Interview - Thais Mills of LipServiceInk

Tae:
Tell me about Thai.


Thais:
I'm a quiet, fun loving nerd from Eastern New Orleans who started a few dot coms. I Love my family, adore my friends and lust books. Literacy is my core passion... 

Tae:
What inspired you to create Enticing Objects?

Thais:
I taught Creative Writing and Arts n Crafts to camp kids the summers of going to high school. Me and the kids would make these amazing fun items and camp kids moms started asking personalized art for party favors etc. That was 10 years ago.. Once in college I started producing an open mic ( called LipServiceInk ) that year and offered my " objects " after the show. My stage name is " Enticing " soooooo the rest is www.EnticingObjects.com history.


Tae:
What inspired you to start lipSERVICEink? 

Thais:
After Hurricane Katrina I went from having 5 weekly columns in cool local magazines to none in Houston after the storm. My therapy was losing myself in books... I read more than I ever read in my life.. I read my pain away.. Some of it at least. Literacy intensified in my world. Now 4.5 million bookmarks later I ask all stars what they read.

Tae:
How would you describe your artistic style?

Thais:
Losing everything I owned and started over in Houston with no family or friends and only 600 dollars in my account. I'm more humbled now than ever. I take more time to smile than whine and I cater to my family more. 

Tae:
What can people expect from you in 5 years?

Thais:
That I'm hopefully alive and well enough to enjoy a crisp breeze on my face with healthy happy friends and family. Each day is a new opportunity to make money, that's easy... The hard part is finding peace within to enjoy it all.

Tae:
Where do you see yourself in the art realm?

Thais:
Painting for Kimora Lee Simmons really opened my eyes to how amazing art is. It pulls the common likeness out of any two people. I'm just happy to make a living for something I'd glady do for free. I'm a humble student in the art realm, I'll always be a student of Visual art.


Tae:
How can people get in touch with you?

Thais:
www.LipServiceInk.com is the magazine, www.EnticingObjects.com is the art store and www.CreativeEditingandWriting.com is the service. Tae I'm so proud of how you give a window of voice to so many. Long live The Sweet Lyfe Blog !! - thai

Interview Slangston Hughes

Tae:
For those that are not familiar with you, tell us a little about yourself.

S.H.:
I'm Slangston Hughes, THE Connoisseur of Fine Rhyme, member of the Go Hard Gang (Tygah Woods) and SuperUgly, founder of New Orleans' premiere live performance platform, Uniquity, Hip-Hop lover and all around good dude.

Tae:
How would you describe your music?

S.H.
My music is what I would call "intelligent Hip-Hop." I tend to infuse words you usually wouldn't hear in rap songs; subject matter, content. Any music that makes you think and pushes you to excel or be better I wanna be behind it.

Tae:
Is there a certain type of age group you are trying to reach out to in your music?

S.H.:
Music's universal and I aspire to be the type of emcee that can reach the masses regardless of your demographic. I'm fairly confident, I've got a song everyone can relate to.

Tae:
What inspired you to get into the music industry?

S.H.:
Music was something that started out in high school but then just a hobby. Fully immersing myself in the culture of Hip-Hop for the past several years led me to appreciate it and take my love for the art form to another degree. Besides that, the continuous over saturation of listeners' ears with rhymes/songs of misogyny, materialism, gun talk, trap rap really pushed me to show that there is another side to the Hip-Hop spectrum.

Tae:
Who would you say influenced you the most musically?

S.H.:
More than likely I would say Mama Hughes, my aunt and grandmother, along with Biggie and my peers within our community.

Tae:
Is there any advice you would like to give upcoming artists

S.H.:
Support each other, always give 110% in EVERY aspect of your music and most importantly this game is not a sprint to the finish, it's a marathon, so pace yourself.

Tae:
What upcoming projects are you working on?

S.H.:
I'm in the process of putting the finishing touches on my next mixtape, The Nu-Growth, which should be out in April, followed by an 8 track EP in August with Memphis/LA emcee and producer, L'Daialogue called Dollars and Daialogue. I'll be finishing the year with another EP, Sense/Cents. That's just from the solo tip. You can expect another Tygah Woods project in addition to a SuperUgly record as well.

Tae:
How can people get in touch with you?

S.H.:
Quickest way would be Twitter, www.twitter.com/PookeyMalibu. In addition to, www.reverbnation.com/slangstonhughes and www.myspace.com/slangstonhughes84

Tae:
Thank you again for speaking with us, is there anything that you would like to add?

S.H.:
Thank you for the opportunity. Hip-Hop is DEFINITELY alive in New Orleans! Tygah Woods, we own the future. Get with us or get leftovers. Not only support but better yet, cultivate local Hip-Hop in your area.