July 6, 2011
Fortiani» (Dbserurr
PageS
Mil
c o n t i n u e d f r o m front
Parkrose teen performs winning
video; meets Def Jam legends
C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
by
M eeting m usic m oguls R ussell
S im m o n s a n d K e v in L ile s in
R u ssell’s N ew Y ork C ity office was
“inspiring to say the least” said 17-
y e a r-o ld P a rk ro se H ig h S ch o o l
graduate E zekial Jones, also know n
by his rap nam e “ Y ung M il.”
Jones recently w on a national
video contest am ong high school
students called the "G et Schooled
V ideo C o n test” - w here students
p ro d u c e d an d su b m itte d v id eo s
about the im portance o f education.
A panel com prised o f executives
from D ef Jam Enterprises, B E T N et-
w orks and the G et S chooled F o u n ­
d a tio n s e le c te d J o n e s ’ w in n in g
video, L eaders o f the N ew School.
O n June 28, Jones traveled to
N ew Y ork C ity for his prize; to m eet
R ussell S im m ons and K evin Liles
an d p erfo rm his w inning m usic
video on B E T ’s hit m usic co u n t­
dow n show , “ 106 & P ark.”
T he m orning after he arrived,
Jones m et w ith D ef Jam executives
and w ho he says gave him m otiv at­
ing w ords o f advice and guidelines
for his future. T he next day, Jones
p e rfo rm e d L e a d ers o f the N ew
S chool (w ith a new ch o ru s) on
“ 106th and Park w here his rap and
dance rhythm s incited positive re­
actions from the audience.
“ I had a lot o f fun doing it,” said
Jones, “ It was a little nerve-racking
though, seeing as it w as m y first live
TV ex p erien ce.” H ow ever, the rap ­
p er says it's definitely som ething
he co u ld get used to.
S hocked and intrigued by the
bright lights and num erous, tow ering
buildings o f N ew York City, Jones
says that he is still excited to return
his sm aller hom etow n o f Portland.
G raduating ju s t a few w eeks b e­
fore his trip, Jones says life w ithout
high school is a little bit different,
but he is gradually adapting to it and
excited to be m oving forw ard w ith
music.
W ith an open book future, Jones
w o n ’t be spending his sum m er days
forgetting all that h e ’s learned in
school. He plans to keep putting
words on paper and release a new
album , a m usic video, and a docu­
m entary detailing his trip to the big
apple.
T his m onth, Jones w ill tour the
country w ith U p and O ver, a crow d
o f o th er artists and intellectual as­
pirants, w ho w ill travel from school
to school, talking to kids about stay-
Murder Charge Dropped
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
close for business at 11:30 p.m. If the
bar fails to follow the new restric­
ing an electronic w and to search tions, O L C C said they w ill face the
people and their bags before they can celatio n o f th eir license.
e n ter the establishm ent. A nyone
T he in v estig atio n fo r Irv in g ’s
leaving after 10:30 p.m . w ill not be m urder is ongoing, and anyone with
allow ed re-entry until the next busi­ further inform ation is asked to c o n ­
ness day. E m ployees also m ust use tact D etective Erik K am m erer a t503-
age verification equipm ent to verify 8 2 3 - 0 7 6 2
or
e m a il
the age o f every person entering the erik.kammerer@ portlandoregon.gov.
bar, and deny entry to anyone w ear­ C rim e Stoppers is also offering a
ing gang-related clothing.
rew ard o f $ 1,000 for inform ation re­
S eezn in ’s w as also ordered to ported that leads to a new arrest on
stop all alcohol sales at 11 p.m . and the case.
S llH s c riH p l
□ U U d U lD C '
photo by E rik F reeland
A Get School video contest gets Parkrose High School graduate Ezekial Jones (center), also known
by his rap name ‘Yung Mil, a winning trip to New York where he met music moguls Kevin Liles (left)
and Russell Simons in Russell’s office.
ing in school, overcom ing obstacles
and staying positive.
“ For the tim e being, I w ill c o n ­
tinue to chase m y dream s o f m usic,
even w hen I begin college in the
fall,” said Jones.
Y ung M il’s w inning m usic video
w as view ed m ore than 900 tim es and m eans that the youth o f today has
includes m em orable lyrics in clu d ­ the p o w er to m old the future and set
ing “ it looked like a long road at first the stan d ard ,” said the young rap ­
but now I think its w alking distance, per, w ho credits his parents, school
visualize success first then put it in faculty and local rappers C ool N utz
y o u r co m p o sitio n .”
and D iezel P for enco u rag in g him to
“L ead ers o f the N ew S ch o o l do w ell in school and graduate.
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