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Black History Month
Providing Insurance and Financial Services
Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710
Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent
4946 N. Vancouver Avenue,
Portland, OR 97217
503 286 1103 Fax 503 286 1146
ernie.hill.h5mb@statefarm.com
24 Hour Good Neighbor Service R
February 10, 2016
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
Prodigy Fronts Neosoul Concert
State Farm R
Got belly dance?
We do!
shimmymob.com
Singer and songwriter Raheem Deaughn, a Grammy nominated
R&B, Neo soul rock and hip hop musician from Newark, N.J., will front
a Neosoul Night at the Tao Event Center, Thursday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.
A night of swag,
sprit and soul
f eliCia s lider
T he P OrTland O bserver
You don’t want to miss the
musical magnitude of Raheem
Devaughn’s irst time visit to the
Rose City.
The Newark, N.J. born and
Maryland-based musical prodi-
gy, the son of jazz cellist Abdul
Wadud, will be in Portland to per-
form Thursday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.
at Neosoul Night at the Tao Event
Center, 631 N.E. Grand Ave.
A singer and songwriter whose
vocal artistry is a force of nature,
Devaughtn’s lyrics are a trifecta
of fantasy, fetish and lava. His
debut album, “The Love Expe-
rience,” reached No. 46 on the
Billboard 200 album chart. His
2008 Grammy nomination for
Best Male R&B Vocal Perfor-
mance for the single “Woman”
gratiies the soul of generations.
Portland hometown artist
“Nehemiah,” will also perform
during the concert, saturating the
stage with his soul music swag
and spirit.
Karanja Crews, the award-win-
ning educator from Portland’s
black community, and founder of
the annual Teaching with Purpose
Conference, is the event’s pro-
ducer.
The Portland Observer asked
Crews to give us a take on how he
keeps his ears and eyes on Port-
land’s music scene.
When did you fall in love
with music?
by
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5 0 3 - 7 0 5 - 2 5 8 7
2 Rooms + Hall
$
59
95
Complete House
$
109
95
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I fell in love with music at the
age of 9. I used to attend shows
with my brother and listen to mu-
sic like Run DMC.
How important is it to be a
ist-class event producer?
I keep up with music trends by
looking at a lot of underground
and breakthrough artists. This in-
dustry is often about networking
and making connections. I pride
myself on being the full package
of promoting premier events.
Tell us about a “day in the
life” of an event producer?
It’s great... I’m always multi-
tasking. From research to con-
tacting the artist, the labels,
booking and promotions, adver-
tising and ticket sales, things are
constantly moving. I also coordi-
nate items on a band’s tour. This
includes anything from the air-
line and hotel accommodations,
to food, to whatever the artist
may need or like to make sure
their event is A+.
Who was the irst artist you
did a concert promotion for?
The artist “GZA” of the leg-
endry hip-hop group Wu-Tang.
Who would be your dream
artist to promote?
My dream artist would be
Nas, the legendary New York-
based hip hop entertainer. For
R &B, I would have to say one
of my favorites is Anita Baker.
Both are legendary, not just in
their genre, but in the industry of
music. They transcend true art-
istry in crossing over different
categories of music. And they
are both renowned in their own
name.