The Collaborative

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Noun: taste-maker [tast-mak(r)] 1. Someone who popularizes a new fashion. 2. Someone worthy of imitation. 3. A person who rules or guides or inspires others.

Ladies and Gentlemen meet Mr. “Impeccable tastemaker” himself Kenny Burns. THE MUSIC MAN “I’m always going to do music. It’s in my blood.”

A Washington DC native, Kenny Burns started promoting parties while still in high school. When he moved to Atlanta to attend Morris Brown University, he started his own company, 2620 Music, and monopolized Atlanta’s party scene in the mid 90’s. Based on his track record of breaking unknown talent in the Atlanta market, like Notorious Big and Black Moon to name a few, Claude Austin, then president of Rowdy Records hired him to promote Monica’s debut album. With Kenny’s help, Monica went on to sell two million copies of her debut album “Miss Thang”.

For his next feat, Kenny helped promote Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt” album to its initial certified gold success.

Soon after, Kenny found himself moving to NYC and learning the music business from Andre Harrell at Motown Records. “Dre taught me how to take my creative vision and make it tangible.”

In 1999, Kenny moved to LA and was the brainchild behind the girl group Dream. There debut album, “It Was All A DREAM”, went on to debut at #2 on the billboard charts and sold over 2million copies to date.

Eventually Kenny rose to the ranks of executive, serving as a Vice President at Mariah Carey’s Monarc Music (Maroon Entertainment) and later at Roc-A-Fella records, where he mentored Kanye West, Young Gunz, Allen Anthony, Samantha Ronson and Nicole Wray.

“Damon Dash and I were friends from way back in the Reasonable Doubt days. I gave him the script Paid In Full as well. It was a no brainer when he asked me to join the team.”

In 2005, Burns founded his own boutique label: Studio 43, and landed Wale as his first signing, which has brought national attention to the Washington DC Metropolitan Area in the Hip Hop arena. “I’ve always wanted to give my city an identity in music.”

Now he is gearing up for what he calls the future, 18yr old multi-talented artist MARKY! CHANGE CLOTHES “I am a fashion whore.”

In 2004, while still working at Roc-A-Fella Records, Kenny along with friends Derek Dudley and Ryan Glover teamed to launch Ryan Kenny, an upscale men’s fashion line.

In just over a year the Ryan Kenny brand

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became a necessity for fashion icons like Jay-Z, Usher and Common. The brand also earned the distinction of becoming the first black designers featured in Saks Fifth Avenue since Wille Wear had in the 1980’s. Arguably their greatest accomplishment was successfully inspiring a nation of throwback wearers to trade in their mesh nylon basketball jerseys for tailored French cuffed button downs.

LIFESTYLE SPECIALIST “I am the flawless relationship man.”

Meanwhile Kenny has proved his success isn’t limited to music and fashion. Through a partnership with Alloy Media and Marketing, the official “Lifestyle Specialist,” has lent his savvy marketing prowess to a host of clients including AXE/Unilever and Heineken. As in his other endeavors, the results have been successful. During what has now been a four-year relationship with AXE, the brand has become the number one grooming product in the world. Heineken has also benefited from Kenny’s vision. He helped revitalize the Red Star moniker and also organized the immensely successful Heineken Red Star Soul Tour.

Which he also host.

RENAISSANCE MAN “I want to inspire the world” …And now for Kenny’s most grand achievement: The Kenny Burns Show. Part Saturday Night Live, part Entertainment Tonight and part Arsenio Hall Show. The show will feature the lights, camera, action style that has been synonymous with Kenny’s personality and career to date. “They call me the Black Robin Leach.”

For Kenny though, the show will provide a platform to share his life lessons and experiences with the world.“This is a culmination of who I am as a person,” he says. “Our generation needs a more relevant role model…. Kenny Burns gives his all. He is who he says he is. And what he says he’s going to do, he does. Bottom line!”

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Marky The Collaborative.indd 4

In an era of ‘for bland instant rapper…add a big name producer, bubble gum raps and hot water,’ tradition seems to reign supreme in Hip-Hop. The old adage - if we don’t change our direction we’re likely to end up where we’re headed - continues to prove true. Let the old school tell it, Hip-Hop is dead.

Unfortunately, the old school can’t see the forest from the trees. Hip-Hop ain’t dead, it’s old. And while nobody can go back and start a new beginning, anyone can start today and make a new ending. Allow me to introduce the future…his name is Marky.

Born Marcus Plater 19 years ago, Marky was raised by a whole village in the mean streets of the Kenilworth section of the Washington, DC. Despite being surrounded by violence, drugs and crime, Marky held himself with a regal air and by-passed the street-dream for something more real, music. At the ripe old age of 11, Marky began developing his ‘b-boy stance’ while making a conscious decision to make his mark in the nation’s capital first.

