The Harsh Realities

Define frustration… Sitting down in front of your television on your day off to watch shows you missed on DVR only to find that it is full and your shows were not recorded.

That is my frustration.  My oldest daughter, Kennedye, is a reality show junky.  16 and Pregnant, Dance Moms, 19 Kids and Counting, Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, Live and Hip Hop Hollywood, and the list goes on and on!   I despise reality TV.  Kennedye says that it motivates her to keep her life in check.  As far as I can tell, it’s working for her.  Unfortunately, I see reality television as one of the contributors to our social ills.

I don’t understand why the advocate groups aren’t storming Capitol Hill.  For years, various groups have attacked the television industry, demanding responsible broadcasting.  Remember Mighty Mouse?  His strength used to come from a powder he snorted.  What about Popeye?  He ate spinach and then beat the crap out of people.  Usually in self-defense, but the advocate groups didn’t care.  The most memorable for me is the movie The Program.  In the original release, there was a scene where the quarterback for the team and other players laid down on the double yellow line, at night, while cars whizzed by showing how tough they were. Unfortunately, in two separate incidents in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 1 teen was killed and 2 were seriously injured imitating that scene.   Touchstone Pictures immediately released a statement announcing they deleted the scene.

In each of these examples, youth were imitating what the saw on the television or movie screen and it was deemed unacceptable.  Why are we turning a blind eye to the reality TV is showing today?  I’ve watched episodes of Basketball Wives, Flava of Love, Bad Girls Club, and a few others.  These shows are riddled with mutual disrespect, threats, and assaults. This is the  entertainment we’re tuning into everyday.  What about the under 21 population who are very impressionable?  They are watching real people in real life situations.  By watching these shows young ladies are learning that its OK to call each other bitches.  Young men are finding it acceptable to be players and disrespect women.  Young men and women are learning that it is OK to physically attack a person that does not agree with them.

The majority of us knew Popeye and Mighty Mouse were cartoon characters.  Imitating them would get your butt whipped by your momma or another kid.  Now we are watching everyday people go about their lives.  The lives that we are tuning into are the things that we all despise.  If we saw these situations unfold in front of us, we would be shaking our heads and dialing 9-1-1.  Many will say, it's television… it’s staged.  It’s not staged when you’re trying to enjoy a night out with your family and two girls start fighting with each other.  That fight grows into a brawl and you and/or someone in your family get hurts.  That’s real and it’s happening in our community everyday.  How can we demand bullying legislation, when our kids are coming home and watching bullying 101 with their parent(s)?

Do we need to watch violence and disrespect to be entertained?  If we are ever going to take our community back, we need to remove the negative influences.

Prince said, “Don’t let you children watch television until they know how to read or else all they’ll know how to do is cuss fight and bleed!’  Memphis are you listening?

We have a less that 70% graduation rate in our city and about 5% of graduates are prepared for college.  That's reality.

For more information on the effects of television on our children check out this book.

Memphis Sound - The Next Generation

Many have heard of Stax Records, Sun Studios and the entertainers that catapulted their careers through them.  Little do many of you know there is a budding recording studio that stands a chance to be even greater than its predecessors.  Back in the days of Stax Records and Sun Studios, you needed to be discovered by someone willing to front the money to get you into the studio, cut your track, and market it.  Even today, entertainers are in so much debt to the studio and other people, it takes a while to show a profit.  Right here in Memphis, artists can have their tracks arranged, mastered, and recorded on a shoestring budget.

1404 Airways Blvd  One Sound Studios

I wonder if it ever dawned on Louis Cole that his studio was destined to be great when he picked the building on Airways Blvd between Enterprise and Progress Avenues   where he started One Sound Studios.  The goal of the studio is to provide  artists an affordable means of recording their work.  For a mere $30 an hour an artist can record their work and distribute it to the public in no time. Louis spends a lot of hours in his studio working side-by-side with his wife, Brenae Davis-Cole.  Brenae is not only co-owner of One Sound Studios.  She is an accomplished producer, which adds a special perk to using their studio.  If you have the words, but haven’t quite found the sound, Brenae can create a beat for $60 and it is yours to keep free and clear.

The only mistake you’ll make when you walk through the door to One Sound Studio is assuming the little lady that greets you is the receptionist.  Once you tell her why you’re there and she leads you to her keyboard, you’ll be a little embarrassed but thoroughly amazed.

