The 411 Initiative

Eternia "FOUL CHILD"

2009-12-14T17:48:00Z

"FOUL CHILD" produced by Ant B. aka Mr. Cincinnati (AUDIO)

http://usershare.net/rtkqttaggdl2

From Eternia's "Get Caught Up" digi-mix by DJ Law, dropping Dec. 15th, presented by 2DopeBoyz.com & KevinNottingham.com
Many thanks for the support & pls feel free to spread this content freely!

A Masia One Public Service Announcement To The LADIES

2009-12-08T23:19:00Z

MASIA ONE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT TO YOUNG LADIES…

Yesterday I helped judge the UNITY Emcee / Beatbox competition celebrating the theme of GENDER EQUALITY. There wasn’t even 1 female contestant in the running (emcee or beatboxer!). I hear a lot of rants and raves from women about why they aren’t treated equal in their schools, or how guys don’t give them a chance in Hiphop etc. Although this might be partially true, GIRLS!!! You are not going to make a difference in balancing the scales unless you get off your lazy a**es and come battle! Take chance, do something different, and get better! That is the way to grow and make a change.

Shout out to ALL the men that participated in yesterday’s song competition – it was so very inspiring to meet intelligent young men that had great perspectives and lyrics toward the issue of gender equality. Big up yourselves!

[View:http://communities.canada.com/dose/themes/canada/utility/ :550:0]

Hip - Hop For Girls

2009-12-08T02:50:00Z

[View:http://communities.canada.com/dose/themes/canada/utility/ :550:0]

Your Life Starts NOW!

2009-12-05T18:13:00Z

Your Life Starts NOW!

Hello beautiful ladies (and gents!)

Today is our last day on this tour. We have toured all of Ontario, for 3 weeks, in 27 schools. Can someone say: “WHEW!!”. I love my job, and am blessed to be able to rap for a living, but I think I’m ready for a break… Until next spring when we do 2 months across Canada!

I have learned so much over the last 3 weeks. I have learned that in certain areas of Ontario, a girl is 8x more likely to be abused. I have learned that there are many instances of girl on girl bullying going on in the schools we visited. Which makes no sense to me; we already face many obstacles, as women, so why would we want to make it even more difficult for each other?! I have learned that young women around the world have more in common than not. We are all faced with pressures to look, talk, act & dress a certain way. We all have the ability to be a part of a ripple effect of change. Women are really the centre of their families and therefore, on a larger scale, their communities and countries as a whole. Imagine what one empowered woman can accomplish?!

But most of all, I have learned firsthand of the beauty, intelligence, resilience, power and hope that the next generation of women hold. I have seen this firsthand in all of you. Never stop dreaming. Never stop fighting. Never stop working towards a world where our ‘Girls Rights’ presentations will no longer be necessary.

Until the next time I am blessed to see your smiling faces…

I thank you all, humbly

eternia.

At the hotel with Eternia + Nana + Masia

2009-12-03T22:03:00Z

At the hotel with Eternia + Nana + Masia

Me and Eternia at a Thai restaurant in St. Catharines. Oops - someone missed an "a"!

We are back in Toronto now! That means no more hotel rooms, no more fast food on the road, and no more lugging all our stuff into a van every day.

But it was fun! Plus we’re still leaving our homes this week to do the show for schools in the area.

I started doing regular audio podcasts for Plan Canada a couple of months ago. Since we’re on this tour I decided to ask Eternia to help me out for the next one. She said yes and we made a plan to do it after we were done at the schools. This was one day last week.

We were in a hotel in London and I was rooming with Masia that night. Masia and I were SOOO hungry and decided to order in some Chinese food…but it came RIGHT when I was about to start the interview with Eternia.

I thought I had more time!

So there’s hungry Masia on her bed, waiting to get into some chicken balls. And here’s me and Eternia, cross-legged on the other bed. My microphone is in Eternia’s face, she’s ready for some questions, and my stomach is growling.

Gotta get the podcast done.

Poor Masia had to be quiet for a good fifteen minutes before she could chow down!

But we did it…and I learned a little bit about Eternia that I didn’t know before.

Here it is!

