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Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

And think that you are lying to everybody else too. You ain’t fooling nobody! Why complicate things? Just go ahead and admit it. I understand. Life gets complex, and sometimes we just feel the need to bend the truth to make it through the week. We need our lies to keep the pain tucked away where it can’t get to us. That deceitful heart of ours has a way making it easy for us to be okay with these lies that is, until they’re drawn out by God’s scalpel [Psalm 139:23]. What I want you know is that lies don’t just cover up the pain of life, they actually make it harder for you to grow in your faith and in your connection with others. The problem is that we have gotten so numb to them that we don’t necessarily even see the damage they do. It is important that we face our moments of truth understanding the serious implications of actions and decisions. Stop lying and start telling the truth! Truth telling is essential to the church.

Y’all get mad with me if you want to, but I ain’t sugar coating nothing! I’m going to call sin just what it is, Sin! I hear folks say, “It won’t hurt to tell a little white lie.” Yes it will and yes, it does! I don’t care how big a lie is or what color a lie is. A lie is a lie and if you lie at all it’s a sin and sin is sin.  We’ve got to stop white washing our sin. We’ve got to stop trying to cover up. We’ve come to the point where we’re calling right wrong and wrong right. Shame on us! The world manipulates – but the church is based on Truth. The world covers for itself – but the church is based on Truth. The world pulls strings – but the church is based on Truth. The world exaggerates – but the church is based on Truth. When you start introducing anything but the Truth, the Pure Unadulterated Truth into the way you handle your interactions in life, then it’s like taking a big hatchet and whacking at your own foot. Which goes to show that you ain’t hurting nobody but yourself… Stop it!

Lying is a killer! It robs you of all godly virtues. It comes as harmless yet its effects can be most devastating.  If you want to be established, lay your foundation on Truth. Go and apologize to those you have lied to or against. You cannot afford to miss Heaven! Lying is more perilous than it seems. It’s more Satan-like than Christ-like. Jesus referred to Satan as “a liar and the father of lies” [John 8:44]. By contrast, Jesus declared himself to be the Truth [John 14:6]. The prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick” [Jeremiah 17:9]. What’s so indicative of our human state is the universal tendency to minimize the treachery of lying. We want certain forms of lying to be okay. Well it’s not okay! Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” [John 8:32].  

You got to learn that when you’ve done wrong, you got to live with yourself. And when you have done wrong, your memory is working against you.  David said in [Psalms 51] every time he turn around, memory, keep bringing that situation back to him. You can’t lie and get away with it. You tell one lie; you got to tell another one.  Listen, we’ve all sinned and come short of the Glory of God. My memory recalls and keeps me reminded that I haven’t always been what I am now. Memory reminds me of my mistakes that I’ve made. Reminds me of problems and flaws in my own character. I’m not talking about someone else’s memory; I’m talking about my memories that are ever before me. But I’m glad to report that when sin is plaguing you and when it’s ever before you, there’s hope. You don’t have to be overcome by your sins. There’s a God who is able to bring you out. There’s deliverance. There’s escape from sin. David shows us that way. David made it to the praying ground. David found a prayer closet and talked to God about His sins. That’s all you got to do… You need to pray about your weaknesses. You need to talk to God about your shortcomings. Talk to Him about your faults and your defects. David opened with a plea of mercy. David said, “Have mercy on me oh God according to thy loving kindness, according to thy tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin… Against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight… “Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean: wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” Somebody ought to help me tell Him thank you. Thank you Lord for a new walk and new talk. NO MORE LIES!

By James Carter, Special to CBM Media Outlets

After making millions brazenly flaunting their gang affiliations and celebrating gun violence, The Game and Snoop Dogg want to be Black peacemakers with the blessings of the police chief and mayor.

When I turned on the TV July 8 reporters, public officials, and pundits were still attempting to make sense of the chaotic chain of events that began with the videotaped police killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in Minnesota, and ended in Dallas with Micah Johnson shooting two participants of a peaceful protest en route to killing five police officers and injuring nine others in a retaliatory attack on law enforcement. 

