Growing a Better Future

Living Proof | Growing a Better Future with Sweet Potatoes from ONE Campaign on Vimeo.

ONE Act a Week

ONE Act a Week:

Give Baloji a listen, then tell him what you think

Sep 9th, 2011 4:22 PM UTC
By Malaka Gharib

Action: 11. Time: 5 minutes. Level of difficulty: Easy

I have a fun assignment for this week’s ONE Act: Expand your music horizons and listen to the music of Baloji, an up-and-coming artist from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He sings about democracy, freedom and justice for all in a global fusion of jazz, hip hop and traditional African music.

After you listen to his music, leave a message for Baloji in the form below. Send him your love, show your support, give him some props, whatever — it’s totally up to you. Then, we’ll gather them up and tweet it to Baloji and MTV Iggy (MTV’s global music channel) at the end of the week.

“Nazongi” by Baloji:

MTV Iggy’s interview with Baloji. Learn where he gets his musical influences from, why he thinks African music is a lot like punk rock, and how his mom affects his music:

Click on THIS LINK to go to the ONE blog, where the reply form is and tell him what you think. You can also learn about ONE.org and the people behind it - does Bono ring a bell?

I Saw Lillie Mae!

I finally got to do something I've wanted to do since I got to Tennessee!

It was even on My To-Do List - and yes, I crossed it off.

What is it, you ask?



I got to see Lillie Mae play at Layla's Bluegrass Inn on Broadway!





Who is Lillie Mae?

Check out the video below. She's the gal with the short brown hair. She is formerly of the family group, Jypsi. I fell in love with them and their music a couple years ago when they performed on a local morning news show. She and her brother play with another band now called Just Plain Trouble. But, I still love Jypsi's music. And Lillie Mae has just got some amazing talent!



Listen to the main vocals on this track below.

(The song is actually only about 3:30 minutes. The rest of the video after that is black.)







Here's some pictures from when we saw Lillie Mae and her brother play.



We just happened to be on Broadway that day, and when we passed by, I saw them in the window. I was stoked! Yay! Their band likes to play a lot of Waylon Jennings songs, too, so we got them to play one for our Waylon, and they thought his name was cool.







You can check Jypsi out on iTunes. That's where I downloaded their music.

Although, they are no longer a band, their music stays on repeat in my car.



Fingers crossed that Lillie Mae gets a record deal soon!

A Bit of Cuteness...

Since I haven't kept this blog updated in what I now see is two years...(whoopsie!)...I figured I would upload some videos of Waylon from the past year. Pictures just don't do justice as to how cute and funny he can really be. These videos are from last summer, before he really started talking and coming into his own. A lot more is on its way...I promise.



Just one of the many joys of being a kid...turning in circles...and circles...and circles...until you fall over. Can you hear him say "Uhhh," when he hits the ground? I love that he just can't seem to get back up again, haha. And two of our dogs' personalities so clearly seen in the video - Dixie...the sweet girl, who just loves to be loved. And then there's Shooter...who wants to be in the middle of everything and will do anything for a belly rub.




This video was taken in July 2010, when we went to the Adventure Science Center in Nashville with our friends...well, my friend, Erin, and Waylon's friend, Jacob. Whoever invented squeaky shoes was a genius! They are too cute! And you are guaranteed to never lose your kid, haha! He had so much fun playing with this giant magnetic board - it was like a big refrigerator. Watch out for Jacob's cameo when Waylon heads to the big, cushy blocks - he's wearing the yellow "Cheerios" shirt. They are really good friends and have a blast when they get together. It's so cute.




This video was from April of 2010, but it was soooooooooo cute, I couldn't help but share it. It honestly speaks for itself in the cuteness factor, so watch and enjoy. I love how big he has gotten, and how much he has grown, but seeing this makes me miss when he was little bitty. It just makes my heart go pitter-pat. I love, love, love it! Hope you do, too!