Featured Artist: Keon Torres

Young, talented, ambitious, energetic, enthusiastic, phenomenal, and ecstatic. Who am I describing? The Life of A New Yorker's latest feature; The Hip Hop sensation and Lyrical artist  
Keon Torres.

Artist Keon Torres Making Magic in the Studio

I had the pleasure of first seeing Keon performing at the prestigious open mic series, "The Inspired Word". His ballistic energy was contagious as he delivered one of his more recent singles "My Direction". By the end of his performance I was both thoroughly impressed and entertained by the young MC.

Torres performing at 116 Macdougal

Born and raised in Harlem New York, 20 year old Torres made his official debut performance at the age of 19. His relationship with the stage only developed further as he continued performing at various open mic venues in the city. A year later Keon made the decision to advance his musical career by releasing his first album, a mix tape entitled "Mixing Universal sound in Control LP". To listen and download tracks from this album for free visit datpiff.com. Torres is currently working on his sophomore project, another album featuring his latest and original songs, entitled "1412". Look forward to this dynamic album release in Spring 2013!

You can catch this talented and youthful spirit performing live most days all around this great city of New York. Or simply follow his fan page here at----> Keon Kudo Torres

Be sure to look out for the release of "1412" coming soon!!!

Torres performing at the Funkadelic Studios

Top Five NYC Venues List

The Life of a New Yorker.com presents the "Top Five New York City Venues" List. Looking for a sleezy titty bar in Brooklyn? How about a sophisticated open mic in Greenwich Village to showcase your talent? Or what about a bite to eat? All of the above and more are included in this week's top five venue list.

 

The Inspired Word

#1

 

Category: Open Mic Series/Live Music

Where: One on One Nexus Lounge / 116 Macdougal St, New York, NY

When:Every Monday and Wednesday Night

Site: inspiredwordnyc.com/

 



 

Webster Hall

#2

 

Category: Night Life/Club/ Concerts

Where: 125 E 11th St, New York NY

When: Weekends (Thursday night = Ladies night)

Site: http://www.websterhall.com/

 

Uno's Bar & Grill

#3

 

Category: Restaurant

Where: 89 South Street, New York NY

When: Monday-Sunday

Site: www.unos.com/

 

 

Cafe Wha

#4

 

 

Category: Night Life/Live Music/Restaurant/Bar

Where: 115 Macdougal St, New York NY

When: Every Night of the Week

Site: cafewha.com/

 

Pumps Bar

#5

 

Category: Night Life/ Adult/ Exotic Dancing

Where: 1089 Grand Street Brooklyn, NY

When: Weekends

Site: pumpsbar.com/



The "Inspired Word" of NYC

 "Looking for a special open mic in downtown Manhattan?

Come to one of the hottest open mics in the country - a stage graced by Grammy nominated singers, HBO Def Poetry stars, American Idol finalists, Golden Globe Award-winning actresses, and poets from The Best American Poetry anthology." - The Inspired Word Blog

Deemed the "country's top venue of the year" by the annual spoken word billboard awards, the Inspired word is an elite open mic series open to all NYC performing artists. Michael Phillip Geffner (founder, producer, and director of the series) has brought together a family of lyrical, poetic, and musical artists in the tri-state area of New York to create this authentically fulfilling open mic experience.

The Inspired Word Family 10.01.2012

This weekly open mic founded in 2009 lives up to it's name. Performing with the Inspired word family has been continuously educating and inspiring. Several times a week I am provided with the opportunity to show case my talents, network with fellow artists, gain exposure, and perfect my craft/ stage presence.

Performing at the Inspired Word 09.19.2012

My first encounter with the Inspired Word family was on Wednesday, September 19th at their weekly venue on 116 Macdougal St (between Bleecker St and Minetta Lane). It was a cozy little cave in Greenwich Village, equip with a small stage, scattered seating, and full bar. The environment reminded me of a speakeasy,  invoking the feeling of revolutionary secrecy. I had done a little research on Geffner before attending the event and he gave me a firm and pleasant hand shake when I walked in and signed up for the open mic.

