This blog is where Toni’ll share notes about her journey—the professional and the personal, the travels and the people, 
the events, performances and the day-to-day.
Toni Blackman is the U.S. Department of State’s first Hip Hop Cultural Envoy. A rap lyricist, poet, actress and writer, she has also served as an Echoing Green Fellow, a Soros Fellow (Open Society Institute), an associate professor of Hip Hop at Binghamton University, a Visiting Professor at University of Michigan and worked with some of the most highly acclaimed musicians in the world including James Blood Ulmer, Gene Lake, Marvin Sewell, Jr. Marvin, Steve Coleman… She has traveled to 28 different countries and has shared the stage with a bevy of popular artists including the likes of the Roots, Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Youssou Ndour, Mos Def, Tumi, Ricki Lee Jones, Wyclef and a host of others. Author of Inner-Course (Villard/Random House, 2003) and a contributor to “Live Through This” (Seven Stories Press), Toni’s article on Jay Z and the Oral Tradition appears in “The Jay Z Critical Reader”. The visionary creator of Freestyle Union, Lyrical Embassy and Rhyme Like A Girl is also a contributor to AllAfrica.com and AfricanHipHop.com. Toni, performs regularly and is an in demand consultant, speaker and workshop facilitator on impromptu speaking and communication, global culture, spirituality and personal development, and the arts. She spoke at the prestigious Pio Manzu International Conference in Italy and recently returned from a tour and performance for World AIDS Day in Botswana.
Hi Toni,
There’s so much more to Colombia than the three C’s: coffee, cocaine and cumbia. If you’re tired of the expected, then you might find Choc Quib Town to be an intriguing act. They fuse hip-hop, electronica and funk with Afro-Colombian rhythms to give voice to a community often overlooked in the country’s national identity. Take one look at the video for their first single, “De Donde Vengo Yo” (“Where I Come From”): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb_jD–Yfp4 and you’ll see what I mean. Last year alone, Choc Quib Town made their stateside debut at SXSW, received a Latin GRAMMY nomination for “Best New Artist,” and toured from London to Paris and Berlin to India.
This trio of MCs–Tostao, Goyo, and Slow–just released their US debut, ”Oro,” on March 2nd via Warner-distributed Nacional Records. Take a listen here: http://www.nacionalrecords.com/preview/chocquibtown. We have exclusive remixes available and could also offer a free download.
They will be in New York in early July to play at Central Park’s SummerStage during the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC).
I thought you might dig them!
Looking forward to your thoughts!
Thanks,
Areti
Areti
I so missed them at SXSW. Will make sure to check out the link and catch them on the NY Visit!
We’ll let heads know for sure. I think Bill Bragin told me about them so thanks for the deets! -t-