Brenae Davis-Cole

Brenae is a Memphis native who is a graduate of the Southside High School class of 2005.  If you ask Brenae when she first realized her love for music, she will jokingly tell you from the moment she was born.  She believes her aptitude for music is a natural as breathing.  In elementary school, Brenae joined the orchestra.  When it was her turn to choose and instrument, all the violins were gone.  Despite being small in stature, she chose the cello.  She learned to love and master the cello. Although she stayed with it through elementary and middle school,  Brenae developed a desire to play the piano.  In order to fulfill that desire, she became a proverbial starving artist by saving her lunch money to pay for piano lessons from Kevin Hyman.  For high school, she auditioned and was accepted to Overton High School’s Creative and Performing Arts program. 

Her passion for the piano grew and left no room for the cello in her life.  For a teenaged musician, an opportunity of a lifetime came in the form of the South Soul Rhythm Section, a jazz/R and B band.  This band, led by Tony Nichelson allowed Brenae to perform all over the country.  After graduating from high school, Brenae majored in English and minored in music at UT Martin.

I asked Brenae when she started producing.  She pondered and to my amazement said, “14, on a Radio Shack Keyboard.”   Brenae’s artististic resume exemplifies why she does not limit her music. “If anyone needs help with classical, country, reggae, rap, R and B, or polka, I can help.”

 Out of curiosity (and images of Sin LaSalle from Be Cool in my head) I asked Brenae what makes her sound unique.  She said that her bass lines are “crazy and different.”  She is confident that her sound can be differentiated from others. Brenae has production credits with many local artists from Memphis and the Tri-Cities.  Among notables are ZedZilla (One Time and Who Knows) and French Montana (Ain’t Worried About Nothing).   Brenae acknowledges that producing is a male dominated profession. She only knows a few women that actually produce; however, her final output forces many to put gender aside and place faith in her expertise.

                  

From Left to Right  Brenae Davis-Cole, Jordan
Cole, 7, Louis Cole, Martavious Cole, 13

Amazingly, Brenae says the long hours in the studio and family life do not conflict.  “One Sound Studio is a family business,” She explains.  “My husband engineers in the studio.  I have a daughter- Jordan, 7, and a step-son- Martavious, 13.  The kids come to the studio right after school everyday.  Things work out perfectly.”

So if you need studio time, mixing, mastering, graphics, or just need to buy a beat, pay One Sound Studio a visit at 1404 Airways Blvd.  You can also find her on Facebook – BrenaeDavis-Cole or Instagram – Brenaesbeatz or email brenaesbeats@me.com. 

One Sound Studio is well on its way to finding its place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Raising a Sneakerhead

The Beginning

It wasn't intentional. I didn't even know it was happening.   Before I knew it, there was a sneakerhead in my house. The metamorphosis was gradual. My son Chandler's age and shoe size paralleled throughout his preteen years. It was a new school year ritual to buy him a new pair of Air Force I's.   A couple of months after the start of his 8th grade year, he came to me with a proposal.

“Dad... I've noticed that your tennis shoes are kinda 'dated'. Why don't you take my Air Force I's and get me a new pair?”
“Why should you get the new shoes? I work, but have to take your hand-me-downs?”
“Consider it an investment in the future. Say there's a college scout at the school... he sees me walking across campus outside and the sun is reflecting off my “icy white” forces. He's gonna say, 'Who's that kid?” and then--”
“Stop it... I'll get them this weekend.”

The next thing I knew, I was at the Nike Store every 4 months getting Forces. For his middle school graduation present(mother's idea) he asked for a pair of Lebron somethings. I got them. Over the summer, during the AAU season, he asked for a pair of Kobe's.
“WTF dude? Why can't you wear the Lebron's?”
“Dad! You don't pull from your shoe stash to play basketball.”
“So let me get this straight... I paid for a pair of basketball shoes that you'll never play basketball in?”
“Not the ones that add to my shoe game.”

Something's Amiss

That following August during tax free weekend, My wife gave me the shopping list. On it were Air Force I's and Jordan something. When I asked why he was getting two pair of tennis shoes, her reply was, “He doesn't want to wear his shoe game out.”
“Excuse me?”
“He'll wear the Forces between his other shoes. By the way, I promised him that if he gets straight A's the first 9 weeks, we'll get him these shoes that are going to drop about that time.”