The show and overall evening was well worth the 10$ cover charge. I nervously sipped on affordable cocktails and wine from the bar while awaiting my turn to perform. The talent was more and more engaging and amusing as the night went on. There were performances from polished comedians such as David Rey Martinez and Pierre Fontenelle. I was in awe of the amazing featured artists of the night, award winning Mariposa (Maria Teresa Fernandez) and Sandy McIntyre (aka Astmaat). Blown away by the energetic performance by musical artist Keon Torres, I realized I might be closing out the show. Turns out I actually was the very last performer of the night, but I was met with friendly and encouraging applause before and following my performance.

Since that first time I have been faithfully attending the Inspired Word open mic events and performing weekly with my Inspired word family. I can honestly say that I have grown as an artist and a performer by being involved in this series and anyone with 10 bucks and something to say can equally benefit from participating.

The Inspired word weekly venues currently include; 

• 116 MacDougal Street (between Bleecker Street and Minetta Lane), Manhattan NY -- Every Wednesday night 7 - 10pm NO AGE LIMIT.
• One and One / Nexus lounge, 76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st ave), Manhattan, NY -- Every Monday night 7-11pm NO AGE LIMIT.
• Nuyorican Poet's Cafe, 236 East 3rd Street (between Avenue B and C), Manhattan NY - The FIRST Tuesday of every month, 9pm - Midnight NO AGE LIMIT.
• The Gallery at LPR (le Poisson Rouge), 158 Bleecker Street (Between Sullivan and Thompson), Manhattan NY Please check the website: http://inspiredwordnyc.com/ for more info and dates of this venue.
• Soho Playhouse: Titillating Tongues erotic series, 15 Vandam St Manhattan NY. Certain Tuesdays of the month (Check website) 7:30pm - 8:00pm 18+++

There is a cover charge for each venue and for more information visit the inspired word website; http://inspiredwordnyc.com/ or blog; inspiredwordnyc.blogspot.com/

Photo taken by Michael Geffner

We love him for his ambition!

Hunter college is best known for it's prestige. Being a senior college within the City University of New York (CUNY) system there are high expectations for academic success. As stated in the official college mission their goal  "is to encourage the fullest possible intellectual and personal growth in each student". While education is clearly the main focus of the young students the college still manages to boast an exciting and engaging student life.The Hunter Events Calender can be found here and is frequently updated with a variety of events ranging from cultural entertainment, theater, career services, athletics, musical performances, dance, and the arts. This spring the USG (Hunter Student Government) pulled together to present the Spring Concert Extravaganza which featured WALE and his band.

Hip Hop Artist Olubowale performs at CUNY Hunter College

Olubowale Folarin (most known by his staged name Wale) is an self claimed "ambitious" MC recently signed to the record label Maybach Music Group. His popularity steadily increased after the artist began his career in Washington D.C and gradually rose to stardom. Notable for his popular tracks such as "Dig Dug (Shake it)", "No Hands" (Along side Waka Flocka), and more recently "Lotus Flower Bomb", "Ambitious", and "Bag of Money" featuring Rick Ross. Nominated best new artist in the 2010 soul train awards Rick Ross seems to think highly of Wale claiming "Wale is a hustler. I feel he’s one record away from being the next nigga. He’s just a naturally fly nigga. Slick talking nigga. That’s right up my alley".  Apparently Folarin concurs with the statement and honestly believes he has what it takes to play the part of best new artist and relevant addition to the Mayback Music Group. In his recent single Ambition Wale states "They gon love me for my ambition. Beautiful music, painting pictures that be my vision."

 The Kaye Playhouse of Hunter college typically hosts concerts and other musical engagements however not many of the previous musical concerts can match the epic experience the DC native MC was prepared to deliver on the evening of Saturday May 12th. Wale's performance was greatly anticipated by the eager young crowd of Hunter students. When he finally began his set after an hour pre-show the response was deafening. 

Wale's energy was contagious as he sang from his hit list of popular tracks. Running through the crowd on several occasions, giving hand shakes to every audience member, and encouraging everyone to sing along to the lyrics. We were totally engaged by his presence. His powerful unwavering voice and inspiring relate-able lyrics meshed with the piercing screams of hundreds of insatiable fans. Performing singles from both his present and past albums, he made sure to change it up keeping the crowd on their toes. His accompanying band and vocalist followed suit and the passionate performance was without a doubt a massive success. Cost of admission for this event was 10$ for Hunter College Students and 15$ for non students.

Ambition Album Cover

Visit Itunes to purchase "Ambition" or any of Wale's single tracks. And be sure to check out the Hunter College Events Calender for upcoming concerts and other events you wont want to miss!