Kaylon Raps - Solitary

Today’s submission was sent in by Kaylon Raps! At CopyWrite, we want artists to be able to communicate their creative message the way they want it to be received. Music is always up for interpretation, however for this review, there was no better way to introduce you to Kaylon than to let his words speak for himself. Vibe out! ✌🏽

“Sometimes we don’t realize what we have until it’s gone. Solitary is a song that describes the struggle between our natural ability to Love, yet the rejection of that same Love. An endless battle within oneself until something valuable is lost. It's only then do we feel the regret.  

Solitary is available on all streaming platforms and will be featured on Kaylon's upcoming debut EP entitled "Everything In Between", which is set to be released on October 23rd, 2018.  

Milwaukee-native, Kaylon Raps, aims to move a culture with paradigm shifting messages to excite and inspire the listener's ear. His journey towards reshaping the identity of a culture through music began when he was 21. Kaylon crafted his first mixtape in the Fall of 2012 (Despite Opposition Vol. 1), followed by the release of Despite Opposition Vol 2, in December of 2014, known most notably for the track “Jesus Piece” which gained over 25 thousand listens when featured by Rapzilla, showing early on, that Kaylon was an MC to be reckoned with.

The transformation of his music over the years has been evident. Treating each project like the pages of a diary, Kaylon’s music reflects his deepest personal experiences; the very experiences that have helped to shape his unique sound. This unique sound is both familiar and distinctive—greatly influenced by classic hip hop, jazz and the gospel melodies of his youth.”

/CW

Sometimes we don’t realize what we have until it’s gone. Solitary is a song that describes the struggle between our natural ability to Love, yet the rejection of that same Love. An endless battle within oneself until something valuable is lost. It's only then do we feel the regret.

You are NOT Alone - Domestic Violence Awareness Month

One of our Locals pointed out to us that as a women owned business it is important to be vocal about where we stand on largely female impacting issues. With that being said, as October is also Domestic Violence Awareness month we want to make sure that we project the importance of self love, self care, and open communication on the negatives that impact us…

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS AN ISSUE.

WE STAND WITH THE FIGHT TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

* Information provided by Milwaukee Health Department *

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is the use of a pattern of abuse to maintain power and control in a familiar relationship. Abuse affects all populations, regardless of their age, race, sex, nationality, religion, ability, socioeconomic status, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

(That means it can happen to any of us!)

What is considered abusive behavior?

Abusive behaviors may include:

• Physical Abuse: Use of physical force in a way that injures or puts others at risk of injury

• Emotional Abuse: Use of words, tone, actions, or lack of action meant to control, hurt, or demean

• Sexual Abuse: Forced or coerced sexual act or behavior motivated to acquire power and control

• Financial Abuse: Use or misuse of financial or monetary resources of the partner or of the partnership without the partner’s freely given consent

• Spiritual Abuse: Using victim’s religious or spiritual beliefs to manipulate

• Identity Abuse: Using personal characteristics to demean, manipulate, and control partner; comprised of “isms” around race, gender, sex, age, sexual orientation, etc.

(How do we use our power? To help or to cause harm?)

Why don't victims leave?

The decision to leave an abusive relationship is difficult, and a victim's reasons for staying may be numerous, including:

• Fear of physical harm, retaliation, dealing with the legal system, or changing their situation

• Love for their significant other

• Lack of resources (housing, money, accessible programs)

• Isolation from supportive friends and family members

• Familial pressure

• Normalization of violence in the relationship

• A sense of guilt or responsibility for the abuse

• A desire to help their abuser

• Potential public shaming or humiliation

• Optimism that things will change

• Religious belief and values

(Individual issues have individual outcomes, non-judgmental support is key.)

If you want to help us create awareness tag us in your 20 second video on instagram or Facebook (@copywritemag) video to let us know why you stand against Domestic Violence. (Email that video to copywrite.mke@gmail.com to be apart of our #SociallyResponsible 2019 campaign video).

Your voice matters!

Click Here for a list of local resources that can help if you or someone you love is being abused.

/CW

Fashion Friday - Locally Fresh 2018 Pop Up Vendor and Fashion Showcase (Fall)

Did somebody say Friday??? Better yet, Fashion Friday!? Cheers to the weekend Milwaukee! 

“I can’t believe we made it! This is what we thankful for!” -The Carters 

In case you missed it, I want to take you all back to last weekend. Last Sunday was the “Locally Fresh 2018 Pop Up Vendor and Fashion Showcase” hosted by The Classic Shoppe & Fresh Bucks Custom Designs (& of course sponsored in part by CopyWrite Magazine). This event was the perfect setting for local designers to show us what they have available and overall I was quite pleased! Ranging from kids to extended sizes, the fashion show debuted everything from graphic tees, to tracksuits to scarves and leg warmers. With winter approaching quickly, these entrepreneurs brought the heat to the Astor Hotel ballroom! 

