Jasmine Johnson and Vanessa Obafemi spend just about every waking moment together.

They’re roommates, Zeta Phi Beta sorority sisters, healthcare administration classmates and fellow Campus Activities Board members.

On top of all that, the two DeSoto, Texas natives are senior WKU basketball players in the thick of their 10th year playing the sport together.

“Besides sleeping,” Johnson said, “we’re almost always together.”

Johnson, a 6-foot-3 center, and Obafemi, a 5-foot-10 guard, began playing together as seventh graders at DeSoto East Junior High School.

The two went on to DeSoto High School, where they caught the eye of Head Coach Mary Taylor Cowles while leading their high school team to a 37-2 record during their senior season.

“Athletically, we knew about Jasmine,” Cowles said. “You typically find out about 6-foot-3 post players.

“And in recruiting Jasmine… is when we saw Vanessa and her ability to shoot the basketball, and that kind of opened our eyes.”

After being recruited by Cowles and former assistant Nikki McCray, Johnson and Obafemi both decided to come to WKU.

“We called each other,” Johnson said of the day they both committed. “We both really liked our visit and the atmosphere on campus… The academic part just really got our attention, too.”

Neither Johnson nor Obafemi saw immediate playing time for the Lady Toppers.

Johnson averaged 10.4, 5.6 and 10.4 minutes per game, respectively, in her first three seasons while playing behind star forward Arnika Brown.

Likewise, Obafemi averaged 6.4 and 7.2 minutes per game during her freshman and sophomore years.

But this year, Obafemi has started all but four games, averaging 6.9 points per game and hitting a team-high 37 threes. Meanwhile, Johnson has averaged 4.4 points and 5.1 rebounds a game, and her 35 blocked shots rank fourth in the Sun Belt Conference.

 “They had to kind of put in their time in their career. It wasn’t something where they walked in the door as freshmen and started playing and were in the lineup,” Cowles said. “They’ve both had to endure the process of being in college for four years.”

Through that college process, Obafemi said her friendship with Johnson has developed to the point where she “pretty much knows everything” about her teammate.

“I think our relationship just grew over the years from being around each other through basketball,” Obafemi said.

Johnson agreed, saying that her bond with Obafemi has developed into an on-court asset.

“We’ve been playing together so long, I don’t think I could find another teammate like Vanessa,” Johnson said.

Johnson and Obafemi will play their final career regular season game in Diddle Arena at 1 p.m. on Sunday against league rival Middle Tennessee State.

WKU currently has an eight-game losing streak to the Lady Raiders, with the Lady Toppers’ last win in the series coming in March of 2008, when Johnson and Obafemi were seniors at DeSoto High.

Both Obafemi and Johnson said Sunday, which will be their Senior Day, will be an emotional moment in their careers.

“We haven’t really been through this before other than high school on Senior Night,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be kind of different, playing in front of a different crowd, and it’s our rivalry team, so it’s like, ‘Oh gosh.’”

Techno pioneer Saunderson recently relaunched influential US techno outfit Inner City, whose first two albums had combined sales of more than six million, for a new album due early next year. We find out more about the 47-year-old New York DJ.

He really wasn’t cut out to be a pop star.
‘It was a bit bizarre, because I had no intentions in that direction. I just wanted to produce music. I didn’t want to be on Top of the Pops. I didn’t see myself as any kind of typical band, but all of a sudden I was being looked on as typical because I had commercial success. I made it very clear in the beginning to my managers that I didn’t wanna do this, and they were like, “You’ve got to do this, this is important to the record, and this is how it works.” So even now, I’m not gonna be on every tour with Inner City. I’m gonna be at home making music, while they might be out performing. I’ve grown, and if we can’t do it this way, I won’t do it. That’s the difference between then and now. I was young, a little naïve.’

He hasn’t updated his equipment much since the old days.
‘I might work with two or three plugins, until I wear them out. It’s easy to say, well, that sound doesn’t work, let me try that one, or this one. That’s the more conservative approach. It’s not easy – it takes time, but when it comes you appreciate it. Some people never experience that, so they never know that.’

He doesn’t listen to music much any more.
‘People would be surprised, but I don’t listen to music like I used to. I play a lot of music, because I’m DJing, but I don’t sit at home and put on my favourite tracks. That’s not to say there’s something wrong with the quality of what’s out there, it’s just not my thing. If I run into a track I love, I’ll ask who it is, but I don’t generally follow music.’

Britain’s early-’90s acid house revolution blew his mind.
‘I saw things move so quickly, coming to the UK in the early part of 1988 and then later that year: it transformed. It blew me away. It was like a virus! Truthfully. This big phenomenon started happening around it. It was very special. That’s something that just doesn’t happen. You can’t just go out and say, I’m going to make something like this happen!’

