Two Piece And A Biscuit

What IS love? Recently, we had an opportunity to chat with spoken word artist and Memphis native, Kezia the Poet. Tuesday (Valentine’s Day), Kezia released her single “The Love Poem”, which will be featured on her sophomore album, available this Spring.

In our conversation, we talk about the commercialization of love, what she hopes people take away from “The Love Poem” and her up coming album.

Let us know what you think? Has “love” become too commercial? How do we get back to love’s real meaning? Leave or comments in the box below or email us your thoughts.

photo courtesy of www.bpef-online.org

In a 2009 publication, Science Daily highlighted the work of authors Joseph M. Piro and Camilo Ortiz. Through extensive research, the authors have surmised that children exposed to a “multi-year program of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers“.

In the study, 46 students were given a formal piano education while 57 students received no formal music education. At the conclusion of their study, Piro and Ortiz found that the students who were given the formal piano education had a “significantly better vocabulary and verbal sequencing scores than did the non-music-learning control group.”

With our current budget crisis, it seems that many “ancillary” subjects like physical and music education have taken a back seat in terms of forming a functional education budget. For school systems like the Kanas School District, dealing with these cuts have been especially difficult.

Angela Deines, a reporter for the Topeka-Capital Journal, says that nearly 200 (187) music education positions have been cut in an attempt to salvage the school district’s budget. Kansas Music Educators Association president, Craig Manteuffel, told school board members in November that the cuts deprive children of the same

Tameka Harris with Candace Baker of Inspirational Expressions, LLC. Photo by: D. Harris

comprehensive music program he grew up with. Mr. Manteuffel calls this fact, “disturbing”.

Tameka Harris with singer Micah Smith on the set of "The Tameka Harris Show". Photo by: D. Harris

We recently had an opportunity to speak with Tameka Harris. Tameka is an up and coming television host gearing up for the release of her very first Internet based program, The Tameka Harris Show. Tameka credits her creative abilities to her time spent learning music.

“In 6th-9th grades, I played the flute and bassoon” says Harris. “Learning these instruments taught me how to really strive for excellence, she continues. Tameka believes that in order to be great or to create a true masterpiece, you have to keeping trying at it. “Music has taught me disciple, timing and the ability to pay attention to details.”Harris believes that schools should keep music programs because “music is the gateway to educational development.”

At Two Piece And A Biscuit, our goal is to bring you stories and articles that celebrates the art of music. Music education, as Piro and Ortiz concluded, is not only important for developing a child’s musical ability, it is also very beneficial in developing other useful skills in children.

Programs like VH1‘s Save The Music Foundation has been dedicated to restoring the instrumental music education programs, ensuring that every child has access to a complete education that includes the benefits of music instruction since 1997. Artists like Lupe Fiasco, Katy Perry and Jordan Sparks understand the importance of this program and have agreed to become ambassadors and champions for this cause.

Photo courtesy of www.vh1savethemusic.com

Support your local school district’s music programs by petitioning your local school boards. If you are a music educator, we encourage you to keep your programs interesting and engaging. Finally, visit Save The Music and discover all the ways that you can help keep music programs in our schools.

Let us know what you think. Have you benefitted from having a comprehensive music program? Do you believe music education serves little to no purpose in today’s education system? Comment below or email us your thoughts.

Kyla Simone & RaShawn Tucker, creators of Soul La Femme. photo by D. Harris

In August, Two Piece And A Biscuit brought you a story on the creative freedom many independent artists enjoy as a result of not being signed by a major label. To do that story, TPAB was granted access to cover an event called “Soul La Femme: Journey Free”. The event staff granted us complete access to the artists and even the planners themselves. Because of this, we were able to bring you very thorough information on this topic.

TPAB was very fortunate to have been granted access to this event. Even though Two Piece And A Biscuit is not associated with a major outlet, the event staff still recognized our publication as a credible news source. Often times, many online publications and journalists are denied opportunities to cover events because many organizations do not consider them to be credible news sources.

"Journey Free" photo by: D. Harris

In 2007, three independent journalists were denied press credentials by the N.Y.P.D. They reasoned since the journalists were not affiliated with a major news organization, they were not considered to be journalists. The lawsuit, which was filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, claims the three men were denied their credentials “with little explanation or opportunity for appeal.”

"Old school journalist"

The New York Times report that the N.Y.P.D grants press credentials on two levels. A “working press card” is granted to journalist “of a news-gathering organization covering spot or breaking news on a regular basis such as robbery scenes, fires, homicides, train wrecks, bombings, plane crashes, where there are established police or fire lines at the scene,” on a full-time basis. Journalists who are employed by news organizations but do not usually cover these types of stories are given a “press identification card”

One of the journalist named in the lawsuit, Mr. David Wallis, is the founder of “Feature Well”. His publication is a syndication service that provides news to other organizations such as The Guardian and The Irish Examiner. The Times reports Wallis had a press identification card from 1994 until the incident in 2007. Wallis claims he was prevented from renewing his credentials without explanation.

Delinzia Upson is an independent news gatherer and founder of the “Stiletto Reporter”. Upson says “According to the NYPD’s definition of who receives a  press pass, which more than likely were written to conform to the days of traditional print press, their decision was not justified.” She believes the larger issue is trying to decide if their publications are credible sources of news.

“With the changes that have occurred in the economy and employment realms, people are having to take advantage of independent & entrepreneurial avenues. With the change in times, there must also occur a change in the mindset of who is a journalist and what is a publication. Being an online publisher of content, versus being connected with an established entity, is one of those ways. ‘Credible’ bloggers should be recognized as journalists” says Upson.

In the time sense this story was reported by the New York Times, New York has moved to grant online journalists the same access to press credentials as traditional journalists.

What do you think? Do you believe the NYPD was right in their decision to deny these journalists press credentials? How much of your news comes from online sources? Please comment below or email us your thoughts.