Stella Pop, Kokayi and Ms. DC Partnered with Goodwill – Hit The Studio
DC’s Grammy Nominee Kokayi, Partners with Ms. DC and Goodwill of Greater Washington.
Across The Fader dot com
Published on January 8, 2010, 12:24 PM By Drea M.
Stella Pop, Kokayi and Miss DC
Music is a no holds barred industry. Whether this power is used for good or evil is subject to respective digression, but the local music scene in Washington, DC making good – collaborating unlikely elements and stumbling upon undiscovered genres. Some might say it’s already been done, but melding Hip-Hop and opera has not yet been done successfully, until now. The qualified participants of this latest Hip-Hopera rendition, are DC’s own Grammy nominated and Jennifer Corey; Miss DC 2009.
The record entitled, “Dream without Boundaries,” splices together a well-known area from Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” and original lyrics, beats and music from Kokayi himself.
Instead of using this no holds barred concept to see how far the lines of the oversexualization and misogyny in lyrics and music videos, producers Nicolas “Kolai” Laget and Kokayi make a successful attempt to stretch the limit and see how two very different genres of music can walk hand and hand on the same track; both literally and figuratively. With a song that features the lyrical styling of Kokayi and Miss DC’s powerfully operatic voice, “Jennifer has been involved with opera for some time and her intensity and dedication to her craft mirrors my own with regard to Hip Hop music,” says Kokayi in an interview with Across the Fader, “We both try not to limit our intake of different musical styles so we found common ground there as well.”
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| Make a Donation to Goodwill of Greater Washington |
In an effort to promote the awareness of being environmentally responsible, Miss DC 2009 decided to combine two other elements that aren’t traditionally equated with one another without slapping a Hollywood name on it; recycling and fashion forwardness. By teaming up with Goodwill Industries with her green initiative platform entitled, “Let’s Talk Trash.” With the help of Jennifer Corey, the all familiar concept of “reduce, re-use, recycle” is becoming a little more fancy without becoming unreachable for the regular folk. Jennifer decided to take an uncommon approach with her conservation efforts by furnishing her new apartment with furniture exclusively from Goodwill in Washington, DC. Snippets of “Dream without Boundaries” will coincide with Goodwill’s pre-existing fashion blog,www.fashionofgoodwill.org/blog, along with short video clips between January 8th and 22nd. A full version of the single is available for purchase and download for $2.00.
By partnering with the Vice President of Marketing at Goodwill of the Greater Washington area, Brendon Hurley, Kokayi, Nico and Jennifer have created something that will be relevant With this short yet powerful campaign, “I think all of these things are deeply related to one another,” Jennifer says of conservation awareness, her love of music and the Goodwill mission, “I want my message to be important for everyone.”
The collaboration drives home the universal and paramount nature of saving Earth’s resources and using what’s already out there at our disposal, “This is a solid piece of work,” says Nicolas “Kolai” Laget, better known as Nico, who was an integral part of the production of “Dream without Boundaries.” Nico continues, “It’s interesting stylistically,” He says “Kokayi did a beautiful job on production and his verses are inspiring and Jennifer Corey sang beautifully.”
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| Micheal O’Grady (Stella Pop), Jen Corey, Kokayi,(Goodwill) Brendan Hurley, Shanna Gidwani, Shawn Jefferson (all photos by: Ajani Winston) |
The recording took place at The Sweet Spotrecording studios, located in Annandale, Virginia and owned and operated by Nico Laget. The session was a short one, considering the mixing and beat matching that took place; the end result is a masterpiece to say the least. “I’m very pleased with the outcome,” saysKokayi of the single, “It’s not corny, contains the intent of Goodwill’s mission statement and properly represents both hip hop and opera music without one overshadowing the other.”
Jennifer has now been thrust into not only being a representative of Washington, DC but also for the whole of and more environmentally and politically conscious young America pending the end result of the Miss America pageant that will take place on January 30th in Las Vegas. And for someone who’s not a self professed pageant girl, she’s doing pretty well without compromising her true self, “I’m a White girl from New York,” says Jennifer, “I want American to see other parts of DC that exist outside of my little bubble.” And of the pageant and the possibility of her finishing top dog and the end of everything she says, “I want to show everyone who’s helped me along the way that this is what I can do,” she says with a beaming smile, “I can win.”
Jennifer eventually wants to compete in the Miss Universe contest, but for now she’s representing America’s capitol and hoping to shed some light on her “Let’s Talk Trash” campaign. One thing is also certain, the common goal of both Miss DC 2009 and Goodwill of the Greater Washington; they both refuse to compromise in the name of upward mobility.
