Sheikia Norris, known lyrically as “Purple Haze”,  was born and raised in the birthplace of Hip Hop itself—the Bronx, New York. Sheikia earned her Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education from Johnson C. Smith University, and she has worked in health education and arts education for over eight years.  She was part of the Next Level, a crew of American hip-hop artists who performed at the American Center, Kolkata. She speaks to BE’s Abhijit Ganguly.

Ansley performed in Kolkata as a part of Next level programme. It is an initiative sponsored by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in association with the University of North Carolina’s Department of Music. She spoke to BE’s Abhijit Ganguly at the American Centre.

Jamsteady recently played host to two different kinds of performance. One was a performance by a local jazz rock band, while the other was that by hip-hop artists from the US. The gig also featured a street play and performance by a musical ensemble. The next event saw American hip-hop troupe, Next Level, perform along with local hip-hop enthusiasts and dancers at a city nightclub.

Liz Williams, executive director of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, and Ryan Hughes, who will be the chef at the museum's restaurant Purloo, have traveled to Moscow to build good will through good eats, reports the Advocate. Williams and Hughes are part of a delegation funded by the U.S. State Department that also includes musicians Donald Harrison Jr., Keith Frank and the KIPP McDonogh 15 Middle School marching band.

As part of the United Nations-driven process to craft a new sustainable development agenda, a spectacular line up of global artists will hit the stage tonight at the world body's New York Headquarters to add their voices and talents to the unprecedented global conversation under way to build the future we want. 

Jim Brown: A couple of things: First of all, rock 'n' roll had been outlawed in the beginning in the Soviet Union. In a way--and I'm making a larger film about this--rock 'n' roll became a way to protest the government and to stick up for individualism. It gathered crowds, the Soviet Union wasn't into religion or anything that gathered crowds other than their own communist politics.

The crowd of roughly 10,000 fans cheered, and the lights glowed electric blue as a woman in a bright white gown introduced the next act in the giant auditorium here. “Please give it up now for Albania!” she shouted.