As I flipped back and forth between local and national news coverage of the shootings I caught live pictures of rappers Snoop Dogg and The Game marching up to Los Angeles police headquarters during a police academy graduation ceremony. The somewhat impromptu event, organized by The Game via Instagram, drew a group of approximately 50 men with the stated objective to “make the Californian government and it’s law branches aware that from today forward, we will be unified as minorities and we will no longer allow them to hunt us or be hunted by us! Let’s erase the fear of one another on both sides and start something new here in the city of Los Angeles, a city we all love and share! There are many things that have to be done to rectify this situation that has plagued us for hundreds of years and unification is the first step!”

By the time the group reached police headquarters, photographers, news cameras and reporters were swarming in to speak to the two primary figures, The Game and Snoop, to get their thoughts on the recent events and better understand their presence at the ceremony.

The combination of media attention and celebrity ultimately earned the rappers a private meeting with LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who issued the following Tweet — “Right here, right now: We are having the dialogue for peace in our city and our country. @thegame @SnoopDogg.”

Following the meeting The Game, the police chief, the mayor, and America’s favorite Crip, Snoop Dogg, stood side-by-side at a press conference speaking about peace, unity, understanding, and healing.

“We just had an extraordinarily powerful meeting….. We had a discussion inside about hearing each other and feeling each other and understanding this moment. And I want to thank Game for his courage, coming down here today and marching alongside fellow Angelenos to be here in support of peace, to be here in support of love, and to find some common ground of work together,” stated Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garrett.

“We are too violent a society. Violence begets violence. It is time to put down our arms and start the dialogue. We have to go forward from today as human beings, as Americans, as partners. Put aside the things that divide us and come together on the things that bind us.” — Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck

“Our whole mission today was to move in peace and show that LA can be unified. And not to bash the police but to come up here and get some dialogue because we’re all angels.” — Snoop Dogg

“When I woke up this morning I was uneasy, I was saddened, I was angered. So I called on a dear friend of mine, someone that I look up to, Snoop Dogg. And we had a conversation about how we could better our communities from Long Beach to Compton and hoping it would spiral out to other neighboring, poverty-stricken neighborhoods. … We need to take responsibility as a human race and take the role as peace givers and people that distribute love and change throughout this city.” — The Game

Pictures from the meeting and press conference flooded social media, drawing praise from many quarters as a sign of hope and unity. The optics couldn’t have been better — two Black hardcore rappers with “street cred” alongside the two most powerful White public officials in the city, days after multiple high-profile killings in which race was a key factor.

While those very same optics struck me as ironic, it was the combination of the messages and the messengers that I found particularly disturbing.

Now I’ll go out on a limb and presume neither Garcetti nor Beck have ever listened to a Game or Snoop album. And it is highly probable that neither had even heard of the former before the closed-door meeting took place. If they had, I doubt the chief of police in the second largest city in the country would be clamoring to stand side-by-side in front of the world with a rapper, in full Crip regalia, whose first single, Deep Cover, was specifically about murdering police officers, or another gang-affiliated rapper who specifically compared the LAPD to Nazis on his latest album — all of this one day after nine police officers were shot in Dallas.

So to the chief and the mayor and the hipster journalists who failed to ask key questions, and other Hip Hop-deficient bystanders who want to lift The Game and Snoop up in an attempt to legitimize them and their efforts at this most serious of times, here’s some information on your new partners in peace.

A Deadly Game

Much like Chicago, the violence inflicted by Black males on other Black males in Los Angeles has been a persistent problem. A majority of this violence has been and continues to be gang-related.

According to the LAPD Gang and Operations Support Division, between 2001 and 2008, there were 2,149 gang-related homicides, 24,260 gang-related felony assaults, and more than 4,300 gang-related attempted homicides in the City of Los Angeles. This does not include Game’s hometown of Compton, which falls outside of Los Angeles city limits.

And while city officials note that crime has been on the decline over the past decade in much of Los Angeles, those are just numbers to the inhabitants of many areas of South Central Los Angeles, home to “Death Alley”and epicenter of the 100Days100Nights hashtag where Rollin 100s Crip gang members vowed through social media to kill 100 rivals in 100 days and nights.

Despite being impacted firsthand by gang violence, despite previously residing in an area where gang violence is a daily danger, despite living in an environment where gun violence is particularly rampant, and despite previously residing in an area where Black males just like him are treating each other’s lives with callous disregard, The Game chooses to throw blood red lyrical fuel on the  the flames of ignorance and violence as he celebrates and uplifts the gangs that have heaped more terror and violence on poor Black communities around the country than every police force combined.

