A Venus Sings and Isis Storm Night at URI: Wednesday Sep 20

KINGSTON, RI - For those who haven't yet experienced the music of "DJ Reza Wreckage," join me on Wednesday, September 30 from 7:00-10:00 pm at URI's Memorial Union Ballroom as I spin and perform at their annual Diversity Week Open Mic. Read more about it below:

URI INVITES YOU TO COME AND HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD! This is not for the "professional" (although you all are welcome too;), it is for those who just need to speak their truth! Throughout history art has been the the catalyst for the awakening of the soul and the biggest social movements. So come through people! Poets, Musicians, Spoken word artists, short story tellers- And ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAVE YET TO BE HEARD! We want you THE MOST! All genres! All Ages! Please come and bless us with your truth!

Feel free to come and sign up before the event or rsvp a slot by emailing me as (they will be limited). Each person has about 5-7 minutes to perform, and the event will be hosted by hip hop emcee and poet, Kalyana Champlain.

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Surprise: Venus Sings Radio for 2nd Week in A Row

KINGSTON, RI - Thanks to a slight change in scheduling, the next edition of Venus Sings Radio is happening tomorrow, Saturday September 19. The show should be interesting, as I've had only a day to consider the tunes. On the other hand, I have tons of albums with which I'm only partially familiar, and a growing list of songs that I keep forgetting to play. In short: Surprise!!!

Tune in from 9-11 am (EST) on 90.3 FM in and around RI (and as far away as Long Island) and online at www.wriu.org.

Peace,
DJ Reza Wreckage

WRIU Playlist - September 12, 2009

by Reza Corinne Clifton

KINGSTON, RI - My plan for September 12 was to play a series of sets that reflected a mood of "dance dance dance." To back up a little: it was the next edition of Venus Sings Radio on WRIU, 90.3 FM, and I wanted to do something different yet direct. However, the weather and sky on September 12 was rainy and dark - the kind of day where people sleep late, watch movies, or reflect on broken hearts and unmet promises. Thus, my original plan was thwarted - or more precisely, adapted - in favor of a fusion of the heavy and light or cerebral and physical. Take a look at who and what I played to achieve this critical balance.

(Artist, Song, Album)

1. Erykah Badu, No Love, Baduizm
2. Thievery Corporation feat. Lou Lou, La Femme Paralle / Radio Retaliation
3. Goapele, Closer, Closer
4. Deniece Williams, Free, This is Nice
5. Asa, 360, Asa
6. Eva Cortes, Te Me Escapas Como Agua Entre los Dedos, Como Agua Entre los Dedos
7. Eva Cortes, Exclusive Venus Sings Interview w. Reza Rites
8. Eva Cortes, Quisiera, Como Agua Entre los Dedos
9. Clara Moreno feat. Celso Fonseca & Joyce, Sabe Quem?, Meu Samba Torto
10. Ceu, Rainha, Ceu
11. Ayo, Down On My Knees, Joyful
12. Iyeoka, She Doesn't Know Her Beauty, The Reza Wreckage-Sweetback Remix
13. Duffy, I'm Scared, Rockferry
14. Aretha Franklin, Pullin, Spirit in the Dark
15. Zuco 103, Peregrino, Republicafrobeat (vol. 1)
16. Zili Misik, Lorgina, Zee'lee Mee'seek
17. Random Heroes, C'mon & Get It, Freestyle Remixed
18. MC Lyte, Paper Thin, The Very Best of MC Lyte
19. Santogold, Shove It, Santogold
20. Queen Latifah, Latifah's Had it Up to Here, Nature of a Sista
21. Beyonce, Crazy in Love, Dangerously in Love
22. Keri Hilson feat. Keyshia Cole and Trina, Get Your Money Up, In a Perfect World
23. Rihanna feat. Jody den Broeder, Don't Stop the Music (Remix), Good Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes
24. Deee-Lite, Bittersweet Loving, Sampladelic Relics & Dancefloor Oddities - Deee-Remixes
25. Zap Mama, Nostalgie Amoureuse/Bootleg Mix, Ancestry in Progress, Side B: Luaka Bop
26. Lykki Li, Dance Dance Dance, Youth Novels

Lykki Li's track, by the way, is my favorite end of set song; I hope you enjoyed it too. Catch you next time: Saturday, September 19, 2009, 9-11 AM on 90.3 FM or streaming online at www.wriu.org.