Gang Mentality

2009-12-03T22:00:00Z

Gang Mentality

Writings on the wall @ Highschool we recently visited...

Every morning, as I rub the sleep out my eye and we make our way to the first school of the day, “T” breaks down to us the size of the school and the teacher’s comments on what some of the issues facing the female students might be. One theme keeps arising…BULLYING. I’m no stranger to the concept and to be quite honest I’ve been on both sides of the fence.

At my high school there were a lot of foreign exchange students and often the students would think I was an ESL kid that didn’t speak any english. As a result, I could understand everything mean thing that was said about me. Meanwhile the “bullies” had no idea that I could understand every word that was said. I stayed very low key, and just enjoyed hanging out by the Art Room and ended up spray painting my name across the back of the art room as a school project before leaving that school. After class and on the weekends, I hung around girls that lived in East Vancouver…many of which were in female gangs. I never jumped into a set (though I was offered many times) and Hiphop seemed to give me a neutral status with many of the girls. I was affectionately known as “Hiphop May” by many and they let me hang out because I always brought the music and boogie. These cliques would do everything from pick fights with other females at the mall, gossip and create terrible rumors about one another and generally posture so everyone else could recognize how big and bad we were. I noticed after a while that the girls always got more brave when everyone in the gang was around, but one on one, the girls were more sincere, open and sweet hearts! It was as if we puffed out our chests to be big and bad in order to impress one another. I have to admit, I enjoyed the feeling of being seen as powerful or dangerous because of the crew I rolled with.

All Bgirls School Portrait photo by Che Kothari

Years later, after my move to Toronto, I was fortunate enough to help organize an event known as The M1 Academy: All Bgirls School (featuring many talented women in the Hiphop Community like Lady Noyz, DJ LOQENZ, Eternia…) I realized that many of the women in Toronto Hiphop could not get the proper recognition they deserved. The talent ranged from graffiti writers, singers, DJs and rappers. I also felt that our HERstories (histories) as women in the culture of hiphop, had hardly been documented. I gathered all the super women B girls to take a giant famly portrait of women in Toronto Hiphop, and held an event to celebrate the amazing contribution of these women to the Hiphop community in Toronto.

Return of the Bgirl features a cast of talented young women

The All Bgirls School event was a success and we held the concert as a series of annual events. As well, when it came time to film a video for Return of the Bgirl, I already had an amazing cast of characters to holler at! Only in hind sight I realize this – there is a difference between GANG mentality and CREW mentality, although both involve gathering together groups of potentially powerful young ladies. All though I had my fun causing trouble with my clique in high school, we accomplish very little and in the end everyone grew up and went their separate ways. What I accomplished together with the CREW of ladies gathered for the All Bgirls School, on the other hand, was quite phenomenal. The women expressed ideas to one another, shared their experience and traded services and talents for future projects. The event was also a spring board for many female artists that had never performed before and have since gone on to great things or become ROCKSTARS! (Shout out to Isis & Zaki Ibrahim!)

The point I’m trying to make here is this: We can still empower ourselves, bring groups of people together and create something positive. Bullying or having a gang mentality when picking on someone together is a waste of time and does nothing to create a foundation for something greater. It is very much like a 15 minutes of fame. On the flip side, get together your closest homegirls, agree on working on a project together (whether it’s a dance routine, raising money for a girl’s group or holding an event) and create something positive with them. You will watch it grow…I promise you, it’ll be much more worth it.

One Love

Masia.

What Are We Really Doing?

2009-11-29T22:25:00Z

What are we REALLY doing at these SCHOOLS?!

CLICK HERE to WATCH VIDEO of THE SHOW!

11.28.09

If a picture is worth a thousand words,
Does that mean a video is worth a million?

I get a lot of questions from my family, friends and fans about this “411: Because I am A Girl” school tour. I figured instead of trying to explain what I do, as a Hip Hop artist, at this schools.. I would show you.

I am blessed to tour with a wonderful family of inspiring ladies: Nana (who is shown hyping me up in these clips, but she hosts the entire show!), Hip Hop artist Masia One, and the founder of The 411 & these school tour programs, Tamara Dawit. We even have our very own DJ – Kyle – who, besides tour managing, driving, doing our sound, and generally doing everything else, also reps “Because I Am A Girl” proudly.

