RezaRitesRi.com

This slideshow captures the songs ‘Pon da Floor’ by Majer Lazer and Sister Nancy’s ‘Bam Bam’ remixed/mashed up by me Reza Rites / Venus Sings / DJ Reza Wreckage live at a show - with pictures of me in performance, in San Sebastian, Spain, and other fun stuff. Learn more about my musical adventures at www.VenusSings.com and www.IsisStorm.com.

PROVIDENCE, RI - Did you know that you can follow me, “Reza Rites” on www.VenusSings.com and www.IsisStorm.com? That’s because the NEW home for “Reza Rites RI” is located on IsisStorm.com, where I contribute articles and multimedia pieces alongside a collective of female poets, musicians, artists, writers, educators and media producers. We call ourselves Isis Storm, and we like to say it’s Because the Thunder Can’t Help But Be Heard.

I’ve also moved much of my work because I’m now producing not just one, but two radio shows filled with interviews, news topics and community affairs plus “lots and lots of music” from all over the world. Plus I myself have been performing in New England as a music DJ, including alongside my Isis Storm sisters, opening up national concerts, and for special events. So look for or ask about Venus Sings, DJ Reza Wreckage and/or Isis Storm in a bar, lounge or community center near you or keep up with my playlists, events, and radio programs, on VenusSings.com - and IsisStorm.com.

Did you know that I’ve officially moved? That’s right! The new home for me, ‘Reza Rites,’ and RezaRitesRI is on IsisStorm.com.

The mission of ISIS STORM is to bring forth those voices that are being neglected; to be a vehicle to the generations of women who are fed up with seeing and accepting someone else’s definitions of who [we/they] are; and to give attention to the generations of women who are awakening to the realization that [we/they] are more than what [our/their] generation sees. It is our goal to bring the voices to the table that have long since been ignored, both ethnically and in gender. The way that we encourage these voices to be heard is through the power of art and writing.

Through various events, feature performances and workshops, folks are getting to know the refrain, “When I say Isis, you say…” But to be clear, Isis Storm is a collective of female poets, musicians, artists, writers, media producers and educators. It is also an emerging music label, publishing house, and media group where members of the collective can work to illuminate our causes and ideals.

As co-founder of Isis Storm (alongside hip hop artist Kalyana Champlain, aka 5th Elament), my motivations for moving RezaRitesRI are three-fold: a) to lead by example, b) to demonstrate my faith in the project, and c) to further the original RezaRitesRi.com aim of exposing my readers, friends, and family to “the voices of our ethnically, socially, and artistically diverse.”

I hope you’ll follow me and all the sisters of Isis Storm at IsisStorm.com, as well as my adventures in music at VenusSings.com and my work as health editor at UrbanHealthWatch.net and SheShines.org. You can also see current and archived work of mine at places like:

-> the John Hope Settlement Blog,

-> RIFuture.org, Rhode Island’s Progressive News, Opinion and Analysis blog,

-> WRIU and BSR, two student- and community-run radio stations in RI,

-> The new and old Rhode 2 Africa blogs, where I detail projects I’ve led or worked on dealing with the migration of Africans and African-Americans to RI,

-> Black Perspectives Now, an online project run by the producers of Basic Black on WGBH,

-> On the podcasts and photo pages of RezaRitesRi.com

Thanks for your support and hope we stay in touch!

- Reza Rites

Originally posted on www.IsisStorm.com

Click here to purchase tickets online or keep reading IsisStorm.com to learn about opportunities to pick yours up in the community.

PROVIDENCE, RI - It has been too long. FAR TOO LONG. It is past time for women in hip hop to take the recognition they deserve, and Rhode Island is ready to bring its fiercest women organizers and emcees to the table to do it!

Isis Storm has partnered with SlyShuga to present “WE RUN THIS: Women and Mother’s in Hip Hop” – an event that will happen during May to stress how much we believe that women in hip hop have been mothers both literally and metaphorically to their friends, family, and community. Taking the title from Rah Digga’s track- like the lady herself we are not holding anything back and are not afraid to tell you that we know WE RUN THIS!

In addition, because women spend so much time supporting others that they do not take care of themselves we have added a VIP segment full of self care that will be given to the first 60 women who purchase their tickets at the full price.

Yes Yall…It has been too long. FAR TOO LONG. It is past time for women in hip hop and the community to take the recognition they deserve, and Rhode Island is ready to bring its fiercest women organizers and emcees to the table to do it! CAUSE WE GON RUN THIS!