He doesn’t think that could happen again unless something else happens first.
‘We would have to have some massive thing happen. If half the world got blown up and society was recreated, that’s what it would take for us to come up with something like that, because your experience was so deep that you were on another level of recreating humanity and yourself through creativity. That’s the only way something like that’s gonna happen. I ain’t saying it’s not going to happen, but we should hope that it ain’t happening, ha ha!’

He thinks black people have been deleted from house history.
‘Definitely. I don’t know how much it was remembered in the first place! Because when this music was first created, it was all black people dancing to it. A black people. It’s amazing how it went from all black people to no black people. I was in a college fraternity called Phi Beta Sigma, we did these parties, a thousand black kids on campus partying. They were all progressive. They weren’t into what was on the radio, they were getting it! All these black kids, smoking these German cigarettes, calling themselves preppy, dressing all cool. Between when I released “Big Fun” [in 1988], and about ’92, it totally flipped. And now on the college circuit, all the white fraternities, they’re booking Tiësto and David Guetta!’

Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards is a man of his word. And because he is, 100 students are going to college on his dime. In 2007, Edwards promised 100 Cleveland high school students that he would pay for their college tuition—a total value of $1 million—if they maintained grade point averages at 2.5 or higher and performed 15 hours of community service. The students lived up to their end of the bargain, and now Edwards is living up to his end, according to CBSSports.com and the Detroit Free Press.

“As the 2nd most hated man in Clev & a man of my word, today I will honor a promise made to 100 students in Cleveland years ago,” Edwards tweeted. “The last of my Advance 100 students will graduate from my program and head off to college on scholarships that I will provide them with. Guys, enjoy and embrace your new beginnings and remember your promise to me, to reach back & help someone else along the way.

Edwards, who caught 53 passes for 904 yards and seven touchdowns last season, is currently unsigned but says he would like to return to the Jets.

The Braylon Edwards Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing and meeting the needs of under-served youth in the concentrated area of education. The Foundation’s goal is to emphasize the importance of education by providing scholarships and incentives to youth who demonstrate strong commitment and effort to excel in academics, conduct and community volunteerism. The Foundation also supports and contributes to organization’s whose programming includes health and hunger prevention. “It is in our service to others that we achieve true greatness.” – Unknown

http://www.braylonedwardsfoundation.org/home

The National Pan-Hellenic Council of Marquette University Presents The 2012 Brew City Stomp Down Step Show Sponsored By City Year Milwaukee

On Saturday, February 4, 2012, the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Marquette University once again brings you Wisconsin’s largest step show- and this time it’s BETTER THAN EVER. Featuring the organizations of the Divine Nine: Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Iota Phi Theta.

With a special guest host, music by Marquette’s very own DJ Poizon Ivy, and the most talented, most LIVE step crews from across the Midwest all on the Riverside Theater stage, the 2012 Brew City Stomp Down Step Show is sure to be one show you don’t want to miss.

Tickets will be available beginning Friday, December 9, 2011 at noon. General admission tickets are $20 (+ taxes and applicable fees). Tickets can be purchased online at www.pabsttheater.org/show/2012BrewCityStompDown, in person at either the Riverside Theater box office (116 West Wisconsin Avenue) or Pabst Theater Box Office (144 E. Wells Street) Monday through Friday from noon until 6:30pm, or through the box office by calling 414-286-3663.

Like in previous years, this event is guaranteed to sellout- plan to get your tickets early! For the latest updates on the show be sure to follow us on twitter: @brewcitystomp.

Please direct any questions or concerns to brewcitystompdown@gmail.com.

Photos: Sigma Frater Kevin Davis/ Crush Media Group

Hot on the heels of the release of “Chapter V: Underrated,” Soror Syleena Johnson, a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.,  hit the road on tour promoting her latest masterpiece. On Thursday, Syleena performed before a packed house full of supporters in her home town at The Shrine in Chicago’s South Loop district.

Many members of the Greek community showed up in support of Syleena, and shouted their organization’s calls as she displayed her sorority hand sign,  the “Kitty” during a thank you session between songs.

Legendary musicians such as Norman Connors and the king of R&B, R Kelly were in attendance as fans were treated to new releases as well as classic titles.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS

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The National Pan-Hellenic Council of Eastern Michigan University hosted its annual Step Show in Pease Hall Auditorium on Thursday.

“The step show is an annual highly anticipated event,” said Ivory Harris, co-host of the show. “It gives students a chance to appreciate the arts, and it gives organizations a chance to showcase their creativity as well.”