Just Jazz: A Poem by Indigo Bethea

Photo from the RezaRitesRi.com photo collection. Captured is latina jazz singer, Eva Cortes, and members of her band during their performance in July at JazzAldia, an annual jazz festival in San Sebastian, Spain.

Just Jazz
By Indigo Bethea

I was thinkin bout tension while I/watched you play.
Tension like/how you find your way into that crazy, frantic cachophany
Around you?

Yeah, I was thinkin bout the tension tween players/
Like when they try to find that sound that connects to another
And another and/and/and still rings true?

Tension like strings while the bass player pulls/and tugs/and slaps/
And outright attacks this inner vision makin its way out?

Almost makin me think there’s some/life lesson to be learned here…
Naah, you just playin jazz.

I was/thinkin bout rhythm while I/watched you play
And/how good this thing is

Like a message in notes sayin

“I know where you been from (hah!), and I knooow
Where ya goin to (my Lord), and I-I-I’m just here ta say (Well!)
That ya, ya ainnn’t got a rush
Cause you’ll get what’s yours either way! (Have mercy!)”

And I’m contemplatin the metaphor of 5-musicians-
With-5-instruments-with-5-rhythms-and-5-messages-to-tell
Ruminatin over/how those messages find each other so well

And I was wonderin-if-the-instrument-determined-the-message-or-if-the-message-determined-the-instrument-and-if there-is-a-connection-to-life/

Like do-my-experiences-make-me-or-do-I-make-my-experiences-and-is-there-room-for- change-either-way-and,

Why am I pushing this so hard? You just playin jazz!

But this tension, this rhythm is makin me feel like Sarah Vaughn,
Actin like you my Alfie askin

“What’s it all about, Alfie? What’s it all about, when you sort it out, Alfie?”

I was thinkin bout life while I/watched you play,
Watched you find your way into that chaos without fear
Of gettin lost

Like you was sayin with your doin that if you
Pull on that inner strength
Let it work its way on out
You too will sort it out

And it’s like these messages are wrappin
Around my mind like strings…
But it couldn’t be that heavy right?

You just playin jazz!

Introducing Indigo Bethea

Editor's Note: Indigo Bethea is a talented individual who has work that should be seen and a voice that should be heard. Here, at VenusSings.com - and at RezaRitesRi.com - we are creating room for those things to be done. Read about Bethea below, and check back all month long to get special access to poetry that will be part of her forthcoming volume of work. - Reza Rites

PROVIDENCE, RI - Believe me when I tell you I have been expressing myself creatively ever sense I got my first pack of crayons. Of course at that time my art--an unauthorized crayon mural across my bedroom wall--was received with a solid spanking! An early lesson in the pain of criticism! It wasn't until I got to Junior High School, or whatever you folks call it nowadays, that I really began writing poetry. In High School, my writing began to take on its own voice and expanded to prose. And joyfully, the satisfaction I got from writing, painting, dancing, and performing--which blossomed during my college years--continues on to this day. Would you believe I am only just reaching a place of being able to characterize my work? The voices I use, whether in painting or in writing, varies. However what is consistent is that they are honest, probing, intense, spiritually grounded, whimsical at times, and drawn from the bedrock of African Diasporic traditions. When not in artistic mode, I have been accused of being a Cultural Anthropologist and adjunct professor at various local colleges and universities. I am pleased to announce two forthcoming publications: “But Beautiful”—Reflections on Love and Loss, a poetic volume, and The Story of Frizzy Hair; a children’s book.