A special shout out goes to the students of all the Ontario schools featured in this video: Marymount Academy in Sudbury, Brechin P.S. in Brechin, Cathy Wever in Hamilton, Assumption in St. Thomas, and Sioux Mountain in Sioux Lookout.

To the 18 schools that we’ve rocked for thus far: I will never forget your energy, your interest, your faces, and your stories. Thank you for sharing your world with me, and allowing me to share mine with you.

Rock, Rock On!

-eternia.

Girls Rights In Steel City

2009-11-29T22:22:00Z

Cathy Weaver: Masia One rocking the spot

Hamilton aka. Steel City is always an interesting place to me. As an aficionado of Anime and colorful animated depictions of our future, my imagination tends to runaway when watching the passing smoke stacks, metal palace factories and assorted gleaming lights out our tour van window. The first school, Waterdown had a real nice gym. I was loving the huge words WARRIORS painted on the back wall. A teacher asked 2 girls to help out our crew and they looked at her and walked the opposite direction. I couldn’t believe it…it was so incredibly rude and inconsiderate. As they strutted off in their Aritzia TNA sweatshirts, matching hair bands and co-ordinated UGG boots, I wondered to myself if they ever considered that lending a hand might lead to making a new friend. From making new friends, our lives are connected to someone else’s path, enriching our own lives by this connection and doubling the opportunities and possibilities this existence has to offer. In all fairness, a new group of girls came and helped us out and were very sweet! The crowd seemed to have a good time and it was quickly off to the next school.

I found a Pho spot for lunch FINALLY after what feels like weeks of consuming only junk food, sandwiches and an assortment of expensive airplane food. The place was called PHO BO, and midway through my delicious chicken noodle soup, the owner of the restaurant asked if I had a full time job, then offered me a job at his restaurant. I was tempted to let the crew know they could finish the tour without me, I’d be working at PHO BO and consuming all the Pho I can eat. Pho Sho…bad joke I know!

The kids at Cathy Weaver were considerably younger, but each time I passed through a doorway, i found that someone would always stop to open a door or say hello. Back up help came through to transport the sound equipment to the stage and the remaining experience was a positive one. After the show, the students at Cathy Weaver asked such insightful questions, and were genuinely interested in myself and Eternia as artists and where we had been. The teachers were always friendly and positive. I have been out of school for a number of years now, but it is still so inspirational to see teachers that love their job and kids that are the product of this joy in teaching. Thanks Cathy Weaver! I had a great time…

ps: Eternia and I were clowning around backstage! LIVE EXCLUSIVE HERE AT MASIAONE.COM

At night the crew headed out for some Thai food @ Salah Thai in St Catherines after the show. Oooo, non-sandwich meals twice in one day? My belly is happy! Thank you Nina Jain for the suggestion!

Backstage @ Cathy Weaver about to get my toboggan on!

Loved this poster backstage!

Nana & Eternia posing out by the rice?

An extremely happy Kyle and his dessert!

Beamsville & St Catharines

2009-11-29T22:21:00Z

What’s up girls! Sorry for the delay in posting this pic!

Loving these tiles! Showcases the diversity of personalities at the school

Nana pointed out I would love her sweatshirt...Jamrock in Beamsville

Beamsville / St Catherines

Today we were in Beamsville then St Catherines. Senator Gibson in the morning was a wonderful school and so many of the girls were willing to show their stories to me. I loved the green tile art project that sat outside the gym as well. St Catherines Collegiate / Queen Mary were great schools to perform at as well…most like a concert due to their auditorium and LOUD girls! LOL. I over heard that when many of the girls heard there was going to be an assembly, there was a mass exodus from school, treating the presentation as an opportunity to skip class. I was aimlessly wandering the halls looking for a bathroom, when I got admonished by on of the teachers “Where do you think you are going?”…guess she thought I was one of the students LOL. I didn’t retort as I had no idea how to find my way back to the auditorium. Special shout out to the sisters that busted some singing for me, both of you are very talented! Keep on singing (sing for your friends, family, school, pets…) and hit me up anytime for advice on how to record your music!