The Zeta Phi Beta Sorority opened the show with a well-received performance, but in the end the brothers of Phi Beta Sigma took the first-place prize for fraternities for the second year in a row. The sisters of Zeta Phi Beta took the first-place prize in the sorority division, being the only sorority participating.

The Eta Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma made history when they won their seventh straight victory at this year’s homecoming step show. The ladies of the Alpha Phi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., also took back the first place title beating out the other sororities, including last year’s winners, the ladies of the Alpha Mu chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

The show took place at the Greensboro Coliseum on Oct.14. Eight of the nine National Pan-Hellenic Council Greek organizations were represented in the show, though not all competed. The Mu Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. performed in exhibition.

Mu Psi opened the show, and Sigma Gamma Rho performed while the judges added up the scores. “We did our best even though we were only exhibition. We do it for A&T, we do it for Omega Psi Phi,” said Torel Daniels, senior animal science major.

The Zeta Alpha chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., performed after the Omegas with a “Final Destination” theme. The theme involved other sororities like Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta being killed off and going missing. Their performance included a stunt with chairs.

“I think we did a great job. We put in a lot of practice. We’ve been practicing since the summer time,” said Tiera Stuckey, junior elementary education major.

Next up was the Beta Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. They used Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence’s movie “Life” as their theme. They re-made the beginning of the movie and performed wearing striped jail suits. “I feel like we did a great job,” said their step master Tim Campbell-Allen.

Allen also said he believes lots of practice and dedicated steppers are key in having a good performance. The first place winners, Alpha Phi, had one of the most current themes using the popular reality show “Born to Dance.”

Their video had them emulating the show. Chapter member Melanie Hampton played Laurie Ann Gibson while the steppers acted as contestants on the show. Their costumes were 80’s inspired including fish net stockings, denim vests, and crimped hair.

The performance also included more of a dancing and stepping mix than others. “It’s important to incorporate things like dance and videos into the step performance because not everyone is into stepping and you want to appeal to them as well,” said Alpha Phi step master Synnaman Bingham.

Clearly the ladies stepped their game up this year in order to bring home the first place trophy. “We looked at what we did wrong last year and tried to improve those things as well as appeal to our audience better,” said Bingham. The Zeta chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc., used singer Chris Brown’s recent legal problems as the theme for their show. All sprayed their hair yellow to match his then blonde colored hair, and wore orange jumpsuits as if they were in prison.

“We know he didn’t really go to jail we just decided to play on the fact that he had to do community service,” said step master Justin Small. He added that the idea was collaboration between him and fellow chapter member Austin James.

Celebrity and A&T alum Terrence J surprised the crowd by coming out to introduce the ladies of Alpha Mu. They had a Chinese theme entitled “Delta Dynasty.” They were dressed in all black, with red sashes as belts. Audience members also seemed surprised to see that they managed to have experienced step-show producer Kevin Wilson do their video. Wilson did several step-show videos throughout his time at A&T but graduated last May and now lives in New York.

Step masters Jamia Tucker and Rayven Dulin explained the difficulty of being the defending champs back stage. “It’s harder because you have to do better than last time. We have to reset the bar,” said Tucker. They said for their performance this year they tried to think outside the box.

The Sigmas also knows the pressure of defending a title all too well. “It’s a lot of pressure,” said junior biology major Donavon Dunn. “We had a lot of sleepless nights.” They were the final competitors to perform and used popular movie “The Hangover” as their theme.

They also had the stunt of the night when they blindfolded themselves for a difficult portion of their performance that involved them kicking over each other’s heads. “We practice so much without the blindfolds on that the execution of the stunt doesn’t really affect us once we put them on,” said Dunn.

The Sigmas performance not only won over the judges but the crowd as well. “The Sigmas were my favorites of the night. Their performance, stunts, theme, everything was really good,” said freshman Kari Henderson. Sophomore Deshawn Gilmore also agreed with everyone else. “The Sigma’s performance was clean and on point,” he said. After continuing to captivate the crowd an array of step show judges for seven years one must wonder, what’s the Sigma’s secret? “We just go by the score sheet. We ask ourselves ‘ok do we have this, are we lacking in this?’ We also try to think about what the crowd wants. Oh and a lot of prayer,” said Dunn.

-smobell@ncat.edu and follow her on Twitter @Yngblkandfancy

The Men of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Zeta Rho Sigma Chapter held their inaugural Sigma Flag Football Tournament on Sunday, September 18, 2011. The tournament was held at the Rutgers Camden Community Park in Camden, New Jersey and was organized by Bro. Akeem Lloyd and consisted of 9 teams. All proceeds for the tournament will be donated to the March of Dimes.