Song after song The Game fetishizes gun violence like no other rapper sharing his stature in the genre.

The Game can barely go a few dozen bars before bragging about shooting yet another Black male down in the street.

Out of 178 songs on his 11 studio albums, 115 feature references to either an act of gun violence or gang affiliation — in many cases both.  Those that don’t include these elements are predominantly either intros, outros, interludes or songs in which sex and denigration of women are the focus.

To say that he is a one-dimensional rapper is being generous. However, if you consider rhyming about shooting niggas, fucking bitches, your cars, the rims on your car, smoking weed, loving Tupac, shooting niggas, being gang affiliated, and counting your money before going out to shoot some more niggas as representative of depth, then Taylor is the Mariana Trench of rap.

But if you recognize his music for what it is, profiteering from the exploitation of real-life misery of the very people he now claims to want to love and wants to save, the spectacle of The Game as peacemaker is even more abhorrent.

WHO Am I (What’s My Name?)

At this point Snoop Dogg is essentially a parody of a caricature who will push, peddle and promote any product or cause placed in his path, be it wrestling matches, malt liquor, used car dealerships, fruit juice, perfumes, porn movies, or peace rallies. His track record is fairly well known to even non-rap fans. He is to gangsta rap what Hulk Hogan is to wrestling, the face of the genre. In fact, his latest song is entitled SuperCrip. But at the march, meeting, and subsequent events, Snoop has been a secondary figure whose name value and star power are more prominent than his ideological contributions.

This latest effort is a full-out Game production.

Jayceon Taylor, or The Game, as he is known to his nearly 7 million Instagram followers and the various millions who have bought his albums since his debut in the early 2000s, is a gangsta rapper of the highest order.

Here’s the abbreviated Game bio as spoken by Gangsta Rap godfather Dr. Dre during his narration on The Game’s eighth album, R.E.D.:  “His moms and his pops met in Compton. His pops was a Nutty Blocc Compton Crip. Moms was from South Central, she claimed Hoover. … Now his parents hustled, so he was left alone by himself a lot. So shit, he did whatever the fuck he wanted to do. … In Compton you either a Blood or a Crip … Shit was a hard decision for him to make cause both his parents was Crips.

His Uncle Greg was a Crip. He died when he was 5. His brother Jevon was a Crip. He got murdered when he was just 13.

After that, he decided that being a Crip just wasn’t for him. So he ran across the tracks until everything turned red and never looked back.”

The circumstances that led Taylor to become affiliated with the Cedar Block Piru Bloods are unfortunately not atypical for thousands of young Black males in the Greater Los Angeles area. And while we can’t choose the circumstances under which or to whom we are born, at age 22 Taylor made a life-altering decision. While recovering from gunshot wounds he decided to become a rapper and took on the Game moniker. By any music industry metric he has been extremely successful, with more than 24 albums, mixtapes and related projects to his credit.

So who better than a successful rapper with a spectacular social media following and the ear of millions to represent the interests of Los Angeles’ afflicted Black community than The Game? Well, how about, perhaps anyone!

The Game has built his HipHop fortune and notoriety by brazenly exploiting the same violence that has for decades plagued the very community he’s from.

He flies the red flag of his gang affiliation in every imaginable manner possible, far beyond the standard crimson athletic wear — Game flaunts everything from red bandana-patterned backpacks, to cherry exotic cars, to a red cellphone case/joint lighter, to his own line of gang-related Game emojis — because after all, who hasn’t been dying to sign off a text message with “Red Bandana, Red Bompton Hat, UZI, Shotgun Shell, Crime Scene Chalk Outline.”   

I suppose one could say it’s all in good fun, if LA street gangs weren’t such a deadly serious matter.

The Pathology of The Peacemaker

As rappers go, The Game’s talent is undeniable. But he has chosen to utilize that talent in the most pathological way possible,  building a fortune via the denigration of women and advocacy of gun and gang violence between puffs of marijuana smoke. That is his choice. But in making that choice, The Game has effectively disqualified himself for legitimate consideration to represent civilized, responsible Black people in negotiations around serious policy matters involving our communities.