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Isis Storm and SlyShuga Present:

We Run This!
Women and Mothers in Hip Hop

With a Headlining Performance by
Queen Yonasda

Sunday, May 16, 2010
8 PM – 1 AM
Jerkys Bar and Grill
71 Richmond Street
Providence, RI

18 plus
$12.00 Advanced
$17.00 Day of the Show
Click here to purchase tickets online

Sponsorships are available to businesses, organizations and individuals who want to support the event, and there is a special VIP party for sponsors and the first 60 who purchase their tickets and register for the event. For more information visit www.IsisStorm.com or join “I Support We Run This…” on Facebook. To register for the VIP party or for sponsorships, email beginthestorm@gmail.com or call 401-497-5246.

You might like the video, but you’ll love them live! Catch me, Reza Rites, and the ladies of Isis Storm on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 16.

PROVIDENCE, RI – Summer may have come in April earlier this week, but a Storm is rolling in. In fact, you better be ready for TWO big celebrations, because the thunder can’t help but be heard. Save the following dates, and be ready to join us:

Isis Storm Presents ‘On the Rise’…
And Celebrating National Poetry Month

Saturday, April 30, 2010
8:00 PM
Brooklyn Coffee Tea House
209 Douglas Avenue
Providence, RI 02908

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We Run This!
Women & Mothers in Hip Hop

Sunday, May 16, 2010, 8:00 PM

To get your regular forecast, visit www.IsisStorm.com, or email beginthestorm@gmail.com for more information. Female poets, musicians, and hip hop artists, community organizations, and women in the color are encouraged to inquire.

Originally posted on UrbanHealthWatch.net. The annual Minority Health issue of She Shines magazine comes out soon, but there is still room for your voice to be heard. To submit a calendar listing or print ad, email info@sheshines.org. To submit an article, fact sheet or press release for consideration, email rezaclif@gmail.com. To receive the print magazine at home or in the office, email your mailing address to info@sheshines.org.

KINGSTON, RI - Here at Urban Health Watch, collaborations and partnerships are key. That’s why it’s so exciting to be partnering with She Shines, a magazine published by YWCA Northern Rhode Island. For the third year in a row, She Shines will be releasing a special, Minority Health edition of the magazine, and you might be familiar with the Guest Editor they worked with this year and in previous ones.

The cry for competition could have been loud, but with partnerships front and center in our work, it made sense for Urban Health Editor, Reza Clifton, to return to her post as Guest/Health Editor for She Shines Magazine. This year, the theme is Minority Health: Our Stories, Our Bodies, Our Lives, and the writers and topics that are in so far are sure to inform, and inspire you.

But is there still room for your story to be told or voice to heard?

EDITORIAL
Press releases, fact sheets, articles, and editorials will be received until 7:00 PM on Monday, March 8. There is no guarantee that your work will be included, but it will be reviewed and considered. Submissions can be made by emailing rezaclif@gmail.com.

CALENDAR
Events listed in the calendar section are a free opportunity as space allows. Priority is placed on events that are related to health. The upcoming edition is themed - our stories, our bodies, our lives. The deadline to submit calendar content is Friday, March 12.

ADVERTISING
She Shines is a mailed publication distributed to 8,000+. An online version is also posted at www.sheshines.org. All print advertisers are included in the online business directory as a free service. The deadline to reserve advertising space is Friday, March 12 with advertising copy due by Tuesday, March 16. As a reference, a quarter page ad is $129 (5″w x 4.5″h). To see the other rates and to download a copy of the media kit click here.

Hope to include you in She Shines. Share it. Trust it. Smile.

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Can’t wait for the RezaRitesRi newsletter? Have info to share NOW?


Join the RezaRites Chirp,
a Yahoo group for friends and readers.

The Rhode Island Young Professionals Invites You to Its 7th ANNUAL WINTER SOIREE, Saturday, February 27, 2010. Media interested in covering the event should contact Raymond Watson by calling 401-338-7606 or by emailing rlwatson06@yahoo.com.

Providence RI, February 12, 2010 — Rhode Island Young Professionals, an auxiliary of the Urban League of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island chapter of the National Urban League Young Professionals, announce it’s 7th Annual Winter Soiree. The event will feature a night of decadence, grace, and stature that includes a live Pianist, followed by dinner, a brief awards ceremony, and plenty of dancing. The theme for this year’s Soiree is “ Taking the Torch” where all professionals, both young and old, will be inspired and encouraged as the leaders of a new tomorrow. The event will take place on February 27, 2010 at the Providence Marriott Downtown (1 Orms Street) from 6pm to 1am.