(It was definitely an upgrade from the last show, and the local love was real).

Tracksuits by No Fingerprints clothing (@nofingerprints_lp)

Look by Distinctive Designs by Tomira (@myddbt)

Special thank you to The Classic Shoppe for having us and shout out to all the brands that came out!

Check them out and grab some local merch via Instagram: 
@theclassicshoppe
@amp_creations
@utbs_llc
@myddbt
@madlove_llc
 @nofingerprints_lp
@freshbuckscustomdesign
@iamjriley

/Jacob

#WeAreMKEHipHop - The Elements Podcast x CopyWrite Magazine

A word from our partners:

We at The Elements Podcast are honored to announce our new partnership with CopyWrite Mag. Through hard work and a commitment to Milwaukee's Hip Hop scene together we will be able to make big things happen for Hip Hop and for Milwaukee.

-DUB, Founder of The Elements: A Hip-Hop Podcast



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As we continue to support the local we will now be vocal in our partnerships to further connections in our community and to bring light to the real bonds that have elevated the Urban creative scene in MKE. We are MKE Hip-Hop!

/CW

Dom’ McNeal - Lake Drive (video submission)

“Dom McNeal is an up-and-coming hip-hop artist from Milwaukee who has a flow that really stands out and is hard to compare to anyone else. With summer vibes and being produced by Tyso Sprme and Deuce LB$, it’s definitely a project that’s opening ears.”

...and this song has us listening!

‘Lake Drive’ is the second track from McNeal’s latest project ‘SummertimeDOM’ and it’s a song we can all relate to -taking those summer drives to the lake with ya boo, just chillin’. But also the idea of us all having dreams and wanting the most out of life. The production of the song is smooth with melodic snares carefully placed within the beat for a nice soft touch.

And we can’t forget to mention the dope visuals of the downtown 414 skyline in the background.

Dom McNeal’s project is available on all streaming platforms, make sure you check it out!

/CW

"Lake Drive" is the second track from the Milwaukee artists latest project SummertimeDOM which is available on all streaming platforms now! Shot by dedicated camera man JSwagg Productions! https://soundcloud.com/dom-mcneal/lake-drive-prod-deucelb https://fanlink.to/summertimedom

#RespectTheDynasty - House Of Renji x CopyWrite Magazine

A word from our partners:

In 2013, the House Of Renji was founded as a means to propel the careers of young creatives in the city of Milwaukee. During our 5 years of existence, growth and expansion CopyWrite Magazine has been there the entire way. 

Every step, every song, every tour, and every moment has been thoroughly documented and shared by the family we have in CopyWrite.

We’re pleased to announce our official partnership with CopyWrite Magazine in hopes that everyone will view this long term relationship as an inspiration and example of what is possible between not only companies, but people, who believe in the same ideals and have the same goals in mind. 

Here’s to everything urban, respect. 

- The House 

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As we continue to support the local we will now be vocal in our partnerships to further connections in our community and to bring light to the real bonds that have elevated the Urban creative scene in MKE. If there were ever any doubts, let it be clear, The Dynasty Lives!

/CW

Valerie Lighthart - I'll Be Damned

It’s October! Which means it’s officially time to put away your summer clothes and pull out the sweaters and jackets. I’m sure these brisk and gloomy days in the Mil have put us all in #ChillMode lately, but this soft song will be a great refresher to help you get through these rainy days, while also putting a little pep in ya step during this crisp season.

Shoutout to Valerie Lighthart for sending us her song “I’ll Be Damned”, produced by Immortal Girlfriend, and for attending our recent #InstaMeetMKE at Company Brewing.

This song is available on all streaming platforms and you can look forward to her EP this Fall!

#SupportTheLocal

/CW

Fashion Fridays - Let's talk about #InstaMeetMKE

Uh-ohhhhhh, back again Milwaukee! Fall is approaching and so is FASHION! With a new season comes another InstaMeet. Last Sunday, CopyWrite Magazine assembled some of the best of the best when it comes to stylists, photographers, and models to come together and create art right here on our city’s streets. Hosted by Milwaukee’s own Vato (@vatomke) the InstaMeet featured on-the-spot styling, impromptu photo shoots, guest speakers and of course the chance to get your hands on an issue of CopyWrite Magazine!

Model: @_slim_slim
Shot by @freakishnerd

Events like this are important for us creatives because it encourages collaboration! There is no competition and egos are left at the door. My personal favorite thing about the InstaMeet is meeting other creatives who are passionate about their art, no matter what their avenue is. 