And this is who the mayor and police chief of the nation’s second largest city have opted to present publicly as a partner with whom to bridge the divide between the Black community and the police? It’s like letting a pyromaniac join the fire department.

When you traffic in Black degradation and arrogantly and brazenly flaunt your affiliation to the most destructive and genocidal elements of the Black community, you lose your right to speak on behalf of the Black community. You have abdicated your authority to lead.

You don’t get to profit from Black misery on Friday and be a champion of peace on Sunday.

At what time, if ever, will The Game become serious about his advocacy and take the most basic of first steps — denouncing the gangs to which his affiliation, however tangential, has made him rich and famous? How about owning up to the hypocrisy of calling for a gang peace treaty after creating a celebratory soundtrack for their heinous acts of violence over the past 15 years? 

I can’t be fooled like White public officials desperate for a high-profile “urban” Black face to validate their “outreach,” and hipster journalists and TV hosts who want the easy headline instead of doing the work of investigating root causes. These people are swayed by The Game’s winning smile, captivated by his style and sympathetic to his pleas for peace.

The question isn’t, “Why would the mayor and police chief legitimize The Game and Snoop as leaders with official meetings, press conferences, and photo ops?” The question is, “Why wouldn’t they?”

After all, Beck and Garcetti get to be cool by association, pick up some urban credibility, and get loads of free publicity. Beck and Garcetti don’t have to live in communities terrorized by the gangs Snoop helped make a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. Beck and Garcetti don’t have to worry that their children will fall victim to being innocent bystanders in the type of drive-by shootings The Game routinely raps about. Beck and Garcetti don’t have to worry if their kids’ choice of t-shirt will make them a target for gang violence. Beck and Garcetti don’t have to counsel their children on how to interact with the police out of fear they will be presumed to be gang members and treated hostilely.

If the powers that be want to demonstrate their seriousness in addressing and solving these issues, then they need not elevate those who pander to and profit from the basest instincts of people in communities beset with problems of violence and gangs.

I am a Black man. I am a father. I work with children in South Central LA. I live in a community where gun violence occurs all to frequently. I grew up on HipHop. Most importantly, I recognize the issues facing the Black community regarding the police, gangs and violence are very real and very serious. These are serious times that require serious people with serious solutions. Someone please tell Jayceon this is far from a game.

Meagan Good

LOS ANGELES, CA- Krazy Actress Productions, co-founded by actress Meagan Good  (“Minority Report,” “Think Like a Man”) and actress-writer Tamara Bass (“Baby Boy,” “All That Matters”) has launched an Indiegogo campaign to help finance its next project, “If Not Now, When.” 

The feature film was written by Bass and will star both women. Sway Calloway (VH1, “MTV News”) has signed on as executive producer. 

The Indiegogo campaign launches on the heels of the landmark success of Krazy Actress Productions’ web series, “All That Matters” which debuted on World Star Hip Hop and earned over 25 million views. 

“As young women, we remember watching films that molded and shaped our perspectives on womanhood and friendship,” said Good. “I wanted to be a part of making films that inspire others the way that I was inspired…to make movies that take people on a journey, and tell a story that ultimately makes us love ourselves a little bit more.”

“If Not Now, When?” is reminiscent of popular female bonding movies prevalent in the ’90s. The film tells the story of Suzanne (Good), Patrice (Bass), Tyra and Deidre, friends since the age of 14. Over the course of their lives, fights, disagreements and love have created distance between them, particularly Suzanne and Patrice who haven’t spoken in almost 15 years. When Tyra experiences a crisis, the women reunite and rediscover the importance of sisterhood, as they band together to look after Tyra’s 14-year-old daughter.

“I wrote this movie because we are committed to telling stories that showcase diversity, and to doing our part to create more leading roles for women of color,” said Bass. “Leveraging a crowdfunding campaign to raise capital for our film not only allows us to maintain creative control, but also gives the fans a chance to weigh in on what types of movies they want to see and support.”

The Indiegogo campaign goal is $750,000. Donors will receive a variety of perks ranging from autographed scripts to producer credits.

For more information and to contribute to the campaign, visit www.krazyactressproductions.com or the Indiegogo campaign page.

ONTARIO, CA- Eldonna Lewis Fernandez, chief executive officer of Dynamic Vision International and author of “Think Like a Negotiator,” will be the keynote speaker at the 2016 Inland Prosperity Conference on Friday, July 29, in Ontario.