I couldn't believe she made that agreement. The boy had only made one B in his lifetime up to that point. Needless to say, 9 weeks later, I was buying another pair of shoes. In the upcoming months, Christmas and his birthday rolled around. He got shoes both times.

That February, I asked him if he had picked an AAU team. He informed me that he thought my money would be best spent on a couple of camps and a pair of Jordans. Jordans? Really? I finally had enough and asked, “Why do you feel compelled to spend my money on shoes?”
“I'm a Sneakerhead, Daddy... I've got to keep my shoe game on point.”, he responded.
“Sneakerhead? Shoe game on point? You've got to explain this. " Those words triggered what seemed like a ten minute soliloquy.

                                          A sneakerhead is a connoisseur of top rated shoes. The variety
                                         of shoes in your collection is your shoe game. When the times
                                         you wear the same pair of shoes are few and far between, then
                                         you are said to have 'tight shoe game”. A true sneakerhead
                                         can't be seen in the same shoes too often. At least no one should
                                         be able to remember the last time you wore those shoes unless
                                         they just stalking you like that. Eventually I want to take my
                                         Sneakerheadom* to another level when I buy shoes to wear and
                                         shoes to display.

I was in disbelief.   Someway, somehow someone brainwashed my son. As the years went by, his growth spurt kicked in and he outgrew the USA LeBron's and all the other shoes I got him. He graciously surrendered those shoes to me, since he was now a size 13. He and I made an agreement that if he found the shoes at a good price or prove that I won't find them any  lower, I'll indulge his “shoegame”  as long as he maintaine his grades.

A night at the Movies

One evening at the movies, I looked at his feet and he's wearing mismatched shoes.

“Boy, you got on mismatched shoes!” I whispered.
“No, I don’t”, he whispered back. “They're both KD VI. This is my shoegame swag.”

I didn't even touch it.

This is Getting Out of Hand

His shoegame did not become a problem until the  AAU season started for our youngest daughter,  Kerrigan. Three-day trips every other weekend. While putting my bag in the back of our SUV, there are 6 Nike shoe boxes stacked back there.
“What is this?”
“Dad, I can't risk being in the same gym with someone wearing the same shoes.”

I shook my head and started the engine. That evening when we arrived at the hotel,  I googled Sneakerhead and could not believe this trend. Young and old; men and women were all a part of this movement. A Harlem teen, Chase Reed, started a pawn shop for sneakers. I even learned that an episode of the television series Numbers was named Sneakerhead in which “A stolen pair of "kicks" leads the team into the world of sneaker collecting after a foreign Ambassador finds his prized pair missing.”

I relented and entertained Chandler's Sneakerheadness* by asking, “How far do you plan on taking this thing?”

He replied:
                                          When I sign my NBA contract, get a Wall Street job, or take
                                          over the world(which ever comes first), my house will have
                                          a dedicated sneaker room. Those will be my “show” shoes.
                                          My everyday shoes will be kept in my two-story, walk-in
                                          bedroom closet.
Silly me followed by asking, “What pair of shoes would make your collection complete.”
“The Tokyo 5's.” He stated with a bit of reverence and admiration in his voice.
“When will those drop again?” I asked.
“Don't worry about it, Dad.” he said.
“No, I may get them for you.”
He replied. “ If you can get them, they start at $1,000.”
The following books are a great place to start  for people interested in “upping their shoegame.”
                                                         

I'll leave the shoegame for the young people. I'll keep it plain and simple. My son's sneakerhead and I love him.   I'll just be glad when he can afford his own habit.

* Chandlerism

That “Oh Sh--” Moment

Sometimes you see it coming... Sometimes you don't. Either way, no one enjoys the sight of blue lights dancing in their rear view mirror. 9 times out of 10 the stop is for a reason. Many citizens unknowingly violate the "rules" of the traffic stop. "Rules? What Rules?" you ask. Today you will read the lost chapter from the driver's manual.