The winning team consisted of players from Rutgers Camden, Camden County College and Rowan University.  Brothers Willie Shuler, Larry Jenkins, Rich Robinson, Steve Miller, Kevin Sweeper, Brian Jones, Danny Barnes and Steve Pollard served as referee, scorekeeper, and linesmen for the tournament.

The chapter would like to thank the Rutgers University Athletic Department, Student Activities Office and Bro. Vince Costello (Nu Sigma Chapter) for all their assistance. Bro. Thom Nixon is the Chapter President of Zeta Rho Sigma Chapter. Zeta Rho Sigma serves Camden and Gloucester Counties in Southern New Jersey.

Photography by Bro. Brian Jones

In an ideal world, those with better looks than vocals or hooks would be out striking poses so that more could hear true artists like Syleena Johnson. Thanks to her lineage (the daughter of blues star Syl Johnson), experience (training in gospel, jazz and classical music) and ability to evoke pain and passion with searing lyrics and gut-wrenching vocals, Ms. Johnson was a favorite with R&B lovers (“I Am Your Woman,” “Guess What,” “Suddenly (Bulls-Eye), “Down & Out”) long before her plaintive wail went mainstream on Kanye West’s smash “All Falls Down.” Today, with over a decade in the biz, a Grammy nomination and six studio CDs behind her, it’s a newly-emboldened Syleena shining through on Chapter V: Underrated, which is less introspective, but still as intimate, as the previous chapters she’s released.

Paired with urbanized producers like Unik, AK and Toxic, yet continuing in her traditional story-telling candor (she co-wrote all but one song), Ms. Johnson spills out her heart’s contents, pours angst into every line and bites her tongue for no one. The opening title track, for example, fires off her personal and professional dilemmas like targeted rapid-fire bullets as she claims victory over each one: “I’ve been in this business  fifteen years and still I’m growing stronger/messed around, got married, had two kids and still I’m going stronger/Never let this industry determine how and when I’m gonna….don’t care what y’all do I do what the **** I wanna.”  Another hard-hitting proclamation, “Label Me,” tells gossip folks that she’s earned her success and to move around with the half-truths and innuendoes—“How come a girl can’t have expensive things (Girl that man bought her car, don’t he play ball overseas?)/ How come I can’t just have my own money….and by the way, his money is MY money.”

Where Syleena really shines, as expected, is when she navigates the rocky terrain of relationships, romantic or otherwise: her first single, “A Boss” is an irresistible ditty and should be 2011’s ‘Single Lady’  anthem, tooting her own horn (“I got my own money when I want my own thrills, got my own bottles poppin’ and they’re on chill”) while she waits for someone worthwhile: “Now some fellas got their hands out, but nothing lasts when it comes free/ I need a man that’s willing to work, when it comes to loving me.”  On the flip side, any woman needing to get untangled should reference “Go Head,” which features a tangy rap from Na’ Tee (“Getcho’ clothes before I throw em’ in the trash quick, bag it, take it out, gas it, ashes to ashes, Angela Bassett”) and deflates male egos with cutting lines like “Now wait a minute, who do you think you dealing with/This ain’t no habit, this here ain’t **** for me to quit!”

Thanks to her throaty husk of an alto, even the ballads and mid-tempos pack a punch:  “Angry Girl,” a duet with Tweet, offers soothing, yet straight-forward advice to a woman who uses her resentment from one bad love affair as a shield in the next: “Now he thinks that all women are no good, you’ve ruined him for me/a vicious cycle you’ve started, now because of you, he can’t be open…. Angry Girl, you’re making it so hard for women like me to find Prince Charming.” “My Shoes,” functioning as a gritty sequel to 2005’s “Another Relationship,” turns the tables and asks her man if he could handle the pain he’s inflicted on her time and again: “What if it’s me that walks all over you, what if it’s me that raised my hand to you? / Would you be at Momma’s house crying, trying to stop my daddy from killing you, would you be confused, would you feel like a fool?”  A decidedly understated, yet evocative performance emerges in “Like Thorns,” a song where one can practically picture her tear-streaked eyes peering through a rain-pelted window pane as she walks away for the final time: “The things that you do I can’t ignore, you used to be like roses, now you’re just like thorns.”

Syleena squeezes more heart out of a single verse than many can out of an entire album, and It’s a travesty that she remains under the radar for many.  But as soulful and self-possessed as she is, being Underrated is not a state she’s destined to remain in for that much longer; her Chapter 5 may be the one that flips the book open for the rest of the musical world to discover an artist who always delivers the goods. Highly Recommended.

By Melody Charles