The conference is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ontario Airport Hotel and Conference Center, 700 N. Haven Ave.

Lewis Fernandez is a retired U.S. Air Force veteran with 23 years of honorable military service and over 30 years of leadership, contracts management, and negotiation experience. She has negotiated contracts from $1 to over $100 million both stateside and internationally. Her upbeat, interactive, and engaging “Think Like a Negotiator” presentation will show attendees that not only is everything negotiable, but also how to find more power, negotiate better deals and create ethical win-win results in both business and personal situations.

In addition to the keynote presentation, accomplished local entrepreneurs, authors, and business leaders will lead three panel discussions on “The Power to Prosper,” “Taking the Leap to Achieve Your Dreams,” and an interactive session on “Technology Time Savers and Money Makers.” Parking is free and the $67 admission includes a light breakfast and lunch.

The 2016 Inland Prosperity Conference is sponsored by the College of Business and Public Administration at Cal State San Bernardino, Bank of America, Monpreneur.buzz, Hispanic Lifestyle, and The Wright Place TV Show, and is presented by the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley Women’s Business Centers.

Registration is $67. Vendor space and sponsorships are also available. For registration or additional information, visit the IEWBC website at www.iewbc.org or call Nicole Kinney (909) 890-1242.    

The Inland Empire and Coachella Valley Women’s Business Centers are programs of the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship at Cal State San Bernardino. Housed in the College of Business and Public Administration, IECE, which administers the programs in collaboration with the U.S. Small Business Administration, is inland Southern California’s leading organization dedicated to supporting and promoting entrepreneurship. The WBCs provides business counseling, training and mentoring designed for women business owners. 

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- In recognition of National Health Center Week, planned for August 7 – 13, 2016 the Jessie Trice Community Health Center has launched the iChooseHealth4 campaign. National Health Center Week provides an opportunity for Health Centers to showcase the incredible services they provide to their communities, while advocating for the resources necessary to expand their programming.  This year’s theme is Innovators in Community Health.

“Health should be a priority in all of our lives,” says Annie Neasman, CEO of the Jessie Trice Community Health Center.  “Through the iChooseHealth4 campaign, we plan to celebrate National Health Center Week and encourage everyone to get involved and choose health — whether it’s for you, your family or your community.”

The #iChooseHealth4 campaign will include a social media component in which participants are invited to write what they choose health for on a card, have someone to snap a photo, and then share the photo on social media using hashtags #iChooseHealth4, #NHCW16 and #CHCsInnovate. In addition, the campaign will also include a “fun” raiser which will help support the community health center’s initiatives.

“Sponsorships and support received in our “fun” raiser will help support events and activities planned out for National Health Center Week,” says Toni Thompson, Executives Projects and Marketing Office of JTCHC. “It is our hope that the community joins in and supports the #iChooseHealth4 “fun” raiser and social media campaign.”

JTCHC’s National Health Center Week events and activities include

August 9, 2016 – Back To School – JTCHC to provide immunizations, physicals and school supplies to children in Miami Gardens.

August 10, 2016 – Grand Opening of the Opa Locka Children’s Wellness Center – This Center focuses on health, wellness and nutrition and will host cooking classes for pediatrics and parents.

August 12, 2016 – Grand Opening of Walgreens Pharmacy located in JTCHC Main Center – This convenient location will provide pharmaceutical needs to the patients and providers of JTCHC as well as the surrounding community.

National Health Center Week has been celebrated for more than 30 years to recognize the services and contributions of Community, Migrant, Homeless and Public Housing Health Centers. While there are countless reasons to celebrate America’s Health Centers, among the most important and unique is their long success in providing access to affordable, high quality, cost effective health care to medically vulnerable and underserved people throughout the United States.

The Jessie Trice Community Health Center, Inc. is a Florida 501(c)3, not-for-profit, Federally Qualified Health Center, which has been serving Miami-Dade County since 1967. A community mainstay, JTCHC owns and/or operates fifty-five (55) facilities, which includes eleven (11) Comprehensive Primary Care centers, including a women’s substance use residential program, two (2) Dental Health Centers, forty (40) school-based locations two of which are Primary Care Centers and two (2) university centers. JTCHC’s multicultural, multilingual, and multidisciplinary staff serves a diverse population of over 39,575 patients who make more than 126,000 visits annually.

