One To Watch...Illadelp

I believe everyone has a skill or talent and in most cases the ones with true talent often get overlooked. Well not if I have any say so! I like spotlighting talented and positive people and with that being said allow me to introduce you to Philly's own Illadelp...

On April 8, Audrey Ann Parker gave life to a star, who would bless each and every mic, speak the truth, and share his love for hip hop.

Kenyatta Parker, even as a child, was destined for greatness. With his sister, Clairessa L. Walker’s love and support, Kenyatta was challenged to rap about things she would point out just to keep his freestyle and rap thirst alive.

Raised on the streets of North Philadelphia, he received his first taste of stardom as a rising hip hop artist when he performed with Charniece Bailey in the Power 99 FM’s “Stay in School” Campaign. This campaign gave aspiring rap artist the opportunity to spread the message about staying in school and saying no to drugs.

After winning this competition, Charneice and Kenyatta had the pleasure of meeting the group Total and since we represented Strawberry High School, Total performed at our school. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he served as a Sergeant. While stationed in Okinawa, Japan in 2002, he connected with Mark Thompson who ignited his thirst for music and recorded, “illadelp” and “False Prophet”. It was at this time, he adopted the stage name “illadelp” because he viewed his self as one of the illest artist who represented Philadelphia, so by combining the two , the world was slowly introduced to
illadelp.

However, when he returned back to the states, his dream of being the music industry slowly died, but the fire to record and write remained. Just when he was done dreaming about getting his music heard, In 2011, he reconnected with a former Strawberry Mansion classmate, Charron Monaye, who took an interest in his music and pushed his dreams forward. Since then, he has recorded countless of music, performed at the Martini Lounge in San Diego for a show called “The Breaks”, auditioned for the television show “The Voice”, and featured at “The Arts Garage”, “The Shed”, “Coast 2 Coast Industry Mixer”, and “IStandard Producer Showcase”. He has recorded with ML The Truth of 100 Drums Production, LLC out of Jackson Ms., Zaq and Mike with Mike and Ike Studios.

On February 1, 2011, he received his first placement under the direction of DJ Truuf as his song, I’m Ready featuring ML The Truth was selected to be on the Converse Allstar Mixtape Vol 2, which has been circulating across the globe.

Even though, he is not signed to a major company, he continues to fight against the odds and live out a dream that others deem impossible. His songs, Up In the Club and Ride With Me are hits and are full rotation on SwuvRadio and Mix1620, both hosted by DJ Truuf .

As he continues to establish a fan base and brand, this aspiring artist is gearing up for a promising career. With a great team, supportive uncle, and four girls, Unique Parker, Cherish Parker, Kylese Parker and Jordan Parker, there is much more to come. Look out for his mixtape coming early Summer 2012 and other great opportunities.


For more information:
Email: Illadelp2012@gmail.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/illadelp2012

Book Review: "Alibi" by Teri Woods

Alibi by Teri Woods

Reviewed by A. Jarrell Hayes

Desperate times call for desperate measures. The characters in Teri Woods’ novel Alibi are desperately trying to survive in the tough streets of 1980s Philadelphia.

The book starts with two young men desperate to make it in the drug game decide to rob a stash from Simon Shuller, the city’s biggest drug lord. The robbery is spontaneous and unplanned, and they run into Nard, who is desperate to keep his good name with the boss. This results in a shootout, where Nard is the only survivor. As he flees the scene, he is spotted by a neighborhood child and his mother. Now Nard is desperate for an alibi.

That’s where Daisy comes into play. She’s a stripper that does more than tease her customers. She’s also broke and takes care of her ailing mother. She’s desperate for some cash. When Sticks, Nard’s running buddy and Daisy’s part-time lover, approaches her with a wad of cash to provide Nard with an alibi, she accepts. It sounds like a good deal to her; she thinks all she has to do is talk to an investigator and that’s it. Besides, she’s desperate for the extra money.

Unfortunately, the plan doesn’t go through as Sticks predicted. There are some loose ends that need to be tied up – like the two witnesses to the shooting. Instead of talking it over with Simon Shuller, the main boss, Nard takes matters into his own desperate hands, making more of a mess for himself and his buddy Sticks. When holes begin to appear in Daisy’s alibi, Sticks adds to the body count in a desperate attempt to keep Nard from getting a heavy prison sentence.

Stick’s efforts are in vain, because Daisy wises up and bolts out of state, to live with relatives in the south. Daisy is a naive woman desperate for love. When her new boyfriend, who planned to marry her and buy her a house, disappears on her, and the authorities begin to pressure her, Daisy wants to leave it all behind and escape. Once she is on the run, Sticks and government agents follow her, both desperately trying to drag her back to Philly.

The book is non-stop action; full of plot changes and shootouts, as fans of Teri Woods’ writings have come to expect. The book has a frenetic pace; everything happens quickly and time gets compressed. To keep the action moving, there isn’t many parts for introversion by the characters. Especially for Daisy, who deals with a personal loss and being raped, but doesn’t seem effected by the events as one would imagine. After each traumatic event, Daisy continues with life as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. It isn’t that she’s a character with a particularly strong will.

Woods’ exchange of emotion for continued action is probably the book’s most glaring flaw. But Woods does a great job of adding short little quips of thought from inside characters’ minds – oftentimes the thoughts are humorous. If Woods’ goal with Alibi is to entertain and increase the heart rate of her readers as they read, then she hit the proverbial nail on the head.

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