Model: @rubysol_shiningjewel
Styled by: @issa.fly.guy
Shot by: @toplothedon

Special thanks to EVERYONE who came out and we look forward to seeing what heat you bring to the winter InstaMeet!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE…

To find out more about events like this and for those coming in the future, keep your eyes peeled on CopyWrite Magazine (@copywritemag) and if you’d like to be a featured stylist, photographer, or a guest speaker at the next InstaMeet, contact us via email at copywrite.mke@gmail.com

Until next time, 
Keep it fly, keep it local.

/Jacob

Dirty Thoughts - Balance

Right before the beginning of this year I remember getting a phone call mid-day from my OG ( who is respectively my grandmother, and arguably my favorite person living) asking me randomly had I purchased a calendar for 2018. Being the millennial that I am, and having grown accustomed to programing my life into my handy-dandy (control system) cell phone, I obliviously replied that I had not. She shuffled me off the phone proclaiming that she didn't want to interrupt me any further knowing that I was at work, with a brief, “Okay. I’m going to send you one. Go ahead and get off the phone Baby, I love you. Assalamu alaikum”. With my reply of, “Okay, Grandma I love you too...Wa alaykum as-salam”, she was gone.

A few weeks later I received a package in the mail from my OG, that held not one, not two, but three calendars in it. When I called to thank her, she assured me that I had several places to put these calendars, like keeping the calendars visible would be critical in the year to come. As I further examined what she had sent me I noticed that two of the calendars were the same. One just a miniature of the other. Where one calendar was of Tinker Bell theme ( my favorite feisty little character), the duplicate one showed a cover where the back of a Buddha statue is looking off into hazed picturesque distance, titled, Zen - A Year of Mindfulness. Fitting into my newer growing and needed practices of good karma, I have placed different representational Buddha statues in every room of my residence, to remind me to find peace in all moments. The calendar was theoretically perfect for my decor (which if you know me, you know is critical), so I took it as a win and another little temporal keepsake to remind me of the Grandmother who I often miss so much.

But what I didn't know is that beyond making me think of her and it looking absolutely gorgeous in my space, what she had sent me was a list of words to reflect upon in a 30 day cycle of life. Each month a new word would appear. As I turned the page it would trigger actions or subjects that I then became conscious of as I would walk past the calendar each day. Words like January’s “Love” or April’s “Focus, June’s “Inspire” and August “Serenity”. I would often find myself mining through my placement in life that month and how those words would appear in my experience. I indeed, became mindful of what those words truly meant to me.

As this months word is “Balance”, I have noticed what a balancing act my life has become. Especially since this month I have introduced a new job into my routine, while carrying on my “Black & Hooded” aspirations, and of course filtering my growing obligations as Editor-in Chief of CopyWrite. The balance has become a critical part of staying afloat, where scales tipping too far in either direction creates chaos, not only for me, but for all the other things, that by default, depend on me. . . But even deeper than that, it becomes survival in every way that the word is expressed.

It is this word, more, than all the other words that have appeared on the calendar this year, that is the most striking to me. Often when people inquire about my goals in life I always follow through with a statement that includes balance and/or stability. Where it is something I am continuously searching for, I am always one pebble (or five) short of true symmetry, making me in the past doubt if it will ever be a goal accomplished.

I write this to say it is in this month, as conscious as I am to it’s meaning then ever before, that I have stopped trying to search for balance but actually have been letting balance find me. With that, opportunities have been knocking. I am more satisfied with my journey and all those things that have thrown me off my game are solving themselves because I have no time to toil with unnecessary situations, confrontations, or other negative things that I can not control. As my focus has shifted to be more proactive than reactive, even in my lowest days I smile because I see that the fulcrum that is my life, shall pivot in the direction that ensures I never truly fall but become more flexible to my own needs, no matter what outside gravity pulls at me.

I am here, I am “woke” and I am now very certain that my grandmother ALWAYS knows exactly what I need.

Some gifts are priceless.

/Dirty

Meet the NEW Intern, Carrie Mahone

We have reached out to the community to find an intern to become apart of the CopyWrite Family. For fall 2018 we will be adding a vibrant new “Journalism” focused intern to our #SQUAD, who stood out with her creative video application, impressive resume, and pop of personality.

Say what’s up to Carrie!

Carrie Mahone, 22 – born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. She attends UW-Milwaukee and will be graduating this upcoming December with her B.S. in Journalism and Communication. However, she’s not your regular journalist. Carrie’s vivacious personality, and inquisitive mind aligns with her passions of natural hair, urban culture, positivity and creativity. Right now, she is looking to build her resume within the Milwaukee community to lead her experience into bigger markets like Los Angeles, New York City, or Chicago. Furthermore, Mahone, is setting her sights to carve out her own lane into the entertainment industry and make her mark. 

Be looking out for her as she explores the local & all things Urban MKE!

/CW