For more information or to receive a sponsorship packet, contact 305-805-1700 or visit jtchc.org.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The SAN BERNARDINO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT (SBCCD) seven-member Board have four positions to be filled in the November 2016 election. The positions open serve Areas 1, 3, 5 and 7. Specific information regarding the jurisdictions covered by those areas is available on the Announcements section of the SBCCD home page, www.sbccd.org

The members of the Board are elected to four-year positions by area. Candidate filings began July 18 and will be closed on August 12. Candidate packets are available through the County Elections Office, a link to which is also available on the SBCCD home page.

Chancellor Bruce Baron said: “The Board of Trustees is at the helm of the policy decisions made regarding the administration of our two colleges that serve more than 40,000 students per year, the Economic Development and Corporate Training division, our public broadcast tv and radio stations, KVCR, and FNX, the First Nation’s Experience affiliate created in partnership with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. They serve a vital leadership role in our community. These are important positions that need to be filled by those committed to enhancing our communities.”

He continued, noting, “Education is the key to improving our residents’ personal and professional lives and community colleges provide the necessary link between the K-12 and the university systems. We are also the most significant provider of career and technical training in the Inland Empire, including preparing first responders like fire, nursing, and peace officers. Our students receive top quality education opportunities for the lowest cost in the country. Most of our students receive financial aid and they all have a large array of courses and programs from which to select. Our faculty, staff and administrators look forward to working with a well-qualified, enthusiastic Board that is dedicated to continuing to meet our Mission.”

By Lue Dowdy

LUE Productions, Drac Entertainment, and 4ETE’s -ROCK & RAP MIDDAY MIXER is WHAT IT DO!

Rock and Rap have been around for a very long time going back to the 20th Century. When Run-D.M.C. hooked up with Rock band Aerosmith and remade the band’s hit song “Walk This Way,” it was the wrap. Rock and Rap went mainstream in the 1990’s. Other artists began to collaborate such as The Beastie Boys and Public Enemy with “Bring the Noise,” it kept going and going.

With that being said please come to the mixer starring recording artists Mack Pepperboy, Dirdy Birdy and Chase Enriquez. The show features several talented artists such as Anthony Stone, Nya BanXXX, Valencia Staxx, Cali G, The 8th Street Band, Sirr Jones, D’zyl, Cash Flow, Mac Stardo, and many more. The event will be hosted by Comedian Brett As Is. Admission is only $5 and its 18 and up. I hope to see all my rap and rockers.

Until next week L’z! The time is at 6 p.m., Saturday, August 6 at Brew Rebellion located at 195 N. Del Rosa Drive in San Bernardino.

By Naomi K. Bonman

Grooving, singing, kicking back, and just having the moment of the their lives are just a few words describe the emotions of soul lovers during this past weekend’s first annual Los Angeles Soul Fest. From July 22 to July 24, Southern California residents enjoyed a handful of activities at the Autry Museum of American West Griffith Park in Los Angeles.

The LA Soul Fest is the baby of Mark Douglas, CEO of Airborne Tickets that has blossomed and exceeded his exceptions. For the first annual Soul Fest, the event was very well attended and was an ultimate success. It brought out people of all ages and nationalities with everyone being there for one sole purpose—to enjoy some great soul music.

“Whether its vocals, instrumental soloists or a band, it doesn’t matter as long as each artist has the ability and talent to inspire and connect with an audience,” stated Los Angeles Soul Festival Head, Mark Douglas. 

This year’s talent included Grammy, Soul Train, BET, NAACP Image, Billboard, and ASCAP award-winners and nominees, as well as international and newly discovered talent. Highlighted acts included Eric Benet, Angie Stone, Marsha Ambrosius, Lalah Hathaway Lyfe Jennings, Jazmine Sullivan, Joe (Joe Thomas), Melanie Fiona, Eric Roberson, Rahsaan Patterson, Goapele, Vivian Green, Loose Ends featuring Jane Eugene, Avery Sunshine and Conya Doss. 

