you can definitely feel Mx. Queen LaRae’s eclectic style and influence. While on this musical journey, she has been fortunate enough to provide vocals for awesome artists like- Anita Baker, Eric Clapton, Andrae Crouch, Jennifer Hudson, and Goapele.  Listening to her story, I identified with so many parts of her experiences. I understood all too well her struggles and to this day I appreciate her guidance as she walks into her greatness. She brings a knowledge and wisdom to the table that the old folks would call "beyond her years", but I just call it an openness to love and life.    Social Stuff:  Website - https://blackqueerpodcast.podbean.com/ Insta - https://www.instagram.com/blackqueerpod/

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with bassist and guitarist Lillie Robinson. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduate of Cass Tech High School, alma mater to Diana Ross, Della Reese and more. Having played with numerous bands and performers, Lillie has also written a stage play.  Having the opportunity to listen to her story I felt her pain, and struggles but most of all I felt her gift and passion for music. She pushed through the barriers and continues to. Lillie is an amazing bassist who continues to create great music and push through the barriers.  Social Stuff: https://www.facebook.com/lillie.robinson1

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with drummer Trevelyn Lee, affectionally known as Trev from San Francisco, CA. On stage she has this super power of being locked in and holding that tempo like nobody’s business. Off stage Trev is one of the chillest women you will find, with an energy of laughter and love. She has played with so many phenomenal musicians and artists, it’s hard to keep track. I just know I’m always glad when I get to share the stage with her.  Her story is one of living and learning to become better a brighter. As women, there are some thing that can go unlearned because the world feels it unnecessary or without value to teach us. Some of us go on with life never learning how to love ourselves, Trev is the side of womanhood that chooses to not only to learn how to love herself but allows her path to be a way for others to follow.    Social Stuff: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/trevelyn.lee

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with queer multidisciplinary artist/performer, film and theater director, Beatrice Thomas aka Black Benatar. Beatrice comes from a family lineage of pastors, performers, doctors and healers. A maker of objects, installations and theater, Mx. Thomas reveals, revises and constructs alternate realities. They use the artifice of drag to inhabit Black Benatar, an exaggerated black femme alter ego creature that challenges blackness, whiteness, oppression & convention. Thomas is a featured drag queen for RADAR Productions “Drag Queen Story Hour” a program that brings drag queens to read stories at public libraries. Beatrice’s work has graced the stages of the deYoung Museum, SF PRIDE Mainstage, CounterPulse, SOMArts Cultural Center and the Institute of Advanced Uncertainty and has shown in galleries across the United States. Thomas works nationally consulting and advocating for equity and the inclusion of queer arts on national mainstream stages.   This sister stays working and so I was glad for the chance to meet with her. This was an amazing conversation to have and I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to hear more about her personal story.  Social Stuff: FB: https://www.facebook.com/AuthenticArtsandMedia/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AArts_n_Media FB: https://www.facebook.com/beatrice.l.thomas  

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with the dynamic and inspirational singer, songwriter, producer, motivational speaker and award winning voice expert, Orgena Rose. A powerful and transformational energy, Orgena has appeared on Oprah, the Today Show, the Tony Awards, PBS, Broadway, Carnegie Hall, and Conan in Tyler Perry’s Row 11. She is the CEO of Sacred Rose Productions where she writes and records not only her own music, produces music for businesses as well as transformational video and TV. To inspire and empower, she hosts The Orgena Rose Show and to give back, she founded the Global Artists Academy which offers courses, workshops and programs in her mission to heal, empower and transform through the arts.  Orgena carries the gift to follow through on her vision and her purpose. Her story reminds us of the importance of sticking to what you know you were meant to do, despite the world telling you otherwise. Stay in touch! Website: http://www.orgenarose.com iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/search?term=orgena%20rose Twitter: twitter.com/orgenarose Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orgenarose

