Will Rap 4 Food

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Made in the DMV: The Free Conference That You Should NOT Have Missed!

Posted by tagdmv on December 9, 2014
Posted in: Events, Music. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Free conference?! Did someone say a FREE conference?! How good can it be? Well, the inaugural Made in the DMV Conference challenged that very question.

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On a very rainy Saturday of December 6th, 2014, DMV’s elite music artists, producers, DJs, executives, media, and supporters, came out to the first Made in the DMV Conference (which was put together by Will Rap 4 Food & I Got it 4 Free). The conference (held at the R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center in SE DC) was a melting pot of uplifting, empowerment, education and networking. The conference kicked-off bright and early (at 9am) with a Town Hall meeting, featuring a powerful panel of local community leaders and philanthropists, including Will Rap 4 Food CEO, Pro’Verb, Santa Cause Philanthropist, Mo Betta, community activist, Tony Lewis, Jr, and Dreamswork Inc. leader, Dan Bradley.

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Record Breakers DJ Panel

After the Town Hall meeting, there were a wide array of panel discussions, as well as interactive workshops. The workshops (which were led by a Who’s Who’s of the local and national music industry) ranged from Record Breakers DJ (covering the secrets to success as a DJ and as an artist trying to break through on the radio), to Writing Your Story: New Leaders Writers/Bloggers Panel (in 2 parts), to Deal or No Deal (covering being an indie artist vs. being signed to a label), to Evolution of the DMV Music Panel (which discussed the various reasons why some DMV artists have broken through to mainstream thus far – vs those that have not but probably should have – and what we as a community can do to help our local artists to achieve success beyond the DMV).

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TOP: Deal or No Deal Panel; BOTTOM: Monetize Your Movement
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Writing Your Story: New Leaders Writers/Bloggers Panel 1

The interactive workshops included photography, videography, production, engineering, as well as PR techniques (which was led by 2 of the event’s organizers, Angela Byrd – I Got it 4 Free – and Natasha Brown – Think Brown Ink).

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Visual Interactive Workshop

After the conference portion wrapped, everyone had just enough time to rest a bit from all of the serious dialogue, freshen up & head to Cafe Asia for The Show, which is where everything came to life! This portion started with the Producer’s Showcase, which was hosted by the always energetic Paperboy Prince of the Suburbs. The tracks, which featured beats from local DMV producers, definitely turned up the crowd, and got this portion of the party started off right! Next up, was the Artist Showcase, which featured both rappers & singers of local area talent. The judges from both segments included from WPGC 95.5, DJ Heat, from MTV News & Sway in the Morning, Rob Markman, Baltimore Hip Hop Journalist, Jay Holzman, and host of PUV Radio on Blis.FM, Ms. Kitten.

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Kerim the DJ blessed the speakers with some unlikely, but dope, mixes during the transition to our featured local artist performances. PUV Radio hosts Ms. Kitten & Jus Paul hosted the featured performances and kept the crowd live! Backed by The Legendary Cloud 9 band as the house band, the local hip hop performances included the likes of Laelo, Jacob Sinatra, Black Cobain, Pinky Killacorn & Visto. Needless to say, this became one of THE biggest DMV Hip Hop concerts of the year, to date!

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LEFT TO RIGHT: Paperboy Prince of the Suburbs, Ms. Kitten & Jus Paul
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Visto Performs with The Legendary Cloud 9 band.

When we checked-in with Pro’Verb, he noted that “this was only the 2nd full-out concert that [Will Rap 4 Food] has done thus far”, and he was “surprised that there was a crowd of people to come out to the conference, AND to have a crowd of people to show up [at The Show] too…it [was] amazing”!

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The Crowd Supports “Don’t Shoot” During “The Show”!

For all of these reasons, and more, if you did NOT make it out this year, you SHOULD NOT miss Made in the DMV next year! Also, to see what you may have missed this year (and for more details about next year), be sure to follow @MadeInTheDMV, @WillRap4Food & @IGotIt4Free, and show some love/support to OUR DMV artists, producers, DJ, and media, also.