Rocking the spot at St Catherine's Collegiate

Windsor.... and finnally weekend

2009-11-29T22:19:00Z

Jamming out with the girls @ Massey in Windsor!

What an amazing way to end 2 weeks on the road traveling to schools across Ontario! We found ourselves in Windsor Ontario, just across the water from Detroit City. Some of the most amazing music has come out of this region (RIP J DILLA) and I was thrilled to meet the kids growing up around the way.

The first school JL FORESTER was a pretty big school, however about half the kids did not make it to the show as it was the Muslim holiday of EID which I learned was a day to observe the ideal of sacrifice in obedience to God. The girls that were there more than made up in cheering for the missing students, and we definitely had a great show. I was particularly struck by the last comment that came from a girl in the front row wearing a blue sweatshirt. She let us know that she was from Haiti and that the situation there was “not a joke“.

In our presentation we talk about the issues faced by young people in HAITI, focusing on the fact that many kids are thrown into adult prisons as young as 7 and 8 years old. This is particularly striking for the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere where 50% of the population is below the age of 18. It makes me think about the power and lack of power for young people to change their current situation. In spite of being the first black led republic and the first independent Caribbean state, the government of Haiti has not been progressive in providing basic necessities to the the people including roads, running water and education. This said, how can the young people of the world stand idly by when a country of youth with hopes and dreams like you and I fight for a future? Haiti is a beautiful country, and I encourage any students reading this to ask your teachers if you could learn more about the situation there either by requesting the learning guide available at WHAT’S THE 411 or going to the library / internet and looking up that information yourself. I think back to the girl at JL Forester that reminded us that not only was the situation in Haiti a very difficult one, but that our world is getting smaller and though we often think these problems are far away, we are a global community. We have so much to learn from our friends and peers that have experienced things we have never seen to help us understand first hand what it means to contribute as a positive light in this world. This is what I mean when I tell everyone to hold their “peace signs” up and yell One Love.

VINCENT MASSEY was probably the livest and LOUDEST school we have been to, to date! I had such an amazing time, and it was a great way to end our string of shows into the weekend. Many girls came up to me after the show to let me know that they loved Return of the Bgirl, and that they started Bgirling (breakdancing) too. That’s amazing ladies, keep training and stay inspired! I secretly hope this is one of the schools that might win the SCHOOL DANCE CONTEST because you guys had such a great vibe, and I know rocking a party for all of you would be a concert to remember!

Nana always holds it down as the best host ever!

Thanks for coming out and supporting the Girl movement CBC!

Q&A is a good time to figure out what we can personally do to help!

These girls snuck backstage after the show, tsk tsk tsk! LOL

I love meeting the girls after the show! Look at all the shiny happy faces!

ps: For all you aspiring Bgirls that I met, my friend Scramblelock recently showed me this video he made! I thought it was such a creative way of showcasing his dancing! Check it out below. Hope it inspires you to make your own flick!

What Does “GIRLS RIGHTS” Really Mean?

2009-11-26T03:17:00Z

I have been an advocate of Girls Rights since before I knew what “Girls Rights” meant.

My mother left home when she was fourteen. She faced abuse at the hands of my father. She raised three children as a single parent, without a high school degree, on government assistance. She was an amazingly capable mother, and I learned from her how to think and live independently by watching her do it. I was out of my mothers’ home at the age of fifteen. Most people around me assumed, with the statistics to back it up, that I would never graduate high school, let alone make it to college or university. “She’ll be living on welfare & have three kids by the time she’s twenty”. I didn’t want to settle with the idea that the circumstances into which I was born and raised would dictate my future opportunities. So I used others’ doubt to fuel my own belief in myself. After leaving high school for two years, I returned, graduated on the Honour Roll, and then graduated Ryerson University four years later on the Deans’ List.

I was unintentionally a living example of what Girls Rights’ rights are all about.