Since DC rappers did not have their own sound like New York, the Dirty South, and the West Coast, Marky began to fashion music that embraced the sound identified with DC’s go-go music. Knowing that it’s better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation; Marky effectively spearheaded a DC movement that shifted from imitating traditional Hip-Hop music to songs that reflected lyrical-based content with percussively-dense go-go origins.

As a rapper, Marky is a visionary storyteller who helps Hip-Hop lovers see something in Hip-Hop that they might not have been seen before. As a song writer, Marky pulls from his true-life hardships to create songs that communicate a number of different messages. Some editorial, some reportage, some advertisements and some…sport. As a product of DC, he has the edge and street credibility to resonate with the purist and the thug, suburbia and the streets, all in one.

Thanks to a lot of hard work, Marky soon began to generate a tremendous buzz and eventually popped up on the radars of industry heavyweights including executives at Interscope, Atlantic Records and Def Jam. In 2006, Ken Williams introduced Marky to Mark “TarBoy” Williams of the St. Louis based production duo Trackboyz, who’ve crafted hits for the likes of Nelly (Airforce Ones), Jermaine Dupri, J-Kwon and Trina. Impressed by Marky’s signature flow, Trackboyz wasted no time signing the aspiring rapper to their upstart label. Unfortunately, Marky was forced to sever ties with the Trackboyz due to creative differences a short time later.

Unfazed and determined, Marky continued to sharpen his flow while showcasing his colorful personality through his music. He knew things would happen when it was time for them to happen. Besides, a happy ending can’t come in the middle of the story…or can it?

Enter Kenny Burns, CEO of the boutique label Studio 43 and music industry veteran who has worked with superstars such as Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Akon, Dream and Monica to name a few. Upon being introduced to Marky by his sister/business partner Robin Lyon and hearing his sound, Kenny told him, “I’m gonna put you in the studio with and see what we can come up with.”

Marky smiled.

Marky’s first single “Sheila”, is currently on tap with a full studio album tentatively set to be released in ’08.

With several other projects on the way, Marky and Studio 43 are set to prove that change starts when someone sees the next step. Guess who’ll be stepping past wherever you expect us to end up?

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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Robin Lyon knows what work looks like. It looks like opportunity. Want to know how Robin Lyon turned work into opportunity and opportunity into work? This is her story.

Event-Planning Prodigy: The Early Years Born on the Southside of the nation’s capitol, Robin Lyon spent her childhood years working exclusively with her brother as an understudy in his flourishing event coordination, marketing and promotions firm. Realizing that small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises; Robin quickly learned the tricks of the trade and soon garnered a first class reputation for her event planning tenacity. It wasn’t until Robin coordinated DC’s first Players Ball, an event that drew close to a 1,000 people, did she realize that she was on to something.

I Choose You: Crowning DC’s Newest Connoisseur With several years of experience under her belt, Robin soon began rubbing elbows with DC’s elite as she continued to market and plan successful event after successful event. Her uncommon marketing strategies ultimately thrust her into a very select group of tastemakers who came to attend all of her signature social gatherings. It was her hard work that eventually caught the attentive eye of Abdul Khanu, owner of DC’s premier waterfront lounge, H20. A fan of her trendsetting parties, Abdul commissioned Robin to exclusively run the VIP section of the club, as well as, handling all of its upscale clientele (with attendees ranging from stately politicians to a Who’s Who of Hip-Hop). For the next six years, Robin managed to outperform the competition while making H20 the #1 nightspot in DC where the city’s most influential movers and shakers congregated.

Lyon Entertainment = Mane Passion: Return On Her Investments As Robin’s marketing stock soared, she began to make more opportunities than she could find and eventually…she turned those opportunities into dollars. Because her events had become synonymous with a definitive flair for high-end extravagance, Robin soon was pursued by scores of companies who wanted to brand and market their products and services to her clientele. She quickly realized that this was her golden opportunity to take her well honed skills to the next level. Enter Lyon Entertainment and the accompanying Mane Passion (the all girl marketing team) - a full service marketing and event planning firm that specializes in promotions, event marketing, product sampling, venue promotions, sports and lifestyle marketing, tour planning as well as, college promotions. Within months, Lyon Entertainment was providing low-cost consulting solutions services to Roc-A-Fella Records, RyanKenny, AXE, Adidas, Belvedere, Interscope Records, Akademiks, Hpnotiq, Red Bull, Converse and Diesel Clothing just to name a few.

Marketing And Music: Sure, Why Not! Let Robin tell it, when you stop to think, you often miss your opportunity. And that’s why she never stops. With the foundation of Lyon Entertainment set, Robin pursued her other love…marketing music. Having booked countless acts through H20, Robin used her formula for success to start providing artist management services including casting several videos for ROC Music, a division of Roc-A-Fella Records. Through this relationship, Robin eventually began working with Kenny Burns, former Vice-President of Roc Music, as he launched his boutique record label, Studio 43. Burns soon realized her commitment to excellence and invited her to assume a Vice-President role at the label with management duties that include artist development, as well as, overseeing day to day operations.