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with trombonist, scholar, activist, a third-generation musician, educator  and founder of the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music (OPC Music), Angela Wellman.Hailing proudly from Kansas City, Missouri. She has performed with the McCoy Tyner Big Band, Joe Williams, Al Grey, Slide Hampton and other noted musicians. Ms. Wellman has a Masters degree in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music and is a Ph.D. Fellow in the School of Education, department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Growing up in Kansas City, Ms. Wellman was nurtured in a musical family and community. Her initiation into the world of Jazz as a player began while hanging out at jam sessions at the famed chitlin' circuit Local 626, the once–Black musicians' union in Kansas City and now sanctuary for the spirits of jazz pioneers such as Ernie Williams: The Last of the Blue Devils, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, and countless others who got their start in that very place. Ms. Wellman is the proud founder of the nation's first Public Conservatory of Music, The Oakland Public Conservatory of Music (OPCM). Founded in 2005 in Oakland, CA, OPCM is dedicated to the study of American Musical culture and identity.   You can connect with her through the following:   Twitter - @angelawellman4 Instagram - @wellmanangela FB -https://www.facebook.com/angela.wellman.7

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with entertainer, producer and entrepreneur, Quimani Brown aka Qui510. Qui first made international noise as Sony Music Group’s [Europe] recording artist “TriQui Di”, who from an early age laid her foundation as a Rapper/Emcee & Break Dancer while singing in her church & school choirs. She is the Founder/CEO of I Told U Entertainment™, a boutique entertainment company that prides itself on being "a small company doing BIG business". Last but not least. Qui has been planning, promoting and putting on events since she was 17years old. Often called the "Female P Diddy of Partying in the Bay",Qui has committed herself to giving people an incredible experience with every party, event, production, and concert she puts her name on. She is a phenomenal woman with a heart of gold and a message of love for all. Check below for links to her website and social media information. www.qui510.com www.facebook.com/QUI510 www.instagram.com/KeyFive1Dime www.twitter.com/Qui510

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with comedian and humor educator, Karen Williams. Williams has the unique distinction of being the nation's first openly lesbian black comic to include specifically lesbian material in her act. Curve Magazine calls Karen Williams "...a laugh riot!" The Sydney Morning Herald proclaims that Karen Williams is "ferociously funny, with perfect pace, timing and structure." She is known for her quick repartee, insightful commentary, audience rapport, and sheer like-ability. She is a comic craftmaster, a gifted actor, a multitalented writer, and an inspirational lecturer, whose HaHA Institute attracts clients from the public and private sectors. Armed with her "healing with humor" philosophy, Karen is a modern-day alchemist and motivational humorist, whose audiences revel in her cathartic laughter and whose peers consider her a comic's comic! Williams graduated summa cum laude from Cleveland State University with a personally-designed major in "Humor and Healing." She earned a Master of Education degree from CSU's Adult Learning & Development program. She is the founder of HaHA Institute, which was established to encourage the fullest and highest activation of human potential for compassion, wisdom, and life force through the daily use of humor and healing arts, which includes stress management, nutrition, exercise, massage and healing touch, aromatherapy, and spiritual practices. Be sure to connect with her: Website - www.hahainstitute.com Social Media: Facebook - @karen.williams.7547 Twitter - @KarenTheComic YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIkAePmR8CU&feature=youtu.be

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with Zahra Noorbakhsh, the Feminist Muslim Iranian-American comedian and cohost of the award-winning podcast, #GoodMuslimBadMuslim. The podcast was listed as a “must listen,” by Oprah Magazine and was invited to the Obama Whitehouse to record an episode. She is a Sr. Fellow on comedy for social change with the Pop Culture Collaborative. In addition to her two sold-out performances of her stand-up comedy special “On Behalf of All Muslims” at the Golden Thread Theater in San Fransisco, her solo performance of “All Atheists are Muslim: A Romantic Comedy,” was originally directed by CNN’s W. Kamau Bell. Reza Aslan says "always insightful, always subversive...Zahra's comedic romps disrupt an outdated narrative." Her writing is featured in the NY Times and on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. In this episode we get up close and personal as Zahra talks about her experiences of being a Queer, Feminist Muslim Iranian-American comedian. Prepare to laugh and enjoy. Be sure to follow her on social media and tune into her podcast.  Website: www.zahracomedian.com Social Stuffies: Facebook - @ZahraComedy Instagram - @zahracomedy Twitter - @ZahraComedy