Girls Rights are quite simply Human Rights. Boys and girls have the same rights (such as access to education, healthcare, opportunity) but around the world girls face obstacles in accessing these basic rights simply because they are born a girl. Plan Canada’s 3^rd annual Girl Report: “Girls in the Global Economy: Adding it All Up” offers hard stats to back this up. The report also shows that investing in girls and young women can literally transform lives and lift entire nations out of poverty.

I find this point really interesting: Empower a Girl, you Empower a Community.

It sounds so simple, and yet the feedback I get from a lot of people when I tell them I’m on a Girls Rights tour is “huh?” or “whats that tour about, some feminist, pro-woman, man-hating agenda?”. It saddens me that some people can’t see beyond their own limited reality. Women make up more than half the world’s population. Empowering women, by simply allowing them to participate in decision-making, have access to basic human rights and control over their own resources, is key to reducing global poverty and instability for everyone. When women are educated, they have better job opportunities. Statistics show that women around the world spend 90% of their annual income on their families, in comparison to the 30-40% that men will bring home to their families. Currently, most of the one billion people living on less than a dollar a day are women. This one fact alone highlights the need to invest in our girls globally. Gender inequality impacts the global economy. And this, in turn, impacts all of us.

Blessings and love,

Eternia.

Gender discrimination is in Canada too.

2009-11-26T03:16:00Z

Yesterday some girls told us about the different ways they’ve experienced gender discrimination. One told us of how she plays hockey with boys. The boys make fun of her for being a girl and whisper about her being weak. Another girl said she challenged a boy in her class who said ‘girls should only be in the kitchen making food’.

The second we feel the injustice of being treated differently because we’re girls is exactly when we can start to understand the plight of girls around the world who face even worse injustices…the kind that leads to abuse, hunger and loss of life.

Eternia mentioned that some girls don’t even know that life can be better for them…that they have rights making them equal to the boys and men in their lives.

That’s why we’re doing this tour. So girls here in Canada can be reminded of the power they have to DO something about gender discrimination.

I’m glad to be part of it!

Masia One IS the queen of the world.

2009-11-26T03:16:00Z

“Don’t talk like that!”

That’s how Masia’s aunts would respond when she told them what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her offensive statement? She wanted to be great. “I wanna be the queen of the world!”

During the question period today, someone asked Eternia and Masia what their ambitions were growing up. Eternia wanted to be a veterinarian. Masia remembers just wanting to be a great person.

I’d say she’s done that! But I found it interesting that Masia’s aunts – and her mom - felt her determination was somehow disrespectful. I talked to Masia about it afterward and she knows her brother wouldn’t have been chastised if he spoke that way. In fact, he’d be encouraged!

This is no small thing. And it didn’t just happen to Masia because her mother is Chinese and living in Singapore where rules are supreme.

Socialization of girls in Canada and everywhere can feel very subtle. As a Ghanaian, I went through a naming ceremony at seven days old. I was introduced to the world with my name, and given the tastes of the world on my tiny tongue – bitter, sweet, sour and so on.

My ears were also pierced on that day. I grew up knowing I had to wear earrings every day I left the house. Since I love pretty things and like to dress up, it wasn’t usually a problem. But if I did want to leave my parents house sans adorned ears? My mother would notice. She’d advise me to wear something.

This doesn’t happen with boys. And I know some of you might think this isn’t really an example of female socialization. But consider the message I was getting: you are a girl and girls must be ‘pretty’, so adorn yourself, lest you be considered un-girl-ish.

See what I mean?

And you know this is only a small example of how ‘attractiveness’ is one of the toughest issues affecting girls today.

I don’t even know what to do with this realization that socialization of girls can be potentially damaging, even in the smallest way.

I know if I have a little girl I won’t make her feel bad if she wants to be the queen of the world.

But I’m pretty sure I’ll want to put her in dresses. Is that so bad?

-Nana

St Thomas

2009-11-26T03:12:00Z

What a great day in St Thomas! I have to say that this has been one of my favorite schools on the tour! The energy of the girls here was just bubbling, and I could feel the inspiration go both ways between performers and students! Backstage (which was actually the auditorium closet LOL) ETERNIA and I found some Guitar Hero guitars so naturally we had to do the rockstar boogie and do a ridiculous photoshoot before hitting the stage! (Love you NANA for always holding it down!) I’ve been loosing my voice on tour because of the change in weather and diet but somehow every show I muster up enough vocals for the performance because the energy of the audience has been so phenomenal. Thank you St Joes & Assumption ladies for your hospitality and I know you ladies will go on to do great things!

