newsbreak.com – How Clifton Gordon (aka Felipe Luciano) Came Out of Prison With a Mission to Elevate Gangster Rap

One of the main values of hip-hop, as a culture and an art form, is as a creative outlet for Black and Latino youth to create art that reflects their lived realities. As the scholar Murray Forman reminds us, hip-hop is an entryway into conversations about the politics of race, space, and place. The storytelling and coming-of-age narratives within the music allows artists to offer introspective versions of their lives.

Full article here: https://www.newsbreak.com/north-carolina/chapel-hill/news/2077381461983/how-clifton-gordon-aka-felipe-luciano-came-out-of-prison-with-a-mission-to-elevate-gangster-rap

indyweek.com – How Clifton Gordon (aka Felipe Luciano) Came Out of Prison With a Mission to Elevate Gangster Rap

One of the main values of hip-hop, as a culture and an art form, is as a creative outlet for Black and Latino youth to create art that reflects their lived realities. As the scholar Murray Forman reminds us, hip-hop is an entryway into conversations about the politics of race, space, and place. The storytelling and coming-of-age narratives within the music allows artists to offer introspective versions of their lives.

This is exactly what Shelby, North Carolina native Clifton Gordon seeks to accomplish with his music.

Musically, Gordon is known as Felipe Luciano, a name he was given by an elder gang member while he was active in gang culture. The name is fitting: The original Felipe Luciano is an Afro-Latino poet and community activist. In the sixties, he served time in prison for manslaughter. Upon his release, he attended college and became an influential leader in his community. Luciano was a member of the Last Poets, a Black Power-era group mentored by Amiri Baraka, whose politically charged music and spoken word performances laid the groundwork for hip-hop. He was also a member of the Young Lords Party, a radical Latino youth-led activist group that was once gang-affiliated.

Like Luciano, Clifton Gordon also spent time in prison. During his five-year sentence, he began taking college-credit courses through UNC-Chapel Hill’s Correctional Education Program (CEP). Since his release, Gordon’s time has been spent pursuing his music career and investing in the youth from his hometown. With the help of his wife, he launched Helping Our People Excel (HOPE), a nonprofit that focuses on historically underserved young people. The organization offers resources and programs that teach financial literacy, ownership, business development, and more—all themes that are present in Gordon’s music.

“I remember growing up, we were super, super poor,” Gordon says. “I want to help kids that are in my position and give them a better chance because I felt like when I was younger, if I would have had that, I could’ve been like Barack Obama or somebody.” I spoke with him over the phone about what he learned in prison and his effort to modernize gangster rap.

Full article here: https://indyweek.com/music/features/clifton-gordon-aka-felipe-luciano-interview/

entrtnmnt.com – Live Music is Alive and Well | Concerts In Your Car Series Continues

Since last June, when CBF Productions launched the first drive-in live music experience in California at the Ventura Fairgrounds, there has been a rebirth of live music events on the south coast. A litany of diverse acts have taken the stage at the venue including, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Fitz and The Tantrums, Los Lobos, Tower of Power, and Sublime to name a few.

But the COVID safe venue shows no sign of slowing down productions into the fall. CBF continues to book more popular acts all the time, including some top names that were initially scheduled to play the ill-fated Santa Barbara Bowl 2020 season. This Friday, October 9, one of Santa Barbara’s favorite bands, Slightly Stoopid, will be bringing their Reggae drenched upbeat tunes to the Fairgrounds. The band, founded in Ocean Beach back in 1994, has released 13 studio albums packed with their unique amalgamation of pop music. Their sound has been influenced by many musical genres, including folk, rock, blues, hip-hop, funk, metal, punk, and Reggae.

Full article here: https://entrtnmnt.com/2020/10/concerts-in-your-car/

nbcbayarea.com – What It’s Like Making a Movie in the Time of COVID-19

In the age of stringent pandemic protocols, how do filmmakers, actors and crews continue to create? A movie crew in the Bay Area is trying to figure that out right now.

Those working on the independent film “Adam and Eve” have to abide by a number of guidelines, including having no more than 12 people on location, wearing face coverings, social distancing, makeup restrictions and even a ban on any indoor singing.

“Even when we were calling the film commission, they didn’t sometimes know exactly what we could and couldn’t do,” filmmaker Brian Hooks said. “They’re like, ‘Listen, you might get shut down, you might not.'”

Full article here: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/what-its-like-making-a-movie-in-the-time-of-covid-1

San Diego Business Journal – Del Mar Fairgrounds Launches Drive-in Concert Series

After postponing the 2020 San DiegoCounty Fair in April and cancelling most of its 300-plus planned events for the year, the Del Mar Fairgrounds has pivoted to innovative ventures in order to generate revenue.

This year it stored approximately 4,000 rental cars for Enterprise Holdings and hosted a drive-in and pick-up food and beverage program called Fair Food Fix, among other endeavors.

Now, the 370-acre fairgrounds is adding something new.

Actively Booking

Produced by Ventura-based CBF Productions LLC, Concerts in Your Car is a drive-in music festival series and the Del Mar Fairgrounds’ latest effort. It kicked off in July at the Ventura County Fairgrounds and, as of late September, will take place concurrently at the Del Mar Fairgrounds through early January.

Full article here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U64aiKdHC9fqcVB8NaRJ1M78-z-0xkTO/view