AhSa-Ti Nu meets with composer, guitarist and vocalist Gaye Adegbalola. Best known musically as a founding member of Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women (1984 – 2009). The group recorded exclusively with Alligator Records. Additionally, she has 6 recordings on her own label, Hot Toddy Music (Todd is her family name). More importantly she is the proud mother of son, Juno Lumumba Kahlil. A true griot of our time through both her music and just easy conversation. In addition to being a queer black woman of color artist she is also a powerful activist, as she sat-in, picketed and protested against racism and segregation. In her songwriting she tries to provide a voice for those who have been marginalized by society. By maintaining the blues tradition, she sees herself as a contemporary griot – keeping her history alive, delivering messages of empowerment, ministering to the heartbroken, and finding joy in the mundane. Her most recent CD released in January, 2019, is called “The Griot” and has received rave reviews. Please be sure to follow her on her website, social media and purchase her music! www.adegbalola.com Twitter: @gayeblueswoman Facebook:@GayeAdegbalolaMusician

AhSa-Ti Nu meets virtually with renowned artist Tammy Hall, an accomplished solo artist, bandleader, Bay Area-based pianist, organist, and composer. Hall has built a career as a solo artist and in collaboration with a roster of major artists including Mary Wilson, Kim Nalley, Marcus Shelby, Houston Person, David “Fathead” Newman, Pamela Rose, Queen Esther Marrow, Ernestine Anderson, and Regina Carter, among dozens of others. Her story is truly a success story of how she has overcome and in many ways is still overcoming inequities of being black in America. Hall offers a breathe of hope through her being and music. She is the epitome of black woman magic and her story is more than appropriate for such a time as this. Hall offers a true definition of what it is to be black in America and to soar beyond the negativities that we often face.  Please be sure to follow her on her website, social media and purchase her music! http://www.tammyhall.com iTunes Twitter: @TammyHallpiano Facebook: @TammyLynneHall-Hawkins  

AhSa-Ti Nu joins filmmaker and theater director Mary Guzmán in an intimate conversation on love, life and career. A veteran to the film and stage, Guzmán has directed, written and is best known for Desi's Looking for a New Girl (2000), After the Break (1994) and Mind If I Call You Sir (2004). From the theater she has directed "Los Siete" by Veronica Mejano, "Overlooked Latin@s" by Tina D’Elia, "Living Proof" by Skyler Cooper and "Ghost Limb" by Marisela Treviño Orta. With countless other films and theater productions, Guzmán has been a pioneer in creating a space for queer women of color to thrive.  You can find more information on Guzmán and her work at https://www.oneof9films.com

AhSa-Ti Nu sits with Afro-Filipina composer and vocalist, Anna Maria Flechero. Flechero is the recipient of the Bay Area Blues Society Best Jazz Group of the Year award, and has recorded and performed with numerous distinguished resident and international musicians, e.g., Nelson Braxton, Lewis Nash, David Williams, Billy Higgins as well as the late bebop jazz pianist and luminary, Cedar Walton.  Her performances include many international and Bay Area venues—Yoshi's, Angelicas, Fenix, Savanna Jazz as well as festivals including the San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival, Pacifica's Fog Fest and the Streets of Brentwood. Born and raised in San Francisco, Flechero wrote lyrics, composed music and accompanied her brothers’ bands in various local music competitions. In her early 20’s Ms. Flechero co-founded Blessed Soul, a 13-piece Latin jazz band that performed on the same concert bills with such heavyweights as Santana, Pete Escovedo, Malo, and Graham Central Station. Eventually, Flechero ventured out on her own as a solo artist and landed a gig in Fukuoka, Japan after being described by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “modern day blues singer." In Fukuoka, Ms. Flechero performed at the internationally known Blackberrys and while there she met and sat in one night with jazz greats Cedar Walton, Billy Higgins and Tony Dumas. You can find more information along with her music at https://www.annamariaflechero.com/

AhSa-Ti Nu joins Tina D'Elia in her San Francisco apartment to hear about her experiences as a queer woman and actress. Best known for her performance in The Pursuit of Happiness and her one-woman show Overlooked Latinas, Tina D'Elia is a veteran to the world of acting. The owner and founder of Tina D'Elia Consulting, she serves as a consultant, casting director, acting instructor, performance coach and as a member of SAG-AFTRA. Tina has worked as an actress for over twenty years in theater, film, television and commercial and is an all around joy to be with. Connect with her through her website: www.tinadeliaconsulting.com. 

A brief breakdown into what Overlooked Giants is and how this project began.