Pre-show Nana is a professional!

We should start a Screamo band...I call it E-Masia One-Ternia HAHAHA

Eternia will be the Emo one! LOL.

I think an Emo album should be on the horizon for E!

I'll bring more of a George Clinton P-Funk Era flavor!

...and SWEET guitar solos! Guitar Hero Rock Star One!

Or stick to zee Rap Music.

As promised ladies! Thanks for taking the flick! You are all so beautiful and fly! Keep in touch!

Weekend On The Road

2009-11-26T03:11:00Z

Nana & Masia acting silly before the show at Pinewoods, Dryden

NOV 22. 2009 Wow! What a long drive! We drove all weekend from Dryden to Sioux Lookout and back to Thunderbay. The following day we journeyed further back South and poised to hit schools in London Ontario tomorrow morning.

We drove through DJ Kyle's hometown Caledonia...and acquainted ourselves with the local wheat.

American Music Awards...I think Bollywood has better production value

We spent the evening watching the American Music Awards and this transported me back to L.A. I found the event was lack lusture, but had the funnest time commentating on the celebrities and music with the tour team! I also stayed on the computer through the show, and got my TWITTER game up. I felt more than ever, the clumsy production quality of the award show revealed the truly human flaws of many celebrity we revere. Gotta send a shout out to Tyler, that hooked up our American Award watching rituals with Brie Cheese, crackers, grapes and strawberries! Here is my summary of the show:

Taboo rocking the right percentage of blingy on his military styled jacket.

Masia One style awards of the evening go to Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga and Taboo.
Did Paula’s mic really feedback at the top of the show? Did she make the sound man mad for that to happen on national TV?
Rihanna bit Mila’s steez in 5th Element: http://tinyurl.com/yar3e4h The lazers were interesting.
I miss “fly girl” J. Lo. This performance however has inspired me to do a track dedicated to MANNY PACQUIAO. The champ would then TRULY be here!
Tamara said “I like men with shaved heads, but is that Head Fat?”
I love you Timberland…extra medium jacket and all.
Eminem has constantly brought new flow to an industry where there is no evolution in the art of emcee. Now if only they didn’t use Drake’s tune without having him rock on it. (Toronto represent!)
Alicia’s dancers would have bruck out harder if they were from Toronto! What you saying KAYANN? What you saying PONYTAILZ?
Jay Z is all about his business…thanked the appropriate people then inserted a sound bite for the media to feed off of. ”Men lie, Women lie, numbers don’t“
LADY GAGA gave the best performance of the evening hands down.
See ya’ll at the American Music Awards next year. Kops & Robbers about to take over this mutha *#@$*% !!!

NOV 21. 2009 I find the team is getting goofier and goofier in the mornings before the show begins. Perhaps not enough oxygen is circulating to our heads that early in the morning, but I’m really enjoying myself on this tour. Not only do I get to travel with some of the most charismatic and intelligent people I have ever met, but we get to meet so many great people each school we end up at! It’s like a Xmas present everyday! Thank you all, from Thunderbay to Dryden to Sioux Lookout for the amazing inspiration that you have passed on to me, simply for being the way you are and sharing so openly and lovingly the issues that effect you in your community. Sioux Mountain was such a great school and I had the most hug requests from the girls there! You ladies stay strong and beautiful, and grow to become leaders in your community and beyond! You are all WARRIORS yeah? Yeah Yeah!

DJ Kyle gets John Travolta on us! Do dat dance do dat dance do it!

Nana kicks it up to the next level!

Masia One boogie to keep the morning party going!

Eternia being responsible while we goof off!

My Hello Kitty animal has become my traveling Gnome! I have pictures of Hello Kitty everywhere on the tour!

Loved the teacher Jenny's necklace that she told us her husband put together and was carved so intricately by a 3rd party!