The Next Venus Sings Radio Show - Saturday, September 12

KINGSTON, RI - It's a Venus Sings weekend coming up on WRIU, and I hope you'll tune in. Yours truly, Reza Rites (aka Venus Sings, aka DJ Reza Wreckage), will be holdin' it down during the Voices of Women show on Saturday, September 12, from 9-11 AM on 90.3 FM and online at www.wriu.org.

What will the selections sound like? I cannot yet predict. I do know that I'm in the mood to dance (or dance dance dance as Lykki Li would say), and I know how to solve that. I have new stuff from international superstars, Zap Mama and local "new world soul" powerhouses, Zili Misik; I have old school favorites like Queen Latifah (in her hip hop days) and MC Lyte; and I have ladies committed to unpredictable approaches to dance, like Deee-Lite and Janet Jackson.

It's a Venus Sings Radio on WRIU. I hope you'll come for the ride.

WRIU Playlist and Special Guest - August 29, 2009

Singer, songwriter, and guitar player, Michelle Cruz felt right at home at the WRIU studio on Saturday, August 29. While attending Providence College, Cruz was a radio dj on their campus station.

by Reza C. Clifton

KINGSTON, RI - It could have just been a quick song preview and one or two simple questions. Instead, on Saturday, August 29, singer, songwriter, and guitar player, Michelle Cruz gave much, much more to Venus Sings Radio on WRIU.

Cruz was in the studio that day to join me, one of four co-hosts of Voices of Women, a show that airs weekly on Saturday mornings from 9-11 am (EST) on 90.3 FM in and around RI or available online at www.wriu.org. Specifically, she wanted to give Voices of Women/Venus Sings Radio listeners a sneak peek at a song she'll be posting to iTunes in October: "Not Saying Never" a sultry, bluesy song.

But Cruz stuck around, to share intimate and artistic anecdotes, to take calls from new friends and established fans as far away as New York, and to inspire my musical selections for the show. Take a look at my playlist to see what you caught if you were there, and to see what you missed if the boat left without you.

1. Etana / Caltariba System / The Strong One
2. Adriana Calcanhotto / Justo Agora / Putumayo Presents Women of Latin America
3. Sata Jallah and Jonathan Mahone / Rhode 2 Africa Interview Series, episode 1 excerpt / The Reza Wreckage-Sly and Robbie Remix
4. Joyce / Meu Samba Torto / Meu Samba Torto
5. Concha Buika / Nostalgias / Mi Nina Lola
6. Iyeoka / She Doesn't Know Her Beauty / The Reza Wreckage-DJ Shadow Remix
7. ***Michelle Cruz / Not Saying Never / (New Single Coming in October)***
8. Vonrenzo / It Has Been A While / Indica Dove Sei
9. Amel Larrieux / Sacred / Bravebird
10. Sheila Stewart / Blue Bleezin, Blind Drunk / Women of the World
11. Michelle Cruz / Deixa A Cappella
12. Russian Red / They Don't Believe / I Love Your Glasses
13. Melissa Laveaux / Scissors / Camphor and Copper
14. Sara Tavares / Lisboa Kuya / Balance
15. Esperanza Spalding / She Got to You / Esperanza
16. ***(Replay) Michelle Cruz / Not Saying Never / (New Single Coming in October)***
17. Les Nubians / Embrasse Moi (Deep Mix) / Les Nubians presents: Echos - Chapter One: 'Nubian Voyager'
18. Sofi Hellborg feat. Tony Allen / Wouldn't That Be Fun (The Sr. Lobo and Watch TV Mix) / Republicafrobeat Vol. 3 (compilado por DJ Floro)
19. Come and Get It / Random Heroes / Freestyle Remixed
20. Eva Cortes / Esta Locura / Como Agua Entre Los Dedos
    
21. From My Heart / Laura Izibor / Let the Truth Be Told
22. Lady Sovereign / Hoodie / Public Warning