Sons 2 The Grave [ @sons2thegrave ] is On The Way....

The compelling, emotional, & gritty must-see film @sons2thegrave is on the way!  The movie's message brings home the times we live in and the responsibilities we have to them. As @mtv award Winning @DJHoliday makes clear in the film "We are our Brother's Keeper." The film stars @atlanticrecords Recording Artist Trevor Jackson, @Naacpimageawards nominated Actors Darrin D. Henson, Algee Smith, NAACP Image Award Winner Justin Martin, @televisionacad Winning Actor GregAlan Williams, Brad James, Maria Howell, Messiah Harris, and Ajiona Alexus. Sons 2 The Grave is produced by Have Faith Productions. 

[EXCLUSIVE] THE CROSS OUT 3: UP CLOSE WITH @CALICOJONEZ, @REALCURTISSNOW & @SWISHPZY

The work that SwishGang Films has been doing in terms of their films has been so amazing for the entertainment industry as a whole. Through this series alone, Swish Pzy, Calico Jonez, and Curtis Snow have been able to provide so much direction for so many individuals, and their changing lives. As they prepped for the release of their new film, The Cross Out 3 (Screening is actually today), we sat and talked about the film, and what it means not only for them, but for the many people who have been able to take part. As a collective, they continue to open so many doors for our culture that otherwise would not be open, and they are providing so many opportunities. 

Check out our exclusive, and definitely go out and check out the screening. More importantly, keep your eyes peeled for them because they have a lot in the works that will surely do some positive things in this game. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: It’s so dope to see what you, Curtis Snow, and Calico Jonez have going on out there. The Cross Out 3 is really hot, and the screening is something to be reveled. Kudos for everything. 

Swish Pzy: I appreciate that

Calico Jonez: We all appreciate it. God is good. We stay consistent and try to keep something going. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: Talk about all that went into the third installment?

Swish Pzy: Pretty much, it’s a continuation from Part 2. Wesat down and came up with a scenario of what’s going on today. We wanted to give an outlook on what can still happen out here. 

Calico Jonez: Right. The Cross Out itself is based on a true story of friends, turned hustlers, turned individuals who cross each other out for financial stardom. It tells how it all started, and a view on the urban life. Those from that genre can relate to it very well. The Cross Out 2 is so deep, and a lot of it is unexpected. They say money is the root of all evil. This is primarily the take of knowing the situations that can get you crossed out. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: I’ve had the opportunity to see The Cross Out 2 online. For those who have not seen it, and also haven’t seen Part 1, talk about the overall premise, and how each leads to the next?

Swish Pzy: Pretty much, in The Cross Out Part 1, it’s a group of individuals who set out on a mission to take over the city in a legit way. We linked up, and it was a bunch of chaos, backstabbing, and conniving ways, and it starts the first definition of watching this person, and allowing them to set themselves up. It’s like a ‘Menace II Society’ feeling, especially with what’s going on til this day, and dealing with gaining trust. Part 2 took us from Tennessee to Atlanta. We cleaned up everything in Knoxville as far as pointing out the real from the fake, and it was more about catching up with unfamiliar individuals. We were doing the same thing we wanted to do from our city. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: A lot of people are opening their eyes to your movement. I love the Menace comparison. I did get that feel from Part 2. It’s interesting to place it in that time, because I just connected with Eiht, and it’s just interesting to see how things today mirror things at that time. As far as seeing our faces in roles like this, it needs to be more, and you’re doing that, allowing our stories to be told the way we want. It’s commendable because without people like you, a lot of people won’t be seen. Regardless of the doors opened already, you’re continuing to open them. 

Swish Pzy: That’s one thing I strive for. It’s a lot unrecognized in our communities. They only recognize chaos, murder, or something to do with the police or government taking control. I wanted to reach out, not just to my community, but to the world, to show the everyday struggle in our communities. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: Will this series of films continue after the new installment? Will there be more parts?

Swish Pzy: We can say it’s kind of a pay attention, listen, and learn type of thing. It’s a life line. I wanted to grab their attention, and allow people to answer that for themselves. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: What happens specifically with this film after the screening? 

Swish Pzy: We’ll be showing previews of the screening, and we’re also doing an after party at club Boogalou, and Club Truth. 

Calico Jonez: We’ll eventually do an online release of the movie. We also have 3 other movies in the works. This will be the last all the way urban film. We’re doing a horror film, and another movie geared towards women. The Cross Out had to be completed, and it couldn’t be done in just 2 films.

U.G. Digital Magazine: What is your overall goal for the film?

Calico Jonez: I have a lot of films that will touch on different areas. The Cross Out was a street story that we were putting out regardless of who wanted it. Pzy really wanted to bring this story to life. Now we will show the world that we are not stagnant, and only doing urban films. We have bigger ideas, and a bigger picture in showing versatility. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: Calico, your transition to film has been awesome. What took you to film, coming from music?