Every year law enforcement officers execute millions of traffic stops nationwide. These stops are a result of observed traffic violations by the officer or as the result of an APB. Many adamantly believe that they're being stopped so the officer can meet their quota for the month. Others believe it's just the police "fucking with me." Nevertheless, the majority of traffic stops are executed in the interest of public safety. How many times a week do you wish the police were there to stop someone driving crazy during rush hour? Although, that driver wasn't stopped, many crazy drivers are put in check via the Traffic Stop. Traffic stops have also led to the capture of some of America's most notorious criminals. Ted Bundy, Randy Craft, and Timothy McVeigh were all captured via the Traffic Stop.

From an officers standpoint, the traffic stop is one of the most dangerous elements of the job. It grinds my gears when the news media refers to it as a "routine" traffic stop. There is nothing routine about a traffic stop after the officer activates the blue lights; therefore, we refer to them as "unknown risk" traffic stops. The officer more than likely doesn't know the motorist he/she is pulling over. Therefore certain precautions must be taken. Officers must not become complacent on the traffic stop. Complacency is an easy way to get killed. The precautions officers take may make you feel like you're being treated like a criminal. Remember, officers don't know you or what's on your mind and you will be handled accordingly. There are a few rules for a traffic stop that will keep an unplanned encounter from turning into a roadside crime drama.

STAY SEATED. DON'T GET OUT THE CAR

Movement makes officers leery and simulates adrenaline production. Jumping out of the car and approaching an officer can lead to a misunderstanding. Furthermore, if there is a lot of traffic, the ability to hear each other is reduced. Thus increasing the likelihood of a misunderstanding. Once the officer has signaled you, pull over to the right side of the road and stop. If it's night time, turn on the overhead light and place your hands on the steering wheel and wait for his/her approach.

STAY IN NEUTRAL

 A motorist's bad attitude can tip the scale for or against a ticket.  Kissing the officer's butt is not necessary; nevertheless,  "Why you stopping me?!" is a good way to obtain a written explanation. After obtaining your driver's license, the officer will tell you why he/she stopped you. A few other statements can guarantee a nice citation are:

You don't have anything better to do?

Why don't you catch some real criminals?

Killing time until the hot doughnuts are ready?

DON'T GET OFFENDED

People get offended when the officer shines his spot lights into the car at night or gives an order to keep your hands in sight. As I've said before, we don't know you and would really like to go home to our families at the end of the shift. Our actions are not to be intimidating or threatening.

Also, don't get up tight because another officer pulls up. It doesn't mean we've called for back up. A good partner pulls over to check on his/her partner when they advise they've stopped a vehicle over radio. A great officer checks on any officer that is pulled over with a motorist. 

DON'T ARGUE THE TICKET ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

If the officer decides to give you a citation, don't start a hearing on the shoulder. Every citation has a court date. Unless it is a mandatory court appearance, you have the option to go before the judge and argue the case. You will lose in the roadside court room every time.

SIGNING THE CITATION

Signing the citation is not an admission of guilt. Your signature indicates that you received a copy of the citation. You have the right to refuse to sign the citation and be immediately taken before a magistrate. Translation... Arrested and transported to jail. Claude didn't want Ray taking a beating over some cornbread and you should not go to jail over a $40 fine. Sign the citation then go home and plan your next move.

Hopefully, this has either provided new insight into the traffic stop or reinforced what you already knew. Traffic stops are a necessary tool for public safety. It is a necessary tool, yet a tool that can be deadly. Between 2003 - 2012, 96 law enforcement officers were killed during traffic stops.* Nearly 1/3 of those officers were killed approaching the vehicle*. For the law enforcement officer the stakes are high. Keep this in mind the next time you're stopped. Following these rules will help everyone stay at ease and this chance encounter will end on a positive note, even if you were given a citation. 

Checkout Anatomy of a Motor Vehicle Stop: Essentials of Safe Traffic Enforcement by Joseph Petrocelli. This book lays the foundation for officer survival curriculum for departments across the country. 

Want a better understanding of why law enforcement does things, send me an email. 

The Information Station 

* FBI LEOKA

Welcome to the Information Station

First, I'd like to thank CB Publishing for giving me this marvelous opportunity.  It's not like I interviewed for the spot or anything.  The boss and I have been friends since we were 12 or 13.  So he BETTER HAD let me in on this(or some very old parking tickets would lead to a boot on his car).  Seriously, I've always wanted a venue to share information with the public.  Enjoy the blog and throw the tough questions at me.

Byron "AlmightyB" Braxton