Great music would not be complete without good food and refreshing drinks. Guests were able to put their taste buds to the test with a variety of delicious food from several local food trucks. There were also smoothies and slushy trucks to cool patrons down from the heat. And of course, when it you’re groovin’ you usually want to have a drink in your hand. There was a 21+ drinking area that served a variety of beer and wine from vendors which included Stella Rose, Budweiser, Budlight, Stella Artois, Shock Top and Golden Road Brewing.

To keep up with the LA Soul Fest for the next year or to view photos and videos from this year, visit lasoulmusic.com or follow them on Twitter @LASoulFest, Facebook and Instagram.

Loe Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Warning comes before destruction. And you had been warned, but you wouldn’t listen. I tell you it is a dangerous thing to be hardheaded. And it is even a more dangerous thing to a Christian and to be hardheaded. To know God and to choose to think, act, or behave outside of the Word, Will, and Way of God is very dangerous. Whenever you chose to disobey the Lord, He won’t stop you. When you chose to disregard the “way of escape” when temptations arise, God will not stop you. But know that to rebel against the will of God is sin! And in the end, who pays for it? You do!

It was a situation that you could have avoided altogether because it was a situation that you had no business involved in the first place. It was a situation that had all the warning signs and all the red flags waving before your very eyes, but you chose to ignore them. But I bet at the end of the situation you found yourself saying: “If I had just listened to momma and daddy…..” “If I had just paid attention to what momma and daddy was trying to tell me back then……” “If I had just done what momma and daddy had told me to do…..” “If only….!

Let me tell you about a man that if he had just listen to his momma and daddy; if he had just paid attention to what his momma and daddy was trying to tell him to do; if he had just did what his momma and daddy had told him to do, he would have had a happy ending to his life story. But instead he had a sad ending to his life story. And this man that I am talking about is Samson. Now, most of us know who Samson is. Samson was known to be one of the Judges of Israel and was known to be the strongest man to have ever lived. He was a man who was anointed with extra ordinary strength. The reason why Samson had extra ordinary strength and he was so strong was because of the covenant that he had with the Lord. You see, when Samson was born, he was born as a Nazarite. And as a Nazarite, Samson was not to touch or drink wine, nor was he to have his hair cut because God supplied Samson’s extra ordinary strength through his hair. And through his hair, God gave Samson strength to kill a lion with is bare hands. Through his hair God gave Samson strength to kill 30 Philistine men all at once. Through his hair, God gave Samson strength to tie the tails of 300 foxes and set them on fire to burn up the cornfields  of the Philistines. Through his hair, God gave Samson strength to kill a thousand of Philistines men with just a jawbone of a donkey. Yes, God blessed Samson with extra ordinary strength through his hair to defeat the Philistines. But in [Judges 16:21], we see Samson’s hair has been cut. His eyes have been gouged out. We see Samson bound up in chains and in prison, and we see him walking the grind mill all day long in the prison house. In other words, we see the strongest man who had ever lived defeated and incapacitated. Now the question is, how did the strongest man to have ever lived find himself in a defeated and incapacitated position?

Now, for a long time, I blamed Delilah for Samson demise because I said that if he had not got involved with Delilah, he would not have gotten his hair cut, he would not have lost his strength, and he would not have been apprehended by the Philistines. But as I gave a close look at Samson’s situation, I came to realize that it was Samson’s fault to find his eyes being gouged out. It was Samson’s fault to find himself in prison. It was Samson’s fault to find himself bound up in chain. It was Samson’s fault that he now finds himself grinding the grind mill walking in circles all the day long. And the reason it was his fault because if Samson had just listen to his momma and daddy in [Judges 14] I believe he would not have found himself in that situation, but Samson was hardheaded and rebellious, and a hardhead makes a soft-behind!

But understand that even though Samson messed up by getting involved in the wrong kind of relationships, God still loved and cared for him. God still used him for his glory. God still used him to defeat the Philistines. Likewise, God still loves us, and cares for us when we are in the wrong. He will still use us for his glory. But remember this, we still have to face the consequences of our actions when we do wrong. But God is a forgiving God, and a merciful God who will forgive us our sins if we just repent and ask God for forgiveness. He will give us a second chance to do it right because He is plenteous in mercy and his love is everlasting.

[Proverbs 6:20-23] says, “My son, keep thy father’s commandment and forsake not the law of thy mother. Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee, and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life;

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to thy word” [Psalms 119:9].