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Sponsors of Made in the DMV

– EMW

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ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT – Will Rap 4 Food, Inc. (WR4F)

Posted by tagdmv on July 17, 2014
Posted in: Music, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

What do you get when you combine the love and artistry of Hip-Hop culture with the passion and drive to create change in your community? Here’s a good hint…it’s an awesome organization called, Will Rap 4 Food, Inc. (WR4F)!

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On the surface, this “family” of Hip-Hop cultured artists and lovers are a group of talented individuals that come together for a common purpose…to spread their love and artistry of Rap! Usually, when you see their team out and about at events, some of them are sporting their “Will Rap 4 Food” logo t-shirts & hoodies. So once you find out how dope they are as artists, one begs the question…”What exactly is ‘Will Rap 4 Food‘?!”

Once you dig a little deeper, you see way more than just Hip-Hop & artistry…you see purpose through philanthropy! According to the organization’s website, WR4F‘s mission is that one that “educates, empowers, and mobilizes the hip hop community to be agents of change in the global eradication of hunger through awareness, unity, and the powerful influence of art” (The Mission, www.willrap4food.org). That’s right…every time that they share their gift of artistry, they also raise money to donate towards ending world hunger 1, 2 or 1,000 bags at a time!!!

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We caught up with the man who started it all, WR4F‘s CEO, Pro’verb! Here’s what he had to say about the organization and journey:

Q: What part of the DMV are you reppin’?
A: PG County, Maryland…Landover to be specific. 301 or none.

Q: Who’s in your crew?
A: Well first off Will Rap 4 Food is my family…Lol! I have a pretty big family as you can see and we are pretty much everywhere. In terms of my music there’s Zzz Gang (We do this in our sleep) which is comprised of Tese Fever, RAtheMC, AP the Prince, Lyriciss, G*two and myself…that’s my inner circle within this industry. I don’t really do the “friends” thing…either we are family or associates, ya know?

Q: What influenced you to create this organization?
A: I’ve been apart of community outreach missions and programs since I was a kid. I’m a preachers kid, so I’ve always been around these types of organizations. I just felt like we were the new leaders of this generation so we should start acting like it. Let’s take charge and make changing our neighborhoods personal using music as the catalyst. Why wait until we’re rich and famous to try and “give back” to the community…let’s do it now! So guess what we did…we brainstormed and executed an amazing idea called Will Rap 4 Food, Inc.

Q: How has your community influenced you, and vice versa?
A: PG county pretty much made me a man. I was heavily influenced by the evils and greatness that exist in this area. That duality created a balance and perspective that is unlike any other, in my opinion. I’ve had money and lost money but my mission never changed. I always strived to be a positive impact but when you are in the jungle sometimes you have to adapt to the mentality of the jungle. My work is far from over and Will Rap 4 Food is just one of the ways I plan to affect my community. This is a lifetime commitment.

Q: Do you guys embrace other artistic genres outside of Rap/Hip Hop?
A: Will “Rap” 4 Food is a concept…not a rule. We know Hip-Hop is a culture and an energy; it’s more than music…it’s a large part of this generations identity. We are simply saying that Hip-Hop can do positive things and be a sincere catalyst for change in our communities. We encourage all forms of art within our organization. We have poets, instrumentalists, vocalists, producers…just about anything you could think of. If you have any talent at all you can do “it” for food!

Q: What’s next?!
A: Elevation and evolution. I’m working on my third mixtape called, Over thinkers EP, which will be dropping later this year while still handling duties as CEO of Will Rap 4 Food, Inc. I’m also ghostwriting for a few artists and bands working on placements as we speak. I’m staying as busy as I can until I’m literally too old to handle it anymore…lol. Just make sure you follow the organization @WillRap4FoodInc because greatness is on the horizon! You can also find me personally @allproallday on both IG and twitter.

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Community Outreach Coordinator Adding Influence, DMV Legendary Painter Demont “Peekaso” Pinder, and CEO Pro’verb.

If you would like to volunteer and help them to share the love, you can email them at volunteer@willrap4food.org. For the fellow Hip-Hop artists and lovers, you can catch them EVERY Monday at their event, M Street Mondays, at the Sports Zone Elite in Georgetown & during their Cool World Order tour through July & the beginning of August. You can keep up with their other artistic ventures through their social media pages, and continue to help change the world 1 or 1,000 meals at a time!

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– EMW