The Keynote Speaker for the evening is Keith Stokes, Executive Director of RI Economic Development Corporation. The Black Heritage Society will be honored for their contributions and commitment to the Rhode Island Community. The Master and Mistress of Ceremony for the evening will be John Guice, Reporter of ABC 6 News, and Reza Clifton from RezaRitesRI.com.

This year’s event will be sponsored by Lifespan, Amica, Banneker Industries, Rhode Island Foundation, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Metlife Auto & Home and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island. However, sponsorship opportunities are still available, and additional support is invited through ticket sales.

Tickets are $60 for the general public and $50 for RIYP Members. Tickets can be purchased directly from the RIYP website by visiting www.riyp.org or email wintersoiree@riyp.org for ticket and sponsorship information and to learn more about the RIYP Winter Soiree. Media interested in covering the event should contact Raymond Watson by calling 401-338-7606 or by emailing rlwatson06@yahoo.com.

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Join the RezaRites Chirp,
a Yahoo group for friends and readers.

Celebrate the launch of an online magazine for New England’s “Ethnic” Professionals on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 from 6-9 PM at RISD Museum in Providence, RI. Music will be provided by me, Reza Rites / Venus Sings / DJ Reza Wreckage, but register by Monday, March 1 by emailing lwebb@ethniconline.net

PROVIDENCE, RI - Join me, Reza Rites/Venus Sings, Ethnic Online Magazine, RISD and a host of community partners on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, for a kickoff of Ethnic Online Magazine and the official RI launch party. Ethnic Online (EO) was launched in September 2009 to serve as “New England’s Magazine for Ethnic Professionals.” Sections of the magazine include those covering money, health, politics, and arts and entertainment.

The March 3rd event will go from 6-9 PM and will be held at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum, 224 Benefit Street in Providence. Music will be provided by me, Venus Sings, and the event is free and open to the public. However, registration is required by Monday, March 1st.

For more information see the flyer below or to RSVP, contact Ethnic Online Founder and Publisher, Leonard Webb, by emailing lwebb@ethniconline.net or by calling 781-652-0777.

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Join the RezaRites Chirp,
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Celebrate and curse Valentine’s Day all in one show: Venus Sings Radio on WRIU: Saturday, February 13 from 9-11 AM (est) on 90.3 FM.

KINGSTON, RI - Last year, it sounded like Duffy’s “Mercy” and Amel Larrieux’s “Make Me Whole;” Lily Allen’s “Shame for You,” and Sade’s “This Is No Ordinary Love.” What will it sound like this year, during the 2nd annual “Venus Sings Radio for the Lovers and Haters?”

Join me, Venus Sings / DJ Reza Wreckage, and find out for yourself:

Venus Sings Radio
Saturday, February, 13, 2010,
9:00-11:00 AM

Hear it: 90.3 FM or www.wriu.org
Contact: www.VenusSings.com
studio lines: 401-792-9030 or 1-888-303-9748

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Join the RezaRites Chirp,
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Isis Storm Presents…

Finding the Gray:
A Black History Month Film & Discussion On the Diaspora & Identity

Thursday, February 25, 2010
Brooklyn Coffee Tea House
209 Douglas Avenue
Providence, RI 02908

Doors open at 6:30 PM; $5 donations collected at the door.

Can Blacks tell the story of Whites and can Whites tell the story of Blacks? Can men properly reflect women in art, and can women reflect men?

What about everyone in between?

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Join members of Isis Storm and RI’s film community for this special viewing of “Mix,” courtesy of the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC). Mix is a film directed by South African filmmaker, Rudzani Dzuguda, about “freedom in South Africa after 1994.” Following Tumelo and Dominique, two female, hip-hop disc jockeys (dj’s) – one Black and one White – Dzuguda explores the issues of personal freedom “in ways that genuinely baffle their parents.”

Part of NBPC’s critically acclaimed AfroPop Series, Dzuguda through his filmmaking and Tumelo and Dominique through their everyday lives, “are forging new social realities – between black and white, between males and females, across vast stretches of land – which seem to leave the generation gap as wide as ever.”

For more information about Isis Storm and the February 25 event, visit www.IsisStorm.com or email beginthestorm@gmail.com or call 401-497-5246. For more about NBPC’s AfroPoP series, visit www.afropop.tv. To learn more about Brooklyn Coffee Tea House, visit www.brooklyncoffeeteahouse.com.