The Epilogue So what’s next for Robin? More work and more opportunity because pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. Besides, when your work speaks for itself, you don’t interrupt.

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Art Whino is the DC area’s newest and fastest growing contemporary art gallery. The mission of Art Whino is to provide exposure for contemporary artists and deliver new and exciting works of art to the DC area. Already, Art Whino houses artwork from around the world, and the number of artists and works is still growing. With new artists added every month, Art Whino is serving up a much needed dose of contemporary art for those craving their creative fix.

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Shane Pomajambo, the creator of Art Whino, was born and raised in New York. As a teenager, he was greatly impressed with the graffiti movements. Not too long after his admiration began, many of these artists were gaining recognition within the world of fine arts, bringing their style into the gallery scene.

Another ten years down the line of life, Shane rediscovered some of these artists, as well as others, popping up in the hot California art scene within a movement known to some as Urban Contemporary, Lowbrow, or Pop Surrealism. Since its beginnings in the late 70’s and early 80’s, the movement has expanded and now incorporates a multitude of mediums and styles, and has spread to various regions of the world.

After a couple of years, Shane had built an impressive personal collection of edgy contemporary art of this kind. However, having planted roots in the DC area as the owner of Moderne Design a design build firm, he was constantly looking around for local signs of this movement. The DC art scene, while hugely impressive in its own right, is lacking of venues for edgy contemporary art.

Thus, Art Whino was born.

The notion of collaboration is a very important distinction in the premise of Art Whino. Members of the collaboration, who participate solely by invitation, all have the opportunity to exhibit their work for up to a year at Art Whino and switch work out with new fresh pieces as often as they like. In their first month, Art Whino artists submit five pieces to hang on a feature wall in the gallery. After the first month, Art Whino will always have at lest one work from every artist on display. Along with the collaboration, each month Art Whino will present a solo exhibition of a featured artist in the collaboration.

Through online social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook and LinkedIn artists and enthusiasts alike have sent Art Whino’s online presence into amazing prominence. This has been the number one marketing tool for Art Whino. And it’s catching on!

Art Whino is regularly featured in the Washington Post, DCist, Not For Tourists, Connection Newspapers, Daily Candy, Mid Atlantic Art News, and on the main page of the Juxtapoze website, and Hi-Fructose online magazine, among others. The word is spreading quickly. There’s a new player in the DC art scene. Art Whino has quickly become the hippest and most exciting art force in the DC area.

One of the best things about Art Whino’s strong online presence is that it means people are always connected, not only to what is going on, but also to where. Because of this, Art Whino has the special advantage of being able to carry this enthusiasm to any location it chooses, bringing flocks of people and fantastic art to new spaces in and around the DC area.

Shane Pomajambo Owner and Executive Director Susannah Parnin Gallery Director

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On August 30th, 2008, the sneaker suite celebrated three strong years of producing creative, strategic branded events for clients & patrons across the united states & abroad. From a jam packed birthday celebration that saw the inception of the sneaker suite at eyebar (dc) in august 2005 to a major girl scouts community initiative driven by angela & vanessa simmons of pastry at shoe city (pg, md) in july 2008, the sneaker suite covers all elements of individuality by way of uniqueness and exclusivity.

The sneaker suite mission is basic; we strive for structure and simplicity to drive the brand awareness objective accordingly.

Creating ‘one of a kind’ type events builds an everlasting positive impact for the consumer to further achieve product knowledge and/or maintain brand loyalty.

We thank you all for your continued support and look forward to the future!

Again, We Thank You. Regards, Ian “iCan” Creative Executive Owner

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Barbie Bibiana is in LoVe. LoVe of art, music, and culture. Born in California but raised on 16th St around DC and pg county, Barbie found the streets of DC as a place to express herself. Like most of the artistically inclined, she viewed things differently. Where some may have seen a desolate building, Barbie saw energy. In a child’s smile, history. Seven years later she’s perfected her craft as to where capturing a timeless moment is as second nature as breathing. Her photos push the mind to see deeper. Commands the eye to look past the image and find the meaning behind it. They inspire others although Barbie herself wasn’t inspired by any other photographer. She’s more inspired by the style of people in general. By the always changing environment, and the emotions we convey without even knowing it. In the future Barbie plans to become a fashion photographer capturing some of the most elegant and illustrous couture with the edge and skill she posses now.

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All Layouts Done By: Nick Bommersbach for Eskoblah Graphics 404.936.2616 nick_b7@hotmail.com

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