Calico Jonez: What made me start doing movies was I was doing a soundtrack. I wanted to make my mixtapes more like a soundtrack. I can’t take all the credit. Pzy put together the vision too. As we put the first movie together it all fell into place as it should. From there, we wanted to make Part 2, and now part 3, even better. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: As far as people in here, how did you cast?

Swish Pzy: Me personally, I took it upon myself to go with people I deal with on a daily. I don’t have a lot of friends, so it’s all business to me. 

Calico Jonez: I utilize everything from social media to other outlets. You have so many up and coming actors and actresses you run into. You can meet the next Jeezy, or the next Tyler Perry, online. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: I understand as far as keeping the circle close. Too many people is a path to trouble. 

Swish Pzy: Right. So I took these individuals and showcased their problems. Calico, he stays busy and keeps his hands into something positive for the community. As for Snow, the movie “Snow in the Bluff” did good numbers. It was a good movie to get an understanding of what’s going on in the city and state. We put our heads together and stepped away from the music. Everybody is telling their stories in music. We wanted to tell ours and show it to you at the same time, and let you see things we don’t see on a daily basis, and what happens when things aren’t taken care of. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: I agree. Everybody is doing music. It’s hot to see us on the movie front. What else is to come following the screening?

Swish Pzy: We have projects done, waiting to be edited. We’re trying to make it all make sense. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: I really appreciate what you’re both doing on your end. We need this really bad, and you’re delivering it to the world. The transition our culture is making in this industry is amazing. Thank you so much for that. Today’s connection was awesome. 

Swish Pzy:  We appreciate you giving us the platform to speak. 

U.G. Digital Magazine: Where can everyone keep up with what you have going on?

Swish Pzy: I do a lot of promoting on Instagram, which is @swishpzy, and it’s the same on YouTube! We’re doing a lot of promoting that way. We stay so busy that we don’t do a website. 

Calico Jonez: Definitely look out for the SwishGang website that will come soon. Also on my Instagram, @calicojonez. My PR keeps everything together. Also at calicojonezworld.com

U.G. Digital Magazine: No doubt man. Thank you so much again…

[NEWS] JANELLE MONÁE, AMBASSADOR ANDREW YOUNG, AND MORE PARTICIPATE IN ATLANTA SCREENING OF "I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO" AT MOREHOUSE COLLEGE...

ATLANTA (January 24, 2017) Last night, musical superstar and social critic/activist, Janelle Monáe, civil rights icon, Ambassador Andrew Young, and more engaged with students, press and influencers at a private screening of the new James Baldwin documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, presented by Liquid Soul for Magnolia Pictures.

The documentary which releases to theaters, February 3rd, has been nominated for an Oscar Award and a NAACP Image Award for best documentary in the Documentary (Feature) categories.

Famed visual artist and scholar, Fahamu Pecou, wearing a University Of Baldwin long sleeve tee, kicked off the evening introducing artist/activist Janelle Monáe who recited a moving excerpt from Baldwin’s "Notes Of A Native Son," setting an empowering tone for the screening.

Just before her presentation, she shared a special connection that she and her labelmates at Wondaland Records, have with James Baldwin. "@Wondaland Arts Society and I had the honor of hosting a gut wrenching and TIMELY documentary about our hero James Baldwin. It was an honor to screen a documentary about one of the greatest American writers, JAMES BALDWIN!" At the end of the screening, the audience rose to their feet and the film received a standing ovation.

The final highlight of the evening is an intriguing talkback panel discussion moderated by Morehouse Cinema, Television and Emerging Media Studies (CTEMS) Director, Dr. Stephane Dunn which featured Ambassador Andrew Young; Clark Atlanta University African American Studies Professor, Dr. Daniel Black; Morehouse College Asst. Professor of English, Dr. Francine Allen, Georgia Equality Field Organizer, Rob Woods and artist/activist, Fahamu Pecou. The discussion explored race relations - past and present, the impact of James Baldwin during the civil rights movement and now, the relevance of the documentary to the social issues of today, concluding with thoughts on where we should go from “here.” Civil Rights icon, Ambassador Andrew Jackson Young, Jr. gave the students a first-hand perspective sharing on the civil rights movements and marches then compared to now.

Other notable guests attending were: Egypt Sherrod (HGTV’s “Flipping Virgins”); DJ FaDelf (Celebrity DJ, Author and Motivational Speaker); Jack A. Daniels (Psychotherapist, 5x Bestselling Author and Host of FYI’s “Black Love”); Marshawn Evans (Author, NBC’s “The Apprentice”); Christopher Hicks (Director, Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment); (Founder, Hat-titude Big Hat Brunch) and many more!

I Am Not Your Negro opens nationwide on Friday, February 3!

ABOUT I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends—Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of this manuscript.

Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.