Venus Sings in Austin, TX and Reza Rites at SXSW

Austin, TX - Are you following me on Twitter? Well you might want to because this #AmbitiousBlackFeminist is down at one of the biggest music festivals in the country this week!! To keep up with my updates, follow me on Twitter and Facebook, @rezaclif.

So what am I doing here? I'm documenting the festival participation of the hip hop duo, Riders Against the Storm, and blogging about the festivities for several different blogs (RIFuture.org and Amped Sounds to name a few).

But not only am I in Austin blogging and capturing the “cool,” I’m also down here talking about politics and election year 2012. That is because this trip represents the final phase of filming for a a multimedia project I began in October called “Rhode 2 Africa: Elect the Arts 2012″ (R2A 2012).

Below is an excerpt about the film/series; for additional information, visit www.Rhode2Africa.wordpress.com or click here to access the information page. To make a donation toward the project to help me with producer and artist travel costs, equipment purchases, or staff supports, click here.

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ABOUT RHODE 2 AFRICA: ELECT THE ARTS 2012

There is room at every election to hear and examine new voices and ideas. This year is no different. As a matter of fact, as protesters part of Occupy Wall Street, and break-off movements like Women Occupy and Occupy The Hood have demonstrated, citizens across this country have grown tired of never hearing from the variety of voices making up the “99%.” Still, if you pay attention to major news outlets, you would think that the only people who care about the November elections are the all-white Republican candidates and their party followers.

One place in which you can hear alternative voices and views on politics is within the music community. Besides being heads of households, tax-payers, insurance-holders, and voters, there are many performers who play at political events, directly and indirectly endorsing candidates; hip hop artists who “rap” about reform and rebellion; and emerging and established artists who’ve performed at The Whitehouse.

Rhode 2 Africa: Elect the Arts 2012 is about sharing the voices of Black musicians engaged in this type of work. Standing in contrast to the limited news coverage we see daily, R2A will provide election 2012 coverage and awareness through conversations on race, politics and music.  Our goal is to make sure that diverse constituencies are motivated to vote in November and engaged in political conversations at the local, national, and global level.

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CONTACT INFO

Reza Corinne Clifton:
“Reza Rites / Venus Sings / DJ Reza Wreckage”
rezaclif@gmail.com / 401-217-9680 / singsvenus@gmail.com

www.Rhode2Africa.wordpress.com / www.VenusSings.com /
www.RIFuture.org / www.IsisStorm.com /

Facebook & Twitter @rezaclif

Hip Hop Femcee and Community Activist Queen Yonasda Gives Surprise Performance in Providence: TONIGHT, March 10, 2012

You've heard her on WRIU's Venus Sings Radio, 5th Elament Radio, and BSR's Sonic Watermelons, and you saw her live in Providence at We Run This! Women and Mother in Hip Hop. Catch her in a special performance TONIGHT in Providence...

Queen Yonasda

All Hail The Queen

Saturday, March 10, 2012

11:30 PM @ Fete Lounge

103 Dike Street

Providence, RI 02909

Una Noche de Poesia: Open Mic and Poetry Night "En Espanol" on March 16

Enamorado/a de poesia? In love with poetry? 

VEN / JOIN US...

Noche De Poesias y Mas

Friday / Viernes, Mar 16, 2012

7 PM @ El Principe Restaurant

1095 Eddy Street

Providence, RI 02905

FREE / GRATIS

Open Mic Sign-Ups / Inscripcion

6:30-7:00 PM

"Ven a disfrutar de una noche de poesias, historias y spoken word"

Reza Rites on Radio, Events from Providence to Austin, and Celebrating International Women's Day: The March 7, 2012 Newsletter

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!!!

Click here or on the image above to view the most recent Reza Rites / Isis Storm e-newsletter for more information about Venus Sings radio programs, links to recent blog posts about women in music and RI State House politics, and arts and culture events happening from Providence to Austin.

Click here to sign up to receive the newsletters directly in your email box.  

The Celebrate Women and South by Southwest Send-Off: TODAY on Sonic Watermelons on BSR, March 7, 2012

Today you'll have another opportunity to learn about artists and creative community members using online platforms, music events and other creative ideas to spread the word and advance their art. That's, in part, because we'll be talking live on-air with Jessica Brown of the Extraordinary Rendition Band and online television show, Let's Just Make That. Click here to learn more about her online campaign or tune in TODAY on

Sonic Watermelons on BSR

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

6:00-8:00 PM

Hear it live or archived: www.bsrlive.com
Studio phonelines: 401-863-9277
Contact: www.IsisStorm.com, www.VenusSings.com

Presented by Venus Sings and Isis Storm
Because the World is a Big Place
With Big Ideas and Lots and Lots of Music